DeepPin

Estate Agent London

2006-10-26T00:35:00.000-07:00

Robert Irving Burns specialise in London Commercial and Residential property services, including Estate Agent Covent Garden and Estate Agent London. Their centrally located ground floor offices, minutes from Oxford Circus offer an ideal marketing base for your property.

Crane Fly

2005-04-04T18:20:00.000-07:00

Also called Daddy Long Legs, any insect of the family Tipulidae (order Diptera). In English-speaking countries other than the United States, the crane fly is popularly called daddy long legs because it has a slender, mosquito-like body and extremely long legs. (In the United States, “daddy longlegs” generally refers to an arachnid.) Ranging in size from tiny to almost 3 cm (1.2 inches) long, these

China, Constitutional movements after 1905

2005-04-04T09:37:00.000-07:00

Japan's victory in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–05) aroused a cry for constitutionalism in China. Unable to resist the intensifying demand, the court decided in September 1906 to adopt a constitution, and in November it reorganized the traditional six boards into 11 ministries in an attempt to modernize the central government. It promised to open consultative provincial assemblies

Wildman, Sir John

2005-04-02T17:33:00.000-08:00

Wildman was of obscure ancestry. Educated at Cambridge, he first came into prominence in October 1647, when he helped to write The Case of the Army and the first Agreement of the People. These expressed the political program of the democratic republican,

Minehead

2005-04-02T07:15:00.000-08:00

Town (“parish”), West Somerset district, administrative and historic county of Somerset, England. The town owes its origin and growth to its harbour. Minehead was first incorporated in 1558. Its older buildings include St. Michael's Church (1450), the almshouses (1630), the old manor office, and the 17th-century cottages along Quay Street. The present harbour was built in 1616. Minehead's trade with

Ammons, A.r.

2005-04-01T23:34:00.000-08:00

A 1949 graduate of Wake Forest College (now University), Ammons worked as an elementary school principal and as a glass company executive before turning his full attention to literature. From 1964 to 1998 he taught

Aaron, Hank

2005-03-31T21:59:00.000-08:00

For coverage of Aaron's home-run race, see George Plimpton, One for the Record: The Inside Story of Hank Aaron's Chase for the Home-Run Record (1974). Autobiographies include Hank Aaron and Dick Schaap, Home Run: My Life in Pictures (1999); and Hank Aaron and Lonnie Wheeler, I Had a Hammer: The Hank Aaron Story (1991).

Scandinavian Literature, The Eddaic verse forms

2005-03-30T18:33:00.000-08:00

Three metres are commonly distinguished in Eddaic poetry: the epic measure, the speech measure, and the song measure. Most narrative poems were in the first measure, which consisted of short lines of two beats joined in pairs by alliteration. The number of weakly stressed syllables might vary, but the total number of syllables in the line was rarely fewer than four.

Jack Of Diamonds

2005-03-30T01:55:00.000-08:00

Also called Knave Of Diamonds, Russian Bubnovy Valet, group of artists founded in Moscow in 1909, whose members were for the next few years the leading exponents of avant-garde art in Russia. The group's first exhibition, held in December 1910, included works by the French Cubists Albert Gleizes, Henri Le Fauconnier, and André Lhote; other paintings were exhibited by Wassily Kandinsky and Alexey von Jawlensky, both Russian artists

Ringo, Johnny

2005-03-29T17:44:00.000-08:00

Not much is known of Ringo, not even his birthplace. He showed up first in Mason county, Texas, in 1875, where he was suspected of cattle rustling and arrested for a double murder. He escaped from jail, was re-arrested, and was released. He appeared next in Galeyville, N.M., in 1879, already possessing

Esmarch, Friedrich Von

2005-03-28T06:40:00.000-08:00

Esmarch studied medicine at Kiel and Göttingen. He graduated in 1848 and in the same year was called up as army surgeon in the war with Denmark, during which he

