StraightCup

Taurus

2005-03-19T15:34:00.000-08:00

In astronomy, zodiacal constellation lying between Aries and Gemini, at about 4 hours 20 minutes right ascension (the coordinate on the celestial sphere analogous to longitude on the Earth) and 16° north declination (angular distance north of the celestial equator). The constellation's brightest star, Aldebaran (Alpha Tauri), is of the first magnitude. The constellation

Saratov

2005-03-16T02:05:00.000-08:00

Most of the right(west)-bank area is occupied by the Volga Upland, which is greatly dissected by river valleys and erosion gullies; the left (east) bank is a low, rolling plain

Wang Fu-chih

2005-03-15T18:14:00.000-08:00

Born and educated during the last years of the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), Wang was an ardent patriot who bitterly resisted the invasion of China by the Manchu tribes

Nephron

2005-03-13T14:36:00.000-08:00

Functional unit of the kidney, the structure that actually produces urine in the process of removing waste and excess substances from the blood. There are about 1,000,000 nephrons in each human kidney. The most primitive nephrons are found in the kidneys (pronephros; q.v.) of primitive fish, amphibian larvae, and embryos of more advanced vertebrates.

Oscar I

2005-03-11T03:17:00.000-08:00

Oscar's early liberal outlook and progressive ideas on such issues as fiscal policy, freedom of the press, and penal reform fortuitously coincided with a period of social, political, and industrial change. After his accession

Oman

2005-03-08T06:53:00.000-08:00

The sultanate of Oman occupies the southeastern part of the Arabian Peninsula, facing the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, and the Arabian Sea. A small part of the country lies to the north and is separated from the rest of Oman by the United Arab Emirates. Area: 306,000 sq km (118,150 sq mi). Pop. (1994 est.): 2,048,000. Cap.: Muscat. Monetary unit: rial Omani, with (Oct. 7, 1994) a par value of 0.38 rial to U.S. $1 (free rate of 0.60 rial = £1 sterling).

Regeneration, Annelids

2005-03-06T11:30:00.000-08:00

The segmented worms exhibit variable degrees of regeneration. The leeches, as already noted, are wholly lacking in the ability to replace lost segments, whereas the earthworms and various marine annelids (polychaetes) can often regenerate forward and backward. The expression of such regenerative capacities depends very much on the level of amputation. Anteriorly

Essen, Louis

2005-03-04T18:42:00.000-08:00

Essen studied physics at Nottingham University College, where he earned a University of London physics degree

Tequistlatec

2005-03-03T13:36:00.000-08:00

Indian people centred in the Sierra Madre del Sur of Oaxaca estado (“state”), Mexico. Their subsistence is based on agriculture (staples are corn [maize], chilies, and beans), hunting, gathering, and animal husbandry. Towns and villages comprise one- and two-room houses, with a nuclear family generally occupying a single room. The communities are governed by adult males who

Duck

2005-03-01T21:47:00.000-08:00

The fabric, in its various qualities and colours, is used for an enormous variety

Clark, Mark

2005-02-27T03:21:00.000-08:00

A graduate (1917) of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., Clark served overseas in World War I. Early in 1942 he became chief of staff of army ground forces. Later that year, as deputy commander in chief

Habsburg, House Of, Power and weakness

2005-02-24T08:53:00.000-08:00

The Habsburgs reached the zenith of their power before the end of the 16th century: the duchy of Milan, annexed by Charles V in 1535, was assigned by him to his son, the future Philip II of Spain, in 1540; Philip II conquered Portugal in 1580; and the Spanish dominions in America were ever expanding. There were, however, three faults in the power structure—two of them historical accidents, the

Thutmose Iv

2005-02-23T23:30:00.000-08:00

Thutmose IV was the son of his predecessor's chief queen. As prince, he was assigned to the military operational base at Memphis, near modern Cairo, where he spent his leisure

Nabu

2005-02-21T23:46:00.000-08:00

Samsuditana, the last king of the 1st dynasty of Babylon (reigned

Roche, Kevin

2005-02-19T19:48:00.000-08:00

Roche graduated in 1945 with a bachelor's degree in architecture from the National University of Ireland in Dublin. After short-term employment with firms in Dublin and London, he did postgraduate

Cranbrook

2005-02-17T10:11:00.000-08:00

City, southeastern corner of British Columbia, Canada. It lies in the Kootenay River valley on the western edge of the Rocky Mountain Trench. The region was first settled about 1863 by gold prospectors. Cranbrook was probably named for a town near the farm home in Kent, Eng., of one of the settlers, Colonel James Baker. The Canadian Pacific Railroad's Crowsnest branch line reached

