NormalTree

organic cotton goods

2006-10-30T07:50:00.000-08:00

Liv organic cotton goods are soft luxurious nad affordable and they have a huge range of organic clothing.

Paustovsky, Konstantin Georgiyevich

2005-04-03T14:43:00.000-07:00

A descendant of Ukrainian Cossacks, Paustovsky attended school in Kiev, St. Petersburg, and Odessa. Before he began to write, he worked at various jobs; he also traveled a good deal, both in

Catalyst Poison

2005-04-03T14:40:00.000-07:00

Substance that reduces the effectiveness of a catalyst in a chemical reaction. In theory, because catalysts are not consumed in chemical reactions, they can be used repeatedly over an indefinite period of time. In practice, however, poisons, which come from the reacting substances or products of the reaction itself, accumulate on the surface of solid catalysts and

Medicine, Russia

2005-04-03T04:09:00.000-07:00

Teams of physicians with experience in varying specialties work from polyclinics or outpatient

Hood River

2005-04-02T20:22:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1908) of Hood River county, northern Oregon, U.S., on the Columbia River, there bridged to White Salmon, Washington, 60 miles (97 km) northeast of Portland. It lies at the mouth of the Hood River, which was named for British Admiral Lord Hood. Settled in 1854, and platted in 1881, the city began to develop after the railroad arrived in the 1880s. Vast acreages of land were planted in orchards in

Chandrapur

2005-04-02T02:06:00.000-08:00

Located on major rail and road routes,

Manawatu River

2005-04-01T22:36:00.000-08:00

River, in south-central North Island, New Zealand, rising on the east slopes of the Ruahine Range. The river, 113 miles (182 km) long, flows west and southwest for 30 miles (48 km) to Woodville and turns sharply northwest to pass between the Ruahine and Tararua ranges through the 4-mile- (6.4-kilometre-) long Manawatu Gorge. Emerging from the gorge at Ashhurst, the river runs southwest past Palmerston

Strålsund Faience

2005-03-31T23:28:00.000-08:00

Tin-glazed earthenware made at Strålsund, Swed. (now Stralsund, Ger.), from around 1755 to 1792. The factory was founded by Johann Ulrich Giese, who leased it to Johann Eberhard Ludwig Ehrenreich. The latter had founded a faience factory at Marieberg in Sweden, and the products of Strålsund differ little from Marieberg ware. All-white vases, decorated with naturalistic flowers

Korolyov, Sergey Pavlovich

2005-03-30T19:29:00.000-08:00

Korolyov was educated at the Odessa Building Trades School, the Kiev Polytechnic Institute, and the Moscow N.E. Bauman Higher Technical School, where he studied aeronautical engineering under the celebrated designers Nikolay Yegorovich Zhukovsky and Andrey

Stair-step Moss

2005-03-30T08:57:00.000-08:00

(Hylocomium splendens), plant of the order Bryales that covers areas of coniferous forest floor of the Northern Hemisphere and also occurs on dunes, ledges, and tundra. The fernlike shoots have many branches and reddish, glossy caulids (stems) with phyllids (leaves) up to 3 mm (0.12 inch) long. The capsules (spore cases) of the female plant are borne on setae (stalks) about 2 cm (0.8 inch)

Jackson, Andrew

2005-03-29T14:12:00.000-08:00

Jackson's interest in public affairs and in politics had always been keen. He had gone to Nashville as a political appointee, and in 1796 he became a member of the convention that drafted a constitution for the new state of Tennessee. In the same year he was elected as the first representative from Tennessee to the U.S. House of Representatives. An undistinguished legislator, he refused to seek reelection and served only until March 4, 1797. Jackson returned to Tennessee, vowing never to enter public life again, but before the end of the year he was elected to the U.S. Senate. His willingness to accept the office reflects his emergence as an acknowledged leader of one of the two political factions contending for control of the state. Nevertheless, Jackson resigned from the Senate in 1798 after an uneventful year. Soon after his return to Nashville he was elected a judge of the superior court (in effect, the supreme court) of the state and served in that post until 1804. In 1802 Jackson had also been elected major general of the Tennessee militia, a position he still held when the War of 1812 opened the door to a command in the field and a hero's role.

