LateWhistle

organic bed linen

2006-10-29T11:50:00.000-08:00

Livs range of soft luxurious bed linenis sourced ethically from India and using a fair trade policy. Liv also provide duvet cover set and bath towel set.

Poland, The Carpathians

2005-04-03T09:37:00.000-07:00

The southernmost and also most scenic portion of Poland embraces the Carpathian Mountains and their associated chains and basins, created in the geologically recent mountain-building Tertiary Period (about 66.4 to 1.6 million years ago). Within the Polish frontiers lie the Oswiecim and Sandomierz basins, a portion of the Beskid Mountains, the Orawka-Podhale Basin, and the

Floriano

2005-04-03T09:24:00.000-07:00

City, west central Piauí state, northeastern Brazil, on the Rio Parnaíba, at 280 ft (85 m) above sea level. Floriano was elevated to city status in 1897. It is a trade centre with livestock raising and the extraction of carnauba wax as the principal economic activities. Chemicals and textiles are also produced there. Floriano is bridged to Barão de Grajaú, just across the river in

Biblical Literature, The Catholic Letters

2005-04-03T03:53:00.000-07:00

As the history of the New Testament canon shows, the seven so-called Catholic Letters (i.e., James, I and II Peter, I, II, and III John, and Jude) were among the last of the literature to be settled on before the agreement of East and West in 367. During the 2nd and 3rd centuries, only I John and I Peter were universally recognized and, even after acceptance of all seven, their varying positions

Lateral Line System

2005-04-02T08:23:00.000-08:00

Network of sensory receptors located along the head and sides of fishes and amphibians. The system serves to detect movements and pressure changes in the surrounding water. The individual receptor, called a lateral line organ, or neuromast, consists of a cluster of innervated hairs surrounded by a jellylike projection (cupula) that bends in response to water movements.

Malaspina Family

2005-04-01T08:02:00.000-08:00

Feudal family powerful in northern Italy in the Middle Ages. Descended from Marquis Oberto I, who was created count palatine by the Holy Roman emperor Otto I, the family at first controlled Tuscany, eastern Liguria, and the March of Lombardy. Early in the 11th century the Este, Pallavicino, and Massa-Corsica family branches separated from the Malaspina. The situation

Zanthoxylum

2005-04-01T07:08:00.000-08:00

The prickly ash genus of the rue family (Rutaceae), comprising about 200 species of aromatic trees and shrubs native to the middle latitudes of North America, South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia. There are both deciduous and evergreen species. They have small, greenish flowers and fruits that consist of groups of two-valved capsules, each containing a single shiny

Wieland, Heinrich Otto

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

Wieland obtained his doctorate at the University of Munich in 1901 and remained in that city to teach and conduct research. He became professor of chemistry at the University of Munich in 1925 and held that post until his

Locke, John, Empiricism

2005-03-31T01:25:00.000-08:00

As for “the original,” the answer was plain. Knowledge of the world began in sense perception, and self-knowledge in introspection, or “reflection” in Locke's language. It did not begin in innate knowledge of maxims or general principles, and it did not proceed by syllogistic reasoning from such principles. In the 17th century there had been much vague talk about innate knowledge,

Field, Stephen J(ohnson)

2005-03-29T09:13:00.000-08:00

Associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court and chief architect of the constitutional approach that largely exempted the rapidly expanding industry of the United States from governmental regulation after the Civil War. He found the judicial instrument for the protection of private enterprise principally in the Fourteenth

Grunion

2005-03-29T06:43:00.000-08:00

Also called California Grunion (species Leuresthes tenuis), small Pacific fish of the family Atherinidae (order Atheriniformes). The species is found in the Pacific Ocean along the western coast of the United States. A unique feature of the grunion's breeding biology results in its spawning on particular nights during the warm months when tides are highest. The eggs are actually laid in the sand

