Bascom, Florence

Bascom earned bachelor's and master's degrees at the University of Wisconsin, and she later received the first Ph.D. awarded to a woman at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore (1893). Bascom then taught at Ohio State University

Bhaiband

(Hindi), Urdu-Persian  Beradari  (“brotherhood”), important instrument of caste self-government in India; the bhaiband is the council formed by the heads of families that belong to the same lineage in a particular area, thus constituting an exogamous (those who do not intermarry) unit within the endogamous (those who do intermarry) caste group. One of their concerns, in addition to questions arising as a

Ramatirtha

Also spelled  Rama Tirtha,  original name  Tirath Rama  Hindu religious leader known for the highly personal and poetic manner in which he taught what he styled “Practical Vedanta,” using common experiences to illustrate the divine nature of man. For Ramatirtha, any object whatever could be approached as a “mirror to

Maryland, The colony

Leonard Calvert, the younger brother of Lord Baltimore, landed the founding expedition on St. Clement's (now Blakistone) Island in the lower Potomac in March 1634. The first settlement and capital was St. Mary's City. Aware of the mistakes made by Virginia's first colonists, Maryland's settlers, rather than hunt for gold, made peace with the local Indians and established farms

Pius Ii

Original name  Enea Silvio Piccolomini   outstanding Italian humanist and astute politician who as pope (reigned 1458–64) tried to unite Europe in a crusade against the Turks at a time when they threatened to overrun all of Europe. He wrote voluminously about the events of his day.

China, Wen-ti's institutional reforms

Wen-ti's achievement consisted of much more than strengthening and reunifying the empire. He provided it with uniform institutions and established a pattern of government that survived into the T'ang dynasty and beyond. A hardworking administrator, he employed a number of extremely able ministers who combined skill in practical statecraft with a flexible approach

Papyrus Column

In Egyptian religion, amulet that conveyed freshness, youth, vigour, and the continuance of life to its wearer. The amulet, made of glazed ware or various types of stone, was shaped like a papyrus stem and bud. Its significance was perhaps derived from its ideographic value (Egyptian wadj, “green, fresh, vigorous”); for, just as the plant itself was vigorous and growing, so also

Aesir

Old Norse  Æsir , singular  Áss  in Scandinavian mythology, either of two main groups of deities, four of whom were common to the Germanic nations: Odin (q.v.), chief of the Aesir; Frigg (q.v.), Odin's wife; Tyr (q.v.), god of war; and Thor (q.v.), whose name was the Teutonic word for thunder. Some of the other important Aesir were Balder, Jörd, Heimdall, and Loki (qq.v.).

Penal Colony

Distant or overseas settlement established for punishing criminals by forced labour and isolation from society. Although a score of nations in Europe and Latin America transported their criminals to widely scattered penal colonies, such colonies were developed mostly by the English, French, and Russians. England shipped criminals to America until the American

Vale Of Glamorgan

County, southern Wales, extending along the Bristol Channel coast west of Cardiff and lying entirely within the historic county of Glamorgan (Morgannwg). It comprises an undulating coastal platform, with an average elevation of about 200 feet (60 metres), that often terminates abruptly in cliffs at the coast. Along other sections of the coast, however, there are sand

Lilburne, John

Coming from a family of gentry, Lilburne was apprenticed from about 1630 to 1636 to a London cloth merchant. Meanwhile, he joined the Puritan opposition to the Anglican High Church policies of King Charles I, and by 1638 he

Ibn Shem Tov, Joseph Ben Shem Tov

Jewish philosopher and Castilian court physician who attempted to mediate the disdain shown for philosophy by contemporary Jewish scholars by undertaking a reconciliation of Aristotelian ethical philosophy with Jewish religious thought, best exemplified by his influential Kevod Elohim (written 1442; “The Glory of God”). Here he expounded his belief that answers

