NaturalShip

Estate Agent Fitzrovia

2006-10-25T18:10:00.000-07:00

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.

Vacuum Technology

2005-03-29T20:59:00.000-08:00

The operating principles of this gauge are similar to the Penning gauge except that the electrons are produced by a hot filament and accelerated to a grid. The pressure range covered is either 1 to 10-5 torr or 10-2 to 10-7 torr, depending on the electrode structure. Electrons emitted from the filament ionize residual gas molecules in the container being evacuated; the ion current

Christian Methodist Episcopal Church

2005-03-29T13:31:00.000-08:00

Black Methodist church in the United States, organized in 1870 as the Colored Methodist Episcopal Church; it officially adopted its present name in 1956. The church originated from a movement begun in 1866 within the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, to organize the black members into an independent church. At the founding convention in 1870, two bishops from the Methodist Episcopal

Haakon Vi Magnusson

2005-03-29T06:53:00.000-08:00

Byname Haakon Magnusson The Younger, Norwegian Håkon Magnusson Den Yngre king of Norway (1355–80) whose marriage to Margaret, daughter of the Danish king Valdemar IV, in 1363 paved the way for the eventual union (1397) of the three major Scandinavian nations—Denmark, Norway, and Sweden—the Kalmar Union. Haakon was deeply embroiled throughout his reign in political conflicts with Sweden, Denmark, and the cities of the north German trading confederation,

Sha'nabi, Mount Ash-

2005-03-28T03:00:00.000-08:00

Arabic Jabal Ash-sha 'nabi, also spelled Djebel Chambi, mountain (5,066 feet [1,544 m]) that is the highest in Tunisia. It is part of a spur of the Tebéssa (Tabassah) Mountains, which are part of the Saharan Atlas Mountains. The mountain lies near the Algerian border, 6 miles (10 km) west-northwest of Al-Qasrayn (Kasserine).

Pluton

2005-03-27T22:13:00.000-08:00

Body of intrusive igneous rock the size, composition, shape, or exact type of which is in doubt; when such characteristics are known, more limiting terms can be used. Thus, plutons include dikes, laccoliths, batholiths, sills, and other forms of intrusions. Most plutons are thought to be the result of igneous activity in which a magma is involved; the controversial origin

Lusatia

2005-03-27T04:16:00.000-08:00

In the 9th century the area settled by the Sorbs, a Slavic people, extended westward to the Saale River and

Alaska Current

2005-03-26T20:44:00.000-08:00

Flow velocities at a depth of 16 feet (5 m) have been reported to be as high as 1.7 knots (1.9 miles per hour)

Argentina, Finance

2005-03-26T15:44:00.000-08:00

Economic troubles in the 1970s and '80s caused the near

Cancan

2005-03-26T03:53:00.000-08:00

Lively and risqué dance of French or Algerian origin, usually performed by four women. Known for its high kicks in unison that exposed both the petticoat and the leg, the cancan was popular in Parisian dance halls in the 1830s and appeared in variety shows and revues in the 1840s. The cancan is in a lively 2/4 time and was at first danced to quadrille or galop music. Specific cancans

Saarinen, Eero

2005-03-24T04:08:00.000-08:00

Finnish-born U.S. architect who was one of the leaders in a trend toward exploration and experiment in American architectural design during the 1950s.

Field Emission

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

Also called Cold Emission, discharge of electrons from the surface of a material subjected to a strong electric field. In the absence of a strong electric field, an electron must acquire a certain minimum energy, called the work function, to escape through the surface of a given material, which acts as a barrier to electron passage. If the material is placed in an electric circuit that renders

Marsh Marigold

2005-03-23T02:32:00.000-08:00

The stem of a marsh marigold is hollow, and the leaves are kidney-shaped, heart-shaped, or round. The glossy flowers are 2.5 to 5 cm (1 to 2 inches) across and have pink, white, or yellow sepals. Petals are absent. The stems, leaves, and roots

