WideGlove

Estate Agent London

2006-10-26T14:35:00.000-07:00

Robert Irving Burns specialise in London Commercial and Residential property services, including estate agent london and estate agent central london. Their centrally located ground floor offices, minutes from Oxford Circus offer an ideal marketing base for your property.

Law, Crime, And Law Enforcement, International Organizations.

2005-04-04T17:57:00.000-07:00

New regional organizations included the Arctic Council, which was inaugurated in September and comprised Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Russia, and the U.S.; the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, the Saami Council, and the Russian Association of Indigenous Minorities of the North, Siberia, and the Far East were named as "permanent participants." The council

Clarion River

2005-04-04T11:43:00.000-07:00

River formed at Johnsonburg, Elk county, northwestern Pennsylvania, U.S., by the confluence of East Branch and West Branch Clarion rivers. It flows generally southwest for about 110 miles (177 km), past the towns of Ridgway and Clarion, to join the Allegheny River. The Clarion Dam and Reservoir are on the East Branch near Glen Hazel. The river's name is attributed to surveyors who

Nitroso Compound

2005-04-02T23:02:00.000-08:00

Nitroso compounds are usually prepared

Accentual Verse

2005-04-02T19:26:00.000-08:00

In prosody, a metrical system based only on the number of stresses or accented syllables in a line of verse. In accentual verse the total number of syllables in a line can vary as long as there are the prescribed number of accents. This system is used in Germanic poetry, including Old English and Old Norse, as well as in some English verse. The poem "what if a much of a which

Peru, Pre-Hispanic groups

2005-04-01T01:03:00.000-08:00

Throughout the pre-Hispanic period, the peoples of Peru were largely isolated from one another by the rugged topography of the country. At least three times, however, a unifying culture spread across the Andes. Beginning c. 1000 BC, the Chavín culture permeated the region, emanating possibly from the northern ceremonial site of Chavín de Huántar. After AD 600, the Huari civilization,

Noland, Kenneth

2005-03-31T22:48:00.000-08:00

Noland attended Black Mountain College in North Carolina and studied

Jewel Orchid

2005-03-31T21:27:00.000-08:00

Downy rattlesnake plantain (Goodyera pubescens), native to eastern North America, has dark green leaves with silver and white veins. Its small white flowers are borne on a spike, as are those

Ganesha

2005-03-31T19:02:00.000-08:00

Ganesha, considered the remover of obstacles, is the first god invoked at the beginning of worship or of a new enterprise, and he is often positioned near thresholds and gateways. He is a patron of letters and learning, and he is the

San Fernando

2005-03-29T17:11:00.000-08:00

Town, Cadiz provincia, in the comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of Andalusia, southwestern Spain. It is situated on a rocky island surrounded by salt marshes that line the southern shore of the Bay of Cadiz, south of Cadiz city. Founded in 1776, it was known as Isla de León until renamed (1813) in honour of Ferdinand VII during the Spanish War of Independence (Peninsular War).

Bulb Rot

2005-03-29T02:13:00.000-08:00

Widespread disease that can infect all flower and crop bulbs and is caused by a variety of fungi and a few bacteria. Shoots fail to emerge or leaves are stunted, yellow to reddish or purplish, and they later wilt and die; roots, usually few, are discoloured and decayed. The rot often starts at the bulb base (root plate), progressing upward and outward. Fungal rots are usually

World War I, The Far East

2005-03-27T15:52:00.000-08:00

China's entry into the war in 1917 on the side of the Allies was motivated not by any grievance against the Central Powers but by the Peking government's fear lest Japan, a belligerent since 1914, should monopolize the sympathies of the Allies and of the United States when Far Eastern affairs came up for settlement after the war. Accordingly, in March 1917 the Peking government severed

Maskelyne, Nevil

2005-03-27T11:58:00.000-08:00

Maskelyne was ordained a minister in 1755, but his interest in astronomy had been aroused by the eclipse of July 25, 1748. In 1758 he was admitted to the Royal Society of London, which in 1761 sent him to the island of St. Helena to observe a transit of Venus. During the voyage he experimented

