RoundFarm

Estate Agent London

2006-10-26T13:40:00.000-07:00

Robert Irving Burns specialise in London Commercial and Residential property services, including estate agent london and estate agent central london. Their centrally located ground floor offices, minutes from Oxford Circus offer an ideal marketing base for your property.

Italy

2005-04-04T18:33:00.000-07:00

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

Orange

2005-04-04T00:26:00.000-07:00

County, southeastern New York state, U.S., located mostly in the Hudson River valley. It is bordered by Pennsylvania to the northwest (the Delaware River constituting the boundary), New Jersey to the southwest, and the Hudson River to the east. Among the other waterways are the Wallkill and Neversink rivers and Shawangunk Kill. Storm King Mountain is a massive granite

Piezoelectricity

2005-04-03T04:27:00.000-07:00

Pressure on certain

Ferreira, António

2005-04-01T22:15:00.000-08:00

Ferreira was a disciple of the poet Francisco de Sá de Miranda, who had introduced Renaissance styles of poetry into Portugal, and Ferreira did more

Indian Association

2005-04-01T09:51:00.000-08:00

Nationalist political group in India that favoured local self-government and served as a preparatory agent for the more truly national Indian National Congress. The association was founded in Bengal in 1876 by Surendranath Banerjea and Ananda Mohan Bose; it soon displaced the Indian League, which had been founded the year before, and rivaled the long-standing British

Gnetales

2005-04-01T00:15:00.000-08:00

Only order of plants in the subdivision Gnetopsida, a group with characteristics of both angiosperms and gymnosperms. The order contains three families: Ephedraceae, Gnetaceae, and Welwitschiaceae, each with a single genus. See also Ephedra; Gnetaceae; Welwitschiaceae.

Alismatales

2005-03-31T08:33:00.000-08:00

Also called Alismales, the water-plantain order of flowering plants, belonging to the class Liliopsida (monocotyledons; characterized by a single seed leaf). Most species are aquatic and grow submerged or partially exposed to the air in marshes and other freshwater habitats. Many are aquatic weeds that hinder irrigation and navigation, though others provide important habitats for

Earth, Marine magnetics

2005-03-30T13:45:00.000-08:00

The most convincing evidence supporting the concept of seafloor spreading comes from the study of the magnetism of the ocean floor. For a number of years, measurements have been made in the oceans of the total intensity of the magnetic field of the Earth using instruments called magnetometers, which are generally towed behind ships (see above). These measurements

Boisguillebert, Pierre Le Pesant, Sieur (lord) De

2005-03-30T05:55:00.000-08:00

Boisguillebert was opposed to the economic policy of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, finance minister to Louis XIV, who attempted to increase the manufacturing potential of France by keeping agricultural

Berber Languages

2005-03-29T22:57:00.000-08:00

Also called Berbero-Libyan languages, group of languages that make up one of the constituent branches of the Afro-Asiatic (formerly Hamito-Semitic) language family; the other branches are Egyptian, Semitic, Cushitic, and Chadic. The Berber languages are spoken in scattered areas throughout northern Africa from Egypt westward to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Niger River northward to the Mediterranean

Cimarosa, Domenico

2005-03-29T07:50:00.000-08:00

He began his career with the comic opera Le Stravaganze del

Flocculation

2005-03-28T03:45:00.000-08:00

In physical chemistry, separation of solid particles from a liquid to form loose aggregations or soft flakes. These flocculates are easily disrupted, being held together only by a force analogous to the surface tension of a liquid. In industrial processes, flocculation may be a desired or an undesirable phenomenon, and various methods may be used to cause or eliminate

Pig

2005-03-27T10:47:00.000-08:00

Wild or domestic swine, a mammal of the Suidae family. In Britain, the term pig refers to all domestic swine; in the United States, to younger swine not yet ready for market and weighing usually less than 82 kg (180 pounds), others being called hogs. Pigs are stout-bodied, short-legged, omnivorous mammals, with thick skins usually sparsely coated with short bristles. Their hooves

