RedStocking

Time Warner Inc.

2005-04-04T19:14:00.000-07:00

The largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world. Time Warner's products encompass magazines, hardcover books, comic books, recorded music, motion pictures, online services, and broadcast and cable television programming and distribution. Its headquarters are in New York City.

Perak War

2005-04-03T20:14:00.000-07:00

Birch arrived in Perak

Cullen, Countee

2005-04-01T18:31:00.000-08:00

Reared by a woman who was probably his paternal grandmother, Countee at age 15 was unofficially adopted by the Reverend F.A. Cullen, minister of Salem M.E. Church, one of Harlem's largest congregations. He won a citywide poetry contest as a schoolboy and saw his winning stanzas

Disease

2005-03-29T20:55:00.000-08:00

A harmful deviation from the normal structural or functional state of an organism. A diseased organism commonly exhibits signs or symptoms indicative of its abnormal state. Thus, the normal condition of an organism must be understood in order to recognize the hallmarks of disease. Nevertheless, a sharp demarcation between disease and health is not always

Alexander Of Aphrodisias

2005-03-28T18:46:00.000-08:00

Toward the end of the 2nd century, Alexander became head of the Lyceum at Athens, an academy then dominated by the syncretistic philosophy of Ammonius Saccas, who blended the doctrines of Plato and Aristotle. Alexander's commentaries were intended

Euler, Ulf Von

2005-03-25T18:55:00.000-08:00

Euler was the son of 1929 Nobel laureate Hans von Euler-Chelpin. After his graduation

Yajña

2005-03-24T02:11:00.000-08:00

A yajña is always purposeful, even though the aim may be as general as sustaining the natural order of the universe. Correct performance

Ugra, Battle Of The

2005-03-23T13:43:00.000-08:00

(1480), bloodless confrontation between the armies of Muscovy and the Golden Horde, traditionally marking the end of the “Mongol yoke” in Russia. By 1480 the Golden Horde had lost control of large portions of its empire; Ivan III of Moscow had stopped paying tribute to the Horde and no longer recognized it as an authority over Muscovy. In 1480 Akhmet, khan of the Golden Horde, led an army

Kirby, William

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

Kirby moved in 1832 to the United States and in 1839 to Canada, where he settled in Niagara and became editor of the Niagara Mail (1850–71) and collector of customs from 1871 to 1895. Kirby was a fervent loyalist (favouring

Ear, Human, Ascending pathways

2005-03-22T08:01:00.000-08:00

The central auditory pathways extend from the medulla to the cerebral cortex. They consist of a series of nuclei (groups of nerve cell bodies in the central nervous system similar to a peripheral ganglion) connected by fibre tracts made up of their axons (processes that convey signals away from the cell bodies). This complex chain of nerve cells helps to process and

La Rive, Auguste-arthur De

2005-03-19T21:09:00.000-08:00

La Rive was elected to the chair of natural philosophy at the Academy of Geneva in 1823, and for the next seven years he conducted studies on the specific heat of various gases and the temperature of the Earth's crust. His experiments in 1836 on the voltaic

Cumberland River

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

River formed on the Cumberland Plateau by the confluence of Poor and Clover forks in Harlan county, southern Kentucky, U.S. Looping through northern Tennessee, it joins the Ohio River after a course of 687 miles (1,106 km) at Smithland, Ky., 12 miles (19 km) upstream from the mouth of the Tennessee River. From its headwaters to the Cumberland (or Great) Falls, in Whitley county, Ky. (site of a state

Abolitionism

2005-03-17T09:57:00.000-08:00

Also called abolition movement (c. 1783–1888), in western Europe and the Americas, the movement chiefly responsible for creating the emotional climate necessary for ending the transatlantic slave trade and chattel slavery. With the decline of Roman slavery in the 5th century, the institution waned in western Europe and by the 11th century had virtually disappeared. Portuguese exploration of the west coast

