LongPump

Clonmel

2005-11-18T05:20:00.000-08:00

Irish Cluain Meala municipal borough and seat of Tipperary South Riding, Ireland. It lies on the River Suir. A noted sporting centre, it has fine scenery, with the Comeragh Mountains to the south and the Slievenamon peak to the northeast. Clonmel received its charter in the reign of Edward I (1239–1307). The novelist Laurence Sterne was born there in 1713. Industries include the making of pharmaceuticals

Banner System

2005-10-16T01:30:00.000-07:00

Chinese (Wade–Giles romanization) Ch'i-ping, Pinyin Qibing, the military organization used by the Manchu tribes of Manchuria (now Northeast China) to conquer and control China in the 17th century. The Banner system was developed by the Manchu leader Nurhachi (1559–1626), who in 1601 organized his warriors into four companies of 300 men each. The companies were distinguished by banners of different colours—yellow, red, white, and blue. In 1615 four more

Aranda

2005-07-28T22:55:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Arunta, Aboriginal tribe that originally occupied a region of 25,000 square miles (65,000 square km) in central Australia, along the upper Finke River and its tributaries. The Aranda were divided into five subtribes, which were marked by differences in dialect. In common with other Aborigines, the Aranda were greatly reduced in number during the first 70 years of contact with whites, but

Lizard, Locomotion and limb adaptations

2005-07-27T04:50:00.000-07:00

The majority of lizards are quadrupedal, with powerful limb musculature. They are capable of rapid acceleration and possess great ability to change direction of motion rapidly. The racerunners (Cnemidophorus) can attain speeds of 24 kilometres (15 miles) per hour, which, in terms of their own body length, puts them in a class with fast terrestrial mammals. A tendency toward

Gray, Walter De

2005-07-24T17:40:00.000-07:00

He became chancellor of England in 1205 and, after John had made his peace with the church, was elected bishop of Worcester (1214). In 1215 John advanced him as a candidate for the see of York against the wishes of the cathedral chapter, and Pope Innocent

Shiga Naoya

2005-07-07T20:20:00.000-07:00

Born into an aristocratic samurai family, Shiga was taken by his parents to live with his paternal grandparents in Tokyo in 1885. In his youth he was influenced by the Christian educator Uchimura Kanzo, but Christianity

Karat

2005-06-15T18:05:00.000-07:00

Also spelled Carat, a measure of the fineness (i.e., purity) of gold. It is spelled carat outside the United States but should not be confused with the unit used to measure the weight of gems, also called carat. A gold karat is 1/24 part, or 4.1667 percent, of the whole, and the purity of a gold alloy is expressed as the number of these parts of gold it contains. Thus, an object that contains 16 parts gold and 8 parts alloying

Interior Design, Japan

2005-06-03T02:45:00.000-07:00

Interior decoration in Japan was much influenced by Chinese ideas, especially between the 8th and 12th centuries, but it developed along lighter, more austere and elegant lines. It has altered little since medieval days. The most important differences in modern design are that the matting has been extended to cover the whole of the wooden floor, and sliding doors have

Nilo-saharan Languages

2005-05-31T21:20:00.000-07:00

The original expansion of the Nilo-Saharan family may have been associated with the Aquatic industry. This industry, which dates to the 8th millennium BC, is a conglomeration of cultures that exploited the food resources of lakes, rivers, and surrounding areas from Lake Rudolf in East Africa to the bend of the Niger River in West Africa during a long era of wetter climate

Kermes

2005-05-17T00:20:00.000-07:00

Either the scale insect (Kermes ilicis) or the bright-red dye obtained from the dried bodies of these insects. The dye was often part of the tribute paid to conquering Roman armies, and, in the Middle Ages, landlords accepted it as payment for rent. The oldest known red dyestuff, resembling but inferior to cochineal, it was used by the early Egyptians.

Leap Year

2005-05-15T18:10:00.000-07:00

Year containing some intercalary period, especially a Gregorian year having a 29th day of February instead of the standard 28 days. The astronomical year, the time taken for the Earth to complete its orbit around the Sun, is about 365.242 days, or, to a first approximation, 365.25 days. To account for the odd quarter day, an extra calendar day is added every four years, as was first done in 46 BC, with

Sucker

2005-05-13T15:40:00.000-07:00

Any of the freshwater fishes constituting the family Catostomidae, similar to and closely related to the carp and minnows (Cyprinidae). There are about 80 to 100 species of suckers; except for a few species in Asia, all are North American. Many suckers are almost indistinguishable from minnows, but catostomids may often be recognized by the sucking, usually ventral

Arica

2005-03-15T07:36:00.000-08:00

Capital of Arica province, Tarapac� region, Chile. The city lies along the Pacific coast, at the foot of El Morro (a precipitous headland), and is fringed on its southern edge by sand dunes of the rainless Atacama Desert. Arica is situated near the Peruvian border and is the northernmost Chilean seaport. Founded as San Marcos de Arica in 1570 on the site of a pre-Columbian settlement,

