CertainClock

Amaranthaceae

2005-04-05T18:45:00.000-07:00

The amaranth family of flowering plants in the order Caryophyllales, with about 60 genera and more than 800 species of herbs, with a few shrubs, trees, and vines, native to tropical America and Africa. The leaves of members of the family usually have nonindented edges. Flowers may be male or female or contain both types of reproductive structures; several

Titus

2005-04-05T05:53:00.000-07:00

After service in Britain and Germany, Titus commanded a legion under his father, Vespasian, in Judaea (67). Following the emperor Nero's death in June 68, Titus was energetic in promoting his father's candidacy for the imperial crown. Licinius Mucianus, legate of Syria, whom he reconciled with Vespasian, considered that

Madagascar, Plant and animal life

2005-04-04T13:27:00.000-07:00

Much of the island was once covered with evergreen and deciduous forest, but little now remains except on the eastern escarpment and in scattered pockets in the west. The plateau is particularly denuded and suffers seriously from erosion. The forest has been cut in order to clear rice fields, to obtain fuel and building materials, and to export valuable timber, such

Sa-skya-pa

2005-04-03T17:28:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Sakyapa Tibetan Buddhist sect that takes its name from the great Sa-skya (Sakya) monastery founded in 1073, 50 miles (80 km) north of Mount Everest. The sect follows the teachings of the noted traveler and scholar 'Brog-mi (992–1072). He translated into Tibetan the important Tantric work Hevajra Tantra, which remains one of the basic texts of the order. He also transmitted into Tibet from India the teachings

Ba'al Shem Tov

2005-04-03T14:04:00.000-07:00

The Besht's life has been so adorned with fables and legends that a biography in the ordinary historical sense is not possible. He came from humble and obscure beginnings in a village known to contemporary Jews as Okop or Akuf, depending on the Hebrew vocalization. As a young orphan he held various semi-menial posts connected with synagogues and Hebrew elementary

Pendleton, Edmund

2005-04-02T00:59:00.000-08:00

In 1751 Pendleton

Furniture, Wood

2005-04-01T06:46:00.000-08:00

A relatively cheap material, wood lends itself to various kinds of treatment; for example, it can be stained, painted, gilded, and glued.

Madeleine

2005-04-01T03:36:00.000-08:00

Napoleon, who had ordered its design and construction, originally intended the building

Constantia

2005-03-31T20:06:00.000-08:00

Residential area, Western Cape province, South Africa, near Cape Town. It is located in Constantia Valley, famous since the 18th century for wines produced on both government and private farms. The Groot Constantia homestead there was built about 1685 by Governor Simon van der Stel and named for his wife, Constance; a fine example of Cape Dutch architecture, it has been restored

United Airlines, Inc.

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

United Airlines dates to 1929, when William E. Boeing (1881–1956), Frederick B. Rentschler (1887–1956), and their associates founded United Aircraft Transport Corporation, a conglomerate of both aircraft manufacturing and air transport.

épinal

2005-03-29T21:00:00.000-08:00

Town, capital of the Vosges département, Lorraine région, eastern France, on the Moselle River, south-southeast of Nancy. The town, located on two arms of the Moselle, is divided into four parts. The town proper, known as the grande ville (“large town”), or vieille ville (“old town”), stands on the right bank of the main river. The petite ville (“little town”) is on an island between the two

Auburn

2005-03-29T04:19:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1854) of Androscoggin county, southwestern Maine, U.S., on the Androscoggin River opposite Lewiston and part of the Lewiston-Auburn metropolitan area. Settled in 1786, Auburn was separated from Minot in 1842 and is supposed to have been named for the Auburn of Oliver Goldsmith's poem The Deserted Village. The manufacture of shoes was once the city's chief industry. Today diversified

False Bay

2005-03-28T09:55:00.000-08:00

Afrikaans Valsbaai, bay on the south side of Cape Peninsula, South Africa, 13 mi (21 km) southeast of Cape Town. Cape Hangklip (east) and Cape Point (west) are about 20 mi apart. Its name refers to the fact that early sailors confused the bay with Table Bay to the north. It is well sheltered, though experiencing southeasterly winds in summer; and its waters are approximately 10° F (5.5° C) warmer than those of Table

Dadié, Bernard Binlin

2005-03-28T02:01:00.000-08:00

Dadié received his higher education in Senegal, where his involvement in a folklore and drama movement first encouraged him to