Swaziland System

2005-03-17T01:58:00.000-08:00

Major division of rocks and time in southern Africa in Precambrian Time (3.96 billion to 540 million years ago). The system consists of a great thickness of sedimentary and metamorphic (altered) rocks with numerous intrusions of igneous bodies. Two major subdivisions of the Swaziland System are recognized, an Upper and a Lower series. Many of the units that constitute the

Alabama, Flag Of

2005-03-15T13:46:00.000-08:00

During the Civil War (1861–65) an unofficial flag of blue with a yellow or white star represented the separation of Alabama from the Union. Another blue flag flew over the state capitol; its obverse side showed the state seal flanked by a woman holding the unofficial flag, while its reverse side featured a cotton plant and a coiled snake. Following the Civil War, many wished to

Downy Mildew

2005-03-15T02:49:00.000-08:00

Disease of plants, especially in cool humid regions, caused by several fungi, including species of Basidiophora, Bremia, Peronospora, Phytophthora, Plasmopara, Pseudoperonospora, and Sclerospora. White, gray, bluish, or violet downy patches of mildew form mostly on the undersides of leaves in damp weather. Pale-green to yellow or brown areas usually develop on the

Hyderabad

2005-03-14T14:28:00.000-08:00

Hyderabad was founded by the Qutb Shahi sultans of Golconda, under whom the kingdom of Golconda attained a position of importance second only to that of the Mughal Empire in the north. The old fortress town of Golconda had proved inadequate as the kingdom's capital, and so

Venezuela, The colonial era

2005-03-13T22:12:00.000-08:00

Christopher Columbus arrived in what is now Venezuela in 1498, during his third voyage to the New World. European explorers named the region Venezuela (“Little Venice”) after observing local Indian houses on stilts over water. During the first quarter-century of contact, the Europeans limited themselves to slave hunting and pearl fishing on the northeastern coast; the

Cambrai, Treaty Of

2005-03-12T23:13:00.000-08:00

Also called Paix Des Dames (French: “Peace of the Ladies”; Aug. 3, 1529), agreement ending one phase of the wars between Francis I of France and the Habsburg Holy Roman emperor Charles V; it temporarily confirmed Spanish (Habsburg) hegemony in Italy. After a series of successes, Charles had defeated the French forces at Pavia in Italy in 1525 and forced Francis to sign the punitive Treaty of Madrid. Fearful of Charles's

Aidan, Saint

2005-03-12T06:22:00.000-08:00

Aidan was a monk at Iona, an island of the Inner Hebrides in Scotland, when King Oswald of Northumbria requested that he be made bishop of the newly converted Northumbrians. Consecrated in

Chegutu

2005-03-10T18:19:00.000-08:00

On the main road and railway line from Harare (formerly Salisbury) to Bulawayo, Chegutu is the service centre for a large farming district (corn [maize], tobacco,

Ester

2005-03-10T05:28:00.000-08:00

Carboxylic acid esters, formula RCOOR¢ (R and R¢ are any organic combining groups), are commonly prepared by reaction of carboxylic acids and alcohols in the presence of hydrochloric acid or sulfuric

Visayan

2005-03-08T02:02:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Bisayan, any of three cultural-linguistic groups of the Philippines—Cebuano, Hiligaynon, and Samaran (qq.v.).

Zambezi River

2005-03-07T18:40:00.000-08:00

Little is written in English specifically on the Zambezi River. Information can be found in B.M. Fagin (ed.), The Victoria Falls Handbook, 2nd ed. (1963); R. Mansell Prothero (ed.), People and Land in Africa South of the Sahara: Readings in Social Geography (1972); and N.J. Money, The Geology of Western Zambia (1972).

