OldPencil

Estate Agent Fitzrovia

2006-10-25T14:05:00.000-07:00

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.

Europium

2005-03-30T16:09:00.000-08:00

(Eu), chemical element, rare-earth metal of transition Group IIIb of the periodic table; it is the least dense, softest, and most volatile member of the lanthanide series. The element was discovered (1896) by Eugène-Anatole Demarçay and named for Europe. One of the least abundant rare earths, it occurs in minute amounts in many rare-earth minerals such as monazite and also in the

Bloch, Ernest

2005-03-30T05:23:00.000-08:00

Bloch studied with the noted Swiss composer Émile Jaques-Dalcroze and in Belgium with the violinist Eugène Ysaÿe. From 1911 to 1915 he taught at the Geneva Conservatory.

Strabismus

2005-03-29T17:01:00.000-08:00

Also called squint , or heterotropia failure of the eyes to align properly on the object toward which a person seeks to direct his gaze. The deviant eye may be directed inward, toward the other eye (cross-eye, or esotropia); outward, away from the other eye (walleye, or exotropia); upward (hypertropia); or downward (hypotropia). The squint is called comitant if the deviation remains constant no matter in what direction

Abalone

2005-03-28T17:48:00.000-08:00

Any of several marine snails of the subclass Prosobranchia (class Gastropoda) constituting the genus Haliotis and family Haliotidae, in which the shell has a row of holes on its outer surface. Abalones are one-shelled snails found in warm seas worldwide. The dishlike shell is perforated near one edge by a single row of small holes that become progressively

Khalaf, Salah

2005-03-27T20:56:00.000-08:00

Khalaf's family fled to the Gaza Strip in 1948 during the conflict that accompanied Israel's independence. In 1951 he went to study at the

Addis Ababa

2005-03-27T19:23:00.000-08:00

Only since the late 19th century has Addis Ababa been the capital of the Ethiopian state. Its immediate predecessor, Entoto, was situated on a high tableland and was found to be unsatisfactory because of extreme cold

Nature, Philosophy Of, Evolutionary ethics

2005-03-26T17:38:00.000-08:00

Toward the end of the 19th century, Herbert Spencer, in England,

Jacobi, Lotte

2005-03-26T01:20:00.000-08:00

Born into a family of photographers (her great-grandfather began as a professional daguerreotypist in 1840), Jacobi studied art history and literature at the Academy of Posen (1912–16) and attended the Bavarian State Academy of Photography in Munich and

Jhansi

2005-03-25T19:59:00.000-08:00

City, southwestern Uttar Pradesh state, northern India, at a major road and rail junction. The main city, which is enclosed by a wall, arose around a fort built in 1613 by the ruler of Orchha. The area fell to the Marathas in 1732 and was acquired by the British in 1853. A massacre of British officers and civilians occurred at Jhansi during the 1857 Indian Mutiny. In 1886 Jhansi came under British rule in

Zakarpattya

2005-03-23T23:43:00.000-08:00

Russian Zakarpatskaya, also spelled Zakarpatskaia, or Zakarpatskaja, oblast (province), western Ukraine. It is bounded by Slovakia and Hungary on the west, Poland on the northwest, and Romania on the south. The oblast extends from the northwest-southeast–trending Carpathian Mountain crestline (the Verkhovyna and Gorgany ranges, respectively), across the successive parallel Polonina and Vulhanichnyy ranges, and southwestward down

Granulite Facies

2005-03-23T19:25:00.000-08:00

One of the major divisions of the mineral facies classification of metamorphic rocks, the rocks of which formed under the most intense temperature-pressure conditions usually found in regional metamorphism. At the upper limit of the facies, migmatite formation or granitization processes may occur. Temperatures of 500°–650° C (950°–1,200° F) and pressures of several kilobars (one kilobar

Venice Majolica

2005-03-23T00:41:00.000-08:00

Majolica also spelled Maiolica, tin-glazed earthenware made at Venice that reached its stylistic zenith in the 16th century. The workshops of Maestro Ludovico (fl. 1540–45), Domenigo da Venezia (fl. 1550–60), and Jacomo da Pesaro (fl. 1543) produced outstanding ware of this type. Venetian potters excelled in painting arrangements of decorative trophies, globes, musical instruments, and other apparatus, executed in a brilliant

Babenco, Hector

2005-03-22T23:46:00.000-08:00

Babenco spent his late teen and early adult years studying existential philosophy and traveling the world, finally settling in Brazil in 1971. He became interested in filmmaking during the early '70s and directed shorts and commercials

Iffland, August Wilhelm

2005-03-22T18:29:00.000-08:00

Destined for the church, Iffland, at the age of 18, broke with parental authority and joined the Gotha court theatre to study acting under Konrad Ekhof's direction. In 1779, after Ekhof's death, Iffland went with the Gotha company to Mannheim, where he

Seligman, C.g.

