TiredRoot

Aalto, Alvar

2005-04-05T04:17:00.000-07:00

Turun Sanomat Building, Turku, Fin. (1930); Municipal Library at Viipuri, now Vyborg, Russia (1930–35); Sulfate Paper Mill at Toppila, Fin. (1931); Sanatorium at Paimio, Fin. (1933); cellulose factory at Sunila, Kotka, Fin. (1936–39; extended 1951–54); Villa Mairea (Gullichsen House) near Noormarkku, Fin. (1938–39); sawmill at Varkaus, Fin. (1945); Baker House (student dormitory), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass., U.S. (1947–48); town hall group, Säynätsalo, Fin. (1950–52); House of Culture, Helsinki, Fin. (1955–58); house for Louis Carré, Bazoches, France (1956–58); church at Vuoksenniska, Imatra, Fin. (1956–58); Nordjyllands Kunstmuseum, Ålborg, Den. (1958–72); post and telegraph office, Baghdad, Iraq (1958); Community Centre, Wolfsburg, Ger. (1959–62); Community Centre, Seinäjoki, Fin. (1962; theatre added, 1967); Edgar J. Kaufmann Conference Rooms, Institute of International Education, New York City (1964–65); Mount Angel Abbey Library, near Salem, Ore., U.S. (1967–70); Finlandia Hall, Helsinki (1971, enlarged 1974); Taidemuseo, Jyväskylä, Fin. (1973, later called the Alvar Aalto Museum).

Shah

2005-04-03T18:45:00.000-07:00

Old Persian Khshayathiya, title of the kings of Iran, or Persia. When compounded as shahanshah, it denotes “king of kings,” or emperor, a title adopted by the 20th-century Pahlavi dynasty in evocation of the ancient Persian “king of kings,” Cyrus II the Great (reigned 559–c. 529 BC). Another related title or form of address is padshah, or “lord king.” The title shah was also used in Afghanistan until the overturn of the monarchy

Východní Slovensko

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

Czech Východoslovenský kraj (region), eastern Slovakia. It is bordered by Strední Slovensko kraj to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, and Hungary to the south. The Vysoké Tatry (High Tatras) and Nízke Beskydy Mountains extend across the northern part of Východní Slovensko kraj, and the Nízke Tatry (Low Tatras) give way to the Slovenské Rudo (“Slovak Ore”) Mountains in the west. A major

Vuillard, (jean-)édouard

2005-03-28T07:20:00.000-08:00

Vuillard met Bonnard, Paul Sérusier, and Félix Vallotton while studying at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and, along with his old friends Maurice Denis and Ker-Xavier Roussel, they formed an association called the

Con Son

2005-03-25T13:28:00.000-08:00

The

Egypt, The interwar period

2005-03-24T19:57:00.000-08:00

Fu'ad was never popular and felt insecure, and was therefore prepared to intrigue with the nationalists or with the British to secure his position and powers. The Wafd, with its mass following, elaborate organization, and (until his death in 1927) charismatic leader in Zaghlul, was the only truly national party in Egypt. Ideologically, it stood for national independence against

Henry, William

2005-03-18T18:49:00.000-08:00

Henry took his doctor of medicine degree at Edinburgh (1807). When ill health forced him

Mcpherson

2005-03-17T03:33:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1873) of McPherson county, central Kansas, U.S. Laid out in 1872 on the Santa Fe Trail, it was named for James B. McPherson, a Union general killed in the American Civil War. The city is now a processing and shipping point for nearby oil fields and the surrounding diversified agricultural area. Industries include oil refining, flour milling, and the manufacture of aluminum

Furniture, France

2005-03-15T16:22:00.000-08:00

In France the Italian influence of the 16th century was gradually assimilated, and a national style of furniture was evolved that soon spread its influence into neighbouring countries. The reign of Louis XIII, covering most of the first half of the 17th century, was a time of transition. The Gobelins factory was founded by Louis XIV for the production of deluxe furniture

Pacific Mountain System, Climate

2005-03-12T01:58:00.000-08:00

The orientation of the Pacific mountains has a profound effect on the climate of the western United States and Canada. Regionally, they act as a barrier to storms from the Pacific Ocean, which especially in winter bring large quantities of precipitation to the western slopes of the ranges. For example, the highest annual precipitation levels in the 48 coterminous

Strangler Fig

2005-03-10T06:36:00.000-08:00

Of the 150 or so species of New World figs, most are stranglers, including F. obtusifolia and F. nymphaeifolia. Beginning life as a sticky

