MaleBell

Ballad Opera

2005-04-03T13:54:00.000-07:00

Characteristic English type of comic opera, originating in the 18th century and featuring farcical or extravaganza plots. The music was mainly confined to songs or interludes interspersed in spoken dialogue. It was based at first on ballads or folk songs to which new words were adapted; later, tunes were borrowed from popular operas, or music was occasionally newly

Alcaic

2005-04-03T06:14:00.000-07:00

{breve}-|- {breve}|- {breve}

Mckeesport

2005-04-03T03:13:00.000-07:00

City, Allegheny county, southwestern Pennsylvania, U.S. It is situated at the junction of the Monongahela and Youghiogheny rivers, 14 miles (23 km) southeast of Pittsburgh. First settled about 1769 by David McKee, a ferry operator, the town was laid out in 1795 by his son John. In 1794 it was a centre of dissident activity during the Whiskey Rebellion (an insurrection against an excise tax on

Natick

2005-04-02T18:37:00.000-08:00

Town (township), Middlesex county, eastern Massachusetts, U.S., 18 miles (29 km) southwest of Boston. The first recorded settlement there was made in 1650, when the missionary John Eliot was granted the land for use as a plantation for his “praying Indians.” In 1663 Eliot published an Algonquian-language translation of the Bible, a copy of which the town historical society possesses. After

Daedalic Sculpture

2005-04-02T04:37:00.000-08:00

Type of sculpture attributed to a legendary Greek artist, Daedalus, who is connected in legend both to Bronze Age Crete and to the earliest period of Archaic sculpture in post-Bronze Age Greece. The legends about Daedalus recognize him both as a man and as a mythical embodiment. The writer Pausanias thought that wooden images were referred to as daidala even before

Barcelona, Archaeological Museum Of

2005-04-01T21:31:00.000-08:00

In full Archaeological Museum Of Barcelona And Institute Of Prehistory And Archaeology, Spanish Museo Arqueológica De Barcelona E Instituto De Prehistoria Y Arqueología, institution in Barcelona, Spain, notable for its collection of prehistoric objects and for its collection of ancient Greek and Roman art and examples illustrating Iberian archaeology. Exhibits include a scale model of a part of the excavation at Ampurias (Emporiae) and displays of Greek vases, glass, and sculpture. There is a fine statue of Asclepius of the 4th century

Taqi Khan, Mirza

2005-03-30T16:54:00.000-08:00

At an early age Mirza Taqi learned to read and write despite his humble origins. He joined the provincial bureaucracy as a scribe and, by his abilities, rapidly advanced within the hierarchy of the administration. In 1829, as a junior

John Day

2005-03-30T13:50:00.000-08:00

City, Grant county, northeast-central Oregon, U.S., situated at the confluence of John Day River and Canyon Creek, near the Strawberry Mountain Wilderness Area. (The North Fork of the John Day is part of the U.S. Wild and Scenic Rivers system.) A stopover on the Pony Express trail from The Dalles (220 miles [354 km] northwest), it originated in the early 1860s, along with adjacent Canyon City,

Oyo

2005-03-30T04:03:00.000-08:00

State, western Nigeria. Oyo was reduced in size when Osun state was created out of its eastern portion in 1991. Oyo is bounded by the states of Kwara on the north, Osun on the east, and Ogun on the south and by the Republic of Benin on the west. Oyo state is traversed by the Yoruba Hills in the north. The state has some tropical rain forest in the south around Ibadan, the state capital,

Jazz

2005-03-29T07:45:00.000-08:00

Whereas most of these postwar musicians worked out their individual styles through personal explorations within the central modern tradition, the arrival of saxophonist Ornette Coleman and trumpeter Donald Cherry constituted an even more radical break from the recent past. Eschewing conventional key and time signatures, Coleman also abandoned all the

Out Islands

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

The islands that make up The Bahamas apart from New Providence Island. Extending eastward off the Florida coast to just north of Hispaniola are about 3,000 islands and rocks, with a combined area of about 4,000 square miles (10,500 square km). About 20 of the islands are permanently inhabited. Pop. (1980) 74,068.