2005-03-21T01:48:00.000-08:00

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

Faraday's Laws Of Electrolysis

2005-03-20T18:20:00.000-08:00

In chemistry, quantitative laws used to express magnitudes of electrolytic effects, first described by the English scientist Michael Faraday in 1833. The laws state that (1) the amount of chemical change produced by current at an electrode-electrolyte boundary is proportional to the quantity of electricity used, and (2) the amounts of chemical changes produced by the same

Crab Apple

2005-03-20T06:33:00.000-08:00

Also called Crab, any of several small trees of the genus Malus, in the rose family (Rosaceae), native to North America and Asia. Crabs are widely grown for their attractive growth habit, spring flower display, and decorative fruit. The fragrant five-petaled, white, pink, carmine, or purplish flowers appear early in showy masses. The fruits are much smaller and more tart than the common

Eagles, The, Don Henley

2005-03-18T17:33:00.000-08:00

Goa

2005-03-18T10:17:00.000-08:00

Goa, with a coastline of 65 miles, is hilly and includes a portion of the Western Ghats rising to nearly 4,000 feet. The two largest rivers are the Mandavi and Zuari, between the mouths of which lies the island of Goa (Ilhas). The island is triangular, the apex (called the cape) being a rocky headland separating the harbour of Goa into two anchorages. There are three principal cities in

Manchester Terrier

2005-03-18T07:15:00.000-08:00

Breed of dog developed in England from the whippet, a racing dog, and the black-and-tan terrier, a valued ratter, to combine the gaming talents of each. In 1860 the breed was named after the city of Manchester, a breeding centre, but it was often called the black-and-tan terrier until the 1920s. A sleek, short-haired dog, the Manchester has a long, narrow head, small bright eyes, and a glossy

Automotive Industry, International operations

2005-03-18T02:56:00.000-08:00

Although the automotive industry has long been multinational in its organization and operation, beginning in the 1980s and accelerating in the late 1990s, it has established a trend toward international consolidation. Larger, more financially secure firms buy controlling interest in financially troubled ones, usually because the weaker firm manufactures a highly

Arabia, Climate

2005-03-17T22:34:00.000-08:00

The Tropic of Cancer virtually bisects the Arabian Peninsula, passing just south of Medina. The summer heat is intense everywhere, reaching as high as 129° F (54° C) in places. Much of the interior is dry, but along the coasts and in some of the southern highlands and deserts the humidity is extreme in the summer. Fogs and dews occur in the humid areas, dew often serving as a substitute

Writ

2005-03-16T23:04:00.000-08:00

In common law, order issued by a court in the name of a sovereign authority requiring the performance of a specific act. The most common modern writs are those, such as the summons, used to initiate an action. Other writs may be used to enforce the judgment of a court (attachment, delivery) or to require a lower court to furnish certain records (error) or perform a certain act

Amtrak

2005-03-16T21:59:00.000-08:00

Formally National Railroad Passenger Corporation federally supported corporation that operates nearly all intercity passenger trains in the United States. It was established by Congress in 1970 and assumed control of passenger service from the nation's private rail companies the following year. Virtually all railways, with the exception of a small handful, signed contracts with Amtrak. The corporation pays the

Pacific Ocean, Principal ridges and basins

2005-03-15T01:55:00.000-08:00

To the east of 150° W the relief of the ocean floor is considerably less pronounced than it is to the west. In the eastern Pacific the Cocos Ridge extends southwestward from the Central American isthmus to the Galápagos Islands. To the south of the Galápagos lies the Peru Basin, which is separated by the extensive Sala y Gomez Ridge from the Southeast Pacific Basin, which,