Port Elizabeth

2005-03-08T23:57:00.000-08:00

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

Aubagne

2005-03-07T05:15:00.000-08:00

Town, Bouches-du-Rhône département, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur région, southeastern France. Aubagne lies about 10 miles (16 km) east of Marseille. It was the site of the Gallo-Roman Pagus Lucreti and derived its name from its health springs (Ad Bainea). Aubagne sits amidst an agricultural region that is centred around market gardening and fruit and vegetable production. It

Korosten

2005-03-05T15:14:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Korosten ', city, Zhitomir oblast (province), north-central Ukraine. It lies along the west bank of the Uzh River about 80 miles (130 km) northwest of Kiev. The city, which was incorporated in 1926, is a small industrial centre, a railway junction, and an engineering centre. In addition, it manufactures equipment for the chemical industry and has woodworking, porcelain, food-processing, and clothing

Tibet, Relief

2005-03-02T08:06:00.000-08:00

Tibet is on a high plateau—the Plateau of Tibet—surrounded by enormous mountain masses. The relatively level northern part of the plateau is called the Ch'iang-t'ang; it extends more than 800 miles (1,300 kilometres) from west to east at an average elevation of 15,000 feet (4,500 metres) above sea level. The Ch'iang-t'ang is dotted with brackish lakes, the largest of these being Lakes Ch'i-lin and

George

2005-03-01T21:34:00.000-08:00

Byname George of Podebrady, Czech Jirí z Podebrad king of Bohemia from 1458. As head of the conservative Utraquist faction of Hussite Protestants, he established himself as a power when Bohemia was still under Habsburg rule, and he was thereafter unanimously elected king by the estates. A nationalist and Hussite king of a prosperous state, he incurred the enmity

Assam

2005-02-27T08:52:00.000-08:00

State of India. It is located in the northeastern part of the country and has an area of 30,285 square miles (78,438 square kilometres). It is bounded to the north by the kingdom of Bhutan and the state of Arunachal Pradesh; to the east by the states of Nagaland and Manipur; to the south by the states of Mizoram and Tripura; and to the west by the state of Meghalaya, Bangladesh, and the state of West

Earth, Composition of the crust

2005-02-25T08:42:00.000-08:00

Most of the Earth's surface is covered by oceanic crust. The composition of this crust is documented on the basis of rocks sampled by deep-sea dredging and by studies of ophiolites, which are slivers of oceanic crust and uppermost mantle that have been tectonically emplaced on land. The oceanic crust is found to be relatively uniform in composition (Table 3). It consists

Alclad

2005-02-20T21:24:00.000-08:00

Laminated metal produced in sheets composed of a Duralumin (q.v.) core and outer layers of aluminum.

Berdychiv

2005-02-19T01:12:00.000-08:00

Russian Berdichev, or Berdicev, city, Zhytomyr oblast (province), northwestern Ukraine. Founded in 1482 as a Lithuanian fortress, Berdychiv was Polish from 1569 until 1793. The 16th-century fortress walls survive, as does the Roman Catholic church in which the French novelist Honoré de Balzac married Eveline Hanska, a wealthy Russian widow, in 1850 after an 18-year courtship. Before 1917 an important trading centre, Berdychiv

B-17

2005-02-16T04:24:00.000-08:00

Also called Flying Fortress, U.S. heavy bomber used during World War II. The B-17 was designed by the Boeing Aircraft Company to specifications written in 1934. A prototype flew in 1935, and the craft was in small-scale production in 1937. The seventh substantial variation of the original design, the B-17G, was equipped with superchargers to allow it to cruise at 35,000 feet (10,670 m) at a maximum speed of 287 miles per hour (462 km/h). It was called

Computers, The Intel 4004

2005-02-14T06:15:00.000-08:00

Intel was one of several semiconductor companies to emerge in Silicon Valley, having spun off from Fairchild Semiconductor.

