StiffChain

Rachmaninoff, Sergey

2005-11-18T09:30:00.000-08:00

Rachmaninoff's music, although written mostly in the 20th century, remains firmly entrenched in the 19th-century musical idiom. He was, in effect, the final expression of the tradition embodied by Tchaikovsky—a melodist of Romantic dimensions still writing in an era of explosive change and experimentation.

Saarland

2005-07-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

Also called Saar, Land (state) in the southwestern portion of Germany. It is bounded by France on the south, Luxembourg on the west, and the Land of Rhineland-Palatinate on the north and east. It covers an area of 992 square miles (2,569 square km). The capital is Saarbrücken, which lies along the Saar River.

Adam, Robert

2005-07-25T14:20:00.000-07:00

In 1754 Robert Adam, who by then considered himself to be worth £5,000, was invited to accompany the Honourable Charles Hope, the earl of Hopetoun's younger brother, to Italy. He thus had the opportunity to realize the dream he had been saving for since his father's death, and, just as important, he had the social advantages of traveling with the brother of an earl. He was as much concerned

Shaitan

2005-07-23T03:05:00.000-07:00

In the system of evil jinn outlined by the Arab writer al-Jahiz, the shaitans are identified simply as unbelieving jinn. Folklore, however, describes them as exceptionally ugly creatures, either male or female, capable of assuming human form—though

Nitroglycerin

2005-07-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

Pure nitroglycerin is a colourless, oily, somewhat toxic liquid having a sweet, burning taste. It was first prepared in 1846 by the Italian

Manakara

2005-06-29T05:05:00.000-07:00

Town, southeastern Madagascar. It is situated along the Indian Ocean and the Pangalanes Canal. An old fishing village, it became a thriving Indian Ocean port after a railway was constructed connecting it to Fianarantsoa (75 miles [120 km] northwest). Now it handles the coastal trade of coffee and cloves, and it has workshops serving the railway. Pop. (1978 est.) 26,000.

Kuba

2005-06-15T22:15:00.000-07:00

Kuba cultivate corn (maize), cassava, millet, peanuts (groundnuts), and beans as staples. They grow raffia and oil palms, raise corn as a cash crop, and hunt and fish. They have kept aloof from modern life, and few have emigrated or engage

Micronesia

2005-06-03T07:05:00.000-07:00

To the west of the Federated States

Orléans, Louis-philippe, Duc D' (duke Of)

2005-06-01T01:30:00.000-07:00

Having served with distinction from 1742 to 1757, he lived in seclusion and devoted himself to the theatre, patronizing actors and musicians. After his first wife died (1759), he became so passionately enamoured of the Marquise de Montesson that he secured Louis

Thun Und Hohenstein, Friedrich, Count (graf) Von

2005-05-17T16:40:00.000-07:00

After the suppression of the 1848–49 revolutions in Germany and Austria, Thun, an astute politician, headed

Extremum

2005-05-15T22:20:00.000-07:00

Plural Extrema, in calculus, any point at which the value of a function is largest (a maximum) or smallest (a minimum). There are both absolute and relative (or local) maxima and minima. At a relative maximum the value of the function is larger than its value at immediately adjacent points, while at an absolute maximum the value of the function is larger than its value at any other point in

Arabia, History Of, Minaeans

2005-05-13T20:15:00.000-07:00

The Minaean kingdom (Ma'in) lasted from the 4th to the 2nd century BC and was predominantly a trading organization that, for the period, monopolized the trade routes. References to Ma'in occur earlier in Sabaean texts, where they seem to be loosely associated with the 'Amir people to the north of the Minaean capital of Qarnaw (now Ma'in), which is at the eastern end of the Wadi al-Jawf

India, Aurangzeb

2005-03-15T14:55:00.000-08:00

The empire under Aurangzeb (ruled 1658 - 1707) experienced further growth but also manifested signs of weakness. For more than a decade, Aurangzeb appeared to be in full control. The Mughals suffered a bit in Assam and Cooch Behar, but they invaded gainfully the Arakanese in southern Myanmar (Burma), captured Chittagong, and added territories in Bikaner, Bundelkhand, Palamau, Assam,

Tocantins

2005-03-14T19:02:00.000-08:00

Inland estado (�state�) of north-central Brazil. A part of the sparsely settled Central-West region, Tocantins is bounded by the states of Maranh�o and Piau� to the northeast, Bahia to the east, Goi�s to the south, Mato Grosso to the west, and Par� to the northwest. Tocantins was created from the northern half of Goi�s (q.v.) state in 1989. Its area is 107,075 square miles (277,322 square km). The capital

Mitchell River

2005-03-11T08:47:00.002-08:00

River in northern Queensland, Australia. It rises near Rumula on the Atherton Plateau section of the Eastern Highlands, 30 miles (48 km) northwest of Cairns, and flows for 350 miles (560 km) northwest across Cape York Peninsula to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Although the stream, fed by the Palmer, Walsh, and Lynd rivers, has the state's largest discharge, it is intermittent and may be dry for

Mitchell River

2005-03-11T08:47:00.001-08:00

Mitchell River

2005-03-11T08:47:00.000-08:00

Cam Ranh Bay

2005-03-07T19:26:00.004-08:00