HardSkirt

Ren Essential Moroccan Rose Oil

2006-12-07T14:00:00.000-08:00

This is one of the most amazing natural bath oils I have used. It is a rich, sensuous and luxurious. Only a small amount of the Moroccan Otto Rose Oil in the bath will fill the room with this incredible smell. This rose oil really penetrates the skin during the bath leaving it soft as silk and with the beatiful scent of the rose oil

Belaúnde Terry, Fernando

2005-04-04T22:06:00.000-07:00

Belaúnde, a member of a distinguished aristocratic Peruvian family, studied architecture in the United States and France in 1924–35 and practiced briefly in Mexico before returning in 1936 to Peru, where he became a noted architect

Avoidance Relationship

2005-04-04T02:51:00.000-07:00

In human societies, the institutionalized, formal avoidance of one individual by another, usually involving persons of opposite sexes standing in definite kinship relationship to one another. A classic example—and one found in numerous and diverse societies—is the culturally prescribed avoidance of a mother-in-law by her son-in-law. Similar patterns of avoidance

Minangkabau

2005-04-04T00:57:00.000-07:00

Malay Urang Padang (People of Padang) largest ethnic group on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia, whose traditional homeland is the west central highlands. Their numbers have been variously estimated at between 2,000,000 and 5,000,000. Although Muslim, the Minangkabau are matrilineal—i.e., they trace descent and inheritance through the female line. Traditionally, the wife remained with her maternal relatives after marriage,

Costa Mesa

2005-04-02T18:33:00.000-08:00

City, Orange county, southern California, U.S., on a coastal plateau overlooking the Pacific, at the mouth of the Santa Ana River. With Newport Beach it forms Orange county's “Harbor Area.” The site, once part of Rancho Santiago de Santa Ana and the Irvine Ranch, became the hot springs resort of Fairview. Laid out as the town of Harper in 1906, it was renamed in 1921 for its coastal location.

Guacanayabo, Gulf Of

2005-04-02T01:43:00.000-08:00

Spanish Golfo De Guacanayabo, inlet of the Caribbean Sea, southeastern Cuba. The gulf stretches in a broad horseshoe shape from the southern coast of Camagüey province approximately 70 mi (110 km) to the southwestern shore of Granma province, north of Cabo (cape) Cruz. It is shallow and dotted with coral reefs, and the Gran Banco de Buena Esperanza surfaces in the central portion of the gulf, at the head of

Russell (of Killowen), Charles Russell, Baron

2005-04-01T14:39:00.000-08:00

Russell practiced law in Ireland from 1854 and in England (usually at Liverpool) from 1859. In 1872 he was appointed a queen's counsel. A Liberal Party member of the House of Commons

Stage Design, Classical theatrical costume

2005-03-31T22:35:00.000-08:00

Theatrical costumes were an innovation of Thespis, in Greece in the 6th century BC, and theatrical costumes are still called “the robes of Thespis.” Athenians spent lavishly on the production and costumes at the annual drama contests since each poet was given a wealthy citizen, the choregos, who, encouraged by the honour of a separate state impresario's prize, tended to make

Fish Processing, Vitamins and minerals

2005-03-31T19:09:00.000-08:00

Fish provide a number of important vitamins and minerals to the diet. They are a good source of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K and the B vitamins riboflavin, niacin, and thiamine. The mineral content includes calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and iron.

Tiglath-pileser Ii

2005-03-31T18:00:00.000-08:00

King of Assyria (c. 965–c. 932 BC). He apparently ruled effectively, as a successor addressed him by a title reserved for mighty monarchs. Otherwise, little is known of the period other than that Assyria was beginning to emerge from its collapse of a century before.

