FoolishBox

Annelid, Food and feeding

2005-04-05T05:31:00.000-07:00

The nature of the food and feeding methods of the polychaetes is closely related to the structure of the species, particularly of the anterior end. Those species that feed on large particulate matter have a pharynx either with jaws (Glycera) or without (Phyllodoce); both types can be either herbivorous or carnivorous feeders. Those species that feed on fine particulate

Heiberg, Johanne Luise

2005-04-02T11:39:00.000-08:00

Heiberg began performing at an early age, singing for the patrons of her father's tavern and billiard parlour. She made her initial appearance as a singer-dancer at the Royal Theatre at age 14. In 1828 she played the role of Agnete in a new vaudeville production, Elverh

Meuse-argonne, Battles Of The

2005-03-31T17:09:00.000-08:00

Following the German retreat from the Marne River in July, General Ferdinand Foch and the Allied high command designed a series of convergent and practically simultaneous offensives against the shaken German armies. One was a joint operation in the Meuse valley toward the Mézière and

Piedmont

2005-03-29T20:56:00.000-08:00

In geology, landform created at the foot of a mountain (Italian: ai piede della montagne) or mountains by debris deposited by shifting streams. Such an alluvial region in a humid climate is known as a piedmont for the Piedmont district of Italy; in arid climates such a feature is called a bajada (q.v.).

Farley, Harriet

2005-03-28T05:31:00.000-08:00

Farley grew up from 1819 in Atkinson, New Hampshire, where she was educated in the local academy headed by her father. In 1837 she made her way to Lowell and obtained

Ré Island

2005-03-26T14:50:00.000-08:00

French Île De Ré, island in the Bay of Biscay, Charente-Maritime département, off the west coast of France, opposite La Pallice and La Rochelle. It was for long separated from the mainland by the shallow water of Pertuis Breton, 2 miles (3.2 km) wide at the narrowest point, but a 2-mile bridge was constructed in the late 1970s. The island is 18 miles (29 km) long and 2 to 3 miles wide; it has an area of 33 square miles (85 square

North Africa, History Of, Carthaginian supremacy

2005-03-24T09:23:00.000-08:00

By the 5th century BC, active military participation by Tyre in the west had doubtlessly ceased; from the latter half of the 6th century Tyre was under Persian rule. Carthage thus became the leader of the western Phoenicians and in the 5th century formed an empire of its own, centred on North Africa, which included existing Phoenician settlements, new ones founded by Carthage

Ancillon, Charles

2005-03-21T09:06:00.000-08:00

Born of a distinguished family of French Protestants, Ancillon studied law at Marburg, Geneva, and Paris. He pleaded the cause of the Huguenots—the French Protestants—of Metz at the court of Louis XIV, urging that an exception

Bruneau, Alfred

2005-03-19T17:10:00.000-08:00

A pupil of the French opera composer Jules Massenet at the Paris Conservatoire, Bruneau later worked as a copyist to the publisher Georges Hartmann. His earliest works included three choral symphonies and an opera, Kérim (1887). In 1888 he met the novelist Émile Zola, who became

Theatre, Developments in staging

2005-03-17T21:09:00.000-08:00

In the latter half of the 16th century, intermezzi became a popular element of theatrical production. These entertainments, inserted between the acts of a play and totally unrelated to it, were generally on classical themes and were originally mounted during masked balls and banquets. The need to change settings rapidly for the alternating segments of plays and

Cabbage Looper

2005-03-17T01:30:00.000-08:00

Distinctive green, white-lined larva, or caterpillar, of Trichoplusia ni, of the owlet moth family Noctuidae (order Lepidoptera). Like other larvae in this family, the cabbage looper lacks the usual lepidopteran legs beneath the mid-region of the body, which therefore rises up in a loop when the tail advances while the head stands still. It is an economic pest of cabbages

Clairvaux

2005-03-15T20:35:00.000-08:00

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.