Novgorod

2005-02-12T23:27:00.000-08:00

Oblast (province), northwestern Russia, occupying an area of 21,300 square miles (55,300 square km) and extending across the morainic Valdai Hills, which rise to 971 ft (296 m); the lowland basins of Lake Ilmen lie to the west and of the upper Volga River to the east. Much of the oblast's terrain is in swamp of peat bog or reed and grass marsh, with innumerable small lakes. The remainder (about 60 percent)

Lake Geneva

2005-02-10T09:14:00.000-08:00

City, Walworth county, southeastern Wisconsin, U.S., on the northeastern shore of Lake Geneva at its outlet (the White River), 52 mi (84 km) southwest of Milwaukee. Named for Geneva, N.Y., it developed after 1840 and has been a popular year-round resort for more than a century, with many summer homes and estates (most of which are now permanent residences) on the lake and the wooded hills. The

Leo Ix, Saint

2005-02-08T01:19:00.000-08:00

After their settlement in Sicily in the second decade of the 11th century, the Normans presented considerable dangers to the existence of the papal state. In their marauding expeditions they plundered and

Urubamba River

2005-02-07T03:54:00.000-08:00

Spanish Río Urubamba, river in the Amazon drainage system, rising in the Andes of southern Peru, near the border between Cuzco and Puno departamentos. It flows for about 450 miles (725 km) to its junction with the Apurímac, where it forms the Ucayali. The upper part of the Urubamba, there called the Vilcanota, flows past the towns of Sicuani, Urcos, and Urubamba and is densely settled by Indian farmers.

Lipid Storage Disease

2005-02-05T04:44:00.000-08:00

Any of a group of relatively rare hereditary disorders of fat metabolism, characterized by the accumulation of distinctive types of lipids, notably cerebrosides, gangliosides, or sphingomyelins, in various body structures. Each type of lipid accumulates as a result of a defect in one of the several organic catalysts or enzymes that normally metabolize it inside

Fard, Wallace D.

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

Fard immigrated to the United States sometime before 1930. In that year, he established in Detroit the Temple of Islam as well as the University of Islam, which was the temple's school, and the Fruit of Islam, a corps of male guards. Fard preached that blacks (who were not

Tholeiite

2005-02-01T01:27:00.000-08:00

Fine-grained extrusive igneous rock, a basalt that contains plagioclase feldspar (labradorite), clinopyroxene (augite with pigeonite or hypersthene), and iron ore (magnetite and ilmenite). Tholeiitic lavas often contain glass, but little or no olivine. Tholeiite occurs as extensive plateaus (volumes on the order of 200,000 to 800,000 cubic km [50,000 to 200,000 cubic miles]) in the Pacific Northwest

Avignon Papacy

2005-01-30T14:17:00.000-08:00

Distressed by factionalism in Rome and pressed to come to France by Philip IV, Pope Clement V moved the papal capital to Avignon, which at that time belonged to vassals of the pope. In 1348 it became direct papal property.

Balbo, Cesare, Count (conte)

2005-01-27T11:13:00.000-08:00

Balbo grew up while Piedmont was annexed to France and began his career by entering the Napoleonic

Annates

2005-01-26T18:29:00.000-08:00

A tax on the first year's income (first fruits) from an ecclesiastical benefice given by a new incumbent either to the bishop or to the pope. The first mention of the practice appears in the time of Pope Honorius III (d. 1227). The earliest records show that the annates were sometimes a privilege conceded to the bishop for a term of years and sometimes a right based on immemorial

Yard-of-ale Glass

2005-01-23T03:48:00.000-08:00

Tall, extremely narrow drinking glass that was known in England from the 17th century. It is approximately 1 yard (90 cm) long and holds about 1 pint (0.5 litre). The glass has a trumpet-shaped opening at one end and either a foot at the other or a trick bulb, which makes drinking more difficult, for when air gets into it the ale is forced out in a rush. Impractical for ordinary use, it appears

France, History Of, Sister republics

2005-01-21T15:22:00.000-08:00

Meanwhile the Directory regime successfully exported revolution abroad by helping to create “sister republics” in western Europe. During the Revolution's most radical phase, in 1793–94, French expansion had stopped more or less at the nation's self-proclaimed “natural frontiers”—the Rhine, Alps, and Pyrenees. The Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium) and the left bank of the Rhine

Aesthetics, Medieval aesthetics

2005-01-20T20:56:00.000-08:00

St. Thomas Aquinas devoted certain passages of his Summa Theologiae (c. 1266–73) to the study of beauty. To his thinking, man's interest in beauty is of sensuous origin, but it is the prerogative of those senses that are capable of “contemplation”—namely, the eye and the ear. Aquinas defines beauty in Aristotelian terms as that which pleases solely in the contemplation of it and recognizes

