PrivateNeedle

Antae

2005-04-05T08:44:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Antes federation of eastern Slavic nomadic tribes known by the 3rd century AD, dwelling in southern Russia between the Dnieper and Dniester rivers. A powerful people with highly developed agriculture, handicrafts, and ironwork, the Antae fought the Goths, who were fleeing westward from the Huns in the 4th century. In the early 6th century they joined in Slavic raids against

Grayling

2005-04-04T19:08:00.000-07:00

(Thymallus), any of several troutlike game fishes, family Salmonidae, found in cold, clear streams of Eurasia and northern North America. Graylings are handsome, silvery-purple fishes, which reach a length of about 40 cm (16 inches). They have rather large scales, large eyes, a small mouth with feeble teeth, and a saillike, brightly coloured dorsal fin, with 20 to 24 rays. They feed primarily

Plow

2005-04-04T16:25:00.000-07:00

The antecedent of the plow is the prehistoric digging stick. The earliest plows were doubtless digging sticks fashioned with handles for pulling or pushing. By Roman times, light, wheelless plows with iron shares (blades)

Ariaramnes

2005-04-03T22:12:00.000-07:00

The son of the previous king, Teispes, Ariaramnes ruled over Persis (modern Fars, in southwestern Iran); his brother Cyrus I was given control of Anshan in Elam, north of the Persian Gulf. A campaign by the Medes, however, broke the power of Ariaramnes, and he and his son Arsames, who succeeded him, became vassals of Media

Ducommun, élie

2005-04-03T17:18:00.000-07:00

After working as a magazine and newspaper editor in Geneva and Bern, Ducommun spent most of his career as general secretary of the Jura-Simplon Railway. His spare time, however, was spent on peace activities. He took an active part in the movement for European

Rime

2005-04-02T19:09:00.000-08:00

White, opaque, granular deposit of ice crystals formed on objects that are at a temperature below the freezing point. Rime occurs when supercooled water droplets (at a temperature lower than 0° C [32° F]) in fog come in contact with a surface that is also at a temperature below freezing; the droplets are so small that they freeze almost immediately upon contact with the object.

Ogmios

2005-04-01T11:08:00.000-08:00

Ogmios' Irish equivalent was Ogma, whose Herculean, warlike aspect was also stressed. In Irish tradition

Chital

2005-04-01T04:07:00.000-08:00

Also called Spotted Deer, or Axis Deer (Cervus axis, sometimes Axis axis), Asiatic deer, belonging to the family Cervidae (order Artiodactyla). It lives in grasslands and forests in India and Sri Lanka in herds of up to 100 or more. It stands 90–95 cm (35–37 inches) at the shoulder. Its spotted coat is reddish brown above and white below. The male chital has branching, usually three-tined antlers up to 100 cm long.

Benivieni, Girolamo

2005-03-31T20:39:00.000-08:00

As a member of the Florentine Medici circle, Benivieni was well acquainted with the Renaissance

Printmaking, Lift-ground etching (sugar-lift aquatint)

2005-03-30T14:39:00.000-08:00

In lift-ground etching, a positive image is etched on an aquatint plate by drawing with a water-soluble ground. In the conventional aquatint technique, the artist controls the image by stopping out negative areas with varnish, thus working around the positive image. But for lift-ground etching, he uses a viscous liquid (such as India ink, gamboge, or ordinary poster paint

Andreanof Islands

2005-03-30T01:50:00.000-08:00

Group of the Aleutian Islands, southwestern Alaska, U.S. They lie between the Pacific Ocean (south) and the Bering Sea (north) and extend east-west for about 270 miles (430 km) between the Fox and Rat island groups. The Andreanof Islands were strategically important in World War II, and there is a U.S. military installation on Shemya Island.