Sessa Aurunca

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

Town and episcopal see, Caserta provincia, Campania regione, southern Italy, on a lava deposit of the extinct Roccamonfina volcano, north-northwest of Naples. The town is on the site of the ancient Suessa Aurunca, the chief city of the Aurunci (an ancient Italic tribe), which was punished by the Romans for refusing to pay tribute. Later, it became a Roman municipium and was

Epistemology, From scientific theology to secular science

2005-03-27T10:30:00.000-08:00

For most of the Middle Ages there was no split between theology and science (scientia). Science was knowledge that was deduced from self-evident principles, and theology received its principles from the source of all principles, God. In every way, theology was superior to the other sciences, according to Thomas Aquinas. By the 14th century the ideas of science and theology

Ma'amadot

2005-03-27T03:23:00.000-08:00

(Hebrew: “stands,” or “posts”), 24 groups of Jewish laymen that witnessed, by turns of one week each, the daily sacrifice in the Second Temple of Jerusalem as representatives of the common people. Gradually ma'amadot were organized in areas outside Jerusalem, so that the people could hold special services in their villages while their representatives were present in the Temple.

Sorrentino, Gilbert

2005-03-26T07:45:00.000-08:00

From 1956 to 1960 Sorrentino was editor and publisher of Neon, a magazine that featured works by Beat writers; he was also book editor (1961–65) for Kulchur. His poetry collections

Beagle

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

Small hound-dog breed popular as both a pet and a hunter. It looks like a small foxhound and has large brown eyes, hanging ears, and a short coat, usually a combination of black, tan, and white. The beagle is a solidly built dog, heavy for its height. It generally excels as a rabbit hunter and is typically an alert, affectionate dog. There are two sizes recognized in the breed: beagles

France, History Of, Urban prosperity

2005-03-25T06:37:00.000-08:00

Town life continued to flourish. A few places, favoured by political and ecclesiastical as well as by economic circumstances, grew far larger than the rest. Paris could probably count more than 100,000 inhabitants by the late 13th century, possibly many more than that; some great provincial centres—e.g., Toulouse, Bordeaux, Arras, Rouen—may have surpassed 25,000, but most of the older cities

Roan Antelope

2005-03-24T19:10:00.000-08:00

(Hippotragus equinus), African antelope, family Bovidae (order Artiodactyla), found in small groups on plains and scrublands. Related to the sable antelope (Hippotragus niger) and to the extinct blaauwbok, or bluebuck (H. leucophoeus), the roan antelope is a large, graceful animal standing 130–150 centimetres (50–60 inches) at the shoulder. Both sexes have long, pointed ears, an erect mane,

Melfi

2005-03-23T13:45:00.000-08:00

Town and episcopal see, Potenza provincia, Basilicata regione, southern Italy, at the foot of the volcanic mass of Monte Vulture, at an elevation of 1,742 feet (531 m), north of Potenza. Of Roman origin, the town was taken from the Byzantines by the Normans, who, for a period, made it their capital. It was a favourite residence of the Holy Roman emperor Frederick II, who there assembled

Roan Antelope

2005-03-23T06:14:00.000-08:00

The company was incorporated in 1892, acquiring all the assets of the Edison General Electric

Joubert, Petrus Jacobus

2005-03-22T06:20:00.000-08:00

Joubert was the son of an indigent farmer-missionary who trekked his family north to Natal in 1837. When his father died, the family settled on a farm (Rustfontein)

Sarcee

2005-03-21T09:17:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Sarsi, North American Plains Indian people of Athabascan linguistic stock who lived in the 18th and 19th centuries near the upper Saskatchewan and Athabaska rivers. They probably moved southward to this region near the end of the 17th century when they became the northern neighbours of the Blackfoot Indians, from whom they received some protection from enemies. Their name

Space Group

2005-03-21T08:48:00.000-08:00

In crystallography, any of the ways in which the orientation of a crystal can be changed without seeming to change the position of its atoms. These changes may involve displacement of the whole structure along a crystallographic axis (translation), as well as the point group operations of rotation about an axis, reflection in a plane, inversion about a centre, or sequential

