WhitesilverBand

Novohrad-volynskyy

2005-04-04T01:11:00.000-07:00

Russian Novograd-volynsky, also spelled Novograd-volynskij, city, Zhytomyr oblast (province), western Ukraine. It lies at the confluence of the Sluch and Smilka rivers. Documents first record the existence of the town in 1257. It was incorporated in 1795, before which it was known as Zvyagel. It contains the ruins of a 14th-century castle. Today the city has machine-building and woodworking industries. Pop. (1991 est.) 56,100.

Christian Ii

2005-04-03T03:50:00.000-07:00

After serving as viceroy in Norway (1502, 1506–12), Christian succeeded his father, John, king of Denmark and Norway, in 1513. He obtained office by agreeing to a royal charter that granted extensive privileges to the nobility,

Priesthood, Buddhism, Taoism, and Shinto in China and Japan

2005-04-01T18:15:00.000-08:00

In the Mahayana Buddhist sects, the monks, and those who are popularly known as bonzes, can hardly be said to exercise definitely sacerdotal functions in the temples, monasteries, and shrines. For the most part these functions have been confined to recitations and invocations, which all of the believers share. In China the Taoist “priesthood” emerged as an organized institution

War Hawk

2005-04-01T16:02:00.000-08:00

In U.S. history, any of the expansionists primarily composed of young Southerners and Westerners elected to the U.S. Congress in 1810, whose territorial ambitions in the Northwest and Florida inspired them to agitate for war with Great Britain. The War Hawks, who included such future political leaders as Henry Clay and John C. Calhoun, fiercely and aggressively resented

K.g.

2005-03-31T01:13:00.000-08:00

Knight of the Garter, member of one of the most exclusive orders of knighthood in the world. See Garter, The Most Noble Order of the.

Celtic Literature, The 18th century: the first revival

2005-03-30T19:51:00.000-08:00

The mid-18th century was, after the 14th, the most fruitful period of Welsh literature. Goronwy Owen, inspired by English Augustanism, reintroduced and improved the strict metres of the cywydd and awdl (by this time a long poem written in a number of the classical cynghanedd metres). He also introduced a wide range of subject content, and thus founded a new classical school

Hooghly-chinsura

2005-03-29T04:36:00.000-08:00

Hooghly, also spelled Hugli, was founded by the Portuguese in 1537 following the decline of Satgaon, the mercantile capital of lower Bengal; it was also the first

Austin, Louis Winslow

2005-03-28T20:40:00.000-08:00

Physicist known for research on long-range radio transmissions. He was educated at Middlebury College, Vermont, and the University of Strasbourg, Germany. In 1904 he began work on radio transmissions for the U.S. Bureau of Standards. In 1908 Austin became head of a naval radiotelegraphy laboratory at the bureau (later to become the Naval Research

Andrea Da Firenze

2005-03-27T23:56:00.000-08:00

Andrea studied at the Arte dei Medici e degli Speziali in Florence. At the end of 1365 he was commissioned to decorate the chapter house of the church of Sta. Maria Novella. Also attributed to him are the decorations in the Spanish chapel and

Metalwork, Pre-Columbian

2005-03-27T18:54:00.000-08:00

In pre-Columbian America, gold, silver, and copper were the principal metals that were worked, with tin, lead, and platinum used less frequently. When the Spaniards arrived in the New World in the 16th century, they found a wide range of well-developed technical skills in fine metalwork in Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, and the Andean region. They had very little to offer the Indian

Renkum

2005-03-25T20:21:00.000-08:00

Gemeente (commune), Gelderland provincie, central Netherlands. Renkum is situated on the Lower Rhine (Neder Rijn) River, immediately west of Arnhem, and comprises the communities of Oosterbeek (the local government centre), Renkum, Doorwerth, Heelsum, and Wolfheze. The locality was especially associated with the Battle of Arnhem in World War II; on the Oosterbeek village