Eimeria

2005-03-29T03:18:00.000-08:00

Genus of parasitic protozoans of the spore-producing phylum Apicomplexa (previously Sporozoa). Eimeria, which causes coccidiosis in livestock and wild animals, infects mainly the cells of the digestive tract, although it also attacks cells of the liver and the bile duct. Symptoms of infection are diarrhea, weight loss, and general weakness. Eimeria is characterized

Abramov, Fyodor

2005-03-29T02:14:00.000-08:00

Of peasant ancestry, Abramov studied at Leningrad State University, interrupting his schooling to serve as a soldier

Tlaxcala

2005-03-28T20:22:00.000-08:00

Inland plateau estado (“state”), central Mexico, bordered by the states of Puebla on the northeast, east, and south; by México on the west; and by Hidalgo on the northwest. The smallest Mexican state, its 1,551-square-mile (4,016-square-kilometre) territory has a mean elevation of 7,000 feet (2,100 m) and a cool, healthful climate, but frequent winter frosts are injurious to local agriculture. The state

Arts, South Asian, Gupta period: central India

2005-03-27T20:15:00.000-08:00

In addition to the major schools of Sarnath and Mathura, important sculpture of the 5th and 6th centuries is found at several sites in central India. The sculptures here are often in their original locations, surviving not as isolated images torn from their architectural context but in association with the temples of which they formed a part. At Udayagiri, near Vidisa, are

Alligator Apple

2005-03-27T18:21:00.000-08:00

Fruit tree of tropical America valued for its wood. See custard apple.

Suckling, Sir John

2005-03-27T08:05:00.000-08:00

He was educated at Cambridge and inherited his father's considerable estates at the age of 18. He entered Gray's Inn in 1627 and was knighted in 1630. He became a prominent figure at court with a reputation for being “the greatest gallant of his time, and the greatest

Bonapartist

2005-03-25T07:51:00.000-08:00

After Napoleon I's abdication (1814), many of his followers

Robards, Jason

2005-03-25T06:01:00.000-08:00

Because of the bitterness and disillusionment expressed by his father, onetime stage and film leading man Jason Robards, Sr. (1892–1963), the younger Robards avoided acting

Fabergé, Peter Carl

2005-03-24T21:50:00.000-08:00

Of Huguenot descent, Fabergé was educated in Germany, Italy, France, and England. His father had by 1842 established himself in St. Petersburg as a jeweler, dealing also in fine decorative objects, a tradition Peter Carl continued after inheriting

Ma, Yo-yo

2005-03-23T01:44:00.000-08:00

Born to Chinese parents, Ma was a child prodigy and at age five gave his first public recital. He later moved to New York

Aguesseau, Henri-françois D'

2005-03-22T16:30:00.000-08:00

The son of Henri d'Aguesseau, intendant (royal agent) of Languedoc, he was advocate general to the Parlement (high court of justice) of Paris from 1690 until 1700. As attorney general in that Parlement from 1700 to 1717, he opposed papal intervention

Silicic Acid

2005-03-22T13:50:00.000-08:00

A compound of silicon, oxygen, and hydrogen, regarded as the parent substance from which is derived a large family—the silicates—of minerals, salts, and esters. The acid itself, having the formula Si(OH)4, can be prepared only as an unstable solution in water; its molecules readily condense with one another to form water and polymeric chains, rings, sheets, or three-dimensional

Tectonic Basins And Rift Valleys

2005-03-21T04:09:00.000-08:00

Landforms characterized by relatively steep, mountainous sides and flat floors. The steep sides are created by displacement on faults such that the valley floor moves down relative to the surrounding margins, or, conversely, the margins move up relative to the floor. Differences in the elevations of valley floors and surrounding mountains or plateaus range from

Ambergris

2005-03-20T23:50:00.000-08:00

A solid waxy substance originating in the intestine of the sperm whale (Physeter catodon). In Eastern cultures ambergris is used for medicines and potions and as a spice; in the West it was used to stabilize the scent of fine perfumes. Ambergris floats and washes ashore most frequently on the coasts of China, Japan, Africa, and the Americas and on tropical islands such

