Toastmaster's Glass

English glass about the size of an ordinary drinking glass but with only about one-quarter of its capacity; the glass creates the illusion of being full by means of a depression in its bowl, which in fact is almost solid. It owed its origin to the clubs of 18th-century England, where the toastmaster had to remain sober enough to carry out his office.

Black Nationalism

Political and social movement prominent in the 1960s and early '70s in the United States among some African Americans. The movement, which can be traced back to Marcus Garvey's Universal Negro Improvement Association of the 1920s, sought to acquire economic power and to infuse among blacks a sense of community and group feeling. Many adherents to black nationalism assumed

Earth, Deformation of the crust

The Earth's crust has been subjected to widespread deformation over geologic time. This deformation results from forces applied to the rocks that make up the crust. Such forces create stresses within the rocks, and these stresses in turn produce strain, which is manifested in the form of folds, faults, and joints.

Valenciennes

The town flourished under the counts

Cork

Irish �Corcaigh� county in the province of Munster, Ireland. The largest county in Ireland, with an area of 2,880 sq mi (7,460 sq km), it is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean (south), by Counties Waterford and Tipperary (east), by County Limerick (north), and by County Kerry (west). Cork has long east - west ridges forming uplands and hills. Less than three-tenths of its area is rough pasture, and farmlands climb as high

Florida, Flag Of

The first flag of Florida was hoisted on June 25, 1845, at the inauguration of its first governor, William D. Moseley. It had five horizontal stripes (blue, orange, red, white, and green) and a ribbon with the inscription �Let us alone.� The U.S. flag served as a canton. The states' rights and antifederalist symbolism in the design is clear, but the associations of the colours are unknown;

Taliban

Persian �Taleban (�Students�)�, also spelled �Taleban� ultraconservative political and religious faction that emerged in Afghanistan in the mid 1990s following the withdrawal of Soviet troops, the collapse of Afghanistan's communist regime, and the subsequent breakdown in civil order. The faction took its name from its membership, which consisted largely of students trained in madrasahs (Islamic religious schools)

Cimmerian

Member of an ancient people living north of the Caucasus and the Sea of Azov, driven by the Scythians out of southern Russia, over the Caucasus, and into Anatolia toward the end of the 8th century BC. Ancient writers sometimes confused them with the Scythians. Most scholars now believe that the Cimmerians assaulted Urartu (Armenia) about 714 BC, but in 705, after being repulsed by Sargon

Kerguelen Islands

Archipelago in the southern Indian Ocean. Administratively a part of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (Terres Australes et Antarctiques Fran�aises), it consists of the island of Kerguelen (also known as Desolation Island) and nearly 300 islets, which together cover about 2,400 square miles (6,200 square km). Heavily glaciated Kerguelen Island, about 100 miles (160 km) in length, has

Nadir Shah

Nadr Qoli Beg had an obscure beginning in the Turkish Afshar tribe, which was loyal to the Safavid shahs of Iran. After serving under a local chieftain, Nadr formed and led a band of robbers, showing marked powers of leadership.

Epistemology, G.F.W. Hegel

Empiricism takes cognition

Alcal� De Henares

City, Madrid provincia and comunidad aut�noma (�autonomous community�), central Spain. Known under the Romans as Complutum, the city was destroyed in 1000 and rebuilt in 1038 by the Moors, who called it Al-Qal'ah al-Nahr. It was reconquered in 1088 by Alfonso VI and granted with the surrounding lands to the archbishop of Toledo. The city contains the unique Gothic church of San Justo (built

Quinto Real

(Spanish: �royal fifth�), in colonial Spanish America, a tax levied by the crown on mineral products; it was the principal source of profit derived by Spain from its colonies. The percentage was fixed at one-fifth in 1504, to be paid for 10 years, but the rate remained at generally that level until the 18th century. In 1723 the quinto was almost uniformly reduced to the diezmo (one-tenth); in 1777 the

Cable

Cables made of optical fibres first came into operation in the mid-1970s. In a fibre-optic cable, light signals are transmitted through thin fibres of plastic or glass from light-emitting diodes or semiconductor lasers by means of internal reflection. The advantages of fibre-optic cables over conventional coaxial cables include low material cost, high transmission