Nyoro

2005-03-29T08:59:00.000-08:00

In precolonial times, the Nyoro formed one of the most powerful of a number of kingdoms in the area. Until the 18th century the Bunyoro kingdom, as it is called, dominated the surrounding peoples, holding an empire over much

Tallit

2005-03-28T10:27:00.000-08:00

Rectangular in shape, the wool (or sometimes silk) shawl has black or blue stripes with fringes (tzitzit) affixed to

Tsimlyansk Reservoir

2005-03-27T07:21:00.000-08:00

Russian Tsimlyanskoye Vodokhranilishche, reservoir created by a giant barrage (dam) at the great bend of the Don River, near the town of Tsimlyansk in Rostov oblast (province), southern Russia. The reservoir, about 160 miles (257 kilometres) long, was constructed in 1950–51 in connection with the building of the Volga-Don Shipping Canal. It provides hydroelectric power and irrigation water for the extensive vineyards and market

Locke, Alain (leroy)

2005-03-26T20:20:00.000-08:00

Graduated in philosophy from Harvard University (1907), Locke was the first black Rhodes scholar, studying at Oxford (1907–10) and the University of Berlin (1910–11). He received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Harvard (1918). For almost 40 years,

Xochimilco

2005-03-26T07:45:00.000-08:00

Croix De Guerre

2005-03-25T11:21:00.000-08:00

(French: “War Cross”), French military decoration created in 1915 and 1939 to reward feats of bravery, either by individuals or groups, in the course of the two World Wars. This medal may be conferred on any member of the armed forces, on French citizens and foreigners who have been mentioned in army dispatches, and, in special cases, on military units and towns. During World War II there

Tyard, Pontus De

2005-03-24T13:51:00.000-08:00

Tyard was seigneur (lord) of Bissy-sur-Fley and an associate of the Lyonese poets, especially Maurice Scève. In 1551 he translated León Hebreo's Dialoghi di amore (“Dialogues

Mukacheve

2005-03-24T00:47:00.000-08:00

Russian Mukachovo, also spelled Mukachevo, or Mukacevo, Hungarian Munkács, city, Zakarpattya oblast (province), western Ukraine, on the Latoritsa River. Its location controls the southern approach to a major pass across the Carpathian Mountains, today followed by road and rail. This position has given Mukacheve a key fortress role in sub-Carpathian Ruthenia since its foundation in the 10th century—mainly during its period of Hungarian rule

Basel-stadt

2005-03-22T23:01:00.000-08:00

French Bâle-ville, Halbkanton (“demicanton”), northern Switzerland, consisting of the city of Basel (q.v.) and two small villages north of the Rhine. Occupying an area of 14 square miles (37 square km), it was formed in 1833 by the division of Basel canton into two half cantons, or demicantons. Its present constitution dates from 1889. The population is mainly German speaking and Protestant. Pop. (1988 est.) 192,559.

Bradford

2005-03-22T11:42:00.000-08:00

A fulling mill recorded in 1311 indicates the early importance of the manufacture of wool products. In the late 17th century the fine worsted trade followed. With

Holbein Rug

2005-03-22T02:41:00.000-08:00

A different series, probably made in another area, have fields subdivided into rectangular panels, each

Biblical Literature, Rule by the Herods

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

The Herods who followed were under the control of Rome. Herod the Great, son of Antipater of Idumaea, was made king of Judaea, having sided with Rome, and he ruled with Roman favour (37–4 BC). Though he was a good statesman and architect, he was hated by the Jews as a foreigner and semi-Jew. Jesus was born a few years before the end of his reign, and “the slaughter of the innocents,” young children

Farlovian Stage

2005-03-21T08:16:00.000-08:00

Division of the Old Red Sandstone of the Devonian Period of western Europe (the Devonian Period began about 395,000,000 years ago and lasted about 50,000,000 years); the Farlovian Stage follows the Breconian and was named for exposures studied near the town of Farlow, in the English Midlands. Farlovian rocks consist of gray and yellow sandstones and shales that contain the primitive Upper

Jiang Zemin

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

Jiang joined the CCP in 1946 and graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University the following year with a degree in electrical engineering. He worked in several factories as an engineer before receiving further technical training

