NarrowSkirt

Tefnakhte

2005-04-03T09:00:00.000-07:00

From his base in the northwest delta, Tefnakhte, a Libyan prince, advanced south in a bid to conquer Upper Egypt. Securing allies along the way, he succeeded

Taraori, Battles Of

2005-04-03T08:17:00.000-07:00

Muhammad had taken Lahore from the last of the

Cheng Ch'eng-kung

2005-04-03T04:45:00.000-07:00

Cheng Ch'eng-kung was born in a small Japanese coastal town to a Japanese mother and a Chinese father, Cheng Chih-lung, a maritime adventurer who made a fortune through trade and piracy in the Taiwan Straits. Cheng

Epistemology

2005-04-02T19:13:00.000-08:00

The study of the nature, origin, and limits of human knowledge. The name is derived from the Greek episteme (“knowledge”) and logos (“reason”), and accordingly the field is sometimes referred to as the theory of knowledge. Epistemology has had a long history, spanning the time from the pre-Socratic Greeks to the present. Along with metaphysics, logic, and ethics, it is one of the four

Oranjemund

2005-04-01T22:39:00.000-08:00

Planned company town in one of the principal gem-diamond producing areas of the world, in extreme southwestern Namibia. It is located near the Atlantic coast about 5 miles (8 km) north of the mouth of the Orange River, in the sand dunes of the extremely arid Namib Desert. Gem-quality diamonds were discovered in the vicinity in the late 1920s, and in 1943 Oranjemund became the headquarters

Argentina, Patagonia

2005-04-01T16:43:00.000-08:00

Most approaches to Patagonia from the sea were hampered by inhospitable coastal cliffs and by high tides. With the Pampas Indians acting as a buffer against Europeans to the north, the Patagonian Indians thus remained unmolested until the mid-19th century, when European settlements encroached and warfare erupted. The Indian wars in northern Patagonia and the southern

Spanish Literature, Early drama

2005-03-30T23:41:00.000-08:00

The origins of drama in Spain are to be sought, as elsewhere, in the church. The Auto de los reyes magos (“Play of the Three Wise Kings”), an incomplete play of an Epiphany cycle, is the only surviving text of medieval Spanish drama. The characterization of the Magi and of Herod and his advisers was realistic, and the medley of metres foreshadowed one aspect of later development

Permafrost, Permafrost thawing and frost heaving

2005-03-30T11:13:00.000-08:00

Because thawing of permafrost and frost action are involved in almost all engineering problems in polar areas, it is advisable to consider these phenomena generally. The delicate thermal equilibrium of permafrost is disrupted when the vegetation, snow cover, or active layer is compacted. The permafrost table is lowered, the active layer is thickened, and considerable

álava

2005-03-30T07:42:00.000-08:00

Provincia, northern Spain. Álava is the southernmost of the three Basque Country provincias of northern Spain and is located mainly on the southern slope of the Pyrenees Range. It is bounded by the Ebro River (southwest) and surrounds the enclaves of Treviño and Orduña belonging to Burgos and Vizcaya provincias, respectively. Álava has an area of 1,176 square miles (3,047 square

Abbey

2005-03-28T15:44:00.000-08:00

Group of buildings housing a monastery or a convent, centred on an abbey church or a cathedral and under the direction of an abbot or an abbess. In this sense, an abbey consists of a complex of buildings serving the needs of a self-contained religious community. The term abbey is also used loosely to refer to priories, smaller monasteries under a prior. In England, since

Adwick Le Street

2005-03-27T23:12:00.000-08:00

Town, Doncaster metropolitan borough, metropolitan county of South Yorkshire, historic county of Yorkshire, England. The town derives its name from the great north British Roman routeway, Ermine Street. The earliest references to the town are found in Domesday Book (1086), and the parish church of St. Lawrence dates from the 12th century. The Washington family—from which George

Baracoa

2005-03-26T23:12:00.000-08:00

In December 1492 Christopher Columbus stopped at what is now

San Blas

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

Traditional region, eastern Panama, stretching about 100 miles (160 km) along the Caribbean Sea from the Colombian border to the Gulf of San Blas. The narrow strip of land includes the San Blas (formerly Mulatas) Archipelago. Agriculture—chiefly coconuts, yams, and plantains—and fishing are the principal economic activities in San Blas. The population consists largely of