Yahya Ibn Mahmud Al-wasiti

2005-01-18T21:41:00.000-08:00

Yahya was not the first to paint in this style, but he was the best artist

Dewey Decimal Classification

2005-01-16T07:22:00.000-08:00

Also called Dewey Decimal System, system for organizing the contents of a library based on the division of all knowledge into 10 groups, with each group assigned 100 numbers. The 10 main groups are: 000–099, general works; 100–199, philosophy and psychology; 200–299, religion; 300–399, social sciences; 400–499, language; 500–599, natural sciences and mathematics; 600–699, technology; 700–799, the arts; 800–899, literature and rhetoric; and 900–999, history, biography, and geography. These 10 main groups

Steppe, The

2005-01-13T06:11:00.000-08:00

The military advantages of nomadism became apparent even before the speed and strength of horses had been fully harnessed for military purposes. The early conquests of Sargon of Akkad (c. 2250 BC) and the Amorite invasions of Mesopotamia before 1800 BC attest to the superior force that nomadic or seminomadic peoples held, but the full effect of their military strength came with

Saijo

2005-01-12T07:52:00.000-08:00

City, Ehime ken (prefecture), Shikoku, Japan, in the Kamo River delta. A castle town in the 17th century, it served later as a local administrative and commercial centre. The construction of two large power plants was followed rapidly by the establishment of pulp and paper mills and textile factories. The city, one of the core cities of the East Ehime Industrial City Program

China, Art

2005-01-09T13:37:00.000-08:00

Late Shang culture is also defined by the size, elaborate shapes, and evolved decor of the ritual bronzes, many of which were used in wine offerings to the ancestors and some of which were inscribed with ancestral dedications such as “Made for Father Ting.” Their surfaces were ornamented with zoomorphic and theriomorphic elements set against intricate backgrounds

Carlow

2005-01-07T14:09:00.000-08:00

Irish Ceatharlach (“The Four Lakes”) county in the province of Leinster, Ireland. The second smallest Irish county, it is bounded by County Kildare (north), Counties Wicklow and Wexford (east), and Counties Kilkenny and Laoighis (west). The town of Carlow is the county seat. In the east are the granitic mountains of the Leinster Chain, which are crossed by the River Slaney and flanked to the west by the River Barrow

Farman, Maurice

2005-01-06T00:43:00.000-08:00

A champion bicyclist, he also distinguished himself as an automobile racing driver. With his brother Henri, Maurice made the first circular flight of more than one kilometre in 1908, completing a 1.6-kilometre (one-mile) flight near Paris. The following year he built

Tzaddiq

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

Also spelled Tsaddik, or Zaddik (Hebrew: “righteous man”), plural Tzaddiqim, Tsaddikim, or Zaddikim, one who embodies the religious ideals of Judaism. In the Bible, a tzaddiq is a just or righteous man (Genesis 6:9), who, if a ruler, rules justly or righteously (II Samuel 23:3) and who takes joy in justice (Proverbs 21:15). The Talmud (compendium of Jewish law, lore, and commentary) asserts that the continued existence of the world is due to the merits of 36 individuals, each of whom is gamur

Pappenheim, Gottfried Heinrich, Count (graf) Zu

2005-01-01T20:15:00.000-08:00

Pappenheim served with the Catholic League, headed by the elector Maximilian I of Bavaria and commanded by Johann Tserclaes, Graf von Tilly. Idolized by his regiment of cuirassiers, the Pappenheimers, he proved a tempestuous cavalry officer, always

Cordaitales

2004-12-31T22:10:00.000-08:00

An order of coniferophytes (class, sometimes division, Coniferophyta), fossil plants dominant during the Carboniferous Period (360 to 286 million years ago). It is believed to be directly ancestral to the conifers (order Coniferales). Many were trees up to 30 metres (100 feet) tall, branched, and crowned with large, leathery, strap-shaped leaves. Three families are included—Pityaceae,

Condominium

2004-12-29T07:58:00.000-08:00

In modern property law, the individual ownership of one dwelling unit within a multidwelling building, with an undivided ownership interest in the land and other components of the building shared in common with other owners of dwelling units in the building. The condominium as a type of ownership has been present in various forms in Europe since the end of the Middle

Arafura Sea

2004-12-26T13:22:00.000-08:00

Shallow sea of the western Pacific Ocean, occupying 250,000 square miles (650,000 square km) between the north coast of Australia and the Gulf of Carpentaria and the south coast of New Guinea. It merges with the Timor Sea on the west and the Banda and Ceram seas on the northwest. The Torres Strait connects it with the Coral Sea on the east. Most of the Arafura Sea is underlain by the Arafura