Switzerland, The Swabian War

2005-03-27T09:18:00.000-08:00

After Bern had repelled Burgundy in the west, the time had come for Zürich to defend the east against renewed Austrian threats. The fledgling ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, Maximilian I (ruled 1493–1519), attempted to reestablish control throughout his domain, which included Switzerland. He united Tirol and Vorarlberg, thus threatening the confederation from the east. Responding

Breckinridge, Mary

2005-03-26T06:03:00.000-08:00

Breckinridge grew up in Washington, D.C., where her father was an Arkansas congressman, and in St. Petersburg, Russia, where he served as U.S. minister to Russia. Educated

Mathematics, History Of, Elliptic functions

2005-03-25T22:01:00.000-08:00

The theory of functions of a complex variable was also being decisively reformulated. At the start of the 19th century, complex numbers were discussed from a quasi-philosophical standpoint by several French writers, notably Jean Robert Argand. A consensus emerged that complex numbers should be thought of as pairs of real numbers, with suitable rules for their addition

Arkatag

2005-03-25T18:46:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Arkha Tagh, also called Przhevalsky Range, one of the complex mountain chains that form the Kunlun Mountains in western China. The Arkatag is the highest range of the Kunluns with the peaks of Ulugh Muz Tagh at its western end and Shapka Monomakha (also known as Chong Karlik Tagh) at the eastern end, both more than 25,300 ft (7,700 m).

Race, Mendelian heredity and the development of blood group systems

2005-03-24T00:40:00.000-08:00

In 1900, after the rediscovery of Gregor Mendel's experiments dealing with heredity, scientists began to focus greater attention on genes and chromosomes. Their objective was to ascertain the hereditary basis for numerous physical traits. Once the ABO blood group system was discovered and was shown to follow the pattern of Mendelian heredity, other systems—the MN

Soil Organism

2005-03-23T23:39:00.000-08:00

Any organism inhabiting the soil during part or all of its life. Soil organisms, which range in size from microscopic cells that digest decaying organic material to small mammals that live primarily on other soil organisms, play an important role in maintaining fertility, structure, drainage, and aeration of soil. They also break down plant and animal tissues, releasing

Abe Kobo

2005-03-22T10:50:00.000-08:00

He grew up in Mukden (now Shen-yang), in Manchuria, where his father, a physician, taught at the medical college. The youngster was interested in insect collecting, mathematics, and the writings of Fyodor

Acarigua

2005-03-22T01:54:00.000-08:00

City, northern Portuguesa estado (“state”), northwestern Venezuela. Formerly the state capital, Acarigua is a principal commercial centre of the northern portion of the Llanos (plains), in which cattle, sugarcane, cotton, corn (maize), and rice are the principal products. Industries in the city include sawmilling and dairying. Acarigua is accessible by air and by highway

Acclimatization

2005-03-20T23:29:00.000-08:00

The numerous sudden changes that evoke rapid and short-term responses via the nervous and hormonal systems are not examples of acclimatization. An individual

Batabanó, Gulf Of

2005-03-20T14:24:00.000-08:00

Spanish Golfo De Batabanó, inlet of the Caribbean Sea, indenting southwestern Cuba. The gulf stretches from the shore of eastern Pinar del Río province approximately 80 miles (130 km) to the southwestern coast of Matanzas province and the Zapata Peninsula. At its northern edge lies La Habana province; 50 miles (80 km) to the south is the Isle of Juventud. The shallow gulf, economically important for sponge

Sundbyberg

2005-03-20T04:28:00.000-08:00

Town, Stockholm län (county), east-central Sweden. Sundbyberg lies on the northwestern outskirts of Stockholm. When founded in 1877, it was one of Stockholm's first residential suburbs. It was chartered in 1927 and has become an important industrial centre. The church (1909–11) is noted for its stained glass. Other imposing buildings are the large Marabou chocolate factory and the multistory