Sunda Strait

2005-03-20T04:43:00.000-08:00

Indonesian Selat Sunda channel, 16–70 miles (26–110 km) wide, between the islands of Java (east) and Sumatra, that links the Java Sea (Pacific) with the Indian Ocean (south). There are several volcanic islands within the strait, the most famous of which is Krakatoa, which erupted in 1883, destroying 300 towns and villages and killing about 36,000 people. The strait was the scene of an encounter between U.S. and Japanese forces in

Leningrad Affair

2005-03-19T23:29:00.000-08:00

(1948–50), in the history of the Soviet Union, a sudden and sweeping purge of Communist Party and government officials in Leningrad and the surrounding region. The purge occurred several months after the sudden death of Andrey A. Zhdanov (Aug. 31, 1948), who had been the Leningrad party boss as well as one of Joseph Stalin's most powerful lieutenants in the postwar period. The purge, which

Constanta

2005-03-19T13:38:00.000-08:00

The first record of a settlement is at the

Nahariyya

2005-03-17T17:05:00.000-08:00

Nahariyya was founded in 1934 as an agricultural settlement by German-Jewish refugees. It rapidly developed as a resort,

Adwa

2005-03-17T14:10:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Adowa , Italian Adua town, northern Ethiopia. Adwa lies on the east-west highway between Aksum and Adi Grat at its junction with the road north to Asmara (Asmera), in Eritrea. Adwa is a market centre (grains, honey, hides, coffee) for the Tigray people. The town is located 10 miles (16 km) west of an area of fantastic volcanic formations. On March 1, 1896, Emperor Menilek II defeated an Italian force there. Nearby

Brooks Range

2005-03-16T14:21:00.000-08:00

Northernmost extension of the Rocky Mountains in northern Alaska, U.S. It is separated from the Alaska Range (south) and the Mackenzie Mountains (southeast) by the lowlands of the Yukon and Porcupine river systems. It extends about 600 miles (1,000 km) in a west–east direction across Alaska, from the Chukchi Sea to the Yukon (Canadian) border, and reaches widths of 80 miles (128 km). Its peaks

Boyne, River

2005-03-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

Irish An Bhóinn river rising in the Bog of Allen, County Kildare, Ireland, and flowing 70 miles (110 km) northeast to enter the Irish Sea just below Drogheda. Neolithic passage graves at Knowth, Newgrange, and Dowth are of archaeological significance, and nearby in the Boyne valley is Tara, seat of the high kings of Ireland. The river was the scene of the famous Battle of the Boyne (1690).

Gandhi, Mohandas Karamchand

2005-03-15T01:10:00.000-08:00

Gandhi took his studies seriously and tried to brush up on his English and Latin by taking the London University matriculation examination. But, during the three years he spent in England, his main preoccupation was with personal and moral issues rather than with academic ambitions. The transition from the half-rural atmosphere of Rajkot to the cosmopolitan life

Berenice Ii

2005-03-14T08:38:00.000-08:00

Magas' queen, who favoured an alliance with the Seleucid dynasty of Syria, tried to thwart the marriage by summoning Demetrius the Fair, a Macedonian prince, as a husband for Berenice. The princess, however, arranged Demetrius' murder and married

Amami Great Island

2005-03-14T03:46:00.000-08:00

Japanese Amami-o-shima, largest island in the Amami chain of the northern Ryukyu Islands, in Kagoshima ken (prefecture), Japan. Most of the 274-square-mile (709-square-kilometre) island is mountainous and forested. A quasi-national park protects landscapes at the higher elevations. Mount Yuwan is the highest mountain at 2,276 feet (694 m). The lower, cultivated areas produce timber, sugarcane, and rice. A hydroelectric