Uesugi Kenshin

2005-03-19T14:41:00.000-08:00

Nagao Torachiyo was the third son of the head of Echigo province in northeastern Japan. With the death of his father in 1543, the family's control of the area began to disintegrate. Torachiyo not only restored order to the area but also gained control of neighbouring

Bhaktapur

2005-03-19T06:08:00.000-08:00

Also called Bhatgaon , or Bhadgaon town, central Nepal, in the Nepal Valley, southeast of Kathmandu. Said to have been founded by Raja Ananda Malla in 865, it was for 200 years the most important settlement in the valley. The old palace in Durbar Square, built in 1700, is well preserved and has beautifully carved woodwork and a finely worked gilt gateway. Opposite, on a stone pillar, is the copper-gilt figure of King Bhupatindra

Arrangement

2005-03-18T03:14:00.000-08:00

In music, traditionally, any adaptation of a composition to fit a medium other than that for which it was originally written, while at the same time retaining the general character of the original. The word was frequently used interchangeably with transcription, although the latter carried the connotation of elaboration of the original, as in the virtuosic piano

Albert, Lake

2005-03-17T13:10:00.000-08:00

Also called Albert Nyanza and Lake Mobutu Sese Seko, northernmost of the lakes in the Western Rift Valley, in east-central Africa, on the border between Congo (Kinshasa) and Uganda. In 1864 the lake was first visited by a European, Samuel Baker, who was seeking the sources of the Nile; he named it after Queen Victoria's consort and published his experiences in The Albert N'yanza (1866). Romolo Gessi, an Italian soldier and explorer, circumnavigated

Chapelain, Jean

2005-03-16T09:33:00.000-08:00

Chapelain's approach was a challenge to others of his day who appealed in doctrinaire fashion to classical Greek authorities. His critical views were advanced primarily in short articles and monographs and in his voluminous correspondence.

Schumann, Clara

2005-03-16T03:08:00.000-08:00

Encouraged by her father, she studied piano from the age of five and by 1835 had established a reputation throughout Europe as a child prodigy. In 1838 she was honoured by the Austrian court and also was elected to the prestigious Society

Rhynchophthirinan

2005-03-16T02:19:00.000-08:00

The elephant louse (H. elephantis) is found on African and Indian elephants, and H.

Halepa, Pact Of

2005-03-15T02:46:00.000-08:00

Also called Treaty Of Halepa, Halepa also spelled Khalépa, convention signed in October 1878 at Khalépa, a suburb of Canea, by which the Turkish sultan Abdülhamid II (ruled 1876–1909) granted a large degree of self-government to Greeks in Crete as a means to quell their insurrection against Turkish overlords. It supplemented previous concessions to the Cretans—e.g., the Organic Law Constitution (1868) and the Cyprus Convention (July 4, 1878), which had been

Alalakh

2005-03-14T17:38:00.000-08:00

Excavations also revealed a towered

Silky Flycatcher

2005-03-14T11:08:00.000-08:00

Any of four bird species that constitute the subfamily Ptilogonatinae (family Bombycillidae), found in dry, brushy regions from Nevada south to Panama. These soft plumaged, broad-billed, crested birds are about 19 centimetres (7.5 inches) long. All are arboreal. Their basic diet consists of mistletoe berries, supplemented with insects taken by darting from a perch like a

Minamoto Yoritomo

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

Defying the emperor, Yoritomo established shugo (constables) and jito (district stewards) throughout the Japanese provinces, thus undermining the central government's local administrative power, and in 1192 he acquired the title of supreme commander (shogun) over

Ryerson, (adolphus) Egerton

2005-03-13T22:16:00.000-08:00

After his own local education, Ryerson taught for a time at a nearby school. He took further studies in Hamilton and then entered the ministry as a Methodist circuit-riding preacher and, later,

Water Supply

2005-03-13T16:06:00.000-08:00

Available water provided to fulfill a particular need; if the need is domestic, industrial, or agricultural, the water must fulfill both quality and quantity requirements. Water supplies can be obtained by numerous types of water resources projects, such as wells, dams, or reservoirs. See water resource.

