LongMonkey

China, Struggles within the two-party coalition

2005-03-19T11:09:00.000-08:00

After Sun's death the KMT went through a period of inner conflict, although it progressed steadily, with Russian help, in bringing the Kwangtung base under its control. The conflict was caused primarily by the radicalization of the party under the influence of the Communists. They organized labour unions and peasant associations and pushed class struggle and the

Korfanty Line

2005-03-17T13:18:00.000-08:00

When the Allied powers concluded the Treaty of Versailles with defeated Germany, they provided for a plebiscite in Upper Silesia, which contained

Italy

2005-03-13T21:08:00.000-08:00

Officially Italian Republic , Italian Italia or Repubblica Italiana country of south-central Europe, occupying a peninsula that juts deep into the Mediterranean Sea. It has a shape that has been likened frequently to a high-heeled boot about to prod its triangular subject island of Sicily. Another important island, Sardinia, lies some 160 miles (260 kilometres) west of Italy's “shin.” The magnificent mountain barrier of the Alps forms a northern

Aetius, Flavius

2005-03-11T19:45:00.000-08:00

The son of a magister equitum (“master of the cavalry”), Aetius in his youth spent some time as a hostage with the Visigothic leader Alaric, and later with the Huns, thus acquiring valuable knowledge of the leading

Simonin, Albert-charles

2005-03-09T20:39:00.000-08:00

The authenticity of Simonin's work was guaranteed by his upbringing in La Chapelle district of Paris, where he left school at 12 years of age to do a variety of jobs, including

Mura

2005-03-07T15:31:00.000-08:00

South American Indian people of the Amazon tropical forest of western Brazil. The Mura originally inhabited the right bank of the lower Madeira River near the mouth of the Jamari River. Contact with whites led them to adopt guerrilla tactics; they spread downstream to the Purus River, raiding sedentary farmers along the way. By 1774 the Mura expansion had been countered

New York, Emergence of political divisions

2005-03-05T05:35:00.000-08:00

During the 1780s an organization, eventually to be known

Balarama

2005-03-03T05:35:00.000-08:00

In Hindu mythology, the elder half-brother of Krishna, with whom he shared many adventures. Sometimes Balarama is considered one of the 10 avatars (incarnations) of the god Vishnu, particularly among those members of Vaisnava sects who elevate Krishna to the rank of a principal god. Other legends identify him as the incarnation in human form of the serpent Sesa, and he may originally

Amorphous Solid

2005-03-01T17:42:00.000-08:00

One of the most important glass formers is silica (SiO2). Pure crystalline silica melts at 1,710° C. In pure form, silica glass exhibits such properties

Gold Processing, Amalgamation

2005-02-26T08:42:00.000-08:00

Amalgamation is accomplished by passing a slurry of

Taal Lake

2005-02-25T03:45:00.000-08:00

Lake in southwestern Luzon, Philippines, occupying a volcanic crater with a maximum width of 15 miles (24 km), at less than 10 feet (3 m) above sea level. It has an area of 94 square miles (244 square km) and is the country's third largest lake. Within the lake rises Volcano Island (984 feet [300 m]), which itself contains another small crater (Yellow Lake). Volcano Island, called Taal Volcano, has erupted 25 times

Balalaika

2005-02-22T18:37:00.000-08:00

Russian stringed musical instrument of the lute family. It was developed in the 18th century from the dombra, or domra, a round-bodied, long-necked, three-stringed lute played in Russia and Central Asia. The balalaika is made in six sizes, from piccolo to double bass, and has a flat back and a triangular table, or belly, that tapers to the fretted neck. The frets are movable, and

International Law, Antarctica

2005-02-21T05:29:00.000-08:00

The Antarctic Treaty (1959) prevents militarization of the Antarctic continent and suspends territorial claims by states for the life of the treaty. Because it provides no mechanism for its termination, however, a continuing and open-ended regime has been created. There also are various agreements that protect Antarctica's environment.

