TiredBridge

Robert Irving Burns Property Consultants

2006-11-22T13:20:00.000-08:00

Robert Irving Burns has been established for over 40 years and is an independent partnership, who specialise in a full range of property services. These include commercial property
and commercial offices as well as property to let london. Whilst my business partner and I were looking for Offices, we found Rib’s expertise invaluable.

Selim Iii

2005-03-18T23:36:00.000-08:00

A poet and an accomplished composer of Ottoman classical music, Selim had enjoyed greater freedom prior to his accession

Latin American Integration Association

2005-03-16T23:24:00.000-08:00

Spanish Asociación Latinoamericana de Integración (ALADI) organization that was established by the Treaty of Montevideo (August 1980) and became operational in March 1981. It seeks economic cooperation among its members. Original members were Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Cuba joined in 1999. Several countries and organizations maintain observer status. Headquarters

Margaret Of Angoulême

2005-03-14T09:33:00.000-08:00

Daughter of Charles de Valois-Orléans, comte d'Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy, she became the most influential woman in France, with the exception of her mother,

Burano

2005-03-12T21:25:00.000-08:00

Northeastern suburb of Venice, Venezia province, northeastern Italy, comprising four islets in the Laguna Veneta (Venice Lagoon). The settlement is thought to have been founded in the 5th century by refugees from nearby Altino, fleeing in the path of Attila. The 16th-century church of S. Martino has paintings by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo. In the 16th century, lacemaking was

Sabre

2005-03-10T17:51:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Saber, heavy military sword with a long cutting edge and, often, a curved blade, derived from a Hungarian cavalry sword introduced from the Orient in the 18th century; also a light fencing weapon developed in Italy in the 19th century for duelling. The military sabre had been relegated to a ceremonial role by the 20th century, while the fencing sabre had become one of the sport's standard

Arnold Arboretum Of Harvard University

2005-03-09T14:10:00.000-08:00

Major botanical research centre famous for its collection of ornamental trees and shrubs from Asia. Founded in 1872, the arboretum consists of 265 acres (107 hectares) at Jamaica Plain in Boston, and it has another 106-acre (43-hectare) installation at Weston, Massachusetts, U.S. The Arnold Arboretum has acquired and cultivated more than 6,000 types of woody plants during its history; by the

Ahimsa

2005-03-07T17:13:00.000-08:00

In Jainism, ahimsa is the standard

Côte D'azur

2005-03-05T20:22:00.000-08:00

(French: “Coast of Azure”), cultural region in southeastern France encompassing the French Riviera (see Riviera) between Menton and Cannes in Alpes-Maritimes département and extending into southern Var département. The population is predominantly urban. Traditional inland towns in Alpes-Maritimes include Gourdon, Èze, Utelle, and Peille; many such towns are perched

Shaharith

2005-03-03T04:26:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Shaharit, Shacharit, or Shacharith, Hebrew Shaharit (“dawn”), in Judaism, the first of three periods of daily prayer; the other daily services are minhah and maarib. They are all ideally recited in the synagogue so that a quorum (minyan) can be formed to pray as a corporate body representing “Israel.” Shaharith is considered a substitute for the dawn sacrifice formerly offered each day in the Temple of Jerusalem, but ancient

Dew

2005-03-01T09:46:00.000-08:00

Deposit of waterdrops formed at night by the condensation of water vapour from the air onto the surfaces of objects freely exposed to the sky (see video). It forms on clear nights when the air is calm or, preferably, when the wind is light. If the temperature of the surface is below the freezing point of water, the deposit takes the shape of hoarfrost (see frost). Dew forms on

Cataclastite

2005-02-26T18:14:00.000-08:00

Any rock produced by dynamic metamorphism during which faulting, granulation, and flowage may occur in previously crystalline parent rocks. When stress exceeds breaking strength, a rock yields by rupture. The rock may break as a unit, or individual minerals may be selectively granulated. The stress is generally not the same in all directions, so that movement in

Poel, William

2005-02-22T08:22:00.000-08:00

Poel was reared among the Pre-Raphaelite artists, and as a boy he posed for William Holman Hunt. He early decided to go on the stage. After working for a time as an actor, stage manager, and theatre manager, he

