GeneralPipe

organic cotton goods

2006-10-30T15:10:00.000-08:00

Liv organic cotton goods are soft luxurious nad affordable and they have a huge range of organic clothing.

Arwad, Jazirat

2005-03-19T16:32:00.000-08:00

Greek Arados , Phoenician Arvad island in the eastern Mediterranean off the Syrian coastal town of Tartus. Originally settled by the Phoenicians in the early 2nd millennium BC, it formed an excellent base for their commercial operations, into both the Orontes Valley and the hinterland as far as the Euphrates, and also to Egypt. Arwadian soldiers fought against the Egyptians at the Battle of Kadesh (c. 1299 BC). From

Sete Lagoas

2005-03-16T05:19:00.000-08:00

City, central Minas Gerais estado (“state”), Brazil. Sete Lagoas lies in the highlands near the Espinhaço Mountains. It is a commercial centre for an agricultural region that raises corn (maize), feijão (beans), sugarcane, cassava, and rice, as well as livestock. Manufacturing and dairy and food-processing plants are in the city, which is on the Rio de Janeiro–Brasília highway

China, Urban areas

2005-03-15T03:47:00.000-08:00

The dramatic change in the urban landscape is the result of the rapid development of modern manufacturing industries and of communications. Many new towns and cities

Insurance, Suretyship

2005-03-13T22:00:00.000-08:00

Surety contracts are designed to protect businesses against the possible dishonesty of their employees. Surety and fidelity bonds fill the gap left by theft insurance, which always excludes losses from persons in a position of trust. A bond involves three contracting parties instead of two. The three parties are the principal, who is the person bonded; the obligee,

Puerto Aisén

2005-03-11T11:34:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Puerto Aysén capital of Aisén province and commune in Aisén region, southern Chile, located on the Aisén River at the head of a deep fjord facing the Chonos Archipelago. Colonization of the surrounding area of rugged topography and rigorous climate began only in the 19th century. Puerto Aisén is a port and commercial centre for the developing agricultural, mining, and lumbering

Tectonic Landform

2005-03-09T08:34:00.000-08:00

Whereas erosion shapes landforms, their origins lie in tectonic processes that build the major structures of the Earth. The word tectonic is derived from the Greek word tekton, which

Olympic Games, Lake Placid, New York, U.S., 1932

2005-03-06T11:37:00.000-08:00

Controversies surrounding the speed skating

Monck, George, 1st Duke Of Albemarle, Earl Of Torrington, Baron Monck Of Potheridge, Beauchamp And Teyes

2005-03-05T06:48:00.000-08:00

Scion of a well-to-do Devon family, Monck served with the Dutch against the Spaniards in the Netherlands from about 1629 to 1638, distinguished

Guatemala, Transportation

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

Two primary highways extend east-west across Guatemala.

Cumberland, William Augustus, Duke Of

2005-03-01T10:25:00.000-08:00

During the War of the Austrian Succession (1740–48), he became commander of the allied forces (1745) and was severely defeated by France's Marshal Maurice

Tarhun

2005-02-26T05:33:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Taru, Tarhu, Tarhunt, Tarhunna, or Tarhuis, ancient Anatolian weather god. His name appears in Hittite and Assyrian records (c. 1400–612 BC) and later as an element in Hellenistic personal names, primarily from Cilicia. Tarhunt was the Luwian form and Tarhun (Tarhunna) probably the Hittite, from the common root tarh-, “to conquer.” The weather god was one of the supreme deities of the Hittite pantheon and was regarded as the embodiment

Korean War, Air warfare

2005-02-24T14:11:00.000-08:00

Air power gave the UNC its greatest hope to offset Chinese manpower and increasing firepower. The FEAF clearly won the battle for air superiority, pitting fewer than 100 F-86s against far more numerous Soviet, Chinese, and North Korean MiG-15s. Pilots from all the U.S. armed forces downed at least 500 MiGs at a loss of 78 F-86s. The Soviets rotated squadrons of their air defense force to Korea,

Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Church

2005-02-22T13:55:00.000-08:00

Church organized by Norwegian and Swedish immigrants in 1860 in Jefferson Prairie, Wis., as the Scandinavian Augustana Evangelical Lutheran Synod. Tufve Nilsson Hasselquist, an ordained minister in the Church of Sweden, was the first president. It took its name from Confessio Augustana, the Latin name for the Augsburg Confession, written in 1530 by German Lutheran Reformers.

