FoolishHammer

Estate Agent London

2006-10-26T21:00:00.000-07:00

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.

China, Art

2005-04-04T00:51:00.000-07:00

Late Shang culture is also defined by the size, elaborate shapes, and evolved decor of the ritual bronzes, many of which were used in wine offerings to the ancestors and some of which were inscribed with ancestral dedications such as “Made for Father Ting.” Their surfaces were ornamented with zoomorphic and theriomorphic elements set against intricate backgrounds

Siskind, Aaron

2005-04-03T19:07:00.000-07:00

Siskind began to photograph in 1932, while he was an English teacher in the New York City public-school system. As a member of the Photo League, he participated in projects designed to document

As If, Philosophy Of

2005-04-03T06:55:00.000-07:00

The system espoused by Hans Vaihinger in his major philosophical work Die Philosophie des Als Ob (1911; The Philosophy of “As If”), which proposed that man willingly accept falsehoods or fictions in order to live peacefully in an irrational world. Vaihinger, who saw life as a maze of contradictions and philosophy as a search for means to make life livable, began by accepting

Pacific Grove

2005-04-02T22:12:00.000-08:00

Resort and residential city, Monterey county, western California, U.S. It lies along Monterey Bay and adjoins the city of Monterey. Founded in 1874 by Methodists as a religious retreat, the city remains a centre for conferences of religious and other groups. Pacific Grove is the northern terminus of the scenic Seventeen Mile Drive from Carmel. The famous Butterfly Trees

John I, Saint

2005-04-01T18:04:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately the reunion ended friendly relations between the papacy and Theodoric the Great, the Ostrogothic ruler at Rome. Theodoric mistrusted the rapprochement,

Paul Karadjordjevic, Prince

2005-04-01T10:42:00.000-08:00

When Yugoslavia's king Alexander I was assassinated (Oct. 9, 1934), Paul was appointed regent for his 11-year-old nephew Peter II. Although Paul's sympathies lay with the British-French entente, he was forced to submit to Hitler's demands and align his country

Salford

2005-03-31T19:12:00.000-08:00

Flemish weavers first settled in Salford about 1360, and the town became an important centre of domestic textile production. Beginning in the late 18th century, the town's cottage

Molcho, Solomon

2005-03-30T13:40:00.000-08:00

The son of Marrano parents (Portuguese or Spanish Jews forced to become Christians), Pires attained the position of royal secretary in a Portuguese high court of justice. When an Arabian adventurer, David Reubeni, arrived in Portugal, Pires became possessed by mystic

Electronics, Conduction in semiconductors

2005-03-30T10:52:00.000-08:00

In semiconductors such as silicon (which is used as the example here), each constituent atom has four outer electrons, each of which pairs with an electron from one of four neighbouring atoms to form the interatomic bonds. Completely pure silicon thus has essentially no electrons available at room temperature for electronic conduction, making it a very poor conductor.

Media And Publishing

2005-03-29T05:40:00.000-08:00

The magazine industry faced a bad year that got worse after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S. “The 11th” hastened the decline of an industry already suffering lowered revenues and resulted in the closure of some well-known magazines. During the first nine months of 2001, total ad pages declined about 10%, and revenue slipped slightly more than 1%. The good news for 2001 was that 2000 was

Actinide Element

2005-03-29T01:40:00.000-08:00

Any of a series of 15 consecutive chemical elements in the periodic table from actinium to lawrencium (atomic numbers 89–103). As a group they are significant largely because of their radioactivity. Although several members of the group, including uranium (the most familiar), occur naturally, most are man-made. Both uranium and plutonium have been used in atomic bombs for their

Profile Records

2005-03-28T23:23:00.000-08:00

Hip-hop was scorned by the established music industry as a novelty idiom until 1986, when Run-D.M.C. enrolled Aerosmith's vocalist, Steven Tyler, and guitarist, Joe Perry, to take part in a revival of the hard rockers' hit “Walk This Way” from 10 years earlier. Released on the Profile label, the resultant record was accepted by many radio formats and became the first rap hit to make the

