PoorChurch

Estate Agent Fitzrovia

2006-10-25T20:10:00.000-07:00

Robert Irving Burns specialise in London Commercial and Residential property services. They are a specialist in estate agent fitzrovia, amongst other London areas such as Soho and Oxford Circus.

Philidor, François-andré

2005-03-30T18:26:00.000-08:00

The last member of a large and prominent musical family, Philidor was thoroughly trained in music, but at age 18 he turned entirely to chess competition throughout Europe. He was particularly well

Wieman, Carl E.

2005-03-30T08:30:00.000-08:00

After studying at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (B.S., 1973), Wieman earned a Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1977. He then taught and conducted research

Tzetzes, John

2005-03-29T15:01:00.000-08:00

Tzetzes was for a time secretary to a provincial governor, then earned a meagre living by teaching and writing. He has been described as the perfect specimen of the Byzantine pedant.

Akshak

2005-03-28T13:32:00.000-08:00

Ancient city of Mesopotamia on the northern boundary of Akkad, identified by some authorities with the Babylonian city of Upi (Opis). About 2500 BC Akshak was conquered by Eannatum, king of Lagash. About a century later Akshak temporarily established its hegemony over Sumer and Akkad. The location of Akshak is uncertain, although the Mari letters (from the royal archives

Mihrab

2005-03-28T01:39:00.000-08:00

Arabic mihrab prayer niche in the qiblah wall (that facing Mecca) of a mosque; mihrabs vary in size but are usually ornately decorated. The mihrab originated in the reign of the Umayyad prince al-Walid I (705–715), during which time the famous mosques at Medina, Jerusalem, and Damascus were built. The structure was adapted from the prayer niches common to the oratories of Coptic Christian monks.

Osco-umbrian Languages

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

Language group proposed by some scholars to be included in the Italic branch of Indo-European languages. The group includes Oscan, Umbrian, and the minor dialects of central Italy—Marsian, Marrucinian, Paelignian, Sabine, Vestinian, and Volscian. Oscan, the language imposed by the Samnites on the Osci of Campania, is known from over 200 inscriptions dated between 400 and 89 BC. Umbrian

Racine

2005-03-25T23:41:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1836) of Racine county, southeastern Wisconsin, U.S. It lies along Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River, just south of Milwaukee. Founded in 1834 as Port Gilbert by a lake captain, Gilbert Knapp, in 1837 it adopted its present name, which was derived either from the French word for “root” or from the Algonkian pakwasewin, meaning “a place where wild rice is gathered.” The improvement

Hevesy, Georg Charles Von

2005-03-25T02:48:00.000-08:00

Educated at the Technische

Ganesha

2005-03-24T08:22:00.000-08:00

Ganesha, considered the remover of obstacles, is the first god invoked at the beginning of worship or of a new enterprise, and he is often positioned near thresholds and gateways. He is a patron of letters and learning, and he is the

Straits Question

2005-03-24T03:14:00.000-08:00

The straits were in Turkish territory, but when Russia gained control of the north shore of the

Lu-chou

2005-03-23T18:25:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Luzhou, city in southern Szechwan sheng (province), China. A river port at the junction of the Yangtze River and the T'o River, Lu-chou's communications were further improved during World War II, when a highway was built south across the mountains to K'un-ming in Yunnan province to connect Szechwan to the Burma Road. Lu-chou, although an ancient city, remains essentially a river

Chekiang

2005-03-21T22:28:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Wade-Giles) Che-chiang, (Pinyin) Zhejiang, sheng (province) of China. It is the third smallest province of China and also one of the most densely populated and affluent. Its area is 39,300 square miles (101,800 square kilometres). A coastal province, it is bounded by the East China Sea on the east and by the provinces of Fukien on the south, Kiangsi on the southwest, Anhwei on the west, and Kiangsu on the north. The provincial capital

Ganesha

2005-03-21T13:33:00.000-08:00

British honorary institution founded by Edward VII in 1902 to reward those who provided especially eminent service in the armed forces or particularly distinguished themselves in science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. The order is limited to only 24 members, although the British monarch can appoint foreigners as “honorary members.” The order carries no

Ear Disease, Keloid of the ear

2005-03-21T03:37:00.000-08:00

In dark-skinned people, overgrowth of scar tissue from any skin incision or injury can cause a thickened elevation on the scar called a keloid. Having the earlobes pierced for earrings sometimes results in a large, painless nodular keloid enlargement of the earlobe, harmless but unsightly. Keloids are removed surgically (see also skin disease).

