DryReceipt

Puerto Cabello

2005-03-30T19:56:00.000-08:00

Port city, northern Carabobo state, north-central Venezuela, situated on the Caribbean Sea. In colonial times, the waters of its well-protected harbour were said to be so smooth that a single hair (Spanish cabello) could moor a vessel to the dock, hence the name. The settlement has played a prominent part in Venezuelan history as a target of pirate attacks, a smuggling centre,

Tabby

2005-03-29T05:34:00.000-08:00

Type of dark-striped coat colouring found in both wild and domestic cats. One of the most common coat colours, the tabby pattern dates back to domestic cats in ancient Egypt. It is a recognized colour variety in purebred cats and is frequently seen in cats of mixed ancestry. Tabby colouring is highly variable but, for show cats, should consist of the following dark markings:

Costigan, Edward Prentiss

2005-03-27T11:09:00.000-08:00

Costigan spent most of his youth in Colorado, where his parents moved in 1877. He graduated from Harvard University in 1899 and began his law practice in Denver the next year. His interest in good government led him to join nonpartisan

Aphrodite

2005-03-27T07:42:00.000-08:00

Ancient Greek goddess of sexual love and beauty, identified by the Romans with Venus (q.v.). Because the Greek word aphros means “foam,” the legend arose that Aphrodite was born from the white foam produced by the severed genitals of Uranus (Heaven), after his son Cronus threw them into the sea. Aphrodite was, in fact, widely worshiped as a goddess of the sea and of seafaring; she

Lenox, James

2005-03-25T10:59:00.000-08:00

Lenox' father was a wealthy Scottish merchant from whom Lenox inherited several million dollars as well as valuable properties in New York City. A graduate of Columbia College (1818) and a member of the bar, Lenox devoted the bulk of his life to collecting rare books, manuscripts, and

Armour, Philip Danforth

2005-03-25T02:17:00.000-08:00

Armour earned his first capital in California mining endeavours and cofounded a grain-dealing and meatpacking business in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1863. Anticipating a

Rabbit

2005-03-24T00:24:00.000-08:00

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

Clare, John Fitzgibbon, 1st Earl Of

2005-03-23T01:51:00.000-08:00

He entered the Irish

Triforium

2005-03-22T05:46:00.000-08:00

In architecture, space in a church above the nave arcade, below the clerestory, and extending over the vaults, or ceilings, of the side aisles. The term is sometimes applied to any second-floor gallery opening onto a higher nave by means of arcades or colonnades, like the galleries in many ancient Roman basilicas or Byzantine churches. The triforium became an integral

Tyrrhenian Sea

2005-03-21T20:24:00.000-08:00

Latin Mare Tyrrhenum, Italian Mare Tirreno, arm of the Mediterranean Sea, between the western coast of Italy and the islands of Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily. It is connected with the Ligurian Sea (northwest) through the Tuscan Archipelago and with the Ionian Sea (southeast) through the Strait of Messina. Chief inlets of the sea include the Bay of Naples and the gulfs of Gaeta, Salerno, Policastro, and Sant'Eufemia.

Harding, Warren G.

2005-03-19T21:32:00.000-08:00

Harding was never personally implicated in the scandals, but he was aware of the actions of Forbes, Smith, and the Ohio Gang and failed to bring their corruption to light. By the mid-1920s, the public began to regard Harding as a man who simply did not measure up to the responsibilities of his high office. Rumours of his heavy drinking in the White House (at a time when Prohibition was the law of the land) and of his involvement in extramarital affairs further degraded his reputation. In 1927 Nan Britton published The President's Daughter, in which she claimed that in 1919 she had given birth to a child fathered by the future president. While historians have challenged the veracity of this and other allegations made against Harding, most of them agree that he was the least capable of the nation's chief executives.

Cividale Del Friuli

2005-03-19T07:57:00.000-08:00

Town, Udine province, Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, northeastern Italy, on the Natisone River just northeast of Udine city. Founded in Roman times as Forum Julii, perhaps by Julius Caesar, it gave its name to, and was the capital of, Friuli, the first Lombard duchy formed in Italy. From 730 to 1238 it was the residence of the patriarchs of Aquileia. It fell to Venice with the rest of

Wage And Salary, Subsistence theory

2005-03-18T05:33:00.000-08:00

Subsistence theories emphasize the supply aspects and neglect the demand aspects of the labour market. They hold that change in the supply of workers is the basic force that drives real wages to the minimum required for subsistence. Elements of a subsistence theory appear in The Wealth of Nations, where Smith wrote that the wages paid to workers had to be enough