Little Saint Bernard Pass

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

Italian Colle Del Piccolo San Bernardo, French Col Du Petit-saint-bernard, pass (7,178 ft [2,188 m]) situated just southwest of the Italian border in Savoie département of southeastern France; it lies between the Mont Blanc Massif (north) and the Graian Alps (q.v.; south-southeast). The road across the pass connects Bourg-Saint-Maurice (7 mi [11 km] southwest) in the Isère River Valley, France, with Morgex (10 mi northeast) in the Valle d'Aosta, Italy. Until the Treaty of Paris

Arfersiorfik Fjord

2005-02-12T00:51:00.000-08:00

Fjord in western Greenland, extending east from Davis Strait to the inland icecap. It is 95 miles (152 km) long with a maximum width of 15 miles (24 km). Its arms receive several glaciers, including the Nordenskiölds. Niaqornaarsuk, a settlement on the northern shore near the fjord's mouth, was the starting point of an expedition in 1883 led by Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld.

China, Western challenge, 183960

2005-02-10T09:51:00.000-08:00

The opium question, the direct cause of the first Sino-British clash in the 19th century, began with a late 18th-century British attempt to counterbalance their unfavourable China trade with traffic in Indian opium. After monopolizing the opium trade in 1779, the East India Company's government began to sell the drug at auction to private British traders in India, who shipped

Hexachloroplatinic Acid

2005-02-09T23:33:00.000-08:00

Also called Chloroplatinic Acid, complex compound formed by dissolving platinum metal in aqua regia (a mixture of nitric and hydrochloric acids) or in hydrochloric acid that contains chlorine. It is crystallized from the solution in the form of reddish brown deliquescent (moisture-absorbing) crystals with specific gravity 2.43 and melting point 60° C (140° F). It is the starting material from which most platinum

Malaita

2005-02-07T16:05:00.000-08:00

Also called Mala, volcanic island in the Solomon Islands, southwestern Pacific Ocean. It lies 30 miles (50 km) northeast of Guadalcanal across Indispensable Strait. The island is about 115 miles (185 km) long and 22 miles (35 km) across at its widest point, is mountainous (rising to Mount Ire [Mount Kolourat; 4,718 feet, or 1,438 m] in the centre), and is covered with dense forests. It is separated from Maramasike Island at its

East End

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

Traditional area of London, lying east of Shoreditch High Street, Houndsditch, Aldgate High Street, and Tower Bridge Approach. It extends eastward to the River Lea and lies mainly in the Inner London borough of Tower Hamlets, part of the historic county of Middlesex. In the Middle Ages the East End was part of the great parish of Stepney. It began to take on an identity

Sporotrichosis

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

Subacute or chronic infection by the fungus Sporotrichum, or Sporothrix, schenckii, usually characterized by a chancre at the site of inoculation and, extending from the site, a chain of hard, red, pus-generating lumps along the lymphatics of the skin and subcutaneous tissue. The fungus, which is most commonly found in the soil or on vegetation or decaying wood, most

Arabia, History Of, Qatabanians

2005-01-31T23:02:00.000-08:00

The heartland of the Qataban people was Wadi Bayhan, with the capital, Timna', at its northern end, and Wadi Harib, immediately west of Bayhan. As in the case of Ma'in, the earliest references are in Sabaean inscriptions; native Qatabanian inscriptions do not seem to antedate the 4th century BC. Timna' was destroyed by fire at a date not easy to fix; pottery evidence has been thought to suggest

Hoover Commission

2005-01-28T01:18:00.000-08:00

Formally Commission on Organization of the U.S. Executive Branch (1947–49, 1953–55), either of two temporary advisory bodies, both headed by the former president Herbert Hoover. They were appointed to find ways to reduce the number of federal government departments and increase their efficiency in the post-World War II and post-Korean War periods. The commissions were composed equally of Democratic and Republican members. Their recommendations,

Novi Ligure

2005-01-25T13:43:00.000-08:00

Town, Alessandria provincia, Piedmont regione, northwestern Italy, north of Genoa. A free commune until 1192, it then fell successively to Tortona and Milan before passing to Genoa in 1447. It was the scene of an Austro-Russian army's defeat of the French in 1799. Novi Ligure is now an important rail and road junction with iron and steel, food, and textile industries. Pop. (1993 est.) mun., 29,653.