Empiricism, In medieval philosophy

2005-02-19T04:05:00.000-08:00

Most medieval philosophers after St. Augustine (see below, Criticism and evaluation) took an Empiricist position, at least about concepts, even if they recognized much substantial but nonempirical knowledge. The standard formulation of this age was: “There is nothing in the intellect that was not previously in the senses.” Thus St. Thomas Aquinas (1225–74) altogether rejected

North Germanic Languages

2005-02-17T16:39:00.000-08:00

The six standard languages of today, in the order of their emergence as languages of culture and prestige, are Danish, Swedish, Icelandic, Faroese, New Norwegian (Nynorsk), and Dano-Norwegian.

Mela, Pomponius

2005-02-14T08:52:00.000-08:00

Author of the only ancient treatise on geography in classical Latin, De situ orbis (“A Description of the World”), also known as De chorographia (“Concerning Chorography”). Written about AD 43 or 44, it remained influential until the beginning of the age of exploration, 13 centuries later. Though probably intended for the general reader, Mela's geography was cited by Pliny the Elder

Malayalam Language

2005-02-13T07:59:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Malayalam, language of the Dravidian family, spoken in southwestern India; it is the official language of the state of Kerala. Malayalam has three important regional dialects and a number of smaller ones. There is also some difference in dialect along caste lines and a distinction, called diglossia, between the formal, literary language and the colloquial tongue. Both the literary

Nepos, Julius

2005-02-10T02:42:00.000-08:00

Born of a distinguished family, Nepos was sent by the Eastern ruler Leo I to govern Italy as augustus (emperor). He at once deposed the Western emperor, Glycerius, whom Leo regarded as a usurper. Nepos proclaimed himself emperor in June 474. A year later he was obliged to recognize the independence of the Visigothic kingdom

Steppe, The

2005-02-09T19:15:00.000-08:00

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

Alaska, Relief

2005-02-07T01:21:00.000-08:00

Alaska comprises nine distinct physiographic and environmental regions. Much of the mainland panhandle region, a narrow strip of land 25 to 50 miles (40 to 80 km) wide lying east and south of the St. Elias Mountains, is composed of the Boundary Ranges. There are several large icefields, and the peaks include Mount St. Elias (18,009 feet [5,490 metres]), from whose summit the Alaska-Yukon border swings

Crochet

2005-02-05T23:12:00.000-08:00

Craft that developed in the 19th century out of a form of chain-stitch embroidery done with a hook instead of a needle. In crochet work the hook is used, without a foundation material, to make a texture of looped and interlinked chains of thread. In the late 1840s crochet was introduced into Ireland as a famine relief measure. In southern Ireland the industry centred in Cork,

Eureka Stockade

2005-02-03T02:33:00.000-08:00

The rebellion was the culmination of long-standing grievances on the part of the miners, or “diggers,” over exorbitant prospecting-license fees, brutal police procedures

Lettow-vorbeck, Paul Von

2005-02-01T00:35:00.000-08:00

A member of the South West Colonial

Cadogan, William Cadogan, 1st Earl

2005-01-30T21:03:00.000-08:00

The son of a Dublin barrister, Cadogan began his military career in 1690. In 1702 he was made quartermaster general to Marlborough, who had just been appointed commander of the allied armies

Coligny, Gaspard Ii De, Seigneur (lord) De Châtillon

2005-01-28T05:08:00.000-08:00

Coligny was the son of Gaspard I de Coligny, the marshal of Châtillon, and Louise de Montmorency, sister of Anne de Montmorency, constable of France. At 22 Coligny came to court and became friendly with François de Lorraine, 2nd duc de Guise. He served

Mcpherson, James B.

