FrequentStomach

Social Protection, Asylum and Refugees.

2005-03-30T22:04:00.000-08:00

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

Dunqulah

2005-03-30T21:25:00.000-08:00

The historic town of Old Dunqulah (Dunqulah al-'Ajuz) was situated on the

Asbestosis

2005-03-28T06:50:00.000-08:00

Lung disease that is caused by the prolonged inhalation of asbestos fibres. A type of pneumoconiosis, it is found primarily among workers whose occupations involved asbestos, principally mining, construction, and the manufacture of insulation, fireproofing, cement products, and automobile brakes. The disease is not limited solely to asbestos workers but is also

Radegunda, Saint

2005-03-28T00:51:00.000-08:00

A Thuringian princess, Radegunda was captured about 531 by Chlotar I during an expedition against the Thuringians. She was educated in letters at his court;

China, Attempts to end the war

2005-03-26T22:58:00.000-08:00

Peace negotiations continued in Chungking between Nationalist and Communist officials after Japan's surrender. An agreement reached on Oct. 10, 1945, called for the convening of a multiparty Political Consultative Council to plan a liberalized postwar government and to draft a constitution for submission to a national congress. Still, the sides were far apart over

O'brien, Flann

2005-03-26T16:27:00.000-08:00

O'Brien was educated in Dublin and later became a civil servant while also pursuing his writing career. He is most celebrated for his unusual novel At Swim-Two-Birds, which, though it was first published in 1939, achieved fame

Established Church

2005-03-24T14:33:00.000-08:00

A church recognized by law as the official church of a state or nation and supported by civil authority. Though not strictly created by a legal contract, the legal establishment is more like a contractual entity than like anything else and, therefore, ordinarily cannot be varied or repudiated by only one party to it. The church is not free to make changes in such things

Kama

2005-03-24T01:51:00.000-08:00

In the mythology of India, the god of love. During the Vedic age, he personified cosmic desire, or the creative impulse, and is called the first-born of the primeval chaos that makes all later creation possible. In later periods he is depicted as a handsome youth, attended by heavenly nymphs, who shoots love-producing flower-arrows. His bow is of sugarcane, his bowstring

Avon

2005-03-21T22:09:00.000-08:00

Region and former administrative county, southwestern England, bordering the Severn estuary and the Bristol Channel. The region comprises parts of the historic counties of Gloucestershire and Somerset to the north and south, respectively. It is divided administratively into the following unitary authorities: Bath and North East Somerset, the city of Bristol

Hour Circle

2005-03-21T00:09:00.000-08:00

The term also refers to a scale on the mounting

Kerr, Roy P(atrick)

2005-03-20T05:54:00.000-08:00

Kerr received an M.S. (1954) from New Zealand University (now dissolved) and his Ph.D. (1960) from Cambridge University. He served on the faculty of the University of Texas at Austin

Paraíba

2005-03-19T03:53:00.000-08:00

Also called Parahyba, or Parahyba Do Norte, estado (“state”) of northeastern Brazil. Primarily an agricultural state, Paraíba is bounded by the states of Rio Grande do Norte on the north, Ceará on the west, and Pernambuco on the south and by the Atlantic Ocean on the east. Its area is 20,833 square miles (53,958 square km). Its chief river, the Paraíba, rises on the Pernambuco border and enters the Atlantic Ocean near the state capital,

Ray, Satyajit

2005-03-18T05:25:00.000-08:00

Bengali motion-picture director, writer, and illustrator who brought the Indian cinema to world recognition with Pather Panchali (1955; The Song of the Road) and its two sequels, known as the Apu Trilogy. As a director Ray was noted for his humanism, his versatility, and his detailed control over his films and their music. He was one of the greatest

Sunspot

2005-03-17T11:21:00.000-08:00

Vortex of gas on the surface of the Sun associated with strong local magnetic activity. Spots look dark only by contrast with the surrounding photosphere, which is several thousand degrees hotter. The dark centre of a spot is called the umbra; the outer, lighter ring, the penumbra. Spots may be several times larger than the Earth or so small that telescopic observation