National Socialism

2005-03-27T18:19:00.000-08:00

German Nationalsozialismus , also called Nazism or Naziism totalitarian movement led by Adolf Hitler as head of the Nazi Party in Germany. In its intense nationalism, mass appeal, and dictatorial rule, National Socialism shared many elements with Italian fascism. However, Nazism was far more extreme both in its ideas and in its practice. In almost every respect it was an anti-intellectual and atheoretical movement, emphasizing

Chi-ning

2005-03-26T21:41:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Jining , Pinyin (Mongolian) Ulan Qab town, Inner Mongolia autonomous ch'ü (region), China. Before the Communist Revolution of 1949, the town was a minor station named P'ing-ti-ch'üan and was a collecting point on the east-west Peking–Pao-t'ou railway. It experienced phenomenal growth after the completion in 1955 of a trunk railway northward to Erh-lien-hao-t'e on the Mongolian border, linking it with Ulaanbaatar (capital

Ram Raiya

2005-03-26T01:57:00.000-08:00

Member of a group of dissenters within Sikhism, a religion of India. The Ram Raiyas are descendants of Ram Rai, the eldest son of Guru Har Rai (1630–61), who was sent by his father as an emissary to the Mughal capital at Delhi. There he won the confidence of the emperor Aurangzeb but the displeasure of his own father, who when choosing the next Sikh Guru passed over Ram Rai in favour of his younger brother

Abyssinian

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

Breed of domestic cat, probably of Egyptian origin, that has been considered to approximate the sacred cat of ancient Egypt more closely than any other living cat. The Abyssinian is a lithe cat with relatively slender legs and a long, tapering tail. The short, finely textured coat is ruddy reddish brown, with individual hairs of the back, sides, chest, and tail distinctively

Chelmsford

2005-03-24T16:29:00.000-08:00

Town (township), Middlesex county, northeastern Massachusetts, U.S. It lies 24 miles (39 km) north of Boston; the city of Lowell is adjacent to the northeast. Settled in 1633, it was named for Chelmsford, England, and incorporated in 1655. An iron foundry using local bog ore was built there in 1656. During the early 19th century, the production of lumber, textiles, and granite was important. Services,

Peter Martyr D'anghiera

2005-03-24T14:05:00.000-08:00

Italian Pietro Martire D'anghiera, Spanish Pedro Mártir De Anghiera chaplain to the court of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile, and historian of Spanish explorations, who became a member of Emperor Charles V's Council of the Indies (1518). He collected unidentified documents from the various discoverers, including Christopher Columbus, and wrote De Orbe Novo (published 1530; “On

Sayf Ad-dawlah

2005-03-23T22:01:00.000-08:00

Sayf ad-Dawlah began his career as lord of the city of Wasit in Iraq and became involved in the struggles of the 'Abbasid caliph (the titular leader of the

Ringerike

2005-03-23T02:53:00.000-08:00

Kommune (“commune”) and geographic region, Buskerud fylke (county), southeastern Norway, just northwest of Oslo. The region covers a total area of 600 square miles (1,553 square km) adjacent to the northern shore of Tyri Lake and northward to Rands Lake. The Ringerike was inhabited as early as AD 200 and existed as a petty kingdom in the 8th and 9th centuries. During the 10th century Norway's greatest

Mckay, David O(man)

2005-03-23T00:55:00.000-08:00

He served as a missionary in Scotland (1897–99) and then returned to Utah to become instructor and principal (1899–1908) of the Weber State Academy, now Weber State College. In 1906 he was elected a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and in 1950 he

North Germanic Languages, Norwegian

2005-03-21T04:01:00.000-08:00

Old Norwegian writing traditions gradually died out in the 15th century after the union of Norway with Denmark and the removal of the central government to Copenhagen. After independence was achieved in 1814, the linguistic union with Danish persisted, but educational problems due to the linguistic distance between Danish and spoken Norwegian and socio-political

Château-thierry

2005-03-20T07:16:00.000-08:00

Town, northeast France, Aisne département, Picardie region, east-northeast of Paris. It is situated on the Marne River on the slopes of a hill, at the top of which are the ruins of an old castle, said to have been built in about 720 by the Frankish ruler Charles Martel for his puppet Thierry IV (the Merovingian king Theodoric). Close to the castle walls stands the 16th-century mansion

