HighPig

organic cotton goods

2006-10-30T11:35:00.000-08:00

Liv organic cotton goods are soft luxurious nad affordable and they have a huge range of organic clothing.

Nakho-dagestanian Languages

2005-04-04T23:40:00.000-07:00

Also called Northeast Caucasian Languages, group of languages spoken in the northeastern Caucasus Mountains. The Nakh division consists of the languages of the Chechen, Ingush, and Bats. The Dagestanian division is more multifarious and includes such groups as the Avar-Andi-Dido languages, the Lak-Dargin (Lak-Dargwa) languages, and the Lezgian languages. See also Dagestanian languages; Nakh languages.

Aaronic Priesthood

2005-04-03T08:41:00.000-07:00

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the lesser of the two categories of priests, concerned principally with church finances and administration. See Mormon.

Caccini, Giulio

2005-04-03T00:13:00.000-08:00

Also called Giulio Romano singer and composer whose songs greatly helped to establish and disseminate the new monodic music introduced in Italy about 1600. This is music in which an expressive melody is accompanied by evocative chords, as opposed to the traditional polyphonic style with its complex interweaving of several melodic

Alexander Ii

2005-04-02T16:51:00.000-08:00

He studied under Lanfranc at Bec. As bishop of Lucca he worked for the abolition of simony and the enforcement of clerical celibacy. Though he was elected pope, the German court nominated Peter Cadalus of Parma as Honorius II, and Alexander was not recognized by the empire until 1064. In 1062 the antipope was dropped by the German regents, and

Karaji, Al-

2005-04-01T06:54:00.000-08:00

Also known as al-Karkhi, in full, Abu Bakr ibn Muhammad ibn al-Husayn al-Karaji mathematician and engineer who held an official position in Baghdad (c. 1010–1015), perhaps culminating in the position of vizier, during which time he wrote his three main works, al-Fakhri fi'l-jabr wa'l-muqabala (“Glorious on algebra”), al-Badi‘ fi'l-hisab (“Wonderful on calculation”), and al-Kafi fi'l-hisab (“Sufficient on calculation”). A

Jeans

2005-03-31T23:22:00.000-08:00

Jeans are particularly identified as a standard item of “Western” apparel worn

Policy

2005-03-31T17:52:00.000-08:00

Policy, a true lottery initiated in the United States by Italian-Americans, derives its name from the Italian polizza (“receipt,” or “ticket”) and retains only occasional

Epistemology, St. Anselm of Canterbury

2005-03-31T16:29:00.000-08:00

The phrase St. Anselm of Canterbury (c. 1033–1109) used to describe his own project, namely, “faith seeking reason” (fides quaerens intellectum), well characterizes medieval philosophy as a whole. All the great medieval philosophers, Christian, Jewish, and Islamic alike, were also theologians. Virtually every object of interest was related to their belief in God, and virtually every

Neo-hegelianism

2005-03-29T23:27:00.000-08:00

The doctrines of an idealist school of philosophers that was prominent in Great Britain and in the United States between 1870 and 1920. The name is also sometimes applied to cover other philosophies of the period that were Hegelian in inspiration—for instance, those of Benedetto Croce and of Giovanni Gentile. Neo-Hegelianism in Great Britain developed originally as a natural

China, Rainfall

2005-03-29T21:09:00.000-08:00

Rainfall in China generally decreases from the southeast to the northwest. The annual precipitation of certain places along the southeastern coast amounts to more than 80 inches. The Yangtze Valley receives about 40 inches. Farther north, in the Huai River Valley the annual rainfall decreases to 30 inches. In the lower reaches of the Huang Ho only 20 inches of precipitation

Antarctica, Glaciation

2005-03-29T03:43:00.000-08:00

Antarctica provides the best available picture of the probable appearance 20,000 years ago of northern North America under the great Laurentide Ice Sheet. Mountain glaciers, which formed on such highlands as the Sentinel Range perhaps as early as 50 million years ago, advanced down valleys to calve into the sea. Fringing ice shelves were built and later became grounded