Einstein, Hannah Bachman

2005-03-14T16:10:00.000-08:00

Hannah Bachman married William Einstein in 1881. She developed an interest in charitable work, and from its founding in about 1890 she was active in the Temple Emanu-El Sisterhood, which undertook

Sábato, Ernesto

2005-03-14T07:45:00.000-08:00

Educated as a physicist and mathematician, Sábato attended the National University of La

France, History Of, The Roman conquest

2005-03-12T10:44:00.000-08:00

In the 2nd century BC Rome intervened on the side of Massilia in its struggle against the tribes of the hinterland, its main aim being the protection of the route from Italy to its new possessions in Spain. The result was the formation, in 121 BC, of “The Province” (Provincia, whence Provence), an area spanning from the Mediterranean to Lake Geneva, with its capital at Narbo (Narbonne).

Gananoque

2005-03-11T16:26:00.000-08:00

Town, southeastern Ontario, Canada. It lies along the St. Lawrence River, at the mouth of the Gananoque River. The town was founded by Charles McDonald, who built a mill there in 1812 and later laid out the townsite. Its name is said to mean “rocks rising out of the water.” The town is located 18 miles (29 km) northeast of Kingston and near St. Lawrence Islands National Park. Gananoque has

Adductor Muscle

2005-03-10T20:37:00.000-08:00

Any of the muscles that draw a part of the body toward its median line or toward the axis of an extremity (compare abductor muscle), particularly three powerful muscles of the human thigh—adductor longus, adductor brevis, and adductor magnus. Originating at the pubis and the ischium (lower portions of the pelvis—the hipbone), these ribbonlike muscles are attached along

Dome Of The Rock

2005-03-08T17:49:00.000-08:00

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

Karaism

2005-03-08T04:46:00.000-08:00

The movement began in

Tell Atlas

2005-03-06T10:47:00.000-08:00

Also called Maritime Atlas, French Atlas Tellien, Arabic Tel Al-atlas, range of the Atlas Mountains in North Africa, extending about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from eastern Morocco through Algeria to Tunisia. In Morocco, from Ceuta east to Melilla (150 miles [240 km]), the Er-Rif mountain range of the Tell Atlas faces the Mediterranean Sea, and there, as along the whole coast eastward to Cape Bon in Tunisia, many rugged rocks rise dramatically above the general level.

Offaly

2005-03-06T00:51:00.000-08:00

Irish Uibh Fhailaí county in the province of Leinster, Ireland. With an area of 771 square miles (1,998 square km), it is bounded by Counties Westmeath and Meath (north), Kildare (east), Laoighis and Tipperary (south), and Galway and Roscommon (west). The River Shannon forms its western boundary. Offaly consists mainly of a large section of the central lowland, though its southwestern boundary runs along

Alla Rakha Khan

2005-03-05T11:09:00.000-08:00

Indian musician (b. April 29, 1919, Phagwal, Jammu province, India—d. Feb. 3, 2000, Mumbai [Bombay], India), was a maestro of the tabla, small drums used in classical Indian music, and was the first tabla player to give solo concerts. Alla Rakha, who was awarded the honorific ustad (“master”), supplemented his virtuoso classical performances with occasional work in jazz, on the radio, and as music director

Ravalomanana, Marc

2005-03-03T16:53:00.000-08:00

Throughout 2002 the African island nation of Madagascar continued to reel from the disputed presidential elections of December 2001. A court-ordered recount was required for decision to be reached on the close contest between challenger Marc Ravalomanana, mayor of the capital city of Antananarivo, and Didier Ratsiraka, the sitting president for more than two decades.

Offaly

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

The NDP grew out of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), which was founded in 1933 as Canada's first political party representing workers and small farmers. The CCF secured power in Saskatchewan in

La Bruyère, Jean De

2005-03-01T09:28:00.000-08:00

La Bruyère studied law at

La Fosse, Charles De

2005-02-27T11:51:00.000-08:00

The greatest influence on La Fosse's painting was the work of his teacher, Charles Le

Sangamon Interglacial Stage

2005-02-27T09:54:00.000-08:00

Major division of Pleistocene time and deposits in North America (the Pleistocene Epoch began about 1,600,000 years ago and ended about 10,000 years ago). The Sangamon Interglacial follows the Illinoian Glacial Stage and precedes the Wisconsin Glacial Stage, both periods of widespread continental glaciation and severe climatic conditions, as opposed to the moderate conditions

