StraightNet

Molasses

2005-04-05T14:07:00.000-07:00

Also called Treacle, syrup remaining after sugar is crystallized out of cane or beet juice. Molasses syrup is separated from sugar crystals by means of centrifuging. Molasses is separated from the sugar crystals repeatedly during the manufacturing process, resulting in several different grades of molasses; that obtained from the first extraction contains more sugar, tastes sweeter,

Utilitarianism

2005-04-03T03:41:00.000-07:00

In normative ethics, a tradition stemming from the late 18th- and 19th-century English philosophers and economists Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill that an action is right if it tends to promote happiness and wrong if it tends to produce the reverse of happiness—not just the happiness of the performer of the action but also that of everyone affected by it. Such a theory

Indian Reorganization Act

2005-04-01T02:53:00.000-08:00

Also called Wheeler–Howard Act (June 18, 1934), measure enacted by the U.S. Congress, aimed at decreasing federal control of American Indian affairs and increasing Indian self-government and responsibility. In gratitude for the Indians' services to the country in World War I, Congress in 1924 authorized the Meriam Survey of the state of life on the reservations. The shocking conditions under the regimen established

Craigavon, James Craig, 1st Viscount

2005-03-30T20:10:00.000-08:00

Craig became a stockbroker, served with an Irish unit in the South African (Boer) War, and in 1906 entered

Middlesex, Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl Of

2005-03-28T05:30:00.000-08:00

Cranfield spent his early career as a London merchant and financier. In 1612 he became acquainted with the lord privy seal, Henry Howard, earl of Northampton,

Deforest, John William

2005-03-26T13:23:00.000-08:00

The son of a prosperous cotton manufacturer, DeForest did not go to college, owing to poor health, but traveled (1848–49) in the Middle East. He returned home to write a scholarly History of

Aladura

2005-03-24T16:45:00.000-08:00

(Yoruba: “Owners of Prayer”), religious movement among the Yoruba peoples of western Nigeria, embracing some of the independent prophet-healing churches of West Africa. The movement, which in the early 1970s had several hundred thousand adherents, began about 1918 among the younger elite in the well-established Christian community. They were dissatisfied with Western religious

Smith, Kate

2005-03-22T22:05:00.000-08:00

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

Nahyan, Shaykh Shakhbut Ibn Sultan An-

2005-03-19T05:22:00.000-08:00

As ruler of the largest emirate within the British-controlled Trucial Coast, Shakhbut maintained friendly relations with the United Kingdom and successfully resisted territorial incursions in a prolonged border dispute with Saudi Arabia. He was

Switzerland

2005-03-18T22:30:00.000-08:00

Japan Air Lines was at first a domestic carrier, but it became an international airline in

Obando, José María

2005-03-18T19:02:00.000-08:00

Obando fought for the Spanish crown during most of the Latin-American war for independence. He finally joined Simón Bolívar's revolutionary forces but opposed Bolívar's centralist

Arisaema

2005-03-16T09:11:00.000-08:00

Of the hardy species often planted in the shady wild garden, two are especially familiar. The jack-in-the-pulpit, or Indian turnip (A. triphyllum), native to eastern North America, usually has

Palace

2005-03-15T13:05:00.000-08:00

After the Middle Ages the ornate homes of the nobility of all ranks in England, France,

Møn

2005-03-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

English Moen island, Storstrøm amtskommune (county commune), Denmark. The island has an area of 84 square miles (218 square km) and lies in the Baltic Sea. It is separated from southern Sjælland (Zealand) by the Ulv Strait and from Falster Island by the Grøn Strait. It is primarily flat except on the east coast, where white chalk cliffs covered with beech forests rise above 450 feet (137 m) in places. The

Carnivore, Importance to humans

2005-03-13T20:59:00.000-08:00

The domestic dog (Canis familiaris) is undoubtedly the canid of the greatest importance economically. Numerous humans are actually employed in raising, selling, doctoring, grooming, training, or providing and manufacturing food for “man's best friend.” Dogs probably were the first wild animals to be domesticated; they have been found associated with Neolithic sites