Packaging

2005-03-27T18:32:00.000-08:00

Though the origins of packaging can be traced to the leather, glass, and clay containers of the earliest Western commercial ventures, its economic significance has increased dramatically since the start of the Industrial Revolution. Packages on the contemporary market

Su-ao

2005-03-27T17:19:00.000-08:00

Coastal town and port in I-lan hsien (county), northeastern Taiwan. It is situated 13 miles (21 km) southeast of I-lan city, in the southern part of the I-lan plain. Originally a small fishing port with one of the best natural harbours in Taiwan, Su-ao was developed into an international deepwater commercial port in the late 1970s. A railway line was built to Hua-lien city, 55 miles (90 km) down

Henry I

2005-03-26T20:57:00.000-08:00

Henry was the son of Alfonso VIII of Castile and his wife Eleanor, daughter of Henry II of England, after whom he was named. He was killed, while still a boy, by the fall of a tile from a roof. Sovereignty over Castile was then assumed by Alfonso VIII's cousin, Alfonso IX, king of Leon.

Bantock, Sir Granville

2005-03-25T11:29:00.000-08:00

After preparing for the Indian civil service, Bantock studied at Trinity College of Music, London, and the Royal Academy of Music, London. He was active as a conductor, founded and edited the New Quarterly Music Review (1893–96), and succeeded Sir Edward Elgar as professor

John Frederick

2005-03-24T10:35:00.000-08:00

The elder son of the elector John the Steadfast, John Frederick

Zaehner, R.c.

2005-03-24T06:55:00.000-08:00

The son of Swiss parents who had immigrated to England, Zaehner studied Oriental languages at the University of Oxford, specializing in Persian, Armenian, and Avestan. He became a Roman Catholic in 1946. During

Hyalophane

2005-03-23T16:29:00.000-08:00

A barium-rich variety of potassium feldspar; see celsian.

Strachey, John

2005-03-22T06:50:00.000-08:00

Early geologist who was the first to suggest the theory of stratified rock formations. He wrote Observations on the Different Strata of Earths and Minerals (1727) and stated that there was a relation between surface features and the rock structure, an idea that was not commonly accepted until a century later.

Medicine, Historical notes

2005-03-22T01:48:00.000-08:00

Although the most spectacular changes in the medical scene during the 20th century, and the most widely heralded, have been the development of potent drugs and elaborate operations, another striking change has been the abandonment of most of the remedies of the past. In the mid-19th century, persons ill with numerous maladies were starved (partially or completely), bled,

Subhah

2005-03-21T10:17:00.000-08:00

String of Muslim prayer beads whose units (100, 25, or 33) represent the names of God. As the beads (made of wood, bone, or precious stones) are touched one by one, Muslims may recite any of numerous formulas, the most common being “Glory to Allah.” But because prayer may also be recited in the secret of one's heart, a person can multiply his praises of God by merely moving the beads through his

Voyager

2005-03-20T04:35:00.000-08:00

In aeronautics, American experimental aircraft that in 1986 became the first airplane to fly around the world without stops or refueling. Piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, the craft took off on December 14 from Edwards Air Force Base, 60 miles (100 km) northeast of Los Angeles, and landed at that same base 9 days later after completing a course of 25,012 miles (40,251 km) around the world. The Voyager

Nitride

2005-03-20T03:06:00.000-08:00

Binary compound of nitrogen with a more electropositive element, such as boron, silicon, and most metals. Certain metal nitrides are unstable, and most react with water to form ammonia and the oxide or hydroxide of the metal; but the nitrides of boron, vanadium, silicon, titanium, and tantalum are very refractory, resistant to chemical attack, and hard—and thus are useful

Jam And Lewis

2005-03-19T21:01:00.000-08:00

Jam and Lewis's emergence as major record producers was kick-started by Prince's pique. Keyboard player Jimmy Jam (James Harris III) and bassist Terry Lewis played together in local Minneapolis bands while in high school, graduating to Flyte Tyme, which evolved into Prince's backing band, the Time, in 1981. When Jam and Lewis produced the SOS Band's hit “Just Be Good to Me” in 1983, they

