OpenBed

Robert Irving Burns Property Consultants

2006-11-22T06:15:00.000-08:00

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.

Durkheim, émile

2005-04-03T21:00:00.000-07:00

French social scientist who developed a vigorous methodology combining empirical research with sociological theory. He is widely regarded as the founder of the French school of sociology.

Daily Express

2005-04-03T06:39:00.000-07:00

Since its founding in 1900, the Express aggressively appealed to a mass readership; it is a perennial competitor with other popular dailies for circulation leadership, which it not infrequently claims. Its determination

China, Educational and cultural policy changes

2005-04-02T08:35:00.000-08:00

In the educational system, the reformers gave top priority to training technical, scientific, and scholarly talent to world-class standards. This involved the re-creation of a highly selective and elitist higher educational system, with admission based on competitive academic examination. Graduate study programs were introduced, and thousands of Chinese were

Alba

2005-04-01T20:15:00.000-08:00

The kingdom formed by the union of the Picts and Scots under Kenneth I MacAlpin in 843. Their territory, ranging from modern Argyll and Bute to Caithness, across much of southern and central Scotland, was one of the few areas in the British Isles to withstand the invasions of the Vikings. The ancient link with Ireland (from which the Celtic Scots had emigrated) was broken

Gabrielino

2005-03-31T22:10:00.000-08:00

Also called San Gabrielino, Gabrieleño , or Tongva any of two—and possibly three—dialectally and culturally related North American Indian groups who spoke a language of Uto-Aztecan stock and lived in the lowlands, along the seacoast, and on islands in southern California. The Gabrielino proper inhabited what are now southern and eastern Los Angeles County and northern Orange County, as well as the islands of Santa

Durban

2005-03-30T05:43:00.000-08:00

Formerly Port Natal, largest city of KwaZulu/Natal province, South Africa, and chief seaport of South Africa, located on Natal Bay of the Indian Ocean. European settlement began with a band of Cape Colony traders led by Francis G. Farewell, who charted the port in 1824 and named the site Port Natal. Land was ceded to the group by Shaka, the Zulu king (whose right to take that action is disputed), and the

Lear

2005-03-29T13:46:00.000-08:00

Legendary British king and central character of William Shakespeare's King Lear. One of the most moving of Shakespeare's tragic figures, Lear grows in self-awareness as he diminishes in authority and loses his illusions. Lear at the outset presents the very picture of foolish egotism and is tricked out of what he has expected to be a carefree retirement by his own

Exxon Corporation

2005-03-29T07:58:00.000-08:00

Formerly (until 1972) Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) one of the world's largest corporations in terms of sales, with investments and operations in petroleum and natural gas, coal, nuclear fuels, chemicals, and such ores as copper, lead, and zinc. It also operates pipelines and one of the world's largest fleets of tankers and other ships. Exxon engages in every phase of the petroleum industry from oil fields to service stations.

Lewes

2005-03-27T09:58:00.000-08:00

Town (“parish”), Lewes district, administrative county of East Sussex, historic county of Sussex, England. Lewes lies at a gap in the South Downs and along the River Ouse where it is still tidal. A castle was built there in the 11th century, and its ruins still dominate the town, which grew as a market centre and river port of some importance, although the port later gave way to Newhaven

Wellington

2005-03-26T13:22:00.000-08:00

Town, east-central New South Wales, Australia. It lies at the confluence of the Macquarie and Bell rivers. The site, used by John Oxley as a base for exploration (1817–18), was named by him after the Duke of Wellington. A convict settlement from 1823 to 1831, it was proclaimed a town in 1846, a municipality in 1879, and a shire in 1947. In 1950 Wellington was merged with Macquarie and a portion of Cobar shires. It serves