2005-01-25T04:36:00.000-08:00

After graduation from West Point at the head of the class of 1849, McPherson was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers and held minor army assignments

Rabelais, François

2005-01-23T20:38:00.000-08:00

Pseudonym Alcofribas Nasier French writer and priest who for his contemporaries was an eminent physician and humanist and for posterity is the author of the comic masterpiece Gargantua and Pantagruel. The four novels composing this work are outstanding for their rich use of Renaissance French and for their comedy, which ranges from gross burlesque

Medicine, Other developing countries

2005-01-21T18:57:00.000-08:00

A main goal of the World Health Organization (WHO), as expressed in the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1978, is to provide to all the citizens of the world a level of health that will allow them to lead socially and economically productive lives by the year 2000. By the late 1980s, however, vast disparities in health care still existed between the rich and poor countries of the world. In developing

Earth Sciences, Prospecting for groundwater

2005-01-19T02:48:00.000-08:00

Although the origin of the water in the Earth that seeps or springs from the ground was long the subject of much fanciful speculation, the arts of finding and managing groundwater were already highly developed in the 8th century BC. The construction of long, hand-dug underground aqueducts (qanats) in Armenia and Persia represents one of the great hydrologic achievements

Tooke, Thomas

2005-01-18T09:52:00.000-08:00

Tooke was in business throughout most of his adult life, beginning in St. Petersburg at the age of 15 and finally retiring as governor of the Royal Exchange Assurance Corporation in 1852. He often gave evidence before Parliament on economic matters. In 1821 he

Pecos River

2005-01-15T17:24:00.000-08:00

River in the southwestern United States, rising in Mora County, north-central New Mexico, in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and flowing about 926 miles (1,490 km) through eastern New Mexico and western Texas. It drains about 38,300 square miles (99,200 square km) before emptying into the Rio Grande at the Amistad National Recreation Area. After leaving the mountains, the Pecos flows over desertlike

Piteå

2005-01-14T18:05:00.000-08:00

Town and port, län (county) of Norrbotten, northern Sweden. It lies along the Pite River near its outlet on the Gulf of Bothnia. The town was originally chartered at Öjebyn in 1621, but after a fire in 1666 it was moved to its present location. Lying in a forest-rich area, it is a centre for shipping timber and wallboard, and among its industries are sawmilling and others connected with

Melilla

2005-01-11T13:10:00.000-08:00

Colonized by the ancient Phoenicians (later Carthaginians) and

Aquino, Benigno Simeon, Jr.

2005-01-09T16:22:00.000-08:00

The grandson of a Philippine general and the son of a well-known politician and landowner,

Arabia Felix

2005-01-08T05:53:00.000-08:00

In ancient geography, the comparatively fertile region in southwestern and southern Arabia (in present-day Asir and Yemen), a region that contrasted with Arabia Deserta in barren central and northern Arabia and with Arabia Petraea (“Stony Arabia”) in northwestern Arabia, which came under the suzerainty of imperial Rome. The Greeks and Romans chose the name because

Abutilon

2005-01-06T20:26:00.000-08:00

A. hybridum, sometimes called Chinese lantern, is planted outdoors in warm regions and

Foreign Aid

2005-01-04T14:16:00.000-08:00

An international transfer of capital, goods, or services for the benefit of other nations and their citizens. Official foreign aid is offered in two major forms: (1) capital transfers, in cash or kind, either as grants or loans, and (2) technical assistance and training, usually as grants in the form of human resources and technical equipment. The rationale of economic aid

Knaben Wunderhorn, Des

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

(1805–08; German: “The Boy's Magic Horn”), anthology of German folk songs, subtitled Alte deutsche Lieder (“Old German Songs”), that established its editors, the poet Clemens Brentano and the antiquarian Achim von Arnim (qq.v.), as leaders of the Romantic movement by reviving enthusiasm for the Volkslied (“folk song,” or “peasant song”) tradition in German lyric poetry. Reputedly genuine folk

Radiation Pressure

2004-12-31T07:05:00.000-08:00

Although the pressure of solar radiation is exceedingly small, a sufficiently large surface could produce a force that would be technologically

Masai

2004-12-27T05:05:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Maasai nomadic pastoralists of East Africa. Masai is essentially a linguistic term, referring to speakers of this Eastern Sudanic language (usually called Maa) of the Nilo-Saharan language family. These include the pastoral Masai who range along the Great Rift Valley of Kenya and Tanzania, the Samburu of Kenya, and the semipastoral Arusha and Baraguyu (or Kwafi) of