Dietary Law, Chiefdoms

2005-03-06T14:30:00.000-08:00

The next major social and political developments in human history are the appearance of institutions in which political and economic power is exercised by a single person (or group) over many communities. Often referred to as chiefdoms by anthropologists, this development signalled a process evident today throughout the world, namely, the steady growth of centralized

Chrétien, Jean

2005-03-05T13:15:00.000-08:00

The 18th of 19 children of a working-class family, Chrétien studied law at Laval University and was called to the bar in Quebec in 1958. Long interested in politics, he was first elected to the House of Commons in 1963 and was reelected thereafter through

Kirkman, Jacob

2005-03-04T04:59:00.000-08:00

Kirkman was trained as a cabinetmaker and went to England in the early 1730s to work for an obscure immigrant Flemish harpsichord maker in London. He eventually became harpsichord

Habsburg, House Of

2005-03-03T20:26:00.000-08:00

The War of the Austrian Succession cost Maria Theresa most of Silesia, part of Lombardy, and the duchies of Parma and Piacenza (Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1748) but left her in possession of the rest of her father's hereditary lands. Moreover, her husband, Francis Stephen of Lorraine, who in 1737 had become hereditary grand duke of Tuscany, was finally recognized as Holy Roman emperor,

Abu Muslim

2005-03-02T20:04:00.000-08:00

There are numerous versions of Abu Muslim's background, but it seems most likely that he was descended from a slave of Persian origin and was therefore a mawali (non-Arab

Abancay

2005-03-01T20:02:00.000-08:00

Capital of Apurímac departamento, Inca región, southern Peru. It is situated on the eastern bank of the Marino River at 7,798 feet (2,377 metres) above sea level, in a cool, dry intermontane basin. The exact date of the founding of Abancay (from the Quechua Indian amankay, the name of a wildflower resembling a white lily) is unknown, but it was a leading commercial centre during the Spanish

Papini, Giovanni

2005-02-27T05:24:00.000-08:00

Though largely self-educated,

Breathing

2005-02-25T17:54:00.000-08:00

The action of moving air or water across the surface of a respiratory structure, such as a gill or lung, to facilitate respiration (the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide with the environment). See respiration.

Sufetula

2005-02-25T06:23:00.000-08:00

At Sufetula, as elsewhere in the interior of Tunisia, Roman skill in the conservation

Literature

2005-02-24T08:20:00.000-08:00

In the first half of 2001, the Akutagawa Prize, awarded semiannually to the most promising new Japanese writers of fiction, went to Toshiyuki Horie for his story “Kuma no shikiishi” (“The Bear's Pavement,” published in the December 2000 issue of Gunzo), and to Yuichi Seirai for his story “Seisui” (“Holy Water,” from the December 2000 Bungakukai

Curepipe

2005-02-23T15:20:00.000-08:00

Town (township) on the island of Mauritius, in the western Indian Ocean. It lies in the western highlands region of the country, about 11 miles (18 km) south of Port Louis, the national capital. The town, named after a similar township in France, developed quickly after a malaria epidemic in 1867, which forced Port Louis residents to relocate to safer areas in the highlands. Several

Nagaland, The people

2005-02-21T22:45:00.000-08:00

The Nagas, classified among the Indo-Asiatic peoples, form more than 20 tribes, as well as numerous subtribes, each having a specific geographic distribution. Though sharing many cultural traits, these tribes have maintained a high degree of isolation and lack cohesion as a single people. The Konyaks are the largest tribe, followed by the Aos, Tangkhuls, Semas, and Angamis.

Sung Dynasty

2005-02-21T15:05:00.000-08:00

The Sung dynasty was founded when Chao K'uang-yin, the military inspector general of the Chou dynasty, last of the Five Dynasties, usurped control of the empire in a coup. Thereafter, he used his mastery of diplomatic maneuvering to persuade powerful potential

Arran

2005-02-19T22:15:00.000-08:00

Arran is called “Scotland in miniature” because of the beauty and variety of its scenery. The north

Argentina, Domestic politics

2005-02-19T21:59:00.000-08:00

The new governor saw clearly the ambiguities and dangers of such widespread support, and, although he was identified as a federalist, he ruled as a centralist, with Buenos Aires as his main power base. Rosas manipulated factions of labourers, gauchos, and elites from the estancias and set himself up as the arbiter of a delicate and constantly threatened balance between