Genecentre

Also spelled �Genecenter, � any of a number of areas on the Earth from which arose important crop plants and domestic animals. As few as four of these centres of origin have probably provided the great majority of the most useful plants and animals: (1) tropical southeastern Asia - rice, chickens; (2) temperate southwestern Asia - wheat, sheep, goats, asses; (3) subtropical or temperate Mexico and Central

Binney, Horace

Binney graduated from Harvard in 1797 and was admitted to the bar in 1800. He became an expert on marine-insurance and land-title law, and from 1809 to 1814 he published six volumes of authoritative court reports of cases heard in the state

Selene

Latin �Luna, � in Greek and Roman religion, the personification of the moon as a goddess. She was worshiped at the new and full moons. Her parents were the Titans Hyperion and Theia; her brother was Helios, the sun god (sometimes called her father); her sister Eos (Dawn); and her husband Zeus. She is most identified with Endymion, whom she loved and whom Zeus cast into eternal sleep in a cave

Italus, John

Of Calabrian origin, Italus, after a period of court favour under the emperor Michael VII Ducas

Gaeta

Latin �Caieta � town, seaport, and archiepiscopal see, Latina province, Lazio region, south-central Italy, on the Gulf of Gaeta, northwest of Naples. Gaeta first came under the influence of the Romans in the 4th century BC; a road was built c. 184 BC connecting the town with the port, and it became a favoured Roman resort. After the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, Gaeta remained loyal to the Byzantine

Russia, Machine building

Russia's machine-building industry provides most of the federation's requirements for steam boilers and turbines, electric generators, grain combines, automobiles, and electric locomotives and fills much of its demand for machine tools, instruments, and automation components. Important automobile factories are located in Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Miass, Yaroslavl,

Ligurian Language

Language spoken by the Ligurians in northwestern Italy (and perhaps also in southern France and northeastern Spain) in pre-Roman and early Roman times. It is apparently an Indo-European language. Some scholars have maintained that Ligurian is closely related to the Italic and Celtic languages, holding an intermediate linguistic position between them. The language

Novgorod School

Important school of Russian medieval icon and mural painting that flourished around the northwestern city of Novgorod from the 12th through the 16th century. A thriving merchant city, Novgorod was the cultural centre of Russia during the Mongol occupation of most of the rest of the country in the 13th and 14th centuries. During that period it preserved the Byzantine traditions

Encephalartos

A genus of 20 or more species of palmlike cycads (plants of the family Cycadaceae), native to southern Africa and grown elsewhere as conservatory and house plants. The genus includes both tuberous and columnar varieties; they sometimes have spiny foliage. A breadlike food is prepared from the starchy centre of the stem of the Kaffir bread, or bread

Earth, Reversals of the main field

The Earth's internal magnetic field has not always been oriented as it is today. The direction of the dipole component reverses, on an average, about every 300,000 to 1,000,000 years. This reversal is very sudden on a geologic time scale, apparently taking about 5,000 years. The time between reversals is highly variable, sometimes occurring in less than 40,000 years and at other times remaining steady

Motion Picture, History Of The, Germany

Because of its ownership of the Tobis-Klangfilm patents, the German film industry found itself in a position of relative strength in the early years of sound, and it produced several important films during that period, including Josef von Sternberg's Der blaue Engel (The Blue Angel, 1930), G.W. Pabst's two antiwar films, Westfront 1918 (1930) and Kameradschaft (1931), and his adaptation of Bertolt

Ovarian Cancer

A disease characterized by the abnormal growth of cells in the ovaries, the internal reproductive organs that produce the ova, or egg cells, in women. Most ovarian cancers begin in the outer layer of the ovaries, although some cancers develop from the connective tissue that holds the ovary together or from the cells that serve as precursors for eggs.