Liquidity Preference

2005-03-26T18:42:00.000-08:00

In economics, the premium that wealth holders demand for exchanging ready money or bank deposits for safe, non-liquid assets such as government bonds. As originally employed by John Maynard Keynes, liquidity preference referred to the relationship between the quantity of money the public wishes to hold and the interest rate. According to Keynes, the public holds

épernon, Jean-louis De Nogaret De La Valette, Duke (duc) D'

2005-03-25T19:58:00.000-08:00

Of obscure nobility, La Valette rose to prominence as a favourite of Henry III, who created him duke and peer of France in 1582. He and Anne de Joyeuse acted virtually as prime ministers in the 1580s. His rapacity was notorious, but he also showed great political ability

Anderson, Marian

2005-03-25T08:45:00.000-08:00

Anderson displayed vocal talent as a child, but her family could not afford to pay for formal training. From the age of six, she was tutored in the choir of the Union Baptist Church, where she sang parts written for bass, alto, tenor, and soprano voices. Members of the

Grumiaux, Arthur, Baron

2005-03-24T14:38:00.000-08:00

Grumiaux studied at the Charleroi and Royal conservatories in Brussels and later with Georges Enescu in Paris. In 1939 he won the Vieuxtemps Prize, and a year later he became the first recipient of the Belgian government's Prix de Virtuosité. Shortly after his debut

Masaryk, Jan (garrigue)

2005-03-23T07:40:00.000-08:00

The son of the statesman Tomáš Masaryk, Jan served in a Hungarian regiment during World War I, entered

Ibn Khaldun

2005-03-22T11:31:00.000-08:00

In full Wali al-Din 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Hasan Ibn Khaldun the greatest Arab historian, who developed one of the earliest nonreligious philosophies of history, contained in his masterpiece, the Muqaddimah (“Introduction”). He also wrote a definitive history of Muslim North Africa.

Polaron

2005-03-22T07:26:00.000-08:00

Electron moving through the constituent atoms of a solid material, causing the neighbouring positive charges to shift toward it and the neighbouring negative charges to shift away. This distortion of the regular position of electrical charges constitutes a region of polarization that travels along with the moving electron. After the electron passes, the region

Bouraoui, Hédi (andré)

2005-03-21T00:58:00.000-08:00

Bouraoui specialized in English literature at the University of Toulouse in France and then, in the United States, received degrees in English and American literature at Indiana University and in romance

World War I, Technology of war in 1914

2005-03-20T07:46:00.000-08:00

The planning and conduct of war in 1914 were crucially influenced by the invention of new weapons and the improvement of existing types since the Franco-German War of 1870–71. The chief developments of the intervening period had been the machine gun and the rapid-fire field artillery gun. The modern machine gun, which had been developed in the 1880s and '90s, was a reliable belt-fed gun

Argyropoulos, John

2005-03-19T14:27:00.000-08:00

As a teacher in Constantinople, Argyropoulos had among his pupils the scholar Constantine Lascaris. Argyropoulos divided his time between Italy and Constantinople; he was in Italy (1439) for the Council of Florence and spent

African Swine Fever

2005-03-19T07:25:00.000-08:00

The virus responsible for African swine fever is classified as an iridovirus. It is physically, chemically,

Papen, Franz Von

2005-03-18T15:58:00.000-08:00

The scion of a wealthy Catholic landowning family, Papen began his career as a professional soldier. At the beginning of World War I, he was military attaché in Washington, but after

Balearic Islands

2005-03-18T09:15:00.000-08:00

The archipelago lies 50 to 190 miles (80 to 300 km) east of the Spanish mainland and has a land area of 1,936 square miles (5,014 square km). There are two groups of islands. The eastern and larger

Fu Hsi

2005-03-17T21:01:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Fu Xi , formally (Wade-Giles romanization) T'ai Hao (Chinese: “The Great Bright One”) , also called Pao Hsi , or Mi Hsi first of China's mythical emperors. His miraculous birth, as a divine being with a serpent's body, is said to have occurred in the 29th century BC. Some representations show him as a leaf-wreathed head growing out of a mountain or as a man clothed with animal skins. Fu Hsi is said to have discovered the famous Chinese trigrams used in divination and thus to have contributed, in

Milkweed

2005-03-17T01:22:00.000-08:00

Any of several species of flowering plants belonging to the family Asclepiadaceae (q.v.).

