Lan Xang
Also spelled �Lan Chang, � Laotian kingdom that flourished from the 14th century until it was split into two separate kingdoms, Vien Chang and Luang Prabang, in the 18th century. Conflict with its Myanmar (Burmese) and Thai (Siamese) neighbours forced the kingdom's rulers to transfer the capital from Luang Prabang to Vientiane (1563), but the kingdom maintained its power and was at the height of its glory
Pridi Phanomyong
After studies at the Royal Law School, Pridi won a government scholarship to study law in France; he earned a doctorate in law from Paris in 1927. While in Paris he was strongly influenced by French socialism,
Mahdi, Al-
Original name �Muhammad Ahmad Ibn As-sayyid 'abd Allah � creator of a vast Islamic state extending from the Red Sea to Central Africa and founder of a movement that remained influential in The Sudan a century later. As a youth he moved from orthodox religious study to a mystical interpretation of Islam. In 1881 he proclaimed his divine mission to purify Islam and the governments that defiled it. His extensive
Aye-aye
(Daubentonia madagascariensis), rare, squirrellike primate, the sole living representative of the family Daubentoniidae, found in Madagascan rain forests. The aye-aye is about 40 cm (16 inches) long excluding the bushy, 55- to 60-centimetre tail; and it is covered with long, coarse, dark brown or black fur. It has a short face, large eyes, and rodentlike,
Talladega
City, seat (1834) of Talladega county, east-central Alabama, U.S., in the foothills of the southern Appalachian Mountains, about 60 miles (100 km) east of Birmingham. The site was originally inhabited by Creek Indians, and its name was derived from Creek words meaning �border town.� On November 9, 1813, Andrew Jackson defeated a large force of Creek there, and the Creek were forced out in the 1830s. During
Tunisia, Settlement patterns
Tunisia is divided into four natural and demographic regions: the north, which is relatively fertile and well watered; the semiarid central region; As-Sahil (the Sahel) in the east-central coastal region, which is preeminently olive-growing country; and the desert south, where, except in the oases, all vegetation disappears. In the central and southern regions, there are
Alabama, European rivalry, settlement, and growth
The first known European explorers were of Spanish descent and arrived at Mobile Bay in 1519. The main thrust of exploration came in 1540, when Hernando de Soto and his army of about 500 men entered the interior from the valley of the Tennessee River to search for gold. His expedition, which extensively crisscrossed the area, was important because of his discovery of the Mississippi
Carrick On Suir
Irish �Carraig Na Si�ire� town, County Tipperary, Ireland, on the River Suir. Located beside the foothills of the Comeraghs and having steep, narrow streets, it is connected with its southern suburb Carrickbeg, in County Waterford, by two bridges across the Suir. Ormonde Castle, begun in 1309, was the seat of the Butlers, the dukes of Ormonde. Anne Boleyn, mother of Elizabeth I of England, is said to have
Cheduba Island
Also called �Manaung Island, � island in the Bay of Bengal, southwestern Myanmar (Burma). It lies about 30 miles (50 km) west of Taungup on the Arakan Coast and is separated from Ramree Island to the north by the Cheduba Strait. It is 20 miles (32 km) long and 17 miles (27 km) wide and has an area of 202 square miles (523 square km). Cheduba was a stopping place on the historic coastal trade route from Bengal (India) by which Indian civilization
Natal
City, capital of Rio Grande do Norte estado (�state�), northeastern Brazil, situated near the mouth of the Potengi River, or Rio Grande do Norte, on the Atlantic coast. Founded by the Portuguese in 1597 near the site of a fort (Tres Reis Magos, or �The Three Magi�), Natal was given town status in 1611. The state's principal commercial centre, it produces silk and cotton textiles, sugar, salt, hides,
Bedreddin
A convert to Sufism (Islamic mysticism), in 1383 Bedreddin undertook the pilgrimage to Mecca, and, upon his return to Cairo, he was appointed tutor to the Mamluk crown prince of Egypt. He
Rousseau, Jean-baptiste
The son of a poor cobbler, Rousseau as a young man showed a talent for satiric verse. He later attempted to produce several of his plays, becoming involved in a series of disputes and exchanges of insults with detractors and critics.
Epistemology, Perception and knowledge
To a great extent the epistemological interests of analytic philosophers in the 20th century have been concentrated upon the relationship between knowledge and perception. The major figures in this development have been Bertrand Russell, G.E. Moore, H.H. Price, C.D. Broad, A.J. Ayer, and H.P. Grice. Although their views differed considerably - Russell, Broad, and Ayer were phenomenalists,
Ulama
Also spelled �ulema�, Arabic �'ulama'� the learned of Islam, those who possess the quality of 'ilm, �learning,� in its widest sense. From the 'ulama', who are versed theoretically and practically in the Muslim sciences, come the religious teachers of the Islamic community - theologians (mutakallimun), canon lawyers (muftis), judges (qadis), professors - and high state religious officials like the shaikh al-Islam. In a narrower
France, History Of, The Revolution of 1830
The July Revolution was a monument to the ineptitude of Charles X and his advisers. At the outset, few of the king's critics imagined it possible to overthrow the regime; they hoped merely to get rid of Polignac. As for the king, he naively ignored the possibility of serious trouble. No steps were taken to reinforce the army garrison in Paris; no contingency plans were prepared.