Faroese Language

2005-03-28T16:52:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Faeroese , Faroese Føroysk language spoken in the Faroe Islands by some 44,000 inhabitants. Faroese belongs to the West Scandinavian group of the North Germanic languages. It preserves more characteristics of Old Norse than any other language except modern Icelandic, to which it is closely related, but with which it is mutually unintelligible. The written language was established by the Faroese

Philanthropinum

2005-03-27T10:34:00.000-08:00

Late 18th-century school (1774–93) founded in Dessau, Germany, by the educator Johann Bernhard Basedow to implement the educational ideas of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Aiming to foster in its students a humanitarian worldview and awareness of the community of interest among all people, it taught rich and poor boys together regardless of religious or class distinctions. The school

Duck Mountain

2005-03-27T03:26:00.000-08:00

Plateau in southwestern Manitoba, Canada, forming the highest part of the Manitoba Escarpment. It extends southeastward from the Saskatchewan border for 50 miles (80 km), culminating in Baldy Mountain (2,730 feet [832 m]), 36 miles northwest of Dauphin. A large part of the plateau is embraced by Duck Mountain Provincial Park, established in 1962 to preserve the region's dense forests, numerous

Port-royal

2005-03-26T09:52:00.000-08:00

In 1609 the young abbess Jacqueline-Marie-Angélique Arnauld began a much-needed reform. In 1625–26, because

Vyasa

2005-03-25T06:31:00.000-08:00

According to legend, Vyasa was the son of the ascetic Parasara and the dasa (aboriginal) princess Satyavati and grew up in forests, living with hermits who taught him the Vedas (ancient

Basellaceae

2005-03-24T23:53:00.000-08:00

The Madeira-vine family of flowering plants in the order Caryophyllales, with 4 genera and 15 to 25 species of herbaceous perennial vines, distributed primarily in the New World tropics. Members of the family have fleshy, untoothed leaves, tuberous rootstocks, and red or white flowers in branched or unbranched clusters. Madeira-vine, or mignonette-vine (Anredera

Paraffin Wax

2005-03-24T19:19:00.000-08:00

Colourless or white, somewhat translucent, hard wax consisting of a mixture of solid straight-chain hydrocarbons ranging in melting point from about 48° to 66° C (120° to 150° F). Paraffin wax is obtained from petroleum by dewaxing light lubricating oil stocks. It is used in candles, wax paper, polishes, cosmetics, and electrical insulators. It assists in extracting perfumes from flowers,

Baptist Missionary Association Of America

2005-03-22T20:08:00.000-08:00

Association of independent, conservative Baptist churches, organized as the North American Baptist Association in Little Rock, Ark., in 1950, in protest against the American Baptist Association's policy of seating messengers at meetings who were not members of the churches that elected them. The present name was adopted in 1968. These churches cooperate in missions and

Gobind Singh

2005-03-22T13:40:00.000-08:00

Gobind Singh inherited his grandfather Guru Hargobind's love of the military life and was also a man of great intellectual attainments. He was also the son of the ninth Guru, Tegh Bahadur, who suffered martyrdom at the hands of the

Uhlenbeck, George Eugene

2005-03-22T09:05:00.000-08:00

In 1925, while working on his Ph.D. at the University of Leiden, Neth. (1927), he and Goudsmit put forth their idea of electron spin after ascertaining that electrons rotate about an axis. Uhlenbeck joined the physics department at the

Balaguer, Victor

2005-03-21T08:14:00.000-08:00

Balaguer was a precocious youth; his first dramatic essay, Pépin el Jorobado; o, el hijo de Carlomagno (1838; “Pippin the Hunchbacked; or, The Son of Charlemagne”), was staged in Barcelona when he was 14. At 19 he was publicly “crowned” after the production of his second play, Don Enrique el Dadivoso (1843; “Don Henry

Hood, Mount

2005-03-20T20:36:00.000-08:00

Highest peak (11,239 feet [3,425 metres]) in Oregon, U.S., and the fourth highest peak in the Cascade Range, 45 miles (70 km) east-southeast of Portland. It is a dormant volcano that last erupted about 1865, with minor steam and ash (tephra) emissions in 1903; debris flows, glacial flooding, and earthquakes regularly occur there. First sighted in 1792 by the English navigator William Broughton, and named for the

