StiffFowl

Camar

2005-04-04T11:48:00.000-07:00

Widespread caste in northern India whose hereditary occupation is tanning leather; the name is derived from the Sanskrit word carmakara, or “skin worker.” The more than 150 subcastes are characterized by well-organized panchayats (governing councils). Because their work obliged them to handle dead animals, the Camars have suffered from the stigma of being considered

Priesthood

2005-04-03T03:48:00.000-07:00

The Vedic, Brahmanic, and Upanishadic conceptions of priesthood and the predominance of the Brahman caste in Hinduism are discussed in Arthur Berriedale Keith, The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads, 2 vol. (1925, reprinted 1989); S. Radhakrishnan, The Hindu View of Life (1927, reissued 1980), and Eastern Religions and Western Thought, 2nd ed. (1940, reissued 1991); J.H. Hutton, Caste in India, 2nd ed. (1951); and R.C. Zaehner, Hinduism (1962, reissued 1977), with a full bibliography. C.J. Fuller, Servants of the Goddess: The Priests of a South Indian Temple (1984), analyzes the complex interrelationships between the priests of the Minaksi Temple in Madurai and the economic, political, and social structure of contemporary India. V. Bouillier and G. Toffin (eds.), Priesthood, Power, and Authority in the Himalayas (1989), in English and French, is a collection of ethnographic papers concerning the role of the priesthood in Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and two tribal religions, the Tharu of Dang and the cult of Kham Magar. The sublimation of priesthood in Buddhism in India, China, and Japan is treated in Paul Dahlke, Buddhism and Its Place in the Mental Life of Mankind (1927); and Edward Conze, Buddhism: Its Essence and Development (1951, reissued 1975). D. Howard Smith, Chinese Religions (1968), introduces religious thought and sacerdotal practice in China. Religious Studies in Japan (1959), a collection of papers from the ninth International Congress for the History of Religions, is a very informative composite volume in English by a group of Japanese scholars. Texts concerning the Zen sect include Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, Manual of Zen Buddhism, 2nd ed. (1950, reissued 1983); and Alan Watts, The Way of Zen (1957, reprinted 1989); while reference is made to it in R.C. Zaehner, Mysticism, Sacred and Profane (1957, reissued 1980). The priesthood in Shinto is discussed in D.C. Holtom, The National Faith of Japan (1938, reissued 1965).

Ugra, Battle Of The

2005-04-01T05:50:00.000-08:00

(1480), bloodless confrontation between the armies of Muscovy and the Golden Horde, traditionally marking the end of the “Mongol yoke” in Russia. By 1480 the Golden Horde had lost control of large portions of its empire; Ivan III of Moscow had stopped paying tribute to the Horde and no longer recognized it as an authority over Muscovy. In 1480 Akhmet, khan of the Golden Horde, led an army

Soubise, Benjamin De Rohan, Seigneur De

2005-03-30T15:51:00.000-08:00

Soubise apprenticed as a soldier under Prince Maurice of Orange-Nassau in the Low Countries. In the Huguenot rebellions that rocked France in the 1620s, his elder brother chiefly commanded the Huguenots' forces on land and in the south, while Soubise commanded those

Induction

2005-03-28T16:21:00.000-08:00

In embryology, process by which the presence of one tissue influences the development of others. Certain tissues, especially in very young embryos, apparently have the potential to direct the differentiation of adjacent cells. Absence of the inducing tissue results in lack of or improper development of the induced tissue. The converse is often true as well; i.e., the

North Germanic Languages, Icelandic

2005-03-26T05:17:00.000-08:00

Important factors in the survival of Icelandic during the period of Danish rule were its continued use for literary purposes, the geographic remoteness of Iceland, a scattered population, and the great linguistic differences between Danish and Icelandic. While the Scandinavian languages in continental Europe were losing inflection, Icelandic preserved

Scab

2005-03-23T14:07:00.000-08:00

In pathology, secondary skin lesion composed of dried serum, blood, or pus. See wound.

