GreatPump

Estate Agent Fitzrovia

2006-10-25T19:45:00.000-07:00

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.

Waiuku

2005-03-30T13:54:00.000-08:00

Town, Auckland local government region, northern North Island, New Zealand. It lies along the Waiuku estuary, which is the southern arm of Manukau Harbour. The settlement was founded in 1843 as a port on the route between Auckland and the agricultural area of the Waikato River to the south. Its function as a trading centre ceased with the Waikato War of 1863–64, when it was made a stockade.

Yun Shouping

2005-03-29T10:47:00.000-08:00

Yun had an adventure-filled early life. Following the collapse

Offenbach

2005-03-28T18:01:00.000-08:00

In full Offenbach Am Main, city, Hesse Land (state), west-central Germany, a river port (coal and oil) on the left bank of the canalized Main. First mentioned in 977, it was part of the imperial forest of Dreieich, and a mint was established there in 1407. Acquired by Count (later prince) von Isenburg-Birstein in 1486, it began its prosperity with an influx of Huguenot craftsmen in 1698–1703. Annexed to Hesse in 1816, it grew steadily

Vena Cava

2005-03-28T08:58:00.000-08:00

In air-breathing vertebrates, including humans, either of two major trunks, the anterior and posterior venae cavae, that deliver oxygen-depleted blood to the right side of the heart. The anterior vena cava, also known as the precava, drains the head end of the body, while the posterior vena cava, or postcava, drains the tail, or rear, end. In humans these veins are respectively

Clarence, Lionel Of Antwerp, Duke Of

2005-03-27T14:20:00.000-08:00

Before he was four years of age Lionel was betrothed to Elizabeth (d. 1363), daughter and heiress of William de Burgh, earl of Ulster (d. 1333), and he entered nominally into possession of her great Irish inheritance. Having been named as his father's representative in England in

Kogalniceanu, Mihail

2005-03-26T02:13:00.000-08:00

In 1840 Kogalniceanu undertook the publication of a national literary review (Dacia literara) and a scientific

øvre Divi Valley National Park

2005-03-25T10:34:00.000-08:00

Norwegian Øvre Dividal Nasjonalpark, national park in the eastern part of the Divi valley, Troms county, northern Norway. With an area of 286 square miles (741 square km), it was established in 1971. The landscape varies from lowland forests of pine and birch to low hills and mountain plateaus with lakes and bogs interspersed throughout. A sparse pine forest supports bear, lynx, wolverine, and wolf. Large numbers of tame

Saratoga, Battles Of

2005-03-24T08:47:00.000-08:00

In the American Revolution, closely related engagements in the fall of 1777 that are often called the turning point of the war in favour of the Americans. The failure of the American invasion of Canada in 1775–76 had left a large surplus of British troops along the St. Lawrence River. In 1777 these troops were to move south and join forces with General Sir William Howe's troops along the

Ars Antiqua

2005-03-23T22:01:00.000-08:00

(Medieval Latin: “Ancient Art”), in music history, period of musical activity in 13th-century France, characterized by increasingly sophisticated counterpoint (the art of combining simultaneous voice parts), that culminated in the innovations of the 14th-century Ars Nova (q.v.). The term Ars Antiqua originated, in fact, with the Ars Nova theorists, some of whom spoke of the “Ancient

Narodnost

2005-03-23T20:18:00.000-08:00

Doctrine or national principle, the meaning of which has changed over the course of Russian literary criticism. Originally denoting simply literary fidelity to Russia's distinct cultural heritage, narodnost, in the hands of radical critics such as Nikolay Dobrolyubov, came to be the measure of an author's social responsibility, both in portraying the aspirations

Kochi

2005-03-22T16:31:00.000-08:00

Ken (prefecture), southern Shikoku, Japan, stretching in an arc around Tosa Bay of the Pacific Ocean. It is the largest prefecture on the island, with an area of 2,744 square miles (7,107 square km). The population is concentrated on the Tosa plain, which, except on the south, is surrounded by mountains. Although it is isolated by poor communications, there is a railway from Kochi, the prefectural