Andrea Da Firenze

2005-03-24T17:23:00.000-08:00

Organization of Caribbean nations and dependencies that was established in 1973 by the Treaty of Chaguaramas. It replaced the former Caribbean Free Trade Association (Carifta), which had become effective in 1968. The treaty spurred the development of associate institutions, including the Caribbean Development Bank and the Organization of East Caribbean States, both

Karadzic, Vuk Stefanovic

2005-03-22T06:13:00.000-08:00

Karadzic learned to read and write in the old monastery Tronosha (near his native village). Mostly in the

Pendant

2005-03-21T09:02:00.000-08:00

The pharaohs of ancient Egypt wore pendants that were sometimes of huge dimensions,

Tarn

2005-03-21T03:09:00.000-08:00

A small mountain lake, especially one set in a glaciated steep-walled amphitheatre known as a cirque (q.v.).

Janmastami

2005-03-19T00:12:00.000-08:00

The occasion is observed with particular

Boian

2005-03-18T11:25:00.000-08:00

Neolithic culture (c. 7000 BC) centred in what is now southern Romania; it was characterized by terrace settlements, consisting at first of mud huts and later of fortified promontory settlements. The Boian phase was marked by the introduction of copper axes, the extension of agriculture, and the breeding of domestic animals. The distinctive Boian pottery was decorated by

Neosho

2005-03-18T02:19:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1839) of Newton county, southwest Missouri, U.S. It lies in the Ozark Mountains, 20 miles (32 km) southeast of Joplin. Founded in 1839, its name, of Osage Indian derivation, meaning “clear and abundant water,” probably refers to the nine flowing springs (the largest of which is at Big Spring State Park) within the city limits. During the American Civil War, Neosho was the scene of many

Bahonar, Mohammad Javad

2005-03-17T19:44:00.000-08:00

Bahonar studied in the Shi'ite holy city of Qom, where he was a student of noted cleric Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and later taught religion at the University of Tehran. Bahonar was a vocal critic

Children's Literature, Overview

2005-03-17T13:23:00.000-08:00

The French themselves are not happy with their record. Writing in the late 1940s, critic Jean de Trigon, in Histoire de la littérature enfantine, de ma Mère l'Oye au Roi Babar (Paris, Librairie Hachette, 1950) said: “The French have created little children's literature. They have received more than they have given, but they have assimilated, adapted, transformed. The two are not the same

Marennes

2005-03-17T09:25:00.000-08:00

Popular edible variety of oyster (q.v.).

Huizinga, Johan

2005-03-15T07:19:00.000-08:00

Huizinga was educated at the universities of Groningen and Leipzig. After teaching history in Haarlem and lecturing in Indian literature at Amsterdam, he was professor of history first at Groningen (1905–15) and then at Leiden

Dream Allegory

2005-03-15T02:18:00.000-08:00

Also called Dream Vision, allegorical tale presented in the narrative framework of a dream. Especially popular in the Middle Ages, the device made more acceptable the fantastic and sometimes bizarre world of personifications and symbolic objects characteristic of medieval allegory. Well-known examples of the dream allegory include the first part of Roman de la rose (13th century); Chaucer's

Ikorodu

2005-03-14T06:16:00.000-08:00

Town, Lagos state, southwestern Nigeria. It lies near the Lagos Lagoon, on the Bight of Benin, 14 miles (23 km) northwest of Lagos. A traditional settlement of the Awori people (a subgroup of the Yoruba), it became important in the mid-19th century as a trading post of the Remo (Ijebu-Remo) kingdom on the trade route from Lagos to Ibadan. During the Ibadan-Ijaiye wars (1860–65), the Ikorodu traders,

Ili River

2005-03-12T09:36:00.000-08:00

Ili also spelled I-li, Kazak Ile, Chinese (Wade-Giles) I-li Ho, or (Pinyin) Yili He, river in western Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang, China. It is 870 miles (1,400 km) long and drains the basin between the Tien Shan (“Celestial Mountains”) to the south and the P'o-lo-k'o-nu Mountains to the north. Both ranges are extremely high. The drainage basin of the Ili and its principal tributaries—the K'a-shih, K'ung-chi-ssu, and T'e-k'o-ssu rivers—is rugged and mountainous, the axes