Carnivore, Natural history

2005-03-25T17:37:00.000-08:00

The family Procyonidae includes raccoons (see photograph), coatis or coatimundis, olingos, and the ringtailed cat, kinkajou, and lesser panda. Procyonids, like bears, are omnivorous, eating numerous types of insects, crayfish, crabs, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, small mammals, and a variety of fruits, nuts, roots, and young plants. A characteristic of

Transalpine Gaul

2005-03-25T07:01:00.000-08:00

The Romans first ventured into Transalpine Gaul in 121 BC to subdue the Celtic tribes along the Mediterranean coast. All of Transalpine Gaul was annexed by Julius

Pale

2005-03-22T10:08:00.000-08:00

In imperial Russia, what came to be called the Pale of Settlement (Cherta Osedlosti) came into being as a result of the introduction

Petasos

2005-03-22T09:23:00.000-08:00

A hat used for traveling, the petasos was made of felt or straw and had a chin strap, so that when not in use it could be hung down the back. The winged hat of the god Hermes (or Mercury) was also called a petasos.

Chad, Lake

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

French Lac Tchad, freshwater lake located in the Sahelian zone of west-central Africa at the conjunction of Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Niger. It is situated in an interior basin formerly occupied by a much larger ancient sea that is sometimes called Mega-Chad. Lake Chad ranks as the fourth largest lake in Africa, though its surface area varies greatly. When the surface of the lake is

Than Tun, Thakin

2005-03-21T00:32:00.000-08:00

Than Tun was educated at Rangoon (Yangon) Teachers' Training School and taught at a high school in Rangoon. Influenced at an early age by Marxist writings, he joined in 1936 the nationalist Dobama Asi-ayone (We-Burmans Association). Than Tun helped form the

Performing Arts, Spain and Portugal.

2005-03-20T17:56:00.000-08:00

Spain maintained a substantial popular production. Notable films included José Luis Garci's Una historia de entonces (You're the One), the story of an aspiring woman writer in the 1940s who returns to her home village after the death of her lover; Álex de la Iglesia's high-spirited comic group portrait of the denizens of a rundown old Madrid tenement, La comunidad; and

Hackenschmidt, George

2005-03-19T19:50:00.000-08:00

In Vienna in 1898 Hackenschmidt won the world amateur championship in Greco-Roman wrestling. Turning to professional freestyle wrestling in

Port Fairy

2005-03-19T15:36:00.000-08:00

Town, Victoria, Australia. It lies at the mouth of the Moyne River, on a headland east of Portland Bay (an inlet of the Indian Ocean). A settlement established there in 1835 was called Belfast for a time until it was renamed for a ship, the Fairy, that had sheltered in its harbour in 1810. Port Fairy became Victoria's first municipality (1852) and was proclaimed a borough in 1863. Connected to Melbourne

Qalamkari Textile

2005-03-19T07:58:00.000-08:00

The textile designs reflect the Persianized tastes of the wealthy ruling class and also

Mone, Jean

2005-03-19T02:59:00.000-08:00

Mone worked from 1512 to 1513 in Aix-en-Provence on sculptures for that city's cathedral. From 1517 to 1519 he collaborated

Enclosed Rhyme

2005-03-17T20:55:00.000-08:00

Also called enclosing rhyme in poetry, the rhyming pattern abba found in certain quatrains, such as the first verse of Matthew Arnold's “Shakespeare”:Others abide our question. Thou art free.We ask and ask—thou smilest and art still,Out-topping knowledge. For the loftiest hill,Who to the stars uncrowns his majesty,

Dies Irae

2005-03-17T09:39:00.000-08:00

The hymn ascribed to Thomas of Celano contains 18 rhymed stanzas (17 tercets, 1 quatrain), to which a later, anonymous writer added an unrhymed couplet, ending in “Amen.” The impressive plainsong melody to which the

Argentina, The Gran Chaco

2005-03-17T04:41:00.000-08:00

The western sector of the North region, the Gran Chaco, extends beyond the international border at the Pilcomayo River into Paraguay, where it is called the Chaco Boreal (“Northern Chaco”) by Argentines. The Argentine sector between the Pilcomayo River and the Bermejo River is known as the Chaco Central. Argentines have named the area southward to latitude 30° S, where the