Smith, Adam

2005-03-20T14:32:00.000-08:00

After two centuries, Adam Smith remains a towering figure in the history of economic thought. Known primarily for a single work, An Inquiry into the nature and causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776), the first comprehensive system of political economy, Smith is more properly

Gadsden, James

2005-03-19T04:02:00.000-08:00

He graduated from Yale College in 1806 and engaged in business in his native city until 1812, when he was appointed a lieutenant of engineers in the U.S. Army. In 1820 he was made responsible for the establishment of military posts in Florida and supervised

Rus

2005-03-18T15:47:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ros ancient people who gave their name to the land of Russia. Their origin and identity are much in dispute. Traditional Western scholars believe them to be Scandinavian Vikings, an offshoot of the Varangians, who moved southward from the Baltic coast and founded the first consolidated state among the eastern Slavs, centring on Kiev. Russian scholars, along with some

Carbine

2005-03-18T07:47:00.000-08:00

Light, short-barrelled musket or rifle. The word, the source of which is obscure, seems to have originated in the late or mid-16th century. The carbine, in various versions corresponding to the different full-sized military arms, was chiefly a cavalry weapon until the 18th century. Then some unmounted officers, artillerymen, and other specialists began to carry carbines.

Valenciennes

2005-03-18T04:19:00.000-08:00

The town flourished under the counts

Scaliger, Joseph Justus

2005-03-17T20:09:00.000-08:00

The son of an Italian physician and philosopher, Julius Caesar Scaliger, who immigrated to Agen in 1525, the young Joseph entered school at Bordeaux and

Alabama, The economy

2005-03-17T09:50:00.000-08:00

Among the 50 states, the relative status of Alabama may be indicated by its income per capita: it has ranked close to the bottom of the economic scale for a number of years. This low status results, in part, from the depressed state of agriculture, which employs a large segment of the population. Rural poverty thus drags down the state average, concealing more promising developments

Australian Ballet

2005-03-16T11:52:00.000-08:00

Peggy van Praagh was the first artistic director (1962–74). Since 1965 the company has made periodic tours

Babuyan Islands

2005-03-15T23:24:00.000-08:00

Island group of the Philippines that is a northerly extension of the Philippine archipelago. The Babuyan Islands lie in the Luzon Strait, south of the Batan Islands and Balintang Channel. They lie 20 miles (32 km) north of Luzon across the Babuyan Channel. With a total area of 230 square miles (600 square km), they comprise 24 volcanic-coralline islands, the chief of which are Babuyan,

Carnivore, Distinguishing taxonomic features

2005-03-15T21:06:00.000-08:00

The characteristics used to separate the Carnivora from other mammalian orders and to define the subdivisions of the Carnivora are primarily structural. Of great importance are certain features of the skull (the type of

Bridgeport

2005-03-15T07:07:00.000-08:00

City, coextensive with the town (township) of Bridgeport, Fairfield county, southwestern Connecticut, U.S. The city, the most populous in the state, is a port on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Pequonnock River. Settled in 1639, it was first known as Newfield and later as Stratfield. In 1800 it was incorporated as a borough and named Bridgeport for the first drawbridge over the

Ying-k'ou

2005-03-14T03:35:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Yingkou , conventional Newchwang city and port in Liaoning sheng (province), China. Ying-k'ou is situated near the mouth of the Hun River, some 11 miles (18 km) from the mouth of the Liao River. Ying-k'ou began to develop as a river port in the second quarter of the 19th century, replacing Niu-chuang and T'ien-chuang-t'ai farther upstream. At first the new port was called Mo-kou-ying (Mo-kou Encampment) after the garrison of

Water Lily

2005-03-13T04:59:00.000-08:00

Any of the freshwater plants of the family Nymphaeaceae, comprising eight genera native to the temperate and tropical parts of the world. All members of the family are perennial except for the genus Euryale, an annual or short-lived perennial found only in Asia. Most species of water lilies have rounded, floating, waxy-coated leaves on long stalks that contain