Dagda

2005-03-13T05:52:00.000-08:00

Also called Eochaid Ollathair (“Eochaid the All-Father”) , or In Ruad Ro-fhessa (“Red [or Mighty] One of Great Wisdom”) in Celtic religion, one of the leaders of a mythological Irish people, the Tuatha Dé Danann (“People of the Goddess Danu”). The Dagda was credited with many powers and possessed a caldron that was never empty, fruit trees that were never barren, and two pigs—one live and the other perpetually roasting. He also had a huge club that had the power both to kill men and to restore

Literature

2005-03-12T07:56:00.000-08:00

In 1998 Arabic literature was characterized by two recurring themes: death and revival. Several works, many reminiscent of the writings of the Jahili poet al-Khansa', eulogized writers and thinkers who were victims of tragic assassinations, especially in Algeria. The analogy to al-Khansa' was reinforced by the fact that many of these writers were women. Assia Djebar, who eulogized

Frescobaldi, Girolamo

2005-03-11T11:45:00.000-08:00

Italian organist and one of the first great masters of organ composition. He strongly influenced the German Baroque school through the work of his pupils, J.J. Froberger and Franz Tunder. Frescobaldi began his public career as organist at the church of Sta. Maria in Trastevere in Rome, in 1607. He travelled to the Netherlands the

Boil

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

Also called Furuncle, or Furunculosis, a staphylococcus skin infection characterized by an inflamed nodular swelling filled with pus, located at the site of a hair follicle. The lesion is painful and feels hard to the touch; healing begins after the pus is discharged. Boils are usually located in hairy body areas exposed to friction and maceration, such as the back of the neck, the face, armpits, buttocks,

Anderson, Maxie

2005-03-10T13:21:00.000-08:00

Anderson entered the Missouri Military Academy, Mexico, Mo., at the age of eight and throughout his schooling worked summers with his father,

France, History Of, Charles X, 182430

2005-03-10T06:40:00.000-08:00

Charles X, the younger brother of Louis XVIII, had spent the Revolutionary years in exile and had returned embittered rather than chastened by the experience. What France needed, in his view, was a return to the unsullied principle of divine right, buttressed by the restored authority of the established church. The new king and his Cabinet—still headed by Villèle—promptly

Marketing, Packaging and branding

2005-03-09T20:29:00.000-08:00

Packaging and branding are also substantial components in the marketing of a product. Packaging in some instances may be as simple as customers in France carrying long loaves of unwrapped bread or small produce dealers in Italy wrapping vegetables in newspapers or placing them in customers' string bags. In most industrialized countries, however, the packaging

Amide

2005-03-09T06:27:00.000-08:00

Any member of either of two classes of nitrogen-containing compounds related to ammonia and amines. The covalent amides are neutral or very weakly acidic substances formed by replacement of the hydroxyl group (OH) of an acid by an amino group (NR2, in which R may represent a hydrogen atom or an organic combining group such as methyl, CH3). The carboxamides (R¢CONR2), which are

Zaporizhzhya

2005-03-09T04:17:00.000-08:00

Russian Zaporozhye, also spelled Zaporozhe, or Zaporozje, oblast (province), southeastern Ukraine. It encompasses the northwestern shore of the Sea of Azov and stretches inland across the coastal plain, the Azov Upland, and the Dnieper Plain to the Dnieper River to include a very small part of that river's right-bank area. The entire oblast lies within the steppe zone, although much of the natural grass cover has been plowed

John I Albert

2005-03-08T02:25:00.000-08:00

The second son of King Casimir IV of Poland and Elizabeth of Habsburg, John Albert proved his military ability by defeating the Tatars at Kopystrzyn in 1487 and at Zaslaw in 1491. After his father's death he was elected king of Poland by nobles in the privy

Celastrales

2005-03-07T14:18:00.000-08:00

Order of flowering plants, belonging to the class Magnoliopsida, or the dicotyledons (q.v.; characterized by two seed leaves). Its members are chiefly trees belonging to 12 families, 147 genera, and about 2,000 species. Four of the families—the Aquifoliaceae (holly), Celastraceae (staff-tree), Icacinaceae (icacina), and Hippocrateaceae (hippocratea)—are broadly distributed in the world