Padre Island

2005-01-24T11:36:00.000-08:00

Barrier island, 113 miles (182 km) long and up to 3 miles (5 km) wide, lying along the Gulf Coast of Texas, U.S. It extends south from Corpus Christi to Port Isabel and is separated from the mainland by Laguna Madre. The island consists largely of grassy dunes and a broad beach that yields shellfish such as clams and marine snails. The area is well known for its mackerel, sailfish, and tarpon

Fabry's Disease

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

Also called Angiokeratoma Corporis Diffusum, sex-linked hereditary disease in which a deficiency in the enzyme alpha-galactosidase A results in abnormal deposits of a glycosphingolipid (ceramide trihexoside) in the blood vessels. These deposits in turn produce heart and kidney disturbances resulting in a marked reduction in life expectancy. Distinctive clusters of dark red granules in the skin on the

Margay

2005-01-18T01:32:00.000-08:00

Also called Tiger Cat, or Tigrillo (Felis wiedii), species of small cat that ranges from South through Central America and, rarely, into the extreme southern United States. Like all cats, it is of the family Felidae. Little is known about the natural habits of the margay. It lives in forests and presumably is nocturnal, feeding on small prey such as birds, frogs, and insects. It is largely arboreal

Margay

2005-01-16T10:16:00.000-08:00

Usually about 18 metres (60 feet) tall but occasionally reaching 40 m, the tree has ovate, dark-green, sharp-pointed leaves about 10 centimetres long. The bark, brown at first, whitens and peels into paper-thin layers, marked by narrow horizontal pores, or lenticels. On the copper-coloured

Environmental Works, Groundwater sources

2005-01-14T13:56:00.000-08:00

The value of an aquifer as a source of groundwater is a function of the porosity of the geologic stratum, or layer, of which it is formed. Water is withdrawn from an aquifer by pumping it out of a well or infiltration gallery. An infiltration gallery typically includes several horizontal perforated pipes radiating outward from the bottom of a large-diameter vertical

Eureka Stockade

2005-01-12T10:08:00.000-08:00

The rebellion was the culmination of long-standing grievances on the part of the miners, or “diggers,” over exorbitant prospecting-license fees, brutal police procedures

Business And Industry Review

2005-01-09T13:58:00.000-08:00

The high production and plant-operating rates seen in 1995 continued to mark most of the world's chemical industry in 1996. The high and rising sales levels reflected the generally healthy economies of countries around the globe. The high volume of products sold, however, did not always translate into record profits, particularly for the makers of big-volume petrochemicals.

Vieira Da Silva, Maria Elena

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

Vieira da Silva studied sculpture first with Antoine Bourdelle at Paris in 1928 and later with Charles Despiau. Her interest in painting flowered under the tutelage of Fernand Léger and Stanley William Hayter.

Mollien, Gaspard-théodore

2005-01-06T18:23:00.000-08:00

Mollien reached the French colonial station of Saint-Louis, Senegal, in 1817 and in January 1818 began his expedition to discover the sources of the Sénégal, Gambia,

Girnar Hills

2005-01-03T08:41:00.000-08:00

Physical region on the Kathiawar Peninsula, Gujarat state, west-central India. At the foot of one of the hills is a rock bearing one of the Rock Edicts of Asoka (3rd century BC). The same rock bears an inscription referring to the construction of a lake, called Sudarsana, by the Maurya emperor Candra Gupta (late 4th century BC). In the hills surrounding these two important historical records

Rdx

2004-12-31T17:52:00.000-08:00

Abbreviation of Research Department Explosive , formally cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine , also called cyclonite, hexogen , or T4 powerful explosive, discovered by Hans Henning of Germany in 1899 but not used until World War II, when most of the warring powers introduced it. Relatively safe and inexpensive to manufacture, RDX was produced on a large scale in the United States by a secret process developed in the United States and Canada. The name RDX was coined by the British, and this name was accepted

Pugin, Augustus Welby Northmore

2004-12-29T23:27:00.000-08:00

Pugin was the son of the architect Augustus Charles Pugin, who gave him his architectural and draftsmanship training. His mature professional life began in 1836 when he published Contrasts, which conveyed the argument with

Academy Bay

2004-12-27T17:19:00.000-08:00

Spanish Bahia De La Academia, bay at the south end of Santa Cruz (Indefatigable) Island (one of the Galapagos Islands), about 600 miles (965 km) west of Ecuador, in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Named in 1905 by the California Academy of Sciences Expedition, it is the site of the Charles Darwin Research Station, which was established in 1959 to study and preserve the Galapagos Islands' flora and fauna. The bay also serves as

Skeltonics

2004-12-24T10:35:00.000-08:00

Short verses of an irregular metre much used by the Tudor poet John Skelton. The verses have two or three stresses arranged sometimes in falling and sometimes in rising rhythm. They rely on such devices as alliteration, parallelism, and multiple rhymes and are related to doggerel. Skelton wrote his verses as works of satire and protest, and thus the form was considered

