CruelBrain

Robert Irving Burns Property Consultants

2006-11-22T05:30:00.000-08:00

Robert Irving Burns has been established for over 40 years and is an independent partnership, who specialise in a full range of property services. These include commercial property
and commercial offices as well as property to let london. Whilst my business partner and I were looking for Offices, we found Rib’s expertise invaluable.

Polar Anticyclone

2005-04-05T03:32:00.000-07:00

Polar anticyclones are created by the cooling

Hope

2005-04-02T14:18:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1939) of Hempstead county, southwestern Arkansas, U.S., about 35 miles (56 km) northeast of Texarkana. It was founded in 1852 as a station on the Cairo and Fulton (now Union Pacific) Railroad and was named for the daughter of James Loughborough, a railroad land commissioner who laid out the town site. It developed as a shipping centre for timber and agricultural products, notably

Costbenefit Analysis

2005-03-31T22:50:00.000-08:00

In governmental planning and budgeting, the attempt to measure the social benefits of a proposed project in monetary terms and compare them with its costs. The procedure, which is equivalent to the business practice of cost-budgeting analysis, was first proposed in 1844 by the French engineer A.-J.-E.-J. Dupuit. It was not seriously applied until the 1936 U.S. Flood Control Act, which

Essex, Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl Of, Viscount Hereford, Lord Ferrers, Lord Bourchier

2005-03-30T02:42:00.000-08:00

Devereux

Bin Laden, Osama

2005-03-28T00:02:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Usamah ibn Ladin mastermind of numerous terrorist attacks against the United States and other Western powers, including the 1993 bombing of New York City's World Trade Center, the 2000 suicide bombing of the U.S. warship Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden, and the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon near Washington, D.C. (see September 11

Afghan Carpet

2005-03-26T04:23:00.000-08:00

Stout, long-wearing floor covering handwoven by the Afghan tribe of Turkmens of Turkmenistan and Afghanistan. Afghan carpets are generally all wool or goat hair and are made with the Senna (Sehna) knot. Usually in dull reds, these carpets show less white than the products of other Turkmens. Their gul, or basic tribal motif, is a large, parti-coloured, scalloped octagon

Mona Monkey

2005-03-24T13:53:00.000-08:00

(Cercopithecus mona), common West African guenon that is found in tropical rainforests. The mona monkey is a speckled reddish brown in colour, with white underparts and an oval patch of white on each side of the tail. Its face is marked by a white band across the forehead and a thin, black stripe between eye and ear. The mona monkey is lively and is one of the most widely exhibited

Selection Rule

2005-03-21T15:05:00.000-08:00

In quantum mechanics, any of a set of restrictions governing the likelihood that a physical system will change from one state to another or will be unable to make such a transition. Selection rules, accordingly, may specify “allowed transitions,” those that have a high probability of occurring, or “forbidden transitions,” those that have minimal or no probability of

Avon, River

2005-03-19T20:13:00.000-08:00

With a drainage area

Isodrin

2005-03-19T20:07:00.000-08:00

Chlorine-containing organic compound used as an insecticide; see aldrin.

Balakirev, Mily

2005-03-17T05:34:00.000-08:00

Balakirev received his early musical education from his mother. He also studied with Alexander Dubuque and with Karl Eisrich, music director to A.D. Ulibishev,

Rhys, Siôn Dafydd

2005-03-16T02:00:00.000-08:00

Rhys spent some time at Oxford then earned a degree in medicine from the University of Siena, Italy. He practiced as a physician at Cardiff,

India, The Deccan

2005-03-15T03:31:00.000-08:00

In the Deccan, the Vakataka dynasty was closely tied to the Guptas. With a nucleus in Vidarbha, the founder of the dynasty, Vindhyasakti, extended his power northward as far as Vidisa (near Ujjain). At the end of the 4th century, a collateral line of the Vakatakas was established by Sarvasena in Vatsagulma (Basim, in Akola district), and the northern line helped the southern to conquer