Scamozzi, Vincenzo

2005-03-20T06:43:00.000-08:00

Trained by his father, Bertotti Scamozzi, he studied in Venice and Rome and traveled widely through western Europe. The classicizing influence of Andrea Palladio and Sebastiano Serlio is evident in the palaces, villas, and churches that

John George Iii

2005-03-19T07:24:00.000-08:00

He forsook the vacillating foreign policy of his father, John George II, and in June 1683 joined an alliance against France. Having raised the first standing army in the electorate, he helped to drive the Turks from Vienna in September 1680, leading his men with great gallantry; but, disgusted with the attitude

Habit

2005-03-19T02:57:00.000-08:00

In psychology, any regularly repeated behaviour that requires little or no thought and is learned rather than innate. A habit—which can be part of any activity, ranging from eating and sleeping to thinking and reacting—is developed through reinforcement and repetition. Reinforcement encourages the repetition of a behaviour, or response, each time the stimulus

Bokassa, Jean-bédel

2005-03-18T04:06:00.000-08:00

African military officer and political leader (b. Feb. 22, 1921, Bobangui, Oubangui-Chari, French Equatorial Africa [now in Central African Republic]--d. Nov. 3, 1996, Bangui, Central African Republic), was president of the Central African Republic (1966-77) and self-styled emperor of the Central African Empire (1977-79). His rule was characterized by brutality and greed. After the assassination of his father,

Bachmann, Ingeborg

2005-03-17T19:58:00.000-08:00

Bachmann grew up in Kärnten during World War II and was educated at the Universities of Graz, Innsbruck, and Vienna. She received a doctoral degree in philosophy from

Venice, Gulf Of

2005-03-17T03:49:00.000-08:00

Italian Golfo Di Venezia, northern section of the Adriatic Sea (an arm of the Mediterranean Sea), extending eastward for 60 miles (95 km) from the Po River delta, Italy, to the coast of Istria, in Slovenia and Croatia. It receives the Po, Adige, Piave, and Tagliamento rivers. Marshes, lagoons, and sandspits border the gulf's shores as far as Trieste, Italy, where the low plateau of the Istrian Peninsula begins.

Pas D'élévation

2005-03-16T23:18:00.000-08:00

(French: “high steps”), all jumping and leaping movements in classical ballet. The steps are admired for the height at which they are performed and for the dancer's ability to ascend without apparent effort and to land smoothly. Dancers famed for aerial maneuvers of this kind include Jean Balon, a French dancer of the late 17th century, and Vaslav Nijinsky, reportedly an early

Philippines, Relief and drainage

2005-03-16T18:45:00.000-08:00

The irregular configuration of the archipelago, the coastline of more than 21,500 miles, the great extent of mountainous country, the narrow and interrupted coastal plains, the generally northward trend of the river systems, and the lakes are the outstanding physical features of the Philippines. The islands are composed of volcanic, coral, and all principal rock formations.

Uzbek Khanate

2005-03-15T18:11:00.000-08:00

Any of the three states that ruled Transoxania, in present-day Uzbekistan, before it came under Russian rule in the 19th century. The khanates of Bukhara and Khiva (Khwarezm) were established by two branches of the Shaybanid dynasty, which won control of Transoxania from the Timurids in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The Shaybanids were replaced at Bukhara successively

Human Evolution, Ngaloba man

2005-03-15T16:59:00.000-08:00

In 1976 a skull was found in the Ngaloba beds at the Laetoli site in Tanzania. These beds consist of deposits of sandstone and clay stone that are preserved in patches; these patches are made up of redeposited detritus that has been eroded from the underlying Ndolanya and Laetoli beds. In the upper Ngaloba beds, stone tools have been recovered that have been attributed

Peter Iv

2005-03-14T10:15:00.000-08:00

Peter was the most cultivated of Spanish 14th-century kings but was also an inveterate political intriguer whose ability to dissemble was notorious. Through his voluminous correspondence, the workings of his mind are far better known than those of any contemporary Spanish