Great Britain

2005-03-14T21:32:00.000-08:00

First Atlantic ocean liner that was built of iron and had screw propulsion. It was the world's largest ship at the time of its launching (1843) and was 322 feet (98 m) long with a tonnage of 3,270. Designed by the British engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel originally as a paddle steamer and built at Bristol, it was equipped with screw machinery that was supplemented by sails on six (later five)

San Fernando Valley

2005-03-14T17:44:00.000-08:00

Valley in southern California, U.S., lying northwest of downtown Los Angeles, bounded by the San Gabriel (north and northeast), Santa Susana (north), and Santa Monica (south) mountains, and the Simi Hills (west). The valley, originally an agricultural area, occupies 260 square miles (670 square km) and is the location of several Los Angeles suburban residential communities including

Liszt, Franz

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

In 1869 Liszt was invited to return to Weimar by the grand duke to give master classes in piano playing, and two years later he was asked to do the same in Budapest. From then until the end of his life he divided his time between Rome, Weimar, and Budapest. After a reconciliation with Wagner in 1872, Liszt regularly attended the Bayreuth festivals. He appeared occasionally as a pianist

Gate

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

In hydraulic engineering, movable barrier for controlling the passage of fluid through a channel or sluice. River and canal locks have a pair of gates at each end. When closed, the gates meet at an obtuse angle that points upstream in order to resist the water pressure. When opened, they swing into recesses in the walls of the lock. Gates also regulate the outflow of water

Selby

2005-03-13T01:35:00.000-08:00

The district includes pre-Norman settlements along the right bank of the River Ouse, the main waterway, and the Norman abbey at Selby town. Farther west an old land route, following a limestone

France, History Of, Later Capetians

2005-03-12T16:45:00.000-08:00

Louis IX was succeeded by his son, Philip III (ruled 1270–85); his grandson, Philip IV the Fair (ruled 1285–1314); and three great-grandsons, Louis X (ruled 1314–16), Philip V (ruled 1316–22), and Charles IV (ruled 1322–28). The greatest of these last Capetian reigns was that of Philip IV. Worldly and ambitious, yet pious and intelligent, he was less accommodating than his forebears and more devoted to his power than to his reputation.

Cylinder Recording

2005-03-12T03:23:00.000-08:00

Earliest form of phonograph record, invented by Thomas A. Edison in 1877. The sound to be recorded was focused by a horn onto a diaphragm, causing it to vibrate; the vibrations were transmitted to a stylus and modulated its motion as it followed a helical path along the surface of a yielding material (such as wax) that coated a cylinder rotating under the stylus. See also phonograph

Animal, History of classification

2005-03-11T07:45:00.000-08:00

Except perhaps for the possession of collagen, the criteria used above to distinguish animals from other forms of life are not absolute. The first catalogs of animal diversity were based on overall form and similarity. Aristotle and other early biologists regarded all organisms as part of a great chain, divisions of which were more or less arbitrary. The 18th-century

Pacific Ocean, Deepwater circulation

2005-03-11T06:10:00.000-08:00

It appears that the most important influence on the vertical circulation of the Pacific is the cold water generated around the Antarctic continent. This dense circumpolar

Schenectady

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

Local Mohawk Indians were involved in the

Hooker, Richard

2005-03-10T06:37:00.000-08:00

Theologian who created a distinctive Anglican theology, and a master of English prose and legal philosophy. In his masterpiece, Of the lawes of ecclesiasticall politie, which was incomplete at the time of his death, Hooker defended the Church of England against both Roman Catholics and Puritans

Gracchus, Tiberius Sempronius

2005-03-09T05:19:00.000-08:00

Born into an aristocratic Roman family, Tiberius Sempronius was heir to a nexus of political connections with other leading families—most

Mahabalipuram

2005-03-08T17:04:00.000-08:00

Also called Mamallapuram , or Seven Pagodas historic town, northeast Tamil Nadu state, southeastern India. The town lies along the Bay of Bengal 37 miles (60 km) south of Madras. The town's religious centre was founded by a 7th-century-AD Hindu Pallava king, Narasimhavarman, also known as Mamalla, for whom the town was named. Ancient Chinese, Persian, and Roman coins found at Mahabalipuram point to its earlier existence as a seaport.

