TightOven

serviced offices

2006-11-01T11:05:00.000-08:00

Office planet have a huge database of serviced offices throughout the UK. serviced offices provide an affordable and hassle free office solution

Amadeus Viii

2005-04-05T16:25:00.000-07:00

The sudden death of Amadeus VII in 1391 left his eight-year-old son

Military Affairs

2005-04-02T18:41:00.000-08:00

Defense Minister Alain Richard presented a F 243.5 billion (U.S. $43.8 billion) 1999 budget proposal in keeping with the four-year defense spending plan he had unveiled in April. That plan was designed to cut F 20 billion ($3.5 billion) from the defense budget by 2002. To help meet this goal, France abandoned seven military programs,

Ammonius Hermiae

2005-04-01T15:19:00.000-08:00

Greek philosopher whose thinking was primarily oriented toward logic and the sciences. He spent a good part of his intellectual life in writing critical works on Aristotle. As a student, he worked closely with Proclus and, later in life, was appointed the head of the Alexandrian school. His major commentaries, on the Categoriae and Analytica priora of Aristotle's

Biblical Literature, Types of manuscript errors

2005-03-30T19:23:00.000-08:00

Since scribes either copied manuscripts or wrote from dictation, manuscript variants could be of several types: copying, hearing, accidental, or intentional. Errors in copying were common, particularly with uncial letters that looked alike. In early manuscripts OC (for hos, “[he] who”), for example, might easily be mistaken for the traditional abbreviation of God: QC (for

Capital

2005-03-27T05:30:00.000-08:00

Capital may be so broadly defined as to include all possible material, nonmaterial, and human inputs into a productive system, but it is usually more useful to confine the

Sacra Rappresentazione

2005-03-26T08:44:00.000-08:00

(Italian: “holy performance”), in theatre, 15th-century Italian ecclesiastical drama similar to the mystery plays of France and England and the auto sacramental of Spain. Originating and flourishing in Florence, these religious dramas represented scenes from the Old and New Testaments, from pious legends, and from the lives of the saints. The plays were didactic, using

Journal

2005-03-23T04:42:00.000-08:00

An account of day-to-day events or a record of experiences, ideas, or reflections kept regularly for private use that is similar to, but sometimes less personal than, a diary.

Middot

2005-03-22T03:29:00.000-08:00

(Hebrew: “measure,” or “norms”), in Jewish hermeneutics or biblical interpretation, methods or principles used to explicate the meaning of biblical words or passages to meet the exigencies of new situations. Though the rules, or norms, were probably developing in early Hellenistic Judaism, the first known middot were compiled by Rabbi Hillel in the 1st century BC. Following

Swami-narayani

2005-03-20T06:40:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Swaminarayana, Hindu reform sect with a large popular following in Gujarat state. It arose primarily as a protest against the corrupt practices said to have developed during the 19th century among the Vallabhacarya, a prominent devotional sect renowned for the deference paid to its gurus (spiritual leaders). The sect was founded in Ahmedabad about 1804 by Swami Narayana, who emphasized the observance

Vieira Da Cruz, Tomaz

2005-03-18T22:22:00.000-08:00

Vieira da Cruz was reared and educated in Portugal, where he became a pharmacist's assistant. This job afforded him time to write

Canada East

2005-03-18T05:17:00.000-08:00

Settled primarily by French Canadians who wanted to preserve their distinctive identity and cultural traditions, Canada East was reluctant to join the proposed confederation

Viète, François, Seigneur (lord) De La Bigotiere

2005-03-17T03:42:00.000-08:00

Viète, a Huguenot sympathizer, solved a complex cipher of more than 500 characters used by King Philip II of Spain in his war to defend Roman Catholicism from the Huguenots. When Philip, assuming that the cipher could

Procyon

2005-03-16T04:10:00.000-08:00

Also called Alpha Canis Minoris brightest star in the northern constellation Canis Minor (Lesser Dog) and one of the brightest in the entire sky, with an apparent visual magnitude of 0.34. Procyon lies about 11 light-years from the Earth and is a visual binary, a bright yellow-white subgiant with a faint, white dwarf companion of about the 11th magnitude. The name apparently derives from Greek words for “before

