FatParcel

Estate Agent Fitzrovia

2006-10-25T20:35:00.000-07:00

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.

Cage, John

2005-03-30T14:33:00.000-08:00

The son of an inventor, Cage briefly attended Pomona College and then traveled in Europe for a time. Returning to the United States in 1931, he studied music with Richard Buhlig, Arnold

Fibula

2005-03-30T07:08:00.000-08:00

Greek fibulae from the 7th century BC were elaborately decorated along the long catch plate: rows of animals, such as ducks, lions, and sphinxes, might be soldered on, or a frieze of animals might be worked

Leviathan

2005-03-30T00:41:00.000-08:00

Hebrew Livyatan, in Jewish mythology, a primordial sea serpent. Its source is in prebiblical Mesopotamian myth, especially that of the sea monster in the Ugaritic myth of Baal (see Yamm). In the Old Testament, Leviathan appears in Psalms 74:14 as a multiheaded sea serpent that is killed by God and given as food to the Hebrews in the wilderness. In Isaiah 27:1, Leviathan is a serpent and a symbol of Israel's

Fable, Parable, And Allegory, Parable

2005-03-28T10:30:00.000-08:00

Parables do not analyze social systems so much as they remind the listener of his beliefs. The moral and spiritual stress of the form falls upon memory rather than on the critical faculty. The audience hearing the parable is assumed to share a communal truth but perhaps to have set it aside or forgotten it. The rhetorical appeal of a parable is directed primarily toward

Animals, Cruelty To

2005-03-27T16:48:00.000-08:00

The willful or wanton infliction of pain, suffering, or death upon an animal, or the intentional or malicious neglect of an animal. In varying degrees, it is illegal in most countries in the world, and, in the late 20th century, interest in endangered species gave further impetus to the anticruelty movement. Reflecting such interest, many laws have been passed, although

Lévka Mountains

2005-03-27T11:15:00.000-08:00

Bearing a stream during the

Ze'evi, Rechavam

2005-03-26T15:57:00.000-08:00

Israeli soldier and politician (b. Aug. 20, 1926, Jerusalem, Palestine—d. Oct. 17, 2001, Jerusalem, Israel), pursued hard-line ultranationalist policies, most notably in support of his outspoken belief that all Palestinians should be removed from the Israel-occupied territories in Gaza and the West Bank and transferred to Arab countries and his claim that the kingdom of Jordan should

Polio Vaccine

2005-03-25T16:50:00.000-08:00

Preparation of poliomyelitis virus given to prevent infection with the disease. The virus is grown in kidney tissue from rhesus monkeys. There are two types of vaccine: one with killed virus, which is injected, and the other with live, attenuated (weakened) virus, which is given orally. Vaccines, whether killed or live, must contain strains of all of the three poliovirus

Babol

2005-03-25T03:31:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Babul, formerly Barfurush, city, northern Iran, on the Babol River, about 15 miles (24 km) south of the Caspian Sea. Babol gained importance during the reign (1797–1834) of Fath 'Ali Shah, though 'Abbas I (died 1629) had laid out a pleasure garden and summer palace there. The city has paved streets, large and crowded bazaars, well-built houses, and small, handsome mosques and funeral towers. There are some manufacturing activities, but

Noriega, Manuel

2005-03-24T21:56:00.000-08:00

Noriega was born into a poor family of Colombian extraction. Educated at one of the top high schools in Panama, he was awarded a scholarship to the Chorrillos Military School in Lima,

Ahl-e Haqq

2005-03-23T23:07:00.000-08:00

(Arabic: “People of Truth,” or “People of God”), a secret, syncretistic religion, derived largely from Islam, whose adherents are found in western Iran, with enclaves in Iraq. They retain the 12 imams of the Ithna 'Ashariyah sect and such aspects of Islamic mysticism as the communal feast. Central to their religion, however, is a belief in seven successive manifestations of God. They

Hypotrich

2005-03-23T06:58:00.000-08:00

Any dorsoventrally flattened, oval protozoan of the ciliate order Hypotrichida, very widely distributed in both fresh and salt water. Instead of having simple cilia (hairlike processes), the hypotrichs have groups of fused cilia (cirri) arranged on the ventral surface and used for crawling. The dorsal surface is frequently equipped with rows