Wildlife Conservation

2005-03-14T02:23:00.000-08:00

The regulation of wild animals and plants in such a way as to provide for their continuance as a natural resource. The term stands for the husbandry and use of natural resources by the present and succeeding generations. Aesthetic, sporting, economic, and ethical use of landscapes, game, minerals, animals, plants, soils, and water is thus implied in the concept. The term

Black Mountain Poet

2005-03-13T18:42:00.000-08:00

The group grew up around the poets Robert Creeley, Robert Duncan, and Charles Olson while they were teaching at Black Mountain

Han Hsiang

2005-03-13T11:36:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Han Xiang, in Chinese mythology, one of the Pa Hsien, the Eight Immortals of Taoism. He desired to make flowers bloom in an instant and to produce fine-tasting wine without using grain. When his uncle scoffed at the idea, Han Hsiang performed the impossible before his uncle's eyes: flowers suddenly appeared in bloom from a clod of earth. In addition, a mysterious poem of 14 golden characters

Lord's Prayer

2005-03-13T02:00:00.000-08:00

Latin Oratio Dominica, also called Pater Noster (Latin: “Our Father”), prayer taught by Jesus to his disciples, and the principal prayer used by all Christians in common worship. It appears in two forms in the New Testament, the shorter version in Luke 11:2–4 and the longer version, part of the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 6:9–13. In both contexts it is offered as a model of how to pray. Many scholars believe the version in Luke to be closer

Quadros, Jânio Da Silva

2005-03-12T18:38:00.000-08:00

Quadros graduated from the University of São Paulo in 1939. He practiced law and taught Portuguese

Tlaxcala

2005-03-11T23:09:00.000-08:00

In full Tlaxcala De Xicohténcatl, town, capital of Tlaxcala estado (“state”), east-central Mexico. It lies along the Zahuapan River at the northwest foot of La Malinche volcano, 7,388 feet (2,252 m) above sea level. The city lies in the region inhabited by the Tlaxcalan Indians, and the designation “de Xicohténcatl” commemorates a Tlaxcalan chieftain who vigorously opposed his people's aid to the Spanish conquistador

Canaletto

2005-03-11T06:12:00.000-08:00

Canaletto was born into a noble family whose coat of arms he occasionally used as a signature. How he came to

Clarion River

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

River formed at Johnsonburg, Elk county, northwestern Pennsylvania, U.S., by the confluence of East Branch and West Branch Clarion rivers. It flows generally southwest for about 110 miles (177 km), past the towns of Ridgway and Clarion, to join the Allegheny River. The Clarion Dam and Reservoir are on the East Branch near Glen Hazel. The river's name is attributed to surveyors who

Bohr Atomic Model

2005-03-10T17:21:00.000-08:00

Description of the structure of atoms, especially that of hydrogen, proposed (1913) by the Danish physicist Niels Bohr. The Bohr model of the atom, a radical departure from earlier, classical descriptions, was the first that incorporated quantum theory and was the predecessor of wholly quantum-mechanical models. The Bohr model and all of its successors describe the properties

Ear, Human

2005-03-09T13:22:00.000-08:00

Hearing is the process by which the ear transforms sound vibrations in the external environment into nerve impulses that are conveyed to the brain, where they are interpreted as sounds. Sounds are produced when vibrating objects, such as the plucked string of a guitar, produce pressure pulses of vibrating air molecules, better known as sound waves. The ear can distinguish

Acanthaceae

2005-03-09T02:52:00.000-08:00

One of 18 families in the figwort order of flowering plants (Scrophulariales), containing approximately 250 genera and at least 2,500 species distributed predominantly in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The greater part of the Acanthaceae family are herbs or shrubs, but climbers (vines) and trees occur as well. The range of habitats extends from marshes to extremely

Leakey, Richard

2005-03-08T19:52:00.000-08:00

In full Richard Erskine Frere Leakey Kenyan physical anthropologist, paleontologist, and politician responsible for extensive fossil finds of human ancestral forms in East Africa. His investigations suggested that relatively intelligent, tool-using ancestors of true man lived in eastern Africa as early as 3 million years ago, or almost twice the time span of previous