Viscometer

2005-03-14T23:26:00.000-08:00

Instrument for measuring the viscosity (resistance to internal flow) of a fluid. In one version, the time taken for a given volume of fluid to flow through an opening is recorded. In the capillary tube viscometer, the pressure needed to force the fluid to flow at a specified rate through a narrow tube is measured. Other types depend on measurements of the time taken for

Dyce, William

2005-03-14T11:10:00.000-08:00

Dyce studied at the Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh, and the Royal Academy schools, London. One of the first British students of early Italian Renaissance painting, he visited Italy in 1825 and 1827–28, meeting in Rome a group of young German painters, the Nazarenes. He

Aluminum Bronze

2005-03-12T18:57:00.000-08:00

Any of a group of strong, corrosion-resistant alloys of copper containing from 4 to 15 percent aluminum and small amounts of other metals, used to make many machine parts and tools. Because of their golden colour and high tarnish resistance, the alloys are also used for jewelry and in architecture. Their resistance to oxidation at high temperatures and to corrosion, particularly

Music, Western, The sonata and concerto

2005-03-11T01:13:00.000-08:00

The major new categories of instrumental music during the Baroque period were the sonata and the concerto. Originally applied to instrumental ensemble pieces derived from the canzona, the term sonata became the designation for a form that was to dominate instrumental music from the mid-18th until the 20th century. In its keyboard manifestation, it was a binary (two-part)

Steel, Vacuum treatment

2005-03-10T11:36:00.000-08:00

Exposing steel to vacuum conditions has a profound effect on all metallurgical reactions involving gases. First, it lowers the level of gases dissolved in liquid steel. Hydrogen, for example, is readily removed in a vacuum to less than two parts per million. Nitrogen is not as mobile in liquid steel as hydrogen, so that only 15 to 30 percent is typically removed during a 20-minute

Salamanca

2005-03-08T13:41:00.000-08:00

As an important Iberian settlement, it was ravaged by the Carthaginian general Hannibal in 217 BC. A Roman

Rohan, Louis-rené-édouard, Prince De

2005-03-07T16:44:00.000-08:00

Cardinal from 1778 and bishop of Strasbourg from 1779 to 1801, who was the antihero of the French scandal known as the Affair of the Diamond Necklace in 1785 (see Diamond Necklace, Affair of the). Duped into undertaking the purchase of a necklace for Queen Marie-Antoinette, without her authority and without funds of his own, he was tried for fraud

Fordham University

2005-03-06T18:27:00.000-08:00

Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in New York, New York, U.S. It is affiliated with the Jesuit order of the Roman Catholic church. The university consists of the original Rose Hill campus in the north Bronx, the Lincoln Center campus in Manhattan, and the Tarrytown campus, at which only graduate courses are offered, in Westchester county. Fordham

France, History Of, Foreign affairs

2005-03-06T06:21:00.000-08:00

From the beginning of his reign Louis pursued a vigorous foreign policy. Historical opinion has traditionally held that Louis sought to dominate Europe, only to meet his just deserts at the end of his reign. More recently another interpretation has emerged, which argues that Louis pursued consistent and for the most part moderate aims and pursued them successfully

Mitiaro

2005-03-05T13:40:00.000-08:00

Island in the lower Cook Islands, a dependency of New Zealand, southwest Pacific Ocean. It is a raised coral atoll, with a land area of 8.6 sq mi (22.3 sq km), and is encircled by a reef. Its interior of fertile volcanic soil, ringed by swamps and limestone, supports copra and citrus fruits. Stands of sandalwood occur. Pop. (1981) 256.