Morgan, Karl

2005-03-17T10:14:00.000-08:00

American physicist who worked as a senior scientist on the Manhattan Project in 1943 and served as director of health physics at the Oak Ridge (Tenn.) National Laboratory (1944–72); despite his position in the nuclear establishment, he warned about the dangers of nuclear radiation, testifying in several cases in the 1970s and '80s on behalf of those claiming to have suffered from radiation

Bedford

2005-03-16T07:51:00.000-08:00

Borough (town), seat (1771) of Bedford county, southern Pennsylvania, U.S., on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and the Raystown Branch Juniata River, in the Allegheny Mountains, 38 miles (61 km) south of Altoona. A settlement made on the site about 1750 by John Wray (or Ray), a Scottish trader, was known as Raystown. Fort Bedford (built 1758 and apparently named for John Russell, 4th duke of Bedford) was a frontier

China, Phase two: stalemate and stagnation

2005-03-15T22:38:00.000-08:00

During the second stage of the war (1939–43) the battle lines changed very little, although there were many engagements of limited scale. Japan tried to bomb Free China into submission; Chungking suffered repeated air raids in which thousands of civilians were killed. In 1940 Japan set up a rival government in Nanking under Wang Ching-wei. But the Chinese would not submit. Hundreds

Sundarbans

2005-03-15T00:43:00.000-08:00

Formerly Sunderbunds, vast tract of forest and saltwater swamp forming the lower part of the Ganges Delta, extending about 160 miles (260 km) along the Bay of Bengal from the Hooghly River Estuary (India) to the Meghna River Estuary in Bangladesh. The whole tract reaches inland for 60–80 miles (100–130 km). A network of estuaries, tidal rivers, and creeks intersected by numerous channels, it encloses flat, marshy islands

Balochi

2005-03-14T08:58:00.000-08:00

The original

Race, Transforming race into species

2005-03-14T00:20:00.000-08:00

One of those whose direct experience of African slaves and assessment of them was given great weight was Edward Long (1734–1813), a former plantation owner and jurist in Jamaica. In a book entitled The History of Jamaica (1774), Long asserted that “the Negro” was “void of genius” and “incapable” of civilization; indeed, he was so far inferior as to constitute a separate species of mankind. Long's

Cos

2005-03-13T23:28:00.000-08:00

A ragged limestone ridge runs along the southern coast. The highest point of the island, Mount Dhíkaios (2,776 feet [846 m]), divides the island near its centre. A fertile lowland stretches along the north coast that is irrigated by the deep springs of the Prión Ridge, which also provides

Moscow Canal

2005-03-13T02:06:00.000-08:00

Russian Kanal Moskva, ship waterway linking Moscow to the Volga River at Ivankovo, north of Moscow. Built between 1932 and 1937, the canal replaced the canalized Moskva River, which can take only small craft, as the main water access to Moscow. The water journey to the important industrial centre of Nizhny Novgorod (formerly Gorky) was shortened by 75 miles (120 km). Along the Moscow Canal's length of 80 miles (128 km)

Ammers-küller, Jo Van

2005-03-12T17:32:00.000-08:00

Van Ammers-Küller began her writing career as a playwright. Her first successful novels, Het huis der vreugden (1922; The House of Joy) and Jenny Huysten (1923; Jenny Huysten's Career), deal with life in and around the theatre and draw on her experiences as a dramatist in London from 1912 to 1921. Her most successful

J/psi Particle

2005-03-11T16:04:00.000-08:00

Type of meson consisting of a charmed quark and a charmed antiquark. It has a mass of 3.1 GeV/c2, which is about 3.5 times larger than the mass of a proton. The particle was first detected in 1974 by two groups of American physicists working independently of each other, one headed by Burton Richter at SLAC (Stanford Linear Accelerator Center) in Menlo Park, Calif., and another headed by