Qarluq Confederation

2005-03-19T07:07:00.000-08:00

The internal political organization

Ambrose, Saint

2005-03-18T21:00:00.000-08:00

Latin Ambrosius bishop of Milan, biblical critic, and initiator of ideas that provided a model for medieval conceptions of church–state relations. His literary works have been acclaimed as masterpieces of Latin eloquence, and his musical accomplishments are remembered in his hymns. Ambrose is also remembered as the teacher

National Army Museum

2005-03-18T17:37:00.000-08:00

The collections of the National Army Museum relate to all aspects of the British army from the Battle of Agincourt (1415) to the present day. They include material from the militia, yeomanry, volunteers,

Ibn Ishaq

2005-03-18T10:07:00.000-08:00

Ibn Ishaq was the grandson of an Arab prisoner captured by Muslim troops in Iraq and brought to Medina, where he was freed after accepting Islam. Ibn Ishaq's father and two uncles

Fair-trade Law

2005-03-17T22:46:00.000-08:00

In the United States, any law allowing manufacturers of branded or trademarked goods (or in some instances distributors of such products) to fix the actual or minimum resale prices of these goods by resellers. The designation “fair-trade law” is peculiar to the United States; the practice described in them is known elsewhere as price maintenance (q.v.) or resale price

Hevajra

2005-03-17T09:02:00.000-08:00

Tibetan Kye-rdo-rje , Mongolian Kevajra in northern Buddhism, a fierce protective deity, the yab-yum (in union with his female consort, Vajrayogini) form of the fierce protective deity Heruka. Hevajra is a popular deity in Tibet, where he belongs to the yi-dam (tutelary, or guardian, deity) class. His worship is the subject of the Hevajra Tantra, a scripture that helped bring about the conversion of the Mongol emperor

Jabal Shammar

2005-03-16T20:24:00.000-08:00

Mountainous area, northwestern Saudi Arabia, bounded by the regions of Hejaz on the west and Ash-Sharqiyah on the east. The principal features of the region are the two great mountain ranges of Aja' (granites) and Salma (basalts) and the immense rolling sand dunes of An-Nafud. The oasis town of Ha'il is situated on the southern flank of the Aja', while an older capital, Fayd, lies in the

Wildman, Sir John

2005-03-16T19:39:00.000-08:00

Wildman was of obscure ancestry. Educated at Cambridge, he first came into prominence in October 1647, when he helped to write The Case of the Army and the first Agreement of the People. These expressed the political program of the democratic republican,

Malan, Daniel F(rançois)

2005-03-15T17:50:00.000-08:00

Malan was educated at Victoria College, Stellenbosch, and at the University

Aleni, Giulio

2005-03-14T23:12:00.000-08:00

Aleni entered the Society of Jesus in 1600 and was sent to the Far East. He landed at Macau in 1610 and went to China three years later. During his more than 30 years in China, he adopted that country's dress and manners. He built several churches

Port Adelaide

2005-03-14T16:39:00.000-08:00

Chief port of South Australia, on an estuarine-tidal inlet of Gulf St. Vincent, just northwest of Adelaide. Visited in 1831 by Capt. Collet Barker, the harbour, sheltered by a long sand spit to the west, was made the port for Adelaide in 1837. Port Adelaide was incorporated as a town in 1855 and became a city in 1901. The Inner Harbour, with extensive wharves, has a minimum depth of 33 ft (10 m) and is reached

Ribera, José De

2005-03-13T23:19:00.000-08:00

He was born in Spain but spent most of his life in Italy. Little is known of his life in Spain, though he is said by the painter and biographer Antonio Palomino to have received his

Teresópolis

2005-03-13T09:31:00.000-08:00

City, central Rio de Janeiro estado (“state”), Brazil. It lies in the Serra dos Órgãos at 2,959 feet (902 m) above sea level. Named after the Brazilian empress Teresa Cristina in 1890 and originally spelled Therezópolis, it was given city status in 1893. A cool climate and picturesque setting amid mountain peaks such as the Dedo de Deus (“Finger of God”) make the city a popular summer resort. Flowers

