SimpleJupiter

Estate Agent Fitzrovia

2006-10-25T13:20:00.000-07:00

Robert Irving Burns specialise in London Commercial and Residential property services. They are a specialist in estate agent fitzrovia, amongst other London areas such as Soho and Oxford Circus.

Le Chapelier, Jean

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

Beginning

Acoustics

2005-03-29T10:00:00.000-08:00

The origin of the science of acoustics is generally attributed to the Greek philosopher Pythagorus (6th century BC), whose experiments on the properties of vibrating strings that produce pleasing musical intervals were of such merit that they led to a tuning system that bears his name. Aristotle (4th century BC) correctly suggested that a sound wave propagates in air through

Szechwan

2005-03-28T22:24:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Wade-Giles) Ssu-ch'uan, (Pinyin) Sichuan, sheng (province) of China. It is located in the Upper Yangtze Valley in the southwestern part of the country. The second largest of the Chinese provinces, it covers an area of 220,100 square miles (570,000 square kilometres). Szechwan is bordered by the provinces of Kansu and Shensi to the north, Hupeh and Hunan to the east, and Kweichow and Yunnan to the south and by the Tibet Autonomous

Itajaí

2005-03-28T02:41:00.000-08:00

City, eastern Santa Catarina estado (“state”), southern Brazil. It lies at the mouth of the Itajaí River, at 20 feet (6 m) above sea level. Founded in the mid-19th century by German and Italian colonists, Itajaí is now the commercial centre and Atlantic port for an agricultural region drained by the Itajaí River and its tributaries. Wrapping paper and cotton textiles are the principal

Axinite

2005-03-26T18:06:00.000-08:00

Borosilicate mineral that occurs most commonly in contact metamorphic rocks and also in basic igneous rocks. Particularly beautiful crystals occur at Le Bourg d'Oisans, Isère, France, and in San Diego County, Calif., U.S. Transparent axinite of the usual clove-brown colour is sometimes cut as a gem. For chemical formula and detailed physical properties, see silicate

Nagasaki

2005-03-25T20:31:00.000-08:00

Ken (prefecture), northwestern Kyushu, Japan, facing the East China Sea. It includes the islands of Tsushima, Iki, Hirado, and the Goto Archipelago. The prefecture has an irregular shape, with rounded Shimabara Peninsula in the southeast; Cape Nomo and Nishisonoki Peninsula enclose Omura Bay also in the southeast. Dominated by mountains, the limited agricultural land

Edward

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

Edward ascended the throne upon his father's death in October 899, and in a battle in 902 his forces killed a rival claimant,

Disease

2005-03-23T23:19:00.000-08:00

A harmful deviation from the normal structural or functional state of an organism. A diseased organism commonly exhibits signs or symptoms indicative of its abnormal state. Thus, the normal condition of an organism must be understood in order to recognize the hallmarks of disease. Nevertheless, a sharp demarcation between disease and health is not always

John Henry

2005-03-22T02:46:00.000-08:00

Some factual basis exists for the ballad

World War I, The Battle of Jutland

2005-03-21T13:20:00.000-08:00

Admiral Reinhard Scheer, who became commander in chief of the High Seas Fleet in January 1916, planned to contrive an encounter on the open sea between his fleet and some

Macchiaioli

2005-03-19T08:40:00.000-08:00

Group of 19th-century Florentine and Neopolitan painters who reacted against the rule-bound Italian academies of art and looked to nature for instruction. The Macchiaioli felt that patches (Italian: macchia) of colour were the most significant aspect of painting. They believed that the effect of a painting on the spectator should derive from the painted

Syracuse University

2005-03-19T06:16:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher education, located in Syracuse, New York, U.S. It offers more than 200 undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs through 15 colleges and schools. Research facilities include the All-University Gerontology Center (established 1972), the Center for Advanced Technology in Computer Applications and Software Engineering

Law, Crime, And Law Enforcement, Other Issues.

