ColdKnot

Estate Agent Fitzrovia

2006-10-25T15:15:00.000-07:00

Robert Irving Burns specialise in London Commercial and Residential property services. They are a specialist in estate agent fitzrovia, amongst other London areas such as Soho and Oxford Circus.

Albumen Paper

2005-04-04T16:14:00.000-07:00

Albumen also spelled Albumin, light-sensitive paper prepared by coating with albumen, or egg white, and a salt (e.g., ammonium chloride) and sensitized by an aftertreatment with a solution of silver nitrate. The process was introduced by the French photographer Louis-Désiré Blanquart-Évrard in about 1850 and was widely used for about 60 years thereafter. Early employers of the process applied by hand the

Yamanouchi Family

2005-04-03T22:41:00.000-07:00

The rise in the Yamanouchi family's fortunes began with Yamanouchi Kazutoyo (1546–1605). For his successes on the battlefield in the service of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, then the most powerful general in Japan, Kazutoyo was rewarded with a small fief. After Hideyoshi's death, Kazutoyo

France, History Of, Parisian revolt

2005-04-01T08:22:00.000-08:00

In fact, the king had by no means reconciled himself to this revolutionary act. His concession was a strategic retreat until he could muster the military power to subdue the patriots. Between June 27 and July 1 he ordered 20,000 royal troops into the Paris region, ostensibly to protect the assembly and to prevent disorder in the restive capital. The assembly's pleas to the king

Bronson, Charles

2005-03-29T09:22:00.000-08:00

Bronson was one of 15 children of a Lithuanian coal miner, became a miner himself at age 16, and during World War II claimed to have served in the air force as a tail gunner (later reports suggest that he was stationed

Yablonovy Range

2005-03-27T02:17:00.000-08:00

Russian Yablonovy Khrebet, mountain range in the Transbaikalia region of Chita oblast (province) and Buryatiya, in far eastern Russia. The range is some 500 miles (800 km) long northeast–southwest and reaches a maximum height of 5,512 feet (1,680 m) in Mount Kusotuy. Formed principally of granites and gneisses, it has been uplifted and much-fractured. The highest peaks are bare, but most of the range is densely forested

China, The Juchen

2005-03-25T21:12:00.000-08:00

The Liao were eventually overthrown by the Juchen (Ju-chen in Wade–Giles, Ruzhen in Pinyin), another seminomadic and semipastoral people who originated in Manchuria, swept across North China, ended the Pei Sung, and established the Chin dynasty (1115–1234). This new and much larger empire in North China followed the Liao pattern of dual government and of some acculturation but

World War I, The German invasion

2005-03-23T17:43:00.000-08:00

For the smooth working of their plan for the invasion of France, the Germans had preliminarily to reduce the ring fortress of Liège, which commanded the route prescribed for their 1st and 2nd armies and which was the foremost stronghold of the Belgian defenses. German troops crossed the frontier into Belgium on the morning of August 4. Thanks to the resolution of a middle-aged

Auckland Islands

2005-03-22T02:56:00.000-08:00

Outlying island group of New Zealand, in the South Pacific Ocean, 290 miles (467 km) south of South Island. Volcanic in origin, they comprise six islands and several islets, with a total land area of 234 square miles (606 square km), and have a cool, humid, and windy climate. The islands' soils are generally poor, and shrub forests cover lower elevations. Animal life includes birds, wild cattle,

Wierzynski, Kazimierz

2005-03-20T23:26:00.000-08:00

Wierzynski moved to Warsaw after the restoration of Poland's independence at the close of World War I and became one of the foremost members of Skamander. His poetical debut was Wiosna i wino (1919; “Spring and Wine”), followed by Wróble na

Kashmir, Vale Of

2005-03-18T03:50:00.000-08:00

Scenic intermontane valley between the main Himalayan ranges (northeast) and the Pir Panjal Range (southwest), in northwestern India. The valley is an ancient lake basin 85 mi (140 km) long, 20 mi wide, and 5,300 ft (1,620 m) high. Drained by the upper Jhelum River, the valley is lined by 12,000–16,000-ft-high mountains that help shelter it from the wet southwest monsoon. It is the centre of population for the Kashmir