Delors, Jacques

2005-03-21T16:53:00.000-08:00

The son of a courier at the Banque de France, Delors himself joined the bank in 1945, later earning a degree in economics from the Sorbonne. He became active in the Christian Trade Union Confederation (renamed the Democratic Trade Union

Handgun

2005-03-21T02:21:00.000-08:00

Any firearm small enough to be held in one hand when fired. It usually fires a single projectile or bullet, and additional ammunition may be available in a revolving mechanism or magazine. Handguns may be used for target shooting, hunting small game, or personal self-defense. Automatic handguns are illegal in many countries, and private ownership of any handgun is

Henry Draper Catalogue

2005-03-19T22:21:00.000-08:00

Listing of the positions, magnitudes, and spectral types of stars in all parts of the sky; with it began the present alphabetical system (see Harvard classification system) of classifying stars by spectral type. The catalog, named in honour of the U.S. astronomer Henry Draper and financed through an endowment by his widow, was compiled at the Harvard College Observatory

Canal Zone

2005-03-19T20:52:00.000-08:00

Also called Panama Canal Zone, historic administrative entity in Panama over which the United States exercised jurisdictional rights from 1903 to 1979. It was a strip of land 10 miles (16 km) wide along the Panama Canal, extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean and bisecting the Isthmus of Panama. It covered 553 square miles (1,432 square km), of which about one-third was water (principally Gatun Lake). The Canal Zone

Palaeospondylus

2005-03-19T15:10:00.000-08:00

Genus of enigmatic fossil vertebrates that were very fishlike in appearance but of uncertain relationships. Palaeospondylus, from the Middle Devonian epoch (387 to 374 million years ago), has been found in the Old Red Sandstone rocks in the region of Achannaras, Scot. Hundreds of specimens are known, yet the position of this genus in relation to other fishlike vertebrates

Cancer

2005-03-19T07:02:00.000-08:00

In astrology, Cancer is the

Halston

2005-03-18T08:01:00.000-08:00

Halston studied at Indiana University and the Art Institute of Chicago and operated a millinery shop in Chicago before joining milliner Lilly Daché in New York City. In 1959 he became a milliner for Bergdorf Goodman; in 1966 he expanded his line into clothes

Mormon

2005-03-18T04:14:00.000-08:00

In western New York state in 1827, during a time of intense religious revivalism, Joseph Smith, Jr., a farmer's son, claimed an angel called Moroni gave him golden plates whose engraved records Smith translated into English as the Book of Mormon—so called after Mormon, an ancient American prophet who had made an abridgment of many previous plates. Smith published the Book

Biblical Literature, Nature and significance

2005-03-17T11:48:00.000-08:00

General articles and notes in The Oxford Annotated Bible (1962), The Jerusalem Bible (1966), and the Genesis volume of The Anchor Bible, by E.A. Speiser (1964); E. H. Gombrich, The Story of Art, 12th rev. ed. (1972); Abraham J. Heschel, Man Is Not Alone (1951), a classic statement of modern Judaism; Erich Auerbach, Mimesis: Dargestellte Wirklichkeit in der abendländischen Literatur (1946; Eng. trans., Mimesis: The Representation of Reality in Western Literature, 1953), a classic work; William R. Mueller, The Prophetic Voice in Modern Fiction (1959), religious themes interpreting Joyce, Camus, Kafka, Faulkner, Greene, and Silone; Nathan A. Scott, Jr. (ed.), The Tragic Vision and the Christian Faith (1957), essays by 12 writers on faith and the tragic dimension of existence; James Barr, The Scope and Authority of the Bible (1981), questions the divine inspiration of biblical texts.

Mccloy, John J(ay)

2005-03-16T05:05:00.000-08:00

McCloy graduated from Harvard Law School in 1921. Thereafter he practiced law on Wall Street. His work on the “Black Tom” case, in which he proved that German agents had caused an explosion at a munitions factory, attracted

Musa

2005-03-16T03:48:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Mousa , also called Kankan Musa mansa (emperor) of the West African empire of Mali from 1307 (or 1312). Mansa Musa left a realm notable for its extent and riches (he built the Great Mosque at Timbuktu), but he is best remembered in the Middle East and Europe for the splendour of his pilgrimage to Mecca (1324).

