Monday, May 31, 2004
Masaniello was a young fisherman in 1647 when he was chosen to lead a protest against a new tax on fruit, levied by the nobility to raise money to pay the tribute demanded by Spain. The insurrection against the nobles was successful, but Masaniello
Sunday, May 30, 2004
Philemon, The Letter Of Paul To
Also called �The Epistle Of Saint Paul The Apostle To Philemon, � brief New Testament letter written by Paul the Apostle to a wealthy Christian of Colossae, Asia Minor, on behalf of Onesimus, Philemon's former slave. Paul, writing from prison, expresses affection for the newly converted Onesimus and asks that he be received in the same spirit that would mark Paul's own arrival, even though Onesimus may be guilty of previous failings.
Saturday, May 29, 2004
Turgay Valley
Kazak �Torghay� depression in western Kazakstan. Some 12 - 125 miles (20 - 200 km) wide, it runs roughly north-south for about 375 miles (600 km) through the middle of the Torghay Plateau. It was formed by a caving-in of the ancient foundation, and in the Ice Age, water flowed along it from the West Siberian Plain to the Turan Plain. Today it contains a chain of fresh and saline lakes, with the Ubagan River flowing north
Friday, May 28, 2004
Turgay Valley
Kazak �Torghay� depression in western Kazakstan. Some 12 - 125 miles (20 - 200 km) wide, it runs roughly north-south for about 375 miles (600 km) through the middle of the Torghay Plateau. It was formed by a caving-in of the ancient foundation, and in the Ice Age, water flowed along it from the West Siberian Plain to the Turan Plain. Today it contains a chain of fresh and saline lakes, with the Ubagan River flowing north
Thursday, May 27, 2004
Managua
City, capital of Nicaragua, lying amid small crater lakes on the southern shore of Lake Managua. One of Central America's warmest capitals, the city is only 163 feet (50 m) above sea level. Throughout the Spanish colonial period, Managua was recognized only as an Indian town, outranked by the relatively nearby Spanish cities of Le�n and Granada. Its choice as a permanent capital
Tuesday, May 25, 2004
New Apostolic Church
Church organized in Germany in 1863 as the Universal Catholic Church, by members of the Catholic Apostolic Church who believed that new apostles must be appointed to replace deceased apostles and rule the church until the Second Coming of Christ. The present name was adopted in 1906. Its doctrines are similar to the parent church, but the new church was influenced by continental
Monday, May 24, 2004
Gabriel, Ange-jacques
The most celebrated member of a family of architects, he was the son of Jacques V (1667 - 1742), whom he succeeded as premier architect to Louis XV
Sunday, May 23, 2004
Gabriel, Ange-jacques
The most celebrated member of a family of architects, he was the son of Jacques V (1667 - 1742), whom he succeeded as premier architect to Louis XV
Saturday, May 22, 2004
Friday, May 21, 2004
Auckland
When Europeans arrived in the early 19th century, the region was densely populated by Maoris. European settlements were
Thursday, May 20, 2004
Mac Family
The Mac family began as ministers to the Le kings of the Vietnamese Later Le dynasty (1428 - 1787). By the early 16th century, however, the Later Le rulers had become virtually powerless, and in 1527 Mac Dang Dung, the head of the family, usurped the throne. Eight years later the powerful Nguyen family
Wednesday, May 19, 2004
�lvarez Quintero, Seraf�n And Joaqu�
Spanish brothers who collaborated in almost 200 dramas depicting the life, manners, and speech of Andalusia. Their work was among the most popular in Spain during the early 20th century and greatly added to the revival of the Spanish theatre. Their dramas are remarkable for a vivacious and skilled presentation.