Insurance, Settlement options

2005-03-18T03:29:00.000-08:00

The death proceeds or cash values of insurance may be settled in various ways. The insured may take the cash value and lapse the policy. A beneficiary may take a lump sum settlement of the face amount upon the death of the insured. The beneficiary may, instead, elect to receive the proceeds over a given number of years or in some fixed amount, such as $100 a month, for as long as

Yama-no-kami

2005-03-17T22:07:00.000-08:00

In Japanese popular religion, any of numerous gods of the mountains. These kami are of two kinds: (1) gods who rule over mountains and are venerated by hunters, woodcutters, and charcoal burners and (2) gods who rule over agriculture and are venerated by farmers. Chief among them is O-yama-tsumi-no-mikoto, born from the fire god who was cut into pieces by his angry father Izanagi

Madagascar, Settlement patterns

2005-03-17T14:22:00.000-08:00

Despite the importance of intensive rice cultivation, the land is used primarily for pastoral purposes. Cattle are kept in all parts of the island. Fewer are found in the dense forest areas of the eastern escarpment, but elsewhere pastoralism predominates, most often coexisting with the cultivation of subsistence crops. On the plateau, the valley floors and irrigable

Deva

2005-03-16T16:58:00.000-08:00

Iranian Daeva in Vedic India, one of many divine powers, roughly divided on the basis of their identification with the forces of nature into sky, air, and earth divinities (e.g., Varuna, Indra, Soma). In the later monotheistic systems the devas became subordinate to the one supreme being. During the Vedic period the gods were divided into two classes, the devas and the asuras (in Iranian, daeva

Armoured Vehicle

2005-03-16T10:08:00.000-08:00

Armoured also spelled Armored, motor vehicle that is fitted with partial or complete armour plating for protection against bullets, shells, or other projectiles. Armoured vehicles for military use can move either on wheels or on two endless metal chains called tracks. The tank (q.v.) is the principal fighting armoured vehicle. Other military types include armoured personnel carriers, armoured

Paul, Wolfgang

2005-03-15T13:58:00.000-08:00

German physicist who shared one-half of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1989 with the German-born American physicist Hans G. Dehmelt. (The other half of the prize was awarded to the American physicist Norman F. Ramsey.) Paul received his share of the prize for his development of the Paul trap—an electromagnetic device that captures ions (electrically

Italian Popular Party

2005-03-14T23:05:00.000-08:00

In January 1919 a Sicilian priest, Luigi Sturzo, founded the original Italian Popular Party.

Welland

2005-03-14T07:12:00.000-08:00

City, regional municipality of Niagara, southeastern Ontario, Canada. It lies along the Welland River and Welland Ship Canal. During the War of 1812 the area was the scene of several battles between British-Canadian and American forces. Founded as The Aqueduct by loyalists around the first Welland Canal (completed 1829), the settlement was renamed Merrittsville in 1842 after William

Beadle, George Wells

2005-03-13T01:31:00.000-08:00

After earning his doctorate in genetics from Cornell University (1931), Beadle went to the laboratory of

Korolyov

2005-03-12T15:41:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Korolev , formerly (1938–96) Kaliningrad city, Moscow oblast (province), Central federal district, western Russia. It lies just northeast of the city of Moscow. The area, known as Kalininsky, developed after 1928 as an industrial satellite, particularly for weapons manufacture, and dormitory town of the capital. It achieved city status and was renamed Kaliningrad in 1938. In 1996 the city was renamed in honour of the scientist

Land Mine

2005-03-11T03:54:00.000-08:00

Stationary explosive charge used against military troops or vehicles. See mine.

Clapboard

2005-03-10T20:05:00.000-08:00

Cleft oak clapboard was introduced to New England in the

Light

2005-03-10T17:45:00.000-08:00

Electromagnetic radiation that can be detected by the human eye. In terms of wavelength, electromagnetic radiation occurs over an extremely wide range, from gamma rays with a wavelength of 3 ´ 10-14 centimetre to long radio waves measured in millions of kilometres. In that spectrum the wavelengths visible to humans occupy a very narrow band, from about 7 ´ 10-5 centimetre (red light)

