IllAngle

Ren Essential Moroccan Rose Oil

2006-12-07T13:15:00.000-08:00

This is one of the most amazing natural bath oils I have used. It is a rich, sensuous and luxurious. Only a small amount of the Moroccan Otto Rose Oil in the bath will fill the room with this incredible smell. This rose oil really penetrates the skin during the bath leaving it soft as silk and with the beatiful scent of the rose oil

Petróleos De Venezuela, Sa

2005-04-03T20:42:00.000-07:00

By 1971 Venezuela had begun to take steps to curb the influence of the foreign concessionaires who, since their arrival after World War I, had been exploiting the nation's oil

Zamoyski Family

2005-04-03T16:38:00.000-07:00

The family settled in the 15th century at Laznin in the Mazovia area of Poland. Tomasz Lazninski bought an estate there called Zamosc, and his sons Florian (died 1510) and Maciej began to use the name Zamoyski. Florian's grandson Stanislaw was the first member of the family to serve as a

Melfi

2005-04-02T10:33:00.000-08:00

Town and episcopal see, Potenza provincia, Basilicata regione, southern Italy, at the foot of the volcanic mass of Monte Vulture, at an elevation of 1,742 feet (531 m), north of Potenza. Of Roman origin, the town was taken from the Byzantines by the Normans, who, for a period, made it their capital. It was a favourite residence of the Holy Roman emperor Frederick II, who there assembled

Nagai Kafu

2005-04-01T10:36:00.000-08:00

Rebellious as a youth, Kafu failed to finish his university studies and was sent abroad from 1903 to 1908. Before he left, he had produced three novels, which were influenced by French naturalism. After he returned to Japan he continued to be a student and translator

Tobruk

2005-03-31T05:35:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Tubruq port, northeastern Libya. It was the site of Antipyrgos, an ancient Greek agricultural colony, and thereafter of a Roman fortress guarding the Cyrenaican frontier. The town later became a way station on the coastal caravan route. Because it is Libya's only natural harbour, Tobruk was occupied by the Italians as early as 1911 and was subsequently used as a naval and air base

Disney Company

2005-03-30T21:25:00.000-08:00

Walt Disney began his career in animation with the Kansas City Film Ad Company in Missouri in 1920. In 1922 Disney and his friend Ub Iwerks, a gifted animator, founded the Laugh-O-gram Films studio in Kansas City and began producing a series of cartoons based on fables and fairy tales.

Min Mountains

2005-03-30T06:50:00.000-08:00

Wade–Giles romanization and Pinyin Min Shan, range in southwestern Kansu and northwest Szechwan sheng (provinces), China. The Min Mountains are a branch of the Kunlun Mountains and have a roughly northwest to southeast axis. The range is made up of extremely rugged limestone, with an average elevation of 8,200 feet (2,500 m) above sea level; individual peaks reach much higher elevations. In the western section of the range,

V-2 Missile

2005-03-29T20:30:00.000-08:00

Developed in Germany from 1936 through the efforts of scientists led by Wernher von Braun, it was first successfully launched on October 3, 1942, and was fired against Paris on September 6, 1944. Two days later the first of more than 1,100 V-2s was fired against Great Britain (the last on March

Jeakins, Dorothy

2005-03-29T03:51:00.000-08:00

U.S. Academy Award-winning costume designer whose striking creations for Joan of Arc, Samson and Delilah, and Night of the Iguana merited her three Oscars (b. Jan. 11, 1914--d. Nov. 21, 1995).

Karadjordje

2005-03-28T20:02:00.000-08:00

The son of a peasant, Karadjordje (“Black George”), so named because of his dark complexion and penetrating eyes, in his youth herded swine and goats.