Gray, Dolores

2005-02-17T16:52:00.000-08:00

American singer and actress (b. June 7, 1924, Chicago, Ill.—d. June 26, 2002, New York, N.Y.), had a rich contralto voice that gained her success in motion pictures and, especially, stage musicals. Her first, and perhaps greatest, triumph came in the London production of Annie Get Your Gun, which opened in 1947 and ran for nearly three years, playing to an audience that totaled more than 2.5 million. She followed

Keaton, Diane

2005-02-17T07:23:00.000-08:00

Keaton studied acting at Santa Ana College in California and at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York. She appeared in summer stock in the mid-1960s and in 1968 understudied the lead in the Broadway rock

López Mateos, Adolfo

2005-02-16T00:17:00.000-08:00

A librarian and teacher of Spanish-American literature, López began his public career with an assignment to the UN. He was elected federal senator (1946–52) and later appointed secretary-general of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI). As

Margam

2005-02-15T16:05:00.000-08:00

Locality, Neath Port Talbot county borough, historic county of Glamorgan (Morgannwg), Wales. Situated inland of the sandy Margam Burrows at the base of the peaks Mynydd Margam and Moel Ton-mawr, the community of Margam developed around a Cistercian abbey founded by Robert, earl of Gloucester, in 1147. Margam Abbey was a prominent cultural and educational centre until its

Fu'ad I

2005-02-14T03:29:00.000-08:00

After serving in a number of administrative posts, Fu'ad became sultan of Egypt in 1917, at which time Egypt was still a British protectorate. In 1919 Britain indicated a willingness to negotiate a treaty that would give Egypt more independence. Most Egyptians welcomed this prospect,

Deep-sea Trench

2005-02-13T00:33:00.000-08:00

Trenches generally lie seaward of and parallel to adjacent island arcs or mountain ranges

Hugh Of Cluny, Saint

2005-02-12T19:14:00.000-08:00

Hugh de Semur took monastic vows at

Hancock, Winfield Scott

2005-02-11T18:24:00.000-08:00

A West Point graduate (1844), he served with distinction in the Mexican War (1846–48). Hancock was appointed a

Condé, Henri-jules De Bourbon, 5e Prince De (5th Prince Of)

2005-02-09T19:41:00.000-08:00

Known from 1646 as the Duc d'Enghien, he was taken to and fro by his mother during the Fronde and eventually into exile with his father, returning to France in 1659. He was married in 1663 to Anne of Bavaria, daughter of Edward, Prince Palatine. At this time he was proposed as

Alkali

2005-02-09T08:58:00.000-08:00

Any of the soluble hydroxides of the alkali metals—i.e., lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, and cesium. Alkalies are strong bases that turn litmus paper from red to blue; they react with acids to yield neutral salts; and they are caustic and in concentrated form are corrosive to organic tissues. The term alkali is also applied to the soluble hydroxides of such alkaline-earth

Hywel Ab Owain Gwynedd

2005-02-07T22:41:00.000-08:00

Welsh warrior-prince and lyric poet whose eight extant compositions include the only love poems found in the works of the early Welsh court poets. Also included among the eight are poems expressing love of country, perhaps the first such works in Welsh literature. The son of Owain Gwynedd, Hywel played a major part in the occupation of Ceredigion (Cardiganshire) by

Madhyamika

2005-02-07T14:50:00.000-08:00

(Sanskrit: “Intermediate”), important school in the Mahayana (“Great Vehicle”) Buddhist tradition. Its name derives from its having sought a middle position between the realism of the Sarvastivada (“Doctrine That All Is Real”) school and the idealism of the Yogacara (“Mind Only”) school. The most renowned Madhyamika thinker was Nagarjuna (2nd century AD), who developed the doctrine that all

