Absurd, Theatre Of The
Dramatic works of certain European and American dramatists of the 1950s and early '60s who agreed with the Existentialist philosopher Albert Camus's assessment, in his essay �The Myth of Sisyphus� (1942), that the human situation is essentially absurd, devoid of purpose. The term is also loosely applied to those dramatists and the production of those works. Though no formal Absurdist
Cell Culture
The maintenance and growth of the cells of multicellular organisms outside the body in specially designed containers and under precise conditions of temperature, humidity, nutrition, and freedom from contamination. In a broad sense, cells, tissues, and organs that are isolated and maintained in the laboratory are considered the objects of tissue culture. The
Eliot, T.s.
Eliot was descended from a distinguished New England family that had relocated to St. Louis, Missouri. His family allowed him the widest education available in his time, with no influence from his father to be �practical� and to go into business. From Smith Academy in St. Louis he went to Milton, in Massachusetts; from Milton he entered Harvard in 1906; he received a B.A. in 1909, after
T Tauri Star
Any of a class of very young stars having a mass approximately equal to that of the Sun. So called after a prototype identified in a bright region of gas and dust known as the Hind's variable nebula, the T Tauri stars are characterized by erratic changes in brightness. They represent an early stage in stellar evolution, having only recently been formed by the rapid gravitational
Cactus
The Cactaceae are native through most of the length
Davenport Ware
Cream-coloured earthenware made by John Davenport of Longport, Staffordshire, Eng., beginning in 1793. Davenport had great success with pierced openwork-rimmed plates, either painted or transfer printed. He produced domestic bone china from 1800 and by 1810 was operating on a large scale; the business continued until 1887. Gilding, an extensive use of coloured grounds, flower-encrusted
Paraguan� Peninsula
Spanish �Pen�nsula De Paraguan�, � Falc�n estado (�state�), northwestern Venezuela. It lies between the Caribbean Sea on the east and the Gulf of Venezuela on the west. Of low elevation, the peninsula has infertile soil and is sparsely populated, but the development of the petroleum industry, especially in the 1950s and '60s, gave Paraguan� great economic importance. Pipelines lead from the oil fields at Lake Maracaibo
Tarbell, Ida M.
Tarbell was educated at Allegheny College (Meadville, Pennsylvania) and taught briefly before becoming an editor for the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle (1883 - 91). In 1891 she took her
Milyukov, Pavel Nikolayevich
Milyukov also spelled �Miliukov� Russian statesman and historian who played an important role in the events leading to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and served as foreign minister (March - May 1917) in Prince Lvov's provisional government. He remains one of the greatest of Russia's liberal historians.
Bearded Seal
(Erignathus barbatus), nonmigratory seal of the family Phocidae, distinguished by the bushy, bristly whiskers for which it is named; it is also known as �squareflipper� after the rectangular shape of the foreflipper. Highly valued by Eskimos for its hide, meat, and blubber, the bearded seal is a grayish or yellow-brown animal that lives alone or in small groups in coastal
American Literature, Drama
Two post-World War II playwrights established reputations comparable to O'Neill's. Arthur Miller wrote eloquent essays defending his modern, democratic concept of tragedy; despite its abstract, allegorical quality and portentous language, Death of a Salesman (1949) came close to vindicating his views. Miller's intense family dramas were rooted in the works of the socially
Shagari, Alhaji Shehu (usman Aliyu)
A member of the Muslim Fulani people of northern Nigeria and a descendant of a tribe that had founded his home village, Shagari studied at a secondary school in Kaduna and taught school briefly before entering politics in 1954 and being elected to the federal House of Representatives. Thereafter
Hardinge (of Lahore And Kings Newton), Henry Hardinge, 1st Viscount
Hardinge entered the army in 1799 and, during the Napoleonic Wars, served with distinction as a staff officer in the Peninsular War (1808 - 14). In the Hundred Days (1815), he was a brigadier general with the Prussian army at the Battle of Ligny and
China, Clashes with foreigners
On May 30, 1925, patriotic students, engaged in an anti-imperialist demonstration in Shanghai, clashed with foreign police. The British captain in charge ordered the police to fire upon a crowd that he believed was about to rush his station. Some 12 Chinese were killed in the May Thirtieth Incident, including students. This aroused a nationwide protest and set off a protracted
Arrhenius, Svante (august)