Quicksand

2005-03-14T22:51:00.000-08:00

State in which saturated sand loses its supporting capacity and acquires the character of a liquid. Quicksand is usually found in hollows at the mouths of large rivers or along flat stretches of streams or beaches where pools of water become partially filled with sand and an underlying layer of stiff clay or other dense material prevents drainage. Mixtures of

Arabian Religion

2005-03-14T15:34:00.000-08:00

Knowledge of pre-Islamic Arabia rests mainly on original archaeological and epigraphic data from the region itself. Countless pre-Islamic sites are scattered over the whole Arabian Peninsula: ancient lines of circles of raised stones, cairns, graveyards, and so on. In addition there are more recent constructions such as fortified towns and ruins of temples and irrigation

Ramie

2005-03-12T18:13:00.000-08:00

The ramie plant has been cultivated

Low, Sir Hugh

2005-03-12T04:48:00.000-08:00

Before going to the Malay Peninsula, Low had spent an uneventful 30 years as a colonial civil servant on the small island of Labuan, a crown colony off the northwest coast of Borneo.

Cilicia

2005-03-10T09:06:00.000-08:00

Ancient district of southern Anatolia, bounded on the north and west by the Taurus Mountain Range, on the east by the Anti-Taurus, and on the south by the Mediterranean Sea. It is geographically divided into two contrasting regions, the western portion being wild and mountainous and the eastern consisting of rich plainland. In ancient times the only route from Anatolia

Ahmed Iii

2005-03-09T16:50:00.000-08:00

The son of Mehmed IV, he succeeded to the throne in 1703 upon the deposition of his brother Mustafa II. Ahmed III cultivated good relations with England and France and afforded refuge at his court to Charles XII of Sweden after his defeat by Peter I the Great of Russia

Saudi Arabia, Settlement patterns

2005-03-08T04:56:00.000-08:00

Four traditional regions stand out—the Hejaz, Asir, Najd, and Al-Hasa (transliterated more precisely as Al-Hijaz, 'Asir, Najd, and Al-Ahsa'). The Hejaz, in the northwest, contains the two holiest cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina, as well as the kingdom's primary port and diplomatic centre, Jiddah. Asir is the highland region south of the Hejaz; its capital, Abha, lies at an elevation of about

Tsun-i

2005-03-07T22:42:00.000-08:00

The city was brought under regular Chinese administration only in the early 7th century AD. A county was set up there in 640, and its present name, Tsun-i, was given in 642. It remained the seat of Tsun-i hsien (county), but the area did not begin to be developed

López Mateos, Adolfo

2005-03-07T16:45:00.000-08:00

A librarian and teacher of Spanish-American literature, López began his public career with an assignment to the UN. He was elected federal senator (1946–52) and later appointed secretary-general of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI). As

Girdle-tailed Lizard

2005-03-05T03:08:00.000-08:00

Their name is derived from the rings of spiny scales that encircle the tail, and sometimes the body, in a series of whorls. In some species the armoured girdles serve effectively as protection

Mugwump

2005-03-04T11:05:00.000-08:00

In U.S. politics, member of a reform-oriented faction of the Republican Party that refused to support the candidacy of James G. Blaine for the presidency in 1884. Instead, the Mugwumps supported the Democratic nominee, Grover Cleveland. Their leaders included Theodore Roosevelt, George Curtis, and Henry Cabot Lodge; all returned to Republican ranks after the defeat of Blaine.