Antarctica, Sea life

2005-03-26T19:06:00.000-08:00

The prolific zooplankton of Antarctic waters feed on the copious phytoplankton and, in turn, form the basic diet of whales, seals, fish, squid, and seabirds. The Antarctic waters, because of their upwelled nutrients, are more than seven times as productive as subantarctic waters. The most important organism in the higher food chain is the small, shrimplike krill, Euphausia

Chaga

2005-03-26T09:35:00.000-08:00

Their methods of cultivation support a very dense population. They practice an intensive irrigated agriculture on terraced fields, keeping them under permanent cultivation through

Integral Equation

2005-03-26T07:35:00.000-08:00

Islam, The teachings of Ibn al-'Arabi

2005-03-25T19:18:00.000-08:00

The account of the doctrines of Ibn al-'Arabi (12th–13th centuries) belongs properly to the history of Islamic mysticism. Yet his impact on the subsequent development of the new wisdom was in many ways far greater than was that of as-Suhrawardi. This is true especially of his central doctrine of the “unity of being” and his sharp distinction between the absolute One, which is undefinable

Pachisi

2005-03-25T06:33:00.000-08:00

Also called Ludo, or Parcheesi, board game, sometimes called the national game of India. Four players in opposing partnerships of two attempt to move pieces around a cross-shaped track. Moves are determined by throws of cowrie shells or dice. Each player has four pieces, which begin at the centre space, move down the middle track nearest the player, and counterclockwise around the outer track of the

Kitakami-sammyaku

2005-03-25T01:49:00.000-08:00

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

Koforidua

2005-03-23T03:55:00.000-08:00

Town, southeastern Ghana. It lies in the Densu River basin, near the southeastern base of the Kwahu Plateau. Koforidua is one of the country's oldest cocoa-producing centres. With the completion in 1923 of the Accra-Kumasi railway, it became an important road and rail junction. As cocoa production has moved westward to areas of virgin soil, Koforidua has become increasingly

Fish Oil

2005-03-22T23:55:00.000-08:00

Fatty oil from the bodies of fishes, used in the manufacture of many products, such as margarine, cooking oil, cosmetics, caulking compounds, paints, industrial coatings, lubricants, water repellents, soaps, and candles. It is also used in the tanning of leather, the manufacture of rubber, and the production of chemicals used for making synthetic wax. Anchovy, menhaden,

Torchon Lace

2005-03-22T21:23:00.000-08:00

Coarse bobbin-made lace (see bobbin lace) made by peasants in most European countries in which simple geometric patterns are carried out. With other simple kinds of lace it was the mainstay of the lace makers of the Austrian Tirol. It is the type of lace on which apprentices generally begin learning the craft.

Interior Design, Modes of composition

2005-03-21T18:39:00.000-08:00

It must be emphasized that there are many different moods, or modes of composition, that are possible in interior design. The recognition of this fact makes it difficult to apply valid critical criteria to these modes, since many of them are intensely personal. What may appear to be picturesque to one person might be ugly or cluttered to another. Each person brings

Hyades

2005-03-21T15:03:00.000-08:00

Cluster of several hundred stars in the zodiacal constellation Taurus. As seen from Earth, the bright star Aldebaran appears to be a member of the cluster, but in fact Aldebaran is much closer to the Earth than the Hyades' distance of about 130 light-years. Five genuine members of the group are visible to the unaided eye. Their name (Greek: “the rainy ones”) is derived from the

Costa Brava

2005-03-21T13:25:00.000-08:00

Coastal region of the comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of Catalonia, northeastern Spain, extending for about 75 miles (120 km) along the Mediterranean Sea from the French border at Port-Bou to the Spanish bathing resort of Blanes, thus coinciding with the coast of Gerona province. This part of the Spanish coast was almost unknown to tourists until the 1920s, when the

Radical

2005-03-19T11:12:00.000-08:00

In politics, one who desires extreme change of part or all of the social order. The word was first used in a political sense in England, and its introduction is generally ascribed to Charles James Fox, who in 1797 declared for a “radical reform” consisting of a drastic expansion of the franchise to the point of universal manhood suffrage. The term radical thereafter began

Cattaraugus

2005-03-18T21:20:00.000-08:00

County, southwestern New York state, U.S., consisting of a ruggedly hilly region bounded by Cattaraugus Creek to the north and Pennsylvania to the south. It is drained by the Allegheny River and Ischua and Great Valley creeks. Surrounding Allegheny Reservoir are Allegany Indian Reservation and Allegany State Park, both of which are the largest of their kind in the

La Crosse

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

City, seat (1851) of La Crosse county, western Wisconsin, U.S. It lies along the Mississippi River at the influx of the Black and La Crosse rivers, 129 miles (208 km) northwest of Madison. The settlement developed around a trading post (1841) on a site that French explorers named Prairie la Crosse, after the game of lacrosse played by the Indians there. A natural river port, it became an important

Gumma

2005-03-16T18:17:00.000-08:00

Soft, granulomatous, tumourlike mass, sometimes appearing during the late stages of syphilis, that occurs most often beneath the skin and mucous membranes but that may also be found in the bones, nervous system, and other organs and tissues. See also syphilis.