Anhwei

2005-03-14T21:28:00.000-08:00

Chinese (Wade-Giles) �An-hui, �(Pinyin) �Anhui, � sheng (province) of China. It is one of the country's smallest provinces, covering an area of 54,000 square miles (139,900 square kilometres) and stretching for 400 miles (640 kilometres) from north to south. Landlocked, it is bounded by the provinces of Kiangsu to the northeast, Chekiang to the southeast, Kiangsi to the south, and Hupeh and Honan to the west. Its northern extremity barely touches

Michael

2005-03-11T15:34:00.000-08:00

Acceding to the princely throne of Walachia in 1593, Michael submitted in May 1595 to the suzerainty of the prince of Transylvania, Sigismund B�thory, in order to secure support against Ottoman rule. He routed the Turks at Calugareni (August

China, The rise of the Manchu

2005-03-07T14:55:00.000-08:00

The Manchu, who ruled China from 1644 to 1911, were descendants of the Juchen tribes who had ruled North China as the Chin dynasty in the 12th century. From the 15th century they had paid tribute to the Ming and been organized in the commandery system, so they had long had extensive and regular contact with the Chinese state and, more importantly, with the Chinese military officers

Albani, Francesco

2005-03-06T00:21:00.000-08:00

Albani lived for several years in Rome, where

Aerospace Industry, Remanufacture and upgrading

2005-03-05T22:29:00.000-08:00

The most elaborate type of program under the general heading of maintenance is the remanufacturing process. Performed at aircraft-manufacturing facilities, remanufacture is a measure that combines a general overhaul with an upgrade of some of the aircraft's systems. The latter process often paces the progressive development of a basic airplane type through

Resistor

2005-03-03T20:25:00.000-08:00

Electrical component that opposes the flow of either direct or alternating current, employed to protect, operate, or control the circuit. Voltages can be divided with the use of resistors, and in combination with other components resistors can be used to make electrical waves into shapes most suited for the electrical designer's requirements. Resistors can have

World War I, The Caucasus, 1914

2005-03-02T07:13:00.000-08:00

The Caucasian front between Russia and Turkey comprised two battlegrounds: Armenia in the west, Azerbaijan in the east. While the ultimate strategic objectives for the Turks were to capture the Baku oilfields in Azerbaijan and to penetrate Central Asia and Afghanistan in order to threaten British India, they needed first to capture the Armenian fortress of Kars,

Tibet, Drainage and soils

2005-03-02T05:28:00.000-08:00

The Plateau of Tibet is a prime source of water for Central Asia. The Indus River, known in Tibet as the Shih-ch'�an Ho (in Tibetan, S�ngg� Zangbo: �Out of the Lion's Mouth�), has its source in western Tibet near Mount Kailas, a mountain sacred to Buddhists and Hindus; it then flows westward across Kashmir to Pakistan. Three other rivers also begin in the west. The Hsiang-ch'�an River

Sacramento

2005-03-01T22:42:00.000-08:00

City, capital of California, U.S., seat (1850) of Sacramento county, in the Central Valley, where the Sacramento and American rivers meet. John Augustus Sutter established the colony of New Helvetia in 1839 on the site, a Mexican land grant, and between 1840 and 1842 built a palisaded trading post known as Sutter's Fort. His community, initially populated by fellow Swiss immigrants, prospered

World War I, Mesopotamia, 1914

2005-03-01T05:46:00.000-08:00

The British occupation of Basra, Turkey's port at the head of the Persian Gulf, in November 1914 had been justifiable strategically because of the need to protect the oil wells of southern Persia and the Abadan refinery. The British advance of 46 miles northward from Basra to al-Qurnah in December and the further advance of 90 miles up the Tigris to al-'Amarah in May - June 1915 ought to

Calligraphy

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

In the 7th and 8th centuries AD the Arab armies conquered for Islam territories stretching from the shores of the Atlantic to Sind (now in Pakistan). Besides a religion, they brought to the conquered peoples a language both written and spoken. The Arabic language was a principal factor in uniting peoples who differed widely in race, language, and culture. In the early centuries

World War I, The Egyptian frontiers, 1915

2005-02-28T08:55:00.000-08:00

Even after the evacuation from Gallipoli, the British maintained 250,000 troops in Egypt. A major source of worry to the British was the danger of a Turkish threat from Palestine across the Sinai Desert to the Suez Canal. That danger waned, however, when the initially unpromising rebellion of the Hashimite amir Husayn ibn 'Ali against the Turks in the Hejaz was developed by the