San Salvador

2005-03-19T11:57:00.000-08:00

Capital of El Salvador, on the Río Ace Chaute in the Valle de las Hamacas (Valley of the Hammocks) at an altitude of 2,238 ft (682 m). San Salvador Volcano is 7 mi (11 km) west-northwest. Founded near Suchitoto in 1525 by the Spanish conquistador Pedro de Alvarado, it was moved 20 mi southwest to its present site in 1528 and was declared a city in 1546. San Salvador served as capital of the colonial province of

Norito

2005-03-18T16:51:00.000-08:00

In the Shinto religious practices of Japan, words, or prayer, addressed by worshipers to a deity. The efficacy of prayer is founded on the concept of koto-dama, the spiritual power that resides in words. According to ancient belief, beautiful, correct words bring about good, whereas ugly, coarse language can cause evil. Accordingly, norito are expressed in elegant, classical

Arrangement

2005-03-18T13:04:00.000-08:00

In music, traditionally, any adaptation of a composition to fit a medium other than that for which it was originally written, while at the same time retaining the general character of the original. The word was frequently used interchangeably with transcription, although the latter carried the connotation of elaboration of the original, as in the virtuosic piano

Qabis

2005-03-17T19:47:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Gabès, Latin Tacapa, town, southeastern Tunisia. The town is located at the mouth of the Qabis River, which has its source 6 miles (10 km) upstream at the Ras al-Oued (springs), the town's main water source. Situated on a Mediterranean oasis along the Gulf of Gabes, Qabis was founded as the Roman trading centre of Tacapa. Declining somewhat under Turkish rule, it experienced a modest revival during the

Ibn Tibbon, Moses Ben Samuel

2005-03-17T17:12:00.000-08:00

Jewish physician like his father, Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon, and his paternal grandfather, Judah ben Saul ibn Tibbon, and an important translator of Arabic-language works into Hebrew. His translations served to disseminate Greek and Arab culture throughout Europe. Besides original works, which included commentaries with an allegorical bias on

Floor Covering, Loom-formed pile

2005-03-17T13:02:00.000-08:00

Spool looms were invented in the United States in 1876, and the gripper Axminster loom was developed about 1890. The chenille two-stage process was invented in Glasgow

France, History Of, Commitment to modernization

2005-03-16T06:33:00.000-08:00

The great peculiarity of the ancien régime, however, was that traditionalism, though deeply felt, was only one-half of a complicated institutional diptych. When first conceived by Cardinal Richelieu between 1624 and 1642 and developed after him by Mazarin, Colbert, Louvois, and the Sun King, the ancien régime was also committed to a program of modernization. Guided by a modern

Telesilla

2005-03-15T01:12:00.000-08:00

Greek poet noted for saving the city of Argos from attack by Cleomenes and his Spartan troops after their defeat of the Argive men. She wrote lyric poetry dedicated to Apollo and Artemis, of which only brief fragments remain. Her heroic deed is mentioned in the work of Pausanias.

Rea Express, Inc.

2005-03-14T21:51:00.000-08:00

American Railway Express Company was established by the U.S. government in 1918, during World War I, at the same time that the government took over the nation's railroads. The domestic express businesses and property

Muhammad Shah

2005-03-14T20:46:00.000-08:00

The son of Shah Jahan, Muhammad Shah was made emperor in 1719 by the powerful Sayyid brothers, 'Abdullah and Husayn 'Ali, who had killed the emperor Farrukh-Siyar. In 1720 the assassination of Husayn 'Ali and the defeat of 'Abdullah at the battle of Hasanpur (southwest of Delhi) liberated

Montserrat

2005-03-14T20:41:00.000-08:00

The original Native American inhabitants of Montserrat began to arrive in the Lesser Antilles about 3000 BC. Carib Indians, who arrived later, are said to have named the island Alliouagana (“Land of the Prickly Bush”). However, Montserrat was uninhabited by the time Christopher Columbus sighted it in November 1493, during his second voyage to the Americas. Columbus named the island