Lenz, Jakob Michael Reinhold

2005-03-17T19:18:00.000-08:00

Lenz studied theology at Königsberg University but gave up his studies in 1771 to travel to Strasbourg as a tutor and companion

Bearden, Romare (howard)

2005-03-16T04:18:00.000-08:00

Bearden studied at the Art Students League in New York City with George Grosz (1936–37) and at Columbia University (1943). His early paintings were realistic and often

Pluto

2005-03-15T14:10:00.000-08:00

Pluto, designated {Pluto symbol} in astronomy, is so distant that sunlight traveling at 299,792 km per second takes more than five hours to reach the planet. An observer standing on the planet's surface would see the Sun as an extremely bright star in the

Canadian Literature

2005-03-14T18:05:00.000-08:00

The body of written works produced by Canadians. Reflecting the country's dual origin and linguistic distribution, the literature of Canada falls into two divisions: English and French. This article provides a brief historical account of each of these literatures.

Régio, José

2005-03-14T07:05:00.000-08:00

Régio began his literary career while still a student at the University of Coimbra with the publication of his lyric-dramatic Poemas de Deus e do

Hawaii

2005-03-12T06:31:00.000-08:00

Volcanic island, Hawaii, U.S. It lies south of Maui Island and constitutes Hawaii county. Known as the Big Island, it is the largest (area 4,028 square miles [10,433 square km]) and southeasternmost of the Hawaiian Island group. It is the youngest geologically and was formed by five volcanoes connected by lava saddles (ridges). Kilauea is the world's most active volcano. The island is roughly

Kyoha Shinto

2005-03-11T07:40:00.000-08:00

By 1908, 13 sects had been recognized

Gravimeter

2005-03-10T17:00:00.000-08:00

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

Permafrost, Effects of climate

2005-03-10T04:26:00.000-08:00

The most conspicuous change in thickness of permafrost is related to climate. At Barrow, Alaska, U.S., the mean annual air temperature is -12° C (10° F), and the thickness is 400 metres. At Fairbanks, Alaska, in the discontinuous zone of permafrost in central Alaska, the mean annual air temperature is -3° C (27° F), and the thickness is about 90 metres. Near the southern border of permafrost, the mean

Adat

2005-03-08T20:11:00.000-08:00

Customary law of the indigenous peoples of Malaysia and Indonesia. It was the unwritten, traditional code governing all aspects of personal conduct from birth to death. Two kinds of Malay adat law developed prior to the 15th century: Adat Perpateh developed in a matrilineal kinship structure in areas occupied by the Minangkabau people in Sumatra and Negeri Sembilan;

Amadís Of Gaul

2005-03-07T21:42:00.000-08:00

In Montalvo's version,

Downey, June Etta

2005-03-06T11:37:00.000-08:00

Downey graduated from the University of Wyoming in 1895. After a year of teaching school in Laramie, she resumed her education at the University of Chicago, where in 1898 she took a master's degree in philosophy and

Akhmim

2005-03-06T09:50:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ekhmin, town, Sawhaj muhafazah (governorate), Upper Egypt, on the east bank of the Nile, above Sawhaj on the west bank. Extensive necropolises dating from the 6th dynasty (c. 2345–c. 2181 BC) until the late Coptic period reveal the site's antiquity. In 1981 remains of a temple (Roman period) with Ramesside statues were excavated in the city. The name apparently derives from the pharaonic Khent-min and Coptic

Addition Reaction

2005-03-04T18:04:00.000-08:00

Addition reactions are typical of unsaturated organic compounds—i.e., alkenes, which contain a carbon-to-carbon double bond, and alkynes, which have a carbon-to-carbon triple bond—and aldehydes and ketones, which have a carbon-to-oxygen double bond. An addition reaction may be

Duran, Simeon Ben Zemah

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

Also called (by acronym) Rashbaz first Spanish Jewish rabbi to be paid a regular salary by the community and author of an important commentary on Avot (“Fathers”), a popular ethical tractate in the Talmud, the rabbinical compendium of law, lore, and commentary. Before the 14th century, the rabbinical post had been almost invariably honorary; Duran

