SuddenHand

Lamb, Willis Eugene, Jr.

2005-04-04T18:49:00.000-07:00

Lamb joined the faculty of Columbia University, New York City, in 1938 and worked in the Radiation Laboratory there during World War II. Though the quantum

Powell, Bud

2005-04-03T10:54:00.000-07:00

Powell played with the Cootie Williams band (1943–44) and sat in on the jam sessions at Minton's Playhouse in Harlem. Crafting a style from pianists Art Tatum, Billy Kyle, and Thelonious Monk, trumpeter Dizzy

Felix Of Valois, Saint

2005-04-03T08:43:00.000-07:00

According to legend, Felix lived a solitary ascetic life in the forest near Cerfroid

Australia, Music

2005-04-02T08:00:00.000-08:00

Like the other arts in Australia, music has two distinct traditions: those of the European colonists and those of the indigenous peoples, whose singing and ritual playing of the didjeridu (a drone instrument) reenact the ancient traditions related to a mythological time called the Dreaming, the Aboriginal conception of creation. Contemporary Aboriginal bands

Scandinavian Literature, Romantic Realism

2005-04-01T04:09:00.000-08:00

New elements of reason and realism appeared after the first quarter of the century in the works of Poul Møller, who wrote the first Danish novel on contemporary life, En dansk students eventyr (1824; “The Adventures of a Danish Student”), and dramatic poems and fables, sometimes showing personal disillusionment, and of Steen Steensen Blicher, who in Traekfuglene (1838; “The Birds

Ardabil

2005-03-31T14:00:00.000-08:00

Turkish Erdebil, town, northwestern Iran, 38 miles (61 km) from the Caspian Sea. It stands on an open plain 4,500 feet (1,400 m) above sea level, just east of Mount Sabalan (15,784 feet [4,811 m]), where cold spells occur until late spring. Persian historians have ascribed a founding date to the town in the Sasanian period, but its known history does not begin until the Islamic period. The town was taken by treaty by 'Ali (c. 600–661), the fourth caliph.

Art And Architecture, Egyptian, Relief sculpture and painting

2005-03-30T22:57:00.000-08:00

The beginnings of the dynastic tradition can be found in tombs of the 3rd

Interior Design, General works

2005-03-30T11:00:00.000-08:00

Arnold Friedmann, John F. Pile, and Forrest Wilson, Interior Design: An Introduction to Architectural Interiors (1970), an introduction to the field of interior architecture written for students of design; Sherrill Whiton, Elements of Interior Design and Decoration, 3rd ed. (1963), a scholarly text; Ray and Sarah Faulkner, Inside Today's Home, 3rd ed. (1968), a thorough and well-illustrated book on the interior design of homes; Diana Rowntree, Interior Design (1964), a brief and personal view of interior design written primarily for British readers; Edgar Kaufman, What Is Modern Interior Design? (1953, reprinted 1969), a very brief but perceptive treatise. A later monograph on home decorating is Mary Gilliat, The Decorating Book (1981), with special photography by Michael Dunne.

Davies, Robertson

2005-03-28T22:32:00.000-08:00

Educated in England at the University of Oxford, Davies had training in acting, directing, and stage management as a member of the Old Vic Repertory Company. He edited the Peterborough Examiner (1942–63), a newspaper owned

Cystiphyllum

2005-03-28T17:23:00.000-08:00

Extinct genus of solitary corals found as fossils in Silurian and Devonian marine rocks (the Silurian Period preceded the Devonian Period and ended 408 million years ago). Cystiphyllum was one of the horn corals, so named for their hornlike shape. Like other corals, it had specialized requirements, and thus its fossils are important environmental indicators.

Alienation

2005-03-28T08:50:00.000-08:00

In social sciences, the state of feeling estranged or separated from one's milieu, work, products of work, or self. Despite its popularity in the analysis of contemporary life, the idea of alienation remains an ambiguous concept with elusive meanings, the following variants being most common: (1) powerlessness, the feeling that one's destiny is not under one's own control

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

2005-03-27T17:27:00.000-08:00

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

Acciaccatura

2005-03-27T10:59:00.000-08:00

In music, ornamental note sometimes confused with appoggiatura (q.v.).

