MilitaryWheel

Kwasniewski, Aleksander

2005-03-18T04:37:00.000-08:00

Kwasniewski attended the University of Gdansk, where he studied economics and was chairman of the socialist student group. A leader in the student activist movement, he served as chair of the University Council of the Socialist Union of Polish Students (1976–77). In 1977 he joined the governing

Ahvaz

2005-03-17T18:31:00.000-08:00

Arabic Ahwaz, town, southwestern Iran. Ahvaz is situated on both banks of the Karun River where it crosses a low range of sandstone hills. The town has been identified with Achaemenid Tareiana, a river crossing on the royal road connecting Susa, Persepolis, and Pasargadae. Ardashir I, the Sasanian king (224–241) who rebuilt the town, named it Hormuzd Ardashir. He dammed the river, providing irrigation

Mufti, Sa'id Al-

2005-03-15T02:41:00.000-08:00

In 1924 al-Mufti entered local government service in Amman, where he vigorously opposed British rule. He joined the governing cabinet of Transjordan (later Jordan) as minister of communications

38th Parallel

2005-03-13T22:06:00.000-08:00

Parallel of latitude that in East Asia roughly demarcates North and South Korea. The line was chosen by U.S. military planners at the Potsdam Conference, in July 1945, as an army boundary, north of which the U.S.S.R. was to accept the surrender of the Japanese forces in Korea and south of which the Americans were to accept the Japanese surrender. The line was intended as a temporary

Shansi, Transportation

2005-03-10T16:14:00.000-08:00

Shansi relies heavily on rail lines, both for intraprovince transport and for shipping raw materials, industrial commodities, and foodstuffs outside the province. The longest of these, the T'ung-p'u trunk line, runs from Ta-t'ung to Feng-ling-tu, in the southwest corner of the province. Additional branch lines connect the main line with newly opened industrial and mining

Acceleration

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

Time rate at which a velocity is changing. Because velocity has both magnitude and direction, it is called a vector quantity; acceleration is also a vector quantity and must account for changes in both the magnitude and direction of a velocity. The velocity of a point or an object moving on a straight path can change in magnitude only; on a curved path, it may or may not

Bilberry

2005-03-07T18:02:00.000-08:00

The dark blue berries, ripening in

Powell, William

2005-03-04T06:07:00.000-08:00

After graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City in 1912, Powell debuted

Poland, The Carpathians

2005-03-03T01:49:00.000-08:00

The southernmost and also most scenic portion of Poland embraces the Carpathian Mountains and their associated chains and basins, created in the geologically recent mountain-building Tertiary Period (about 66.4 to 1.6 million years ago). Within the Polish frontiers lie the Oswiecim and Sandomierz basins, a portion of the Beskid Mountains, the Orawka-Podhale Basin, and the

Bagirmi, Kingdom Of

2005-02-28T22:04:00.000-08:00

Bagirmi also spelled Baguirmi, historic African state founded in the 16th century in the region just southeast of Lake Chad. Europeans first learned about the existence of Bagirmi and the other powerful states of central Africa (Wadai Bornu-Kanem) when Dixon Denham penetrated the Lake Chad region in 1823. Details became known particularly from written records of the later explorers Heinrich Barth

Kohat

2005-02-27T07:20:00.000-08:00

Town, south-central North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan. The town lies just north of the Kohat Toi River at the entrance to the Kohat Pass, through which a military road was opened in 1901. The new town lies at some distance from the original 14th-century town, traditionally said to have been founded by the Buddhist raja Kohat. It is connected by rail with Thal and the main rail

'arafat, Yasir

2005-02-24T23:37:00.000-08:00

Byname of Muhammad 'Abd ar-Ra'uf al-Qudwah al-Husayni president (1996–2004) of the Palestinian Authority, chairman (1969–2004) of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), and leader of Fatah, the largest of the constituent PLO groups. In 1993 he led the PLO to a peace agreement with the Israeli government. 'Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres of Israel were jointly awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace

Blood

2005-02-23T06:22:00.000-08:00

Technically, blood is a transport liquid pumped by the heart (or an equivalent structure) to all parts of the body, after which it is returned to the heart to repeat the process.