Astley, Philip

2005-03-12T09:40:00.000-08:00

A horseman with a British dragoon regiment from about 1759, Astley was at first the sole performer in the Amphitheatre, specializing in riding with one foot on the saddle and one on the horse's

Cromarty

2005-03-11T15:25:00.000-08:00

Small burgh (town) and seaport, Highland council area, historic county of Cromartyshire, historic region of Ross and Cromarty, Scotland, on a landlocked harbour. During the 17th century Cromarty became the chief burgh of the patchwork county of Cromartyshire, comprising the amalgamated estates of the earls of Cromarty, which included enclaves surrounded by Ross-shire

Lowes, John Livingston

2005-03-11T00:41:00.000-08:00

Lowes received his A.B. degree from Washington and Jefferson College (Washington, Pa.) in 1888 and taught mathematics there until 1891, when he received his M.A. degree. After

English Literature, Locke

2005-03-10T21:40:00.000-08:00

One other late 17th-century figure with a formidable influence in the 18th century demands consideration: the philosopher John Locke. His Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1690) rejects a belief in innate ideas and argues that the mind at birth is a tabula rasa. Experience of the world can only be accumulated through the senses, which are themselves prone to unreliability.

Lenormand, Henri-rené

2005-03-09T15:58:00.000-08:00

The son of a composer, Lenormand was educated at the University of Paris and spent much of his adult life writing for the Parisian stage. He was the author of a number of somewhat gloomy plays that explore

Abalone

2005-03-08T19:54:00.000-08:00

Any of several marine snails of the subclass Prosobranchia (class Gastropoda) constituting the genus Haliotis and family Haliotidae, in which the shell has a row of holes on its outer surface. Abalones are one-shelled snails found in warm seas worldwide. The dishlike shell is perforated near one edge by a single row of small holes that become progressively

Earth Sciences

2005-03-06T15:51:00.000-08:00

The broad aim of the Earth sciences is to understand the present features and the past evolution of the Earth and to use this knowledge, where appropriate, for the benefit of humankind. Thus the basic concerns of

Trichomonad

2005-03-06T13:32:00.000-08:00

The genus Trichomonas is a common parasite in

Alaungpaya

2005-03-05T22:49:00.000-08:00

Of humble origins, Alaungpaya was a village headman from the

Computer Security

2005-03-03T21:04:00.000-08:00

The protection of computer systems and information from harm, theft, and unauthorized use. Computer hardware is typically protected by the same means used to protect other valuable or sensitive equipment, namely, serial numbers, doors and locks, and alarms. The protection of information and system access, on the other hand, is achieved through other tactics, some

Alciphron

2005-03-03T04:29:00.000-08:00

Rhetorician who wrote a collection of fictitious letters, a form of literature popular in his day. More than 100 of the letters have survived. The background of them all is the Athens of the 4th century BC, and the imaginary writers are farmers, fishermen, and courtesans. The material of the letters is largely derived from the writers of the so-called

Fayette

2005-03-01T20:16:00.000-08:00

County, southwestern Pennsylvania, U.S., bounded to the north by Jacobs Creek; to the east by Laurel Hill, the Youghiogheny River, and Youghiogheny River Lake; to the south by Maryland and West Virginia; and to the west by the Monongahela River. It consists of a hilly region on the Allegheny Plateau that rises to the Allegheny Mountains in the east (including Chestnut Ridge).

Eddison, E.r.