Saint Andrews

2005-03-13T22:38:00.000-08:00

City, royal burgh (1160), university town, golfing mecca, and former fishing port in Fife council area and historic county, Scotland. Located on St. Andrews Bay of the North Sea 13 miles (20 km) southeast of Dundee, it occupies a plateau of sandstone rock about 50 feet (15 metres) in elevation, which breaks off to the north in precipitous cliffs. The Eden River enters St. Andrews Bay northwest

Saint Asaph

2005-03-13T22:06:00.000-08:00

Welsh Llanelwy cathedral village, Denbighshire (Sir Ddinbych) county, historic county of Flintshire (Sir Fflint), Wales. It stands beween the Rivers Clwyd and Elwy, from which its Welsh name derives. Asaph, the Celtic ecclesiastic to whom the cathedral is dedicated, was bishop there in the 6th century. The original wooden structure, destroyed by the English in the 13th century, was rebuilt

'abd Al-malik

2005-03-13T06:21:00.000-08:00

In full 'abd Al-malik Ibn Marwan fifth caliph (685–705) of the Umayyad Arab dynasty centred in Damascus. He reorganized and strengthened governmental administration and, throughout the empire, adopted Arabic as the language of administration.

National Bank

2005-03-12T15:27:00.000-08:00

The first Bank of the United States (1791–1811) and the second Bank of the United States (1816–36) had functioned as agents of the U.S. Treasury and competed with the state, or private, banks, thereby ensuring that the private banks redeemed their banknotes

San Francisco Del Rincón

2005-03-11T20:54:00.000-08:00

City, western Guanajuato estado (“state”), north-central Mexico. It lies in the basin of the upper Turbio River, at an elevation of 5,781 feet (1,762 m). Although primarily an agricultural centre trading in corn (maize), beans, wheat, and guavas, the city has some industry. Straw hats, rebozos (shawls), flour, and chicle are the principal products. The main Mexico City–Ciudad Juárez railroad passes

Corbie Step

2005-03-11T11:20:00.000-08:00

Also called crow step stone used for covering any of the steps or indentations in the coping (uppermost, covering course) of a gable; the term is also applied to the step itself. Corbie steps were common in late medieval buildings of the Netherlands and Belgium and occurred frequently in 15th-century Scottish architecture. They also appear in some 15th-century English houses, such as Oxburgh

Rackett

2005-03-10T15:27:00.000-08:00

Finger holes were provided. The sound was reedy, low-pitched, and muffled.

Anderson, John Henry

2005-03-10T02:55:00.000-08:00

Described on playbills as “Professor Anderson, the Wizard of the North,” he first performed in 1831. Seasons at Edinburgh (1837) and Glasgow (1838–39) followed. In London (1840) he made use of the most elaborate collection of magical apparatus

Hierapolis

2005-03-09T06:46:00.000-08:00

Ancient Syrian city, now partly occupied by Manbij (Membij), about 50 miles (80 km) northeast of Aleppo. The place first appears in Greek as Bambyce, but its Syrian name was probably Mabbog. The Seleucids made it the chief station on their main road between Antioch and Seleucia-on-Tigris. As a centre of the worship of the Syrian nature goddess Atargatis, it became known to the Greeks

Ahikar, The Story Of

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

Folktale of Babylonian or Persian origin, about a wise and moral man who supposedly served as one of the chief counselors of Sennacherib, king of Assyria (704–681 BC). Like the biblical Job, Ahikar was a prototype of the just man whose righteousness was sorely tested and ultimately rewarded by God. Betrayed by his power-hungry adopted son, Ahikar was condemned to death, suffered

Ashurnasirpal Ii

2005-03-08T04:34:00.000-08:00

King of Assyria 883–859 BC, whose major accomplishment was the consolidation of the conquests of his father, Tukulti-Ninurta II, leading to the establishment of the New Assyrian Empire. Although, by his own testimony, he was a brilliant general and administrator, he is perhaps best known for the brutal frankness with which he described the atrocities committed on

Fyn

2005-03-08T01:09:00.000-08:00

Amtskommune (county commune), Denmark, comprising 25 inhabited islands between Zealand and the Jutland peninsula. Funen and Langeland (qq.v.) are the two largest islands, with more than 90 percent of the population. Odense is the administrative centre and largest city. Road bridges connect the islands of Funen, Tåsinge, and Langeland; Ærø and smaller islands have ferry connections

