ThinForest

Organic Underwear

2006-10-29T07:35:00.000-08:00

Natural soft Organic Clothinggoods are hard to find as they can often be a little course. Liv Organic Cotton Goodsare soft and luxurious and their Organic Underwear is to die for.

Alaska, Flag Of

2005-04-04T09:44:00.000-07:00

The creator

Taine, Hippolyte

2005-04-03T23:57:00.000-07:00

More important for his own development, he contributed frequent literary and historical articles to such leading journals as the Revue des Deux Mondes, the Revue de l'Instruction Publique, and the Journal des Débats, articles that provided the basis for three books further enhancing the reputation he had gained by his works on La Fontaine and Livy. These were Les

Welti, (friedrich) Emil

2005-04-03T16:09:00.000-07:00

Political leader and Landammann (chief executive) of his native canton of Aargau in 1858, 1862, and 1866, Welti entered the federal Ständerat (council of cantons) in 1857 and subsequently served as assembly president (1860, 1866). Elected to the federal executive (Bundesrat)

Vacuum Technology

2005-04-02T09:32:00.000-08:00

This pump is mainly used on equipment for the study of clean surfaces and in radio-frequency sputtering. Capacities are available up to 190,000 cu ft per minute with an operating pressure range of 10-2 to less than 10-9 torr when water-cooled baffles are used and less than 10-11 torr when refrigerated baffles are employed. The pumping speed for a vapour pump remains constant from about

Abel Tasman National Park

2005-04-01T13:23:00.000-08:00

Wildlife preserve in northwestern South Island, New Zealand. Established in 1942, it was named for Abel Tasman, the Dutch navigator. With an area of 55,699 acres (22,541 hectares), it extends inland for about 6 miles (10 km) from the beaches of Tasman Bay on its western shores between Separation Point and Marahau Inlet, about 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Nelson. The park includes the Tata Islands in Golden

Sangrur

2005-04-01T10:10:00.000-08:00

City, in southeastern Punjab state, northwestern India. The city was founded in the 17th century and became the capital of the former independent state of Jind. In 1948 it became part of India. Sangrur is an agricultural market with some light industry, including handloom weaving and handicrafts. There are good road and rail connections with the rest of Punjab and with neighbouring

Welch, Denton

2005-03-31T21:15:00.000-08:00

Welch was educated at Repton School in Derbyshire. After a visit to China he studied painting at the Goldsmith School of Art. In 1935, while still at school, he was severely injured

Furniture Industry

2005-03-30T09:57:00.000-08:00

The modern manufacture of furniture, as distinct from its design, is a major mass-production industry in Europe, the U.S., and other advanced regions. It is very largely a 20th-century industry, its development having

Clarence, Thomas Plantagenet, Duke Of

2005-03-30T09:15:00.000-08:00

He twice visited Ireland, where he was nominally lord lieutenant, 1401–13. For a short time, in 1412, he replaced his elder brother, afterward King Henry V, as the chief figure in the government. Clarence favoured an alliance with the Orléanists and led an unsuccessful expedition

Newton

2005-03-29T17:50:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1846) of Jasper county, central Iowa, U.S., about 30 miles (50 km) east of Des Moines. It was settled in 1846 as the county seat and was named for John Newton, a soldier of the American Revolution. The railroad arrived in the 1860s and the community developed as a lumber-milling and agricultural trading centre. In 1898 the washing machine industry began there with the manufacture of ratchet-slat

Tafsir

2005-03-29T02:30:00.000-08:00

The science of explanation of the Qur'an, the sacred scripture of Islam, or of Qur'anic commentary. So long as Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam, was alive, no other authority for interpretations of the Qur'anic revelations was recognized by Muslims. Upon his death, however, commentaries were needed because the text, when it achieved written form, lacked historical sequence in the

Biblical Literature, The New Testament Apocryphal writings

2005-03-28T21:27:00.000-08:00

This section will classify these documents in relation to their literary forms: gospels, acts, letters, and apocalypses.