Grundtvig, N.f.s.

2005-03-15T15:47:00.000-08:00

After taking a degree in theology (1803) from the University of Copenhagen, Grundtvig studied the Edda

Kochno, Boris

2005-03-14T09:33:00.000-08:00

Kochno studied at the Imperial Lycée in Moscow until the 1917 Russian Revolution, when he and his mother left the country, eventually

National Bank

2005-03-14T05:50:00.000-08:00

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

Annapolis Convention

2005-03-13T23:17:00.000-08:00

Growing out of an earlier meeting of representatives of Maryland and Virginia to discuss ways of improving navigation on the Potomac River, the convention of delegates

Epistemology, Impact of modern science on epistemology

2005-03-13T06:27:00.000-08:00

Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543), a cleric, argued in On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres (1543) that the Earth revolves around the Sun. His theory was epistemologically shocking for at least two reasons. First, it goes directly counter to how humans experience their relation to the Sun; it is everyone's prescientific view that the Sun revolves around the Earth. If science can

Astorga, Emanuele D'

2005-03-12T16:01:00.000-08:00

Astorga belonged to a family of Spanish descent that won a barony in Sicily in the 17th century. The family eventually settled in Palermo. Astorga's first opera, La moglie nemica (“The Hostile Wife”), was

Ligurian

2005-03-12T15:51:00.000-08:00

No ancient texts speak of Ligurians in southern Gaul as nations or attribute definite racial characteristics to them. They were apparently an indigenous collection

Arabian Sea, Climate and hydrology

2005-03-12T03:47:00.000-08:00

The Arabian Sea has a monsoon climate. Minimum air temperatures of about 75° to 77° F (24° to 25° C) at the sea's surface occur in the central Arabian Sea in January and February, while temperatures higher than 82° F (28° C) occur in both June and November. During the rainy season, which occurs when the southwest monsoon winds blow (April to November), salinities of less than 35 parts per thousand have

Kakongo

2005-03-11T04:45:00.000-08:00

Former African state, founded about the 15th century on the Atlantic coast between the kingdoms of Loango (north) and Ngoy (south). It extended from what is now central Cabinda eastward into Congo (Kinshasa). The main town was Malemba, a port that grew in importance after 1700 as a centre for the export of slaves; port facilities were expanded from that time to handle increasing

Girardot

2005-03-11T03:30:00.000-08:00

River port, Cundinamarca department, central Colombia, at the confluence of the upper Magdalena (there bridged) and Bogotá rivers, opposite Flandes. The site, once a canoe outpost named Pastor Montero, was donated for the creation of San Miguel parish in 1844. Under a provincial ordinance (1852) this became a district that was named after Atanasio Girardot, hero of the Battle of

Wright, James

2005-03-10T16:21:00.000-08:00

After serving in the U.S. Army in World War II, Wright studied under John Crowe Ransom at Kenyon College in

France, History Of, Merovingian and Carolingian age

2005-03-10T15:56:00.000-08:00

Comprehensive introductions to the period are found in Margaret Deanesly, A History of Early Medieval Europe, from 476 to 911, 2nd ed. (1960, reissued 1974); Jean Favier (ed.), Histoire de France, 6 vol. (1984–88), vol. 1; and Karl Ferdinand Werner, Les Origines (avant l'an mil) (1984). The history of invasions, with the archaeological background, is presented in Lucien Musset, The Germanic Invasions: The Making of Europe, AD 400–600 (1975; originally published in French, 1965), and Les Invasions: le second assaut contre l'Europe chrétienne, VIIe–XIe siècles, 2nd ed. (1971); and Patrick Périn and Laure-Charlotte Feffer, Les Francs, 2 vol. (1987). On the Merovingians, see Eugen Ewig, Die Merowinger und das Frankenreich (1988); Bernard S. Bachrach, Merovingian Military Organization, 481–751 (1972); and J.M. Wallace-Hadrill, The Long-Haired Kings and Other Studies in Frankish History (1962, reprinted 1982). For the Carolingians, Louis Halphen, Charlemagne and the Carolingian Empire (1977; originally published in French, 1947), remains the classic work. Later scholarship is reflected in Rosamond McKitterick, The Frankish Kingdoms Under the Carolingians, 751–987 (1983); and F.L. Ganshof, The Carolingians and the Frankish Monarchy, trans. from French (1971). Special studies of the civilization of the period include J.M. Wallace-Hadrill, The Frankish Church (1983); Pierre Riché, Education and Culture in the Barbarian West, Sixth Through Eighth Centuries (1976; originally published in French, 3rd ed., 1973); Suzanne Fonay Wemple, Women in Frankish Society: Marriage and the Cloister, 500 to 900 (1981); and Renée Doehaerd, The Early Middle Ages in the West: Economy and Society (1978; originally published in French, 1971).