China, Integration of the South

2005-03-07T08:17:00.000-08:00

The second Sui emperor, Yang-ti (reigned 604–617), has been depicted as a supreme example of arrogance, extravagance, and personal depravity who squandered his patrimony in megalomaniac construction projects and unwise military adventures. This mythical Yang-ti was to a large extent the product of the hostile record written of his reign shortly after his death. His reign

Cartwright, William

2005-03-07T04:59:00.000-08:00

Educated at Westminster School and the University of Oxford, Cartwright became a preacher, noted for his florid style, and a reader in metaphysics. In 1643 he was university junior proctor.

Macdiarmid, Alan G.

2005-03-07T00:59:00.000-08:00

MacDiarmid earned Ph.D.'s in chemistry at the University of Wisconsin at Madison (1953) and the

Baghdad

2005-03-06T17:55:00.000-08:00

Among the most important of Baghdad's museums are the Iraqi Museum (1923), containing important archaeological treasures from ancient Mesopotamian history; the National

Roberts, Sir Gilbert

2005-03-05T15:18:00.000-08:00

After attending City and Guilds College of the University of London (B.S., 1923), he became a civil engineer and worked on the Sydney Harbour Bridge

Aviation

2005-03-05T08:12:00.000-08:00

The first man-made objects to fly were balloons, which were pioneered in France by the Montgolfier brothers in 1783. Some of the

Plain Weave

2005-03-04T20:13:00.000-08:00

Also called Tabby Weave, simplest and most common of the three basic textile weaves. It is made by passing each filling yarn over and under each warp yarn, with each row alternating, producing a high number of intersections. Plain-weave fabrics that are not printed or given a surface finish have no right or wrong side. They do not ravel easily but tend to wrinkle and have less absorbency than

Architecture, African, Nomads and pastoralists

2005-03-04T03:43:00.000-08:00

A hunting and gathering economy obliges the San of the Kalahari to move camp frequently. Some San scherms (shelters) may be little more than depressions in the ground, but groups such as the !Kung build light-framed shelters of sticks and saplings covered with grass. Other hunter-gatherers, such as the Hadza of Tanzania, live amid relative plenty; their dry savanna territory

Ma Yuan

2005-03-03T15:50:00.000-08:00

By the late 12th century, however, this style was changing, and the new elements that were appearing reflected the nostalgic and somewhat precious atmosphere of the exiled court at Lin'an. In some hanging scrolls attributed to Ma, and in many of the exquisite small album and fan paintings, the mountains are pushed to one side, creating a “one corner” composition; between

Skeleton

2005-03-02T18:56:00.000-08:00

The supportive framework of an animal body. The skeleton of invertebrates, which may be either external or internal, is composed of a variety of hard nonbony substances. The more complex skeletal system of vertebrates is internal and is composed of several different types of tissues that are known collectively as connective tissues. This designation includes

Ta-ch'ing

2005-03-02T06:24:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Daqing oil field in Heilungkiang province, China, one of the country's most important sources of oil. It is situated in the north of the Sungari-Liao River basin, between Tsitsihar and Harbin, in the general vicinity of An-ta, northwest of Harbin. The field was discovered in the late 1950s and drilling began in 1958, often in difficult conditions caused by the extreme winter cold and by

Aguesseau, Henri-françois D'

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

The son of Henri d'Aguesseau, intendant (royal agent) of Languedoc, he was advocate general to the Parlement (high court of justice) of Paris from 1690 until 1700. As attorney general in that Parlement from 1700 to 1717, he opposed papal intervention

Rovaniemi

2005-03-01T16:56:00.000-08:00

Town, capital of Lapin lääni (Lappi province), northern Finland, at the junction of the Kemijoki and Ounasjoki (rivers), northeast of Tornio, on the Arctic Circle. Incorporated in 1929, it became the administrative centre of Lappi in 1939, when the government of Lapland was reorganized. Road building between 1920 and 1940 spurred its development, but near the end of World War II the retreating