Liguori, Saint Alfonso Maria De'

2005-03-12T21:46:00.000-08:00

After practicing law for eight years, he was ordained

Wellington

2005-03-12T20:16:00.000-08:00

Capital city, port, and major commercial centre of New Zealand, located in the extreme south of North Island. It lies on the shores and hills surrounding Port Nicholson, an almost landlocked bay that is ranked among the world's finest harbours. Mount Victoria rises 643 feet (196 metres) near the centre of the city. Wellington is in a fault zone and has survived several

Heinse, (johann Jakob) Wilhelm

2005-03-12T04:31:00.000-08:00

A law student at Erfurt, Heinse met the Romantic writer Christoph

Eastern Orthodoxy, Attempts at ecclesiastical union and theological renaissance

2005-03-11T20:31:00.000-08:00

In 1261 the Nicaean emperor Michael Palaeologus recaptured Constantinople from the Latins, and an Orthodox patriarch again occupied the see in Hagia Sophia. From 1261 to 1453 the Palaeologan dynasty presided over an empire that was embattled from every side, torn apart by civil wars, and gradually shrinking to the very limits of the imperial city itself. The church, meanwhile,

Tiwi

2005-03-11T15:42:00.000-08:00

Resort town, southeastern Luzon, Philippines. It is situated along Lagonoy Gulf of the Philippine Sea. The town lies in a bed of volcanic vents over an active geothermal area; through the vents, sulfurous live steam pours continuously. Tiwi Hot Springs National Park is nearby; there tourists can boil food in the steaming water. There are local handicraft industries

Liquid

2005-03-10T07:36:00.000-08:00

In physics, one of the three principal states of matter, intermediate between gas and crystalline solid.

France, History Of, Financial crisis

2005-03-10T05:01:00.000-08:00

The aftermath of the Ruhr occupation was to cast doubt on its apparent success. The German republic was weakened by the runaway inflation of 1923 and its future clouded; the occupation had embittered Britain and the United States. Even among Frenchmen, the victory had left a sour aftertaste because the costs of the occupation forced an increase in French taxes. In the

Husayn Shah 'ala' Ad-din

2005-03-09T20:41:00.000-08:00

The details of 'Ala' ad-Din's early life are obscured by myth and legend. His father is said to have been a direct descendant of the prophet Muhammad and an Arab who emigrated to Bengal. After completing his studies,

Cramer's Rule

2005-03-09T05:36:00.000-08:00

In which det A is the determinant of the matrix A (in which the elements of each row are the coefficients

Agnesi, Maria Gaetana

2005-03-08T20:46:00.000-08:00

Agnesi was the eldest child of a wealthy silk merchant who provided her with the best tutors available. She was an extremely precocious child who mastered Latin, Greek,

Alba Longa

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

Ancient city of Latium, Italy, in the Alban Hills about 12 miles (19 km) southeast of Rome, near present Castel Gandolfo. Tradition attributes its founding (c. 1152 BC) to Ascanius, the son of the legendary Aeneas, thus making it, according to legend at least, the oldest Latin city, which in turn founded others, including Rome. Excavations have revealed cemeteries that date to the 10th century

Strafford

2005-03-07T15:43:00.000-08:00

County, southeastern New Hampshire, U.S., bounded to the east by Maine and to the southeast by Little and Great bays; the Salmon Falls and Piscataqua rivers constitute the boundary with Maine. It comprises a lowland region that rises toward the northwest. The Cocheco River supplies hydroelectric power to the county. Among other waterways are the Lamprey, Isinglass,

Vries, Adriaen De

2005-03-07T04:22:00.000-08:00

De Vries left his homeland, where there was little interest in sculpture at the time, and he never returned. In Florence he studied under Giambologna, the leading Italian Mannerist sculptor of his day. De Vries lived for a time in Rome and later worked for Charles Emmanuel, duke of Savoy, and as court sculptor