Foreign Affairs

2005-03-13T19:59:00.000-08:00

Journal of international relations, published in New York City six times a year, one of the most prestigious periodicals of its kind in the world. The organ of the Council on Foreign Relations, by which it was founded in 1922, it provides a window on the U.S. foreign-policy establishment. It has an international reputation for its careful and probing analyses of political,

Constantine Ii

2005-03-12T14:28:00.000-08:00

The second son of Constantine the Great (ruled 306–337), he was given the title of caesar by his father on March 1, 317. When Constantine the Great died in 337, Constantine II and his brothers, Constans and Constantius II, each adopted the title augustus and divided the empire among themselves. Constantine II became ruler

Accomplice

2005-03-12T09:32:00.000-08:00

An abettor is one who is present actually or constructively at the commission

Palatine

2005-03-12T01:26:00.000-08:00

During the

China, Phase two: stalemate and stagnation

2005-03-11T22:33:00.000-08:00

During the second stage of the war (1939–43) the battle lines changed very little, although there were many engagements of limited scale. Japan tried to bomb Free China into submission; Chungking suffered repeated air raids in which thousands of civilians were killed. In 1940 Japan set up a rival government in Nanking under Wang Ching-wei. But the Chinese would not submit. Hundreds

Talak

2005-03-11T19:06:00.000-08:00

Extensive sandy dune region of northwestern Niger, west of the Aïr massif. It covers about 40,000 square miles (100,000 square km) and is drained by a number of small, ephemeral watercourses, the longest of which, the Azaouak, eventually empties into the Niger River. Dinosaur fossils have been found at numerous sites in the region. Eastern Talak is crossed (north-south) by the trans-Saharan

Gräfe, Karl Ferdinand Von

2005-03-11T08:47:00.000-08:00

German surgeon who helped to create modern plastic surgery. A superintendent of German military hospitals during the Napoleonic Wars (1800–15), he also served as professor of surgery and director of the surgical clinic at the University of Berlin (1810–40). He improved the English surgeon Joseph Carpue's adaptation of the “Indian method” and

Anthimus Of Iberia

2005-03-11T05:28:00.000-08:00

Romanian Antim Ivireanul metropolitan of Walachia (now part of Romania), linguist, typographer, and ecclesiastical writer who contributed greatly to the development of the Romanian language and literature by his translation and printing of biblical and liturgical texts and by his own writings in ethics and asceticism. He is also honoured as one of the earliest Romanian

Fareham

2005-03-09T20:31:00.000-08:00

Town and borough (district), county of Hampshire, England, at the head of a creek opening into the northwestern corner of Portsmouth Harbour. The district embraces the market town of Fareham and several outlying historic localities. These include Portchester, which was the site of extensive Saxon occupation, a Roman fortress, and a castle built in 1160–72 by Henry II; and Titchfield,

Hai-nan, The people

2005-03-09T09:07:00.000-08:00

Two-thirds of Hai-nan's predominantly rural population is concentrated in the northeastern lowlands. Most of the people are Han (Chinese), but about one-sixth are ethnic minorities. The Li, concentrated in the south, constitute the largest minority group, followed by the Miao. The largest cities are Hai-k'ou in the north and the port city of Ya-hsien (locally called San-ya)

November

2005-03-09T00:52:00.000-08:00

11th month of the Gregorian calendar. See month and the accompanying Table.

Clair, René

2005-03-08T14:38:00.000-08:00

Clair was raised

Isidore Of Sevilla, Saint

2005-03-07T00:11:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Saint Isidore of Seville , Latin Isidorus Hispalensis theologian, last of the Western Latin Fathers, archbishop, and encyclopaedist, whose Etymologies, an encyclopaedia of human and divine subjects, was one of the chief landmarks in glossography (the compilation of glossaries) and was for many centuries one of the most important reference