Sete Lagoas

2005-03-22T15:49:00.000-08:00

City, central Minas Gerais estado (“state”), Brazil. Sete Lagoas lies in the highlands near the Espinhaço Mountains. It is a commercial centre for an agricultural region that raises corn (maize), feijão (beans), sugarcane, cassava, and rice, as well as livestock. Manufacturing and dairy and food-processing plants are in the city, which is on the Rio de Janeiro–Brasília highway

Pitesti

2005-03-19T17:52:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Arges judet (county), south-central Romania. It lies 70 miles (110 km) northwest of Bucharest and is situated in the Arges River valley, there sheltered by surrounding hills. Pitesti developed in the Middle Ages as a trading centre between the mountainous Transylvania region and the Danube Plain. It is first documented in 1388, though Roman coins and relics have been

Alkaloid

2005-03-18T16:09:00.000-08:00

Alkaloids are found primarily in plants and are especially common in certain families of flowering plants. More

Gates Of The Arctic National Park And Preserve

2005-03-17T16:14:00.000-08:00

Large, remote wilderness area in northern Alaska, U.S. It is part of a vast region of national parks, monuments, and preserves located north of the Arctic Circle that stretches for hundreds of miles from west to east. Proclaimed a national monument in 1978, the area underwent boundary changes in 1980 when it became a national park and preserve. The total area of the park is 11,756 square

O Dalaigh, Cearbhall

2005-03-17T08:40:00.000-08:00

Son of parents active in the struggle for Irish independence, O Dalaigh studied at University College, Dublin, earning a degree in Celtic studies in 1931. He was an Irish-language editor on The Irish Press (1931–42), meanwhile becoming a lawyer (1935). In 1945 he became Ireland's

Thomas à Kempis,

2005-03-16T19:22:00.000-08:00

About 1392 Thomas went

Dehra Dun

2005-03-14T22:39:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Uttaranchal state, northern India. It lies in the Himalayan foothills at an elevation of 2,200 feet (670 metres). Dehra Dun was founded in 1699, when the heretical Sikh Guru Ram Rai, driven out of the Punjab, built a temple there. During the 18th century the area succumbed to successive invaders, the last of whom were the Gurkhas. When the Gurkha War ended in 1816, the area was ceded to

Atwater, Wilbur Olin

2005-03-13T13:56:00.000-08:00

Upon completing his undergraduate work at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn., Atwater continued his studies at Yale University, where his Ph.D. thesis discussed for the first time how chemical techniques could be applied to food. After further study in Germany,

Switzerland

2005-03-11T15:21:00.000-08:00

Many Swiss were considerably startled in 1997 at finding themselves being buffeted by an onslaught of criticism, some of it from within Switzerland itself, concerning their country's actions during and after World War II. (See Sidebar

Hyde Park

2005-03-10T23:51:00.000-08:00

Town (township) and unincorporated village, Dutchess county, eastern New York, U.S. It lies on the east side of the Hudson River, 8 miles (13 km) north of Poughkeepsie and about 75 miles (121 km) north of New York City. Both the village (settled as Stoutenburgh in 1741) and town (formed in 1821) bear the name of a local estate honouring Edward Hyde, Viscount Cornbury, who was governor of New York (1702–08). Primarily

Porpora, Nicola (antonio Giacinto)

2005-03-10T11:39:00.000-08:00

Porpora was maestro

Girard, Stephen

2005-03-09T09:16:00.000-08:00

Girard shipped out to sea at the age of 14 and by 1774 was captain of a ship involved in U.S. coastal trade with the West Indies. Stymied by British blockades

New England Confederation

2005-03-08T21:35:00.000-08:00

Also called United Colonies of New England in British American colonial history, a federation of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Haven, and Plymouth established in May 1643 by delegates from those four Puritan colonies. Several factors influenced the formation of this alliance, including the solution of trade, boundary, and religious disputes, but the principal impetus was a concern over defense against attacks

Discus Fish

2005-03-06T13:32:00.000-08:00

Two species of the genus Symphysodon of fishes in the family Cichlidae (order Perciformes), characterized by a compressed, disk-shaped body. The two species (S. discus and S. aequifasciata) occur naturally in tributaries of the Amazon River in South America. Discus fish have an unusual form of parental care: the adults secrete a mucuslike substance onto their skin that

Epidermis

2005-03-05T17:09:00.000-08:00

In botany, outermost, protoderm-derived layer of cells covering the stem, root, leaf, flower, fruit, and seed parts of a plant. The epidermis and its waxy cuticle provide a protective barrier against mechanical injury, water loss, and infection. Various modified epidermal cells regulate transpiration, increase water absorption, and secrete substances.

Nefertiti

2005-03-05T16:27:00.000-08:00

Nefertiti is best known for her portrait bust, found at Tell el-Amarna (ancient Akhetaton), the king's new capital.

