GoodShoe

Antae

2005-04-05T20:42:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Antes federation of eastern Slavic nomadic tribes known by the 3rd century AD, dwelling in southern Russia between the Dnieper and Dniester rivers. A powerful people with highly developed agriculture, handicrafts, and ironwork, the Antae fought the Goths, who were fleeing westward from the Huns in the 4th century. In the early 6th century they joined in Slavic raids against

Lodge, Henry Cabot

2005-04-05T17:50:00.000-07:00

Lodge received in 1876 the first Ph.D. in political science to be granted by Harvard University. He remained at Harvard for the next three years as instructor in American

Carloforte

2005-04-04T13:29:00.000-07:00

Only town on the small Isola di San Pietro (area 20 sq mi [52 sq km]), just off the southwest coast of Sardinia, Italy. The island is administratively part of Cagliari province. The town was named after Charles Emmanuel III of Savoy, who resettled the island in 1738, after centuries of desertion, with Genoese fugitives from the North African island of Tabarka. It has an observatory, set

Carloforte

2005-04-03T20:33:00.000-07:00

The ancestors of present-day odontocetes probably evolved during the Oligocene Epoch (33.7 million to 23.8 million years ago) from a group of more ancient whales called

Bayinnaung

2005-04-03T15:12:00.000-07:00

In 1550 a revolt broke out among the Mons of southern Myanmar, and Bayinnaung's brother-in-law, Tabinshwehti, was assassinated at Pegu in 1551 by a Mon prince. Bayinnaung

Zaghlul, Sa'd

2005-04-03T00:50:00.000-08:00

Zaghlul was from a well-to-do peasant family in Ibyanah in the Nile River delta. He was educated at the Muslim University of Al-Azhar in Cairo and at the Egyptian

Radioactive Series

2005-04-01T13:17:00.000-08:00

Any of four independent sets of unstable heavy atomic nuclei that decay through a sequence of alpha and beta decays until a stable nucleus is achieved. These four chains of consecutive parent and daughter nuclei (shown in the figure) begin and end among elements with atomic numbers higher than 81, which is the atomic weight of thallium; the members of each set are genetically

Furtwängler, Adolf

2005-04-01T09:29:00.000-08:00

In 1878–79 Furtwängler took part in the German excavation of Olympia, site of the ancient Greek games. While serving as museum director for the Berlin Antiquarium (1880–94), he prepared

Women's Equality Day

2005-03-31T07:16:00.000-08:00

Annual event in the United States, observed on August 26 since its inception in 1971, marking women's advancements toward equality with men. August 26, 1970, marked the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, which granted American women full suffrage. On that anniversary the National Organization for Women (NOW) called upon women nationwide to “strike for

Telephone And Telephone System

2005-03-30T23:12:00.000-08:00

Facsimile, or fax, refers to the transmission of text or fixed images and drawings by wire or radio channels. Fax permits the transmission of a mix of documents—including handwriting, graphs, pictures, and maps—that often cannot be transmitted at all over other communications media. Although the concepts of fax were developed in the 19th century using contemporary

Henrietta Maria

2005-03-30T15:38:00.000-08:00

Henrietta

Toomer, Jean

2005-03-29T20:46:00.000-08:00

After attending the University of Wisconsin and the City College of New York, Toomer taught briefly in the Sparta, Ga., public schools and then turned to lecturing and writing. Cane (1923; reprinted 1967) is an experimental novel which celebrates the Negro through the symbol of the title. It is considered his best work. Toomer

Indra

2005-03-28T20:23:00.000-08:00

His weapons are lightning and the thunderbolt, and he is strengthened for these feats by drinks of the elixir soma, the offering of the sacrifice. Among his allies

Buick, David Dunbar

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

Buick was taken to the United States in 1856. His first independent business venture was a company that made plumbing equipment, started in 1884. In about 1899 he became interested in gasoline engines for agricultural and marine purposes, and

Kerch

2005-03-27T07:16:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Kerc , ancient (Greek) Panticapaion , or (Latin) Panticapaeum city and seaport, Crimea republic, southern Ukraine, on the western shore of the Strait of Kerch at the head of a small bay. Founded in the 6th century BC by Miletan Greeks, it flourished as a trading centre, and in the 5th century it became the capital of the kingdom of the Cimmerian Bosporus. Abundant archaeological evidence of its wealth occurs in catacombs and burial mounds,

Béranger, Pierre-jean De

2005-03-26T21:28:00.000-08:00

Béranger was active in his father's business enterprises until they failed. He then found work as a clerk at the University of Paris (1809). He led a marginal

Performing Arts, European Union.