Chiapas Highlands

2005-03-09T16:17:00.000-08:00

High-altitude region of dissected plateaus enclosing a central valley (Valle Central de Chiapas) in Chiapas state, southeastern Mexico. The highlands constitute the northwestern end of a mountainous region extending northward from the lowlands of Nicaragua to the Isthmus of Tehauntepec and are composed of three main features running parallel to the Pacific

Chuikov, Vasily Ivanovich

2005-03-09T10:55:00.000-08:00

The son of peasants, Chuikov worked as a mechanic apprentice from the age of 12. At the age of 18, after

Leaning Tower Of Pisa

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

Italian Torre Pendente di Pisa medieval structure in Pisa, Italy, that is famous for the settling of its foundations, which caused it to lean 5.5 degrees (about 15 feet [4.5 metres]) from the perpendicular by the late 20th century. The bell tower, begun in 1173 as the third and final structure of the city's cathedral complex, was designed to stand 185 feet (56 metres) high and was constructed of white marble. Three of its eight stories

Annapolis Royal

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

Formerly (until 1713) Port Royal, town, seat of Annapolis county, southwestern Nova Scotia, Canada. The town lies at the mouth of the Annapolis River where it enters Annapolis Basin (an arm of the Bay of Fundy), 126 miles (203 km) by road west of Halifax. Founded in 1605 as Port Royal by the explorers Samuel de Champlain and Pierre du Gua, Sieur de Monts, it was the first French colony in North America and is Canada's oldest

Chatti

2005-03-08T01:33:00.000-08:00

Germanic tribe that became one of the most powerful opponents of the Romans during the 1st century AD. At that time the Chatti expanded from their homeland near the upper Visurgis (Weser) River, across the Taunus highlands to the Moenus (Main) River valley, defeating the Cherusci and other neighbouring tribes. In AD 83 the emperor Domitian drove them back from the Taunus. They

Agoult, Marie (-catherine-sophie) De Flavigny, Comtesse D'

2005-03-06T16:45:00.000-08:00

Mme d'Agoult was the daughter of the émigré Comte de Flavigny. In 1827 she married Col. Charles d'Agoult, 20 years her senior. She had early shown strength of will and enthusiasm for justice and freedom, and her marriage disappointed

Dielectric Heating

2005-03-05T21:14:00.000-08:00

Also called Capacitance Heating, method by which the temperature of an electrically nonconducting (insulating) material can be raised by subjecting the material to a high-frequency electromagnetic field. The method is widely employed industrially for heating thermosetting glues, for drying lumber and other fibrous materials, for preheating plastics before molding, and for fast jelling and

Yamaguchi

2005-03-05T14:07:00.000-08:00

Prefecture (ken), extreme western Honshu, Japan, bordered by the Sea of Japan (north), the Shimonoseki-kaikyo (Shimonoseki Strait; southwest), and the Inland Sea (south). Most of its 2,355-sq-mi (6,100-sq-km) area is composed of plateaus and hills, and there are no extensive plains. The limestone caves and outcroppings of the Akiyoshi-dai (plateau) in the west present a typical karst formation