Arias Sánchez, Oscar

2005-03-22T13:47:00.000-08:00

Born into one of the wealthiest coffee-growing families in Costa Rica, Arias studied economics at the University of Costa Rica and earned a Ph.D. from the University of Essex in England. In the 1960s he began working for the moderate socialist

Fabricius Ab Aquapendente, Hieronymus

2005-03-21T21:19:00.000-08:00

He spent most of his life at the University of Padua, where he studied under the eminent anatomist Gabriel Fallopius. As Fallopius' successor to the chair of surgery and anatomy (1562–1613), Fabricius built a reputation that attracted students from

Bahar, Muhammad Taqi

2005-03-21T14:28:00.000-08:00

Bahar succeeded his father, Saburi, as court poet of the reigning monarch, Mozaffar od-Din Shah (reigned 1896–1907). Gradually, however, Bahar broke away from the court and became a sympathizer with the revolution. As editor of a liberal democratic newspaper in Mashhad, and later in

Race, The enslavement of Africans

2005-03-20T13:35:00.000-08:00

Between 1660 and 1690, leaders of the Virginia colony began to establish practices that provided or sanctioned differential treatment for freed servants whose origins were in Europe. They conscripted poor whites, with whom they had never had interests in common, into the category of free men and made land, tools, animals, and other resources available to them. African Americans

Mondoñedo

2005-03-20T09:00:00.000-08:00

City, Lugo province, comunidad autónoma (“autonomous community”) of Galicia, northwestern Spain. It lies along the Masma River, 27 miles (43 km) north of Lugo, the provincial capital. Mondoñedo occupies a sheltered valley among the northern outliers of the Cantabrian Mountains. The city has been an episcopal see since the 12th century. The principal building is the cathedral

'ar'ar

2005-03-19T13:39:00.000-08:00

Town, northern Saudi Arabia, situated in the Northern region at an elevation of 1,854 feet (565 m). 'Ar'ar was developed in the early 1950s by seminomadic people who were attracted by water made available around the Trans Arabian Pipeline (Tapline). Agriculture and livestock raising are the main economic activities. Crops include alfalfa, dates, fruits, and vegetables. 'Ar'ar has a technical

Golden Eagle

2005-03-19T07:50:00.000-08:00

In North America the golden eagle ranges

Claremont Colleges

2005-03-18T15:17:00.000-08:00

A consortium of private colleges in Claremont, Calif., U.S. The consortium comprises Pomona College, Claremont McKenna College, Scripps College, Harvey Mudd College, Pitzer College, and the Claremont Graduate School. The campuses are adjacent to one another and many facilities are shared, including the 1,800,000-volume Honnold Library. The concept of a “cluster” of colleges was

Gabija

2005-03-18T14:44:00.000-08:00

Also spelled gabieta (Lithuanian) , Latvian uguns mate , Old Prussian panicke in Baltic religion, the domestic hearth fire. In pre-Christian times a holy fire (šventa ugnis) was kept in tribal sanctuaries on high hills and riverbanks, where priests guarded it constantly, extinguishing and rekindling it once a year at the midsummer festival. Eventually this tradition was moved into the home as the gabija, and its care became the responsibility

O'brien, Fitz-james

2005-03-17T23:03:00.000-08:00

O'Brien was the son of a lawyer. He ran through his inheritance in two years in London, where he began to work in journalism. In 1852 he moved

Epiphanius Of Constantia, Saint

2005-03-17T02:27:00.000-08:00

Bishop noted in the history of the early Christian church for his struggle against beliefs he considered heretical. His chief target was the teachings of Origen, a major theologian in the Eastern church whom he considered more a Greek philosopher than a Christian. Epiphanius' own principles were discredited

Ouaddaï

2005-03-16T06:26:00.000-08:00

Crossed by caravans linking the Sahara with equatorial Africa and by Muslim pilgrim routes from West Africa toward Mecca,

Monroe, Elizabeth

2005-03-15T21:39:00.000-08:00

After leaving Washington, the Monroes retired to their estate in Oak Hill, Virginia, where Elizabeth died in 1830. She and James, who survived her by less than one year, were buried beside each other in Richmond, Virginia.