Kashan Carpet

2005-03-27T09:33:00.000-08:00

Three classes of all-silk carpets of the Safavid period (16th century) are credited to Kashan. The first includes three large extant carpets with medallion systems and varied hunting scenes that appear between centerpiece and corners. The two best

Maccarthy, Sir Desmond

2005-03-25T23:09:00.000-08:00

MacCarthy was associated with the Bloomsbury group. He began his career as a freelance journalist, quickly moving to editorial work

Agrimony

2005-03-25T17:29:00.000-08:00

Any plant of the genus Agrimonia, of the rose family (Rosaceae). The name particularly denotes A. eupatoria, an herbaceous, hardy perennial that is native to Europe but is widespread in other northern temperate regions, where it grows in hedge banks and the borders of fields. A. eupatoria grows to about 120 cm (4 feet) tall and has alternate feather-formed

Zapotec

2005-03-25T03:30:00.000-08:00

The Zapotec culture varies according to habitat—mountain, valley, or coastal—and according to economy—subsistence, cash crop, or urban; and the language varies from pueblo to pueblo, existing in several mutually unintelligible dialects, better called distinct languages.

San Antonio

2005-03-24T16:39:00.000-08:00

San Antonio was founded May 1, 1718, when a Spanish military expedition from Mexico established

Abe Isoo

2005-03-24T06:16:00.000-08:00

Abe was attracted to socialism while studying for the ministry in the United States, where he graduated from the Hartford (Conn.)

Medicine, History Of, Early Greece

2005-03-23T15:27:00.000-08:00

The transition from magic to science was a gradual process that lasted for centuries, and there is little doubt that ancient Greece inherited much from Babylonia and Egypt, and even India and China. Twentieth-century readers of the Homeric tales the Iliad and the Odyssey may well be bewildered by the narrow distinction between gods and men among the characters

Venus, Plains deformation belts

2005-03-22T04:42:00.000-08:00

These features are similar in some respects to mountain belts, but they display lower relief and lie primarily in lowland areas such as Lavinia and Atalanta Planitae. Like the mountain belts, they may have formed by compression and uplift of the crust.

Medicine, History Of, Early Greece

2005-03-21T16:19:00.000-08:00

Set of multilateral trade agreements aimed at the abolition of quotas and the reduction of tariff duties among the contracting nations. When GATT was concluded by 23 countries at Geneva, in 1947 (to take effect on Jan. 1, 1948), it was considered an interim arrangement pending the formation of a United Nations agency to supersede it. When such an agency failed to emerge, GATT was amplified

Biblical Literature, The Testament of Job

2005-03-20T22:43:00.000-08:00

Though there are scholars who think that the Testament of Job was once written in Hebrew or Aramaic, it is more probable that the existing Greek text of the book is the original or even a rewritten later version of a Greek work; a fragment of an older form is probably preserved in the Greek translation of Job (2:9). Job is identified, according to some Jewish traditions, with

Kadamba Family

2005-03-19T17:04:00.000-08:00

Their chroniclers claim that the family migrated from northern India, but other records suggest that they were indigenous to Kuntala (Northern Kanara). An early inscription, the accuracy of which is unknown, describes the dynastic

Aroostook War

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

(1838–39), bloodless conflict over the disputed boundary between the U.S. state of Maine and the British Canadian province of New Brunswick. The peace treaty of 1783 ending the American Revolution had left unclear the location of a supposed “highlands,” or watershed, dividing the two areas. Negotiators from Britain and the United States in subsequent years failed to come to an agreement,

Bhutto, Zulfikar Ali

2005-03-19T02:37:00.000-08:00

Born into a noble Rajput family that had accepted Islam, Bhutto was the son of a prominent political figure in the Indian colonial government. He was educated in Bombay and at the University

Skarga, Piotr

2005-03-18T18:22:00.000-08:00

After a difficult childhood during which both his parents died, he studied at Jagiellonian University, then became rector of a parish school in Warsaw. After some travel, he became a parish priest in Lwów. Subsequently, he travelled

Ghent-bruges School

2005-03-18T03:48:00.000-08:00

Group of manuscript illuminators and scribes active during the last quarter of the 15th and first part of the 16th centuries, principally in the Flemish cities of Ghent and Bruges. Credit for founding the tradition that included such masters as Nicolas Spierinc, Liévin van Lathem, Alexander and Simon Bening, and Gerard Horenbout was formerly given to the Master of Mary