Medicine, Clinical observation

2005-03-12T03:10:00.000-08:00

Much of the investigative clinical field work undertaken in the present day requires only relatively simple laboratory facilities because it is observational rather than experimental in character. A feature of much contemporary medical research is that it requires the collaboration of a number of persons, perhaps not all of them doctors. Despite the advancing

Ashcroft, Dame Peggy

2005-03-12T00:52:00.000-08:00

Michael Billington, Peggy Ashcroft (1988).

Berdychiv

2005-03-11T09:42:00.000-08:00

Russian Berdichev, or Berdicev, city, Zhytomyr oblast (province), northwestern Ukraine. Founded in 1482 as a Lithuanian fortress, Berdychiv was Polish from 1569 until 1793. The 16th-century fortress walls survive, as does the Roman Catholic church in which the French novelist Honoré de Balzac married Eveline Hanska, a wealthy Russian widow, in 1850 after an 18-year courtship. Before 1917 an important trading centre, Berdychiv

Hellenistic Religion

2005-03-10T20:39:00.000-08:00

The conquests of Alexander opened the way for religious interchange between East and West; the political structures left behind by Alexander and continued by his successors provided strong incentives for the hellenization of native religions. Characteristic of this first period of Hellenistic religious history were the following developments: (1) the introduction

Top Shell

2005-03-10T13:38:00.000-08:00

Any marine snail of the family Trochidae (subclass Prosobranchia, class Gastropoda), characterized by a spiral, conical shell. Although top shells are found from the intertidal zone to the deep open seas, they occur with greatest diversity in the shallow waters along rocky shores from the equator to the high latitudes. Species of the genera Gibbula, Monodonta, and

Fyodor I

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

The son of Ivan IV the Terrible and his first wife, Anastasiya Romanovna Zakharina-Yureva, Fyodor succeeded his father on March 19, 1584. Being both physically weak and feebleminded, however, he took no part in government affairs, which were dominated by his wife's

Yhwh

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

In Hebrew, the name of God as revealed to Moses. Because of its four letters, it is also known as the Tetragrammaton. See Yahweh.

Châtelet

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

In Paris, the principal seat of common-law jurisdiction under the French monarchy from the Middle Ages to the French Revolution. Located on the right bank of the Seine River, the building was originally a small fort that guarded the northern approach to the Île de la Cité. Frequently rebuilt, it was known as the Grand Châtelet to distinguish it from the Petit Châtelet

Pierce, John Davis

2005-03-06T13:12:00.000-08:00

Though denied an extensive education as a youth because of his father's early death and consequent family financial limitations, Pierce decided at age 20 to educate himself. He succeeded so well that he was

Gabon, Education

2005-03-06T05:10:00.000-08:00

The educational system continues to be modeled closely after that of France. French remains the sole medium of instruction; Bantu languages are studied as electives at the secondary and higher levels. While education is officially mandatory from the ages of 6 to 16, the bulk of children do not attend long enough to achieve literacy or numeracy. The Omar Bongo University,

Buddhism, Tibet

2005-03-05T00:40:00.000-08:00

Buddhism, according to the Tibetan tradition, was first given recognition in Tibet during the reign of Srong-brtsan-sgam-po (c. 627–c. 650). This king had two queens who were early patrons of the religion and were later regarded in popular tradition as incarnations of the Buddhist saviouress Tara. The religion received active encouragement from Khri-srong-lde-btsan, during whose

Pregnancy, Vagina

2005-03-04T00:01:00.000-08:00

The pinkish tan colour of the lining of the vagina gradually takes on a bluish cast during the early months of pregnancy as a result of the dilation of the blood vessels in the vaginal wall; later the vaginal wall tends to become a purplish red colour as the blood vessels become further engorged. The cells of the vaginal mucosa increase in size. Added numbers of these