Algebra, Modern, Structural axioms

2004-12-22T01:48:00.000-08:00

The basic rules, or axioms, for addition and multiplication are shown in the table, and a set that satisfies all 10 of these rules is called a field. A set satisfying only axioms 1–7 is called a ring, and if it also satisfies axiom 9 it is called a ring with unity. A ring satisfying the commutative law of multiplication (axiom 8) is known as a commutative ring. When axioms 1–9 hold and there

Gyor-moson-sopron

2004-12-20T03:06:00.000-08:00

Megye (county), northwestern Hungary, bordering Austria and Slovakia to the north. It contains some of the nation's richest farmland, supporting sugar beets, apricots, and livestock. In the west-central part of the megye is the Hanság, a region of swamps and moorland, partly drained and recovered through canalization. Between the Danube main channel and the Moson arm

Wolffish

2004-12-18T13:04:00.000-08:00

Any of nine species of large, long-bodied blennies of the family Anarhichadidae (order Perciformes), found in northern Atlantic and Pacific waters. Wolffishes are much larger than most other blennies, the largest species growing to a length of about 2.3 m (7.5 feet). Wolffishes have a large head and a long, tapered body surmounted by a single, long dorsal

Rocky Mountains

2004-12-17T19:47:00.000-08:00

The human presence in the Rocky Mountains has been dated to between 10,000 and 8,000 BC. American Indian peoples inhabiting the northern mountains in modern times include the Shuswap and Kutenai of British Columbia, the Coeur d'Alene and Nez Percé of Idaho, and the Flathead of Montana. The traditional lands of the Shoshoni in Idaho and Wyoming and the Ute in Utah and Colorado extended

Anniston

2004-12-14T21:51:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1899) of Calhoun county, eastern Alabama, U.S. It lies in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, about 60 miles (95 km) east of Birmingham. Founded in 1872 by Samuel Noble, Daniel Tyler, and Tyler's sons as a private industrial community (opened to the public in 1883), it was originally named for the Woodstock Iron Company; to avoid confusion with another Woodstock in Alabama, it was

Annelid, Distinguishing taxonomic features

2004-12-13T06:21:00.000-08:00

Classification of free-living and sedentary polychaetes relies almost exclusively on external characters, such as the shape of the head, and on the number and nature of structures, such as appendages (including anal ones), parapodia, and setae, and on tube construction. Oligochaete classification relies largely on internal structures, especially the arrangement

Switzerland, Dynastic Switzerland

2004-12-11T20:54:00.000-08:00

The Swiss area became united again in the 11th century under a German-dominated Holy Roman Empire; however, the gradual decline of the empire gave rise to a loose confederation of quasi-independent states, enabling feudal dynasties of the Zähringen, Savoy, Kyburg, and Habsburg families to emerge as territorial powers by the beginning of the 13th century. During the 11th

Seven Holy Founders

2004-12-08T04:34:00.000-08:00

Also called Seven Servite Founders saints Bonfilius, Alexis Falconieri, John Bonagiunta, Benedict dell'Antella, Bartholomew Amidei, Gerard Sostegni, and Ricoverus Uguccione, who founded the Ordo Fratrum Servorum Sanctae Mariae (“Order of Friar Servants of St. Mary”). Popularly called Servites, the order is a Roman Catholic congregation

Athens

2004-12-07T04:59:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1871) of Clarke county (with which it was consolidated in 1990), northeastern Georgia, U.S., on the Oconee River. Founded in 1801 as the seat of the University of Georgia (chartered 1785), it was probably named for Athens, Greece. The city grew with the university, was spared the destruction that accompanied Union General William Tecumseh Sherman's march through Georgia in 1864, and became

Athletics

2004-12-05T08:12:00.000-08:00

Also called track-and-field sports or track and field a variety of competitions in running, walking, jumping, and throwing events. Although these contests are called track and field (or simply track) in the United States, they are generally designated as athletics elsewhere. This article covers the history, the organization, and the administration of the sports, the conduct of competitions, the rules and techniques of

Disasters

2004-12-03T15:50:00.000-08:00

January 2-3, Fiji. Deadly Cyclone Kina ripped across the islands and caused widespread damage with winds swirling to 185 km/h (115 mph); at least 12 persons were known dead, hundreds of homes were destroyed, and three major bridges were washed

