OrangeRing

Bog

2005-04-05T10:50:00.000-07:00

Type of wetland ecosystem characterized by wet, spongy, poorly drained peaty soil. Bogs can be divided into three types: (1) typical bogs of cool regions, dominated by the growth of bog mosses, Sphagnum, and heaths, particularly Chamaedaphne (northern bogs with trees growing on them are often called muskegs); (2) fens, dominated by grasslike plants, grasses, sedges, and reeds;

Ikeda

2005-04-05T08:28:00.000-07:00

City, Osaka fu (urban prefecture), Honshu, Japan. It lies on the Fukuchiyama Line (railway), northwest of Osaka. Settled in prehistoric times, Ikeda was a flourishing trade centre during the Tokugawa era (1603–1867). After the development of railway transport in the late 19th century, it served as a residential suburb of Osaka. The city's industries include brewing, woodworking, and the manufacture

Yahya Ibn Mahmud Al-wasiti

2005-04-04T05:06:00.000-07:00

Yahya was not the first to paint in this style, but he was the best artist

China, Animal life

2005-04-02T10:01:00.000-08:00

Profusion of vegetation and a variety of relief have fostered the development of a great diversity of animal life and have permitted the survival of animals that elsewhere are extinct. Notable among such survivals are the great paddlefish of the Yangtze, the small species of alligator in eastern and central China, and the giant salamander (related to the Japanese

Ikeda

2005-04-02T03:46:00.000-08:00

French Organisation De L'unité Africaine (OUA) labour organization founded in 1973 at Addis Ababa, Eth., on the initiative of the Organization of African Unity and replacing the former All-African Trade Union Federation (AATUF; founded in 1961) and the African Trade Union Confederation (ATUC; founded in 1962). The ATUC from its founding had encouraged member affiliation with other international union organizations, while the

Albalag, Isaac

2005-04-02T03:36:00.000-08:00

Jewish philosopher who rendered a Hebrew translation of parts of the Maqasid al-falasifah (“Aims of the Philosophers”), a review of doctrines of earlier thinkers by the Arabic philosopher al-Ghazali, to which Albalag added his own views and comments. In defending philosophy against the accusation that it undermined religion,

Sibelius, Jean

2005-04-01T19:05:00.000-08:00

Sibelius studied at the Finnish Normal School, the first Finnish-speaking school in Russian-held Finland, where he came into contact with Finnish literature and in particular with the Kalevala, the mythological epic of Finland, which remained for him a constant

Philepittidae

2005-03-31T22:49:00.000-08:00

Members range in size from 9 to 16.5 centimetres (3.5 to 6.5 inches) long. The two species of asities (Philepitta) are plump, stout-legged pitta-like birds that browse foliage for berries and other fruit. The false sunbirds (Neodrepanis

Consonance And Dissonance

2005-03-31T20:25:00.000-08:00

In music, the impression of stability and repose (consonance) in relation to the impression of tension or clash (dissonance) experienced by a listener when certain combinations of tones or notes are sounded together. In certain musical styles, movement to and from consonance and dissonance gives shape and a sense of direction, for example, through increases and decreases

Japanese Civil Code

2005-03-30T22:07:00.000-08:00

Japanese Mimpo, body of private law adopted in 1896 that, with post-World War II modifications, remains in effect in present-day Japan. The code was the result of various movements for modernization following the Meiji Restoration of 1868. A legal code was required that would fill the needs of the new free-enterprise system that predominated with the dissolution of feudal landholdings. At

Switzerland, Agriculture and forestry

2005-03-30T14:31:00.000-08:00

Of the territory that makes up Switzerland, only three-fourths is productive. About one-fourth of that productive land is devoted to agricultural cultivation (grains, fodder, vegetables, fruits, vineyards, etc.), and one-fifth is pasture, reflecting the significance of stock raising and dairying. Grain cultivation, accounting for about one-sixth of productive land,

Olybrius

2005-03-29T10:12:00.000-08:00

Before he became head of state, Olybrius was a wealthy senator; he married Placidia, the daughter of Valentinian III (Western emperor 425–455). Gaiseric, king of the Vandals, a Germanic people who maintained a kingdom in North Africa, hoped that Olybrius would be made Western emperor but his support made Olybrius suspect to the

Crakow

2005-03-28T15:58:00.000-08:00

Also spelled crackowe long, pointed, spiked shoe worn by both men and women first in the mid-14th century and then condemned by law. Crakows were named after the city of Kraków (Cracow), Pol., and they were also known as poulaines (Polish). Crakows were admired on the feet of the courtiers of Anne of Bohemia, who married Richard II of England. The exaggerated toes were imitated even in

Overton, Richard

2005-03-28T15:07:00.000-08:00

The details of Overton's early life are obscure, though he probably lived in Holland and studied at Queens' College, Cambridge, before becoming a professional actor and playwright in Southwark. In 1640 he became a political activist, writing some 50 tracts attacking the Church of England,