San Leandro

2005-02-06T13:25:00.000-08:00

City, Alameda County, western California, U.S., adjoining Oakland (south), forms part of the East Bay metropolitan strip characterized by suburban developments, commercial trading centres, and waterfront industries. Once part of Rancho San Leandro (1839), it was known as Squatterville when prospectors settled there after the 1849 Gold Rush. Laid out in 1855, it began as a horticultural

Orange, House Of

2005-02-06T09:14:00.000-08:00

The counts of Orange became independent upon the disintegration of the feudal kingdom of Arles. They were vassals of the Holy Roman emperors from the 12th

Annelid

2005-02-04T15:50:00.000-08:00

The

Chiang K'ang-hu

2005-02-03T21:40:00.000-08:00

Born into a scholar-official family, Chiang studied at home and briefly in Japan before returning to China in 1901 to take charge of the compilation of elementary-school textbooks for the schools of five northern

Table Tennis

2005-02-01T21:39:00.000-08:00

In 1995 the table tennis world championships returned to China in two senses: they took place in Tianjin, and all seven events were won by China, as they had been in 1981. Thus ended Sweden's domination of the men's team event (in 1989, 1991, and 1993) and the run of European triumphs in the men's singles over the same period. The world champions were: men's singles, Kong Linghui; women's singles, Deng Yaping;

Ernest I

2005-02-01T15:51:00.000-08:00

When Ernest succeeded to the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld on the death of his father (Francis) in 1806, the duchy was occupied by Napoleon,

Spoonworm

2005-01-31T16:58:00.000-08:00

Also called Echiurid, any member of the primarily marine invertebrate phylum Echiura, also known as Echiuroidea, or Echiurida. Spoonworms are sausage-shaped organisms with a flattened extension of the “head” that is curved along its lateral edges and sometimes shaped like a scoop or spoon to form a nonretractable anterior proboscis. Adult spoonworms vary from a few

Mollien, Gaspard-théodore

2005-01-30T09:07:00.000-08:00

Mollien reached the French colonial station of Saint-Louis, Senegal, in 1817 and in January 1818 began his expedition to discover the sources of the Sénégal, Gambia,

Middlesbrough

2005-01-29T08:19:00.000-08:00

When the Stockton and Darlington Railway was extended east of Stockton in 1830 to the site where Joseph Pease

Sun Bittern

2005-01-29T01:24:00.000-08:00

(species Eurypyga helias), slender bird of tropical America, the sole member of the family Eurypygidae (order Gruiformes). It has strikingly patterned wings, which the male spreads in courtship and threat displays. The sun bittern is about 43 cm (17 inches) long, with full wings and a long tail beautifully marked in browns, yellows, black, and white. It lives on

Kwandebele

2005-01-26T11:01:00.000-08:00

Former nonindependent black state and enclave in central Transvaal province, South Africa, that was a self-governing “national state” for Transvaal Ndebele people from 1981 to 1994. KwaNdebele was located in a 3,500-foot- (1,060-metre-) high dry savanna area about 100 miles (160 km) northeast of Johannesburg. It was established in 1979, when many Transvaal Ndebele were expelled from the nearby Bophuthatswana

Wrought Iron

2005-01-26T04:47:00.000-08:00

One of the two forms in which iron is obtained by smelting; the other is cast iron (q.v.). Wrought iron is a soft, ductile, fibrous variety that is produced from a semifused mass of relatively pure iron globules partially surrounded by slag. It usually contains less than 0.1 percent carbon and 1 or 2 percent slag. It is superior for most purposes to cast iron, which is overly hard and

Levinson, Salmon Oliver

2005-01-25T21:25:00.000-08:00

Levinson practiced law in Chicago from 1891 and became noted for his skill in reorganizing the finances of distressed corporations. In an article in the New Republic, March 9, 1918, he argued that violence by nation-states should be declared illegal.