French Literature, The novel between the wars

2005-03-20T21:41:00.000-08:00

With a few notable exceptions, novels were less technically innovative in the second quarter of the century. The Surrealists made their contribution with André Breton's Nadja (1928; Eng. trans., Nadja) and Louis Aragon's Le Paysan de Paris (1926; The Night-Walker), and they influenced the works of Raymond Queneau. The tradition of the family novel was continued by Roger Martin du

Osasco

2005-03-19T22:26:00.000-08:00

City, southeastern São Paulo estado (“state”), Brazil. Located at 2,360 feet (720 m) above sea level, Osasco lies along the Tietê River. It is 12 miles (20 km) northwest of São Paulo city, the state capital, and is part of its metropolitan area. Osasco has experienced extremely rapid growth owing to the increasing concentration of heavy industry in the suburban regions of São Paulo, bringing

Antanaclasis

2005-03-19T21:42:00.000-08:00

The first use of “sleep” refers to nocturnal rest, the second to death.

Bonanza Creek

2005-03-18T17:55:00.000-08:00

Stream in the western Yukon Territory, Canada, rising near Dawson and flowing 20 mi (32 km) northwest to the Klondike River. In it gold was found by George Washington Carmack on Aug. 17, 1896, setting off the gold rush of that year into the Klondike Valley. The creek, formerly called Rabbit Creek, was renamed Bonanza Creek to mark Carmack's strike. See also Klondike River.

Karaganda

2005-03-18T15:16:00.000-08:00

Oblast (province), central Kazakhstan. It lies mostly in the Kazakh Uplands in a dry steppe zone, rising gradually in elevation eastward to a maximum in the Karkaraly Mountains of 5,115 feet (1,559 m). The principal rivers, the Nura and Sarysu, are in the west, in the Musbel lowland. The climate is continental (tending to extremes) and dry, with severe winters, marked by prolonged snowstorms

Canals And Inland Waterways

2005-03-18T04:46:00.000-08:00

Despite modern technological advances in air and ground transportation, inland waterways continue to fill a vital role and, in many areas, to grow substantially. This article traces the history of canal building from the earliest times to the present day and describes

Calvus, Gaius Licinius Macer

2005-03-17T16:54:00.000-08:00

Calvus was a son of the annalist Licinius Macer. As an orator he was the leader of a group who opposed the florid Asiatic school, taking the simplest Attic orators as their model. Of his speeches, 21 are mentioned, the most famous being those delivered against Publius Vatinius,

Protein, Others

2005-03-17T05:47:00.000-08:00

The most thoroughly investigated scleroprotein has been fibroin, the insoluble material of silk. The raw silk comprising the cocoon of the silkworm consists of two proteins. One, sericin, is soluble in hot water; the other, fibroin, is not. The amino acid composition of the latter differs from that of all other proteins. It contains large amounts of glycine, alanine, tyrosine,

Guadeloupe

2005-03-16T20:17:00.000-08:00

Officially Department of Guadeloupe, French Département de la Guadeloupe, overseas département of France, a group of islands in the Lesser Antilles chain in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The nearest neighbours of the principal islands are the British dependency of Montserrat to the northwest and the republic of Dominica to the south. The island of Martinique, also a French overseas département, lies about 74 miles to the south. The main territory

Spongillafly

2005-03-15T11:16:00.000-08:00

Any insect of the parasitic neuropteran family Sisyridae. The adult, a smoky brown insect, deposits clusters of eggs under a silky web near or on the water. The larva lives as a parasite on a freshwater sponge. It leaves the water when fully grown and spins a double-walled, lacelike cocoon in which it passes the pupal stage. Spongillaflies are found throughout the world