Radbruch, Gustav

2005-03-12T11:05:00.000-08:00

Radbruch's legal philosophy grew out of the neo-Kantian principle that

Abbey Theatre

2005-03-10T17:40:00.000-08:00

Dublin theatre, established in 1904. It grew out of the Irish Literary Theatre (founded in 1899 by William Butler Yeats and Isabella Augusta, Lady Gregory, and devoted to fostering Irish poetic drama), which in 1902 was taken over by the Irish National Dramatic Society, led by W.G. and Frank J. Fay and formed to present Irish actors in Irish plays. In 1903 this became the Irish National Theatre

Abéché

2005-03-10T05:10:00.000-08:00

Town, eastern Chad, between the wadis Chao and Sao. Historically it was the site of the capital of the Muslim sultanate of Ouaddaï (q.v.), which dominated much of the area of Chad before French conquest was accomplished in 1912. The remains of the ancient capital include a palace, tombs of former sultans, and the ruins of a mosque, all surrounded by a thick wall. The town has many

Hui-neng

2005-03-10T02:54:00.000-08:00

As a young and illiterate peddler of firewood, Hui-neng heard the Chin-kang ching (“Diamond Sutra”) and traveled 500 miles (800 km) to the area in North China where the fifth Ch'an patriarch,

Burns, George; And Allen, Gracie

2005-03-09T01:45:00.000-08:00

Both came from theatrical backgrounds. Burns began his career at age seven as a singer in the PeeWee Quartet and later performed

Qiu Ying

2005-03-09T01:23:00.000-08:00

Wade-Giles romanization Ch'iu Ying Chinese painter noted for his gongbi brush technique, used to produce highly detailed figure and architectural paintings and flower studies. Qiu did not pursue the other characteristic arts and activities of the man of letters that Chinese critics believed were marks of a great painter,

Alexander

2005-03-08T21:22:00.000-08:00

The second son of King Constantine (ruled 1913–17 and 1920–22) and Queen Sophia, Alexander became king (June 12, 1917) when his father was forced by the Allies of World War I to abdicate and thereby allow his country to join them in the war. Shortly after Alexander's accession to the throne, Eleuthérios Venizélos became premier of

Robber Fly

2005-03-07T07:14:00.000-08:00

Also called Assassin Fly, any predatory insect of the family Asilidae (order Diptera), numbering about 4,000 species, worldwide in distribution. These flies have variable lengths that range to almost 8 cm (3 inches). They are the largest of all flies. Most are dull in colour, and their stout bodies resemble those of bumble bees. Between the large-faceted eyes is a moustache of bristles. The long legs are adapted

Guimarães, Bernardo (joaquim Da Silva)

2005-03-06T17:10:00.000-08:00

After a youthful bohemian life in São Paulo, Guimarães retired to his native Minas Gerais to write and teach school. Guimarães' subject, like that

Waterford Glass

2005-03-06T05:45:00.000-08:00

Heavy cut glassware produced in Waterford, Ire., from 1729. Waterford glass, particularly the early variety, is characterized by thick walls, deeply incised geometric cutting, and brilliant polish. The smoky, bluish gray colour of early Waterford glass was considered a drawback, and a clear crystal was produced after 1830. It is the darkened glass, however, that is most prized

Medicine, China

2005-03-05T09:16:00.000-08:00

Health services in China since the Cultural Revolution have been characterized by decentralization and dependence on personnel chosen locally and trained for short periods. Emphasis is given to selfless motivation, self-reliance, and to the involvement of everyone in the community. Campaigns stressing the importance of preventive measures and their implementation