Sara Lee Corporation

2005-03-10T17:07:00.000-08:00

The company was incorporated in 1941 as the South Street Company and went through several name changes before it adopted the name Consolidated Grocers Corporation in 1945 and Consolidated Foods Corporation

Sudan, The, Transportation

2005-03-10T11:50:00.000-08:00

The transport system is underdeveloped and is a serious constraint on economic growth. The country's vast area and the availability of only one major outlet to the sea place a heavy burden on the limited facilities, especially on the government-owned Sudan Railways and on the country's growing road network. The railways had traditionally hauled most of The Sudan's

Tyrian Purple

2005-03-09T04:36:00.000-08:00

Naturally occurring dye highly valued in antiquity. It is closely related to indigo (q.v.).

Xenolith

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

Rock fragment within an intrusive igneous body that is unrelated to the igneous body itself. Xenoliths, which represent pieces of older rock incorporated into the magma while it was still fluid, may be located near their original positions of detachment or may have settled deep into the intrusion, if their density is greater. Xenoliths can be contrasted with autoliths

Gnetales

2005-03-08T11:41:00.000-08:00

Only order of plants in the subdivision Gnetopsida, a group with characteristics of both angiosperms and gymnosperms. The order contains three families: Ephedraceae, Gnetaceae, and Welwitschiaceae, each with a single genus. See also Ephedra; Gnetaceae; Welwitschiaceae.

Delisle, Guillaume

2005-03-08T06:19:00.000-08:00

A brother of the astronomer Joseph-Nicolas Delisle and a student of the astronomer Jean-Dominique Cassini, Delisle learned to fix accurate positions by astronomical observation. The accuracy of his continental outlines and his reduction of gross errors in determining lines of longitude

Eusebio

2005-03-06T23:35:00.000-08:00

Eusebio began his career in the then Portuguese territory of Mozambique by playing on the Sporting Lourenço Marques. The Lisbon team of Benfica acquired

Modjadji V

2005-03-06T22:23:00.000-08:00

South African tribal ruler (b. 1936/37, Ga-Modjadji, Northern province, S.Af.—d. June 28, 2001, Pietersburg, S.Af.), was the revered Rain Queen of the Bantu-speaking Lovedu tribe, the latest representative of a 400-year-old matriarchal dynasty believed to have magical rainmaking powers, and South Africa's only reigning queen. As Rain Queen, Modjadji V served as the secular and religious leader of

Caucasian Languages, Svan

2005-03-05T13:15:00.000-08:00

The Svan language (self-designation: lušnu nin), also unwritten, is located south of Mount Elbrus, in the high valleys of the upper Tskhenis-Tskali and its tributary Kheledula and in the valleys of the upper Inguri River. There are four fairly distinct dialects: Upper and Lower Bal in the Inguri region, and Lashkh and Lentekh in the Tskhenis-Tskali region. Georgian and Russian

Epistemology, Philosophy of mind and epistemology

2005-03-04T14:19:00.000-08:00

In the late 1970s a series of developments occurred in a variety of intellectual fields that promise to cast new light on the nature of the human mind. There have been explosive advances in neuroscience, psychology, cognitive science, neurobiology, artificial intelligence, and computer studies. These have resulted in a new understanding of how seeing works, how the mind

Ribe

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

City, seat of Ribe amtskommune (county commune), southwestern Jutland, Denmark, on the Ribe River, 4 miles (6 km) from the North Sea. One of Denmark's oldest towns, it was first mentioned in 862 and became a bishopric in 948. In the Middle Ages it was a thriving port and favourite royal resort, centred on Riberhus (a castle founded in the early 12th century and destroyed by the Swedes in 1658). The

Hesilrige, Sir Arthur, 2nd Baronet

2005-03-02T22:34:00.000-08:00

A native of Leicestershire, Hesilrige succeeded to his father's baronetcy in 1629. He sat in both the Short and Long Parliaments