San Bernardino Pass

2005-03-10T09:29:00.000-08:00

German Sankt Bernhardinpass, Italian Passo Di San Bernardino, mountain pass (6,775 ft [2,065 m]), in the Lepontine Alps of Graubünden canton, southeastern Switzerland. Although the pass was not mentioned until 941, it is believed to have been in use since prehistoric times. The road over the pass connects the villages of Splügen and Hinterrhein in the Hinterrhein River Valley to the north with the towns of Mesocco and Bellinzona in the Moesa River

Deffand, Marie De Vichy-chamrond, Marquise Du

2005-03-10T02:24:00.000-08:00

She was born of a noble family, educated at a convent in Paris, and married at 21 to her kinsman Jean-Baptiste de La Lande, Marquis du Deffand, from whom she separated in 1722. She was by that time taking part in the extremely dissipated life that characterized the entourage of the

Switzerland, Crop cultivation at high altitudes

2005-03-09T16:52:00.000-08:00

The Alpine pastures of the Monte Rosa region reach an altitude of 10,800 feet, and until recently the highest Alpine grainfields, which have fallen victim to the decline in Alpine agriculture, lay above Zermatt at an altitude of 6,900 feet. The highest vineyard of central Europe, at an altitude of 3,900 feet, is still located near Visperterminen in the Valais. The largest vineyards are

Scandinavian Literature, Sources of modern Swedish literature

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

Four influences combined to free Swedish literature from petrifying conventions: the English writings of Charles Darwin, Herbert Spencer, and John Stuart Mill; the French Naturalism of Émile Zola; the drama of the Norwegians Henrik Ibsen and Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson; and the criticism of the Dane Georg Brandes. The modern literature growing out of this was first

Independence Day

2005-03-08T02:04:00.000-08:00

The Congress had voted in favour of independence from Great Britain on July 2 but did not actually complete the process of revising the Declaration of Independence, originally

's Hertogenbosch

2005-03-07T17:21:00.000-08:00

Chartered in 1185 by Henry I, duke of Brabant, who had a hunting lodge nearby (hence the name, meaning “the duke's wood”), it was an important medieval wool centre and became a bishopric in 1559. The town saw many sieges

Lipps, Theodor

2005-03-06T11:35:00.000-08:00

At the University of Bonn (1877–90) Lipps wrote a comprehensive account of psychology of the time, Grundtatsachen des

Denaturation

2005-03-05T18:56:00.000-08:00

In biology, process modifying the molecular structure of a protein. Denaturation involves the breaking of many of the weak linkages, or bonds (e.g., hydrogen bonds), within a protein molecule that are responsible for the highly ordered structure of the protein in its natural (native) state. Denatured proteins have a looser, more random structure; most are insoluble. Denaturation

Siamese Fighting Fish

2005-03-05T14:58:00.000-08:00

(Betta splendens), freshwater tropical fish of the family Belontiidae (classified by some authorities as Anabantidae; order Perciformes), noted for the pugnacity of the males toward one another. The Siamese fighting fish, a native of Thailand, was domesticated there for use in contests. Combat consists mainly of fin nipping and is accompanied by a display of extended

Ancient Rome, Barbarian kingdoms

2005-03-05T01:51:00.000-08:00

Several barbarian kingdoms were then set up: in Africa, Gaiseric's kingdom of the Vandals; in Spain and in Gaul as far as the Loire, the Visigothic kingdom; and farther to the north, the kingdoms of the Salian Franks and the Alemanni. The barbarians were everywhere a small minority. They established themselves on the great estates and divided the land to the benefit of

China, New directions in national policy, 195861

2005-03-04T06:14:00.000-08:00

The pressures behind the dramatic inauguration in 1958 of “Three Red Banners”—the general line of socialist construction, the Great Leap Forward, and the rural people's communes—are still not fully known. Undoubtedly, a complex mixture of forces came into play. Mao personally felt increasingly uncomfortable with the alliance with the Soviet Union and with the social

Zamia

2005-03-04T04:08:00.000-08:00

A genus of 30 or more species of cycads (family Cycadaceae), small, stocky, fern-like plants native to tropical and subtropical America. They have a turniplike, mostly underground stem that in some species reaches 3 m (10 feet) or more in height. A starchy food is obtained from the crushed roots and stems of certain species, among them coontie, or comfortroot (Z. floridana), found in