Dennis, Eugene

2005-03-16T17:02:00.000-08:00

Having worked at various trades in Seattle, Dennis joined the Industrial Workers of the World and in 1926 the Communist Party. Later he went to California to

Pueblo Pottery

2005-03-16T00:40:00.000-08:00

One of the most highly developed of the American Indian arts, still produced today in a manner almost identical to the method developed during the Classic Pueblo period about AD 1050–1300. During the five previous centuries when the Pueblo Indians became sedentary, they stopped using baskets for carrying and began to manufacture and use clay pots, which had been cumbersome,

World War I, Serbia and the Salonika expedition, 191517

2005-03-15T19:23:00.000-08:00

Austria's three attempted invasions of Serbia in 1914 had been brusquely repulsed by Serbian counterattacks. By the summer of 1915 the Central Powers were doubly concerned to close the account with Serbia, both for reasons of prestige and for the sake of establishing secure rail communications with Turkey across the Balkans. In August, Germany sent reinforcements to Austria's

New Caledonia

2005-03-15T11:31:00.000-08:00

Officially Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies , French Territoire de la Nouvelle-Calédonie et Dépendances French overseas territory in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, about 900 miles (1,500 kilometres) east of Australia. It includes the island of New Caledonia (the Grande Terre, or mainland), where the capital, Nouméa, is located; the Loyalty Islands; the Bélep Islands; and the Isle of Pines. These islands, which form more than 99 percent of the total land area of about 7,300 square miles (19,000 square

Rhythm And Blues

2005-03-14T13:24:00.000-08:00

Also called rhythm & blues or R&B term used for several types of postwar African-American popular music, as well as for some white rock music derived from it. The term was coined by Jerry Wexler in 1947, when he was editing the charts at the trade journal Billboard and found that the record companies issuing black popular music considered the chart names then in use (Harlem Hit Parade, Sepia, Race) to be demeaning.

National Awakening Party

2005-03-14T00:29:00.000-08:00

The PKB was formed in 1998 by Abdurrahman Wahid—a Muslim cleric and head of the Council of Scholars (Nahdlatul-'Ulama), the country's largest Muslim organization— and his supporters. Its opposition to an Islamic government, however, led more conservative members to leave and establish other parties. In 1999 the PKB leader Wahid

Latinus

2005-03-13T08:29:00.000-08:00

According to the

Economic Forecasting

2005-03-12T15:29:00.000-08:00

Formal economic forecasting is usually based on a specific theory as to how the economy works. Some theories are complicated,

Ambrose, Saint

2005-03-12T11:52:00.000-08:00

Latin Ambrosius bishop of Milan, biblical critic, and initiator of ideas that provided a model for medieval conceptions of church–state relations. His literary works have been acclaimed as masterpieces of Latin eloquence, and his musical accomplishments are remembered in his hymns. Ambrose is also remembered as the teacher

Východoceský

2005-03-12T08:17:00.000-08:00

Kraj (region), north-central Czech Republic. It is bordered by Stredoceský and Severoceský kraje to the west, Poland to the north, Severomoravský kraj to the east, and Jihomoravský and Jihoceský kraje to the south. The Krkonoše (“Giant”) Mountains range across the north; in them rises the Labe (Elbe) River, which flows first south, then west, and which, with its tributaries, forms the

English Literature, The literature of World War I and the interwar period

2005-03-11T17:07:00.000-08:00

The impact of World War I upon the Anglo-American modernists has been noted. In addition the war brought a variety of responses from the more traditionalist writers, predominantly poets, who saw action. Rupert Brooke caught the idealism of the opening months of the war (and died in service); Siegfried Sassoon and Ivor Gurney caught the mounting anger and sense of waste