Aerobatics

Maneuvers in which an aircraft is flown under precise control in unusual attitudes (the position of an aircraft determined by the relationship between its axes and a reference such as the horizon). A myriad of aerobatic maneuvers exist, some of the better-known being rolls, loops, stall turns (hammerheads), and tailslides. The term aerobatics came into use in early 1914 after

Protestantism, The rise of Pietism

Dutch Pietism—influenced by Englishman William Ames (1576–1633), whose Medulla Sacrae Theologiae (1623; The Marrow of

Feminism

Throughout most of Western history, women were confined to the domestic sphere, while public life was reserved

Zahiriyah

(Arabic: “Literalists”), followers of an Islamic legal school that insisted on strict adherence to the literal text (zahir) of the Qur'an and Hadith (sayings and actions of the Prophet Muhammad) as the only source of Muslim law. Founded in Iraq by Dawud Khalaf in the 9th century, it spread to Iran, North Africa, and Muslim Spain, where the philosopher Ibn Hazm was its chief exponent. Although

Heinrich Von Morungen

A native of Thuringia, he spent much of his later life in the service of Duke Dietrich of Meissen. His poems, of which some 33 are to be found in the Heidelberg manuscript, are all devoted to the fashionable cult of love. His poems show more originality and spontaneity than those

Narodnaya, Mount

Russian  Gora Narodnaya  (“People's Mountain”), peak of the Nether-Polar section of the Ural Mountains in west-central Russia. Rising to 6,217 feet (1,895 m), it is the highest mountain in the Urals range. Several small glaciers are found on the slopes of Narodnaya and nearby mountains. Coniferous forests lie on the lower slopes of the mountain, giving way fairly quickly to tundra higher up. The gentler slopes

Gagliano, Marco Da

Gagliano worked in Florence (c. 1608–25) as organist to Cosimo II de' Medici. He staged his first opera, Dafne, at Mantua in 1608. Il Medoro, composed with Jacopo Peri (1619), is lost; La Flora was produced in 1628. Gagliano followed the monodic recitative (melodic, half-spoken, half-sung) style of the Florentine

Yemen

A republic of the southwestern Arabian Peninsula, Yemen has coastlines on the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and the Arabian Sea. Area: 527,970 sq km (203,850 sq mi), including 55,871 sq km of undemarcated area bordered by Saudi Arabia and claimed by the former Yemen Arab Republic (North Yemen). Pop. (1995 est.): 13,058,000. Cap.: San'a`. Monetary unit: Yemen Rial, with (Oct. 6, 1995) an official par value of YRls 50 to U.S. $1 (YRls 79.04 = £1 sterling) and a free

Tigris-euphrates River System, Agriculture and irrigation

The rivers are high at the wrong time of year for most crops (except rice), so that cultivation by direct inundation generally cannot be practiced. The initiation of massive irrigation projects in Turkey heralds unprecedented change for the piedmont area of southeastern Anatolia. Historically, the agriculture of this zone, as well as of northern Iraq and Syria, has

Drug Use, Addiction, habituation, and dependence

The traditional distinction between “addiction” and “habituation” centres on the ability of a drug to produce tolerance and physical dependence. The opiates clearly possess the potential to massively challenge the body's resources, and, if so challenged, the body will make the corresponding biochemical, physiological, and psychological readjustment to the stress.

Aerospace Industry

Assemblage of manufacturing concerns that deal with vehicular flight within and beyond the Earth's atmosphere. (The term aerospace is derived from the words aeronautics and spaceflight.) The aerospace industry is engaged in the research, development, and manufacture of flight vehicles, including unpowered gliders and sailplanes (see gliding), lighter-than-air craft

Kornilov, Lavr Georgiyevich

An intelligence

Annecy

City, capital of Haute-Savoie département, Rhône-Alpes région, southeastern France. It lies along the northwestern shore of Lake Annecy at the entrance to one of the cluses (transverse gorges) of the Savoy Pre-Alps, south of Geneva. Traces of the Gallo-Roman Boutae have been found nearby. The seat of the counts of Genevois from the 10th century, Annecy was attached to the dukedom