Chromosomal Disorder

2005-03-01T00:58:00.000-08:00

Normally, humans have 46 chromosomes arranged in 23 pairs; the pairs vary in size and shape and are numbered by convention. Twenty-two of the pairs are autosomes, and one pair, number 23, is the sex chromosomes. Any variation from

San Justo

2005-02-28T04:34:00.000-08:00

Cabecera (principal built-up area) of La Matanza partido (political subdivision), Gran (Greater) Buenos Aires, Arg. It lies directly southwest of the city of Buenos Aires, in Buenos Aires province. In 1856 the poblador (person granted land as an incentive to settle an area) of San Justo, José Gorsch, donated the land for the founding of the town on behalf of the Justo Villegas family.

Strategic Weapons System

2005-02-28T00:52:00.000-08:00

Any weapons system designed to strike an enemy at the source of his military, economic, or political power. In practice, this means destroying a nation's cities, factories, military bases, transportation and communications infrastructure, and seat of government. Strategic weapons systems use atomic or thermonuclear devices, because only these weapons have sufficient

Great Basin Indian

2005-02-27T22:12:00.000-08:00

The Great Basin Indians occupied a 398,000-square-mile (1,031,000-square-km) area of interior western North America. Population density was sparse, ranging from 0.8 to 11.7 persons per 100 square miles. The area includes the physiographic Great Basin—the interior mountain

World War I, The Armistice

2005-02-27T21:43:00.000-08:00

The Allies' armistice terms presented in the railway carriage at Rethondes were stiff. Germany was required to evacuate not only Belgium, France, and Alsace-Lorraine but also all the rest of the left (west) bank of the Rhine, and it had to neutralize that river's right bank between The Netherlands and Switzerland. The German troops in East Africa were to surrender; the

Bondfield, Margaret (grace)

2005-02-26T21:25:00.000-08:00

Bondfield had little schooling. Starting as a draper's assistant at 14, she found conditions miserable and joined the National Union of Shop Assistants at its formation. In 1899 she was the only woman delegate to the Trades Union Congress, and

Lentulus Crus, Lucius Cornelius

2005-02-26T15:23:00.000-08:00

In 61 BC Lentulus was the chief accuser of Publius Clodius on a charge of sacrilege at a festival. Lentulus was a praetor in 58. As consul in 49 he advocated the rejection of all peace terms offered by Caesar in his conflict with the Senate. On the outbreak of the Civil War

Amuzgo

2005-02-24T19:26:00.000-08:00

The people are agricultural, using the plow or digging stick to plant staples of corn, beans, and squash,

Mitchell, Maggie

2005-02-24T10:38:00.000-08:00

Mitchell left school at age 12 to follow her older half-sisters onto the stage, where she filled a variety of child's walk-on and silent roles. She made her debut in a speaking role in June 1851 in a benefit performance

Mine Gas

2005-02-24T08:34:00.000-08:00

Any of various harmful vapours produced during mining operations. The gases are frequently called damps (German Dampf, “vapour”). Firedamp is a gas that occurs naturally in coal seams. The gas is nearly always methane (CH4) and is highly inflammable and explosive when present in the air in a proportion of 5 to 14 percent. White damp, or carbon monoxide (CO), is a particularly

Ahmed I

2005-02-23T21:51:00.000-08:00

Ottoman sultan from 1603 to 1617, whose authority was weakened by wars, rebellions, and misrule. The rebellions he was able to suppress; he executed some of the viziers and exiled many palace dignitaries for bribery and intrigue; and he introduced a new regulation for the improvement of land administration. The peace of Zsitvatörök (1606) that he signed

Carlisle Commission

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

Also called Peace Commission Of 1778, during U.S. War of Independence, group of British negotiators sent in 1778, to effect a reconciliation with the 13 insurgent colonies by a belated offer of self-rule within the empire. Shocked by the British defeat at Saratoga (concluded Oct. 17, 1777) and fearful of French recognition of American independence, Prime Minister Lord North induced Parliament to repeal (February 1778) such

Elizabeth Of Hungary, Saint

2005-02-23T08:44:00.000-08:00

The daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary, she was betrothed in infancy to Louis IV, son of Hermann I, landgrave of Thuringia,