Minhah

2005-03-27T00:33:00.000-08:00

Minhah consists

Ghaghara River

2005-03-26T11:47:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Gogra, Ghaghra , or Ghagra , Nepali Kauriala major left-bank tributary of the Ganges River, rising as the Karnali River (Chinese: K'ung-ch'iao Ho) in the Tibetan Himalayas and flowing southeast into Nepal. Cutting southward across the Siwalik Hills, it splits into two branches, to rejoin south of the Indian border and form the Ghaghara proper. It flows southeast through Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states to enter the Ganges

Caldecott Medal

2005-03-24T06:39:00.000-08:00

Annual prize awarded “to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children.” It was established in 1938 by Frederic G. Melcher, chairman of the board of the R.R. Bowker Publishing Company, and named for the 19th-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is presented at the annual conference of the American Library Association along with the

Taganrog

2005-03-24T03:16:00.000-08:00

City and seaport, Rostov oblast (province), southwestern Russia. It lies on the northern coast of Taganrog Gulf of the Sea of Azov. Founded as a fortress and naval base in 1698 by Peter I the Great, Taganrog developed in the 19th century as a grain-exporting port. Although overshadowed by Rostov-na-Donu, it is still a significant port for the Donets Basin coalfield and industrial

Alcove

2005-03-23T15:23:00.000-08:00

Recess opening off a room or other space enclosed by walls or hedges. In medieval architecture it was commonly used as a sleeping space off the main body of a drafty hall. The separation of the alcove from the main space was accomplished at first by means of curtains and later by timber partitions to form independent rooms and thus conserve heat. In later centuries

Kubovy, Aryeh Leon

2005-03-22T15:50:00.000-08:00

After settling in Israel (1948), Kubovy served that country in diplomatic posts in Czechoslovakia, Poland, and several South American countries. He was chairman of Yad Vashem (Holocaust Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority)

Fusel Oil

2005-03-21T22:24:00.000-08:00

A mixture of volatile, oily liquids produced in small amounts during alcoholic fermentation. A typical fusel oil contains 60–70 percent of amyl alcohol (q.v.), smaller amounts of n-propyl and isobutyl alcohols, and traces of other components. Before industrial production of synthetic amyl alcohols began in the 1920s, fusel oil was the only commercial source of these compounds,

Martin, Gregory

2005-03-21T10:14:00.000-08:00

Roman Catholic biblical scholar, principal translator of the Latin Vulgate into English (Douai-Reims Bible). His version, in Bishop Richard Challoner's third revised edition (1752), was the standard Bible for English Roman Catholics until the 20th century, and his phraseology influenced the Anglican translators of the Authorized, or King

Poland

2005-03-20T08:45:00.000-08:00

Parliamentary elections in September 1997 brought a dramatic reversal in Polish politics. The Solidarity Electoral Action (AWS), a loose coalition of some 30 right-wing groups dominated

Distilled Spirit

2005-03-19T17:30:00.000-08:00

The production of distilled spirits is based upon fermentation, the natural

Württemberg

2005-03-19T03:26:00.000-08:00

Former German state, successively a countship, a duchy, a kingdom, and a republic before its partition after World War II. Its territory approximated the central and eastern areas of present-day Baden-Württemberg (q.v.) Land (state), of Germany. For the last period of its separate existence, Württemberg was bounded northeast and east by Bavaria, southeast by Bavaria and

Arras Lace

2005-03-18T02:34:00.000-08:00

Bobbin lace made at Arras, Fr., from the 17th century onward and similar to that of Lille. Although Arras was known for its gold lace, its popularity rested on its exceptionally pure-white lace, stronger than Lille but with similar floral patterns. Arras lace was worn at the coronation (1714) of George I of England. In the 19th century Arras produced a light variety of lace called mignonette.

Sculpture, Western, Romanesque

2005-03-17T08:29:00.000-08:00

The term Romanesque—coined in 1818 —denotes in art the medieval synthesis of the widespread Roman architectural and artistic heritage and various regional influences, such as Teutonic, Scandinavian, Byzantine, and Muslim. Although derived primarily from the remains of a highly centralized imperial culture, the Romanesque flowered during a period of fragmented

Ibn Ezra, Moses (ben Jacob Ha-sallah)

2005-03-16T22:30:00.000-08:00

Known in Arabic as Abu Harun Musa, he belonged to a prominent Hispano-Hebrew family (his three

Protein, Protamines and histones

2005-03-16T13:49:00.000-08:00

Protamines are found in the sperm cells of fish. The most thoroughly investigated protamines are salmine from salmon sperm and clupeine from herring sperm. The protamines are bound to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), forming nucleoprotamines. The amino acid composition of the protamines is simple; they contain, in addition to large amounts of arginine, small amounts