Xyz Affair

2004-12-25T00:00:00.000-08:00

Diplomatic incident that, when made public in 1798, nearly involved the United States and France in war. Pres. John Adams dispatched three ministers to France in 1797 to negotiate a commercial agreement to protect U.S. shipping. In Paris the ministers were approached by three French agents who suggested a bribe of $250,000 to Talleyrand, the French foreign minister, and a loan of $10,000,000 to France

Yamato-e

2004-12-21T07:48:00.000-08:00

Yamato-e is a calculated

Niccoli, Niccolò

2004-12-18T10:36:00.000-08:00

Niccoli was one of the chief figures in the company of learned men who gathered around Cosimo de' Medici, and his intellectual quarrels with other

Xanthus

2004-12-17T02:09:00.000-08:00

Modern Kinik principal city of ancient Lycia. It is situated on a cliff above the mouth of the Koca (Xanthus) River in what is now western Turkey. The early history of Xanthus is unclear: although it is mentioned in early Lycian inscriptions, no Bronze Age remains have been found within the city. According to the Iliad, the Lycians, led by the hero Sarpedon, were the most prominent allies

Arrau

2004-12-14T07:39:00.000-08:00

This species, known in Brazil as tartaruga da Amazonia, can attain a shell

Cordaitales

2004-12-12T15:48:00.000-08:00

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

Mcmahon, Sir William

2004-12-10T06:51:00.000-08:00

He was educated at the University of Sydney, where he earned a degree in law. After practicing as a solicitor in Sydney he enlisted in the Australian Army in 1939 and rose to the rank of major. He served in the House of Representatives for Lowe (New South Wales)

Puelche

2004-12-08T18:31:00.000-08:00

Little is known of the Puelche prior to the

San Fernando

2004-12-07T04:00:00.000-08:00

Town, west-central Luzon, Philippines. Located on a bay of the South China Sea formed by a peninsula that ends in San Fernando Point, it served a tobacco- and rice-growing region as the northern terminus of the Philippine National Railway until the line was extended to Bacnotan in 1955. The town is on Luzon's main western coastal highway. Its outport, Poro, is the only national

Camden

2004-12-05T02:02:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1791) of Kershaw county, in north-central South Carolina, U.S. It was founded by English settlers along the Wateree River about 1733 and was originally known as Pine Tree Hill. It changed its name in 1768 to honour Charles Pratt, 1st Earl Camden, a British supporter of the colonial cause and became a contested site in the American Revolution (see Camden, Battle of). Afterward Camden

Qatar

2004-12-03T16:49:00.000-08:00

Little is known of Qatar's history before the 18th century, when the region's population consisted largely of transient nomads and a few small fishing villages. Qatar's modern history begins conventionally in 1766 with the migration to the peninsula of families from Kuwait, notably the Al Khalifahs. Their settlement at the new town of Az-Zubarah grew into a small pearl-diving

Sculpture, Primary

2004-11-30T00:06:00.000-08:00

Throughout history, stone has been the principal material of monumental sculpture. There are practical reasons for this: many types of stone are highly resistant to the weather and therefore suitable for external use; stone is available in all parts of the world and can be obtained in large blocks; many stones have a fairly homogeneous texture and a uniform hardness

Levnî, Abdülcelil

2004-11-29T15:05:00.000-08:00

He went as a young man to Constantinople, where he studied at the academy of painting at the Topkapi Palace. He later became chief court painter to the Ottoman sultan Mustafa II, and he probably held the same post under the successor

Ithaca College

2004-11-26T16:29:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Ithaca, New York, U.S. It comprises the Roy H. Park School of Communications and schools of business, health sciences and human performance, humanities and sciences, and music. In addition to undergraduate studies, the college offers master's degree programs in communication, health sciences, and music. Students

Trajan

2004-11-25T17:31:00.000-08:00

Latin in full Caesar Divi Nervae Filius Nerva Traianus Optimus Augustus, also called (AD 97–98) Caesar Nerva Traianus Germanicus, original name Marcus Ulpius Traianus Roman emperor (AD 98–117), the first to be born outside Italy. He sought to extend the boundaries of the empire to the east (notably in Dacia, Arabia, Armenia, and Mesopotamia), undertook a vast building program, and enlarged social welfare.