Amram Bar Sheshna

2005-02-21T01:33:00.000-08:00

Head of the Talmudic academy at Sura, Babylonia, traditionally regarded as the first Jewish authority to write a complete domestic and synagogal liturgy for the year, the Siddur Rav Amram (“Order of Prayers of Rabbi Amram”). Amram's work, forerunner in this field of those of Sa'adia ben Joseph and Maimonides, laid the foundations for the liturgies of both the Sephardim

Kamchatka Peninsula

2005-02-19T16:38:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Kamcatka, Russian Poluostrov Kamchatka, peninsula in far eastern Russia, lying between the Sea of Okhotsk on the west and the Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea on the east. It is about 750 miles (1,200 km) long north-south and about 300 miles (480 km) across at its widest; its area is approximately 140,000 square miles (370,000 square km). Two mountain ranges, the Sredinny (“Central”) and Vostochny (“Eastern”), extend along the peninsula and rise to 15,584 feet (4,750 m) in Klyuchevskaya

Farlow, William Gilson

2005-02-16T23:35:00.000-08:00

After receiving the M.D. degree from Harvard University (1870), Farlow studied in Europe until 1874, when he became professor of cryptogamic botany (the study of flowerless and seedless plants)

Sangareddi

2005-02-15T07:53:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Sangareddy , also called Sangareddipet town, administrative headquarters of Medak district, Andhra Pradesh state, southern India, on the Deccan Plateau near the Manjra River. The town has mainly an agricultural economy (rice, sugarcane, and oilseeds) and is noted for the manufacture of brass, silverware, and silk cloth. Pop. (1981) 31,360.

Alabama, Relief

2005-02-13T00:29:00.000-08:00

The southern extremities of the Appalachians cover almost

Shamanism, Differences in quality and degree

2005-02-11T21:53:00.000-08:00

Shamans differ greatly in quality and in degree. Difference of quality is manifest in the kind of spirits the shaman communicates with. “White” shamans, for example, apply to a benevolent deity and the good spirits, while “black” shamans call on a wicked deity and the wicked spirits. The difference in degree is exemplified in the belief, of the Sakha (Yakut) people of northeastern

Jane

2005-02-08T08:01:00.000-08:00

Chicago-based women's collective that provided more than 11,000 safe albeit illegal abortions between 1969 and 1973. The underground clinic, a small branch of the Chicago Women's Liberation Union, strove to strengthen the pro-choice movement and abolish expensive, unsafe, and callously performed abortion services. They did so by providing medically sound, low-cost abortions at

Tea Ceremony

2005-02-07T04:22:00.000-08:00

The ceremony takes place in a tea house (cha-shitsu), which ideally is a small structure detached from the

Jeans

2005-02-05T07:55:00.000-08:00

Jeans are particularly identified as a standard item of “Western” apparel worn

Sculpture

2005-02-03T23:06:00.000-08:00

A form of aesthetic expression in which hard or plastic materials are worked (as by carving, molding, or welding) into three-dimensional art objects. The designs may be embodied in freestanding objects, in reliefs on surfaces, or in environments ranging from tableaux to contexts that envelop the spectator. An enormous variety of media may be used, including clay, wax,

Caboolture

2005-02-01T01:55:00.000-08:00

Town, southeastern Queensland, Australia, on the Caboolture River. The town was originally a livestock station. Its name was derived from cabul-tur, the Aboriginal word for the carpet snake. To relieve shortages brought about by the American Civil War in the 1860s, Caboolture became a cotton-farming centre. Today, citrus fruits, tobacco, and vegetables are grown, and dairy

Tábor

2005-01-29T22:50:00.000-08:00

City, Jihoceský kraj (region), Czech Republic. It lies along a bend in the Luznice River 50 miles (80 km) south of Prague. Founded in 1420 by Jan Zizka and other followers of the Bohemian religious reformer Jan Hus, Tábor became the radical centre of the more militant members of the movement, known as the Taborites. These people fostered the national spirit and the preservation of the Czech

Adams, John

2005-01-27T10:48:00.000-08:00

(For additional writings by Adams, see The Meaning of the American Revolution; On the Importance of Property for the Suffrage; and Party Divisions in America.)