Arabia

2005-02-20T00:51:00.000-08:00

Roman province created out of the former kingdom of the Nabataeans and the adjacent Syrian cities of Gerasa and Philadelphia (modern Jarash and 'Amman, Jordan, respectively), after the formal annexation of the Nabataean kingdom by the Roman emperor Trajan in AD 105. The province was bounded by the western coast of the Sinai Peninsula, the present Syrian-Lebanese border to

Moore

2005-02-18T11:34:00.000-08:00

City, Cleveland county, central Oklahoma, U.S., a southern suburb of Oklahoma City. First settled in 1887 and originally called Verbeck, it was renamed for a conductor of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Its population remained small until the 1960s when planned urban and industrial development began. Industries include the manufacture of aircraft parts, building

Dewey Decimal Classification

2005-02-16T21:10:00.000-08:00

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

Bottome, Margaret Mcdonald

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

Née Margaret McDonald American columnist and religious organizer, founder of the Christian spiritual development and service organization now known as the International Order of the King's Daughters and Sons. She attended school in Brooklyn and in 1850 married the Reverend Frank Bottome. Her long-standing practice of giving informal talks on the Bible

Taliesin And Taliesin West

2005-02-12T13:53:00.000-08:00

The two homes, as well as architectural schools, of the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Originally built in 1911, Taliesin, located near Spring Green, Wisconsin, U.S., was rebuilt after fires in 1914 and 1925. Taliesin West, near Scottsdale, Arizona, was begun in 1937 as a winter home for Wright and his students. Wright was of Welsh descent and named his homes after the Welsh bard Taliesin.

Taliesin And Taliesin West

2005-02-11T04:41:00.000-08:00

The common name given to about 50 to 60 species of small, stubby, generally short-tailed birds abundant in American tropical forests. Manakins are short-billed birds that range in size from 8.5 to 16 cm (3.5 to 6.5 inches) long and weigh a mere 10–40 grams (0.35–1.4 ounces). Females and immature males are typically coloured in drab greens and browns, but adult males are often black with

Manchester

2005-02-09T04:44:00.000-08:00

City and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, northwestern England. Most of the city, including the historic core, is in the historic county of Lancashire, but it includes an area south of the River Mersey in the historic county of Cheshire. Manchester is the nucleus of the largest metropolitan area in the north of England, and it

Cincinnati, University Of

2005-02-06T11:39:00.000-08:00

Public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. A comprehensive research and arts university, it offers undergraduate and graduate study in business, applied science, engineering, education, social work, nursing, design, architecture, arts, and sciences. Professional programs are available at the Cincinnati College of Law, the University

Bonaparte Family

2005-02-04T13:30:00.000-08:00

Italian Buonaparte, a family made famous by Napoleon I (q.v.), emperor of the French (1804–1814/15). The French form Bonaparte was not commonly used, even by Napoleon, until after the spring of 1796. The original name was Buonaparte, which was borne in the early Middle Ages by several distinct families in Italy. One of these, which settled at Florence before the year 1100, was divided in the 13th century into the two branches

Xochimilco

2005-02-03T09:53:00.000-08:00

Mashonaland

2005-01-31T10:54:00.000-08:00

Mashonaland consists largely of the northeastern part of Zimbabwe's Middle Veld, a wide plateau lying at an

Hellenistic Religion

2005-01-29T15:09:00.000-08:00

The conquests of Alexander opened the way for religious interchange between East and West; the political structures left behind by Alexander and continued by his successors provided strong incentives for the hellenization of native religions. Characteristic of this first period of Hellenistic religious history were the following developments: (1) the introduction

World War Ii, Iwo Jima and the bombing of Tokyo

2005-01-28T00:43:00.000-08:00

With U.S. forces firmly established in the Mariana Islands, the steady long-range bombing of Japan by B-29s under the command of General Curtis E. LeMay continued throughout the closing months of 1944 and into 1945. But it was still 1,500 miles from Saipan to Tokyo, a long flight even for the B-29s. Strategic planners therefore fixed their attention on the little volcanic island of Iwo

Hengist And Horsa

2005-01-24T15:40:00.000-08:00

Hengist also spelled Hengest (respectively d. c. 488; d. 455?), brothers and legendary leaders of the first Anglo-Saxon settlers in Britain who went there, according to the English historian and theologian Bede, to fight for the British king Vortigern against the Picts between AD 446 and 454. The brothers are said to have been Jutes and sons of one Wihtgils. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that they landed at Ebbsfleet,