Cellulose Acetate

2005-03-16T09:39:00.000-08:00

Original name Acetate Rayon, also called Acetate, man-made textile fibre produced from the plant substance cellulose, which is obtained from soft woods or the short fibres adhering to cotton seeds (linters) and treated with acetic acid and acetic anhydride, and then partially hydrolyzed so that the product, secondary acetate, is soluble in acetone. It forms a cellulose acetate solution that is extruded through

Füchsel, Georg Christian

2005-03-15T23:50:00.000-08:00

Füchsel began medical practice in 1756 and the following year was appointed to organize the natural science collections of Friedrich Carl, later prince of the German principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt,

Colour Index

2005-03-15T19:14:00.000-08:00

In astronomy, the difference between two measurements of the magnitude (brightness on a logarithmic scale) of a star made at different wavelengths, the value found at the longer wavelength being subtracted from that found at the shorter. Usually the two wavelengths are the blue, measured from ordinary photographic plates that are most sensitive to blue light, and

Wang Ch'ung

2005-03-15T05:16:00.000-08:00

A rationalistic naturalist during an age of superstition, Wang dared attack the belief in omens and portents that had begun to creep into the Confucian doctrines. He helped pave the way for the critical spirit of the next philosophical period and prepared China for

Anson, Cap

2005-03-14T01:14:00.000-08:00

Anson played in the National Association, the first professional baseball league, with the Forest City

China, The Imperial succession

2005-03-13T14:44:00.000-08:00

The succession of emperors was hereditary, but it was complicated to a considerable extent by a system of Imperial consorts and the implication of their families in politics. Of the large number of women who were housed in the palace as the emperor's favourites, one was selected for nomination as the empress; and while it was theoretically possible for an emperor

Radiation Pressure

2005-03-13T04:34:00.000-08:00

Although the pressure of solar radiation is exceedingly small, a sufficiently large surface could produce a force that would be technologically

Mauguin, Charles

2005-03-12T18:37:00.000-08:00

Mauguin was educated at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, and in 1919 he joined the Faculty of Sciences

Kermes

2005-03-12T02:01:00.000-08:00

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.

Themis

2005-03-11T19:10:00.000-08:00

(Greek: Order), in Greek religion, personification of justice, goddess of wisdom and good counsel, and the interpreter of the gods' will. According to some sources, she was the daughter of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaea (Earth), although at times she was apparently identified with Gaea. She was Zeus's second consort and by him the mother of the Horae (see Hora), the Moirai, and, in some traditions,

Arupa-dhatu

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

In Buddhist thought, the realm of formlessness. See arupa-loka.

Soho

2005-03-11T03:46:00.000-08:00

It was an area of farmlands in the Middle Ages and was acquired by the crown in the 1530s. The community's development stems from the activities

All-union Council Of Evangelical Christians And Baptists

2005-03-10T10:44:00.000-08:00

Voluntary association of Baptist churches in Russia that was formed (in the Soviet Union) in 1944 by uniting the Union of Evangelical Christians and the Russian Baptist Union. The Baptists in Russia grew from religious revival movements that began in the 1860s and '70s. In Ukraine, groups of Russians influenced by German Mennonite settlers gathered for Bible study and eventually

Puerto Padre

2005-03-09T00:44:00.000-08:00

City, northeastern Las Tunas provincia, eastern Cuba. Lying on sheltered Puerto Padre Bay, off the Atlantic Ocean, the city is a commercial and manufacturing centre for a fertile irrigated hinterland. Sugarcane, tobacco, fruit, and livestock produced in the area are processed in the city, which also contains brickyards and sawmills. Saltworks, asphalt deposits, and

Wyoming

2005-03-08T13:31:00.000-08:00

The county was formed in 1842; its name was derived from a Delaware Indian word meaning