Adams, John, Biographies

2005-03-15T08:26:00.000-08:00

Among the full-length biographies, three stand out: Page Smith, John Adams, 2 vol. (1962–63, reprinted in 1 vol., 1988); Peter Shaw, The Character of John Adams (1976); and John Ferling, John Adams: A Life (1992, reissued 1996). Although a fictional biography, Catherine Drinker Bowen, John Adams and the American Revolution (1950), is unsurpassed in bringing Adams to life during the early stages of his career. For the latter phase of his life, see Joseph J. Ellis, Passionate Sage: The Character and Legacy of John Adams (1993). The Adams presidency is the focus of two books: Stephen G. Kurtz, The Presidency of John Adams: The Collapse of Federalism, 1795–1800 (1957, reissued 1961); and Ralph Adams Brown, The Presidency of John Adams (1975). An old but still valuable rendering of the presidential years is Manning J. Dauer, The Adams Federalists (1953, reprinted 1984).

Cacique

2005-03-15T07:53:00.000-08:00

Any of a dozen tropical American birds belonging to the family Icteridae (order Passeriformes) and resembling the related oropendolas. Caciques are smaller than oropendolas and have a less-powerful bill, which lacks a frontal shield. These striking black-and-yellow or black-and-red birds make hanging nests. A common species is the all-black, yellow-billed cacique

Seto-guro Ware

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

Japanese ceramic ware created at Mino during 1573–96. A black ware, it stands in contrast to the contemporary pure-white Shino ware. Seto-guro (“black Seto”) was produced by a process that involved firing the iron-glaze ware in an oxidizing kiln from which it was suddenly removed and immediately cooled. The shade of black achieved was far richer than had been achieved in the earlier

Taree

2005-03-13T21:55:00.000-08:00

City, northeastern New South Wales, Australia, 10 miles (16 km) above the coastal mouth of the Manning River. Established in 1854 as a private town, it was proclaimed a municipality in 1885 and a city in 1981; it derives its name from the Aboriginal tareehin, or tarrebit, referring to a local wild fig. Situated on the Sydney-Brisbane rail line and the Pacific Highway, 80 miles (130 km) northeast of Newcastle,

Ace, Goodman

2005-03-13T00:12:00.000-08:00

From childhood Ace wanted to be a writer, and his writing was admired by his teachers. He was editor of his high school newspaper when he met

Albany, John Stewart, 2nd Duke Of

2005-03-12T16:11:00.000-08:00

In 1515, at the request of the Scottish Parliament, he came to Scotland from France.

Induan Stage

2005-03-12T15:42:00.000-08:00

Lowermost of two divisions of the Lower Triassic Series, representing those rocks deposited worldwide during Induan time (from 248 million to 245 million years ago) in the Triassic Period. The stage name is derived from the Indus River in the Salt Range of Pakistan. The stratotype for the Induan, as originally defined, is the strata above the Chhideru beds and below the Upper

Carmel

2005-03-12T02:57:00.000-08:00

Also called Carmel-by-the-sea, city, Monterey county, western California, U.S., on the Carmel River and Carmel Bay, adjacent to Monterey. The river was named by the Spanish explorer Sebastián Vizcaíno and a group of Carmelite friars in 1602. The nearby Mission San Carlos Borroméo del Río Carmelo was founded in 1770 at Monterey by the Spanish Franciscan missionary Junípero Serra; it was moved to the Carmel area

Arts, Islamic, The 'Abbasids

2005-03-12T01:51:00.000-08:00

It was not until the 'Abbasids assumed power in 750, settling in Baghdad, that the golden age of Arabic literature began. The influx of foreign elements added new colour to cultural and literary life. Hellenistic thought and the influence of the ancient cultures of the Near East, for example, contributed to the rapid intellectual growth of the Muslim community. Its members,

Biblical Literature, Portuguese versions

2005-03-10T16:48:00.000-08:00

The first Portuguese New Testament (Amsterdam), the work of João Ferreira d'Almeida, did not appear until 1681. The first complete Bible (2 vol., 1748–53) was printed in Batavia (in Holland). Not until late in the 18th century did the first locally published vernacular Scriptures appear in Portugal. A revision of d'Almeida was issued in Rio de Janeiro (in Brazil), the New Testament in 1910 and the complete