Spallation

2005-02-20T10:14:00.000-08:00

High-energy nuclear reaction in which a target nucleus struck by an incident (bombarding) particle of energy greater than about 50 million electron volts (MeV) ejects numerous lighter particles and becomes a product nucleus correspondingly lighter than the original nucleus. The light ejected particles may be neutrons, protons, or various composite particles equivalent

Fish-finder

2005-02-18T13:35:00.000-08:00

Also called Netsonde, in commercial fishing, high-frequency sonar device for locating schools of fish. It transmits sound waves downward and receives echoes from the bottom of the sea, or from intervening schools of fish, also indicating distance from ship to fish. Two different types are used, one of which is a simple “echo sounder” that points directly downward from the ship and indicates

Yung-lo

2005-02-16T10:46:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Yonglo (reign name), temple name (ming) Ch'eng Tsu , or (ming) T'ai Tsung , posthumous name, or shih, Wen Ti , personal name Chu Ti third emperor (1402–24) of China's Ming dynasty, which he raised to its greatest power. He moved the capital from Nanking to Peking, which was rebuilt with the Forbidden City.

Utsunomiya

2005-02-14T05:38:00.000-08:00

Capital, Tochigi ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. The city is situated on the alluvial plain between the Ta River and the Kinu River. A castle town in the 11th century, it later served as a post town on the Nikko Highway during the Tokugawa era (1603–1867). The city became the prefectural administrative centre in 1884. During World War II industries were relocated to Utsunomiya from Tokyo, producing

'abd Al-mu'min

2005-02-12T16:32:00.000-08:00

Even while he was pursuing his conquest, 'Abd al-Mu'min had established a central government for his empire. To the traditional clan organization of the Masmudah and other Berber peoples supporting the Almohads he added an organization to promote the spread of Almohad doctrine and a central administration (the makhzan) modeled on those of Muslim Spain, which was staffed

Switzerland

2005-02-10T01:17:00.000-08:00

The history of Switzerland, a complex series of events, provides the background for an understanding of the country's present-day cultural differences. Because of its central location in western Europe and pass routes through the Alps, which linked French and German lands with the Italian peninsula, Switzerland was coveted by surrounding powers. Swiss history,

Cookie

2005-02-08T01:15:00.000-08:00

Probably the most popular cookies in the United States are those that are

Soter, Saint

2005-02-07T20:15:00.000-08:00

Succeeding St. Anicetus as pope, Soter sent a letter and alms to the church of Corinth, whose bishop, St. Dionysius, replied in a letter that acknowledged Soter's affection and theological advice. Soter continued Pope Anicetus' attack against Montanism, a heresy overemphasizing prophecy and rigid moral

Malay Language

2005-02-05T04:40:00.000-08:00

Member of the Western, or Indonesian, branch of the Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) language family, spoken as a native language by more than 33,000,000 persons distributed over the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, and the numerous smaller islands of the area, and widely used in Malaysia and Indonesia as a second language. Malay shows the closest relationship to most of the

Ibn Al-farid

2005-02-02T06:19:00.000-08:00

Son of a Syrian-born inheritance-law functionary, Ibn al-Farid studied for a legal career but abandoned law for a solitary religious life in the Muqattam hills near Cairo. He spent some years in or near Mecca, where he met the renowned Sufi as-Suhrawardi of

Ribeyro, Julio Ramón

2005-02-01T21:33:00.000-08:00

Short-story writer, novelist, and playwright, one of the Latin American masters of the short story, whose works display a rare mix of social criticism and fantasy, projecting a bleak view of Peruvian life. Ribeyro was the author of some eight volumes of short stories, the best-known of which is Los gallinazos sin plumas (1955; “Featherless

Kaesong

2005-01-30T04:13:00.000-08:00

City, southwestern North Korea. It lies just south of the 38th parallel and northwest of Seoul, South Korea. One of the oldest cities of Korea, Kaesong was the capital of the Koryo dynasty (935–1392). It was formerly called Songdo (“City of Pine”), so named because it is surrounded by pine-covered mountains: Songak (2,506 feet [764 m]), Osong (3,483 feet), Nam (584 feet), and Mansu (754 feet). Kaesong is a castle city enclosed by a

New Zealand, Annexation and further settlement

2005-01-27T21:39:00.000-08:00

In 1838 the British government decided upon at least partial annexation. In 1839 it commissioned William Hobson, a naval officer, as lieutenant governor and consul to the Maori chiefs, and he annexed the whole country, the North Island by the right of cession from the Maori chiefs and the South Island by the right of discovery. At first New Zealand was legally part of New South