Prussia

2005-03-10T18:24:00.000-08:00

German Preussen , Polish Prusy in European history, any of certain areas of eastern and central Europe, respectively (1) the land of the Prussians on the southeastern coast of the Baltic Sea, which came under Polish and German rule in the Middle Ages; (2) the kingdom ruled from 1701 by the German Hohenzollern dynasty, including Prussia and Brandenburg, with Berlin as its capital, which seized much of northern

Bahrain

2005-03-10T00:03:00.000-08:00

Officially State of Bahrain, Arabic Dawlat Al-Bahrayn small Arab state in the Persian Gulf. It is an archipelago consisting of Bahrain Island—extending about 30 miles (50 km) from north to south and 10 miles (16 km) from east to west—and some 30 smaller islands. Its Arabic name means “two seas.” Bahrain is situated in a bay on the southwestern coast of the Persian Gulf; Saudi Arabia lies to the west across the Gulf of Bahrain, while the Qatar peninsula

Monongahela River

2005-03-09T22:17:00.000-08:00

River formed by the confluence of the Tygart and West Fork rivers in Marion county, W.Va., U.S. It flows 128 miles (206 km) in a northerly direction past Morgantown into Pennsylvania, past Brownsville and Charleroi, joining the Allegheny River at Pittsburgh to become a major headwater of the Ohio River. In its upper reaches the river has a swift current and furnishes hydroelectric

Fabiola, Saint

2005-03-09T18:11:00.000-08:00

After her conversion to Christianity, she worked closely with St. Jerome, dedicating her wealth and life to the church. In addition to the hospital founded in Rome, she later founded, with St. Pammachius, a hospice for pilgrims at Porto, Italy,

Liguori, Saint Alfonso Maria De'

2005-03-09T14:14:00.000-08:00

After practicing law for eight years, he was ordained

Wild Duck

2005-03-09T01:27:00.000-08:00

In the Northern Hemisphere, common name for the mallard (q.v.).

Llano Estacado

2005-03-07T21:55:00.000-08:00

Also called Staked Plains, portion of the High Plains of the United States, along the Texas–New Mexico border. It covers an area of about 30,000 square miles (78,000 square km) and is bounded by the Canadian River valley (north), the “break of the plains” (east), the Edwards Plateau (south), and the Mescalero Ridge overlooking the Pecos River (west). Strikingly level in appearance and averaging 3,000–4,000 feet (900–1,200 m) above sea level, the

Jacobs, Harriet A.

2005-03-06T14:19:00.000-08:00

Born into slavery, Jacobs still was taught to read at an early age. She was orphaned as a child and formed a bond with her maternal grandmother, Molly Horniblow, who had been freed from slavery.

Pacific Coast

2005-03-06T02:01:00.000-08:00

Region, western North America, possessing two unifying geologic and geographic properties—the Pacific Ocean, which constitutes a natural western border, and the coastal mountain ranges that form the eastern border of the region. The most commonly accepted definition of the Pacific Coast is largely a political one: it defines the region as comprising the U.S. states

Branagh, Kenneth

2005-03-06T00:20:00.000-08:00

At the age of nine, Branagh moved with his family from Northern Ireland to London. He began acting in school plays and graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1981. Six weeks later he made his professional

China, Internal solidarity during the decline of the Nan Sung

2005-03-05T15:21:00.000-08:00

Honouring the Chu Hsi school did not reinvigorate the Nan Sung administration, but the military, despite some weaknesses, maintained an effective defense against the Mongols for four decades—the longest stand against Mongol invasions anywhere. The final Sung defeat came in part because the Mongol forces, frustrated for many years in their attempts to break the

Race, The Germanic myth and English constructions of an Anglo-Saxon past

2005-03-05T07:32:00.000-08:00

In England, from the time that Henry VIII broke with the Roman Catholic church and Protestant sects emerged on the horizon, historians, politicians, and philosophers had been wrestling with the creation of a new English identity. Indeed, European powers were soon to be caught up in the ethnic rivalries, extreme chauvinism, and intolerance out of which all the nation-states

Clout Shooting

2005-03-04T13:29:00.000-08:00

As practiced by the Royal Company of Archers (the British sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland, formally organized in 1676) and the Woodmen of Arden (English society of archers, founded 1785), traditional longbows