Indravarman I

2005-03-27T06:03:00.000-08:00

Indravarman probably usurped the throne from his cousin Jayavarman III. During his reign a large reservoir was constructed around the capital city of Roluos (near modern Phumi Rôluos). The lake was the first part of a vast system of reservoirs, canals, and irrigation channels eventually

Soter, Saint

2005-03-26T22:12:00.000-08:00

Succeeding St. Anicetus as pope, Soter sent a letter and alms to the church of Corinth, whose bishop, St. Dionysius, replied in a letter that acknowledged Soter's affection and theological advice. Soter continued Pope Anicetus' attack against Montanism, a heresy overemphasizing prophecy and rigid moral

General Stud Book

2005-03-26T00:46:00.000-08:00

In horse breeding, prototype of the breeding record of purebred horses, or studbook (q.v.).

Wiener, Norbert

2005-03-25T04:51:00.000-08:00

Wiener, a child prodigy whose education was controlled by his father, a professor of Slavonic languages and literature

Polanyi, John C.

2005-03-24T22:10:00.000-08:00

Born to an expatriate Hungarian family, Polanyi was reared in England and attended Manchester University (Ph.D., 1952; D.Sc., 1964). He accepted a research position with the National Research Council

Berenice

2005-03-24T15:20:00.000-08:00

Daughter of Ptolemy II Philadelphus and Arsinoe I of Egypt. She was married to the Seleucid ruler Antiochus II Theos, supplanting his first wife, Laodice, whose children she persuaded him to bar from the succession to the throne in favour of her own. Laodice, however, persuaded Antiochus to come to Ephesus (in Asia Minor), where he died in 246, perhaps a victim of her intrigues.

Trade Organization

2005-03-24T05:44:00.000-08:00

The oldest

Schreiber, R(aemer) E(dgar)

2005-03-24T04:03:00.000-08:00

American experimental physicist who during World War II was one of the scientists who worked on the Manhattan Project in Los Alamos, N.M., to develop the first atomic bombs and then helped assemble the two bombs that were dropped on Japan; after the war he stayed on at Los Alamos in the weapons division and helped develop the hydrogen bomb, from 1955 led the nuclear rocket

Ghent, Treaty Of

2005-03-22T14:29:00.000-08:00

(Dec. 24, 1814), agreement in Belgium between Great Britain and the United States to end the War of 1812 on the general basis of the status quo antebellum (maintaining the prewar conditions). Because the military positions for each side were so well balanced, neither country could obtain desired concessions. No mention was made in the peace settlement of neutral rights, particularly

Polanyi, John C.

2005-03-21T23:17:00.000-08:00

Former union of garment and apparel workers in the United States and Canada. It was formed in 1976 by the merger of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA), a large union representing workers in the men's clothing industry, with the Textile Workers Union of America, a smaller union founded in 1939. The ACWA was originally formed when militant elements within the United

Hydra

2005-03-21T06:18:00.000-08:00

Genus of invertebrate freshwater animals of the class Hydrozoa (phylum Cnidaria). The body of such an organism consists of a thin, usually translucent tube that measures up to about 30 millimetres (1.2 inches) long but is capable of great contraction. The body wall is comprised of two layers of cells separated by a thin, structureless layer of connective tissue called the

Mammal, Territoriality

2005-03-21T04:49:00.000-08:00

That area covered by an individual in his general activity is frequently termed the home range. A territory is a part of the home range defended against other members of the same species. As a generalization it may be said that territoriality is more important in the behavior of birds than of mammals, but data for the latter are available primarily for diurnal species.

Annelid, Importance

2005-03-20T19:36:00.000-08:00

Large earthworms, or night crawlers (Lumbricus terrestris), are cultivated and sold as bait for freshwater fishes and as humus builders in gardens. The sludge worm Tubifex, abundant near sewer outlets and thus an indicator of water pollution, is collected and sold as food for tropical fish. Polychaetes play an important role in turning over sediment on the ocean

Viscount

2005-03-20T10:48:00.000-08:00

In the Carolingian period of European history, the vicecomites, or missi comitis, were deputies, vicars, or lieutenants of the counts, whose official powers they exercised by delegation. As the countships eventually became hereditary, the lieutenancies did as well: for instance, in France the

Webster, Daniel

2005-03-20T10:13:00.000-08:00

During the postwar sectional crisis Webster nevertheless spoke out, March 7, 1850, in favour of Clay's compromise proposals, one of which would organize territories in the Mexican cession with no prohibition of slavery. His argument that such a prohibition was unnecessary because the West was geographically unsuitable for the plantation system pleased businessmen

Puerto Vallarta

2005-03-19T00:28:00.000-08:00

Formerly Las Peñas, city, western Jalisco estado (“state”), west-central Mexico. It lies on Banderas Bay, on the Pacific coastal lowland, 6 miles (10 km) south of the mouth of the Ameca River. It is the major port of Jalisco state and exports bananas, coconut oil, hides, and fine woods. Beans and bananas are grown in the hinterland, which is also used for raising pigs, horses, and bees. Puerto Vallarta's population