West Bridgford

2005-03-06T22:41:00.000-08:00

Town, Rushcliffe district, administrative and historic county of Nottinghamshire, England. The town now functions largely as a residential suburb of Nottingham, which lies just to the northwest. West Bridgford's parish church was built in the 14th century. There is some modern light industry in the town. Trent Bridge cricket ground (one of England's most famous) and Nottinghamshire's

Casualty Insurance

2005-03-06T14:01:00.000-08:00

Liability insurance contracts may cover liability arising out of the use of an automobile, the operation of a business, professional negligence

Jazz

2005-03-05T04:07:00.000-08:00

In spite of the wide dissemination and geographic distribution of these diverse musical traditions, New Orleans was where a distinctive, coherent jazz style evolved. Between 1910 and 1915 a systematization of instrumental functions within an essentially collective ensemble took shape, as did a regularization of the repertory. Despite the fact that a limited set of instruments

Baptistery

2005-03-05T02:04:00.000-08:00

Hall or chapel situated close to, or connected with, a church, in which the sacrament of baptism is administered. The form of the baptistery originally evolved from small, circular Roman buildings that were designated for religious purposes (e.g., the Temple of Venus, Baalbek, Lebanon, AD 273, and the Mausoleum of Diocletian, Spalato [Split, Croatia], AD 300); but because baptism originally

Allan, Sir Hugh

2005-03-04T19:38:00.000-08:00

Allan emigrated to Canada in 1826 and in 1831 began work for a shipbuilding company in Montreal. By 1839 he was a senior partner, and by 1853 he and his brother

Hirah, Al-

2005-03-04T00:25:00.000-08:00

(from Syriac hirta, “camp”), English Hira, ancient city located south of al-Kufah in south-central Iraq; it was prominent in pre-Islamic Arab history. The town was originally a military encampment, but in the 5th and 6th centuries AD it was the capital of the Lakhmids, who were Arab vassals of Sasanian Persia (Iran). As such it was a centre of diplomatic, political, and military activities

Greasewood

2005-03-03T19:25:00.000-08:00

The name greasewood

Yoro

2005-03-03T15:05:00.000-08:00

City, northwestern Honduras. Situated in the highlands at an elevation of 1,837 feet (559 m), it is located near the headwaters of the Aguán River. Although its founding date is uncertain, it was first mentioned in 1684. It is now a commercial and manufacturing centre in a fertile agricultural area. Coffee, tobacco, livestock, and timber are the principal products of the region. In the

Châteauroux, Marie-anne De Mailly-nesle, Duchess (duchesse) De

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

The fifth daughter of Louis de Mailly, Marquis de Nesle, Marie-Anne was married in 1734 to the Marquis de La Tournelle, who died in 1740. Her eldest sister, Louise-Julie, Countess de Mailly, had been Louis XV's mistress from

Irish Sweepstakes

2005-03-02T11:29:00.000-08:00

In full Irish Hospitals' Sweepstakes one of the largest lotteries promoted internationally; it was authorized by the Irish government in 1930 to benefit Irish hospitals. A private trust was formed to run the lottery and market tickets throughout the world. During the 57 years of its existence, the contest derived more revenue from the United States than from any other country, although all the tickets were

Cloister

2005-02-28T23:26:00.000-08:00

Quadrilateral enclosure surrounded by covered walkways, and usually attached to a monastic or cathedral church and sometimes to a college. The term used in a narrow sense also applies to the walkways or alleys themselves (the central area being the cloister garth), in a general sense to the houses of religious orders, and in a generic sense to places of retreat for

Houdon, Jean-antoine

2005-02-28T19:26:00.000-08:00

Houdon began sculpturing at the age of nine and underwent the

Manuel I

2005-02-28T13:03:00.000-08:00

Manuel was fortunate to have reigned at all;