Biblical Literature, The Qumran texts and other scrolls

2005-03-26T03:02:00.000-08:00

Until the discovery of the Judaean Desert scrolls, the only pre-medieval fragment of the Hebrew Bible known to scholars was the Nash Papyrus (c. 150 BCE) from Egypt containing the Decalogue and Deuteronomy. Now, however, fragments of about 180 different manuscripts of biblical books are available. Their dates vary between the 3rd century BCE and the 2nd century CE, and all but 10 stem from

Alchemy

2005-03-25T08:13:00.000-08:00

Alchemy was the name given in Latin Europe in the 12th century to an aspect of thought that corresponds to astrology, which is apparently an older tradition. Both represent attempts

Middletown

2005-03-24T08:44:00.000-08:00

City, Butler county, southwestern Ohio, U.S., on the Miami River (bridged). With nearby Hamilton, it forms a standard metropolitan statistical area. Founded in 1802, it was named for its location midway between Dayton (35 mi [56 km] north) and Cincinnati. It soon became a lively agricultural trading community, with its products (wheat, corn, tobacco, livestock, fruits, and vegetables) transported

Arab Fund For Economic And Social Development

2005-03-23T22:26:00.000-08:00

By financing development projects, the fund encourages investment of public and private capital in Arab economies. It grants loans on easy terms to

Athanasius, Saint

2005-03-22T03:50:00.000-08:00

The great Benedictine edition of the works of Athanasius (1698), reprinted in J.P. Migne, Patrologia Graeca, vol. 25–28 (1857), is being replaced by that begun by H.G. Opitz (Athanasius Werke) in 1934; major works are translated in the “Post-Nicene Fathers,” Series 2, vol. 4, Select Writings and Letters of Athanasius (1892)—the “Prolegomena” to this volume by A. Robertson remains the most complete life. For later discoveries and studies, see H.I. Bell (ed.), Jews and Christians in Egypt (1924); and the brilliant summary by F.L. Cross, The Study of St. Athanasius (1945). There are useful sketches in G.L. Prestige, Fathers and Heretics (1940, reprinted 1963); and in R.W. Thomson's edition of Contra Gentes and De Incarnatione (1971). For further references, see E.R. Hardy (ed.), Christology of the Later Fathers (1954); and J. Quasten, Patrology, vol. 3, pp. 20–79 (1960).

Murdock, William

2005-03-22T00:59:00.000-08:00

In 1777 Murdock entered the engineering firm of Matthew Boulton and James Watt in their Soho works at Birmingham and about two years later was sent to Cornwall to superintend the fitting

Catalyst

2005-03-20T21:38:00.000-08:00

Most solid catalysts are metals or the oxides, sulfides, and halides of metallic elements and of the semimetallic elements boron, aluminum, and silicon. Gaseous and liquid

Shibusawa Eiichi, Shishaku

2005-03-20T21:05:00.000-08:00

Although Shibusawa's

Moscow Canal

2005-03-20T16:11:00.000-08:00

Russian Kanal Moskva, ship waterway linking Moscow to the Volga River at Ivankovo, north of Moscow. Built between 1932 and 1937, the canal replaced the canalized Moskva River, which can take only small craft, as the main water access to Moscow. The water journey to the important industrial centre of Nizhny Novgorod (formerly Gorky) was shortened by 75 miles (120 km). Along the Moscow Canal's length of 80 miles (128 km)

Extraterritoriality

2005-03-19T17:21:00.000-08:00

Also called Exterritoriality, or Diplomatic Immunity, in international law, the immunities enjoyed by foreign states or international organizations and their official representatives from the jurisdiction of the country in which they are present. Extraterritoriality extends to foreign states or international organizations as entities and to their heads, legations, troops in passage, war vessels, mission premises,

Nachi-katsuura

2005-03-19T17:06:00.000-08:00

Town, Wakayama ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan, facing the Pacific Ocean. Lying within Yoshino-Kumano National Park, the town is a summer resort renowned for its proximity to more than 40 waterfalls. The main fall is one of the highest in Japan, dropping 427 feet (130 m); it is approached through a large gate set in a grove of ancient cedars. The 7th-century Seiganto Temple is an important