Hetman

2005-03-29T22:29:00.000-08:00

Military title used in the Polish–Lithuanian state (16th–18th century); the hetman wielki (“great hetman”) was the chief of the armed forces and the commander in the field when the king was not present. In Ukraine a variation of the term, ataman, was used to designate the military leader of the Zaporozhian Cossacks (16th century) and the prince of the area east of the Dnieper River

Alaska, Flag Of

2005-03-28T11:46:00.000-08:00

The creator

Ubiquinone

2005-03-27T18:17:00.000-08:00

Also called Coenzyme Q, any of several members of a series of organic compounds belonging to a class called quinones. Widely distributed in plants, animals, and microorganisms, ubiquinones function in conjunction with enzymes in cellular respiration (i.e., oxidation-reduction processes). The naturally occurring ubiquinones differ from each other only slightly in chemical structure,

Arabian Horse

2005-03-27T08:13:00.000-08:00

The Arabian breed is a compact, relatively small horse

Water Witch Incident

2005-03-26T18:45:00.000-08:00

In 1853 the “Water Witch” set out on a scientific study, organized by the U.S. government, of the Río de La Plata waterways. In 1854, after Page became involved in a

Mammal, Circulatory system

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

In mammals, as in birds, right and left ventricles of the heart are completely separated, so that pulmonary (lung) and systemic (body) circulations are completely independent. Oxygenated blood arrives in the left atrium from the lungs and passes to the left ventricle, whence it is forced through the aorta to the systemic circulation. Deoxygenated blood from the tissues

Gagern, Hans Christoph, Freiherr Von

2005-03-25T17:54:00.000-08:00

Conservative German administrator, patriotic politician, and writer who unsuccessfully called for arming the entire German nation during the French Revolutionary Wars. He represented The Netherlands at the Congress of Vienna (1814–15) and favoured restoring the Holy Roman Empire to protect Germany's

Argentina, Mesopotamia

2005-03-24T23:24:00.000-08:00

East of the Gran Chaco, in a narrow depression 60 to 180 miles (100 to 300 km) wide, lies Mesopotamia, which is bordered to the north by the highlands of southern Brazil. The narrow lowland stretches for 1,000 miles (1,600 km) southward, finally merging with the Pampas south of the Río de la Plata. Its designation as Mesopotamia (Greek: “Between the Rivers”) reflects the fact that its western and eastern

Aluko, T.m.

2005-03-23T05:47:00.000-08:00

A civil engineer and town planner by profession, Aluko was educated in Ibadan, Lagos, and London and held positions as director of public works for western Nigeria and faculty member at the University of Lagos. He first became known

Bracton, Henry De

2005-03-23T01:24:00.000-08:00

Bracton also spelled Bratton or Bretton leading medieval English jurist and author of De legibus et consuetudinibus Angliae (c. 1235; “On the Laws and Customs of England”), one of the oldest systematic treatises on the common law. While depending chiefly on English judicial decisions and the methods of pleading required by English judges, Bracton enlarged the common law with principles

Albany River

2005-03-22T18:06:00.000-08:00

River, north central Ontario, Canada, rising in Lake St. Joseph at an elevation of 1,218 ft (371 m) and flowing generally eastward into James Bay. For 250 mi (400 km) of its 610-mi course, the river is navigable, and it served as an important route during the fur-trading days, when boats sailed inland from the Hudson's Bay Company post of Ft. Albany (established 1684) at the mouth. Its largest tributary is the

Olney, Richard

2005-03-22T16:40:00.000-08:00

A Boston attorney who had served only one term in the Massachusetts legislature (1873–74), Olney was suddenly thrust into national prominence

Abyssinian

2005-03-22T00:03:00.000-08:00

Breed of domestic cat, probably of Egyptian origin, that has been considered to approximate the sacred cat of ancient Egypt more closely than any other living cat. The Abyssinian is a lithe cat with relatively slender legs and a long, tapering tail. The short, finely textured coat is ruddy reddish brown, with individual hairs of the back, sides, chest, and tail distinctively

Rowan, Carl

2005-03-21T02:11:00.000-08:00

After serving as a communications officer in the navy, he earned a degree in mathematics from Oberlin (Ohio) College (B.A., 1947) and studied journalism at the University