Kubaba

2005-03-05T04:41:00.000-08:00

Goddess of the ancient Syrian city of Carchemish. In religious texts of the Hittite empire (c. 1400–c. 1190 BC), she played a minor part and appeared mainly in a context of Hurrian deities and rituals. After the downfall of the empire her cult spread westward and northward, and she became the chief goddess of the successor kingdoms (the neo-Hittite states) from Cilicia to the Halys

Meinong, Alexius

2005-03-05T04:30:00.000-08:00

After studying under the philosophical psychologist Franz Brentano from 1875 to 1878 in Vienna, he joined the faculty of philosophy at the

Midfa'i, Jamil Al-

2005-03-04T15:49:00.000-08:00

Midfa'i attended the engineering college in Istanbul and became an artillery officer in the Turkish Army, from which he deserted in 1916 to join the Arab forces that had risen in revolt in Arabia under the direction of Sharif Husayn. Later, from a base in Syria, Midfa'i launched raids into Iraq, where there was considerable

Sorosilicate

2005-03-04T09:36:00.000-08:00

Formerly called Pyrosilicate, any member of a group of compounds with structures that have two silicate tetrahedrons (a central silicon atom surrounded by four oxygen atoms at the corners of a tetrahedron) linked together. Because one oxygen atom is shared by two tetrahedrons, the chemical formula contains Si2O7, as in melilite or hemimorphite.

Chinese Languages

2005-03-03T22:58:00.000-08:00

Modern Standard Chinese is based on the Peking (Beijing) dialect, which is of the Northern, or Mandarin, type. It employs about 1,300 different syllables. There are 22 initial consonants, including stops (made with momentary, complete closure in the vocal tract), affricates (beginning as stops but ending with incomplete closure), aspirated consonants, nasals, fricatives, liquid

Theatre, Western, Commedia dell'arte

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

Around the mid-16th century, there emerged in Italy a lively tradition of popular theatre that fused many disparate elements into a vigorous style, which profoundly influenced the development of European theatre. This was the legendary commedia dell'arte (“theatre of the professionals”), a nonliterary tradition that centred on the actor, as distinguished from the

Goode, G(eorge) Brown

2005-03-01T17:52:00.000-08:00

After graduating from Wesleyan University at Middletown, Conn., he spent a year at Harvard University studying natural history under Louis Agassiz. Goode took charge

Pierce, Sarah

2005-03-01T07:19:00.000-08:00

The school Pierce opened in her home in 1792 was so successful that in 1798 a group of Litchfield citizens presented her with a building to house

Disney Company

2005-03-01T00:49:00.000-08:00

Walt Disney began his career in animation with the Kansas City Film Ad Company in Missouri in 1920. In 1922 Disney and his friend Ub Iwerks, a gifted animator, founded the Laugh-O-gram Films studio in Kansas City and began producing a series of cartoons based on fables and fairy tales.

Chachalaca

2005-02-28T06:28:00.000-08:00

Any of several small birds of the curassow family. See curassow.

Performing Arts, Jazz.

2005-02-27T21:38:00.000-08:00

Though no new trends or fads appeared and only one new star emerged, jazz and related musics at last crossed a final frontier in 2002. The jazz idiom, originally created by African Americans, had been played on six continents, but in 2001–02 guitarist Henry Kaiser spent two months in Antarctica, the last continent. Kaiser, with extensive experience playing free improvisations

Eye For An Eye

2005-02-27T16:14:00.000-08:00

In law and custom, the principle of retaliation for injuries or damages. In ancient Babylonian, biblical, Roman, and Islamic law, it was a principle operative in private and familial settlements, intended to limit retaliation, and often satisfied by a money payment or other equivalent. See also talion.

General Mills, Inc.