Argentina, The Northwest

2005-03-02T07:26:00.000-08:00

Numerous archaeological sites in the region indicate the presence—before the Spanish invasion—of permanently settled Indians who practiced irrigation and terraced farming in the oasis-like valleys. The Spanish, arriving overland from what are now Peru and Bolivia, initially occupied areas on the lowland plains of the Chaco, distant from hostile indigenous

Tabasco Plain

2005-03-01T16:12:00.000-08:00

Tropical lowland on the Gulf of Mexico, Tabasco state, southeastern Mexico. Occupying the coastal lowlands south of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec and north of the Yucatán Peninsula, the Tabasco Plain is a hot and humid land made up of alluvial materials deposited by the Grijalva and Usumacinta rivers and is covered with dense, tropical forest. Rainfall is heavy, and

Adamkus, Valdas

2005-03-01T02:50:00.000-08:00

During World War II Adamkus fought with Lithuanian insurrectionists against Soviet rule, published an underground newspaper during the Nazi occupation, and then resumed the fight against the returning Soviet army. In 1944 he fled to Germany, where he attended the University of

Tarawa

2005-02-28T05:34:00.000-08:00

Coral atoll of the Gilbert Islands and capital of Kiribati. It lies in the west-central Pacific Ocean, 2,800 miles (4,500 km) northeast of Australia and is the most populous atoll in the Gilberts. Tarawa consists of 15 islets, with a total land area of 12 square miles (31 square km) on a reef 22 miles (35 km) long. The atoll is a commercial and educational centre with port facilities on the islets of Betio,

Bulgakov, Sergey Nikolayevich

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

Bulgakov began his clerical training at the seminary of Oryol, Russia, but he was influenced by Marxism to

Lauenburg

2005-02-26T01:48:00.000-08:00

A duchy under the Ascanian dynasty from the 13th century, Lauenburg was acquired by George William, the Welf duke

Hydrogenation

2005-02-24T02:31:00.000-08:00

Chemical reaction between molecular hydrogen and an element or compound, ordinarily in the presence of a catalyst. The reaction may be one in which hydrogen simply adds to a double or triple bond connecting two atoms in the structure of the molecule or one in which the addition of hydrogen results in dissociation (breaking up) of the molecule (called hydrogenolysis,

Computers, Herman Hollerith's census tabulator

2005-02-23T17:57:00.000-08:00

The U.S. Constitution mandates that a census of the population be performed every 10 years. The first attempt at any mechanization of the census was in 1870, when statistical data were transcribed onto a rolling paper tape displayed through a small slotted window. As the size of America's population exploded in the 19th century, and the number of census questions expanded, the

Murnau, F.w.

2005-02-22T00:14:00.000-08:00

Murnau studied philosophy, art history, and literature at the Universities of Heidelberg and Berlin. In 1908 he joined the company of renowned

Lord's Cricket Ground

2005-02-21T02:39:00.000-08:00

Headquarters and home ground of the Marylebone Cricket Club, long the world's foremost cricket organization, and the scene of Test Matches between England and visiting national teams and of matches of the Middlesex County Cricket Club, Oxford versus Cambridge, and Eton versus Harrow. Various cup finals and one-day international matches also take place there. The

Gentil, émile

2005-02-20T20:41:00.000-08:00

A naval officer, Gentil led an expedition from the French Congo down the Chari (Shari) River to Lake Chad in 1895–97, establishing a French protectorate

Shibusawa Eiichi, Shishaku

2005-02-20T16:59:00.000-08:00

Although Shibusawa's

Paleography

2005-02-18T22:49:00.000-08:00

Precise boundaries for paleography are hard to define. For example, epigraphy, the study of inscriptions cut on immovable objects for permanent public inspection, is related to paleography. Casual graffiti, sale or election notices as found on the walls

Arruza, Carlos

2005-02-18T11:33:00.000-08:00

Born in Mexico of Spanish parents, he began as a professional torero at the age of 14 in Mexico City. He went to Spain in 1944 billed as “El Ciclón” and soon was ranked as the most serious contender to challenge Manolete's preeminence

Wollstonecraft, Mary

2005-02-17T01:06:00.000-08:00

The daughter of a farmer, Wollstonecraft taught school and worked as a governess, experiences that inspired her views in Thoughts on the Education of Daughters (1787). In 1788 she began working as a translator for the London publisher James Johnson, who published