Ovulation

2005-02-26T02:25:00.000-08:00

Release of a mature egg from the female ovary; the release enables the egg to be fertilized by the male sperm cells. Normally, in humans, only one egg is released at one time; occasionally, two or more erupt during the menstrual cycle. The egg erupts from the ovary on the 14th to 16th day of the approximately 28-day menstrual cycle. If not fertilized, the egg is passed from the reproductive

Amplitude

2005-02-24T07:31:00.000-08:00

In physics, the maximum displacement or distance moved by a point on a vibrating body or wave measured from its equilibrium position. It is equal to one-half the length of the vibration path. The amplitude of a pendulum is thus one-half the distance that the bob traverses in moving from one side to the other. Waves are generated by vibrating sources, their amplitude being

Iliamna Lake

2005-02-23T15:26:00.000-08:00

Lake, southwestern Alaska, U.S., west of Cook Inlet (Gulf of Alaska). The second largest freshwater lake entirely within the United States (after Lake Michigan), it is 80 miles (129 km) long and 25 miles (40 km) wide and covers an area of 1,000 square miles (2,600 square km). It drains southwest through the Kvichak River into Bristol Bay and the Bering Sea. It is noted for its game fish, especially rainbow

Bradbury, Sir Malcolm

2005-02-23T00:13:00.000-08:00

Bradbury studied at the University of Leicester (B.A., 1953), Queen Mary College (M.A., 1955) in London, and the University of Manchester, from which he received his doctorate in 1964. After traveling in the United States on a fellowship,

Addison, Thomas

2005-02-21T22:04:00.000-08:00

In 1837 Addison became a full

Irish Potato Famine

2005-02-21T00:16:00.000-08:00

Also called Great Potato Famine, Great Irish Famine, or Famine Of 1845–49, famine that occurred in Ireland in 1845–49 when the potato crop failed in successive years. The crop failures were caused by late blight (q.v.), a disease that destroys both the leaves and the edible roots, or tubers, of the potato plant. The causative agent of late blight is the fungus Phytophthora infestans. The Irish Potato Famine was the worst famine to occur in Europe in the

Melatonin

2005-02-19T21:24:00.000-08:00

In humans, melatonin seems

Rovigo

2005-02-19T09:01:00.000-08:00

Landmarks include the octagonal Church of the Beata Vergine del Soccorso (1594), called La Rotonda, with paintings

Self-incrimination

2005-02-17T23:52:00.000-08:00

In law, the giving of evidence that might tend to expose the witness to punishment for crime. The term is generally used in relation to the privilege of refusing to give such evidence. In some continental European countries (Germany, for example, but not France), a person fearing self-incrimination may make his own decision as to whether or not he will testify. In Anglo-American

Paleolithic Period

2005-02-15T23:28:00.000-08:00

At sites dating from the Lower Paleolithic Period (about 2,500,000 to 200,000 years ago), simple pebble tools have been found in association with the remains of what may have been the earliest human ancestors. A somewhat more sophisticated Lower Paleolithic tradition,

Saab Ab

2005-02-15T17:04:00.000-08:00

Saab was incorporated in 1937 as Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget. The company was engaged primarily in the production of aircraft until the mid-1940s, when it began manufacturing

Haber, Fritz

2005-02-13T08:47:00.000-08:00

German physical chemist, winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry (1918) for his development of a method of synthesizing ammonia. With Carl Bosch, he invented a process for the large-scale production of ammonia for use in nitrogen fertilizer.