Mite

2005-03-08T05:38:00.000-08:00

Mites live in varied habitats: in brackish water, in fresh water, in hot springs, in soil, on plants, and as parasites on and in animals. Parasitic forms may live in the nasal passages, lungs, stomach, or deeper body tissues

Uveitis

2005-03-08T05:29:00.000-08:00

Inflammation of the uvea, the middle coat of the eyeball, which is pigmented and contains blood vessels. The uvea consists of three parts: the iris, the ciliary body (containing the muscle that controls the curvature of the lens), and the choroid, the layer of the eyeball between the retina and the sclera (the white outer covering of all except the front part of the eyeball).

Afonso Iv

2005-03-07T13:08:00.000-08:00

Afonso IV was the son of King Dinis and of Isabella, daughter of Peter II of Aragon. Afonso resented his father's generosity toward two illegitimate sons and in 1320 demanded to be given power, remaining in open revolt until May 1322. His mother reconciled them, but the conflict broke out again. When Dinis died, Afonso succeeded to

Jourdan, Jean-baptiste, Count

2005-03-06T14:30:00.000-08:00

After being a soldier in King Louis XVI's army and serving in the West Indies (1778–84), Jourdan retired and became a draper in Limoges. He supported the Revolution, however; and, having been elected

Bingham, Hiram

2005-03-06T07:09:00.000-08:00

As a boy Bingham learned mountaineering from his father, a well-known Pacific missionary. This skill vastly aided

Lebrun, Charles-françois, Duke (duc) De Plaisance, Prince De L'empire

2005-03-06T00:53:00.000-08:00

While he was a lawyer in Paris, Lebrun served as royal censor in 1766, and two years later he became inspector general of the crown lands. As secretary and protégé of the chancellor

Ascii

2005-03-05T13:14:00.000-08:00

Abbreviation of American Standard Code For Information Interchange, a standard data-transmission code that is used by smaller and less-powerful computers to represent both textual data (letters, numbers, and punctuation marks) and noninput-device commands (control characters). Like other coding systems, it converts information into standardized digital formats that allow computers to communicate with each other and to efficiently

Calligraphy

2005-03-05T03:17:00.000-08:00

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

Povazská Bystrica

2005-03-04T08:02:00.000-08:00

Economic activities include the manufacture of heavy munitions. One of the town's notable structures is a Gothic church with tombstones dating

Morales, Cristóbal De

2005-03-04T07:39:00.000-08:00

Morales's first post was as maestro de capilla at the cathedral at Ávila (1526–29). After a short stay at Plasencia he joined the papal choir in Rome (1535), where he remained

Calligraphy

2005-03-03T08:12:00.000-08:00

Any of four species of toothless insect-eating mammals found in tropical savannas and forests from southern Mexico to Paraguay and northern Argentina and Paraguay. The four species are long-tailed animals with elongated skulls and tubular muzzles. The mouth opening of the muzzle is small, but the salivary glands are large and secrete

Szymanowski, Karol

2005-03-03T06:38:00.000-08:00

Szymanowski began to compose and play the piano at an early age. In 1901 he went to Warsaw and studied harmony, counterpoint, and composition privately until 1904. Finding the musical life in Warsaw limiting, he went to Berlin, where he organized the Young Polish

Fullerton

2005-03-02T02:47:00.000-08:00

City, Orange county, southern California, U.S. Laid out in 1887 and named for George H. Fullerton, it developed as a citrus centre after the arrival of the Santa Fe Railroad in 1888. Residential and industrial growth has kept pace with the rapid development of the county since World War II. Fullerton College was founded in 1913, Pacific Christian College in 1928, and the California State University

Ukhta

2005-03-02T01:57:00.000-08:00

Also spelled Uchta, industrial city, Komi republic, northwestern Russia, on the Ukhta River. It was founded as the village of Chibyu in 1931 and became a city in 1943, when it was linked to the Pechora railway. Ukhta lies within the Pechora Basin, a significant oil and natural gas area. Some oil is refined locally, but most is conveyed via pipeline to refineries between St. Petersburg and Moscow. The city