Swan Service

2005-02-27T14:37:00.000-08:00

Set of porcelain tableware made at the Meissen factory in Germany between 1737 and 1741 by Johann Joachim K�ndler and Johann Friedrich Eberlein. Made for Heinrich, Count von Br�hl, the factory director, it was composed of 2,200 pieces modeled and painted in the Rococo style with such aquatic motifs as swans and water nymphs. It is probably the single finest table service ever made

World War I, Italy and the Italian front, 1915

2005-02-27T00:22:00.000-08:00

Great Britain, France, and Russia concluded on April 26, 1915, the secret Treaty of London with Italy, inducing the latter to discard the obligations of the Triple Alliance and to enter the war on the side of the Allies by the promise of territorial aggrandizement at Austria-Hungary's expense. Italy was offered not only the Italian-populated Trentino and Trieste but also South

Philae

2005-02-26T18:04:00.000-08:00

Arabic� Jazirat Filah (�Philae Island�),� or� Jazirat al-Birba (�Temple Island�),�

World War I, Serbia and the Salonika expedition, 1915

2005-02-26T10:49:00.000-08:00

Austria's three attempted invasions of Serbia in 1914 had been brusquely repulsed by Serbian counterattacks. By the summer of 1915 the Central Powers were doubly concerned to close the account with Serbia, both for reasons of prestige and for the sake of establishing secure rail communications with Turkey across the Balkans. In August, Germany sent reinforcements to Austria's

World War I, The Western Front, 1916

2005-02-25T05:33:00.000-08:00

In 1914 the centre of gravity of World War I had been on the Western Front, in 1915 it shifted to the Eastern, and in 1916 it once more moved back to France. Though the western Allies had dissipated some of their strength in the Dardanelles, Salonika, and Mesopotamia, the rising tide of Britain's new armies and of its increased munition supplies promised the means for an offensive far

Augustine, Saint

2005-02-25T05:04:00.000-08:00

The creation narrative of the book of Genesis was for Augustine scripture par excellence. He wrote at least five sustained treatises on those chapters (if we include the last three books of the Confessions and books 11 - 14 of City of God). His De genesi ad litteram (401 - 414/415; Literal Commentary on Genesis) was the result of many years of work from the late 390s to the early 410s. Its notion of �literal

Venetic Language

2005-02-24T14:17:00.000-08:00

A language spoken in northeastern Italy before the Christian era. Known to modern scholars from some 200 short inscriptions dating from the 5th through the 1st century BC, it is written either in Latin characters or in a native alphabet derived from Etruscan, the Etruscans having established settlements in the Po Valley in the 6th century BC. Authorities are undecided as to

World War I, The Battle of Jutland

2005-02-24T07:28:00.000-08:00

Admiral Reinhard Scheer, who became commander in chief of the High Seas Fleet in January 1916, planned to contrive an encounter on the open sea between his fleet and some

World War I, The Eastern Front, 1916

2005-02-23T08:39:00.000-08:00

In the hope of diverting German strength from the attack at Verdun on the Western Front, the Russians gallantly but prematurely opened an offensive north and south of Lake Naroch (Narocz, east of Vilna) on March 18, 1916, and continued it until March 27, though they won very little ground at great cost and only for a short time. They then reverted to preparations for a major offensive

China, Period of division

2005-02-23T07:47:00.000-08:00

The most extensive modern account of the period of division is that found in the general history by Franke cited above, vol. 2, with copious notes in vol. 3; this is a traditional chronological history, which pays little attention to nonpolitical matters and absolutely none to modern historical writing on the period in Chinese and Japanese. Other works on this important period include Wolfram Eberhard, Das Toba-Reich Nordchinas: eine soziologische Untersuchung (1949), a Western-language study on the T'o-pa Wei - controversial and interesting but highly technical; W.J.F. Jenner, Memories of Loyang (1981), a political history of the Wei dynasty during the Pei-ch'ao (Northern Dynasties) period; �tienne Balazs, �Les Courants intellectuels en Chine au IIIe si�cle de notre �re,� �tudes Asiatiques, vol. 2 (1948), the best Western-language study on the rise of �Neo-Taoism� and other schools of thought after the breakdown of the Han Empire; Henri Maspero, Taoism and Chinese Religion (1983; originally published in French, 1950), a collection of essays dealing mainly with T'ang dynasty Taoism, still the most important general survey of the Taoist religion of this period, written mainly in the 1930s and '40s by a great authority for the general public; Holmes Welch, Taoism: The Parting of the Way, rev. ed. (1965), a general history of the Taoist movement with about one-third of the book devoted to the development of Taoist religion in the Six Dynasties period; Michel Strickmann, Le Tao�sme du Mao Chan: chronique d'une r�v�lation (1981), a scholarly account of one of the main schools of medieval Taoism; Arthur F. Wright, Buddhism in Chinese History (1959, reprinted 1971), a popular but authoritative survey of Chinese Buddhism as a whole, two chapters of which are devoted to the Six Dynasties period; Kenneth K.S. Chen, Buddhism in China (1964, reprinted 1972), an extensive history of Chinese Buddhism by an eminent specialist; Erik Z�rcher, The Buddhist Conquest of China, 2 vol. (1959, reprinted 1972), a detailed, rather technical study of the formation of gentry Buddhism; and Jacques Gernet, Les Aspects �conomiques du bouddhisme dans la soci�t� chinoise du Ve au Xe si�cle (1956), an indispensable but rather technical work on the economic functions of the Buddhist monasteries from the 5th to the 10th century.