2005-03-18T20:59:00.000-08:00

That not all disputes were susceptible to peaceful means of settlement was shown when a sudden border war flared up between Peru and Ecuador in January over a 77-km (48-mi) stretch of disputed land along the Cenepa River. The hostilities, which involved ground and air troops, were ended by a treaty signed in Brasília, Brazil, on February 17 providing for negotiations toward

Aubigné, Théodore-agrippa D'

2005-03-17T20:46:00.000-08:00

Major late 16th-century poet, renowned Huguenot captain, polemicist, and historian of his own times. After studies in Paris, Orléans, Geneva, and Lyon, he joined the Huguenot forces and served throughout the Wars of Religion on the battlefield and in the council chamber. He was écuyer (“master of horse”) to Henry of Navarre. After Henry's accession to

Aetolia

2005-03-17T11:20:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Aitolia, district of ancient Greece, located directly north of the Gulf of Corinth and bounded by Epirus (north), Locris (east), and Acarnania (west). In modern Greece, Aetolia is linked with Acarnania in the department of Aitolía kai Akarnanía. Aetolia, particularly its cities Pleuron and Calydon, figures prominently in early legend. During the great migrations (1200–1000 BC) most of the region's

Respiration, Amphibians

2005-03-17T06:44:00.000-08:00

The living amphibians (frogs, toads, salamanders, and caecilians) depend on aquatic respiration to a degree that varies with species, stage of development, temperature, and season. With the exception of a few frog species that lay eggs on land, all amphibians begin life as completely aquatic larvae. Respiratory gas exchange is conducted through the thin, gas-permeable

Grant, Bernie

2005-03-16T21:12:00.000-08:00

In full Bernard Alexander Montgomery Grant British politician who, with Paul Boateng and Diane Abbott, was one of the first persons of African descent to win election to the House of Commons. The son of educators, he attended St. Stanislaus College, one of the finest schools in British Guiana. In the early 1960s he moved to the United Kingdom and became

Gte Corporation

2005-03-16T18:15:00.000-08:00

General Telephone was founded in 1926 as Associated Telephone Utilities by Sigurd Odegard, a Wisconsin phone-company owner who wanted to acquire small independent phone companies.

Holocaust, Non-Jewish victims of Nazism

2005-03-15T06:56:00.000-08:00

Political dissidents, trade unionists, and Social Democrats were among the first to be arrested and incarcerated in concentration camps. Under

Abbot, Charles Greeley

2005-03-14T21:46:00.000-08:00

The youngest of four children of a New Hampshire farming family,

Mine

2005-03-14T06:15:00.000-08:00

In military and naval operations, a usually stationary explosive device that is designed to destroy personnel, ships, or vehicles when the latter come in contact with it. Submarine mines have been in use since the mid-19th century; land mines did not become a significant factor in warfare until a hundred years later.

Mohammed, Warith Deen

2005-03-13T18:48:00.000-08:00

The seventh son of Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam, Mohammed was marked for leadership of the society even before his birth. The founder

Novartis Ag

2005-03-12T13:03:00.000-08:00

Ciba-Geigy originated in the merger of two smaller Swiss firms, Ciba AG and J.R. Geigy SA. Ciba developed from a silk-dyeing business owned by Alexander Clavel,

Tallemant Des Réaux, Gédéon

2005-03-11T14:13:00.000-08:00

The son of a Huguenot banker, Tallemant took degrees in civil and canonical law at Paris, but he abandoned his position as conseiller au parlement and began to frequent literary circles. In 1646 he married his cousin Élisabeth de Rambouillet, thus gaining

Baqdash, Khalid

2005-03-11T08:39:00.000-08:00

As a young man Baqdash went to law school in Damascus but was expelled for illegal political activity. In 1930 he joined the Communist Party and began to acquire a reputation for skillful public debate, dedication

Crab Plover

2005-03-10T16:51:00.000-08:00

(species Dromas ardeola), long-legged, black and white bird of Indian Ocean coasts, related to plovers and allied species of shorebirds. It comprises the family Dromadidae (order Charadriiformes). Crab plovers are tame, noisy birds about 40 cm (16 inches) long. They flock on beaches and reefs, where they hunt mollusks and crabs, which they then break up by pounding them with their

Nabul

2005-03-09T20:35:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Nabeul, Latin Neapolis, town, northeastern Tunisia, on the Hammamet Gulf. Formerly a Phoenician settlement, it was destroyed by the Romans in 146 BC and later rebuilt as a Roman colony called Neapolis. It is a noted pottery and ceramics handicraft centre and the eastern terminus of a railroad from Tunis, 40 miles (65 km) northwest. Other industries include stone cutting, quarrying (chalk), citrus fruit and