2005-02-28T09:10:00.000-08:00

Arabia, History Of

2005-02-26T09:47:00.000-08:00

Archaeology and early history are described in Richard Le Baron Bowen, Jr., and Frank P. Albright, Archaeological Discoveries in South Arabia (1958); G. Lankester Harding, Archaeology in the Aden Protectorates (1964); F.V. Winnett and W.L. Reed, Ancient Records from North Arabia (1970); and Brian Doe, Southern Arabia (1971). General historical studies include J. Wellhausen, The Arab Kingdom and Its Fall (1927, reprinted 1973; originally published in German, 1902), covering the Islamic empire AD 622–750, still useful though some views are now disputed; and Hermann V. Wissmann, Zur Geschichte und Landeskunde von Alt-Südarabien (1964). The study of more recent history should begin with the brilliant but controversial analysis of Khaldoun Hasan al-Naqeeb, Society and State in the Gulf and Arab Peninsula: A Different Perspective (1990; originally published in Arabic, 1987). Useful surveys also include R.B. Serjeant, Studies in Arabian History and Civilisation (1981); and Ian Richard Netton (ed.), Arabia and the Gulf: From Traditional Society to Modern States (1986). More specialized works are Nigel Groom, Frankincense and Myrrh: A Study of the Arabian Incense Trade (1981); M.J. Kister, Studies in Jahiliyya and Early Islam (1980); R.B. Serjeant, The Portuguese off the South Arabian Coast: Hadrami Chronicles, with Yemeni and European Accounts of Dutch Pirates off Mocha in the Seventeenth Century (1963, reprinted 1974); Zamil Muhammad al-Rashid, Su'udi Relations with Eastern Arabia and 'Uman, 1800–1870 (1981); William Ochsenwald, Religion, Society, and the State in Arabia: The Hijaz Under Ottoman Control, 1840–1908 (1984); and John C. Wilkinson, Arabia's Frontiers: The Story of Britain's Boundary Drawing in the Desert (1991).

Subway

2005-02-26T06:41:00.000-08:00

Also called Underground, Tube, or Métro, underground railway system used to transport large numbers of passengers within urban and suburban areas. Subways are usually built under city streets for ease of construction, but they may take shortcuts and sometimes must pass under rivers. Outlying sections of the system usually emerge aboveground, becoming conventional railways or elevated transit lines.

Nepal, Drainage

2005-02-25T14:11:00.000-08:00

The Kathmandu Valley, the political and cultural hub of the nation, is drained by the Baghmati River, flowing southward, which washes the steps of the sacred temple of Pasupatinatha (Pashupatinath) and rushes out of the valley through the deeply cut Chhobar gorge. Some sandy layers of the lacustrine beds act as aquifers (water-bearing strata of permeable rock, sand, or gravel),

Marsh

2005-02-23T04:44:00.000-08:00

Marshes are common at the mouths of rivers, especially where extensive deltas have been built. The river brings a steady supply of water. The gradient

Medina, Bartolomé De

2005-02-22T18:25:00.000-08:00

Medina developed the patio process, an intricate amalgamation process utilizing mercury, while mining in Pachuca, Mex., in 1557. The process proved especially useful in America, where fuel and waterpower were scarce. It was introduced into

Marsh

2005-02-21T14:50:00.000-08:00

Variation of the amplitude of a carrier wave (commonly a radio wave) in accordance with the characteristics of a signal, such as a vocal or musical sound composed of audio-frequency waves. See modulation.

Arts, Central Asian, Nepal

2005-02-21T11:12:00.000-08:00

The art of Nepal is centred in the Kathmandu Valley, in an area of less than 250 square miles (650 square kilometres). The artists are Newars, or Mongoloids, different ethnically from, though partly intermingled with, the peoples of India, whose art they made their own—whether its themes were Hindu or Buddhist.

Chaney, Lon

2005-02-20T08:55:00.000-08:00

Chaney's skills as a silent-film actor were honed during his childhood, when he learned to communicate with his deaf-mute parents through facial expression, pantomime, and sign

La Scala

2005-02-19T19:45:00.000-08:00

In full Teatro Alla Scala (Italian: Theatre at the Stairway) Milan, one of the principal opera houses of the world and the leading Italian house. Built in 1776 by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria (which country then ruled Milan), it replaced an earlier theatre that had burned. In 1872 it became the property of the city of Milan. The house was closed during World War I. In 1920 the conductor Arturo Toscanini led a council that raised money to reopen

Wailua River

2005-02-17T16:29:00.000-08:00

River on Kauai Island, Hawaii, U.S. It flows from the slopes of Mount Waialeale about 10 miles (16 km) inland, to the east-central coast. The Wailua River Reserve, a 587-acre (238-hectare) coastal state park along the river, is rich in Hawaiian tradition. The first migratory Tahitians, including the great chief Puna-nui, arrived in the 12th century and settled near the present coastal towns