Visconti, Luchino

2005-02-28T10:55:00.000-08:00

In full Don Luchino Visconti, Conte (count) Di Modrone Italian motion-picture director whose realistic treatment of individuals caught in the conflicts of modern society contributed significantly to the post-World War II revolution in Italian filmmaking and earned him the title of father of Neorealism. He also established himself as an innovative theatrical and opera director in the years

Colatina

2005-02-27T00:41:00.000-08:00

City, central Espírito Santo state, eastern Brazil, on the Rio Doce, 60 mi (100 km) from its mouth on the Atlantic coast, at 131 ft (40 m) above sea level. Given city status in 1921, Colatina is a transportation, trade, and manufacturing centre. Its hinterland is the state's most important agricultural region and one of Brazil's largest coffee-producing areas. There is also lumbering. The bridge

Ray

2005-02-26T20:53:00.000-08:00

Rays are distinguished from sharks by a flattened, disklike body, with the five gill openings and the mouth generally located on the underside. Rays are further distinguished from sharks by their greatly

Amphibian, Adaptations

2005-02-26T20:39:00.000-08:00

The amphibian eye has a lid, associated glands and ducts, and muscles that allow accommodation as well as depth perception and true colour vision. These adaptations are regarded as the first evolutionary improvements in vertebrate terrestrial vision. Green rods in the retina, which permit perception of a wide range of wavelengths, are found only in amphibians.

Falkland Current

2005-02-26T01:33:00.000-08:00

Branch of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in the Southern Hemisphere, flowing northward in the South Atlantic Ocean along the east coast of Argentina to about latitude 30° to 40° S, where it is deflected eastward after meeting the southward-flowing Brazil Current. Characterized by cold temperatures varying from 41° to 66° F (5° to 19° C), the current has a relatively low salinity averaging

Field, Nathan

2005-02-24T22:32:00.000-08:00

Field attended St. Paul's School, London, and about 1600 became a member of the Children of the Queen's Revels, remaining with this theatre company throughout its various changes of name and composition until 1616–17, when he joined the King's Men, possibly to replace Shakespeare as actor.

Saramacca

2005-02-24T13:31:00.000-08:00

Creole language, based on English, spoken by Bush Negroes in the Guianas. See Sranantonga.

Deng Xiaoping

2005-02-24T11:04:00.000-08:00

The son of a landowner, Deng studied in France (1921–24), where he

Distillation

2005-02-24T02:10:00.000-08:00

Process involving the conversion of a liquid into vapour that is subsequently condensed back to liquid form. It is exemplified at its simplest when steam from a kettle becomes deposited as drops of distilled water on a cold surface. Distillation is used to separate liquids from nonvolatile solids, as in the separation of alcoholic liquors from fermented materials,

Tibet, The arts

2005-02-23T06:12:00.000-08:00

Tibet is most renowned for its religious scroll paintings (tankas, or thang-ka), metal images, and wooden block prints. There are three categories of images—representing the peaceful, moderate, and angry deities—and three schools of painting—the Sman-thang, Gong-dkar Mkhan-bris, and Kar-ma sgar-bris—which are differentiated by colour tones and depicted facial

Einstein, Alfred

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

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

Interferon

2005-02-22T04:40:00.000-08:00

Interferon was named for its ability to interfere with viral proliferation. The various forms of interferon are the body's most rapidly produced and important defense against viruses. Interferons can also

Alkan, Valentin

2005-02-21T01:17:00.000-08:00

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

Han River

2005-02-21T00:13:00.000-08:00

Korean Han-gang river, northern South Korea, rising in the western slopes of the T'aebaek-sanmaek (mountains) and flowing generally westward across the peninsula through the provinces of Kangwon, Kyonggi, and North Ch'ungch'ong and through the city of Seoul to the Yellow Sea. Of its 319-mile (514-kilometre) length, 200 miles (320 km) are navigable, and it has been a valuable river transportation route since