Cacops

2005-01-26T20:18:00.000-08:00

Extinct amphibian genus found as fossils in Early Permian rocks in North America (the Early Permian Epoch lasted from 286 to 258 million years ago). Cacops reached a length of about 40 cm (16 inches). The skull was heavily constructed, and the otic notch, the region in the hind part of the skull that housed the hearing mechanism, was extremely large and closed behind by a bony bar, indicating

Elijah

2005-01-24T02:17:00.000-08:00

Elijah was from Tishbe in Gilead. The narrative in 1 Kings relates how he suddenly appears during Ahab's reign to proclaim a drought in punishment of the cult of Baal that Jezebel was promoting in Israel at Yahweh's expense. Later Elijah meets 450 prophets of Baal in a contest of strength on Mount Carmel to determine which deity is the true God of Israel. Sacrifices are placed

Chile, The northern desert

2005-01-22T00:15:00.000-08:00

This region experiences an aridity that is primarily caused by the dry subsidence created by the South Pacific high pressure cell and the stabilizing action of the cold Peru Current. Although the air along the coast is abnormally humid, it never reaches saturation point; at most, there is a development of coastal fogs (garúa or camanchaca). Besides the lack of rain,

Ibn Daud, Abraham Ben David Halevi

2005-01-19T21:09:00.000-08:00

Physician and historian who was the first Jewish philosopher to draw on Aristotle's writings in a systematic fashion. He is probably more esteemed today for his history Sefer ha-kabbala (“Book of Tradition”) than for his major philosophic work, Sefer ha-emuna ha-rama (“Book of Sublime Faith”), extant only in Hebrew and German

Dublin

2005-01-17T15:27:00.000-08:00

Irish Baile Átha Cliath county in the province of Leinster, Ireland, bounded by County Meath (north), by the Irish Sea (east), by County Wicklow (south), and by Counties Kildare and Meath (west). County Dublin is one of the smallest counties in Ireland and, including Dublin city, is one of the most populous. Its central and northern parts are low-lying, whereas low mountains occupy the southern border

Animal Communication

2005-01-15T00:08:00.000-08:00

The transmission of information from one animal to another by means of sound, visible sign or behaviour, taste or odour, electrical impulse, touch, or a combination of these mediums. In general, communication is employed by animals to attract or repel other individuals of particular groups and to establish and maintain distinct forms of social organization that

Ashes

2005-01-14T22:39:00.000-08:00

Symbol of victory in the usually biennial cricket Test (international) match series between select national teams of England and Australia, first staged in 1877. Its name stems from an epitaph published in 1882 after the Australian team had won its first victory over England in England, at the Oval, London. The epitaph lamented that English cricket was dead and that its body

Shih-ho-tzu

2005-01-12T17:58:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Shihezi, new city in the Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang, China. The city is situated north of the Tien Shan range in the south-central Dzungarian Basin near the Ma-na-ssu River. Prior to 1949 the area was sparsely inhabited by Uighur, Kazak, and other Turkic pastoralists. The new Chinese government sent a colony of soldiers (later provided with wives), organized as a military construction

World War I, Killed, wounded, and missing

2005-01-10T05:35:00.000-08:00

The casualties suffered by the participants in World War I dwarfed those of previous wars: some 8,500,000 soldiers died as a result of wounds and/or disease. The greatest number of casualties and wounds were inflicted by artillery, followed by small arms, and then by poison gas. The bayonet, which was relied on by the prewar French Army as the decisive weapon, actually produced

Arnim, Bettina Von

2005-01-08T06:26:00.000-08:00

Von Arnim was unconventional to the point of eccentricity; wayward, yet a loyal wife (she married Achim