Cálabozo

2005-03-20T01:54:00.000-08:00

City, Guárico estado (“state”), central Venezuela. It lies along the Guárico River, 110 miles (180 km) south-southwest of Caracas, on a piedmont plain between the mountains and the Llanos (plains). Founded in 1695, Cálabozo was formerly an administrative centre. It gained prominence in the 1950s as the headquarters of the Guárico River Reclamation Project, which is concerned with irrigation,

Earth, Dipolar field

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

The magnetic field lines shown in the diagram are not real entities although they are frequently treated as such. A magnetic field is a continuous function that exists at every point in space. A field line is simply a means for visualizing the direction of this field. It is defined as a curve in three dimensions that is everywhere tangential to the local magnetic field.

Thomason, George

2005-03-19T11:46:00.000-08:00

English bookseller whose collection of printed books, handbills, pamphlets, ballads, newspapers, and other writings (cataloged and bound from 1640 to 1661) constitute one of the most important historical sources for the English Civil Wars and Commonwealth. The original collection reportedly contained more than 32,000 separate

Olney, Richard

2005-03-19T09:28:00.000-08:00

Largest trade-union federation in India. INTUC was established in 1947 in cooperation with the Indian National Congress, which favoured a less militant union movement than the All-India Trade Union Congress. INTUC is largely anticommunist; it is affiliated with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

Wicksell, (johan Gustaf) Knut

2005-03-18T14:22:00.000-08:00

In Geldzins und Güterpreise (1898; Interest and Prices, 1936) he propounded an explanation of price-level movements by an aggregate demand–supply analysis focussed on the relations between prospective profit and

Triggerfish

2005-03-18T00:41:00.000-08:00

Any of about 30 species of shallow-water marine fishes of the family Balistidae, found worldwide in tropical seas. Triggerfishes are rather deep-bodied, usually colourful fishes with large scales, small mouths, and high-set eyes. Their common name refers to the triggering mechanism in the first two of their three dorsal fin spines. The first spine can

Berchtold, Leopold, Count (graf) Von

2005-03-17T20:05:00.000-08:00

A wealthy landowner in Hungary and Moravia, Berchtold, through marriage, became one of the richest men in Austria-Hungary. He entered the diplomatic service in 1893, held posts in Paris and London, and in 1906 was appointed

Ammonia

2005-03-17T13:19:00.000-08:00

Ammonia is highly

Amorphous Solid, Amorphous semiconductors in electronics

2005-03-15T23:23:00.000-08:00

Amorphous semiconductors, in the form of thin films prepared by methods such as that shown in Figure 4D, are important in applications requiring large areas of electronically active material. The first electronic application of amorphous semiconductors to occur on a large scale was

Louis I

2005-03-15T15:38:00.000-08:00

Not all challenges to Louis's authority could so easily be managed. The birth of Charles in 823 to Louis's second wife, Judith, and the accommodations required by another heir provoked a crisis in the family and the empire. Reformers complained about the rampant corruption of powerful nobles who preyed on church lands and the poor. Moreover, the various ethnic and linguistic

Rawlinson, Sir Henry Creswicke

2005-03-15T03:09:00.000-08:00

British army officer and Orientalist who deciphered the Old Persian portion of the trilingual cuneiform inscription of Darius I the Great at Bisitun, Iran. His success provided the key to the deciphering, by himself and others, of Mesopotamian cuneiform script, a feat that greatly expanded knowledge of the ancient

Amphibole Asbestos

2005-03-14T18:30:00.000-08:00

A variety of the silicate mineral actinolite (q.v.).