Three Kings, Battle Of The

2005-03-17T01:34:00.000-08:00

Sebastian, a religious zealot, wished to subject Muslim Morocco to Christian rule. Allied with the deposed Moroccan sultan, al-Mutawakkil, he landed at Tangier weighed down by much artillery and an army of 20,000 men. At the Wadi al-Makhazin near Ksar el-Kebir (Alcazarquivir),

Gherkin

2005-03-16T10:23:00.000-08:00

Also called Bur Gherkin, or West Indian Gherkin (Cucumis anguria), trailing vine, of the gourd family (Cucurbitaceae), grown for its edible fruit. The gherkins sold in pickle mixtures are not C. anguria but rather are small pickled immature cucumbers (Cucumis sativus). A true gherkin has palmately lobed leaves with toothed edges, small flowers, and furrowed, prickly fruits about five centimetres (two

Raymond Vi

2005-03-16T09:48:00.000-08:00

The son of Count Raymond V, Raymond VI was a nephew of King Louis VII of France and brother-in-law of King Richard I of England. Tolerant toward the many

Obasanjo, Olusegun

2005-03-15T20:53:00.000-08:00

Obasanjo attended Baptist Boys' High School and later worked as a teacher for a year. Unable to afford college, he joined the army in 1958, receiving further education in England and at cadet

Ansonia

2005-03-15T08:08:00.000-08:00

City, coextensive with the town (township) of Ansonia, New Haven county, southwestern Connecticut, U.S., on the Naugatuck River. The area was a part of the township of Derby until it was incorporated as a separate township in 1889. Ansonia's separate identity had been established in 1843, when Anson Greene Phelps of New York City refused to pay an exorbitant price for land in the village

Nalchik

2005-03-14T08:23:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Nalcik, city and capital of Kabardino-Balkariya, southwestern Russia. The city lies along the Nalchik River where the latter leaves the Caucasian foothills. Founded as a Russian fortress in 1818, the town remained unimportant until after the October Revolution (1917). Now it is a popular holiday, climbing, and health resort, with several sanatoriums. There is considerable industry,

Wagtail

2005-03-13T20:39:00.000-08:00

Any of the 7 to 10 species of the bird genus Motacilla, of the family Motacillidae, together with the forest wagtail (Dendronanthus indicus) of Asia. Wagtails are strongly patterned birds of beaches, meadows, and streamsides; they usually nest on the ground but roost in trees. The birds are so named because they incessantly wag their long tails up and down. The forest wagtail

Nova Scotia, Flag Of

2005-03-13T19:17:00.000-08:00

The flag is based on the provincial coat of arms, which was itself inspired by the Scottish Cross of St. Andrew (white saltire on a blue field) and the royal arms of Scotland. The “reverse-colour” Cross of St. Andrew on the Nova Scotia flag provides a more visible contrast for the Scottish shield. The Nova Scotia coat of arms was created on May 28, 1625, but it was not recorded by heraldic

Carlile, Richard

2005-03-13T16:15:00.000-08:00

Radical English journalist who was a notable champion of the freedom of the press. Although convinced that the free propagation of ideas was more important than specific reforms, he was an early advocate of almost all the Radical causes of his time, including the abolition of monarchy, completely secular education, and the

Metatarsal

2005-03-13T05:04:00.000-08:00

Any of several tubular bones between the ankle (tarsal) bones and each of the hindlimb digits, in land vertebrates corresponding to the metacarpal bones of the hand (forepaw). In humans the five metatarsal bones help form longitudinal arches along the inner and outer sides of the foot and a transverse arch at the ball of the foot. The first metatarsal (which adjoins the

Furniture, Rome

2005-03-11T20:34:00.000-08:00

Principal furniture forms were couches, chairs with and without arms, stools, tables, chests, and boxes. Excellent documentary evidence is found in mural paintings, relief carvings, and literary descriptions. Extant examples are more common than those of the ancient Near East: a wealth of bronze furniture was recovered at Pompeii; at Herculaneum even wood pieces

Bowling

2005-03-11T07:26:00.000-08:00

The crown jewel among all international tenpin bowling tournaments of 1994 was the third world youth championships, held in Monterrey, Mexico, August 6-13. A record 29 countries sent their best young bowlers to Mexico to compete for world titles in boys' and girls' divisions. Stars of the tournament were Jaana Puhakka and Pasi Pöllänen of Finland, each of whom won two individual