West Coast

2005-03-06T17:52:00.000-08:00

Local government region in west-central South Island, New Zealand. It is bounded by the Tasman Sea (west), the unitary authority of Tasman (north), and the local government regions of Canterbury and Otago (east) and Southland (south). The Southern Alps, with their towering peaks and rugged terrain, contribute to its isolation and varied landscape. Mount Cook (12,316 feet [3,754 metres]) is

Clarence

2005-03-06T15:09:00.000-08:00

Also called Growler, a horse-drawn, four-wheeled coupé that was named in honour of the Duke of Clarence and first introduced in 1840 in London. The body held two seats facing one another and could transport four people in comfort. The carriage was suspended most often on large elliptic springs between two sets of equally sized wheels. It was an especially large style of coupé, with a separate

Manatí

2005-03-06T10:18:00.000-08:00

Town, north-central Puerto Rico, situated on the humid coastal lowlands. Of Indian origins, the name Manatí refers to a sea mammal, the manatee. Founded in 1738 on the northernmost point of limestone hills, Manatí is linked by road to San Juan. The town produces shoes, pearl buttons, clothing, and woodwork and has a pineapple cannery. Manatí is the centre of an agricultural area

Scanlon, John Patrick

2005-03-05T16:11:00.000-08:00

American public relations consultant (b. Feb. 27, 1935, New York, N.Y.—d. May 4, 2001, New York), specialized in representing high-profile and often controversial clients. He worked as a press spokesman for various New York City government agencies and corporations before embarking on a career as an independent consultant. Among other notable clients, Scanlon represented the tobacco

China, The influence of Buddhism

2005-03-04T20:48:00.000-08:00

The T'ang emperors officially supported Taoism because of their claim to be descended from Lao-tzu, but Buddhism continued to enjoy great favour and lavish Imperial patronage through most of the period. The famous pilgrim Hsüan-tsang, who went to India in 629 and returned in 645, was the most learned of Chinese monks and introduced new standards of exactness in his many translations

Yi Dynasty

2005-03-04T11:19:00.000-08:00

General Yi established

Grabbe, Christian Dietrich

2005-03-04T09:52:00.000-08:00

Grabbe studied law in Leipzig and made unsuccessful attempts at acting and directing in Berlin. After quarrelling with the poet Heinrich Heine and members of Young Germany (a politically radical literary movement) and failing in attempts to get

Dacko, David

2005-03-03T23:09:00.000-08:00

A former teacher, Dacko held ministerial posts under Barthélemy Boganda, who was prime minister of the autonomous Central African Republic. Claiming a family relationship, he succeeded

Ammonium Hydroxide

2005-03-03T09:42:00.000-08:00

The water solution is generally represented by the formula NH4OH, though

Korçë

2005-03-03T09:27:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Korça, Korcha , or Kortcha , Old Slavonic Koritsa , Italian Corizza city, southeastern Albania. It began as a feudal estate in the 13th century, and in 1484 the local lord, Koja Mirahor Ilyas Bey, a Muslim convert active in the Ottoman siege of Constantinople (1453), returned to the site and built the mosque that bears his name. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries Korçë was a centre of commerce and trade. The first school to use the Albanian language opened there

Man Orchid

2005-03-03T04:07:00.000-08:00

The flower spike, about 10 to 45 cm (4 to 18 inches) tall, may bear up to 90 greenish or yellowish flowers, which have an unpleasant odour.

Schawlow, Arthur L.

2005-03-01T23:17:00.000-08:00

As a child, Schawlow moved with his family to Canada. He attended the University of Toronto, receiving his

Burg, Yosef

2005-03-01T13:34:00.000-08:00

Burg studied at the University of Berlin and in 1933 earned a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Leipzig. Ordained

Ikare

2005-03-01T08:10:00.000-08:00

Town, Ondo state, southwestern Nigeria. It lies in the Yoruba Hills, at the intersection of roads from Owo, Okene, Kabba, and Ado-Ekiti. An agricultural trade centre (yams, cassava, corn [maize], okra, pumpkins, rice) for the local Yoruba people, it is also a collecting point for cocoa, palm produce, tobacco, and cotton (which is sent to the textile mill at Ado-Ekiti, 37 miles [60 km] west). The

