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Oberlin, Johann Friedrich

Born into a middle-class family, Oberlin studied theology and graduated from the University of Strasbourg in 1758. He was a teacher

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Wu River

Wade - Giles romanization �Wu Chiang, �Pinyin �Wu Jiang, � tributary of the Yangtze River in southern China. It rises in the hills of western Kweichow Province and flows east through narrow gorges between steep cliffs. It turns north at Ssu-nan, enters Szechwan Province, and flows into the Yangtze at Fu-ling after a total course of 700 mi (1,100 km). Its drainage basin of 31,000 sq mi (80,000 sq km), including most of Kweichow, is a region of rugged terrain

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Sorby, Henry Clifton

Sorby's early investigations were concerned with agricultural chemistry, but his interests soon turned to geology. He published works dealing with the physical geography

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Biblical Literature, The life of Jesus

Though the fact that Jesus was a historical person has been stressed, significant, too, is the fact that a full biography of accurate chronology is not possible. The New Testament writers were less concerned with such difficulties than the person who attempts to construct some chronological accounts in retrospect. Both the indifference of early secular historians

posted by SharpBranch @ 9:54 PM 0 comments

Niger-congo Languages

In the 19th century, scholars began to attempt classification of the various Niger-Congo languages. Sigismund W. Koelle, a German missionary of the Church Missionary Society working among freed slaves in Freetown (now in Sierra Leone), produced his monumental work, Polyglotta Africana, in 1854. He obtained lists of 283 words in 156 languages and grouped them so as to reflect what

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Hydrosphere, Groundwaters and river runoff

This section focuses on term R in equation (9) representing groundwater and river runoff losses from the soil-moisture zone. Water percolates from the soil-moisture zone through the unsaturated (vadose) zone to the water table. Flow through the unsaturated zone is complicated. After a rainfall, water may form nearly a continuous phase in pores in this zone, but with drying

posted by SharpBranch @ 3:05 AM 0 comments

France, History Of, The Civil Code

The Napoleonic Civil Code, however, had a far greater impact on postrevolutionary society than did the social innovations. This ambitious work of legal codification, perhaps the crowning glory of the Council of State, consolidated certain basic principles established in 1789: civil equality and equality before the law; the abolition of feudalism in favour of modern

posted by SharpBranch @ 1:57 PM 0 comments

Alia, Ramiz

Alia, the son of Muslim parents from the Albanian-speaking region of Kosovo in what was then Yugoslavia, attended a French secondary school in Tiran�, Albania. During World War II he joined the communist-led National Liberation

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Medicine, In the developed countries

Those concerned with providing health care in the developed countries face a different set of problems. The diseases so prevalent in the Third World have, for the most part, been eliminated or are readily treatable. Many of the adverse environmental conditions and public health hazards have been conquered. Social services of varying degrees of adequacy have been

posted by SharpBranch @ 7:56 AM 0 comments

Pittacus Of Mytilene

Statesman and sage who is known as one of the Seven Wise Men of ancient Greece. He collaborated with the brothers of the poet Alcaeus in the overthrow of the tyrant Melanchrus (612/611?) and distinguished himself as a commander in the war against Athens for Sigium, killing the Athenian commander, Phrynon, single-handedly. He was elected aisymnetes (dictator appointed during

posted by SharpBranch @ 11:27 PM 0 comments

Caxias

City, east central Maranh�o state, northeastern Brazil, on the Rio Itapicuru, at 207 ft (63 m) above sea level. Formerly known as S�o Jos� das Aldeias Altas, it was renamed to honour Luis Alves de Lima e Silva, duque de Caxias, governor and military commander in Maranh�o (1837). The city is the commercial centre of eastern Maranh�o and processes rice, cotton, carnauba and babassu palms

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Earnshaw, Thomas

Earnshaw became an apprentice at the age of 14 and later set up a shop in London. He made significant improvements in the transit clock at the Royal Observatory of Greenwich, London, and,

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Alaska, The land

The immense area of Alaska has a great variety of physical characteristics. Nearly one-third of the state lies within the Arctic Circle and has perennially frozen ground (permafrost) and treeless tundra. The southern coast and the panhandle at sea level are fully temperate regions. In these latter and in the adjoining Canadian areas, however, lies the world's largest

posted by SharpBranch @ 7:03 AM 0 comments

Osage Orange

Also called �Bowwood, �French �Bois D'arc� (Maclura pomifera), thorny tree with large, yellow-green, wrinkled fruit and a milky sap that can produce dermatitis in humans. It is the only species of its genus in the mulberry family (Moraceae). It is native to the south-central United States but has been planted extensively farther north in the Mississippi River valley and at points east of

posted by SharpBranch @ 10:58 PM 0 comments

Switzerland, Roman Switzerland

From AD 101 to 150 Celtic, Rhaetian, and Roman peoples lived together in almost unbroken peace. The Romans enlarged the old Celtic settlements and built new towns such as Augusta Raurica (now Augst), on the Rhine east of Basel; Dunum (Thun), at the head of Lake Thun (Thuner See); Novodunum (Nyon), on the shores of Lake Geneva; Aventicum (Avenches), near Lake Morat; Eburodunum (Yverdon), on the southwest