Faraday's Law Of Induction

2004-12-25T17:37:00.000-08:00

The phenomenon called electromagnetic induction was first noticed and investigated by Faraday; the law of induction is its quantitative

Alder, Kurt

2004-12-22T09:23:00.000-08:00

Alder studied chemistry at the universities of Berlin and Kiel, where he received his doctorate

Arts, East Asian, Kabuki theatre

2004-12-20T17:56:00.000-08:00

The nagauta form of lyric music, like most of the other narrative forms, began with a close relation to the kabuki popular theatre of the Tokugawa period. The first kabuki performances used instruments (hayashi) from the no drama. Because kabuki was related to the flourishing demimonde of the major cities, however, the music of the party houses and brothels was soon added

Nervous System, Human, Hemispheric asymmetry, handedness, and cerebral dominance

2004-12-19T07:58:00.000-08:00

Evidence from a number

Hyattsville

2004-12-17T04:41:00.000-08:00

City, Prince George's county, central Maryland, U.S., a northeastern residential suburb of Washington, D.C., at the head of the Anacostia River. Settled about the time of the American Civil War as Hart, it was renamed at its incorporation (1886) for its founder, Christopher Clarke Hyatt. In 1892 it became the first community to adopt the controversial single-tax system of providing public

Habituation

2004-12-15T23:50:00.000-08:00

The waning of an animal's behavioral response to a stimulus, as a result of a lack of reinforcement during continual exposure to the stimulus. It is usually considered to be a form of learning involving the elimination of behaviours that are not needed by the animal. Habituation may be separated from most other forms of decreased response (not including changes caused

Fore-and-aft Sail

2004-12-12T18:37:00.000-08:00

One of the two basic types of sailing rig, the other being the square sail. The fore-and-aft sail, now usually triangular, is set completely aft of a mast or stay, parallel to the ship's keel, and takes the wind on either side. The mainsail always has a boom, pivoted on the mast. Historically, it represented an important advance over the ancient square sail; it first appeared in

Andaman And Nicobar Islands, History

2004-12-11T03:46:00.000-08:00

Located on the trade routes from India to East Asia, the Andamans have been known from earliest times. The 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk I-ching, the Arab travelers of the 9th century, and Marco Polo are among those who mention the islands. The name Andaman most likely comes from the Malay Handuman, derived from the monkey god of Hindu mythology, Hanuman. Writings of later

Teramo

2004-12-08T05:29:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Teramo provincia, Abruzzi regione, central Italy. It lies at the confluence of the Tordino and Vezzola rivers, between the Adriatic Sea and the Gran Sasso d'Italia mountain group, northwest of Pescara. Teramo was built on the site of Interamna (Interamnia), a town of the ancient Praetuttii tribe, and was destroyed during the barbarian invasions. It was

Brân

2004-12-06T14:30:00.000-08:00

(Celtic: “Raven”), gigantic Celtic deity who figured in the Mabinogion (a collection of medieval Welsh tales) as “crowned king over this Island” (i.e., Britain). Because of his stature, he and his court had to live in a tent, as no house had ever been built large enough to contain him. The most important aspect of Brân's myth concerned his wondrous severed head. The ancient Celts worshiped

Haas, Ernst

2004-12-04T08:02:00.000-08:00

Haas's youthful interests were divided between medicine and painting, but after World War II he abandoned both in favour of photography. His early photographs were experimentations in abstract light and form. When

Bantock, Sir Granville

2004-12-02T02:47:00.000-08:00

After preparing for the Indian civil service, Bantock studied at Trinity College of Music, London, and the Royal Academy of Music, London. He was active as a conductor, founded and edited the New Quarterly Music Review (1893–96), and succeeded Sir Edward Elgar as professor

Sabatier, (louis-) Auguste

2004-12-01T21:00:00.000-08:00

French Protestant theologian and educator who helped revolutionize biblical interpretation by applying methods of historical criticism and promoted the development of liberal theology and the Roman Catholic Modernist movement by his interpretation of Christian doctrine as the symbolism of religious feelings. Among his principal

Béla Iv

2004-11-29T08:23:00.000-08:00

Routed on the banks of the Sajó River in 1241 by Mongols under Batu Khan, Béla fled to Dalmatia, and for a year the kingdom of Hungary did not exist. So nearly complete was the country's destruction that Hungarians, when referring to total calamity,