Earth, The Earth's gravitational field

2005-03-04T20:40:00.000-08:00

Texts include Michele Caputo, The Gravity Field of the Earth, from Classical and Modern Methods (1967); W.A. Heiskanen and F.A. Vening Meinesz, The Earth and Its Gravity Field (1958); and W.M. Telford et al., Applied Geophysics (1976). The Journal of Geophysical Research contains much recent work, including the following articles: LeRoy M. Dorman and Brian T.R. Lewis, “Experimental Isostasy, 1: Theory of the Determination of the Earth's Isostatic Response to a Concentrated Load,” 75(17):3357–65 (June 10, 1970), “Experimental Isostasy, 2: An Isostatic Model for the U.S.A. Derived from Gravity and Topographic Data,” 75(17):3367–86 (June 10, 1970), and “Experimental Isostasy, 3: Inversion of the Isostatic Green Function and Lateral Density Changes,” 77(17):3068–77 (June 10, 1972); G.D. Karner and A.B. Watts, “Gravity Anomalies and Flexure of the Lithosphere at Mountain Ranges,” 88(B12):10,449–10,477 (Dec. 10, 1983); and Marcia McNutt, “Implications of Regional Gravity for State of Stress in the Earth's Crust and Upper Mantle,” 85(B11):6377–96 (Nov. 10, 1980).

Gabon, Flag Of

2005-03-04T13:07:00.000-08:00

The French did not allow the development of national flags in their colonies, fearing the flags might become symbols around which separatists could rally. Therefore there were few such traditions in French Africa when autonomous governments were established in 1958 (the year of the new constitution of France). Whereas some countries did not adopt flags for more than

Razmara, Ali

2005-03-02T09:19:00.000-08:00

Razmara graduated from the French military academy at Saint-Cyr in 1925. After serving in the pacification campaigns in the Kurdistan and Laristan regions of Iran under Reza Khan (later Reza Shah Pahlavi), he became director of the Tehran Military Cadet College

Hector

2005-03-02T07:10:00.000-08:00

In Greek legend, the eldest son of the Trojan king Priam and his queen Hecuba. He was the husband of Andromache and the chief warrior of the Trojan army. In Homer's Iliad he is represented as an ideal warrior and the mainstay of Troy. His character is drawn in most favourable colours as a good son, a loving husband and father, and a trusty friend. His leave-taking of Andromache

Mitford, Mary Russell

2005-03-02T00:40:00.000-08:00

She was the only daughter of George Mitford, a dashing, irresponsible character whose extravagance compelled the family, in 1820, to leave their house in Reading (built when Mary, at the age of 10, won £20,000 in a lottery)

Jewish Religious Year

2005-03-01T15:20:00.000-08:00

The cycle of Sabbaths and holidays that are commonly observed by the Jewish religious community—and officially in Israel by the Jewish secular community as well. The Sabbath and festivals are bound to the Jewish calendar, reoccur at fixed intervals, and are celebrated at home and in the synagogue according to ritual set forth in Jewish law and hallowed by Jewish

Jicaque

2005-03-01T14:42:00.000-08:00

Indians of the northwest coast of Honduras. Their culture is similar to that of the Sumo and Miskito of northeastern Nicaragua. The Jicaque are an agricultural people, growing sweet manioc (yuca), bitter manioc, beans, and corn (maize) as staples. Fishing and hunting provide other food; domesticated animals are now common. Their houses are built of poles and thatch. Clothing

Khan, Fazlur R.