Christian, Fletcher

2005-03-04T17:19:00.000-08:00

A member of a family that had moved from the Isle of Man to Cumberland, Eng., Christian had already served some years in the navy when, in 1787, he became master's mate on the Bounty, a discovery ship sailing (Dec. 23, 1787) from Spithead to the South Seas to collect breadfruit

Luxembourg, François-henri De Montmorency-bouteville, Duc De

2005-03-03T07:37:00.000-08:00

The posthumous son of François de Montmorency-Bouteville, he was reared by a distant relative, Charlotte de Montmorency, princesse de Condé. Although Bouteville was hunchbacked and physically weak, the princesse's son Louis II de Bourbon,

Radiation Therapy

2005-03-01T19:39:00.000-08:00

Also called Radiotherapy, or Therapeutic Radiology, use of radiation sources in the treatment or relief of diseases. Radiation therapy almost always makes use of ionizing radiation, deep tissue-penetrating rays, which can physically and chemically react with diseased cells to destroy them. The other forms of radiation, infrared and ultraviolet, can be employed in heat lamps for neuritis and arthritis conditions

Biblical Literature, The Geneva Bible

2005-02-28T14:24:00.000-08:00

The brief efflorescence of the Protestant movement during the short reign of Edward VI (1547–53) saw the reissue of the Scriptures, but no fresh attempts at revision. The repressive rule of Edward's successor, Mary, a Roman Catholic, put an end to the printing of Bibles in England for several years. Their public reading was proscribed and their presence in the churches

Earth, Reversals of the main field

2005-02-27T21:44:00.000-08:00

The Earth's internal magnetic field has not always been oriented as it is today. The direction of the dipole component reverses, on an average, about every 300,000 to 1,000,000 years. This reversal is very sudden on a geologic time scale, apparently taking about 5,000 years. The time between reversals is highly variable, sometimes occurring in less than 40,000 years and at other times remaining steady

Black Bart

2005-02-24T23:22:00.000-08:00

Born in New York state, he served in the American Civil War and

Aznar, José María

2005-02-24T03:46:00.000-08:00

In 1975, during Spain's transition to democracy, José Marí

Chicago And North Western Transportation Company

2005-02-22T20:29:00.000-08:00

The railroad was incorporated in 1859 as a successor to the foreclosed Columbus, Hocking Valley and Toledo Railway. Its first president was William Butler Ogden, the first mayor of Chicago. A constituent company that was acquired

Obadiah, Book Of

2005-02-22T00:51:00.000-08:00

In the book, Edom,

Scab

2005-02-20T20:34:00.000-08:00

In pathology, secondary skin lesion composed of dried serum, blood, or pus. See wound.

Wilson, Edmund

2005-02-20T01:09:00.000-08:00

Educated at Princeton, Wilson moved from newspaper reporting in New York to become managing editor of Vanity Fair (1920–21) and associate editor of The New Republic (1926–31). Wilson's first critical work, Axel's Castle (1931), was an important international survey of the Symbolist

Saint Catharines

2005-02-18T21:36:00.000-08:00

City, Regional Municipality of Niagara, southeastern Ontario, Canada, on the south shore of Lake Ontario, at the entrance to the Welland Ship Canal. Named after the first wife of Robert Hamilton, member of the first legislative council of Upper Canada, it has grown from a small settlement established in 1790 to become the centre of the Niagara fruit belt and the largest city

Albacete

2005-02-18T05:47:00.000-08:00

Capital of Albacete provincia, Castile-La Mancha comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”), southeast-central Spain. Albacete is located in the historic La Mancha region, on the Don Juan River at its juncture with the María Cristina Canal. Of Moorish origin (Arabic: Al-Basit), it was the scene of two battles between Christians and Moors, in 1145 and 1146. Refounded in 1365 as Albacete, it

Cleveland

2005-02-16T05:01:00.000-08:00

Region and former administrative county, northeastern England, along the River Tees and the North Sea. The region comprises parts of the historic counties of Durham and Yorkshire to the north and south of the Tees, respectively. It is divided administratively into the following unitary authorities: Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesbrough, and Redcar and

Perak, Tun

2005-02-16T01:19:00.000-08:00

A leader in the Malay defeat of a Siamese invasion in 1445–46, Tun Perak was made bendahara by Sultan Muzaffar Shah in 1456, when he again led Malacca's forces in a decisive defeat of the Siamese. He