Eureka

2005-03-02T22:23:00.000-08:00

Byname of European Research Agency, European cooperative organization inaugurated in April 1985 by 18 European nations and formally established with a secretariat in Brussels in 1986. Its purpose is to promote European high-technology industries by linking the efforts of various companies and channeling moneys for their research. The original 18 member nations are the 12 European Community nations (Belgium,

Aerospace Industry, Satellite, launch vehicle, and missile manufacture

2005-03-01T17:54:00.000-08:00

The manufacturing processes for aircraft are largely paralleled in the production of satellites, their launch vehicles, and missiles. Because minimum weight is critical for all three kinds of products, the use of composites has grown such that it can include the entire structure for satellites and smaller missiles. For these vehicles, electronics production

Yi Dynasty

2005-03-01T13:18:00.000-08:00

General Yi established

Nitrifying Bacterium

2005-02-27T16:20:00.000-08:00

Plural Nitrifying Bacteria, any of a small group of aerobic bacteria (family Nitrobacteraceae) that use inorganic chemicals as an energy source. They are microorganisms that are important in the nitrogen cycle as converters of soil ammonia to nitrates, compounds usable by plants. The nitrification process requires the mediation of two distinct groups: bacteria that convert ammonia to nitrites

Karaikal

2005-02-26T23:10:00.000-08:00

The area was part of the Cola empire in the 10th century,

Guadalupe

2005-02-26T07:29:00.000-08:00

City, central Nuevo León estado (“state”), northeastern Mexico. It lies 672 feet (205 m) above sea level on the Santa Catarina River, about 3 miles (5 km) east of Monterrey, the state capital. Guadalupe is primarily an agricultural centre. Corn (maize) is the principal crop in the environs, but chick-peas are also important. Cattle and sheep are also raised in the vicinity. By virtue of its proximity

Romanesque Art

2005-02-24T11:27:00.000-08:00

The name Romanesque

Berceo, Gonzalo De

2005-02-24T09:26:00.000-08:00

Berceo's subjects were religious

Scharnhorst, Gerhard Johann David Von

2005-02-23T09:40:00.000-08:00

Prussian general who developed the modern general staff system. With another reformer of army procedures, August von Gneisenau, he devised the “shrinkage system” (Krümpersystem), in which army recruits were quickly trained and sent into the reserves so that more men could be trained. This system increased the actual number of trained

Gaffney

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

City, seat of Cherokee county, northern South Carolina, U.S., near the Broad River. Named for Michael Gaffney, an Irish settler who arrived in 1803, it early developed as a resort where plantation owners sought therapeutic treatment at local limestone springs. Its growth as a market centre for cotton (now peaches) and farm produce was sustained by the coming of the Southern

Scharnhorst, Gerhard Johann David Von

2005-02-20T19:28:00.000-08:00

DES is used therapeutically to replace estrogen

Aomori

2005-02-19T23:03:00.000-08:00

Northernmost ken (prefecture) on the island of Honshu, Japan. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean (east), the Tsugaru Strait (north), and the Sea of Japan (west). The peninsulas of Tsugaru and Shimokita enclose Mutsu Bay. Aomori has a relatively poor agricultural economy that is handicapped by long, cold, snowy winters and poor drainage. Rice and Japan's largest apple crop are

Wang Xizhi

2005-02-18T21:42:00.000-08:00

It is said that even in his lifetime a few of Wang's characters or his signature were priceless; down through the ages, aspiring students of that most basic yet highest art in China, calligraphy, have copied and preserved traces of his style. The most famous example of his writing is the

'adud Ad-dawlah

2005-02-17T13:06:00.000-08:00

Becoming ruler of Fars province in southern Iran in 944, 'Adud ad-Dawlah did not actually reign on his own until almost a decade later. But by 979 his authority extended, through inheritance and conquest, over all southern Iran and most of what is now Iraq. He became famous for his public works, which included a dam still standing near