Laterite

2005-02-22T15:04:00.000-08:00

Soil layer that is rich in iron oxide and derived from a wide variety of rocks weathering under strongly oxidizing and leaching conditions. It forms in tropical and subtropical regions where the climate is humid. Lateritic soils may contain clay minerals; but they tend to be silica-poor, for silica is leached out by waters passing through the soil. Typical laterite

World War I, German strategy and the submarine war, 1916

2005-02-22T00:48:00.000-08:00

Both Admiral Scheer and General Falkenhayn doubted whether the German submarines could do any decisive damage to Great Britain so long as their warfare was restricted in deference to the protests of the United States; and, after a tentative reopening of the submarine campaign on Feb. 4, 1916, the German naval authorities in March gave the U-boats permission to sink without

Byssinosis

2005-02-21T23:37:00.000-08:00

Also called �Brown Lung, or Brown Lung Disease, � respiratory disorder, a type of pneumoconiosis caused by dust from cotton and other fibres, common among textile workers. When inhaled, the dust stimulates histamine release, which causes constriction of the air passages, making breathing difficult. Over time the dust accumulates in the lung, producing a typical discoloration that gives the disease its common

World War I, Peace moves and U.S. policy to February 1917

2005-02-21T04:16:00.000-08:00

There were few efforts by any of the Central or Allied Powers to achieve a negotiated peace in the first two years of the war. By 1916 the most promising signs for peace seemed to exist only in the intentions of two statesmen in power - the German chancellor Bethmann and the U.S. president Woodrow Wilson. Wilson, having proclaimed the neutrality of the United States in August

World War I, The Western Front, January

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

The western Allies had good reason to be profoundly dissatisfied with the poor results of their enterprises of 1916, and this dissatisfaction was signalized by two major changes made at the end of the year. In Great Britain, the government of H.H. Asquith, already turned into a coalition in May 1915, was replaced in December 1916 by a coalition under David Lloyd George; and that same

Western Australia

2005-02-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

Kwinana

2005-02-19T21:43:00.000-08:00

Town, southwestern Western Australia. It lies along Cockburn Sound, just south of Perth. The name was taken from a freighter wrecked offshore in 1922; it is an Aboriginal word meaning �young woman.� The place was a small resort until the mid-1950s, when a large oil refinery with associated port facilities was completed to receive oil shipments from the Middle East. Since then, blast

World War I, The U.S. entry into the war

2005-02-19T06:24:00.000-08:00

After the rupture of diplomatic relations with Germany on Feb. 3, 1917, events pushed the United States inexorably along the road to war. Using his authority as commander in chief, Wilson on March 9 ordered the arming of American merchant ships so that they could defend themselves against U-boat attacks. German submarines sank three U.S. merchant ships during March 16 - 18 with heavy

World War I, The Russian revolutions and the Eastern Front, March 1917

2005-02-18T23:26:00.000-08:00

The Russian Revolution of March (February, old style) 1917 put an end to the autocratic monarchy of imperial Russia and replaced it with a provisional government. But the latter's authority was at once contested by soviets, or �councils of workers' and soldiers' deputies,� who claimed to represent the masses of the people and so to be the rightful conductors of the revolution.

Sha'ir

2005-02-18T21:53:00.000-08:00

(Arabic: �poet�), in Arabic literature, poet who in pre-Islamic times was a tribal dignitary whose poetic utterances were deemed supernaturally inspired by such spirits as jinn and shaitans. As such, his word was needed to insure the success of certain tribal activities, particularly war, grazing, and the invocation of the gods. In times of intertribal strife, the satire

Orange River

2005-02-17T19:52:00.000-08:00

The first white man known to cross the river to the north bank was an Afrikaner elephant hunter, Jacobus Coetsee, who forded the Groot River, as it was then called, near the river mouth in 1760. Later expeditions across the river in the 18th century were led by the Afrikaner explorer Hendrik Hop; Robert Jacob Gordon, a Dutch officer; William Paterson, an English traveler; and the

World War I, Greek affairs

2005-02-17T16:49:00.000-08:00

Greece's attitude toward the war was long uncertain: whereas King Constantine I and the general staff stood for neutrality, Eleuth�rios Veniz�los, leader of the Liberal Party, favoured the Allied cause. As prime minister from 1910, Veniz�los wanted Greece to participate in the Allies' Dardanelles enterprise against Turkey in 1915, but his arguments were overruled by the