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

2005-03-28T17:19:00.000-08:00

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

Chaucer, Geoffrey

2005-03-27T09:43:00.000-08:00

The outstanding English poet before Shakespeare and “the first finder of our language.” His The Canterbury Tales ranks as one of the greatest poetic works in English. He also contributed importantly in the second half of the 14th century to the management of public affairs as courtier, diplomat, and civil servant. In that career he was trusted and

Essex

2005-03-26T16:02:00.000-08:00

One of the kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England; i.e., that of the East Saxons. An area of early settlement, it probably originally included the territory of the modern county of Middlesex; London was its chief town. Essex sometimes had joint kings, and from 664 they were subject to the rulers of the midland kingdom of Mercia. From 825 Essex was controlled by Wessex, first as a subkingdom

Lipton, Sir Thomas Johnstone, 1st Baronet

2005-03-26T02:53:00.000-08:00

Lipton, whose Irish parents ran a small grocery, immigrated to the United States in 1865. After five years at various jobs, he returned to Glasgow and opened a small provision shop, whose success led him to open other shops throughout the United Kingdom. To supply his retail

Economic Development

2005-03-25T03:48:00.000-08:00

The process whereby simple, low-income national economies are transformed into modern industrial economies. Although the term is sometimes used as a synonym for economic growth, generally it is employed to describe a change in a country's economy involving qualitative as well as quantitative improvements. The theory of economic development—how primitive and

Pitman Shorthand

2005-03-24T11:13:00.000-08:00

System of rapid writing based on the sounds of words (i.e., the phonetic principle) rather than on conventional spellings. Invented by Sir Isaac Pitman, an English educator, the Pitman shorthand method was first published in 1837 as Stenographic Sound Hand. Pitman's system classifies the sounds of a language into basic groups and makes use of simple abbreviations for rapidity.

Palatalization

2005-03-24T06:25:00.000-08:00

In phonetics, the production of consonants with the blade, or front, of the tongue drawn up farther toward the roof of the mouth (hard palate) than in their normal pronunciation. Palatalized consonants in Russian are pronounced as if attempting simultaneously to pronounce a particular consonant and a y sound; in English, the ny in “canyon” approximates a palatalized

Alabama, Soils

2005-03-22T14:31:00.000-08:00

There are four main soil zones found in Alabama. In the far north, the Tennessee valley contains the dark loams and red clays that add vivid dashes of colour to the landscape when exposed. Farther south lie the varied soils of a mineral belt, and these are succeeded by the rich limestone and marl soils of the Black Belt. Along the coast of Alabama there are sandy loams and

Pitman Shorthand

2005-03-22T06:45:00.000-08:00

Byname Rio Grande former American railroad chartered in 1870 as the Denver and Rio Grande Railway (D&RG). It began with a narrow-gauge line extending from Denver, Colorado, south to New Mexico and west to Salt Lake City, Utah. Conversion to standard-gauge track began in 1888. In 1930 the D&RG took possession of the Denver & Salt Lake line (formerly Denver, Northwestern & Pacific Railroad), thereby acquiring

Robben Island

2005-03-22T05:16:00.000-08:00

Afrikaans Robbeneiland island in Table Bay, Western Cape province, South Africa. It is 5 miles (8 km) west of the mainland and 6 miles (10 km) north of Cape Town and has an approximate area of 5 square miles (13 square km). Its name is the Dutch word for “seals,” once plentiful in the surrounding waters. The island was a common stopping point for passing ships in the 16th and early 17th centuries. After early efforts at settlement,

Euripides

2005-03-21T09:38:00.000-08:00

The Greek fleet is becalmed at Aulis and is thus unable to convey the expeditionary force against Troy. Agamemnon learns that he must sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia as a means of appeasing the goddess Artemis, who has caused the unfavourable weather. Agamemnon lures his daughter into coming to Aulis to be sacrificed by pretending that she will marry Achilles.