Aniene River

2004-12-01T00:58:00.000-08:00

Also called Teverone, Latin Anio, major tributary of the Tiber (Tevere) River in central Italy. It rises from two springs in the Simbruini Mountains near Subiaco, southeast of Rome, flows through a narrow valley past Tivoli, and meanders through the Campagna di Roma (territory) to join the Tiber north of Rome. It is 67 miles (108 km) long and has a drainage basin of 569 square miles (1,474 square km). The Roman emperor Nero created

Costa, Lorenzo

2004-11-29T22:12:00.000-08:00

Costa was trained at Ferrara, probably under Cosmè Tura, who was the first important native-born Ferrarese painter. From at least 1485 he worked at Bologna in close connection

Polding, John Bede

2004-11-26T10:38:00.000-08:00

Polding joined the Benedictine Order in 1811 and was ordained priest in 1819. Consecrated bishop, he arrived at Sydney in 1835. There he divided his territory into missionary districts and swiftly provided them with priests, churches, and

Welch, Adam Cleghorn

2004-11-25T21:51:00.000-08:00

The son of a United Presbyterian missionary, he attended Edinburgh University (1879–83) and the United Presbyterian Hall (1883–85), spending the summer term of 1885 at Erlangen, Ger. As minister of Waterbeck (1887–92), Helensburgh (1892–1902), and Claremont, Glasgow (1902–13), he became known as a preacher. He played a notable

Moravia, Alberto

2004-11-22T19:57:00.000-08:00

Moravia contracted tuberculosis of the bone (a form of osteomyelitis usually caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis) at the age of 8, but, during several

Bondfield, Margaret (grace)

2004-11-21T04:31:00.000-08:00

Bondfield had little schooling. Starting as a draper's assistant at 14, she found conditions miserable and joined the National Union of Shop Assistants at its formation. In 1899 she was the only woman delegate to the Trades Union Congress, and

China, The Hundred Days of Reform, 1898

2004-11-18T11:39:00.000-08:00

The advocates of the Self-Strengthening Movement had regarded any institutional or ideological change as needless. But after 1885 some lower officials and comprador intellectuals began to emphasize institutional reforms and the opening of a parliament and to stress economic rather than military affairs for self-strengthening purposes. For the Peking court

Tin Processing, Bearing alloys

2004-11-16T14:58:00.000-08:00

Alloys of tin with about 7 percent antimony and 3 percent copper have proved to be the best materials for plain bearings running against a steel shaft. Known as tin-based babbitt metals or white metals, they owe their reputation to the ability to deform sufficiently in order to compensate for irregularities in the bearing assembly, to embed foreign particles in order

Dace

2004-11-15T02:31:00.000-08:00

Any of a number of small, slim, active freshwater fishes of the carp family, Cyprinidae. In England and Europe, the dace is Leuciscus leuciscus, a relative of the chub. Usually found in moderately swift streams and rivers, the European dace is a rather small-headed, silvery fish attaining a usual length and weight of 25–30 cm (10–12 inches) and 0.5–0.7 kg (1–1 1/2 pounds). It lives

Epistemology, Our knowledge of the external world

2004-11-13T21:56:00.000-08:00

Most people have noticed that vision can play tricks on them. A straight stick put in water looks bent to them, but they know it is not; railroad tracks are seen to be converging in the distance, yet one knows that they are not; the wheels of wagons on a movie screen appear to be going backward, but one knows that they are not; and the pages of English-language books reflected

Diez, Friedrich Christian

2004-11-10T11:17:00.000-08:00

As a student Diez acquired a deep interest in Italian poetry, but a visit to the great German poet J.W. von Goethe in 1818 directed his attention to exploring

Bukowski, Charles

2004-11-08T18:10:00.000-08:00

Bukowski lived most of his life in Los Angeles. He briefly attended Los Angeles City College (1939–41) and worked at menial jobs while writing short stories, the first of which were published

Epistatic Gene

2004-11-06T07:41:00.000-08:00

In genetics, a gene that determines whether or not a trait will be expressed. The system of genes that determines skin colour in man, for example, is independent of the gene responsible for albinism (lack of pigment) or the development of skin colour. This gene is an epistatic gene. When the albino condition occurs, the genes that determine skin colour are present but not

Locoweed

2004-11-05T01:26:00.000-08:00

Any of several species of poisonous plants of the genera Astragalus and Oxytropis, in the pea family (Fabaceae), native to the prairies of north central and western North America. Locoweeds pose a danger to livestock, horses, and other grazing animals, because they contain a toxin that affects muscle control, producing frenzied behaviour, impaired vision,

Páez, José Antonio

2004-11-03T10:30:00.000-08:00

Páez was a part-Indian llanero, one of the horsemen of the plains. Beginning as a ranch hand, he quickly