Drug Use, Addiction, habituation, and dependence

2005-01-24T04:22:00.000-08:00

The traditional distinction between “addiction” and “habituation” centres on the ability of a drug to produce tolerance and physical dependence. The opiates clearly possess the potential to massively challenge the body's resources, and, if so challenged, the body will make the corresponding biochemical, physiological, and psychological readjustment to the stress.

Ventifact

2005-01-23T01:24:00.000-08:00

Stone that has received one or more highly polished, flattened facets as a result of erosion by windblown sand. The facets are cut in sequence and correlate with the dominant wind direction. As one surface is cut, the stone may become out of balance and may turn to expose another surface to the wind. A ventifact that has been eroded to three curved facets is called a dreikanter.

Black Hills

2005-01-22T18:42:00.000-08:00

Isolated, eroded mountain region in western South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming, U.S., lying largely within the Black Hills National Forest. The hills lie between the Cheyenne and Belle Fourche rivers and rise about 3,000 feet (900 m) above the surrounding plains; they culminate in Harney Peak (7,242 feet [2,207 m]), the highest point in South Dakota. The Black Hills formed as a result of an upwarping

Saiki

2005-01-21T01:28:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Saeki, city, Oita ken (prefecture), Kyushu, Japan, facing Saiki Bay. It developed as a castle town on the small delta of the Banjo River during the Muromachi era (1338–1573) and came into the possession of the Mori daimyo family in 1601. Because of its good harbour, Saiki was selected for a base of the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1933. After World War II most of the military facilities were converted to industrial

Nemours, Henri I De Savoie, Duc De

2005-01-19T06:48:00.000-08:00

Henri had helped the Roman Catholic Savoyards to capture Saluzzo (1588) and had fought for the Holy League in Daupiné, of which he became governor in 1591. Becoming duc de Nemours in 1595, he submitted the following year to King Henry IV. After taking part in campaigns at Rouen and Amiens, he retired to his

Ma-an-shan

2005-01-18T17:44:00.000-08:00

The region along the southern bank of the Yangtze between Ma-an-shan and T'ung-ling (about

Olympic Games, Los Angeles, California, U.S., 1932

2005-01-17T11:13:00.000-08:00

Only about 1,300 athletes, representing 37 countries, competed in the 1932 Games. The poor participation was the result of the worldwide economic depression and the expense of traveling to California. The Los Angeles Games featured the first Olympic Village. The village was located in Baldwin Hills, a suburb of Los Angeles, and covered 321 acres (130 hectares). The male athletes were housed

Naruto

2005-01-16T08:17:00.000-08:00

City, Tokushima ken (prefecture), eastern Shikoku, Japan. The city lies along the Naruto Strait (Naruto-kaikyo), which connects the Inland Sea with the Pacific Ocean. The narrow strait separates Naruto from Awaji Island, a large island of the eastern Inland Sea. During the Tokugawa period (1603–1867) Naruto was a flourishing port and centre of salt production. Since the late 19th century,

Kabelvåg

2005-01-15T23:32:00.000-08:00

Historical village of the Lofoten island group, Nordland fylke (county), northern Norway. It is on the southern shore of Austvågøya island, just southwest of Svolvær, chief town of the Lofoten. Kabelvåg was founded as Vågan in the early 12th century by King Øystein, who built a church and fishermen's hostel there. For many centuries the small port, situated at the base of steep,

Zlín

2005-01-14T18:02:00.000-08:00

Formerly (1948–90) Gottwaldov, city, Jihomoravský kraj (region), Czech Republic, on the Drevnice River, near its confluence with the Morava River. Gottwaldov was created in 1948 through a merger of several communities surrounding Zlín, a 14th-century village that had grown rapidly after World War I. The consolidated town was named for Klement Gottwald, the first communist president of Czechoslovakia. In

Vedic Religion

2005-01-13T09:31:00.000-08:00

The only extant Vedic materials are the texts known as the Vedas, which were written down over a period of about 10 centuries, from about the 15th to the 5th century BC, this being the period when Vedism was a living force. The Vedic corpus is written in an archaic Sanskrit. The most important texts are also the oldest ones. They are the four collections (Samhita) that we call the Veda,