Ibn Al-athir

2005-03-15T04:00:00.000-08:00

Ibn al-Athir spent a scholarly life in Mosul, but often visited Baghdad. He was for a time with Saladin's army in Syria and later lived in Aleppo and Damascus. His chief work was a history of the world, al-Kamil fi at-tarikh (“The Complete History”), starting with

Sayf Ad-dawlah

2005-03-14T17:09:00.000-08:00

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

Narcissus

2005-03-13T15:25:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, the son of the river god Cephissus and the nymph Leiriope; he was distinguished for his beauty. His mother was told that he would have a long life, provided he never looked upon his own features. His rejection, however, of the love of the nymph Echo or of his lover Ameinias drew upon him the vengeance of the gods. He fell in love with his own reflection in

Hadrian's Wall

2005-03-13T09:40:00.000-08:00

Nagy, Ivan

2005-03-12T13:39:00.000-08:00

Nagy trained as a youth with his mother and first performed with the Budapest State Opera Ballet. Frederic Franklin, then the director of the National Ballet of Washington, D.C., saw Nagy when he won a silver medal at the International Ballet Competition at Varna in 1965. Impressed, Franklin

Arabia, History Of, Al-Hirah

2005-03-12T10:40:00.000-08:00

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

China, Early man

2005-03-12T00:53:00.000-08:00

The fossil record in China promises fundamental contributions to the understanding of human origins. There is considerable evidence of Homo erectus by the time of the Lower Paleolithic (the Paleolithic Period began c. 2,500,000 years ago and ended 10,000 years ago) at sites such as Lan-t'ien, Shensi; Ho-hsien, Anhwei; Yüan-mou, Yunnan; and, the most famous, that of so-called Peking man at Chou-k'ou-tien

Van Allen, James Alfred

2005-03-10T10:55:00.000-08:00

Van Allen was a naval officer during World War II and helped develop the radio proximity fuse for naval artillery shells. In 1946 he was placed in

Wild Rye

2005-03-10T01:50:00.000-08:00

Sea lyme, or dune, grass (E. arenarius) is a Eurasian species 0.6 to 2.5 m (2 to 8 feet)

Macdonnell, Sorley Boy

2005-03-10T00:30:00.000-08:00

From an ancestor who had married Margaret Bisset, heiress of the district on the Antrim coast known as the Glynns (or Glens), MacDonnell inherited a claim to

Childhood Disease And Disorder, Respiratory disorders

2005-03-09T09:36:00.000-08:00

Numerous abnormalities of respiratory function are common in the newborn infant. One of the most severe is respiratory distress syndrome (RDS; also called hyaline membrane disease). RDS occurs in 0.5 to 1 percent of all deliveries, and, as previously mentioned, is especially common in premature infants. In addition, it is encountered commonly in infants of diabetic mothers

Chicago

2005-03-08T22:14:00.000-08:00

Rock band, among the most popular American recording artists of all time, with sales of more than 100 million records. Initially a jazz-rock unit, Chicago thrived as it moved toward a lighter, ballad-oriented rock style. Its original members were Terry Kath (b. Jan. 31, 1946, Chicago, Ill., U.S.— d. Jan. 23, 1978, Los Angeles, Calif.), Peter Cetera (b. Sept. 13, 1944, Chicago), Robert Lamm (b. Oct. 13, 1944, New York, N.Y.), Walter

Wild Rye

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

Former industrial union in the United States and Canada that represented workers in the women's clothing industry. When the ILGWU was formed in 1900, most of its members were Jewish immigrants employed in sweatshops—i.e., small manufacturing establishments that employed workers under unfair and unsanitary conditions. Successful strikes in 1909 and 1910 in New York City by the