Malakal

2005-01-22T06:45:00.000-08:00

Town, east-central Sudan. It lies along the right bank of the White Nile just below the latter's confluence with the Sobat River, 430 miles (690 km) south of Khartoum. The Junqali project, a joint Sudanese-Egyptian plan aimed at increasing agricultural production, diverts the waters of the White Nile from the As-Sudd swamps by means of a 224-mile (360-kilometre) canal that starts from the

Razgrad

2005-01-20T11:32:00.000-08:00

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

Novgorod, Treaty Of

2005-01-17T03:35:00.000-08:00

(June 3, 1326), the peace treaty ending decades of Russo-Norwegian hostilities in the extreme northern area of present-day Norway and Russia's Kola Peninsula—then generally known as Finnmark (including the present Norwegian province of Finnmark). The treaty, rather than delimiting a clear frontier between Norway and the principality of Novgorod, created a buffer zone, the

Zonheboto

2005-01-15T19:02:00.000-08:00

Zonheboto district (about 500 sq mi [1,300 sq km]) was separated from Mokokchung district in 1973 and is located in the central part of the state. It is bounded by

Shichi-go-san

2005-01-13T09:27:00.000-08:00

(Japanese: “Seven-Five-Three”), one of the most important festivals for Japanese children, observed annually on November 15. On this date girls of three and seven years of age and boys of five years of age are taken by their parents to the Shinto shrine of their tutelary deity to offer thanks for having reached their respective ages and to invoke blessings for the future. In

Zara, Siege Of

2005-01-12T09:56:00.000-08:00

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

Laine, Dame Cleo

2005-01-10T17:05:00.000-08:00

Laine was born to a Jamaican father and an English mother. She quit school at age 14 and took a variety of jobs while auditioning for singing jobs. Her first break came in 1951, when she was hired as a vocalist for the Johnny Dankworth Seven, a

Romans-sur-isère

2005-01-08T22:59:00.000-08:00

Town, Drôme département, Rhône-Alpes region, southeastern France. It lies along the north bank of the Isère River, northeast of Valence. Founded in the 9th century, Romans-sur-Isère was the scene of the transfer of Dauphiné to France by the dauphin Humbert II (1349) and of the last meeting of the Estates of Dauphiné (December 1788), on the eve of the French Revolution. Its 12th-century Romanesque

Ting, Samuel C.c.

2005-01-06T23:14:00.000-08:00

The son of a Chinese college professor who was studying in the United States when Ting was born, he was raised in mainland China and Taiwan and at the age of 20 immigrated to the United States. He was educated at the University

Kafue

2005-01-03T06:56:00.000-08:00

Town, south-central Zambia, about 25 miles (40 km) south of Lusaka, the national capital. The town is located on the northern bank of the Kafue River, whose water is diverted northward by channel to Chilanga and Lusaka. The town's industrial area, which gets its power supply from the Kafue hydroelectric scheme, houses an ammonium nitrate fertilizer plant, a textile mill, an iron

Ashland

2005-01-02T19:40:00.000-08:00

City, Jackson county, southwestern Oregon, U.S. It lies along Bear Creek, in the southern reaches of the Rogue River valley, at the base of the Siskiyou Mountains, just southeast of Medford. Settled in 1852 (during a gold rush) and laid out in 1860, it was named for both Ashland county, Ohio, and Ashland, Kentucky, and was known as Ashland Mills for its sawmills and gristmills. It was located

Shigellosis

2004-12-31T01:31:00.000-08:00

Infectious disease that is caused by various species of Shigella bacteria and is known as bacillary dysentery. See dysentery.

Auersperg, Johann Weikhart, Prince (fürst) Von

2004-12-26T02:31:00.000-08:00

After serving briefly as a Habsburg court councillor, Auersperg was sent to The Hague (1641), and later he took part in peace negotiations at Osnabrück, which ultimately ended the Thirty Years'

Cantus Firmus

2004-12-24T07:20:00.000-08:00

Plural Cantus Firmi, preexistent melody, such as a plainchant excerpt, underlying a polyphonic musical composition (one consisting of several independent voices or parts). The 11th- and 12th-century organum added a simple second melody (duplum) to an existing plainchant melody (the vox principalis, or principal voice), which by the end of the 12th century was stretched so as to accommodate a melody.