Mesopotamia, History Of, Political fragmentation

2005-03-08T11:32:00.000-08:00

It is probable that the definitive separation from Ur III came about through changing components of the population, from “Sumerians and Akkadians” to “Akkadians and Amorites.” An Old Babylonian liver omen states that “he of the steppes will enter, and chase out the one in the city.” This is indeed an abbreviated formula for an event that took place more than once: the usurpation

Río Negro

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

Provincia, south-central Argentina, lying within the region known as Patagonia and extending westward from the Atlantic to the Andes and the border with Neuquén provincia. It is crossed (northwest to southeast) by the Negro River. South of the Negro, most of the land consists of arid tablelands. To the west are the chains of lakes and the forested valleys of

Williams, Rowan

2005-03-07T08:24:00.000-08:00

Williams was born into a Welsh-speaking family. After attending the Dyvenor Secondary School, he entered Christ's College, Cambridge, where he earned bachelor's

Allen, Walter

2005-03-06T19:58:00.000-08:00

Allen graduated from the University of Birmingham (B.A., 1932) and taught briefly at his old grammar school before accepting the first of several visiting lectureships and professorships in North America and elsewhere. In 1945 he left teaching to become

älvsborg

2005-03-06T14:36:00.000-08:00

Former län (county) of southwestern Sweden, located to the west and south of Lake Vänern. Formed as a county in 1634, it was merged with the counties of Göteborg och Bohus and Skaraborg in 1998 to form the county of Västra Götaland.

Smith, Kate

2005-03-06T13:54:00.000-08:00

Smith started singing before audiences as a child, and by age 17 she had decided on a career in show business. She went to New York City in 1926 and landed a role in a Broadway musical, Honeymoon Lane, the same year. In a succession of Broadway shows she had little chance

Ta-pa Mountains

2005-03-05T17:44:00.000-08:00

Wade–Giles romanization Ta-pa Shan, Pinyin Daba Shan, mountain range dividing Szechwan province from Shensi province, China. Like the Tsinling Mountains to the north, from which it is separated by the Han River valley and the basin near Han-chung in Shensi, it is an eastward continuation of the Kunlun Mountains. The Ta-pa range is a broad belt of mountains running roughly northwest to southeast, forming the northern rim

Ijoid Languages

2005-03-04T22:21:00.000-08:00

The smallest branch of the Niger-Congo language family. It consists of a language cluster, Ijo (Ijaw), comprising seven other language clusters with a total of approximately two million speakers, and Defaka (Afakani), a solitary language spoken by very few. All these languages are found in the relatively narrow coastal Niger River delta region of Nigeria. The Ijo language

Essex

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

English

North America, 30 to 2.5 million years ago

2005-03-02T01:48:00.000-08:00

About 30 million years ago North America began to override the East Pacific Rise, an oceanic spreading ridge. This activity placed a progressively longer segment of the coast in contact with the plate west of the ridge. The western plate—which contains the Pacific Coast Ranges of California—has been moving to the northwest relative to North America along the San Andreas

Delaware Aqueduct

2005-03-02T00:06:00.000-08:00

Circular tunnel, part of the system that supplies water to New York City from the Delaware River near its source and from other streams in the Catskill Mountains. Running deep in bedrock for its original length of 85 miles (137 km) from Rondout Reservoir in the Catskills to the Hill View Reservoir in southern Westchester county, the aqueduct has been extended to a total distance

Xenophon

2005-03-01T00:39:00.000-08:00

As a writer of prose, Xenophon ranked with his fellow historians Herodotus and Thucydides in the opinion of literary critics of antiquity and had a stronger influence on Latin literature than either. His works were translated into many European languages in the 16th century, and, until comparatively recently, his reputation stood high. He was the first journalist

Lie, Trygve (halvdan)

2005-02-28T06:09:00.000-08:00

Educated at the University of Kristiania (Oslo), Lie practiced law and became a leading member of the Norwegian Labour Party