Van Deman, Ralph

2005-03-04T08:49:00.000-08:00

Van Deman followed an eclectic educational course before settling on a military career: he took a degree from Harvard, studied law for a year, and then took a medical degree (1893). He served briefly as an army surgeon and then attended the

Yang Chu

2005-03-02T11:24:00.000-08:00

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,

Europa

2005-03-01T14:32:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, the daughter either of Phoenix or of Agenor, king of Phoenicia. The beauty of Europa inspired the love of Zeus, who approached her in the form of a white bull and carried her away from Phoenicia to Crete. There she bore Zeus three sons: King Minos of Crete, King Rhadamanthus of the Cyclades Islands, and, according to some legends, Prince Sarpedon of Lycia.

Race, Mendelian heredity and the development of blood group systems

2005-02-28T19:47:00.000-08:00

In 1900, after the rediscovery of Gregor Mendel's experiments dealing with heredity, scientists began to focus greater attention on genes and chromosomes. Their objective was to ascertain the hereditary basis for numerous physical traits. Once the ABO blood group system was discovered and was shown to follow the pattern of Mendelian heredity, other systems—the MN

Asclepiades Of Bithynia

2005-02-28T03:13:00.000-08:00

He opposed the humoral doctrine of Hippocrates and instead taught that disease results from constricted or relaxed conditions of the solid particles, a doctrine derived from the atomic

Dandridge, Dorothy

2005-02-27T10:15:00.000-08:00

Dandridge's mother was an entertainer and comedic actress who, after settling in Los Angeles, had some success in radio and, later, television. The young Dorothy and her sister Vivian

Mark, J. Carson

2005-02-25T19:31:00.000-08:00

Canadian-born American scientist who, as head of the theoretical division at the Los Alamos (N.M.) Scientific Laboratory, was instrumental in the development of the hydrogen bomb (b. July 6, 1913--d. March 2, 1997).

épinal

2005-02-25T13:19:00.000-08:00

Town, capital of the Vosges département, Lorraine région, eastern France, on the Moselle River, south-southeast of Nancy. The town, located on two arms of the Moselle, is divided into four parts. The town proper, known as the grande ville (“large town”), or vieille ville (“old town”), stands on the right bank of the main river. The petite ville (“little town”) is on an island between the two

Guzmán Fernández, (silvestre) Antonio

2005-02-23T22:14:00.000-08:00

At the age of 15, Guzmán was working in his family's textile store. By age 17 he was already managing stores for the Curaçao Trading Company. He invested in land and started growing rice, soon expanding into other agricultural exports. Guzmán was

Dieppe

2005-02-22T04:48:00.000-08:00

In the old town many houses date back to the early 18th century. The castle, built in 1435, was damaged in 1944 but has been restored and now

Port Essington

2005-02-21T01:53:00.000-08:00

Inlet of the Arafura Sea, indenting the north shore of the Cobourg Peninsula, at the extreme north of the Northern Territory, Australia. About 11 miles (30 km) long and 7 miles (11 km) wide, it was surveyed in 1818 by Captain Phillip Parker King of the Royal Navy, who named it for Admiral Sir William Essington. In 1824 it was the site of Britain's third attempt to settle the north coast of Australia.

Hokinson, Helen

2005-02-20T14:31:00.000-08:00

Hokinson attended the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and began a career

Port Essington

2005-02-19T13:56:00.000-08:00

Any of a number of contagious diseases that are most commonly acquired in sexual intercourse. See sexually transmitted disease.

Ibn Jubayr

2005-02-19T00:49:00.000-08:00

The son of a civil servant, Ibn Jubayr became secretary to the Almohad governor of Granada, but he left that post for his pilgrimage, which was begun in 1183 and ended with his return to Granada in 1185. He wrote

Allen, Henry

2005-02-17T04:22:00.000-08:00

The son of a longtime New Orleans brass-band leader, Allen played in his father's band before joining King Oliver's big band in the Midwest in 1927 and then Luis Russell's New York band in 1929–32. Allen was in Fletcher Henderson's big band

Lowe, Doug

2005-02-17T03:32:00.000-08:00

Lowe was a champion runner at Highgate School and also at the University of Cambridge, where he studied law. He came in fourth in the 1,500-metre race at the 1924 Olympics. After his final Olympics performance, he went to Berlin