Omagh

2005-01-06T05:00:00.000-08:00

Irish An Ómaigh town and seat of Omagh district, Northern Ireland. Situated on the River Strule, Omagh is a market, shopping, and light-manufacturing centre for the district. Traditional crafts (such as table linens and crochet lace) continue to be produced in the town. Tourism is important, and Omagh's numerous festivals and events attract many visitors; the town's West Tyrone Feis annually

Yamaga Soko

2005-01-03T21:16:00.000-08:00

Original name Yamaga Takasuke , also called Jingozaemon military strategist and Confucian philosopher who set forth the first systematic exposition of the missions and obligations of the samurai (warrior) class and who made major contributions to Japanese military science. Yamaga's thought became the central core of what later came to be known as Bushido (Code of Warriors),

Chandragiri

2005-01-01T15:41:00.000-08:00

Town in southeastern Andhra Pradesh state, southeastern India. It lies about 80 miles (130 km) northwest of Madras. Chandragiri is historically important for its connection with the Aravidu dynasty of Vijayanagar in South India. When the dynasty's empire was overthrown at the Battle of Talikota (1565) and the great city of Vijayanagar was taken by the Deccan allied Muslim army, the

Afanasev, Aleksandr Nikolayevich

2004-12-31T08:13:00.000-08:00

Afanasev studied law at Moscow University. His early work included a study of Russian satirical journals of the late 18th century (1859) and commentaries on contemporary Russian literature. During the period

Chemical Bonding

2004-12-28T07:20:00.000-08:00

Any of the interactions that account for the association of atoms into molecules, ions, crystals, and other stable species that make up the familiar substances of the everyday world. When atoms approach one another, their nuclei and electrons interact and tend to distribute themselves in space in such a way that the total energy is lower than it would be in any alternative

Brechin

2004-12-27T09:02:00.000-08:00

Small royal burgh (town), council area and historic county of Angus, Scotland, situated on the River South Esk in the fertile vale of Strathmore. One of Scotland's three round towers (10th-century) adjoins the 12th-century cathedral. In 1296 Scotland was ceded temporarily to the English at Brechin. Brechin Castle subsequently made a gallant stand against the English forces of

Holdenville

2004-12-24T22:45:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1907) of Hughes county, central Oklahoma, U.S. Founded in 1895 and originally called Fentress, the town site was renamed for J.F. Holden, general manager of the Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad. The city lies on the edge of the Greater Seminole Oil Field and is a market centre for locally grown agricultural goods. Lake Holdenville, just outside the city, is a popular recreation

Kitakami-sammyaku

2004-12-22T18:28:00.000-08:00

(Japanese: Kitakami Range), mountain range, in northeastern Honshu, Japan, paralleling the Pacific coast and extending for about 155 mi (250 km) from southern Aomori Prefecture, through Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, to terminate in the Ojika Peninsula. The range has a maximum breadth of 50 mi and is nearly wedge shaped. The highest peak, Hayachine-san, rises to an elevation of 6,280 ft (1,914 m)

Insectivore, Metabolism

2004-12-21T06:38:00.000-08:00

Although insectivoran physiology has been studied in connection with special abilities, such as dormancy in hedgehogs, it is not well-known for the order. Of great interest are the smaller shrews, which, because of their minute size and relatively large ratio of body surface to volume, have an exceptionally high rate of metabolism, necessitated by the high rate of

Balcony

2004-12-19T06:15:00.000-08:00

External extension of an upper floor of a building, enclosed up to a height of about three feet (one metre) by a solid or pierced screen, by balusters (see also balustrade), or by railings. In the medieval and Renaissance periods, balconies were supported by corbels made out of successive courses of stonework, or by large wooden or stone brackets. Since the 19th century, supports

Rocky Mountains, Environmental concerns

2004-12-17T01:47:00.000-08:00

Serious problems have arisen as a result of timber harvesting, grazing, oil exploration, mining, and reservoir operations in the Rockies. Logging and oil exploration have been responsible for accelerated slope erosion, both from the operations themselves and from the access roads built to reach them. Erosion has stripped away the often thin soil cover and caused

Ear Disease, Otosclerosis

2004-12-14T13:10:00.000-08:00

The commonest cause for progressive hearing loss in early and middle adult life is a disease of the hard shell of bone that surrounds the labyrinth of the inner ear. This disease of bone is known as otosclerosis, a name that is misleading, for in its early and actively expanding stage the nodule of diseased bone is softer than the ivory-hard bone that it replaces. The

Aukrust, Olav

2004-12-13T01:55:00.000-08:00

Born in a narrow, often sunless valley flanked by steep mountains, Aukrust was raised by pietistic parents and was early on much interested in religious questions.