2005-03-26T13:43:00.000-08:00

With the funding facilities of the European Union's MEDIA program, possibilities for co-production, and the formation of a European Film Promotion organization, a clear grouping of national film industries developed, linking the member countries of the European Union along with “candidate countries” and Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland—countries that, though

Sri Lanka, Relief

2005-03-26T05:37:00.000-08:00

The Central Highlands

Ahmose I

2005-03-24T09:53:00.000-08:00

Resuming the war of liberation against the Hyksos early in his reign, Ahmose crushed the foreigners' allies in Middle Egypt and, advancing down the Nile River, captured Memphis, the

Bureau

2005-03-24T08:50:00.000-08:00

In the United States, a chest of drawers; in Europe a writing desk, usually with a hinged writing flap that rests at a sloping angle when closed and, when opened, reveals a tier of pigeonholes, small drawers, and sometimes a small cupboard. The bureau (French: “office”) first appeared in France at the beginning of the 17th century as just a flat table with drawers below the top, the

Adamic, Louis

2005-03-23T06:47:00.000-08:00

Adamic immigrated to the United States from Yugoslavia at age 14 and was naturalized in 1918. He wrote about what he called the failure of the American melting pot in Laughing

France, History Of, The principalities of the south

2005-03-22T08:27:00.000-08:00

Provence lay in what is now the southeastern corner of France; it was not part of the west Frankish domains. Included in the Middle Kingdom from 843, it passed to the kings of Burgundy after 879 and to the emperors in the 11th century. But it was local counts once again who won prestige

Spoonbill

2005-03-21T08:33:00.000-08:00

Also called Spoonbill Cat, primitive North American fish, a species of paddlefish (q.v.).

Thomas, Jess

2005-03-21T04:28:00.000-08:00

U.S. operatic tenor (b. Aug. 4, 1927, Hot Springs, S.D.--d. Oct. 11, 1993, San Francisco, Calif.), sang a number of lyric roles but became best known as a Wagnerian heldentenor. He participated in local musical activities as a child, studied psychology at the University of Nebraska (B.A., 1949) and at Stanford University (M.A., 1954), and worked as a high school counselor. A professor at Stanford, Otto Schulman, persuaded

Biblical Literature, The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians

2005-03-20T23:00:00.000-08:00

The authenticity of Ephesians as a genuinely Pauline epistle has been doubted since the time of the Dutch Humanist Erasmus in the 16th century. It is most reasonable to consider it as “deutero-Pauline”—i.e., in the tradition of Paul but not written by him. The problem of Ephesians cannot be solved apart from that of Colossians, because many similarities are noted in the style

Alderman

2005-03-19T22:31:00.000-08:00

Member of the legislative body of a municipal corporation in England and the United States. In Anglo-Saxon England, ealdormen, or aldermen, were high-ranking officials of the crown who exercised judicial, administrative, or military functions. Earls, the governors of shires (counties), and other persons of distinction were among those who received the title of alderman.

Auden, W(ystan) H(ugh)

2005-03-19T10:56:00.000-08:00

English-born poet and man of letters who achieved early fame in the 1930s as a hero of the left during the Great Depression. Most of his verse dramas of this period were written in collaboration with Christopher Isherwood. In 1939 Auden settled in the United States, becoming a U.S. citizen.