Xenophon

2005-03-25T21:54:00.000-08:00

Biographical studies are L.V. Jacks, Xenophon, Soldier of Fortune (1930); E. Delebecque, Essai sur la vie de Xénophon (1957); and H.R. Breitenbach, “Xenophon von Athen,” in Pauly-Wissowa Realencyclopädie, vol. 19, col. 1569–2051 (1967), each with full bibliography. For a picture of Xenophon, see G.M. Richter, The Portraits of the Greeks, vol. 2 (1965).

Stralsund

2005-03-25T13:41:00.000-08:00

Swedish Strålsund, city, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania Land (state), northeastern Germany, Baltic port on the Strelasund (strait) opposite Rügen island, with which it is connected by the Rügendamm, a road and rail embankment. There was a village that specialized in ferrying goods and passengers to Rügen island as early as 1200; it was chartered in 1234. Stralsund joined the Hanseatic League in 1293. During

Epistemology, Commonsense philosophy, logical positivism, and naturalized epistemology

2005-03-24T18:27:00.000-08:00

Three of the most notable achievements of analytic philosophy are commonsense philosophy, logical positivism, and naturalized epistemology. G.E. Moore (1873–1958) made a defense of what he called the commonsense view of the world. According to Moore, virtually everybody knows certain propositions to be true, such as that the Earth exists, that it is very old, and that other persons

Backcross

2005-03-23T11:15:00.000-08:00

The mating of a hybrid organism (offspring of genetically unlike parents) with one of its parents or with an organism genetically similar to the parent. The backcross is useful in genetics studies for isolating (separating out) certain characteristics in a related group of animals or plants. In animal breeding, a backcross is often called a topcross. Grading usually

Madanin

2005-03-23T04:19:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Médenine, town, southern Tunisia. The town lies in the semiarid plain of al-Jifarah (Jeffara). It was the capital of the Ouerghemma League of three Berber groups and was the chief town of the Southern Military Territories during the French Protectorate (1881–1955). The honeycomb-like, aboveground granaries (ghorfas) that belonged to the Ouerghemma are features of the locality. The town is

Furniture, Bed

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

As a furniture form, the bed

Medicine, India

2005-03-21T02:26:00.000-08:00

Ayurvedic medicine is an example of a well-organized system of traditional health care, both preventive and curative, that is widely practiced in parts of Asia. Ayurvedic medicine has a long tradition behind it, having originated in India perhaps as long as 3,000 years ago. It is still a favoured form of health care in large parts of the Eastern world, especially in India, where

Biblical Literature, Pseudepigrapha connected with the Dead Sea Scrolls

2005-03-20T06:42:00.000-08:00

There are three Pseudepigrapha that are closely connected with the writings of the Dead Sea sect: the Book of Jubilees, the Ethiopic Book of Enoch, and the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs. It is not accidental that fragments of the two first books and of two sources of the third were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Andean Peoples

2005-03-19T15:59:00.000-08:00

Studies of the pre-Columbian history and culture of this area may be found in the bibliography of the article pre-Columbian civilizations. The best account of Andean cultures as they appeared to an eyewitness of the early years (16th century) of European rule is Pedro de Cieza de León, The Incas (1959, reissued 1969; originally published in Spanish, 1554). An introduction to Andean archaeology may be found in John Howland Rowe and Dorothy Menzel (eds.), Peruvian Archaeology (1967), with selections mainly by American scholars. The role of irrigation in the cultural and political elaboration of coastal kingdoms is well illustrated in Paul Kosok, Life, Land, and Water in Ancient Peru (1965). Special regional problems are introduced in Louis C. Faron, Mapuche Social Structure (1961), a study of the reintegration of these people of Chile since the time of conquest; L.C. Faron, Hawks of the Sun (1964), on the Southern Andes; Betty J. Meggers, Ecuador (1966); Donald W. Lathrap, The Upper Amazon (1970); Paul T. Baker and Michael A. Little (eds.), Man in the Andes: A Multidisciplinary Study of High-Altitude Quechua (1976); Kevin Kling, Ecuador: Island of the Andes (1988; originally published in French, 1987), focusing on Indian culture and life and illustrated with photographs; and Steve J. Stern, Peru's Indian Peoples and the Challenge of Spanish Conquest: Huamanga to 1640, 2nd ed. (1993).