Shah Alam

2005-02-15T08:38:00.000-08:00

City, West Malaysia (Malaya). Shah Alam lies about 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Kuala Lumpur, the national capital. The city has an industrial estate where food and tobacco products are processed and electrical machinery, cement, chemical, and textile products are manufactured. The city is the headquarters of the Institut Teknoloji MARA, founded 1956; of the Tun Abdul Razak Library,

China, The bureaucratic style

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

Regular posts in the Nan Sung civil service numbered about 20,000 without counting numerous sinecures, temporary commissions, and a slightly larger number of military officers. Besides eliminating most patronage privileges, by which high officials were entitled to obtain an official title for a son or other family member, the court occasionally considered a general

Cabrera, Lydia

2005-02-14T21:42:00.000-08:00

The daughter of Cuban historian Raimundo Cabrera, Lydia Cabrera was told African folk legends by her nanny and the household servants during her childhood.

Edward V

2005-02-13T19:09:00.000-08:00

The eldest surviving son of King Edward IV and Queen Elizabeth (Woodville), Edward was born at Westminster Abbey while his father, momentarily deposed, was in exile in Holland. In June 1471, after Edward IV had crushed his foes and reclaimed his crown, young Edward was made

Aldehyde

2005-02-11T03:04:00.000-08:00

The carbonyl group is highly polar. That is to say, it exhibits an uneven distribution of electrons, which renders the oxygen

Natchitoches

2005-02-10T19:13:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1807) of Natchitoches parish, west-central Louisiana, U.S., on Cane River Lake, 68 miles (109 km) southeast of Shreveport. The oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase territory, it was founded about 1714 as Fort St. Jean Baptiste by the French-Canadian explorer and soldier Louis Juchereau de Saint-Denis to forestall Spanish occupation of the area and to set up a

Shoe

2005-02-09T22:40:00.000-08:00

Outer covering for the foot, usually of leather with a stiff or thick sole and heel, and generally (distinguishing it from a boot) reaching no higher than the ankle.

Argyll, John Campbell, 2nd Duke Of, Duke Of Greenwich, Marquess Of Kintyre And Lorne, Earl Of Campbell And Cowall, Earl Of Greenwich, Viscount Of Loch

2005-02-09T10:06:00.000-08:00

The son of the 1st Duke of Argyll (in the Scottish peerage), he actively furthered the union of England and Scotland and was created a peer of England (1705), with the titles Earl of Greenwich and Baron of Chatham. He served

Venezuela, Climate

2005-02-07T15:00:00.000-08:00

Venezuela lies well within the tropics, and the country's temperatures are relatively uniform with little seasonal variation. Elevation, however, produces significant local differences in temperature, precipitation, and vegetation. More than nine-tenths of Venezuela has a mean annual temperature above 75 °F (24 °C). The average mean temperature for Caracas, lying in a

Lustration

2005-02-06T07:07:00.000-08:00

(from Latin lustratio, “purification by sacrifice”), any of various processes in ancient Greece and Rome whereby individuals or communities rid themselves of ceremonial impurity (e.g., bloodguilt, pollution incurred by contact with childbirth or with a corpse) or simply of the profane or ordinary state, which made it dangerous to come into contact with sacred rites

Cabrol, Fernand

2005-02-05T01:00:00.000-08:00

One of the most important of Cabrol's works was his widely circulated Livre de la

Grace & Co.

2005-02-04T17:07:00.000-08:00

The company grew out of a Peruvian land and resource enterprise formed by William R. Grace in 1854. In 1865 Grace moved the business headquarters to New York City, where the company expanded into shipping. The firm was incorporated

Quinto Real

2005-02-03T13:10:00.000-08:00

(Spanish: “royal fifth”), in colonial Spanish America, a tax levied by the crown on mineral products; it was the principal source of profit derived by Spain from its colonies. The percentage was fixed at one-fifth in 1504, to be paid for 10 years, but the rate remained at generally that level until the 18th century. In 1723 the quinto was almost uniformly reduced to the diezmo (one-tenth); in 1777 the

Nemours, Jacques De Savoie, Duc De, (duke Of), Comte (count) De Genevois, Marquis De Saint-sorlin

2005-02-02T08:28:00.000-08:00

He won a military reputation in the French royal service on the eastern frontier and in Piedmont in the 1550s and against the Huguenots and their German allies in the 1560s. His amorous exploits at the Valois court were also admired; the chronicler Pierre de Brantôme characteristically