Dog, Ailments

2005-02-27T15:36:00.000-08:00

Fleas and ticks are sources of irritation and disease in every climate of the world (with the possible exception of the Arctic). Regular bathing and grooming helps to keep these and other external parasites under control. Treatment of the animal and its environment are essential to eliminate these pests. In some areas this is a yearlong process, whereas in other climates

Yampa River

2005-02-27T14:06:00.000-08:00

River, in the western United States, rising in the White River National Forest of northwestern Colorado, in the Rocky Mountains. Draining an area of approximately 9,500 square miles (24,600 square km) in south-central Wyoming and northwestern Colorado, the river flows north past Steamboat Springs, then turns west to flow through Yampa Canyon (about 1,600 feet [490 metres] deep) in Dinosaur

Cachet, Lettre De

2005-02-26T18:24:00.000-08:00

(French: “letter of the sign [or signet]”), a letter signed by the king and countersigned by a secretary of state and used primarily to authorize someone's imprisonment. It was an important instrument of administration under the ancien régime in France. Lettres de cachet were abused to such an extent during the 17th and 18th centuries that numerous complaints on the subject

Eymeric, Nicholas

2005-02-25T21:31:00.000-08:00

After joining the Dominican Order in 1334, Eymeric wrote on theology and philosophy. Appointed grand inquisitor about 1357, he performed his duties zealously and made so many enemies that he was removed from office in 1360. He continued to teach and write

Gregoras, Nicephorus

2005-02-25T10:15:00.000-08:00

Having gained the favour of the emperor Andronicus II Palaeologus (1282–1328) and of ecclesiastics

Skunk Cabbage

2005-02-24T08:17:00.000-08:00

Any of three species of plants that grow in bogs and meadows of temperate regions. In eastern North America the skunk cabbage is Symplocarpus foetidus, which belongs to the arum family (Araceae, order Arales; q.v.). In French-speaking parts of Canada it is called tabac du diable (“devil's tobacco”) or chou puant (“stinking cabbage”). It is a fleshy, herbaceous plant with large leaves,

Alvarez, A.

2005-02-24T03:47:00.000-08:00

Although Alvarez's family enjoyed economic and cultural advantages, both of his parents attempted suicide during his childhood. He entered Corpus Christi College at Oxford, where he founded the Critical

Abu Tammam

2005-02-23T05:44:00.000-08:00

Abu Tammam changed his Christian father's name of Thadhus to Aws and invented for himself an Arab genealogy. In his youth he worked in Damascus as a weaver's assistant but on going to Egypt began to study poetry. It is not certain when he began to write verse, but by

Ust-ilimsk

2005-02-21T22:04:00.000-08:00

City and administrative centre of Ust-Ilimsk rayon (sector), Irkutsk oblast (province), south-central Russia. It became a city in 1973 in connection with the building of the nearby Ust-Ilimsk dam and hydroelectric-power station on the Angara River. A huge timber-processing complex was constructed there in the early 1980s. Pop. (1994 est.) 111,100.

Egypt, Ancient, Predynastic Egypt

2005-02-21T06:57:00.000-08:00

The peoples of predynastic Egypt were the successors of the Paleolithic inhabitants of northeastern Africa, who had spread over much of its area; during wet phases they had left remains in regions as inhospitable as the Great Sand Sea. The final desiccation of the Sahara was not complete until the end of the 3rd millennium BC; over thousands of years people must have

Arabia, History Of, The Wahhabis

2005-02-20T18:21:00.000-08:00

The Ottomans, clinging to the Hejaz for religious prestige and claiming to be custodians of the Holy Cities, had little power outside their garrisons in those cities and along the pilgrim route. The bribes they gave the nomads for allowing the caravans to pass, and the need to keep food subsidies for Mecca and Medina, however, prevented their expulsion.

East Friesland

2005-02-20T07:36:00.000-08:00

German Ostfriesland, cultural region bordering the North Sea and encompassing the coastal marshlands and East Frisian Islands (Ostfriesische Inseln) of northwestern Lower Saxony Land (state), north-central Germany. The region has close cultural ties with West Friesland in The Netherlands and North Friesland on the west coast of the Jutland Peninsula. The Frisians, traditionally

Zaporizhzhya

2005-02-19T10:58:00.000-08:00

Russian Zaporozhye, also spelled Zaporozhe, or Zaporozje, formerly (until 1921) Aleksandrovsk, city and administrative centre of Zaporizhzhya oblast (province), southeastern Ukraine, on the Dnieper River just below its former rapids. In 1770 the fortress of Aleksandrovsk was established to ensure government control over the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks, whose headquarters were on nearby Khortitsa Island. The settlement became a town in 1806. The growth of the city dates

Eckert, J. Presper, Jr.