Guadiana River

2005-03-14T15:21:00.000-08:00

Arabic Wadi Ana, Portuguese Rio Guadiana, Spanish Río Guadiana, one of the longest streams of the Iberian Peninsula, flowing generally westward through south-central Spain and southeastern Portugal to the Gulf of Cádiz in the Atlantic Ocean. The river has a drainage area of 23,455 square miles (60,748 square km), a length of 483 miles (778 km), and about 30 major tributaries. Its flow is relatively meagre—only about half that of the Tagus or the Douro—because

Metaphysical Poet

2005-03-14T03:28:00.000-08:00

Their work is a blend of emotion and intellectual ingenuity,

Cockpit, The

2005-03-13T18:39:00.000-08:00

Converted into a theatre for Queen Anne's

Basanite

2005-03-12T17:42:00.000-08:00

In basanites and tephrites, the plagioclase occurs as large, single crystals (phenocrysts). The feldspathoid (nepheline)

United Kingdom, Labour and taxation

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

Government revenues are derived from several main sources, including income taxes, corporate taxes, taxes on the sale of goods and services, and national insurance contributions. After World War II the government adopted individual income tax rates that were among the highest in Europe. During the last two decades of the 20th century, individual income tax rates

Guadiana River

2005-03-12T06:44:00.000-08:00

American organization created in 1890 by the merger of the two major rival women's rights organizations—the National Woman Suffrage Association and the American Woman Suffrage Association—after 21 years of independent operation. NAWSA was initially headed by past executives of the two merged groups, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lucy Stone, and Susan B.

Fraser Island

2005-03-11T17:59:00.000-08:00

Also called Great Sandy Island, island off the southeastern coast of Queensland, Australia, separated from the mainland and the port of Maryborough by Hervey Bay and Great Sandy Strait. About 75 miles (120 km) long, it has an area of 625 square miles (1,620 square km). Sand hills rise to nearly 800 feet (250 m), and there are many freshwater lakes stocked with fish. The southwestern part of the island is a tourist resort. Part of Fraser

Asahara, Shoko

2005-03-10T17:38:00.000-08:00

Chizuo Matsumoto, who changed his name to Shoko Asahara, was born in Kumamoto prefecture, Japan,

Great Sand Dunes National Monument And Preserve

2005-03-10T04:51:00.000-08:00

Federal legislation enacted in 2000 created Great Sand

Caucasian Languages, Phonology

2005-03-10T04:19:00.000-08:00

The sound systems of the Nakho-Dagestanian languages are diverse. There are up to five vowels (a, e, i, o, u); in some languages o is only now becoming an independent distinctive unit. Along with these cardinal vowels, in a number of languages there are also long and nasalized vowels (the Andi languages), pharyngealized vowels (in Udi), and labialized vowels (in Dido). In the Nakh

Mountain, Andean-type belts

2005-03-09T07:45:00.000-08:00

At some continental margins, oceanic lithosphere is subducted. At some of these sites, the landscape is dominated by volcanoes, such as along the Cascades of western North America or in Japan, but at others, such as along much of the Andes of South America, volcanoes constitute only a small or even negligible part of the relief. At Andean-type margins, the crust is typically

Zagwe Dynasty

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

Also spelled Zague, line of 12th- and 13th-century Ethiopian kings who combined a nomadic military life with an impassioned desire to build monuments to their Christian religion. Their tenuous pretensions to succession, based on a legendary marriage to a daughter of one of the last Aksumite kings, the line they deposed, was subsequently confirmed by the church; in return for its support,

Argentina, Health and welfare

2005-03-08T02:50:00.000-08:00

An extensive system of hospitals and clinics in Argentina is run by national, provincial, and local authorities as well as by private organizations. The cost of medical care is covered by a comprehensive array of occupational insurance plans. Public health and sanitation standards are particularly high in developed areas but can drop off considerably in some

Zunzunegui, Juan Antonio De

2005-03-08T01:28:00.000-08:00

In full Juan Antonio de Zunzunegui y Loredo Spanish novelist and short-story writer whose straightforward narrative technique was rooted in the 19th century. His subject was chiefly social criticism of modern life in Bilbao and Madrid. A member of the Spanish Academy from 1957, Zunzunegui received the National Prize for Literature for El premio (1961; “The Prize”), which, ironically, was