Cosmos

The disk flowers are red or yellow; the ray flowers, sometimes notched, may be white, pink, red, purple, or other colours. The common

Hawkins, Coleman

At age four Hawkins began to study the piano, at seven

Botha, Louis

The son of a voortrekker (pioneer settler of the interior), he grew up in the Orange Free State, where he received his only formal education at

Ibero-maurusian Industry

Also called �Oranian Industry, � North African stone-tool industry dating from the late W�rm (last) Glacial Period, about 16,000 years ago. The former presumption that the industry extended into Spain explains the prefix �Ibero-� in the name. The industry does bear a close resemblance to the late Magdalenian culture in Spain, which is broadly contemporary (c. 15,000 BC). Subsequent study, however, suggests that the Ibero-Maurusian

Epistemology, Skepticism

Until the beginning of Part IV of Book I

Wolffish

Any of nine species of large, long-bodied blennies of the family Anarhichadidae (order Perciformes), found in northern Atlantic and Pacific waters. Wolffishes are much larger than most other blennies, the largest species growing to a length of about 2.3 m (7.5 feet). Wolffishes have a large head and a long, tapered body surmounted by a single, long dorsal

Araliaceae

The ginseng family of flowering plants, in the order Apiales, comprising approximately 700 species centred in Southeast Asia and tropical America. Most members are shrubs or trees, though there are a number of climbers and a few herbs. The family has large, usually alternate, compound leaves, five-parted flowers arranged in compound umbels (flat-topped clusters), and a

Aeneas

Mythical hero of Troy and Rome, son of the goddess Aphrodite and Anchises. Aeneas was a member of the royal line at Troy and cousin of Hector. He played a prominent part in the war to defend his city against the Greeks, being second only to Hector in ability. Homer implies that Aeneas did not like his subordinate position, and from that suggestion arose a later tradition

El Argar

Culture characterized by a flourishing metallurgy of bronze, silver, and gold that appeared at the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC in the Almer�a (southeastern) region of the Iberian Peninsula. The culture, which developed a lively trade with centres in the eastern Mediterranean, reached its peak between 1700 and 1000 BC and spread throughout the southern, central, and Levantine

Coleraine

Irish �C�il Raithin� town, seat, and district (established 1973; formerly astride Counties Antrim and Londonderry), Northern Ireland. Coleraine town is located near the mouth of the River Bann. Flint implements dating back to nearly 7000 BC have been found in the vicinity; they provide the earliest evidence of human occupation in Ireland. The main town on the east bank radiates from a central square,

Narayan, Jaya Prakash

Narayan was educated at universities in the United States, where he became a Marxist. Upon his return to India in 1929, he joined the Congress Party. In 1932 he was sentenced to a year's imprisonment for his participation in the civil-disobedience movement against British rule in India. Upon release he took

Sevagram

Town, eastern Maharashtra state, western India. Originally called Segaon, the village was given its present name (Hindi: Village of Service) by Mohandas Gandhi, the Indian nationalist leader. In 1936 he left his ashram (hermitage) on the Sabarmati River, near Ahmadabad, and settled at Sevagram. There he founded another ashram and directed the independence movement. Within this he

U Geminorum Star

Any of a class of irregular variable stars that display sudden increases in brightness so great that they are sometimes called dwarf novae. Some have been observed to brighten by as much as 5 magnitudes (100 times) in a period of hours. The prototype star, U Geminorum, brightens by as much as 4 magnitudes (about 40 times) in a few days, declining again to normal brightness in two or

Bagirmi, Kingdom Of

Bagirmi also spelled �Baguirmi,� historic African state founded in the 16th century in the region just southeast of Lake Chad. Europeans first learned about the existence of Bagirmi and the other powerful states of central Africa (Wadai Bornu-Kanem) when Dixon Denham penetrated the Lake Chad region in 1823. Details became known particularly from written records of the later explorers Heinrich Barth

Bowerman, Bill

American coach, inventor, and entrepreneur who while serving (1949 - 72) as coach of the track team at the University of Oregon led teams to four National Collegiate Athletic Association titles (1962, 1964, 1965, and 1970) and coached 24 NCAA individual champions; in his quest to give his runners an edge, Bowerman experimented with creating a lighter outsole and fashioned the modern-day �waffle� running

Ara Pacis

Also called �Ara Pacis Augustae (Latin: �Altar of the Augustan Peace�)� shrine consisting of a marble altar in a walled enclosure erected in Rome's Campus Martius by the emperor Augustus and dedicated on Jan. 30, 9 BC. The sculptures on the walls and the altar representing the shrine's dedication ceremonies, scenes from Roman legend, and floral motifs are considered to be among the finest examples of Roman art.

