EqualFork

Lindsay, Vachel

2005-04-05T19:54:00.000-07:00

After three years at Hiram College, Hiram, Ohio, Lindsay left in 1900 to study art in Chicago and New York City. He supported himself in part by lecturing

Indonesia, Justice

2005-04-05T08:05:00.000-07:00

There are four judicial spheres (for general, religious, military, and administrative

Boucher, François

2005-04-05T07:26:00.000-07:00

Trained by his father, a lace designer, Boucher won the Prix de Rome in 1723. He was influenced by the works of Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Peter Paul Rubens, and his teacher François Le Moine (Le Moyne). Boucher's first major commission

Babergh

2005-04-02T22:17:00.000-08:00

District, administrative and historic county of Suffolk, England. Babergh extends across the southern part of Suffolk. Babergh includes much of the area made familiar by the paintings of John Constable (1776–1837), who was born within the district at East Bergholt and whose family owned mills there and at Flatford. It also includes a group of small towns—Lavenham, Lindsey, and

Liber And Libera

2005-04-02T03:35:00.000-08:00

In Roman religion, a pair of fertility and cultivation deities of uncertain origin. Liber, though an old and native Italian deity, came to be identified with Dionysus. The triad Ceres, Liber, and Libera (his female counterpart) represented in Rome, from early times and always under Greek influence, the Eleusinian Demeter, Iacchus-Dionysus, and Kore (Persephone). At the festival

Baba Taher

2005-04-01T01:48:00.000-08:00

Most of his life is clouded in mystery. He probably lived in Hamadan. His nickname, 'Aryan (the Naked), suggests that he was a wandering dervish, or mystic. Legend tells that the poet, an illiterate woodcutter, attended lectures at a religious college, where he was ridiculed

Are

2005-03-31T07:28:00.000-08:00

Basic unit of area in the metric system, equal to 100 square metres and the equivalent of 0.0247 acre. Its multiple, the hectare (equal to 100 ares), is the principal unit of land measurement for most of the world.

Laissez-faire

2005-03-31T01:06:00.000-08:00

(French: “allow to do”), policy based on a minimum of governmental interference in the economic affairs of individuals and society. The origin of the term is uncertain, but it is usually associated with the economists known as Physiocrats, who flourished in France from about 1756 to 1778. The policy of laissez-faire received strong support in classical economics as it developed

Packard, Sophia B.

2005-03-30T02:55:00.000-08:00

Packard attended local district school and from the age of 14 alternated periods of study with periods of teaching in rural schools. In 1850 she graduated from the Female Seminary of Charlestown,

Mitchell, Maria

2005-03-29T13:46:00.000-08:00

Mitchell was educated in schools on her native Nantucket, Massachusetts, including the one conducted by her father. Her interest in astronomy was stimulated by her father, who let her assist in his work of rating chronometers for the Nantucket whaling fleet and who encouraged

Henley, Beth

2005-03-29T10:51:00.000-08:00

Henley, a graduate of Southern Methodist University, University Park, Texas (B.F.A., 1974), turned from acting to writing as a career because she felt that the theatre offered few good contemporary roles

Infection, Social habits

2005-03-28T07:14:00.000-08:00

The vampire bats of Brazil, which transmit paralytic rabies, bite cattle but not ranchers, presumably because on the plains of Brazil ranchers are few but cattle plentiful. Bat-transmitted rabies, however, does occur in human beings in Trinidad, where herdsmen sleep in shacks near their animals. The mechanism of infection is the same in Brazil and Trinidad, but the

Pietas

2005-03-27T05:11:00.000-08:00

In Roman religion, personification of a respectful and faithful attachment to gods, country, and relatives, especially parents. Pietas had a temple at Rome, dedicated in 181 BC, and was often represented on coins as a female figure carrying a palm branch and a sceptre or as a matron casting incense upon an altar, sometimes accompanied by a stork, the symbol of filial piety.

Oradea

2005-03-26T09:24:00.000-08:00

One of the first feudal states in the area, a principality ruled by Prince Menumorut in the 9th–10th centuries, was centred on a citadel

Arecidae

2005-03-26T02:36:00.000-08:00

Subclass of flowering plants belonging to the class Liliopsida.