Schaefer, Vincent Joseph

2005-01-25T05:42:00.000-08:00

American research chemist and meteorologist, who in 1946 carried out the first systematic series of experiments to investigate the physics of precipitation. From an aircraft over Massachusetts he seeded clouds with pellets of Dry Ice (solid carbon dioxide) and succeeded in producing snow, initiating the science of experimental

Oglethorpe, James Edward

2005-01-23T22:43:00.000-08:00

Educated at the University of Oxford, he entered the army in 1712 and joined the Austrian army fighting the Turks in 1717. On his return to England in 1722, he entered Parliament. In 1729 he presided over a committee that brought about prison reforms.

Cladonia

2005-01-21T05:32:00.000-08:00

Genus of lichens that includes those species commonly known as cup lichen, reindeer moss, and British soldiers (qq.v.).

Vouet, Simon

2005-01-20T19:29:00.000-08:00

Vouet formed his style in Italy, where he lived from 1612 to 1627. The use of dramatic contrasts of light and shade seen in such early works as his “Two Lovers” indicates that he began in Rome as a follower of Caravaggio. Works done after 1620, however, such as “St. Bruno” (1620) and “Cupid and

Piedras Negras

2005-01-18T21:26:00.000-08:00

City, northeastern Coahuila estado (“state”), northeastern Mexico. It lies at 722 feet (220 m) above sea level on the Rio Grande (Bravo del Norte River), just across from Eagle Pass, Texas, U.S., with which it is connected by two bridges. Founded in 1849, it was renamed Ciudad Porfirio Díaz in 1888; after that dictator's downfall, the original name was restored. Much of the city's prosperity is due to its

Arabia, Animal life

2005-01-15T04:43:00.000-08:00

The camel has traditionally been the chief support of nomadic life in Arabia. Without the camel, the Bedouin could never have moved far from water fit for human beings; with the camel, he could survive for months on its milk and penetrate deep into the deserts. The camel also furnished food, clothing, fuel (dung), transportation, and power for drawing water or for plowing.

Biblical Literature, Redemption and revelation

2005-01-13T23:11:00.000-08:00

Significant in the early chapters is God's special concern for the Hebrew slaves, his reference to them as “my people,” and his revelation to Moses, the rebel courtier whom he has picked to be their leader, that he is YHWH, the God of their fathers, an abiding presence that will rescue them from their misery and bring them into Canaan, the land of promise. This assurance is repeated

Bacau

2005-01-11T22:09:00.000-08:00

Judet(county), eastern Romania, occupying an area of 2,551 sq mi (6,606 sq km). The Eastern Carpathians and the sub-Carpathians rise above the settlement areas that are situated in intermontane valleys and lowlands. The county is drained southeastward by the Siret River and its tributaries. It was formerly included in feudal Moldavia. Manufactures of Bacau (q.v.) city, the county capital,

Cairo, Development of the city

2005-01-10T06:30:00.000-08:00

Modern urban growth began in the 1830s, but only during Isma'il's reign (1863–79) was the city fundamentally transformed. Influenced by Baron Haussmann's renovation of Paris, Isma'il ordered the construction of a European-style city to the west of the medieval core. French city-planning methods dominated the design of the districts of Al-Azbakiyah (with its large park), 'Abdin, and Isma'iliyah

Defense Of Rights, Associations For The

2005-01-08T16:34:00.000-08:00

The league was actually a coalition of middle-class organizations,

Lenthall, William

2005-01-05T11:10:00.000-08:00

Trained in law, Lenthall

Chatelaine

2005-01-03T06:40:00.000-08:00

Ornament, used by both men and women and usually fastened to belt or pocket, with chains bearing hooks on which to hang small articles such as watches, keys, seals, writing tablets, scissors, and purses. The word chatelaine is derived from a word meaning the keeper of a castle, thus the person entrusted with the keys. During the 18th century, chatelaines were particularly

Biblical Literature, Jeremiah

2005-01-01T08:55:00.000-08:00

The prophet Jeremiah began to prophesy about 626 BCE during the reign of the Judaean king Josiah. From the town of Anathoth and probably from the priestly family of Eli, this prophet, who may have been instrumental in the Deuteronomic reform, dictated his oracles to his secretary Baruch. Only a youth in his late teens when he experienced the call by Yahweh to be a “prophet to