Hoopoe

2005-03-09T18:22:00.000-08:00

(Upupa epops), strikingly crested bird found from southern Europe and Africa to southeastern Asia, the sole member of the family Upupidae of the roller order, Coraciiformes. About 28 centimetres (11 inches) long, it is pinkish brown on the head and shoulders, with a long, black-tipped, erectile crest and black-and-white barred wings and tail. The hoopoe takes insects

Cilicia

2005-03-09T06:14:00.000-08:00

Ancient district of southern Anatolia, bounded on the north and west by the Taurus Mountain Range, on the east by the Anti-Taurus, and on the south by the Mediterranean Sea. It is geographically divided into two contrasting regions, the western portion being wild and mountainous and the eastern consisting of rich plainland. In ancient times the only route from Anatolia

Bunner, Henry Cuyler

2005-03-09T00:12:00.000-08:00

Educated in New York City, Bunner served on the staff of the Arcadian, at 22 becoming assistant editor and later editor of Puck until his death. He developed Puck from a new, struggling comic weekly into a powerful social and political

Aeschylus

2005-03-08T05:09:00.000-08:00

The date of this play (and even its authorship) is disputed, but many scholars regard it as a work of Aeschylus' last years. In Prometheus Bound (Greek Prometheus desmotes) the god Prometheus, who in defiance of Zeus has saved mankind and given them fire, is chained to a remote crag as a punishment ordered by the king of the gods. Despite his isolation Prometheus is visited by

Burgos

2005-03-08T03:46:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Burgos province, in the Castile-León comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”), northern Spain. It is located on the lower slopes of a castle-crowned hill overlooking the Arlanzón River, about 2,600 feet (800 m) above sea level. Founded in 884 as an eastern outpost of the Asturian kingdom by the Castilian count Diego Rodríguez Porcelos, it became the capital of the

Wage And Salary

2005-03-08T03:40:00.000-08:00

Toward the end of the 19th century, marginal-productivity analysis was applied not only to labour but to other factors of production as well. It was not a new idea as an explanation of wage phenomena, for Smith had observed that a relationship existed between wage rates and the productivity of labour, and Johann Heinrich von Thünen, a German economist, had worked out a

Faysal

2005-03-07T17:25:00.000-08:00

Faysal was a son of King Ibn Sa'ud and a brother of King Sa'ud. He was appointed foreign minister and viceroy of Hejaz in 1926 after his father conquered that province, in which lies the

Camar

2005-03-07T02:17:00.000-08:00

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

Biblical Literature, Definitions

2005-03-06T17:45:00.000-08:00

A vast amount of Jewish literature written in the intertestamental period (mainly 2nd and 1st centuries BCE) and from the 1st and 2nd centuries CE was preserved, for the most part, through various Christian churches. A part of this literature is today commonly called the Apocrypha (Hidden; hence, secret books; singular apocryphon). At one time in the early church this was one of the

Trece Martires

2005-03-06T04:12:00.000-08:00

City, southern Luzon, Philippines. Located in a fertile and densely populated plain about halfway between Cavite City on Manila Bay (north) and Taal Lake (south), it is named after the 13 Filipino patriots martyred by the Spanish in 1896 at Cavite. Trece Martires is a trading centre; rice, fruits, coffee, sugarcane, and bananas are grown in the region. Inc. city, 1954. Pop. (1990) 15,686.

Performing Arts, U.S. and Canada.

2005-03-05T15:50:00.000-08:00

It was a year of economic and creative recuperation for the American theatre in 2002, and both the commercial and the not-for-profit sectors of the field seemed willing to accept a little help from their friends across the Atlantic in order to get by. The British influence was palpable on Broadway and beyond during this unsettled post-September 11 period. London-originated

China, Trends in the early Ch'ing

2005-03-05T04:50:00.000-08:00

The tripling of China's population from the beginning of the Ch'ing dynasty to the mid-19th century rested on the economic expansion that followed the consolidation of Manchu rule. This population growth has been frequently cited as the major cause of the decline of China in the 19th century. Certainly the year 1800 saw the Ch'ing state's surpluses, sufficient through the 18th