Wolf, Hugo

2005-03-19T06:27:00.000-08:00

Wolf studied at the Vienna Conservatory (1875–77) but had a moody and irascible temperament and was expelled from the conservatory following his outspoken criticism of his masters. In 1875 he met the composer Richard

Raden

2005-03-18T16:21:00.000-08:00

Japanese decorative technique used for lacquerware and woodenware, in which linings of mother-of-pearl or of abalone shells are cut into designs and either glued onto or inserted into the surface of the lacquer or wood. There are several varieties of raden lacquerware. Atsugai-ho, a technique using thick shell, consists of two methods, one of which is inlay: the shell

Catanzaro

2005-03-18T06:46:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Catanzaro provincia and of Calabria regione, southern Italy, at an elevation of 1,125 feet (343 m) overlooking the Gulf of Squillace, southeast of Cosenza. Founded about the 10th century as Catasarion, a Byzantine town, it was taken in 1059 by the Norman leader Robert Guiscard. Invading peoples from the Saracens to the Swiss, Normans, and Angevins (house of Anjou) recognized

Hindu Calendar

2005-03-17T22:03:00.000-08:00

Dating system used in India from about 1000 BC and still used to establish dates of the Hindu religious year. It is based on a year of 12 lunar months; i.e., 12 full cycles of phases of the Moon. The discrepancy between this year of about 354 days and the solar year of about 365 days is partially resolved by intercalation of an extra month every 30 months.

Ealing Studios

2005-03-17T07:56:00.000-08:00

Also called Associated Talking Pictures, Ltd. English motion-picture studio, internationally remembered for a series of witty comedies that reflected the social conditions of post-World War II Britain. Founded in 1929 by two of England's best known producers, Basil Dean and Reginald Baker, with the financial support of the Courtauld family, manufacturers of textiles, the company opened its own distribution outlet

Ibarbourou, Juana De

2005-03-16T22:32:00.000-08:00

Ibarbourou spent her childhood in a small village surrounded by country things. She was largely self-educated. In 1914 she married and later she bore a son. After a somewhat peripatetic existence, the family

Fibre

2005-03-16T17:19:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Fiber, in textile production, basic unit of raw material having suitable length, pliability, and strength for conversion into yarns and fabrics. A fibre of extreme length is a filament. Fibres can occur naturally or can be produced artificially. See Man-Made Fibres; natural fibre.

Water Scavenger Beetle

2005-03-15T10:43:00.000-08:00

Any of the approximately 2,000 species of the predominately aquatic insect family Hydrophilidae (order Coleoptera). These beetles are found swimming in marshy freshwater ponds throughout the world, especially in warm regions. Water scavenger beetles have smooth, oval, dark-brown or black bodies and short, hairy, clubbed antennae. They range in length from several to

Flora

2005-03-14T23:34:00.000-08:00

In Roman religion, the goddess of the flowering of plants. Titus Tatius (according to tradition, the Sabine king who ruled with Romulus) is said to have introduced her cult to Rome; her temple stood near the Circus Maximus. Her festival, called the Floralia, was instituted in 238 BC. A representation of Flora's head, distinguished only by a floral crown, appeared on coins of the

Kadare, Ismail

2005-03-14T17:09:00.000-08:00

The son of a post-office worker in the town of Gjirokastër, Kadare studied at the University of Tiranë and later at the Gorky Institute of World Literature in Moscow until 1960. Upon returning to Albania, he became a journalist and also embarked on a literary career. He endured

Arrangement

2005-03-14T01:18:00.000-08:00

In music, traditionally, any adaptation of a composition to fit a medium other than that for which it was originally written, while at the same time retaining the general character of the original. The word was frequently used interchangeably with transcription, although the latter carried the connotation of elaboration of the original, as in the virtuosic piano