Aerospace Industry, Aerospace companies and projects

2005-02-13T06:39:00.000-08:00

David Weldon Thornton, Airbus Industrie: The Politics of an International Industrial Collaboration (1995), describes the integration of Europe's disparate aerospace industries into an industrial power that ended the American monopoly in the commercial airliner business. Additional accounts of the Airbus consortium are found in Guy Norris and Mark Wagner, Airbus (1999); and Matthew Lynn, Birds of Prey: Boeing vs. Airbus, a Battle for the Skies, rev. ed. (1997). Brian Trubshaw, Concorde: The Inside Story (2000); and Christopher Orlebar, The Concorde Story, new ed. (1997), cover the development of the British-French supersonic passenger transport. The collapse and recovery of Britain's aerospace business in the last decades of the 20th century is recounted in Richard Evans and Colin Price, Vertical Take-Off: The Inside Story of British Aerospace's Comeback from Crisis to World Class (1999). Specific American aerospace companies are examined in Eugene E. Bauer, Boeing: The First Century (2000); Robert Redding and Bill Yenne, Boeing: Planemaker to the World, rev. and updated ed. (1997); Bill Yenne, McDonnell Douglas: A Tale of Two Giants (1985), and Rockwell: The Heritage of North American (1989); and Walter J. Boyne, Beyond the Horizons: The Lockheed Story (1998). Accounts of individual Soviet design bureaus and the men who shaped them are found in R.A. Belyakov (R.A. Belíàkov) and J. Marmain, MiG: Fifty Years of Secret Aircraft Design, trans. from Russian (1994); Vladimir Antonov et al., OKB Sukhoi: A History of the Design Bureau and Its Aircraft (1996); Paul Duffy and Andrei Kandalov, Tupolev: The Man and His Aircraft (1996); and James Harford, Korolev: How One Man Masterminded the Soviet Drive to Beat America to the Moon (1997).

Mies Van Der Rohe, Ludwig

2005-02-11T16:24:00.000-08:00

In the 1960s Mies continued to create beautiful buildings, among them the Bacardi Building in Mexico City (1961); One Charles Center office building in Baltimore (1963); the Federal Center in Chicago (1964); the Public Library in Washington, D.C. (1967); and, most Miesian of all, the Gallery of the Twentieth Century (later called the New National Gallery) in Berlin, dedicated in 1968. A heavy man, badly plagued

Rhythmic Sportive Gymnastics

2005-02-11T06:06:00.000-08:00

Also called moderne gymnastics , or modern rhythmic gymnastics the performance of systematic physical exercise with the aid of such hand apparatuses as ropes, hoops, balls, clubs, and ribbons. It is closely related to women's artistic gymnastics—a sport performed on the vaulting horse, uneven parallel bars, balance beam, and floor—and, like synchronized swimming, is allied with dance. The sport dates from the 18th century; and, although

Puerto Ayacucho

2005-02-09T06:59:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Amazonas estado (state), southern Venezuela, situated on the Orinoco River just below the Atures Rapids, which block navigation on the river. Puerto Ayacucho is the trading centre for the large but sparsely populated state, which produces mainly rubber and balata. From the city a road leads 55 miles (90 km) south-southwestward to the river port of Samariapo,

Dagestanian Languages

2005-02-09T00:11:00.000-08:00

Also called East Caucasian Languages, group of languages spoken in the northeastern part of the Caucasus and including the Avar-Andi-Dido, the Lak-Dargin (Lak-Dargwa), and the Lezgian groups. One of the distinctive characteristics of a majority of these languages is the contrast of strong and weak voiceless consonants. The Dagestanian languages are often classified together with the Nakh

Vacuum Technology

2005-02-08T18:53:00.000-08:00

The McLeod gauge takes advantage of Boyle's law (the product of pressure and volume for a given quantity of gas remains constant if a constant temperature is maintained) to determine gas pressure within a range of 10 to 10-6 torr. Raising the mercury level in the McLeod gauge seals off the gas from the system to which the gauge is connected. When the level of mercury is raised

Quimper Faience

2005-02-06T16:58:00.000-08:00

Tin-enamelled earthenware produced by a factory at Loc Maria, a suburb of Quimper in Brittany, Fr. The factory was founded in 1690 by Jean-Baptiste Bosquet, a potter from Marseille who had settled there. Both Pierre Caussy, who took over in 1743, and de la Hubeaudière, who bought it in 1809, expanded production. Quimper ware never developed a truly distinct style of its own, however, but

Patiala

2005-02-05T00:47:00.000-08:00

City, administrative headquarters of Patiala district, Punjab state, northwestern India. The city lies on a major rail line, as well as on a branch of the Sirhind Canal. Founded in 1763 as the capital of the princely state of Patiala, it is a trade and industrial centre; weaving, cotton ginning, distilling, and manufacturing are among its industries. Punjabi University (established