Aethelberht

2005-03-18T18:06:00.000-08:00

King of the West Saxons, or Wessex, who succeeded to the subkingdom of Kent during the lifetime of his father Aethelwulf and retained it until the death of his elder brother Aethelbald in 860, when he became sole king of Wessex and Kent, the younger brothers Aethelred and Alfred renouncing their claim. He ruled these kingdoms for five years. His reign was marked by two serious

Syria, The Ayyubids and Mamluks

2005-03-18T10:33:00.000-08:00

After Saladin's death his kingdom was split up among members of his family, the Ayyubids, who established principalities in Aleppo, Hamah, Hims, Damascus, Ba'labakk, and Transjordan and ruled them until 1260. The period of Nureddin, Saladin, and their successors was of great importance. Thanks largely to the establishment of Italian trading centres on the coast and better security,

Olaf I Tryggvason

2005-03-17T10:27:00.000-08:00

Olaf, the great-grandson of the Norwegian king Harald I Fairhair and the son of Tryggvi Olafsson, a chieftain in southeastern Norway, was born soon after his father was killed by the Norwegian ruler Harald II Graycloak. According to legend,

Alembert, Jean Le Rond D'

2005-03-17T08:50:00.000-08:00

The main editions of d'Alembert's collected works are: Oeuvres philosophiques, historiques et littéraires de d'Alembert, ed. by J.F. Bastien, 18 vol. (1805); and Oeuvres complètes de d'Alembert, ed. by Bossange and Belin, 5 vol. (1821, reprinted 1967). These may be supplemented by d'Alembert's Mélanges de littérature, d'histoire et de philosophie, 2 vol. (1753), 4 vol. (1759), 5th vol. (1767), which contain a few pieces omitted from the collected editions; and his Histoire des membres de l'Académie française morts depuis 1700 jusqu'en 1771, 6 vol. (1785–87, reprinted 1970). General studies are: Joseph Bertrand, D'Alembert (1889); and Ronald Grimsley, Jean d'Alembert, 1717–83 (1963).

Cronin, James Watson

2005-03-16T18:41:00.000-08:00

Cronin graduated from Southern Methodist University at Dallas, Texas, in 1951 and received his

Pachycephalosaurus

2005-03-16T17:09:00.000-08:00

Genus of large and unusual dinosaurs found as fossils in deposits of North America dating to the Late Cretaceous Epoch (97.5 to 66.4 million years ago). Pachycephalosaurus,which grew to be about 5 m (16 feet) long, was a biped with strong hind limbs and much less developed forelimbs. The unusual and distinctive feature of Pachycephalosaurusis the high, domelike skull formed by a

Fiscus

2005-03-15T14:34:00.000-08:00

Vespasian created the fiscus Alexandrinus and fiscus Asiaticus to receive Egyptian and Asian revenues, formerly directed to the aer

Niven, Frederick John

2005-03-15T03:18:00.000-08:00

Educated in Scotland, Niven worked in libraries in Glasgow and

Sabinian

2005-03-15T00:25:00.000-08:00

Under Pope Gregory I the Great, he served as papal ambassador at Constantinople, trying to reconcile the Roman Church with Patriarch John IV the Faster, whose claim to the title of ecumenical patriarch was regarded by Gregory to be a threat to Christian unity. Elected in 604 as Gregory's successor, Sabinian seems to have been markedly

Orbital

2005-03-14T15:43:00.000-08:00

In chemistry and physics, a mathematical expression, called a wave function, that describes properties characteristic of no more than two electrons in the vicinity of an atomic nucleus or of a system of nuclei as in a molecule. An orbital often is depicted as a three-dimensional region within which there is a 95 percent probability of finding the electron (see

Ghana, Flag Of

2005-03-13T09:19:00.000-08:00

When Kwame Nkrumah organized the Convention People's Party in 1949 to work toward more self-government for the native African peoples of the British Gold Coast, a flag was developed for the movement. A simple horizontal tricolour of red-white-green, it became well known throughout the Gold Coast as a symbol of modernization and self-reliance. Self-government was introduced

Jackson, Charles Thomas

2005-03-12T15:10:00.000-08:00

Jackson received his M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1829. He continued his medical studies at the University of Paris, also attending lectures on geology at the Royal School of Mines. He returned to Boston in 1832 and started a private medical practice but abandoned