Bloch, Ernst

Having begun his career at the University of Leipzig (1918), Bloch fled from Nazi Germany to Switzerland (1933), then went to the United States, where he wrote the first two volumes

Gaffney

City, seat of Cherokee county, northern South Carolina, U.S., near the Broad River. Named for Michael Gaffney, an Irish settler who arrived in 1803, it early developed as a resort where plantation owners sought therapeutic treatment at local limestone springs. Its growth as a market centre for cotton (now peaches) and farm produce was sustained by the coming of the Southern

Trieste

Ancient (Latin) �Tergeste, �Slovene and Serbo-Croatian �Trst, �German �Triest� city and capital of Friuli-Venezia Giulia regione and of Trieste provincia, northeastern Italy, located on the Gulf of Trieste at the northeastern corner of the Adriatic Sea 90 miles (145 km) east of Venice. It was under Roman control by about 177 BC; Julius Caesar made it a colony and recorded its name as Tergeste in his Commentarii de bello Gallico (The Gallic War), written in 52 - 51 BC. Augustus

Koror

Formerly �Corrora� one of the Caroline Islands, western Pacific; it lies just southwest of Babelthuap island. Koror city serves as the provisional capital of Palau while a new capital is being constructed at Melekeok in eastern Babelthuap. Partly uplifted coral-limestone and partly volcanic in origin, Koror has a land area of 3 square miles (8 square km) and rises to 459 feet (140 metres). A territorial

Selenium Cell

Photoelectric device used to generate or control an electric current. Selenium photocells are commonly used in photographic-exposure meters, burglar alarms, electronic-door opening and counting devices, electronic control systems in factory assembly lines, and industrial colour perceptors. In some ways, such as colour perception and sensitivity, the performance

Florian�polis

The first European settlement on the island was made in 1542 by Spaniards, but in 1675 control passed to the Portuguese, who established

Hale, Edward Everett

A grandnephew of the Revolutionary hero Nathan Hale and a nephew of Edward Everett, the orator, Hale trained on his father's newspaper, the Boston Daily Advertiser, and turned early to writing. For 70 years newspaper articles, historical

China, The Tien Shan

The Chinese part of the Tien Shan consists of a complex system of ranges and depressions in which two major groups of ranges - the northern and southern - may be distinguished. They are separated by a strip of intermontane depressions that is broken up by the interior ranges. Ancient metamorphic rock (formed under heat and pressure) constitutes the larger portion of

Balbuena, Bernardo De

Balbuena, taken to Mexico as a child, studied there and in Spain. Returning to the New World, he held minor church offices in Jamaica (1608) and became bishop of Puerto Rico (1620), remaining

Anti-fascist Council For The National Liberation Of Yugoslavia

AVNOJ was first convened at the Bosnian town of Bihac (Nov. 26 - 27, 1942). The participation of noncommunists allowed a National Liberation Movement

Ukrainian Language

Formerly called �Ruthenian, �or �Little Russian, �Ukrainian �Ukra�ns'ka Mova,� East Slavic language spoken in Ukraine and in Ukrainian communities in neighbouring Belarus, Russia, Poland, and Slovakia. Ukrainian is a lineal descendant of the colloquial language used in Kievan Rus (10th - 13th century). It is written in a form of the Cyrillic alphabet and is closely related to Russian and Belarusian, from which it was indistinguishable until the 12th

Muharraq, Al-

Taken

Adelaer

He entered the Dutch navy in 1639 as an adelborst (�cadet�) and served under Martin van Tromp but in 1642 moved into Venetian service, where he was known as Curzio Suffrido Adelborst. He soon distinguished himself and in 1650 was sent to patrol the Dardanelles.

Ammonium Hydroxide

The water solution is generally represented by the formula NH4OH, though