Romains, Jules

2005-03-16T04:14:00.000-08:00

Romains studied science and philosophy at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris. After teaching philosophy

Allahabad

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

City, southern Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. It is situated at the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna (Jumna) rivers. Allahabad stands on the site of ancient Prayag, a holy city that was comparable in fame to Varanasi (Benares) and Haridwar. Prayag's importance in the ancient Buddhist period of Indian history is attested to by the inscriptions on the Pillar of Asoka. The pillar

Tal, Mikhail Nekhemyevich

2005-03-14T15:33:00.000-08:00

Tal, who learned to play chess at the age of six, was known for his complex and audacious moves. He became a national master and Latvian

Bush, George W.

2005-03-14T09:54:00.000-08:00

In full George Walker Bush 43rd president of the United States (2001– ). Narrowly winning the electoral college vote over Vice President Al Gore in one of the closest and most controversial elections in American history, George W. Bush became the first person since Benjamin Harrison in 1888 to become president despite having lost the nationwide popular vote. He was narrowly reelected in 2004, defeating Democratic challenger John Kerry. Before assuming the presidency of the United States, Bush was a businessman and served as governor of Texas (1995–2000). (For a discussion of the history and nature of the presidency, see presidency of the United States of America.)

Amphibian, Distribution and abundance

2005-03-14T07:48:00.000-08:00

Found in almost every type of environment except the high latitudes in the Arctic, Antarctica, various oceanic islands, and some extremely xeric (dry) deserts, frogs and toads show the greatest diversity in humid tropical environments. Salamanders primarily inhabit the Northern Hemisphere and are most abundant in cool, moist, montane forests;

Dacke War

2005-03-13T18:39:00.000-08:00

Led by Nils Dacke, an outlaw, the peasants of the province of Småland took up arms against the King in the spring of 1542 in protest against the royal

Zacharias, Saint

2005-03-13T17:52:00.000-08:00

Of Greek parentage, Zacharias was supposedly a Roman deacon when he succeeded Pope St. Gregory III in November/December 741. His pontificate was devoted to diplomatic relations with the Lombard and Frankish kingdoms and with the Byzantine Empire. He initiated a policy of conciliation with

Cosmati Work

2005-03-13T14:45:00.000-08:00

Type of mosaic technique that was practiced by Roman decorators and architects in the 12th and 13th centuries, in which tiny triangles and squares of coloured stone (red porphyry, green serpentine, and white and other coloured marbles) and glass paste were arranged in patterns and combined with large, stone disks and strips to produce geometric designs. Cosmati work

Leninsk-kuznetsky

2005-03-12T16:07:00.000-08:00

Formerly (until 1925) Kolchugino, city, in Kemerovo oblast (province), central Russia. It lies along the Inya River, a tributary of the Ob. In 1912 a French company started coal-mining operations there; from the 1930s the city developed rapidly to become a major coal-mining centre, with many pits located in the city itself. Other industries produce chemicals, mining machinery, electric lamps, and timber goods. Pop.

Steamer Duck

2005-03-11T23:49:00.000-08:00

(genus Tachyeres), any of four species of heavily built, big-billed sea ducks of southernmost South America and the Falkland Islands. The bird is named for its habit of running across the water with wings thrashing like a paddle-wheel steamboat. Of the four species, T. pteneres, T. brachypterus, and T. leucocephalus are flightless and a bit larger than the mallard-size flying

Sholem Aleichem

2005-03-10T11:19:00.000-08:00

Drawn to writing as a youth, he became a private tutor of Russian at the age of 17 and later served as a government rabbi in Lubin. His first writing had been in Russian and Hebrew, but between 1883, when his first story in Yiddish appeared, and his death, he published over 40 volumes of novels, stories, and plays

Kamacite

2005-03-10T05:26:00.000-08:00

Meteoritic mineral consisting of iron alloyed with 5 to 7 percent nickel. It is found in iron meteorites and comprises all the metal in hexahedrites; it also is a principal constituent of the octahedrites, where it is intergrown with taenite (meteoritic nickel–iron). Its name is derived from the Greek word for shaft or lath and alludes to the shape of its crystals, which

Bar, Confederation Of

2005-03-10T01:30:00.000-08:00

In February 1768, Russia had compelled the Polish Sejm (legislature) to abandon projects for internal reform,