Hydrosphere, Distribution of precipitation

2005-03-04T05:47:00.000-08:00

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

Nordenskiöld, Erland

2005-03-03T19:49:00.000-08:00

Son of the scientist-explorer Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld and cousin of explorer-geographer

Shi'ah

2005-03-02T05:06:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Shi'a , singular Shi'i the Muslims who constitute the smaller of the two major branches of Islam, distinguished from the majority Sunnites. The Arabic term Shi'ah also denotes the system or doctrine of such Muslims. See Shi'ite.

Aran Islands

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

Irish Arainn, three limestone islands—Inishmore, Inishmaan, and Inisheer—comprising 18 square miles (47 square km) and lying across the mouth of Galway Bay on the west coast of Ireland. They are administratively part of County Galway. The islands, whose sheer cliffs face the Atlantic Ocean, are generally bleak. Steamers and ferries call mainly at the town of Kilronan on Inishmore, the

Soga Emishi

2005-03-01T23:30:00.000-08:00

Under Emishi's father, Soga Umako, the Soga family had begun to dominate the imperial court. Umako had been content to remain unobtrusive in

Dracaena

2005-02-28T09:10:00.000-08:00

Genus of ornamental foliage plants in the family Agavaceae, consisting of about 50 to 80 species native primarily to the Old World tropics. Most species have short stalks and narrow, sword-shaped leaves, but some have taller stalks and resemble trees with crowns of leaves. The small flowers are red, yellow, or green. The berrylike fruit contains one to three

Astronomical Map

2005-02-28T01:52:00.000-08:00

Any cartographic representation of the stars, galaxies, or surfaces of the planets and the Moon. Modern maps of this kind are based on a coordinate system analagous to geographic latitude and longitude. In most cases, modern maps are compiled from photographic observations made either with Earth-based equipment or with instruments carried aboard

Antares

2005-02-28T00:34:00.000-08:00

Also called Alpha Scorpii red, semiregular variable star, with apparent visual magnitude about 0.9, the brightest star in the zodiacal constellation Scorpius and one of the largest known stars, having several hundred times the diameter of the Sun and several thousand times the Sun's luminosity. It has a fifth-magnitude blue companion. Antares lies about 400 light-years from the Earth. The name seems

Marggraf, Andreas Sigismund

2005-02-27T18:06:00.000-08:00

Marggraf served as assistant (1735–38) to his father, the court apothecary at Berlin, and as director of the chemical laboratory of the German Academy of Sciences of Berlin (1754–60). He distinguished between the oxides of aluminum (alumina) and

Middletown

2005-02-27T13:13:00.000-08:00

City, coextensive with the town (township) of Middletown, Middlesex county, central Connecticut, U.S., on the Connecticut River. Settled by Puritans in 1650 and incorporated as a town in 1651, it occupies the site of the Indian village of Mattabesec (Mattabesett). It was named in 1653 for its position between the upstream towns and the river mouth. The city, chartered in 1784, consolidated with

Kamenshek, Dorothy

2005-02-26T14:49:00.000-08:00

Kamenshek showed promise as an outfielder with a local softball league by the time she was 17. A scout for the newly created All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) persuaded her to try out in Chicago.

Strain

2005-02-26T09:07:00.000-08:00

In physical sciences and engineering, number that describes relative deformation or change in shape and size of elastic, plastic, and fluid materials under applied forces. The deformation, expressed by strain, arises throughout the material as the particles (molecules, atoms, ions) of which the material is composed are slightly displaced from their normal

Araguaia River

2005-02-25T22:40:00.000-08:00

Portuguese Rio Araguaia, river, central Brazil. It rises on the Brazilian Highlands near Alto Araguaia town in Mato Grosso state and flows north-northeast for 1,632 miles (2,627 km) to its junction with the Tocantins River, at São João do Araguaia. Its upper course forms the boundary between Mato Grosso state (west) and Goiás and southern Tocantins states (east). In midcourse the river divides into two channels

Welded Tuff

2005-02-25T01:57:00.000-08:00

Rock composed of compacted volcanic ejecta (see tuff).