Indian Grass

2005-03-08T13:45:00.000-08:00

(species Sorghastrum nutans), tall perennial forage grass of the family Poaceae and one of the important constituents of the North American tall grass prairie. It bears narrow, greatly branched flower clusters. Each yellow spikelet is fringed with white hairs, giving the plant a silver-and-gold appearance. It is a close relative of S.

Ibn Al-farid

2005-03-08T02:19:00.000-08:00

Son of a Syrian-born inheritance-law functionary, Ibn al-Farid studied for a legal career but abandoned law for a solitary religious life in the Muqattam hills near Cairo. He spent some years in or near Mecca, where he met the renowned Sufi as-Suhrawardi of

Kirkus, Virginia

2005-03-07T14:09:00.000-08:00

Kirkus attended private schools and in 1916 graduated from Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, New York. After taking courses at Columbia University Teachers College, New York City, she taught in a private school in Delaware

Henderson, Thomas

2005-03-07T06:20:00.000-08:00

Henderson was elected

Alaungpaya

2005-03-06T09:17:00.000-08:00

Of humble origins, Alaungpaya was a village headman from the

Amiternum

2005-03-06T05:22:00.000-08:00

In ancient Italy, a Sabine town 5 miles (8 km) north of present L'Aquila in the Aterno (ancient Aternus) River valley. It was stormed by the Romans in 293 BC, but the fertility of its fields helped it to regain its prosperity under the empire (after 27 BC). The Roman historian Sallust was born there in 86 BC. Amiternum was located at the junction of four roads—the Via Caecilia, the Via Claudia Nova,

Aureole

2005-03-05T16:46:00.000-08:00

Brightly illuminated area surrounding an atmospheric light source, such as the Sun, when the light is propagated through a medium containing many sizes of particles or droplets that are large compared to the wavelength of the light. Because the wavelength of visible light is about 0.00005 cm (0.5 micrometre), particles of size greater than about 0.0001 cm (1 micrometre) will give rise

Puerta Del Sol

2005-03-05T04:43:00.000-08:00

Main plaza of Madrid, Spain. It was reputedly named for a gate (puerta) that stood there until 1510 and had on its front a representation of the sun (sol). Throughout Madrid's history the square has been the focal point of transportation and of intellectual and economic activity. It was the first part of the city to be equipped with modern conveniences (electric lights, streetcars)

Olmec

2005-03-04T13:38:00.000-08:00

The Olmec people lived in hot, humid lowlands along the Gulf Coast in what is now southern Veracruz and Tabasco states in southern Mexico. The first evidences of their remarkable

Alabama

2005-03-03T03:44:00.000-08:00

Studies of the state's history include Virginia Van der Veer Hamilton, Alabama (1977, reissued 1984), a brief synthesis including more recent scholarship; Thomas Perkins Abernathy, The Formative Period in Alabama, 1815–1828, 2nd ed. (1965), the story of Alabama as a part of the Mississippi Territory; J. Mills Thornton III, Politics and Power in a Slave Society: Alabama, 1800–1860 (1978, reprinted 1981), on the decades leading to the Civil War; Walter L. Fleming, Civil War and Reconstruction in Alabama (1905, reprinted 1978), which includes an account of the factors leading to the secession of Alabama from the Union in 1861; Sarah Woolfolk Wiggins, The Scalawag in Alabama Politics, 1865–1881 (1977); and Allen J. Going, Bourbon Democracy in Alabama, 1874–1890 (1951, reprinted 1972). Historical discussions of race relations are provided in Peter Kolchin, First Freedom: The Response of Alabama's Blacks to Emancipation and Reconstruction (1972); Robert J. Norrell, Reaping the Whirlwind: The Civil Rights Movement in Tuskegee (1985); and Dan T. Carter, Scottsboro: A Tragedy of the American South, rev. ed. (1979). Scholarly journal articles on historical topics may be found in The Alabama Review (quarterly).