Zamboanga City

2005-02-14T18:49:00.000-08:00

City and port, western Mindanao, Philippines. It is a busy port strategically located on the southwestern tip of the Zamboanga Peninsula, on Basilan Strait and sheltered by Basilan Island. The immediate coastal lowlands are narrow, with low, rugged hills located a short distance inland. Zamboanga's Spanish-style architecture, fine beaches, and mountainous backdrop

Liliidae, Phytochemistry

2005-02-13T23:52:00.000-08:00

As might be expected from so large a group, Liliidae are very diverse in their flavonoids. These compounds have systematic importance only at the generic level. The unusual steroid saponins, however, characterize Liliidae to a remarkable degree, although they are absent from several groupings—notably Lilium and its close allies as well as several genera with alkaloids

Handke, Peter

2005-02-12T19:28:00.000-08:00

Handke, the son of a bank clerk, studied law at Graz University from 1961 to 1965 and contributed pieces to the avant-garde literary magazine manuskripte. He came to public notice as an anticonventional playwright

Kylver Stone

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

The runes faced the inside of a coffin and probably were intended either to protect the grave or to bind the dead person to it. In addition to the runic alphabet, the rune carver also carved

Mocha

2005-02-11T04:55:00.000-08:00

Arabic Al-mukha, also spelled Mokha, or Mukha, town, southwestern Yemen, on the Red Sea and the Tihamah (coastal plain). Yemen's most renowned historic port, it lies at the head of a shallow bay between two headlands, with an unprotected anchorage 1.5 miles (2.5 km) offshore. It was long famous as Arabia's chief coffee-exporting centre; the term mocha and variations of the word have entered European languages as a synonym for the

Pack Ice

2005-02-10T10:51:00.000-08:00

Floating mass of ice formed from seawater in the Earth's polar regions. Pack ice expands during winter to cover about 5 percent of the northern oceans and 8 percent of the southern oceans. When melting occurs in spring and summer, the margins of the pack ice retreat.

Computers And Information Systems

2005-02-09T07:39:00.000-08:00

A flurry of legal and Internet activity swirled around the computer industry in 2003, contrasting sharply with slowed sales for computers and software. While industry sales languished and layoffs continued, consumers and businesses experienced the wrath of Internet worms and viruses. Junk e-mail, called spam, clogged e-mail inboxes everywhere, and legislators mobilized

East Hampshire

2005-02-07T10:58:00.000-08:00

The district's two principal parishes (towns), Alton and

Burgess Shale

2005-02-06T23:38:00.000-08:00

Fossil formation containing remarkably detailed traces of soft-bodied biota of the Middle Cambrian Epoch (520 to 512 million years ago). Collected from a fossil bed in the Burgess Pass of the Canadian Rockies, the Burgess Shale is one of the best preserved and most important fossil formations in the world. Since it was discovered in 1909, over 60,000 specimens have been retrieved from

Quinto Real

2005-02-06T09:28:00.000-08:00

(Spanish: “royal fifth”), in colonial Spanish America, a tax levied by the crown on mineral products; it was the principal source of profit derived by Spain from its colonies. The percentage was fixed at one-fifth in 1504, to be paid for 10 years, but the rate remained at generally that level until the 18th century. In 1723 the quinto was almost uniformly reduced to the diezmo (one-tenth); in 1777 the

Arno River

2005-02-04T13:20:00.000-08:00

Italian Fiume Arno, Latin Arnus, principal stream of the Toscana (Tuscany) region, in central Italy. Rising on the slopes of Monte Falterona in the Tuscan Apennines, it flows for 150 mi (240 km) to the Ligurian Sea, receiving the Sieve, Pesa, Elsa, and Era rivers. Its drainage basin covers 3,184 sq mi (8,247 sq km). Navigation on the river is negligible. In its upper course the Arno flows generally south through the former lake basin

Clodomir

2005-02-03T20:43:00.000-08:00

The eldest son of Clovis I by Clotilda, Clodomir shared in the fourfold partition of his father's kingdom in 511, receiving lands in western and central France; his was the only one of the four kingdoms to form a single geographical unit on both sides of the Loire River. In 523, with his two full brothers, Chlotar