Yiddish Language

2005-03-03T18:14:00.000-08:00

The earliest

Satavahana Dynasty

2005-03-03T10:13:00.000-08:00

On the strength of Puranic evidence

Amalgam

2005-03-03T08:53:00.000-08:00

A sodium amalgam is formed during the

Jáchymov

2005-03-01T14:10:00.000-08:00

Spa town, Západoceský kraj (region), Czech Republic. It lies at the foot of Mount Klínovec, the highest summit in the Ore Mountains (Krušné hory), just north of Karlovy Vary. A silver-mining centre for the Holy Roman Empire, the town reached its peak in the 16th century, when its mines were owned by the counts of Šlik (German: Schlik). The German monetary unit taler, or thaler, from which

Asclepiadaceae

2005-03-01T07:35:00.000-08:00

The milkweed family of the flowering-plant order Gentianales, including more than 280 genera and about 2,000 species of tropical herbs or shrubby climbers, rarely shrubs or trees. Most members of the family have milky juice, flowers with five united petals, podlike fruits, and, usually, tufted seeds. The silky-haired seeds are drawn out of their pods by the wind

Sha'rani, Ash-

2005-03-01T07:22:00.000-08:00

Throughout his life Sha'rani was influenced by the pattern of his education. His introduction and exposure to Islamic learning were limited; his formal education was concerned with the 'ulum al-wahb (“gifted knowledge of the mystic”), as opposed to a traditional and rigorous study of Islamic sciences.

López Y Fuentes, Gregorio

2005-02-28T08:05:00.000-08:00

In his youth he spent much time in his father's general store, where he came in contact with the Indians, farmers, and labourers of the region, whose lives he would later describe with deep insight. After unsuccessful efforts at

Eye, Human, The axes of the eye

2005-02-27T11:25:00.000-08:00

It is worthwhile at this point to define certain axes of the eyes employed during different types of study. The optic axis of the eye is a line drawn through the centre of the cornea and the nodal (central) point of the eye; it actually does not intersect with the retina at the centre of the fovea as might be expected, but toward the nose from this, so that there is an angle of

West Germanic Languages, Characteristics of modern Standard German

2005-02-27T09:08:00.000-08:00

German has the following consonants, given here in phonetic symbols because the spelling often varies: stops, p, b, t, d, k, g; fricatives, f, v, ç~x; sibilants, s, z, š, z; nasals, m, n, ; liquids, l, r; glides, h, j. German ç~x, spelled ch, is the voiceless velar fricative x after a, a, o, o, u, u, and au but is the voiceless palatal fricative ç in other phonetic environments. The German sound z occurs only in loanwords

Intendant

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

The origin of the office of intendant remains obscure, and no document has been

South American Indian Languages, Quechumaran

2005-02-27T05:19:00.000-08:00

Quechumaran, which is composed of the Quechuan and Aymaran families, is the stock with the largest number of speakers—7,000,000 for Quechuan and 1,000,000 for Aymaran—and is found mainly in the Andean highlands extending from southern Colombia to northern Argentina. The languages of this group have also resisted displacement by Spanish, in addition to having gained in numbers of

Tu-16

2005-02-26T17:42:00.000-08:00

The TU-16 carried a crew of six and

Uchimura Kanzo

2005-02-26T11:06:00.000-08:00

Uchimura came from a samurai (warrior) family and studied (1878–81) at the Sapporo Agricultural School (now Hokkaido University), where he was converted to Christianity. After several years' service in the government as

Chile, Political uncertainty, 192038

2005-02-25T21:27:00.000-08:00

In the decade following World War I, falling saltpetre sales and rising inflation fueled dissatisfaction among the middle and working classes. They supported the election of the reformist president Arturo Alessandri Palma in 1920. When the legislature blocked his initiatives, discontent spread to middle-class army officers. They intervened in 1924 to force parliamentary

Sokol

2005-02-25T20:33:00.000-08:00

(Czech: “Hawk,” or “Falcon”), gymnastic society, originating in Prague in 1862 to develop strength, litheness, alertness, and courage. Originally patterned after the German turnverein, the Sokol traditionally emphasized mass calisthenics as a means of promoting communal spirit and physical fitness. Banned during the Nazi occupation, the Sokol movement was revived in 1945 but

Catamaran

2005-02-23T09:33:00.000-08:00

Twin-hulled sailing and powered boat developed for sport and recreation in the second half of the 20th century. Its design is based on a raft of two logs bridged by planks that had earlier been used by peoples in the Indonesian archipelago and throughout Polynesia and Micronesia. Early catamarans were up to 21.3 m (70 ft) long, originally paddled by many men, and used for visiting,