Andes Mountains, Physiography of the Central Andes

2005-03-25T23:38:00.000-08:00

The Central Andes begin at latitude 35° S, at a point where the cordillera undergoes a sharp change of character. Its width increases to about 50 miles, and it becomes arid and higher; the passes, too, are higher and more difficult to cross. Glaciers are rare and found only at high elevations. There is virtually no vegetation, lakes having disappeared north of 39° S and forests north

Celestine Ii

2005-03-24T08:59:00.000-08:00

A scholar of noble birth, he studied under Peter Abélard, with whom he remained on friendly terms even after Abélard's condemnation at the Council of Sens (1140). He was made cardinal deacon in 1127 by Pope Honorius II and cardinal priest (c. 1134) by Pope Innocent II, whom he was elected to succeed on Sept. 26, 1143. As pope (consecrated

Muscle Disease, Vitamin D deficiency

2005-03-24T00:28:00.000-08:00

A similar mechanism underlies the wasting and weakness associated with lack of vitamin D (osteomalacia) in which marked atrophy of type 2 fibres may be seen. The actions of vitamin D in muscle are not fully understood, but it appears that at least one of its metabolites, 25-hydroxycholecalciferol, may influence the resting energy state of the muscle and also protein turnover.

Jackson, Janet

2005-03-23T06:54:00.000-08:00

The youngest of nine siblings in Motown's famed Jackson family, Janet Jackson parlayed her family's success into an independent career that spanned recordings, television, and film. She appeared as

Pigneau De Béhaine, Pierre-joseph-georges

2005-03-22T09:24:00.000-08:00

Pigneau de Béhaine left France in 1765 and went to establish a seminary in southern Vietnam, then known as Cochinchina. He arrived at Ha Tien, near the Cambodian frontier,

Moss

2005-03-21T15:17:00.000-08:00

(class Bryopsida, or Musci), any of at least 10,000 species of small, spore-bearing land plants (division Bryophyta) distributed throughout the world except in salt water. Valvate mosses constitute the subclass Andreaeidae, and peat mosses compose the subclass Sphagnidae. The large subclass Bryidae constitutes most species of mosses, but the subclass Polytrichidae

Arabian Desert

2005-03-21T08:13:00.000-08:00

Great desert region occupying almost the entire Arabian Peninsula. Covering an area of about 900,000 square miles (2,300,000 square km), it is bordered on the north by the Syrian Desert, on the northeast and east by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, on the southeast and south by the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden, and on the west by the Red Sea. A large part of the Arabian Desert lies within

Settee

2005-03-20T21:48:00.000-08:00

Also called Sofa, an upholstered seat with back and arms (sometimes upholstered), designed for two or more people in a sitting or reclining position. The earliest surviving types, dating back to the 17th century in Europe, have sides that let down for conversion into a bed. Variations of backrests and armrests appeared, and the precedent, still followed in the 20th century, was established

Vacuum Technology

2005-03-20T18:27:00.000-08:00

Capacities >are available from 1/2 to 1,000 cubic feet per minute, operating from atmospheric pressure down to as low as 2 ´ 10-2 torr for single-stage pumps and less than 5 ´ 10-3 torr for two-stage pumps. The pumps develop their full speed from atmosphere to about one torr, the speed then decreasing to zero at their ultimate pressures. One device of this type, useful for pumping both liquids

Järta, Hans

2005-03-20T17:40:00.000-08:00

In the 1790s Hans Hierta began his career as a publicist and a left-wing member of the noble estate of the Riksdag (estates general). In sympathy with the French Revolution

Adams, Charles Francis

2005-03-19T20:39:00.000-08:00

Adams was the son of the lawyer and historian Charles Francis Adams (1835–1915), as well as great-grandson of the sixth U.S. president and great-great-grandson of the second.

Topographic Map

2005-03-18T19:38:00.000-08:00

Cartographic representation of the Earth's surface at a level of detail or scale intermediate between that of a plan (small area) and a chorographic (large regional) map. Within the limits of scale, it shows as accurately as possible the location and shape of both natural and man-made features. Natural features include relief, which is sometimes mistakenly understood

Clodia

2005-03-18T04:57:00.000-08:00

Profligate Roman beauty and sister of the demagogue Publius Clodius. She was married in 63 BC to Quintus Metellus Celer and was suspected of responsibility for his death in 59 BC. She was mistress to the poet Catullus, who wrote of her as Lesbia, and was the most important influence in his life. Another of her lovers was Marcus Caelius Rufus, whom Cicero defended against