Computers, Herman Hollerith's census tabulator

2004-11-23T08:54:00.000-08:00

The U.S. Constitution mandates that a census of the population be performed every 10 years. The first attempt at any mechanization of the census was in 1870, when statistical data were transcribed onto a rolling paper tape displayed through a small slotted window. As the size of America's population exploded in the 19th century, and the number of census questions expanded, the

Adamawa Plateau

2004-11-20T16:52:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Adamaoua Plateau, volcanic upland in west-central Africa. Though chiefly in north-central Cameroon, part of the plateau, known as the Gotel Mountains, is in southeastern Nigeria. The plateau is the source of the Benue River. Its highest elevations are more than 8,700 feet (2,650 m) above sea level. Many craters and small lakes attest to the region's volcanic origin. Vegetation is chiefly savanna, with

Tequistlatec

2004-11-19T07:08:00.000-08:00

Indian people centred in the Sierra Madre del Sur of Oaxaca estado (“state”), Mexico. Their subsistence is based on agriculture (staples are corn [maize], chilies, and beans), hunting, gathering, and animal husbandry. Towns and villages comprise one- and two-room houses, with a nuclear family generally occupying a single room. The communities are governed by adult males who

Overbeck, Johann Friedrich

2004-11-16T07:55:00.000-08:00

In 1806 Overbeck entered the Academy of Vienna, where, disappointed in the academic approach to teaching, he and Franz Pforr in 1809 founded the Lucas Brotherhood. They sought to revive

Ashe, Arthur (robert)

2004-11-15T07:56:00.000-08:00

Ashe began to play tennis at the age of seven in a neighbourhood park. He was coached by Walter Johnson of Lynchburg, Va., who had coached tennis champion Althea Gibson. Ashe moved to St. Louis, Mo., where he was coached by Richard Hudlin, before he entered

Chuikov, Vasily Ivanovich

2004-11-13T08:23:00.000-08:00

The son of peasants, Chuikov worked as a mechanic apprentice from the age of 12. At the age of 18, after

Mursilis I

2004-11-11T01:01:00.000-08:00

Mursilis was the adopted heir of his grandfather, Hattusilis I, whom he succeeded on the throne. He first continued his predecessor's campaigns in northern Syria, destroying Aleppo and delivering the final blow to Mari. He then turned eastward, and by raiding Babylon he put an end to the Amorite dynasty there.

Karamanlis, Konstantinos

2004-11-09T00:03:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Constantine Caramanlis Greek statesman who was prime minister from 1955 to 1963 and again from 1974 to 1980. He then served as president from 1980 to 1985 and from 1990 to 1995. Karamanlis gave Greece competent government and political stability while his conservative economic policies stimulated economic growth. In 1974–75 he

Israel, Immigration and conflict

2004-11-07T08:10:00.000-08:00

The Zionist goal of Jewish statehood was violently opposed by the local Arab leaders, who saw the Ottoman defeat as an opportunity either to create their own state or to join a larger Arab entity—thus reviving the old Arab empire of early Islamic times. British efforts to bring the Zionists and the Arabs together in a cooperative government failed, and serious disorders,

Gioia Del Colle

2004-11-04T14:37:00.000-08:00

Medieval monuments include a 12th-century castle and a fortified hunting lodge built for the Holy Roman emperor Frederick II. The town has an archaeological museum, and nearby is the site of a large city that flourished between the 6th and 4th

Kyo-yaki

2004-11-02T21:07:00.000-08:00

Decorated Japanese ceramics produced in Kyoto from about the middle of the 17th century. The development of this ware was stimulated by the appearance of enamelled porcelains in Kyushu, and it was not long after Sakaida Kakiemon successfully perfected overglaze enamels in Arita that Nonomura Ninsei also began production in Kyoto. Kyo-yaki contrasted with the enamelled