Bristol Bay

2005-01-31T17:19:00.000-08:00

Arm of the Bering Sea, indenting for 200 mi (320 km) the southwest coast of Alaska, U.S.; its mouth extends for 270 mi between Cape Newenham (north) and the southwest end of the Alaska Peninsula (south). Its shoreline includes the individually named bays at the mouths of the Togiak, Nushagak, Kvichak, and Ugashik rivers. The shallowness of Bristol Bay limits navigation to small salmon-fishing

Luxor

2005-01-31T10:00:00.000-08:00

Also called El-Aksur, or Al-Uqsur,

China, Rainfall

2005-01-30T16:02:00.000-08:00

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

Constance, Council Of

2005-01-29T13:46:00.000-08:00

(1414–18), 16th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. Following the election of two rival popes (Gregory XII in Rome and Benedict XIII in Avignon) in 1378 and the attempt at the Council of Pisa in 1409 to resolve the Western Schism by the election of a new pope, the church found itself with three popes instead of one. Under pressure from the Holy Roman emperor Sigismund, John

Pacific Ocean, Tropical storms

2005-01-28T08:27:00.000-08:00

Although, in general, the climatic conditions of the trade-wind belts are characteristically regular and uniform, storms of great violence do originate there. In such storms, winds of exceptionally great force spiral inward toward a centre of exceedingly low atmospheric pressure. These are the tropical storms known in the western Pacific as typhoons. While the

Switzerland, Transportation

2005-01-26T20:14:00.000-08:00

The large-scale technical undertakings of modern highway

Dadra And Nagar Haveli

2005-01-24T10:42:00.000-08:00

Union territory of India, located in the western part of the country between the states of Gujarat and Maharashtra, some 15 miles (24 kilometres) from the Arabian Sea and 80 miles north of Bombay. It consists of two sections: Dadra, with three villages, and Nagar Haveli, with 69 villages. Occupying 190 square miles (491 square kilometres), it is administered by the governor of Goa. The capital is

Hurley, Patrick J(ay)

2005-01-23T04:14:00.000-08:00

Beginning the practice of law in Oklahoma (1908), Hurley served as a colonel in the American Expeditionary Force in World War I. During the 1920s he became active in Republican Party politics,

Eindhoven

2005-01-22T16:37:00.000-08:00

Eindhoven was chartered in 1232 by Henry I, duke of Brabant. It developed after 1900 from a small village into one of the largest industrial centres of The Netherlands. In 1920 five adjoining municipalities were annexed, thereby increasing Eindhoven's

Caracalla

2005-01-21T10:59:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Caracallus, byname of Marcus Aurelius Severus Antoninus Augustus, original name (until AD 196) Septimius Bassianus, also called (AD 196–198) Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Caesar Roman emperor, ruling jointly with his father, Septimius Severus, from 198 to 211 and then alone from 211 until his assassination in 217. His principal achievements were his colossal baths in Rome and his edict of 212, giving Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the empire. Caracalla, whose reign contributed to the decay

Biblical Literature, Obadiah

2005-01-21T07:48:00.000-08:00

The Book of Obadiah, the fourth book of the Twelve (Minor) Prophets, contains only 21 verses. Nothing is known about the prophet as a person or about his times. It may have been written before the Exile, though many scholars believe that it was composed either some time after 586 BCE or in the mid-5th century, when the Jews returned to the area around Jerusalem. The prophet concentrates

Indian Philosophy, The Purva-mimamsa-sutras and Sabara's commentary

2005-01-19T16:07:00.000-08:00

The Purva-mimamsa (“First Reflection”), or Karmamimamsa (“Study of [Ritual] Action”), is the system that investigates the nature of Vedic injunctions. Though this is the primary purpose of the system, this task also led to the development of principles of scriptural interpretation and, therefore, to theories of meaning and hermeneutics (critical interpretations). Jaimini, who composed

Hadassah

2005-01-18T23:16:00.000-08:00

The organization is one of the largest volunteer women's organizations in the United States. It was founded in 1912 by Jewish scholar and activist Henrietta Szold and

Karachi, Transportation

2005-01-17T05:24:00.000-08:00

Karachi is the terminus of Pakistan's railway

Frederick

2005-01-17T01:30:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1907) of Tillman county, southwestern Oklahoma, U.S. With the opening of the Kiowa-Apache-Comanche reservation to settlement in 1901, the community grew up around a stop on the Blackwell, Enid, and Southwestern Railway. Initially known as Gosnell and renamed in 1902 for the son of railroad magnate J.C. van Blarcom, Frederick developed as a shipping point for locally produced

Academy, Gallery Of The

2005-01-16T14:49:00.000-08:00

Italian Galleria Dell'accademia, museum of art in Florence chiefly famous for its several sculptures by Michelangelo, notably his “David.” It also has a collection of 15th- and 16th-century paintings and many 13th–16th-century Tuscan paintings. It was founded in 1784 by the grand duke Pietro Leopoldo and was subsequently enlarged.