Calcium Deficiency

2005-02-16T22:25:00.000-08:00

Condition in which an organism fails to receive or to metabolize an adequate supply of the element calcium, the mineral most likely to be deficient in the average diet. Calcium is the chief supportive element in bones and teeth. Calcium salts make up about 70 percent of bone by weight and give that substance its strength and rigidity. About 99 percent of the calcium in the

Kazak Rug

2005-02-15T03:31:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Kazakh Rug, floor covering handmade by seminomadic people of Turkic stock living in the Gäncä district of the Caucasus in Azerbaijan. These handsome rugs in bold designs and colour contrasts continue the spirit of Dragon rugs. The field patterns differ, however, offering triple-medallion schemes and centralized layouts, such as an octagon surrounded by four star-filled

O Canada

2005-02-12T11:31:00.000-08:00

The music, written by Calixa Lavallée (1842–91), a concert pianist and native of Verchères, Que., was commissioned in 1880 on the occasion of a visit to Quebec by Lord Lorne (later Duke of Argyll), then governor-general of Canada, and his wife, Queen Victoria's

Thomism

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

Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, Thomism continued to be presented in philosophy and theology courses or manuals, especially in the Dominican Order. Most Thomistic manuals of this period were watered with the opinions of other Schoolmen and remained remote from modern problems. In most Catholic seminaries and universities of the early 19th century, eclecticism

Babol

2005-02-10T22:05:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Babul, formerly Barfurush, city, northern Iran, on the Babol River, about 15 miles (24 km) south of the Caspian Sea. Babol gained importance during the reign (1797–1834) of Fath 'Ali Shah, though 'Abbas I (died 1629) had laid out a pleasure garden and summer palace there. The city has paved streets, large and crowded bazaars, well-built houses, and small, handsome mosques and funeral towers. There are some manufacturing activities, but

Akutagawa Prize

2005-02-10T09:24:00.000-08:00

The Akutagawa Prize was created in 1935 by the

Indiana Dunes

2005-02-09T20:40:00.000-08:00

The state park, established in 1925, comprises 2,182 acres (883 hectares) of shoreline, marshland, dunes, and forests near Chesterton. In addition to a 3-mile (5-kilometre) white sand beach, it has facilities for camping, picnicking, fishing, and hiking. An outstanding feature is the Big

Mathematics, Foundations Of, The axiomatic method

2005-02-07T03:29:00.000-08:00

The idea is this: there are a number of basic

Tiger Moth

2005-02-07T01:16:00.000-08:00

The fall webworm (Hyphantria cunea) is a serious pest. These

Mujur Rug

2005-02-06T09:51:00.000-08:00

The characteristic design in older examples, from the 19th century, is a prayer niche with a stepped arch crowned by a

Frederick (i)

2005-02-04T22:19:00.000-08:00

Frederick was the eldest surviving son of the landgrave of Hesse-Kassel. He fought bravely for England during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14). His marriage in 1700 to Louise of Prussia ended with her death in 1705, and in 1715 he married

Hadrian's Villa

2005-02-03T14:37:00.000-08:00

Also called Villa Adriana country residence built (c. AD 125–134) at Tivoli near Rome by the emperor Hadrian. This villa is considered the epitome in architecture of the opulence and elegance of the Roman world. Covering approximately 7 square miles (18 square km), the complex was more an imperial garden city than a traditional villa. Its buildings were designed to follow the natural lay of the land and included

Bradley, Edward R.