Rwanda

2005-03-02T22:09:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ruanda , officially Republic of Rwanda , French République Rwandaise , Rwanda Republika y'u Rwanda landlocked republic lying south of the Equator in east-central Africa. It is bounded on the west by Congo (Kinshasa) and Lake Kivu, on the north by Uganda, on the east by Tanzania, and on the south by Burundi. The capital is Kigali. Like its neighbour to the south, Rwanda is a country of minute dimensions (10,169 square miles [26,338 square kilometres]), grinding poverty, and high population

Bel Canto

2005-03-01T22:24:00.000-08:00

(Italian: “beautiful singing”), style of operatic singing that originated in Italian singing of polyphonic (multipart) music and Italian courtly solo singing during the late 16th century and that was developed in Italian opera in the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries. Using a relatively small dynamic range, bel canto singing was based on an exact control of the intensity of

Grumiaux, Arthur, Baron

2005-02-28T18:38:00.000-08:00

Grumiaux studied at the Charleroi and Royal conservatories in Brussels and later with Georges Enescu in Paris. In 1939 he won the Vieuxtemps Prize, and a year later he became the first recipient of the Belgian government's Prix de Virtuosité. Shortly after his debut

Disorderly Conduct

2005-02-27T20:44:00.000-08:00

Disorderly conduct may take the form of directly disturbing the peace, as when one intentionally disrupts a public meeting or awakens a sleeping community. Less directly, it includes

9to5, National Association Of Working Women

2005-02-27T07:33:00.000-08:00

The group had its origins in 9to5 News, a newsletter that was first published in December 1972. About a year later, the newsletter's publishers announced the formation of Boston 9to5, a grassroots collective for women office

Toynbee Hall

2005-02-27T00:36:00.000-08:00

Pioneering social settlement in the East End of London. It was founded on Commercial Street, Whitechapel (now in Tower Hamlets), in 1884 by the canon Samuel Augustus Barnett and named for the 19th-century English social reformer Arnold Toynbee. During his early years at St. Jude's Church, Barnett invited members of the universities of Oxford and Cambridge to the impoverished

Sexual-predator Law

2005-02-26T23:58:00.000-08:00

Statute that mandates lengthy periods of preventive detention for habitual sexual offenders and sexual psychopaths beyond their criminal sentences. Sexual-predator laws became popular in the United States in the 1990s, and their passage raised constitutional questions about double jeopardy and the balancing of the rights of offenders against those of the wider

Ryan, T. Claude

2005-02-25T21:54:00.000-08:00

Ryan learned to fly in 1917, trained with the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1919 at Marsh Field, California, and served with the U.S. Aerial Forest Patrol until 1922. Ryan established a flight school and a business

Radio

2005-02-25T06:14:00.000-08:00

Transmission and detection of communication signals consisting of electromagnetic waves that travel through the air in a straight line or by reflection from the ionosphere or from a communications satellite.

Canute (i)

2005-02-24T19:35:00.000-08:00

Neither the place nor date of Canute's birth is known. As a youth he accompanied his father, Sweyn I Forkbeard, king of Denmark, on his invasion of England in 1013. Canute was left in charge of the fleet at Gainsborough, Lincolnshire,

Mercara

2005-02-23T23:40:00.000-08:00

Also called Madhu-keri town, southern Karnataka (formerly Mysore) state, southern India, in the Western Ghats, at an elevation of 3,800 feet (1,160 m), on the national highway from Mysore city to Mangalore. In 1681 Mudda Raja selected the central but inaccessible site for the capital of the independent Hindu dynasty of Coorg. A fort built in 1812 by Linge Raja and the hilltop Onkeshwara Temple overlook the quiet town.