Huygens, Constantijn

2005-03-11T04:52:00.000-08:00

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

Italian East Africa

2005-03-10T20:19:00.000-08:00

Italian Africa Orientale Italiana, group of Italian possessions in East Africa in the period 1936–41. It comprised Ethiopia (annexed by Italy on May 9, 1936, and was proclaimed a part of Italian East Africa that June 1) together with the Italian colonies of Eritrea, now part of Ethiopia, and Italian Somaliland, now part of the Somali Democratic Republic. Italy's king, Victor Emmanuel III, was named emperor. British forces

East Chicago

2005-03-10T18:59:00.000-08:00

Industrial city and port, Lake county, northwestern Indiana, U.S., adjoining Gary, Hammond, and Whiting. It is a part of the Chicago-Calumet industrialized metropolitan complex. Laid out in 1887, its industrial development was stimulated by construction of Indiana Harbor, connected with the Grand Calumet River by a 3-mile (5-kilometre) ship canal and including an extensive system

Gonzaga Dynasty

2005-03-10T18:46:00.000-08:00

Italian dynasty whose heads ruled Mantua from 1328 to 1707 and also Montferrat, with the stronghold of Casale, from 1536 to 1707. Their origins are uncertain, but by the 12th century the Corradi family of Gonzaga were established as members of the feudal gentry owning estates near Mantua, to which during the 13th century they managed to add other extensive properties. They took their name

Profit Sharing

2005-03-09T15:05:00.000-08:00

System by which employees are paid a share of the profits of the business enterprise in which they are employed, in accordance with a scheme defined in advance. Such payments, which may vary according to salary or wage, are distinct from and additional to regular earnings. Profit-sharing plans were probably first developed in France before the middle of the 19th century

Furniture, France

2005-03-09T04:20:00.000-08:00

The furniture of France was among the first to be influenced by the Italian Renaissance. Louis XII and many of his court visited Italy and soon took Italian artists and craftsmen and works of art into France. The French Renaissance of furniture can be divided into two stages. First was a period of transition and adaptation; during the reign of Louis XII and the first

Vishnu

2005-03-08T06:40:00.001-08:00

Vishnu was not a major deity

Füchsel, Georg Christian

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

Füchsel began medical practice in 1756 and the following year was appointed to organize the natural science collections of Friedrich Carl, later prince of the German principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt,

Uber Cup

2005-03-07T17:27:00.000-08:00

Trophy representing the women's world championship in the sport of badminton. The cup was contributed by Mrs. H.S. Uber, former English champion, in 1956 for a series of women's international team competitions to be held every three years.

Cymophane

2005-03-07T05:06:00.000-08:00

Variety of the gemstone chrysoberyl (q.v.).

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Japan

2005-03-06T18:20:00.000-08:00

In Japan the Koji-ki (712; “Records of Ancient Matters”) and the Nihon-shoki (8th century; “Chronicles of Japan”), both of them official histories of Japan, were studded with fables, many of them on the theme of a small intelligent animal getting the better of a large stupid one. The same is true of the fudoki (local gazetteers dating from 713 and later). The form reached its height in the Kamakura

Priesthood

2005-03-06T10:39:00.000-08:00

The function of the priest as the mediator and maintainer of the equilibrium between the sacred and the profane in human society, and as the stabilizer of the social structures and the cultic organizations, determines the various criteria for holding the priestly office. In preliterate society the functions are accomplished by ritual experts who are trained

Fagunwa, D.o.

2005-03-05T19:38:00.000-08:00

Fagunwa's first novel, Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo Irunmale (1938; The Forest of a Thousand Daemons), was the first full-length novel published in the Yoruba language. His second

Deflation

2005-03-05T02:56:00.000-08:00

In geology, erosion of loose material from flat areas of dry, uncemented sediments such as those occurring in deserts, dry lake beds, floodplains, and glacial outwash plains. Clay and silt-sized particles are picked up by turbulent eddies in wind and may be carried for hundreds of kilometres; they later settle to form loess deposits. Local areas subjected to deflation

Amphibole, Igneous rocks

2005-03-04T04:22:00.000-08:00

Calcic amphiboles are characteristically contained in igneous rocks. Igneous amphiboles are intermediate in composition between tremolite, tschermakite, edenite, and pargasite end-members. Typically, these amphiboles of intermediate composition are called hornblende. Hornblende occurs in various plutonic igneous rocks, including diorites, quartz diorites,