Juárez

2005-03-17T01:59:00.000-08:00

The city's historic buildings include the Guadalupe mission

Clove

2005-03-16T08:33:00.000-08:00

Small, reddish-brown flower bud of the tropical evergreen tree Syzygium aromaticum (sometimes Eugenia caryophyllata) of the family Myrtaceae, important in the earliest spice trade and believed indigenous to the Moluccas, or Spice Islands, of Indonesia. Strong of aroma and hot and pungent in taste, cloves are used to flavour many foods, particularly

Términos Lagoon

2005-03-16T02:23:00.000-08:00

Spanish Laguna De Términos, lagoon in southwestern Campeche state, at the base of the Yucatán Peninsula, eastern Mexico. An inlet of the Bay of Campeche on the Gulf of Mexico, it measures 45 mi (72 km) east–west and 12 to 15 mi north–south. Long, narrow Carmen Island stretches across its entrance. The lagoon is fed by the Palizada and Candelaria rivers. Shrimp, fish, and turtles are taken from Términos, and crocodiles

Razgrad

2005-03-15T18:24:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Rasgrad town, northeastern Bulgaria, on the Beli Lom River. It is the largest producer of antibiotics in Bulgaria and also manufactures concrete, porcelain, and glass and is an agricultural centre for grain, vegetables, and timber. Between the 15th and the 19th century, Razgrad was Turkish. Historical monuments in the town include the Ibrahim Pasa Mosque (built 1614) and the ruins of the

Amorphous Solid, Other preparation techniques

2005-03-15T14:36:00.000-08:00

Numerous other methods exist for preparing amorphous solids, and new methods are continually invented. In melt spinning, a jet of molten metal is propelled against the moving surface of a cold, rotating copper cylinder. A solid film of metallic glass is spun off as a continuous ribbon at a speed that can exceed a kilometre per minute. In laser glazing, a brief intense

Almandine

2005-03-15T13:34:00.000-08:00

Either of two semiprecious gemstones: a violet-coloured variety of ruby spinel (q.v.) or iron aluminum garnet, which is most abundant of the garnets. Specimens of the garnet, frequently crystals, contain up to 25 percent grossular or andradite and are commonly brownish red; gem-quality stone is deep red and slightly purple. Almandine, the so-called precious garnet, is most

Reform Bill

2005-03-14T09:25:00.000-08:00

Any of the British parliamentary bills that became acts in 1832, 1867, and 1884–85 and that expanded the electorate for the House of Commons and rationalized the representation of that body. The first Reform Bill primarily served to transfer voting privileges from the small boroughs controlled by the nobility and gentry to the heavily populated industrial towns. The two subsequent

Heston, Charlton

2005-03-13T18:07:00.000-08:00

Heston decided to become an actor after impulsively auditioning for a high-school play. His stage experience in high school resulted in a scholarship to Northwestern

Impact Crater

2005-03-13T16:22:00.000-08:00

Any feature on the continents that has been created by the impact of cosmic bodies (meteorites, asteroids, or comets) on the Earth's surface. In fact, the collision of a Mars-sized body with the Earth early in the history of the solar system may have caused the formation of the Moon and the continents themselves, or rather the ocean/continent dichotomy of the Earth's outer

Wessel Islands

2005-03-12T19:53:00.000-08:00

Chain of small islands extending 75 miles (120 km) northeast from the Napier Peninsula in northeastern Northern Territory, Australia, into the Arafura Sea. Named for a Dutch ship that explored the area in 1636, the islands form the western gate to the Gulf of Carpentaria at Cape Wessel, their northern extremity. Marchinbar, the largest island (30 miles by 7 miles [48 km by 11 km]), has undeveloped

Vanderbilt, William Henry

2005-03-12T15:57:00.000-08:00

A frail and seemingly unambitious youth, William was dismissed by his strong and dynamic father as incompetent to run the family business. The two split on

Oath

2005-03-12T14:34:00.000-08:00

Sacred or solemn voluntary promise usually involving the penalty of divine retribution for intentional falsity and often used in legal procedures. It is not certain that the oath was always considered a religious act; such ancient peoples as the Germanic tribes, Greeks, Romans, and Scythians swore by their swords or other weapons. These peoples, however, were actually

Sundanese

2005-03-12T10:31:00.000-08:00

Historically they were first recorded under the Indo-Javanese Brahmanical states

Novartis Ag

2005-03-10T14:13:00.000-08:00

Ciba-Geigy originated in the merger of two smaller Swiss firms, Ciba AG and J.R. Geigy SA. Ciba developed from a silk-dyeing business owned by Alexander Clavel,