Field, Nathan

2004-12-11T10:57:00.000-08:00

Field attended St. Paul's School, London, and about 1600 became a member of the Children of the Queen's Revels, remaining with this theatre company throughout its various changes of name and composition until 1616–17, when he joined the King's Men, possibly to replace Shakespeare as actor.

Baptist Federation Of Canada

2004-12-06T16:21:00.000-08:00

Baptist churches were organized in the Maritime Provinces in the latter half of the 18th century, primarily by Baptists who were loyal

Quintana, Manuel José

2004-12-04T17:09:00.000-08:00

After studying law at the University of Salamanca, he went to Madrid to begin his

Greeley, Horace

2004-12-02T23:07:00.000-08:00

A printer's apprentice in East Poultney, Vt., he moved to New York City, where he became senior editor for a new literary magazine, The New Yorker (1834). A liberal Whig, Greeley caught the attention of New York political

Gandhi, Indira

2004-11-30T20:45:00.000-08:00

She was the only child of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India. She attended Visva-Bharati University, West Bengal, and the University of Oxford, and in 1942 she married Feroze

Patron Saint

2004-11-28T03:00:00.000-08:00

Saint to whose protection and intercession a person, a society, a church, or a place is dedicated. The choice is often made on the basis of some real or presumed relationship with the persons or places involved. St. Patrick, for example, is the patron saint of Ireland because he is credited with bringing Christianity to the Irish people. In some cultures national or local

Nolde, Emil

2004-11-27T04:21:00.000-08:00

Born of a peasant family, the youthful Nolde made his living as a wood-carver. He was able to study art formally only when some of his early works

Italian Language

2004-11-25T21:46:00.000-08:00

Italian Italiano, Romance language spoken by some 66,000,000 persons in Italy (including Sicily and Sardinia), France (including Corsica), Switzerland, and other countries. It is spoken by large numbers of emigrants and their descendants in the Americas, especially in the United States, Argentina, and Canada. Written materials in Italian date from the 10th century (a set of court records with the testimony

Sangoan Industry

2004-11-22T00:42:00.000-08:00

The Sangoan industry was discovered in 1920 at Sango Bay, Uganda, and is also found in Angola, Congo (Kinshasa), Kenya, and Zambia. Variant forms

Ferri, Ciro

2004-11-21T22:08:00.000-08:00

When he was a little past 30, Ferri completed the painting of the ceilings and other internal decorations begun by his master in the Pitti Palace, Florence. He also cooperated in or finished

Hevesy, Georg Charles Von

2004-11-19T00:32:00.000-08:00

Educated at the Technische

Carissimi, Giacomo

2004-11-16T02:52:00.000-08:00

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,

Spanish Lime

2004-11-12T02:43:00.000-08:00

(Melicoccus bijugus), tree, of the soapberry family (Sapindaceae), native to the West Indies. It grows to about 15 metres (50 feet). The flowers are small, greenish white, and fragrant. The green fruit is a drupe (a single stony seed covered by soft, fleshy tissue) with yellow or white tasty, juicy flesh.