Huynh Phu So

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

Frail and sickly in his youth, he was educated by a Buddhist monk and at the age of 20 was apparently miraculously cured. He then set about

Albert

2005-03-03T06:33:00.000-08:00

Albert's love of the sea developed at an early age, and as a young

Mondego River

2005-03-03T03:41:00.000-08:00

Portuguese Rio Mondego, largest of the exclusively Portuguese rivers, rising at 4,675 feet (1,425 m) on the northern slopes of Mount Estrela and flowing southwestward for 137 miles (220 km) to the Atlantic Ocean. It has a drainage basin of 2,615 square miles (6,772 square km). A sandbar prohibits navigation above Figueira da Foz, though small craft can sail 52 miles (84 km) upstream to Foz Dão; the river is tidal to Montemor-o-Velho (12 miles

Alabama, The economy

2005-03-02T03:18:00.000-08:00

Among the 50 states, the relative status of Alabama may be indicated by its income per capita: it has ranked close to the bottom of the economic scale for a number of years. This low status results, in part, from the depressed state of agriculture, which employs a large segment of the population. Rural poverty thus drags down the state average, concealing more promising developments

Swamp Pheasant

2005-03-01T19:36:00.000-08:00

Also called Pheasant Coucal, bird species of the cuckoo family (Cuculidae). See coucal.

Hand Tool

2005-03-01T06:06:00.000-08:00

Any of the implements used by craftsmen in manual operations, such as chopping, chiseling, sawing, filing, or forging. Complementary tools, often needed as auxiliaries to shaping tools, include such implements as the hammer for nailing and the vise for holding. A craftsman may also use instruments that facilitate accurate measurements: the rule, divider, square, and

Houtman, Cornelis And Frederik De

2005-03-01T02:01:00.000-08:00

Cornelis and Frederick were sent to Lisbon in 1592 as commercial representatives of nine Dutch merchants. The brothers were imprisoned by the Portuguese

San Fernando

2005-02-28T08:57:00.000-08:00

Cabecera (principal built-up area) and partido (political subdivision) of Gran (Greater) Buenos Aires, Arg. It lies north of the city of Buenos Aires, in Buenos Aires province, on the Río de la Plata estuary. Colonization of the area began with the second and permanent founding of Buenos Aires (1580). During this period the region was known as Costa de Monte Grande. In 1780 the parish of

Aëtius

2005-02-27T09:52:00.000-08:00

Originating probably near Antioch, Aëtius studied there under Arian masters while supporting himself as a goldsmith and a physician, rendering gratuitous service

Hydatidiform Mole

2005-02-26T13:38:00.000-08:00

In human pregnancy, abnormal growth of the chorion, the outermost vascular membrane that in a normal pregnancy would enclose the embryo and ultimately give rise to the placenta. In the situation in which the hydatidiform mole develops, the embryo is usually either absent or dead. The mole, a collection of sacs (cysts) containing a jellylike substance, resembles clusters

Gaspé Current

2005-02-26T04:39:00.000-08:00

Outflow from the St. Lawrence River, which moves around the Gaspé Peninsula and along the southern shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It merges with a cold branch of the Labrador (Cabot) Current before flowing through the Cabot Strait and into the North Atlantic Ocean. The current responds to the river's flow, being strong and warm in the summer and cold and weak in the winter.