Ahmed Iii

2005-03-12T13:04:00.000-08:00

The son of Mehmed IV, he succeeded to the throne in 1703 upon the deposition of his brother Mustafa II. Ahmed III cultivated good relations with England and France and afforded refuge at his court to Charles XII of Sweden after his defeat by Peter I the Great of Russia

Yang Ti

2005-03-12T02:30:00.000-08:00

He acceded to the throne in 604, and it is generally agreed that he did so after assassinating his father and his elder brother. Embarking on a costly program of construction and conquest, in 608 he built a great canal between the rice-producing areas

Pyrophyllite

2005-03-11T15:49:00.000-08:00

Very soft, pale-coloured silicate mineral, hydrated aluminum silicate, Al2(OH)2 Si4O10, that is the main constituent of some schistose rocks. The most extensive commercial deposits are in North Carolina, but pyrophyllite is also mined in California, Canada, and South Africa. Talclike foliated masses occur in the Urals, in Switzerland, and in other localities. For detailed

Forest

2005-03-11T00:00:00.000-08:00

The county was formed in 1848, and Tionesta is the county seat. The main industries are manufacturing

Papal States

2005-03-10T11:36:00.000-08:00

As early as the 4th century, the popes had acquired considerable property around Rome (called

Earth Sciences, Hydrologic sciences

2005-03-10T07:03:00.000-08:00

The idea that there is a circulatory system within the Earth, by which seawater is conveyed to mountaintops and there discharged, persisted until early in the 18th century. Two questions left unresolved by this theory were acknowledged even by its advocates. How is seawater forced uphill? How is the salt lost in the process?

Aristarch

2005-03-09T06:36:00.000-08:00

A severe critic. The term is derived from the name of the Greek grammarian and critic Aristarchus, who was known for his harsh judgments.

Development

2005-03-09T01:32:00.000-08:00

The simplest form of development is a change (usually an increase) in size of an organ system or structure; simple growth, however, seldom occurs without accompanying chemical

Parma

2005-03-08T08:55:00.000-08:00

City, capital of Parma province, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, on the Parma River, northwest of Bologna. Founded by the Romans along the Via Aemilia in 183 BC, Parma was important as a road junction; its trade flourished, and it obtained Roman citizenship. It became an episcopal see in the 4th century and was later destroyed by the Ostrogoth king Theodoric. The

Sun Bittern

2005-03-08T05:30:00.000-08:00

(species Eurypyga helias), slender bird of tropical America, the sole member of the family Eurypygidae (order Gruiformes). It has strikingly patterned wings, which the male spreads in courtship and threat displays. The sun bittern is about 43 cm (17 inches) long, with full wings and a long tail beautifully marked in browns, yellows, black, and white. It lives on

Great Escarpment

2005-03-07T11:58:00.000-08:00

Plateau edge of southern Africa that separates the region's highland interior plateau from the fairly narrow coastal strip. It lies predominantly within the Republic of South Africa and Lesotho but extends northeastward into eastern Zimbabwe (where it separates much of that country from Mozambique) and northwestward into Namibia and Angola (where it separates

Mughal Painting

2005-03-07T00:32:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Mogul, style of painting, confined mainly to book illustration and the production of individual miniatures, that evolved in India during the reigns of the Mughal emperors (16th–18th century). In its initial phases it showed some indebtedness to the Safavid school of Persian painting but rapidly moved away from Persian ideals. Probably the earliest example of Mughal painting

Wickford

2005-03-06T06:09:00.000-08:00

Resort village and administrative centre of North Kingstown town (township), Washington county, south-central Rhode Island, U.S., on an inlet of Narragansett Bay. It has an unusually large number of restored colonial and 19th-century buildings, an art colony, and one of the largest marinas in Rhode Island.