O'casey, Sean

2005-03-16T17:13:00.000-08:00

O'Casey was born into a lower middle-class Irish Protestant family. His father died when John was six, and thereafter the family became progressively poorer.

Ghadamis

2005-03-16T06:25:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ghudamis, Ghadames, or Gadames, oasis, northwestern Libya, near the Tunisian and Algerian borders. It lies at the bottom of a wadi (seasonal river) bordered by the steep slopes of the stony al-Hamra' Plateau. Located at the junction of ancient Saharan caravan routes, the town was the Roman stronghold Cydamus (whose ruins remain). It was an episcopal see under the Byzantines, and columns of the Christian church

San Gabriel

2005-03-16T03:28:00.000-08:00

City, Los Angeles county, southern California, U.S. It lies in the San Gabriel Valley, east of downtown Los Angeles. Mission San Gabriel Arcangel, founded in 1771 by Father Junípero Serra and the fourth in the California chain of 21 missions, was moved 4.5 miles (7 km) to its present site in 1775. The fortresslike mission church resembling the Córdoba Mosque (Spain) formed the nucleus of a mixed-farming

Belawan

2005-03-15T17:32:00.000-08:00

Also called Belewan Deli the most important port in northeastern Sumatra, Indonesia, located on Belawan Island at the estuary of the Deli and Belawan rivers in Sumatera Utara provinsi (“province”). The port was originally dredged and constructed by the Dutch in the first two decades of the 20th century. It exports tobacco, rubber, tea, resin, copra, spices, palm oil, and sisal, and it imports foodstuffs

Zafar

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

Biblical Sephar , classical Sapphar , or Saphar ancient Arabian site located southwest of Yarim in southern Yemen. It was the capital of the Himyarites, a tribe that ruled much of southern Arabia from about 115 BC to about AD 525. Up until the Persian conquest (c. AD 575), Zafar was one of the most important and celebrated towns in southern Arabia—a fact attested to not only by Arab geographers and historians but also by Greek and Roman authors.

Arensky, Anton

2005-03-14T13:10:00.000-08:00

Although he was a composition student under Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov, Arensky's work was more akin to that of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky; the predominant moods of his music are lyrical and elegiac. Of his three

Caldas Da Rainha

2005-03-14T04:27:00.000-08:00

Town, Leiria district, west-central Portugal, north of Lisbon. Its name, meaning “the queen's hot springs,” recalls Queen Leonor, who founded a hospital there in 1485. By the end of the 19th century the town had become a popular spa. A tourist centre, Caldas da Rainha is also known for its glazed ceramic pottery. The church of Nossa Senhora do Pópulo, in early 16th-century Manueline style,

Cartilage

2005-03-13T00:42:00.000-08:00

Dense connective tissue forming the skeleton of mammalian embryos before bone formation begins and persisting in parts of the human skeleton into adulthood. Cartilage is the only component of the skeletons of certain primitive vertebrates, including lampreys and sharks. It is composed of a dense network of collagen fibres embedded in a firm, gelatinous ground

Team Roping

2005-03-12T18:29:00.000-08:00

Rodeo event in which two mounted cowboys attempt to rope and immobilize a full-grown steer. The event is timed, and the team with the lowest time wins. The team is allowed three throws. The first roper, called the header, must rope the steer about the head, and his partner, called the heeler, must rope both of the animal's hindfeet, bringing the steer to a halt without throwing

China, Consequences of the Cultural Revolution

2005-03-12T06:55:00.000-08:00

Although the Cultural Revolution largely bypassed the vast majority of the people, who lived in the rural areas, it had very serious consequences for the Chinese system as a whole. In the short run, of course, the political instability and zigzags in economic policy produced slower economic growth and a decline in the capacity of the government to deliver goods and

Tiger-flower

2005-03-12T01:18:00.000-08:00

The flowers, in a range of colours including orange-red, have three lower floral parts alternating with three much smaller petals, all with a spotted cup at the centre.