Arabia, Najd

2005-03-07T23:19:00.000-08:00

The western part of Najd (Nejd, meaning “Highland”), known as Upper Najd, lies within the Arabian shield with an average elevation of 4,000 feet; the eastern part falls within the sedimentary province with the city of Riyadh (Ar-Riyad), near the eastern edge, having an elevation of about 1,950 feet. The principal drainage of Najd consists of a number of eastward-flowing wadi systems that

Craft Guild

2005-03-06T05:05:00.000-08:00

Also called Mystery (from Latin ministerium, “occupation”), a European medieval occupational association, usually comprising all the artisans—and often the suppliers, retailers, and wholesale merchants—concerned with a specific branch of industry or commerce. A weavers' guild is recorded at Mainz as early as 1099 and in London and other cities of England during the reign of Henry I (1100–35); but the

Loddon River

2005-03-05T14:53:00.000-08:00

River, central Victoria, Australia, rising in the Eastern Highlands 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Melbourne and flowing northwest and north for more than 200 miles (320 km), past Kerang, joining with the Little Murray and then with the Murray near Swan Hill. Inconstant in volume, the Loddon has been dammed for several reservoirs, including Cairn Curran and Tullaroop, to form part of

Induction

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

In logic, method of reasoning from a part to a whole, from particulars to generals, or from the individual to the universal. As it applies to logic in systems of the 20th century, the term is obsolete. Traditionally, logicians distinguished between deductive logic (inference in which the conclusion follows necessarily from the premise, or drawing new propositions out

Argentina

2005-03-05T10:14:00.000-08:00

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

Nizhnevartovsk

2005-03-04T16:47:00.000-08:00

City and port, Khanty-Mansi autonomous okrug (district), Tyumen oblast (province), west-central Russia. It lies along the right bank of the Ob River. The city grew rapidly, especially in the 1970s, as a result of the discovery of large oil fields nearby. Along with Surgut, Nizhnevartovsk is a major administrative centre of the middle Ob oil fields. It also has a gas-processing plant.

Trade Agreement

2005-03-03T22:41:00.000-08:00

For most countries international trade is regulated by unilateral barriers of several types, including tariffs, nontariff barriers, and outright prohibitions. Trade agreements

Cabezón, Antonio De

2005-03-03T17:33:00.000-08:00

Blind from infancy, Cabezón studied organ in Palencia and in 1526 became organist and clavichordist

T'ien

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

As a god, T'ien is sometimes perceived to be an impersonal power in contrast to Shang-ti (“Supreme Ruler”), but the two are closely identified and the terms frequently used synonymously. Evidence suggests

Gu

2005-03-02T15:21:00.000-08:00

The bronze gu was produced during

Bull Moose Party

2005-03-02T02:52:00.000-08:00

Formally Progressive Party U.S. dissident political faction that nominated former president Theodore Roosevelt for the presidency in 1912; the formal name and general objectives of the party were revived 12 years later. Opposing the entrenched conservatism of the regular Republican Party, which was controlled by Pres. William Howard Taft, a National Republican Progressive League was organized in 1911 by Sen. Robert M. La Follette of Wisconsin. The group became the Progressive Party the following year and ran Theodore Roosevelt for president; it called for revision of the political nominating machinery and an aggressive program of social legislation. The party's popular nickname of Bull Moose was derived from the characteristics of strength and vigour often used by Roosevelt to describe himself. The Bull Moose ticket polled some 25 percent of the popular vote. Thus split, the Republicans lost the election to the Democrats under Woodrow Wilson. The Bull Moose Party evaporated and the Republicans were reunited four years later.