Buzuluk

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

City, Orenburg oblast (province), in the southern Ural Mountains of west-central Russia. The oblast is situated along the Samara River (a tributary of the Volga), near its confluence with the Buzuluk. Founded in 1736 as a Russian fortress, it was chartered in 1781. Industries include the manufacture of heavy metallurgical and agricultural machinery. The city has four technical

Vaishnavism

2005-03-05T23:50:00.000-08:00

A major characteristic of Vaishnavism is the strong part played by bhakti, or religious devotion. The ultimate goal of the devotee is to escape from the cycle of birth and death so as to enjoy the presence

Army

2005-03-05T18:47:00.000-08:00

Throughout history, the character and organization of armies have changed. Social and political aspects of nations at different

Definite Proportions, Law Of

2005-03-04T14:07:00.000-08:00

Statement that every chemical compound contains fixed and constant proportions (by weight) of its constituent elements. Although many experimenters had long assumed the truth of the principle in general, the French chemist Joseph-Louis Proust first accumulated conclusive evidence for it in a series of researches on the composition of many substances, especially

Costa Brava

2005-03-04T13:52:00.000-08:00

Coastal region of the comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of Catalonia, northeastern Spain, extending for about 75 miles (120 km) along the Mediterranean Sea from the French border at Port-Bou to the Spanish bathing resort of Blanes, thus coinciding with the coast of Gerona province. This part of the Spanish coast was almost unknown to tourists until the 1920s, when the

Dolores River

2005-03-03T22:11:00.000-08:00

River in southwest Colorado, U.S., rising in the La Plata Mountains and flowing southwest through deep canyons, past Dolores, then northwest through Paradox Valley, at the north end of which it is met by its chief tributary, the San Miguel River. It continues on past Gateway and across the Utah border to join the Colorado River near Moab after a course of about 250 miles (400 km). Melting

China, Wartime changes

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

Despite limited participation, China made some gains from its entry into the war, taking over the German and Austrian concessions and canceling the unpaid portions of the Boxer indemnities due its enemies. It was also assured a seat at the peace conference. Japan, however, extended its gains in China. The Peking government, dominated by Tuan after Feng's retirement,

Swammerdam, Jan

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

Swammerdam completed medical studies in 1667 but never practiced medicine, devoting himself to microscopical investigations instead. Turning to the study of insects, he accurately described and illustrated

France, History Of, Religious tensions

2005-03-02T22:19:00.000-08:00

But it was religious policy that most divided French society and generated opposition to the Revolution. Most priests had initially hoped that sweeping reform might return Roman Catholicism to its basic ideals, shorn of aristocratic trappings and superfluous privileges, but they assumed that the church itself would collaborate in the process. In the Assembly's

Pacific Coast

2005-03-01T01:44:00.000-08:00

Region, western North America, possessing two unifying geologic and geographic properties—the Pacific Ocean, which constitutes a natural western border, and the coastal mountain ranges that form the eastern border of the region. The most commonly accepted definition of the Pacific Coast is largely a political one: it defines the region as comprising the U.S. states

Jiddah

2005-02-28T18:54:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Jidda, Jeddah , or Juddah city and major port in central Hejaz region, western Saudi Arabia. It lies along the Red Sea west of Mecca. The principal importance of Jiddah in history is that it constituted the port of Mecca and was thus the site where the majority of Muslim pilgrims landed who were journeying to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. The city in fact owes its commercial foundations

Cohn, Harry

2005-02-28T18:05:00.000-08:00

The son of an immigrant Polish-Jewish tailor, Cohn quit school at age 14 and worked at sundry jobs before becoming a vaudeville singer and song plugger. His motion picture career began in 1913, when he worked as a secretary for a film distributor

Botswana

2005-02-28T03:31:00.000-08:00

Officially Republic of Botswana, formerly Bechuanaland, country in the centre of southern Africa. It has an area of 224,607 square miles (581,730 square kilometres). The territory is roughly square—approximately 600 miles from north to south and 600 miles from east to west—with its eastern side protruding into a sharp point. Its eastern and southern borders are marked by river courses and an old wagon road; its western borders are lines of longitude

John

2005-02-26T15:49:00.000-08:00

A penniless younger son of the French count Erard II of Brienne and Agnes of Montbéliard, John passed most of his life as a minor noble until befriended by King Philip II Augustus of France, who arranged for him to