La Noue, François De

2005-03-04T18:11:00.000-08:00

La Noue became a Protestant in 1558 and soon began fighting for the Huguenot cause. Wounded at Fontenay (1570), he had one arm replaced by an iron device and was thereafter nicknamed Bras-de-Fer (“Arm of Iron”). After the Peace of

Rocket And Missile System, Surface-to-air

2005-03-03T07:04:00.000-08:00

Guided surface-to-air missiles, or SAMs, were under development when World War II ended, notably by the Germans, but were not sufficiently perfected to be used in combat. This changed in the 1950s and '60s with the rapid development of sophisticated SAM systems in the Soviet Union, the United States, Great Britain, and France. With other industrialized nations following suit,

Rainaldi, Carlo

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

After his father's death Rainaldi evolved a monumental

Nitrile

2005-03-03T01:57:00.000-08:00

Acrylonitrile is produced in large quantities by a process called ammoxidation that depends on the oxidation of propylene in the presence of ammonia and a catalyst. Acrylonitrile

Frampton, Sir George James

2005-03-01T17:36:00.000-08:00

Frampton studied under W.S. Frith and at the Royal Academy schools, where he won a traveling studentship. In 1888–90 he studied in Paris under A. Mercié, by whom he was much influenced. At the beginning of the 1890s he was attracted by the Arts and Crafts Movement and experimented

Celestial Globe

2005-03-01T16:24:00.000-08:00

Some globes were made in ancient Greece; Thales of Miletus (fl. 6th century BC) is generally credited with having constructed the first. Probably the oldest in existence is the

Jacobs, Harriet A.

2005-03-01T15:31:00.000-08:00

Born into slavery, Jacobs still was taught to read at an early age. She was orphaned as a child and formed a bond with her maternal grandmother, Molly Horniblow, who had been freed from slavery.

Liri River

2005-03-01T05:10:00.000-08:00

Latin Liris, river in central Italy, made up of two streams, the Rapido (or Gari) and the Liri, and having a total length of 98 mi (158 km) and a drainage basin of 1,911 sq mi (4,950 sq km). It has its sources near Cappadocia, in the Monti Simbruini east of Rome, and flows south and southeast through a long, narrow, scenic valley in its upper course as far as Arce, where it enters its wide lower valley and receives the

Giulini, Carlo Maria

2005-02-28T23:23:00.000-08:00

Giulini studied under Bernardino Molinari at Rome's Accademia di Santa Cecilia. As violist for that institution's resident orchestra, he observed the work of such notables as Wilhelm Furtwängler, Otto Klemperer, and Bruno Walter. His conducting

Furniture, Other accessory furnishings

2005-02-28T09:00:00.000-08:00

Small utility objects constitute an important part of the furnishing of interiors. Several of them are the work of cabinetmakers; for example, boxes for writing paper and playing cards, caskets for letters and documents, trays for serving or presentation. Accessory furnishings include the various articles, large and small, that are employed in the course of domestic

Ashland

2005-02-28T04:43:00.000-08:00

City, Jackson county, southwestern Oregon, U.S. It lies along Bear Creek, in the southern reaches of the Rogue River valley, at the base of the Siskiyou Mountains, just southeast of Medford. Settled in 1852 (during a gold rush) and laid out in 1860, it was named for both Ashland county, Ohio, and Ashland, Kentucky, and was known as Ashland Mills for its sawmills and gristmills. It was located

Jube

2005-02-26T18:16:00.000-08:00

(from the French jubé), construction marking off the chancel, or sanctuary, of a church from the rest of the interior. Its mature medieval form consisted of three basic elements: a screen (known in England as a rood screen); a gallery, or loft, from which the words Jube, Domine, benedicere (hence jubé) were spoken; and a crucifix (rood) surmounting the whole. See rood screen.

Bahraich

2005-02-25T19:13:00.000-08:00

City, east-central Uttar Pradesh state, northern India, located on a tributary of the Ghaghara River and on a rail line between Lucknow and Nepalganj, Nepal. Bahraich is a centre of trade (agricultural products and timber) with Nepal; there is also some sugar processing. The tomb of Sayyid Salar Mas'ud, an Afghan warrior-saint who died there in 1033, is visited by Muslim and Hindu pilgrims.