Samarra'

2004-12-23T03:40:00.000-08:00

Town, central Iraq. Located on the Tigris River, it is the site of a prehistoric settlement of the 5th millennium BC. The town was founded between the 3rd and 7th centuries AD. In 836, when the 'Abbasid caliph al-Mu'tasim was pressured to leave Baghdad, he made Samarra' his new capital. He built a palace and gardens, and under his successors the town grew until it stretched along the Tigris for

Lusitani

2004-12-21T00:05:00.000-08:00

War broke

Lusitani

2004-12-18T22:42:00.000-08:00

The C&O acquired the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1963 but continued to operate it as a separate system. In 1973 the

Argyll, Archibald Campbell, 1st Marquess And 8th Earl Of, Lord Campbell, Lord Lorne, Lord Of Kintyre

2004-12-16T07:06:00.000-08:00

Argyll's career is recounted in John Willcock, The Great Marquess (1903).

Biron, Armand-louis De Gontaut, Duc De (duke Of)

2004-12-15T04:24:00.000-08:00

In his youth, as Duke de Lauzun, he dissipated his fortune, traveling about Europe and earning notoriety for his gallantry and success with

Buckthorn

2004-12-13T11:09:00.000-08:00

The common, or European, buckthorn (R. cathartica), about 3.5 m (12 feet) high, native to Eurasia, is widely naturalized. It has dark bark, often

Palace

2004-12-11T16:29:00.000-08:00

After the Middle Ages the ornate homes of the nobility of all ranks in England, France,

Strain Gauge

2004-12-09T18:58:00.000-08:00

Until the 1930s most strain

Han-t'eng-ko-li Peak

2004-12-06T05:43:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Hantengri Feng, also called Khan Tengri, peak in the Tien Shan (mountains) of Central Asia, on the boundary between Kazakstan and the Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang, China. Situated in a heavily glaciated mountain knot, the mountain rises to 22,949 feet (6,995 m). Until Soviet explorers found that nearby Pik Pobeda (Victory Peak; 24,406 feet [7,439 m]) was higher, Han-t'eng-ko-li was thought to be the highest elevation of the Tien Shan. The

Muhammad

2004-12-05T22:19:00.000-08:00

In full Abu al-Qasim Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah ibn 'Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim founder of the religion of Islam and of the Muslim community.

Wilhelmina

2004-12-03T10:51:00.000-08:00

The daughter of King William III and his second wife, Emma of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Wilhelmina became queen on her father's death (Nov. 23, 1890) under her mother's regency. She

Alcibiades

2004-11-30T17:56:00.000-08:00

Well-born and wealthy, Alcibiades was only a small boy when his father—who was in command of the Athenian army—was killed

Bahr Al-ahmar, Al-

2004-11-29T04:38:00.000-08:00

Muhafazah (governorate) of Egypt, comprising much of the Eastern Desert (also called Arabian Desert) east of the Nile River Valley to the Red Sea; its name means “red sea.” It extends from approximately 29° N latitude southward to the frontier of The Sudan. On the west it is bounded from north to south by the governorates of the Nile River Valley of Upper Egypt. Its total area is 78,643 square

Fairfield

2004-11-26T20:34:00.000-08:00

City, seat of Solano county, north-central California, U.S., adjoining Suisun City to the south, 45 miles (72 km) northeast of San Francisco. Lying between the Coast Range foothills and Suisun Bay, Fairfield was founded as the county seat in 1859 by Robert Waterman, a clipper-ship captain who named it for his hometown in Connecticut. After 1957 traditional crop production (fruits, cereals)

Nördlingen, Battle Of

2004-11-25T04:49:00.000-08:00

Led

Xu Wei

2004-11-22T02:59:00.000-08:00

As a young man, Xu repeatedly failed to pass civil service examinations. During the 1550s and '60s he did succeed in gaining a reputation as a poet and painter, but as his reputation as an artist

Teal

2004-11-20T03:09:00.000-08:00

Any of about 15 small ducks of the genus Anas (family Anatidae), found on the six major continents and many islands. Within the divisions of true duck species, the teal belong in the dabbling duck (q.v.) group. Many of the teal are popular as game birds, the best known being the Holarctic green-winged teal (A. crecca), a bird about 33–38 centimetres (13–15 inches) in length, usually found in dense

Antananarivo

2004-11-18T05:55:00.000-08:00

Formerly Tananarive, town and national capital of Madagascar, central Madagascar island. It was founded in the 17th century and was the capital of the Hova chiefs. It stands on a high hill. Avenues and flights of steps lead up to a rocky ridge (4,694 feet [1,431 m]) on which stands the Royal Estate, with towered palaces built by the Imerina kings who captured the town in 1794 and ruled until the end of the 19th century.