Aidoo, Ama Ata

2005-03-19T06:56:00.000-08:00

Aidoo began to write seriously while an honours student at the University of Ghana (B.A., 1964). She won early recognition with a problem play, The Dilemma of a Ghost (1965), in which a Ghanaian student returning

Anhwei, Education

2005-03-18T02:45:00.000-08:00

Western learning was introduced in the early decades of the 20th century through the teaching of Christian missions. The National Government after 1928 attempted to expand education throughout the province, but most people remained illiterate. After 1949 the problem of illiteracy was attacked with vigour. The communes established in the late 1950s were then made responsible

Czech Republic

2005-03-18T01:42:00.000-08:00

Czech Ceská Republika, landlocked country in central Europe. It comprises the historic lands of Bohemia and Moravia (collectively often called the Czech Lands) and the southwestern corner of Silesia. The modern Czech nation was inaugurated on Jan. 1, 1993, when the union with Slovakia, dating from 1918, was dissolved; the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia controlled the federal government from 1948 to

Spurgeon, C.h.

2005-03-17T04:21:00.000-08:00

Reared a Congregationalist, Spurgeon became a Baptist in 1850 and, the same year, at 16, preached his first sermon. In 1852 he became minister at Waterbeach, Cambridgeshire,

Bilandic, Michael Anthony

2005-03-16T19:18:00.000-08:00

American politician and judge (b. Feb. 13, 1923, Chicago, Ill.—d. Jan. 15, 2002, Chicago), succeeded Richard J. Daley as mayor of Chicago and later served as chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court. Bilandic had been a corporate lawyer for 28 years and was serving as chairman of Chicago's City Council finance committee by the time Mayor Daley died in his sixth term in office in December 1976. The City

Pacific Mountain System, Geology

2005-03-16T17:13:00.000-08:00

In general, the movement of tectonic plates has been responsible for the development of the Pacific mountain system. The coastal mountains from the Queen Charlotte Islands southward to southern California have been folded, faulted, and intruded with molten rock as a result of this movement. The most significant activity has been the lateral, northerly movement

Floral Decoration, 18th century

2005-03-16T05:04:00.000-08:00

The floral arrangements of the early 18th century were dominated by French and English taste. In France, cultural and social life centred in the intimate rooms of Parisian town houses rather than in the vast rooms and halls of Louis XIV's Versailles palace. Bouquets, therefore, were comparatively small, to be in scale with their setting. The more delicate colouring and

Arda River

2005-03-15T14:52:00.000-08:00

Greek Árdhas, river in Bulgaria, rising in the central Rhodope Mountains near the town of Smolyan and following a 180-mile (290-kilometre) course eastward past Kurdzhali and Ivaylovgrad to enter the Maritsa just west of Edirne, Tur., after a 23-mile (37-kilometre) course in Greece. The Bulgarian section has three hydroelectric and irrigation dams, among the largest in Bulgaria. In the upper valley

Gwanda

2005-03-15T04:53:00.000-08:00

Town, southern Zimbabwe. Gwanda was founded in 1900, and its name derives from that of a nearby hill known as Jahunda. It is located on the Bulawayo-Beitbridge road and the railway that runs south to West Nicholson. The town is the chief centre for southwestern Zimbabwe's cattle district and also trades in agricultural produce. There are gold, asbestos, and chrome mines in

Moses, Assumption Of

2005-03-14T08:13:00.000-08:00

A pseudepigraphal work (not in any biblical canon), a prophecy of the future relating to Israel, put into the mouth of Moses and addressed to Joshua just before the great lawgiver died. Using Moses' predictions and instructions to Joshua as a framework, the book's unknown author sets forth a brief history of Israel from Moses to the messianic age as viewed in apocalyptic

Arévalo (bermejo), Juan José

2005-03-13T15:53:00.000-08:00

Arévalo was educated at the University of Guatemala and the University of La Plata (1928–34) in Argentina, where he received a doctorate. After serving in the Guatemalan