Ryerson, (adolphus) Egerton

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

After his own local education, Ryerson taught for a time at a nearby school. He took further studies in Hamilton and then entered the ministry as a Methodist circuit-riding preacher and, later,

Vietnam War

2005-03-13T06:29:00.000-08:00

(1954–75), a protracted conflict that pitted the communist government of North Vietnam and its allies in South Vietnam, known as the Viet Cong, against the government of South Vietnam and its principal ally, the United States. Called the “American War” in Vietnam (or, in full, the “War Against the Americans to Save the Nation”), the war was also part of a larger regional conflict (see Indochina

Yacht

2005-03-13T03:06:00.000-08:00

As the Dutch rose to preeminence in sea power during the 17th century, the early yacht became a pleasure craft used first by royalty and later by the burghers on the canals and the protected and unprotected waters of the Low Countries. Racing was incidental, arising as private matches. English yachting began with King Charles II of England during his exile in the Low

Indeterminacy

2005-03-12T11:23:00.000-08:00

In literature, the multiplicity of possible interpretations of given textual elements. The term was given its literary meaning by deconstruction theorists. Indeterminacy is similar to ambiguity as described by the New Critics, but it is applied by its practitioners not only to literature but also to the interpretation of texts.

A-mdo

2005-03-11T07:40:00.000-08:00

Also called Mdo-smad, one of three regions into which the area of central Asia inhabited by Tibetans is traditionally divided. During the 7th to 9th centuries, the central Tibetan kingdom was extended until it reached the Tarim Basin on the north, China on the east, India and Nepal on the south, and Kashmir on the west. The newly added dominions to the east and northeast were called Mdo-Khams.

Cloete, Stuart

2005-03-11T07:03:00.000-08:00

Cloete farmed in South Africa for several years (1926–35) before turning to writing. His first novel, Turning Wheels (1937), expressed a negative view of Boer life and dealt with interracial love affairs. It stimulated

Arya Samaj

2005-03-11T06:25:00.000-08:00

The Arya

Williams, Marion

2005-03-10T11:45:00.000-08:00

U.S. gospel singer (b. Aug. 29, 1927, Miami, Fla.--d. July 2, 1994, Philadelphia, Pa.), drew on blues, jazz, folk, and calypso music as inspirations for her innovative vocals, which included octave-spanning leaps from contralto to spine-tingling falsetto tones; her exceptional artistry was often compared to that of Mahalia Jackson. As a child Williams began singing with the congregation at her

Hypersthene Granite

2005-03-09T23:48:00.000-08:00

Member of the charnockite (q.v.) series of metamorphic rocks.

Mahananda River

2005-03-09T15:51:00.000-08:00

River in northern India and Bangladesh. It rises in the Darjeeling Hills in extreme northern West Bengal state. The river flows south through a rich agricultural area in Bihar state, enters West Bengal state, flows past Ingraj Bazar, and then continues southeastward into Bangladesh to join the Ganges River after a 225-mile (360-kilometre) course. The Mahananda forms in its upper

Shabbetai Tzevi

2005-03-08T07:28:00.000-08:00

As a young man, Shabbetai steeped himself in the influential body of Jewish mystical writings known as the Kabbala. His extended periods of ecstasy and his strong personality combined to attract

Econometrics

2005-03-07T16:37:00.000-08:00

The statistical and mathematical analysis of economic relationships, often serving as a basis for economic forecasting. Such information is sometimes used by governments to set economic policy and by private business to aid decisions on prices, inventory, and production. It is used mainly, however, by economists to study relationships between economic

Bulgaria, Spread of education

2005-03-07T14:14:00.000-08:00

The spread of education was in fact the centrepiece of the Bulgarian national revival. In 1835 Vasil Aprilov founded a Lancasterian school, based on the monitorial system of instruction, in Gabrovo. With the monk Neofit Rilski (Neophyte of Rila) as its teacher, it was the first school to teach in Bulgarian. Its work was facilitated by the appearance of a Bulgarian publishing

Water Strider

2005-03-06T21:15:00.000-08:00

With their short front legs they capture insects that fall onto the water surface. In crowded conditions water striders