Akosombo Dam

2004-11-01T10:28:00.000-08:00

Rock-fill dam on the Volta River, near Akosombo, Ghana, completed in 1965 as part of the Volta River Project. Its construction was jointly financed by the government of Ghana, the World Bank, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The dam rises 440 feet (134 m) above ground level and has a crest 2,201 feet (671 m) wide and a volume of 10,451,000 cubic yards (7,991,000 cubic m). The dam impounds Lake Volta; this huge reservoir

Shikarpur

2004-10-30T00:27:00.000-07:00

City, northern Sindh province, southern Pakistan. The city lies 18 miles (29 km) west of the Indus River and is connected by road and rail with Sukkur (20 miles [32 km] southeast), Jacobabad, and Larkana. It is a historical trade centre, founded in 1617 on a caravan route through the Bolan Pass into Afghanistan. Shikarpur's manufactures include brass and metal goods, carpets, cotton cloth, and embroidery.

Dahlgren, John Adolphus Bernard

2004-10-27T16:02:00.000-07:00

American inventor of the smooth-bore cannon that was, from its shape, familiarly known as the “soda-water bottle.” The shape resulted from a design in which the thickness of metal was varied to match the differences in internal pressure occurring when the cannon was fired. The pressures were determined by boring holes in the

Baseball

2004-10-26T09:18:00.000-07:00

Although Sosa, with 63 homers, became the first player to hit 60 home runs in two consecutive seasons, McGwire hit 65, including the 500th of his career, and led the NL with 147 runs batted in. Larry Walker of the Colorado Rockies won the NL batting title with an average of .379. Astros pitchers Mike Hampton (22) and Jose Lima (21) led the league in victories, but Randy Johnson of Arizona, who struck out

Iri

2004-10-24T13:52:00.000-07:00

City, Cholla-pukto (North Cholla Province), western South Korea, 16 mi (26 km) east of the port city of Kunsan. In the northern part of the Honam-p'yongya (plain), the largest granary of South Korea, it is the market centre for the agricultural products, particularly rice, of the area. The city is also the transportation junction of rail lines leading to Mokp'o, Mok'o, Taejon, and Kunsan. Despite

Iri

2004-10-21T17:49:00.000-07:00

Public broadcasting service over AM and FM radio networks and television networks in English and French, two national cable television channels, and shortwave radio, among other media in Canada. Advertising sales and, primarily, annual appropriations from Parliament finance the CBC's operations. It is especially noted for the high quality of its news and public

Goat

2004-10-20T19:44:00.000-07:00

Domesticated

Da Ponte, Lorenzo

2004-10-18T06:43:00.000-07:00

Though Jewish by birth, Da Ponte was baptized in 1763 and later became a priest; his youthful libertinism and freethinking, however, eventually led, in 1779, to his expulsion from the Venetian state. Taking up residence in Vienna, he became official poet to the court of Emperor Joseph II and in

Andreini, Isabella

2004-10-15T03:21:00.000-07:00

In 1578 Flaminio Scala, a theatrical manager and scenario writer, engaged Isabella Canali to play the female lead in his company. There she met Francesco Andreini and married him the same year. They helped form the

Cartier, Sir George étienne, Baronet

2004-10-14T20:46:00.000-07:00

Cartier practiced as a lawyer until 1837, when he took part in the rebellion that sent him into several months of exile in the United States. Elected as a Liberal to the

Alcibiades

2004-10-11T08:31:00.000-07:00

Well-born and wealthy, Alcibiades was only a small boy when his father—who was in command of the Athenian army—was killed

Berezina River

2004-10-09T03:42:00.000-07:00

River in Belarus, a tributary of the Dnieper, which it joins near Rechitsa. Its 381-mile (613-kilometre) length drains 9,450 square miles (24,500 square km). Rising north of the Minsk Elevation, it flows to the south-southeast in a meandering course through a swampy, forested basin. It is navigable only by small craft. During Napoleon's retreat from Moscow in 1812, a bitter engagement was fought on

Berezina River

2004-10-07T04:56:00.000-07:00

Any member or relative of the dinosaur genus Brachiosaurus, which lived 150 million to 130 million years ago from the Late Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous Period. Brachiosaurs were the heaviest and tallest sauropod dinosaurs for which complete skeletons exist; larger fossil bones belonging to other (and possibly related) sauropods have been found, but these specimens

Brattain, Walter H.