Pyrrole

2005-03-13T05:59:00.000-08:00

Any of a class of organic compounds of the heterocyclic series characterized by a ring structure composed of four carbon atoms and one nitrogen atom. The simplest member of the pyrrole family is pyrrole itself, a compound with molecular formula C4H5N. The pyrrole ring system is present in the amino acids proline and hydroxyproline; and in coloured natural products,

Zeeman Effect

2005-03-12T23:15:00.000-08:00

In physics and astronomy, the splitting of a spectral line into two or more components of slightly different frequency when the light source is placed in a magnetic field. It was first observed in 1896 by the Dutch physicist Pieter Zeeman as a broadening of the yellow D-lines of sodium in a flame held between strong magnetic poles. Later the broadening was found to be a distinct

Grabski, Wladyslaw

2005-03-12T15:10:00.000-08:00

A Socialist in his youth, Grabski later joined the National Democracy Party and was elected a member of three successive sessions of the Duma (1906–12), the legislative body of the Russian Empire, of which

Achilles Painter

2005-03-12T05:05:00.000-08:00

The “Achilles and Briseis” amphora is a red-figure vase (that is, the figures are painted in red

Christian, Barbara

2005-03-11T16:41:00.000-08:00

Educated at Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (B.A., 1963), and Columbia University, New York City (M.A., 1964; Ph.D., 1970), Christian taught at the City College of the City University of New York (1965–72) and

Outremeuse, Jean D'

2005-03-10T10:00:00.000-08:00

D'Outremeuse was no accurate

Dwarf Star

2005-03-10T09:49:00.000-08:00

Any star of average or low luminosity, mass, and size. Important subclasses of dwarf stars are white dwarfs (see white dwarf star) and red dwarfs. Dwarf stars include most so-called main-sequence stars, among which is the Sun. The colour of dwarf stars can range from blue to red, the corresponding temperature varying from high (above 10,000 K) to low (a few thousand degrees).

Jungfrau

2005-03-10T01:46:00.000-08:00

Well-known Swiss peak (13,642 feet [4,158 m]) dominating the Lauterbrunnen valley and lying 11 miles (18 km) south-southeast of the resort of Interlaken. The scenic mountain separates the cantons of Bern and Valais and is in the Bernese Alps, two other peaks of which (the Finsteraarhorn [14,022 feet] and the Aletschhorn [13,763 feet]) surpass it in height. The first ascent was made in 1811 on the eastern or Valais

Chad

2005-03-10T01:36:00.000-08:00

Although

Accelerator

2005-03-09T08:37:00.000-08:00

The use of alkaline compounds of metals as vulcanization

Jewett, Sarah Orne

2005-03-07T16:51:00.000-08:00

Jewett was often taken by her physician father on visits to the fishermen and farmers of her native Maine, and she developed a deep and abiding love of their way of life and of the sights and sounds of her surroundings. These experiences, and reading in her

Harmony, Rise of the intervals of the third and the sixth

2005-03-07T13:53:00.000-08:00

Until the late 14th century the attitude toward consonance, especially among continental composers, adhered largely to the Pythagorean ideal, which accepted as consonances only intervals expressible in the simplest numerical ratios—fourths, fifths, and octaves. But in England the interval of the third (as from C to E) had been in common use for some time, although it

Luxor

2005-03-07T02:35:00.000-08:00

Also called El-Aksur, or Al-Uqsur,

Hypoparathyroidism

2005-03-05T20:05:00.000-08:00

Inadequate secretion of parathyroid hormone, usually caused by accidental surgical removal of large amounts of parathyroid tissue (during thyroid surgery) or, less frequently, by defective action of the parathyroid gland. This deficiency results in low calcium and high phosphorus levels in the blood, often causing tetany (increased nervous and muscular excitability,

Saki

2005-03-05T13:31:00.000-08:00

Any of seven species of arboreal South American monkeys having long nonprehensile furred tails. The “true” sakis of the genus Pithecia are approximately 30–50 cm (12–20 inches) long, not including the bushy, tapering tail of 25–55 cm. Females generally weigh less than 2 kg (4.4 pounds) and males more than 2 kg. These sakis are covered with long, coarse hair that falls like a hood