2005-02-28T06:48:00.000-08:00

After obtaining a bachelor's degree in engineering from the University of Dacca in 1950, Khan worked as assistant engineer for the India Highway Department and taught at the University of Dacca. Qualifying

Adams, Gerry

2005-02-26T14:39:00.000-08:00

Born into a strongly Republican

Lawes, Lewis Edward

2005-02-26T13:37:00.000-08:00

Assuming the office of warden of Sing Sing State Prison (now Ossining Correctional Facility), Ossining, N.Y., in 1920, Lawes instituted such reforms as the establishment of theatricals, film showings, and athletics;

Arts, Central Asian

2005-02-25T04:41:00.000-08:00

Born into a strongly Republican

Skeat, Walter William

2005-02-25T01:13:00.000-08:00

Following a classical education at Christ's College, Cambridge, Skeat in 1891 joined the civil service of the state of Selangor in the Malay Peninsula. He became interested in ideas of magic

Sea Walnut

2005-02-24T01:10:00.000-08:00

Any member of a common genus (Mnemiopsis) of gelatinous, planktonic marine invertebrates of the class Tentaculata (phylum Ctenophora). The sea walnut resembles the sea gooseberry morphologically, but as in many ctenophores the body is prolonged into eight lobes. Full-grown individuals may be as long as 15 cm (6 inches). They lead a wholly planktonic existence and are found

Philadelphia

2005-02-23T14:09:00.000-08:00

Philadelphia has been described either as the elegant but rather jaded great lady or as the overage and sickly spinster of American cities. A more realistic look at Philadelphia, however, shows it to be a very

Wachsmann, Konrad

2005-02-23T10:26:00.000-08:00

Originally apprenticed as a cabinetmaker, Wachsmann studied at the arts-and-crafts schools of Berlin and Dresden and at the Berlin Academy of Arts (under the Expressionist architect Hans Poelzig). During

Cosimo I

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

Cosimo was the great-great-grandson of Lorenzo the Elder, the son of Giovanni di Bicci and brother of Cosimo the Elder, and was thus a member of a branch of the Medici family that had taken an active part in Medici affairs but had played no political role. Nevertheless, when

Amarillo

2005-02-21T23:42:00.000-08:00

At first called Oneida, the city originated in 1887 as a railroad construction camp and in the 1890s grew to become one of

Qayen

2005-02-20T23:59:00.000-08:00

The modern town is surrounded by

Peter Iii

2005-02-20T13:22:00.000-08:00

Son of Anna, one of Peter I the Great's daughters, and Charles Frederick, duke of Holstein-Gottorp, the young duke was brought to Russia by his aunt Elizabeth shortly after she became empress of Russia (Dec. 5–6, 1741). Renamed Peter (Pyotr Fyodorovich), he was

Ogier The Dane

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

French Ogier De Danemarche , Danish Holger Danske an important character in the French medieval epic poems called chansons de geste. His story is told in a cycle of these poems known as Geste de Doon de Mayence, which deals with the wars of the feudal barons against the emperor Charlemagne. The character of Ogier has a historical prototype in Autcharius, a follower of Carloman, Charlemagne's younger brother, whose

Iliescu, Ion

2005-02-19T08:06:00.000-08:00

Iliescu received a degree in business from the Polytechnic Institute of Bucharest and then studied engineering in Moscow. In 1953 he joined the Communist Party, and he held positions of increasing prestige during the following decade. A protégé of Nicolae Ceausescu, he benefited

Hughes, Charles Evans

2005-02-16T21:42:00.000-08:00

A member of a major New York City

Shari'ah, Procedure and evidence

2005-02-16T08:35:00.000-08:00

Traditionally, Shari'ah law was administered by the court of a single qadi, who was the judge of the facts as well as the law, although on difficult legal issues he might seek the advice of a professional jurist, or mufti. There was no hierarchy of courts and no organized system of appeals. Through his clerk (katib) the qadi controlled his court procedure, which was normally characterized

Water Table

2005-02-16T02:44:00.000-08:00

Also called Groundwater Table, upper level of an underground surface in which the soil or rocks are permanently saturated with water. The water table separates the groundwater zone that lies below it from the capillary fringe, or zone of aeration, that lies above it. The water table fluctuates both with the seasons and from year to year because it is affected by climatic variations and by the amount