Literature, France.

2005-02-24T22:02:00.000-08:00

In 2001 French literature's marked inclination towards gloom continued unabated as it had for over a decade, leaving no permutation of familial misery unabated. Death in the family was a favourite topic, and Laure Adler's À ce soir described the death of her son and the subsequent guilt that has consumed her for

Wicklow

2005-02-24T17:27:00.000-08:00

Irish Cill Mhantáin county in the province of Leinster, Ireland. With an area of 782 sq mi (2,025 sq km), it is bounded on the east by the Irish Sea and by Counties Wexford (south), Carlow and Kildare (west), and Dublin (north). County Wicklow includes much of the Leinster Chain mountain range, notably the Wicklow Mountains, and has fertile lowland areas. Much of its coast comprises rocky cliffs and excellent

Eye Dialect

2005-02-24T15:36:00.000-08:00

The use of misspellings that are based on standard pronunciations (such as sez for says or kow for cow) but are usually intended to suggest a speaker's illiteracy or his use of generally nonstandard pronunciations. It is sometimes used in literature for comic effect.

'umar Ibn Abi Rabi'ah

2005-02-23T04:08:00.000-08:00

'Umar belonged to the wealthy merchant family of Makhzum, a member of the Meccan tribe of Quraysh (of which the Prophet Muhammad was also a member). He spent most of his life in Mecca, also traveling to southern Arabia, Syria, and Mesopotamia.

Cineas

2005-02-22T23:55:00.000-08:00

Thessalian who served as chief adviser to Pyrrhus, king of Epirus in Greece. In 281 Cineas attempted, without success, to dissuade Pyrrhus from invading Italy. After Pyrrhus defeated the Romans at Heraclea in Lucania (280), Cineas was sent to Rome to negotiate a peace. According to the 2nd-century-AD Greek historian Appian, he demanded that the Romans halt their aggression

Space Shuttle

2005-02-21T20:46:00.000-08:00

Partially reusable rocket-launched vehicle designed to go into orbit around Earth, to transport people and cargo to and from orbiting spacecraft, and to glide to a runway landing on its return to Earth's surface. The first vehicle of this type was developed by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Formally called the Space Transportation System

Kiribati

2005-02-21T06:28:00.000-08:00

Officially Republic of Kiribati island country in the central Pacific Ocean. Of its 33 islands, only 20 are inhabited. The population is concentrated in the 16 Gilbert Islands, which straddle the Equator. From the Gilbert Islands, Kiribati extends 250 miles (400 km) to the west to Banaba (formerly Ocean Island) and 1,800 miles to the east, to the Line Islands, three of which are inhabited. In between lie the islands of the Phoenix

Theobromine

2005-02-20T21:23:00.000-08:00

Diuretic drug and major alkaloidal constituent of cocoa. Theobromine is a xanthine alkaloid, a methylxanthine, as are caffeine and theophylline, but it differs from them in having little stimulatory action upon the central nervous system. The stimulant effect of cocoa results from the caffeine that it contains rather than from the theobromine.

Skat

2005-02-20T10:49:00.000-08:00

Skat is for three players. A pack of 32 cards, omitting the 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, and 6s, is used. Each player receives 10 cards; the remaining 2 are

Spice Trade

2005-02-20T01:18:00.000-08:00

Cinnamon, cassia, cardamom, ginger, and turmeric were known to Eastern peoples thousands of years ago, and they became important items of commerce early in the evolution of trade. Cinnamon and cassia found their way to the Middle East at least 2,000 years

Philippines, The early republic

2005-02-18T19:05:00.000-08:00

Roxas, as expected, extended amnesty to all major collaborators with Japan. In the campaign for the election of 1949 there was an attempt to raise the collaboration issue against José Laurel, the Nacionalista presidential candidate, but it was not effective. In the fluidity of Philippine politics, “guerrillas” and “collaborators” were by that time to be found on both sides