Number Game, The brakeman, the fireman, and the engineer

2005-02-16T13:28:00.000-08:00

The names, not necessarily respectively, of the brakeman, fireman, and engineer of a certain train were Smith, Jones, and Robinson. Three passengers on the train happened to have the same names and, in order to distinguish

Angus, Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl Of

2005-02-16T08:46:00.000-08:00

By his second marriage in 1514 to the queen dowager Margaret Tudor, Angus aroused the jealousy of the nobles. Margaret was supplanted in 1515 as regent and guardian of the infant James V by the Duke

Abbeville

2005-02-14T05:30:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1854) of Vermilion parish, southern Louisiana, U.S., on the Vermilion River, 20 miles (32 km) south-southwest of Lafayette. It was founded in 1843 by a Capuchin missionary, Père Antoine Desire Mégret, who patterned it on a French Provençal village. First called La Chapelle and settled by Acadians from Nova Scotia and Mediterranean immigrants, it was later named Abbeville (“Priest's

Madi

2005-02-13T05:22:00.000-08:00

Primarily hoe cultivators with millet as their staple crop, the Madi also fish, hunt, and keep cattle; smithing is an important

Canals And Inland Waterways, Boat lifts

2005-02-11T14:08:00.000-08:00

Vessels can be transported floating in a steel tank or caisson between adjacent pounds by a vertical lift, replacing several locks. Vertical lifts can be operated by high-pressure hydraulic rams, by submersible floats, or by geared counterweights. Hydraulic lifts with twin caissons were constructed in 1875 at Anderton, Eng., with a 50-foot lift for 60-ton vessels; in 1888 lifts were

Madhubani

2005-02-10T19:26:00.000-08:00

Town, north-central Bihar state, northeastern India. It is situated 16 miles (26 km) northeast of Darbhanga town. Madhubani derives its name from the abundance of honey that is to be found in nearby forests (madhu, “honey”; bani, “forest”). Trade in cloth, sugarcane, mangoes, oilseeds, rice, and fish is economically important, and baskets, pottery, handloomed textiles, and wooden furniture

Canaan Dog

2005-02-08T05:35:00.000-08:00

Breed of herding dog developed in Israel in the 20th century from semiwild pariah dogs that were the descendants of animals present in the region since biblical times. Over time they had been utilized as guardians and hunting dogs, but most had reverted to a wild state, living in desert areas. In the 1930s a breeding program was begun to redomesticate these wild dogs to serve

Ricercare

2005-02-07T06:40:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Ricercar (Italian: “to seek out”), plural Ricercari, musical composition for instruments in which one or more themes are developed through melodic imitation; it was prominent in the 16th and 17th centuries. The earliest ricercari, which were for the lute, appeared in 1507. Well-suited to the technical capabilities of the lute, they mixed passages in chordal style, running scale passages, and alternation of high and low phrases

Chaco Boreal

2005-02-06T17:52:00.000-08:00

Region of distinctive vegetation occupying about 100,000 square miles (259,000 square km) in northwestern Paraguay, southeastern Bolivia, and northern Argentina. The region is part of the vast, arid lowland known as the Gran Chaco (q.v.). The Chaco Boreal's land is flat and is marked by deciduous scrub woodlands to the west of the Paraguay River that include the quebracho, a tree valuable

Gnosticism

2005-02-06T07:18:00.000-08:00

The designation Gnosticism, derived from the Greek gn

Barb

2005-02-05T16:19:00.000-08:00

Also called Barbary, native horse breed of the Barbary states of North Africa. It is related to, and probably an offshoot of, the Arabian horse but is larger, with a lower placed tail, and has hair at the fetlock (above and behind the hoof). The coat colour is usually bay or brown. Like the Arabian, it is noted for speed and endurance. A variety known as the Spanish-Barb is bred in small numbers in the

Celestius

2005-02-04T05:49:00.000-08:00

When the Goths menaced Rome about 409, the

Wilcox, Ella Wheeler

2005-02-03T10:50:00.000-08:00

Ella Wheeler from an early age was an avid reader of popular literature, especially the novels of E.D.E.N. Southworth, Mary Jane Holmes, and Ouida

Adams, Abigail

2005-02-01T03:59:00.000-08:00

Biographies include Edith B. Gelles, Portia: The World of Abigail Adams (1992, reissued 1995), focusing on the people whom she influenced and who influenced her; and Phyllis Lee Levin, Abigail Adams (1987). A concise version of the latter is Phyllis Lee Levin, “Abigail (Smith) Adams,” in Lewis L. Gould (ed.), American First Ladies (1996), pp. 16–44.