China, Taxation

2005-03-07T07:45:00.000-08:00

The Ming laissez-faire policy in agrarian matters had its counterpart in fiscal administration. The Ming state took the collection of land taxes—its main revenues by far—out of the hands of civil service officials and entrusted this responsibility directly to well-to-do family heads in the countryside. Each designated tax captain was, on the average, responsible

Seacole, Mary

2005-03-06T10:54:00.000-08:00

Her father was a Scottish soldier and her mother a free black Jamaican woman who was skilled in traditional medicine and provided care for invalids at her boardinghouse. In 1836 Grant married Edwin Horatio Seacole, and, during their trips to

Perciform

2005-03-06T09:18:00.000-08:00

Any member of the order Perciformes, a group of bony fishes with more than 6,000 species placed in about 150 families. The order is the largest group of fishes in the world today. Perciform fishes occur in abundance in both marine and freshwater areas of the world, ranging from shallow freshwater ponds to depths of more than 2,300 metres (7,500 feet) in the oceans. Most perciforms are marine

Tasmania, The postwar period

2005-03-05T17:55:00.000-08:00

Through the next quarter-century Tasmania benefited much from Australia's general prosperity. The population passed 370,000 by 1966, and living standards approached the national norm. Premiers Robert Cosgrove (1939–58) and Eric Elliott Reece (1958–69 and 1972–75) were tough and efficient; they saved the local Labor Party from the blows it was suffering elsewhere. They sustained faith in hydroelectricity,

Bulb

2005-03-05T02:59:00.000-08:00

In botany, structure that is the resting stage of certain seed plants, particularly perennial monocotyledons. A bulb consists of a relatively large, usually globe-shaped, underground bud with membraneous or fleshy overlapping leaves arising from a short stem. An onion is a commonly known bulb. A bulb's fleshy leaves—which in some species are actually expanded

Gainsborough Chair

2005-03-04T21:22:00.000-08:00

Type of English armchair made in the mid-18th century. A wide chair with a high back, it was normally upholstered in leather. The sides are open, and the short, upholstered arms are set well back from the seat, to which they are connected by a concave curving support. The arm supports and front legs are usually fluted or carved on the front face. The contemporary name was “French

Arabia, History Of, Al-Hirah

2005-03-04T08:20:00.000-08:00

Al-Hirah was similarly a Bedouin tribal kingdom, the kings of which are commonly designated the Lakhmids. According to tradition, the founder of the dynasty was 'Amr, whose son Imru' al-Qays died in AD 328 and was entombed at Al-Nimarah in the Syrian desert. His funerary inscription is written in an extremely difficult type of script. Recently there has been a revival of interest

Tag

2005-03-03T23:32:00.000-08:00

Also called touch , or tig children's game in which, in its simplest form, one player (“it,” or “he”) chases the others and tries to touch one of them, making the person touched “it.” The game is known by many other names. In some games, it is pretended that the touch carries some form of contagion—e.g., plague (Italy), leprosy (Madagascar), fleas (Spain), or “lurgy fever” (Great Britain). In others, a method of achieving immunity

Belarusian Ridge

2005-03-03T05:54:00.000-08:00

Belarusian also spelled Belorussian, or Byelorussian, Russian Belorusskaya Gryada, or Belorusskaja Gr'ada, upland region in Belarus. From northeastern Poland the ridge runs southeast into western Belarus and then swings northeast. Its total length is 320 miles (520 km). The ridge, covered by marine sands and clays, is in reality a series of separate uplands, of which the highest point is Dzerzhinskaya Mountain, at 1,132 feet (345 m), in the Minsk Upland. To the south of the ridge lie the extensive

Mola Di Bari

2005-03-02T09:26:00.000-08:00

Town, Bari provincia, Puglia (Apulia) regione, southern Italy. In the European Middle Ages it was an embarkation point for the crusaders, and it has a 13th-century cathedral of Renaissance reconstruction. A fishing port and bathing resort, the modern town has tanneries and soap and button factories. Pop. (1989 est.) mun., 26,942.