International Law, Antarctica

2005-03-11T05:38:00.000-08:00

The Antarctic Treaty (1959) prevents militarization of the Antarctic continent and suspends territorial claims by states for the life of the treaty. Because it provides no mechanism for its termination, however, a continuing and open-ended regime has been created. There also are various agreements that protect Antarctica's environment.

Celestine Ii

2005-03-11T00:18:00.000-08:00

A scholar of noble birth, he studied under Peter Abélard, with whom he remained on friendly terms even after Abélard's condemnation at the Council of Sens (1140). He was made cardinal deacon in 1127 by Pope Honorius II and cardinal priest (c. 1134) by Pope Innocent II, whom he was elected to succeed on Sept. 26, 1143. As pope (consecrated

Triton

2005-03-10T08:41:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, a merman, demigod of the sea; he was the son of the sea god, Poseidon, and his wife, Amphitrite. According to the Greek poet Hesiod, Triton dwelt with his parents in a golden palace in the depths of the sea. Sometimes he was not particularized but was one of many Tritons. He was represented as human down to his waist, with the tail of a fish. Triton's special attribute

Maun

2005-03-10T05:31:00.000-08:00

Village, northwestern Botswana. It lies at the southern edge of the Okavango Swamp, northeast of Lake Ngami. The traditional capital of the Tswana people, Maun is the centre of the safari and game industry for the Okavango River delta and the Moremi Game Reserve. Pop. (1991) 26,768.

Seven Oaks Massacre

2005-03-09T17:36:00.000-08:00

On June 19, 1816, a party of about 60 Métis (persons of mixed European and Indian blood) under Cuthbert Grant, a North West Company employee, set out to run provisions for North West Company canoes past the Red River colony; they plundered some

Anti-semitism

2005-03-09T02:20:00.000-08:00

Hostility toward or discrimination against Jews as a religious or racial group. The term anti-Semitism was coined in 1879 by the German agitator Wilhelm Marr to designate the anti-Jewish campaigns underway in central Europe at that time. Although this term now has wide currency, it is a misnomer, since it implies a discrimination against all Semites. Arabs and other peoples

Argali

2005-03-08T15:52:00.000-08:00

(Ovis ammon), the largest living wild sheep, found in the highlands of eastern Central Asia. It may stand 1.3 m (4 feet) high at the shoulders and weigh more than 140 kg (300 pounds). Large horns, present in the rams, are especially massive in the Pamir argali, or Marco Polo sheep, in which they may be 1.8 m (6 feet) or more in length.

Abu Al-hasan 'ali

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

In 1331 Abu al-Hasan succeeded his father, Abu Sa'id, to the throne. With the goals of expelling the Christians from Spain and uniting all the Islamic lands of North Africa, Abu al-Hasan attacked and captured Algeciras and Gibraltar

Calais And Zetes

2005-03-07T08:09:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, the winged twin sons of Boreas and Oreithyia. On their arrival with the Argonauts at Salmydessus in Thrace, they liberated their sister Cleopatra, who had been thrown into prison by her husband, Phineus, the king of the country. According to another story, they delivered Phineus from the Harpies. They were slain by Heracles near the island of Tenos,

Biblical Literature, The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians

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

The authenticity of Ephesians as a genuinely Pauline epistle has been doubted since the time of the Dutch Humanist Erasmus in the 16th century. It is most reasonable to consider it as “deutero-Pauline”—i.e., in the tradition of Paul but not written by him. The problem of Ephesians cannot be solved apart from that of Colossians, because many similarities are noted in the style

Amin, Hafizullah

2005-03-06T22:05:00.000-08:00

Amin was born into a Ghilzay Pashtun family. After graduating from Kabul University, he traveled to the United States for graduate study at Columbia University in New York. Upon returning to Afghanistan, he became a teacher and later the principal

Aerospace Industry, Spacecraft, launch vehicle, and missile development

2005-03-06T07:12:00.000-08:00

The research effort that goes into the development of missiles, launch vehicles, and spacecraft parallels that of the airplane in the design and ground-test stages but differs for the flight-test stage. For major launch vehicles and strategic missiles, the absence of a pilot on board, the great expense of a single launch, and the inability to recover and reuse the test