Social Protection, Asylum and Refugees.

2005-01-14T11:54:00.000-08:00

The distinction between voluntary and forced migration was sometimes difficult to discern. With the number of people on the move far outstripping the capacity of existing legal channels for migration—despite a ready market for labour—people who were not in need of protection sometimes used the asylum system. Although the public perception that governments

Hour Circle

2005-01-14T02:25:00.000-08:00

The term also refers to a scale on the mounting

Wang Wei

2005-01-13T14:41:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Wang Wei, also called Wang Mo-ch'i one of the most famous men of arts and letters during one of the golden ages of Chinese cultural history. Wang Wei is popularly known as a model of humanistic education as expressed in poetry, music, and painting. In the 17th century, the writer on art Tung Ch'i-ch'ang (q.v.) established him as the founder of the revered Southern school of painter-poets,

Byron, John Byron, 1st Baron

2005-01-11T23:16:00.000-08:00

He was the eldest son of Sir John Byron (d. 1625), a member of an old Lancashire family which had settled at Newstead, near Nottingham. During the third decade of the 17th century Byron was member of Parliament for the town and afterward for the county of Nottingham. In December 1641, King Charles I made him lieutenant

Hellenistic Religion

2005-01-11T17:07:00.000-08:00

The conquests of Alexander opened the way for religious interchange between East and West; the political structures left behind by Alexander and continued by his successors provided strong incentives for the hellenization of native religions. Characteristic of this first period of Hellenistic religious history were the following developments: (1) the introduction

Yukata

2005-01-09T08:35:00.000-08:00

It has become accepted practice to wear a yukata on the street on warm summer evenings. Japanese inns and many hotels supply their guests with yukatas for

Furniture, The United States

2005-01-09T05:17:00.000-08:00

The new classicism of Robert and James Adam came into vogue in the new republic during the last years of the century. The shipowners and merchants of Salem, Boston, and New York equipped their mansions with the work of Samuel McIntire, John Seymour, and Duncan Phyfe, each of whom produced individual interpretations of the Hepplewhite-Sheraton mode. This early Federal

Ejido

2005-01-07T19:45:00.000-08:00

In Mexico, village lands communally held in the traditional Indian system of land tenure that combines communal ownership with individual use. The ejido consists of cultivated land, pastureland, other uncultivated lands, and the fundo legal (townsite). In most cases the cultivated land is divided into separate family holdings, which cannot be sold although they

G.c.

2005-01-07T03:08:00.000-08:00

The George Cross, a British decoration for bravery. See George Cross.

Allen, Sir Hugh (percy)

2005-01-05T03:52:00.000-08:00

Allen was an organ scholar at Christ's College, Cambridge, and later held organist's posts at Ely cathedral (1898–1901) and New College, Oxford (1901–18). In 1918 he became director of the Royal College of Music, London, and in

Vacuum Technology

2005-01-04T03:51:00.000-08:00

Capacities are available from 100 to 70,000 cu ft per minute, operating usually in the pressure range of 10 to 10-3 torr. The peak speed of the pump is developed in the pressure range of 1 to 10-2 torr, the speed at the lower end of the pressure range depending on the type of forepump used. A typical mechanical booster utilizes two figure-eight-shaped impellers, synchronized by external gears,

Nebuchadrezzar Ii

2005-01-04T00:28:00.000-08:00

Nebuchadrezzar II was the oldest son and successor of Nabopolassar, founder of the Chaldean empire. He is known from cuneiform inscriptions, the Bible and later Jewish sources,

Natchitoches

2005-01-02T18:14:00.000-08:00

Norwegian Language

2005-01-02T15:55:00.000-08:00

Norwegian Norsk, North Germanic language of the West Scandinavian branch, existing in two distinct and rival norms—Dano-Norwegian (Bokmål, or Riksmål) and New Norwegian (Nynorsk). Dano-Norwegian stems from the written Danish introduced during the union of Denmark and Norway (1380–1814). New Norwegian was created by the language scholar Ivar Aasen during the mid-19th century, primarily from the