Indian Territory

2004-12-31T09:15:00.000-08:00

Originally “all of that part of the United States west of the Mississippi, and not within the States of Missouri and Louisiana, or the Territory of Arkansas.” Never an organized territory, it was soon restricted to the present state of Oklahoma, excepting the panhandle and Greer county. The Choctaw, Creek, Seminole, Cherokee, and Chickasaw tribes were forcibly moved to

Wellhausen, Julius

2004-12-29T16:30:00.000-08:00

Wellhausen studied at the University of Göttingen and taught there briefly before becoming professor of the Old Testament at Greifswald in 1872, a position he resigned 10 years later because of conflicts with his academic

Animals, The

2004-12-26T20:02:00.000-08:00

Five-piece rock group from northeastern England whose driving sound influenced Bob Dylan's decision, in 1965, to begin working with musicians playing electric instruments. The principal members were Eric Burdon (b. May 11, 1941, Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, Eng.), Alan Price (b. April 19, 1942, Fatfield, Durham), Hilton Valentine (b. May 21, 1943, North Shields, Tyne and Wear), Chas Chandler (byname of Bryan

Tephroite

2004-12-25T03:41:00.000-08:00

Olivine mineral found only in iron-manganese ore deposits and skarns and in metamorphosed manganese-rich sediments, such as those of Cornwall, Eng., and Franklin, N.J., in the United States. Tephroite (manganese silicate; Mn2SiO4) forms a solid solution series with the olivine fayalite in which iron completely replaces manganese in the molecular structure. Minerals intermediate

Hamasah

2004-12-22T08:47:00.000-08:00

The anthology consists of 10 books, containing,

Man

2004-12-21T14:11:00.000-08:00

Town, western Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). The town is situated along the Ko River, in a mountainous area (Massif de Man) on the eastern edge of the Nimba Range. There are iron-ore reserves in the mountains east of Man. The chief trade centre (rice, cassava, livestock, and palm oil and kernels) for a forested region mainly inhabited by the Dan and the Ngere (or Guere) and Wobe peoples,

Offa

2004-12-18T15:14:00.000-08:00

Town, Kwara state, southwestern Nigeria. It lies along the railroad from Lagos and at the intersection of roads from Ilorin town, Lafiagi, and Ikirun. A traditional settlement of the Yoruba people in a savanna area, it now serves as a collecting point for the yams, cassava, corn (maize), sorghum, and shea nuts grown in the surrounding area. Cotton weaving and dyeing (with locally

John

2004-12-16T16:47:00.000-08:00

John began his public career in 1505 as a member of the Diet of Rákos; it was upon his motion that the Diet voted that no foreign prince would ever again be elected king of Hungary after the death of King Ulászló II, who also

Peking University

2004-12-15T11:10:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Wade–Giles) Pei-ching Ta-hsüeh , (Pinyin) Beijing Daxue , byname Pei-ta , or Beida in Peking, one of the oldest and most important institutions of higher learning in China. It originated as the Capital College, which was founded in 1898 by the emperor Kuang-hsü as part of his short-lived program to modernize and reform China's institutions. This school languished after the empress dowager Tz'u-hsi's coup d'état of the same year. After the overthrow of the

Aqtöbe

2004-12-12T05:13:00.000-08:00

Formerly Aktyubinsk, city, northwestern Kazakstan, on the Ilek River. It was founded in 1869 as Aktyube (“White Hill”), a small Russian fort; the first Russian peasant settlers arrived in 1878. In 1891 it became the capital of an uyezd (canton) and in 1932 of an oblast (province). During World War II a ferroalloys plant was built to smelt the nickel and chromium ores of the Mughalzhar (Mugodzhar) Hills. Now an important

Ryukyu Islands

2004-12-10T15:17:00.000-08:00

Also called Nansei Islands , Japanese Ryukyu-Shoto , or Nansei-Shoto , Ryukyuan Okinawa archipelago, extending almost 400 miles (650 km) southwest from Kyushu, southern Japan, to the northern tip of Taiwan bordering the Philippine Sea (east) and the East China Sea (west). Since 1972 the islands have comprised Okinawa ken (prefecture), Japan. With a total land area of 870 square miles (2,254 square km), they consist of 55 islands and islets divided into three major groups: the Amami island