External Auditory Canal

2005-03-06T03:53:00.000-08:00

Also called External Auditory Meatus, or External Acoustic Meatus, passageway that leads from the outside of the head to the tympanic membrane, or eardrum membrane, of each ear. The structure of the external auditory canal is the same in all mammals. In appearance it is a slightly curved tube that extends inward from the floor of the auricle, or protruding portion of the outer ear, and ends blindly at the eardrum membrane, which separates

Arab Fund For Economic And Social Development

2005-03-05T22:37:00.000-08:00

By financing development projects, the fund encourages investment of public and private capital in Arab economies. It grants loans on easy terms to

Glinka, Mikhail

2005-03-05T22:18:00.000-08:00

Glinka first became interested in music at age 10 or 11, when he heard his uncle's private orchestra. He studied at the Chief Pedagogic Institute at St. Petersburg

Weber, Carl Maria Von

2005-03-05T04:29:00.000-08:00

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

Bialik, Haim Nahman

2005-03-04T21:41:00.000-08:00

Born into poverty, Bialik was left fatherless when he was five or six years old and was brought up by his rigidly pious, learned

China, The end of the radical period

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

Thus in 1968 the society began to return to business, though not as usual. China's regular schools began to reopen, although the number of students in higher institutions represented only a small percentage of those three years before. In July yet another of Mao's “latest instructions” approved science and engineering education and called for the “return to

Kordofan

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

Kordofan was originally inhabited by brown-skinned Nubian-speaking peoples, and the region's name may be derived from the Nubian word kurta, meaning “men.” The region was perhaps under the control of the Christian Tungur dynasty from

Roving

2005-02-28T20:32:00.000-08:00

In archery, form of practice or competition dating from at least the 16th century, when it was practiced by the Honourable Artillery Company at Finsbury Fields near London. Archers set up many marks on the field and shot from one to the next in sequence, the object being, as in golf, to use the fewest shots in completing the course. Roving is similar to modern field archery,

Jehu

2005-02-28T19:49:00.000-08:00

Hebrew Yehu, king (c. 842–815 BC) of Israel. He was a commander of chariots for the king of Israel, Ahab, and his son Jehoram, on Israel's frontier facing Damascus and Assyria. Ahab, son of King Omri, was eventually killed in a war with Assyria; during Jehoram's rule, Jehu accepted the invitation of the prophet Elisha, Elijah's successor, to lead a coup to overthrow the dynasty of Omri (II Kings 9–10). The prophetic

Spitz, Mark

2005-02-28T19:13:00.000-08:00

Like many other outstanding American swimmers, Spitz trained for several years at the Santa Clara (California) Swim Club. He served as captain of the intercollegiate swimming team at Indiana University, Bloomington (graduated 1972). At the 1968 Olympic

East Hertfordshire

2005-02-27T19:28:00.000-08:00

East Hertfordshire district is largely undulating and rural, characterized by medieval manor houses and thatched cottages. The River Lea, navigable to barge traffic from the London docks to the town of Hertford, drains the

Faience Patriotique

2005-02-27T10:06:00.000-08:00

French 18th-century earthenware, chiefly plates and jugs, decorated with themes drawn from the French Revolution and its ideology or from national political events. The first example of a faience patriotique was a Moustiers dish occasioned by the Battle of Fontenoy in 1745, but it was the Revolution that inspired the greatest production of faience patriotique. A number

Middlesboro

2005-02-27T00:17:00.000-08:00

Officially Middlesborough city, Bell county, southeastern Kentucky, U.S., about 61 miles (98 km) north of Knoxville, Tennessee. It lies in a valley (believed to have been formed by a meteor crater) at the western end of the Cumberland Gap near where the borders of Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia meet. Despite its location on the old Wilderness Road through a natural pass in the mountains, the site was not settled

Eiseley, Loren (corey)

2005-02-25T22:21:00.000-08:00

Eiseley was educated at the University of Nebraska (B.A., 1933) and the University of Pennsylvania (M.A., 1935; Ph.D., 1937) and began his academic career at the University of Kansas (1937–44) and Oberlin College (1944–47). In his long association with the University