Libyan Desert

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

Arabic As-sahra' Al-libiyah, northeastern portion of the Sahara, extending from eastern Libya through southwestern Egypt into the extreme northwest of The Sudan. The desert's bare rocky plateaus and stony or sandy plains are harsh, arid, and inhospitable. The highest point is Mount Al-'Uwaynat (6,345 feet [1,934m]), located where the three countries meet; the Qattara Depression (Munkhafad al-Qattarah) of Egypt descends

Blaby

2004-12-30T16:02:00.000-08:00

District, county of Leicestershire, south-central England. It covers the southern and western suburbs of the city of Leicester, in an arc around the city boundary from southeast to northwest, and extends southwest across a mostly rural area almost to the county boundary with Warwickshire on the southwest. Blaby district is administered from Narborough. Other important

Psychomotor Learning, Devices and tasks

2004-12-29T14:20:00.000-08:00

Hundreds of electrical and mechanical instruments have been developed for research in psychomotor learning, but those commonly used number less than two dozen. In operating a device called a complex coordinator, the learner is instructed to make prompt, synchronized adjustments of handstick and foot-bar controls to match different combinations of stimulus

Carnivore, Importance to humans

2004-12-28T09:10:00.000-08:00

Probably of most significance economically is the musk, called civet, produced by the anal gland in members of the viverrid group known as “civet cats.” Civet is a yellowish substance with the consistency of butter and is of great importance as a base for perfumes. It is produced by the anal scent glands and stored in a sac near the genital region. The Oriental and African

John Hyrcanus I

2004-12-28T01:30:00.000-08:00

Hyrcanus was the youngest son of Simon

Koganei

2004-12-26T10:11:00.000-08:00

City, Tokyo to (metropolis), Honshu, Japan. It lies on the Chuo Main Line railway, west of Tokyo city. During the mid-Tokugawa period (1603–1867) several settlements were established in the area. The opening of the Musashi-Koganei Line railway station in 1926 prompted increased construction of housing and educational facilities. After World War II the population increased rapidly, and

Caitanya Sect

2004-12-25T05:23:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Chaitanya intensely emotional form of Hinduism that has flourished from the 16th century, mainly in Bengal and eastern Orissa, India. It takes its name from the medieval saint Caitanya (Chaitanya; 1485–1533), whose fervent devotion to Lord Krishna (Krsna) inspired the movement. For Caitanya the legends of Krishna and his youthful beloved, Radha, were both symbolic of and the highest expressions

Fore-and-aft Sail

2004-12-23T14:22:00.000-08:00

One of the two basic types of sailing rig, the other being the square sail. The fore-and-aft sail, now usually triangular, is set completely aft of a mast or stay, parallel to the ship's keel, and takes the wind on either side. The mainsail always has a boom, pivoted on the mast. Historically, it represented an important advance over the ancient square sail; it first appeared in

Cohn, Ferdinand (julius)

2004-12-23T07:39:00.000-08:00

Cohn was born in the ghetto of Breslau, the first of three sons of a Jewish merchant. His father spared no effort in the education of his precocious oldest child, and Ferdinand retained a melancholy

Cadalso Y Vázquez, José De

2004-12-21T22:31:00.000-08:00

Cadalso also spelled Cadahlso Spanish writer famous for his Cartas marruecas (1793; “Moroccan Letters”), in which a Moorish traveler in Spain makes penetrating criticisms of Spanish life. Educated in Madrid, Cadalso traveled widely and, although he hated war, enlisted in the army against the Portuguese during the Seven Years' War. His prose satire Los eruditos a la

Adams, Charles Follen

2004-12-20T21:19:00.000-08:00

During the American Civil War he was wounded and taken prisoner. In 1872 he began writing humorous verses for periodicals and newspapers in a Pennsylvania German dialect. Collections of his verse are Leedle Yawcob Strauss, and Other Poems (1877) and

Mansehra

2004-12-20T06:36:00.000-08:00

Town, northeastern North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan. The town is situated at the southern end of the Pakhli Plain on the Bhut Stream, a tributary to the Siran River, at an elevation of 3,682 feet (1,122 m) above sea level. It is a market town surrounded by pine-covered hills and has a flour mill, a woolen-yarn mill, and an agricultural research centre. The nearby Asokan rock edicts

Porsgrunn

2004-12-19T05:13:00.000-08:00

Town, Telemark fylke (county), southern Norway, at the mouth of the Skienselva (river) on Frierfjorden. Established as a customs post in 1652 with the name Porsgrund, it received its town charter in 1842. An export and industrial centre, it contains the huge Norsk Hydro chemical factories, a factory that produces Norway's finest porcelain, shipyards, metalworks, and lumber mills.