Raaff, Anton

2005-01-12T00:38:00.000-08:00

Raaff received some vocal experience while being trained for the priesthood as a young man, then in 1736 he began studying with Giovanni Battista Ferrandini in Munich and later with Antonio Bernacchi of Bologna. His career over the next several years took him to Florence, Venice, Bonn,

Alveolar Proteinosis

2005-01-10T11:32:00.000-08:00

Respiratory disorder caused by the filling of large groups of alveoli with protein and lipid (fat) particles. The alveoli are air sacs, minute structures in the lungs in which the exchange of respiratory gases occurs. The gas molecules must pass through a cellular wall, the surface of which is generally covered by a thin film of fatty material secreted from the alveolar

Amniocentesis

2005-01-09T06:15:00.000-08:00

The surgical insertion of a hollow needle through the abdominal wall and into the uterus of a pregnant female and the aspiration of fluid from the amniotic sac for analysis. Examination of the amniotic fluid itself as well as the fetal cells found in the fluid can reveal such things as fetal sex (the significant factor in inherited diseases that are sex-linked), chromosomal

Palade, George E.

2005-01-08T11:25:00.000-08:00

Palade received a degree

Mahavastu

2005-01-07T18:57:00.000-08:00

(Sanskrit: “Great Story”), important legendary life of the Buddha, produced as a late canonical work by the Mahasanghika school of early Buddhism and presented as a historical introduction to the vinaya, the section of the canon dealing with monastic discipline. Its three sections treat the Buddha's former lives, the events from his entering the womb of Queen Maha Maya to his

B.e.m.

2005-01-06T01:30:00.000-08:00

Recipient of the British Empire Medal. See British Empire, The Most Excellent Order of the.

Malaria

2005-01-05T10:53:00.000-08:00

A serious, acute and chronic relapsing infection in humans, characterized by periodic attacks of chills and fever, anemia, splenomegaly (enlargement of the spleen), and often fatal complications. Malaria also is found in apes, monkeys, rats, birds, and reptiles. It is caused by various species of protozoa (one-celled organisms) called sporozoans (subphylum Sporozoa) that

Leonard, Sugar Ray

2005-01-05T00:38:00.000-08:00

By his mid-teens Leonard proved adept at boxing, and, as an amateur, he won 145 of 150 bouts and garnered two National Golden Glove

Gauge

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

A measure of the bore of a shotgun. See bore.

Resende, Garcia De

2005-01-02T11:11:00.000-08:00

Resende began to serve John II as a page at the age of 10, becoming his private secretary in 1491. He continued to enjoy royal favour under King Manuel and later under John III. In 1498 he accompanied Manuel to Castile and in 1514 went to Rome with the admiral Tristã

China, Phase two: stalemate and stagnation

2005-01-01T04:57:00.000-08:00

During the second stage of the war (1939–43) the battle lines changed very little, although there were many engagements of limited scale. Japan tried to bomb Free China into submission; Chungking suffered repeated air raids in which thousands of civilians were killed. In 1940 Japan set up a rival government in Nanking under Wang Ching-wei. But the Chinese would not submit. Hundreds

Moll Cutpurse

2004-12-31T16:18:00.000-08:00

London-born, she began her career as a pickpocket, or cutpurse, but after being caught four times, she assumed male attire and turned to highway robbery, until she was apprehended and jailed briefly at Newgate. She then achieved a

Andean Peoples

2004-12-29T17:28:00.000-08:00

Although the Andes Mountains extend from Venezuela to the southern tip of the continent, it is conventional to call “Andean” only the people who were once part of Tawantinsuyu, the Inca Empire in the Central Andes, or those influenced by it. Even so, the Andean region is very wide. It encompasses