Aydin Dynasty

2005-02-26T00:15:00.000-08:00

Turkmen dynasty (c. 1308–1425) that ruled in the Aydin-Izmir region in western Anatolia. Situated in a prosperous coastal region, the Aydin principality was active in the Mediterranean trade. As a frontier state between the declining Byzantine Empire and the growing Ottoman state, it had a monopoly in providing mercenary troops to rival Byzantine factions, and it also offered

Burgkmair, Hans, The Elder

2005-02-25T22:35:00.000-08:00

The son of a painter, he became a member of the painters' guild in Strasbourg in 1490 and in Augsburg in 1498. Some 700 woodcuts are ascribed to him, including his principal work, a series of 135 prints celebrating the triumphs of the emperor Maximilian I. His

Cariboo Mountains

2005-02-25T13:57:00.000-08:00

Range in eastern British Columbia, Canada, forming the northern subdivision of the Columbia Mountains. The Cariboo Mountains lie within an area enclosed by the great bend of the Fraser River and its tributary, the North Thompson. The mountains extend for about 190 miles (305 km) and parallel the Rocky Mountain Trench, which separates them from the Canadian Rockies. From Mount

San Francisco De Macorís

2005-02-25T00:36:00.000-08:00

City, north-central Dominican Republic, on a tributary of the Camú River. Founded in 1777, it is situated in the fertile La Vega Real region. The city is a commercial and processing centre for the cacao, coffee, fruits, rice, beeswax, and hides produced in the hinterland. It is served by a short local railroad and by several secondary highways. Pop. (1983 est.) 67,000.

Earth, Results of structural geologic studies

2005-02-24T16:56:00.000-08:00

Deformed rocks typically occur in long, linear belts along the trend of present or past mountain belts. In many parts of the world, mountain belts end rather abruptly at the edges of continents and commonly occur in pairs located on opposite sides of an ocean. The Appalachian mountain belt, for example, extends from Georgia and Alabama through southeastern Pennsylvania,

Fuller's Earth

2005-02-23T09:22:00.000-08:00

Any fine-grained, naturally occurring earthy substance that has a substantial ability to adsorb impurities or colouring bodies from fats, grease, or oils. Its name originated with the textile industry, in which textile workers (or fullers) cleaned raw wool by kneading it in a mixture of water and fine earth that adsorbed oil, dirt, and other contaminants from the

Brú, Hedin

2005-02-23T01:27:00.000-08:00

At the age of 14 Brú worked as a fisherman. He spent much of the 1920s studying agriculture in Denmark, and from 1928 he was an agricultural adviser to the Faroese government. His first two novels, Longbrá (1930; “Mirage”) and Fastatøkur (1937; “Firm Grip”), dramatize the

Black Market

2005-02-23T00:11:00.000-08:00

Trading in violation of publicly imposed regulations such as rationing laws, laws against certain goods, and official rates of exchange among currencies. Rationing is common in wartime in order to equalize the distribution of scarce goods and services; black-market activity may consist of charging more than the legal prices, stealing or counterfeiting ration

Abbas, Ferhat

2005-02-21T22:39:00.000-08:00

Son of a Muslim official in the Algerian civil service, Abbas received an entirely French education at Philippeville (now Skikda) and Constantine and at the University

Ocean Current

2005-02-21T01:09:00.000-08:00

The direction and form of oceanic currents is governed by a number of natural forces, including principally horizontal pressure gradient forces; forces generated by variable density of seawater, which is

Lahmu And Lahamu

2005-02-20T15:06:00.000-08:00

Usually, Lahmu and Lahamu represent silt, but in some texts they seem to take the form

Ancaeus

2005-02-20T07:47:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, the son of Zeus or Poseidon and king of the Leleges of Samos. In the Argonautic expedition, after the death of Tiphys, the helmsman of the Argo, Ancaeus took his place. According to legend, while planting a vineyard, Ancaeus was told by a seer that he would never drink of its wine. When the grapes were ripe, he squeezed the juice into a cup and, raising it to

Ancaeus

2005-02-19T20:33:00.000-08:00

Originally based in the Shankill Road area of Belfast, the UDA was responsible for political murders of Roman Catholics and prominent Republicans, though it claimed responsibility for most killings