Epinephrine And Norepinephrine

2005-03-22T01:34:00.000-08:00

Also called adrenaline and noradrenaline, two separate but related hormones secreted by the medulla of the adrenal glands. They are also produced at the ends of sympathetic nerve fibres, where they serve as chemical mediators for conveying the nerve impulses to effector organs. Chemically, the two compounds differ only slightly; and they exert similar pharmacological actions, which resemble the effects

Arabia, History Of, World War I

2005-03-21T10:20:00.000-08:00

The Ottoman Empire entered World War I holding all of western Arabia and supported in central northern Arabia by the Rashidis of Ha'il. Earlier Ottoman attempts to extend the empire to eastern Arabia, however, had been countered by the British, who were then paramount in the gulf and in treaty relation with the Arab sheikhdoms there. Sharif Husayn ibn 'Ali of Mecca, with assurance

Jurassic Period, Eurasia and Gondwana

2005-03-21T01:40:00.000-08:00

The Tethyan geosyncline on the margins of both Eurasia and Gondwana accumulated thick sequences of Jurassic rock ranging from carbonates and evaporites to sandstone. The carbonates include shallow-water marl, limestone and reefs, and deep-water siliceous limestone. The presence of radiolarian cherts strongly indicates a deep-water origin for some of the sediments.

Aedon

2005-03-20T22:20:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, a daughter of Pandareus of Ephesus. According to Homer, she was the wife of Zethus, the king of Thebes. She had only two children and envied her sister-in-law, Niobe, who had many. She planned to murder Niobe's eldest son in his sleep, but by mistake killed her own son, Itylus, who was sharing his room. Zeus took pity on Aedon in her grief and changed her into a nightingale;

Alcmaeon

2005-03-20T03:00:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Alcmeon Greek philosopher and physiologist of the academy at Croton (now Crotona, southern Italy), the first person recorded to have practiced dissection of human bodies for research purposes. He may also have been the first to attempt vivisection. Alcmaeon inferred that the brain was the centre of intelligence and that the soul was the source of life. Applying

Artaxerxes I

2005-03-19T11:53:00.000-08:00

He was surnamed in Greek Macrocheir (“Longhand”) and in Latin Longimanus. A younger son of Xerxes I and Amestris, he was raised to the throne by the commander of the guard, Artabanus, who had murdered Xerxes. A few months later, Artaxerxes slew Artabanus in a hand-to-hand fight. His reign, though generally peaceful, was

Oats

2005-03-18T18:27:00.000-08:00

The wild oat was first found in western Europe, apparently as

Sa Dec

2005-03-18T16:25:00.000-08:00

Formerly Sa Dac, town on the Mekong River delta, southern Vietnam. It is a river port, agricultural trading centre, and transshipment point for small craft on the left bank of the shallow Bassac River (Song Han Giang), 88 miles (140 km) southwest of Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon). It is linked by highway to Rach Gia, on the Gulf of Thailand, via Long Xuyen. It is crossed east-west by a waterway linking

Sha-ch'ing

2005-03-18T13:47:00.000-08:00

The artifacts of the group were mainly brick-red gritty bowls, stone tools, and large tri-legged vessels of grey pottery. Evidence of bronze

Essene

2005-03-18T06:04:00.000-08:00

The Essenes

Padri War

2005-03-16T09:13:00.000-08:00

(1821–37), armed conflict in Minangkabau (Sumatra) between reformist Muslims, known as Padris, and local chieftains assisted by the Dutch. In the early 19th century the puritan Wahhabiyah sect of Islam spread to Sumatra, brought by pilgrims who entered the island through Pedir, a northern port. The Padris, as these Sumatran converts to Wahhabiyah came to be known, objected to local institutions

Biblical Literature, The significance of Elijah

2005-03-16T06:23:00.000-08:00

With the dynasty of Omri (c. 876–842), the prophetic movement begins to assume a position of tremendous importance in Israel and Judah. Omri (reigned c. 876–869) reestablished Israel's economic and military significance among the Syrian and Palestinian minor kingdoms, so much so that years after his death the Assyrians referred to the northern kingdom as “the land of Omri.” He is mentioned