Châteauroux

2005-02-18T15:46:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Indre département, Centre région, central France. It lies along the Indre River, south of Orléans, on the main road and railway from Paris to Toulouse. It derives its name from a castle built toward the end of the 10th century by Raoul le Large, prince of Déols. The present Château Raoul, occupied by the prefecture, dates from the 15th century. An 18th-century mansion,

Low, Sir David (alexander Cecil)

2005-02-18T05:43:00.000-08:00

A self-taught artist, Low was already contributing cartoons to a local weekly paper at the age of 11. At 17 he set out as a full-time free-lance artist, combining this work from 1911 with a post on the Bulletin of Sydney, Australia. Having

Sa'id Ibn Sultan

2005-02-16T23:33:00.000-08:00

Ruler of Muscat and Oman and of Zanzibar (1806–56), who made Zanzibar the principal power in East Africa and the commercial capital of the western Indian Ocean.

Pluralism And Monism

2005-02-16T21:15:00.000-08:00

All philosophy as well as science may be regarded as a search

Acrisol

2005-02-16T15:05:00.000-08:00

One of the 30 soil groups in the classification system of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Acrisols form on old landscapes that have an undulating topography and a humid tropical climate. Their natural vegetation is woodland, which in some areas has given way to tree savanna maintained by seasonal burning. The age, mineralogy, and extensive leaching of these

Palas

2005-02-16T11:46:00.000-08:00

Plural Palasy, flat-surfaced handwoven floor covering from the Caucasus, Turkistan, or parts of Iran. In the rest of Iran, the Balkans, and Anatolia, the name for similar pieces is kilim. The Caucasian palas is a slit tapestry in technique. The Shirvan variety is designed without a border as a series of transverse bands carrying bold polygonal ornaments in vivid colouring. A Karabagh

Cordia

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

The leaves of the tropical American geiger tree, aloewood, or sebesten plum (C.

Koganei

2005-02-14T19:14:00.000-08:00

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

Chang Chien

2005-02-14T04:48:00.000-08:00

Chang received a traditional Confucian education and, at the age of 41, he passed the top level of the civil service examination. The following year China was defeated in the Sino-Japanese War, and Chang retired from office to

Daily World

2005-02-13T13:54:00.000-08:00

The Daily Worker was variously the organ and the “semi-official” voice of the party, and its readers have included numerous U.S. government intelligence agents, who also have monitored its list of subscribers. In 1958 the paper became a weekly as The

Aymaran Languages

2005-02-12T06:04:00.000-08:00

A group of South American Indian languages spoken over a fairly large region in the southern Peruvian highlands and adjacent areas of Bolivia. Some scholars classify the Aymaran group and the Quechuan group together in the Quechumaran stock. See Quechuan languages.

Kahane, Meir

2005-02-12T04:20:00.000-08:00

The grandson and son of rabbis, Kahane joined a paramilitary, right-wing youth movement in 1946. He earned a B.A. from Brooklyn College (1954), an L.L.B. from New York Law School (1956), and an M.A. in international affairs from New York University (1957) and was ordained an

Hector

2005-02-11T23:12:00.000-08:00

In Greek legend, the eldest son of the Trojan king Priam and his queen Hecuba. He was the husband of Andromache and the chief warrior of the Trojan army. In Homer's Iliad he is represented as an ideal warrior and the mainstay of Troy. His character is drawn in most favourable colours as a good son, a loving husband and father, and a trusty friend. His leave-taking of Andromache

Arab Legion

2005-02-11T07:36:00.000-08:00

Arabic Al-jaish Al-'arabi, police force raised in 1921 by British Lieutenant Colonel Frederick Gerard Peake in what was then the British protectorate of Transjordan, to keep order among Transjordanian tribes and to safeguard Transjordanian villagers from Bedouins. In 1939 Major (later General) John Bagot Glubb, called Glubb Pasha, became the legion's commander and transformed it into the most effective

Vitamin A

2005-02-11T03:47:00.000-08:00

A fat-soluble alcohol, most abundant in fish and especially in fish-liver oils. Vitamin A is also found in butter and in the liver fat of various animals. Vitamin A is not present in plants, but many vegetables and fruits contain one or more of a class of pigments that can be converted to vitamin A in the body; of these pigments, b-carotene (provitamin A) is an excellent source

Baalbek

2005-02-10T03:24:00.000-08:00

Nothing is known of Baalbek earlier than the Greek conquest of Syria (332 BC). After the death of Alexander the Great (323), the region fell to the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt, under which the town was called Heliopolis, probably after its Egyptian namesake.