Syria, The Ayyubids and Mamluks

2005-02-17T10:41:00.000-08:00

After Saladin's death his kingdom was split up among members of his family, the Ayyubids, who established principalities in Aleppo, Hamah, Hims, Damascus, Ba'labakk, and Transjordan and ruled them until 1260. The period of Nureddin, Saladin, and their successors was of great importance. Thanks largely to the establishment of Italian trading centres on the coast and better security,

Aerospace Industry, Space launchers

2005-02-15T03:57:00.000-08:00

Various companies build small ELVs capable of taking light payloads into space. In this market segment the American supplier Orbital Sciences

Zion

2005-02-14T14:18:00.000-08:00

In the Old Testament, the easternmost of the two hills of ancient Jerusalem. It was the site of the Jebusite city captured by David, king of Israel and Judah, in the 10th century BC (2 Samuel 5:6–9) and established by him as his royal capital. Some scholars believe that the name also belonged to the “stronghold of Zion” taken by David (2 Samuel 5:7), which may have been the fortress of the city. The

Azilian Industry

2005-02-14T04:40:00.000-08:00

Tool tradition of Late Paleolithic and Early Mesolithic Europe, especially in France and Spain. The Azilian industry was preceded by the richer and more complex Magdalenian industry and was more or less contemporary with such industries as the Tardenoisian, Maglemosian, Ertebølle, and Asturian. Stone tools of the Azilian were mostly extremely small, called microliths,

Caroline

2005-02-12T16:52:00.000-08:00

County, eastern Maryland, U.S., lying between the Choptank River and Tuckahoe Creek to the west and Delaware to the east. In addition to the Choptank, it is drained by Marshyhope Creek. Caroline shares Tuckahoe State Park with neighbouring Queen Anne's county. The county was created in 1773 and named for Caroline Eden, a member of the Calvert family and wife of the last colonial

Rysbrack, John Michael

2005-02-12T02:52:00.000-08:00

Rysbrack worked in a classical, sometimes eclectic

Arabia, History Of, Wahhabi-sharifian dispute

2005-02-10T04:15:00.000-08:00

Meanwhile,

Ariel

2005-02-10T02:38:00.000-08:00

Ariel orbits at a distance of 191,020 km (118,432 miles) from the centre of the planet. It has a period of 2.52 days. Ariel's estimated diameter is 1,330 km (825 miles), and its mass is thought to be about 1.8 ´ 10-5 that of Uranus.

Philip

2005-02-09T14:46:00.000-08:00

When the Roman emperor Augustus adjusted Herod's will, Philip was assigned to the region east of the Sea of Galilee, in modern northern Israel, Lebanon, and southern Syria. In AD 6, he may have joined in charging his half brother with misgoverning Judaea,

Arensky, Anton

2005-02-08T08:34:00.000-08:00

Although he was a composition student under Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, Arensky's work was more akin to that of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; the predominant moods of his music are lyrical and elegiac. Of his three

Ramadi, Ar-

2005-02-07T11:17:00.000-08:00

Capital of al-Anbar muhafazah (governorate), central Iraq. It lies on the Euphrates River just northwest of Hawr (Lake) al-Habbaniyah. Ancient settlements existed in the vicinity, but ar-Ramadi was founded only in 1869 to encourage settlement by the nomadic Dulaym tribes, a goal that has been partially fulfilled. The town prospered after becoming the departure point of a trade route

Hviezdoslav

2005-02-05T23:45:00.000-08:00

Hviezdoslav was a lawyer until he became able to devote himself to literature. He originally wrote in Hungarian and was a Hungarian patriot, but in the 1860s he switched both activities to Slovak. By the time of his death the Slovaks

Vitamin B Complex

2005-02-04T15:08:00.000-08:00

Most of the B vitamins have been recognized

Alexander Romance

2005-02-03T21:47:00.000-08:00

The chief source of all Alexander romance literature was a folk epic written in Greek by a Hellenized Egyptian in Alexandria during the 2nd century AD. Surviving translations and copies make its reconstruction possible.