Self-incrimination

2005-03-18T07:18:00.000-08:00

In law, the giving of evidence that might tend to expose the witness to punishment for crime. The term is generally used in relation to the privilege of refusing to give such evidence. In some continental European countries (Germany, for example, but not France), a person fearing self-incrimination may make his own decision as to whether or not he will testify. In Anglo-American

Biblical Literature, The medieval period

2005-03-18T01:50:00.000-08:00

By the beginning of the Middle Ages the Masoretes of Babylonia and Palestine (6th–10th century) had fixed in writing, by points and annotation, the traditional pronunciation, punctuation, and (to some extent) interpretation of the biblical text. The rise of the Karaites, who rejected rabbinic tradition and appealed to Scripture alone (8th century onward) stimulated exegetical

Asia, The steppes

2005-03-18T01:07:00.000-08:00

The animal life of the steppes differs as much from that of the taiga as from that of the tundra. It includes many burrowing rodents, such as jerboas, marmots, and pikas, and larger mammals, such as numerous antelope. The steppes were the original home of the northern cattle (Bos taurus), the horse, and probably the Bactrian (two-humped) camel; it is doubtful that any of these

Gautsch Von Frankenthurn, Paul, Baron (freiherr)

2005-03-17T23:00:00.000-08:00

A graduate of the University of Vienna, Gautsch von Frankenthurn entered the imperial Ministry of Education (1874) and served as Austrian minister of education in the cabinets of Eduard, Count von Taaffe (1885–93), and Kasimir, Count von Badeni (1895–97). With the fall of Badeni, he was appointed

France, History Of, Frankish expansion and the unification of Gaul

2005-03-16T01:18:00.000-08:00

During the years following his accession, Clovis consolidated the position of the Franks in northern Gaul. In 486 he defeated Syagrius, the last Roman ruler in Gaul, and in a series of subsequent campaigns with strong Gallo-Roman support occupied an area situated between the Frankish kingdom of Tournai, the Visigothic and Burgundian kingdoms, and the lands occupied

Ha'aretz

2005-03-15T19:13:00.000-08:00

Pyrogallol

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

Pyrogallol was first obtained in 1786 from gallic acid, obtainable from galls and barks of various trees. It is converted to pyrogallol by heating with water under pressure. Pyrogallol is the oldest photographic developer, its rapid deposition

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Parable

2005-03-15T01:00:00.000-08:00

A.M. Hunter, The Parables: Then and Now (1971); Eta Linnemann, Gleichnisse Jesu, 3rd ed. (1964; Eng. trans., The Parables of Jesus, 1966); T.W. Manson (ed.), The Sayings of Jesus as Recorded in the Gospels According to St. Matthew and St. Luke (1949); D.C. Allen, The Legend of Noah: Renaissance Rationalism in Art, Science and Letters (1963); Heinz Politzer, Franz Kafka: Parable and Paradox (1962).

Culloden, Battle Of

2005-03-14T16:27:00.000-08:00

Also called Battle Of Drummossie (April 16, 1746), the last battle of the “Forty-five Rebellion,” when the Jacobites, under Charles Edward, the Young Pretender (“Bonnie Prince Charlie”), were defeated by British forces under William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland. Culloden is a tract of moorland in the county of Inverness, Scotland, forming a part of the northeast of Drummossie Moor and lying about 6 miles (10 km) east of

World War I, The Egyptian frontiers, 1915July 1917

2005-03-14T07:50:00.000-08:00

Even after the evacuation from Gallipoli, the British maintained 250,000 troops in Egypt. A major source of worry to the British was the danger of a Turkish threat from Palestine across the Sinai Desert to the Suez Canal. That danger waned, however, when the initially unpromising rebellion of the Hashimite amir Husayn ibn 'Ali against the Turks in the Hejaz was developed by the

Spadefish

2005-03-14T04:37:00.000-08:00

(family Ephippidae), any of about 17 species of marine fishes (order Perciformes), predominantly tropical though also found in temperate regions. In appearance the spadefishes are deep-bodied and laterally compressed, with five or six vertical black bands on a silvery body. The vertical bars may disappear with age, the adults being solid white, black, or, more commonly,

Paris, Foundation and medieval growth

2005-03-13T08:04:00.000-08:00

Paris was in existence by the end of the 3rd century BC as a settlement on an island, the modern Île de la Cité, in the Seine River and was inhabited by a Gallic tribe known as the Parisii. The first recorded name for the settlement was Lutetia (Latin: “Midwater-Dwelling”). When the Romans arrived, the Parisii were sufficiently organized and wealthy to have their own gold coinage.