Kerman Carpet

2004-11-26T13:09:00.000-08:00

Kerman also spelled Kirman, floor covering handwoven in or about the city of Kerman in southern Iran, which has been the origin since the 16th century of highly sophisticated carpets in well-organized designs. To this city is now generally attributed a wide variety of 16th- and 17th-century carpets, including Vase carpets; rugs with rows of shrubs; arabesque carpets; the finest of the Garden carpets; and,

Catch

2004-11-24T03:02:00.000-08:00

Also called Round, perpetual canon designed to be sung by three or more voices, especially popular in 17th- and 18th-century England. Like all rounds, catches are indefinitely repeatable pieces in which all voices begin the same melody on the same pitch but enter at different time intervals. The name may derive from caccia, a 14th-century canonic form, or may refer to each singer's “catching” the

Tallahassee

2004-11-22T03:14:00.000-08:00

Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto camped in the area during the winter of 1539–40; it was originally occupied by Apalachee and later by Creek peoples. Seven Franciscan missions were established,

Theatre, The

2004-11-20T04:29:00.000-08:00

First public playhouse of London, located in the parish of St. Leonard's, Shoreditch. Designed and built by James Burbage (the father of actor Richard Burbage), The Theatre was a roofless, circular building with three galleries surrounding a yard. It opened in 1576, and several companies performed there, including Leicester's Men (1576–78), the Admiral's Men (1590–91), and Chamberlain's Men (1594–96), who

Field Trial

2004-11-19T08:00:00.000-08:00

Any of the competitions among individual sporting dogs, under conditions that approximate or simulate those found in the hunting field. Competing dogs need not necessarily be of the same breed. In the United States many of the field trials in the bird-dog (pointing dog) category are staged under the sanction of the American Kennel Club, the official governing body

Prickly Poppy

2004-11-16T06:29:00.000-08:00

Also called Argemony any of approximately 30 species of the genus Argemone, North American and West Indian plants belonging to the poppy family (Papaveraceae). Most have spiny leaves, yellow or orange sap, and prickly fruits. Some species have become naturalized in arid regions of South America, Asia, and Africa. Prickly poppies are cultivated as garden ornamentals but frequently become

Shi

2004-11-14T23:11:00.000-08:00

Also called dan the basic unit of weight in ancient China. The shi was created by Shi Huang Di, who became the first emperor of China in 221 BC and who is celebrated for his unification of regulations fixing the basic units. He fixed the shi at about 60 kg (132 pounds). The modern shi is equivalent to 71.68 kg (157.89 pounds).

Aesthetics, Representation and expression in art

2004-11-12T02:48:00.000-08:00

Various theories have been proposed in answer to these questions, the most popular being that the forms of art are similar to language and are to be understood as language is understood, in terms of conventions and semantic rules. A few examples of contemporary theories that have described art in this way include Ernst Cassirer's philosophy of symbolic forms, Susanne

Väisälä, Yrjö

2004-11-10T18:33:00.000-08:00

After receiving his Ph.D. in 1922, Väisälä joined the faculty of the Geodetic Institute of Turku University (1925) and worked as an astronomer and surveyor, completing a magnetic survey of the Earth and inventing

Social Behaviour In Animals

2004-11-08T11:10:00.000-08:00

To understand social behaviour more fully, it is necessary to examine it throughout the range of animal life. W.C. Allee, in his classic book The Social Life of Animals, distinguishes two major types of animal societies. One is the parental, or familial, society, in which parent and offspring stay together for varying lengths of time. The other is the pair bond, or club, society,

Bloemfontein

2004-11-06T10:51:00.000-08:00

Founded by Major H. Douglas Warden in 1846 as a fort and residency, it became the seat of the British-administered Orange River Sovereignty (1848–54) and of the Orange Free State (an independent Boer republic formed in 1854). The failure of the Bloemfontein Conference

Measurement System, Electric current: ampere

2004-11-05T03:20:00.000-08:00

The ampere is defined as the magnitude of the current that, when flowing through each of two long parallel wires separated by one metre in free space, results in a force between the two wires (due to their magnetic fields) of 2 ´ 10-7 newton (the newton is a unit of force equal to about 0.2 pound) for each metre of length.