Wolfdietrich

2004-12-09T22:14:00.000-08:00

Germanic hero who appears in the Middle High German poems of Ortnit and Wolfdietrich in Das Heldenbuch (see Heldenbuch, Das) as the son of Hugdietrich, emperor of Constantinople. Repudiated by his father, who mistakenly believes him illegitimate, he is brought up by the emperor's faithful retainer Berchtung von Meran. Berchtung and his 16 sons support Wolfdietrich,

David, Félicien-césar

2004-12-07T20:23:00.000-08:00

David was chapelmaster at the Saint-Sauveur Cathedral at Aix-en-Provence (1829) and in 1830 studied at the Paris Conservatoire. The following year he joined the socialist brotherhood of the Saint-Simonians, becoming their

Mahavihara

2004-12-05T14:35:00.000-08:00

Buddhist monastery founded in the late 3rd century BCE in Anuradhapura, the ancient capital of Ceylon (modern Sri Lanka). The monastery was built by the Sinhalese king Devanampiya Tissa not long after his conversion to Buddhism by the Indian monk Mahendra. Until about the 10th century, it was a great cultural and religious centre and the chief stronghold of Theravada

Nigeria

2004-12-03T20:11:00.000-08:00

In 1999 Nigeria underwent major political change. Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar, interim leader since the death of Sani Abacha in June 1998, oversaw the transition to a democratically elected government and the establishment of a new constitution. Three parties participated in the national elections: the centre-left People's Democratic Party (PDP), the Alliance for Democracy

Leverkusen

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

City, North Rhine-Westphalia Land (state), west-central Germany, on the Rhine River at the mouth of the Wupper River, in the Dhünn valley just north of Cologne. Formed in 1930 by the union of the villages of Schlebusch, Rheindorf, and Steinbüchel with the town of Wiesdorf, it is well served by highway and rail and is the site of the Bayer Works (chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and photographic

Tadoba National Park

2004-11-28T10:27:00.000-08:00

National park in Maharashtra state, western India. Extending over an area of 45 square miles (117 square km), the park consists of dense forests of sal (Shorea), margosa, mahua, and mango, interspersed with lakes and plains; stretches of bamboo thickets are found around Tadoba Lake, for which the park is named. It was established as a wildlife sanctuary in 1935 and declared a national park

West Lancashire

2004-11-26T15:18:00.000-08:00

District, administrative and historic county of Lancashire, northwestern England, north of the city of Liverpool. West Lancashire is separated from the Irish Sea by the narrow coastal strip of Sefton except in the north at the mouth of the River Ribble. The district is essentially a low-lying coastal plain, much of it reclaimed marshland, although marshes in the extreme

Athis-mons

2004-11-25T07:55:00.000-08:00

Town, southern suburb of Paris, in Essonne département, Île-de-France région, northern France. Athis-Mons lies near the confluence of the Orge and Seine rivers and is bisected by the N7 road artery leading to the centre of Paris. It was ancient Attegais, later Athis-sur-Orge, where a treaty of that name was signed in 1305 by the king of France and the count of Flanders. A Romanesque

Qalamkari Textile

2004-11-22T14:09:00.000-08:00

The textile designs reflect the Persianized tastes of the wealthy ruling class and also

Aurelian Wall

2004-11-20T05:21:00.000-08:00

It was originally constructed of tufa concrete, with a facing of triangular

Van Depoele, Charles Joseph

2004-11-19T11:21:00.000-08:00

After immigrating to the United States in 1869, Van Depoele became a successful manufacturer of church furniture and then began to pursue his interest in electricity. In addition to his notable

Mesopotamia, History Of, The Hurrians

2004-11-16T23:30:00.000-08:00

The Hurrians enter the orbit of ancient Middle Eastern civilization toward the end of the 3rd millennium BC. They arrived in Mesopotamia from the north or the east, but it is not known how long they had lived in the peripheral regions. There is a brief inscription in Hurrian language from the end of the period of Akkad, while that of King Arishen (or Atalshen) of Urkish and