Sienkiewicz, Henryk

2005-03-05T21:32:00.000-08:00

Sienkiewicz's family owned a small estate but lost everything and moved to Warsaw, where Sienkiewicz studied literature, history, and philology at Warsaw University. He left the university in 1871 without taking a degree. He had begun to publish critical

Váh River

2005-03-05T02:42:00.000-08:00

Tributary of the Danube River in Slovakia. Rising in the Tatra Mountains as the Biely Váh (in the High Tatras) and Cierny Váh (in the Low Tatras), the river describes a long arc to the west and south. It joins the Little Danube to become the Váh Danube (Vázský Dunaj), which forms the eastern limit of Great Rye Island, and after several miles enters the Danube River at Komárno, in extreme

Joyce, William

2005-03-04T03:59:00.000-08:00

Though his father was a naturalized U.S. citizen, Joyce lived most of his life in Ireland and England. He was active in Sir Oswald Mosley's British fascist organization and was also a cofounder

Little Theatre

2005-03-04T01:18:00.000-08:00

Movement in U.S. theatre to free dramatic forms and methods of production from the limitations of the large commercial theatres by establishing small experimental centres of drama. The movement was initiated at the beginning of the 20th century by young dramatists, stage designers, and actors who were influenced by the vital European theatre of the late 19th century;

Cellular Respiration

2005-03-03T19:29:00.000-08:00

One objective of the degradation of foodstuffs is to

Helder, Den

2005-03-03T00:34:00.000-08:00

Gemeente (municipality) and port, Noord-Holland provincie, northwestern Netherlands, at the northern end of the North Holland Canal, opposite Texel Island on the Marsdiep, a channel linking the North Sea and Waddenzee. Offshore, in 1673, a Dutch fleet under Adm. Michiel A. de Ruyter and Cornelis Tromp defeated an Anglo-French fleet. In 1794 a French cavalry troop captured a Dutch

Argolís

2005-03-02T18:48:00.000-08:00

Nomós (department), northeastern Peloponnese, southern Greece. It is a narrow, mountainous peninsula projecting eastward into the Aegean Sea between the Saronic Gulf, (to the northeast) and the Gulf of Argolis (to the southwest). Bordered on the north by Kórinthos (Corinth) and on the west by the mountains of Arcadia, it has been inhabited since Neolithic times. A limestone

Biblical Literature, The Letter of Paul to the Romans

2005-03-02T06:28:00.000-08:00

Romans differs from all the other Pauline letters in that it was written to a congregation over which Paul did not claim apostolic authority. He stressed that he was merely going to Rome in transit, because it was his principle not to evangelize where others had worked. Because his apostolic ministry appeared to be completed in Asia Minor and Greece, Paul planned

Arrowhead

2005-03-01T15:56:00.000-08:00

Any freshwater plant of the genus Sagittaria, consisting of about 20 species distributed worldwide, having leaves resembling arrowpoints. Arrowhead is a perennial herb with fleshy, or tuberous, roots that grows in shallow lakes, ponds, and streams. The flowers have three rounded petals. The tubers of some North American species were eaten by Indians and

Anteater

2005-03-01T11:54:00.000-08:00

The giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), sometimes called the ant bear, is the largest member of the anteater family and is best known from the tropical grasslands (Llanos) of Venezuela, where it is still common. It was once found in the lowland forests of Central America and still occurs in the Amazon Basin southward to the grasslands of Paraguay and Argentina.

Karakum Desert, Climate

2005-03-01T08:43:00.000-08:00

The climate of the Turkmen Karakum is continental, with long, hot, dry summers and unpredictable but relatively warm winters. The average temperature in July in the north and along the shore of the Caspian Sea ranges from 79 to 82 °F (26 to 28 °C), and in the central part of the Central Karakum from 86 to 93 °F (30 to 34 °C). In January, average temperatures are 25 °F (-4 °C) in the north and 39 °F (4 °C) in the south, but temperatures

Huygens, Constantijn

2005-02-28T13:02:00.000-08:00

His diplomatic service took him several times to England, where he met and was greatly influenced by John Donne and Francis Bacon. He translated 19 of Donne's poems and