Bahrain

2004-10-31T07:53:00.000-08:00

Bahrain has been inhabited since prehistoric times, and several thousand burial mounds in the northern part of the main island probably date from the Sumerian period of the 3rd millennium BC. It was the seat of ancient

Visconti, Gian Galeazzo

2004-10-29T11:38:00.000-07:00

The son of Galeazzo II Visconti, who shared the rule of Milan with his brother Bernabò, Gian Galeazzo was married in 1360 to Isabella of Valois, daughter of the king of France. After his father's death

Kahn, Robert Elliot

2004-10-27T10:35:00.000-07:00

After receiving an engineering degree from City College of New York in 1960, Kahn received his M.A. (1962) and Ph.D. (1964) in electrical engineering from Princeton University. Immediately after completing his doctorate, Kahn worked for Bell Laboratories and subsequently

Music, Western, Monophonic secular song

2004-10-26T19:27:00.000-07:00

Secular music undoubtedly flourished during the early Middle Ages, but, aside from sporadic references, the earliest accounts of such music in the Western world described the music of the goliards; these people were itinerant minor clerics and students who, from the 7th century on, roamed the land singing and playing topical songs dealing with love, war, famine, and

French Literature, Experiments in theatre

2004-10-24T16:27:00.000-07:00

During the 1940s the theatre provided a forum for the veiled expression of political dilemmas through the dramatization of individual crises of conscience. The plays of Montherlant, Jean Anouilh, Giraudoux, and Sartre made this, surprisingly, an outstanding moment for the Parisian stage. A government policy to provide state financial aid after the war led to the encouragement

Xerox Parc

2004-10-21T16:19:00.000-07:00

In full Xerox Corporation Palo Alto Research Center division established in 1970 by Xerox Corporation in Palo Alto, California, U.S., to explore new information technologies that were not necessarily related to the company's core photocopier business. Many innovations in computer design were developed by PARC researchers, including the Alto, the first personal computer; the graphical user interface; the laser printer;

Sill

2004-10-19T20:15:00.000-07:00

Also called sheet tabular igneous intrusion emplaced parallel to the bedding of the enclosing rock. Although they may have vertical to horizontal orientations, nearly horizontal sills are the most common. Sills may be a fraction of an inch to hundreds of feet thick and up to hundreds of miles long. Rock compositions of all types are found in sills; the famous basic sills have received

Ushabti Figure

2004-10-18T20:59:00.000-07:00

Any of the small statuettes made of wood, stone, or faience that are often found in large numbers in ancient Egyptian tombs. The figures range in height from 4 to 9 inches (10 to 23 cm) and often held hoes in their arms. Their purpose was to act as a magical substitute for the deceased owner when the gods requested him to undertake menial tasks in the afterlife. The word ushabti is

Xerxes I

2004-10-15T16:44:00.000-07:00

Xerxes was the son of Darius I and Atossa, daughter of Cyrus; he was the first son born to Darius after his accession to the throne. Xerxes was designated heir apparent by his father in preference to his elder brother Artabazanes. A bas-relief on the southern portico of a courtyard in the treasury of Persepolis, as well as the bas-reliefs on the east door of the tripylon

M16 Rifle

2004-10-11T21:38:00.000-07:00

Also called Ar-15, assault rifle adopted as a standard weapon by the U.S. Army in 1967. The M16 superseded the M14 rifle. It is gas-operated and has both semiautomatic (i.e., autoloading) and fully automatic capabilities. Weighing less than 3.6 kg (8 pounds) and equipped with a 20-round or 30-round magazine, the M16 is 99 cm (39 inches) long and fires 5.56-millimetre (.223-calibre) ammunition at the rate of 700–950 rounds per minute. Both U.S. and

Hisham Ibn 'abd Al-malik

2004-10-09T22:44:00.000-07:00

Before his accession to the throne in 724, Hisham led a quiet life in the Umayyad court, holding no important public offices. He reigned during a time of relative calm. Hisham easily maintained internal security but was forced to mount a number