Athens

2004-11-16T20:23:00.000-08:00

Interior Design, Middle Ages

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

From the fall of Rome, when the city was finally sacked by Odoacer in 476, to the 15th century, when the Renaissance was already well advanced, information about the decoration of interiors is scarce. Its history has to be pieced together from surviving objects and illuminated manuscripts.

China, Population movements

2004-11-12T01:16:00.000-08:00

Censuses taken during the Sui and T'ang dynasties provide some evidence as to population changes. Surviving figures for 609 and for 742, representing two of the most complete of the earlier Chinese population registrations, give totals of some 9,000,000 households, or slightly more than 50,000,000 persons. Contemporary officials considered that only about 70 percent of the population was

Sea-urchin Cactus

2004-11-11T02:22:00.000-08:00

Any of the genus Echinopsis, family Cactaceae, about 30 species native to South America at medium elevations in desert shrublands or grasslands. Several species, but most especially the Easter lily cactus (E. multiplex), are valued for their ease of growth and large flowers on tubes up to 25 centimetres (10 inches) long. Most are hardy outdoors in Mediterranean

Burford

2004-11-08T00:32:00.000-08:00

Town (“parish”), West Oxfordshire district, administrative and historic county of Oxfordshire, southern England, on the River Windrush, in the Cotswolds. The town was acquired by Robert FitzHamon, earl of Gloucester, who granted it a market in 1088 and England's earliest datable merchant guild. Sir Lawrence Tanfield, a local landowner, successfully challenged the town's civic

Henderson

2004-11-06T07:22:00.000-08:00

City, seat of Henderson county, northwestern Kentucky, U.S., on a bluff overlooking the Ohio River, 7 miles (11 km) south of Evansville, Indiana. The town site, around Red Banks (settled 1784), was laid out in 1797 by the Transylvania Land Company and named for its promoter, Richard Henderson. Originally a farming settlement, its economy is evenly balanced among industry, agriculture (corn

Abdominal Muscle

2004-11-05T23:58:00.000-08:00

The first three muscle layers

Orléans, Ferdinand-louis-philippe-charles-henri, Duc D' (duke Of)

2004-11-03T10:54:00.000-08:00

He was a noted soldier and served in Algeria from 1834 to 1836. In 1837 he married Princess Helena of Mecklenburg. In 1839 he again went to Algeria, but the fatigues of the campaign were too much for him. He died at Neuilly at the age of 31. His sons refused

Alabama, Industry

2004-10-31T03:17:00.000-08:00

Industrial development in Alabama has long been based on the iron and steel industry of Birmingham, the development of which was facilitated by accessible deposits of iron ore, coal, and limestone. Other minerals include the state's well-known white marble. Oil production in commercial quantities dates from 1944, and there are a number of wells in the coastal regions.

Pacific Ocean, Tides

2004-10-29T03:42:00.000-07:00

In contrast to the tides of the Atlantic—which are almost always semi-diurnal (i.e., twice-daily) occurrences—those of the Pacific include many instances of diurnal (daily) and mixed tides. In the diurnal type of tidal oscillation, only a single high water and a single low water occur each tidal day (which lasts for about 24 hours and 50 minutes). Tides of this type occur in the Gulfs

Afghanistan, Plant and animal life

2004-10-27T20:15:00.000-07:00

Vegetation is sparse in the southern part of the country, particularly toward the west, where dry regions and sandy deserts predominate. Trees are rare, and only in the rainy season of early spring is the soil covered with flowering grasses and herbs. The plant cover becomes denser toward the north, where precipitation is more abundant, and at higher elevations the

Prie, Jeanne-agnes Berthelot De Pleneuf, Marquise De

2004-10-26T05:32:00.000-07:00

The daughter of an unscrupulous financier, Étienne Berthelot, she was married at age 15 to Louis, Marquess de Prie, and went with him to the court of Savoy at Turin, where he was ambassador. She was 21 when she returned to France and was soon the declared mistress of Louis-Henri, Duke de Bourbon. During