Aaron

2005-02-27T18:44:00.000-08:00

The traditional founder and head of the Jewish priesthood, who, with his brother Moses, led the Israelites out of Egypt. The figure of Aaron as it is now found in the Pentateuch is built up from several sources of traditions. In the Talmud and Midrash he is seen as the leading personality at the side of Moses. He has appeared in different roles in Christian

Barante, Amable-guillaume-prosper Brugière, Baron De

2005-02-27T05:22:00.000-08:00

Educated at the École Polytechnique

Cadalso Y Vázquez, José De

2005-02-27T00:11:00.000-08:00

Cadalso also spelled Cadahlso Spanish writer famous for his Cartas marruecas (1793; “Moroccan Letters”), in which a Moorish traveler in Spain makes penetrating criticisms of Spanish life. Educated in Madrid, Cadalso traveled widely and, although he hated war, enlisted in the army against the Portuguese during the Seven Years' War. His prose satire Los eruditos a la

Tibet, Food and drink

2005-02-26T15:24:00.000-08:00

The staple Tibetan food is barley flour (rtsam-pa), which is consumed daily. Other major foods include wheat flour, yak meat, mutton, and pork. Dairy products such as butter, milk, and cheese are also popular. The people in the higher altitudes generally consume more meat than those of the lower regions, where a variety of vegetables is available. Rice is generally restricted

Wang Ch'ung

2005-02-25T15:00:00.000-08:00

A rationalistic naturalist during an age of superstition, Wang dared attack the belief in omens and portents that had begun to creep into the Confucian doctrines. He helped pave the way for the critical spirit of the next philosophical period and prepared China for

Johannsen, Wilhelm Ludvig

2005-02-25T06:25:00.000-08:00

Danish botanist and geneticist whose experiments in plant heredity offered strong support to the mutation theory of the Dutch botanist Hugo de Vries (that changes in heredity come about through sudden, discrete changes of the heredity units in germ cells). Many geneticists thought Johannsen's ideas dealt a severe blow to Charles

Numbat

2005-02-24T15:46:00.000-08:00

Also called Banded Anteater (Myrmecobius fasciatus), marsupial mammal of the family Dasyuridae (some authorities classify it as a family in its own right, Myrmecobiidae). It forages by day for termites in forests of southwestern Australia. Formerly widespread across southern Australia, the numbat is now restricted to the southwestern corner of the country and is regarded as an endangered

Ibn 'aqil

2005-02-24T01:48:00.000-08:00

In 1055–66 Ibn 'Aqil received instruction in Islamic law according to the tenets of the

Water Mass

2005-02-23T11:33:00.000-08:00

Body of ocean water with a distinctive narrow range of temperature and salinity and a particular density resulting from these two parameters. Water masses are formed as the result of climatic effects in specific regions. Antarctic bottom water is an important water mass that forms on the Antarctic continental shelf as a cold, dense residual brine during the formation

Hydrosphere, Distribution of precipitation

2005-02-23T10:20:00.000-08:00

Precipitation falling toward the Earth's surface may suffer several fates. It may be evaporated during its fall or after it reaches the ground surface. If the surface is covered with dense vegetation, much of the precipitation may be held on leaves and plant limbs and stems. This process is termed interception and may result in little water reaching the ground because

Apuleius, Lucius

2005-02-23T01:52:00.000-08:00

Apuleius, who was educated at Carthage and Athens,

Amorphous Solid, Vapour condensation techniques

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

In the gold-silicon system of Figure 5, at compositions far from the cusp, glasses cannot be formed by melt quenching—even by the rapid splat-quench technique of

Kleve

2005-02-21T13:33:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Cleve , English Cleves , Dutch Kleef city, North Rhine–Westphalia Land (state), western Germany. It lies less than 5 miles (8 km) south of the Dutch border and is connected with the Rhine River by a canal. The seat of the counts of Cleves from the 11th century, it was chartered in 1242. The county passed to the counts of La Marck in 1368; it was made a duchy in 1417 and acquired the duchies of Jülich and Berg in 1521. Anne of Cleves (d. 1557), daughter of