Plummer's Disease

2005-03-01T21:34:00.000-08:00

Also called toxic multinodular goitre thyroid condition characterized by marked enlargement of the thyroid gland (goitre), firm thyroid nodules, and mild overproduction of thyroid hormone (hyperthyroidism). Plummer's disease, which usually occurs in older people, is of unknown etiology. Its symptoms resemble those of Graves' disease (q.v.), a condition believed to be an autoimmune disorder caused by antibodies

Religion, Seventh-day Adventist Church.

2005-03-01T21:00:00.000-08:00

Celebrating 100 years of Adventism in southern Asia, the Annual Council of the world church met in Bangalore, India, in 1993. The church at first grew very slowly there, but in recent years India had become a fruitful field for growth, and membership in 1993 approached 200,000. The church in India was also moving toward financial strength; the centenary year saw the first conference, Mizoram,

Zittau

2005-03-01T19:37:00.000-08:00

City, Saxony Land (state), eastern Germany, on the Lausitzer Neisse River, near the frontiers of Poland and the Czech Republic. Originating as the Slav settlement of Sitowir, it was mentioned in 1230 and chartered in 1255, when it belonged to Bohemia. Zittau joined the federation of Lusatian towns in 1346 and fell to Saxony in 1635. Four 13th- and 15th-century churches still remain. There are training

Vigny, Alfred-victor, Comte De

2005-02-28T17:16:00.000-08:00

Poet, dramatist, and novelist who was the most philosophical of the French Romantic writers.

Quinará

2005-02-27T08:23:00.000-08:00

Region, southwestern Guinea-Bissau, West Africa, bordered by the regions of Tombali on the south and east, Bafatá on the northeast, Oio on the north, and Biombo on the northwest. Quinará fronts the Atlantic Ocean and the region of Bolama to the southwest. It has an area of 1,139 sq mi (2,920 sq km). The Rio Grande de Buba flows east–west through the centre of the region and empties into the

Fairfax

2005-02-27T07:00:00.000-08:00

City, seat (1779) of Fairfax county (though administratively independent of it), northeastern Virginia, U.S., about 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Washington, D.C. It developed after 1799 with the construction of the county courthouse and relocation of the county seat from Alexandria. The wills of George and Martha Washington are displayed in the courthouse wing. Early known as Earp's Corner,

Mura

2005-02-26T20:18:00.000-08:00

South American Indian people of the Amazon tropical forest of western Brazil. The Mura originally inhabited the right bank of the lower Madeira River near the mouth of the Jamari River. Contact with whites led them to adopt guerrilla tactics; they spread downstream to the Purus River, raiding sedentary farmers along the way. By 1774 the Mura expansion had been countered

Ahl Al-kitab

2005-02-26T13:43:00.000-08:00

(Arabic: “People of the Book”), in Islamic thought, those religionists such as Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians who are possessors of divine books (i.e., the Torah, the Gospel, and the Avesta), as distinguished from those whose religions are not based on divine revelations. The latter are an imprecisely identified group referred to as Sabaeans but also considered “People of

Refugees: Asylum In The U.s.

2005-02-25T21:24:00.000-08:00

In January the U.S. Coast Guard formed a flotilla around Haiti to stop refugees from fleeing to the United States. In the same month, Zoë Baird's nomination as attorney general was scrapped because she had employed an illegal immigrant as a nanny. In June a federal judge ruled that some 270 HIV-positive Haitians already granted political asylum had to be released from an

Roberts, Kenneth (lewis)

2005-02-25T05:14:00.000-08:00

Roberts worked as a journalist until 1917, when he began service as a captain in the Intelligence Section of the U.S. Army's Siberian Expeditionary Force. He was staff correspondent of the Saturday Evening Post from 1919 until