Carlisle

2005-02-22T20:32:00.000-08:00

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

Nitrate

2005-02-21T21:03:00.000-08:00

Any member of either of two classes of compounds derived from nitric acid. The salts of nitric acid are ionic compounds containing the nitrate ion, NO-3, and a positive ion, such as NH+4 in ammonium nitrate. Esters of nitric acid are covalent compounds having the structure R-O-NO2, in which R represents an organic combining group, such as ethyl (C2H5) in ethyl nitrate. See also nitro

Sable

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

(Martes zibellina), graceful carnivore of the weasel family, Mustelidae, found in the forests of northern Asia and highly valued for its fine fur. The common name is sometimes also applied to related European and Asian species and to the American marten. The sable ranges from about 32 to 51 centimetres (13 to 20 inches) long, excluding the 13–18-cm tail, and weighs 0.9–1.8 kilograms

Anticyclone

2005-02-20T19:48:00.000-08:00

Any large wind system occurring in regions outside the equatorial belt and rotating about a centre of high atmospheric pressure clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern. Its flow is the reverse of that of a cyclone (q.v.).

Pen, International

2005-02-19T19:28:00.000-08:00

International organization of writers. The original PEN was founded in London in 1921 by the English novelist John Galsworthy, and it has since grown to include writers worldwide. The name PEN is an acronym standing for “poets, playwrights, editors, essayists, and novelists.” International PEN promotes international intellectual exchanges and goodwill among writers.

Cartwright, Edmund

2005-02-19T17:53:00.000-08:00

Cartwright began his career as a clergyman, becoming, in 1779, rector of Goadby Marwood, Leicestershire; in 1786 he was a prebendary in Lincoln (Lincolnshire) cathedral. He probably would have spent his life as an obscure

Balboa

2005-02-19T08:51:00.000-08:00

Pacific terminal port in central Panama, at the southern end of the Panama Canal. It lies between the canal docks and Ancón Hill, which separates it from Panama City. Founded in 1914 and named for Vasco Núñez de Balboa, European discoverer of the Pacific, it has extensive harbour installations, drydocks, marine and railroad repair shops, warehouses, and a coaling plant. Balboa

Gtsang Dynasty

2005-02-18T10:25:00.000-08:00

Also spelled gTsang (c. 1565–1642), Chinese royal dynasty whose rule was centred in the province of Gtsang, or gTsang. The Gtsang was the last secular native ruling house in Tibet. After overthrowing the previous Rin-spung rulers of the country around 1565, the Gtsang kings allied themselves with the powerful Karma-pa, or Red Hat, order of Buddhists and opposed the new reformed Dge-lugs-pa, or Yellow Hat, Buddhists,

Lightning

2005-02-17T19:01:00.000-08:00

A brief description of lightning follows. For a longer discussion of lightning within its meteorological context, see thunderstorm electrification in the article

Furtwängler, Adolf

2005-02-17T04:04:00.000-08:00

In 1878–79 Furtwängler took part in the German excavation of Olympia, site of the ancient Greek games. While serving as museum director for the Berlin Antiquarium (1880–94), he prepared

Athaliah

2005-02-15T20:07:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Athalia, in the Old Testament, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel and wife of Jeham, king of Judah. After the death of Ahaziah, her son, Athaliah usurped the throne and reigned for seven years. She massacred all the members of the royal house of Judah (II Kings 11:1–3), except Joash. A successful revolution was organized in favour of Joash, and she was killed. The story of Athaliah forms the subject

Alabama, The Indians

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

The earliest and longest established inhabitants of the present-day state of Alabama were Indians. Visible traces of their occupancy, which spanned almost 10,000 years, may be seen in the great mounds that snake across the landscape near the river valleys. Many placenames in the state also indicate an Indian origin. The name Alabama itself derives from an Indian word meaning

Skiing

2005-02-14T00:16:00.000-08:00

The 15th Nordic World Cup overall title for men's cross-country racing was clinched by Vladimir Smirnov of Kazakhstan, the previous season's runner-up. Defending champion Bjørn Dæhlie of Norway was second, and Jari Isometsae of Finland placed third. The women's crown was won by Manuela Di Centa of Italy, followed by two Russians, Lyubov Yegorova (see BIOGRAPHIES) and Yelena

Teamsters Union

2005-02-13T07:49:00.000-08:00

Byname of International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Warehousemen and Helpers of America , formerly (until 1940) International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen and Helpers of America (IBT) largest labour union in the United States, representing truck drivers and workers in related industries (such as aviation). The union was formed in 1903 when the Team Drivers International Union (1899) merged with the Teamsters National Union (1902). Local deliverymen using horse-drawn vehicles remained the core membership until the 1930s, when intercity truck drivers rose to predominance.