Uccello, Paolo

2005-02-09T18:49:00.000-08:00

Original name Paolo Di Dono Florentine painter whose work attempted uniquely to reconcile two distinct artistic styles—the essentially decorative late Gothic and the new heroic style of the early Renaissance. Probably his most famous paintings are three panels representing “The Battle of San Romano” (c. 1456). His careful and sophisticated perspective

Baby Yar

2005-02-09T17:11:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Babiy Yar or Babi Yar large ravine on the northern edge of the city of Kiev in Ukraine, the site of a mass grave of victims, mostly Jews, whom Nazi German SS squads killed between 1941 and 1943. After the initial massacre of Jews, Baby Yar remained in use as an execution site for Soviet prisoners of war and for Roma (Gypsies) as well as for Jews. Soviet accounts after the war speak of 100,000 dead. The true number may

Polaron

2005-02-09T09:13:00.000-08:00

Electron moving through the constituent atoms of a solid material, causing the neighbouring positive charges to shift toward it and the neighbouring negative charges to shift away. This distortion of the regular position of electrical charges constitutes a region of polarization that travels along with the moving electron. After the electron passes, the region

Saran

2005-02-08T23:53:00.000-08:00

City, east-central Kazakstan. A major centre of coal mining in the Qaraghandy coal basin, it was established in 1946 near the Saran coal deposit and became a city in 1954. The city's manufactures include chemical and rubber product plants. Pop. (1991 est.) 62,600.

Moro, Aldo

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

A professor of law at the University of Bari, Moro published several books on legal subjects and served also as president of the Federazione

The Hite Report

2005-02-08T03:26:00.000-08:00

The 478-page book contains the self-reported results of about 3,000 of 100,000 questionnaires Hite distributed to women ranging in age from 14 to 78. Like other writings on sexuality, such as the Kinsey Report and the work of William H. Masters

Computers, Lady Lovelace: The first programmer

2005-02-06T17:09:00.000-08:00

Augusta Ada King, the countess of Lovelace, was the daughter of the poet Lord George Gordon

Kagame, (abbé) Alexis

2005-02-05T19:11:00.000-08:00

Kagame, the son of a deputy chief of the Tutsi people, was baptized in 1928 and ordained a priest in 1941. His considerable activity before and after taking his doctorate at the Pontifical Gregorian University

Fuchu

2005-02-05T09:37:00.000-08:00

City, Tokyo Metropolis (to), Honshu, Japan, on the Tama-gawa (Tama River). The capital of Musashi Province about the 7th century AD, it flourished as a post town and regional commercial and administrative centre. Fuchu declined when it was bypassed by the railway between Tokyo and Tachikawa (1889), but it revived with the arrival of two other railways in the late 1920s and the construction

Tigris-euphrates River System

2005-02-05T00:21:00.000-08:00

Outside the cities and towns, the Arab population on the rivers' banks practice stock breeding

Dammam, Al-

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

Also spelled Damman city, eastern Saudi Arabia. It lies on the Persian Gulf northwest of Bahrain Island and forms a larger metropolitan and industrial complex with Al-Khubar, Al-Qatif, and Al-Zahran. The discovery of immense oil reserves in the locality in 1938 led to the radical transformation of the once small coastal settlement into a boomtown that is now a major seaport, a petroleum and natural

Buddhism, Sa-skya-pa, Bka'-brgyud-pa, and related schools

2005-02-03T07:26:00.000-08:00

The Sa-skya-pa order traces

Carissimi, Giacomo

2005-02-02T23:39:00.000-08:00

Following brief appointments at Tivoli and Assisi, Carissimi settled in Rome in the late 1620s as director of music at the Church of Sant'Apollinare and retained this post until he died. Although not an operatic composer,