Mahesh Yogi, Maharishi

2005-02-24T23:14:00.000-08:00

Little is known of the Maharishi's early life. He studied physics at the University of Allahabad and worked for a time in factories. He later left for the Himalayas, where for 13 years he studied under Guru Dev, the founder of TM. When Guru Dev died in 1952, the Maharishi organized

Heisman Trophy

2005-02-24T23:11:00.000-08:00

Cup awarded annually to the outstanding college gridiron football player in the United States as determined by a poll of sportswriters. The trophy was instituted in 1935 by the Downtown Athletic Club of New York City and the next year was named in honour of its first athletic director, John Heisman, a player and successful coach of the 1890s and early 1900s. The first winner of the

Natchez

2005-02-23T14:04:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1817) of Adams county, southwestern Mississippi, U.S., on the Mississippi River (there bridged to Vidalia, Louisiana), about 70 miles (110 km) southwest of Vicksburg. Established in 1716 as Fort Rosalie by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, it survived a massacre (1729) by Natchez Indians for whom it was later named. It passed from France to England (1763) at the conclusion of the French and

Arcturus

2005-02-23T01:24:00.000-08:00

Also called Alpha Boötis one of the five brightest stars in the night sky, and the brightest star in the northern constellation Boötes, with an apparent visual magnitude of 0.00. It is an orange-coloured giant star about 40 light-years from the Earth. It lies in an almost direct line with the tail of Ursa Major (the Great Bear); hence its name, derived from the Greek words for “bear guard.”

Czechoslovak Region, History Of

2005-02-22T23:42:00.000-08:00

The modern states of the Czech Republic and Slovakia came into being on Jan. 1, 1993, with the dissolution of the Czechoslovak federation. Czechoslovakia itself had been formed in 1918 at the end of World War I, following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian empire.

Bad Gandersheim

2005-02-22T18:07:00.000-08:00

Also called Gandersheim, city, Lower Saxony Land (state), north-central Germany. It lies in the Leine River valley. Bad Gandersheim is remarkable for an 11th-century convent church containing the tombs of famous abbesses and for the former abbey, which was moved there in 852 by the duke of Saxony, whose daughters were the first two abbesses. Louis III granted a privilege by which the office of abbess

Encyclopédie

2005-02-21T21:14:00.000-08:00

In full Encyclopédie, Ou Dictionnaire Raisonné Des Sciences, Des Arts Et Des Métiers (French: “Encyclopaedia, or Classified Dictionary of Sciences, Arts, and Trades”), the 18th-century French encyclopaedia that was one of the chief works of the Philosophes, men dedicated to the advancement of science and secular thought and the new tolerance and open-mindedness of the Enlightenment. The Encyclopédie was a literary and philosophical enterprise with

Rye

2005-02-21T17:23:00.000-08:00

(species Secale cereale), cereal grass and its edible grain that is used to make rye bread and rye whiskey. The plant grows to a height of 1 to 2 m (4 to 6 feet) and has spikes composed of two or more spikelets bearing florets that develop one-seeded fruits, or grains. Rye cultivation probably originated in southwestern Asia about 6500 BC, migrating westward across the Balkan Peninsula

Graves, Robert (von Ranke)

2005-02-20T21:42:00.000-08:00

English poet, novelist, critic, and classical scholar who carried on many of the formal traditions of English verse in a period of experimentation. His more than 120 books also include a notable historical novel, I, Claudius (1934); an autobiographical classic of World War I, Good-Bye to All That (1929; rev. ed. 1957); and erudite, controversial studies in

Main Range

2005-02-20T08:36:00.000-08:00

Also called Central Range , or Buffalo Range mountain range in West Malaysia, the most prominent mountain group on the Malay Peninsula. Composed of granite with some patches of altered stratified rocks, the range extends southward for 300 miles (480 km) from the Thai border, with elevations rarely less than 3,000 feet (900 m) and some peaks exceeding 7,000 feet (2,100 m; high point Mount Korbu [Kerbau], or Buffalo Mountain, 7,162 feet [2,183 m]). The heavily forested