Augustus, Caesar

2005-02-13T06:17:00.000-08:00

Returning to Italy, he was told that in his will Caesar had adopted him as his son and had made him his chief personal heir. He was only 18 when, against the advice of his stepfather and others, he decided to take up this perilous inheritance and proceeded to Rome. Mark Antony (Marcus Antonius), Caesar's chief lieutenant, who had taken possession of his papers and assets and had

Literature

2005-02-12T02:48:00.000-08:00

Strict ideological censorship by the government continued in 1994 to be the background against which all discussions of the literary scene in Iran had to be conducted. In this regard the most sensational event of the year was the death, probably in November, of the noted essayist and satirist 'Ali Akbar Sa`idi Sirjani, who died in custody, under unexplained circumstances,

Conant, James B.

2005-02-11T02:30:00.000-08:00

Conant received his A.B. and Ph.D. (1916) degrees from Harvard and, after spending a year in the research division of the chemical warfare service during World War I, returned to Harvard as instructor

Van Cortlandt, Stephanus

2005-02-11T01:07:00.000-08:00

Van Cortlandt attended the New Amsterdam school of the Dutch Reformed Church and began a successful and profitable mercantile career under his father's guidance. After the

Henry I

2005-02-09T17:43:00.000-08:00

The son of Robert II the Pious and grandson of Hugh Capet, founder of the Capetian dynasty, Henry was anointed king at Reims (1026) in his father's lifetime, following the death of his elder brother Hugh. His mother, Constance, however, favoured his younger brother

Hyatt, Anna Vaughn

2005-02-09T07:59:00.000-08:00

Anna Hyatt was the daughter of noted Harvard paleontologist Alpheus Hyatt. She was educated privately and began her study of sculpture with Henry H. Kitson in Boston. She later attended the Art Students

Ucicky, Gustav

2005-02-08T07:44:00.000-08:00

Ucicky began his career as a cameraman with director Michael Curtiz. He moved to Germany in 1928 and became involved in the state-subsidized studio UFA. His early movies, such as Hocuspocus (1929) and Der unsterbliche

Esquipulas

2005-02-08T04:39:00.000-08:00

Town, southeastern Guatemala, in the central highlands near the borders of Honduras and El Salvador at an elevation of 3,018 feet (920 m). The town itself is not large; it derives its great importance from its magnificent colonial church, now Central America's greatest pilgrimage centre, built in 1737 by the archbishop of Guatemala to house the spectacular Black Christ. The figure,

Paeligni

2005-02-07T21:20:00.000-08:00

Ancient people of central Italy, whose territory lay inland on the eastward slopes of the Apennines. Though akin to the Samnites, they formed a separate league with their neighbours the Marsi, Marrucini, and Vestini. This league appears to have broken up after the Second Samnite War (304 BC), when each tribe came into an alliance with the Romans that lasted until the Social

Yurt

2005-02-07T17:01:00.000-08:00

Also spelled yurta , Mongol ger tentlike Central Asian nomad's dwelling, erected on wooden poles and covered with skin, felt, or handwoven textiles in bright colours. The interior is simply furnished with brightly coloured rugs (red often predominating) decorated with geometric or stylized animal patterns. The knotted pile rug, first known from a nomad burial at the foot of the Altai Mountains

Armstrong, Henry

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

Armstrong fought as an amateur from 1929 to 1932. Early in his career he boxed under the name Melody Jackson. He first won the featherweight (126-pound) title by knocking out Petey Sarron in

Rabbit

2005-02-05T14:38:00.000-08:00

There is no single taxonomic group that constitutes the rabbit. Rather the name refers to an accumulation of 10 genera in the family Leporidae whose characteristics are intermediate between hares and pikas, the other members of order Lagomorpha. The best-known and most recognizable of the 28 rabbit species are the European rabbit and the 16 or so species of North and South