Caccini, Giulio

2005-02-25T14:05:00.000-08:00

Also called Giulio Romano singer and composer whose songs greatly helped to establish and disseminate the new monodic music introduced in Italy about 1600. This is music in which an expressive melody is accompanied by evocative chords, as opposed to the traditional polyphonic style with its complex interweaving of several melodic

Cartouche

2005-02-25T08:06:00.000-08:00

In architecture, ornamentation in scroll form, applied especially to elaborate frames around tablets or coats of arms; by extension, the word is applied to any oval shape or even to a decorative shield, whether scrolled or not. The term is also used for an oval frame enclosing the hieroglyphs of the name of an Egyptian sovereign, as well as for the amulet of similar design

Pierre

2005-02-22T06:18:00.000-08:00

Capital of South Dakota, U.S., seat (1880) of Hughes county, on the Missouri River, in the geographic centre of the state. Before 1800 the capital of the Arikara Indian nation was located on its site. Founded in June 1880 as the western terminus of the Chicago and North Western Railway, it was first known as Mahto (Sioux: “Bear”) but was renamed in December 1880 for Pierre Chouteau, a French fur trader.

Aetolia And Acarnania

2005-02-22T02:04:00.000-08:00

Most of Acarnania

Mammal, Locomotion

2005-02-22T00:18:00.000-08:00

Specialization in habitat preference has been accompanied by locomotor adaptations. Terrestrial mammals have a number of modes of progression. The primitive mammalian stock was doubtless ambulatory and plantigrade, walking with the digits, metacarpals, and metatarsals (bones of the midfoot), and parts of the ankle and wrist in contact with the ground. The limbs

Peter The Apostle, Saint

2005-02-21T07:13:00.000-08:00

Original name Simeon, or Simon disciple of Jesus Christ, recognized in the early Christian church as the leader of the disciples and by the Roman Catholic church as the first of its unbroken succession of popes. Peter, a fisherman, was called to be a disciple of Jesus at the beginning of his ministry. He received from Jesus the name Cephas (i.e., Rock, hence Peter, from the Latin petra).

Ahmad Sirhindi, Shaykh

2005-02-20T22:05:00.000-08:00

Shaykh Ahmad, who through his paternal line traced his descent from the caliph 'Umar I (the second

Leaf Beetle

2005-02-20T03:27:00.000-08:00

Any member of the 25,000 species of leaf-feeding insects of the family Chrysomelidae (order Coleoptera). Leaf beetles occur throughout the world but are concentrated in the tropics. They are oval and short-legged and tend to be less than 12 mm (0.5 inch) long; the antennae are about half the body length. Many are important pests. The family is divided into numerous subfamilies.

Insurance, Reinsurance

2005-02-18T21:39:00.000-08:00

Two main types of treaties exist—pro rata and excess-of-loss

Arabia, History Of, Yemen

2005-02-18T16:53:00.000-08:00

Imam Yahya had to virtually conquer Yemen, in the Zaydi interest, after the Ottoman departure; by stern measures he established security. He refused to recognize the British-backed border between the Aden protectorates and Yemen. The British in the later 1930s pacified and, to a limited degree, developed their protectorates.

Gnetales

2005-02-17T11:55:00.000-08:00

Only order of plants in the subdivision Gnetopsida, a group with characteristics of both angiosperms and gymnosperms. The order contains three families: Ephedraceae, Gnetaceae, and Welwitschiaceae, each with a single genus. See also Ephedra; Gnetaceae; Welwitschiaceae.

Kyongsang-nam

2005-02-16T13:19:00.000-08:00

Do (province), southeastern South Korea. It is bordered east by the Sea of Japan, south by the Korea Strait, west by Cholla-nam and Cholla-puk do, and north by Kyongsang-puk do. Pusan, capital of the province, was separated administratively in 1963, when it was elevated to the status of a special city. The Naktong River and its tributaries irrigate most of the province. The Kimhae delta

Ob, Gulf Of

2005-02-16T04:15:00.000-08:00

Russian Obskaya Guba, large inlet of the Kara Sea indenting northwestern Siberia, between the peninsulas of Yamal and Gyda, in north-central Russia. The gulf forms the outlet for the Ob River, the delta of which is choked by a huge sandbar. The gulf is about 500 miles (800 km) in length and has a breadth varying between 20 and 60 miles (32 and 97 km). The depth of the sea at this point is 33–40 feet (10–12 m). Its eastern coastline is