posted by SharpBranch @ 2:46 AM 0 comments

Celle

City, Lower Saxony Land (state), north-central Germany, on the Aller River, at the southern edge of the L�neburger Heide (Heath), northeast of Hannover. The old town, Altencelle, was founded about 1248, and Celle (founded 1292) was the residence (1371 - 1705) of the dukes of Brunswick-L�neburg. The old town has many fine examples of 16th- to 19th-century half-timbered buildings, including the Hoppener Haus

posted by SharpBranch @ 5:41 AM 0 comments

Xai-xai

Formerly �Jo�o Belo, � port town, southern Mozambique. Located on the eastern bank of the Limpopo River near its mouth, the town is a market centre for cashew nuts, rice, corn (maize), cassava, and sorghum raised in the surrounding area, which is irrigated by the lower Limpopo irrigation project; dairy cattle also are raised. A light railway system runs inland and provides access to the port, which

posted by SharpBranch @ 9:41 PM 0 comments

Brer Rabbit

Trickster figure originating in African folklore and transmitted by African slaves to the New World, where it acquired attributes of similar native American tricksters (see trickster tale); Brer, or Brother, Rabbit was popularized in the United States in the stories of Joel Chandler Harris (1848 - 1908). The character's adventures embody an idea considered to be a universal

posted by SharpBranch @ 8:06 PM 0 comments

Mah-jongg

A game of Chinese origin, played with tiles, or p'ais, similar in physical description to those used in dominoes but engraved with Chinese symbols and characters and divided into suits and honours. A fad in England, the United States, and Australia in the mid-1920s, the game was revived in the United States after 1935 but never regained its initial popularity. In the United States,

posted by SharpBranch @ 12:51 AM 0 comments

Viedma

City, capital of R�o Negro provincia, south-central Argentina. It lies along the western bank of the Negro River 20 miles (32 km) from the river's mouth at the Atlantic Ocean, opposite Carmen de Patagones in Buenos Aires province. A fort called Mercedes de Patagones, built there in 1779 by the explorer Francisco de Viedma, was the capital of the Patagonian territory until the R�o

posted by SharpBranch @ 10:06 AM 0 comments

France, History Of, The Resistance

Vichy's decline was paralleled by the rise of the anti-German underground. Within weeks of the 1940 collapse, tiny groups of French citizens had begun to resist. Some collected military intelligence for transmission to London; some organized escape routes for British airmen who had been shot down; some circulated anti-German leaflets; some engaged in sabotage of railways

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France, History Of, The Resistance

Its music directors have been Fredrick Stock

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Padua

Italian �Padova, �Latin �Patavium, � city, capital of Padova province, Veneto region, northern Italy, on the River Bacchiglione, west of Venice. The Roman Patavium, founded, according to legend, by the Trojan hero Antenor, it was first mentioned in 302 BC, according to the Roman historian Livy, who was born there (59 BC). The town prospered greatly and, in the 11th - 13th century, was a leading Italian commune. The poet Dante lived

posted by SharpBranch @ 7:46 AM 0 comments

Aerospace Industry, General works

Roger E. Bilstein, Flight in America: From the Wrights to the Astronauts, rev. ed. (1994), is a general treatise on the development of aviation and spaceflight for the layperson, and his The American Aerospace Industry: From Workshop to Global Enterprise (1996) provides an account of the development of the American aerospace industry. The best source for historical aerospace data is Charles Harvard Gibbs-Smith, The Aeroplane: An Historical Survey of Its Origins and Development (1960). An excellent source on the development of the American aircraft industry to the 1940s is Grover Loening, Takeoff Into Greatness (1968). Charles D. Bright, The Jet Makers: The Aerospace Industry from 1945 to 1972 (1978), details the aerospace industry in the United States after World War II. T.A. Heppenheimer, Turbulent Skies: The History of Commercial Aviation (1995), traces the ascent of the airline business from the biplane era to modern jetliners, and Countdown: A History of Space Flight (1997) includes excellent coverage on the development of the space industry. Bill Gunston, World Encyclopedia of Aircraft Manufacturers (1993), provides a brief listing of the world's aircraft manufacturers from the pioneers to the early 1990s. Daniel Todd and Jamie Simpson, The World Aircraft Industry (1986), discusses the state of the aerospace industry by country and technology and provides statistical data in the appendix.

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Columbus

City, seat of Platte county, eastern Nebraska, U.S., on the Loup River near its confluence with the Platte. It was founded (1856) at the North Fork Ferry of the Oregon Trail by settlers from Columbus, Ohio. With the coming of the Union Pacific Railroad (1860), it became an outfitting post for wagon trains and a centre for cattle feeding. Its modern economy is based on agriculture and the

posted by SharpBranch @ 2:01 AM 0 comments

Alabastron

Elongated, narrow-necked flask, used as a perfume or unguent container. The Greek alabastron has no handles but often lugs (ear-shaped projections), sometimes pierced with string holes. There are three types of classical alabastron: a basic Corinthian bulbous shape about 3 to 4 inches (8 to 10 cm) high that appeared from the mid-7th century BC and was common in Greece (see ); a long, pointed

posted by SharpBranch @ 7:33 AM 0 comments