Australian Aboriginal Languages

2004-10-23T18:37:00.000-07:00

Group of approximately 260 interrelated languages whose speakers once occupied the entire Australian continent as well as the western islands of Torres Strait, but apparently not Tasmania. Virtually all are believed to have originated from a single proto-Australian language. These languages are not known to be related to any outside language. The great majority

Furniture, Modern

2004-10-22T09:08:00.000-07:00

After World War I, the Bauhaus school in Germany became a creative centre for entirely revolutionary thinking, resulting, for example, in tubular steel chairs designed by the architects Marcel Breuer, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and others. During World War II, the aircraft industry accelerated the development of laminated wood and molded plastic furniture. The dominant

Latin

2004-10-19T16:09:00.000-07:00

The ancient people of Latium (q.v.).

Detective Story

2004-10-18T11:15:00.000-07:00

The traditional elements of the detective story are: (1) the seemingly perfect crime; (2) the wrongly accused suspect at whom circumstantial evidence points; (3) the bungling of dim-witted police; (4) the greater powers of observation and superior mind of the detective;

Chanel, Gabrielle

2004-10-15T07:34:00.000-07:00

Byname Coco French dress designer who ruled over Parisian haute couture for almost six decades. Her elegantly casual designs inspired women of fashion to abandon complicated, uncomfortable clothes and to adopt her now-classic innovations—i.e., jersey dresses and suits, bell-bottom trousers, bobbed hair, trench coats, turtleneck sweaters, costume jewelry,

Permafrost, Effects of water bodies

2004-10-13T03:39:00.000-07:00

Bodies of water, lakes, rivers, and the sea have a profound effect on the distribution of permafrost. A deep lake that does not freeze to the bottom during the winter will be underlain by a zone of thawed material. If the minimum horizontal dimension of the deep lake is about twice as much as the thickness of permafrost nearby, there probably exists an unfrozen vertical

China, Government and party

2004-10-12T11:37:00.000-07:00

Despite its size, the People's Republic of China is organized along unitary rather than federal principles. Both the government and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP; Pinyin: Zhongguo Gongchan Dang; Wade–Giles romanization: Chung-kuo Kung-ch'an Tang), moreover, operate “from the top down,” arrogating to the “Centre” all powers that are not explicitly delegated to lower levels.

Golden Age

2004-10-09T05:04:00.000-07:00

In Latin literature, the period, from approximately 70 BC to AD 18, during which the Latin language was brought to perfection as a literary medium and many Latin classical masterpieces were composed. The Golden Age can be subdivided into two major sections, the Ciceronian period (q.v.; 70–43 BC), dominated by Marcus Tullius Cicero, and the Augustan Age (q.v.; 43 BC–AD 18), a period of mature literary achievements

Cherub

2004-10-07T20:05:00.000-07:00

Plural Cherubim, in Jewish, Christian, and Islamic literature, a celestial winged being with human, animal, or birdlike characteristics who functions as a throne bearer of the deity. Derived from ancient Middle Eastern mythology and iconography, these celestial beings serve important liturgical and intercessory functions in the hierarchy of angels. The term most likely derives

Kiribati

2004-10-05T09:16:00.000-07:00

Kiribati continued its

Harai

2004-10-03T05:42:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Harae, Barai, or Barae, in Japanese religion, any of numerous Shinto purification ceremonies. Harai rites, and similar misogi exercises using water, cleanse the individual so that he may approach a deity or sacred power (kami). Salt, water, and fire are the principal purificatory agents. Many of the rites, such as bathing in cold water, are traditionally explained as the method used by Izanagi

Foreign Legion

2004-10-02T09:59:00.000-07:00

French Légion Étrangère, a military corps consisting originally of foreign volunteers in the pay of France but now including large numbers of Frenchmen. Its officers are nearly all from the French army, and a foreign-born legionnaire becomes eligible for French citizenship after serving one enlistment (five years) with good conduct. Upon enlistment the recruit takes an oath to serve not

Rushworth, John

2004-09-30T08:13:00.000-07:00

Rushworth studied law, perhaps at the University of Oxford (from which he received an M.A. in 1649), and in 1638 was made

Kern, Johann Conrad

2004-09-28T01:58:00.000-07:00

A lawyer and doctor of jurisprudence, Kern was, after 1837, the guiding spirit of Thurgau's cantonal government, especially in the administration of justice. As deputy to the national Diet, he was almost alone in opposing (1838) the extradition