France, History Of, The conquest of Burgundy

2005-03-01T03:30:00.000-08:00

In spite of these partitions, the Frankish kings continued their conquests. One of their primary concerns was to extend their dominion over the whole of Gaul. It took two campaigns to overcome the Burgundian kingdom. In 523 Clodomir, Childebert I, and Chlotar I, as allies of Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, moved into Burgundy, whose king, Sigismund, Theodoric's son-in-law,

Harbour Seal

2005-02-27T16:49:00.000-08:00

Also called Common Seal, Hair Seal, or Spotted Seal (Phoca vitulina), nonmigratory, earless seal (family Phocidae) found throughout the Northern Hemisphere. The harbour seal is whitish or grayish at birth and as an adult is generally gray with black spots. The adult male may attain a length and weight of about 1.8 m (6 feet) and 130 kg (290 pounds); the female is somewhat smaller. Found along coastlines and in a few freshwater lakes in Canada

Wu Ch'eng-en

2005-02-26T22:47:00.000-08:00

Wu received a traditional Confucian education and became known for his clever composition of poetry and prose in the classical style. Throughout his life he displayed

A-kuei

2005-02-26T06:56:00.000-08:00

The scion of a noble family, A-kuei directed Chinese military expeditions that quelled uprisings in the western provinces of Szechwan and Kansu. He also conquered Ili and Chinese Turkistan, areas on China's northwestern frontier that are today part of the Uighur Autonomous

Turfan Depression

2005-02-26T05:08:00.000-08:00

The basin lies between

Gonzales, Pancho

2005-02-25T09:47:00.000-08:00

Born into a Mexican-American family, Gonzales as a youth had no access to tennis clubs and was largely a self-taught player. In 1943 he achieved top ranking in boys' tennis in southern California. Before turning professional

Calchas

2005-02-24T20:16:00.000-08:00

In Greek mythology, the son of Thestor (a priest of Apollo) and the most famous soothsayer among the Greeks at the time of the Trojan War. He foretold the duration of the siege of Troy, demanded the sacrifice of Iphigeneia, daughter of Agamemnon (king of Mycenae), and advised the construction of the wooden horse with which the Greeks finally took Troy. It had been predicted

Business Finance, Term loans

2005-02-24T17:35:00.000-08:00

A term loan is a business credit with a maturity of more than 1 year but less than 15 years. Usually the term loan is retired by systematic repayments (amortization payments) over its life. It may be secured by a chattel mortgage on equipment, but larger, stronger companies are able to borrow on an unsecured basis. Commercial banks and life insurance companies are the principal

Bottome, Margaret Mcdonald

2005-02-24T06:32:00.000-08:00

Née Margaret McDonald American columnist and religious organizer, founder of the Christian spiritual development and service organization now known as the International Order of the King's Daughters and Sons. She attended school in Brooklyn and in 1850 married the Reverend Frank Bottome. Her long-standing practice of giving informal talks on the Bible

Ford, Henry

2005-02-23T03:49:00.000-08:00

Ford spent most of his life making headlines, good, bad, but never indifferent. Celebrated as both a technological genius and a folk hero, Ford was the creative force behind an industry of unprecedented size and wealth that

Water Purification

2005-02-22T22:55:00.000-08:00

The first treatment plant was built in 1829 to purify Thames River water by filtration. After the London cholera epidemic of 1854 was traced to a public well,

Selenite

2005-02-22T10:32:00.000-08:00

A crystalline variety of the mineral gypsum (q.v.).