Amanita

2005-03-21T06:29:00.000-08:00

Among the deadliest of all mushrooms are the destroying angels

Fuzzy Logic

2005-03-21T02:14:00.000-08:00

Fuzzy logic and fuzzy sets were first described in the mid-1960s by Lotfi Zadeh. According to fuzzy-logic theorists, classical logic oversimplifies the concept of set membership by flatly

Alkan, Valentin

2005-03-19T21:52:00.000-08:00

Alkan was born to Jewish parents, and all of his siblings (five brothers and a sister) also assumed the surname Alkan and were musicians. Valentin drew notice at the age of seven, when he won the first of many first

Business And Industry Review

2005-03-18T08:07:00.000-08:00

The high production and plant-operating rates seen in 1995 continued to mark most of the world's chemical industry in 1996. The high and rising sales levels reflected the generally healthy economies of countries around the globe. The high volume of products sold, however, did not always translate into record profits, particularly for the makers of big-volume petrochemicals.

Chiang-tzu

2005-03-18T07:39:00.000-08:00

Also called Chi-yang-tse , Pinyin Jiangzu , or Jiyangze , Tibetan Gyangzê town in the southern part of the Tibetan autonomous ch'ü (region), China. It is situated on the Nien-ch'u River some 45 miles (70 km) southeast of Jih-k'a-tse and about halfway between Lhasa, capital of Tibet, and the border town of Ya-tung between the frontiers with India and the Himalayan state of Bhutan. Chiang-tzu is an important route centre for traffic from Lhasa to India, Bhutan,

Bacchelli, Riccardo

2005-03-18T06:48:00.000-08:00

Bacchelli attended the University of Bologna but left without a degree in 1912. He became a contributor to literary journals. Bacchelli published a

Nabisco

2005-03-17T22:52:00.000-08:00

In full National Biscuit Company former U.S. snack food and bakery product company. The National Biscuit Company was formed in 1898 when the American Biscuit Company merged with the New York Biscuit Company. Better known as Nabisco, it went on to introduce a number of popular consumer brands such as Oreo cookies (1912) and Ritz crackers (1934). After being acquired by R.J. Reynolds in 1985 and becoming part of RJR Nabisco, Nabisco

France, History Of, The liberal years

2005-03-16T19:27:00.000-08:00

The empire thus appeared to have compiled a record of unbroken successes and to be beyond challenge by its domestic critics. Perhaps it was this stability and self-confidence that led Napoleon, beginning in 1859, to turn in the direction of liberalizing the empire. The immediate impulse for this dramatic reversal was the attempted assassination of the emperor in January

Palace Museum

2005-03-16T14:05:00.000-08:00

The palace itself consists of many separate halls and courtyards. The outer buildings of the palace became a museum in 1914, although the imperial family continued to live in the private apartments until 1924. Many

Cranston

2005-03-16T00:56:00.000-08:00

City, Providence county, central Rhode Island, U.S. It lies on the western shore of Narragansett Bay and adjoins Providence city. The first settlement was made on the Pawtuxet River in 1638 by William Arnold, an ancestor of Benedict Arnold and a compatriot of Roger Williams, founder of Rhode Island colony. Separated from Providence in 1754, it became a town and was named for Samuel

Peter

2005-03-15T17:58:00.000-08:00

Chosen

Levski, Vasil

2005-03-15T16:35:00.000-08:00

Initially a monk (1858–64), Vasil Kunchev soon dedicated himself to the work of freeing Bulgaria and for his courage was nicknamed Levski (Lionlike). Levski united the two legions of Bulgarian volunteers organized in Serbia (1862, 1868) but, disappointed

Alliance

2005-03-15T08:15:00.000-08:00

City, Stark county, northeastern Ohio, U.S., on the Mahoning River, 21 mi (34 km) northeast of Canton. In 1854 the villages of Williamsport, Freedom, and Liberty were incorporated as the village of Alliance, so named for the junction and crossing there of the former New York Central and Pennsylvania railroads. The village of Mount Union (settled in 1833) became a part of Alliance in 1854. Now highly

Ibrahim

2005-03-15T06:05:00.000-08:00

Early in his reign under the guidance of the able but ambitious grand vizier Kemankes Kara Mustafa