2005-02-03T06:49:00.000-08:00

As a student at Cheyney State College (now Cheyney University of Pennsylvania), Bradley worked his way into broadcasting by volunteering at Philadelphia radio station WDAS-FM. After graduating with a degree in education (B.S., 1964), Bradley became an elementary schoolteacher but continued to work

Vienne

2005-02-01T11:12:00.000-08:00

Town, Isère département, Rhône-Alpes région, southeastern France. It lies along the Rhône River where the latter is joined by the Gère River. In ancient times Vienne was the capital of the Celtic tribe known as the Allobroges. It was conquered by the Romans in 121 BC and was subsequently one of the most important towns of Gaul until Roman rule of the area ended in AD 275. Late in the 9th

Alkaline Phosphatase

2005-01-29T08:29:00.000-08:00

Enzyme that is normally present in high concentrations in growing bone and in bile. It is essential for the deposition of minerals in the bones and teeth. Alkaline phosphatase deficiency is a hereditary trait called hypophosphatasia, which results in bone deformities. In severe cases, the deficiency leads to early death from infection. Alkaline phosphatase is

Algeria, World War II and the movement for independence

2005-01-28T05:05:00.000-08:00

World War II brought with it the collapse of France and, in 1942, the Anglo-American occupation of North Africa. The occupation forces were to some extent automatically agents of emancipation; both Allied and Axis radio stations began to broadcast in Arabic, promising a new world for formerly subject peoples. The effect was further heightened by the June 1941 promise of emancipation

Viscaceae

2005-01-25T23:01:00.000-08:00

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

Qatar

2005-01-23T22:43:00.000-08:00

Qatar was originally settled by nomads from the central part of the Arabian Peninsula. Qatari citizens, however, constitute only a small portion of the total population today. Economic growth in the 1970s and '80s created an economy dependent on foreign workers, mostly from South Asia or other parts of Arabia, who now far outnumber nationals; Qataris constitute less than

Roux, Wilhelm

2005-01-22T22:10:00.000-08:00

A student of German biologist Ernst Haeckel, Roux studied in Jena, Berlin, and Strasbourg. He was an assistant at the Institute of

Antigonish

2005-01-20T08:50:00.000-08:00

Town, seat of Antigonish county, northeastern Nova Scotia, Canada. It lies at the head of Antigonish Bay, an inlet of St. Georges Bay, 31 miles (50 km) east of New Glasgow. The site was originally settled by the French in 1762; the first British immigrants (soldiers and Scottish Highlanders) did not arrive until after 1785. The earlier name, Dorchester, was replaced by Antigonish, a word that

Guzmania

2005-01-16T06:11:00.000-08:00

Guzmania leaves are stiff, often stemless or short-stemmed,

Agulhas, Cape

2005-01-13T21:19:00.000-08:00

Cape that is the southernmost point of the African continent, located 109 miles (176 km) southeast of Cape Town, S.Af. Its name, Portuguese for “needles,” refers to the rocks and reefs that have wrecked many ships. A lighthouse was established there in 1849. The Agulhas Banks are excellent for trawling. The cape's meridian (20° E) is the official boundary between the Indian and Atlantic

Ogre

2005-01-12T08:32:00.000-08:00

Feminine ogress a hideous giant represented in fairy tales and folklore as feeding on human beings. The word gained popularity from its use in the late 17th century by Charles Perrault, the author of Contes de ma mère l'oye (Tales of Mother Goose). Since then, ogres have appeared in many works, including “Tom Thumb”; “Hansel and Gretel,” where the witch is a type of ogre because she intends to eat

Dygasinski, Adolf

2005-01-09T09:49:00.000-08:00

Dygasinski was a teacher by profession and a worshiper of science. He published about 50 volumes of short stories of uneven literary quality, the best pieces of which deal with the lives of domestic and wild animals.