South Africa

2004-12-17T22:05:00.000-08:00

Officially Republic of South Africa, formerly Union of South Africa, the southernmost country on the African continent. It has an area of 470,693 square miles (1,219,090 square kilometres). It measures almost 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) from north to south, as well as from east to west. South Africa is bordered by Namibia to the northwest, by Botswana and Zimbabwe to the north, and by Mozambique and Swaziland to the northeast and east. Lesotho, an independent constitutional

Babenberg, House Of

2004-12-17T01:42:00.000-08:00

Austrian ruling house in the 10th–13th century. Leopold I of Babenberg became margrave of Austria in 976. The Babenbergs' power was modest, however, until the 12th century, when they came to dominate the Austrian nobility. With the death of Duke Frederick II in 1246, the male line of the Babenbergs ended, and the family's power declined rapidly.

Procedural Law

2004-12-16T18:57:00.000-08:00

Also called adjective law the law governing the machinery of the courts and the methods by which both the state and the individual (the latter including societies, whether incorporated or not) enforce their rights in the several courts. It prescribes the means of enforcing rights or providing redress of wrongs and comprises rules relative to jurisdiction, pleading and practice, evidence,

Arsenate Mineral

2004-12-15T14:37:00.000-08:00

Any of a group of naturally occurring compounds of arsenic, oxygen, and various metals, most of which are rare, having crystallized under very restricted conditions. At the mineralogically famous Långban iron and manganese mines in central Sweden, more than 50 species of arsenate minerals have been described, many peculiar to the locality. Such compounds occur in

StiffFowl

Camar

Priesthood

Ugra, Battle Of The

Soubise, Benjamin De Rohan, Seigneur De

Induction

North Germanic Languages, Icelandic

Scab

Sete Lagoas

Pitesti

Alkaloid

Gates Of The Arctic National Park And Preserve

O Dalaigh, Cearbhall

Thomas à Kempis,

Dehra Dun

Atwater, Wilbur Olin

Switzerland

Hyde Park

Porpora, Nicola (antonio Giacinto)

Girard, Stephen

New England Confederation

Discus Fish

Epidermis

Nefertiti

Van Deman, Ralph

Yang Chu

Europa

Race, Mendelian heredity and the development of blood group systems

Asclepiades Of Bithynia

Dandridge, Dorothy

Mark, J. Carson

épinal

Guzmán Fernández, (silvestre) Antonio

Dieppe

Port Essington

Hokinson, Helen

Port Essington

Ibn Jubayr

Allen, Henry

Lowe, Doug

Shah Alam

China, The bureaucratic style

Cabrera, Lydia

Edward V

Aldehyde

Natchitoches

Shoe

Argyll, John Campbell, 2nd Duke Of, Duke Of Greenwich, Marquess Of Kintyre And Lorne, Earl Of Campbell And Cowall, Earl Of Greenwich, Viscount Of Loch

Venezuela, Climate

Lustration

Cabrol, Fernand

Grace & Co.

Quinto Real

Nemours, Jacques De Savoie, Duc De, (duke Of), Comte (count) De Genevois, Marquis De Saint-sorlin

Bristol Bay

Luxor

China, Rainfall

Constance, Council Of

Pacific Ocean, Tropical storms

Switzerland, Transportation

Dadra And Nagar Haveli

Hurley, Patrick J(ay)

Eindhoven

Caracalla

Biblical Literature, Obadiah

Indian Philosophy, The Purva-mimamsa-sutras and Sabara's commentary

Hadassah

Karachi, Transportation

Frederick

Academy, Gallery Of The

Social Protection, Asylum and Refugees.

Hour Circle

Wang Wei

Byron, John Byron, 1st Baron

Hellenistic Religion

Yukata

Furniture, The United States

Ejido

G.c.

Allen, Sir Hugh (percy)

Indian Philosophy, The Purva-mimamsa-sutras and Sabara's commentary