Sang-kan River

2005-02-03T06:57:00.000-08:00

Wade–Giles romanization Sang Kan Ho , Pin-yin Sang Gan He river in Shansi and Hopeh provinces, China. The Sang-kan River rises just south of Ning-wu, near the Great Wall of China, on the eastern slope of the Kuan-ts'en Shan (mountains), in northern Shansi. After flowing northeast in a trough running parallel to the strike of the Heng Shan, it turns southeast near Hsüan-hua (Hopeh) to emerge into the North China Plain in the Peking area.

Sun, Photosphere

2005-02-01T14:30:00.000-08:00

Although there are no fires on the surface of the Sun, the photosphere seethes and roils, displaying the effects of the underlying convection. Photons flowing from below, trapped by the underlying layers, finally escape. This produces a dramatic drop in temperature and density. The temperature at the visible surface is about 5,800 K but drops to a minimum about 4,000 K at approximately

Fort Stanwix, Treaties Of

2005-01-31T06:42:00.000-08:00

(1768, 1784), cession by the Iroquois Confederacy of land in what are now western Pennsylvania, Kentucky, West Virginia, and New York, opening vast tracts of territory west of the Appalachian Mountains to white exploitation and settlement. Soon after the Proclamation of 1763 (see 1763, Proclamation of), which followed the last French and Indian War, British authorities recognized that

China, Military reorganization

2005-01-31T06:15:00.000-08:00

The most important new development in Hsüan-tsung's reign was the growth in the power of the military commanders. During Kao-tsung's reign the old militia system had proved inadequate for frontier defense and had been supplemented by the institution of permanent armies and garrison forces quartered in strategic areas on the frontiers. These armies were made up

Charadriiform, Molt

2005-01-30T13:54:00.000-08:00

Most Charadriiformes have two molts between breeding periods, which are on an annual cycle in all except some populations of the sooty tern (Sterna fuscata). A partial body molt generally precedes breeding, and a complete molt follows breeding. In some species flight feathers of the wing and tail are molted before the fall migration; in others they are retained through

Armorica

2005-01-28T18:40:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Aremorica (from Celtic ar, “on,” and mor, “sea”), Latin name for the northwestern extremity of Gaul, now Brittany. In Celtic, Roman, and Frankish times Armorica also included the western part of what later became Normandy. In Julius Caesar's time it was the home of five principal tribes, the most important being the Veneti. Under the Roman Empire it formed part of the province of Gallia Lugdunensis,

Kaffeklubben Island

2005-01-27T04:10:00.000-08:00

Island and one of the world's northernmost points of land, in the Arctic Ocean, 37 km (20 nautical miles) east of Cape Morris Jesup, Greenland. Kaffeklubben (Danish: “Coffee Club”) was discovered in 1900 by Robert E. Peary, the American Arctic explorer. The island was visited in 1921 by the Danish explorer Lauge Koch, who named it for the Kaffeklub at the Mineralogical Museum in Copenhagen.

Daniel Romanovich

2005-01-27T02:59:00.000-08:00

Son of Prince Roman Mstislavich, Daniel was only four years old when his father, who had united Galicia and Volhynia, died in a battle against the Poles (1205). Not until 1221 did Daniel begin to overthrow other pretenders

Van Gennip, Yvonne

2005-01-26T21:58:00.000-08:00

At the start of the 1988 Games in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, much of the attention in the women's speed-skating competition was focused on the East German team, which had dominated at the previous Olympics, capturing

Verdure Tapestry

2005-01-25T17:45:00.000-08:00

Such famous tapestry factories as Aubusson and

Rifleman

2005-01-24T01:49:00.000-08:00

A New Zealand wren of the family Xenicidae (q.v.).