Augusta

2005-03-20T10:04:00.000-08:00

City, river port, and seat (1777) of Richmond county, eastern Georgia, U.S. It lies on the Savannah River (there bridged to North Augusta, South Carolina), on the fall line where the Piedmont Plateau meets the Coastal Plain. The area was explored in 1540 by the Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto, but not until 1735 was a fortified fur-trading post established on the site (now marked by a Celtic

Seven Holy Founders

2005-03-19T20:56:00.000-08:00

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

East Dunbartonshire

2005-03-19T06:13:00.000-08:00

Council area, west-central Scotland. East Dunbartonshire's largest towns, Bearsden and Milngavie in the southwest and Kirkintilloch in the southeast, lie within the historic county of Dunbartonshire. The council area also includes a small area in the south around the town of Bishopbriggs in the historic county of Lanarkshire and a more extensive area in the northeast

Caconda

2005-03-19T02:52:00.000-08:00

A Portuguese military post was established at Caconda about 1680 to facilitate expansion of the slave trade. In the late 18th century, a permanent

Iapetus

2005-03-18T17:05:00.000-08:00

Exterior moon in the Saturn system, extraordinary because of its surface markings. Discovered by Gian Domenico Cassini in 1671, Iapetus orbits Saturn once every 79.33 Earth days at a distance of 3,561,000 km (2,212,800 miles). The satellite's radius and mass are, respectively, 730 ± 10 km (454 ± 6 miles) and 1.88 ± 0.12 ´ 1024 grams, implying a bulk density of 1.16 ± 0.09 grams per cubic centimetre. A solid object with so low a density must be composed

Farim

2005-03-17T05:23:00.000-08:00

Town, north central Guinea-Bissau, West Africa, on the Rio Cacheu. It is a market centre for the agricultural products of the interior; peanut (groundnut) cultivation, concentrated around the town, is mainly for export, and cattle are raised for domestic consumption in the northern savannas of the region. There are phosphate deposits near the town. Farim is connected

Fargo, William George

2005-03-16T23:45:00.000-08:00

Fargo began his long association with Henry Wells (q.v.) when he served as an agent for Livingston, Wells, and Pomeroy's Express in 1843. The following year, together with Wells and Daniel Dunning, he founded Wells and Company, the first express company to operate west of Buffalo,

Chemical Compound, Nonbenzenoid aromatic compounds

2005-03-16T18:56:00.000-08:00

Of the two, cyclooctatetraene proved more accessible.

Maclaine, Shirley

2005-03-16T17:45:00.000-08:00

After graduating from high school, MacLaine, who had studied ballet since age three, moved to New York City, where she worked as a dancer and model. In 1954 she was hired as a chorus girl and understudy

Turban

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

Early Persians wore a conical cap sometimes encircled by bands of cloth, which perhaps may be considered one of the origins of the turban. The turban did not become common among the Turks, however, until after the capture of Constantinople in 1453, when the Ottoman sultan

Giocondo, Fra Giovanni

2005-03-15T15:25:00.000-08:00

A learned Franciscan, Fra Giocondo is said to have received an extensive humanistic education. He made an important collection of classical inscriptions and was noted by

Gaucho

2005-03-15T01:09:00.000-08:00

Gauchos were usually mestizos (persons

Alcorn State University

2005-03-14T17:30:00.000-08:00

Public, coeducational institution of higher learning near Lorman, Mississippi, U.S. It is a land-grant university consisting of schools of Arts and Sciences, Business, Education and Psychology, Nursing, and Agriculture and Applied Sciences. The university's School of Nursing is located in Natchez. In addition to undergraduate studies, Alcorn State offers several

Vulcanization

2005-03-13T22:57:00.000-08:00

The process was discovered in 1839 by the U.S. inventor

Puerto Carreño

2005-03-13T09:46:00.000-08:00

Capital of Vichada departamento, eastern Colombia, situated at the junction of the Meta and Orinoco rivers, across from Puerto Páez, Venezuela. The easternmost of Colombia's urban centres and a potentially important port on the Orinoco River, the city is a collection centre for the cattle and livestock products, corn (maize), gums, and resins that are produced in the