Azulejo

2005-01-08T09:37:00.000-08:00

(from Arabic az-zulayj, “little stone”), Spanish and later principally Portuguese tiles produced from the 14th century onward. At first the term was used to denote only North African mosaics, but it became the accepted word for an entirely decorated tile about 5 to 6 inches (13 to 15 centimetres) square. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal imported azulejo tiles from Spain, and their

Metallophone

2005-01-05T05:56:00.000-08:00

China had such instruments by the 7th century. Metallophones had reached northern Europe from Indonesia

Bomber

2005-01-03T04:13:00.000-08:00

Military aircraft designed to drop bombs on surface targets. Aerial bombardment can be traced to the Italo-Turkish War, in which early in December 1911 an Italian pilot on an observation mission reached over the side of his airplane and dropped four grenades on two Turkish targets. During World War I the Germans used their rigid airships, known as Zeppelins, as strategic

Gabin, Jean

2005-01-02T03:25:00.000-08:00

Gabin was the son of a music-hall comedian (stage name Jean Gabin). In 1923 he began a theatrical career in the Folies-Bergère but left the stage after his film debut in Chacun sa chance (1931). He achieved fame in Maria Chapdelaine (1934) and later in Pépé le Moko (1937), directed

Latin Literature, Early writers

2004-12-30T09:02:00.000-08:00

The ground for Roman literature was prepared by an influx from the early 3rd century BC onward of Greek slaves, some of whom were put to tutoring young Roman nobles. Among them was Livius Andronicus, who was later freed and who is considered to be the first Latin writer. In 240 BC, to celebrate Rome's victory over Carthage, he composed a genuine drama adapted from the Greek. His success

Rinderpest

2004-12-28T20:01:00.000-08:00

Also called steppe murrain, cattle plague , or contagious bovine typhus an acute, highly contagious viral disease of ruminant animals, primarily cattle, that is common in Africa, the Indian subcontinent, and the Middle East. It has occurred in Brazil and Australia but was quickly eradicated in those countries. Rinderpest has not been reported in the United States. Rinderpest is the most severe infectious disease of cattle and is characterized

Saxo Grammaticus

2004-12-27T20:51:00.000-08:00

Little is known of Saxo's life except that he was a Zealander belonging to a family of warriors and was probably a clerk in the service of Absalon, archbishop of Lund from 1178 to 1201. Saxo is

Earth Sciences, Concepts of landform evolution

2004-12-24T04:30:00.000-08:00

The scientific exploration of the American West following the end of the Civil War yielded much new information on the sculpture of the landscape by streams. John Wesley Powell in his reports on the Colorado River and Uinta Mountains (1875, 1876) explained how streams may come to flow across mountain ranges rather than detour around them. The Green River does not follow some

Housman, Laurence

2004-12-23T06:25:00.000-08:00

Among Housman's earliest works were illustrations for Christina Rossetti's Goblin

Pierce, John Robinson

2004-12-21T20:35:00.000-08:00

Pierce began working for Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc., New York City, in 1936. He improved the traveling-wave tube, which is used as a broadband amplifier of microwaves, and designed a new electrostatically focused electron-multiplier

Anise

2004-12-19T08:28:00.000-08:00

(Pimpinella anisum), annual herb of the parsley family (Apiaceae, or Umbelliferae), cultivated chiefly for its fruits, called aniseed, the flavour of which resembles that of licorice. The plant, up to 0.75 m (2.5 feet) tall, has long-stalked basal leaves and shorter, stalked stem leaves. Its small, yellowish white flowers form loose umbels. The fruit, or seed, is nearly

Clisson, Olivier De

2004-12-17T14:02:00.000-08:00

Brought up in England, Clisson fought on the English side for the Breton duke John IV (or V; John of Montfort) against the French-supported Charles of Blois

Hydroid

2004-12-14T22:46:00.000-08:00

Any member of the invertebrate order Hydroida (class Hydrozoa, phylum Cnidaria). Hydroids have three basic life-cycle stages: (1) a tiny free-swimming planula larva about 1 mm (0.04 inch) long, which settles and grows into (2) a sessile (attached), usually colonial hydroid stage, which in turn liberates (3) medusae. This cycle is exemplified by the genus Obelia (q.v.), whose members are widely