Macaulay, Catharine

2005-03-03T08:51:00.000-08:00

She was privately educated, and her readings in Greek and Roman history inculcated in her an enthusiasm for libertarian and republican ideals. Following her marriage to the Scottish physician George Macaulay in 1760, she began her History of England from the Accession

Wannsee Conference

2005-03-03T02:38:00.000-08:00

Meeting of Nazi officials on January 20, 1942, in the Berlin suburb of Wannsee to plan the “final solution” (Endlösung) to the so-called “Jewish question” (Judenfrage). On July 31, 1941, Nazi leader Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring had issued orders to Reinhard Heydrich, SS (Nazi paramilitary corps) leader and Gestapo (Secret Police) chief, to prepare a comprehensive plan for this “final

Koch, Robert

2005-03-02T00:09:00.000-08:00

In full Robert Heinrich Hermann Koch German physician and one of the founders of bacteriology. He discovered the anthrax disease cycle (1876) and the bacteria responsible for tuberculosis (1882) and cholera (1883). For his discoveries in regard to tuberculosis, he received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1905.

Feng Yün-shan

2005-03-01T17:39:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Feng Yunshan Chinese missionary and social reformer, one of the original leaders of the Taiping Rebellion, an uprising that occupied most of South China between 1850 and 1864, brought death to an estimated 20,000,000 people, and radically altered governmental structure. Feng was a neighbour and schoolmate of Hung Hsiu-ch'üan, the religious

Wild Oat

2005-03-01T16:37:00.000-08:00

The best-known species is A. fatua, which has become a common field and roadside weed in temperate Australia, North America, and southern Africa. It grows in small tufts about 0.9 to 1.2 m (3 to 4 feet) tall.

Topazolite

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

Yellowish andradite garnet, named for its resemblance to topaz. See andradite.

Bridgeport, University Of

2005-03-01T09:25:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Bridgeport, Conn., U.S. The university is composed of the College of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies (including the schools of arts, humanities, and social sciences; business; general studies; education and human resources; and science, engineering, and technology), the Fones School of Dental Hygiene, and the

Judah Ha-levi

2005-02-28T20:53:00.000-08:00

Hebrew in full Yehuda Ben Shemuel ha-Levi Jewish poet and religious philosopher. His works were the culmination of the development of Hebrew poetry within the Arabic cultural sphere. Among his major works are the poems collected in Diwan, the “Zionide” poems celebrating Zion, and the Sefer ha-Kuzari (“Book of the Khazar”), presenting his philosophy of Judaism in dialogue

Genealogy

2005-02-28T07:22:00.000-08:00

The study of family origins and history. Genealogists compile lists of ancestors, which they arrange in pedigree charts or other written forms. The word genealogy comes from two Greek words—one meaning “race” or “family” and the other “theory” or “science.” Thus is derived “to trace ancestry,” the science of studying family history. The term pedigree comes from the Latin pes

Fisher, Morris

2005-02-27T10:03:00.000-08:00

At the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp, Fisher, apparently feeling the pressure of the competition in the three-position free rifle event, took 20 minutes before firing his first shot at the target, which was placed 300 m away. Although he missed the mark, he was close enough to score points.

Maharashtra, Health

2005-02-27T07:40:00.000-08:00

There are several medical colleges, the most notable being in Bombay, Nagpur, and Pune. There are dental colleges in Bombay and Nagpur. Traditional medicine is taught at Ayurvedic colleges in Bombay and Nagpur. Most district hospitals maintain nursing schools. Regional blood banks exist in Bombay, Pune, Aurangabad, and Nagpur, and emergency centres are found in all districts.

Hout, Jan Van

2005-02-26T08:53:00.000-08:00

His “modernity” is also seen in his intense interest

Wairakite

2005-02-25T16:09:00.000-08:00

Hydrated calcium aluminosilicate mineral present in hot-spring deposits, notably those at Wairakei, New Zealand, and Onikobe, Japan. Like analcite, wairakite has been assigned to two mineral families: it is regarded as a feldspathoid because of its chemical properties, molecular structure, and mode of formation but as a zeolite because of its ion-exchange and reversible

Indian Summer

2005-02-25T10:21:00.000-08:00

Period of dry, unseasonably warm weather in late October or November in the central and eastern United States. The term originated in New England and probably arose from the Indians' practice of gathering winter stores at this time. This autumn warm period also occurs in Europe, where in Britain it is called All-hallown summer or Old Wives' summer. Indian summer may