Floral Decoration, 17th century

2004-11-13T06:06:00.000-08:00

The arrangement of plant materials truly became an art and an important decorative device in the 17th century. During this period of worldwide exploration, colonization, and commerce, new plants were introduced into Europe, where an avid interest in horticulture developed. Still-life paintings of the late 16th, 17th, and early 18th centuries reveal what a great variety of

David, Eduard Heinrich (rudolph)

2004-11-11T23:45:00.000-08:00

As a young grammar school teacher, David founded (1893) the Socialist Mitteldeutsche Sonntagszeitung (“Mid-German Sunday News”); but his affiliation with the Social Democrats soon

Ostwald, Wilhelm

2004-11-08T20:55:00.000-08:00

Ostwald took his doctorate from the University of Dorpat (now Tartu State

Barmakids

2004-11-06T03:27:00.000-08:00

Khalid ibn Barmak is the first Barmakid about whom much is known. He first appears in the mid-8th century as a supporter of the revolutionary movement that established the 'Abbasid caliphate. In 747 Khalid was put in charge of the distribution of spoils when the 'Abbasid army moved toward Iraq. Afterward, he was sent to Dayr Qunna to administer the district. Under the 'Abbasid caliph

Severoceský

2004-11-05T00:42:00.000-08:00

Also called Severní Cechy , English Northern Bohemia kraj (region), northwestern Czech Republic. It is the smallest of the country's regions. Severoceský is bounded on the north by Germany and Poland, on the east by Východoceský kraj, on the south by Stredoceský kraj, and on the west by Západoceský kraj. The north of the region is dominated by the Ore (Krušné), Ceské Stredo, Lusatian (Luzické), and Jizera (Jizerské) mountains. Through a gap in

House Sparrow

2004-11-03T05:30:00.000-08:00

Also called English Sparrow (Passer domesticus), one of the world's best-known and most abundant small birds, sometimes classified in the family Ploceidae (q.v.; order Passeriformes) or separated as Passeridae. It lives in towns and on farms, worldwide, having accompanied Europeans from its original home—most of Eurasia and northern Africa. It was introduced into North America

Cartoon

2004-10-31T23:11:00.000-08:00

Originally, and still, a full-size sketch or drawing used as a pattern for a tapestry, painting, mosaic, or other graphic art form, but also, since the early 1840s, a pictorial parody utilizing caricature, satire, and usually humour. Cartoons are used today primarily for conveying political commentary and editorial opinion in newspapers and for social comedy and visual wit

26th Of July Movement

2004-10-30T23:37:00.000-07:00

Spanish Movimiento 26 De Julio revolutionary movement led by Fidel Castro that overthrew the regime of Fulgencio Batista in Cuba (1959). Its name commemorated an attack on the Santiago army barracks on July 26, 1953. The movement began formally in 1955 when Castro went to Mexico to form a disciplined guerrilla force. The leaders of the movement remaining in Cuba to carry out sabotage and political activities were

Leaf-rolling Weevil

2004-10-28T23:08:00.000-07:00

Any of the beetles of the subfamily Attelabidae of the family Curculionidae (order Coleoptera), so named because of the way in which females protect their newly laid eggs by rolling them up inside a growing leaf. After hatching, the larvae eat the leaf from within. Adults are free-living but associated with certain tree species. Attelabus nitens, for example, is associated

Epistemology, St. Thomas Aquinas

2004-10-25T03:35:00.000-07:00

While a Platonic and Augustinian epistemology dominated the early Middle Ages, the translation of Aristotle's On the Soul in the early 13th century had a dramatic effect. Following Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas (1225–74) recognized that there are different kinds of knowledge. Sense knowledge is what results from sensing individual things: thus, one sees a tree, hears the song of

Australia, Overall characteristics

2004-10-24T06:18:00.000-07:00

Australia is a land of vast plains. Only 6 percent of the island continent is above 2,000 feet (600 metres) in elevation. Its highest peak, Mount Kosciusko, rises to only 7,310 feet (2,228 metres). This situation stems in part from the long periods of geologic time during which Australia has been subject to weathering and erosion and in part from Australia's position at the edge of a zone of significant

Regla

2004-10-22T00:08:00.000-07:00

City, northern Ciudad de la Habana provincia, west-central Cuba. Situated on the southeastern shore of La Habana Bay, Regla was a centre for smuggling activities in the 19th century. It is now an industrial suburb of Havana, with which it is linked by ferry as well as by land. Its foundries, petroleum refineries, shipyards, docks, and warehouses suggest its importance as both