Jacob Joseph Of Polonnoye

2005-02-03T05:09:00.000-08:00

Jacob Joseph was a rabbi in the large Jewish community at Shargorod, in Podolia; after he came under the influence of the Ba'al Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidism, he was expelled (c. 1748) from Shargorod. He was subsequently rabbi of Rashkov, Nemirov, and ultimately Polonnoye, where he remained

Insurance, Indirect losses

2005-02-01T23:42:00.000-08:00

An entirely different branch of the insurance business has been developed to insure losses that are indirectly the result of one of the specified perils. A prominent example of this type of insurance is business income insurance. The insurer undertakes to reimburse the insured for lost profits or for fixed charges incurred as a result of direct damage. For example,

Habima

2005-02-01T14:45:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Habimah (Hebrew: “Stage”), Hebrew theatre company originally organized as Habima ha-'Ivrit (Hebrew: “the Hebrew Stage”) in Bialystok, in Russian Poland, in 1912 by Nahum Zemach. The troupe traveled in 1913 to Vienna, where it staged Osip Dymov's Hear O Israel before the 11th Zionist Congress. In 1917, after World War I caused the ensemble to dissolve, Zemach established the group in Moscow, calling it

Berenice

2005-01-31T01:16:00.000-08:00

Daughter of Ptolemy II Philadelphus and Arsinoe I of Egypt. She was married to the Seleucid ruler Antiochus II Theos, supplanting his first wife, Laodice, whose children she persuaded him to bar from the succession to the throne in favour of her own. Laodice, however, persuaded Antiochus to come to Ephesus (in Asia Minor), where he died in 246, perhaps a victim of her intrigues.

Yale School

2005-01-29T02:36:00.000-08:00

Group of literary critics at Yale University, who became known in the 1970s and '80s for their deconstructionist theories. The Yale school's skeptical, relativistic brand of criticism drew inspiration from the work of French philosopher Jacques Derrida. Its most prominent members were Paul de Man and J. Hillis Miller. De Man, a professor of comparative literature and author

Vajrayana

2005-01-28T17:25:00.000-08:00

Also called Tantric Buddhism, important development within Buddhism in India and neighbouring countries, notably Tibet. Vajrayana, in the history of Buddhism, marks the transition from Mahayana speculative thought to the enactment of Buddhist ideas in individual life. The term vajra (Sanskrit: “diamond,” or “thunderbolt”) is used to signify the absolutely real and indestructible in man, as opposed

Kilby, Jack

2005-01-28T08:13:00.000-08:00

In full Jack St. Clair Kilby American engineer and one of the inventors of the integrated circuit, a system of interconnected transistors on a single microchip. In 2000 Kilby was awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics.

Indiana State University

2005-01-27T13:47:00.000-08:00

Public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Terre Haute, Ind., U.S. It comprises the College of Arts and Sciences and schools of Business, Education, Nursing, Technology, Graduate Studies, and Health, Physical Education, and Recreation. The university offers a range of undergraduate and graduate degree programs. Campus facilities include an observatory,

Literature

2005-01-26T22:24:00.000-08:00

In 1998 Arabic literature was characterized by two recurring themes: death and revival. Several works, many reminiscent of the writings of the Jahili poet al-Khansa', eulogized writers and thinkers who were victims of tragic assassinations, especially in Algeria. The analogy to al-Khansa' was reinforced by the fact that many of these writers were women. Assia Djebar, who eulogized

Wright, Patience

2005-01-24T13:28:00.000-08:00

Patience Lovell was born into a prosperous Quaker farm family. In 1748 she married Joseph Wright. Little is known of her life from then until 1769, when she was left a widow with five children. About this time she began modeling in wax. Her recorded

Wye, River

2005-01-24T01:28:00.000-08:00

The Wye rises on the eastern slopes of the uplands of Plynlimon, and its upper valley, which has been glaciated, is deeply cut in the ancient grits and shales

Karamzin, Nikolay Mikhaylovich

2005-01-23T04:04:00.000-08:00

From an early age, Karamzin was interested in Enlightenment philosophy and western European literature. After extensive travel in western Europe,