Grafton

City and port, northeastern New South Wales, Australia, 42 mi (68 km) from the mouth of the Clarence River (and its Pacific outport of Yamba), in the North Coast district. The site was first settled in 1838 when the area was exploited by cedar getters. The city was proclaimed in 1885 and increased in size in 1956 by merging the municipalities of Grafton and South Grafton (both named after the Duke

La Fontaine, Jean De

La Fontaine was born in the Champagne region into a bourgeois family. There, in 1647, he married an heiress, Marie Héricart, but they separated in 1658. From 1652 to 1671 he held office as an inspector of forests and waterways, an office inherited from his father. It was in Paris, however, that he made his most important contacts and spent his most productive years as a writer. An outstanding

Safid Mountain Range

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

Biblical Literature, Purpose and theme

The Revelation (i.e., Apocalypse) to John is an answer in apocalyptic terms to the needs of the church in time of persecution, as it awaits the end-time expected in the near future. The purpose of the book is to encourage and admonish the church to be steadfast and endure. The form of an apocalypse shows affinities with contemporary Jewish, Oriental, and Hellenistic writings

Hardoi

The surrounding area is a level plain bordered (south) by the Ganges River and drained by its tributaries.

Fulda

City, Hesse Land (state), central Germany, situated on the Fulda River between the Rhön and Vogelsberg mountains. It developed around a Benedictine abbey founded in 744 by Sturmi, a disciple of St. Boniface. The abbey became a missionary centre, and its school was one of Europe's important seats of learning during the early Middle Ages, after Rabanus Maurus (q.v.) became its director

Maine De Biran, Marie-fran�ois-pierre

After defending King Louis XVI at

Chandernagore

Also called  Chandannagar  city, southeastern West Bengal state, northeastern India, just west of the Hooghly River and part of the Calcutta urban agglomeration. It is connected by road and rail with Calcutta and Burdwan. Settled in 1673 by the French and expanded commercially, it was captured by the English in 1757 and again in 1794 but was restored to France in 1815. Following the 1949 plebiscite, it merged with India.

Industry

A group of productive enterprises or organizations that produce or supply goods, services, or sources of income. In economics, industries are customarily classified as primary, secondary, and tertiary; secondary industries are further classified as heavy and light.

Amap�

Estado (“state”), northern Brazil. It is bounded on the north by a small portion of Suriname and by French Guiana, on the northeast by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south and west by the Brazilian state of Pará, and on the southeast by the Amazon River. Formerly a part of Pará state, Amapá was created a territory in 1943 and became a state in 1990, with its capital at Macapá (q.v.). Most of its 54,161 square

Thomas, J.h.

In full  James Henry Thomas   British trade-union leader and politician, a shrewd and successful industrial negotiator who lost his standing in the labour movement when he joined Ramsay MacDonald's coalition government (August 1931). Later (May 1936) he was found responsible for the leakage of details of a proposed national budget to Stock Exchange speculators,

Aaron

F.S. North, “Aaron's Rise in Prestige,” in Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, 66:191–199 (1954), is a short study of Aaron's position. Roland De Vaux, Ancient Israel: Its Life and Institutions (1961, reissued 1973; originally published in French, 2 vol., 1958–60); and Aelred Cody, A History of Old Testament Priesthood (1969), include discussions of Aaron and his place in ancient Israelite life and cult. Walter Beyerlin, Origins and History of the Oldest Sinaitic Traditions (1965; originally published in German, 1961), focuses on the traditions behind the story of Moses and Aaron. H.H. Rowley, Worship in Ancient Israel: Its Form and Meaning (1967, reissued 1976), surveys the religious life in Israel, including Aaron and his role. Bertil E. Gärtner, The Temple and the Community in Qumran and the New Testament (1965), treats the religious cult in the Qumran society, in which “Aaron” was synonymous with the chief priest. Heinrich Valentin, Aaron: eine Studie zur vorpriesterlichen Aaron-Überlieferung (1978), analyzes the various interpretations of the biblical references about Aaron.