Novello, Ivor

2005-03-10T06:33:00.000-08:00

Novello, the son of the celebrated Welsh singing teacher, Dame Clara Novello Davies, was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, and served with the Royal Naval Air Service during World War I. He became famous with a

Koda Rohan

2005-03-10T03:51:00.000-08:00

Rohan's early education was strong in the Japanese and Chinese classics, and although he was graduated from a technical school in 1884, before long

Hassan Ii

2005-03-09T03:23:00.000-08:00

Hassan, after taking a law degree at Bordeaux, France, was appointed commander of the Royal Armed Forces (1955) and deputy premier (1960) and succeeded to the throne on the death of his father, Muhammad V (1961). As

Indochina

2005-03-08T21:49:00.000-08:00

After gradually establishing suzerainty over Indochina between 1858 and 1893, the French created the first Indochinese Union

Local Church, The

2005-03-08T11:25:00.000-08:00

The Local Church grew out of the ministry of Watchman Nee (1903–72), a Chinese Christian who had been strongly influenced by the Plymouth Brethren, a British fundamentalist free church. In the 1930s Nee wrote several books presenting his beliefs

Vitale Da Bologna,

2005-03-07T05:22:00.000-08:00

The first official record of Vitale was in Bologna, where he painted the Odofredi Chapel in the Church of San Francesco. During this period he is credited with painting the “Last Supper” (1340; Pinacoteca, Bologna)

Powers, Francis Gary

2005-03-07T05:02:00.000-08:00

Powers was tried and convicted of espionage and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. He was released

Confessing Church

2005-03-06T18:16:00.000-08:00

German Bekennende Kirche, movement for revival within the German Protestant churches that developed during the 1930s from their resistance to Adolf Hitler's attempt to make the churches an instrument of National Socialist (Nazi) propaganda and politics. The German Protestant tradition of close cooperation between church and state, as well as dislike for the Weimar Republic that governed

Tafoya, Maria Margarita

2005-03-06T15:14:00.000-08:00

American potter (b. Aug. 13, 1904, Santa Clara Pueblo, N.M.—d. Feb. 25, 2001, Santa Clara Pueblo), was one of the most prominent Native American folk artists and was considered the matriarch of the renowned Santa Clara Pueblo potters. In particular, Tafoya was known for her large clay vessels, and her works were the subject of exhibits around the world. In 1984 she was named a National Heritage fellow

Kolbe, Hermann

2005-03-06T06:03:00.000-08:00

After studying chemistry with Friedrich Wöhler, Kolbe became an assistant to Robert Bunsen at the University of Marburg in 1842. Subsequently he assisted Lyon Playfair at the

Hindustani Music

2005-03-06T05:09:00.000-08:00

The music of northern India and Pakistan that developed as a distinct type from the late 12th or early 13th century, when the Islamic conquest of the northern parts of the subcontinent brought special emphasis to Arabic and Iranian musical practices, which merged with ancient Hindu traditions. The latter traditions, less affected by foreign influences, remain in the

Abbott, Sir John

2005-03-04T14:41:00.000-08:00

Educated at McGill University, Montreal, Abbott became a lawyer in 1847 and was made queen's counsel in 1862. He served as dean of the McGill faculty of law from 1855 to 1880. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the then-united province of Canada in 1857 and

Greasewood

2005-03-04T09:33:00.000-08:00

The name greasewood

Bermuda Race

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

One of the world's major ocean races for sailing yachts. Originating in 1906, it has been held biennially since 1924 (except during World War II); since 1936 it has covered the 635-nautical-mile (1,176-kilometre) distance from Newport, R.I., U.S., to Bermuda. The race is cosponsored by the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, with the winners determined by a handicapping formula.