Auseklis

2005-03-13T02:49:00.000-08:00

Related in name to the Vedic Usas and the Greek Eos, goddesses of dawn, Auseklis is associated in Latvian solar mythology with Meness (Moon) and Saule (Sun), being subordinate to the former and along with him a rival suitor of Saule's daughter, Saules

Santa Eugenia De Riveira

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

City, La Coruña provincia, in the comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of Galicia, northwestern Spain. The city is the chief centre of Riveira (Ribeira) municipality. It lies on the Arosa Inlet across the inlet from Villagarcía de Arosa, in the coastal zone. Remains of Roman fortifications and of a Phoenician port, La Covasa, attest to early occupation of the site,

Sweater

2005-03-11T17:18:00.000-08:00

Outer garment, usually knitted or crocheted, that is worn on the upper part of the body, either pulled over the head or buttoned down the front or back. Although hand knitting of wool had been practiced for about 2,000 years, it was not until the 15th century that the first knitted shirts or tunics were produced on the English Channel islands of Guernsey and Jersey; hence the English

Waterford

2005-03-11T04:31:00.000-08:00

Irish Port Láirge county in the province of Munster, Ireland. With an area of 710 square miles (1,838 square km), it is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the south and from west to east by Counties Cork, Tipperary, Kilkenny, and Wexford. The county's northern boundary follows the River Suir through the city of Waterford. Included within the county are the lower reaches of the Rivers Blackwater and Bride.

X Ray

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

Any electromagnetic radiation of an extremely short wavelength produced by the deceleration of charged particles or the transitions of electrons in atoms. As can be seen in the Figure, the wavelengths of X rays range from about 10-8 metres to 12-12 metres, with corresponding frequencies of 1016 to 1021 hertz (Hz). Like other forms of electromagnetic radiation (gamma rays, ultraviolet,

Ray

2005-03-10T21:02:00.000-08:00

Rays are distinguished from sharks by a flattened, disklike body, with the five gill openings and the mouth generally located on the underside. Rays are further distinguished from sharks by their greatly

Shadow Play

2005-03-09T18:53:00.000-08:00

Type of theatrical entertainment performed with puppets, probably originating in China and on the Indonesian islands of Java and Bali. Flat images are manipulated by the puppeteers between a bright light and a translucent screen, on the other side of which sits the audience. Shadow plays are also performed in Turkey and Greece. In the 18th and 19th centuries, shadow plays

Dorgon

2005-03-09T06:12:00.000-08:00

Dorgon was the 14th of the 16 sons of Nurhachi, founder of the Manchu state, who

English Literature, Early translations into English

2005-03-08T20:43:00.000-08:00

But the earliest literary prose dates from the late 9th century, when King Alfred, eager to improve the state of English learning, led a vigorous program to translate into English “certain books that are necessary for all men to know.” Alfred himself translated St. Gregory I the Great's Pastoral Care, Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy, St. Augustine of Hippo's Soliloquies

Ahmed I

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

Ottoman sultan from 1603 to 1617, whose authority was weakened by wars, rebellions, and misrule. The rebellions he was able to suppress; he executed some of the viziers and exiled many palace dignitaries for bribery and intrigue; and he introduced a new regulation for the improvement of land administration. The peace of Zsitvatörök (1606) that he signed

Shaftesbury, Anthony Ashley Cooper, 1st Earl Of, Baron Cooper Of Pawlett, Baron Ashley Of Wimborne St. Giles

2005-03-07T19:50:00.000-08:00

Also called (from 1631) Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, 2nd Baronet English politician, a member of the Council of State (1653–54; 1659) during the Commonwealth, and a member of Charles II's “Cabinet Council” and lord chancellor (1672–73). Seeking to exclude the Roman Catholic duke of York (the future James II) from the succession, he was ultimately charged with treason. Though acquitted, he fled into exile.