Atbasar

City, north-central Kazakstan, on the Zhabay River. Founded as a Cossack settlement in 1846, it became known for its annual fair. Atbasar is now a railway junction and a centre for processing local grain and livestock. Pop. (1991 est.) 40,000.

Fibroblast

The principal nonmotile cells of connective tissue; fibroblasts are large, flat, elongated (spindle-shaped) cells possessing processes extending out from the ends of the cell body. The cell nucleus is flat and oval. Fibroblasts produce tropocollagen, which is the forerunner of collagen, and ground substance, an amorphous, gel-like matrix that fills the spaces between

Mosaic Glass

Glassware made by fusing together pieces of diversely coloured glass. The earliest known glassware—vases produced in Egypt about the 15th century BC—is of this type. The Egyptian vases were formed by wrapping rods of different coloured glass softened by heating around a core of sand and dung. During the Ptolemaic period (305–30 BC) Alexandrian craftsmen perfected the manipulation

Culebra Island

Spanish  Isla De Culebra,   island, Puerto Rico, 20 miles (30 km) east of Puerto Rico island and 15 miles west of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. The island fronts north on the Atlantic Ocean and south and west on Vieques Sound, which connects the Atlantic with the Caribbean Sea. About 7 miles (11 km) long and 2 miles (3 km) wide, Culebra Island is 10 square miles (26 square km) in area. Its hilly, almost barren mass of limestone and igneous

Mauritshuis

In full  Koninklijk Kabinet van Schilderijen (Mauritshuis), (Dutch: Royal Gallery of Paintings [Mauritshuis])  picture gallery in The Hague housed in a palace (1633–44) designed by Jacob van Campen and built by Pieter Post for Prince John Maurice of Nassau. The collection, opened to the public in 1820, is especially noted for its Flemish and Dutch paintings from the 15th to the 17th century.

Goblin Shark

Rare species of shark belonging to the family Mitsukurinidae (order Lamniformes). Only one extant species (Mitsukurina owstoni) is known, on the basis of a few specimens, although fossils of extinct species have been found. The goblin shark is closely related to the sand shark. Most specimens have been taken from deep marine waters near Japan. They have a long, protruding

Arcturus

Also called  Alpha Boötis  one of the five brightest stars in the night sky, and the brightest star in the northern constellation Boötes, with an apparent visual magnitude of 0.00. It is an orange-coloured giant star about 40 light-years from the Earth. It lies in an almost direct line with the tail of Ursa Major (the Great Bear); hence its name, derived from the Greek words for “bear guard.”

Gash River

Arabic  Nahr Al-qash,  river rising in southern Eritrea, near Asmara. After flowing southward, it turns west and forms the border between Eritrea (north) and Ethiopia (south) along its middle course. It then continues into northeastern Sudan to lose itself in the desert. In time of flood it reaches the Atbara River. It is known as the Mareb on its upper course and is used for irrigation around

Uterine Cancer

A disease characterized by the abnormal growth of cells in the uterus. Cancers affecting the lining of the uterus (endometrium) are the most common cancers of the female reproductive tract. Other uterine cancers, called uterine sarcomas, develop from underlying muscle or connective tissue; they are much rarer. This article focuses on the development, diagnosis,

Radio

Transmission and detection of communication signals consisting of electromagnetic waves that travel through the air in a straight line or by reflection from the ionosphere or from a communications satellite.