Dressing Table

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

Also called �Toilet Table, � a table used for the toilet. The term originally was applied in the 17th century to small tables with two or three drawers. It soon became common practice to conceal the fittings of the dressing table when they were not in use, and great ingenuity was exercised by 18th-century cabinetmakers to combine the most convenient fittings with a handsome piece of furniture. In the

World War I, Caporetto

2005-02-16T01:34:00.000-08:00

On the Italian front, Cadorna's 10th Battle of the Isonzo in May - June 1917 won very little ground; but his 11th, from August 17 to September 12, during which General Luigi Capello's 2nd Army captured much of the Bainsizza Plateau (Banj

Viscaceae

2005-02-15T16:41:00.000-08:00

Members of the Viscaceae are primarily tropical in distribution and are parasites on the branches of many tree species.

World War I, Mesopotamia, summer 1916

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

The British forces in Mesopotamia, neglected hitherto and discouraged by the disaster at al-Kut (see above Mesopotamia, 1914 - April 1916), received better attention from London in the second half of 1916; and Sir Frederick Stanley Maude, who became commander in chief in August, did so much to restore their morale that by December he was ready to undertake the recapture of al-Kut as a first

World War I, Palestine, autumn 1917

2005-02-14T16:32:00.000-08:00

Having assumed command in Egypt (see above The Egyptian frontiers, 1915 - July 1917), Allenby transferred his headquarters from Cairo to the Palestinian front and devoted the summer of 1917 to preparing a serious offensive against the Turks. On the Turkish side, Falkenhayn, now in command at Aleppo, was at this time himself planning a drive into the Sinai Peninsula for the autumn, but

Babbitt Metal

2005-02-13T22:52:00.000-08:00

Also spelled �Babbit Metal, � any of several tin- or lead-based alloys used as bearing material for axles and crankshafts, based on the tin alloy invented in 1839 by Isaac Babbitt for use in steam engines. Modern babbitts provide a low-friction lining for bearing shells made of stronger metals such as cast iron, steel, or bronze. They may be made of: (1) high-tin alloys with small quantities of antimony and copper;

World War I, The Western Front, June

2005-02-13T17:37:00.000-08:00

P�tain's decision to remain temporarily on the defensive after Nivelle's failure gave Haig the opportunity to fulfill his desire for a British offensive in Flanders. He took the first step on June 7, 1917, with a long-prepared attack on the Messines Ridge, north of Armenti�res, on the southern flank of his Ypres salient. This attack by General Sir Herbert Plumer's 2nd Army proved

World War I, The Far East

2005-02-12T16:42:00.000-08:00

China's entry into the war in 1917 on the side of the Allies was motivated not by any grievance against the Central Powers but by the Peking government's fear lest Japan, a belligerent since 1914, should monopolize the sympathies of the Allies and of the United States when Far Eastern affairs came up for settlement after the war. Accordingly, in March 1917 the Peking government severed

Rusalka

2005-02-12T03:02:00.000-08:00

Plural �Rusalki, � in Slavic mythology, lake-dwelling soul of a child who died unbaptized or of a virgin who was drowned (whether accidentally or purposely). Slavs of different areas have assigned different personalities to the rusalki. Around the Danube River, where they are called vile (singular vila), rusalki are beautiful, charming girls, dressed always in light robes of mist, singing

World War I, Naval operations, 1917

2005-02-11T20:22:00.000-08:00

Since Germany's previous restrictions of its submarine warfare had been motivated by fear of provoking the United States into war, the U.S. declaration of war in April 1917 removed any reason for the Germans to retreat from their already declared policy of unrestricted warfare. Consequently, the U-boats, having sunk 181 ships in January, 259 in February, and 325 in March, sank 430 in April.

Thailand, Gulf Of

2005-02-11T15:28:00.000-08:00

Formerly �Gulf Of Siam, � inlet of the South China Sea bordering Thailand (southwest through north), Cambodia, and southern Vietnam (northeast). The Gulf of Thailand is 300 to 350 miles (500 to 560 km) wide and 450 miles (725 km) long. The Chao Phraya and Nakhon Chai Si rivers enter the gulf near its head. The main harbours in Thailand are located along the Gulf of Thailand at Bangkok, Pattani, Songkhla (Singgora), Pak Phanang

World War I, Air warfare

2005-02-10T02:20:00.000-08:00

At the start of the war the land and sea forces used the aircraft put at their disposal primarily for reconnaissance, and air fighting began as the exchange of shots from small arms between enemy airmen meeting one another in the course of reconnoitering. Fighter aircraft armed with machine guns, however, made their appearance in 1915. Tactical bombing and the bombing