Earth, The geomagnetic dynamo

2005-02-04T11:12:00.000-08:00

Observations of the magnetic field of the Earth's surface indicate that more than 90 percent of this field arises from sources internal to the planet. A variety of mechanisms for generating this field have been proposed, but at present only the geomagnetic dynamo is seriously considered. In the dynamo mechanism, fluid motion in the core moves conducting material

Gainza Paz, Alberto

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

Gainza Paz received a law degree from the National University at Buenos Aires in 1921 and joined the staff of La Prensa under the direction of his uncle, Ezequiel P. Paz, whom he succeeded

Daily Mail

2005-02-03T18:53:00.000-08:00

The Daily Mail was founded in 1896 by Alfred Harmsworth, later 1st Viscount Northcliffe (see Northcliffe, Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, Viscount). Its roots can be traced to the Hull

Ussuri River

2005-02-01T21:57:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Wade-Giles) Wu-su-li Chiang, or (Pinyin) Wusuli Jiang, northward-flowing tributary of the Amur River that for a considerable distance forms the boundary between China (Heilungkiang province) and Russia (Siberia). The Ussuri is formed by the confluence of the Ulakhe and Arsenyevka rivers, both of which rise on the southwestern slopes of the Sikhote-Alin mountains. Its length from the source of the Ulakhe is 565 miles (909 km), and

Dwiggins, William Addison

2005-01-31T21:28:00.000-08:00

After studying with Frederic Goudy in Chicago, Dwiggins moved in 1906 to Hingham, Mass., where he earned his living

Roman Forum

2005-01-31T15:40:00.000-08:00

Latin Forum Romanum, most important forum in ancient Rome, situated on low ground between the Palatine and Capitoline hills. The Roman Forum was the scene of public meetings, lawcourts, and gladiatorial combats in republican times and was lined with shops and open-air markets. Under the empire, when it primarily became a centre for religious and secular spectacles and ceremonies, it

Narayan, Jaya Prakash

2005-01-29T16:56:00.000-08:00

Narayan was educated at universities in the United States, where he became a Marxist. Upon his return to India in 1929, he joined the Congress Party. In 1932 he was sentenced to a year's imprisonment for his participation in the civil-disobedience movement against British rule in India. Upon release he took

Petasos

2005-01-29T01:15:00.000-08:00

A hat used for traveling, the petasos was made of felt or straw and had a chin strap, so that when not in use it could be hung down the back. The winged hat of the god Hermes (or Mercury) was also called a petasos.

Joule's Law

2005-01-27T00:44:00.000-08:00

In electricity, mathematical description of the rate at which resistance in a circuit converts electric energy into heat energy. The English physicist James Prescott Joule discovered in 1840 that the amount of heat per second that develops in a wire carrying a current is proportional to the electrical resistance of the wire and the square of the current. He determined

Steel, Argon-oxygen decarburization

2005-01-26T00:10:00.000-08:00

In the production of stainless steel and other high-alloy grades that contain highly oxidizable elements such as chromium, lowering the levels of carbon by regular oxygen injection has the undesirable consequence of oxidizing the alloying elements as well. The argon-oxygen decarburization (AOD) process alleviates this problem by diluting the injected oxygen

Ito Jinsai

2005-01-25T19:24:00.000-08:00

Sinologist, philosopher, and educator who helped found the Kogaku (“Study of Antiquity”), which opposed the official Neo-Confucianism of Tokugawa Japan (derived essentially from the writings of the Chinese thinker Chu Hsi). He advocated a return to classical Confucian teaching. Through his hundreds of students, he exerted a powerful influence

Scamozzi, Vincenzo

2005-01-25T05:50:00.000-08:00

Trained by his father, Bertotti Scamozzi, he studied in Venice and Rome and traveled widely through western Europe. The classicizing influence of Andrea Palladio and Sebastiano Serlio is evident in the palaces, villas, and churches that

Aubusson

2005-01-24T02:43:00.000-08:00

Town, Creuse département, Limousin région, central France, on the Creuse River near the northern edge of the Plateau de Millevaches (highest part of the Monts du Limousin), northeast of Limoges. In the Middle Ages it was the seat of a viscounty from whose rulers descended Pierre d'Aubusson, grand master of the Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, defender of Rhodes