Basanavicius, Jonas
In 1873 Basanavicius went to Moscow to study history and archaeology but after a year changed to medicine. He was graduated in 1879 and spent most of the next 25 years practicing medicine in Bulgaria. He edited the first number of the important
Porphyrin
Any of a class of water-soluble, nitrogenous biological pigments (biochromes), derivatives of which include the hemoproteins (porphyrins combined with metals and protein). Examples of hemoproteins are the green, photosynthetic chlorophylls of higher plants; the hemoglobins in the blood of many animals; the cytochromes, enzymes that occur in minute quantities
Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror was founded by Alfred Harmsworth, later Viscount Northcliffe, in 1903 as a picture tabloid. It has consistently stressed the sensational, the human-interest, and the personal types of stories. Its independent stance
Andean Geosyncline
A linear trough in the Earth's crust in which rocks of the Mesozoic Era (245 to 66.4 million years ago) and Cenozoic Era (66.4 years ago to the present) were deposited in South America. An intense orogenic (mountain-building) event affected the older sediments in the geosyncline in the Late Cretaceous Epoch (97.5 to 66.4 million years ago) and, combined with later deformational episodes, produced
Rowland, F. Sherwood
In full� Frank Sherwood Rowland � American chemist who shared the 1995 Nobel Prize for Chemistry with chemists Mario Molina and Paul Crutzen for research on the depletion of the Earth's ozone layer. Working with Molina, Rowland discovered that man-made chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) propellants accelerate the decomposition of the ozonosphere, which protects the Earth from ultraviolet
China
Despite China's size, the wealth of its resources, and the fact that more than 20 percent of the world's population lives within its borders, its role in the world economy traditionally has been relatively small. Since the late 1970s, however, when China decided to increase its interaction with the international economy, its role in world trade has steadily grown and its importance
Switzerland, Switzerland from 1848 to the present
The turning point, then, in modern Swiss history was 1848. Before that date internal conflict was a fact of Swiss political life; since then there has been an absence of major internal crises along ethnic and religious lines, and the country has prospered. With political stability, the Swiss could spend a greater portion of their time and efforts developing industry, agriculture,
Wycliffe, John
Wycliffe also spelled �Wycliff, Wyclif, Wicliffe, or Wiclif� English theologian, philosopher, church reformer, and promoter of the first complete translation of the Bible into English. He was one of the forerunners of the Protestant Reformation. The politico-ecclesiastical theories that he developed required the church to give up its worldly possessions, and
Mckinley, Ida
After William was shot in Buffalo, New York, in 1901, he whispered to an aide as he fell, �My wife, be careful how you tell her - Oh be careful.� Although deeply grieved by her husband's death, she apparently suffered no more seizures for the rest of her life, though some believe a seizure caused her death in 1907. She was entombed in the McKinley Memorial Mausoleum in Canton.
April Theses
During the February Revolution two disparate bodies had replaced the imperial government - the Provisional Government and
Latite
Also called �trachyandesite� extrusive igneous rock very abundant in western North America. Usually coloured white, yellowish, pinkish, or gray, it is the volcanic equivalent of monzonite (q.v.). Latites contain plagioclase feldspar (andesine or oligoclase) as large, single crystals (phenocrysts) in a fine-grained matrix of orthoclase feldspar and augite. They also contain phenocrysts of diopside,
Zahedi, Fazlollah
Zahedi early embarked on a military career, graduating from the Iranian military academy in 1916. He joined the Persian Cossack Brigade and at age 25 - as a brigadier general - distinguished himself by quelling a Kurdish revolt in western Iran. Three years later
Egypt, The Kingdom of Egypt (1922 - 52)
The new kingdom was in form a constitutional monarchy. The constitution, based on that of Belgium and promulgated in April 1923, defined the King's executive powers and established a bicameral legislature. An electoral law provided for universal male suffrage and the indirect election of deputies to the lower house: the Senate was half elected and half appointed. But
Platonism
Since Plato refused to write his own metaphysics, knowledge of its final shape has to be derived from hints in the dialogues and statements by Aristotle and, to a far lesser extent, other ancient authorities. According to these, Plato's doctrine of Forms was, in its general character, highly mathematical, the Forms being somehow identified with, or explained in terms
Beresteczko, Battle Of
In 1648 Khmelnytsky organized an insurrection among the Zaporozhian Cossacks, who lived along the Dnieper River, against their Polish rulers, who had been trying to limit the Cossacks' autonomy by reducing their numbers,