Sylacauga

2005-03-07T19:44:00.000-08:00

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

Furniture, Chest

2005-03-07T11:55:00.000-08:00

The chest, including the coffin (and sarcophagus), is an ancient primitive furniture form that has survived into the 20th century. The design of a clothes chest is optional; its size depends on changing demands. The construction of a coffin, on the other hand, is a set task. The format is determined by certain principal dimensions, and the human figure has at all times exercised

Araliaceae

2005-03-07T03:21:00.000-08:00

The ginseng family of flowering plants, in the order Apiales, comprising approximately 700 species centred in Southeast Asia and tropical America. Most members are shrubs or trees, though there are a number of climbers and a few herbs. The family has large, usually alternate, compound leaves, five-parted flowers arranged in compound umbels (flat-topped clusters), and a

Karaje Rug

2005-03-05T11:51:00.000-08:00

Also called Karadagh, floor covering handmade in or near the village of Qarajeh (Karaje), in the Qareh Dagh (Karadagh) region just south of the Azerbaijan border, northeast of Tabriz, Iran. The best-known pattern shows three geometric medallions that are somewhat similar to Caucasian carpets. The central one has a latch-hooked contour and differs in colour from the others, which are eight-pointed

Procyonid

2005-03-04T22:37:00.000-08:00

Any member of the mammalian family Procyonidae (order Carnivora), including the raccoon and allied species. They are hunted for their fur and flesh, and sometimes kept as pets. Except for the lesser panda of East Asia, the living forms inhabit North and Central America. Procyonids are closely related to bears (Ursidae) and dogs (Canidae). They are small animals with long,

Settat

2005-03-04T21:32:00.000-08:00

City, central Morocco. Situated on the coastal plain immediately south of Casablanca, the city is the largest market centre in the fertile Chaouia coastal plain. Settat city's most notable features are a late 17th-century casbah built by the 'Alawi ruler Moulay Isma'il and a millah (traditional Jewish quarter) established in the 19th century. The city is connected by road and

Switzerland, Literature

2005-03-04T02:31:00.000-08:00

In the field of literature, Switzerland has produced Jean-Jacques Rousseau; the historian and critic Jacob Burckhardt; Germaine de Staël, whose home at Coppet became a centre of European literary life during the 18th century; Gottfried Keller; Conrad Ferdinand Meyer; Jeremias Gotthelf; Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz; and the Nobel Prize winners Hermann Hesse and Carl Spitteler.

Hesychius Of Miletus

2005-03-03T10:15:00.000-08:00

Byzantine historian and literary biographer whose chronicle of world history influenced later Byzantine historical accounts and provided singular data on the history of Constantinople. His works are also a valuable source for the history of Greek literature. A native of Miletus during the reign (527–565) of the Eastern Roman emperor Justinian I, Hesychius

Lockheed Martin Corporation

2005-03-02T18:06:00.000-08:00

Lockheed Corporation dates to 1912 when Allan Loughead, his brother Malcolm, and Max Mamlock, who at the time was head of Alco Cab Company, founded Alco Hydro-Aeroplane Company to build the Loughead brothers' floatplane design, the Model G. After a year the company became dormant, but in 1915 the Loughead brothers bought out the interests of other investors to acquire control

Plume Moth

2005-03-02T13:51:00.000-08:00

Any of the approximately 600 species of the cosmopolitan insect family Pterophoridae (order Lepidoptera), named for the deep wing divisions that resemble plumes or lobes. It differs from the many-plumed moth, an Orneodidae-family member, in that its forewings and hindwings are not split down to their base into six plumes but are divided only to their middle, the forewings

Encyclopaedia, The Arab world

2005-03-02T08:23:00.000-08:00

The early encyclopaedias written in Arabic can be roughly divided into two classes: those designed for people who wished to be well informed and to make full use of their cultural heritage, and those for the rapidly growing number of official administrators. The latter type of encyclopaedia originated when the Arabs established their rule through so many parts

Nova Scotia, Cultural life

2005-03-01T06:58:00.000-08:00

Its geographic position has kept Nova Scotia somewhat removed from the mainstream of Canadian life, centred in Ontario and Quebec. The improvement of transportation, however, and the growing impact of the nationwide communications media have brought the province closer to the mainstream, enhancing a modern life-style in the province and eroding some features

Avestan Language

2005-03-01T03:45:00.000-08:00

Also called (incorrectly) Zend Language, eastern Iranian language of the Avesta, the sacred book of Zoroastrianism. Avestan falls into two strata, the older being that of the Gathas, which reflects a linguistic stage (dating from c. 600 BC) close to that of Vedic Sanskrit in India. The greater part of the Avesta is written in a more recent form of the language and shows gradual simplification and variation in grammatical