Latin Averroism

2005-03-08T07:02:00.000-08:00

The teachings of a number of Western Christian philosophers who, in the later Middle Ages and during the Renaissance, drew inspiration from the interpretation of Aristotle put forward by Averroës, a Muslim philosopher. The basic tenet of Latin Averroism was the assertion that reason and philosophy are superior to faith and knowledge founded on faith. The Latin

Insurance, United States

2005-03-07T20:48:00.000-08:00

The first American insurance company was organized by Benjamin Franklin in 1752 as the Philadelphia Contributionship. The first life insurance company in the American colonies was the Presbyterian Ministers' Fund, organized in 1759. By 1820 there were 17 stock life insurance companies in the state of New York alone. Many of the early property insurance companies failed from

Aufklärung

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

(German: “Enlightenment”), in Germany, the 17th- and 18th-century philosophical movement that emphasized rationalism. See Enlightenment.

Daddah, Moktar Ould

2005-03-06T07:27:00.000-08:00

Of aristocratic background, Moktar Ould Daddah was the first Mauritanian to graduate

France, History Of, German reparations

2005-03-05T19:25:00.000-08:00

The general elections of November 1919 resulted in a massive majority for the right-wing coalition called the Bloc

Scylax Of Caryanda

2005-03-05T13:50:00.000-08:00

It is known from Herodotus that Scylax was sent by the Persian king Darius I (in about 515 BC) to explore the course of the Indus River and that he returned by sea after two and a half years to the Isthmus of Heroonpolis (Suez). References in ancient authorities

Jeté

2005-03-04T19:48:00.000-08:00

(French jeté: “thrown”), ballet leap in which the weight of the dancer is transferred from one foot to the other. The dancer “throws” one leg to the front, side, or back and holds the other leg in any desired position upon landing. Among the commonly seen forms of this step are the jeté battu, in which the legs are crossed in the air before the descent; the grand jeté, a broad,

Chibougamau

2005-03-04T07:10:00.000-08:00

City, Nord-du-Québec region, central Quebec province, Canada. It lies on the northwest shore of the Lac Doré part of Chibougamau Lake. Gold and copper were discovered in the area by Peter McKenzie in 1903, but his and several subsequent attempts at mining the ore failed because of the region's remoteness. Finally, in the late 1940s, the provincial government began building a road

Allen, Elizabeth Anne Chase Akers

2005-03-04T03:55:00.000-08:00

Elizabeth Chase grew up in Farmington, Maine, where she attended Farmington Academy (later Maine State Teachers College). She is said to have had a poem published in the Boston Olive

China, The end of the radical period

2005-03-02T16:12:00.000-08:00

Thus in 1968 the society began to return to business, though not as usual. China's regular schools began to reopen, although the number of students in higher institutions represented only a small percentage of those three years before. In July yet another of Mao's “latest instructions” approved science and engineering education and called for the “return to

Heterogeneous Reaction

2005-03-02T13:22:00.000-08:00

Any of a class of chemical reactions in which the reactants are components of two or more phases (solid and gas, solid and liquid, two immiscible liquids) or in which one or more reactants undergo chemical change at an interface, e.g., on the surface of a solid catalyst. The reaction of metals with acids, the electrochemical changes that occur in batteries and electrolytic

Ear Disease

2005-03-02T04:44:00.000-08:00

The labyrinth of the inner ear contains the nerve endings of the vestibular nerve—the nerve of equilibrium—and the auditory nerve, which are branches of the vestibulocochlear, or eighth cranial, nerve. The vestibular nerve ends supply the semicircular canals and the otolithic membranes in the vestibule. The auditory nerve supplies the cochlea. Diseases of the

Quaestor

2005-02-28T18:52:00.000-08:00

With the advent of the republic in the year 509 BC, each of the two consuls, who at first were called praetors, appointed a quaestor to be the

Johansson, Lars

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

Early orphaned, Johansson was reared by an uncle and educated both in Sweden and abroad. He returned to Sweden and became known as a writer of funeral elegies and epithalamiums. His most personal poems are drinking songs and

Fenech Adami, Eddie

2005-02-27T22:29:00.000-08:00

After graduating from the University of Malta, Fenech Adami practiced law beginning in 1959, and from 1962 to 1969 he was the editor of a weekly newspaper. He ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives (parliament) in 1962 and 1966 but was appointed to a seat in 1969 upon the death of a Nationalist