Swedish physical chemist best known for his theory that electrolytes, certain substances that dissolve in water to yield a solution that conducts electricity, are separated, or dissociated, into electrically charged particles, or ions, even when there is no current flowing through the solution. In 1903 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for
Gisulph Ii
In 1052 Gisulph's father, Gaimar V, was assassinated in a revolt. Gisulph, held captive by the assassins, was rescued with the aid of Norman knights, who were rewarded by recognition of their territorial
Toponymy
Taxonomic study of place-names, based on etymological, historical, and geographical information. A place-name is a word or words used to indicate, denote, or identify a geographic locality such as a town, river, or mountain. Toponymy divides place-names into two broad categories: habitation names and feature names. A habitation name denotes a locality that is peopled
Cyril Of Alexandria, Saint
He succeeded his uncle Theophilus
Cyril Of Alexandria, Saint
He succeeded his uncle Theophilus
Smith, Seba
A graduate of Bowdoin College, Smith founded (1829) the Portland Courier, in which the Major's fictional letters first appeared in January 1830, continuing later in the National Intelligencer until July 1853. Major Jack was a common man magnified as oracle, a Yankee
France, History Of, Charles V
Under the former dauphin, now Charles V (1364 - 80), the fortunes of war were dramatically reversed. Charles had a high conception of royalty and a good political sense. While he shared the Valois taste for luxury and festivity, he reverted to the Capetian tradition of prudent diplomacy. He observed the Treaty of Calais, which helps to explain why Edward III did not press to conclude
Ear Disease, Perichondritis
Infection of the cartilage of the outer ear, called perichondritis, is unusual but may occur from injury or from swimming in polluted water. It is due to a particular microorganism, Pseudomonas aeruginosa. There is a greenish or brownish, musty or foul-smelling discharge from the outer-ear canal, while the affected outer ear becomes tender, dusky red, and two to three
Blonde Lace
Originally, bobbin lace made in France in the 18th century from unbleached pale beige Chinese silk. Subsequently, the term blonde was extended to cover lace made of bleached silk (white blonde) and black-dyed silk (black blonde). Blonde lace was made in France at Bayeux, Caen, and Chantilly in the mid-18th century and also in England (Dorset) c. 1754 - 80. Just before the Revolution of 1789, blonde
O'gorman, Juan
The most elaborate example of O'Gorman's work is the exterior of the Library of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, which he planned and built in 1950. The windowless library featured a tower containing
North America, The dispossession of the Indians
The process of removing the Indians from their ancestral lands led to bitter disputes. The British tried to end one such problem by setting up the Proclamation Line of 1763 along the Appalachian divide, allowing whites to take over what lay to the east but attempting to reserve what lay to the west as Indian territory. After their independence from Britain, the Americans
Thompson, Dorothy
The daughter of a Methodist minister, Thompson attended the Lewis Institute in Chicago and Syracuse University in New York (A.B., 1914), where she became ardently committed to woman suffrage. After World War I she went to Europe as a freelance correspondent
Thompson, Dorothy
The daughter of a Methodist minister, Thompson attended the Lewis Institute in Chicago and Syracuse University in New York (A.B., 1914), where she became ardently committed to woman suffrage. After World War I she went to Europe as a freelance correspondent
Andrew Ii
The son of B�la III, Andrew succeeded L�szl� III, his elder brother's son, on the throne in 1205. Powerful landed interests forced Andrew to spend royal funds so recklessly that the crown
Botany
Branch of biology that deals with the study of plants, including their structure, properties, and biochemical processes. Also included are plant classification and the study of plant diseases and of interactions with the environment. The principles and findings of botany have provided the base for such applied sciences as agriculture, horticulture, and
Lancaster Sound
Western arm of Baffin Bay (an inlet of the North Atlantic Ocean), in north-central Baffin region, Nunavut territory, Canada. The sound is 200 miles (320 km) long and 40 miles (64 km) wide. It extends between Devon Island (north) and Baffin Island (south) and joins the Barrow Strait northeast of Somerset Island. All feasible routes of the Northwest Passage, a seaway through the Canadian Arctic
United Kingdom, The golden age of Bede
Within a century of Augustine's landing, England was in the forefront of scholarship. This high standard arose from a combination of influences: that from Ireland, which had escaped the decay caused elsewhere by the barbarian invasions, and that from the Mediterranean, which reached England mainly through Archbishop Theodore and his companion, the abbot Adrian