Acton (of Aldenham), John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, 1st Baron, 8th Baronet

2005-03-03T00:48:00.000-08:00

English Liberal historian and moralist, the first great modern philosopher of resistance to the evil state, whether its form be authoritarian, democratic, or socialist. A comment that he wrote in a letter, “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely,” today has become a familiar aphorism. He succeeded to the

Pregnancy, Chorionic villi sampling

2005-03-02T14:12:00.000-08:00

The technique of retrieving a sample of villi from the chorion (outer embryonic membrane) within the uterus is similar to amniocentesis but can be carried out much earlier in pregnancy, between the 8th and 12th week of gestation. The test can be performed through either the abdomen or the vagina and cervix. The latter technique is carried out using ultrasonic visualization,

Panama, Administrative divisions

2005-03-02T13:16:00.000-08:00

The country is divided into nine provincias and four comarcas indígenas (indigenous sectors)—Kuna Yala (San Blas), Emberá (Emberá-Wounaan), Madungandí (Madugandí), and Ngobe Buglé (Guaymí). The provincias are divided into distritos municipales (municipal districts), which are subdivided into corregimientos (magistracies). The head of each provincia is the governor, appointed

Orhan

2005-03-01T01:51:00.000-08:00

Under Orhan's leadership, the small Ottoman principality in northwestern Anatolia continued to attract Ghazis (warriors for the Islamic faith) from surrounding Turkish emirates fighting against Byzantium.

Mosaic

2005-03-01T00:21:00.000-08:00

In art, decoration of a surface with designs made up of closely set, usually variously coloured, small pieces of material such as stone, mineral, glass, tile, or shell. Unlike inlay, in which the pieces to be applied are set into a surface that has been hollowed out to receive the design, mosaic pieces are applied onto a surface that has been prepared with an adhesive. Mosaic

Interior Design, Natural elements

2005-02-28T10:54:00.000-08:00

No man-made object can equal the beauty found in nature, and it is not surprising that the introduction of natural elements into interiors has always been considered desirable. In spite of their beauty, one cannot arbitrarily introduce a plant, a tree, or rocks, or water into an interior. The foremost considerations must be the location of the space, its climate, and its

Alcove

2005-02-28T05:59:00.000-08:00

Recess opening off a room or other space enclosed by walls or hedges. In medieval architecture it was commonly used as a sleeping space off the main body of a drafty hall. The separation of the alcove from the main space was accomplished at first by means of curtains and later by timber partitions to form independent rooms and thus conserve heat. In later centuries

Paul Ii

2005-02-27T19:53:00.000-08:00

He was bishop of the Italian cities of Cervia and Vicenza before being made cardinal by Pope Eugenius IV in 1440. After services in the Curia under popes Nicholas V and Calixtus III, he became governor of Campania in 1456. Elected Pope Pius II's successor on Aug. 30, 1464, he immediately declared that “capitulations,” or binding agreements that determined

Mckim, Charles Follen

2005-02-27T18:30:00.000-08:00

McKim was educated at Harvard and at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He was trained as a draftsman by the architect H.H. Richardson while the latter was completing Trinity Church, Boston. In 1879 he joined William Rutherford Mead

Annelid, Locomotion

2005-02-26T21:55:00.000-08:00

The basic features of locomotion in annelids are most easily observed in the earthworm because it lacks appendages and parapodia. Movement involves extending the body, anchoring it to a surface with setae, and contracting body muscles. When the worm begins a forward movement, circular muscles at the anterior end contract, extending the head forward. At the same

Berdychiv

2005-02-26T19:12:00.000-08:00

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

Moses De León

2005-02-26T18:51:00.000-08:00

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

Bohemian Confession

2005-02-26T04:50:00.000-08:00

Latin Confessio Bohemica, Protestant doctrinal statement formulated in Bohemia by the Czech Utraquists (moderate Hussites) in 1575 and subscribed to by the Unitas Fratrum, Lutherans, and Calvinists in the kingdom. The document was based on the Augsburg Confession, and it upheld the Lutheran position on justification and the Calvinist interpretation of the Eucharist. Though Emperor Maximilian

Computers And Information Systems, E-commerce.

2005-02-24T15:37:00.000-08:00

E-commerce continued to grow with meteoric speed in 1999, powered by Internet retailers such as Amazon.com, which, under the leadership of its founder and CEO, Jeff Bezos (see Biographies), expanded beyond selling books on-line to offering toys, consumer electronics, videos, music, auctions, gifts, and electronic greeting cards and prepared to get into the on-line grocery business.

Dominic, Saint

2005-02-24T15:19:00.000-08:00

Spanish in full Santo Domingo De Guzmán founder of the Order of Friars Preachers (Dominicans), a religious order of mendicant friars with a universal mission of preaching, a centralized organization and government, and a great emphasis on scholarship.