Pembroke, Mary Herbert, Countess Of

2005-02-05T05:40:00.000-08:00

In 1575 Queen Elizabeth I invited Mary to court, promising “a speciall care” of her. Two

Gray, Asa

2005-02-04T21:27:00.000-08:00

American botanist whose extensive studies of North American flora did more than the work of any other botanist to unify the taxonomic knowledge of plants of this region. His most widely used book, Manual of the Botany of the Northern United States, from New England to Wisconsin and South to Ohio and Pennsylvania Inclusive (1848), commonly

Kaziasker

2005-02-03T14:30:00.000-08:00

The title was created by Sultan Murad I (reigned 1360–89), who appointed Çandarli Kara Halil as the first kaziasker. In that office he accompanied the army in campaigns and

Nord-pas-de-calais

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

Région, encompassing the northernmost French départements of Nord and Pas-de-Calais. The capital is Lille. The région is bounded by the départements of Somme and Aisne to the south. The English Channel lies to the northwest and Belgium to the northeast. Flatlands predominate in the north, with much of the land lying below sea level. The hills of Cambrais and Avesnois

Robert Ii

2005-02-01T16:37:00.000-08:00

On the death (1326) of his father, Walter the Steward, in 1326, Robert became seventh hereditary steward of Scotland at age 10. From 1318 he

Insurance, Sue and labour clause

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

The sue and labour clause requires the ship owner to make every attempt to reduce or save the exposed interests from loss. Under the terms of the clause, the insurer pays for any necessary costs incurred in carrying out the requirements of the sue and labour clause. Thus, if a ship is stranded, under the sue and labour clause the hull owner would be required to hire salvors

Aydin Dynasty

2005-01-31T23:17:00.000-08:00

Turkmen dynasty (c. 1308–1425) that ruled in the Aydin-Izmir region in western Anatolia. Situated in a prosperous coastal region, the Aydin principality was active in the Mediterranean trade. As a frontier state between the declining Byzantine Empire and the growing Ottoman state, it had a monopoly in providing mercenary troops to rival Byzantine factions, and it also offered

São Francisco River

2005-01-31T15:15:00.000-08:00

The upper-middle basin is an agricultural region in which cotton, beans, rice, and corn (maize) are grown. The

Ambo

2005-01-31T03:38:00.000-08:00

The Ambo economy rests almost equally on agriculture and animal husbandry,

Vietnam

2005-01-29T23:45:00.000-08:00

Officially Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Vietnamese Cong Hoa Xa Hoi Chu Nghia Viet Nam, country occupying the eastern part of the Indochinese Peninsula. It has an area of 127,800 square miles (331,000 square kilometres). From north to south it extends about 1,025 miles (1,650 kilometres) and at its narrowest part is about 30 miles wide. Vietnam is bordered by China to the north, the South China Sea to the east and south, the Gulf of Thailand to the southwest, and Cambodia and Laos to the

Ribble Valley

2005-01-29T00:22:00.000-08:00

Borough (district), administrative county of Lancashire, northwestern England, along the county's eastern border, extending into the western Pennine uplands. The southern part of the borough, including the lower Ribble valley and the two largest towns, Clitheroe and Longridge, lies in the historic county of Lancashire. The remainder of the mostly rural borough, including

Catabolism

2005-01-28T13:36:00.000-08:00

Energy is released in three phases. In the first, such large molecules as those of proteins,

France, History Of, Collective security

2005-01-28T07:20:00.000-08:00

Poincaré, in his final term of office (1926–29), retained as foreign minister Aristide Briand, who had been named to that post by the Cartel in 1925 and who was to remain there for seven years almost without interruption. Briand sensed a change in the public mood after the Ruhr episode and proclaimed himself “the apostle of peace”; he formulated a policy that he called apaisement. His