Thomas, Dylan

2005-03-09T14:49:00.000-08:00

Thomas spent his childhood in southwestern Wales. His father taught English

Offenbach, Jacques

2005-03-09T02:20:00.000-08:00

He was the son of a cantor at the Cologne Synagogue, Isaac Juda Eberst, who had been born at Offenbach am Main. The father was known as “Der Offenbacher,” and the composer was known only

Koch, Ilsa

2005-03-08T13:57:00.000-08:00

A sometime librarian, in 1936 Ilsa married SS Colonel Karl Koch, then commander of the Sachsenhausen camp. In 1939 he was transferred to Buchenwald, where she acquired the reputation of a sadist and nymphomaniac, beating

Trade Union

2005-03-07T17:50:00.000-08:00

The

Brazil, Minerals

2005-03-07T15:31:00.000-08:00

Brazil contains extremely rich mineral reserves that are only partly exploited, including iron ore, tin, copper, pyrochlore (from which ferroniobium is derived), and bauxite. There are also significant amounts of granite, manganese, asbestos, gold, gemstones, quartz, tantalum, and kaolin (china clay). Most industrial minerals are concentrated in Minas Gerais and

Wainwright

2005-03-07T02:46:00.000-08:00

Town, east-central Alberta, Canada. It lies 129 miles (208 km) southeast of Edmonton. Founded as Denwood in about 1905, it was renamed to honour William Wainwright, a Grand Trunk Pacific Railway vice president, after the arrival of the railroad in 1909. The town is located in a mixed-farming area, but its economic base changed following the discovery of oil and gas in the region in 1929. The area

Ibn Khaldun

2005-03-07T02:25:00.000-08:00

In full Wali al-Din 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr Muhammad ibn al-Hasan Ibn Khaldun the greatest Arab historian, who developed one of the earliest nonreligious philosophies of history, contained in his masterpiece, the Muqaddimah (“Introduction”). He also wrote a definitive history of Muslim North Africa.

Biblical Literature, Roman Catholicism

2005-03-05T11:57:00.000-08:00

Liturgical worship in both Judaism and Christianity is an action that moves within the framework of biblical ideas and explains itself in biblical language. Preoccupied with really different views from opposite windows, Jews and Christians have often overlooked the common heritage that they share. This has likewise been true of the differences between Eastern

Francis I

2005-03-05T03:09:00.000-08:00

Duke of Brittany (from 1442), son of John V (or VI). He had his brother Gilles thrown into prison and put to death for allegedly spying for the English, with whom he warred (1449–50). The king of France intervened and expelled the English from Normandy.

Buddhism, Tibet

2005-03-04T17:07:00.000-08:00

Buddhism, according to the Tibetan tradition, was first given recognition in Tibet during the reign of Srong-brtsan-sgam-po (c. 627–c. 650). This king had two queens who were early patrons of the religion and were later regarded in popular tradition as incarnations of the Buddhist saviouress Tara. The religion received active encouragement from Khri-srong-lde-btsan, during whose

Vaal River

2005-03-04T06:21:00.000-08:00

Northern tributary of the Orange River, South Africa. Rising at Sterkfontein Beacon near Breyten, in Mpumalanga province, it flows 750 miles (1,210 km) southwest to its confluence with the Orange near Douglas; the Vaal's middle section forms most of the Free State's northern provincial boundary. It is basically a plateau river and occupies a shallow bed. Most of the year its flow

Theme

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

The organization of territory into themes began under Emperor Heraclius (reigned 610–641), who stationed troops in three large districts under the

France, History Of, The July monarchy

2005-03-03T15:14:00.000-08:00

The renovated regime (often called the July monarchy or the bourgeois monarchy) rested on an altered political theory and a broadened social base. Divine right gave way to popular sovereignty; the social centre of gravity shifted from the landowning aristocracy to the wealthy bourgeoisie. The Charter of 1814 was retained but no longer as a royal gift to the nation; it

Hetaera

2005-03-02T22:37:00.000-08:00

Greek Hetaira (Female Companion), one of a class of professional independent courtesans of ancient Greece who, besides developing physical beauty, cultivated their minds and talents to a degree far beyond that allowed to the average Attic woman. Usually living fashionably alone, or sometimes two or three together, the hetaerae enjoyed an enviable and respected position of wealth

Snowdrop

2005-03-02T05:17:00.000-08:00

Several species, including common snowdrop (G. nivalis) and giant snowdrop (G. elwesii), are cultivated as ornamentals for their nodding, sometimes fragrant flowers. They