2005-02-27T14:11:00.000-08:00

General Mills was incorporated in 1928 to acquire Washburn Crosby Company, a flour-milling company formed in 1866, and four other milling companies. Specializing in cereals and flour products, the

Levirate

2005-02-26T19:22:00.000-08:00

Custom or law decreeing a dead man's brother to be the preferred, and in rare cases the mandatory, marriage partner of the widow. The term comes from the Latin levir, meaning “husband's brother.” In ancient Hebrew society, the levirate served to perpetuate the line of a man who died without offspring. In some nonliterate societies the rights and duties of the first husband

Moldavia

2005-02-26T10:00:00.000-08:00

Romanian Moldova , Turkish Bogdan principality on the lower Danube River that joined Walachia to form the nation of Romania in 1859. Its name was taken from the Moldovo River. It was founded in the first half of the 14th century by a group of Vlachs, led by Dragos, who emigrated southward from Maramures in the Hungarian-controlled Carpathian Mountains. About 1349 Moldavia achieved its independence under its prince,

Tuapse

2005-02-26T01:10:00.000-08:00

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

Grumbach, Wilhelm Von

2005-02-25T17:34:00.000-08:00

About 1540 Grumbach allied

K'uei Hsing

2005-02-25T06:23:00.000-08:00

K'uei Hsing, whose name before deification was Chung K'uei, is said to have passed his own examination with remarkable success but was denied the usual honours when the emperor beheld his ugly features. Brokenhearted, K'uei attempted

Japanese Literature, Western influences on poetry

2005-02-23T10:50:00.000-08:00

Translations of Western poetry led to the creation of new Japanese literary forms. The pioneer collection, Shintaishi-sho (1882; “Selection of Poems in the New Style”), contained not only translations from English but also five original poems by the translators in the poetic genres of the foreign examples. The translators declared that although European poetry had greater

Grub Street

2005-02-23T09:25:00.000-08:00

The world of literary hacks, or mediocre, needy writers who write for hire. The term originated in the 18th century. According to Dr. Samuel Johnson's Dictionary, Grub Street was “originally the name of a street in Moorfields in London, much inhabited by writers of small histories, dictionaries, and temporary poems; whence any mean production is called grubstreet.” The street

Puu Kukui

2005-02-22T16:49:00.000-08:00

Volcanic peak, Maui county, western Maui Island, Hawaii, U.S. It is the highest peak (5,788 feet [1,764 m]) of an 18-mile (29-kilometre) stretch of mountains, the Honolua volcanic series, which dominates the western peninsula of Maui. Puu Kukui (meaning “candlenut hill”) was formed by a volcano whose caldera has eroded into the scenic valley of Iao.

Zionism

2005-02-22T06:10:00.000-08:00

Jewish nationalist movement that has had as its goal the creation and support of a Jewish national state in Palestine, the ancient homeland of the Jews (Hebrew: Eretz Yisra'el, “the Land of Israel”). Though Zionism originated in eastern and central Europe in the latter part of the 19th century, it is in many ways a continuation of the ancient nationalist attachment of the

West End

2005-02-21T16:44:00.000-08:00

In London, loosely defined area in the boroughs of Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea. Because many of its neighbourhoods and retail districts are among the more affluent of the metropolis, the West End is considered the fashionable end of London. For centuries it has been known for its royal palaces, parklands, government offices, mansions, and exclusive shopping

Kirkpatrick, Ralph

2005-02-21T15:21:00.000-08:00

Kirkpatrick studied piano from age six and began to play harpsichord in 1930. He graduated from Harvard University in 1931 and then went to Paris to continue his studies. His teachers included Wanda Landowska, the French conductor

Atharvaveda

2005-02-20T11:39:00.000-08:00

Collection of hymns and incantations that forms part of the ancient sacred literature of India known as the Vedas. See Veda.

Herculano De Carvalho E Araújo, Alexandre

2005-02-19T20:51:00.000-08:00

As a young man Herculano took part in the unsuccessful rebellion against the absolute rule of Dom Miguel

Viscount Melville Sound

2005-02-19T14:41:00.000-08:00

Formerly Melville Sound, arm of the Arctic Ocean, Kitikmeot and Baffin regions, Northwest Territories, northern Canada. It is 250 miles (400 km) long and 100 miles (160 km) wide. The discovery of this body of water, reached from the east by Sir William Edward Parry (1819–20) and from the west (1850–54) by Sir Robert McClure, proved the existence of the Northwest Passage and provided passage through the Arctic archipelago. A crossroads