2005-02-19T07:08:00.000-08:00

Eckert was educated at the Moore School of Electrical Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (B.S., 1941; M.S., 1943), where he and his professor, John W.

Leonardo Pisano

2005-02-17T21:20:00.000-08:00

Little is known about Leonardo's life beyond the few facts given in his mathematical writings. During Leonardo's boyhood his father, Guglielmo, a Pisan merchant, was appointed consul over the community of Pisan merchants in the North African port of Bugia (now Bejaïa, Alg.). Leonardo was sent to study calculation with an Arab master. He later went to Egypt, Syria, Greece,

Picasso, Pablo, Catalogs

2005-02-17T20:03:00.000-08:00

Catalogs addressing specific themes, often in conjunction with museum exhibitions, include William Rubin (ed.), Pablo Picasso: A Retrospective (1980); Christian Geelhaar et al., Pablo Picasso: Das Spätwerk: Themen 1964–1972 (1981); Douglas Cooper and Gary Tinterow, The Essential Cubism, 1907–1920: Braque, Picasso & Their Friends (1983); Gert Schiff, Picasso: The Last Years, 1963–1973 (1983); Jürgen Glaesemer (ed.), Der Junge Picasso: Frühwerk und blaue Periode (1984); Ellen C. Oppler (ed.), Picasso's Guernica: Illustrations, Introductory Essay, Documents, Poetry, Criticism, Analysis (1988); Herschel B. Chipp, Picasso's Guernica: History, Transformations, Meanings (1988); Réunion des Musées Nationaux, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, 2 vol. (1988); Musée National d'Art Moderne and Tate Gallery, Late Picasso: Paintings, Sculpture, Drawings, Prints, 1953–1972 (1988); William Rubin, Picasso and Braque: Pioneering Cubism (1989); William Rubin (ed.), Picasso and Portraiture: Representation and Transformation (1996); Elizabeth Cowling and John Golding, Picasso: Sculptor/Painter (1994); Marilyn McCully (ed.), Picasso: The Early Years, 1892–1906 (1997); Steven A. Nash and Robert Rosenblum (eds.), Picasso and the War Years, 1937–1945 (1998); and Marilyn McCully (ed.), Picasso: Painter and Sculptor in Clay (1998).

Topographical Poetry

2005-02-16T07:09:00.000-08:00

Verse genre characterized by the description of a particular landscape. A subgenre, the prospect poem, details the view from a height. The form was established by John Denham in 1642 with the publication of his poem Cooper's Hill. Topographical poems were at their peak of popularity in the 17th and 18th centuries, though there are examples from the early 19th century, including

Arts, East Asian, Kabuki theatre

2005-02-15T22:44:00.000-08:00

The nagauta form of lyric music, like most of the other narrative forms, began with a close relation to the kabuki popular theatre of the Tokugawa period. The first kabuki performances used instruments (hayashi) from the no drama. Because kabuki was related to the flourishing demimonde of the major cities, however, the music of the party houses and brothels was soon added

Epistemology, Medieval

2005-02-15T21:55:00.000-08:00

For the period as a whole, see appropriate articles in The Cambridge History of Later Greek and Early Medieval Philosophy, ed. by A.H. Armstrong (1967); and The Cambridge History of Later Medieval Philosophy: From the Rediscovery of Aristotle to the Disintegration of Scholasticism, 1100–1600, ed. by Norman Kretzmann, Anthony Kenny, and Jan Pinborg (1982). For the thoughts of Anselm Of Canterbury, see his Proslogium, ch. 1, and On Truth. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, discusses the soul in general in part I, question 77, and the intellectual powers of the soul in part I, question 79. The views of John Duns Scotus can be found in the relevant sections of his Philosophical Writings, trans. by Allan Wolter (1962, reprinted 1987); and in A.P. Martinich, “Duns Scotus on the Possibility of an Infinite Being,” Philosophical Topics, supplementary vol. 80, pp. 23–29 (1982). The ideas of William Of Ockham can be found in the relevant sections of his Philosophical Writings, trans. by Philotheus Boehner (1957, reissued 1967).