Fly

2005-03-15T21:52:00.000-08:00

Any of several thousand species of insects belonging to the order Diptera and characterized by the use of only one pair of wings for flight and the reduction of the second pair of wings to knobs (called halteres) used for balance. The term fly is commonly used for almost any small flying insect. In entomology, however, the name refers specifically to the approximately

Turin Faience

2005-03-15T19:22:00.000-08:00

Tin-glazed earthenware made in Turin, Italy, from the 16th century through the 18th. It is known that the Genoese G.G. Bianchi opened a pottery factory in Turin in 1646. In 1725 Giorgio Rossetti expanded Turin's faience industry, in which he was followed by his descendants. Another factory was that of G.A. Ardizzone (flourished 1765). These 18th-century potters produced such wares as faience plates

Beachy Head

2005-03-14T15:10:00.000-08:00

Prominent headland on the English Channel coast in the administrative county of East Sussex, historic county of Sussex, England, in the borough of Eastbourne. Its chalk cliffs, more than 500 ft (150 m) high, represent the seaward extension of the South Downs. The cliffs face southward and are therefore subjected to severe gales from the southwest. Erosion is concentrated along

Avery, Tex

2005-03-14T14:51:00.000-08:00

Avery's only formal art training consisted of a three-month course at the Art Institute of Chicago during the late 1920s. He began his animation career in 1929 for cartoon producer Walter Lantz at Universal

Brunet, Jacques-charles

2005-03-13T16:30:00.000-08:00

The son of a bookseller, Brunet acquired a taste for bibliography at an early age and published a supplement to the Dictionnaire bibliographique de livres rares (1810; “Dictionary of Rare Books”), brought out a few years earlier. The first edition of Brunet's Manuel du libraire et de l'amateur de livres

Arrowhead

2005-03-13T10:44:00.000-08:00

Any freshwater plant of the genus Sagittaria, consisting of about 20 species distributed worldwide, having leaves resembling arrowpoints. Arrowhead is a perennial herb with fleshy, or tuberous, roots that grows in shallow lakes, ponds, and streams. The flowers have three rounded petals. The tubers of some North American species were eaten by Indians and

Anti-lebanon Mountains

2005-03-11T22:58:00.000-08:00

Arabic Al-jabal Ash-sharqi, or Lubnan Ash-sharqi, French Anti-liban, mountain range that runs northeast-southwest along the Syrian-Lebanese border parallel to the Lebanon Mountains, from which they are separated by the al-Biqa' Valley. The range averages 6,500 feet (2,000 m) above sea level, with several peaks exceeding 8,000 feet (2,400 m). As it runs south, the Anti-Lebanon range is interrupted by a broad shoulder (the Zabadani Saddle) of Mount Hermon, 9,232 feet (2,814 m) high,

Amorgós Island

2005-03-11T19:25:00.000-08:00

Modern Greek Nísos Amorgós, island trending northeast-southwest in the Cyclades (Kikládhes) group of the Greek Aegean Islands. For the most part mountainous and narrow, it has an area of about 47 square miles (121 square km). Prosperous in the early Bronze Age, in classical times it had three cities, Arcesine, Minoa, and Aegiale. The island produced amorgina, fine transparent fabrics made from locally grown

Gabon, Settlement patterns

2005-03-11T03:59:00.000-08:00

Gabon's major towns—Libreville, Port-Gentil, Lambaréné, Moanda, Mouila, Oyem, Franceville, and Bitam—contain nearly two-fifths of the total population. The remainder is scattered widely among some 4,000 rural villages, which are concentrated along the rivers and roads, often with a population of no more than a few families. Port-Gentil is the centre of the wood and petroleum

Prussia

2005-03-11T01:56:00.000-08:00

German Preussen , Polish Prusy in European history, any of certain areas of eastern and central Europe, respectively (1) the land of the Prussians on the southeastern coast of the Baltic Sea, which came under Polish and German rule in the Middle Ages; (2) the kingdom ruled from 1701 by the German Hohenzollern dynasty, including Prussia and Brandenburg, with Berlin as its capital, which seized much of northern