Bahrain

2005-03-02T17:05:00.000-08:00

Officially State of Bahrain, Arabic Dawlat Al-Bahrayn small Arab state in the Persian Gulf. It is an archipelago consisting of Bahrain Island—extending about 30 miles (50 km) from north to south and 10 miles (16 km) from east to west—and some 30 smaller islands. Its Arabic name means “two seas.” Bahrain is situated in a bay on the southwestern coast of the Persian Gulf; Saudi Arabia lies to the west across the Gulf of Bahrain, while the Qatar peninsula

Albert Of Aix

2005-03-02T14:10:00.000-08:00

Also called Albert of Aachen , Latin Albericus Aquensis canon of the church of Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle) and historian of the First Crusade. He gathered oral and written testaments of participants in the Crusade and provided a chronicle on the subject, the Historia expeditionis Hierosolymitanae (“History of the Expedition to Jerusalem”). His work remains an important source on the First Crusade and the history of the kingdom

Ambato

2005-03-02T00:27:00.000-08:00

City, central Ecuador. It lies along the Ambato River in an intermontane basin near the northeastern foot of Mount Chimborazo, at an elevation of about 8,500 feet (2,600 m) above sea level. It was the scene of a decisive victory in 1821 by Antonio José de Sucre, lieutenant of the liberator Simón Bolívar, against the Spanish during the wars for Latin-American independence. Ambato has frequently

Soissons, Charles De Bourbon, Count (comte) De

2005-02-28T16:25:00.000-08:00

Louis I de Bourbon, the first prince de Condé, had acquired the countship of Soissons in 1557, and upon his death in 1569 it passed to his youngest son, Charles. This count fought for Henry of Bourbon (the future Henry IV) against Henry III of France at

Prehistoric Religion, Shamanism, sorcery, and magic

2005-02-28T04:10:00.000-08:00

Shamanism is a rather variable and highly stratified complex of practices and conceptions; characteristic among these are the use of ecstasy, the belief in guardian spirits (who are often in animal form, with the function of helping and guiding the dead on their voyage to the beyond), and beliefs concerning metamorphosis (change of form) and travelling to the beyond.

Trianon, Treaty Of

2005-02-28T01:10:00.000-08:00

The Allies' presentation of their terms for peace with Hungary was delayed first by their reluctance to treat with Béla Kun's communist regime in that country and subsequently by the obvious

Eileithyia

2005-02-27T14:39:00.000-08:00

Pre-Hellenic goddess of childbirth, who hindered or facilitated the process according to her disposition. The earliest evidence for her cult is at Amnisus, in Crete, where excavations indicate that she was worshiped continuously from Neolithic to Roman times. In Homer's writings she appears, sometimes in the plural, as a personification of birth pangs and is described

Euclidean Geometry, Homotheties

2005-02-27T03:46:00.000-08:00

If two nonconcentric circles have centres A, B and unequal radii r, s, there are points I, E with [AIB], AI | IB ~ AE | EB ~ r | s. In consequence, the

Spitfire

2005-02-26T23:18:00.000-08:00

The Spitfire was a low-wing monoplane that was first flown in 1936 and was first put into service with the Royal Air Force in 1938. It was modified continuously throughout the war to serve in a variety

Dangriga

2005-02-25T14:28:00.000-08:00

Formerly Stann Creek, town, east-central Belize, at the mouth of the 20-mile- (32-kilometre-) long North Stann Creek, on the Caribbean coast. Founded in 1823 by black refugees from Honduras, it developed as a port and trading centre for bananas, timber, coconuts, and fish. It has a plant for canning and freezing orange juice. Dangriga is linked by coastal craft to Belize City, 40 miles (65 km) north, by coastal craft and

Armenian Chant

2005-02-25T01:26:00.000-08:00

Vocal music of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the religious poetry that serves as its texts. Armenia was Christianized quite early by missionaries from Syria and Greek-speaking areas of the eastern Mediterranean and accepted Christianity as the state religion about AD 300. The development of a distinctive Armenian liturgy was influenced by various factors. Toward

Turda

2005-02-24T19:06:00.000-08:00

City, Cluj judet (county), west-central Romania, on the Aries River. Turda was first a Dacian settlement (Dierna) and later a Roman castrum (Potaissa), around which grew a municipium and later a colony. On the outskirts of the city are the salt mines worked in Roman times. In the Middle Ages, Turda was the meeting place of the Transylvanian Diet. The city is now an important industrial