Tridymite

2004-12-29T10:19:00.000-08:00

Silica mineral, the stable form of silica (silicon dioxide, SiO2) at temperatures between 870° and 1,470° C (1,598° and 2,678° F); at lower temperatures it transforms to high-quartz, at higher to cristobalite. It has three modifications: high-tridymite, middle-tridymite, and low-tridymite. Tridymite forms thin hexagonal plates that are generally twinned, often in groups of three; its name alludes

Fry, Roger

2004-12-27T19:14:00.000-08:00

Fry was born into a Quaker family and was educated at the University of Cambridge for a career in science. His interest in art grew, however, and he studied painting in Italy and also began to lecture on art. His first book, Giovanni

Arts, Central Asian, Buddhist monastic dance

2004-12-27T07:06:00.000-08:00

The second major genre of the performing arts to develop in Central Asia was 'cham, the ritualistic dance performed in Buddhist monasteries. The origin of 'cham may well be an older form of shamanic ceremonial dance in Tibet, but centuries of evolution within a Buddhist-dominated society led to the recasting of the roles and theme of the dance in keeping with Buddhist

Tiger Snake

2004-12-26T16:40:00.000-08:00

This common serpent, most numerous in swampy places in southern regions, is variable in colour but often has brown-and-yellow

Sore Mouth

2004-12-25T10:42:00.000-08:00

Also called doby mouth, pustular dermatitis , or contagious ecthyma (CE) viral disease of sheep and goats. Blisters, pustules, ulcers, and scabs form on the lips especially but also on the face and ears. In severe cases sores form inside the mouth. Infections occur in the spring and summer and heal in about a month. Humans who work around the sheep sometimes become infected.

Shensi, Southern Shensi

2004-12-23T15:50:00.000-08:00

The history of the southern part of the province has been considerably more placid than that of the north. Until the late 17th century the area was very sparsely peopled, and much of it, apart from the Han-chung basin, is still virgin forest. In the period after about 1680 the introduction of corn (maize) and sweet potatoes, followed in the 18th century by the introduction of the Irish

Literature, Danish.

2004-12-23T13:27:00.000-08:00

Danish writers cast reality to the wind and explored “surreality” in 2001. Per Højholt's novel Auricula described a universal silence that is followed by the marvelous conception of actual ears that witness pivotal events of the 20th century; gossip with artists, philosophers, and politicians; and serve as “ear witnesses

Safe-conduct

2004-12-21T23:58:00.000-08:00

Procedure by which a person is permitted to enter or leave a jurisdiction in which he would normally be subject to arrest, detention, or other deprivation. Historically, the habit of princes in granting safe-conducts to foreigners who, as aliens, did not ordinarily enjoy the full protection of the host-country's law developed into the system of diplomatic

Caruso, Enrico

2004-12-21T15:34:00.000-08:00

Caruso was of a poor family and was the 18th of 20 children. Although he was a musical child who sang Neapolitan folk songs everywhere and joined his parish choir at the age of nine, he received no formal

Bhave, Vinoba

2004-12-20T21:55:00.000-08:00

Born of a high-caste Brahman family, he abandoned his high-school studies in 1916 to join Gandhi's ashram (ascetic community). Gandhi's teachings led Bhave to a life of austerity, dedicated

Kii Peninsula

2004-12-20T15:41:00.000-08:00

Japanese Kii-hanto, peninsula of southern Honshu, Japan, facing the Pacific Ocean (east and south) and the Kii Strait and the Inland Sea (west). The peninsula is composed of the Kii Range, whose mountains end abruptly on the north in a fault scarp that commands the valleys of the Kushida River and the Kino River. In general, the mountains are of strong relief, being broken by deep valleys, sharp

Furniture, India

2004-12-17T02:51:00.000-08:00

India's place in the history of furniture is that of an adapter or transformer of imported Western styles rather than a creator of independent styles of its own. Domestic furniture in the sense in which it is known in Europe was not traditional in India before the 16th century, and even such familiar objects as tables and chairs were rarely used until the spread of Portuguese,