France, History Of, Tax reform

2004-10-19T15:25:00.000-07:00

In 1749–51 Jean-Baptiste de Machault d'Arnouville, then comptroller general of finances, proposed a partial reform of the tax system, his particular concern being to restrict the financial power of the church. In 1764 and 1765 another comptroller general, François de L'Averdy, attempted a reform of municipal representation and administration. All royal officials understood the

Argentina, Soils

2004-10-17T20:01:00.000-07:00

Soil types in Argentina range from the light-coloured saline formations of the high puna in the Northwest to the dark, humus-rich type found in the Pampas. Golden-brown loess soils of the Gran Chaco are sometimes lighter where salinity is excessive but turn darker toward the east in the Mesopotamian border zone. These give way to soils ranging from rust to deep red

Forbidden Lines

2004-10-16T19:15:00.000-07:00

In astronomical spectroscopy, bright emission lines in the spectra of certain nebulae (H II regions), not observed in the laboratory spectra of the same gases, because on Earth the gases cannot be rarefied sufficiently. The term forbidden is misleading; a more accurate description would be “highly improbable.” The emissions result from electrons in long-lived orbits

Fibonacci Numbers

2004-10-13T19:59:00.000-07:00

The elements of the sequence of numbers 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, , each of which, after the second, is the sum of the two previous numbers. These numbers were first noted by the medieval Italian mathematician Leonardo Pisano (“Fibonacci”) in his Liber abaci (1202; “Book of the Abacus”), which also popularized Hindu-Arabic numerals and the decimal number system in Europe. For information on the interesting

Quiché

2004-10-11T13:33:00.000-07:00

Also called Quiché Maya, Mayan Indians living in the midwestern highlands of Guatemala. The Quiché Maya had an advanced civilization in pre-Columbian times, with a high level of political and social organization. Archaeological remains show large population centres and a complex class structure. Written records of Quiché history and mythology are preserved in the Popol Vuh, written

Arnold, Matthew

2004-10-10T05:47:00.000-07:00

Matthew was the eldest son of the renowned Thomas Arnold, who was appointed headmaster of Rugby School in 1828. Matthew entered Rugby (1837) and then attended Oxford as a scholar of Balliol College; there he won the Newdigate Prize with his poem Cromwell (1843) and was graduated with second-class honours in 1844. For Oxford Arnold retained an impassioned affection. His Oxford was the Oxford

Allan, Maud

2004-10-07T13:03:00.000-07:00

The daughter of two physicians, Allan grew up in San Francisco, studied music in Berlin, and taught herself to dance. Her career began in 1903 in Vienna, where she choreographed and performed dances to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz

Western Literature

2004-10-06T19:11:00.000-07:00

Diverse as they are, European literatures, like European languages, are parts of a common heritage. Greek, Latin, Germanic, Baltic and Slavic, Celtic, and Romance languages

Botosani

2004-10-04T15:31:00.000-07:00

Judet (county), northeastern Romania, occupying an area of 1,946 square miles (4,965 square km), and bounded on the north by Ukraine and on the east by Moldova. The Prut and Siret rivers are, respectively, the county's eastern and western borders. Both rivers drain southeastward. Botosani (q.v.) city, a textile centre, is the county capital. Other towns include Trusesti, Nicolae Balcescu, Dorohoi,

Bacau

2004-10-02T08:54:00.000-07:00

City, capital of Bacau judet (county), eastern Romania, near the confluence of the Bistrita and Siret rivers, 150 miles (240 km) northeast of Bucharest. Bacau was an early customs post, where trade routes came together at a ford over the Bistrita. It was first mentioned in documents in 1408. The manufacture of fighter airplanes has become the city's most important industry. Other industries

Lip Ring, Lip Plug, And Lip Plate

2004-09-29T13:42:00.000-07:00

In South America at the time of the Spanish conquests, lip plugs, usually made of stone, gold, or rock crystal, were worn by the indigenous peoples. In several parts of Africa, especially in Congo (Kinshasa), Tanzania,

Parallel Evolution

2004-09-27T00:43:00.000-07:00

The evolution of geographically separated groups in such a way that they show morphological resemblances. A notable example is the similarity shown by the marsupial mammals of Australia to the placental mammals elsewhere. Through the courses of their evolution they have come to remarkably similar forms, so much so that the marsupials are often named for their