Oasis

2005-03-12T23:33:00.000-08:00

Fertile tract of land that occurs in a desert wherever a perennial supply of fresh water is available. Oases vary in size, ranging from about 1 hectare (2.5 acres) around small springs to vast areas of naturally watered or irrigated land. Underground water sources account for most oases; their springs and wells, some of them artesian, are supplied from sandstone aquifers

Armenian Highland

2005-03-12T19:22:00.000-08:00

Russian Armyanskoye Nagorye, also spelled Arm'anskoje Nagor'e, mountainous region of Transcaucasia. It lies mainly in Turkey, occupies all of Armenia, and includes southern Georgia, western Azerbaijan, and northwestern Iran. The highland covers almost 154,400 square miles (400,000 square km). The average elevation of the Armenian Highland is 5,000 to 6,500 feet (1,500 to 2,000 m), but several peaks exceed 14,000 feet (4,000 m). The highland is a segment of the Mediterranean alpine volcanic

Vienne, Council Of

2005-03-12T15:36:00.000-08:00

15th ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic church (1311–12), convoked by Pope Clement V at the insistence of Philip IV of France, who demanded the posthumous trial of Pope Boniface VIII and the suppression of the Knights Templars, one of the great military religious orders founded during the Crusades. Vienne, near Lyon, was chosen because it was easily accessible and because

Faesi, Robert

2005-03-11T17:46:00.000-08:00

Faesi combined his literary activity with a professorship of German literature at the University of Zürich from 1922 to 1953. His poems in the collections Aus der Brandung (1917; “From

La Unión

2005-03-10T17:44:00.000-08:00

City, eastern El Salvador. It is located at the northern foot of Conchagua Volcano (about 4,100 feet [1,250 m]), on La Unión Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Fonseca. The city's economic activity centres on a tortoiseshell industry, beach-resort facilities, and the nearby port of Cutuco, one of the country's largest ports. Situated along a spur of the Inter-American Highway, a section of the Pan-American

Sankara

2005-03-10T13:59:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Shankara , also called Sankaracarya philosopher and theologian, most renowned exponent of the Advaita Vedanta school of philosophy, from whose doctrines the main currents of modern Indian thought are derived. He wrote commentaries on the Brahma-sutra and the principal Upanisads, affirming his belief in one eternal unchanging reality (Brahman) and the illusion of plurality

Bear Market

2005-03-10T00:27:00.000-08:00

In securities and commodities trading, a declining market. A bear is an investor who expects prices to decline and, on this assumption, sells a borrowed security or commodity in the hope of buying it back later at a lower price, a speculative transaction called selling short. The term bear may derive from the proverb about “selling the bearskin before one has caught

Eakins, Thomas

2005-03-09T13:53:00.000-08:00

All paintings in oils unless otherwise noted. “A Street Scene in Seville” (1870; Mrs. John R. Garrett, Sr. Collection); “Home Scene” (1871; Brooklyn Museum, New York); “Max Schmitt in a Single Scull” (1871; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City); “Katherine” (1872; Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn.); “The Pair-Oared Shell” (1872; Philadelphia Museum of Art); “The Biglin Brothers Turning the Stake” (1873; Cleveland Museum of Art); “John Biglin in a Single Scull” (watercolour, 1873; Metropolitan Museum of Art); “Sailing” (1874; Philadelphia Museum of Art); “Pushing for Rail” (1874; Metropolitan Museum of Art); “The Gross Clinic” (1875; Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia); “Will Schuster and Blackman Going Shooting” (1876; Yale University Art Gallery); “Chess Players” (1876; Metropolitan Museum of Art); “William Rush Carving His Allegorical Figure of the Schuylkill River” (1877; Philadelphia Museum of Art); “The Fairman Rogers Four-in-Hand” (1879; Philadelphia Museum of Art); “The Crucifixion” (1880; Philadelphia Museum of Art); “The Pathetic Song” (1881; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.); “The Swimming Hole” (1883; Fort Worth Art Center Museum, Fort Worth, Texas); “Lady with a Setter Dog (Mrs. Eakins)” (1885; Metropolitan Museum of Art); “Walt Whitman” (1887; Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia); “Letitia Wilson Jordan Bacon” (1888; Brooklyn Museum); “Miss Van Buren” (c. 1889; Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.); “The Agnew Clinic” (1889; University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia); “Professor Henry A. Rowland” (1891; Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, Mass.); “The Concert Singer” (1892; Philadelphia Museum of Art); “Frank Hamilton Cushing” (1894–95; Thomas Gilcrease Institute of American History and Art, Tulsa, Okla.); “Taking the Count” (1898; Yale University Art Gallery); “Salutat” (1898; Addison Gallery of American Art); “Between Rounds” (1899; Philadelphia Museum of Art); “Benjamin Eakins” (1899; Philadelphia Museum of Art); “Mrs. William D. Frishmuth” (1900; Philadelphia Museum of Art); “The Thinker: Louis N. Kenton” (1900; Metropolitan Museum of Art); “Self-Portrait” (1902; National Academy of Design, New York); “Mrs. Edith Mahon” (1904; Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, Mass.); “Monsignor Diomede Falconio” (1905; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.).