God, Kingdom Of

2004-10-08T06:44:00.000-07:00

Also called Kingdom Of Heaven, in Christianity, the spiritual realm over which God reigns as king, or the fulfillment on Earth of God's will. The phrase occurs frequently in the New Testament, primarily used by Jesus Christ in the first three Gospels. It is generally considered to be the central theme of Jesus' teaching, but widely differing views have been held about Jesus' teaching on the Kingdom

Furniture, Turned work

2004-10-05T10:19:00.000-07:00

Turning is a process by which parts of furniture, such as legs and posts, are shaped while turning on a lathe. Turned work is found on Greco-Roman furniture. It is not certain whether the technique was actually employed in Egyptian furniture, though some members look as though they might have been turned. It was particularly in the shaping of wooden chair legs that Greek

Densmore, Frances

2004-10-03T00:45:00.000-07:00

After studying at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music, Densmore conducted research in Indian music for the Bureau of American Ethnology in 1907. She subsequently worked

Zanj Rebellion

2004-10-01T03:43:00.000-07:00

(AD 869–883), a black-slave revolt against the 'Abbasid caliphal empire. A number of Basran landowners had brought several thousand East African blacks (Zanj) into southern Iraq to drain the salt marshes east of Basra. The landowners subjected the Zanj, who generally spoke no Arabic, to heavy slave labour and provided them with only minimal subsistence. In September 869, 'Ali ibn Muhammad,

Gatchina

2004-09-30T10:27:00.000-07:00

Formerly (until 1929) Khotchino , or (1929–44) Krasnogvardeysk city, Leningrad oblast (province), northwestern Russia, lying 15 miles (24 km) southwest of St. Petersburg. The first mention of Khotchino dates from 1499, when it was a possession of Novgorod. Later it belonged to Livonia and Sweden. After 1721 it was returned to Russia and in the 1720s belonged to the sister of Peter I the Great, Natalia. The town grew only after the building, between 1766 and 1772, of a summer

Israel, Transportation

2004-09-27T22:40:00.000-07:00

Israel has developed a modern, well-marked highway system, and road transport is more significant to the country's commercial and passenger services than transport by rail. Bus companies provide efficient service within and between all cities and towns, supplemented by private taxis and sheruts—privately owned and operated shuttles—which run on urban and interurban

Gates Of The Arctic National Park And Preserve

2004-09-26T17:34:00.000-07:00

Large, remote wilderness area in northern Alaska, U.S. It is part of a vast region of national parks, monuments, and preserves located north of the Arctic Circle that stretches for hundreds of miles from west to east. Proclaimed a national monument in 1978, the area underwent boundary changes in 1980 when it became a national park and preserve. The total area of the park is 11,756 square

Duarte, Fausto (castilho)

2004-09-24T11:55:00.000-07:00

Duarte was educated under the official program of assimilaçao (“assimilation”), which after 1921 had social and political equality for Africans in the Portuguese sphere of influence as a goal. He was then

Bolívar, Simón

2004-09-22T04:53:00.000-07:00

The territory of Gran Colombia, comprising what is now Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador, had now been completely recovered from Spain and its new government recognized by the United States. Only Peru remained in the hands of the Spaniards. It was the Peruvian problem that brought Bolívar and the Argentinian revolutionary José de San Martín together. San Martín had

Sohak

2004-09-19T00:13:00.000-07:00

(Korean: “Western Learning”), in Korean history, the study of Western culture, introduced into Korea from the Chinese Ming and Ch'ing dynasties in the 17th and 18th centuries. In a broad sense, the term Sohak refers to the study of Western thought, religion, ethics, science, and technology. In a narrow sense, it sometimes refers only to the study of Western religion and ethics during

La Fontaine, Jean De

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

Poet whose Fables rank among the greatest masterpieces of French literature.