Eagan, Eddie

2004-11-11T16:40:00.000-08:00

After their father died in a railroad accident when Eddie was only a year old, he and his four brothers were raised by their mother, who managed a small income from teaching foreign languages. Inspired by Frank Merriwell,

Criminal Law, Behavioral norms

2004-11-08T16:26:00.000-08:00

The fact that the crime rates in many countries have risen faster than the population has brought into question the relevance of the law itself and whether or not laws against crime actually have an influence on an individual's behaviour. Various large-scale inquiries have been made into the relation between law and civil order: in the United States, the President's

Spain

2004-11-06T08:29:00.000-08:00

Officially Kingdom of Spain , Spanish España or Reino de España country located in the extreme southwest of the European continent. It occupies about 85 percent of the Iberian Peninsula, which it shares with its smaller neighbour, Portugal. Spain is bordered on the west by Portugal; in the northeast it borders France, from which it is separated by the tiny principality of Andorra and by the great wall of the Pyrenees Mountains. Spain's

Domrémy-la-pucelle

2004-11-04T14:47:00.000-08:00

Village, Vosges département, Lorraine région, northeastern France. It lies on the banks of the Meuse River, 38 miles (61 km) southeast of Bar-le-Duc. Domrémy was where St. Joan of Arc (“la Pucelle”) was born about 1412. The village still has several medieval buildings, including St. Joan's birthplace, now a museum. Nearby is the church containing the font at which she was baptized. Pop. (1990) 190.

Constable, John

2004-11-02T17:47:00.000-08:00

Painter who, with J.M.W. Turner, dominated English landscape painting in the 19th century. He is famous for his precise and loving paintings of the English countryside (e.g., “The Hay-Wain,” 1821), which he sketched constantly from nature. After about 1828, he experimented with a freer and more colourful manner of painting (e.g., in “Hadleigh

Charadriiform, Shorebirds (suborder Charadrii)

2004-11-01T14:29:00.000-08:00

Female jacanas are larger and more aggressive than males; after laying, females of some species show no interest in the nest or young, leaving incubation and care of chicks to the male. The nest is a shallow, sodden pile of vegetation that floats among aquatic plants. Chicks are downy and run well when a day old. Both chicks and adults may dive to escape danger and remain

Lukas, J(ay) Anthony

2004-10-30T13:20:00.000-07:00

American journalist and author (b. April 25, 1933, New York, N.Y.--d. June 5, 1997, New York), wrote meticulous examinations of the societal and racial fissures in the U.S. He was known and highly regarded for his tenacity, perfectionism, and painstaking research and won a number of the country's top literature and journalism awards, including two Pulitzer Prizes. Lukas was educated at Harvard

Historiography, German historiography

2004-10-27T10:18:00.000-07:00

Such a quality was, by and large, lacking in the work of the historians of the Enlightenment, who had been unable to achieve imaginative insight into civilizations very different from their own. The greatest shortcoming of Gibbon was his temperamental inability to appreciate religion. The new historiography of the 19th century was created chiefly by Germans, who,

American Literature, Drama

2004-10-26T13:52:00.000-07:00

Two post-World War II playwrights established reputations comparable to O'Neill's. Arthur Miller wrote eloquent essays defending his modern, democratic concept of tragedy; despite its abstract, allegorical quality and portentous language, Death of a Salesman (1949) came close to vindicating his views. Miller's intense family dramas were rooted in the works of the socially

Middle America Trench

2004-10-23T20:00:00.000-07:00

Submarine depression in the Pacific Ocean off the western coast of Central America. Extending northwest-southeast for more than 1,700 miles (2,750 km) from central Mexico to Costa Rica, the trench reaches a maximum depth of 21,880 feet (6,669 m) and covers a total area of 37,000 square miles (96,000 square km). The shallower northern section of the trench tends to curve along the coast of Mexico, paralleling

Morgan City

2004-10-21T13:09:00.000-07:00

Port on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, in St. Mary parish, southeastern Louisiana, U.S. It lies along Berwick Bay (bridged to Berwick) of the Atchafalaya River (there widened into Six Mile Lake), about 30 miles (50 km) west of Houma. Founded in 1850, it was incorporated (1860) as Brashear City but was renamed in 1876 for Charles Morgan, then president of the New Orleans, Opelousas and Great Western

Dai-ichi Kangyo Bank

2004-10-20T14:18:00.000-07:00

Among the businesses the bank developed were commercial banking

Zaqaziq, Az-

2004-10-18T06:55:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Zagazig, city and capital of ash-Sharqiyah muhafazah (governorate), Egypt, on the Nile River delta north-northeast of Cairo. The city dates from the 1820s, when cotton cultivation spread to the eastern delta. Located at the junction of two irrigation canals (Tur'at as-Suways al-Hulwah [Sweetwater Canal] and Tur'at al-Mu'iz), az-Zaqaziq is about 1 mile (2 km) north of mounds marking the site of the 4th-dynasty

Murder

2004-10-16T10:58:00.000-07:00

In criminal law, the unjustified killing of one person by another, usually distinguished from the crime of manslaughter by the element of malice aforethought. See homicide.