Italian Peninsula

2005-01-23T08:25:00.000-08:00

One of the three great peninsulas of southern Europe, the other two being the Balkan (to the east) and the Iberian (to the west). The Italian Peninsula extends from the region of the Po River southward for some 600 miles (960 km); it has a maximum width of 150 miles (240 km). To the east lies the Adriatic Sea, to the south the Ionian Sea, and to the west the Tyrrhenian and Ligurian seas. The

Nova Scotia, Industries

2005-01-22T01:22:00.000-08:00

Mining is another major industry in Nova Scotia. Coal is the leading mined product, and some 70 percent of the province's energy needs are met through thermal coal. Salt and anhydrite production also meet a wide demand, and the provincial gypsum deposits yield 75 percent of Canada's supply. There are also significant supplies of barite and construction materials, such

épinay-sur-seine

2005-01-21T22:11:00.000-08:00

Town, northern suburb of Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis département, Paris region, north-central France, on the Seine River. Épinay originated from a Gallic-Roman settlement called Spinogelum (Place of Thorns and Gorse), and in the Middle Ages it was the site of La Brache, a castle of the Frankish kings. During the Franco-German War a battle was fought there (Nov. 30, 1870). The town has a chemical

Middle West

2005-01-19T21:10:00.000-08:00

Also called Midwest, or North Central States, region, northern and central United States, lying midway between the Appalachian and Rocky mountains and north of the Ohio River and the 37th parallel. The Middle West, as defined by the federal government, comprises the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Actually composed of

Scipio Africanus The Younger

2005-01-19T10:13:00.000-08:00

Scipio was the second son of Lucius Aemilius Paullus Macedonicus, hero of the Third Macedonian War and son of the consul (of the same name) who fell at the Battle of Cannae in 216. Paullus himself, twice consul, was an outstanding Roman leader who combined traditional Roman virtues with a keen interest in Greek culture. Soon after Scipio's birth, Paullus divorced his wife

Anastasius I, Saint

2005-01-17T02:19:00.000-08:00

Anastasius earned the praise of St. Jerome (Letter 127) for censuring (c. 400) the works of Origen, one of the most influential theologians of the early Greek church. In papal letters he condemned several Origenist writings and disapproved the spreading of Origen's teaching. Anastasius' virtues

Tigranes Ii The Great

2005-01-16T04:57:00.000-08:00

Tigranes was the son or brother of Artavasdes I and a member of the dynasty founded in the early 2nd century by Artaxias. He was given as a hostage to the Parthian king Mithradates II, but later he purchased his freedom by ceding 70 valleys bordering on Media, in northwestern

Agrimony

2005-01-14T21:08:00.000-08:00

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

Progesterone

2005-01-14T18:16:00.000-08:00

Hormone secreted by the female reproductive system that functions mainly to regulate the condition of the inner lining (endometrium) of the uterus. Progesterone is produced by the ovaries, placenta, and adrenal glands; in the ovaries the site of production is the corpus luteum tissue, which begins to form prior to an egg's release and continues to grow into the empty

Greek Literature, Lyric poetry

2005-01-13T03:35:00.000-08:00

Hesiod, unlike Homer, told something of himself, and the same is true of the lyric poets. Except for Pindar and Bacchylides at the end of the classical period, only fragments of the works of these poets survive. There had always been lyric poetry in Greece. All the great events of life as well as many occupations had their proper songs, and here too the way was open to advance

Ovid

2005-01-11T03:40:00.000-08:00

Latin in full Publius Ovidius Naso Roman poet noted especially for his Ars amatoria and Metamorphoses. His verse had immense influence both by its imaginative interpretations of classical myth and as an example of supreme technical accomplishment.

Quinceañera

2005-01-11T03:07:00.000-08:00

Also called quince años Mexican celebration of a girl's 15th birthday, marking her passage from childhood to adulthood. The traditional quinceañera is both a religious and a social event that emphasizes the importance of the family and society in the life of young people. The celebration begins with a mass attended by the girl and her family and godparents. This is followed by a reception,

Salamander

2005-01-09T03:08:00.000-08:00

Any member of a group of about 400 species of amphibians that have tails and that constitute the order Caudata. The order comprises 10 families, among which are newts and salamanders proper (family Salamandridae) as well as hellbenders, mud puppies, and lungless salamanders. They most commonly occur in freshwater and damp woodlands,