Epistemology, George Berkeley

2005-02-22T23:04:00.000-08:00

Locke is part of a philosophical tradition called empiricism, that is, the view that the sole or at least the major source of human knowledge is sensory experience. George Berkeley (1685–1753) was the next great adherent of empiricism. In his major work, Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (1710), he divides ideas into three types: Ideas that come from sense correspond

Hypsometric Curve

2005-02-21T23:10:00.000-08:00

Also called Hypsographic Curve, cumulative height frequency curve for the Earth's surface or some part thereof. A hypsometric curve is essentially a graph that shows the proportion of land area that exists at various elevations by plotting relative area against relative height. In the hypsometric curve of the total Earth surface there exist two maxima of frequencies—at the 100-metre (109-yard) and the

Sable Island

2005-02-21T02:59:00.000-08:00

Gently curving sandbar in the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, 110 mi (180 km) southeast of Cape Canso. It is treeless, about 20 mi long and 1 mi wide, and comprises the exposed portion of a vast shoal on the outer edge of the continental shelf. Gradually shrinking in size and shifting slowly eastward, the island, because of unexpected shallows, has been the scene of

Beyer, Absalon Pederssøn

2005-02-20T19:57:00.000-08:00

Born on a farm, Beyer was adopted by a bishop after the death of his parents and educated at the universities of Copenhagen and Wittenberg, where he studied under the famous Protestant Reformation scholar Philipp Melanchthon. Beyer was a lecturer at the Bergen Cathedral

Ferroaugite

2005-02-20T08:57:00.000-08:00

Iron-rich variety of the mineral augite (q.v.).

Paraguay, Relief

2005-02-19T04:31:00.000-08:00

The Región Oriental, with an area of about 61,700 square miles, is an extension of the Brazilian Plateau and

Rodin, Auguste

2005-02-19T00:37:00.000-08:00

In full François-Auguste-René Rodin French sculptor of sumptuous bronze and marble figures, considered by some critics to be the greatest portraitist in the history of sculpture. His La Porte de l'Enfer (The Gates of Hell; see photograph), commissioned in 1880 for the future Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, remained unfinished at his death but nonetheless

Scandinavian Literature, The influence of Georg Brandes

2005-02-18T08:08:00.000-08:00

About 1870 there arose in Denmark a new movement, led by Georg Brandes, from which a modern (i.e., a Naturalistic or Realistic) literature emerged. His Hovedstrømninger i det 19de aarhundredes litteratur (1872–90; Main Currents in 19th Century Literature), describing the growth and defeat of reaction, caused a great sensation. As noted earlier, he influenced Ibsen and Strindberg and wrote

Baby's Breath

2005-02-18T05:52:00.000-08:00

Annual baby's breath, up to 50 cm (20 inches) tall, is

Outcault, Richard Felton

2005-02-16T23:14:00.000-08:00

Outcault studied art in Cincinnati, Ohio, and in Paris and later contributed to Judge and Life, humour magazines that had begun publication in the early 1880s. By 1885 he was drawing comic cartoons based

Holy Roman Empire

2005-02-16T11:39:00.000-08:00

German Heiliges Römisches Reich , Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium the varying complex of lands in western and central Europe ruled over first by Frankish and then by German kings for 10 centuries, from Charlemagne's coronation in 800 until the renunciation of the imperial title in 1806. (For histories of the territories governed at various times by the empire, see France, history of; Germany, history of;Italy, history of.)