Daniel, Samuel

2005-03-05T02:54:00.000-08:00

Daniel entered Oxford in 1581. After publishing a translation in 1585 for his first patron, Sir Edward Dymoke, he secured a post with the English ambassador at Paris; later he travelled in Italy, visiting the poet Battista Guarini in Padua. After 1592 he lived at Lincoln

Paul Of Samosata

2005-03-04T20:36:00.000-08:00

Paul

Tsu

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

Capital, Mie ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. It lies along the mouth of the Ano River, facing Ise Bay. Tsu developed around a 16th-century castle and served as a post town and trade centre for cotton during the Tokugawa era (1603–1867). A modern cotton mill established in Tsu in 1898 was followed after World War II by factories producing electrical machines, glass, and appliances. During the

Atatürk, Kemal

2005-03-03T14:32:00.000-08:00

Mustafa Kemal's career almost ended soon after his graduation when it was discovered that he and several friends were meeting to read about and discuss political abuses within the empire. A government spy infiltrated their group and informed on them. A cloud of suspicion hung over their heads that was not to be lifted for years. The group was broken up and its members

Zanni

2005-03-03T06:54:00.000-08:00

Plural Zanni, or Zannis, stock servant character in the Italian improvisational theatre known as the commedia dell'arte. Zanni were valet buffoons, clowns, and knavish jacks-of-all-trades. All possessed common sense, intelligence, pride, and a love of practical jokes and intrigue; they were, however, often quarrelsome, cowardly, envious, spiteful, vindictive, and treacherous. The term is thought

Moscow

2005-03-02T06:20:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1888) of Latah county, northwestern Idaho, U.S. The city is situated on Paradise Creek, in the Palouse country just north of Lewiston, near the Washington border. The area was settled in 1871 and developed as a stagecoach station. Local farmers called the area Hog Heaven. The origins of the name Moscow are disputed; some hold that the town was named by Jonathan Neff, a homesteader

Guajará-mirim

2005-03-01T13:52:00.000-08:00

City, western Rondônia estado (“state”), western Brazil. It lies along the Mamoré River. Primarily a transportation centre, Guajará-Mirim handles traffic in rubber, lumber, babassu palm oil, and other forest products taken in the surrounding area. It has a small port for shallow-draft vessels and is the southern terminus of a railroad built in 1913 to carry products out of Bolivia

Arts, Central Asian

2005-03-01T11:55:00.000-08:00

The performing arts have played an important role in the spiritual and social life of Central Asia, where they evolved as didactic art forms within a religious context. Performance, therefore, occurs in conjunction with some religious or special event. Two main types of performance predominate throughout Tibet, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, Mongolia, and the former Soviet

Crothers, Rachel

2005-03-01T00:45:00.000-08:00

Crothers graduated from the Illinois State Normal School (now Illinois State University) in 1892, then studied dramatic art in Boston and New York City, and for a time she appeared

Abs, Hermann Josef

2005-02-28T23:53:00.000-08:00

German banker (b. Oct. 15, 1901, Bonn, Germany--d. Feb. 5, 1994, Bad Soden, Germany), was a dominant figure in the West German "economic miracle" following World War II, most notably in his role as deputy supervisory board chairman (1948-57) of the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (Credit Institute for Reconstruction) and then as spokesman for the managing board (1957-67), chairman of the supervisory board (1967-76), and honorary

Hanafuda

2005-02-28T01:30:00.000-08:00

Hanafuda evolved after the Portuguese had brought Western cards to Japan in the 17th century. Hanafuda bear no numbers

Abu Al-hasan 'ali

2005-02-27T18:13:00.000-08:00

In 1331 Abu al-Hasan succeeded his father, Abu Sa'id, to the throne. With the goals of expelling the Christians from Spain and uniting all the Islamic lands of North Africa, Abu al-Hasan attacked and captured Algeciras and Gibraltar