Kirov, Sergey Mironovich

2005-02-27T03:25:00.000-08:00

A Bolshevik Party member and organizer, Kirov was arrested several times for his revolutionary activities before the October Revolution (1917) placed the Bolsheviks in power

Tooele

2005-02-26T20:27:00.000-08:00

City, seat of Tooele county, north-central Utah, U.S. It lies 32 miles (52 km) southwest of Salt Lake City. Settled in 1849, it was a centre for mining operations in the 1860s and '70s after rich silver and gold veins were discovered in the nearby Oquirrh Mountains. Its name may refer to Tuilla, a local Indian leader, or to the abundant tules, or bulrushes, that grew near the local springs. The city

Sadhu And Swami

2005-02-26T10:28:00.000-08:00

Also spelled saddhu and swamy, Sanskrit sadhu and svamin, in India, religious or holy men. Sadhu signifies any religious ascetic or holy man. The class of sadhus includes not only genuine saints of many faiths but also men (and occasionally women) who have left their homes in order to concentrate on physical and spiritual disciplines, as well as hermits, magicians, and fortune-tellers, some of dubious religious intent. Swami

Pacific Ocean, Western region

2005-02-26T08:35:00.000-08:00

The seaward boundary of the western region is marked by a broken line of oceanic trenches, extending from the Aleutian Trench in the north through the Kuril and Japan trenches and southward to the Tonga and Kermadec trenches, terminating close to the northeast of North Island, New Zealand. Its structure is more complex than that of the eastern region. Characteristically

New Guinea

2005-02-25T22:36:00.000-08:00

Myriocephalon, Battle Of

2005-02-25T18:13:00.000-08:00

Manuel determined to reassert his suzerainty over former Byzantine territory

Binturong

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

(Arctictis binturong), catlike carnivore of the civet family (Viverridae), found in dense forests of southern Asia, Indonesia, and Malaysia. It has long, shaggy hair, tufted ears, and a long, bushy, prehensile tail. The colour generally is black with a sprinkling of whitish hairs. The head and body measure about 60–95 centimetres (24–38 inches) and the tail an additional 55–90 cm (22–35 in.); weight ranges

African Hunting Dog

2005-02-24T02:40:00.000-08:00

Also called Cape Hunting Dog, or Hyena Dog (Lycaon pictus), wild African carnivore that differs from the rest of the members of the dog family (Canidae) in having only four toes on each foot. Its coat is short, sparse, and irregularly blotched with yellow, black, and white. The African hunting dog is about 76–102 cm (30–41 inches) long, exclusive of its 31–41-centimetre tail, stands about 60 cm (24 inches) at the shoulder, and weighs

Aerospace Industry, Design methods

2005-02-23T13:24:00.000-08:00

The design cycle of a new flight vehicle has changed radically since the 1980s because of new methods, tools, and guidelines. Traditionally, the cycle begins with a conceptual design of the overall product followed by the preliminary design, in which most or all subsystems take shape. In most, if not all, cases, several iterations must be made before a final design is achieved.

Thomas, George H(enry)

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

A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, N.Y., in 1840, Thomas served in the Mexican War (1846–48) and as an instructor at West Point. Despite his Southern birth

Bone Marrow

2005-02-22T14:46:00.000-08:00

Also called Myeloid Tissue, soft, gelatinous tissue that fills the cavities of the bones. Bone marrow is either red or yellow, depending upon the preponderance of vascular (red) or fatty (yellow) tissue. In humans, the red bone marrow forms all of the blood cells with the exception of the lymphocytes, which are produced in the marrow and reach their mature form in the lymphoid organs. Red bone marrow

Alkali Flat

2005-02-21T10:14:00.000-08:00

Also called Salina, or Salt Flat, a playa, or dried-out desert lake, especially one containing high concentrations of precipitated dry, glistening salts. The term is generally limited to flats in the western United States, the most famous being the Bonneville Salt Flats (q.v.) west of Salt Lake City, where automobile speed records are set.