Bar-le-duc

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

Capital of Meuse département, Lorraine région, northeastern France. It extends out along the narrow valley of the Ornain River, west of Nancy. To the northeast is the Canal de la Marne au Rhin, on the southwest the Canal des Usines. The Ornain River valley is enclosed by wooded and vine-clad hills. From the 10th century Bar was the seat of a countship, and later a duchy. The remains

Independent Fundamental Churches Of America

2005-03-07T08:41:00.000-08:00

Fellowship of conservative, independent Christian churches stressing biblical truth. It was organized in Cicero, Ill., U.S., in June 1930 as the successor of the American Conference of Undenominational Churches. Member churches are forbidden to affiliate with any denomination, and the fellowship, administered by annually elected trustees, cannot organize itself as

Noland, Kenneth

2005-03-07T04:43:00.000-08:00

Noland attended Black Mountain College in North Carolina and studied

Loren, Sophia

2005-03-07T01:55:00.000-08:00

Before working in the cinema, Sofia Scicolone changed her name to Sofia Lazzaro for work in the foto-romanzo, popular pulp magazines that used still photographs

Kyd, Thomas

2005-03-07T00:58:00.000-08:00

English dramatist who, with his The Spanish Tragedie (sometimes called Hieronimo, or Jeronimo, after its protagonist), initiated the revenge tragedy of his day. Kyd anticipated the structure of many later plays, including the development of middle and final climaxes. In addition, he revealed an instinctive sense of tragic situation,

Haber, Fritz

2005-03-05T22:20:00.000-08:00

In 1911, at the age of 42, he was appointed director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physical Chemistry in Berlin, a new research establishment that was to become even more famous than the school he had built up in Karlsruhe. With the outbreak of World War I in 1914, he immediately placed himself and his laboratory at the service of the government, his first concern being to organize

Abu Sir

2005-03-05T17:19:00.000-08:00

Zahi Hawass, “Abusir Tomb,” National Geographic, 194(5):102–113 (November 1998).

Juba I

2005-03-04T11:59:00.000-08:00

Succeeding his father, Hiempsal II, sometime between 63 and 50, Juba became bitterly hostile toward Caesar because of a personal insult (probably in 63). In addition, one of Caesar's supporters, the tribune Curio, in 50 unsuccessfully proposed

Jackson

2005-03-04T06:24:00.000-08:00

Town, seat (1921) of Teton county, northwestern Wyoming, U.S. The town lies at the southern end of the Teton Range, just north of the Snake River, and is the centre of an important recreation and tourist industry. Explored by the fur trapper John Colter in 1807, Jackson takes its name from another trapper, David Jackson, who worked in the area in the 1820s and who organized summer rendezvous

Cambon, Jules

2005-03-03T22:20:00.000-08:00

Educated in law, Cambon entered the prefectorial administration after service in the Franco-German War (1870–71). In June 1878 he was

Biblical Literature, Authorship and style

2005-03-03T19:07:00.000-08:00

Apocalypticism was introduced into Asia Minor after AD 70 (the fall of Jerusalem), and c. 80–90 a prophetic circle was formed near Ephesus. Its leader was John, a prophet, who might well have been the author of Revelation, which is deeply steeped in apocalyptic traditions. The “Johannine circle” bearing the tradition of John, the Apostle of the Lord, and from which emerged the Gospel

Strambotto

2005-03-03T15:34:00.000-08:00

Plural strambotti one of the oldest Italian verse forms, composed of a single stanza of either six or eight hendecasyllabic (11-syllable) lines. Strambotti were particularly popular in Renaissance Sicily and Tuscany, and the origin of the form in either region is still uncertain. Variations of the eight-line strambotto include the Sicilian octave (ottava siciliana), with the rhyme scheme

Aydin

2005-03-03T11:26:00.000-08:00

City, southwestern Turkey, near the Menderes River (the ancient Maeander). It is an important trading centre on the Afyon-Izmir highway and rail line. Nearby is the site of ancient Tralles, said to have been founded by the Argives. Aydin was called Güzelhisar (“Beautiful Castle”) under the Turkmen Mentese emirs in the 13th century. Renamed for the 14th-century ruling dynasty of