Jahwarid Dynasty

2005-02-20T19:14:00.000-08:00

Muslim Arab dynasty that ruled Córdoba, Spain, after the dissolution of the Umayyad caliphate of Córdoba (1031), one of the party kingdoms (ta'ifahs). Years of civil war following the breakdown of central caliphal authority in 1008 prompted the Cordoban council of notables, led by a prominent aristocrat, Abu al-Hazm Jahwar ibn Jahwar, to abolish the institution of the caliphate and

Swallow

2005-02-20T10:02:00.000-08:00

Any of the 74 species of the bird family Hirundinidae (order Passeriformes). A few, including the bank swallow, are called martins (see martin; see also woodswallow; for sea swallow, see tern). Swallows are small, with pointed narrow wings, short bills, and small weak feet; some species have forked tails. Plumage may be plain or marked with metallic blue or green; the sexes look

France, History Of, The hegemony of Neustria

2005-02-20T02:56:00.000-08:00

The territorial struggles began anew after 639. In Neustria, Austrasia, and Burgundy, power was in the hands of aristocratic leaders, called the mayors of the palace. Ebroïn, mayor of the palace in Neustria, attempted to unify the kingdom under his leadership but met with violent opposition. Resistance in Burgundy was led by Bishop Leodegar, who was assassinated in about

Permafrost, Study of permafrost

2005-02-19T19:23:00.000-08:00

Although the existence of permafrost had been known to the inhabitants of Siberia for centuries, scientists of the Western world did not take seriously the isolated reports of a great thickness of frozen ground existing under northern forest and grasslands until 1836. Then, Alexander Theodor von Middendorff measured temperatures to depths of approximately 100 metres

Gypsisol

2005-02-19T05:47:00.000-08:00

One of the 30 soil groups in the classification system of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Gypsisols are characterized by a subsurface layer of gypsum (a hydrated calcium sulfate) accumulated by the precipitation of calcium and sulfate from downward percolating waters in the soil profile. With intensive management, irrigated crops can be grown on these

Anaximander

2005-02-19T05:07:00.000-08:00

Anaximander is thought to have been a pupil of Thales of Miletus. Evidence exists that he wrote treatises on geography, astronomy, and cosmology that survived for several centuries, and that he made

Halicarnassus, Mausoleum Of

2005-02-18T06:39:00.000-08:00

According

Epicureanism

2005-02-17T20:25:00.000-08:00

In a strict sense, the philosophy taught by Epicurus (341–270 BC). In a broad sense, it is a system of ethics embracing every conception or form of life that can be traced to the principles of his philosophy. In ancient polemics, as often since, the term was employed with an even more generic (and clearly erroneous) meaning as the equivalent of hedonism, the doctrine that pleasure or

United States, Bank Of The

2005-02-16T16:16:00.000-08:00

Central bank chartered in 1791 by the U.S. Congress at the urging of Alexander Hamilton and over the objections of Thomas Jefferson. Extended debate over its constitutionality contributed significantly to the evolution of pro- and anti-bank factions into the first American political parties—respectively, the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans. Antagonism

Dalai Lama

2005-02-16T08:18:00.000-08:00

The first of the line was Dge-'dun-grub-pa (1391–1475), founder and abbot of Tashilhunpo monastery (central Tibet). In accordance with the belief in reincarnate lamas, which began to develop in the 14th century, his successors were conceived as his rebirths and

Francis Joseph

2005-02-15T05:50:00.000-08:00

Although he had been raised to be a soldier and wore a uniform all his life, Francis Joseph was no more a strategist than he was a statesman. He made up for this deficiency by the careful study of documents, by an extraordinarily retentive memory, and by being a shrewd judge of character. Invariably well informed and familiar with the reports of his envoys, he was to his

Rabbinical Assembly, The

2005-02-14T23:29:00.000-08:00

Organization of Conservative rabbis in the United States, Canada, Latin America, Europe, and Israel. It was founded in 1900 as the Alumni Association of the Jewish Theological Seminary and was reorganized in 1940 as the Rabbinical Assembly of America; in 1962 it acquired its present name and international scope. The Rabbinical Assembly recommends rabbis for appointment to Conservative

Leaf-rolling Grasshopper

2005-02-14T22:49:00.000-08:00

Also called Wingless Cricket (family Gryllacrididae), any of a group of orthopteran insects that are wingless or nearly wingless and have long cerci and antennae. The California leaf roller (Camptonotus carolinensis), about 15 mm (0.5 inch) long, is active at night, as are other members of this family. The leaf-rolling grasshopper spends the day in a leaf that it rolls and ties with silk; at night the insect