Maccabeus, Judas

2005-03-02T01:41:00.000-08:00

The son of Mattathias, an aged priest who took to the mountains in rebellion when Antiochus attempted to impose the Greek religion on the Jews, Judas took over the rebel

Race, European conquest and the classification of the conquered

2005-03-01T16:25:00.000-08:00

As they were constructing their own racial identities internally, western European nations were also colonizing most of what has been called, in recent times, the Third World, in Asia and Africa. Since all of the colonized and subordinated people differed physically from Europeans, the colonizers automatically applied racial categories to them and initiated

Haboob

2005-03-01T09:06:00.000-08:00

Hot and moist, strong wind that occurs along the southern edges of the Sahara in The Sudan and is associated with large sandstorms and duststorms and may be accompanied by thunderstorms and small tornadoes. It usually lasts about three hours, is most common during the summer, and may blow from any direction. A haboob may transport huge quantities of sand or dust, which

Chemical Banking Corporation

2005-02-28T15:53:00.000-08:00

The holding company's principal subsidiary was Chemical Bank, which was chartered in 1824 in New York City as a division of the New York Chemical Manufacturing Company. Manufacturing activities were dropped in 1832. In 1844 the company was reconstituted as a state bank, and the chemical

Chabrier, (alexis-) Emmanuel

2005-02-28T06:35:00.000-08:00

Chabrier was attracted in his youth to both music and painting. He studied law in Paris from 1858 to 1862. During these years he also studied the piano and harmony and counterpoint. His

Ranaivo, Flavien

2005-02-27T14:56:00.000-08:00

Educated at the Lycae Gallieri in Tananarive (now Antananarivo), Ranaivo worked in the information service

Daniel Of Kiev

2005-02-27T01:40:00.000-08:00

Also called Daniel The Pilgrim, Russian Daniil Kievsky, or Daniil Polomnik the earliest known Russian travel writer, whose account of his pilgrimage to the Holy Land is the earliest surviving record in Russian of such a trip. Abbot of a Russian monastery, he visited Palestine probably during 1106–07. His narrative begins at Constantinople; from there he traveled along the west and south coasts of Asia Minor to Cyprus and the Holy Land. Despite his

Torbanite

2005-02-26T22:12:00.000-08:00

Also called Boghead Coal, mineral substance intermediate between oil shale and coal. Whereas destructive distillation of coals produces compounds of carbon and hydrogen with carbon atoms linked in six-membered rings, torbanite produces paraffinic and olefinic hydrocarbons (compounds with carbon linked in chains). As the hydrocarbon content of oil shale increases, torbanite becomes

Absentee Voting

2005-02-26T20:01:00.000-08:00

Electoral process that enables persons who cannot appear at their designated polling places to vote from another location. The usual method of absentee voting is by mail, although provision is sometimes made for voting at prescribed places in advance of the polling date. Absentee voting requires special administrative arrangements to ensure the secrecy and

Porcelain Enamelling

2005-02-25T04:52:00.000-08:00

Also called Vitreous Enamelling, process of fusing a thin layer of glass to a metal object to prevent corrosion and enhance its beauty. Porcelain-enamelled iron is used extensively for such articles as kitchen pots and pans, bathtubs, refrigerators, chemical and food tanks, and equipment for meat markets. In architecture it serves as facing for buildings. Being a glass, porcelain enamelling has the

Shigellosis

2005-02-24T23:26:00.000-08:00

Infectious disease that is caused by various species of Shigella bacteria and is known as bacillary dysentery. See dysentery.

Hestia

2005-02-24T20:25:00.000-08:00

She was worshipped chiefly as goddess of the family hearth; but, as the

Azide

2005-02-24T08:10:00.000-08:00

Any of a class of chemical compounds containing three nitrogen atoms as a group, represented as (-N3). Azides are considered as derived from hydrazoic acid (HN3), an inorganic salt such as sodium azide (NaN3), or an organic derivative in which the hydrogen atom of hydrazoic acid is replaced by a hydrocarbon group as in alkyl or aryl azide (RN3), or by an acyl (carboxylic acid) group

Spaatz, Carl

2005-02-23T14:24:00.000-08:00

A graduate (1914) of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., Spaatz served as a combat pilot during World War I and then acquired extensive staff and command experience between 1919 and 1942. He went to England in 1940 to evaluate German military