Chandelier

2005-01-31T03:36:00.000-08:00

Brass chandeliers were made in the

Alaska, The economy

2005-01-30T07:20:00.000-08:00

The Alaskan economy is conditioned strongly by the state's frontier stage of development, but its formerly inadequate tax base for state and municipal growth ended with the development of the North Slope oil fields. High costs of labour and transportation and complicated environmental and land-use constraints still tend to discourage outside investment. Nonetheless,

Tabasco

2005-01-29T22:49:00.000-08:00

Hot red pepper, a variety of Capsicum frutescens of the Solanaceae, or nightshade, family. See pepper.

Jackson, Peter

2005-01-27T10:12:00.000-08:00

Jackson won the Australian heavyweight championship in 1886 and the British Empire title in 1892. On May 21, 1891, in San Francisco, he fought a 61-round

Patel, Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai

2005-01-26T15:58:00.000-08:00

Byname Sardar Patel (Hindi: “Leader Patel”) Indian barrister and statesman, one of the leaders of the Indian National Congress during the struggle for Indian independence. During the first three years of Indian independence after 1947, he served as deputy prime minister, minister of home affairs, minister of information, and minister of states.

Hatton, Sir Christopher

2005-01-26T04:58:00.000-08:00

After spending several years in halfhearted study of the law, Hatton enrolled as one of the queen's bodyguards in 1564. Handsome and accomplished, he impressed the queen with his talent for dancing and quickly won her affection. There is no evidence that they were

Arts, Islamic, Roba'iyat: Omar Khayyam

2005-01-24T03:41:00.000-08:00

The work done in mathematics by early Arabic scholars and by al-Biruni was continued by Omar Khayyam (died 1122), to whom the Seljuq empire in fact owes the reform of its calendar. But Omar has become famous in the West through the free adaptations by Edward FitzGerald of his roba'iyat. These quatrains have been translated into almost every known language and are largely responsible

France, History Of, The Dreyfus affair

2005-01-23T04:51:00.000-08:00

The 1890s also saw the Third Republic's greatest political and moral crisis—the Dreyfus affair. In 1894 Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a career army officer of Jewish origin, was charged with selling military secrets to the Germans. He was tried and convicted by a court-martial and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island off the South American coast. Efforts by the Dreyfus

Paddle Wheel

2005-01-22T16:28:00.000-08:00

The device is highly efficient and is competitive even

Widener, Peter A.b.

2005-01-22T04:03:00.000-08:00

The son of poor parents, Widener began his working career as a butcher, eventually establishing a successful chain of meat stores. At the same time, he became active in Philadelphia politics, rising to the position of city treasurer in 1873. Later, making good use of his political

Eni

2005-01-20T04:47:00.000-08:00

Eni is an outgrowth of Agip (Azienda Generale Italiana Petroli), an oil and gas agency set up by the Italian fascist

Varthema, Lodovico De

2005-01-19T06:18:00.000-08:00

De Varthema also spelled Di Barthema, Latin Vartomanus, or Vertomannus, intrepid Italian traveler and adventurer whose account of his Middle Eastern and Asiatic wanderings was widely circulated throughout Europe and earned him high fame in his own lifetime. He made significant discoveries (especially in Arabia) and made many valuable observations of the peoples he visited; his ready wit enabled

Chelyabinsk

2005-01-18T10:48:00.000-08:00

Chelyabinsk was founded as a fortress in 1736 on the site of a Bashkir village; it became a town in 1787. First a local centre of an agricultural region, it began to grow with the coming of the Trans-Siberian Railroad in 1894–96. Thereafter

Ganesha

2005-01-18T00:35:00.000-08:00

Ganesha, considered the remover of obstacles, is the first god invoked at the beginning of worship or of a new enterprise, and he is often positioned near thresholds and gateways. He is a patron of letters and learning, and he is the