Magnoliales

2005-02-10T02:05:00.000-08:00

Magnolia order of dicotyledonous flowering plants, a division of the subclass Magnoliidae. The order, which is generally regarded as including the most primitive angiosperms, contains 10 families, 181 genera, and about 3,050 species. All are woody shrubs, climbers, or trees. The families are Winteraceae, Degeneriaceae, Himantandraceae, Eupomatiaceae, Austrobaileyaceae, Magnoliaceae,

Giraffe

2005-02-09T23:08:00.000-08:00

To the Romans, the giraffe was �camelopardalis� (�spotted camel�), a term that

World War I, Peace moves, March 1917

2005-02-09T21:35:00.000-08:00

Francis Joseph, Austria's venerable old

West Liberty State College

2005-02-08T11:11:00.000-08:00

Public, coeducational institution of higher learning in West Liberty, West Virginia, U.S. It is a four-year liberal arts college that confers two-year associate as well as bachelor's degrees. The campus is on a hilltop in a rural region of northern West Virginia that is near the metropolitan areas of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Steubenville, Ohio; and Wheeling, West Virginia.

World War I, The Western Front, March

2005-02-08T00:46:00.000-08:00

As the German strength on the Western Front was being steadily increased by the transfer of divisions from the Eastern Front (where they were no longer needed since Russia had withdrawn from the war), the Allies' main problem was how to withstand an imminent German offensive pending the arrival of massive reinforcements from the United States. Eventually P�tain

World War I, Czechs, Yugoslavs, and Poles

2005-02-07T15:23:00.000-08:00

Something must now be said about the growth of the national movements, which, under the eventual protection of the Allies, were to result in the foundation of new states or the resurrection of long-defunct ones at the end of the war. There were three such movements: that of the Czechs, with the more backward Slovaks in tow; that of the South Slavs, or Yugoslavs (Serbs, Croats,

Capricornus

2005-02-07T04:21:00.000-08:00

In astrology, Capricornus (also Capricorn) is the 10th sign of the zodiac, considered as

Melaconite

2005-02-06T14:46:00.000-08:00

Noncrystalline variety of the mineral tenorite (q.v.).

World War I, Eastern Europe and the Russian periphery, March

2005-02-06T02:40:00.000-08:00

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (March 3, 1918) gave Germany a free hand to do what it liked with Russia's former possessions in eastern Europe. While they pursued their plan of 1916 for a kingdom of Poland, the Germans took new measures for the other countries. Lithuania, recognized as independent, was to be a kingdom under some German prince. Latvia and Estonia were to be merged into a

World War I, The Balkan front, 1918

2005-02-05T03:06:00.000-08:00

At Salonika the Allies' politically ambitious but militarily ineffective commander in chief, General Sarrail, was replaced at the end of 1917 by General Guillaumat, who was in turn succeeded in July 1918 by General L.-F.-F. Franchet d'Esperey, who launched a major offensive in September with six Serbian and two French divisions against a seven-mile front held by only one Bulgarian

Amur River, Plant life

2005-02-05T01:42:00.000-08:00

Much of the Amur basin lies in the taiga vegetation zone. Larch is the predominant species, particularly in boggy areas, with some pine, spruce, and fir on drier land. In the east are found the Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) and the Amur cork tree (Phellodendron amurense). In the west the Argun River traverses a region of steppe grassland. In the Da and Xiao Hinggan ranges south

Ashford

2005-02-04T14:08:00.000-08:00

Town and borough (district), administrative and historic county of Kent, England. It was established in 1974 from the former urban district of Ashford, rural districts of East and West Ashford, and the metropolitan borough and rural district of Tenterden. The old town of Ashford was granted a market in the 13th century that later became a stock market for the pastoral farms

World War I, The Turkish fronts, 1918

2005-02-04T04:17:00.000-08:00

The British - Turkish front in Palestine in the summer of 1918 ran from the Jordan River westward north of Jericho and Lydda to the Mediterranean just north of Jaffa. North of this front there were three Turkish �armies� (in fact, barely stronger than divisions): one to the east of the Jordan, two to the west. These armies depended for their supplies on the Hejaz Railway, the main

World War I, Vittorio Veneto

2005-02-03T15:30:00.000-08:00

After the stabilization of the Italian front on the Piave River at the end of 1917, the Austrians made no further move until the following June. They then tried not only to force the Tonale Pass and enter northeastern Lombardy but also to make two converging thrusts into central Venetia, the one southeastward from the Trentino, the other southwestward across the lower

Wahiawa

2005-02-03T03:07:00.000-08:00

City, Honolulu county, west-central Oahu Island, Hawaii, U.S. It is situated on the 1,000-foot- (300-metre-) high Leilehua Plateau between the two forks of the Kaukonahua Stream. Wahiawa (meaning �place of noise�) is a commercial centre for nearby plantation communities and military installations (Schofield Barracks and Wheeler Air Force Base). It is the site of company housing developments