Aerospace Industry

2005-02-22T17:23:00.000-08:00

Aerospace products and the processes by which they are made are complex in nature, and knowledge of the latter is important to an understanding of the industry. A substantial investment in research, involving specialized personnel and facilities, is critical to the aerospace industry, as it is to most industries in which development and productivity play highly

Servite

2005-02-22T16:15:00.000-08:00

Member of Order of the Servants of Mary (O.S.M.) a Roman Catholic order of mendicant friars—religious men who lead a monastic life, including the choral recitation of the liturgical office, but do active work—founded in 1233 by a group of seven cloth merchants of Florence. These men, known collectively as the Seven Holy Founders, left their families and occupations to withdraw outside the gates of Florence and live

Haddon, Alfred Cort

2005-02-21T04:39:00.000-08:00

Educated at Christ's College, Cambridge, he distinguished himself

League Of Women Voters

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

First proposed by Carrie Chapman Catt at a convention of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) in 1917, the League was organized at a national convention on March 24–29, 1919, in St. Louis, Missouri,

Shellfish

2005-02-20T13:30:00.000-08:00

Bivalve mollusks, including oysters, mussels, scallops, and clams, rank among the most commercially

Alden, Cynthia May Westover

2005-02-20T08:56:00.000-08:00

Cynthia Westover was reared largely by her father, a geologist, in western mining camps, and she could shoot a rifle and ride a horse at an early age. After completing a teaching degree at

Aroostook War

2005-02-19T01:48:00.000-08:00

(1838–39), bloodless conflict over the disputed boundary between the U.S. state of Maine and the British Canadian province of New Brunswick. The peace treaty of 1783 ending the American Revolution had left unclear the location of a supposed “highlands,” or watershed, dividing the two areas. Negotiators from Britain and the United States in subsequent years failed to come to an agreement,

Colchicum

2005-02-18T08:21:00.000-08:00

Genus of flowering plants in the family Liliaceae, consisting of about 30 species of herbs native to Eurasia. The stemless, crocuslike flowers bloom in autumn, and some are variously called autumn crocus and meadow saffron. The fruit is a three-valved capsule that ripens in the spring when the leaves appear. In some species the leaves arise from

Farmerlabor Party

2005-02-18T02:46:00.000-08:00

An offshoot, the National Farmer–Labor Party, nominated P.P. Christensen in the 1920 presidential election. Lacking adequate finances and organization, the party won few votes and expired in 1923.

Riddah

2005-02-17T13:34:00.000-08:00

Despite the traditional resistance of the Bedouins to any restraining central authority, by 631 Muhammad was able to exact from the majority of their tribes at least nominal adherence to Islam, payment of the zakat, a tax levied on Muslims to support

Melfi

2005-02-16T05:34:00.000-08:00

Town and episcopal see, Potenza provincia, Basilicata regione, southern Italy, at the foot of the volcanic mass of Monte Vulture, at an elevation of 1,742 feet (531 m), north of Potenza. Of Roman origin, the town was taken from the Byzantines by the Normans, who, for a period, made it their capital. It was a favourite residence of the Holy Roman emperor Frederick II, who there assembled

Orthodox Jewish Congregations Of America, Union Of

2005-02-16T04:16:00.000-08:00

The union was established in New York City in 1898 to foster Orthodox beliefs and practices. To pursue its goals, the union sponsors numerous elementary and secondary day schools oriented toward Orthodoxy

Uzbekistan

2005-02-16T01:39:00.000-08:00

Officially Republic of Uzbekistan , Uzbek Uzbekiston , or Uzbekistan Respublikasi country in Central Asia. It lies mainly between two major rivers, the Syr Darya (ancient Jaxartes River) on the northeast and the Amu Darya (ancient Oxus River) on the southwest, though they only partly form its boundaries. Uzbekistan is bordered by Kazakstan on the northwest and north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan on the east and southeast, Afghanistan on the south, and

Abdulla, Muhammed Said

2005-02-15T21:36:00.000-08:00

Abdulla, after completing his formal education, began his career as an inspector in the Colonial Health Department. After 10 years there, however, he decided to become a journalist. In 1948 he was made editor of the newspaper Zanzibari, and during the next decade he also

Ghi

2005-02-14T19:35:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ghee, clarified butter, a staple food on the Indian subcontinent. See butterfat.