Gulbransson, Olaf

2005-02-23T06:55:00.000-08:00

Gulbransson studied at the Royal Norwegian Drawing School and worked for several Norwegian newspapers. After a visit to Paris in 1900, he returned to Oslo,

Strangler Fig

2005-02-23T05:32:00.000-08:00

Of the 150 or so species of New World figs, most are stranglers, including F. obtusifolia and F. nymphaeifolia. Beginning life as a sticky

Francis (i)

2005-02-22T02:14:00.000-08:00

He was appointed head of government in 1564 while his father, Cosimo I, was still alive; and he succeeded his father as grand duke in 1574. The title was not precisely legitimate since it had been bestowed by the

Skien

2005-02-21T15:04:00.000-08:00

Town and seat of Telemark fylke (county), southern Norway, on the Skienselva (river). Originally the site of a monastery, the town, founded in 1110, is one of the oldest in Norway; it was incorporated in 1346. An industrial centre and port, Skien's lumber and mining concerns began the development of the area in the mid-1600s. The ore has been exhausted, but the town has important foundries and

Hamid Dynasty

2005-02-21T14:01:00.000-08:00

Turkmen dynasty (c. 1300–1423) that ruled in southwestern Anatolia. It was founded by Felekuddin Dündar, whose father, Ilyas, was a frontier ruler under the Seljuqs and who named it after his grandfather; Dündar governed the Hamid principality jointly with his brother Yunus, with two capitals, one at Egridir and one at Antalya (Attalia). Dündar was defeated and killed (1324) by Demirtas, the

Grafton

2005-02-21T11:24:00.000-08:00

County, western New Hampshire, U.S. It is bounded to the west by Vermont (the Connecticut River constituting the entire border) and consists of a mountainous region, with the White Mountains and a large portion of White Mountain National Forest occupying the northeastern part of the county. It is drained by the Ammonoosuc, Baker, Mascoma, and Pemigewasset rivers. Other

Halakhah

2005-02-20T00:10:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Halakha, Halakah, or Halachah (Hebrew: “the Way”), plural Halakhahs, Halakhot, Halakhoth, or Halachot, in Judaism, the totality of laws and ordinances that have evolved since biblical times to regulate religious observances and the daily life and conduct of the Jewish people. Quite distinct from the Law of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Bible), Halakhah purports to preserve and represent oral traditions stemming from the revelation on Mount Sinai or

East Cleveland

2005-02-19T21:07:00.000-08:00

City, suburb of Cleveland, Cuyahoga county, northeastern Ohio, U.S., just southeast of Lake Erie. The site was settled in 1801 by farmers, and East Cleveland township was organized in 1805. The boundaries were reduced, and the village, which was incorporated in 1895, became a city in 1911. Suburban growth was aided by the streetcar. Primarily residential, the city has some industrial development

Novokuznetsk

2005-02-19T06:11:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Novokuzneck , formerly Kuznetsk , (1931–32) Novokuznetsk , or (1932–61) Stalinsk city, Kemerovo oblast (province), south-central Russia. The city lies along the Tom River just below its confluence with the Kondoma, in the Kuznetsk Coal Basin. Originally the small village of Kuznetsk, founded in 1617, stood on the river's right bank; it had about 4,000 inhabitants in 1926. In 1929, under the Soviet First Five-Year Plan, an ironworks was founded on the opposite bank; around the

Pugachov, Yemelyan Ivanovich

2005-02-18T19:09:00.000-08:00

An illiterate Don Cossack, Pugachov fought in the Russian Army in the final battles of the Seven Years' War (1756–63), in Russia's campaign in Poland (1764), and in the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–74. Following the siege and conquest of Bendery (1769–70), however, he returned

Ecotone

2005-02-18T17:24:00.000-08:00

A transition area of vegetation between two different plant communities, such as forest and grassland. It has some of the characteristics of each bordering community and often contains species not found in the overlapping communities. An ecotone may exist along a broad belt or in a small pocket, such as a forest clearing, where two local communities blend together.