Perfect Gas

2005-02-02T14:53:00.000-08:00

Also called �ideal gas� a gas that conforms, in physical behaviour, to a particular, idealized relation between pressure, volume, and temperature called the general gas law. This law is a generalization containing both Boyle's law and Charles's law as special cases and states that for a specified quantity of gas, the product of the volume v and pressure p is proportional to the absolute temperature

World War I, The collapse of Austria-Hungary

2005-02-02T03:46:00.000-08:00

The duality of the Habsburg monarchy had been underlined from the very beginning of the war. Whereas the Austrian parliament, or Reichsrat, had been suspended in March 1914 and was not reconvened for three years, the Hungarian parliament in Budapest continued its sessions, and the Hungarian government proved itself constantly less amenable to dictation from the military

Earth Exploration, Magnetic methods

2005-02-01T21:06:00.000-08:00

Measurements can be made of the Earth's total magnetic field or of components of the field in various directions. The oldest magnetic prospecting instrument is the magnetic compass, which measures the field direction. Other instruments include magnetic balances and fluxgate magnetometers. Most magnetic surveys are made with proton-precession or optical-pumping

World War I, The end of the German War

2005-01-31T20:18:00.000-08:00

Georg von Hertling, who had taken the place of Michaelis as Germany's chancellor in November 1917 but had proved no more capable than he of restraining Ludendorff and Hindenburg, tendered his resignation on Sept. 29, 1918, the day of the Bulgarian armistice and of the major development of the British attack on the Western Front. Pending the appointment of a new chancellor, Ludendorff

Atlantic Ocean

2005-01-31T06:02:00.000-08:00

The Atlantic is, generally speaking, S-shaped and narrow in relation

World War I, The Armistice

2005-01-30T02:21:00.000-08:00

The Allies' armistice terms presented in the railway carriage at Rethondes were stiff. Germany was required to evacuate not only Belgium, France, and Alsace-Lorraine but also all the rest of the left (west) bank of the Rhine, and it had to neutralize that river's right bank between The Netherlands and Switzerland. The German troops in East Africa were to surrender; the

Cartel

2005-01-29T15:21:00.000-08:00

Association of independent firms or individuals for the purpose of exerting some form of restrictive or monopolistic influence on the production or sale of a commodity or group of commodities. The most common arrangements are aimed at regulating prices or output or dividing up markets. Members of a cartel maintain their separate identities and financial independence

World War I, Killed, wounded, and missing

2005-01-29T01:26:00.000-08:00

The casualties suffered by the participants in World War I dwarfed those of previous wars: some 8,500,000 soldiers died as a result of wounds and/or disease. The greatest number of casualties and wounds were inflicted by artillery, followed by small arms, and then by poison gas. The bayonet, which was relied on by the prewar French Army as the decisive weapon, actually produced

Amphibian, Larval stage

2005-01-28T15:22:00.000-08:00

The amphibian larva represents a morphologically distinct stage between the embryo and adult. Most aquatic larvae depend on the environment for their food supply. Salamander and caecilian larvae remain more like their respective adults in structure, function, and nutritional requirements than do anuran larvae. Not long after emerging from their shells, larval

World War I, Killed, wounded, and missing

2005-01-28T14:57:00.000-08:00

Dwight E. Lee (ed.), The Outbreak of the First World War: Causes and Responsibilities, 4th ed. (1975), is a good introduction to the debate on the origins of World War I. A more detailed account is provided in Luigi Albertini, The Origins of the War of 1914, 3 vol. (1952 - 57, reprinted 1980; originally published in Italian, 1942 - 43). A comprehensive general account of the war is Bernadotte E. Schmitt and Harold C. Vedeler, The World in the Crucible, 1914 - 1919 (1984). The standard military histories are Basil Henry Liddell Hart, A History of the World War, 1914 - 1918, enl. ed. (1934, reprinted 1970); Cyril B. Falls, The Great War (1959); and Marc Ferro, The Great War, 1914 - 1918 (1973, reprinted 1987; originally published in French, 1969). J.E. Edmonds (comp.), A Short History of World War I (1951, reprinted 1968); and John Terraine, The Great War, 1914 - 1918: A Pictorial History (1965, reprinted 1978), are useful introductions. Naval operations during the war are discussed in Arthur J. Marder, From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow: The Royal Navy in the Fisher Era, 1904 - 1919, 5 vol. (1961 - 70). International diplomacy during the war is treated in Z.A.B. Zeman, The Gentlemen Negotiators (1971; U.K. title, A Diplomatic History of the First World War).