Curepipe

2005-02-14T16:15:00.000-08:00

Town (township) on the island of Mauritius, in the western Indian Ocean. It lies in the western highlands region of the country, about 11 miles (18 km) south of Port Louis, the national capital. The town, named after a similar township in France, developed quickly after a malaria epidemic in 1867, which forced Port Louis residents to relocate to safer areas in the highlands. Several

Pacific Ocean, Submarine hydrocarbons

2005-02-14T08:01:00.000-08:00

Deposits of oil and gas under the seafloor are the most valuable and sought-after fuels of the modern world economy. Shallow seas and small ocean basins, such as the South and East China seas, are thought to have a high potential for large reserves. Among the countries bordering the Pacific Ocean and its marginal seas, the proportion of production from submarine reserves

Pembroke, Richard Fitzgilbert, 2nd Earl Of

2005-02-13T15:34:00.000-08:00

The son of Gilbert FitzGilbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke, he succeeded to his father's estates in southern Wales in 1148/49. Pembroke had evidently lost these lands by 1168; it was probably in that year that he agreed to aid Dermot MacMurrough, king of Leinster, who had

Biblical Literature, Types of biblical hermeneutics

2005-02-13T00:31:00.000-08:00

As has been said, the importance of biblical hermeneutics has lain in the Bible's status as a sacred book in Judaism and Christianity, recording a divine revelation or reproducing divine oracles. The “oracles” are primarily prophetic utterances, but often their narrative setting has also come to acquire oracular status. Quite different hermeneutical principles,

Wambaugh, Sarah

2005-02-12T14:55:00.000-08:00

Wambaugh graduated from Radcliffe College, Cambridge, in 1902. She remained at the college as an assistant until 1906 while pursuing advanced studies in history and government. For a decade thereafter she worked

Jungfrau

2005-02-12T13:20:00.000-08:00

Well-known Swiss peak (13,642 feet [4,158 m]) dominating the Lauterbrunnen valley and lying 11 miles (18 km) south-southeast of the resort of Interlaken. The scenic mountain separates the cantons of Bern and Valais and is in the Bernese Alps, two other peaks of which (the Finsteraarhorn [14,022 feet] and the Aletschhorn [13,763 feet]) surpass it in height. The first ascent was made in 1811 on the eastern or Valais

Dacier, André

2005-02-10T23:54:00.000-08:00

Dacier studied at Saumur with the Humanist Tanneguy Lefèbvre, whose daughter Anne he married in 1683. He was made keeper of the library of the Louvre and, elected to the French Academy in 1695, became

Plymouth

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

Named Sudtone in Domesday Book (1086), Plymouth's original harbour is still called Sutton Harbour. A developing trade and the shipment of armies

Termite

2005-02-10T17:35:00.000-08:00

Any of the cellulose-eating social insects that constitute the order Isoptera. Although they are referred to popularly as white ants, they are not closely related to ants, which are grouped with bees and wasps in a higher order of insects, the Hymenoptera. The social system of termites shows remarkable parallels with those of the Hymenoptera,

Piet'any

2005-02-10T00:59:00.000-08:00

Hungarian Pöstyén, town, Západní Slovensko kraj (region), Slovakia, on the Váh River, approximately 48 miles (77 km) northeast of Bratislava. Piešt'any is a Carpathian health resort, known since the Middle Ages for its warm sulfur springs and mud baths. It has specialized since the 16th century in treating rheumatic and arthritic diseases. The State Research Institute for Rheumatic Diseases is

Aluminum Processing

2005-02-09T20:20:00.000-08:00

Aluminum, or aluminium (Al), is a silvery white metal with a melting point of 660° C (1,220° F) and a density of 2.7 grams per cubic centimetre. The most abundant metallic element, it constitutes 8.1 percent of the Earth's crust. In nature it occurs chemically combined with oxygen and other elements. In the pure state it is soft and ductile, but

Soga Iruka

2005-02-08T23:49:00.000-08:00

In 587, after defeating the rival Mononobe clan, the Soga family completely dominated the imperial court. Soga Umako, Iruka's grandfather, was content to remain in the background