Brostrom, Axel Ludvig

As a young man Brostrom joined a shipping company and later became an owner-captain in the lake shipping trade. In 1870 he converted a sailing ship, Activ, into a steamship, which proved so successful

Aries

Aries contains no very bright stars. The first point of Aries, or vernal equinox, is an intersection of the

Business Organization, The social role of the large company

Some company executives believe that their companies should act as “responsible” public institutions, holding power in trust for the community. Most companies engage in at least some public-service projects and make contributions to charities. A certain percentage of these donations can be deducted from a corporation's taxable income. Most of the donated money

Hyssop

(Hyssopus officinalis), garden herb of the mint family (Lamiaceae, or Labiatae) whose flowers and evergreen leaves have long been used as a flavouring for foods and beverages and as a folk medicine. The plant has a sweet scent and a warm, bitter taste. A strong tea made of the leaves and sweetened with honey is a traditional remedy for nose, throat, and

Adams

Town (township), Berkshire county, northwestern Massachusetts, U.S. It lies at the foot of Mount Greylock (3,491 feet [1,064 metres]), on the Hoosic River, 15 miles (24 km) north of Pittsfield. The town of North Adams is 5 miles north. Founded by Quakers in 1766, it was known as East Hoosuck until 1778, when it was incorporated and renamed for the Revolutionary War hero Samuel Adams. Local limestone and marble

Amadeus, Lake

Salty mud basin in southwestern Northern Territory, Australia. The lake occupies a shallow trough filled with sediments washed from the MacDonnell (north) and Musgrave (south) ranges. It intermittently contains a few inches of water and at such times may measure as much as 90 miles (145 km) long and 12 miles (20 km) wide, covering some 340 square miles (880 square km). When dry, it is a playa, or salt

Highland Park

City, northern residential suburb of Chicago, Lake county, northeastern Illinois, U.S. White settlement of the site began in 1834, and by the turn of the century Highland Park had become a wealthy residential suburb. Ravinia Park (36 acres [15 hectares]) was established in 1905 as an amusement park. The park has become the location of one of the nation's most prominent music festivals and

Novello, Antonia

Antonia Coello suffered from a painful colon condition from birth until she underwent corrective surgery at age 18. This experience influenced her to train as a physician in order to help minimize suffering in others. After

Disjunction

In logic, relation or connection of terms in a proposition to express the concept “or”; it is a statement of alternatives (sometimes called “alternation”). For clarity, exclusive disjunction (either x or y but not both), symbolized x Ú× y, x Ú y, or x º/y, must be distinguished from inclusive disjunction (either x or y or both x and y), symbolized x Ú y. See also implication.

Light Rail Transit

System of railways usually powered by overhead electrical wires and used for medium-capacity local transportation in metropolitan areas. Light rail vehicles (LRVs) are a technological outgrowth of streetcars (trams). Light rail transit lines are more segregated from street traffic than are tramways (particularly in congested urban areas) but less so than are

Baybars I

Baybars was born

Biblical Literature, Slavic versions

The earliest Old Church Slavonic translations are connected with the arrival of the brothers Cyril and Methodius in Moravia in 863, and resulted from the desire to provide vernacular renderings of those parts of the Bible used liturgically. The oldest manuscripts derive from the 11th and 12th centuries. The earliest complete Bible manuscript, dated 1499, was used for the first

Danewirk

Also spelled  Danewerk,  Dannewirk , or  Dannewerk , Danish  Dannevirke , or  Danevirke (Danes' Bulwark)  the ancient frontier rampart of the Danes against the Germans, extending 10.5 miles (17 kilometres) from just south of the town of Schleswig to the marshes of the river Trene near the village of Hollingstedt. The rampart was begun about AD 808 by Godfred (Gudfred), king of Vestfold. In 934 it was penetrated by the German king Henry I, after which it was extended by King Harald I Bluetooth

Eye Dialect

The use of misspellings that are based on standard pronunciations (such as sez for says or kow for cow) but are usually intended to suggest a speaker's illiteracy or his use of generally nonstandard pronunciations. It is sometimes used in literature for comic effect.