Epistemology, Plato

2005-02-14T23:46:00.000-08:00

Plato (c. 427–347 BC) accepted the Parmenidean constraint on any theory of knowledge that both knowledge and its objects must be unchanging. One consequence of this, as Plato pointed out in Theaetetus, is that knowledge cannot have physical reality as its object. In particular, since sensation and perception have various kinds of motions as their objects, knowledge cannot be

Downing, Sir George

2005-02-14T02:01:00.000-08:00

The son of a Puritan lawyer, Downing was one of the first graduates of Harvard College,

Milkweed

2005-02-13T13:54:00.000-08:00

Any of several species of flowering plants belonging to the family Asclepiadaceae (q.v.).

Adab

2005-02-13T03:27:00.000-08:00

Modern Bismayah ancient Sumerian city located south of Nippur (modern Niffer or Nuffar), Iraq. Excavations (1903–04) carried out by the American archaeologist Edgar James Banks revealed buildings dating from as early as the prehistoric period and as late as the reign of Ur-Nammu (reigned 2112–2095 BC). Adab was an important Sumerian centre only up to about 2000. The Sumerian king list ascribed to the city one

Middle English Language

2005-02-12T15:53:00.000-08:00

The history of Middle English is often divided into three periods: (1) Early Middle English, from about 1100 to about 1250, during which the Old English system of writing was still in use; (2) the Central Middle English period from about 1250 to

La Fosse, Charles De

2005-02-12T14:09:00.000-08:00

The greatest influence on La Fosse's painting was the work of his teacher, Charles Le

Aichinger, Gregor

2005-02-11T22:39:00.000-08:00

Aichinger took holy orders and became organist to the family of Jakob Fugger at Augsburg from 1584. He visited Italy in 1584–87 and again in 1598–1600. His music is chiefly choral and ecclesiastical, set to Latin

Ringerike

2005-02-09T23:55:00.000-08:00

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

Metalogic

2005-02-09T22:37:00.000-08:00

The study and analysis of the semantics (relations between expressions and meanings) and syntax (relations among expressions) of formal languages and formal systems. It is related to, but does not include, the formal treatment of natural languages. (For a discussion of the syntax and semantics of natural languages, see the articles linguistics and semantics.)

Celibacy

2005-02-09T22:07:00.000-08:00

The state of being unmarried and, therefore, sexually abstinent, usually in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, the term is applied only to those for whom the unmarried state is the result of a sacred vow, act of renunciation, or religious conviction. Celibacy has existed in one form or another throughout history and in virtually

Dolores River

2005-02-08T13:23:00.000-08:00

River in southwest Colorado, U.S., rising in the La Plata Mountains and flowing southwest through deep canyons, past Dolores, then northwest through Paradox Valley, at the north end of which it is met by its chief tributary, the San Miguel River. It continues on past Gateway and across the Utah border to join the Colorado River near Moab after a course of about 250 miles (400 km). Melting

Alphabet, Theories explaining diffusion

2005-02-07T06:46:00.000-08:00

There is no complete agreement among scholars as to how or why certain alphabets have come to dominate much of the world. Some believe that diffusion is explained by the efficiency of the orthography; the Greek alphabet, capable of representing unambiguously a full range of meanings, was adopted throughout western Europe. Others hold that the alphabet follows

As If, Philosophy Of

2005-02-06T17:38:00.000-08:00

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

'arif, 'abd Al-salam

2005-02-05T13:10:00.000-08:00

'Arif, the son of a cloth merchant, graduated from military college in 1939 and during his military career trained with British troops in Germany. His rise to power began in 1958 when he, along with General 'Abd al-Karim Qasim, played a prominent role in the overthrow of the Hashimite

Oman, Flag Of

2005-02-05T02:11:00.000-08:00

The ruling sultan was deposed on July 23, 1970, and the new sultan, Qabus ibn Sa'id, began to modernize the nation: he changed its name to Sultanate of Oman and, on December 17, 1970, introduced the new national flag. White symbolizes peace and prosperity, red