Aravali Range

2005-01-23T13:32:00.000-08:00

Also called Aravalli Range, hill system of northern India, running northeasterly for 350 miles (560 km) through Rajasthan state. Isolated rocky offshoots continue to just south of Delhi. The series of peaks and ridges, with breadths varying from 6 to 60 miles (10 to 100 km) are generally between 1,000 and 3,000 feet (300 and 900 m) in elevation. The system is divided into two sections—the Sambhar-Sirohi ranges, taller and including Guru Peak

Dublin

2005-01-22T00:39:00.000-08:00

Irish Dubh Linn, or Norse Dyfflin (“Black Pool”) , also called Baile Átha Cliath (“Town of the Ford of the Hurdle”), city, formally a county borough, and capital of County Dublin and of Ireland. Located in the east-central part of the country at the head of Dublin Bay on the Irish Sea, the city is the country's chief port, centre of financial and commercial power, and seat of culture. It is also a city of contrasts, maintaining an uneasy relationship between reminders of its colonial past

Kazoku

2005-01-21T03:28:00.000-08:00

In Japan, the unified, crown-appointed aristocracy of the period 1869–1947, which replaced the feudal lords. The kazoku (“flower family”) class was created in 1869 as part of the Westernizing reforms of the Meiji Restoration. In this class the old feudal lords (daimyo) and court nobles (kuge) were merged into one group and deprived of territorial privileges. In 1884 the kazoku was reorganized

Benda, Frantiek

2005-01-19T15:58:00.000-08:00

The eldest son of Jan Jirí Benda and his wife Dorota Brixi, both talented musicians, Benda studied under Johann Gottlieb Graun and joined the orchestra of Frederick II the Great (then crown prince). On Frederick's accession (1740) to the Prussian

Rabassa, Gregory

2005-01-18T09:07:00.000-08:00

Rabassa graduated from Columbia University (Ph.D., 1954) and taught

Economic Planning

2005-01-17T19:35:00.000-08:00

By the late 1960s the majority of the world's countries conducted

Silchar

2005-01-17T05:42:00.000-08:00

City, southern Assam state, northeastern India. Situated on the Surma River near the Bangladesh border, it is a trade and processing centre for tea, rice, and other agricultural products. There is limited industry, principally papermaking and tea-box manufacturing. The city has an airport and lies on both a rail line and a motor road connecting Aizawl in Mizoram state

Yacht

2005-01-15T16:21:00.000-08:00

After the decade 1840–50, when steam began to replace sail power in commercial vessels, the steam engine and, later, the internal-combustion engine were increasingly employed in pleasure vessels. Large power yachts were developed to a high degree, and long-distance cruising became a favourite pastime of the rich. The earliest power yachts were paddle-wheel boats; these then

Nivernais

2005-01-15T08:28:00.000-08:00

Having formed part of the duchy of Burgundy, the county of Nevers (Nivernais)

Gobel, Jean-baptiste-joseph

2005-01-13T18:52:00.000-08:00

Educated at the German College, Rome, Gobel became in 1755 vicar-general of the diocese of

Displacement

2005-01-12T22:44:00.000-08:00

In mechanics, distance moved by a particle or body in a specific direction. It is a vector quantity, possessing both magnitude and direction. In the Figure, A is the initial position of a point, B is the final position, and the vector directed from A to B is the displacement. The distance traveled by the point depends on the path that it follows; it will be equal to the magnitude

Australian Aboriginal

2005-01-12T11:51:00.000-08:00

Also called Aborigine any member of the indigenous people of Australia and Tasmania. Estimates of the Aboriginal population at the time of European colonization in the late 18th century range from 300,000 to more than 1,000,000. Both people and languages (or dialects) were associated with stretches of territory, and the largest entities recognized by the people were language-named groups, sometimes referred

Radiation Pressure

2005-01-11T03:20:00.000-08:00

Although the pressure of solar radiation is exceedingly small, a sufficiently large surface could produce a force that would be technologically

Atlantic Languages

2005-01-10T22:54:00.000-08:00

Formerly West Atlantic languages branch of the Niger-Congo language family spoken primarily in Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. The approximately 45 Atlantic languages are spoken by about 30 million people. One language cluster, Fula (also called Fulani, Peul, Fulfulde, and Toucouleur), accounts for more than half of this number and is the most widely scattered language

Traditional Ceramics

2005-01-08T21:01:00.000-08:00

Ceramic materials that are derived from common, naturally occurring raw materials such as clay minerals and quartz sand. Through industrial processes that have been practiced in some form for centuries, these materials are made into such familiar products as china tableware, clay brick and tile, industrial abrasives and refractory linings, and portland cement.