Carúpano

2005-02-18T13:28:00.000-08:00

City, northern Sucre estado (“state”), northeastern Venezuela. On the Caribbean Sea, near the centre of the twin peninsulas Araya and Paria, Carúpano is the commercial nucleus and principal port of an agricultural area, the principal export of which is cacao. Many fertile valleys in the highlands around Carúpano and throughout Sucre (representing a high percentage

Amontons, Guillaume

2005-02-17T06:49:00.000-08:00

Amontons is often credited with having discovered the laws of friction (1699), though in fact his work dealt solely with static friction—i.e., the friction of objects at rest. It was only after the English physicist Sir Isaac

Parallax

2005-02-16T14:19:00.000-08:00

In astronomy, the difference in direction of a celestial object as seen by an observer from two widely separated points. The measurement of parallax is used directly to find the distance of the body from the Earth (geocentric parallax) and from the Sun (heliocentric parallax). The two positions of the observer and the position of the object form a triangle; if the base

Carleton, William

2005-02-16T05:30:00.000-08:00

Born the youngest of 14 children on a small farm, Carleton learned to appreciate the Irish heritage from his father, a man well-versed in the rich folklore of the area. At first a village tutor, he published a two-volume collection of sketches, Traits and Stories

Simeon I

2005-02-15T18:41:00.000-08:00

His dominant ambition, which was to himself ascend the imperial throne of Byzantium—an aspiration

Cumberland Sound

2005-02-14T18:30:00.000-08:00

Inlet (170 miles [270 km] long, 100 miles [160 km] wide) of Davis Strait and the Atlantic Ocean, indenting the southeast coast of Baffin Island, in southeastern Baffin region, Nunavut territory, Canada. John Davis, an English navigator, sailed into the sound in 1585 in search of the Northwest Passage. Blacklead Island, within the sound, was a noted whaling station by the late 19th century. The Anglican

Ibn Janah

2005-02-14T16:04:00.000-08:00

Trained as a physician, Ibn Janah practiced medicine, but, out of profound religious conviction, he also devoted much time to the

Leaf Insect

2005-02-14T15:06:00.000-08:00

(family Phylliidae), also called walking leaf any of about 25 species of flat, green insects with a leaflike appearance that belong to the order Phasmatodea. The female has large leathery forewings (tegmina) that lie edge to edge on the abdomen and resemble, in their vein pattern, the midrib and veins in a leaf; the hindwings have no function. The male has small tegmina and ample, non-leaflike, functional hindwings.

Eclogite

2005-02-14T03:50:00.000-08:00

Any member of a small group of igneous and metamorphic rocks whose composition is similar to that of basalt. Eclogites consist primarily of green pyroxene (omphacite) and red garnet (pyrope), with small amounts of various other stable minerals—e.g., olivine and diopside. They are formed when volcanic or metamorphic rocks rich in such mafic minerals are subjected to

Afghan Hound

2005-02-12T21:23:00.000-08:00

The Afghan hound hunts by sight and, in its native Afghanistan, has been

Blacher, Boris

2005-02-12T11:40:00.000-08:00

Of German-Baltic descent, Blacher studied music in Irkutsk (Siberia) and Harbin, China, before going to Berlin in 1922. There he studied and taught before falling out of favour with the Nazis. After World War II he became

Silicon Valley

2005-02-12T11:10:00.000-08:00

Industrial region around the southern shores of San Francisco Bay, California, U.S., with its intellectual centre at Palo Alto, home of Stanford University. Silicon Valley includes northwestern Santa Clara county as far inland as San Jose, as well as the southern bay regions of Alameda and San Mateo counties. Its name is derived from the dense concentration of electronics

Kerygma And Catechesis

2005-02-11T18:45:00.000-08:00

In Christian theology, respectively, the initial proclamation of the gospel message and the oral instruction given before baptism to those who have accepted the message. Kerygma refers primarily to the preaching of the Apostles as recorded in the New Testament. Their message was that Jesus Christ, in fulfillment of the prophecies of the Old Testament, was sent

Switzerland, Vegetation

2005-02-11T14:48:00.000-08:00

The vegetation is derived from that of the four European climatic regions converging in Switzerland and has been influenced by the varied relief. It includes the beeches and oaks of the maritime west; hornbeam and larch trees in the more continental east, predominantly in the Engadin and the dry Valais; extensive spruce forests in the northern subalpine region;

Atmosphere, Ionospheric physics and chemistry

2005-02-10T13:43:00.000-08:00

Most of the ionization in the ionosphere is effected by photoionization. Photons of short wavelength (i.e., high energy) are absorbed by atmospheric gases. A portion of the energy is used to eject an electron, converting a neutral atom or molecule to a pair of charged species: an electron, which is negatively charged, and a companion positive ion. Ionization in the F1 region

Aldrich, Nelson W.