Yamalo-nenets

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

Autonomous okrug (district), Tyumen oblast (province), in western Siberia, north-central Russia. It was established in 1930 as an autonomous okrug for the Nenets, or Samoyed, people, although by 1979 they constituted only 11 percent of the population. The okrug covers the northern part of the West Siberian Plain. Apart from the narrow chain of the northern Urals in the west, it is a huge,

Heng-yang

2005-03-12T07:14:00.000-08:00

Heng-yang has been a communication centre since early times, being on the ancient post road from Ch'ang-sha into Kwangtung province

Farabi, Al-

2005-03-12T05:00:00.000-08:00

Very little is known of al-Farabi's life. He was of Turkic origin and is thought to have been brought to Baghdad as a child by his father, who was probably in the Turkish bodyguard of the Caliph

Paestum

2005-03-12T04:07:00.000-08:00

Poseidonia was probably founded about 600 BC by Greek colonists from Sybaris, along the Gulf of Taranto, and it had become a flourishing town by 540, judging from its temples.

Ghibli

2005-03-11T13:48:00.000-08:00

Hot and dusty wind descending from the interior highlands of Libya toward the Mediterranean Sea. See foehn.

Nagaon

2005-03-11T08:40:00.000-08:00

The surrounding area encompasses a stretch of the Brahmaputra River valley and contains many

Englische Komödianten

2005-03-10T23:51:00.000-08:00

One of the earliest English troupes to visit Europe

Girandole

2005-03-10T04:09:00.000-08:00

Elaborate wall bracket incorporating one or more candleholders and frequently a mirror to reflect the light. An object of luxury, it was usually embellished with carving and gilding. Although the name is Italian in origin, girandoles reached the greatest heights of fashion (in the second half of the 18th century) in France and England. At the beginning of this period

Madgaon

2005-03-09T21:50:00.000-08:00

Also called Margao, town, west-central Goa state, western India. Madgaon is situated on the railway that extends from Marmagao port to Castle Rock in Karnataka state. The third largest city in Goa, it gained importance with the development of Marmagao port, the best harbour between Bombay and Cochin. An industrial estate just outside the city, a cold-storage plant for fish, and a large agricultural-produce

Japanese Orthodox Church

2005-03-09T17:59:00.000-08:00

Since the beginning

La Guaira

2005-03-08T08:04:00.000-08:00

City, northern distrito federal (“federal district”), northern Venezuela. One of the nation's leading seaports, La Guaira lies in the narrow, arid coastal zone along the Caribbean at the foot of the central highlands. Although the city dates to 1577, extremely high temperatures and the lack of room for expansion long hindered its growth. With the modernization of port facilities,

Sundew

2005-03-08T03:55:00.000-08:00

Any plant of the family Droseraceae (order Nepenthales), which contains four genera (Aldrovanda, Dionaea, Drosera, and Drosophyllum) and about 100 annual and perennial species of flowering plants notable for their ability to trap insects. They are widely distributed in tropical and temperate regions. One of the best-known sundews is the Venus's-flytrap

Smith, Charlotte

2005-03-07T03:52:00.000-08:00

English novelist and poet, highly praised by the novelist Sir Walter Scott. Her poetic attitude toward nature was reminiscent of William Cowper's in celebrating the “ordinary” pleasures of the English countryside. Her radical attitudes toward conventional morality (the novel Desmond tells of the innocent

Harsch, Joseph Close

2005-03-07T02:08:00.000-08:00

American newspaper and broadcast journalist who, during his 60-year career with The Christian Science Monitor, was noted for his presence at many of the period's most historic events and for his vivid reporting of those events; Great Britain's Queen Elizabeth II made him an honorary C.B.E. in 1965 (b. May 25, 1905, Toledo, Ohio--d. June 3, 1998, Jamestown, R.I.).