Lesser Slave Lake

2005-03-10T17:44:00.000-08:00

Lake in central Alberta, Canada, 130 miles (209 km) northwest of Edmonton and 400 miles (640 km) south of Great Slave Lake (in the Northwest Territories). It is 60 miles (97 km) long by 12 miles (19 km) wide and has an area of 451 square miles (1,168 square km). Fed by many small streams, it drains eastward into the Athabasca River via the Lesser Slave River. The name, first used by the Cree Indians, refers to the Slave (Dogrib)

Argand Burner

2005-03-09T21:42:00.000-08:00

First scientifically constructed oil lamp, patented in 1784 in England by a Swiss, Aimé Argand. The first basic change in lamps in thousands of years, it applied a principle that was later adapted to gas burners. The Argand burner consisted of a cylindrical wick housed between two concentric metal tubes. The inner tube provided a passage through which air rose into the

Tiffany, Louis Comfort

2005-03-09T20:17:00.000-08:00

The son of the famous jeweler Charles Lewis Tiffany, Louis studied under the American painters George Inness and Samuel

Bréguet, Abraham-louis

2005-03-09T08:03:00.000-08:00

Bréguet was apprenticed in 1762 to a watchmaker at Versailles. He took refuge in London during the French Revolution and, upon his return to France, became a principal watchmaker of the Empire. Among Bréguet's many inventions

Nicholas Brothers

2005-03-08T23:57:00.000-08:00

Tap-dancing duo whose suppleness, strength, and fearlessness made them one of the greatest tap dance acts of all time. Fayard Antonio Nicholas (b. October 20, 1914, Mobile, Alabama, U.S.) and his brother Harold Lloyd Nicholas (b. March 17, 1921, Winston-Salem, North Carolina—d. July 3, 2000, New York, New York) developed a type of dance that has been dubbed “classical tap,” combining jazz dance, ballet, and dazzling

China, Population

2005-03-08T07:34:00.000-08:00

Ming China's northward orientation in foreign relations was accompanied by a flow of Chinese migrants from the crowded South back into the vast North China Plain, and by a concomitant shift in emphasis from an urban and commercial way of life back to a rural and agrarian pattern. Thus, demographic and economic trends that had characterized China for centuries—the

Salado Formation

2005-03-07T17:31:00.000-08:00

The Salado Formation is a division of the Ochoan Stage of the Upper Permian Series of rock strata (formed from 256 to 248 million years ago). It overlies the Castile

Hinduism, Folk and tribal myths

2005-03-07T07:12:00.000-08:00

There is a great diversity in folk mythology throughout the entire Indo-Pakistan subcontinent, but these myths have neither been fully collected nor systematically studied. Among locally important deities, Manasa, a snake goddess, worshiped in Assam and Bengal to ward off snakebites and secure prosperity, has an enormous mythology of her own. In South India one

Biblical Literature, Parallelism

2005-03-06T06:07:00.000-08:00

Parallelism, the interpretation of Scripture by means of Scripture, is a corollary of the belief in the unity of Scripture. But as a hermeneutical principle it must be employed sparingly, since the unity of Scripture should be based on comprehensive exegetical study, rather than itself provide a basis. Where one or two biblical documents (e.g., the letters to the Romans

Carte Du Ciel

2005-03-05T11:29:00.000-08:00

(French: “Map of the Heavens”), projected photographic mapping of some 10 million stars in all parts of the sky that was planned to include all stars of the 14th magnitude or brighter and to list in an associated catalog all of the 12th magnitude or brighter. The plan, devised about 1887 by Amédée Mouchez, director of the Paris Observatory, involved the cooperation of 18 observatories

Abs, Hermann J.