Neo-sinaitic Alphabet

2005-02-24T13:18:00.000-08:00

Writing system used in many short rock inscriptions in the Sinai Peninsula, not to be confused with the Sinaitic inscriptions, which are of much earlier date and not directly related. Neo-Sinaitic evolved out of the Nabataean alphabet in the 1st century AD and was in use perhaps until the 4th century AD; inscriptions date primarily from the 2nd and 3rd centuries. The chief importance

Hoffman, Daniel

2005-02-24T13:09:00.000-08:00

Hoffman attended Columbia University in New York, from which he received an A.B. (1947), an M.A. (1949), and a Ph.D. (1956). During World War II he served in the Air Force, working for a journal that covered

Cronaca, Il

2005-02-23T10:58:00.000-08:00

He was not related to Antonio and Piero Pollaiuolo. According to Vasari, it was his accurate accounts of the marvels of Rome, where he studied, that earned him the nickname of “Il Cronaca” (“The Chronicler”). In 1480 he returned to Florence, where he designed the courtyard

Aehrenthal, Aloys, Count Lexa Von

2005-02-22T21:24:00.000-08:00

Entering the imperial foreign service as attaché in Paris (1877), Aehrenthal subsequently worked at

Libertarianism, Nonaggression axiom

2005-02-22T11:44:00.000-08:00

According to the principle that libertarians call the nonaggression axiom, all acts of aggression against the rights of others—whether committed by individuals or by governments—are unjust. Indeed, libertarians believe that the primary purpose of government is to protect citizens from the illegitimate use of force. Accordingly, governments may not use force

Fish Louse

2005-02-22T03:02:00.000-08:00

Also called Carp Louse, plural Fish Lice, or Carp Lice, any member of the crustacean subclass Branchiura, a group of parasites of migratory marine and freshwater fishes. Of the approximately 120 known species, most belong to the genus Argulus. The fish louse has a very distinctive oval-shaped, flattened body formed by a broad carapace. Other notable physical features include compound eyes, a pair of large suckers, four pairs

Price Index

2005-02-20T13:31:00.000-08:00

Measure of relative price changes, consisting of a series of numbers arranged so that a comparison between the values for any two periods or places will show the average change in prices between periods or the average difference in prices between places. Price indexes were first developed to measure changes in the cost of living in order to determine the wage increases

Telephone And Telephone System, Early telegraph facsimile

2005-02-20T09:29:00.000-08:00

Facsimile transmission over wires traces its origins to Alexander Bain, a Scottish mechanic. In 1843, less than seven years after the invention of the telegraph by Samuel F.B. Morse, Bain received a British patent for “improvements in producing and regulating electric currents and improvements in timepieces and in electric printing and signal telegraphs.” Bain's fax

Africa

2005-02-20T03:55:00.000-08:00

Initially, the province comprised the territory that had been subject to Carthage in 149 BC; this was an area of about 5,000 square miles (13,000 square km), divided from the kingdom of

Nordhorn

2005-02-20T03:14:00.000-08:00

Town, Lower Saxony Land (state), northwestern Germany, on the Vechte River at the junction of the Almelo-Nordhorn, Ems-Vechte, and Süd-Nord canals, 4 miles (6 km) from the Dutch border. First mentioned about 1000 and chartered in 1379, the city suffered heavily from plague, fire, and war in the 15th and 16th centuries. Part of the Augustinian Frenswegen Abbey (founded 1394) and the 15th-century Protestant

West Bengal Duars

2005-02-19T00:40:00.000-08:00

The West Bengal Duars were ceded to the British by Bhutan in 1863. They constitute a lowland forest belt along the junction between the Himalayan

Ghaffar Khan, (khan) Abdul

2005-02-18T11:36:00.000-08:00

Ghaffar Khan met Gandhi and entered politics in 1919 during agitation over the Rowlatt Acts, which allowed the internment of political dissidents without

General Dynamics Corp.