Power Shovel

2005-02-28T21:51:00.000-08:00

Digging and loading machine consisting of a revolving deck with a power plant, driving and controlling mechanisms, sometimes a counterweight, and a front attachment, such as a boom or crane, supporting a handle with a digger at the end. The whole mechanism is mounted on a base platform with tracks or wheels. Power shovels are used principally for excavation and removal

Pridoli Series

2005-02-28T02:01:00.000-08:00

Pridoli also spelled Prídolí, also called Pridolian, the uppermost of four main divisions of the Silurian System, representing rocks deposited worldwide during the Pridoli Epoch (414 to 408 million years ago). The series' name is derived from the Prídolí area of the Daleje Valley on the outskirts of Prague in the Czech Republic, where about 20–50 m (65–165 feet) of platy limestone strata rich in cephalopods and bivalves are well

Albuquerque, Afonso De, The Great

2005-02-27T10:39:00.000-08:00

Albuquerque was the second son of the senhor

Cartridge

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

In weaponry, unit of small-arms ammunition, composed of a metal (usually brass) case, a propellant charge, a projectile or bullet, and a primer. The first cartridges, appearing in the second half of the 16th century, consisted merely of charges of powder wrapped in paper; the ball was loaded separately. During the next century, methods of including the ball with the powder were

Nebuchadrezzar Ii

2005-02-26T20:16:00.000-08:00

Nebuchadrezzar II was the oldest son and successor of Nabopolassar, founder of the Chaldean empire. He is known from cuneiform inscriptions, the Bible and later Jewish sources,

Economic Affairs, International.

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

In late 1997 banks and other financial institutions in Southeast and East Asia fell like dominoes--one after another--as currencies and share prices collapsed in many of the much-admired "tiger" economies across the region. Beginning in July with the crash of Thailand's baht, the crisis spread to the Indonesian rupiah, Malaysian ringgit, and Philippine peso, all of which

Culloden, Battle Of

2005-02-25T08:19:00.000-08:00

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

Responsa

2005-02-24T21:39:00.000-08:00

Hebrew She'elot U-teshubot (“questions and answers”), replies made by rabbinic scholars in answer to submitted questions about Jewish law. These replies began to be written in the 6th century after final redaction of the Talmud and are still being formulated. Estimates of the total number of published responsa, which range in length from a few words to lengthy monographs and compendia, vary from

Diez, Friedrich Christian

2005-02-24T18:45:00.000-08:00

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

Leaning Tower Of Pisa

2005-02-24T09:19:00.000-08:00

Italian Torre Pendente di Pisa medieval structure in Pisa, Italy, that is famous for the settling of its foundations, which caused it to lean 5.5 degrees (about 15 feet [4.5 metres]) from the perpendicular by the late 20th century. The bell tower, begun in 1173 as the third and final structure of the city's cathedral complex, was designed to stand 185 feet (56 metres) high and was constructed of white marble. Three of its eight stories

Culver City

2005-02-23T18:22:00.000-08:00

City, Los Angeles county, California, U.S. Part of Rancho La Ballona, it was laid out in 1914 by Harry H. Culver and promoted as a site for motion-picture production, becoming the home of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Hal Roach studios. Television shows were produced at what were the Desilu and before that the RKO studios. Petroleum, aircraft, and electronic industries are the other

Joyeuse Entrée

2005-02-23T10:37:00.000-08:00

Most famous is the charter of liberties, confirmed on Jan. 3, 1356, and called the Joyeuse Entrée, which was presented to the duchy of Brabant (in the Low Countries) by Johanna

Cumberland, William Augustus, Duke Of

2005-02-22T14:28:00.000-08:00

During the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48), he became commander of the allied forces (1745) and was severely defeated by France's Marshal Maurice

Dagobert Ii

2005-02-22T13:17:00.000-08:00

The son of Sigebert III, Dagobert was packed off to an Irish monastery following the death of his father in 656, and the Austrasian throne was taken by Childebert the Adopted, son of Grimoald, the Austrasian mayor of the palace. After the downfall of Grimoald and Childebert,