Smith, Cyril Stanley

2005-03-08T11:40:00.000-08:00

Obtaining his education in England and the United States, Smith became a research associate (1926–27) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Pacific Ocean, Trade and transportation

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

Since the end of World War II there has been remarkable growth in trade between countries on the western Pacific rim—most notably Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan—and North America, particularly the United States. Trade has also expanded between North America and such Southeast Asian countries as Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, and, to a lesser degree, Indonesia and the

Sylacauga

2005-03-08T01:59:00.000-08:00

City, Talladega county, central Alabama, U.S. It is located at the southwestern corner of Talladega National Forest (eastern section) in the Coosa River valley, about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Birmingham. The area was visited by Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in 1540 and was inhabited by the Creek until they were removed by the federal government in 1836. The arrival of the Anniston

Weber, Carl Maria Von

2005-03-07T04:59:00.000-08:00

In full Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst, Freiherr (baron) Von Weber German composer and opera director during the transition from Classical to Romantic music, noted especially for his operas Der Freischütz (The Freeshooter, 1821), Euryanthe (1823), and Oberon (1826). Der Freischütz, the most immediately and widely popular German opera that had then been written, established German Romantic

Khan, Fazlur R.

2005-03-06T01:34:00.000-08:00

After obtaining a bachelor's degree in engineering from the University of Dacca in 1950, Khan worked as assistant engineer for the India Highway Department and taught at the University of Dacca. Qualifying

Yad

2005-03-05T04:52:00.000-08:00

Plural Yadayim, in Judaism, a ritual object, usually made of silver but sometimes of wood or other materials, that consists of a shaft affixed to a miniature representation of a hand with its index finger pointing. The yad is used optionally in liturgical services to indicate the place that is being read on a Torah (biblical) scroll, thus eliminating the necessity of touching the sacred

Yemen

2005-03-05T04:09:00.000-08:00

A republic of the southwestern Arabian Peninsula, Yemen has coastlines on the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea. Area: 527,970 sq km (203,850 sq mi), including 55,871 sq km of undemarcated area bordered by Saudi Arabia and claimed by the former Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen). Pop. (1995 est.): 13,058,000. Cap.: San'a`. Monetary unit: Yemen Rial, with (Oct. 6, 1995) an official par value of YRls 50 to U.S. $1 (YRls 79.04 = £1 sterling) and a free

Table Tennis

2005-03-05T00:51:00.000-08:00

Also called (trademark) Ping-pong, ball game similar in principle to lawn tennis and played on a flat table divided into two equal courts by a net fixed across its width at the middle (see illustration). The object is to hit the ball so that it goes over the net and bounces on the opponent's half of the table in such a way that the opponent cannot reach it or return it correctly. The lightweight hollow ball is

Film Festival

2005-03-04T23:12:00.000-08:00

Gathering, usually annual, for the purpose of evaluating new or outstanding motion pictures. Sponsored by national or local governments, industry, service organizations, experimental film groups, or individual promoters, the festivals provide an opportunity for filmmakers, distributors, critics, and other interested persons to attend film showings and meet

Russell, Lillian

2005-03-04T19:39:00.000-08:00

Helen Leonard attended convent and private schools in Chicago. About 1877 or 1878 she was taken by her mother to New York City, where her early training in voice

West Bengal

2005-03-03T06:40:00.000-08:00

State of India. It is located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bounded on the north by Bhutan and the state of Sikkim, on the east by Bangladesh, on the northeast by the state of Assam, on the south by the Bay of Bengal, on the southwest by the state of Orissa, on the northwest by Nepal, and on the west by the state of Bihar. Its area is 34,267 square miles (88,752 square kilometres). Although

Audion

2005-03-02T20:53:00.000-08:00

Elementary form of radio tube developed in 1906 (patented 1907) by Lee De Forest of the United States. It was the first vacuum tube in which a control grid as well as a cathode and an anode was incorporated. With the development of multigrid tubes in the 1920s, the generic term audion fell into disuse and was replaced by more descriptive terminology. See also triode; tetrode; pentode

Omdurman

2005-03-02T01:05:00.000-08:00

Arabic Umm Durman, one of the Three Towns (with Khartoum and Khartoum North), east-central Sudan. Situated on the left bank of the main Nile River just below the confluence of the Blue and White Niles, Omdurman was an insignificant riverine village until the victory of Muhammad Ahmad, known as al-Mahdi, over the British in 1885. Al-Mahdi and his successor, the caliph 'Abd Allah, made it their capital,

Nabokov, Vladimir

2005-03-01T04:08:00.000-08:00

Vladimir Nabokov, Speak, Memory (1967), the author's autobiography up to 1940; three books by Andrew Field, Nabokov: His Life in Art (1967), Nabokov: A Bibliography (1972), and Nabokov: His Life in Part (1977); C. Newman and Alfred Appel, Jr. (eds.), For Vladimir Nabokov on His Seventieth Birthday (1971), a Festschrift of reminiscences of Nabokov and critical articles and tributes; Alfred Appel Jr., Nabokov's Dark Cinema (1974), on Nabokov's work in film; Peter Quennell (ed.), Vladimir Nabokov, His Life, His Work, His World: A Tribute (1980).