Tuesday, May 18, 2004
Vignola, Giacomo Da
After studying in Bologna, Vignola went to Rome in the 1530s and made drawings of the antiquities for a projected edition of Vitruvius' treatise
Monday, May 17, 2004
Fitch, Clyde
Fitch graduated from Amherst College in 1886. In New York City he began writing short stories for magazines. A prolific writer, he produced 33 original plays and 22 adaptations, including Beau Brummel (1890), written for the actor Richard Mansfield, The
Sunday, May 16, 2004
Widener, Peter A.b.
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
Saturday, May 15, 2004
Friday, May 14, 2004
Kulakova, Galina
A member of four Soviet Olympic ski teams from 1964 to 1976, Kulakova was a national champion from 1969 to 1971 and a world champion in 1969 and 1970. In 1968 at the Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, Kulakova won
Thursday, May 13, 2004
Aaron
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
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Camargue
Delta region in Bouches-du-Rh�ne d�partement, southern France. The region lies between the Grand and Petit channels of the Rh�ne River and has an area of 300 square miles (780 square km). In the northern part of the delta, the alluvium has emerged as dry land; in the south, the highest ground is along the embankments of present and former watercourses; in the intervening basins
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
Margay
Also called �Tiger Cat, or Tigrillo� (Felis wiedii), species of small cat that ranges from South through Central America and, rarely, into the extreme southern United States. Like all cats, it is of the family Felidae. Little is known about the natural habits of the margay. It lives in forests and presumably is nocturnal, feeding on small prey such as birds, frogs, and insects. It is largely arboreal
Monday, May 10, 2004
Wild Bunch
A collection of cowboy-outlaws who flourished in the 1880s and '90s in Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, and surrounding states and territories. Their chief hideouts were Hole in the Wall, a nearly inaccessible grassy canyon and rocky retreat in north-central Wyoming; Brown's Hole (now Brown's Park), a hidden valley of the Green River, near the intersection of the borders of Wyoming, Colorado,
Sunday, May 09, 2004
Saturday, May 08, 2004
Hypsometric Curve
Also called �Hypsographic Curve, � cumulative height frequency curve for the Earth's surface or some part thereof. A hypsometric curve is essentially a graph that shows the proportion of land area that exists at various elevations by plotting relative area against relative height. In the hypsometric curve of the total Earth surface there exist two maxima of frequencies - at the 100-metre (109-yard) and the
Friday, May 07, 2004
Yamato
City, Kanagawa ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan, in the eastern part of the Sagamihara Plateau. During the Tokugawa period (1603 - 1867) it was a local trade centre for the surrounding sericultural region. An air base of the Imperial Japanese Army, established in the city in 1942, was taken over by U.S. occupation forces after World War II. The city has rapidly industrialized since 1955, producing
Thursday, May 06, 2004
Frederick (iii)
After his father's murder (1308) Frederick became the head of the House of Habsburg and duke of Austria but did not succeed him as king, the count of Luxembourg being elected instead, as Henry VII. Frederick and his brothers made a treaty with Henry
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
Gypsy Moth
The European strain was introduced into eastern North America about 1869, and by 1889 it had become a serious pest of forest and fruit trees. (Damage is less severe in Europe, where the moth has several natural enemies.) The
Tuesday, May 04, 2004
Earth, Stress
When forces are applied to the external surface of a body, they set up internal stresses within it. Stress can be taken as a measure of the intensity of a force acting within the body. It is properly defined as the force per unit area within a body and is measured in dynes per square centimetre.
Monday, May 03, 2004
South Africa
Officially �Republic of South Africa, �formerly �Union of South Africa, � the southernmost country on the African continent. It has an area of 470,693 square miles (1,219,090 square kilometres). It measures almost 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) from north to south, as well as from east to west. South Africa is bordered by Namibia to the northwest, by Botswana and Zimbabwe to the north, and by Mozambique and Swaziland to the northeast and east. Lesotho, an independent constitutional
Sunday, May 02, 2004
Aquatic Locomotion
Free-swimming locomotion is found in animals ranging from protozoans to whales. For effective swimming the animal controls its buoyancy and has a propulsion system able to compete with the resistance of water movements. Many invertebrates