Aguirre, Lope De

2005-01-22T11:16:00.000-08:00

Nothing is known of Aguirre's life prior to 1544, when he arrived in Peru and took part in the Spanish suppression of Indian rebellions and in the wars that continually broke out between

Yamazaki Sokan

2005-01-21T09:41:00.000-08:00

Little is known of Sokan's life. According to tradition he served as a retainer to the shogun Ashikaga Yoshihisa and became a monk after Yoshihisa's

Giresun

2005-01-19T16:53:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Keresun, city and seaport, northeastern Turkey. It lies along the Black Sea about 110 miles (175 km) west of Trabzon. The older parts of the city lie on a peninsula crowned by a ruined Byzantine fortress, sheltering the small natural harbour. Nearby is Giresun Island, in ancient times called Ares. Giresun was known to the ancient Greeks as Choerades or Pharnacia and to the Romans as Kerasous

Switzerland, Economic expansion

2005-01-19T08:10:00.000-08:00

The unification of the Swiss economy both promoted and was promoted by the rail network that rapidly expanded as soon as the new constitution had been adopted. In 1847 the first railroad had opened between Zürich and Baden. The railways were built not according to central planning but through competition among private entrepreneurs. The result was an extensive network

Ashford, Evelyn

2005-01-17T09:59:00.000-08:00

At her high school in California, Ashford was invited to join the all-male track-and-field team when she outdistanced a number of its members in a series of races; she cocaptained the team her senior year. She received one of the first athletic scholarships awarded to a woman by the University

Liquefied Petroleum Gas

2005-01-17T00:47:00.000-08:00

Also called LP gas , or LPG any of several liquid mixtures of the volatile hydrocarbons propene, propane, butene, and butane. It was used as early as 1860 for a portable fuel source, and its production and consumption for both domestic and industrial use have expanded ever since. A typical commercial mixture may also contain ethane and ethylene as well as a volatile mercaptan, an odorant added as

Armstrong (of Cragside), William George Armstrong, Baron

2005-01-16T09:04:00.000-08:00

Armstrong abandoned his Newcastle law practice in 1847 to devote full time to scientific experimentation. He founded an engineering works at Elswick-on-Tyne

Disco

2005-01-15T19:58:00.000-08:00

Initially ignored by radio, disco received its first significant exposure in deejay-based underground clubs that catered to black, gay, and

Nahua Language

2005-01-13T02:32:00.000-08:00

Also called Aztec an American Indian language of the Uto-Aztecan family, spoken in central and western Mexico. Nahua, the most important of the Uto-Aztecan languages, was the language of the Aztec and Toltec civilizations of Mexico. A large body of literature in Nahua, produced by the Aztecs, survives from the 16th century, recorded in an orthography that was introduced by Spanish priests

Houghton (of Great Houghton), Richard Monckton Milnes, 1st Baron

2005-01-13T00:17:00.000-08:00

At Trinity College, Cambridge, where he took his M.A. degree in 1831, Houghton joined the socially and artistically progressive Apostles Club, which included among its members the poets Alfred Tennyson and Arthur

Arguedas Mendieta, Antonio

2005-01-11T07:05:00.000-08:00

Bolivian political leader (b. 1929?, Bolivia—d. Feb. 22, 2000, La Paz, Bol.), rose to become Bolivia's minister of the interior during the 1964–69 military dictatorship of Gen. René Barrientos; recruited by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency in 1965, he aided efforts to defeat a guerrilla group in eastern Bolivia led by Che Guevara. Following the capture and execution of Guevara in 1967, Arguedas became disenchanted

Wiesbaden

2005-01-11T00:57:00.000-08:00

City, capital (1946) of Hessen Land (state), southern Germany. It is situated on the right (east) bank of the Rhine River at the southern foot of the Taunus Mountains, west of Frankfurt am Main and north of Mainz. The settlement was known as a spa (Aquae Mattiacae) in Roman times. Its earthen fortifications (12 BC) were replaced by stone in AD 83, and a Roman wall (of which traces remain) was built about

Wiesbaden

2005-01-10T13:55:00.000-08:00

Interleukins are a subset of a larger group of cellular messenger molecules called cytokines, which are modulators