2005-03-05T02:06:00.000-08:00

Abs studied law for one year before joining a merchant bank in Cologne. After World War I, he obtained a series of posts, in Germany and abroad, learning the business of international banking. In 1938 he became a manager of Berlin's Deutsche Bank, which had,

Wells, Henry

2005-03-04T17:36:00.000-08:00

Wells gained experience as an agent for Harnden's Express at Albany, N.Y., and then as a founder of Livingston, Wells, and Pomeroy's Express, operating between Albany and Buffalo. In 1844, together with William Fargo (q.v.) and Daniel Dunning,

Elam

2005-03-04T03:32:00.000-08:00

Throughout the late prehistoric periods, Elam was closely tied

Sung Dynasty

2005-03-03T14:55:00.000-08:00

The Sung dynasty was founded when Chao K'uang-yin, the military inspector general of the Chou dynasty, last of the Five Dynasties, usurped control of the empire in a coup. Thereafter, he used his mastery of diplomatic maneuvering to persuade powerful potential

Ubi Sunt

2005-03-03T00:28:00.000-08:00

A verse form in which the poem or its stanzas begin with the Latin words ubi sunt (“where are ”) or their equivalent in another language and which has as a principal theme the transitory nature of all things. A well-known example is François Villon's “Ballade des dames du temps jadis” (“Ballade of the Ladies of Bygone Times”), with its refrain “Mais où sont les neiges d'antan?'' (“But where

Nägeli, Karl Wilhelm Von

2005-03-02T10:39:00.000-08:00

Nägeli received his earliest training from the German nature-philosopher Lorenz Oken and later studied botany under Augustin Pyrame de Candolle at the University of Geneva. He continued his botanical studies under Matthias Jakob Schleiden at the University of Jena and began

Bd

2005-03-02T10:16:00.000-08:00

Abbreviation of Bonner Durchmusterung (q.v.), an astronomical catalog.

N'djamena

2005-03-01T23:55:00.000-08:00

Formerly Fort-lamy, capital of Chad, on the southwestern border, adjacent to Cameroon. It lies on the east bank of the Chari (Shari) River at its confluence with the Logone River in an alluvial plain that is flooded during the rainy season (July–September). The city was founded in 1900 across the Chari River from Fort-Fureau (Kousseri), where French colonial troops defeated and killed the Sudanese

Smith, Patti

2005-03-01T21:40:00.000-08:00

In full Patti Lee Smith American poet, rock songwriter, and singer. Growing up in New Jersey, Smith won an art scholarship to Glassboro State Teachers College. In 1967 she moved to New York City, where she became active in the downtown Manhattan arts scene, writing poetry and living with the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Her performance-driven poetry readings

Roman Law

2005-03-01T13:51:00.000-08:00

The law of ancient Rome from the time of the founding of the city in 753 BC until the fall of the Western Empire in the 5th century AD. It remained in use in the Eastern, or Byzantine, Empire until 1453. As a legal system, Roman law has affected the development of law in most of Western civilization as well as in parts of the East. It forms the basis for the law codes of most countries of continental

Mitral Stenosis

2005-02-28T15:45:00.000-08:00

Narrowing of the mitral valve, the function of which is to permit blood to flow from the atrium, or upper chamber, to the ventricle, or lower chamber, of the left side of the heart and to prevent its backflow. Narrowing of the mitral valve is usually a result of rheumatic fever; rarely, the narrowed valve is a congenital defect. The condition, most common in women under 45, is diagnosed

Pyrenees, Peace Of The

2005-02-27T09:29:00.000-08:00

During the years from the end of the Thirty Years' War until 1659 Spain and France engaged in almost continuous warfare. During the struggle Spain found itself also involved in hostilities with England,

Pumpkin

2005-02-27T04:59:00.000-08:00

Fruit of certain varieties of Cucurbita pepo or of C. moschata, members of the family Cucurbitaceae. The names pumpkin and squash, especially in the United States, are applied inconsistently to certain varieties of both these species. The quick-growing, small-fruited bush, or nontrailing, varieties of C. pepo are called squash (q.v.) in America, while the long-season, long-trailing,

Beast Tale

2005-02-26T23:28:00.000-08:00

A prose or verse narrative similar to the beast fable in that it portrays animal characters acting as humans but unlike the fable in that it usually lacks a moral. Joel Chandler Harris's Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings (1880) derived many episodes from beast tales carried to the United States by African slaves. Animal Farm (1945), an anti-utopian satire by George Orwell, is