2004-10-06T23:18:00.000-07:00

In full Walter Houser Brattain American scientist who, along with John Bardeen and William B. Shockley, won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1956 for his investigation of the properties of semiconductors—materials of which transistors are made—and for the development of the transistor. The transistor replaced the bulkier vacuum tube for many uses and was the forerunner

Malacca, Sultanate Of

2004-10-03T09:24:00.000-07:00

(1403?–1511), Malay dynasty that ruled the great entrepôt of Malacca (Melaka) and its dependencies and provided Malay history with its golden age, still evoked in idiom and institutions. The founder and first ruler of Malacca, Paramesvara (d. 1424, Malacca), a Sumatran prince who had fled his native Palembang under Javanese attack, established himself briefly in Tumasik (now Singapore)

Jackson, Andrew

2004-09-30T17:37:00.000-07:00

Byname Old Hickory military hero and seventh president of the United States (1829–37). He was the first U.S. president to come from the area west of the Appalachians and the first to gain office by a direct appeal to the mass of voters. His political movement has since been known as Jacksonian Democracy. (For a discussion of the history and nature of the presidency, see presidency of the United States of America. See also Cabinet of President Andrew Jackson.)

Round Table Conference

2004-09-28T01:27:00.000-07:00

The first (Nov. 12, 1930–Jan. 19, 1931) had 73 representatives, from

Skeat, Walter William

2004-09-25T22:22:00.000-07:00

Following a classical education at Christ's College, Cambridge, Skeat in 1891 joined the civil service of the state of Selangor in the Malay Peninsula. He became interested in ideas of magic

Death Rite, Commemorative rites and services

2004-09-23T19:29:00.000-07:00

The attitude of the living toward the dead has also been conditioned by the particular belief held about the human nature and destiny. Where death is regarded as the virtual extinction of the personality, the dead should logically have no more importance beyond that which their memory might stir in those who knew them. Even in the negative eschatologies of ancient

Sardinia

2004-09-22T17:23:00.000-07:00

Italian Sardegna island and regione of Italy, second in size only to Sicily among the islands of the western Mediterranean. It lies 120 miles (200 km) west of the mainland of Italy, 7.5 miles (12 km) south of the neighbouring French island of Corsica, and 120 miles (200 km) north of the coast of Africa. The capital is Cagliari.

Bedmar, Alonso De La Cueva, Marqués De

2004-09-20T02:10:00.000-07:00

Nominated by Philip III of Spain as ambassador to the Venetian Republic (1607), he was made marqués de Bedmar in 1614. He used his diplomatic privileges to promote the plans of the Spanish viceroys of Naples and Milan and to increase Spanish power in Italy. Resolutely opposed

Berg

2004-09-17T21:26:00.000-07:00

In the 11th century the counts of Berg came into possession of Westphalian lands east of Cologne. From 1161 these were divided between the senior branch of Berg and the junior branch of Altena (later Mark), which acquired the countship

Benalla

2004-09-16T14:16:00.000-07:00

City, central Victoria, Australia, on the Broken River. Founded in 1848 on an overland stock route after Sir Thomas Mitchell's exploration of the area, its name is derived from an Aboriginal term meaning “crossing place.” The city is a rail and highway junction and the commercial centre for a district of livestock, poultry, and grain farming. Local industries include flour

Alcántara

2004-09-13T04:15:00.000-07:00

Town, Cáceres provincia, in the Extremadura comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”), western Spain, on a rock above the southern bank of the Tagus (Tajo) River just east of the Portuguese frontier. The walled town was named by the Moors after the six-arched Roman bridge Al-Qantarah (Arabic: “The Bridge”), which there spans the Tagus. Built in AD 105–106 in honour of the emperor Trajan,

Serbia And Montenegro, Zeta

2004-09-12T02:30:00.000-07:00

The Slav peoples were organized along tribal lines, each headed by a zupan (chieftain). In this part of the Adriatic littoral, from the time of the arrival of the Slavs up to the 10th century, these local magnates often were brought into unstable and shifting alliances with other larger states, particularly with Bulgaria, Venice, and Byzantium. Between 931 and 960 one such zupan, Ceslav,

Kabelvåg

2004-09-09T08:36:00.000-07:00

Historical village of the Lofoten island group, Nordland fylke (county), northern Norway. It is on the southern shore of Austvågøya island, just southwest of Svolvær, chief town of the Lofoten. Kabelvåg was founded as Vågan in the early 12th century by King Øystein, who built a church and fishermen's hostel there. For many centuries the small port, situated at the base of steep,