Jew's Harp

2005-01-17T23:22:00.000-08:00

Also called Jaw's Harp, or Guimbarde, musical instrument consisting of a thin wood or metal tongue fixed at one end to the base of a two-pronged frame. The player holds the frame to his mouth, which forms a resonance cavity, and plucks the instrument's tongue. The notes produced are limited to the fourth through tenth tones of the harmonic series (in relative pitch, c–e–g–b [approximately]–c¢–d¢–e¢). The tongue produces

Interest Group

2005-01-16T07:18:00.000-08:00

Also called special-interest group, any aggregate of individuals that, on the basis of one or more shared concerns, makes claims upon groups or society in general in order to promote its objectives.

Arung Singkang

2005-01-15T09:05:00.000-08:00

As a young man Arung Singkang was exiled to Borneo, where he gathered a following and in 1737 returned and won control of his native state, Wadjo. He also defeated Bone, another Buginese state, and created a Buginese

Hover Fly

2005-01-13T04:11:00.000-08:00

Also called Flower Fly, or Syrphid Fly, any member of the insect family Syrphidae (order Diptera), which numbers about 4,000 species. Their various common names refer to the behaviour of hovering around flowers. Hover flies, with their yellow markings, resemble wasps or bees but do not bite or sting. They are distinguished from other flies by a false (spurious) vein that closely parallels the fourth longitudinal

Gyor

2005-01-13T01:00:00.000-08:00

German Raab, historic town and capital of Gyor-Moson-Sopron megye (county), northwestern Hungary. It is on the Moson arm of the Danube, the meandering southern arm in Hungary proper, where the south bank tributaries, Rába and Rábca (alternatively, Répce), converge. The Marcal River joins the Rába just south of Gyor. The town and its environs are composed of narrow, winding streets with interesting

Rinzai

2005-01-12T04:37:00.000-08:00

One of two major Zen Buddhist sects in Japan; it stresses the abrupt awakening of transcendental wisdom, or enlightenment. Among the methods it practices are shouts (katsu) or blows delivered by the master on the disciple, question-and-answer sessions (mondo), and meditation on paradoxical statements (koan), all intended to accelerate a breakthrough of the normal boundaries

Kabylie

2005-01-10T19:22:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Kabylia, mountainous coastal region in northern Algeria, between Algiers and Skikda. It comprises: (1) the Great Kabylie (Grande Kabylie) or Djurdjura Mountains bounded on the west by the Isser River and on the southeast by the Wadi Soummam; (2) the Little Kabylie (Petite Kabylie, or Kabylie des Babors) around the Gulf of Bejaïa (Bougie); and (3) the Collo Kabylie (Kabylie de Collo) forming

Spokane River

2005-01-10T03:41:00.000-08:00

River rising in Coeur d'Alene Lake, Kootenai county, northern Idaho, U.S., and flowing west across the Washington border through Spokane for about 50 miles (80 km) to the Columbia River. The Spokane is 100 miles (160 km) long and has several dams, including Long Lake Dam (1915).

Pavane

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

(probably from Italian padovana, “Paduan”), majestic processional dance of the 16th- and 17th-century European aristocracy. Until about 1650 the pavane opened ceremonial balls and was used as a display of elegant dress. Adapted from the basse danse, an earlier court dance, the pavane presumably traveled from Italy to France and England by way of Spain; in southern

Stefánsson, Davíd

2005-01-08T13:59:00.000-08:00

Stefánsson came of a cultured yeoman family and was brought up with a love for his homeland, its literature, and its folklore. He frequently journeyed abroad but lived most of his life in the town of Akureyri, where he was a librarian (1925–52). He wrote a powerful

Safid Mountain Range

2005-01-06T11:40:00.000-08:00

Also called Morga Range, Pashto Selseleh-ye Safid Kuh, or Selseleh-ye Spin Ghar, mountain range forming a natural frontier between Pakistan and Afghanistan, extending westward for 100 miles (160 km) from the Vale of Peshawar (Pakistan) to the Lowrah Valley (Afghanistan). The boundary between the two countries runs along the summit of the range, which reaches a height of 15,600 feet (4,760 m) in the west at the point where the boundary turns southward. The range forms an almost