Arrian

2005-02-23T18:26:00.000-08:00

Latin in full Flavius Arrianus Greek historian and philosopher who was the author of a work describing the campaigns of Alexander the Great. Entitled Anabasis, presumably in order to recall Xenophon's work of that title, it describes Alexander's military exploits in seven books; an eighth, the Indica, tells of Indian customs and the voyage of Nearchus in the Persian

Carton De Wiart, Henri(-victor), Comte (count)

2005-02-23T06:46:00.000-08:00

Elected in 1896 to the Belgian House of Representatives as a member of the Catholic Party's reform-oriented left wing, he served as minister of justice (1911–18) and helped secure passage of child-welfare legislation (1912). Subsequently, he served

Twelve, The

2005-02-22T21:21:00.000-08:00

Also called The Twelve Prophets, or The Minor Prophets, book of the Hebrew Bible that contains the books of 12 minor prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. In most other versions of the Old Testament, each of these 12 is treated as a separate book (e.g., the Book of Hosea), but in the Hebrew Bible they are consolidated into one book that is the last of eight books in the second

Johannesen, Knut

2005-02-22T13:02:00.000-08:00

In addition to numerous Olympic medals and world records, Johannesen won acclaim for regaining Norway's dominance in speed skating and for being the first skater ever to complete 10,000 metres in less than 16 minutes. He accomplished the latter feat

Ustinov, Sir Peter

2005-02-21T04:54:00.000-08:00

Ustinov's grandfather was a Russian officer in the czar's army who was exiled because of his religious beliefs. “It is for that reason,” Ustinov later said, “that I am addressing you today in English.” His father was a respected British

Awdl

2005-02-21T04:51:00.000-08:00

Plural Awdlau, in Welsh verse, a long ode written in cynghanedd (a complex system of alliteration and internal rhyme) and in one or more of the 24 strict bardic metres, though only 4 bardic metres are commonly used. The awdl was, by the 15th century, the vehicle for many outstanding Welsh poems. It remains the predominant form in the annual national eisteddfod (bard and minstrel competition);

K'ang-ting

2005-02-20T06:09:00.000-08:00

Until the Sung period (960–1279) the area was beyond Chinese control.

Amazon River

2005-02-20T02:48:00.000-08:00

Portuguese, Rio Amazonas, Spanish Río Amazonas, the greatest river of South America and the largest drainage system in the world in terms of the volume of its flow and the area of its basin. The total length of the river—measured from the headwaters of the Ucayali-Apurímac river system in Peru—is about 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometres), which is slightly shorter than the Nile River but still the equivalent of the distance from New

Paul Of Aegina

2005-02-19T00:57:00.000-08:00

Based largely on the works of such

Birnin Kebbi

2005-02-18T16:55:00.000-08:00

Town and capital of Kebbi state, northwestern Nigeria. It lies along the Sokoto (Kebbi) River at the intersection of roads from Argungu, Jega, and Bunza. An early settlement of the Kebbawa, a subgroup of the Hausa, it was captured about 1516 by Muhammadu Kanta, founder of the Kebbi kingdom; subsequently, it was incorporated into Kebbi, one of the banza bakwai (the seven illegitimate

Phidias

2005-02-18T07:09:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Pheidias Athenian sculptor, the artistic director of the construction of the Parthenon, who created its most important religious images and supervised and probably designed its overall sculptural decoration. It is said of Phidias that he alone had seen the exact image of the gods and that he revealed it to man. He established forever general conceptions of Zeus and

Giusti, Giuseppe

2005-02-17T11:34:00.000-08:00

Giusti was sporadically a law student in Pisa (1826–29 and 1832–34) and led an inconspicuous life until the Revolution

Saarinen, Eero

2005-02-17T07:09:00.000-08:00

Finnish-born U.S. architect who was one of the leaders in a trend toward exploration and experiment in American architectural design during the 1950s.