Ocean, Structure and composition

2005-01-27T18:32:00.000-08:00

The oceanic crust differs from the continental crust in several ways: it is thinner, denser, younger, of different chemical composition, and created in a different plate-tectonic setting. The oceanic crust is formed at spreading centres on the oceanic ridges, whereas continental crust is formed above the subduction zones. The oceanic crust is about six kilometres

Calligraphy, Killed, wounded, and missing

2005-01-27T05:20:00.000-08:00

Calligraphy, Chinese calligraphy

2005-01-26T19:04:00.000-08:00

The earliest known Chinese logographs are engraved on the shoulder bones of large animals and on tortoise shells. For this reason, the script found on these objects is commonly called jiaguwen, or shell-and-bone script. It seems likely that each of the ideographs was carefully composed before it was engraved. Although the figures are not entirely uniform in size,

China, Renewed Communist-Nationalist conflict

2005-01-26T15:55:00.000-08:00

There were numerous clashes between Communists and Nationalists as their military forces competed for control of enemy territory and as the Communists tried to expand their political influence in Nationalist territory through propaganda and secret organizing. Though both sides continued the war against Japan, each was fighting for its own ultimate advantage.

Vairagin

2005-01-25T17:34:00.000-08:00

Most vairagins, when not wandering or on pilgrimage,

Climate, Variations in the distribution of land and sea due to crustal changes

2005-01-25T06:58:00.000-08:00

Mountain building, continental uplift, and the drifting of continents have profoundly influenced world climate. They operate on the scale of geologic periods, requiring many millions of years to complete their effects. An example of a climatic change caused by topographic variations is the creation of the cold deep waters of the ocean, which was favoured by such

Dzhizak

2005-01-24T22:02:00.000-08:00

City, eastern Uzbekistan. The city is located in a small oasis irrigated by the Sanzar River, northeast of Samarkand. One of the most ancient settlements of Uzbekistan, it was situated on the trade routes to the Mediterranean near Tamerlane's Gates, the only convenient passage through the Nuratau Mountains to the Zeravshan River valley. Today the city processes cotton

Crime And Punishment, Incapacitation

2005-01-24T09:35:00.000-08:00

Incapacitation is an object of punishment that has been known since early times. The idea is simply that the offender should be dealt with in a manner that will make it impossible for him to repeat his offense - by execution or banishment in earlier times, in more modern times by execution or lengthy periods of incarceration. This is the only objective of punishment

Arnaud, Henri

2005-01-23T22:49:00.000-08:00

After studying theology in Switzerland, Arnaud returned to Piedmont and established himself as pastor at Torre Pellice (1685), where he

Oakley, Annie, Incapacitation

2005-01-23T10:25:00.000-08:00

Walter Havighurst, Annie Oakley of the Wild West (1954, reissued 1992); Shirl Kasper, Annie Oakley (1992); and Glenda Riley, The Life and Legacy of Annie Oakley (1994), cover Oakley's life and career. Isabelle S. Sayers, Annie Oakley and Buffalo Bill's Wild West (1981), contains many contemporary photographs.

Digestive System, Vertebrate, Substance P

2005-01-22T11:00:00.000-08:00

Present in significant amounts in the vagus nerves and the myenteric plexus, substance P stimulates saliva production, contraction of smooth muscle cells, and inflammatory responses in tissues, but it is uncertain whether it is other than an evolutionary vestige.

World War Ii, Iraq and Syria, 1940

2005-01-22T01:21:00.000-08:00

In 1940 Prince 'Abd al-Ilah, regent of Iraq for King Faysal, had a government divided within itself about the war; he himself and his foreign minister, Nuri as-Said, were pro-British, but his prime minister, Rashid Ali al-Gailani, had pro-German leanings. Having resigned office in January 1941, Rashid Ali on April 3 seized power in Baghdad with help from some army officers and announced

Simeon

2005-01-21T09:25:00.000-08:00

Following the Exodus out of Egypt and the death of Moses, Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land and divided the new territory among the 12 tribes. Though sources do

Addition Reaction

2005-01-20T21:08:00.000-08:00

Addition reactions are typical of unsaturated organic compounds - i.e., alkenes, which contain a carbon-to-carbon double bond, and alkynes, which have a carbon-to-carbon triple bond - and aldehydes and ketones, which have a carbon-to-oxygen double bond. An addition reaction may be

World War Ii, The Atlantic, the Mediterranean, and the North Sea, 1942

2005-01-20T10:25:00.000-08:00

The year 1942 was, on the whole, a favourable one for the German U-boats. First, the U.S. entry into the war entitled them to infest the U.S. coast of the North Atlantic; and it was not until the middle of the year that the Allies' introduction of the convoy system from the Caribbean northward constrained the raiders to go so far afield as the waters between Brazil and West Africa. Second,

World War Ii, The Eastern Front, October 1943

2005-01-19T02:05:00.000-08:00

By the end of the first week of October 1943, the Red Army had established several bridgeheads on the right bank of the Dnepr River. Then, while General N.F. Vatutin's drive against Kiev was engaging the Germans' attention, General Ivan Stepanovich Konev suddenly pushed so far forward from the Kremenchug bridgehead (more than halfway