écrins National Park

2005-01-06T11:09:00.000-08:00

Nature reserve located in the départements of Hautes-Alpes and Isère, southeastern France. The park, which was created in 1973, occupies 226,694 acres (91,740 hectares) and is the second largest national park in France. It encompasses the Alpine peaks of Barre des Écrins (13,457 feet [4,102 m]), La Meije (13,067 feet [3,983 m]), Ailefroide, and Pelvoux, as well as numerous lakes, cirques, and gorges. Forests of larch cover the

9to5, National Association Of Working Women

2005-01-03T04:09:00.000-08:00

The group had its origins in 9to5 News, a newsletter that was first published in December 1972. About a year later, the newsletter's publishers announced the formation of Boston 9to5, a grassroots collective for women office

Ysopet

2005-01-03T03:14:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Isopet, in French literature, a medieval collection of fables, often versions of Aesop's Fables. The word was first applied to a collection of tales written by Marie de France in the late 12th century; they were said to be based directly on an English version of Aesop's Fables (Esope) attributed to King Alfred the Great, of Wessex, and no longer extant. Another source, better-documented,

Ugaritic Alphabet

2005-01-02T19:39:00.000-08:00

Cuneiform writing system used on the Syrian coast from the 15th to 13th century BC. It is believed that it was invented independent of other cuneiform writing systems and of the linear North Semitic alphabet, though similarities in certain letters suggest that it may have been patterned after the North Semitic alphabet. Unlike the North Semitic alphabet, however, Ugaritic

Roman De La Rose

2004-12-31T20:53:00.000-08:00

(French: “Romance of the Rose”), one of the most popular French poems of the later Middle Ages. Modeled on Ovid's Ars amatoria (c. 1 BC; Art of Love), the poem is composed of more than 21,000 lines of octosyllabic couplets and survives in more than 300 manuscripts. Nothing is known of the author of the first 4,058 lines except his name, Guillaume de Lorris (a village near Orléans). This section, which was

Pau

2004-12-31T03:37:00.000-08:00

Town, capital of Pyrénées-Atlantiques département, Aquitaine region, southwestern France. The capital of the former province of Béarn, Pau is a spa and winter sports centre. It stands on the edge of a plateau 130 feet (40 m) above the valley of the Pau Stream, which descends from the Pyrenees. The town's boulevard des Pyrénées, more than 1 mile (1.6 km) long, is situated high above the valley

Jet Engine

2004-12-30T21:41:00.000-08:00

Any of a class of internal-combustion engines that propel aircraft by means of the rearward discharge of a jet of fluid, usually hot exhaust gases generated by burning fuel with air drawn in from the atmosphere.

Baalbek

2004-12-28T17:55:00.000-08:00

Nothing is known of Baalbek earlier than the Greek conquest of Syria (332 BC). After the death of Alexander the Great (323), the region fell to the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt, under which the town was called Heliopolis, probably after its Egyptian namesake.

Boufflers, Louis-françois, Duc De (duke Of)

2004-12-28T00:04:00.000-08:00

Born into an ancient Picard family, he entered the French army in 1662 and distinguished himself as a commander of the royal dragoons during the Dutch War (1672–78). Boufflers became a marshal of France in 1693 during the War of the Grand Alliance (1689–97) between France and other major European

Aaron

2004-12-26T07:55:00.000-08:00

The traditional founder and head of the Jewish priesthood, who, with his brother Moses, led the Israelites out of Egypt. The figure of Aaron as it is now found in the Pentateuch is built up from several sources of traditions. In the Talmud and Midrash he is seen as the leading personality at the side of Moses. He has appeared in different roles in Christian

Aelianus

2004-12-25T11:16:00.000-08:00

Probably written in AD 106, Aelianus' Taktike theoria (“Tactical Theory”), based on the art of warfare as practiced by the Hellenistic successors of Alexander the Great, was an instruction manual on arming, organizing, deploying,

Deva

2004-12-25T08:39:00.000-08:00

Iranian Daeva in Vedic India, one of many divine powers, roughly divided on the basis of their identification with the forces of nature into sky, air, and earth divinities (e.g., Varuna, Indra, Soma). In the later monotheistic systems the devas became subordinate to the one supreme being. During the Vedic period the gods were divided into two classes, the devas and the asuras (in Iranian, daeva