Venetic Language

2005-01-27T08:39:00.000-08:00

A language spoken in northeastern Italy before the Christian era. Known to modern scholars from some 200 short inscriptions dating from the 5th through the 1st century BC, it is written either in Latin characters or in a native alphabet derived from Etruscan, the Etruscans having established settlements in the Po Valley in the 6th century BC. Authorities are undecided as to

Cape Tulip

2005-01-26T03:53:00.000-08:00

A few species have white flowers. Some species are variously known as Natal paintbrush, Catherine wheel, giant paintbrush, and

Seward

2005-01-25T19:50:00.000-08:00

City, southern Alaska, U.S., on Kenai Peninsula, at the head of Resurrection Bay. Founded in 1903 as a supply base and ocean terminus for a railway to the Yukon Valley (since 1913, the Alaska Railroad), it was named for William H. Seward, the secretary of state who negotiated the purchase of Alaska from Russia. Its ice-free port provides an important freight dock for interior Alaska. Tourism

Bindweed

2005-01-24T13:22:00.000-08:00

Plants of the closely related genera Convolvulus and Calystegia, mostly twining, often weedy, and producing handsome white, pink, or blue, funnel-shaped flowers. Bellbine, or greater bindweed (Calystegia sepium), native in Eurasia and North America, bears arrow-shaped leaves and white to pink, 5-centimetre (2-inch) flowers. This twining perennial grows

Cd

2005-01-24T10:54:00.000-08:00

Abbreviation of Córdoba Durchmusterung (q.v.), an astronomical catalog.

Elizabeth

2005-01-24T05:37:00.000-08:00

The daughter of Peter I the Great (reigned 1682–1725) and Catherine I (reigned 1725–27), Elizabeth grew up to be a beautiful, charming, intelligent, and vivacious young woman. Despite her talents and popularity, particularly among the guards, she played only a minor political role

Ogden, Peter Skene

2005-01-23T13:50:00.000-08:00

Ogden's parents were American loyalists who had fled to Canada (via England) during the American

Jones, Jo

2005-01-22T19:30:00.000-08:00

Jones grew up in Alabama, studied music for 12 years, and became a skilled trumpeter and pianist; he toured with carnivals as a tap dancer as well as an instrumentalist. He played with Southwestern “territory

Benedict (x)

2005-01-22T05:00:00.000-08:00

Original name Giovanni Mincio , Latin Johannes Mincius antipope from April 1058 to January 1059. His expulsion from the papal throne, on which he had been placed through the efforts of the powerful Tusculani family of Rome, was followed by a reform in the law governing papal elections. The new law, enacted in 1059, established an electoral body, which subsequently became the Sacred College of Cardinals, charged with

Furniture, England

2005-01-21T09:38:00.000-08:00

The classical reaction, which set in shortly after 1760, reimposed a classical discipline on design, though of a lighter and more delicate touch than that of the previous classicists, the Palladians. Robert Adam, whose name is inseparably associated with this movement, had, like earlier architects, studied in Italy. There he sought inspiration in the monuments of both

Regency Style

2005-01-21T01:19:00.000-08:00

Decorative arts produced during the regency of George, prince of Wales, and the opening years of the 19th century as well as his entire reign as King George IV of England, ending in 1830. The major source of inspiration for Regency taste was found in Greek and Roman antiquity, from which designers borrowed both structural and ornamental elements. The classical revival of

Diefenbaker, John G(eorge)

2005-01-20T05:52:00.000-08:00

After serving in World War I, Diefenbaker practiced law in Saskatchewan. He was made king's counsel in 1929. In 1936 he was chosen as leader of the Saskatchewan Conservative Party, serving at that post until 1940, when

Wright, James

2005-01-19T21:24:00.000-08:00

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

Molfetta

2005-01-18T11:54:00.000-08:00

Town and episcopal see, Bari provincia, Puglia (Apulia) regione, southeastern Italy. It lies along the Adriatic Sea, northwest of Bari city. An important port in the Middle Ages and a free city for a time, it was sacked by the French in 1529. Although Molfetta is mainly modern, its outstanding Romanesque–Apulian-style Duomo Vecchio (“Old Cathedral”), a national monument, dates from