Yang Chu

2005-02-19T13:48:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Yang Zhu one of the early Taoist philosophers. Yang has been infamous in Chinese history for what was thought to be his extreme hedonism. This characterization of Yang was fostered by the great Confucian philosopher Mencius (c. 371–289 BC), the second Sage (after Confucius) of China, who condemned Yang Chu for upholding the principle of “each for himself.” According to Mencius,

Top

2005-02-18T21:35:00.000-08:00

A toy having a body of conical, circular, or oval shape, often hollow, with a point or peg on which it turns or is made to whirl. If given a knock, a spinning top will go around in a circle at a slant; if spun with a slant at the start, it will quickly stand upright until halted by friction. Its physical properties are similar to those of the gyroscope. Some tops, as the common peg top,

Buteshire

2005-02-18T15:54:00.000-08:00

Excavations in the islands have revealed evidence of human habitation

Caudata, Bones and cartilage

2005-02-16T22:48:00.000-08:00

The rather weak skull of adults is composed of various paired and unpaired bones. These bones may fuse or be lost in different groups, and their presence and arrangement are important in classification. Much of the fusion and loss of skull bones is associated with a trend toward tongue feeding. Small, double-cusped teeth line the margins of the jaw and spread over parts

Chrismation

2005-02-16T05:15:00.000-08:00

(from Greek chriein, “to anoint”), in Eastern Christianity, sacrament that, together with baptism, introduces new members into the church. It is the Eastern equivalent of confirmation in the West. A priest anoints the forehead, eyes, nostrils, mouth, ears, breast, hands, and feet of the newly baptized with chrism (myron), a mixture of olive oil and balsam blessed by a bishop, and

Danelaw

2005-02-15T17:09:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Danelagh, or Danelaga, the northern, central, and eastern region of Anglo-Saxon England colonized by invading Danish armies in the late 9th century. In the 11th and 12th centuries, it was recognized that all of eastern England between the Rivers Tees and Thames formed a region in which a distinctive form of customary law prevailed in the local courts, differing from West Saxon law to the south

Genecentre

2005-02-15T06:12:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Genecenter, any of a number of areas on the Earth from which arose important crop plants and domestic animals. As few as four of these centres of origin have probably provided the great majority of the most useful plants and animals: (1) tropical southeastern Asia—rice, chickens; (2) temperate southwestern Asia—wheat, sheep, goats, asses; (3) subtropical or temperate Mexico and Central

Rackett

2005-02-14T14:30:00.000-08:00

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

Philadelphia Orchestra

2005-02-14T08:49:00.000-08:00

From Stokowski's tenure, the orchestra was renowned for its interpretation of the symphonic

Hope

2005-02-14T05:49:00.000-08:00

In Christian thought, one of the three theological virtues, the others being faith and charity (love). It is distinct from the latter two because it is directed exclusively toward the future, as fervent desire and confident expectation. When hope has attained its object, it ceases to be hope and becomes possession. Consequently, whereas “love never ends,” hope is confined

Absentee Voting

2005-02-13T16:43:00.000-08:00

Electoral process that enables persons who cannot appear at their designated polling places to vote from another location. The usual method of absentee voting is by mail, although provision is sometimes made for voting at prescribed places in advance of the polling date. Absentee voting requires special administrative arrangements to ensure the secrecy and

Shaft Seal

2005-02-13T05:17:00.000-08:00

A common type of shaft seal consists of an elastomer (elastic rubberlike) ring bonded to a metallic ring that is a press (tight) fit in the hole in the housing through which the shaft

Simon, Paul

2005-02-12T23:29:00.000-08:00

One of the most paradoxical figures in rock-and-roll history, Simon exemplified many of the principles against which the music initially reacted. From his first big hit, “The Sounds of Silence,” in 1965, Simon aspired to a self-consciously elevated poetic tone in his

Tiel

2005-02-12T03:42:00.000-08:00

Formerly Thiel, gemeente (commune), Gelderland provincie, central Netherlands, on the Waal River, west-southwest of Arnhem. Chartered in 1200, Tiel developed as a medieval port and market town and became a member of the Hanseatic League. The town now has a horticultural school, serves a fruit-growing (cherries, apples, and pears) region, and has some light industries. Pop. (1992 est.) 32,643.