Conner, Mount

2005-02-19T20:14:00.000-08:00

Most easterly of central Australia's giant tors, or monoliths, which include Ayers Rock (called Uluru by the region's Aborigines) and the Olga Rocks rising above the desert plain southeast of Lake Amadeus in southwestern Northern Territory. Mount Conner is flat-topped and horseshoe-shaped and reaches to 2,500 feet (760 m) above sea level; its lower 500 feet (150 m) are covered by a talus

Potassium-argon Dating

2005-02-18T06:42:00.000-08:00

Method of determining the time of origin of rocks by measuring the ratio of radioactive argon to radioactive potassium in the rock. This dating method is based upon the decay of radioactive potassium-40 to radioactive argon-40 in minerals and rocks; potassium-40 also decays to calcium-40. Thus, the ratio of argon-40 and potassium-40 and radiogenic calcium-40 to potassium-40 in a mineral

Radioactivity

2005-02-17T23:25:00.000-08:00

An unstable nucleus will decompose spontaneously, or decay, into a more stable configuration but will do so only in a few specific ways by emitting certain particles or certain forms of electromagnetic

Sinuiju

2005-02-17T05:19:00.000-08:00

City, northwestern North Korea. It was developed during the Japanese occupation (1910–45) at the Korean terminus of a railway bridge across the Yalu (Amnok) River, 7 miles (11 km) west of the old city of Uiju (Sinuiju meaning “New Uiju”). An open port, 25 miles (40 km) from the mouth of the Yalu River, it grew commercially with the lumber industry, which uses the river to transport the logs from inland forests.

Texas, Annexation and statehood

2005-02-17T01:54:00.000-08:00

As early as 1836, Texans had voted for annexation by the United States, but the proposition was rejected by the Jackson and Van Buren administrations. Great Britain favoured continued independence for Texas in order to block further westward expansion of the United States, but this attitude only helped to swing Americans toward annexation. Annexation was approved

Hanks, Tom

2005-02-16T01:54:00.000-08:00

Roy Trakin, Tom Hanks: Journey to Stardom, updated ed. (1995).

Crambo

2005-02-15T13:56:00.000-08:00

Plural cramboes , also called capping the rhyme a game in which one player gave a word or line of verse to be matched in rhyme by other players. Thus, one said, “I know a word that rhymes with bird.” A second asked, “Is it ridiculous?” “No, it is not absurd.” “Is it a part of speech?” “No, it is not a word.” This proceeded until the right word was guessed. Under the name of the ABC of Aristotle, crambo reportedly was played in England as early as

Haddonfield

2005-02-14T13:32:00.000-08:00

Borough (town), Camden county, southwestern New Jersey, U.S., a southeastern suburb of Camden. First settled by Francis Collins in 1682, it was later named by Elizabeth Haddon, an English Quaker girl who settled there about 1701. The story of her romance with a Quaker missionary, John Estaugh, is told by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in his Tales of a Wayside Inn (1863). She lived to be 82, and her personal

Pendergast, Thomas J(oseph)

2005-02-14T09:33:00.000-08:00

Pendergast went to Kansas City in 1893, where he learned the rudiments of municipal politics from precinct captains and where, by 1916, he had become political boss of Kansas

Taraba

2005-02-13T02:20:00.000-08:00

Most of the northern part of the state is a wooded savanna region drained by the Benue River and its tributaries.

Paul The Deacon,

2005-02-13T02:04:00.000-08:00

Born to a rich and noble family of Friuli, northeast of Venice, Paul spent many years at the Lombard court in Pavia, serving as councillor under King Desiderius. After the fall of the

Paul Of Thebes, Saint

2005-02-12T10:41:00.000-08:00

According to St. Jerome, his biographer, Paul fled to the Theban desert during the persecution of Christians (249–251) under the Roman emperor Decius. Thereafter, he lived a life of prayer and penitence in a cave, dying at the reputed age of 113. Jerome considered