Chiba

2005-02-15T06:30:00.000-08:00

City and capital of Chiba ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. It lies on the Boso Peninsula about 20 miles (30 km) southeast of Tokyo and on the east coast of Tokyo Bay. It was a castle town controlled by the Chiba family in the 12th–15th century, and during the Tokugawa period (1603–1867) it served as a post-station town for several major roads. The town grew after the construction of a railway connecting

Arne, Thomas (augustine)

2005-02-15T01:06:00.000-08:00

According to tradition, Arne was the son of an upholsterer in King Street, Covent Garden. Educated at Eton, he was intended for the law, but by secretly practicing he acquired such mastery of the violin and keyboard instruments that his father withdrew all objections to a musical career. Except

Kamil, Al-malik Al-

2005-02-14T06:34:00.000-08:00

On his accession to the sultanate, al-Kamil engaged the armies of the Fifth Crusade and eventually negotiated their withdrawal from Egypt in 1221. During this conflict he had an interview with St. Francis of Assisi, who wished to convert him to Christianity. In 1229 al-Kamil ceded

Heutsz, Johannes Benedictus Van

2005-02-13T19:53:00.000-08:00

Sent to Acheh as a subaltern in 1873, van Heutsz won fast promotions. By 1887 he was chief of staff, and in 1899 he was appointed military and civil governor of Acheh; he managed

Literature, Swedish.

2005-02-13T04:14:00.000-08:00

A feeling of lost control and an urge to use language to beseech a present and a past that had gone out of hand served as a rough summary of preferred themes in Swedish literature in 2001. Per Olov Enquist's Lewis resa portrayed revivalist Lewi Pethrus, the founding father of the Swedish branch of the Pentecostal

Gray, Horace

2005-02-11T09:08:00.000-08:00

Admitted to the bar in 1851, Gray practiced law in Massachusetts and was active in Free-Soil and, later, Republican party affairs. In 1860 he ran unsuccessfully for state attorney general. He served with distinction for many years at the Massachusetts Supreme Court, first as court reporter (1854–61) and later as associate

Bezruc, Petr

2005-02-10T22:32:00.000-08:00

Bezruc studied in Prague and became a postal official in Moravia until his retirement in 1927. His literary reputation rests on a remarkable series of poems written during 1899 and 1900 and published in the periodical Cas between 1899 and 1903. The subject of almost

Lynch, Charles Birchell

2005-02-10T18:17:00.000-08:00

Canadian journalist and author (b. Dec. 3, 1919, Cambridge, Mass.--d. July 21, 1994, Ottawa, Ont.), was a gifted storyteller who attracted a wide and loyal readership as the longtime (1958-84) Ottawa syndicated columnist for Southam News Services. Lynch's folksy approach endeared him to English-speaking readers throughout much of the country. In his political commentaries, he boasted of "slipping

Qiblah

2005-02-09T01:41:00.000-08:00

Also spelled qibla or kiblah the direction of the sacred shrine of the Ka'bah in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, toward which Muslims turn five times each day when performing the salat (daily ritual prayer). Soon after Muhammad's emigration (Hijrah, or Hegira) to Medina in 622, he indicated Jerusalem as the qiblah, probably influenced by Jewish tradition. When Jewish-Muslim relations no longer seemed promising,

Izumi Kyoka

2005-02-08T19:56:00.000-08:00

Kyoka was born into a family of provincial artists and artisans, from whom he inherited artistic skill and a deep faith that shaded into an actual belief in mysterious forces. He

East Chicago

2005-02-06T23:33:00.000-08:00

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

Skelton, John

2005-02-06T20:31:00.000-08:00

His place of birth and childhood

Joyner-kersee, Jackie

2005-02-05T06:28:00.000-08:00

Joyner showed great enthusiasm for athletics early on, and as a teenager she won the first of four consecutive National Junior Pentathlon championships. In high school she was a

Interior Design, Middle Ages

2005-02-04T10:55:00.000-08:00

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

Forbes, Edward

2005-02-04T09:52:00.000-08:00

While a medical student at Edinburgh, Forbes embarked upon a botanical tour of Norway (1833). Drawn to natural science, he then began an extensive study