Maarib

2004-11-03T17:50:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Maariv, plural Maaribim, or Maarivim, Hebrew Ma'ariv (“who brings on twilight”), Jewish evening prayers recited after sunset; the name derives from one of the opening words of the first prayer. Maarib consists essentially of the Shema, with its accompanying benedictions, and the amidah. The Shema expresses the central theme of Jewish worship: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord” (Deuteronomy 6:4), while the amidah is composed

Annapolis Convention

2004-10-31T19:04:00.000-08:00

Growing out of an earlier meeting of representatives of Maryland and Virginia to discuss ways of improving navigation on the Potomac River, the convention of delegates

Shibin Al-kawm

2004-10-29T10:15:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Shebin El-Kom capital of Al-Minufiyah muhafazah (governorate), Lower Egypt. It lies 37 miles (60 km) northwest of Cairo in the southern Nile River delta. Its centre, 10 miles (16 km) east of the Rosetta Branch of the Nile, is situated on the west side of the Shibin Canal, which flows north from Al-Khayriyah Dam to irrigate a rich alluvial region growing cotton, flax, and cereals. Shibin Al-Kawm's manufactures include

Alexander

2004-10-28T06:06:00.000-07:00

The second son of King Constantine (ruled 1913–17 and 1920–22) and Queen Sophia, Alexander became king (June 12, 1917) when his father was forced by the Allies of World War I to abdicate and thereby allow his country to join them in the war. Shortly after Alexander's accession to the throne, Eleuthérios Venizélos became premier of

Maurist

2004-10-25T07:50:00.000-07:00

Member of a congregation of French Benedictine monks founded in 1618 and devoted to strict observance of the Benedictine Rule and especially to historical and ecclesiastical scholarship. Dom Gregory Tarrisse (1575–1648), the first president, desired to make scholarship the congregation's distinguishing feature; he organized schools of training and set up their headquarters

Sayers, Gale

2004-10-23T05:11:00.000-07:00

Sayers first gained national attention as a two-time

Deira

2004-10-21T01:21:00.000-07:00

A northern Anglo-Saxon kingdom in Britain which, by the last quarter of the 7th century AD, had been united with its neighbour Bernicia (q.v.) to form the kingdom of Northumbria. Deira stretched from the Humber to the Tees River. There is a tradition that its first recorded king, Aelle, reigned from 560 and that, on his death in 588 or 590, Deira was seized by Aethelric of Bernicia, whose son

Teflon

2004-10-19T11:04:00.000-07:00

Trade name for synthetic resin composed of polytetrafluoroethylene (q.v.).

Checkerwork

2004-10-17T11:33:00.000-07:00

In architecture, masonry built of two materials, usually stone and flint or stone and brick, so arranged as to make a checkerboard pattern and to give variety in texture and colour. Stone and flint checkerwork is common in the parish churches and smaller houses of East Anglia, England; and both combinations were much used after the Reformation, when the suppressed

Zara, Siege Of

2004-10-15T17:31:00.000-07:00

(1202), a major episode of the Fourth Crusade; the first attack on a Christian city by a crusading army, it foreshadowed the same army's assault on Constantinople, the Byzantine capital, in 1203–04. Zara (modern Zadar, Croatia), a vassal city of the Venetian republic, rebelled against Venice in 1186 and placed itself under the protection of King Béla III of Hungary. Anxious to reassert their

Clambake

2004-10-14T06:11:00.000-07:00

Seafood picnic traditional in the New England region of the United States. Early settlers on the Atlantic Coast adopted and elaborated the practice from the coastal Indians, who steamed shellfish over hot stones under a covering of seaweed. Clambakes, best undertaken on a large scale, have long been a feature of civic and fraternal celebrations in areas where clams,

Argentina, The radical regime, 191630

2004-10-11T18:16:00.000-07:00

The Radical front was a coalition of heterogeneous social groups, whose competing interests slowed the passage of reforms, despite urgent calls for economic and social change. Not surprisingly, Irigoyen preferred to concentrate on the political ills he had inherited from the conservative regime. The most urgent measure involved political patronage, which

Jackfruit

2004-10-09T05:00:00.000-07:00

(species Artocarpus heterophyllus), tree native to tropical Asia and widely grown throughout the wetland tropics for its large fruits and durable wood. Like its relative the breadfruit, it belongs to the mulberry family (Moraceae). The jackfruit is 15 to 20 m (50 to 70 feet) tall at maturity, has large stiff, glossy green leaves 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8 inches) long, and fruit up to 60 cm (about 2 feet) long

Advisory Opinion

2004-10-07T07:04:00.000-07:00

In law, the opinion of a judge, a court, or a law official, such as an attorney general, upon a question of law raised by a public official or legislative body. Advisory opinions adjudicate nothing and are not binding, though courts sometimes cite them as evidence of the law. Federal courts in the United States will not issue advisory opinions, but such opinions are issued