Police, The

2005-02-26T21:05:00.000-08:00

British-American new-wave band that blended reggae, jazz, funk, punk, and world music influences into hook-laden pop-rock. Five best-selling albums, a bevy of hits, and aggressive touring—including stops in countries usually overlooked by Western pop musicians—combined to make the Police the world's most popular band in the early 1980s. The members were Sting (original name

Middlebury

2005-02-26T16:35:00.000-08:00

Town (township), seat of Addison county, west-central Vermont, U.S. The area was chartered in 1761, along with Salisbury and New Haven, and named for its location midway between the other two. Settled in 1773 by Benjamin Smalley, it was temporarily abandoned (1778–83) because of Tory and Indian attacks. Middlebury College (noted for its summer Bread Loaf Writers' Conference) was chartered in

Solar Calendar

2005-02-26T14:34:00.000-08:00

Any dating system based on the seasonal year of approximately 365 1/4 days, the time it takes the Earth to revolve once around the Sun. The Egyptians appear to have been the first to develop a solar calendar, using as a fixed point the annual sunrise reappearance of the Dog Star—Sirius, or Sothis—in the eastern sky, which coincided with the annual flooding of the Nile River. They

Carter, Benny

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

Carter grew up in New York City and attended Wilberforce College briefly before joining, as alto saxophonist and arranger, a series of

Fabre, émile

2005-02-24T01:29:00.000-08:00

The son of a stage manager, Fabre began writing and producing plays at the age of 13. Comme ils sont tous (1894; “As They All Are”) was his first success, followed by a series of popular political and social satires: L'Argent

Lute

2005-02-23T11:34:00.000-08:00

Plucked, stringed musical instrument popular in 16th- and 17th-century Europe. The lute that was prominent in European popular art and music of the Renaissance and Baroque periods originated as the Arab 'ud. This instrument was brought to Europe in the 13th century by way of Spain and by returning crusaders and is still played in Arab countries. Like the 'ud, the European lute

Gadamer, Hans-georg

2005-02-23T02:49:00.000-08:00

The son of a chemistry professor, Gadamer studied the humanities at the universities

China, Early Mongol rule

2005-02-22T21:35:00.000-08:00

The government system during the early years of the Mongol conquest was a synthesis of Mongol military administration and a gradual return to Chinese traditions in those domains ruled by former subjects of the Chin state. The most important office or function in Mongol administration was that of the darughatchi (or seal bearer), whose powers were at first all-inclusive;

Obuchi Keizo

2005-02-22T16:26:00.000-08:00

Obuchi received a degree in English literature from Waseda University, Tokyo, in 1962. The following year, he won the seat his father had held in the House of Representatives, becoming the youngest person

Caribou

2005-02-22T09:43:00.000-08:00

City, Aroostook county, northeastern Maine, U.S. It lies along the Aroostook River, near the New Brunswick border, 13 miles (21 km) north of Presque Isle. Settled in 1824, it developed as a lumbering centre and was incorporated in 1859 as Lyndon. It was renamed Caribou in 1877 for the woodland caribou once plentiful in the region. The city is the shipping point for a large potato-growing region.

Tariff

2005-02-22T05:15:00.000-08:00

Tariffs may be levied either to raise revenue or to protect domestic industries, but a tariff designed primarily to raise revenue may exercise a strong protective influence and a tariff

Andrews, Dana

2005-02-20T19:53:00.000-08:00

A onetime accountant, Andrews in 1931 hitchhiked to Los Angeles, where he worked at various jobs before attracting notice with his first successful motion picture, The Westerner (1940). Some

Baseball

2005-02-20T15:50:00.000-08:00

(ROBERT WILLIAM VERDI)

Haldimand, Sir Frederick

2005-02-19T21:44:00.000-08:00

Haldimand entered British service in 1756 as a lieutenant colonel in the Royal American Regiment. He served in Sir Jeffrey Amherst's expedition (1760) against Montreal during the Seven Years' War between Great Britain and France, then stayed there as second in command

Ibuprofen

2005-02-19T04:53:00.000-08:00

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug used in the treatment of minor pain, fever, and inflammation. Like aspirin, ibuprofen works by inhibiting the synthesis of prostaglandins, body chemicals that sensitize nerve endings. The drug may irritate the gastrointestinal tract. Marketed under trade names such as Advil and Nuprin, ibuprofen is not recommended for use