Tjurunga

2005-02-04T13:21:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Churinga, in Australian Aboriginal religion, a mythical being and a ritual object, usually made of wood or stone, that is a representation or manifestation of such a being. An Aranda word, tjurunga traditionally referred to sacred or secret–sacred things set apart, or taboo; for example, certain rites, stone, and wooden slab objects, bull-roarers, ground paintings and earth mounds,

Kirovohrad

2005-02-04T01:03:00.000-08:00

Russian Kirovograd oblast (province), south-central Ukraine. It extends from the Dnieper River in the northeast across the rolling hills of the Dnieper Upland to the basin of the Southern (Pivdennyy) Buh River in the southwest. The oblast's natural vegetation of grass steppe on fertile soils has been almost wholly plowed up, and unsound practices have resulted in serious and widespread

Anhalt

2005-02-03T13:11:00.000-08:00

Former German state, which was a duchy from 1863 to 1918 and a Land (state) until 1945, when it was merged in Saxony-Anhalt. Saxony-Anhalt was a Land of the German Democratic Republic from 1949 to 1952, when it was broken up into Bezirke (districts), the former territories of Anhalt being divided between the Bezirke of Magdeburg and of Halle. Upon the reunification of East and West Germany in 1990, Saxony-Anhalt

Syrtos

2005-02-03T03:42:00.000-08:00

Ancient chain dance of Greece. It was described by Lucian (c. AD 125–190) and is still danced today in many varieties in the Greek islands. Traditionally, it was danced by segregated lines of men and women, a youth leading the line of girls; lines now are frequently mixed. The dancers in the chain maintain a simple fundamental step, but the leader improvises, often breaking away

Epigraphy

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

Because such media were exclusive or predominant in many of mankind's earliest civilizations, epigraphy is a prime tool in recovering much of the firsthand record of antiquity. It is thus an essential

Sucket Fork

2005-02-01T14:38:00.000-08:00

Small metal utensil used for eating sweetmeats, or sucket, with a two- or three-pronged fork at one end of the handle and a spoon bowl, usually of teaspoon size, at the other. A sucket fork is mentioned in Edward VI's inventory of 1549, but most of the few surviving English and American examples, which are usually made of silver, date from the late 17th century.

Beyla

2005-01-31T18:56:00.000-08:00

Town, southeastern Guinea, western Africa, in the Guinea Highlands. The town was founded by Dyula traders in the early 13th century as a collecting point for slaves and kola nuts and is now the chief trading centre for rice, cattle, tobacco, coffee, and palm oil and kernels. It is connected by road with Nzérékoré (south) and Kankan (north). Beyla is the site of a hospital and a tobacco

Pacific Grove

2005-01-30T07:16:00.000-08:00

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

Italo-albanian Church

2005-01-30T06:21:00.000-08:00

Also called Italo-greek Church, or Italo-greek-albanian Church, an Eastern-rite member of the Roman Catholic communion, comprising the descendants of ancient Greek colonists in southern Italy and Sicily and 15th-century Albanian refugees from Ottoman rule. The Italo-Greeks were Byzantine-rite Catholics; but, after the Norman invasion of the 11th century, most of them were forcibly Latinized. Byzantine practices were partially

Enchanter's Nightshade

2005-01-30T01:36:00.000-08:00

Any herbaceous perennial plant of the genus Circaea, in the evening primrose family (Onagraceae), that occurs in damp woodlands of the Northern Hemisphere. The plants have slender stems with opposite leaves. The small, white, two-petaled flowers grow in clusters, and the fruits have hooked bristles.

Fang

2005-01-28T18:18:00.000-08:00

The Fang speak languages of the Bantu subgroup of the Niger-Congo language family. They can be divided into three

Latin League

2005-01-28T18:02:00.000-08:00

Originally a confederation of about 30 villages and tribes in the neighbourhood of ancient Rome that joined for mutual protection and defense against hostile adjoining communities. The city of Alba Longa, the leader of this federation, was the site of religious ceremonies, which included worship of Jupiter on the Alban Mount. It was also the place where league members

Gauge

2005-01-28T03:07:00.000-08:00

A measure of the bore of a shotgun. See bore.