Graziani, Rodolfo, Marquess Di Neghelli

2005-03-01T15:50:00.000-08:00

After service in Eritrea and Libya before World War I and in Macedonia and Tripolitania subsequently, Graziani became commander in chief of Italian forces in Libya (1930–34), governor of Italian Somaliland (1935–36), viceroy of Ethiopia (1936–37), and honorary governor of Italian East Africa

Deerfield Beach

2005-03-01T15:49:00.000-08:00

City, Broward county, southeastern Florida, U.S., on the Atlantic Ocean, just south of Boca Raton. The site, once a pineapple- and vegetable-growing area, was first settled about 1890; in 1896 the Florida East Coast Railway came through the community, which was named Deerfield for the deer that roamed along the Hillsboro River. It developed as a shipping centre for fruits and vegetables.

Alaska, Explorations

2005-03-01T08:16:00.000-08:00

As early as 1700, native peoples of Siberia reported the existence of a huge piece of land lying due east. An expedition appointed by the Russian tsar and led by a Danish mariner, Vitus Bering, in 1728 determined that the new land was not linked to the Russian mainland, but because of fog it failed to locate North America. On Bering's second voyage, in 1741, the peak of Mount St. Elias was sighted,

Rybinsk Reservoir

2005-02-28T13:07:00.000-08:00

Russian Rybinskoye Vodokhranilishche, large artificial body of water on the upper Volga River, northwestern Russia, formed by two dams on the Volga and its tributary, the Sheksna. The project began in 1935, the artificial lake began to form in 1941, and, when the project was completed in 1947, a lake of 1,768 square miles (4,580 square km) in area, a maximum width of 37 miles (60 km), and an average depth of 18 feet (5.6 m) had been formed. At that time, the Rybinsk

Pig Iron

2005-02-27T16:41:00.000-08:00

Crude iron obtained directly from the blast furnace and cast in molds. See cast iron.

Danewirk

2005-02-27T07:01:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Danewerk, Dannewirk , or Dannewerk , Danish Dannevirke , or Danevirke (Danes' Bulwark) the ancient frontier rampart of the Danes against the Germans, extending 10.5 miles (17 kilometres) from just south of the town of Schleswig to the marshes of the river Trene near the village of Hollingstedt. The rampart was begun about AD 808 by Godfred (Gudfred), king of Vestfold. In 934 it was penetrated by the German king Henry I, after which it was extended by King Harald I Bluetooth

Animal Behaviour

2005-02-26T15:33:00.000-08:00

A living animal behaves constantly in order to survive, and all animals must solve the same basic problems. They must, for instance, periodically replace their energy source (consume food), avoid dehydration (drink), avoid becoming another animal's energy source (avoid being eaten), maintain their body surfaces (clean and groom), and reproduce.

Jex-blake, Sophia Louisa

2005-02-26T03:01:00.000-08:00

Jex-Blake attended Queen's College, London, and then studied

Astigmatism

2005-02-25T14:55:00.000-08:00

Lack of symmetry in the curvature of the cornea or, much less commonly, of the crystalline lens (the cornea is the transparent wall of the eye in front of the pupil and iris). The uneven and unequal curvatures on these various refractive surfaces diffuse light rays and interfere with a sharp focus at a point on the retina, the light-sensitive tissue lining the back and

Vigeland, Gustav

2005-02-25T03:38:00.000-08:00

Vigeland's parents were farmers, and he was apprenticed to a wood-carver when he was 14 years old. His first work was shown in 1889, and, though early influenced by Auguste

Jewett, Sarah Orne

2005-02-24T08:06:00.000-08:00

Jewett was often taken by her physician father on visits to the fishermen and farmers of her native Maine, and she developed a deep and abiding love of their way of life and of the sights and sounds of her surroundings. These experiences, and reading in her

Alkali

2005-02-24T01:59:00.000-08:00

Any of the soluble hydroxides of the alkali metals—i.e., lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, and cesium. Alkalies are strong bases that turn litmus paper from red to blue; they react with acids to yield neutral salts; and they are caustic and in concentrated form are corrosive to organic tissues. The term alkali is also applied to the soluble hydroxides of such alkaline-earth