A-kuei

2005-03-07T01:08:00.000-08:00

The scion of a noble family, A-kuei directed Chinese military expeditions that quelled uprisings in the western provinces of Szechwan and Kansu. He also conquered Ili and Chinese Turkistan, areas on China's northwestern frontier that are today part of the Uighur Autonomous

Aye-aye

2005-03-06T00:07:00.000-08:00

(Daubentonia madagascariensis), rare, squirrellike primate, the sole living representative of the family Daubentoniidae, found in Madagascan rain forests. The aye-aye is about 40 cm (16 inches) long excluding the bushy, 55- to 60-centimetre tail; and it is covered with long, coarse, dark brown or black fur. It has a short face, large eyes, and rodentlike,

Berdsk

2005-03-05T19:42:00.000-08:00

City, Novosibirsk oblast (province), central Russia. It lies along the Novosibirsk Reservoir just south of Novosibirsk city. Founded at the beginning of the 18th century as a fortress, it became a city in 1944. Berdsk's industrial activities include flour milling and radio production. It is on the Turksib Railway. A recreation centre, it has sanatoriums on the outskirts. Pop.

Protestantism, The rise of Pietism

2005-03-05T01:14:00.000-08:00

Dutch Pietism—influenced by Englishman William Ames (1576–1633), whose Medulla Sacrae Theologiae (1623; The Marrow of

Webb, Sidney And Beatrice

2005-03-04T21:21:00.000-08:00

In full respectively Sidney James Webb, Baron Passfield of Passfield Corner , and Martha Beatrice Webb, née Potter English Socialist economists (husband and wife), early members of the Fabian Society, and co-founders of the London School of Economics and Political Science. Sidney Webb also helped reorganize the University of London into a federation of teaching institutions and served in

Power Shovel

2005-03-04T09:13:00.000-08:00

Digging and loading machine consisting of a revolving deck with a power plant, driving and controlling mechanisms, sometimes a counterweight, and a front attachment, such as a boom or crane, supporting a handle with a digger at the end. The whole mechanism is mounted on a base platform with tracks or wheels. Power shovels are used principally for excavation and removal

Roman à Clef

2005-03-03T01:43:00.000-08:00

(French: “novel with a key”), novel that has the extraliterary interest of portraying well-known real people more or less thinly disguised as fictional characters. The tradition goes back to 17th-century France, when fashionable members of the aristocratic literary coteries, such as Mlle de Scudéry, enlivened their historical romances by including in them fictional

Bhangra

2005-03-03T00:52:00.000-08:00

Dancers in pairs give spontaneous solo displays that include virile jumps and even

Cinchona

2005-03-02T16:42:00.000-08:00

Four species of Cinchona were cultivated for many years, primarily in Java and also in India and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Their bark was processed to obtain quinine, which is

Giolitti, Giovanni

2005-03-02T03:53:00.000-08:00

Statesman and five times prime minister under whose leadership Italy prospered. He had many enemies, however, and retained power by using the highly criticized technique called giolittismo, which is associated with corruption and violence on election days and with personal deals rather

Arts, Central Asian, Kushan

2005-03-01T21:35:00.000-08:00

The Kushans replaced the Greeks in Bactria about 130 BC. They are thought to have been of Yüeh-chih stock with a strong admixture of Hephthalites, Saka, and Tocharian. One branch of this group migrated to the Tarim Basin and founded a short-lived empire, while the other, under the name of Kushan, gained control of Central Asia. Capturing a section of the great trade route leading

Cabinet

2005-03-01T20:18:00.000-08:00

Washington's habit of calling regular and frequent cabinet meetings began a tradition that has been followed by every succeeding president. But it is important to remember that the cabinet exists solely to help the president carry out his functions as the nation's chief executive. He is virtually free to use it or not to use it as he pleases. Presidents have thus varied greatly in their use of the cabinet. Ordinarily, all members of a cabinet are of the same political party. Attendance at U.S. cabinet meetings is not restricted exclusively to those department heads that are of cabinet rank. Cabinet appointments are for the duration of the administration, but the president may dismiss any member at his own pleasure, without approval of the Senate.