Baseball

2005-03-01T17:56:00.000-08:00

Despite a slow start, in part because of inclement weather, the 2003 Major League Baseball season gained momentum during the midsummer months as interleague games in June and a dramatic All-Star Game in July cultivated interest. The second half of the regular season and the play-offs featured a number of story lines that contributed to what some deemed the most appealing

Skate

2005-03-01T01:45:00.000-08:00

First production-model nuclear-powered attack submarine of the U.S. Navy. Launched and commissioned in 1957, it was similar to the first nuclear-powered submarine, the Nautilus, but smaller, displacing only 2,360 tons. Like the Nautilus, the Skate and the three other boats in its class incorporated nuclear propulsion into a streamlined “Guppy”-style hull that had been adapted

Qatar, Resources

2005-02-28T13:50:00.000-08:00

Qatar's petroleum reserves, found both onshore along the western coast at Dukhan and offshore from the eastern coast, are modest by regional standards and are expected to last only until the early decades of the 21st century at present rates of production. Oil continues to dominate Qatar's economy, however, accounting for the great bulk of government revenues and one-third

Haderslev

2005-02-28T11:00:00.000-08:00

City, Sønderjylland amtskommune (county commune), southeastern Jutland, Denmark. It lies along Haderslev Fjord 9 miles (14 km) from the Little Belt (strait). First recorded in 1228 and chartered in 1292, it suffered in the 15th-century wars between Schleswig (Slesvig) and Holstein and passed to Prussia with Schleswig in 1864. It was returned to Denmark with North Schleswig by a plebiscite in

Ghanimah

2005-02-28T10:01:00.000-08:00

In the early Islamic community (7th century AD), booty taken in battle in the form of weapons, horses, prisoners, and movable goods. In pre-Islamic Bedouin society, where the ghazw (razzia, or raid) was a way of life and a point of honour, ghanimah helped provide the material means of existence. After the leader of the ghazw received a fourth or a fifth of the booty, the rest was divided

Economic Forecasting

2005-02-27T21:03:00.000-08:00

Formal economic forecasting is usually based on a specific theory as to how the economy works. Some theories are complicated,

Sosigenes Of Alexandria

2005-02-25T21:22:00.000-08:00

At the conclusion of the Roman civil war (49–45 BC), Caesar set out to replace the multitude of inaccurate and diverse

Aragats, Mount

2005-02-25T18:06:00.000-08:00

Russian Gora Aragats, also spelled Gora Aragac, mountain in Armenia, northwest of Yerevan and north of the Ararat Plain. The highest point in both Armenia and the Lesser Caucasus range (13,418 feet [4,090 m]), Aragats is a circular, shieldlike mountain composed of both lavas and tufas. A volcanic cone of recent geologic age lies atop far older rocks. The crater of the volcano has become the steep-walled basin, or cirque, of a glacier,

Rhynchocephalia

2005-02-25T13:58:00.000-08:00

Reptilian order that arose in the Triassic and Jurassic periods (225,000,000 to 136,000,000 years ago) and survives today as the tuatara (q.v.) of New Zealand.

Maurice, Furnley

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

At age 14 Wilmot worked in a Melbourne bookshop, rising to the position of manager. When the business was dissolved in 1929, he operated

Palenque

2005-02-24T10:35:00.000-08:00

Also called Guarine, Indian tribe of northern Venezuela at the time of the Spanish conquest (16th century). The Palenque were closely related to the neighbouring Cumanagoto (q.v.); their language probably belonged to the Arawakan family. They were a tropical-forest people known to eat human flesh, to be warlike, and to live in settlements surrounded by palisades (palenques). The Patángoro (q.v.