Aghlabid Dynasty

2005-02-26T14:54:00.000-08:00

Also called Banu al-Aghlab Arab Muslim dynasty that ruled Ifriqiyah (Tunisia and eastern Algeria) from AD 800 to 909. The Aghlabids were nominally subject to the 'Abbasid caliphs of Baghdad but were in fact independent. Their capital city was Kairouan (al-Qayrawan), in Tunisia. The most interesting of the 11 Aghlabid emirs were the energetic and cultured Ibrahim ibn al-Aghlab (reigned 800–812), founder of al-Abbasiyya (2 miles

Olney, Richard

2005-02-26T03:35:00.000-08:00

A Boston attorney who had served only one term in the Massachusetts legislature (1873–74), Olney was suddenly thrust into national prominence

Husted, Marjorie Child

2005-02-26T00:59:00.000-08:00

Husted attended public schools and graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1913. She remained at the university to take a degree in education the next year. After a

Belafonte, Harry

2005-02-25T21:37:00.000-08:00

Belafonte's parents were emigrants from the Caribbean islands of Martinique and Jamaica, and he lived with his mother during her 1935–40 return to Jamaica. He left high school to serve in the U.S. Navy in the mid-1940s; after returning to New York City he studied

Penates

2005-02-25T14:58:00.000-08:00

Formally Di Penates household gods of the Romans and other Latin peoples. In the narrow sense, they were gods of the penus (“household provision”), but by extension their protection reached the entire household. They are associated with other deities of the house, such as Vesta, and the name was sometimes used interchangeably with that of the Lares, any of various tutelary deities. The Penates

India, Islands

2005-02-25T01:57:00.000-08:00

Several archipelagoes in the Indian Ocean are politically a part of India. The union territory of Lakshadweep is a group of small coral atolls in the Arabian Sea to the west of the Malabar Coast. Far off the eastern coast, separating the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea, lie the considerably larger and hillier chains of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Also a union territory,

Wind Instrument, The Classical period

2005-02-24T18:54:00.000-08:00

The Classical technique of winds doubling strings emerged in scoring for opera orchestras in the mid-17th century and continued to be important through the next century in the compositions of Haydn and Mozart. (Most 18th-century orchestras included at least four winds, usually two oboes and two horns; by the 1770s, Mozart was writing for double flutes, oboes, and bassoons, a

Beadwork

2005-02-23T18:21:00.000-08:00

During the Middle Ages, when embroidery was an important art form, beads

Constance, Lake

2005-02-22T07:01:00.000-08:00

Also called Lake of Constance , Constance also spelled Konstanz , German Bodensee , Latin Lacus Brigantinus lake bordering Switzerland, Germany, and Austria and occupying an old glacier basin at an elevation of 1,299 feet (396 m). It has an area of 209 square miles (541 square km) and is about 40 miles (65 km) long and up to 8 miles (13 km) wide, with an average depth of 295 feet (90 m) and a maximum depth of 827 feet (252 m). It has about 125 miles (200 km) of shoreline. In the west, near Konstanz (Constance), it is divided by the Bodan mountain ridge

La Chétardie, Jacques-joachim Trotti, Marquis De

2005-02-22T02:07:00.000-08:00

La Chétardie entered French military service at an early age and rose through the ranks, becoming lieutenant (1721), major (1730), and colonel (1734). He performed well and received assignments to Holland and Prussia and in 1739 became ambassador to Russia. In order

Rdx

2005-02-21T23:39:00.000-08:00

Abbreviation of Research Department Explosive , formally cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine , also called cyclonite, hexogen , or T4 powerful explosive, discovered by Hans Henning of Germany in 1899 but not used until World War II, when most of the warring powers introduced it. Relatively safe and inexpensive to manufacture, RDX was produced on a large scale in the United States by a secret process developed in the United States and Canada. The name RDX was coined by the British, and this name was accepted

Hypersthene Granite

2005-02-21T04:59:00.000-08:00

Member of the charnockite (q.v.) series of metamorphic rocks.