2005-02-09T09:00:00.000-08:00

Aldrich rose from the Providence Common Council through the Rhode Island legislature to the U.S. Congress (representative 1879–81; senator 1881–1911). Meanwhile,

Mordvin

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

Also called Mordvinian, member of a people speaking a Finno-Ugric language of the Uralic language family and living mainly in Mordvinia republic and other parts of the middle Volga River region of Russia. Under the Soviet government the Mordvins were given some autonomy in 1928, and a Mordvinian autonomous republic, which lasted from 1934 to 1991, had its capital at Saransk. The Mordvin numbered about

Jackson, Shoeless Joe

2005-02-08T13:04:00.000-08:00

Born into extreme poverty, Jackson began work in a cotton mill when he was barely six and never went to school. He survived a sickly childhood

Château-renault, François-louis Rousselet, Marquis De

2005-02-08T02:16:00.000-08:00

In 1689 he transported French troops to Ireland to aid the deposed Catholic King James II of Great Britain, and he obtained a short-lived advantage by defeating a British fleet off the south coast of

Beam

2005-02-08T00:18:00.000-08:00

In engineering, originally a solid piece of timber, as a beam of a house, a plow, a loom, or a balance. In building construction, a beam is a horizontal member spanning an opening and carrying a load that may be a brick or stone wall above the opening, in which case the beam is often called a lintel (see post-and-lintel system). The load may be a floor or roof in a building, in which case

Conscience, Hendrik

2005-02-07T03:58:00.000-08:00

Conscience's father was French, his mother Flemish. He spent some of his early years as an assistant teacher (1828–30), took part in the uprising of July 1830 (which resulted in the independence of Belgium), and served in

Cinna, Lucius Cornelius

2005-02-06T04:16:00.000-08:00

After serving in the Social War (90–88), Cinna became consul in 87. When Sulla left Rome to fight Mithradates VI, king of Pontus, in the East, Cinna repealed Sulla's laws and threatened him with prosecution. Cinna's proposed revival of a bill of Publius Sulpicius Rufus (for the equal distribution of the newly enfranchised

Aethelberht I

2005-02-05T18:55:00.000-08:00

King of Kent (560–616) who issued the first extant code of Anglo-Saxon laws, a code that established the legal position of the clergy and many secular regulations. Aethelberht's marriage to Bertha (or Berhta), daughter of Charibert, king of Paris, and a Christian, may account for the tolerant reception that he accorded Augustine and other missionaries dispatched to Kent by

Argentina

2005-02-05T03:52:00.000-08:00

Because almost all Argentines are descendants of immigrants from Europe, their culture has a more distinctly European orientation than that of other Latin Americans; however, Argentine artists, writers, and entertainers no longer look to Europe as a sole gauge of their success. Blending Old World customs and New World inspirations, Argentina has developed a unique

Conservation, The Antarctic Treaty

2005-02-04T22:03:00.000-08:00

The Antarctic continent remained unknown and unexplored during the period when most other parts of the world were being claimed and colonized by European powers. Uninhabited and, until recently, of little or no value to any country, Antarctica never became an area for international dispute. Although segments of the continent and sub-Antarctic islands have been

Cinna, Lucius Cornelius

2005-02-04T07:09:00.000-08:00

Any member of the egg-laying mammalian order Monotremata, which includes the amphibious platypus (family Ornithorhynchidae) and the terrestrial echidnas (family Tachyglossidae) of Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea.

Haviland Crater

2005-02-03T06:07:00.000-08:00

Also called Brenham Crater small, shallow impact crater in farmland near Haviland, Kiowa county, Kansas, U.S. The depression, some 50 feet (15 metres) in diameter, is oval in shape. The first meteorite fragment, now known to be of the strong-iron, or pallasite, type, was found at the site in 1885, but the shallow crater was not identified until 1925 (it is one of the smallest impact craters in the world). Meteoritic fragments,

Abijah

2005-02-03T05:54:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Abia, Hebrew Abiyyah, or Abiyyahu (“Yahweh Is My Father”), any of nine different persons mentioned in the Bible, of whom the most noteworthy are the following: (1) The son and successor of Rehoboam, king of Judah (II Chronicles 12:16, 13), who reigned about two years (c. 915–913 BC). (2) The second son of Samuel (I Samuel 8:2; I Chronicles 6:28), who, with his brother Joel, served as a judge at Beersheba. The elders of Israel made the pair's misconduct a pretext