Tebaldi, Renata

2005-02-24T08:47:00.000-08:00

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

Widener University

2005-02-24T00:47:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S. It comprises the College of Arts and Sciences and schools of Law, Hospitality Management, Human Service Professions, Engineering, Nursing, and Business Administration. More than 50 undergraduate majors are offered. The university also offers more than 20 master's degree programs, doctoral

Cracking

2005-02-23T08:56:00.000-08:00

Cracking of petroleum yields light oils (corresponding to gasoline), heavier oils, and such gases as methane, ethane,

Lag Ba-'omer

2005-02-22T17:39:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Lag B'omer, or Lag Be-omer, a minor Jewish observance falling on the 33rd day in the period of the counting of the 'omer (“barley sheaves”); on this day semimourning ceases and weddings are allowed. The origin of the festival is obscure. Among many traditions, one has it that manna first fell from heaven on this day; another tradition claims that a plague that raged among the followers of Rabbi Akiba ben

Bar-le-duc

2005-02-22T00:52:00.000-08:00

Capital of Meuse département, Lorraine région, northeastern France. It extends out along the narrow valley of the Ornain River, west of Nancy. To the northeast is the Canal de la Marne au Rhin, on the southwest the Canal des Usines. The Ornain River valley is enclosed by wooded and vine-clad hills. From the 10th century Bar was the seat of a countship, and later a duchy. The remains

Agrionia

2005-02-21T21:36:00.000-08:00

(from Greek agrios, “wild,” or “savage”), Greek religious festival celebrated annually at Orchomenus in Boeotia and elsewhere in honour of the wine god Dionysus. The tradition is that the daughters of Minyas, king of Orchomenus, having despised the rites of the god, were driven mad by Dionysus and ate the flesh of one of their children; as punishment they were turned into bats

Performing Arts, Africa.

2005-02-21T14:38:00.000-08:00

A few notable African films reached the international festival circuit during the year. Most notable among them was Clando, the first feature by Cameroonian director Jean-Marie Teno, the story of a young opponent of the repressive government who becomes an illegal immigrant in Germany. From Zaire, José Laplaine's Macadam Tribu offered a lively portrait of an urban

Abu 'ali Mustafa

2005-02-21T07:40:00.000-08:00

Born Mustafa al-Zibri, he later took the nom de guerre Abu 'Ali Mustafa. As a young man he joined George Habash's Arab National Movement,

Paul Vi

2005-02-20T00:11:00.000-08:00

Original name Giovanni Battista Montini Italian pope of the Roman Catholic church (reigned 1963–78) during a period including most of the second Vatican Council (1962–65) and the immediate postconciliar era, in which he issued directives and guidance to a changing Roman Catholic church. His pontificate was confronted with the problems and uncertainties

Bishop's Cap Cactus

2005-02-19T10:18:00.000-08:00

All four species of Astrophytum, which is sometimes regarded as a subgenus of Echinocac

Szechwan, Relief

2005-02-19T06:36:00.000-08:00

Szechwan is bordered on all sides by lofty highlands. To the north, the Tsinling Mountains extend from east to west and attain an elevation between 11,000 and 13,000 feet (3,300 and 4,000 metres) above sea level. The limestone Ta-pa Mountains rise to approximately 9,000 feet on the northeast, while the Ta-lou Mountains, a lower and less continuous range, with an average elevation of 5,000 to 7,000 feet, border the

Tuapse

2005-02-18T16:11:00.000-08:00

City and seaport of Krasnodar kray (region), southwestern Russia. It lies on a sheltered bay of the Black Sea. Founded in 1838 around a fortress established in 1828, it grew in the 20th century as a major ship-repairing, oil-refining, and oil-export centre. It is linked by pipeline to Grozny and the north Caucasian oil fields. Other industries include food processing and the manufacture

Gwynedd

2005-02-18T07:29:00.000-08:00

The county is named for the medieval Welsh princedom of Gwynedd, which, under the Llewellyns, proudly held out against the territorial ambitions of Edward I of England in the

Páez, José Antonio

2005-02-18T05:19:00.000-08:00

Páez was a part-Indian llanero, one of the horsemen of the plains. Beginning as a ranch hand, he quickly

Carlisle

2005-02-17T11:19:00.000-08:00

In the Roman period a civilian settlement, Luguvallium (later the town of Carlisle), grew up on the south bank of the Eden, opposite Petriana (later Stanwix), a fortified camp on the line of Hadrian's Wall. The town dominated the surrounding area