Rameau, Jean-philippe

2005-02-24T21:12:00.000-08:00

Rameau's father, Jean, played the organ for 42 years in various churches in Dijon and hoped one day to see his son on a lawyer's, rather than an organist's, bench. These hopes

Carteret, Sir George, Baronet

2005-02-24T00:29:00.000-08:00

A British naval officer and lieutenant governor of Jersey, Carteret made the island a Royalist stronghold during the English Civil Wars and privateered in the Stuart cause, thereby winning a knighthood (1644) and a baronetcy (1645). After the capture

Price River

2005-02-23T10:24:00.000-08:00

River that rises in the Wasatch Range near Scofield, central Utah, U.S. It flows generally southeastward through Carbon and northeast Emery counties, past Price and through Price Canyon, to join the Green River after a course of 130 miles (210 km). Scofield Dam (1946), near the river's source, impounds water for irrigation. The river was “discovered” in 1869 by the Mormon bishop William

Giraldus Cambrensis

2005-02-23T02:41:00.000-08:00

Of noble

Dielasma

2005-02-22T01:04:00.000-08:00

Genus of extinct brachiopods, or lamp shells, that occur as fossils in rocks deposited in marine environments of Carboniferous to Permian age (between 360 and 245 million years old). The two small, rather smooth valves of the shell of Dielasma are slightly convex in profile, but the pedicle, or foot, valve is much larger than the brachial, or upper, valve. Growth lines

Atlanta Campaign

2005-02-21T16:51:00.000-08:00

In the American Civil War, an important series of battles in Georgia (May–September 1864) that eventually cut off a main Confederate supply centre and influenced the Federal presidential election of 1864. By the end of 1863, with Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Vicksburg, Mississippi, firmly under the control of the North, Atlanta, an important Confederate

Motor-vehicle Insurance

2005-02-21T15:52:00.000-08:00

Liability insurance pays for

Juan Carlos

2005-02-20T20:15:00.000-08:00

Juan Carlos was the grandson of the last king, Alfonso XIII, who left Spain in 1931 and died in exile 10 years later, after renouncing his rights in favour of his third son, Juan Carlos Teresa Silverio Alfonso de Borbón y Battenberg, conde de

Great Chain Of Being

2005-02-20T15:37:00.000-08:00

Also called Chain Of Being, conception of the nature of the universe that had a pervasive influence on Western thought, particularly through the ancient Greek Neoplatonists and derivative philosophies during the European Renaissance and the 17th and early 18th centuries. The term denotes three general features of the universe: plenitude, continuity, and gradation. The principle of plenitude

Rawlins

2005-02-20T03:26:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1886) of Carbon county, south-central Wyoming, U.S. It lies just east of the Continental Divide at an elevation of 6,755 feet (2,059 metres). Founded in 1868 when the Union Pacific Railroad arrived, it was first named Rawlins Springs for U.S. Army Chief of Staff General John A. Rawlins, who requested a freshwater spring there bear his name. In 1874 “Rawlins Red” pigment from the local paint mines

Motor-vehicle Insurance

2005-02-19T19:16:00.000-08:00

Interracial American organization created to work for the abolition of segregation and discrimination in housing, education, employment, voting, and transportation; to oppose racism; and to ensure African Americans their constitutional rights. The NAACP was created in 1909 by an interracial group consisting of W.E.B. Du Bois, Ida Bell Wells-Barnett, Mary White

Hagia Sophia

2005-02-18T18:43:00.000-08:00

Also called Church Of The Holy Wisdom, Turkish Ayasofya, cathedral built at Constantinople (now Istanbul, Turkey) under the direction of the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. It is a unique building and one of the world's great monuments, despite time's ravages. The structure, a domed basilica, was built in the amazingly short time of about six years, being completed in AD 537. The architects were Anthemius of Tralles and Isidore of Miletus.

Dome Of The Rock

2005-02-18T14:05:00.000-08:00

Arabic Qubbat as-Sakhrah shrine in Jerusalem that is the oldest extant Islamic monument. The rock over which the shrine was built is sacred to both Muslims and Jews. The Prophet Muhammad, founder of Islam, is traditionally believed to have ascended into heaven from the site. In Jewish tradition, it is here that Abraham, the progenitor and first patriarch of the Hebrew people, is said to have prepared

Indes Orientales, Compagnie Française Des

2005-02-18T10:51:00.000-08:00

(French: “French Company of the East Indies”), one of the companies known as the French East India Company (q.v.).