Scorpius

2005-02-11T14:32:00.000-08:00

In astrology,

Aesthetics, Three approaches to aesthetics

2005-02-11T03:39:00.000-08:00

1. The study of the aesthetic concepts, or, more specifically, the analysis of the “language of criticism,” in which particular judgments are singled out and their logic and justification displayed. In his famous treatise On the Sublime and Beautiful (1757), Edmund Burke attempted

Rupert's Land

2005-02-10T19:47:00.000-08:00

Also called Prince Rupert's Land, historic region in northern and western Canada. The name was applied to the territory comprising the drainage basin of Hudson Bay, granted by King Charles II in 1670 to the Hudson's Bay Company. Prince Rupert, cousin of Charles, was the first governor of the company, whence the name. Rupert's Land ceased to exist as a territorial entity in 1869, when the land became part of the Dominion

Arghezi, Tudor

2005-02-09T23:26:00.000-08:00

Arghezi, who left home at age 11, first published a poem at age 14. In 1899 he took holy orders in a monastery in Cernica, but he soon renounced them. After

Hood, John B(ell)

2005-02-09T21:43:00.000-08:00

A graduate of West Point who served in the U.S. Cavalry until the outbreak of hostilities, Hood rapidly rose to

Chadic Languages

2005-02-08T18:51:00.000-08:00

Group of languages spoken in northern Nigeria, northern Ghana, Niger, and Cameroon and in parts of Togo, Benin, Chad, and the Central African Republic and generally classified as a branch of the Afro-Asiatic (formerly Hamito-Semitic) language family. The group includes many languages that are spoken by small numbers of people and that have no written form; among these

Sevagram

2005-02-08T16:39:00.000-08:00

Town, eastern Maharashtra state, western India. Originally called Segaon, the village was given its present name (Hindi: Village of Service) by Mohandas Gandhi, the Indian nationalist leader. In 1936 he left his ashram (hermitage) on the Sabarmati River, near Ahmadabad, and settled at Sevagram. There he founded another ashram and directed the independence movement. Within this he

Jerusalem, Siegfried

2005-02-07T19:31:00.000-08:00

Siegfried Jerusalem's name and voice were both well suited to a Wagnerian heldentenor. Strong, clear, and expressive, with a slight vibrato to give it richness, his voice was, Jerusalem believed, perfect for the role of Siegmund in Die Walküre. He also was praised for his effortless phrasing and seductive tone. In addition, Jerusalem had the good looks and athletic build

Literature

2005-02-06T06:17:00.000-08:00

Gauge

2005-02-06T02:02:00.000-08:00

A measure of the bore of a shotgun. See bore.

Clemens, Jacobus

2005-02-06T01:13:00.000-08:00

In 1544 he was probationary choirmaster of Saint-Donatien in Brugge (Bruges) and in 1550 was singer

Moneran

2005-02-05T22:14:00.000-08:00

The monerans are distinct from eukaryotic organisms because of the structure and chemistry of their cells. As prokaryotes, they lack the definite nucleus and membrane-bound organelles (specialized cellular

Powell, Anthony

2005-02-04T06:25:00.000-08:00

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

Locri Epizephyrii

2005-02-03T21:05:00.000-08:00

Also called Locri ancient city on the eastern side of the “toe” of Italy, founded by Greeks c. 680 BC; the inhabitants used the name of Locri Epizephyrii to distinguish themselves from the Locri of Greece. Locri Epizephyrii was the first Greek community to have a written code of laws, given by Zaleucus c. 660 BC. Locri Epizephyrii founded colonies, repelled the attacks of Croton during the 6th century,

Metastasio, Pietro

2005-02-03T19:43:00.000-08:00

In 1712, after receiving a good education from Gravina,

Ashcroft, Dame Peggy

2005-02-03T13:41:00.000-08:00

After graduation from London's Central School of Dramatic Art, Ashcroft made her debut as Margaret in the Birmingham Repertory's production of Dear Brutus (1926). She made her initial London appearance in 1927, but her first important notices were for the role of Naomi in