Bohemond Ii

2005-01-07T14:29:00.000-08:00

The son of Bohemond I and Constance of France, he went from Apulia to Antioch in 1126. Antioch had been under the regency of Baldwin II of Jerusalem since 1119, when the previous prince, Roger, had been killed. Soon after his arrival in Antioch, Bohemond married Alice, the younger daughter of Baldwin. After joining with Baldwin in an attack on Damascus

Norway, Conflict of church and state

2005-01-07T03:51:00.000-08:00

Following the rule of Magnus III's sons, the increasing power of the church and the monarch contributed to a century of civil war. During the early 12th century the kings expanded their direct rule over the various provinces, and the family aristocracy in Norway grew discontented. With the accession of Harald IV (ruled 1130–36), interest groups within Norwegian society began

Breed Association

2005-01-06T09:33:00.000-08:00

Organization that promotes the respective breeds of horses and registers horses that meet certain qualifications. A new association may admit horses that meet certain qualifications but whose parents are not registered; this is called an open association. The qualifications may be type, colour, or speed. Standardbred horses, for example, are admitted to the registry

Levitt, Helen

2005-01-05T18:50:00.000-08:00

Levitt began her career in photography at age 18 working in a portrait studio in the Bronx. After seeing the works of French photographer Henri-Cartier Bresson, she was inspired to purchase a 35-mm Leica camera and began to scour the poor

Astyanax

2005-01-04T01:28:00.000-08:00

In Greek legend, prince, son of the Trojan prince Hector and his wife Andromache; he was also known as Scamandrius, after the River Scamander, near Troy. After the fall of Troy he was hurled from the battlements of the city by the Greek warrior Neoptolemus. According to medieval legend, however, he survived the war, established the kingdom of Messina in Sicily, and founded

Daendels, Herman Willem

2005-01-03T09:39:00.000-08:00

Daendels was a lawyer in his native town; he led the Patriot Movement there against William V of Orange, stadtholder

Amir Khosrow

2005-01-02T23:34:00.000-08:00

Amir Khosrow was the son of a Turkish officer in the service of Iltutmish, sultan of Delhi, and for his entire life he enjoyed the patronage of the Muslim rulers of Delhi, especially Sultan Ghiyas-ud-Din Balban and his son Muhammad Khan of Multan. During his youth

Performing Arts, Latin America.

2004-12-31T21:03:00.000-08:00

The Brazilian director Walter Salles, Jr., enjoyed worldwide success with Central do Brasil (Central Station), the story of a mean old spinster who unwillingly discovers her own resources of humanity through an encounter with an irresistibly appealing little orphan boy. In marked contrast was the visionary style of Djalma Limongi Batista's fantasy biography of

France, History Of, France in the 16th century

2004-12-30T10:19:00.000-08:00

When Charles VIII (1483–98) led the French invasion of Italy in 1494, he initiated a series of Italian wars that were to last until the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559. These wars were not especially successful for the French, but they corresponded to the contemporary view of the obligations of kingship. They also had their effects upon the development of the French state; in particular,

Oscar I

2004-12-30T07:36:00.000-08:00

Oscar's early liberal outlook and progressive ideas on such issues as fiscal policy, freedom of the press, and penal reform fortuitously coincided with a period of social, political, and industrial change. After his accession

Gradus

2004-12-28T08:42:00.000-08:00

A dictionary of Greek or Latin prosody and poetic phrases used as an aid in the writing of verse in Greek or Latin. The term is derived from the Gradus ad Parnassum (“A Step to Parnassus”), a 17th-century prosody dictionary long used in British schools.