Theatre, The

2004-12-12T04:36:00.000-08:00

First public playhouse of London, located in the parish of St. Leonard's, Shoreditch. Designed and built by James Burbage (the father of actor Richard Burbage), The Theatre was a roofless, circular building with three galleries surrounding a yard. It opened in 1576, and several companies performed there, including Leicester's Men (1576–78), the Admiral's Men (1590–91), and Chamberlain's Men (1594–96), who

Obi

2004-12-11T17:03:00.000-08:00

The contemporary, wide obi evolved in the early 18th century. It is frequently

Wagner, Richard

2004-12-09T09:03:00.000-08:00

The artistic and theatrical background of Wagner's early years (several elder sisters became opera singers or actresses) was a main formative influence. Impulsive and self-willed, he was a negligent scholar at the Kreuzschule, Dresden, and the Nicholaischule, Leipzig. He frequented concerts, however, taught himself the piano and composition, and read the plays of

Sculpture, Primary

2004-12-06T11:05:00.000-08:00

Throughout history, stone has been the principal material of monumental sculpture. There are practical reasons for this: many types of stone are highly resistant to the weather and therefore suitable for external use; stone is available in all parts of the world and can be obtained in large blocks; many stones have a fairly homogeneous texture and a uniform hardness

Asvaghosa

2004-12-04T21:06:00.000-08:00

Asvaghosa was born a Brahman. Legend obscures the man, but it is known that he was an outspoken opponent of Buddhism until, after a heated debate with a noted Buddhist scholar

Zaporizhzhya

2004-12-02T22:36:00.000-08:00

Russian Zaporozhye, also spelled Zaporozhe, or Zaporozje, formerly (until 1921) Aleksandrovsk, city and administrative centre of Zaporizhzhya oblast (province), southeastern Ukraine, on the Dnieper River just below its former rapids. In 1770 the fortress of Aleksandrovsk was established to ensure government control over the Zaporizhzhya Cossacks, whose headquarters were on nearby Khortitsa Island. The settlement became a town in 1806. The growth of the city dates

Vale Of White Horse

2004-12-01T11:32:00.000-08:00

District, administrative county of Oxfordshire, historic county of Berkshire, England, lying southwest of Oxford. It encompasses the northern part of the historic county of Berkshire. Its principal feature is a rich clay valley that lies north of the chalk Berkshire Downs. The vale stretches 17 miles (27 km) from Shrivenham to Abingdon and is drained by the River Ock, a tributary

Ghanzi

2004-11-29T20:22:00.000-08:00

The surrounding area comprises state-owned

Mürren

2004-11-26T21:04:00.000-08:00

Alpine village, Bern canton, south central Switzerland, situated high above the Lauterbrunnen Valley in the Bernese Oberland (highland), opposite the Jungfrau (13,642 ft [4,158 m]). It is the highest village in the canton (elevation 5,450 ft) that is inhabited all the year round. A noted health and international winter-sports resort, it is also a ballooning centre with an annual international

Ashiya

2004-11-24T23:07:00.000-08:00

City, Hyogo ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. It is surrounded by the Rokko Mountains and faces Osaka Bay. Located on railway lines and highways between Kobe (west) and Osaka (east), it has been known for its beauty since the Heian period (794–1185), when court nobles and men of letters lived there. After the establishment of the first railway line to it in 1905, the city became a renowned residential

Swan Theatre

2004-11-22T22:29:00.000-08:00

Elizabethan theatre built about 1595 by Francis Langley in Bankside, London. A description and a sketch of the Swan made by Johann DeWitt of Utrecht (the sketch copied by Arend van Buchell) have proved most useful in attempts to reconstruct the form of the Elizabethan theatre. The last known mention of the Swan Theatre was in 1632.