Mahavastu

2005-03-01T03:06:00.000-08:00

(Sanskrit: “Great Story”), important legendary life of the Buddha, produced as a late canonical work by the Mahasanghika school of early Buddhism and presented as a historical introduction to the vinaya, the section of the canon dealing with monastic discipline. Its three sections treat the Buddha's former lives, the events from his entering the womb of Queen Maha Maya to his

Ricercare

2005-02-28T19:57:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ricercar (Italian: “to seek out”), plural Ricercari, musical composition for instruments in which one or more themes are developed through melodic imitation; it was prominent in the 16th and 17th centuries. The earliest ricercari, which were for the lute, appeared in 1507. Well-suited to the technical capabilities of the lute, they mixed passages in chordal style, running scale passages, and alternation of high and low phrases

Narraganset

2005-02-27T15:23:00.000-08:00

The Narraganset maintained good relations with whites

Liquid Crystal

2005-02-27T09:30:00.000-08:00

A substance that flows as a liquid but maintains some of the ordered structure characteristic of a crystal. Certain organic substances when heated will not melt directly but will turn from a crystalline solid to a liquid-crystal (mesomorphic) state. Upon further heating, a temperature is reached at which a true (isotropic) liquid is formed. The liquid-crystal state

Fischer, Kuno

2005-02-27T00:04:00.000-08:00

With other writings on Gotthold Lessing, Friedrich Schiller, and J.W. von Goethe, Fischer contributed to the philosophy of aesthetics. Eventually he subscribed to Hegelian

Wain, John (barrington)

2005-02-26T09:28:00.000-08:00

Wain was educated at St. John's College, Oxford, of which he subsequently became a fellow. He was a lecturer in English literature at the University

Lignum Vitae

2005-02-26T09:01:00.000-08:00

Guaiacum officinale occurs from the southern United States to northern South America. It grows about 9 m (30 feet) tall and reaches a diameter of about 25 cm (10 inches). The evergreen leaves are opposite, divided into leaflets

Round Table

2005-02-26T03:54:00.000-08:00

In Arthurian legend, the table of Arthur, Britain's legendary king, which was first mentioned in Wace of Jersey's Roman de Brut (1155). This told of King Arthur's having a round table made so that none of his barons, when seated at it, could claim precedence over the others. The literary importance of the Round Table, especially in romances of the 13th century and afterward, lies in

Wiggin, Kate Douglas

2005-02-25T07:55:00.000-08:00

Kate Douglas Smith attended a district school in Philadelphia and for short periods the Gorham Female Seminary in Maine, the Morison Academy in Maryland, and the Abbott Academy in Massachusetts. In 1873 she moved with her family to Santa

Indian Philosophy, Metaphysics and epistemology

2005-02-24T10:01:00.000-08:00

Both the Bhatta (the name for Kumarila's school) and the Prabhakara schools, in their metaphysics, were realists; both undertook to refute Buddhist idealism and nihilism. The Bhatta ontology recognized five types of entities: substance (dravya), quality (guna), action (karma), universals (samanya), and negation (abhava). Of these, substance was held to be of ten kinds: the nine substances recognized

Aegina

2005-02-24T08:39:00.000-08:00

Modern Greek Aíyina island, one of the largest in the Saronic group of Greece, about 16 miles (26 km) south-southwest of Piraeus. With an area of about 32 square miles (83 square km), it is an eparkhía (“eparchy”) of the nomós (department) of Piraeus. The northern plains and hills are cultivated with vines and olive, fig, almond, and pistachio trees, while along the east coast stretches a ridge of light volcanic

Wilkes Land

2005-02-23T16:52:00.000-08:00

Region in Antarctica, bordering the Indian Ocean between Queen Mary and George V coasts (100°–142°20¢ E). The region is almost entirely covered by a featureless ice cap averaging from 6,000 to 9,500 feet (1,800 to 2,900 m) above sea level. First sighted (1838–42) by the U.S. naval commander Charles Wilkes, for whom the land is named, it was not explored until the late 1940s. Included in the region are the coasts of Clarie, Banzare,

Levon I

2005-02-23T09:16:00.000-08:00

Byname Levon The Great king of Armenia (reigned 1199–1219), who rallied the Armenians after their dispersion by the Seljuq Turks and consolidated the kingdom in Cilicia, southeastern Asia Minor. Through his friendly relations with the German emperors Frederick I Barbarossa and Henry VI, he was crowned by Pope Celestine III's legate, Cardinal Conrad von Wittelsbach, and allied Lesser

Oannes

2005-02-22T22:09:00.000-08:00

In Mesopotamian mythology, an amphibious being who taught mankind wisdom. Oannes, as described by the Babylonian priest Berosus, had the form of a fish but with the head of a man under his fish's head and under his fish's tail the feet of a man. In the daytime he came up to the seashore of the Persian Gulf and instructed mankind in writing, the arts, and the sciences. Oannes was