Endomorph

2005-03-01T16:38:00.000-08:00

A human physical type (somatotype) tending toward roundness, as determined by the physique classification system developed by American psychologist W.H. Sheldon. The extreme endomorph has a body as nearly globular as humanly possible; he has a round head, a large, round abdomen, large internal organs relative to his size, rather short arms and legs with fat upper arms

Stingray

2005-03-01T02:21:00.000-08:00

The dasyatid

Italianate Painters

2005-02-27T20:37:00.000-08:00

Group of 17th-century northern European painters, principally Dutch, who traveled in Italy and, consciously adopting the style of landscape painting that they found there, incorporated Italian models and motifs into their own works. Chief among the Italianates were Bartholomeus Breenbergh, Andries and Jan Both, Nicolaes Berchem, and Jan Asselijn. The Both brothers,

Faysal Ii

2005-02-27T20:08:00.000-08:00

Faysal II, the grandson of Faysal I and great-grandson of Husayn ibn 'Ali, former sharif of Mecca and king of the Hejaz, became king of Iraq following the untimely death of his father, King Ghazi. Because Faysal was only four years old, his maternal uncle 'Abd al-Ilah became regent. In April 1941, when the nationalist prime

Atacama Plateau

2005-02-27T06:17:00.000-08:00

The peaks of the

Crabbe, Buster

2005-02-26T18:12:00.000-08:00

Crabbe, who grew up in Hawaii and swam for the University of Southern California, competed at the 1928 Olympics in Amsterdam, winning a bronze medal in the 1,500-metre freestyle and finishing in fourth place in the 400-metre freestyle. At the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles, Crabbe

Italy, The end of the Roman world

2005-02-24T23:48:00.000-08:00

The Eastern emperors in Constantinople regarded themselves as the legitimate rulers of the West, including Italy, after 476; both Odoacer and, for a time, Theoderic had recognized them, and they had strong links with the Roman Senate. In 533–534 Belisarius, general for the Eastern emperor, Justinian (527–565), conquered Vandal Africa; Amalasuntha's death was the necessary excuse to invade

Probation

2005-02-24T16:38:00.000-08:00

The probation

Yale, Frankie

2005-02-24T10:40:00.000-08:00

Yale graduated from youth gangs to bootlegging and rum-running

Syzran

2005-02-23T09:36:00.000-08:00

City, Samara oblast (province), western Russia. It lies along the Volga River at the latter's confluence with the Syzran River. Founded in 1683 as a stronghold at the eastern end of the Syzran defensive line, the city is a significant river port and an important centre of the western Volga-Urals oil field. Oil refining, manufacture of chemicals, glassmaking, timber working, and

Rockefeller, John D., Jr.

2005-02-23T08:12:00.000-08:00

After graduation from Brown University in 1897, he joined his father in business but never assumed

Kagu

2005-02-22T21:52:00.000-08:00

(Rhynochetus jubatus), nearly extinct and virtually flightless bird of New Caledonia, sole member of the family Rhynochetidae (order Gruiformes). About 55 cm (22 inches) long, it is a chunky bird with loose, gray plumage, including an erectile crest. The bill, legs, and eyes are reddish orange. In courtship the kagu dances with wings spread to show attractive

Daniel Romanovich

2005-02-22T04:50:00.000-08:00

Son of Prince Roman Mstislavich, Daniel was only four years old when his father, who had united Galicia and Volhynia, died in a battle against the Poles (1205). Not until 1221 did Daniel begin to overthrow other pretenders

Heisman Trophy

2005-02-20T21:11:00.000-08:00

Cup awarded annually to the outstanding college gridiron football player in the United States as determined by a poll of sportswriters. The trophy was instituted in 1935 by the Downtown Athletic Club of New York City and the next year was named in honour of its first athletic director, John Heisman, a player and successful coach of the 1890s and early 1900s. The first winner of the