Hachioji

2005-02-21T07:37:00.000-08:00

After

Aldridge, Ira Frederick

2005-02-21T05:22:00.000-08:00

Accounts of his life in the United States are conflicting. The great British-American actor James William Wallack is believed to have engaged him as a personal attendant while on a passage from the United States to England, where Aldridge established himself

Alkali Flat

2005-02-20T07:13:00.000-08:00

Organization formed in New York City in 1911 during a convention of state antisuffrage groups. Led by Josephine Dodge, the founder and first president, the NAOWS believed that woman suffrage would decrease women's work in communities and their ability to effect societal reforms. Active on a state and federal level, the group also established a newsletter, Woman's

Scandinavian Literature, Norway

2005-02-20T02:00:00.000-08:00

Several of Denmark's leading writers of the 18th century were of Norwegian birth, preeminently Ludvig Holberg and the members of Det Norske Selskab (the Norwegian Society). Established in Copenhagen in 1772 by a group of resident Norwegians, it looked to French rather than to German and English literature for models. Within Norway itself there was little overt literary

Peruzzi, Baldassarre (tommaso)

2005-02-19T19:30:00.000-08:00

A contemporary of Raphael and Donato Bramante, Peruzzi began his career as a painter of frescoes in the Cappella San Giovanni in Siena Cathedral.

Cereal Processing, Testing

2005-02-18T23:07:00.000-08:00

Cooking tests are used to ensure that the final product is satisfactory. Considerable research has been carried out to control factors tending to destroy the desirable yellow colour. Destruction of the colouring matter, a xanthophyll, can occur in mixing owing to excessive lipoxidase. Certain types of durum wheat may possess a high degree of lipoxidase activity,

Bac Lieu

2005-02-18T09:15:00.000-08:00

Town, Ca Mau Peninsula, southern Vietnam. It has a hospital and a commercial airport and is linked by highway to Ho Chi Minh City, 120 mi (195 km) to the northeast. In addition to rice growing, there is mat making, and, on the coast, salt is obtained by evaporation. There is also a fishing industry. The government has moved people into the area from Ho Chi Minh City-Cho Lon. Pop. (1971 est.) 65,678.

Florida Current

2005-02-18T04:12:00.000-08:00

Swift surface oceanic current flowing northward, following the shallow continental slope between the Straits of Florida and Cape Hatteras. Emerging from the Caribbean Sea, carrying about 880,000,000 cubic feet (25,000,000 cubic m) of water per second, the Florida Current is joined by the Antilles Current, which transports approximately 420,000,000 cubic feet (approximately 11,893,000 cubic m) per second. Florida

China, Ming dynasty

2005-02-17T00:05:00.000-08:00

The last Ming years and the struggles of post-Mingloyalists are dealt with in James B. Parsons, The Peasant Rebellions of the Late Ming Dynasty (1970); Lynn A. Struve, The Southern Ming, 1644–1662 (1984); and Jonathan D. Spence and John E. Wills, Jr. (eds.), From Ming to Ch'ing: Conquest, Region, and Continuity in Seventeenth-Century China (1979). Studies in Ming intellectual and religious history are found in Wm. Theodore De Bary et al., Self and Society in Ming Thought (1970), and The Unfolding of Neo-Confucianism (1975).

Moivre, Abraham De

2005-02-16T08:53:00.000-08:00

A French Huguenot, de Moivre was jailed as a Protestant upon the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685. When he was released shortly thereafter, he fled to England. In London he became a close friend of Sir Isaac Newton and the astronomer

Fetter, Frank Albert

2005-02-16T02:49:00.000-08:00

After an interruption of university studies because of illness in his family, Fetter graduated from Indiana University in 1891 and from Cornell University in 1892. He subsequently studied in France and Germany, receiving his Ph.D. (on population)

China, Ming dynasty

2005-02-15T14:29:00.000-08:00

Small, lightly built predatory or omnivorous dinosaur that brooded its eggs in a manner similar to birds. Found as fossils in deposits from the Late Cretaceous Period (99 million to 65 million years ago) of eastern Asia and North America, Oviraptor was about 1.8 metres (6 feet) long and walked on two long, well-developed hind limbs. The forelimbs were long