Ratite

2005-03-01T04:00:00.000-08:00

Any bird whose sternum (breastbone) is smooth, or raftlike, because it lacks a keel to which flight muscles could be anchored. All species of ratites are thus unable to fly. They are a peculiar and puzzling group, with anatomic anomalies. The group includes some of the largest birds of all time, such as the moa (q.v.) and the elephant bird (Aepyornis). Extant ratites include the

Ngugi Wa Thiong'o

2005-03-01T02:11:00.000-08:00

Ngugi received bachelor's degrees from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, in

Fürstenbund

2005-02-28T19:45:00.000-08:00

German League of Princes league founded on July 23, 1785, under the leadership of King Frederick II the Great of Prussia to preserve the status quo among the several German states and curb the ambitions in Germany of the Holy Roman emperor Joseph II. It represented the final phase of the conflict between Frederick and the Austrian Habsburgs. Earlier, Frederick had thwarted Joseph's plan to annex

Free Jazz

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

The main characteristic of free jazz is that there are no rules. Musicians do not adhere to a fixed harmonic structure (predetermined chord progressions) as they improvise; instead, they modulate (i.e., change keys) at will. Free

Vulcan Automatic Cannon

2005-02-27T07:13:00.000-08:00

To attain the requisite speed, six barrels are electrically fired and rotated in succession, an arrangement basically like that

Wyoming, Flag Of

2005-02-27T06:13:00.000-08:00

The seal was adopted by the state legislature in 1893. It includes the state motto, “Equal rights,” recalling that in 1869 Wyoming's constitution was the first such document to give equal voting and office-holding rights to women. The figures of the miner and cowboy flanking the woman in the centre refer to the principal occupations of the state, further mentioned in the ribbon

Bonavista

2005-02-26T06:07:00.000-08:00

An important cod- and salmon-fishing port, the town has modern fish-drying, filleting,

Antietam, Battle Of

2005-02-26T03:52:00.000-08:00

Also called Battle of Sharpsburg (September 17, 1862), a decisive engagement in the American Civil War (1861–65) that halted the Confederate advance on Maryland for the purpose of gaining military supplies. The advance was also regarded as one of the greatest Confederate threats to Washington, D.C. The battle took its name from Antietam Creek, which flows south from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to the Potomac River near

Permafrost, Thermokarst formations

2005-02-25T08:02:00.000-08:00

Thawed

Buisine

2005-02-25T05:37:00.000-08:00

The name derives from Latin buccina, a Roman shepherds' and later military horn made

Biblical Literature, Texts and versions

2005-02-25T00:28:00.000-08:00

A small portion of this literature is preserved in the original languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. Most of the Hebrew or Aramaic works, however, exist today only in various translations: Greek, Latin, Syriac, Ethiopian, Coptic, Old Slavonic, Armenian, and Romanian. All the works of the Apocrypha are preserved in Greek, because they have for the Greek Church a canonical

Ganymede

2005-02-23T20:01:00.000-08:00

Greek Ganymedes, Latin Ganymedes, or Catamitus, in Greek legend, the son of Tros (or Laomedon), king of Troy. Because of his unusual beauty, he was carried off either by the gods or by Zeus, disguised as an eagle, or, according to a Cretan account, by Minos, to serve as cupbearer. In compensation, Zeus gave Ganymede's father a stud of immortal horses (or a golden vine). From early times it was believed that Ganymede's kidnapper had

Szell, George

2005-02-23T15:55:00.000-08:00

A child prodigy on the piano, Szell was educated in Vienna. His conducting debut came at the age of 16 with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.

Wyat, Sir Thomas, The Younger

2005-02-22T07:14:00.000-08:00

Wyat's father was the renowned poet and diplomat Sir Thomas Wyat. As a young man he acquired a reputation for recklessness, and in 1543 he was briefly imprisoned for taking part in a London street riot.