Weiss, Theodore Russell

2004-12-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

American poet and editor (b. Dec. 16, 1916, Reading, Pa.—d. April 15, 2003, Princeton, N.J.), was the founding editor in 1943 (with Warren Carrier) of the Quarterly Review of Literature, which published works by poets William Carlos Williams, E.E. Cummings, and Ezra Pound, as well as those of little-known poets, non-English-language writers, and especially women, including the then-unknown writers Anne Sexton,

Bohra

2004-12-23T00:12:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Bohora, in general, any Shi'i Isma'ili Muslim of the Musta'li sect, living in western India. The name is a corruption of a Gujarati word, vahaurau, meaning “to trade.” The Bohras include, in addition to this Shi'i majority, often of the merchant class, a Sunni minority who are usually peasant farmers. The Musta'li sect (see Isma'ilite), which originated in Egypt and later moved its religious centre to Yemen,

Spanish Treasure Fleet

2004-12-22T15:42:00.000-08:00

Beginning in the 1560s, shipping between Spain and the Americas was organized on a regular basis. Two fleets of between 30 and 90 vessels sailed from Seville to

Rush, William

2004-12-21T03:10:00.000-08:00

Rush trained to make ornamental ship carvings and figureheads. During the American Revolution he served as an officer in Philadelphia's militia and campaigned with George Washington in the city's defense. Shortly after

Shahjahanpur

2004-12-19T06:14:00.000-08:00

Town, north-central, Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. It lies southeast of Bareilly, on the Deotta River, about 100 miles (160 km) northwest of Lucknow. The town was founded in 1647 and named for the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. It is a road and rail junction and an agricultural trade centre. Its industries include carpet weaving, distilling, sugar milling, and chemical

Argentina, Sports

2004-12-19T00:53:00.000-08:00

Argentina's worldwide preeminence on the polo field reflects the nation's divided social base, the hardiness of its horses, and the skills of its riders. Steeped in the gaucho tradition and with the open fields of the Pampas on which to practice, a ranch hand with the necessary talent can attain high renown and modest wealth at either polo or horse racing. Both the wealthy

Sinai, Mount

2004-12-18T03:46:00.000-08:00

Also called Mountain Of Moses, or Mount Hareh, Hebrew Har Sinai, Arabic Jabal Musa, granitic peak of the south-central Sinai Peninsula, Janub Sina' (South Sinai) muhafazah (governorate), Egypt. Mount Sinai is renowned as the principal site of divine revelation in Jewish history, where God is purported to have appeared to Moses and given him the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20; Deuteronomy 5). According to Jewish tradition, not only the decalogue but also the entire corpus

West Indies, History Of

2004-12-17T00:22:00.000-08:00

Hispanic control of the West Indies began in 1492 with Christopher Columbus' first landing in the New World and was followed by the partitioning of the region by the Spanish, French, British, Dutch, and Danish during the 17th and 18th centuries. U.S. intervention in the Greater Antilles started in the early 19th

Bloodroot

2004-12-16T17:45:00.000-08:00

Also called Red Puccoon (Sanguinaria canadensis), plant of the poppy family (Papaveraceae), native throughout eastern and midwestern North America. It grows mainly in deciduous woodlands, where it blooms in early spring. Bloodroot has a shining white, eight-petalled, cup-shaped flower with bright yellow stamens (male reproductive structures) in the centre. The 4- to

Orange

2004-12-15T18:20:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1852) of Orange county, southeastern Texas, U.S. It lies at the Louisiana state line. Orange is a deepwater port on the Sabine River, which has been canalized to connect with the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. It is linked to Beaumont and Port Arthur by the tall Rainbow Bridge (1938), built to allow passage of the tallest ship of its time; with Beaumont and Port Arthur, Orange forms

Foyer

2004-12-14T18:11:00.000-08:00

Intermediate area between the exterior and interior of a building, especially a theatre. Originally the term was applied only to that area in French theatres, comparable to the greenroom in English theatres, where actors relaxed when they were offstage. Because actors were accustomed to visits by friends during and after performances, such areas came to be large