Jehoshaphat

2005-02-23T22:09:00.000-08:00

Also called Josaphat, Hebrew Yehoshaphat, king (c. 873–c. 849 BC) of Judah during the reigns in Israel of Ahab, Ahaziah, and Jehoram, with whom he maintained close political and economic alliances. Jehoshaphat aided Ahab in his unsuccessful attempt to recapture the city of Ramoth-gilead, joined Ahaziah in extending maritime trade, helped Jehoram in his battle with Moab, and married his son and successor, Jehoram, to Athaliah,

Alumina

2005-02-22T10:23:00.000-08:00

Alumina is made from bauxite, a naturally occurring ore containing

Affair Of The Diamond Necklace

2005-02-22T08:48:00.000-08:00

Also called Affair of the Necklace scandal at the court of Louis XVI in 1785 that discredited the French monarchy on the eve of the French Revolution. It began as an intrigue on the part of an adventuress, the comtesse (countess) de La Motte, to procure, supposedly for Queen Marie-Antoinette but in reality for herself and her associates, a diamond necklace worth 1,600,000 livres. The necklace was the property of the Parisian

Stephen Ii (or Iii)

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

He was a deacon when chosen on March 26, 752, as the second successor to Pope St. Zacharias (the first successor, Stephen II, had died on the previous day without being consecrated). The central act of his pontificate was to free the papacy from Byzantium and to ally it with the Franks

Najahid Dynasty

2005-02-21T10:33:00.000-08:00

Muslim dynasty of Ethiopian Mamluks (slaves) that ruled Yemen in the period 1022–1158 from its capital at Zabid. The Ziyadid kingdom at Zabid (819–1018) had in its final years been controlled by Mamluk viziers, the last of whom divided Yemen between two slaves, Nafis and Najah. Nafis murdered the last Ziyadid ruler in 1018, and, after several years of bitter fighting and the death of Nafis, Najah emerged victorious

Nice

2005-02-21T08:01:00.000-08:00

Founded by the Phocaeans

Arinos River

2005-02-20T09:37:00.000-08:00

Portuguese Rio Arinos, river, west-central Brazil. It rises in the Araporé Mountains northeast of Diamantino and flows west for a short distance and then north-northwest across the Mato Grosso Plateau to its junction with the Juruena River, which is a major headstream of the Tapajós River.

Hiller, Lejaren

2005-02-19T15:44:00.000-08:00

U.S. composer (b. Feb. 23, 1924, New York City--d. Jan. 26, 1994, Buffalo, N.Y.), was a pioneer in computer music. From childhood Hiller was interested in both science and music, and he pursued a dual career for much of his life. He graduated from Princeton University with degrees in chemistry (Ph.D., 1947) but also studied composition with Roger Sessions and Milton Babbitt. After a five-year stint as a research

Adams, Robert

2005-02-19T11:17:00.000-08:00

Educated at Trinity College, Dublin, Adams studied medicine in Europe and then returned to Dublin,

Najahid Dynasty

2005-02-18T22:17:00.000-08:00

Founded in 1868, the TUC held annual conferences of independent unions for the exposition of trade

Cordeiro Da Matta, Joaquim Dias

2005-02-18T20:25:00.000-08:00

Writing in Portuguese, Cordeiro da Matta, by profession a trader in wood, was

Balczó, András

2005-02-17T11:20:00.000-08:00

A strong swimmer and runner and a consistent fencer, Balczó won individual championships in 1963, 1965–67, and 1969. He also won five team championships with the Hungarian team. He was less fortunate in Olympic

Robert Ii

2005-02-17T11:05:00.000-08:00

The son of Hugh Capet, founder of the Capetian dynasty, and Adelaide of Aquitaine, Robert was educated at the episcopal school of Reims under Gerbert of Aurillac, later Pope Sylvester II. Soon after his own coronation (July 987), Hugh prudently arranged the election and coronation (December 987) of

Bahr Al-'arab

2005-02-17T02:00:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Bahr el-Arab intermittent river of southwestern Sudan, rising northeast of the Tondou (Bongo) Massif, near the border with the Central African Republic. The river flows 500 miles (800 km) east-southeast to join the Bahr al-Ghazal, a tributary of the Nile River, at Ghabat al-'Arab. It is not navigable and is subject to floods in summer.