Health And Disease

2005-02-22T07:58:00.000-08:00

In early 2003 a virulent new infectious disease caught the world off guard. The Chinese Ministry of Health reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) in mid-February that 305 people in Guangdong province had developed an acute pneumonia-like illness and that 5 of them had died. Laboratory tests had been negative for influenza viruses, anthrax, plague, and other infectious

Sha-ch'ing

2005-02-21T04:03:00.000-08:00

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

Ginsberg, Allen

2005-02-20T21:28:00.000-08:00

Ginsberg grew up in Paterson, N.J., where his father, Louis Ginsberg, himself a poet, taught English. Allen Ginsberg's mother, whom he mourned in his long poem Kaddish (1961), was confined for years in a mental hospital. Ginsberg was

Cytokine

2005-02-20T19:01:00.000-08:00

Any of a group of small, short-lived proteins that are released by one cell to regulate the function of another cell, thereby serving as intercellular chemical messengers. Cytokines effect changes in cellular behaviour that are important in a number of physiological processes, including reproduction, growth and development, and injury repair. However, they are

Christianity, The schism of 1054

2005-02-20T02:36:00.000-08:00

The greatest schism in church history occurred between the church of Constantinople and the church of Rome. While 1054 is the symbolic date of the separation, the agonizing division was six centuries in the making. The friction was ignited by several issues. The Eastern Church sharply disagreed when the Western Church introduced into the Nicene Creed the doctrine

Rush, Benjamin

2005-02-19T04:35:00.000-08:00

American physician and political leader, a member of the Continental Congress and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. His encouragement of clinical research and instruction was frequently offset by his insistence upon bloodletting, purging, and other debilitating therapeutic

Fracture

2005-02-19T01:52:00.000-08:00

In pathology, a break in a bone caused by stress. Certain normal and pathological conditions may predispose bones to fracture. Children have relatively weak bones because of incomplete calcification, and older adults, especially women past menopause, develop osteoporosis, a weakening of bone concomitant with aging. Pathological conditions involving the skeleton,

Trade, Board Of

2005-02-18T08:59:00.000-08:00

The first grain futures exchange in the United States, organized in 1848 in Chicago. The Board of Trade began as a voluntary association of prominent Chicago grain merchants. In 1849 it received a charter from the Illinois legislature, and in 1859 it was incorporated by a special legislative act. At first grain was sold by sample, but soon a system of inspection and grading was introduced

House Sparrow

2005-02-18T00:40:00.000-08:00

Also called English Sparrow (Passer domesticus), one of the world's best-known and most abundant small birds, sometimes classified in the family Ploceidae (q.v.; order Passeriformes) or separated as Passeridae. It lives in towns and on farms, worldwide, having accompanied Europeans from its original home—most of Eurasia and northern Africa. It was introduced into North America

Smiles, Samuel

2005-02-17T16:18:00.000-08:00

One of 11 children left fatherless in 1832, Smiles learned the meaning of self-reliance. Although he qualified in medicine at Edinburgh

Tientsin

2005-02-16T20:28:00.000-08:00

Central Tientsin (the municipality's urban core)

Moses Lake

2005-02-16T10:20:00.000-08:00

City, Grant county, central Washington, U.S., situated on the northeast shore of Moses Lake. Located on a traditional hunting and fishing ground, the town was settled in 1897 and was laid out in 1910 as Neppel; in 1938 it was renamed for the Columbia-Sinkiuse Indian leader Moses. Located in the Columbia River basin, the city serves as the trade centre of an irrigated farm region producing

Caazapá

2005-02-16T08:18:00.000-08:00

Town, southern Paraguay. Founded in 1607 by Friar Bolaños, the town is situated on the edge of the westward extension of the Brazilian Highlands, including the Cordillera (mountains) de Ybytyruzú. Caazapá is a lumbering and agricultural centre, and tanneries are also located there. The town has a regional hospital, various educational institutions including an agricultural

Ekofisk

2005-02-15T06:03:00.000-08:00

Group of Norwegian offshore natural-gas and oil fields located in the North Sea about 180 miles (290 km) southwest of Norway, halfway between Norway and the United Kingdom. The Ekofisk district includes the Ekofisk field itself (1969; petroleum) and the original, relatively small natural-gas discovery at Cod (1968), as well as petroleum fields at Tor (1970), West Ekofisk (1970), and