Jackson, Andrew

2005-02-19T03:30:00.000-08:00

In 1828 Jackson defeated Adams by an electoral vote of 178 to 83 after a campaign in which personalities and slander played a larger part than in any previous U.S. national election. Jackson and his wife, Rachel, despite their long marriage, had been vilified in campaign pamphlets as adulterers. The basis was that Rachel Jackson was not legally divorced from her first husband at the time she and Jackson were wed. When they discovered their mistake they remarried, but the damage had been done. Jackson's hour of triumph was soon overshadowed by personal tragedy—his wife died at the Hermitage on December 22, 1828. Retiring and religious, she had avoided the public eye, and the scabrous attacks had hurt her deeply. Jackson had these words inscribed on her tombstone: “A being so gentle and yet so virtuous, slander might wound, but could not dishonor.” She had dreaded becoming the hostess of the President's House, saying that she would “rather be a doorkeeper in the House of God than live in that palace.” Rachel Jackson's niece, Emily Donelson, the wife of Andrew Jackson Donelson, served as the president's hostess until 1836. At times, Sarah Yorke Jackson, the wife of Andrew Jackson's adopted son, also served as his hostess.

Lipmann, Fritz Albert

2005-02-18T11:47:00.000-08:00

Lipmann earned an M.D. degree (1924) and a Ph.D. degree (1927) from the University

Beast Fable

2005-02-18T06:09:00.000-08:00

A prose or verse fable or short story that usually has a moral. In beast fables animal characters are represented as acting with human feelings and motives. Among the best-known examples in Western literature are those attributed to the legendary Greek author Aesop. The best-known Asian collection of beast fables is the Pañca-tantra of India.

Kirkintilloch

2005-02-17T14:56:00.000-08:00

Burgh (town), East Dunbartonshire council area, historic county of Dunbartonshire, west-central Scotland, on the northeastern periphery of the metropolitan area of Glasgow. It is situated on the Forth and Clyde Canal, and the River Kelvin flows past the town. There was a Roman fort on the site, part of the defensive Antonine Wall built in AD 142. The town was granted its charter

China, The Chinese Revolution (191112)

2005-02-17T11:30:00.000-08:00

The Chinese Revolution was not triggered by the United League itself but by the Hupeh army troops urged on by the local revolutionary bodies not incorporated in the league. An accidental exposure of a mutinous plot forced a number of junior officers to choose between arrest or revolt in Wu-han. The revolt was initially successful because of the determination of

Biblical Literature, The Zealots

2005-02-15T11:44:00.000-08:00

The Zealots were revolutionaries who plotted actively against the Roman oppression. That the Pharisees did not react in this way was perhaps because of their belief in Providence: what happens is the will of God, and their free will is expressed in the context of trust and piety in conjunction with an eschatological hope of winning God's Kingdom through obedience

Pacorus Ii

2005-02-15T11:28:00.000-08:00

In 110 Pacorus sold the Parthian client kingdom of Osroëne to Abgar VII, son of Izates, ruler of Adiabene. It is uncertain whether Pacorus was alive when the Roman emperor Trajan invaded

Romanche Gap

2005-02-15T10:42:00.000-08:00

The Romanche Gap is one of the

Wild-water Racing

2005-02-15T03:03:00.000-08:00

International competition,

M.v.o.

2005-02-14T16:38:00.000-08:00

Member, either fourth or fifth class, of the Royal Victorian Order. This rank of the order does not confer knighthood. See Royal Victorian Order.

Nahant

2005-02-14T04:30:00.000-08:00

Initially settled by fishermen and livestock herders in the mid-17th century, Nahant

Gymnastics

2005-02-13T10:48:00.000-08:00

The performance of systematic exercises—often with the use of rings, bars, and other apparatus—either as a competitive sport or to improve strength, agility, coordination, and physical conditioning.