Lateen Sail

2005-02-22T21:59:00.000-08:00

Triangular sail that was of decisive importance to medieval navigation. The ancient square sail permitted sailing only before the wind; the lateen was the earliest fore-and-aft sail. The triangular sail was affixed to a long yard or crossbar, mounted at its middle to the top of the mast and angled to extend aft far above the mast and forward down nearly to the deck. The

Kyoto

2005-02-22T21:37:00.000-08:00

Fu (urban prefecture), Honshu, Japan, bounded by the ken (prefectures) of Fukui and Shiga (east), Nara (south), and Hyogo (northwest), the fu of Osaka (southwest), and the Sea of Japan (north). Much of it is composed of the Tamba Mountains, which are sometimes considered to be the eastern extension of the Chugoku Range. From 1874 until World War II, Kyoto was the prefecture with the largest industrial

Abbott, Jacob

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

Abbott attended Hallowell Academy and Bowdoin College and studied at Andover Newton Theological School. After teaching at Amherst College, he moved in 1829 to Boston, where he founded and was the first principal of the Mount Vernon School, a secondary

Macdonald, John Sandfield

2005-02-20T03:10:00.000-08:00

Macdonald was called to the bar in 1840, and the next year he was elected to the Canadian Parliament for Glengarry, a seat he held for 16 years. He supported constitutional government and in 1849–51 served as solicitor general. He held the posts of speaker

Cyprus, The Lusignan kingdom, Genoese rule, and Venetian rule

2005-02-20T01:43:00.000-08:00

Guy, a Frenchman who called himself lord of Cyprus, invited families that had lost their lands in Palestine after the fall of Jerusalem to settle in Cyprus, thereby laying the basis for a feudal monarchy that survived to the end of the Middle Ages. His brother and successor, Amalric, obtained the title of king from the Holy Roman emperor Henry VI. The earliest kings of

Baranagar

2005-02-19T20:31:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Barahanagar town, southeastern West Bengal state, northeastern India, just east of the Hooghly River, part of the Calcutta urban agglomeration. Originally a Portuguese settlement, it became the seat of a Dutch trading station and an important river anchorage for Dutch shipping; in 1795 it was ceded to the British. Constituted as the municipality of North Suburban in 1869, the town was renamed

All-star Game

2005-02-19T13:08:00.000-08:00

In American professional baseball, a game between teams of outstanding players chosen from National and American league teams who oppose each other as league against league. Arch Ward, a Chicago Tribune sports editor, is credited with promoting the first All-Star Game, which was held in Chicago in 1933 in conjunction with the Century of Progress Exposition. The All-Star

O'neill, Eugene

2005-02-18T08:12:00.000-08:00

In full Eugene Gladstone O'Neill foremost American dramatist and winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1936. His masterpiece, Long Day's Journey into Night (produced posthumously 1956), is at the apex of a long string of great plays, including Beyond the Horizon (1920), Anna Christie (1922), Strange Interlude (1928), Ah! Wilderness (1933), and The Iceman Cometh (1946).

Dolomites

2005-02-18T04:08:00.000-08:00

Italian Alpi Dolomitiche, mountain group lying in the eastern section of the northern Italian Alps, bounded by the valleys of the Isarco (northwest), the Pusteria (north), the Piave (east and southeast), the Brenta (southwest), and the Adige (west). The range comprises a number of impressive peaks, 18 of which rise to more than 10,000 ft (3,050 m). The highest point is the Marmolada (10,964 ft), the southern face of which consists of

Hood, Thomas

2005-02-18T00:53:00.000-08:00

The son of a bookseller, Hood

Bilberry

2005-02-17T10:18:00.000-08:00

The dark blue berries, ripening in

Restionales

2005-02-16T22:06:00.000-08:00

Nearly all plants in the group exhibit reduced (simplified) flowers with a one- to three-chambered ovary containing only one pendulous ovule per chamber. There are one to three stamens (male

Xu Beihong

2005-02-16T00:22:00.000-08:00

Xu was first taught art in his childhood by his father, Xu Dazhang, a locally known portrait painter. Xu became an itinerant professional

Perciform, Use as food

2005-02-15T22:03:00.000-08:00

Since early times, the rivers and oceans have provided man with food; fishing was one of man's earliest means for securing food. Archaeological findings among shell mounds of Scotland indicate that the sea bream (family Sparidae) formed part of the diet of early man. The Nile perches (family Latidae) have been found as mummies in ancient tombs in Egypt. The goatfishes

Mina

2005-02-15T02:36:00.000-08:00

Also called Meo, or Mewati, tribe and caste inhabiting Rajasthan and Punjab states in northern India, and Punjab province, Pakistan, who speak Hindi and claim descent from the Rajputs. The Mina are possibly of inner Asiatic origin, and tradition suggests that they migrated to India in the 7th century with the Rajputs, but no other link between the two has been substantiated. In the 11th century, the Meo