Race

2005-02-20T20:40:00.000-08:00

Although they are easily and often confused, race and racism must be distinguished from ethnicity and ethnocentrism. While extreme ethnocentrism may take the same offensive form and may have the same dire consequences as extreme racism, there are significant differences between the two concepts. Ethnicity, which relates to culturally contingent features,

Exterminator

2005-02-20T04:25:00.000-08:00

Byname Old Bones (foaled 1915), American racehorse (Thoroughbred), a dependable and durable horse who won 50 of 100 races in eight seasons. Because of the length of his career and his extraordinary ability to win sprints and long-distance races under heavy weights, some horsemen considered him superior to Man o' War, his greatest contemporary and doubtless the fastest American horse of the time.

Cáceres

2005-02-19T17:01:00.000-08:00

Provincia of the Extremadura comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”), western Spain, bordering Portugal on the west. The Tagus River runs through the province. Conquered by Alfonso IX from the Moors in 1229, it became part of the kingdom of Leon and was made a province of Spain in 1833. Mountainous areas in the extreme north and south are formed by the Central and Toledo mountains,

Karagöz

2005-02-19T02:07:00.000-08:00

(Turkish: “Black Eyes,” or “Gypsy”), type of Turkish shadow play, named for its stock hero, Karagöz. The comically risqué plays are improvised from scenarios for local audiences in private homes, coffee shops, public squares, and innyards. The Karagöz play apparently was highly developed in Turkey by the 16th century and was adapted in Greece and North Africa. In the 20th century,

Wilhelmina

2005-02-18T16:24:00.000-08:00

The daughter of King William III and his second wife, Emma of Waldeck-Pyrmont, Wilhelmina became queen on her father's death (Nov. 23, 1890) under her mother's regency. She

Cospicua

2005-02-18T14:35:00.000-08:00

Town, eastern Malta, one of the Three Cities (the others being Senglea and Vittoriosa), at the head of Dockyard Creek, just south of Valletta across Grand Harbour. It developed as a suburb of Vittoriosa in the mid-16th century and was a thriving settlement (known as Bormla) before it was severely damaged by the Turks in the Great Siege of Malta in 1565. It was rebuilt and refortified

China, General works

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

Overviews of China's physical and human geography may be found in Keith Buchanan, The Transformation of the Chinese Earth (1970); Ping-chia Kuo, China, 3rd ed. (1970); T.R. Tregear, China: A Geographical Survey (1980); Albert Kolb, East Asia: China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam: Geography of a Cultural Region (1971, reprinted 1977; originally published in German, 1963); Brian Hook (ed.), The Cambridge Encyclopedia of China (1982); Robert L. Worden, Andrea Matles Savada, and Ronald E. Dolan (eds.), China, a Country Study, 4th ed. (1988); and Information China, 3 vol. (1989), an encyclopaedic work prepared under the auspices of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and ed. by C.V. James.

May, Phil

2005-02-17T13:57:00.000-08:00

His father, an engineer, died when May was nine years old. Three years later he began to earn his living; he worked as a timekeeper in a foundry, as a jockey, and then on the stage.

Amazonas

2005-02-17T09:37:00.000-08:00

Estado (“state”), southern Venezuela. It is bounded on the north by the state of Bolívar, on the east and south by Brazil, and on the west by Colombia. The large but sparsely populated state lies within the drainage basins of the Orinoco River, which rises near the Brazilian border, and the Negro River, which is a northern tributary of the Amazon. Near the centre of the territory

Steel, Argon-oxygen decarburization

2005-02-16T10:52:00.000-08:00

In the production of stainless steel and other high-alloy grades that contain highly oxidizable elements such as chromium, lowering the levels of carbon by regular oxygen injection has the undesirable consequence of oxidizing the alloying elements as well. The argon-oxygen decarburization (AOD) process alleviates this problem by diluting the injected oxygen

Macdonough, Thomas

2005-02-15T19:23:00.000-08:00

Entering the navy as a midshipman in 1800, Macdonough saw service during the U.S. war with Tripoli (1801–05). When war broke out with England, his major assignment