Paducah

2005-02-15T10:36:00.000-08:00

City, seat of McCracken county, southwestern Kentucky, U.S., at the confluence of the Ohio (there bridged to Brookport, Illinois) and Tennessee rivers. The site, known as Pekin, was part of a grant to soldier and frontiersman George Rogers Clark. At his death his brother William, who was coleader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, received the land, laid out the town in 1827, and named

Mckim, Charles Follen

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

McKim was educated at Harvard and at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He was trained as a draftsman by the architect H.H. Richardson while the latter was completing Trinity Church, Boston. In 1879 he joined William Rutherford Mead

Wild Flower

2005-02-14T04:42:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Wildflower, any flowering plant growing without intentional human aid. Wild flowers are the source of all cultivated garden varieties of flowers. Although most wild flowers are native to the region in which they occur, some are the descendants of flowering plants introduced from other lands. The bright flowers characteristic of the Hawaiian Islands, for example, are nearly

Permafrost, Pingos

2005-02-14T03:01:00.000-08:00

The most spectacular landforms associated with permafrost are pingos, small ice-cored circular or elliptical hills of frozen sediments or even bedrock, 3 to more than 60 metres high and 15 to 450 metres in diameter. Pingos are widespread in the continuous permafrost zone and are quite conspicuous because they rise above the tundra. They are much less conspicuous in the forested

Fabricius, Johann Albert

2005-02-13T10:09:00.000-08:00

In 1689, after two years at the University of Leipzig, Fabricius graduated as master of philosophy and published anonymously his Decas decadum, Sive plagiariorum et pseudonymorum centuria, a survey of 100 writers accused of plagiarism or literary mystification. In 1694 he became librarian

Gatchina

2005-02-12T22:35:00.000-08:00

Formerly (until 1929) Khotchino , or (1929–44) Krasnogvardeysk city, Leningrad oblast (province), northwestern Russia, lying 15 miles (24 km) southwest of St. Petersburg. The first mention of Khotchino dates from 1499, when it was a possession of Novgorod. Later it belonged to Livonia and Sweden. After 1721 it was returned to Russia and in the 1720s belonged to the sister of Peter I the Great, Natalia. The town grew only after the building, between 1766 and 1772, of a summer

Andrea Del Sarto

2005-02-12T18:04:00.000-08:00

Original name Andrea d'Agnolo Italian painter and draftsman whose works of exquisite composition and craftsmanship were instrumental in the development of the Florentine-Roman school in the first half of the 16th century. His most striking among other well-known works is the series of frescoes on the life of St. John the Baptist about 1511 and

Appliqué

2005-02-11T18:57:00.000-08:00

Sewing technique in which fabric patches are layered on a foundation fabric, then stitched in place by hand or machine with the raw edges turned under or covered with decorative stitching. From the French appliquer, “to put on,” appliqué is sometimes used to embellish clothing or household linens. Like patchwork (piecing), it is a method of constructing or embellishing

Nove Ware

2005-02-10T04:23:00.000-08:00

Primarily majolica, or tin-glazed earthenware, made in Nove, Italy, in the 18th century. The factory was founded by Giovanni Battista Antonibon in 1728, and in the latter part of the century it had connections with a factory in nearby Bassano, where majolica had been made two centuries earlier. Most Nove ware was in the prevalent Rococo style. From 1752 the factory also produced a

Sundbyberg

2005-02-10T00:39:00.000-08:00

Town, Stockholm län (county), east-central Sweden. Sundbyberg lies on the northwestern outskirts of Stockholm. When founded in 1877, it was one of Stockholm's first residential suburbs. It was chartered in 1927 and has become an important industrial centre. The church (1909–11) is noted for its stained glass. Other imposing buildings are the large Marabou chocolate factory and the multistory

Candidas

2005-02-09T11:37:00.000-08:00

The popularity of Candidas' songs inspired much imitation, making it difficult to establish firmly the identity of the poet.