Ramana Maharshi

2005-02-14T20:41:00.000-08:00

Original name Venkataraman Aiyer Hindu philosopher and yogi called “Great Master,” “Bhagavan” (the Lord), and “the Sage of Arunachala,” whose position on monism (the identity of the individual soul and the creator of souls) and maya (illusion) parallels that of Sankara (c. AD 700–750). His original contribution to yogic philosophy is the technique of vicara (self-“pondering”

Ashurnasirpal Ii

2005-02-13T09:05:00.000-08:00

King of Assyria 883–859 BC, whose major accomplishment was the consolidation of the conquests of his father, Tukulti-Ninurta II, leading to the establishment of the New Assyrian Empire. Although, by his own testimony, he was a brilliant general and administrator, he is perhaps best known for the brutal frankness with which he described the atrocities committed on

Rybinsk

2005-02-12T05:32:00.000-08:00

Formerly (1946–57) Shcherbakov , or (1984–88) Andropov city, Yaroslavl oblast (province), northwestern Russia, on the Volga River. The 12th-century village of Rybnaya sloboda became the town of Rybinsk in 1777. Its river port flourished after the opening (1810) of the Mariinsk Waterway, linking the Volga to the Baltic Sea, and again with the latter's reconstruction as the deep Volga-Baltic Waterway in 1964. A wide range of engineering and other

Widener, George D.

2005-02-12T00:23:00.000-08:00

Scion of a wealthy Philadelphia family, Widener was educated privately and at the deLancey School in Philadelphia. He managed the family's affairs and became a director of the Electric Storage Battery Company and of the Provident National Bank,

Civil Constitution Of The Clergy

2005-02-12T00:16:00.000-08:00

There was a need to create a new administrative and financial framework for the French Church after the Revolutionary governing body, the National

Abbott, Jacob

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

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

Anastasius Iv

2005-02-10T06:26:00.000-08:00

As cardinal bishop of Sabina, he had staunchly supported Pope Innocent II in 1130, serving as his vicar in Rome during the contest with the antipope Anacletus II. During his brief pontificate he was a peacemaker noted especially for settling two long-standing problems: one regarding Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa and

Conegliano

2005-02-10T06:12:00.000-08:00

Town, Treviso provincia, Veneto regione, northeastern Italy, near the Piave River, just north of the city of Treviso. It is dominated by a castle with a museum and a cathedral (1352), which has a bell tower (1497) and a fine altarpiece (1493) by the painter Cima da Conegliano, a native of the town. There is modern construction along the old perimeter of the town. Noted for its wines, Conegliano

Vyborg

2005-02-10T04:48:00.000-08:00

Formerly (1919–40) Viipuri, city, Leningrad oblast (province), northwestern Russia. The city stands at the head of Vyborg Bay of the Gulf of Finland, 70 miles (113 km) northwest of St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad). First settled in the 12th century, Vyborg was built as a fortress in 1293 by the Swedes after they had captured Karelia. In 1710 the fortress was captured by Peter I the Great, and Vyborg thenceforth remained

Port Elizabeth

2005-02-09T17:01:00.000-08:00

Port city, Eastern province, South Africa. It lies on Algoa Bay of the Indian Ocean. Port Elizabeth was established in 1820 as a British settlement around Fort Frederick (1799), the oldest British building in southern Africa, and was named by Sir Rufane Donkin, the acting governor of the Cape Colony, for his deceased wife, Lady Elizabeth. Completion of the Kimberley Railroad (1873) spurred

Gu Kaizhi

2005-02-08T14:33:00.000-08:00

Gu Kaizhi's art is known today from both written records and paintings that are

Biblical Literature, Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls

2005-02-08T09:29:00.000-08:00

New literary documents from the intertestamental period were found in the caves of Qumran in the vicinity of the Dead Sea in the 1940s, but only a portion of them has yet been published. All the Dead Sea Scrolls were written before the destruction of the Second Temple; with the exception of small Greek fragments, they are all in Hebrew and Aramaic. The scrolls formed the library