Melanesian Pidgin

2005-02-24T08:13:00.000-08:00

Also called Melanesian Pidgin English, Neo-melanesian, Beach-la-mar, or Sandalwood English, an English-based pidgin that is used widely in Melanesia as a trade and mission language; in some areas it has become established as a creole (i.e., it has become the native language of some communities). Melanesian Pidgin has also become the lingua franca of Papua New Guinea, where several hundred native languages are spoken, most of them being mutually

China, State and society

2005-02-23T11:04:00.000-08:00

The state barred literati from using the academies and literary societies for explicitly political activities. Scholars in Peking and in the rich cities of the Yangtze Delta turned from politics to the study of texts that marked the empirical school of scholarship (k'ao-cheng hsüeh). Influenced by their knowledge of European mathematics and mathematical astronomy,

Line-and-wash Drawing

2005-02-23T01:35:00.000-08:00

Also called Pen-and-wash Drawing, in the visual arts, a drawing marked out by pen or some similar instrument and then tinted with diluted ink or watercolour. In 13th-century China, artists used transparent ink washes to create delicate atmospheric effects. The line-and-wash technique was practiced in Europe from the Renaissance, and in the early 15th century Cennino Cennini gave detailed instructions

Mercedarian

2005-02-22T22:49:00.000-08:00

St. Raymond of Penafort, Nolasco's confessor and the author of the order's rule, based the rule on that of St. Augustine. In addition to the usual three religious vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, the Mercedarians

Orange River, Physiography

2005-02-22T01:31:00.000-08:00

The headwaters of the Orange River rise at an altitude of about 10,800 feet (3,300 metres) above sea level on a dissected plateau formed by the Lesotho Highlands that extends from the Drakensberg escarpment in the east to the Maloti (Maluti) Mountains in the west. The main source of the Orange River is officially recognized as the Sinqu (Senqu) River, which rises near the plateau's

Alliance

2005-02-21T13:42:00.000-08:00

City, Stark county, northeastern Ohio, U.S., on the Mahoning River, 21 mi (34 km) northeast of Canton. In 1854 the villages of Williamsport, Freedom, and Liberty were incorporated as the village of Alliance, so named for the junction and crossing there of the former New York Central and Pennsylvania railroads. The village of Mount Union (settled in 1833) became a part of Alliance in 1854. Now highly

Xia Gui

2005-02-21T06:27:00.000-08:00

Wade-Giles romanization Hsia Kuei one of China's greatest masters of landscape painting, cofounder with Ma Yuan of the Ma-Xia school. The album leaf and the hand scroll with a continuous panorama were his predominant forms. His works are typically in ink monochrome, occasionally with a few touches of colour.

Daimlerchrysler Ag

2005-02-20T20:12:00.000-08:00

The origins of Chrysler Corporation lie in Maxwell Motor Company, Inc. (first formed in 1913). The first Maxwell car was made in 1904 by Jonathan Maxwell and Benjamin Briscoe, who in 1909 joined the short-lived United States Motor Company. With the collapse of this combine in 1913, Maxwell continued on alone until the postwar recession, when Walter P. Chrysler was brought in to revitalize

Moscow, Grand Principality Of

2005-02-20T19:41:00.000-08:00

Muscovy became a distinct principality during the second half of the 13th century under the rule of Daniel, the youngest son of the Rurik prince Alexander

Field Archery

2005-02-20T15:09:00.000-08:00

Also called roving form of archery in which targets of different sizes or shapes are placed at varying distances in uneven, often wooded, terrain in an attempt to simulate hunting conditions. As an organized sport it dates from the formation in 1939 of the National Field Archery Association of the United States. In 1969 a field event was included for the first time in the world archery championships

Saxe, (hermann-) Maurice, Comte De

2005-02-19T05:01:00.000-08:00

The illegitimate son of the elector Frederick Augustus I of Saxony (later also King Augustus II of Poland), young Maurice was sent by his father to serve under Prince Eugene of Savoy against the French in Flanders

France, History Of, Campaigns and conquests: 17971807

2005-02-17T19:33:00.000-08:00

Napoleon's sway over France depended from the start on his success in war. After his conquest of northern Italy in 1797 and the dissolution of the first coalition, General Bonaparte intended to invade Britain, France's century-long rival and the last remaining belligerent. Concluding that French naval power could not sustain a seaborne invasion, however, he launched

Earth, Variation with elevation

2005-02-17T19:30:00.000-08:00

At sea level the gradient is equivalent to -0.3086 milligal per metre;