Xerophyte

2005-01-26T14:25:00.000-08:00

Any plant adapted to life in a dry or physiologically dry habitat (salt marsh, saline soil, or acid bog) by means of mechanisms to prevent water loss or to store available water. Succulents (plants that store water) such as cacti and agaves have thick, fleshy stems or leaves. Other xerophytic adaptations include waxy leaf coatings, the ability to

Nevada, Climate

2005-01-26T02:05:00.000-08:00

The high Sierras along the state's western boundary often cause clouds of Pacific origin to drop their moisture before reaching Nevada, thus producing a semiarid climate. The driest regions are in the southeast and near Carson Sink, where annual rainfall seldom exceeds four inches (100 millimetres). The northeast has as little as eight inches of precipitation, whereas

Gauge

2005-01-26T01:32:00.000-08:00

The most obvious method for obtaining the value of the astronomical unit would seem to be to measure simultaneously from two places on the Earth the position of the Sun against the background of the distant

García I (or Ii) Sanchez

2005-01-25T20:52:00.000-08:00

King of Pamplona (Navarre) from 925 to 970, son of Sancho I Garcés and Queen Toda Aznar. He owed his throne to the support of his cousin 'Abd ar-Rahman III, the Umayyad caliph of Cordoba. The end of his reign was taken up with wars against the count of Castile, Fernán González. Sancho I of Leon, deposed by the Castilian, took refuge in Navarre; García took to the field and in 960 managed to capture

Bream, Julian Alexander

2005-01-24T19:05:00.000-08:00

After studying with his father and performing locally from age 14, Bream attended the Royal College of Music while pursuing private extracurricular study of the guitar. He was much influenced by the styles of Andrés Segovia and

Saint Andrews, University Of

2005-01-24T14:18:00.000-08:00

Oldest university in Scotland, founded in 1411, located in Fife region. The university buildings, many of which date from the Middle Ages, include St. Salvator's College (1450), St. Leonard's College (1512), and the University Library, refounded by James VI in 1612. A third college, St. Mary's (1537), has been limited (since 1579) to the teaching of theology. In 1747 St. Salvator's and St. Leonard's were merged. Among the famous

Kwakiutl

2005-01-23T03:22:00.000-08:00

Indians of the northwest Pacific coast of North America. The Kwakiutl live in British Columbia, Canada, along the shores of the waterways between Vancouver Island and the mainland opposite. They speak one of three major dialects: Haisla, spoken on the Gardner Canal and Douglas Channel; Heiltsuq, spoken from Gardner Canal to Rivers Inlet; and southern Kwakiutl, spoken

C.b.e.

2005-01-22T19:39:00.000-08:00

Commander of the British Empire, member of a British order of knighthood, although this rank does not confer knighthood. See British Empire, The Most Excellent Order of the.

Franchet D'esperey, Louis-félix-françois

2005-01-22T02:54:00.000-08:00

Trained at Saint-Cyr, d'Esperey served during the prewar period in Algeria and Tunisia. At the outbreak of World War I, he was a corps commander at

Aerosmith

2005-01-20T13:08:00.000-08:00

American heavy metal band. One of the biggest arena-rock attractions of the late 1970s, Aerosmith became even more popular with its career revival in the mid-1980s. Principal members were Steven Tyler (byname of Steven Tallarico; b. March 26, 1948, New York, New York, U.S.), Joe Perry (b. September 10, 1950, Boston, Massachusetts), Brad Whitford (b. February 23, 1952, Winchester, Massachusetts), Tom Hamilton (b. December

Biblical Literature, Textual criticism: scholarly problems

2005-01-20T07:17:00.000-08:00

As to when and how a single text type gained hegemony and then displaced all others, it is clear that the early and widespread public reading of the Scriptures in the synagogues of Palestine,

Race

2005-01-19T16:52:00.000-08:00

Race as a categorizing term referring to human beings was first used in the English language in the late 16th century. Until the 18th century, it had a generalized meaning similar to other classifying terms such as type, sort, or kind. Occasional literature of Shakespeare's time referred to a “race of saints,” or “a race of bishops.” Some historians have speculated that the English