Wind Instrument, Trumpet-type aerophones

2004-09-08T08:38:00.000-07:00

As regards sound generation, trumpets and horns differ from other aerophones in their use of the so-called “lip reed,” which is formed when the player's partially closed lips vibrate as they press against the rim of a mouthpiece or mouth hole (although the behaviour of the lips, strictly speaking, is not exactly comparable to the operation of a reed). When the lips vibrate,

Clan

2004-09-06T03:13:00.000-07:00

Kinship group of fundamental importance in the structure of many societies. Membership of a clan is socially defined in terms of actual or purported descent from a common ancestor. This descent is unilineal—i.e., derived only through the male (patriclan) or the female (matriclan). Normally, but not always, the clans are exogamous, marriage within the clan being forbidden

Rambouillet, Catherine De Vivonne, Marquise De

2004-09-04T02:25:00.000-07:00

Mme de Rambouillet was of noble background and was married at the age of 12 to Charles d'Angennes, later marquis de Rambouillet. Revolted by the coarseness of the French court under Henry IV and distressed by the amount

Moloch

2004-09-02T06:51:00.000-07:00

The laws given to Moses by God expressly forbade the Jews to do what was done in Egypt or

Ayodhya

2004-08-31T02:36:00.000-07:00

An ancient city, Ayodhya is regarded as one of the seven sacred cities of the Hindus, revered because of its association, in the great Indian epic poem Ramayana, with the birth of Rama and with the rule of his father, Dasaratha. According to this source, the city was prosperous

Pitcher Plant

2004-08-29T00:16:00.000-07:00

Any carnivorous plant with pitcher-shaped leaves. Old World pitcher plants are members of the family Nepenthaceae (order Nepenthales; q.v.). New World pitcher plants belong to the family Sarraceniaceae (q.v.; order Nepenthales). The fly-catcher plant (Cephalotus follicularis) of southwestern Australia is the only species of the family Cephalotaceae

Korea, South

2004-08-26T01:56:00.000-07:00

Officially Republic of Korea , Korean Taehan Min'guk country in East Asia. It occupies the southern portion of the Korean peninsula. The country is bordered by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) to the north, the East Sea (Sea of Japan) to the east, the East China Sea to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west; to the southeast it is separated from the Japanese island of Tsushima by the Korea Strait. South Korea

Black River

2004-08-24T15:12:00.000-07:00

Vietnamese Song Da, Chinese Li-hsien Chiang, one of the chief tributaries of the Red River (Song Hong) in southeastern Asia. Nearly 500 miles (800 km) long, the river rises in central Yunnan province in southwestern China and flows southeastward into northwestern Vietnam on a course parallel to the Red River. Near the city of Hoa Binh, 37 miles (60 km) southwest of Hanoi, the Black River is dammed to form a reservoir that is the largest

StraightCup

Taurus

Saratov

Wang Fu-chih

Nephron

Oscar I

Oman

Regeneration, Annelids

Essen, Louis

Tequistlatec

Duck

Clark, Mark

Habsburg, House Of, Power and weakness

Thutmose Iv

Nabu

Roche, Kevin

Cranbrook

Little Saint Bernard Pass

Arfersiorfik Fjord

China, Western challenge, 183960

Hexachloroplatinic Acid

Malaita

East End

Sporotrichosis

Arabia, History Of, Qatabanians

Hoover Commission

Novi Ligure

Padre Island

Fabry's Disease

Margay

Margay

Environmental Works, Groundwater sources

Eureka Stockade

Business And Industry Review

Vieira Da Silva, Maria Elena

Mollien, Gaspard-théodore

Girnar Hills

Rdx

Pugin, Augustus Welby Northmore

Academy Bay

Skeltonics

Algebra, Modern, Structural axioms

Gyor-moson-sopron

Wolffish

Rocky Mountains

Anniston

Annelid, Distinguishing taxonomic features

Switzerland, Dynastic Switzerland

Seven Holy Founders

Athens

Athletics

Disasters

Aniene River

Costa, Lorenzo

Polding, John Bede

Welch, Adam Cleghorn

Moravia, Alberto

Bondfield, Margaret (grace)

China, The Hundred Days of Reform, 1898

Tin Processing, Bearing alloys

Dace

Epistemology, Our knowledge of the external world

Diez, Friedrich Christian

Bukowski, Charles

Epistatic Gene

Locoweed

Páez, José Antonio

Akosombo Dam

Shikarpur

Dahlgren, John Adolphus Bernard

Baseball

Iri

Iri

Goat

Da Ponte, Lorenzo

Andreini, Isabella

Cartier, Sir George étienne, Baronet

Alcibiades

Berezina River

Berezina River

China, Western challenge, 183960

Epistemology, Our knowledge of the external world