Philanthropic Foundation

2004-09-25T23:22:00.000-07:00

A nongovernmental, nonprofit organization, with assets provided by donors and managed by its own officials and with income expended for socially useful purposes. Foundation, endowment, and charitable trust are terms used interchangeably to designate these organizations, which can be traced far back in history. They existed in the ancient civilizations of the

Anderson, Maxwell

2004-09-24T01:59:00.000-07:00

Anderson was educated at the University of North Dakota and Stanford University. He collaborated with Laurence Stallings in the World War I comedy What Price Glory? (1924), his first hit, a realistically ribald and profane view of World War I. Saturday's

Bendigo

2004-09-22T19:56:00.000-07:00

Byname of William Thompson English bare-knuckle boxer who became a Methodist evangelist and who is one of the few athletes whose name is borne by a city—Bendigo in Victoria, Australia. His nickname apparently is a corruption of the Old Testament name Abednego. Thompson was one of triplets; the other two were nicknamed

France, History Of, France after de Gaulle

2004-09-20T05:47:00.000-07:00

De Gaulle's departure from the scene provoked some early speculation about the survival of the Fifth Republic and of the Gaullist party (the UDR); both, after all, had been tailored to the general's measure. But both proved to be durable, although his successors gave the system a somewhat different tone. Georges Pompidou won the presidency in June 1969 over several left and

Biblical Literature, Acts

2004-09-18T16:38:00.000-07:00

The various acts, close in form and content to the contemporary Hellenistic romances, turned the apostolic drama into melodrama and satisfied the popular taste for stories of travel and adventure, as well as for a kind of asceticism that was generally rejected by Christian leaders: Andrew (including the Acts of Andrew and Matthias Among the Cannibals), Barnabas

Adams, Maude

2004-09-15T05:05:00.000-07:00

Her mother, whose maiden name she adopted, was leading lady of the Salt Lake City stock company. From Adams' first triumph at the age of five as Little Schneider in Fritz at the San Francisco Theatre, she played child roles. In 1888 she joined

Quenching

2004-09-13T06:14:00.000-07:00

Rapid cooling, as by immersion in oil or water, of a metal object from the high temperature at which it has been shaped. This usually is undertaken to maintain mechanical properties associated with a crystalline structure or phase distribution that would be lost upon slow cooling. The technique is commonly applied to steel objects, to which it imparts hardness. On

Sayyid

2004-09-11T19:40:00.000-07:00

In Pakistan and India

Azov Upland

2004-09-10T08:29:00.000-07:00

Ukrainian Pryazovska Vysochyna hilly region, Zaporizhzhya and Donetsk oblasti (provinces), southeastern Ukraine. Part of the Ukrainian Crystalline Shield, the Azov Upland is an area of denuded mountains, extending from the Dnieper River for 100 miles (160 km) to the Donets Ridge and sloping gently down southeastward to the Sea of Azov. The highest point is Mount Mohyla-Belmak (1,063 feet [324 m]), 65 miles (105 km) southwest of

Andreas-salomé, Lou

2004-09-07T19:17:00.000-07:00

Salomé was the daughter of a Russian army officer of French Huguenot descent. She studied theology at the University of Zürich. In 1882 the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche fell in love with her, but she rejected his proposal of marriage.

Servite

2004-09-06T16:08:00.000-07:00

Member of Order of the Servants of Mary (O.S.M.) a Roman Catholic order of mendicant friars—religious men who lead a monastic life, including the choral recitation of the liturgical office, but do active work—founded in 1233 by a group of seven cloth merchants of Florence. These men, known collectively as the Seven Holy Founders, left their families and occupations to withdraw outside the gates of Florence and live

Robert Of Bellême, 3rd Earl Of Shropshire Or Shrewsbury

2004-09-03T22:40:00.000-07:00

A younger son of Roger de Montgomery, 1st earl of Shropshire

Bashkirtseff, Marie

2004-08-31T21:34:00.000-07:00

Bashkirtseff was the daughter of Russian nobility, and she spent a peripatetic childhood with her mother

Hackensack

2004-08-29T01:38:00.000-07:00

City, seat (1713) of Bergen county, northeastern New Jersey, U.S., on the Hackensack River, just west of the Hudson River and Manhattan Island, New York City. Originally settled by the Dutch in the 1640s, who called it New Barbadoes, it was taken by the English in 1688 but retained its Dutch imprint. In 1921 it was renamed Hackensack, supposedly derived from the Ackinchesacky, or Ackenack, one of