ålesund

2005-02-12T03:30:00.000-08:00

Fishing port, Møre og Romsdal fylke (county), western Norway. Ålesund lies at the mouth of Stor Fjord and is set on two islands, Nørvøya and Aspøy, which are connected by bridges. It dates from the 9th century when Rollo (Rolf) the Ganger built a castle nearby, but township status was not acquired until 1848. After the town burned in 1904, it was rebuilt with stone instead of wood. Ålesund

Economic Warfare

2005-02-11T10:52:00.000-08:00

The use of, or the threat to use, economic means against a country in order to weaken its economy and thereby reduce its political and military power. Economic warfare also includes the use of economic means to compel an adversary to change its policies or behaviour or to undermine its ability to conduct normal relations with other countries. Some common means of

Rabassa, Gregory

2005-02-10T21:20:00.000-08:00

Rabassa graduated from Columbia University (Ph.D., 1954) and taught

Cohenite

2005-02-10T07:05:00.000-08:00

The mineral iron and nickel carbide [(Fe,Ni)3C] that occurs as an accessory constituent of several iron meteorites, of all coarse octahedrites containing 7 percent or less nickel, and of at least one stony meteorite, an enstatite chondrite. Cohenite closely resembles the meteoritic mineral schreibersite, and it may be more common in meteorites than is supposed. When

Draft Animal

2005-02-09T08:08:00.000-08:00

Any domesticated animal used in drawing heavy loads. Draft animals were in common use in Mesopotamia before 3000 BC for farm work and for pulling wheeled vehicles. Their use spread to the rest of the world over the following 2,500 years. While cattle, usually in teams, have been used most often as draft animals, horses and donkeys have supplanted them in many areas. Some horses—such

Amundsen, Roald

2005-02-09T05:55:00.000-08:00

Amundsen studied medicine for a while and then took to sea. In 1897 he sailed as first mate on

Sisaket

2005-02-08T23:54:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Si Sa Ket, or Srisaket, town, eastern Thailand. Sisaket lies on the railway between Nakhon Ratchasima and Udon Thani. The surrounding area is one of Thailand's poorest regions; rice and tobacco are the main products. The region borders Cambodia and has a substantial Khmer-speaking population. Pop. (1986 est.) town, 21,577.

Kiderlen-wächter, Alfred Von

2005-02-08T19:56:00.000-08:00

After service in the Franco-German War (1870–71), Kiderlen studied law and entered the Prussian diplomatic service (1879). He was an exponent of the tough-minded post-Bismarckian German diplomacy and for a time enjoyed

Aymaran Languages

2005-02-07T15:09:00.000-08:00

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.

Leaching

2005-02-07T01:36:00.000-08:00

In geology, loss of soluble substances and colloids from the top layer of soil by percolating precipitation. The materials lost are carried downward (eluviated) and are generally redeposited (illuviated) in a lower layer. This transport results in a porous and open top layer and a dense, compact lower layer. The rate of leaching increases with the amount of rainfall,

Mckim, Charles Follen

2005-02-06T20:38:00.000-08:00

McKim was educated at Harvard and at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He was trained as a draftsman by the architect H.H. Richardson while the latter was completing Trinity Church, Boston. In 1879 he joined William Rutherford Mead

Bulawayo

2005-02-06T19:55:00.000-08:00

The second largest city in Zimbabwe and the chief city of Matabeleland (i.e., the Ndebele-dominated western third of the country). The city lies along the Matsheumlope River in the southwestern part of the country, 4,405 feet (1,341 m) above sea level in undulating savanna terrain. The original site was the kraal (headquarters) of Lobengula, king of the Ndebele, who fought a major battle

Cumberland, Richard

2005-02-05T08:04:00.000-08:00

English dramatist whose plays were in tune with the sentimental spirit that became an important literary force during the latter half of the 18th century. He was a master of stagecraft, a good observer of men and manners, but today perhaps is chiefly famous as the model for the character of Sir Fretful Plagiary in Richard

Kern, Jerome (david)

2005-02-05T03:19:00.000-08:00

Kern studied music in New York City and in 1903 in Heidelberg, Ger., later gaining theatrical experience in London. After his return to New York in 1905, he worked as a pianist and salesman for