Davies, Marion

2004-09-16T20:19:00.000-07:00

Marion's father, Bernard J. Douras, was a lawyer who would serve as New York City magistrate from 1918 to 1930. Her three older sisters—Reine, Ethel, and Rose—also became actors, and, like Reine, Marion used

China, Waterways

2004-09-14T13:02:00.000-07:00

The high cost of construction prevents railways from being built extensively, and rail transport conditions are often congested. Freight volume carried by highways is limited, and highways are not suitable for moving bulky goods. China's water transport potential is great, but it is still far from being fully developed. Nonetheless, there are more than 68,000 miles of

Epistemology, Aristotle

2004-09-12T05:59:00.000-07:00

In Posterior Analytics, Aristotle (384–22 BC) analyzes scientific knowledge in terms of necessary propositions that express causal relations. Such knowledge takes the form of categorical syllogisms, in which the middle term causally and necessarily connects the major and minor terms. For example, because all stars are distant and all distant objects twinkle, it follows

China, Sui and T'ang periods

2004-09-10T22:23:00.000-07:00

The best general account of Chinese relations with its northern neighbours in the steppes is Rene Grousset, The Empire of the Steppes (1970; originally published in French, 1939; 4th French ed., 1960). On Chinese overseas trade and relations with Southeast Asia, see Gungwu Wang, The Nanhai Trade: A Study of the Early History of Chinese Trade in the South China Sea (1958).

Trans-kalahari Highway

2004-09-07T08:57:00.000-07:00

In March 1998 the residents of Botswana and Namibia met at Buitepos on the border between the two countries to inaugurate formally the Trans-Kalahari Highway. The new road formed part of the strategic coast-to-coast route that linked Maputo, Mozambique, on the Indian Ocean to Walvis Bay on the Atlantic coastline of Namibia. It was designed to serve as the backbone of an

Cheju Island

2004-09-05T00:55:00.000-07:00

Also called Quelpart Island , Korean Cheju-do island and (since 1946) do (province) of South Korea. It is in the East China Sea, 60 miles (100 km) southwest of Cholla-nam province, of which it formerly was a part. With an area of 705 square miles (1,825 square km), including 26 small associated islands, it is the smallest province of the republic. Oval in shape, Cheju Island measures 40 miles (64 km) from east to west and 16 miles (26 km) from north to south. The island

Kaema Highlands

2004-09-02T22:22:00.000-07:00

Korean Kaema-kowon tableland, northern North Korea. Called the roof of the Korean Peninsula, the Kaema Highlands are bounded on the north by Paektu Mountain (9,003 feet [2,744 m]), on the west by the Nangnim Mountain Range, on the east by the coast of the Sea of Japan (East Sea), and on the south by the northern tip of the T'aebaek Mountains. The heights rise 3,300–6,600 feet (1,000–2,000 m) and are approximately 15,500 square miles (40,000 square km)

Bayinnaung

2004-08-30T22:48:00.000-07:00

In 1550 a revolt broke out among the Mons of southern Myanmar, and Bayinnaung's brother-in-law, Tabinshwehti, was assassinated at Pegu in 1551 by a Mon prince. Bayinnaung

Disjunction

2004-08-28T01:30:00.000-07:00

In logic, relation or connection of terms in a proposition to express the concept “or”; it is a statement of alternatives (sometimes called “alternation”). For clarity, exclusive disjunction (either x or y but not both), symbolized x Ú× y, x Ú y, or x º/y, must be distinguished from inclusive disjunction (either x or y or both x and y), symbolized x Ú y. See also implication.

Indian Shaker Church

2004-08-27T21:11:00.000-07:00

Christianized prophet cult among Northwest American Indians; it is not connected with the Shaker communities developed from the teachings of Ann Lee. In 1881 near Olympia, Wash., John Slocum, a Squaxon logger and a baptized Roman Catholic, reported that he had visited heaven while in a coma and was commissioned to preach a new way of life. The following year his wife, Mary,

Great Dionysia

2004-08-24T13:04:00.000-07:00

The

Durban

2004-08-22T14:53:00.000-07:00

Formerly Port Natal, largest city of KwaZulu/Natal province, South Africa, and chief seaport of South Africa, located on Natal Bay of the Indian Ocean. European settlement began with a band of Cape Colony traders led by Francis G. Farewell, who charted the port in 1824 and named the site Port Natal. Land was ceded to the group by Shaka, the Zulu king (whose right to take that action is disputed), and the