Wadgaon, Convention Of

2005-02-16T19:47:00.000-08:00

The compact was concluded after a British expedition, commanded by Colonel William Cockburn and controlled by Colonel

Arrest

2005-02-16T15:48:00.000-08:00

Placing of a person in custody or under restraint, usually for the purpose of compelling obedience to the law. If the arrest occurs in the course of criminal procedure, the purpose of the restraint is to hold the person for answer to a criminal charge or to prevent him from committing an offense. In civil proceedings, the purpose is to hold the person to a demand made against

Great Alfold

2005-02-16T15:18:00.000-08:00

Hungarian Nagy-Alföld, Nagy Magyar Alföld , or Alföld , English Great Hungarian Plain a flat, fertile lowland, southeastern Hungary, also extending into eastern Croatia, northern Yugoslavia, and western Romania. Its area is 40,000 square miles (100,000 square km), about half in Hungary. In its natural state the Great Alfold is a steppeland broken up with floodplain groves and swamps—a southwestern projection of the Russian steppes. In Hungary flood control, irrigation,

Guayaquil

2005-02-15T14:45:00.000-08:00

In full Santiago De Guayaquil, largest city and chief port of Ecuador. It is situated on the west bank of the Guayas River, 45 miles (72 km) upstream from the Gulf of Guayaquil of the Pacific Ocean. The original settlement was founded in the 1530s at the mouth of the Babahoyo River, just east of the present site, by Sebastián de Belalcázar, a lieutenant of the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, but Indians

Nebula

2005-02-15T06:12:00.000-08:00

Many characteristics of nebulae are determined by the physical state of their constituent hydrogen, by far the most abundant element. For historical reasons, nebulae in which hydrogen is mainly ionized (H+) are called H II regions; those in which hydrogen is mainly neutral are designated H I regions; and those in which the gas is in molecular form (H2) are referred to as

Rackham, Arthur

2005-02-13T17:27:00.000-08:00

Reared in London, Rackham enrolled in evening classes at the Lambeth School of Art in 1884 and spent seven years studying there while also working full-time in an insurance office. While a staff artist for a newspaper, the Westminster

Thomas, Sidney Gilchrist

2005-02-13T16:56:00.000-08:00

Thomas was preparing to matriculate in medicine at London University when his father died.

San Francisco Conference

2005-02-13T08:35:00.000-08:00

The conference was attended by delegations from the 46 nations that had signed

Wagner, Richard

2005-02-13T08:19:00.000-08:00

Wagner's single-handed creation of his own type of musical drama was a fantastic accomplishment, considering the scale and scope of his art. His method was to condense the confused mass of material at his disposal—the innumerable conflicting versions of the legend chosen as a basis—into a taut dramatic scheme. In this scheme, as in his model, the Oresteia of Aeschylus,

Humpbacked Fly

2005-02-12T16:07:00.000-08:00

Also called Coffin Fly, any of numerous species of tiny, dark-coloured flies with humped backs that are members of the insect family Phoridae (order Diptera). The adults are abundant around decaying vegetation. Larvae may be scavengers, parasites, or commensals in ant and termite nests. Some species have reduced or no wings.

Dietz, Howard

2005-02-12T13:20:00.000-08:00

After graduating from Columbia University in 1917, Dietz joined the Philip Goodman Advertising Agency, where he was assigned to devise a trademark for Goldwyn Pictures. Dietz used Columbia's lion mascot as an inspiration for the Goldwyn studio's “roaring lion” trademark, which thereafter

Chédiak-higashi Syndrome

2005-02-11T06:15:00.000-08:00

Persons with Chédiak-Higashi syndrome experience persistent or recurrent infections. Other symptoms associated with the disease include enlargement of the liver and spleen, partial albinism, and depressed activity

Pavlova, Anna

2005-02-10T13:08:00.000-08:00

Pavlova studied at the Imperial School of Ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre from 1891, joined the Imperial Ballet in 1899, and became a prima ballerina in 1906. In 1909 she went to Paris on the historic tour of the Ballets Russes. After 1913 she danced independently with her own

Bhaktivedanta, A(bhay) C(haranaravinda)

2005-02-09T11:10:00.000-08:00

In 1920 Bhaktivedanta completed his B.A. in chemistry at the Scottish Churches' College in Calcutta; by that time, his family had arranged a marriage for him, and he later established

Reuben

2005-02-09T05:09:00.000-08:00

After the Exodus out of Egypt, Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land and divided the territory among the 12 tribes. The tribe of Reuben apparently settled east of

Vienne

2005-02-09T05:01:00.000-08:00

Town, Isère département, Rhône-Alpes région, southeastern France. It lies along the Rhône River where the latter is joined by the Gère River. In ancient times Vienne was the capital of the Celtic tribe known as the Allobroges. It was conquered by the Romans in 121 BC and was subsequently one of the most important towns of Gaul until Roman rule of the area ended in AD 275. Late in the 9th