Deere, John

2005-02-20T09:38:00.000-08:00

Apprenticed to a blacksmith at age 17, Deere set up his own smithy trade four years later and, for 12 years, did work in various towns of his native Vermont. In 1837, when 33 years old, he headed west and eventually settled in Grand Detour, Ill., where he set up a blacksmith's shop, and

Roman Religion, Religious art

2005-02-20T09:17:00.000-08:00

A vast gallery of architecture, sculpture, numismatics, painting, and mosaics illustrates Roman religion and helps to fill the gaps left by the fragmentary, though extensive, literary and epigraphic record. Starting with primitive statuettes and terra-cotta temple decorations, this array eventually included masterpieces such as the Apollo of Veii. Other works

Sabkhah

2005-02-20T08:29:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Sebkha (Arabic), saline flat or salt-crusted depression, commonly found along the coasts of North Africa and Saudi Arabia. Sabkhahs are generally bordered by sand dunes and have soft, poorly cemented but impermeable floors, due to periodic flooding and evaporation. Concentration of seawater and capillary discharge of groundwater result in deposits of gypsum, calcite,

Bothwell, James Hepburn, 4th Earl Of, Duke Of Orkney And Shetland

2005-02-19T22:37:00.000-08:00

The son of Patrick Hepburn, 3rd earl of Bothwell, Hepburn

France, History Of, The Great Depression and political crises

2005-02-19T02:30:00.000-08:00

France at the end of the 1920s had apparently recovered its prewar stability, prosperity, and self-confidence. For a time it even seemed immune to the economic crisis that spread through Europe beginning in 1929; France went serenely on behind its high-tariff barrier, a healthy island in a chaotic world. By 1931, however, France in its turn succumbed to the effects of the depression,

Wali Allah, Shah

2005-02-18T10:21:00.000-08:00

Wali Allah received a traditional Islamic education from his father and is said to have memorized the Qur'an at the age of seven. In 1732 he made a pilgrimage to Mecca, and he then remained in the Hejaz (now in Saudi Arabia) to

Enckell, Rabbe (arnfinn)

2005-02-18T06:24:00.000-08:00

Enckell studied art in France and Italy. His first collection of impressionistic nature poems, Dikter, appeared in 1923. In this collection and a sequel, Flöjtblåsarlycka (1925; “The Flutist's Happiness”), Enckell describes with

Shields, Carol

2005-02-17T13:06:00.000-08:00

Shields grew up in the United States and in 1957 graduated from Hanover College in Indiana. That same year she married and moved to Canada. After taking a course in creative

East Chicago

2005-02-16T21:50:00.000-08:00

Industrial city and port, Lake county, northwestern Indiana, U.S., adjoining Gary, Hammond, and Whiting. It is a part of the Chicago-Calumet industrialized metropolitan complex. Laid out in 1887, its industrial development was stimulated by construction of Indiana Harbor, connected with the Grand Calumet River by a 3-mile (5-kilometre) ship canal and including an extensive system

Amarna, Tell El-

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

Also spelled Tall al-Amarna , or Tel el-Amarna site of the ruins and tombs of the city of Akhetaton (“Horizon of Aton”) in Upper Egypt, 44 miles (71 km) north of modern Asyut in al-Minya muhafazah (governorate). On a virgin site on the east bank of the Nile, Akhenaton (Amenhotep IV) built the city in about 1348 BC as the new capital of his kingdom when he abandoned the worship of Amon and devoted himself to that of Aton. About four years after Akhenaton's

Permafrost, Climatic change

2005-02-16T19:57:00.000-08:00

Permafrost is the result of present climate. Many temperature profiles show, however, that permafrost is not in equilibrium with present climate at the sites of measurement. Some areas show, for example, that climatic warming since the last third of the 19th century has caused a warming of the permafrost to a depth of more than 100 metres. In such areas much of the permafrost

Mulaydah, Battle Of Al-

2005-02-15T09:10:00.000-08:00

The Wahhabi prince 'Abd Allah lost many of the territories that his father, Faysal (reigned 1834–65), had acquired by conquest

China, Attempts to end the war

2005-02-15T03:49:00.000-08:00

Peace negotiations continued in Chungking between Nationalist and Communist officials after Japan's surrender. An agreement reached on Oct. 10, 1945, called for the convening of a multiparty Political Consultative Council to plan a liberalized postwar government and to draft a constitution for submission to a national congress. Still, the sides were far apart over

Arnold, Matthew, Poetical works.