Keble, John

2005-02-15T04:03:00.000-08:00

Ordained in 1816, Keble was educated at the University of Oxford and served as a tutor there from 1818 to 1823, when he left to assist

Dörpfeld, Friedrich Wilhelm

2005-02-14T18:51:00.000-08:00

After attending the Mörs teachers' seminary, Dörpfeld joined the faculty of a school in Barmen. He remained there for

Reproductive System Disease, Inflammatory conditions

2005-02-14T16:19:00.000-08:00

Balanitis, or inflammation of the glans penis, and posthitis, or infection of the prepuce, result from the retention of secretions and bacteria beneath the foreskin and can be prevented with good sexual hygiene. Balanitis can also develop as a complication of certain sexually transmitted diseases. Acute prostatitis, inflammation of the prostate gland, may be caused

Böhm-bawerk, Eugen Von

2005-02-13T23:32:00.000-08:00

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

Farley, James A(loysius)

2005-02-13T13:01:00.000-08:00

After moving to New York City in 1905, Farley studied bookkeeping and worked for the Universal Gypsum Company. He moved back to Stony Point, near

Celebes Black Ape

2005-02-13T03:51:00.000-08:00

Also called Celebes Crested Macaque (species Cynopithecus niger), arboreal monkey of the family Cercopithecidae, found on Celebes, Bacan, and nearby islands. The Celebes black ape is a stump-tailed monkey with overhanging brows, a hairless black face, and a long, flat muzzle. It is about the size of a baboon (55–65 cm [22–26 inches] long without the tail [1 to 2 cm]) and is covered with dark brown or black fur. The male, especially,

France, History Of, Mitterrand's first term

2005-02-13T00:35:00.000-08:00

Mitterrand moved at once to carry out what appeared to be the voters' mandate. He named as prime minister a longtime Socialist militant, Pierre Mauroy, whose Cabinet was almost solidly Socialist except for four Communists. Major reforms followed quickly. A broad sector of the economy was nationalized (including 11 large industrial conglomerates and most private

Bioceramics

2005-02-11T22:01:00.000-08:00

Ceramic products or components employed in medical and dental applications, mainly as implants and replacements. This article briefly describes the principal ceramic materials and surveys the uses to which they are put in medical and dental applications. For an explanation of important issues in biomedical uses of all materials (including ceramics), see the

Wyndham, John

2005-02-11T05:29:00.000-08:00

Educated in Derbyshire, Wyndham tried his hand at various jobs, from farming to advertising. During the mid-1920s he wrote short stories for various American

Wiesel, Elie

2005-02-10T16:47:00.000-08:00

Wiesel's early life, spent in a small Hasidic community in the town of Sighet, was a rather hermetic existence of prayer and contemplation. In 1940 Sighet was annexed

Work, History Of The Organization Of, Textiles

2005-02-10T11:30:00.000-08:00

The same type of specialization is also implied in the making of textiles. Early protective garments were derived from animal skins. The development of agriculture cut into the supply of available skins and required a substitute material for clothing. To make textiles, yarn had to be spun; the earliest apparatus for this work consisted of a spindle and a distaff

Italy, The rise of Mussolini

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

The political crisis of the postwar years provided an opportunity for militant, patriotic movements, including those of ex-servicemen and former assault troops, radical students, ex-syndicalists, and former pro-war agitators. D'Annunzio in Fiume led one such movement, but the ex-Socialist journalist Benito Mussolini soon became even more prominent, founding his

Río Gallegos

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

Founded in 1885, it was named for Blasco Gallegos, one of Ferdinand Magellan's pilots, who is credited with discovering the river. Prehistoric cave paintings

Mcpherson, Aimee Semple

2005-02-08T06:24:00.000-08:00

Aimee Kennedy was reared by her mother in the work of the Salvation Army. She preached her own brand of the