Fairfax

2005-02-26T18:02:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1779) of Fairfax county (though administratively independent of it), northeastern Virginia, U.S., about 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Washington, D.C. It developed after 1799 with the construction of the county courthouse and relocation of the county seat from Alexandria. The wills of George and Martha Washington are displayed in the courthouse wing. Early known as Earp's Corner,

Cytology

2005-02-26T14:07:00.000-08:00

The study of cells as fundamental units of living things. The earliest phase of cytology began with the English scientist Robert Hooke's microscopic investigations of cork in 1665. He observed dead cork cells and introduced the term “cell” to describe them. In the 19th century two Germans, the botanist Matthias Schleiden (in 1838) and the biologist Theodor Schwann (in 1839), were among

Philadelphia Centennial Exposition

2005-02-26T00:30:00.000-08:00

Ten years in the planning, the Centennial Exposition cost more than $11 million and covered more than 450 acres (180 hectares) of Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. President Ulysses S. Grant opened the exposition on May 10, 1876, and

Sun, Photosphere

2005-02-25T02:50:00.000-08:00

Although there are no fires on the surface of the Sun, the photosphere seethes and roils, displaying the effects of the underlying convection. Photons flowing from below, trapped by the underlying layers, finally escape. This produces a dramatic drop in temperature and density. The temperature at the visible surface is about 5,800 K but drops to a minimum about 4,000 K at approximately

La Follette, Robert M

2005-02-23T23:30:00.000-08:00

Foreign affairs catapulted La Follette back into a leadership position in 1917, this time of the anti-war movement. Since 1910 he had argued that U.S. interventions in the problems of foreign governments were intended to protect the investments of U.S. corporations and to smash revolutions. Now he believed that the United States entered World War I in 1917 because U.S. businessmen

Orbison, Roy

2005-02-23T22:29:00.000-08:00

Raised in West Texas, Orbison formed his first musical group at age 13. He dropped out of college to pursue music, and as a member of the Teen-Kings

Spotlight: Sub-saharan Africa In A New Era

2005-02-23T15:35:00.000-08:00

Although 41 of the 48 governments in the region had committed themselves to establishing multiparty parliamentary systems, by year's end only 9 could be judged to have met the criteria for pluralism

Earth Sciences, Surface water discharge

2005-02-21T17:32:00.000-08:00

A complicated empirical formula for the discharge of streams resulted from the studies of Andrew Atkinson Humphreys and Henry Larcom Abbot in the course of the Mississippi Delta Survey of 1851–60. Their formula contained no term for roughness of channel and on this and other grounds was later found to be inapplicable to the rapidly flowing streams of mountainous regions.

Aquinas, Thomas, Saint

2005-02-21T09:11:00.000-08:00

The biography of Thomas Aquinas is one of extreme simplicity; it chronicles little but some modest travel during a career devoted entirely to university life: at Paris, the Roman Curia, Paris again, and Naples. It would be a mistake, however, to judge that his life was merely the quiet life of a professional teacher untouched by the social and political affairs of his

Biblical Literature, Meaning of the term gospel

2005-02-21T07:35:00.000-08:00

From the late AD 40s and until his martyrdom in the 60s, Paul wrote letters to the churches that he founded or guided. These are the earliest Christian writings that the church has, and in them he refers to “the gospel” (euangelion). In Romans, chapter 1, verse 1, he says: “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God . . .” and goes on to describe this “gospel

Sanger, Margaret

2005-02-20T11:11:00.000-08:00

The sixth of 11 children, she attended Claverack College and then took nurse's training in New York at the White Plains Hospital and the Manhattan Eye and Ear Clinic. She was married

Nation, The

2005-02-19T22:14:00.000-08:00

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

Maturidi, Abu Mansur Muhammad Al-

2005-02-18T22:42:00.000-08:00

Except for the place and time of Maturidi's death, almost nothing is known about the details of Maturidi's life. He lived during a time when the Mu'tazilites, a Muslim sect, were using the techniques of Greek logical argument to attack what had

Semler, Johann Salomo

2005-02-18T17:35:00.000-08:00

Semler was a disciple of the rationalist Siegmund Jakob Baumgarten, whom he succeeded on his death in 1757 as head of the theological