Diamond Cutting

2005-02-20T20:17:00.000-08:00

From the girdler the diamond goes to the lapper, or blocker, who specializes in placing the first 18 main facets on a brilliant-cut diamond. It then goes to the brillianteer, the worker who places and polishes the remaining 40 facets, if the stone is being cut in the standard 58-facet brilliant cut. Placing and polishing are done by setting the stone either in a lead dop or a mechanical

Craft Guild

2005-02-20T18:16:00.000-08:00

Also called Mystery (from Latin ministerium, “occupation”), a European medieval occupational association, usually comprising all the artisans—and often the suppliers, retailers, and wholesale merchants—concerned with a specific branch of industry or commerce. A weavers' guild is recorded at Mainz as early as 1099 and in London and other cities of England during the reign of Henry I (1100–35); but the

Usak

2005-02-19T18:28:00.000-08:00

Usak is noted for its carpet industry, with specialization in heavy-pile carpets.

Arecibo Observatory

2005-02-18T23:38:00.000-08:00

Astronomical observatory located 16 km (10 miles) south of the town of Arecibo in Puerto Rico; it is the site of the world's largest single-unit radio telescope. This instrument, built in the early 1960s, employs a 300-metre (1,000-foot) spherical reflector consisting of perforated aluminum panels that focus incoming radio waves on movable antenna structures positioned about 168 m (550 feet) above

La Calprenède, Gaultier De Coste, Seigneur De

2005-02-18T07:20:00.000-08:00

After studying at Toulouse, La Calprenède entered the regiment of the guards and campaigned

Scharnhorst, Gerhard Johann David Von

2005-02-18T05:51:00.000-08:00

Prussian general who developed the modern general staff system. With another reformer of army procedures, August von Gneisenau, he devised the “shrinkage system” (Krümpersystem), in which army recruits were quickly trained and sent into the reserves so that more men could be trained. This system increased the actual number of trained

Nicholas Iii

2005-02-17T05:47:00.000-08:00

As emperor

Gabbai

2005-02-17T04:31:00.000-08:00

Plural Gabbaim, or Gabbais, treasurer or honorary official of a Jewish Orthodox congregation, often placed in charge of funds used for charity. The office is a carry-over from former times, when men whose reputations were above reproach collected funds for charity. These gabba'e tzedaqa were so esteemed that no financial reports were ever asked for. The Talmud, nonetheless, insisted that they

Aix-la-chapelle, Congress Of

2005-02-16T21:25:00.000-08:00

(Oct. 1–Nov. 15, 1818), the first of the four congresses held by Great Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia, and France to discuss and take common action on European problems following the Napoleonic Wars (1800–15). This congress (held at Aix-la-Chapelle—now Aachen, Ger.) was attended by Alexander I of Russia, Francis I of Austria, Frederick William III of Prussia, and their representatives. Great Britain

Black Aesthetic Movement

2005-02-16T18:47:00.000-08:00

Based on the cultural politics of black nationalism, the movement sought to create a populist art form to promote the idea of black separatism. Many adherents viewed the artist as an activist responsible for the formation of racially separate publishing houses, theatre troupes,

Xia Gui

2005-02-15T23:23:00.000-08:00

Wade-Giles romanization Hsia Kuei one of China's greatest masters of landscape painting, cofounder with Ma Yuan of the Ma-Xia school. The album leaf and the hand scroll with a continuous panorama were his predominant forms. His works are typically in ink monochrome, occasionally with a few touches of colour.

Henry The Navigator

2005-02-15T18:57:00.000-08:00

After Alfarrobeira, Henry spent most of his time at Sagres, though he did not altogether abandon public life. He was accorded by the King the sole right to send ships to visit and trade with the Guinea coast of Africa. He appeared occasionally at the Lisbon court and in 1450 helped arrange for the marriage of the King's sister to the emperor Frederick III. During most of his

Marriner, Neville

2005-02-15T05:59:00.000-08:00

Marriner graduated from the Royal College of Music in London in 1944 and went on to study for five years with René Benedetti at the Paris Conservatory. His early career was as

Auersperg, Adolf (karl Daniel), Prince (fürst) Von, Duke (herzog) Von Gottschee

2005-02-15T05:48:00.000-08:00

After 14 years' active duty as an imperial cavalry officer, Auersperg was elected to the Bohemian Landtag (provincial assembly) as a member of the Constitutional Great Lords Party (1860). In 1867 he was appointed