2005-02-14T14:26:00.000-08:00

Alaric at Rome (1840; Rugby School prize poem); Cromwell (1843; Newdigate Prize poem); The Strayed Reveller, and Other Poems. By A. (1849); Empedocles on Etna, and Other Poems. By A. (1852); Poems (1853; including “Sohrab and Rustum,” “The Forsaken Merman,” and “The Scholar Gipsy”); Poems, Second Series (1855); Merope (1858; classical tragedy); New Poems (1867; including “Thyrsis” and “Dover Beach”).

Howland Island

2005-02-14T07:59:00.000-08:00

Sighted in 1842 by American whalers and named for one of the first

Shammai Ha-zaken

2005-02-13T22:43:00.000-08:00

Little is known about Shammai's life. He became av-bet-din (“presiding justice”) of the Great Sanhedrin during the time that Hillel was nasi (president). Like Hillel,

Tallapoosa River

2005-02-13T05:10:00.000-08:00

River rising in the Piedmont area of western Georgia, U.S., west of Atlanta, and flowing southwest in an irregular, steplike course for about 268 mi (431 km), joining the larger Coosa River just north of Montgomery, Ala., to form the Alabama River. Its only large tributary is the Little Tallapoosa, which joins it about midway in its course. All but the lower part of the drainage basin

Calligraphy, Chinese calligraphy

2005-02-12T10:24:00.000-08:00

The earliest known Chinese logographs are engraved on the shoulder bones of large animals and on tortoise shells. For this reason, the script found on these objects is commonly called jiaguwen, or shell-and-bone script. It seems likely that each of the ideographs was carefully composed before it was engraved. Although the figures are not entirely uniform in size,

Argentina, The rise of radicalism

2005-02-11T20:02:00.000-08:00

A new party, the Radical Civic Union, was formed in response to the difficulties of the 1890s. It was strongly opposed to the ruling regime and to the compromise candidate, Luis Sáenz Peña, who was accepted in 1892 by Mitre and the more moderate opponents of the Roca–Juárez Celman regime. Sáenz was in turn replaced in 1895 by José Evaristo Uriburu. In 1898 Roca returned to the presidency for

Leaf Fibre

2005-02-11T03:29:00.000-08:00

Hard, coarse fibre obtained from leaves of monocotyledonous plants (flowering plants that usually have parallel-veined leaves, such as grasses, lilies, orchids, and palms), used mainly for cordage. Such fibres, usually long and stiff, are also called “hard” fibres, distinguishing them from the generally softer and more flexible fibres of the bast, or “soft,” fibre group. Commercially

Extermination Camp

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

The major camps were in German-occupied

Shidehara Kijuro, Danshaku

2005-02-10T09:34:00.000-08:00

Shidehara entered the diplomatic service in 1899 and served in Korea, London, Washington, and The

Middelburg

2005-02-09T03:21:00.000-08:00

Gemeente (commune) and capital, Zeeland provincie, southwestern Netherlands, on the former Walcheren Island. Named for its central position on the island, Middelburg was a flourishing medieval town that traded in wine and cloth and that later prospered through the activities of the Dutch East India Company. It was one of the first towns captured by the Sea

Arnow, Harriette

2005-02-08T17:07:00.000-08:00

Née Harriette Louisa Simpson American novelist, social historian, short-story writer, and essayist, known primarily for the novel The Dollmaker (1954), the story of a Kentucky hill family that moves north to Detroit during World War II. Arnow is an important writer who is often overlooked because of her regionalist approach to universal