Ulanova, Galina Sergeyevna

2004-10-14T10:56:00.000-07:00

Russian ballet dancer (b. Jan. 8, 1910, St. Petersburg, Russia--d. March 21, 1998, Moscow, Russia), was considered one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century. She possessed an excellent technique, a lyrical grace, and the ability to submerge herself in the characters she portrayed and communicate their humanity to audiences. Ulanova, the daughter of dancers, was taught first by her mother

American Literature, Poetry

2004-10-11T03:46:00.000-07:00

The post-World War II years produced an abundance of strong poetry but no individual poet as dominant and accomplished as T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, Wallace Stevens, Robert Frost, or William Carlos Williams, whose long careers were coming to an end. The major poetry from 1945 to 1960 was modernist in its ironic texture yet formal in its insistence on regular rhyme and metre. Beginning

Allspice

2004-10-10T20:56:00.000-07:00

Tropical evergreen tree (Pimenta diocia, formerly P. officinalis) of the myrtle family (Myrtaceae), native to the West Indies and Central America and valued for its berries, the source of a highly aromatic spice. Allspice was so named because the flavour of the dried berry resembles a combination of cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. It is widely used in baking

Anezaki Masaharu

2004-10-08T09:25:00.000-07:00

Anezaki started his academic

Vesalius, Andreas

2004-10-05T04:41:00.000-07:00

(Latin), Flemish Andries Van Wesel Renaissance Flemish physician who revolutionized the study of biology and the practice of medicine by his careful description of the anatomy of the human body. Basing his observations on dissections he made himself, he wrote and

Cosimo I

2004-10-02T05:55:00.000-07:00

Cosimo was the great-great-grandson of Lorenzo the Elder, the son of Giovanni di Bicci and brother of Cosimo the Elder, and was thus a member of a branch of the Medici family that had taken an active part in Medici affairs but had played no political role. Nevertheless, when

Pittosporaceae

2004-09-30T16:20:00.000-07:00

Family of nine genera of trees, shrubs, or vinelike plants, in the order Rosales, distributed from tropical Africa to the Pacific islands. Members of the family have long, leathery, evergreen leaves; resin in stem ducts; and white, blue, yellow, or reddish flowers. Species of the genus Pittosporum are commonly known as Australian laurel. Tobira, or house-blooming mock orange

Annelid, Reproduction

2004-09-28T17:24:00.000-07:00

In the polychaetes, sexes are usually separate but cannot be distinguished in the immature state until gametes (eggs and sperm) appear. Gametes are derived from the mesodermal linings around the digestive tract. The developing gametes are shed into the coelom, where they are nourished by nurse cells (eleocytes). The gametes, especially eggs, are nourished by the breakdown

Punjab

2004-09-26T05:06:00.000-07:00

Province of eastern Pakistan. It is bordered by the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir to the northeast, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, Sindh province to the south, Balochistan and North-West Frontier provinces to the west, and Islamabad federal capital area and Azad Kashmir to the north. Punjab is Pakistan's second largest province, after

Adalbert, Saint

2004-09-23T11:53:00.000-07:00

Descended from the Slavník princes of Bohemia, he was trained in theology at Magdeburg (Germany). At his confirmation he received his name from St. Adalbert, first archbishop of Magdeburg. As bishop (elected 982), Adalbert promoted the political

Mckenna, Siobhan

2004-09-22T07:43:00.000-07:00

A member of an amateur Gaelic theatre group, McKenna made her

Black Knot

2004-09-19T03:06:00.000-07:00

Disease of wild and cultivated plums, cherries, and apricots in North America caused by the fungus Dibotryon morbosum. Infected twigs, branches, and fruit show light brown swellings that turn velvety olive-green in late spring. By autumn, hard, rough, coal-black knots girdle and kill affected parts. Older knots, often riddled by insects, stunt and kill the tree. Black knot