Breitenfeld, Battle Of

2005-01-08T17:43:00.000-08:00

(Sept. 17, 1631), the first major Protestant victory of the Thirty Years' War, in which the army of the Roman Catholic Habsburg emperor Ferdinand II and the Catholic League, under Johan Isaclaes, Graf von Tilly, was destroyed by the Swedish-Saxon army under King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden. The battle marked the emergence of Sweden as a great power and the triumph of the new Swedish

Rabelais, François

2005-01-07T02:08:00.000-08:00

Rabelais's purpose in the four books of his masterpiece was to entertain the cultivated reader at the expense of the follies and exaggerations of his times. If he points lessons, it is because his life has taught him something about the evils of comatose monasticism, the trickery of lawyers, the pigheaded persistence of litigants, and the ignorance of grasping physicians.

Bottom Water

2005-01-06T20:38:00.000-08:00

Dense, lowermost layer of ocean water that can be distinguished clearly from overlying waters by its characteristic temperature, salinity, and oxygen content. Most bottom waters of the South Pacific, southern Indian Ocean, South Atlantic, and portions of the North Atlantic are formed near Antarctica during the southern winter. The partial freezing of seawater

Ashbery, John

2005-01-06T07:50:00.000-08:00

Ashbery graduated from Harvard University in 1949 and received a master's degree from Columbia University (N.Y.) in 1951. After working as a copywriter in New York City (1951–55), he lived in Paris until 1965, contributing art criticism to the Paris edition of the New York Herald-Tribune and to

Moses De León

2005-01-05T16:27:00.000-08:00

The details of Moses de León's life, like those of most Jewish mystics,

Ammann, Othmar Herman

2005-01-03T17:06:00.000-08:00

In 1904 Ammann immigrated to the United States, where he helped design railroad bridges. Joining the Pennsylvania Steel Company the following

Jansch, Bert

2005-01-03T05:02:00.000-08:00

Influenced by American folk-blues performers such as Big Bill Broonzy, Jansch was part of the folk scene in Edinburgh,

Nevado De Toluca National Park

2005-01-01T17:34:00.000-08:00

Park in Mexico estado (“state”), central Mexico. It is situated in the municipality of Zinacantepec, on the Mexico–Toluca–Guadalajara highway west of Mexico City. Established in 1936, it has an area of 259 square miles (671 square km). The park lies in the Nevado de Toluca (or Zinantecatl) Mountains, which rise above 15,025 feet (4,580 m). Among the park's chief features are an extinct, snowcapped volcano

Venice

2005-01-01T15:30:00.000-08:00

Italian Venezia city, major seaport, and capital of both the provincia of Venezia and the regione of Veneto, northern Italy. An island city, it was once the centre of a maritime republic. It was the greatest seaport in late medieval Europe and the continent's commercial and cultural link with Asia. Venice is unique environmentally, architecturally, and historically, and in its days as

Tswana

2004-12-31T20:18:00.000-08:00

The Tswana live in a grassland environment where they practice animal

Arts, Central Asian, Khitans

2004-12-29T13:29:00.000-08:00

The figural style is believed to have been transmitted to the Mongols by the Khitans when the latter were living on the middle reaches of the Yenisey. The wealth of the Khitan princes is reflected in the furnishings of burial mounds discovered at Kopeni, some 200 miles (300 kilometres) to the south of Krasnoyarsk. Dating from the 7th to 8th century, these mounds were similar in

Biblical Literature, The Gospel According to Mark: background and overview

2004-12-29T05:28:00.000-08:00

Though the author of Mark is

Russell Cave National Monument

2004-12-27T14:48:00.000-08:00

Portion of a limestone cavern in northeastern Alabama, U.S., 6 miles (10 km) northwest of Bridgeport and just south of the Alabama-Tennessee border. The cave and site area (0.5 square mile [1.3 square km]) were given to the National Park Service by the National Geographic Society in 1958, and the national monument was created in 1961. The cave is named for Thomas Russell, a veteran of the American

Metacarpal

2004-12-27T03:29:00.000-08:00

Any of several tubular bones between the wrist (carpal) bones and each of the forelimb digits in land vertebrates, corresponding to the metatarsal bones of the foot. Originally numbering five, metacarpals in many mammals have undergone much change and reduction during evolution. The lower leg of the horse, for example, includes only one strengthened metacarpal;