2005-02-18T04:29:00.000-08:00

The original company, the Electric Boat Company, was founded in 1899 and built the Holland, the first submarine purchased by the U.S. Navy, in 1900. Electric Boat continued to build submarines and surface ships, and in 1954 it launched the Nautilus, the world's first nuclear-powered submarine. The firm

Abahai

2005-02-18T02:00:00.000-08:00

Abahai was the eighth son of Nurhachi (1559–1626), the great Manchu leader who extended his people's rule over the tribes of the Inner Asian steppes and organized his tribesmen into a bureaucratic

Law, Crime, And Law Enforcement, Other Issues.

2005-02-17T10:39:00.000-08:00

That not all disputes were susceptible to peaceful means of settlement was shown when a sudden border war flared up between Peru and Ecuador in January over a 77-km (48-mi) stretch of disputed land along the Cenepa River. The hostilities, which involved ground and air troops, were ended by a treaty signed in Brasília, Brazil, on February 17 providing for negotiations toward

Nivernais

2005-02-17T08:24:00.000-08:00

Having formed part of the duchy of Burgundy, the county of Nevers (Nivernais)

Christensen, Benjamin

2005-02-17T08:00:00.000-08:00

Christensen began his career as an opera singer in 1902 but later became an actor and then a director. By 1913 he was known as the writer, star, and director of a film exploring the unknown, Det Hemmeligheds fulde X (The Mysterious X), his first investigation of the horror of

Actor-manager System

2005-02-17T01:33:00.000-08:00

Method of theatrical production dominant in England and the U.S. in the 19th century, consisting of a permanent company formed by a leading actor who chose his own plays, took a leading role in them, and handled business and financial arrangements. The advantages of this system became apparent in the 18th century when successful actor-managers such as Colley Cibber and

Smith, Michael

2005-02-14T23:18:00.000-08:00

British-born Canadian biochemist who won (with Kary B. Mullis) the 1993 Nobel Prize for Chemistry for his development of a technique called oligonucleotide-based site-directed mutagenesis, which enabled researchers to introduce specific mutations into genes and, thus, to the proteins that they encode.

Fagaras

2005-02-14T21:11:00.000-08:00

Hungarian Fogaras, town, Brasov judet (county), central Romania. It lies north of the Fagaras Mountains, a range of the Transylvanian Alps (Southern Carpathian Mountains), on the Olt River. First mentioned in documents in 1291, Fagaras became a military centre during the Middle Ages. The Fagaras Castle, built during the 15th century and now restored to its original form, is one of the outstanding examples of medieval

Hou Chi

2005-02-14T06:29:00.000-08:00

Pinyin Hou Ji, in Chinese mythology, Lord of Millet Grains, who was worshiped for the abundant harvests that he graciously provided for his people. The Chinese honoured him not only for past favours but in the hope that devotion to the deity would guarantee continued blessings. An old tradition explained that Hou Chi was miraculously conceived when his childless mother stepped

Austin, Stephen

2005-02-14T01:19:00.000-08:00

Raised on the Missouri frontier, Austin was educated at Transylvania University in Lexington, Ky., and served in the Missouri territorial legislature (1814–19). The economic panic of 1819 led his father, Moses Austin

Thompson, Edward Herbert

2005-02-13T23:29:00.000-08:00

Though lacking formal training in archaeology, Thompson was an enthusiastic antiquarian. In 1879 he published a paper suggesting that Mayan civilization may have originated

Babelthuap

2005-02-12T23:11:00.000-08:00

Also called Babeldaob, Palau, Baberudaobu, or Arrecifos largest of the Caroline Islands and largest island within Palau (a sovereign state since 1994). It has an area of 143 square miles (370 square km) and lies in the western Pacific Ocean, 550 miles (885 km) east of the Philippines. Partly elevated limestone and partly volcanic in origin, Babelthuap measures 27 miles by 8 miles (43 km by 13 km); it is fertile and wooded and rises to an elevation of 713 feet (217 metres).