David, Félicien-césar

2005-02-16T07:20:00.000-08:00

David was chapelmaster at the Saint-Sauveur Cathedral at Aix-en-Provence (1829) and in 1830 studied at the Paris Conservatoire. The following year he joined the socialist brotherhood of the Saint-Simonians, becoming their

Potrerillos

2005-02-15T11:38:00.000-08:00

Mining area, Atacama región, northern Chile. The open-pit copper mine lies in the Andean Atacama Desert, 9,440 feet (2,877 m) above sea level and 75 miles (120 km) inland from the port of Chañaral, to which it is linked by rail. Although the deposits are smaller and the ores of poorer quality than at Chuquicamata, the mine and smelter at Potrerillos contribute a substantial portion of Chile's

Surabaya

2005-02-15T03:28:00.000-08:00

Surabaya has been the chief trading centre of eastern Java since the 14th century.

Brú, Hedin

2005-02-14T21:09:00.000-08:00

At the age of 14 Brú worked as a fisherman. He spent much of the 1920s studying agriculture in Denmark, and from 1928 he was an agricultural adviser to the Faroese government. His first two novels, Longbrá (1930; “Mirage”) and Fastatøkur (1937; “Firm Grip”), dramatize the

Audley (of Walden), Thomas Audley, Baron

2005-02-14T14:10:00.000-08:00

Trained in law, Audley rose in politics to become speaker of the House of Commons in 1529. Because

Team Handball

2005-02-13T14:37:00.000-08:00

A game consists of two 30-minute halves with an intermission,

Gabon, History Of

2005-02-13T13:44:00.000-08:00

By 1800 the British were becoming the leading traders in manufactures throughout the Gulf of Guinea. After 1815 the French sought to compete more actively in the commercial sphere and to join Britain in combating the slave trade. To these ends, Captain Édouard Bouët-Willaumez negotiated treaties with the heads of two Mpongwe clans, King Denis (Antchouwe Kowe Rapontchombo)

Soil Organism

2005-02-12T08:15:00.000-08:00

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

Biblical Literature, The modern period

2005-02-12T04:38:00.000-08:00

Following a line marked out earlier by the Spanish philosopher and poet Moses ibn Ezra (1060–1139), Benedict de Spinoza (1632–77) put forward a thoroughgoing reappraisal of the traditional account of the origin of the Pentateuch in his Tractatus Theologico-Politicus (1679). In the following century the Jewish Enlightenment (Haskala) brought a fresh appreciation of the Bible as literature.

Celestial Sphere

2005-02-11T14:31:00.000-08:00

The apparent surface of the heavens, on which the stars seem to be fixed. For the purpose of establishing coordinate systems to mark the positions of heavenly bodies, it can be considered a real sphere at an infinite distance from the Earth. The Earth's axis, extended to infinity, touches this sphere at the north and south celestial poles, around which the heavens seem

Jewfish

2005-02-10T08:17:00.000-08:00

Any of several large fishes of the sea bass (q.v.) family (Serranidae), especially Epinephelus itajara, found on the Atlantic coast of tropical America. This species sometimes attains a length of 2.5 metres (8 feet) and a weight of about 320 kilograms (700 pounds). The adult is dull olive-brown with faint spots and bands. Adult jewfish are usually solitary and typically remain in the same

Marinid Dynasty,

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

The Marinids were a tribe of the Zanatah group—traditional allies of the Umayyad caliphs of Córdoba. The Marinids had been established in eastern Morocco for more than a century when, in 1248, their ruler, Abu Yahya, captured Fez (Fès) and made it the

Reform Bill

2005-02-10T00:45:00.000-08:00

Any of the British parliamentary bills that became acts in 1832, 1867, and 1884–85 and that expanded the electorate for the House of Commons and rationalized the representation of that body. The first Reform Bill primarily served to transfer voting privileges from the small boroughs controlled by the nobility and gentry to the heavily populated industrial towns. The two subsequent

Linus

2005-02-09T21:21:00.000-08:00

According to the Argive story, Linus, child of Apollo (god of light, truth, and prophecy) and Psamathe (daughter of Crotopus, king of Argos),