Lowell, Francis Cabot

2005-02-21T17:40:00.000-08:00

While visiting the British Isles (1810–12) Lowell closely studied the textile industries

Ré Island

2005-02-20T16:02:00.000-08:00

French Île De Ré, island in the Bay of Biscay, Charente-Maritime département, off the west coast of France, opposite La Pallice and La Rochelle. It was for long separated from the mainland by the shallow water of Pertuis Breton, 2 miles (3.2 km) wide at the narrowest point, but a 2-mile bridge was constructed in the late 1970s. The island is 18 miles (29 km) long and 2 to 3 miles wide; it has an area of 33 square miles (85 square

Hsi K'ang

2005-02-20T01:11:00.000-08:00

Of influential parentage, Hsi received a traditional education,

Carnatic Wars

2005-02-19T11:02:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Karnatic Wars series of military contests during the 18th century between the British, the French, the Marathas, and Mysore for control of the coastal strip of eastern India from Nellore (north of Madras) southward (the Tamil country). The name Carnatic properly refers to the region occupied by the Kannada-speaking people, which roughly corresponds to the modern Indian state of Karnataka

Lip Fern

2005-02-19T09:04:00.000-08:00

Ferns of the genus Cheilanthes (family Adiantaceae), about 180 species of tropical and temperate regions. Most are small, sturdy, often evergreen plants that thrive in dry and rocky areas. The leaves arise directly from the rootstocks and are often covered with dense hairs. Spore-bearing structures (sporangia) occur at the ends of veins and are protected by the leaf margins,

Abdominal Cavity

2005-02-18T09:10:00.000-08:00

Largest hollow space of the body. Its upper boundary is the diaphragm, a sheet of muscle and connective tissue that separates it from the chest cavity; its lower boundary is the upper plane of the pelvic cavity. Vertically it is enclosed by the vertebral column and the abdominal and other muscles. The abdominal cavity contains the

Leadwork

2005-02-16T22:53:00.000-08:00

Sculpture, ornamental objects, and architectural coverings and fittings made of lead. Although the ease with which lead is smelted from lead ores ensured its early discovery, the softness of the metal restricted its use until Roman times. The earliest known use of lead dates from about 3000 BC in Egypt and Asia Minor, when it was used in making small statuettes and votive

Far Eastern Republic

2005-02-16T22:50:00.000-08:00

Also called Chita Republic, Russian Dalnevostochnaya Respublika, or Chitinskaya Respublika, nominally independent state formed by Soviet Russia in eastern Siberia in 1920 and absorbed into the Soviet Union in 1922. At the time of the Far Eastern Republic's creation, the Bolsheviks controlled Siberia west of Lake Baikal, while Japan held much of the Pacific coast, including Vladivostok. Lenin therefore ordered the creation of the Far Eastern Republic, centring on

Arupa-loka

2005-02-15T05:23:00.000-08:00

In arupa-loka, existence depends on the stage

Rowing

2005-02-14T17:01:00.000-08:00

In competitive rowing the oar is

Näfels, Battle Of

2005-02-14T11:20:00.000-08:00

(April 9, 1388), major victory for the Swiss Confederation in the first century of its struggle for self-determination against Habsburg overlordship. Though the catastrophic defeat of the Austrians at Sempach in 1386 had been followed by a truce, hostilities against the Habsburgs were subsequently continued by the rebellious men of Glarus, a district that had adhered to the

Mauriac, François

2005-02-13T18:15:00.000-08:00

Novelist, essayist, poet, playwright, journalist, and winner in 1952 of the Nobel Prize for Literature. He belonged to the lineage of French Catholic writers who examined the ugly realities of modern life in the light of eternity. His major novels are sombre, austere psychological dramas set in an atmosphere of unrelieved tension. At the heart

Böhm-bawerk, Eugen Von

2005-02-13T07:39:00.000-08:00

After graduating from the University of Vienna, Böhm-Bawerk worked in the Austrian Ministry of Finance (1872–75) and was allowed by the ministry to study at several

Cheke, Sir John

2005-02-12T00:29:00.000-08:00

Cheke also spelled Cheek English humanist and supporter of the Protestant Reformation who, as the poet John Milton said, “taught Cambridge and King Edward Greek” and who, with his friend Sir Thomas Smith, discovered the proper pronunciation of ancient Greek. Through his teaching he made the University of Cambridge the centre of the “new learning” and the Reformed religion.