Empiricism, In ancient philosophy

2005-02-03T01:14:00.000-08:00

So-called common sense is inarticulately empiricist; and philosophy, in seeking to correct it, has to start from a rationalistic position. Philosophical Empiricism is thus always critical, a resistance to the pretensions of a more speculative philosophy. The ground was prepared for Plato, the greatest of Rationalist philosophers, by three earlier bodies of thought:

Arabia

2005-02-02T20:39:00.000-08:00

Roman province created out of the former kingdom of the Nabataeans and the adjacent Syrian cities of Gerasa and Philadelphia (modern Jarash and 'Amman, Jordan, respectively), after the formal annexation of the Nabataean kingdom by the Roman emperor Trajan in AD 105. The province was bounded by the western coast of the Sinai Peninsula, the present Syrian-Lebanese border to

Oradour-sur-glane

2005-02-02T05:44:00.000-08:00

Oradour-sur-Glane was the site of a particularly brutal atrocity during World War II. The village and its inhabitants were destroyed by German troops on June 10, 1944, exactly two years after a similar fate had befallen the Czechoslovakian village of Lidice

Matthau, Walter

2005-02-02T04:15:00.000-08:00

Born into a family of Jewish-Russian immigrants, he was compelled to work at a very early age. By the time he was 11, he was employed at the concession stand in a Lower East Side Yiddish theatre. To pick up extra money, he began playing bit

Moreau, Jeanne

2005-02-01T14:45:00.000-08:00

Moreau studied at the Conservatoire Nationale d'Art Dramatique and became at 20 years of age the youngest member of the Comédie-Française. Le Dernier Amour (1949; The Last Love) marked her film debut, but Ascenseur pour l'échafaud (1957; “Elevator to the Scaffold”; released as Frantic

Toothwort

2005-01-31T19:16:00.000-08:00

Any of about 10 species of perennial herbs belonging to the genus Dentaria, of the mustard family (Brassicaceae), native to northern temperate areas. The name toothwort refers to the plant's toothed, or scaly, rootstock. The four-petaled flowers, borne in a terminal cluster, are white, pink, or pale purple. Toothwort, pepperwort, or crinklewort (D.

Oradour-sur-glane

2005-01-30T13:22:00.000-08:00

American organization formed at a convention in Washington, D.C., as the product of the merger in 1896 of the National Federation of Afro-American Women and the National League of Colored Women—organizations that had arisen out of the African American women's club movement. Founders of the NACW included Harriet Tubman, Frances E.W. Harper, Ida Bell Wells-Barnett, and Mary

DryReceipt

Puerto Cabello

Tabby

Costigan, Edward Prentiss

Aphrodite

Lenox, James

Armour, Philip Danforth

Rabbit

Clare, John Fitzgibbon, 1st Earl Of

Triforium

Tyrrhenian Sea

Harding, Warren G.

Cividale Del Friuli

Wage And Salary, Subsistence theory

Insurance, Settlement options

Yama-no-kami

Madagascar, Settlement patterns

Deva

Armoured Vehicle

Paul, Wolfgang

Italian Popular Party

Welland

Beadle, George Wells

Korolyov

Land Mine

Clapboard

Light

San Bernardino Pass

Deffand, Marie De Vichy-chamrond, Marquise Du

Switzerland, Crop cultivation at high altitudes

Scandinavian Literature, Sources of modern Swedish literature

Independence Day

's Hertogenbosch

Lipps, Theodor

Denaturation

Siamese Fighting Fish

Ancient Rome, Barbarian kingdoms

China, New directions in national policy, 195861

Zamia

Yiddish Language

Satavahana Dynasty

Amalgam

Jáchymov

Asclepiadaceae

Sha'rani, Ash-

López Y Fuentes, Gregorio

Eye, Human, The axes of the eye

West Germanic Languages, Characteristics of modern Standard German

Intendant

South American Indian Languages, Quechumaran

Tu-16

Uchimura Kanzo

Chile, Political uncertainty, 192038

Sokol

Catamaran

Gulbransson, Olaf

Strangler Fig

Francis (i)

Skien

Hamid Dynasty

Grafton

Halakhah

East Cleveland

Novokuznetsk

Pugachov, Yemelyan Ivanovich

Ecotone

Carúpano

Amontons, Guillaume

Parallax

Carleton, William

Simeon I

Cumberland Sound

Ibn Janah

Leaf Insect

Eclogite

Afghan Hound

Blacher, Boris

Silicon Valley

Kerygma And Catechesis

Switzerland, Vegetation

China, New directions in national policy, 195861

Chile, Political uncertainty, 192038