Port Harcourt

2005-02-15T17:56:00.000-08:00

Port town and capital of Rivers state, southern Nigeria. It lies along the Bonny River (an eastern distributary of the Niger River) 41 miles (66 km) upstream from the Gulf of Guinea. Founded in 1912 in an area traditionally inhabited by the Ijo people, it began to serve as a port (named for Lewis Harcourt, then colonial secretary) after the opening of the rail link to the Enugu coalfields

Jackson, Charles Thomas

2005-02-15T08:40:00.000-08:00

Jackson received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1829. He continued his medical studies at the University of Paris, also attending lectures on geology at the Royal School of Mines. He returned to Boston in 1832 and started a private medical practice but abandoned

Francis (i)

2005-02-14T05:05:00.000-08:00

He was appointed head of government in 1564 while his father, Cosimo I, was still alive; and he succeeded his father as grand duke in 1574. The title was not precisely legitimate since it had been bestowed by the

Spa

2005-02-13T17:30:00.000-08:00

The practice of “taking the waters” for therapeutic purposes reached its heyday in the 19th century, but springs have been considered places of healing at many

Earth Sciences, The origin of the Nile

2005-02-13T13:58:00.000-08:00

Speculations on the strange behaviour of the Nile were many, varied, and mostly wrong. Thales suggested that the strong

Metallic Wood-boring Beetle

2005-02-13T05:30:00.000-08:00

Also called Jewel Beetle, any member of the family Buprestidae (order Coleoptera), among the most brilliantly coloured insects. Most of the approximately 15,000 species are widely distributed in tropical regions. These beetles are long, narrow, and flat, with a tapering abdomen. The wing covers (elytra) of some species are metallic blue, copper green, or black in colour and are sometimes used in jewelry.

'akko

2005-02-11T23:21:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Acre , or 'Akka city, northwest Israel. It lies along the Mediterranean Sea, at the north end of the Bay of Haifa (formerly Bay of Acre). Its natural harbour was a frequent target for Palestine's many invaders over the centuries. The earliest mention of 'Akko is in an Egyptian text dating from the 19th century BC. The Bible (Judges 1) states that the city did not fall to the Jews under Joshua and his

Chelan, Lake

2005-02-11T19:09:00.000-08:00

Lake, north-central Washington, U.S., extending 55 miles (88 km) through a glacier-carved valley on the eastern edge of the Cascade Range. Lying just outside North Cascades National Park near the confluence of the Methow and Columbia rivers, Lake Chelan is—at a depth of 1,486 feet (453 metres)—the third-deepest lake in the United States. The southeastern end of the lake, where the small towns

F-4

2005-02-11T07:52:00.000-08:00

Also called Phantom Ii, two-seat, twin-engine jet fighter built by the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation (later the McDonnell-Douglas Corporation) for the United States and many other countries. The first F-4 was delivered to the U.S. Navy in 1960 and to the Air Force in 1963. By the time it went out of production in 1979, more that 5,000 Phantoms had been built, and it had become one of the most successful fighter aircraft

Robert, Shaaban

2005-02-09T17:24:00.000-08:00

Popular Swahili writer, Robert was the product of two cultures—his father was a Christian, but Shaaban returned to Islam. His work ranges from poetry to essay and didactic tale, influenced in style by the Oriental tradition. Many poems follow the form of utendi verse (used for narration and didactic themes),

Siddons, Sarah

2005-02-09T07:05:00.000-08:00

She was the eldest of 12 children of Roger and Sarah Kemble, who led a troupe of traveling actors (and were progenitors of a noted family of actors to a third generation, including a famous granddaughter, Fanny Kemble). Through the special care of her mother in sending

Clare, Ada

2005-02-08T14:59:00.000-08:00

Jane McElhenney was of a prosperous and well-connected family. From about age 11 she grew up under the care of her maternal grandfather. About 1854 she struck out on her own. In New York City she began contributing love poems and sketches