Prodigy

2005-02-18T04:06:00.000-08:00

An extraordinary person, particularly a child, who shows spontaneous early signs of genius or exceptional ability along certain lines. Among these are the arithmetical prodigies, the chess prodigies, and the lightning calculators who have a remarkable memory for figures. Best known are the musical prodigies—Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, and Felix

Laima

2005-02-16T22:47:00.000-08:00

Also called Laima-dalia (from Lithuanian laime, “happiness,” “luck”), in Baltic religion, the goddess of fate, generally associated with the linden tree. Together with Dievs, the sky, and Saule, the sun, Laima determines the length and fortune of human life. In the course of each life she helps arrange marriages, oversees weddings, protects pregnant women, and appears at childbirth to pronounce each

Outcaste

2005-02-16T22:01:00.000-08:00

In the Hindu caste system, an individual or group that has been thrown out of caste, usually for some ritual offense. The outcasting may be temporary or permanent. In the 19th century, a Hindu faced excommunication for going abroad, where it was presumed he would be forced to break caste restrictions and, as a result, become polluted. Such an offender would be reinstated

Daniel, Gabriel

2005-02-16T18:31:00.000-08:00

Daniel entered the Society of Jesus in 1667, later became librarian of the professed house at Paris, and was appointed historiographer of France by King Louis XIV. In this last capacity he wrote a pioneering work, Histoire de France depuis l'établissement de la monarchie

Cataract

2005-02-14T14:54:00.000-08:00

In medicine, opacity of the crystalline lens of the eye. If the opaque areas are minute, scattered dots (a condition known as blue dot cataract, or punctate cataract) or if only the periphery of the lens is affected (this type, called coronary cataract, is said to affect 25 percent of the population), there may be no appreciable diminution of vision. In instances of cataracts

'abdullah I

2005-02-13T20:46:00.000-08:00

'Abdullah, the second son of Husayn ibn 'Ali, the ruler of the Hejaz, was educated in Istanbul in what was then the Ottoman Empire. After the Young Turk Revolution of 1908, he represented Mecca in the Ottoman parliament. Early in 1914 he joined the Arab nationalist movement, which sought independence

Tributyl Phosphate

2005-02-13T19:32:00.000-08:00

An organic liquid solvent used in the extraction of uranium and plutonium salts from reactor effluents, as a solvent for nitrocellulose and cellulose acetate, and as a heat-exchange medium. A phosphorus-containing compound with molecular formula (C4H9)3PO4, it is prepared by reaction of phosphorus oxychloride with butyl alcohol. Tributyl phosphate is corrosive to

Genesis

2005-02-13T17:09:00.000-08:00

Hebrew Bereshit (“In the Beginning”), the first book of the Old Testament. Its name derives from the opening words: “In the beginning . . . .” Genesis narrates the primeval history of the world (chapters 1–11) and the patriarchal history of the Israelite people (chapters 12–50). The primeval history includes the familiar stories of the Creation, the Garden of Eden, Cain and Abel, Noah and the Flood, and the Tower

China, War between Nationalists and Communists

2005-02-12T05:04:00.000-08:00

In the meantime, the Communists had created 15 rural bases in central China, and they established a soviet government, the Kiangsi Soviet, on Nov. 7, 1931. Within the soviet regions the Communist leadership expropriated and redistributed land and in other ways enlisted the support of the poorer classes. The Japanese occupation of Manchuria and an ancillary localized war

Auerbach, Red

2005-02-11T04:44:00.000-08:00

Auerbach began coaching at St. Alban's Preparatory School (1940) and Roosevelt High School (1940–43), both in Washington, D.C. He served during World War II in the U.S. Navy (1943–46) and after the war coached the Basketball

Gnat

2005-02-10T22:16:00.000-08:00

Any member of several species of small flies that bite and annoy humans. Several nonbiting insects, such as the midges, which resemble mosquitoes, are also sometimes known as gnats. In North America the name is often applied to the black fly, midge, fungus gnat, biting midge, fruit fly (qq.v.), and other small flies that hover about the eyes of humans and other animals. In Great