Differentiation

2005-02-18T00:57:00.000-08:00

The three basic derivatives

General Sarmiento

2005-02-17T23:42:00.000-08:00

Partido (county) of Gran (“Greater”) Buenos Aires, Argentina. It lies northwest of the city of Buenos Aires, in Buenos Aires provincia. The early settlement of the county centred on the agricultural plantation San José del Pilar, established by Adolfo Sordeaux in 1862. This plantation settlement led Sordeaux to establish the towns of San Miguel and Bella Vista in 1872. In 1889 General

Cabot, Sebastian

2005-02-16T07:34:00.000-08:00

Although facts

Carnivore, Form and function

2005-02-15T14:28:00.000-08:00

The smallest living member of the Carnivora is the least weasel (Mustela nivalis), which weighs about two ounces. The largest terrestrial form is the Alaskan grizzly (Ursus arctos), weighing up to 780 kilograms (1700 pounds). The largest aquatic form is the elephant seal (Mirounga leonina), which may weigh 3,640 kilograms (four tons). Most carnivores weigh between four and eight kilograms

Saccharomyces

2005-02-15T10:28:00.000-08:00

Genus of yeasts belonging to the family Endomycetales. An outstanding characteristic of members of Saccharomyces is their ability to convert sugar into carbon dioxide and alcohol by means of enzymes. The yeasts used to ferment sugars in the manufacture of baked goods, beers, wines, distilled spirits, and industrial alcohols are all strains of one species, S.

Guzmán Fernández, (silvestre) Antonio

2005-02-15T07:23:00.000-08:00

At the age of 15, Guzmán was working in his family's textile store. By age 17 he was already managing stores for the Curaçao Trading Company. He invested in land and started growing rice, soon expanding into other agricultural exports. Guzmán was

Saxophone

2005-02-14T23:34:00.000-08:00

A saxophone has a conical metal (originally brass) tube with about 24 openings controlled by padded

Shieldtail Snake

2005-02-14T14:40:00.000-08:00

The

Germanic Religion And Mythology, Minor Aesir

2005-02-14T13:19:00.000-08:00

A number of minor deities are also ranked among the Aesir. The god Heimdall (Heimdal[l]r) is particularly interesting, but rather enigmatic. His antagonism with Loki, with whom he struggles for the possession of the Brísingamen necklace, results in their killing each other in the Ragnarök, according to Snorri. Heimdall is of mysterious origin: he is the son of nine mothers,

Alegrete

2005-02-13T18:14:00.000-08:00

City, western Rio Grande do Sul estado (“state”), Brazil. It lies along the Ibirapuitã River at 292 feet (89 metres) above sea level. It was founded in 1817 and given city status in 1857. The municipio (“municipality”) of which Alegrete is the seat supports large cattle herds and substantial numbers of sheep. The city is a meat-processing centre. A railroad junction west of Pôrto Alegre, it can also

Chuikov, Vasily Ivanovich

2005-02-12T16:14:00.000-08:00

The son of peasants, Chuikov worked as a mechanic apprentice from the age of 12. At the age of 18, after

Round Table Conference

2005-02-12T09:20:00.000-08:00

The first (Nov. 12, 1930–Jan. 19, 1931) had 73 representatives, from

Cleveland

2005-02-11T03:20:00.001-08:00

Region and former administrative county, northeastern England, along the River Tees and the North Sea. The region comprises parts of the historic counties of Durham and Yorkshire to the north and south of the Tees, respectively. It is divided administratively into the following unitary authorities: Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesbrough, and Redcar and

Rüppell, (wilhelm Peter) Eduard (simon)

2005-02-11T03:20:00.000-08:00

Rüppell first went to Africa in 1817 and ascended the Nile River to its first set of cataracts (at Aswan, Egypt). Returning to

Aerial Photography

2005-02-10T02:44:00.000-08:00

For the mapping of terrestrial features, aerial photographs usually are taken in overlapping series from an aircraft following a systematic flight pattern at a fixed altitude.

Quadratus, Saint

2005-02-09T21:53:00.000-08:00

With only a fragment of his Apology for Christianity still extant, preserved in the Ecclesiastical History of the 4th-century scholar Eusebius of Caesarea, Quadratus has not been clearly identified. Addressed from Asia Minor to the Roman emperor Hadrian during a persecution either in 124 or 129, the