Durán, Roberto

2004-11-20T01:37:00.000-08:00

Durán began his professional career on March 8, 1967, and won the first 32 matches of his career, 26 by knockout, before losing for the first time in a 10-round nontitle decision to Esteban De Jesús on November 17, 1972. Earlier that year, on June 26,

Hugenberg, Alfred

2004-11-18T06:30:00.000-08:00

German industrialist and political leader. As the head of a huge newspaper and film empire and a prominent member of the conservative German National Peoples' Party, he exercised a profound influence on German public opinion during the Weimar Republic period (1918–33) and materially contributed to Adolf Hitler's rise

Florida Current

2004-11-16T21:36:00.000-08:00

Swift surface oceanic current flowing northward, following the shallow continental slope between the Straits of Florida and Cape Hatteras. Emerging from the Caribbean Sea, carrying about 880,000,000 cubic feet (25,000,000 cubic m) of water per second, the Florida Current is joined by the Antilles Current, which transports approximately 420,000,000 cubic feet (approximately 11,893,000 cubic m) per second. Florida

Van Dyck, Sir Anthony

2004-11-15T17:54:00.000-08:00

Van Dyck also spelled Vandyke , Flemish Anthonie Van Dyck , Anthonie also spelled Antonie , or Anton after Rubens, the most prominent Flemish painter of the 17th century. A prolific painter of portraits of European aristocracy, he also executed many works on religious and mythological subjects and was a fine draftsman and etcher. Appointed court painter by Charles I of England in 1632, he was knighted the same year.

Pacific Mountain System

2004-11-12T03:50:00.000-08:00

Series of mountain ranges that stretches along the Pacific coast of North America from northern British Columbia (Canada) to northwestern Mexico. They run for some 4,500 miles (7,250 kilometres) in the United States and extend northward into Canada for another 1,000 miles. The ranges may be divided into eight sections. Roughly from north to south they are the Coast Mountains of British

Haber-bosch Process

2004-11-11T23:24:00.000-08:00

Also called Haber ammonia process, or synthetic ammonia process, method of directly synthesizing ammonia from hydrogen and nitrogen, developed by the German physical chemist Fritz Haber. He received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1918 for this method, which made the manufacture of ammonia economically feasible. The method was translated into a large-scale process using a catalyst and high-pressure methods by Carl Bosch, an industrial

Road Race

2004-11-08T14:04:00.000-08:00

Usually, all contestants

Foreclosure

2004-11-07T20:47:00.000-08:00

Legal proceeding by which a mortgagor's rights to a mortgaged property may be extinguished if the mortgagor (borrower) fails to live up to the obligations agreed to in the mortgage. The mortgagee (the lender) may then declare the entire debt due and owing and may seek to satisfy the debt by foreclosing on the property. Most foreclosures are brought in equity proceedings.

Nixon, Richard M.

2004-11-05T01:02:00.000-08:00

In full Richard Milhous Nixon 37th president of the United States (1969–74), who, faced with almost certain impeachment for his role in the Watergate Scandal, became the first American president to resign from office. He was also vice president (1953–61) under President Dwight D. Eisenhower. (For a discussion of the history and nature of the presidency, see presidency of the United States of America. See also Cabinet of President Richard M. Nixon.)

Port Harcourt

2004-11-02T01:46:00.000-08:00

Port town and capital of Rivers state, southern Nigeria. It lies along the Bonny River (an eastern distributary of the Niger River) 41 miles (66 km) upstream from the Gulf of Guinea. Founded in 1912 in an area traditionally inhabited by the Ijo people, it began to serve as a port (named for Lewis Harcourt, then colonial secretary) after the opening of the rail link to the Enugu coalfields

Medicine

2004-10-31T04:29:00.000-08:00

The remarkable developments in medicine that have been brought about in the 20th century, especially since World War II, have been based on research either in the basic sciences related to medicine or in the clinical field. Advances in the use of radiation, nuclear energy, and space research have played an important part in this progress. Some laypersons often think

Economic Warfare

2004-10-30T07:08:00.000-07:00

The use of, or the threat to use, economic means against a country in order to weaken its economy and thereby reduce its political and military power. Economic warfare also includes the use of economic means to compel an adversary to change its policies or behaviour or to undermine its ability to conduct normal relations with other countries. Some common means of