Katipunan

2005-02-12T22:28:00.000-08:00

In full Kataastaasan Kagalang-galang Na Katipunan Nang Manga Anak Nang Bayan (“Supreme Worshipful Association of the Sons of the People”), Filipino nationalist organization founded in 1892 to oppose Spanish rule. The organization numbered anywhere from 100,000 to 400,000 members. The Filipino nationalist Emilio Aguinaldo was the leader of this group, which successfully fought the Spanish. Most of the members were Tagalogs.

Kidston, Robert

2005-02-12T11:27:00.000-08:00

Kidston studied botany at the University of Edinburgh, and in 1880 he became honorary paleobotanist to the British Geological Survey. In this first period

Anarchism, Decline of anarchism in East Asia

2005-02-12T05:59:00.000-08:00

By the early 1920s anarchism in most parts of East Asia had entered a decline from which it would not recover. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Bolshevik communists in Japan, China, Vietnam, and Korea established their own revolutionary societies, which were eventually transformed into clandestine political parties, and began to compete with anarchists for influence

Restell, Madame

2005-02-11T19:00:00.000-08:00

Ann Trow was born into a poor family. In 1831 she moved to New York City with her husband, who died a few years later, and in 1836 she married Charles R. Lohman. Her husband had established himself as a purveyor of various concoctions that purportedly prevented

Brian, Havergal

2005-02-10T13:53:00.000-08:00

In his youth Brian played the violin, organ, piano, and cello. His chief love, however, came to be composition. Between the ages of 20 and 45, he wrote more than 100 songs and some dozen orchestral works, in addition to two cantatas and an opera, The Tigers (begun in 1916), considered a remarkably

Italic Languages, Oscan

2005-02-09T20:04:00.000-08:00

Before Latin spread out, Oscan was the most widely spoken group of dialects of the Apennine Peninsula. It was used by the Samnites in Samnium and Campania; by the inhabitants of Lucania and Bruttium; and, with slight variations, by smaller tribes between Latium and the Adriatic coast: the Volsci, Marsi, Paeligni, Vestini, and Marrucini. (These distinct “minor dialects” within

Rackham, Arthur

2005-02-09T16:54:00.000-08:00

Reared in London, Rackham enrolled in evening classes at the Lambeth School of Art in 1884 and spent seven years studying there while also working full-time in an insurance office. While a staff artist for a newspaper, the Westminster

Tasmania, Drainage

2005-02-09T10:11:00.000-08:00

There are two major river systems—the Derwent in the southeast and the South Esk in the northeast—many small systems—especially westward, flowing to the west coast—and innumerable lakes. The Central Plateau is studded with more than 4,000 lakes in a landscape similar to northern Canada and Finland; almost all, including Great Lake, are shallow. Lake St. Clair, the deepest

Slowacki, Juliusz

2005-02-09T04:12:00.000-08:00

The son of a university professor, Slowacki was educated in Wilno (now Vilnius), Lithuania, until 1829, when he joined the Department of the Treasury in Warsaw. He was absorbed with reading and writing poetry. During the November

Cariban Languages

2005-02-08T16:26:00.000-08:00

A group of South American Indian languages that were spoken before the Spanish conquest from what is now the Greater Antilles to the central Mato Grosso in Brazil; most of the languages, however, were spoken north of the Amazon River in what is now northern Brazil, the inland areas of the Guianas and Venezuela, and lowland Colombia. West Indian Cariban is extinct, and

Chiang K'ang-hu

2005-02-08T15:33:00.000-08:00

Born into a scholar-official family, Chiang studied at home and briefly in Japan before returning to China in 1901 to take charge of the compilation of elementary-school textbooks for the schools of five northern

Bean, Alan L(avern)

2005-02-07T04:01:00.000-08:00

Bean entered the U.S. Navy upon graduation

East Anglia

2005-02-07T03:06:00.000-08:00

The area is low and undulating and almost entirely covered

Bench

2005-02-06T00:19:00.000-08:00

Long seat that may be freestanding, fixed to the wall, or placed against the wall. Paneled benches were used by the Romans, and they were the most common form of seating in medieval halls at a time when a chair was a rare luxury. Benches were not only used as seats but were normally wide enough to be used for sleeping on or eating from; as the Frankish ecclesiastic and historian