France, History Of, Demographic changes
Rates of demographic growth varied greatly from place to place: in Brittany, where typhoid fever was endemic, population figures peaked in 1700. In Quercy they grew by 70 percent between 1700 and 1786. But, regardless of local variations, France as a whole counted two million more peasants in 1790 than during the reign of Louis XIV. Better preventive medicine, a decline in infant mortality,
Songhai Empire
Though the Songhai people are said to have established themselves in the city of Gao about AD 800, they did not regard it as their capital until the beginning of
Biblical Literature, The prophecies of First Isaiah
First Isaiah contains the words and prophecies of Isaiah, a most important 8th-century BCE prophet of Judah, written either by himself or his contemporary followers in Jerusalem (from c. 740 to 700 BCE), along with some later additions, such as chapters 24 - 27 and 33 - 39. The first of these two additions was probably written by a later disciple or disciples of Isaiah about 500 BCE; the second addition is divided
Khalil, Al-ashraf Salah Ad-din
Mamluk sultan of Egypt who completed his father Qala'un's campaign to drive the Franks from Syria. He captured Acre (now 'Akko, Israel) in the spring of 1291, and the remaining crusader fortresses were surrendered by the end of the year. He was murdered by his emirs, who were alarmed by his ambition.
Ribas, �scar
The son of a Portuguese father and an Angolan mother, Ribas gradually went blind during his early 20s but remained an indefatigable researcher and writer. He began his literary career as a writer of romantic tales. The publication of Uanga-feiti
Rabbula
Reforming bishop of Edessa and theologian who was a leading figure in the Christian church in Syria. He advocated the orthodox Alexandrian (Egypt) position in the 5th-century controversy with the Antiochian (Syria) school of Nestorianism, a heretical teaching that denied that the person of Christ possessed both a divine and
Smith, George
English Assyriologist who advanced knowledge of the earliest (Sumerian) period of Mesopotamian civilization with his discovery of one of the most important literary works in Akkadian, the Epic of Gilgamesh. Moreover, its description of a flood, strikingly similar to the account in Genesis, had a stunning effect on Smith's
Andean Peoples
Even these two technological developments, however, are not enough to characterize and explain the emergence of Andean civilizations. From the intimate knowledge of their environmental conditions, the people developed a set of values that may have started from a desire to minimize risks but that soon was elaborated into an economic and political ideal. Every
Sara Buri
Also spelled �Saraburi, � town, central Thailand, northeast of Bangkok. Sara Buri (locally called Pak Phrieo) is on the south bank of the Pa Sak River. Its economy is based on textile, metalworking, food-manufacturing, clothing, and woodworking industries. The Phra Buddha Bat shrine in the town contains a footprint of Buddha and is the scene of a yearly festival. Sara Buri is linked to Bangkok, 60 miles
All Souls' Day
In the Roman Catholic church, a day for commemoration of all the faithful departed, those baptized Christians who are believed to be in purgatory because they have died with the guilt of lesser sins on their souls. It is celebrated on November 2. Roman Catholic doctrine holds that the prayers of the faithful on earth will help cleanse these souls in order to fit them
Aubusson, Pierre D'
The son of French nobility, Aubusson joined the Knights of St. John c. 1453. The Knights, with their headquarters at Rhodes, held the island as a bar to Ottoman expansion in the Aegean. Aubusson became grand master of the order
Y��ez, Agust�
Born in a provincial neighbourhood of Guadalajara, Y��ez was enamoured of its traditions and values. As a young man he was a contributor
Black Hole
Cosmic body of extremely intense gravity from which nothing, not even light, can escape. A black hole can be formed by the death of a massive star. When such a star has exhausted its internal thermonuclear fuels at the end of its life, it becomes unstable and gravitationally collapses inward upon itself. The crushing weight of constituent matter falling in from all
Saw-scaled Viper
The saw-scaled viper is irritable and aggressive and commonly hides under stones and in rodent runs. It is sand-coloured or gray,
Circulation, Mammals
Mammals also evolved from reptiles, but not from the same group as did birds, and must have developed their double circulation independently from early reptiles. Nevertheless, several parallel changes occurred, such as the common incorporation of the sinus venosus into the right auricle. The most striking manifestation of different origins is seen in the mammalian