Wild Bunch

2005-02-14T18:20:00.000-08:00

A collection of cowboy-outlaws who flourished in the 1880s and '90s in Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and surrounding states and territories. Their chief hideouts were Hole in the Wall, a nearly inaccessible grassy canyon and rocky retreat in north-central Wyoming; Brown's Hole (now Brown's Park), a hidden valley of the Green River, near the intersection of the borders of Wyoming, Colorado,

I-ch'un

2005-02-14T16:18:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Yichun, city, central Heilungkiang sheng (province), China. I-ch'un is situated in the densely forested area of the Hsiao hsing-an (Lesser Khingan) Range, at the intersection of the I-ch'un River, from which it takes its name, and the T'ang-wang, a tributary of the Sungari River. Until 1949 it was a minor market town under T'ang-yuan hsien (county). Since 1949 it has grown at an astonishing rate as a major

Armorican Massif

2005-02-14T09:55:00.000-08:00

French Massif Armoricain, flattened erosional upland, or peneplain, encompassing the western French départements of Finistère, Côtes-d'Armor, Morbihan, and Ille-et-Vilaine and parts of Manche, Orne, Mayenne, Maine-et-Loire, Loire-Atlantique, and Vendée. The region has an area of approximately 25,000 square miles (65,000 square km) and is bounded by the Paris Basin and the Seine River to the north and by the lowlands

Toccoa

2005-02-13T17:05:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1905) of Stephens county, northeastern Georgia, U.S. It lies on the Dahlonega Upland, northwest of Hartwell Dam and Lake near the South Carolina border, about 50 miles (80 km) north of Athens. Toccoa was laid out in 1873 and is at the edge of Chattahoochee National Forest in a prosperous agricultural area. The city has some industry, including the manufacture of textiles, heavy

Norfolk

2005-02-12T08:32:00.000-08:00

City, Madison county, northeastern Nebraska, U.S., on the north fork of the Elkhorn River. Settled in 1866 by German farmers from Xonia and Watertown, Wis., its name, originally proposed as North Fork, was abbreviated to Norfork and then changed by the post office to Norfolk. The economy depends primarily on agriculture (grain and livestock) and food processing, augmented by manufacturing

Tallahatchie River

2005-02-12T07:39:00.000-08:00

River rising in Tippah county, Mississippi, U.S., and flowing 230 miles (370 km) west and then south to join the Yalobusha River just north of Greenwood in Leflore county to form the Yazoo River. The upper section of the river (above the influx of the Yocona and Coldwater rivers) is sometimes called the Little Tallahatchie. Immediately southeast of Sardis, Mississippi, is a dam, constructed

Aeschylus

2005-02-11T15:21:00.000-08:00

This is the third and only surviving play of a connected trilogy, presented in 467 BC, that dealt with the impious transgressions of Laius and the doom subsequently inflicted upon his descendants. The first play seems to have shown how Laius, king of Thebes, had a son despite the prohibition of the oracle of the god Apollo. In the second play it appears that that son, Oedipus,

OrangeRing

Bog

Ikeda

Yahya Ibn Mahmud Al-wasiti

China, Animal life

Ikeda

Albalag, Isaac

Sibelius, Jean

Philepittidae

Consonance And Dissonance

Japanese Civil Code

Switzerland, Agriculture and forestry

Olybrius

Crakow

Overton, Richard

Indravarman I

Soter, Saint

General Stud Book

Wiener, Norbert

Polanyi, John C.

Berenice

Trade Organization

Schreiber, R(aemer) E(dgar)

Ghent, Treaty Of

Polanyi, John C.

Hydra

Mammal, Territoriality

Annelid, Importance

Viscount

Webster, Daniel

Puerto Vallarta

Self-incrimination

Biblical Literature, The medieval period

Asia, The steppes

Gautsch Von Frankenthurn, Paul, Baron (freiherr)

France, History Of, Frankish expansion and the unification of Gaul

Ha'aretz

Pyrogallol

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Parable

Culloden, Battle Of

World War I, The Egyptian frontiers, 1915July 1917

Spadefish

Paris, Foundation and medieval growth

Oasis

Armenian Highland

Vienne, Council Of

Faesi, Robert

La Unión

Sankara

Bear Market

Eakins, Thomas

Smith, Cyril Stanley

Pacific Ocean, Trade and transportation

Sylacauga

Weber, Carl Maria Von

Khan, Fazlur R.

Yad

Yemen

Table Tennis

Film Festival

Russell, Lillian

West Bengal

Audion

Omdurman

Nabokov, Vladimir

Mahavastu

Ricercare

Narraganset

Liquid Crystal

Fischer, Kuno

Wain, John (barrington)

Lignum Vitae

Round Table

Wiggin, Kate Douglas

Indian Philosophy, Metaphysics and epistemology

Aegina

Wilkes Land

Levon I

Oannes

Lateen Sail

World War I, The Egyptian frontiers, 1915July 1917