Romilly, Sir Samuel

2004-09-18T18:58:00.000-07:00

English legal reformer whose chief efforts were devoted to lessening the severity of English criminal law. His attacks on the laws authorizing capital punishment for a host of minor felonies and misdemeanours, such as begging by soldiers and sailors without a permit, were partly successful during his lifetime and contributed to reforms

China, Conflicts within the international alliance

2004-09-15T13:48:00.000-07:00

China's alliance with the United States and Great Britain was marked by deep conflict. Great Britain gave highest priority to the defeat of its main enemy, Germany. The U.S. Navy in the Pacific had been seriously weakened by the Japanese air attack at Pearl Harbor and required many months to rebuild. During the winter of 1941–42 the grand strategy of the United States and Great

4-h Club

2004-09-13T07:35:00.000-07:00

One of an organization of clubs for youth aged 10 to 21 who engage in programs of “learning by doing.” The clubs are found principally in the United States and Canada, though some 80 other nations have adopted the idea. The 4-H Club emblem is the four-leaf clover with the letter H on each leaf; the club colours are green and white. The name 4-H is suggested in the pledge:I pledgeMy Head to

Rowboat

2004-09-11T09:45:00.000-07:00

A true rowboat or sculling boat has an easy motion through the water and, most important, glides between strokes. Thus the boat's forward motion never ceases; each stroke of the oar keeps the boat underway, and a steady tempo

Quaker Foods And Beverages

2004-09-09T16:18:00.000-07:00

The Quaker Oats trademark was registered in 1877 by Henry Parsons Crowell (1855–1944), an Ohio milling company owner who in 1891 joined with two other millers, Robert Stuart and

Kahane, Meir

2004-09-08T11:42:00.000-07:00

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

Endocrine System

2004-09-05T15:54:00.000-07:00

Comparative endocrinologists investigate the evolution

Discoverer

2004-09-03T11:23:00.000-07:00

Any of a series of unmanned experimental satellites launched by the United States Air Force. Although the Discoverer satellites had several apparent applications—such as testing orbital maneuvering and reentry techniques—they often are regarded as a forerunner of the military reconnaissance satellite. Discoverer 1 (launched Feb. 28, 1959) was equipped with a camera

Respiratory Disease

2004-09-02T21:07:00.000-07:00

Diseases of the respiratory system may affect any of the structures and organs that have to do with breathing—the nasal cavities, the throat (pharynx), the larynx, the windpipe (trachea), the airways (bronchi), and the lung tissue. In addition, respiration is dependent on normal functioning of the muscles

Responsorial Singing

2004-08-30T05:34:00.000-07:00

Style of singing in which a leader alternates with a chorus. Responsorial singing is found in the folk music of many cultures—e.g., American Indian, African, and African American. One example from the rural United States is the lining out of hymns in churches: a leader sings a hymn line, which is then repeated by the congregation. Responsorial singing of the psalms was practiced

Tasmania, Relief

2004-08-28T07:42:00.000-07:00

Tasmania is essentially a mountainous island. In the west, where the highest peak on the island, Mount Ossa, reaches 5,305 feet (1,617 metres), the landscape comprises several parallel northwest-southeast ridges and valleys; eastward lies a series of plateaus at various altitudes; the highest point is Ben Lomond in the northeast, which rises to 5,160 feet at Legges Tor. But the dominant

Ara Pacis

2004-08-26T10:59:00.000-07:00

Also called Ara Pacis Augustae (Latin: “Altar of the Augustan Peace”) shrine consisting of a marble altar in a walled enclosure erected in Rome's Campus Martius by the emperor Augustus and dedicated on Jan. 30, 9 BC. The sculptures on the walls and the altar representing the shrine's dedication ceremonies, scenes from Roman legend, and floral motifs are considered to be among the finest examples of Roman art.