Akwa Ibom

2005-02-07T19:06:00.000-08:00

The state's population consists

Bearing

2005-02-06T21:13:00.000-08:00

Most bearings support rotating shafts against either transverse (radial) or thrust (axial) loads. To minimize friction, the

Mutanabbi, Al-

2005-02-06T14:54:00.000-08:00

Al-Mutanabbi was the son of a water carrier who claimed noble and ancient southern Arabian descent. Owing

Molière

2005-02-05T18:45:00.000-08:00

Although the sacred and secular authorities of 17th-century France often combined against him, the genius of Molière finally emerged to win him acclaim. Comedy had a long history before Molière, who employed most of its traditional forms, but he succeeded in inventing

Hydrosphere, Groundwaters and river runoff

2005-02-05T13:25:00.000-08:00

This section focuses on term R in equation (9) representing groundwater and river runoff losses from the soil-moisture zone. Water percolates from the soil-moisture zone through the unsaturated (vadose) zone to the water table. Flow through the unsaturated zone is complicated. After a rainfall, water may form nearly a continuous phase in pores in this zone, but with drying

Lanai

2005-02-05T00:03:00.000-08:00

Island, Maui county, Hawaii, U.S., across the Auau channel from Maui Island. Formed by the extinct volcano Palawai (3,370 feet [1,027 m]), it has an area of 140 square miles (363 square km). In 1854 a group of Mormon elders formed a colony there that failed 10 years later. Lanai was used primarily for cattle grazing until 1922, when it was purchased by the Dole Corporation for use as a pineapple plantation. In 1961, Castle

Faraday Effect

2005-02-03T18:25:00.000-08:00

In physics, the rotation of the plane of polarization (plane of vibration) of a light beam by a magnetic field. Michael Faraday, an English scientist, first observed the effect in 1845 when studying the influence of a magnetic field on plane-polarized light waves. (Light waves vibrate in two planes at right angles to one another, and passing ordinary light through certain

John I

2005-02-02T08:46:00.000-08:00

King of Aragon (1387–1395), son of Peter IV. Influenced by his wife, Violante, he pursued a pro-French policy but refused to become involved in the Hundred Years' War. He died by a fall from his horse, like his namesake, cousin, and contemporary of Castile, John I. He was a man of insignificant character, with a taste for artificial verse.

Gabon, Flag Of

2005-02-02T02:16:00.000-08:00

The French did not allow the development of national flags in their colonies, fearing the flags might become symbols around which separatists could rally. Therefore there were few such traditions in French Africa when autonomous governments were established in 1958 (the year of the new constitution of France). Whereas some countries did not adopt flags for more than

Varthema, Lodovico De

2005-02-01T06:34:00.000-08:00

De Varthema also spelled Di Barthema, Latin Vartomanus, or Vertomannus, intrepid Italian traveler and adventurer whose account of his Middle Eastern and Asiatic wanderings was widely circulated throughout Europe and earned him high fame in his own lifetime. He made significant discoveries (especially in Arabia) and made many valuable observations of the peoples he visited; his ready wit enabled

Bradford, William

2005-01-31T21:36:00.000-08:00

Bradford learned the printer's trade in London and then immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1682. Settling in Philadelphia, he opened

Arts, Southeast Asian, Dvaravati Mon kingdom: 6th to 11th century

2005-01-31T02:19:00.000-08:00

Archaeology has recovered in central Thailand substantial glimpses of the magnificent early layer of Indianized culture, which includes a religious art that was produced between the 6th and 11th centuries by the eastern Mon kingdom of Dvaravati. The art was created predominantly to serve Theravada Buddhism. Remains of Dvaravati architecture so far excavated

Mckinley, John

2005-01-30T11:23:00.000-08:00

After practicing law briefly in Kentucky, where he grew up, McKinley settled in Huntsville, Alabama, then a centre of planting and political interests, in 1818. In 1820 he was elected to the Alabama state legislature and two years later, despite the support

Shadwell, Thomas

2005-01-30T05:14:00.000-08:00

Educated at Cambridge and at the Middle Temple, London, after the Restoration (1660) Shadwell became one of the court wits and an acquaintance of Sir Robert Howard and his brother, Edward, both of whom he satirized in The Sullen