Italy, The end of the Roman world

2005-01-08T22:41:00.000-08:00

The Eastern emperors in Constantinople regarded themselves as the legitimate rulers of the West, including Italy, after 476; both Odoacer and, for a time, Theoderic had recognized them, and they had strong links with the Roman Senate. In 533–534 Belisarius, general for the Eastern emperor, Justinian (527–565), conquered Vandal Africa; Amalasuntha's death was the necessary excuse to invade

Spanish Literature, The novel

2005-01-07T10:32:00.000-08:00

In Ramón Pérez de Ayala, the novel was at once a polished art form and a forum for philosophical discussion. Belarmino y Apolonio (1921; Belarmino and Apolonio), a projection of the old debate between faith and reason, made its characters almost symbolic, as did Tigre Juan (1926; Tiger Juan), on the traditional theme of honour. Gabriel Miró's perfect descriptive prose retarded the

Grusi

2005-01-06T21:58:00.000-08:00

Ethnolinguistic group among the inhabitants of northern Ghana and adjacent areas of Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) and Togo. The linguistic groups and subgroups of the area are difficult to classify with certitude, but the Grusi languages make up a subbranch of the Gur (Voltaic) branch of the Niger-Congo language family. The difficulty in establishing distinct

Finnish Literature

2005-01-05T17:59:00.000-08:00

Although a number of talented poets wrote in Finnish in the 17th and 18th centuries, it was only with Aleksis Kivi that a genuine

Bürgi, Joost

2005-01-05T07:38:00.000-08:00

Bürgi served as court watchmaker to Duke Wilhelm IV of Hesse-Kassel from 1579 to 1592 and worked in the royal observatory at Kassel, where he developed geometrical and astronomical instruments. Word of his exceptional instruments

Tino Di Camaino

2005-01-04T21:34:00.000-08:00

Tino was a follower, and possibly a pupil, of Giovanni Pisano. In 1315 he became capomaestro of the Cathedral of Pisa and was commissioned to make a tomb for the Holy Roman emperor Henry VII. He succeeded his father as the capomaestro of the Siena cathedral in 1320 and designed

Conon

2005-01-03T09:22:00.000-08:00

Conon was admiral in each of

China

2005-01-01T11:11:00.000-08:00

The People's Republic of China is situated in eastern Asia, with coastlines on the Yellow Sea and the East and South China seas. Area: 9,572,900 sq km (3,696,100 sq mi), including Tibet and excluding Taiwan. (See Taiwan, below.) Pop. (1994 est., excluding Taiwan): 1,192,300,000. Cap.: Beijing (Peking). Monetary unit: renminbi yuan, with (Oct. 7, 1994) an interbank rate of 8.53 yuan to U.S. $1 (13.57 yuan = £ 1 sterling). President in 1994, Jiang Zemin (Chiang Tse-min); premier,

Sorby, Henry Clifton

2004-12-31T07:11:00.000-08:00

Sorby's early investigations were concerned with agricultural chemistry, but his interests soon turned to geology. He published works dealing with the physical geography

Yuki

2004-12-30T16:49:00.000-08:00

Four groups of North American Indians who lived in the Coast Ranges and along the coast of northwestern California, U.S. They spoke distinctive languages unaffiliated with any other known language. The four Yuki groups were the Yuki proper, who lived along the upper reaches of the Eel River and its tributaries; the Huchnom, who dwelt in the Redwood Valley to the west;

Karatsu

2004-12-30T11:03:00.000-08:00

City, Saga ken (prefecture), Kyushu, Japan, facing Karatsu Bay. Its name is derived from the Japanese terms kara (referring to China) and tsu (“port”), reflecting the city's history as an ancient port trading with China and Korea. The Karatsu coal mines were opened in the early 20th century, and after World War II the western part of the city developed as an industrial district, centring

Andreanof Islands

2004-12-28T19:20:00.000-08:00

Group of the Aleutian Islands, southwestern Alaska, U.S. They lie between the Pacific Ocean (south) and the Bering Sea (north) and extend east-west for about 270 miles (430 km) between the Fox and Rat island groups. The Andreanof Islands were strategically important in World War II, and there is a U.S. military installation on Shemya Island.