Wilton

2005-02-09T01:42:00.000-08:00

Town (“parish”), Salisbury district, administrative and historic county of Wiltshire, England. The town is internationally known for its carpets. The Royal Carpet Factory was built there in 1655, and the production of Wilton and Axminster carpets became the town's main industry. Felts and agricultural machinery are other products. Since ancient times Wilton also has been

Ketch, Jack

2005-02-08T13:38:00.000-08:00

Ketch is believed to have received his appointment as public hangman in 1663. The first recorded mention of him appears in an anti-Roman Catholic broadside published in 1678 entitled The

Bonstetten, Karl Viktor Von

2005-02-07T23:34:00.000-08:00

Of a conservative and patrician family, Bonstetten for 12 years had to resist being forced into the traditional career of municipal magistrate. Instead he studied Horace and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, traveled abroad, and cultivated friendships in the liberal intellectual

Torelli, Giacomo

2005-02-07T18:47:00.000-08:00

Nothing is known of Torelli's early life. In 1641 he was a military engineer at Venice. Already known as an architect, he built two churches there. Having erected the Teatro Novissimo at Venice, he furnished it

Kama

2005-02-07T01:46:00.000-08:00

In the mythology of India, the god of love. During the Vedic age, he personified cosmic desire, or the creative impulse, and is called the first-born of the primeval chaos that makes all later creation possible. In later periods he is depicted as a handsome youth, attended by heavenly nymphs, who shoots love-producing flower-arrows. His bow is of sugarcane, his bowstring

Lahore

2005-02-06T21:44:00.000-08:00

Little is known of the history of the settlement prior to the Muslim period. Hindu legend attributes the founding of Lahore to Lava, or Loh, son of Rama, for whom it is said to have been named Lohawar. The city

Mckinley, William

2005-02-06T08:07:00.000-08:00

Renominated for another term without opposition, McKinley again faced Democrat William Jennings Bryan in the presidential election of 1900. McKinley's margins of victory in both the popular and electoral votes were greater than they were four years before, no doubt reflecting satisfaction with the outcome of the war and with the widespread prosperity that the country enjoyed. Following his inauguration in 1901 (see primary source document: Second Inaugural Address), McKinley left Washington for a tour of the western states, to be concluded with a speech at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. Cheering crowds throughout the journey attested to McKinley's immense popularity. More than 50,000 admirers attended his exposition speech, in which the leader who had been so closely identified with protectionism now sounded the call for commercial reciprocity among nations. (See primary source document: Reciprocal Trade Agreements.) The following day, September 6, 1901, while McKinley was shaking hands with a crowd of well-wishers at the exposition, Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist, fired two shots into the president's chest and abdomen. Rushed to a hospital in Buffalo, McKinley lingered for a week before dying in the early morning hours of September 14. He was succeeded by his vice president, the man Mark Hanna sneeringly referred to as “that damned cowboy,” Theodore Roosevelt.

Cram, Ralph Adams

2005-02-05T16:45:00.000-08:00

Inspired by the influential English critic John Ruskin, Cram became an ardent advocate of and authority on English and French Gothic styles. In 1888 he opened an architectural firm in Boston, where he became associated with B.G. Goodhue and later with F.W.

Insurance, Group health insurance

2005-02-05T02:30:00.000-08:00

Major types of health insurance written on a group basis include insurance against the losses occasioned by hospitalization, surgical expense, and disability. Hospitalization insurance is designed to cover daily room and board and other expenses. Surgical expense insurance usually provides specified allowances for physicians' charges for various operations.

Afghan Interlude

2005-02-04T06:51:00.000-08:00

In 1722 Mahmud, an Afghan notable and former vassal of the Safavids, attacked and captured Esfahan, the Safavid capital in Iran. The capture of Esfahan marked the eclipse of the Safavid dynasty. Mahmud proclaimed himself ruler of Iran in 1722, and in 1723 he put to

O'brien, James Bronterre

2005-02-04T01:05:00.000-08:00

O'Brien was educated at Trinity College, Dublin, and moved to London in 1829, intending to practice at the English bar. In London he was quickly drawn into radical activities and later into working-class journalism,