Peter, Apocalypse Of

2005-02-15T18:20:00.000-08:00

Also called Revelation To Peter, pseudepigraphal (noncanonical and unauthentic) Christian writing dating from the first half of the 2nd century AD. The unknown author, who claimed to be Peter the Apostle, relied on the canonical Gospels and on Revelation to John to construct a conversation between himself and Jesus regarding events at the end of the world. Unlike Revelation to John, however, the Apocalypse

Szymborska, Wislawa

2005-02-14T00:02:00.000-08:00

Szymborska's father was the steward on a count's family estate. When she was eight, the family moved to Kraków, and she attended high school there. Between 1945 and 1948 she studied literature and sociology

Henze, Hans Werner

2005-02-13T23:08:00.000-08:00

Henze was a pupil of the noted German composer Wolfgang Fortner and of René Leibowitz, the leading French composer of 12-tone music. One of Henze's early works, the Violin Concerto (1947), demonstrated his mastery

Rábida Island

2005-02-13T20:52:00.000-08:00

Also called Jervis Island, one of the Galápagos Islands, in the eastern Pacific Ocean, about 600 miles (965 km) west of Ecuador. The island has an area of about 1 square mile (3 square km) and is studded with several small volcanic craters. Originally named for the 18th-century British admiral John Jervis, Earl of St. Vincent, the island's official Ecuadorian name is Isla Rábida. Rábida has a lagoon and a flamingo

Ecloga

2005-02-13T11:37:00.000-08:00

Leo issued the law code in Greek instead of the traditional Latin, so that it could be understood by more people and utilized by judges

Sevastopol, Siege Of

2005-02-11T22:05:00.000-08:00

(Oct. 17, 1854–Sept. 11, 1855), the major operation of the Crimean War (1853–56), in which 50,000 British and French troops (joined by 10,000 Piedmontese troops during 1855), commanded by Lord Raglan and Gen. François Canrobert, besieged and finally captured the main naval base of the Russian Black Sea fleet. Sevastopol's defenses had been built by the military engineer Colonel Eduard Totleben, and the Russian troops

Coleman, James S(amuel)

2005-02-11T11:50:00.000-08:00

Coleman received his B.S. from Purdue University (1949) and his Ph.D. from Columbia University (1955), where he was a research associate in the Bureau of Applied Social Research (1953–55). While there he was influenced by the style

Tallchief, Marjorie

2005-02-11T05:50:00.000-08:00

Born in a town on an Osage Indian reservation in Oklahoma, Marjorie and her sister Maria were of Osage and Scotch-Irish descent. Both sisters began dancing as children and later studied with Bronislava Nijinska and David Lichine,

Torcy, Jean-baptiste Colbert, Marquis De

2005-02-10T05:06:00.000-08:00

The son of Charles Colbert, minister of foreign affairs, Torcy was a brilliant student, earning a law degree (1683) at so young an age that he needed special dispensation to receive it. His father initiated him into the art of diplomacy, and the

Mikan, George

2005-02-08T15:27:00.000-08:00

Mikan received his undergraduate and legal education at

Bukhari, Al-

2005-02-08T11:44:00.000-08:00

In full Abu 'abd Allah Muhammad Ibn Isma'il Al-bukhari one of the greatest Muslim compilers and scholars of Hadith (the recorded corpus of the sayings and acts of the Prophet Muhammad). His chief work is accepted by Sunnite Muslims—i.e., those following the majority tradition—as second only to the Qur'an as both a source of religious law and a sacred

Beveridge, Albert J.

2005-02-08T07:57:00.000-08:00

Beveridge was admitted to the Indiana bar in 1887 and began the practice of law in Indianapolis. He first attracted national attention by his eloquent speeches defending the increasing power of the federal government and advocating U.S. territorial expansion overseas. In 1899 he was elected