Romanticism

2004-12-28T08:02:00.000-08:00

Attitude or intellectual orientation that characterized many works of literature, painting, music, architecture, criticism, and historiography in Western civilization over a period from the late 18th to the mid-19th century. Romanticism can be seen as a rejection of the precepts of order, calm, harmony, balance, idealization, and rationality that typified Classicism

Borsippa

2004-12-27T00:02:00.000-08:00

Modern Birs , or Birs Nimrud ancient Babylonian city southwest of Babylon in central Iraq. Its patron god was Nabu, and the city's proximity to the capital, Babylon, helped it to become an important religious centre. Hammurabi (reigned 1792–50 BC) built or rebuilt the Ezida temple at Borsippa, dedicating it to Marduk (the national god of Babylonia); subsequent kings recognized Nabu as the deity of Ezida and

Gabriel, Ange-jacques

2004-12-25T22:45:00.000-08:00

The most celebrated member of a family of architects, he was the son of Jacques V (1667–1742), whom he succeeded as premier architect to Louis XV

X Club

2004-12-24T15:17:00.000-08:00

Ruth Barton, “ ‘Huxley, Lubbock, and Half a Dozen Others': Professionals and Gentlemen in the Formation of the X Club, 1851–1864,” Isis, 89(3):410–444 (September 1998), discusses the interests and purposes that brought the group together. Two articles survey the importance of the club: Roy MacLeod, “The X-Club: A Social Network of Science in Late-Victorian England,” Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London, 24(2):305–322 (April 1970), is the fuller account; J. Vernon Jensen, “The X Club: Fraternity of Victorian Scientists,” The British Journal for the History of Science, vol. 5, part 1, no. 17, pp. 63–72 (June 1970), is also useful. Ruth Barton, “ ‘An Influential Set of Chaps': The X-Club and Royal Society Politics 1864–85,” The British Journal for the History of Science, vol. 23, part 1, no. 76, pp. 53–81 (March 1990), details how club members achieved and used power within the Royal Society.

Arabia, History Of, Yemen

2004-12-24T01:48:00.000-08:00

In 1839 the British took Aden, ruling it and the island of Socotra (at the entrance to the Gulf of Aden) from India; the port of Aden became valuable as a coaling station. In 1849 the Ottoman Turks occupied the Yemeni Tihamah but could not hold San'a' in the interior until 1872. They were never able to break the resistance of the Zaydi tribes completely and were forced to an accommodation with

Arabia, History Of, Regional centres

2004-12-22T04:58:00.000-08:00

Once Mu'awiyah and the Umayyads had seized overlordship of the far-flung Islamic empire, which they ruled from Damascus, the Holy Cities remained only the spiritual capitals of Islam. The Umayyad caliphs appointed governors over the three crucial areas of the Hejaz, Yemen, and Oman; but in Iraq occasional powerful governors managed to control the Persian Gulf provinces,

Tait, Archibald Campbell

2004-12-21T11:13:00.000-08:00

The son of Presbyterian parents, Tait became an Anglican while a student at the University of Oxford, where in 1835 he became a tutor at Balliol College. A year later he was made a deacon,

Arts, Central Asian, The study of Central Asian music

2004-12-20T22:40:00.000-08:00

In the West the study of Central Asian music has until recently been restricted largely to travellers' accounts and analyses of small samples of music. By far the bulk of collection and study of Central Asian music of Turkistan and Siberia lay in the domain of Soviet scholars, who instituted systematic fieldwork as early as the 1920s; this literature remains largely

Seto-guro Ware

2004-12-19T08:21:00.000-08:00

Japanese ceramic ware created at Mino during 1573–96. A black ware, it stands in contrast to the contemporary pure-white Shino ware. Seto-guro (“black Seto”) was produced by a process that involved firing the iron-glaze ware in an oxidizing kiln from which it was suddenly removed and immediately cooled. The shade of black achieved was far richer than had been achieved in the earlier