Durang, John

2004-12-27T01:25:00.000-08:00

The first U.S.-born professional dancer of note, who was best known for his hornpipe dance. In 1784, when Durang was 17 years old, he made his debut as a performer in Lewis Hallam's “lecture” and patriotic extravaganza. Plays and dances were banned by law at that time, and the euphemism lecture was used for such events. Thus began Durang's dance career, and although

Developments In The States, 1998

2004-12-27T01:10:00.000-08:00

California voters narrowly turned down an initiative prohibiting the use of union dues money for political purposes without direct permission from the union members. After ironing out differences with state interests, Congress approved the Internet Tax Freedom Act, effectively barring new or special state taxes on Internet commercial transactions. Proponents

Argentina, The Northwest

2004-12-26T02:04:00.000-08:00

Vegetation in the Northwest region includes that of the high puna desert, the forested slopes of the Andes, and the subtropical scrub forests of the Pampean Sierras, the latter merging with the deciduous scrub woodlands of the Gran Chaco. Vegetation on the mostly exposed soil of the puna consists of dwarf shrubs and tough grasses, notably bunchgrass; these and other

Saint Austell

2004-12-25T08:42:00.000-08:00

Town, Restormel borough, administrative and historic county of Cornwall, southwestern England. St. Austell was originally called Trenance and takes its present name from a hermit named St. Austol. England's most important kaolin (china clay) deposits are dug in the area, then processed at St. Austell, and shipped from the nearby port of Fowey. Many people are employed

Domenico Veneziano,

2004-12-23T21:40:00.000-08:00

Domenico was probably first trained in the International Gothic manner in Venice, where it is likely he saw paintings by northern European artists. He settled in Florence about 1439 and, except for brief periods, worked there until his

Fénelon, François De Salignac De La Mothe-

2004-12-22T14:46:00.000-08:00

French archbishop, theologian, and man of letters whose liberal views on politics and education and whose involvement in a controversy over the nature of mystical prayer caused concerted opposition from church and state. His pedagogical concepts and literary works, nevertheless, exerted a lasting influence on

K'uei Hsing

2004-12-21T11:49:00.000-08:00

K'uei Hsing, whose name before deification was Chung K'uei, is said to have passed his own examination with remarkable success but was denied the usual honours when the emperor beheld his ugly features. Brokenhearted, K'uei attempted

Strasbourg

2004-12-20T16:19:00.000-08:00

Besides its traditional role as the chief city of Alsace, Strasbourg is also the seat of the Council of Europe, an episcopal see, a university town, and an international communications centre. The river port, which lies east of the

Bethel

2004-12-20T06:35:00.000-08:00

Ancient city of Palestine, located just north of Jerusalem. Originally called Luz and in modern times Baytin, Bethel was important in Old Testament times and was frequently associated with Abraham and Jacob. Excavations, carried out by the American School of Oriental Research and the Pittsburgh-Xenia Theological Seminary, suggest that Bethel may have been the

Armenian Rite

2004-12-19T21:51:00.000-08:00

The system of liturgical practices and discipline observed by both the Armenian Apostolic (Orthodox) Church and the Armenian Catholics. The Armenians, who regard themselves as the “first Christian nation,” were converted to Christianity by St. Gregory the Illuminator about AD 300. The Liturgy of St. Gregory the Illuminator, used by both Apostolic and Catholic Armenians,

Piceni

2004-12-17T06:34:00.000-08:00

English Picenes Early Iron Age inhabitants of the Adriatic coast of Italy from Rimini to the Sangro River. Men and women dressed in wool; men wore armour, weapons, and ornaments of bronze or iron; women had numerous fibulae, torques, bracelets, girdles, and ornamental pendants. They had two main centres, one at Novilara in the north, and another around Belmonte and Fermo farther south. The

Insurance, Types of contracts

2004-12-16T21:53:00.000-08:00

The major types of life insurance contracts are term, whole life, and universal life, but innumerable combinations of these basic types are sold. Term insurance contracts, issued for specified periods of years, are the simplest. Protection under these contracts expires at the end of the stated period, with no cash value remaining. Whole life contracts, on the other