Cambacérès, Jean-jacques-régis De, Duke (duc) De Parme

2005-02-21T16:10:00.000-08:00

French statesman and legal expert who was second consul with Napoleon Bonaparte and then archchancellor of the empire. As Napoleon's principal adviser on all juridical matters from 1800 to 1814, he was instrumental in formulating the Napoleonic Code, or Civil Code (1804), and subsequent codes. Often consulted on other matters of state, he tried

Moses Lake

2005-02-21T01:40:00.000-08:00

City, Grant county, central Washington, U.S., situated on the northeast shore of Moses Lake. Located on a traditional hunting and fishing ground, the town was settled in 1897 and was laid out in 1910 as Neppel; in 1938 it was renamed for the Columbia-Sinkiuse Indian leader Moses. Located in the Columbia River basin, the city serves as the trade centre of an irrigated farm region producing

Memphis

2005-02-20T15:44:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Manf, Minf, or Manfish,

France, History Of, Regrowth of the French monarchy

2005-02-20T02:19:00.000-08:00

Thus the monarchy recovered much of the authority it had lost during the early stages of the Hundred Years' War. Although its influence in Burgundy and Flanders, now united in a formidable dynastic association, had declined, its definitive recovery of Aquitaine consolidated a direct domain, again extensive enough to free the Valois from anxiety about landed resources.

Sandys, Sir Edwin

2005-02-19T14:16:00.000-08:00

Sandys was the son of Edwin Sandys, bishop of Worcester and later archbishop of

Good Feelings, Era Of

2005-02-18T13:25:00.000-08:00

Also called Era Of Good Feeling, the national mood of the United States from 1815 to 1825, as first described by the Boston Columbian Centinel on July 12, 1817. Although the “era” generally is considered coextensive with President James Monroe's two terms (1817–25), it really began in 1815, when for the first time American citizens could afford to pay less attention to European political and military affairs. The predominant attitude

Ibn Gabirol

2005-02-18T02:54:00.000-08:00

In full Solomon Ben Yehuda Ibn Gabirol, Arabic Abu Ayyub Sulayman Ibn Yahya Ibn Gabirut, Latin Avicebron, or Avencebrol one of the outstanding figures of the Hebrew school of religious and secular poetry during the Jewish Golden Age in Moorish Spain. He was also an important Neoplatonic philosopher.

Animal Behaviour

2005-02-18T00:36:00.000-08:00

A living animal behaves constantly in order to survive, and all animals must solve the same basic problems. They must, for instance, periodically replace their energy source (consume food), avoid dehydration (drink), avoid becoming another animal's energy source (avoid being eaten), maintain their body surfaces (clean and groom), and reproduce.

Anaya, Rudolfo A.

2005-02-17T22:30:00.000-08:00

Anaya graduated from the University of New Mexico (B.A., 1963; M.A., 1968; M.A. 1972). He worked as a public school teacher in Albuquerque (1963–1970) before becoming director of counseling

Novato

2005-02-16T22:53:00.000-08:00

City, Marin county, western California, U.S. It lies along Novato Creek, between San Pablo Bay (east) and Point Reyes National Seashore (west). The original site was partly on the Rancho de Novato, an 1839 Mexican land grant that occupied most of the Canada de Novato (a valley probably named for a Christianized Indian chief). Francis C. DeLong acquired the land and founded the community

Guillemin, Roger Charles Louis

2005-02-16T22:27:00.000-08:00

Guillemin was educated at the universities of Dijon, Lyon, and Montreal. He taught at the Baylor College of Medicine

Malakula

2005-02-16T17:19:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Malekula, French Mallicolo, second largest island (781 square miles [2,023 square km]) of Vanuatu, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Volcanic in origin, it is 55 miles (90 km) long by 23 miles (37 km) wide and lies 20 miles (32 km) south of Espiritu Santo, across the Malo (Bougainville) Strait. Its central mountain range rises to Mount Penot, 2,884 feet (879 m). Harbours on the fertile eastern coast include Port Stanley, Bushman's Bay (former British

Kochian Stage

2005-02-15T22:46:00.000-08:00

Lowermost and oldest major division of the Lower Cretaceous rocks and time in Japan (the Cretaceous Period began about 136,000,000 years ago and lasted about 71,000,000 years). The Kochian Stage precedes the Aritan Stage and is correlated with the lower portions of the Neocomian Stage, the worldwide standard lowermost Cretaceous stage. It is characterized by fossil ammonite

Rea Express, Inc.