Earth, Crustal magnetization

2004-09-25T23:20:00.000-07:00

Magnetic fields measured at the Earth's surface are not entirely produced by the internal dynamo. Radially outward from the Earth's core, the next major source of magnetic field is crustal magnetization. The temperature of the materials constituting the crust is cool enough for them to exist in solid form. The solids may become magnetized by the Earth's main field

Gracias

2004-09-23T03:22:00.000-07:00

City, southwestern Honduras. It lies in the valley of the Mejocote River, at the foot of Las Minas Hill in the Celaque Mountains. Founded in 1536, it is one of the oldest cities in Honduras. In the 16th and 17th centuries, it was a major mining and administrative centre, but it declined in the 18th century. Destroyed in 1915 by an earthquake, it has been rebuilt. Gracias is now the commercial

Great Dismal Swamp

2004-09-21T17:11:00.000-07:00

Also called Dismal Swamp marshy region on the Coastal Plain of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, U.S., between Norfolk, Virginia, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina. It is densely forested and contains scattered natural elevations of 10 to 20 feet (3 to 6 metres) above sea level. Along the western margin the Pamlico Formation (known as the Great Dismal Swamp Terrace) rises to 25 feet

Hinduism, Jainism

2004-09-20T23:36:00.000-07:00

With Jainism, which always remained an Indian religion, Hinduism has so much in common, especially in social institutions and ritual life, that nowadays Hindus tend to consider it a Hindu sect. Many Jains also are inclined to fraternization. The points of difference—e.g., a stricter ahimsa practice and the absence of sacrifices for the deceased in Jainism—do not give

Kublai Khan

2004-09-18T13:59:00.000-07:00

Kublai also spelled Khubilai , or Kubla Mongolian general and statesman, grandson of Genghis Khan. He conquered China and became the first emperor of its Yüan, or Mongol, dynasty. He was thus at one and the same time the overlord of all the Mongol dominions—which included areas as diverse as that of the Golden Horde in southern Russia, the Il-Khanate of Persia, and the steppe heartlands where Mongol princes

Profit Sharing

2004-09-16T16:10:00.000-07:00

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

Accent

2004-09-13T03:30:00.000-07:00

Accent has various

Hawke (of Towton), Edward Hawke, 1st Baron

2004-09-11T03:50:00.000-07:00

Hawke joined the navy in February 1720 and was promoted to rear admiral for his distinguished service against the French in the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48). In October 1747 he captured six French warships in a brilliant

Tunnels And Underground Excavations, Environmental control

2004-09-09T07:29:00.000-07:00

In all but the shortest tunnels, control of the environment is essential to provide safe working conditions. Ventilation is vital, both to provide fresh air and to remove explosive gases such as methane and noxious gases, including blast fumes. While the problem is reduced by using diesel engines with exhaust scrubbers and by selecting only low-fume explosives

Skin Cancer

2004-09-08T23:19:00.000-07:00

Most cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer are caused by damage to DNA resulting from exposure to ultraviolet radiation of the sun. People with light complexions have a higher rate of skin cancer than those with dark skin, and males are more likely to develop skin cancer than females. Exposure to substances such as arsenic, coal, and tar has been linked to skin cancer, as

Achelous River

2004-09-05T19:41:00.000-07:00

Modern Greek Akhelóös Potamós, also called Aspropótamos, one of the longest rivers in Greece, rising in the Pindus Mountains of central Epirus (Ípiros) and dividing Aetolia from Acarnania. It debouches into the Ionian Sea after a course of 140 mi (220 km), mostly through gorges. Well above Agrínion two hydroelectric dams were built to harness the waters of the river and its tributaries. One is at Kastraki; the other, at Kremasta, is the

Natchez

2004-09-03T23:24:00.000-07:00

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

Amos

2004-09-01T07:50:00.000-07:00

The little that is known about Amos' life has been gleaned from his book, which was, in all likelihood, partly

Quinet, Edgar

2004-08-31T22:49:00.000-07:00

After moving to Paris in 1820, Quinet forsook the faith of his Protestant mother, became greatly attracted to German philosophy, and published in 1827–28, as his first major work, a translation of Herder's