Juan De Fuca Strait

2005-02-11T01:55:00.000-08:00

From Cape Flattery and the open Pacific, the strait stretches 80–100 miles (130–160 km) east to join with Haro Strait and touches Whidbey

Ataxia

2005-02-11T00:37:00.000-08:00

Most hereditary ataxias of neurological origin are caused by degeneration of the spinal cord and cerebellum; other parts of the nervous system are also frequently involved. The most common of these is Friedreich ataxia, named after the German neurologist

Montpensier, Anne-marie-louise D'orléans, Duchess (duchesse) De

2005-02-10T21:19:00.000-08:00

Byname La Grande Mademoiselle princess of the royal house of France, prominent during the Fronde and the minority of Louis XIV. She was known as Mademoiselle because her father, Gaston de France, Duke d'Orléans and uncle of Louis XIV, had the designation of Monsieur. From her mother, Marie de Bourbon-Montpensier, she inherited a huge fortune, including Eu and Dombes as well

Italy, The revolutions of 1848

2005-02-09T14:44:00.000-08:00

The first of the revolutions of 1848 erupted in Palermo on January 9. Starting as a popular insurrection, it soon took on overtones of Sicilian separatism and spread throughout the island. Piecemeal reforms proved inadequate to satisfy the revolutionaries, both noble and bourgeois, who were determined to have a new and more liberal constitution. Ferdinand II of the Kingdom

Industrial Polymers, Major, Aldehyde condensation polymers

2005-02-09T05:13:00.000-08:00

The polymerization reactions of these monomers produce complex, thermosetting network polymers with the following

Epistemology, Contemporary philosophy

2005-02-08T23:42:00.000-08:00

Contemporary philosophy begins in the late 19th and early 20th century. Much of what sets contemporary philosophy off from modern philosophy is its explicit criticism of the modern tradition and sometimes its apparent indifference to it. There are two basic strains of contemporary philosophy: Continental philosophy, which designates the philosophical style

Abemama Atoll

2005-02-07T13:37:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Apamama , formerly Roger Simpson Island coral atoll of the northern Gilbert Islands, part of Kiribati, in the west-central Pacific Ocean. Captain Charles Bishop, who discovered the atoll in 1799, named it Roger Simpson Island for one of his associates. Seat of the area's ruling family in the 19th century, the atoll was the site of the formal British annexation of the Gilbert Island group in 1892. Occupied by Japanese forces

Elizabeth

2005-02-07T01:42:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1857) of Union county, northeastern New Jersey, U.S., on Newark Bay and Arthur Kill (channel; connected by bridge to Staten Island, New York City) and is adjacent to Newark, New Jersey, to the north. Settlement began in 1664 with the purchase of land from the Delaware Indians. It was named Elizabethtown to honour the wife of Sir George Carteret, one of the colony's first proprietors.

U2

2005-02-06T01:32:00.000-08:00

W.h., Mr.

2005-02-05T14:37:00.000-08:00

The mystery of his identity has tantalized generations of biographers and critics,

Armenian Literature

2005-02-05T07:56:00.000-08:00

Body of writings in the Armenian language. There is evidence that a pagan oral literature existed in Armenia before the invention of the Armenian alphabet in the 5th century AD, but, owing to the zeal of the early Christian priests, little of this was preserved. For about a century after their conversion to Christianity (c. 300), the Armenians had to rely on Greek and Syriac versions

Arve River

2005-02-04T22:23:00.000-08:00

River in eastern France and Switzerland, rising in the Savoy Alps and flowing north into the Rhône River below Geneva. Over its 62-mi (100-km) course, the river passes by some of the finest and most varied Alpine scenery. Its upper section collects the drainage of the northwest face of the Massif du Mont Blanc and is a source of hydroelectric power. Below Bonneville, in the Faucigny

Waikato River

2005-02-03T14:45:00.000-08:00

River, the longest in New Zealand, in central North Island. Rising on the slopes of Mount Ruapehu in Tongariro National Park as the Tongariro River, it flows north through Lake Taupo and, issuing from the lake's northeastern corner, tumbles over Huka Falls and flows northwest to enter the Tasman Sea south of Auckland. The river is 264 miles (425 km) long. It has a gentle gradient

Mercerization

2005-02-02T13:18:00.000-08:00

The treatment consists of immersing the yarn or

Girardon, François

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

Giradon attracted the attention of Chancellor Pierre Séguier, who brought him to Paris to study under François Anguier and afterward sent him to Rome. He returned to France about 1650, becoming a member of the

Aksyonov, Vasily Pavlovich

2005-02-01T06:11:00.000-08:00

The son of parents who spent many years in Soviet prisons, Aksyonov was raised in a state home and graduated from medical school in 1956. After working a few years as a doctor, he turned to writing, and in