Botvinnik, Mikhail Moiseyevich

2005-02-02T15:04:00.000-08:00

At the age of 14, less than two years after he had learned the moves of chess, Botvinnik defeated the then-current world champion, José Raúl Capablanca, in one game of an exhibition in which

Salesbury, William

2005-02-02T08:56:00.000-08:00

Salesbury spent most of his life at Llanrwst following antiquarian, botanical, and literary pursuits. About 1546 he edited a collection

Einstein, Alfred

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

Einstein was born into a family of scholars (Albert Einstein was his cousin), and, as a young man, studied law for a year before completing his doctorate (1903) in musicology and composition at the University of Munich. As the first editor (1918–33) of the Zeitschrift für Musikwissenschaft (“Journal

Shiraz Rug

2005-02-01T17:41:00.000-08:00

Handwoven floor covering made in the district around the city of Shiraz in southern Iran. The best known are the Qashqa'i rugs, products of nomadic tribesmen. A group of tribes—some Arab, some Turkish, forming the Khamseh Confederation—weaves rugs somewhat similar to the Qashqa'i pieces in a variety of patterns, as do the inhabitants of certain Iranian weaving villages in

Arzner, Dorothy

2005-02-01T15:45:00.000-08:00

Arzner was reared in Los Angeles, where her family owned a Hollywood

Alligator Rivers

2005-01-31T14:09:00.000-08:00

Three perennial rivers, northeastern Northern Territory, Australia, that empty into Van Diemen Gulf, an inlet of the Timor Sea. They were explored in 1818–20 by Captain Phillip Parker King, who named them in the belief that the crocodiles infesting their lower swampy, jungle-fringed reaches were alligators (actually, Australia has no alligators). The South Alligator rises

Lupino Family

2005-01-30T00:35:00.000-08:00

The earliest traceable Lupino—who spelled his name Luppino—flourished probably in Italy, c. 1612, and billed himself as Signor Luppino. His descendant, George William (1632–93), a singer, reciter, and puppet master, went to England as a political refugee. His son, George Charles (1662–1725), was a performer and puppeteer at the age of eight. After

Piero Di Cosimo,

2005-01-29T23:24:00.000-08:00

His name derives from that of his master, Cosimo Rosselli, whom he assisted (1481) in the frescoes “Crossing of the Red Sea” and “Sermon on the Mount” in the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. There he saw the frescoes of Sandro Botticelli and Domenico Ghirlandajo,

Deniliquin

2005-01-29T15:52:00.000-08:00

Chief town of the fertile southern Riverina region, south-central New South Wales, Australia, on the Edward River (a branch of the Murray), 22 miles (35 km) from the Victoria border. Established in 1845 by Benjamin Boyd as a personal holding, it was made a town in 1848 under the name Sandhills. Two years later it was officially gazetted as Deniliquin, a corruption of the name of a local Aboriginal

Tafilalt

2005-01-28T04:39:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Tafilet, or Tafilalet, largest Saharan oasis of Morocco, in the southeastern part of the country. The oasis comprises the fortified villages of Erfoud, Arab Sebbah du Ziz, Rissani, Seffalat, Aoufous, and Jorf, together with palm groves stretching 30 miles (50 km) along the Wadi Ziz. Its old capital was the Berber stronghold of Sijilmassa, founded in AD 757 on the Saharan caravan route from the Niger River

Houdini, Harry

2005-01-28T04:13:00.000-08:00

Houdini was the son of a rabbi who emigrated from Hungary to the United States and settled in Appleton, Wis. He became a trapeze performer in circuses at an early age, and, after settling in New York City in 1882, he performed in vaudeville shows

Burglary

2005-01-27T08:19:00.000-08:00

In criminal law, the breaking and entering of the premises of another with an intent to commit a felony within. Burglary is one of the specific crimes included in the general category of theft (q.v.).