Romanian Literature

2005-02-10T07:30:00.000-08:00

Several famous writers continued to write after World War II. Arghezi reached new lyric heights in 1907 and in a hymn praising humanity's will to live and struggle for freedom. Geo Bogza joined the Social Realist movement. Mihail Beniuc became (as he said) “the drummer of the new age” and, in stirring lyrics, celebrated achievements of the postwar period. Demostene Botez, whose

Annelid, External features

2005-02-09T09:27:00.000-08:00

The body of an annelid is often described as a tube within a tube. The inner tube, or digestive tract, is separated from the outer tube, or body wall, by the coelom. The head region (prostomium) is followed by a series of segments similar to each other in appearance. The body in many species, especially in the sedentary polychaetes, is separated into two or three regions. The

Gad Al-haq Ali Gad Al-haq

2005-02-08T21:07:00.000-08:00

Egyptian religious leader who, as grand sheikh of al-Azhar, the Muslim world's highest religious body, issued rulings based on strict Islamic orthodoxy, including support for female circumcision and harsh punishment for those breaking the fast during Ramadan (b. April 5, 1917--d. March 15, 1996).

Antigen

2005-02-07T14:26:00.000-08:00

Foreign substance that, when introduced into the body, is capable of stimulating an immune response, specifically activating lymphocytes, which are the body's infection-fighting white blood cells. Virtually any large foreign molecule can act as an antigen, including those contained in bacteria, viruses, protozoa, helminths, foods, snake venoms, egg white, serum components,

Indio

2005-02-07T01:39:00.000-08:00

City, Riverside county, southern California, U.S., in the Coachella Valley, between Palm Springs (northwest) and the Salton Sea (southeast). Founded (1876) as Indian Wells, on the site of Palte-Wat Indian village by the Southern Pacific Railroad, it was later renamed Indio (Spanish: Indian). In the 1850s local artesian wells were utilized for irrigation and C.P. Huntington, president of

Lemur

2005-02-06T15:58:00.000-08:00

Generally, any of the more primitive primates except the tree shrews. In this sense, the term covers not only the typical lemurs (family Lemuridae) but also the avahi, indri, sifaka, aye-aye, loris, potto, and galago (qq.v.). All these animals are characterized by a naked, moist tip to the muzzle; comblike, forward-directed lower front teeth; and a clawlike nail on the second toe of

Pacheco, José Emilio

2005-02-05T23:37:00.000-08:00

Pacheco was educated at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. He wrote several plays there that were never produced, and he edited the literary supplement of the review Estaciones (1957–58). His first published

Bernese Alps

2005-02-05T16:26:00.000-08:00

Also called Bernese Oberland, German Berner Alpen, or Berner Oberland, French Alpes Bernoises, segment of the Central Alps lying north of the Upper Rhône River and south of the Brienzer and Thunersee (lakes) in Bern and Valais cantons of southwestern Switzerland. The mountains extend east-northeastward from the bend of the Rhône near Martigny-Ville to Grimsel Pass and Haslital (valley of the upper Aare River). Many peaks rise to more than 12,000 ft (3,660 m); Finsteraarhorn

Carnivore, Natural history

2005-02-04T19:54:00.000-08:00

Hyenas form a relatively homogeneous family that includes two basic types: the true hyenas (two species of Hyaena and one of Crocuta) and the aardwolf (Proteles cristatus; see photograph). Hyenas are noted for their scavenger feeding and bone-crushing habits, although they do hunt live animals. Their food consists largely of the remains of artiodactyls,

Iceland, The status of women

2005-02-02T09:29:00.000-08:00

Outwardly the feminist movement may seem uniquely strong in Iceland. A woman, Vigdís Finnbogadóttir, served as president of the republic for four terms (1980–96), enjoying great popularity. A Women's Alliance has been represented in the parliament since 1983. However, the Icelandic president typically is not influential in politics, and the Women's Alliance has yet to participate