Arrest

2005-02-04T21:13:00.000-08:00

Placing of a person in custody or under restraint, usually for the purpose of compelling obedience to the law. If the arrest occurs in the course of criminal procedure, the purpose of the restraint is to hold the person for answer to a criminal charge or to prevent him from committing an offense. In civil proceedings, the purpose is to hold the person to a demand made against

Handlin, Oscar

2005-02-04T15:46:00.000-08:00

The son of Jewish immigrant parents, Handlin graduated from Brooklyn College in 1934 and earned his M.A. degree from Harvard University in 1935. He then taught history at Brooklyn College (1936–38) and joined the history faculty at Harvard in

China, Mineral resources

2005-02-03T10:34:00.000-08:00

China is well endowed with mineral resources, the most important of which is coal. Although deposits are widely scattered (some coal is found in every province), most of the total is located in the northern part of the country. The province of Shansi, in fact, is thought to contain about half of the total; other important coal-bearing provinces include Heilungkiang, Liaoning,

Aargau

2005-02-02T21:30:00.000-08:00

French Argovie, canton, northern Switzerland. It borders Germany to the north and is bounded by the demicanton of Basel-Laandschaft and by the cantons of Solothurn and Bern to the west, Luzern to the south, and Zug and Zürich to the east. It forms the northeastern section of the great Swiss Plateau between the Alps and the Jura Mountains, taking in the lower course of the Aare River, whence

Andreanof Islands

2005-02-02T19:49:00.000-08:00

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

Wilder, Laura Ingalls

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

Laura Ingalls grew up in a family that moved frequently from one part of the American frontier to another. Her father took the family by covered wagon to Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Indian Territory, and Dakota Territory. At age 15 she began teaching

Durandus Of Saint-pourçain

2005-02-01T23:39:00.000-08:00

Durandus entered the Dominican order and studied at Paris, where he obtained his doctorate in 1313. Shortly afterward Pope Clement V summoned him to Avignon as a lecturer in theology. He became successively bishop of

New Braunfels

2005-01-31T20:42:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1846) of Comal county and also partly in Guadalupe county, south-central Texas, U.S. It lies on the Balcones Escarpment at a point where the Comal River (3 miles [5 km] long and within city limits) flows into the Guadalupe River, 30 miles (50 km) northeast of San Antonio. The community was established in 1845 by a group of German immigrants led by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels and sponsored

Wilder, Laura Ingalls

2005-01-31T20:04:00.000-08:00

Oceanographic study platform developed in the United States. It combines the advantages of extreme stability while floating on site and ease of movement to new areas. In the horizontal position, FLIP, 109 m (357 feet) long, can be towed behind a ship. When FLIP's ballast tanks are flooded, the platform tilts to an upright position with 17 m (55 feet) of its length above water. Above-water

Latin Language

2005-01-31T03:41:00.000-08:00

Originally spoken by small groups of people living along the lower Tiber River, Latin spread with the increase of Roman political power, first throughout Italy and then throughout most of western and southern Europe and the central and western Mediterranean

Amphibian, Embryonic stage

2005-01-30T22:25:00.000-08:00

Within the egg a series of semipermeable gelatinous capsules enclose the embryo suspended in fluid surrounding the yolk (perivitelline fluid). These capsules can be eventually digested by hatching enzymes that are produced by frontal glands on the snouts of embryos. All nutrients necessary for egg development within the ovary are supplied by the yolk in the

Pacific Islands

2005-01-29T07:04:00.000-08:00

Geographic region of the Pacific Ocean. The term is commonly accepted as including all of those islands in the Pacific that are collectively referred to as Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia, also sometimes known as Oceania. This usage rules out the Australian island continent, the Asia-related Indonesian, Philippine, and Japanese archipelagoes, and the Ryukyu,

Chi-an

2005-01-29T05:28:00.000-08:00

Chi-an's history goes back to the foundation there,