Red Oak

2004-12-25T10:19:00.000-08:00

Any member of a group or subgenus (Erythrobalanus) of North American ornamental and timber shrubs and trees of the genus Quercus, in the beech family (Fagaceae), that have bristle-tipped leaves, acorns with hairy shell linings, and bitter seeds that mature in two seasons. Black oak, live oak, willow oak (including water oak, laurel oak, shingle oak), and pin

Alkmaar

2004-12-25T03:56:00.000-08:00

The English missionaries Willibrord and Adalbert preached Christianity in the district in the 8th century. A fishing village in the 10th century, Alkmaar (meaning “all marsh,” or “all sea”) was chartered in 1254 and was the capital of Kennemerland,

Futabatei Shimei

2004-12-24T01:53:00.000-08:00

Although Futabatei wrote three novels and translated many stories,

Fabricius Ab Aquapendente, Hieronymus

2004-12-22T10:25:00.000-08:00

He spent most of his life at the University of Padua, where he studied under the eminent anatomist Gabriel Fallopius. As Fallopius' successor to the chair of surgery and anatomy (1562–1613), Fabricius built a reputation that attracted students from

Nilotic Languages

2004-12-21T23:47:00.000-08:00

The Nilotic languages are usually divided into a Western group (containing

China, The Khitan

2004-12-21T16:07:00.000-08:00

To the north at the time of the Wu-tai rose the seminomadic but largely pastoral Khitan, who were related to the eastern Mongols. The word Khitan (or Khitai) is the source of Cathay, the name for North China in medieval Europe (as reported by Marco Polo), and of Kitai, the Russian name for China. The Khitan founded the Liao Empire (907–1125) by expanding from the border of Mongolia into

Effen, Justus Van

2004-12-20T20:36:00.000-08:00

Dutch essayist and journalist whose straightforward didactic pieces, modelled on foreign examples, had a wholesome influence on the contemporary Dutch fashion of rococo writing. His other occupations included private tutor, secretary at the Netherlands embassy in London (1715 and 1727), and clerk in the Dutch government's warehouses

Perceptual Constancy

2004-12-18T21:48:00.000-08:00

Also called Object Constancy, or Constancy Phenomenon, the tendency of animals and humans to see familiar objects as having standard shape, size, colour, or location regardless of changes in the angle of perspective, distance, or lighting. The impression tends to conform to the object as it is or is assumed to be, rather than to the actual stimulus. Perceptual constancy is responsible for the ability to identify objects

Pueblo Incident

2004-12-18T10:51:00.000-08:00

Capture of the USS “Pueblo,” a Navy intelligence ship, and its 83 crewmen by North Korean patrol boats off the coast of North Korea on Jan. 23, 1968. The United States, maintaining that the “Pueblo” had been in international waters, began a military buildup in the area. It also initiated negotiations that resulted in an agreement that secured the release of the 82 surviving crewmen (one

Saberht

2004-12-16T17:41:00.000-08:00

Saberht reigned as a dependent of his uncle Aethelberht I, king of Kent, and became a Christian after Aethelberht's conversion. A late and doubtful legend attributes the founding of Westminster Abbey to Saberht—London being then the chief city of the East Saxons. He was succeeded by his sons, all

Overseas Surveys, Directorate Of

2004-12-16T14:37:00.000-08:00

Surveying, mapping, and aerial photography agency of the Overseas Development Administration (ODA) of the United Kingdom, founded in 1946 to provide advice to the ODA and foreign governments and organizations on technical matters concerning all aspects of surveying and mapping. The maps are produced by modern aerial photography and photogrammetric methods. Aerial

Peruzzi, Baldassarre (tommaso)

2004-12-14T21:31:00.000-08:00

A contemporary of Raphael and Donato Bramante, Peruzzi began his career as a painter of frescoes in the Cappella San Giovanni in Siena Cathedral.

Juan De Fuca Strait

2004-12-14T14:43:00.000-08:00

From Cape Flattery and the open Pacific, the strait stretches 80–100 miles (130–160 km) east to join with Haro Strait and touches Whidbey