Aerospace Industry

2005-02-12T17:21:00.000-08:00

Aerospace products and the processes by which they are made are complex in nature, and knowledge of the latter is important to an understanding of the industry. A substantial investment in research, involving specialized personnel and facilities, is critical to the aerospace industry, as it is to most industries in which development and productivity play highly

Mitchell, John Newton

2005-02-12T14:26:00.000-08:00

Mitchell played semiprofessional hockey while working his way through Fordham University (New York City) and Fordham law school. During World War II he served in the Navy as a torpedo boat

Molina, Mario

2005-02-11T06:15:00.000-08:00

In full Mario José Molina Mexican-born American chemist who was jointly awarded the 1995 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, along with chemists F. Sherwood Rowland and Paul Crutzen, for research in the 1970s concerning the decomposition of the ozonosphere, which shields the Earth from dangerous solar radiation. The discoveries of Molina and Rowland—that some industrially manufactured

Tientsin Massacre

2005-02-10T23:39:00.000-08:00

(June 21, 1870), in Tientsin, China, violent outbreak of Chinese xenophobic sentiment that nearly precipitated international warfare and signaled the end of the “cooperative policy” between China and the Western treaty powers. Before the incident, rumours circulated in Tientsin that the French Sisters of Charity were kidnapping and mutilating Chinese children. Hostility

Christian Vii

2005-02-10T06:01:00.000-08:00

The son of Frederick V, Christian VII came to the throne in 1766. His mental instability has been attributed to a brutal childhood governor and to morally corrupt court pages. After his 1766 marriage

Agreda, María De

2005-02-10T02:48:00.000-08:00

Her virtues and holy life were universally acknowledged, but controversy arose over her mystical writings, her political influence, and her missionary activities.

China, Reform and upheaval

2005-02-09T21:44:00.000-08:00

Immediately after the triple intervention, Russia succeeded in 1896 in signing a secret treaty of alliance with China against Japan, by which Russia gained the right to construct the Chinese Eastern Railway across northern Manchuria. In November 1897 the Germans seized Chiao-chou Bay in Shantung and forced China to concede them the right to build two railways in the province.

Macdiarmid, Hugh

2005-02-09T14:47:00.000-08:00

The son of a postman, MacDiarmid was educated at Langholm Academy and the University of Edinburgh. After serving in World War I he became a journalist in Montrose, Angus, where he edited three issues of the first

Dagens Nyheter

2005-02-08T18:33:00.000-08:00

Morning daily newspaper published in Stockholm. It is one of the largest and most influential newspapers in Sweden. It was founded in 1864 by Rudolf Wall. Dagens Nyheter has long been noted for its thorough coverage of the arts, foreign news, and domestic political news. The paper has generally followed a liberal policy politically. For a time in the 1960s, its circulation was

Orange

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

Town (township), New Haven county, southwestern Connecticut, U.S., west of New Haven on the Housatonic River. Originally a part of Milford colony (on land bought from the Paugusset Indians and settled in 1639), it was known as North Milford. In 1822 the latter joined with part of New Haven to be incorporated as the town of Orange, named for William III, prince of Orange. In 1921 West Haven seceded

Anjo

2005-02-07T16:55:00.000-08:00

City, Aichi ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan, in the middle of the Hekkai Terrace. Irrigation was introduced into the area in the late 19th century, permitting cultivation of two crops of rice and wheat annually. In 1891 the Anjo station on the railroad between Tokyo and Kobe was opened, and the new town developed around it. With far-sighted planning and the early establishment of

Indian National Congress

2005-02-07T10:38:00.000-08:00

Byname Congress Party broadly based political party of India. Formed in 1885, the Indian National Congress dominated the Indian movement for independence from Great Britain and formed most of India's governments from the time of independence through the mid-1990s.