Ipiutak Culture

2005-02-13T22:44:00.000-08:00

Eskimo culture of northwestern Alaska, probably dating from the 2nd to the 6th century AD. A Siberian origin has been suggested, based on similarities in burial practices and ceremonialism, animal carvings and designs, and some use of iron; but evidence is not conclusive. There seem to be links with the Kachemak culture (q.v.) as well as with some areas of southwestern and western

Adams, John

2005-02-13T10:17:00.000-08:00

By then Adams's legal career was on the rise, and he had become a visible member of the resistance movement that questioned Parliament's right to tax the American colonies. In 1765 Adams published d, which justified opposition to the recently enacted Stamp Act—an effort to raise revenue by requiring all publications and legal documents to bear a stamp—by arguing that Parliament's intrusions into colonial affairs exposed the inherently coercive and corrupt character of English politics. Intensely combative, full of private doubts about his own capacities but never about his cause, Adams became a leading figure in the opposition to the Townshend Acts (1767), which imposed duties on imported commodities (i.e., glass, lead, paper, paint, and tea). Despite his hostility toward the British government, in 1770 Adams agreed to defend the British soldiers who had fired on a Boston crowd in what became known as the Boston Massacre. His insistence on upholding the legal rights of the soldiers, who in fact had been provoked, made him temporarily unpopular but also marked him as one of the most principled radicals in the burgeoning movement for American independence. He had a penchant for doing the right thing, most especially when it made him unpopular.

Sevastopol

2005-02-13T00:12:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Sevastopol ', city and seaport, Crimea, southern Ukraine, in the southwestern Crimean Peninsula on the southern shore of the long, narrow Akhtiarskaya Bay, which forms a magnificent natural harbour. West of the modern town stood the ancient Greek colony of Chersonesus, founded in 421 BC. Originally a republic, Chersonesus (Heracleotic Chersonese) became, in turn, part of the Kingdom of

Abia

2005-02-12T04:09:00.000-08:00

State, east-central Nigeria. Abia was administratively created in 1991 from the eastern half of former Imo state. It is bordered by the states of Enugu to the north, Cross River and Akwa Ibom to the east, Rivers to the south, and Imo and Anambra to the west. Abia includes areas of oil-palm bush and tropical rain forest in its southern part and woodland savanna in its hilly north.

Fustian

2005-02-11T19:02:00.000-08:00

Fustian probably originated in Al-Fustat, now part of Cairo, about AD 200, and eventually spread to Spain and Italy,

Ba'al Shem Tov

2005-02-11T13:57:00.000-08:00

Byname of Israel Ben Eliezer, acronym Besht charismatic founder (c. 1750) of Hasidism, a Jewish spiritual movement characterized by mysticism and opposition to secular studies and Jewish rationalism. He aroused controversy by mixing with ordinary people, renouncing mortification of the flesh, and insisting on the holiness of ordinary bodily existence. He was also responsible

Christianity, The cosmological argument

2005-02-10T01:15:00.000-08:00

St. Thomas Aquinas gave the first-cause argument and the argument from contingency—both forms of cosmological reasoning—a central place for many centuries in the Christian enterprise of natural theology. (Similar arguments were also used in parallel strands of Islamic philosophy.) Thomas' formulations (Summa theologiae, I, Q. 2, art. 3) have been refined in modern neo-Thomist

Lower Southampton

2005-02-10T00:17:00.000-08:00

Until

Vanbrugh, Sir John

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

Vanbrugh's grandfather was a Flemish merchant, and his father was a sugar baker in Chester, Cheshire, England, where the young Vanbrugh (by tradition)

Antarctica

2005-02-08T11:19:00.000-08:00

A great many nations, large and small, played important roles in the discovery and exploration of Antarctica. Who first saw the continent is controversial. The Russian expedition leader Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, the Englishman Edward Bransfield, and the American Nathaniel Palmer all claim first sightings in 1820: Bellingshausen sighted a shelf edge of

Auenbrugger Von Auenbrugg, Leopold

2005-02-08T10:13:00.000-08:00

Physician who devised the diagnostic technique of percussion (the art of striking a surface part of the body with short, sharp taps to diagnose the condition of the parts beneath the sound). In 1761, after seven years of investigation, he published a description of the method in Inventum Novum, but it was not until a French translation by Jean-Nicolas