Intercalation

2005-02-19T18:40:00.000-08:00

Insertion of days into a calendar to bring it into line with the solar year (year of the seasons). One example is the periodic inclusion of leap-year day (February 29) in the Gregorian calendar now in general use. To keep the months of a lunar calendar (e.g., the Hindu calendar) in their proper seasons, an entire month must be intercalated or extracalated (dropped) periodically,

Joubert, Barthélemy-catherine

2005-02-19T15:12:00.000-08:00

Joubert, son of an advocate, ran away from school in 1784 to enlist in the artillery but was brought back and sent to study law at Lyon and Dijon. In 1791 he joined the volunteers of the Ain and fought with the French army in Italy in 1793. By the end of 1796 he was a general of division. He was in charge of the

Clairvaux

2005-02-18T07:05:00.000-08:00

Village, northeastern France, in Aube département, Champagne-Ardenne région, east-southeast of Troyes. Its abbey, founded in 1115 by the French churchman and mystic St. Bernard of Clairvaux, became a centre of the Cistercian order. All that remains of the original abbey is a large 12th-century storehouse and other vestiges, which have been incorporated in an 18th-century monastery.

Erythrite

2005-02-18T02:52:00.000-08:00

Also called Cobalt Bloom, arsenate mineral in the vivianite group, hydrated cobalt arsenate [Co3(AsO4)2×8H2O]. Erythrite, which is used as a guide to the presence of cobalt-nickel-silver ores because of its crimson or peach-red colour, occurs as radiating crystals, concretions, or earthy masses in the oxidized zone of cobalt and nickel deposits. It forms a complete solid-solution series with annabergite,

France, History Of, The conquests

2005-02-17T22:53:00.000-08:00

Charlemagne consolidated his authority up to the geographic limits of Gaul. Though he put down a new insurrection in Aquitaine (769), he was unable to bring the

Platform Tennis

2005-02-17T14:28:00.000-08:00

Also called Platform Paddle Tennis, or Paddle Tennis, sport that is a combination of tennis and squash, devised in 1928 by American sports enthusiasts Fessenden Blanchard and James Cogswell at Scarsdale, N.Y. It is played on specially constructed platforms, 60 by 30 feet (18 by 9 m), surrounded by back and side walls of tightly strung wire netting 12 feet (3.7 m) high. The actual court measures 44 by 20 feet (13.4 by 6 m), and the net is 2 feet 10 inches (86 cm) high at its centre.

Burgomaster

2005-02-16T13:39:00.000-08:00

German Bürgermeister (“town master”), mayor or chief magistrate of a German town, city, or rural commune. The title is also used in such countries as Belgium (bourgmeistre) and The Netherlands (burgemeester). Most German towns have a burgomaster, but larger cities may have several, one being the chief burgomaster (oberbürgermeister). Burgomasters may be elected by the voters or by a council, and

Arevaci

2005-02-16T00:48:00.000-08:00

The Arevaci and the Belli rose up against the Romans in the Celtiberian War, which

Atkinson, Sir Harry

2005-02-15T03:07:00.000-08:00

Atkinson left England for Taranaki province, N.Z., in 1853 and attained distinction as a soldier in the wars of 1860 and 1863 against the native Maoris. As minister of defense (1864–65) in the administration

Furniture, The American colonies

2005-02-14T10:03:00.000-08:00

Information in inventories and

Use

2005-02-13T15:52:00.000-08:00

In medieval English property law, the right of one person to take the profits of land belonging to another. It involved at least two and usually three persons. One man (A) would convey or enfeoff land to another (B) on the condition that the latter would use it not for his own benefit but for the benefit of a third man (C)—who could be A himself. C (or A), thus, had the profits—that is, the

Monemvasía

2005-02-13T07:39:00.000-08:00

Ancient Minoa town, Laconia nomós (department), southern Greece, on the southeastern coast of the Peloponnese. Monemvasía lies at the foot of a rock that stands just offshore and that is crowned by the ruins of a medieval fortress and a 14th-century Byzantine church. It is joined to the mainland by a causeway, from which it derives its modern name meaning “city of the single approach.” The