Astronaut

2005-02-16T04:32:00.000-08:00

Person trained to pilot a spacecraft, operate any of its various systems, or conduct scientific experiments aboard such a craft during spaceflights. The term is commonly applied to those participating in U.S. space missions, as opposed to the designation cosmonaut used to refer to Soviet space travelers. The U.S. Department of Defense awards the rating of astronaut

Biblical Literature, The Septuagint (LXX)

2005-02-16T01:26:00.000-08:00

This narrative, repeated

Gentile Da Fabriano,

2005-02-15T22:32:00.000-08:00

An early signed work by Gentile has stylistic affinities with Lombard painting and suggests that he was trained in the Lombard school. In 1409 Gentile was commissioned to

Managerial Economics

2005-02-15T16:20:00.000-08:00

Application of economic principles to decision-making in business firms or of other management units. The basic concepts are derived mainly from microeconomic theory, which studies the behaviour of individual consumers, firms, and industries, but new tools of analysis have been added. Statistical methods, for example, are becoming increasingly important in

Saarlouis

2005-02-15T00:13:00.000-08:00

City, Saarland Land (state), southwestern Germany. It lies along both sides of the Saar River, near the French border, northwest of Saarbrücken. Founded and named by Louis XIV of France in 1680 and fortified by the military engineer Sébastien de Le Prestre Vauban (1680–86), it became the capital of the French Sarre province. The site of an important arms works in the Napoleonic era, it

Suceava

2005-02-14T14:58:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Suceava judet (county), northeastern Romania. Founded on a terrace above the right bank of the Suceava River before the 14th century, it was the capital of Moldavia from 1375 until 1565, when the capital was moved to Iasi. During the reign of Stephen (Stefan) the Great in the 15th century, Suceava developed as a trading centre and customs point, with many warehouses and a strong

Arnhem Land

2005-02-13T02:31:00.000-08:00

Historical region of Northern Territory, Australia. It consists of the eastern half of the large peninsula that forms the northernmost portion of the Northern Territory. The region, with a total area of about 37,000 square miles (95,900 square km), consists of a ruggedly dissected plateau and associated lowlands lying between the Roper and Alligator rivers. The coast of Arnhem

Mies Van Der Rohe, Ludwig

2005-02-12T23:58:00.000-08:00

Four years later, in 1937—again after working mainly on projects that were never built—Mies moved to the United States. Soon after he arrived in the country, he gained an appointment as director of the School of Architecture at Chicago's Armour Institute (later the Illinois Institute of Technology). Mies served as the school's director for the next 20 years, and, by the time he

Italian Confederation Of Workers' Unions

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

Italian Confederazione Italiana dei Sindacati Lavoratori (CISL), Italy's second largest trade union federation. The CISL was formed in 1950 by the merger of the Free General Italian Confederation of Labour (Libera Confederazione Generale Italiana dei Lavoratori) and the Italian Federation of Labour (Federazione Italiana del Lavoro). From its founding it had strong ties with Roman Catholics and Christian Democrats. It vigorously

Shimazu Hisamitsu, Koshaku

2005-02-12T08:05:00.000-08:00

In 1858 Hisamitsu succeeded to the head of Satsuma han, one of the largest feudal fiefs into which

Holliday, Doc

2005-02-11T21:56:00.000-08:00

Holliday was reared in Georgia in the genteel tradition of the Old South, graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery in 1872, and, already consumptive, moved west for drier climes. He practiced dentistry briefly in Dallas but soon discovered

Human Evolution, Examination and analysis of fossils

2005-02-11T18:26:00.000-08:00

Although it appears that at the time of discovery the remains of more than 10 individuals existed at Cro-Magnon, only fragments from some five individuals were preserved and studied, among them the cranium and mandible of a male about 50 years old. Considered representative of the Cro-Magnon type, this specimen is known as the “Old Man of Cro-Magnon.” Also preserved were skull

Amidah

2005-02-10T14:36:00.000-08:00

Trifid Nebula

2005-02-10T06:27:00.000-08:00

(catalog numbers NGC 6514 and M 20), bright, diffuse nebula in the constellation Sagittarius, lying several thousand light-years from the Earth. It was discovered by the French astronomer Legentil de La Galaisière before 1750 and named by the English astronomer Sir John Herschel for the three dark rifts that seem to divide the nebula and join at its centre. Of about the ninth magnitude

Furniture, Low Countries

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

In the 16th century, Italian Renaissance ornament was adopted and transformed by artists and designers of northern Europe, particularly in northern Germany and the Low Countries, who created an independent style of decoration. Strapwork, cartouches, and grotesque masks are characteristic features of this northern Renaissance style, and are found repeatedly