Decapolis

2005-02-16T23:09:00.000-08:00

League of 10 ancient Greek cities in eastern Palestine that was formed after the Roman conquest of Palestine in 63 BC, when Pompey the Great reorganized the Middle East to Rome's advantage and to his own. The name Decapolis also denotes the roughly contiguous territory formed by these cities, all but one of which lay east of the Jordan River. According to Pliny the Elder (Natural

Thompson, J(ohn) Lee

2005-02-16T14:38:00.000-08:00

British-born film director (b. Aug. 1, 1914, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Eng.—d. Aug. 30, 2002, Sooke, B.C.), achieved international fame with The Guns of Navarone (1961), which exemplified his acute visual style and use of suspenseful narrative. Thompson, who was sometimes billed as J. Lee-Thompson, began his film career as an actor and screenwriter, and the first movie he directed, Murder Without

Gene

2005-02-16T04:07:00.000-08:00

Genes are composed of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), except in some viruses, which have genes consisting of a closely related compound called ribonucleic acid (RNA). A DNA molecule is composed of two chains of nucleotides

Macdiarmid, Hugh

2005-02-15T15:55:00.000-08:00

The son of a postman, MacDiarmid was educated at Langholm Academy and the University of Edinburgh. After serving in World War I he became a journalist in Montrose, Angus, where he edited three issues of the first

La Rioja

2005-02-14T23:17:00.000-08:00

City, capital of La Rioja provincia, northwestern Argentina, on La Rioja River at the foot of the Velasco Mountains. Founded in 1591 by explorers for gold and silver, it long remained a small commercial and administrative centre close to intermittently worked deposits of copper, silver, and lead ores in the high Andes to the west. Its destruction by earthquake in 1894 led to its

Theodosius I

2005-02-14T08:10:00.000-08:00

In 379 and 380 Theodosius resided chiefly in Thessalonica. He sought first to rebuild the army, the discipline of which was considerably impaired, and to consolidate Rome's position on the Balkan peninsula. Military unpreparedness could not be overcome by conscription alone, which applied only to certain classes. Theodosius therefore directed that large numbers of

Arnstadt

2005-02-14T01:54:00.000-08:00

City, Thuringia Land (state), central Germany. It lies along the Gera River, at the northern edge of the Thuringian Forest, just southwest of Erfurt city. First mentioned in 704 and chartered in 1266, Arnstadt was bought in 1306 from the abbey of Hersfeld by the counts of Schwarzburg, who lived there until 1716. Their palace, Monplaisir (1703–07), survives, and the 12th–14th-century Church of Our Lady (Liebfrauenkirche)

Pippin Iii

2005-02-13T08:38:00.000-08:00

The pope was in need of aid. Aistulf, king of the Lombards, had seized Ravenna with its lands, known as the exarchate. Soon, Lombard troops marched south, surrounded Rome, and prepared to lay siege to its walls. So matters stood when in 752 Zacharias died and Stephen II became pope. In November 753 Pope Stephen made his way over the stormy mountain passes to Frankish territory. He

Anawrahta

2005-02-13T00:59:00.000-08:00

During his reign Anawrahta united the northern homeland of the Burmese people with the Mon kingdoms of the south. He extended his dominion as far north as the kingdom

China, General works

2005-02-12T07:38:00.000-08:00

Overviews of China's physical and human geography may be found in Keith Buchanan, The Transformation of the Chinese Earth (1970); Ping-chia Kuo, China, 3rd ed. (1970); T.R. Tregear, China: A Geographical Survey (1980); Albert Kolb, East Asia: China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam: Geography of a Cultural Region (1971, reprinted 1977; originally published in German, 1963); Brian Hook (ed.), The Cambridge Encyclopedia of China (1982); Robert L. Worden, Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan (eds.), China, a Country Study, 4th ed. (1988); and Information China, 3 vol. (1989), an encyclopaedic work prepared under the auspices of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and ed. by C.V. James.