Costa Alegre, Caetano Da

2005-02-12T15:32:00.000-08:00

Costa Alegre was born into a creole family but moved in 1882 to Portugal, where he enrolled in the Medical School of Lisbon. Before he could graduate and

Alexander Iii

2005-02-12T14:35:00.000-08:00

King of Scotland from 1249 to 1286, the last major ruler of the dynasty of kings descended from Malcolm III Canmore (reigned 1058–93), who consolidated royal power in Scotland. Alexander left his kingdom independent, united, and prosperous, and his reign was viewed as a golden age by Scots caught up in the long, bloody conflict with England after his

Rocky Mountains

2005-02-11T16:36:00.000-08:00

Byname the Rockies, mountain range forming the backbone of the great upland system that dominates the western North American continent. Generally, the ranges included in the Rockies stretch from northern Alberta and British Columbia southward to New Mexico, a distance of some 3,000 miles (4,800 kilometres). In places the system is 300 or more miles wide. Limits are mostly arbitrary, especially in

Mercury Processing, Secondary mercury

2005-02-11T01:02:00.000-08:00

Significant quantities of mercury have been reclaimed from dental amalgams, oxide and acetate sludges, and battery scrap. Virtually all the metal can be recovered from scrapped mercury cells, mercury boilers, electrical apparatuses, and control instruments.

Dandruff

2005-02-10T22:55:00.000-08:00

Skin disorder, a form of seborrheic dermatitis (q.v.) that affects the scalp.

Buddhism, The Bka'-gdams-pa and Dge-lugs-pa

2005-02-10T02:41:00.000-08:00

The Bka'-gdams-pa school was based on the teachings of Atisa (an Indian monk who came to Tibet in the 11th century). It was founded by his chief disciple, 'Brom-ston (c. 1008–c. 1064), who emphasized austere discipline. The school produced the Bka'-gdams gces-bsdus (“Collection of the Sayings of the Bka'-gdams-pa Saints”), which preserves the often highly poetic utterances of those close to the founder.

Caddisfly

2005-02-09T23:03:00.000-08:00

Any of the mothlike aquatic insects that constitute the order Trichoptera. The adult, attracted to light at night, often lives near lakes or rivers. Because fish feed on immature, aquatic stages and trout take flying adults, caddisflies are used as models for fishermen's “flies.”

Harding, Saint Stephen

2005-02-09T15:43:00.000-08:00

Educated at the Sherborne Abbey, Harding fled to Scotland sometime after the Norman Conquest. He studied in Paris, may have been a soldier, and made a pilgrimage to Rome. He joined the Cluniac abbey at Molesme,

France, History Of, Trade

2005-02-08T20:22:00.000-08:00

Despite the Islamic conquests, Mediterranean commerce did not decline abruptly. In Gaul, such goods as papyrus, oil, and spices were imported from the East, and there were numerous colonies of Syrians. Currency continued to be based on the gold standard, and imperial units were still used. All signs, moreover, point to the existence of manufacturing for trade (marble from

Aldrin, Edwin Eugene, Jr.

2005-02-08T03:17:00.000-08:00

A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y. (1951), Aldrin became an air force pilot. He flew 66 combat missions in Korea and later served in West Germany. In 1963 he wrote a dissertation on orbital mechanics to earn his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute

Norske Folkeeventyr

2005-02-07T09:04:00.000-08:00

(1841–44; Eng. trans. Norwegian Folktales), collections of folktales and legends, by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Engebretsen Moe, that had survived and developed from Old Norse pagan mythology in the mountain and fjord dialects of Norway. The authors, stimulated by a revival of interest in Norway's past, gathered the tales of ghosts, fairies, gods, and mountain trolls

Wigan

2005-02-07T06:53:00.000-08:00

Town and metropolitan borough in the northwestern part of the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, historic county of Lancashire, England. It lies along the River Douglas and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The borough includes large industrial and commercial centres such as the towns of Wigan and Leigh, suburban neighbourhoods, and small rural