Nephrite
A gem-quality silicate mineral in the tremolite - actinolite - ferrotremolite series of amphiboles. It is the less prized but more common of the two types of jade, usually found as translucent to opaque, compact, dense aggregates of finely interfelted tufts of long, thin fibres. It may be distinguished from jadeite (q.v.), jade's other form, by its splintery fracture and oily
Caucasian Languages, Svan
The Svan language (self-designation: lu
Devawongse Varoprakar, Prince
The 42nd child of King Mongkut, Devawongse was the younger half brother of King Chulalongkorn. After only a smattering of formal Thai and English education in schools his half brother organized in the early 1870s, he began his
Graves, Morris
In full �Morris Cole Graves� American painter best known for introspective works that present a mystical view of nature. His style was greatly influenced by the three trips he made to East Asia between 1928 and 1930, and, like Mark Tobey, another painter of the Northwest school, Graves had a deep interest in Asian art and religion, including Zen
Domus
The more public functions and activities of the family took place in the atrium, generally
Art, African, Igbo
On both sides of the Niger, but mainly to the east, live the Igbo. Traditionally they have lived in small and often isolated settlements scattered through the forest. Only on the northern and western edges of the area, under influence from Igala and Benin, are hereditary rulers found. In Igbo society there is strong social pressure toward individual distinction, and
Shiga Naoya
Born into an aristocratic samurai family, Shiga was taken by his parents to live with his paternal grandparents in Tokyo in 1885. In his youth he was influenced by the Christian educator Uchimura Kanzo, but Christianity
Aerospace Engineering, Aeronautical engineering
The roots of aeronautical engineering can be traced to the early days of mechanical engineering, to inventors' concepts, and to the initial studies of aerodynamics, a branch of theoretical physics. The earliest sketches of flight vehicles were drawn by Leonardo da Vinci, who suggested two ideas for sustentation. The first was an ornithopter, a flying machine using
Induction
In logic, method of reasoning from a part to a whole, from particulars to generals, or from the individual to the universal. As it applies to logic in systems of the 20th century, the term is obsolete. Traditionally, logicians distinguished between deductive logic (inference in which the conclusion follows necessarily from the premise, or drawing new propositions out
Trade Organization
The oldest
Cohen, Stanley
Cohen was educated at Brooklyn College (B.A., 1943), Oberlin College (M.A., 1945), and at the University of Michigan, where he received a Ph.D. in
Breeder Reactor
Nuclear reactor that produces more fissionable material than it consumes to generate energy. This special type of reactor is designed to extend the nuclear fuel supply for electric power generation. Whereas a conventional nuclear reactor (q.v.) can use only the readily fissionable but scarce isotope uranium-235 for fuel, a breeder reactor employs either uranium-238 or
Triggerfish
Any of about 30 species of shallow-water marine fishes of the family Balistidae, found worldwide in tropical seas. Triggerfishes are rather deep-bodied, usually colourful fishes with large scales, small mouths, and high-set eyes. Their common name refers to the triggering mechanism in the first two of their three dorsal fin spines. The first spine can
Catechumen
A person who receives instruction in the Christian religion in order to be baptized. According to the New Testament, the apostles instructed converts after baptism (Acts 2:41 - 42), and Christian instruction was evidently given to all converts (Luke 1:4, Acts 18:25, Galatians 6:6). As the number of Gentiles in the church increased, instruction became more definite. In the 4th century, with the
Xanthinuria
Rare inherited disorder of purine metabolism that results from a deficiency in the enzyme xanthine oxidase. Normally this enzyme breaks down the purine base xanthine to uric acid, which is then excreted. In the absence of the enzyme, xanthine is not metabolized by the body and its concentration builds up in the blood and urine. Xanthinuria is not a serious condition,
Viola
Stringed musical instrument, the tenor of the violin family. It is built in proportions similar to those of the violin but has a body length of 37 to 43 centimetres (14.5 to 17 inches), about 5 cm (2 inches) longer than a violin. Its four strings are tuned c - g - d� - a�, beginning with the C below middle C. The viola's tone is darker,