Basenji

2005-02-11T22:47:00.000-08:00

Also called Congo Bush Dog, or Belgian Congo Dog, ancient breed of hound dog native to central Africa, where it is used to point and retrieve and to drive quarry into a net. It is also known as the barkless dog, but it does produce a variety of sounds other than barks. A graceful animal, it is characterized by an alert expression typified by the finely wrinkled forehead, erect ears, and tightly curled tail. The short, silky

Hohenlohe-ingelfingen, Friedrich Ludwig, Fürst Zu

2005-02-11T17:40:00.000-08:00

Hohenlohe entered the Prussian Army in 1768, distinguishing himself in the War

Williams, Marion

2005-02-11T06:56:00.000-08:00

U.S. gospel singer (b. Aug. 29, 1927, Miami, Fla.--d. July 2, 1994, Philadelphia, Pa.), drew on blues, jazz, folk, and calypso music as inspirations for her innovative vocals, which included octave-spanning leaps from contralto to spine-tingling falsetto tones; her exceptional artistry was often compared to that of Mahalia Jackson. As a child Williams began singing with the congregation at her

Afar

2005-02-10T22:26:00.000-08:00

Amharic Adal, Arabic Denakil, a people of the Horn of Africa who speak Saho, a language of the Eastern Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic (formerly Hamito-Semitic) family. They live in northeastern Ethiopia and in Djibouti, where, with the Issas, they are the dominant people. It is thought that the Afars were the first of the present inhabitants of Ethiopia to elaborate their pastoral life into full-scale

Aracari

2005-02-09T20:16:00.000-08:00

Any of certain toucan species. See toucan.

Antichrist

2005-02-09T06:32:00.000-08:00

The chief enemy of Christ. The earliest mention of the name Antichrist, which was probably first coined in Christian eschatological literature (concerned with the end of time), is in the letters of St. John (I John 2: 18, 22; II John 7), although the figure does appear in the earlier II Thessalonians as “the lawless one.” Yet the conception of a mighty ruler who will appear at the end of

Theatre Guild

2005-02-08T21:21:00.000-08:00

A theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 for the production of high-quality, noncommercial American and foreign plays. The guild, founded by Lawrence Langner (1890–1962), departed from the usual theatre practice in that its board of directors shared the responsibility for choice of plays, management, and production. The first two seasons, which included plays by Jacinto

Biology, The discovery of cells

2005-02-08T03:49:00.000-08:00

Of the five microscopists, Robert Hooke was perhaps the most intellectually preeminent. As curator of instruments at the Royal Society of London, he was in touch with all new scientific developments and exhibited interest in such disparate subjects as flying and the construction of clocks. In 1665 Hooke published his Micrographia, which was primarily a review of a

Ca Mau Peninsula

2005-02-07T22:29:00.000-08:00

Peninsula, the southernmost projection of Vietnam, lying between the South China Sea on the east and the Gulf of Thailand on the west, with drainage to each. The flat, triangular peninsula, with lengths ranging from 110 to 130 miles (180 to 210 km), averages about 7 feet (2 m) above sea level and owes its configuration largely to shore deposits of the Mekong River, which are also responsible

Davies, Emily

2005-02-07T10:32:00.000-08:00

Educated at home, Davies joined the campaign for the emancipation of women with

China, The court's relations with the bureaucracy

2005-02-07T01:31:00.000-08:00

Kao-tsung set the style for all subsequent Nan Sung emperors. The first two emperors in the Pei Sung, both strong militarists, had towered above the relatively modest bureaucracy they had created; most of their successors had found little difficulty in maintaining a balance in the bureaucracy. The circumstances under which the Nan Sung came into being, however, were

Acciaccatura

2005-02-06T04:03:00.000-08:00

In music, ornamental note sometimes confused with appoggiatura (q.v.).

Fainting

2005-02-05T23:31:00.000-08:00

In physiology, loss of consciousness owing to a temporary decrease in the blood supply to the brain. See syncope.

Hula Valley

2005-02-05T19:01:00.000-08:00

Hebrew 'emeq Hula, valley in upper Galilee, northeastern Israel. The valley occupies most of the course of the Jordan River north of the Sea of Galilee. It is bounded by Dan and the settlement of Ma'yan Barukh (north), the Golan Heights (east), and the Hills of Naphtali (west), and on the south it slopes gradually down to the Sea of Galilee. It is approximately 16 miles (25 km) long, 4 miles (6 km) wide, and covers