Merapi, Mount

2004-10-06T02:44:00.000-07:00

Indonesian Gunung Merapi volcanic mountain peak located near the centre of the island of Java, Indonesia. The volcano is about 20 miles (32 km) north of Yogyakarta and somewhat farther south of Semarang. Merapi (“Mountain of Fire”) rises to 9,551 feet (2,911 m) and has steep slopes with dense vegetation on its lower flanks. It is the most active of Indonesia's 130 active volcanoes. One of its largest eruptions occurred

Heusler Alloy

2004-10-04T03:41:00.000-07:00

Any of the first magnetic alloys composed of metals that, in their pure state, are not magnetic. The alloys are named after Fritz Heusler, 19th-century German mining engineer and chemist. Heusler alloys consist of approximately two parts of copper, one of manganese, and one of tin. The tin may be replaced by aluminum, arsenic, antimony, bismuth, or boron; the copper may be replaced

Scandinavian Literature, The literary Renaissance in Denmark

2004-10-01T14:09:00.000-07:00

The literary Renaissance reached Denmark in the 1600s, giving rise to a strict adherence to classical patterns and blind belief in authority in political, religious, and literary matters. In religious literature Latin dogmatics and pamphlets reflecting the superstitions of the century were dominant. It was, however, a great era of scholarship. Ole Worm is famous for

Flood, Curt

2004-09-28T00:00:00.000-07:00

Flood began playing baseball as a youth and was signed in 1956 by the National League Cincinnati Reds. He was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1958 and played

China, The Nien Rebellion

2004-09-26T15:19:00.000-07:00

Often in the first half of the 19th century plundering gangs, called nien, ravaged northern Anhwei, southern Shantung, and southern Honan. In mid-century, however, their activities were suddenly intensified, partly by the addition to their numbers of a great many starving people who had lost their livelihood from repeated floods of the Huang Ho in the early 1850s, and partly

Arabia, History Of, Yemen

2004-09-24T13:01:00.000-07:00

In 1839 the British took Aden, ruling it and the island of Socotra (at the entrance to the Gulf of Aden) from India; the port of Aden became valuable as a coaling station. In 1849 the Ottoman Turks occupied the Yemeni Tihamah but could not hold San'a' in the interior until 1872. They were never able to break the resistance of the Zaydi tribes completely and were forced to an accommodation with

Tragedy, Aeschylus: the first great tragedian

2004-09-23T01:25:00.000-07:00

It is this last question that Aeschylus asks most insistently in his two most famous works, the Oresteia (a trilogy comprising Agamemnon, Choephoroi, and Eumenides) and Prometheus Bound (the first part of a trilogy of which the last two parts have been lost): is it right that Orestes, a young man in no way responsible for his situation, should be commanded by a god, in the name

Brianchon, Charles-julien

2004-09-21T19:50:00.000-07:00

In 1804 Brianchon entered the École Polytechnique in Paris, where

Termini Imerese

2004-09-21T06:43:00.000-07:00

Latin Thermae Himerenses, town, Palermo province, northern Sicily, Italy, on the Golfo (gulf) di Termini Imerese (an inlet of the Tyrrhenian Sea), southeast of Palermo city. It was possibly a Phoenician seaport or trading station, and its well-known thermal saline springs were praised by the 6th–5th-century BC Greek poet Pindar. The Carthaginians called it Thermae Himerenses after their destruction

Coleman, James S(amuel)

2004-09-20T11:59:00.000-07:00

Coleman received his B.S. from Purdue University (1949) and his Ph.D. from Columbia University (1955), where he was a research associate in the Bureau of Applied Social Research (1953–55). While there he was influenced by the style

Naresuan

2004-09-19T09:43:00.000-07:00

In 1569 the Myanmar king Bayinnaung (reigned 1551–81) conquered Siam and placed Naresuan's father, Maha Thammaracha, on the throne as his vassal. The capital, Ayutthaya, was pillaged, thousands of Siamese

Chiaroscuro

2004-09-18T05:10:00.000-07:00

Some evidence exists that ancient Greek and Roman artists used chiaroscuro effects, but in European painting the technique was first brought to its full potential by Leonardo da Vinci in the late 15th century in such paintings as his “Adoration of the

Dennison, Aaron Lufkin

2004-09-16T06:25:00.000-07:00

Apprenticed at the age of 18 to a watchmaker in Brunswick, Maine, he learned the prevailing