2005-02-15T14:37:00.000-08:00

American Railway Express Company was established by the U.S. government in 1918, during World War I, at the same time that the government took over the nation's railroads. The domestic express businesses and property

Aquinas, Thomas, Saint

2005-02-14T16:51:00.000-08:00

Also called Aquinas, Italian San Tommaso d'Aquino, byname Doctor Angelicus (Latin: Angelic Doctor) Italian Dominican theologian, the foremost medieval Scholasticist. He developed his own conclusions from Aristotelian premises, notably in the metaphysics of personality, creation, and Providence.

Guillemin, Roger Charles Louis

2005-02-14T00:17:00.000-08:00

British national governing organization for the sport of track and field (athletics). Founded in 1880, it took over as the governing power from the Amateur Athletic Club, founded in 1866. The association was the first such organization in the world. The AAA was one of the first groups to reject the requirement of upper-class background that had previously been necessary to achieve

Arab Monetary Fund

2005-02-13T11:50:00.000-08:00

Arabic As-sanduq Al-mali Al-'arabi, fund that aims to assist its participants, nearly all of the members of the Arab League, by developing their capital markets, balancing payment difficulties, and helping with foreign-exchange rates. Established in April 1976, the agreement entered into force in February 1977. During its annual meeting, the board of governors of the fund formulates policy aimed at integrating

San-ming

2005-02-13T07:32:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Sanming, city in west-central Fukien sheng (province), China. San-ming lies along the Sha River, a southern tributary of the Min River, the valley of which provides the chief southwest-to-northeast route through central Fukien. Westward and southwestward routes fan out into the mountainous interior of Fukien, and to the south there is a good route via the valley of the Chiu-lung

Norfolk, John Howard, 1st Duke Of, Earl Marshal, Lord Howard

2005-02-13T04:51:00.000-08:00

John Howard was the son of Sir Robert Howard by his wife, Margaret, daughter of Thomas Mowbray, the 1st Duke of Norfolk of that family. In 1455 John Howard was sent to Parliament as member for Norfolk; in 1461 he was knighted; and in 1470, although he appears to have been

Qabbani, Nizar

2005-02-12T15:37:00.000-08:00

Syrian poet and diplomat (b. March 21, 1923, Damascus, Syria--d. April 30, 1998, London, Eng.), was one of the most widely read Arab poets of the 20th century. Written in simple but eloquent language, his verses, some of which were set to music, won him the hearts of countless Arabic speakers throughout the Middle East and Africa. Qabbani, who was born into a middle-class merchant family, was also the

Nahuel Huapí National Park

2005-02-11T23:16:00.000-08:00

Spanish Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapí, national park in Río Negro and Neuquén provinces, southwestern Argentina; it encompasses Lake Nahuel Huapí in the Andes adjacent to the Chilean border. It originated as a reserve in 1903 with a private donation of 18,500 acres (7,500 hectares). It became Argentina's first national park in 1934 and has an area of 2,927 square miles (7,581 square km). The park and adjacent nature reserve include a region

Piura

2005-02-11T05:39:00.000-08:00

Capital of Piura department, northwestern Peru, on the Piura River in the warm coastal desert. San Miguel de Piura was the first city founded (1532) in Peru by the conquistador Francisco Pizarro. The original site proved unhealthful, and several other locations were occupied before the present site was settled in 1588. Piura retains a colonial flavour, especially in the church

Biblical Literature, The Third Letter of John

2005-02-10T15:45:00.000-08:00

III John, addressed to Gaius, shows that the writer is concerned about and has responsibility as presbyter for the missionaries of the church. It is somewhat of a short note concerned with church discipline, encouraging hospitality to true missionaries, and thus not unconnected with true doctrine and the command of love.

Don Quixote

2005-02-10T09:06:00.000-08:00

Spanish in full El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote De La Mancha, novel published in two parts (Part I, 1605; Part II, 1615) by Miguel de Cervantes, one of the most widely read classics of Western literature. Originally conceived as a comic satire against the chivalric romances then in literary vogue, it describes realistically what befalls an elderly knight who, his head bemused by reading romances, sets out on his old horse Rosinante, with his