Italian Popular Party

2005-02-17T13:40:00.000-08:00

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

World War I, The First Battle of the Marne

2005-02-17T08:40:00.000-08:00

Already on September 3, General J.-S. Gallieni, the military governor of Paris, had guessed the significance of the German 1st Army's swing inward to the Marne east of Paris. On September 4 Joffre, convinced by Gallieni's arguments, decisively ordered his whole left wing to turn about from their retreat and to begin a general offensive against the Germans' exposed right flank

Shamanism

2005-02-16T18:28:00.000-08:00

The shaman attains the ecstasy necessary for communicating with the spirits through the performance of the shaman rite, which requires certain appurtenances.

Pocahontas

2005-02-16T17:59:00.000-08:00

Matoaka, whose pet name was

Sashimi

2005-02-16T17:04:00.000-08:00

Specialty of Japanese cuisine, fresh fish served raw. The fish, which must be utterly fresh, is sliced paper thin or alternately one-quarter to one-half inch (0.75–1.5 centimetres) thick, cubed, or cut in strips, according to the nature of the fish. The sashimi is accompanied by wasabi (green horseradish paste) and soy sauce. Sashimi is always part of a formal Japanese meal, served early

Fain, Sammy

2005-02-15T20:12:00.000-08:00

Fain was a self-taught pianist who played by ear. He began working as a staff

Margaret Of Scotland, Saint

2005-02-14T08:30:00.000-08:00

Margaret was brought up at the Hungarian court, where her father, Edward, was in exile. After the Battle of Hastings, Edward's widow and children fled for safety to Scotland. Her brother Edgar the Aetheling, defeated

Dai Hyakkajiten

2005-02-14T02:16:00.000-08:00

It was first published from 1931 to 1935 in 28 volumes, with four supplements published in 1939–52, and was reissued in 15 volumes (1951–53). In 1955–63, a successor encyclopaedia, the Sekai dai hyakkajiten (“World Encyclopaedia”), was published in 33 volumes containing approximately 70,000 articles signed by specialists;

Carnivore, Importance to humans

2005-02-13T18:31:00.000-08:00

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

Kuban River

2005-02-13T06:04:00.000-08:00

River in southwestern Russia, 563 miles (906 km) in length and draining 23,600 square miles (61,000 square km). It rises from glaciers on Mount Elbrus in the Greater Caucasus and flows north through narrow gorges, with many rapids, to the Stavropol Upland, where it turns westward in a broad, marshy floodplain to enter the Sea of Azov. Much of its water is diverted for irrigation. The river is navigable

Extrametrical

2005-02-12T07:30:00.000-08:00

In prosody, exceeding the usual or prescribed number of syllables in a given metre. Also, in reference to a syllable or syllables not counted in metrical analysis. In the following final couplet from a sonnet by William Shakespeare, the ending syllables are extrametrical: Yet him for this my love no whit disdaineth;Suns of the world may stain when heaven's sun

Philip Ii

2005-02-12T04:49:00.000-08:00

King of the Spaniards (1556–98) and king of the Portuguese (as Philip I, 1580–98), champion of the Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation. During his reign the Spanish Empire attained its greatest power, extent, and influence, though he failed to suppress the revolt of the Netherlands (beginning in 1566) and lost the “Invincible Armada” in the attempted

Powell, Colin

2005-02-11T19:53:00.000-08:00

The son of Jamaican immigrants, Powell grew up in the Harlem and South Bronx sections of New York City and attended the City College of New York (B.S., 1958), serving in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC). He entered the army upon

Ashur

2005-02-11T15:16:00.000-08:00

In Mesopotamian religion, city god of Ashur and national god of Assyria. In the beginning he was perhaps only a local deity of the city that shared his name. From about 1800 BC onward, however, there appear to have been strong tendencies to identify him with the Sumerian Enlil (Akkadian: Bel), while under the Assyrian king Sargon II (reigned 721–705 BC), there were tendencies to identify Ashur