Hines, Earl (kenneth)

Byname �Fatha� American jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer who was one of the strongest influences in the first 30 years of jazz history. He improvised lines with his right hand that were phrased like those of a trumpeter and - with the use of octave voicings, tremolos, and his powerful attack - caused the piano to seem almost brassy. This style,

Monck (of Ballytrammon), Sir Charles Stanley, 4th Viscount, 1st Baron Monck Of Ballytrammon

Monck was educated at Trinity College in Dublin and was called to practice in the Irish bar in 1841. On the death of his father he succeeded to the peerage of Ireland in 1849 and was elected to the House of Commons as a Liberal member from Portsmouth.

Van Fleet, Jo

U.S. actress who played bold, matronly women on stage and screen, notably in Elia Kazan films, beginning with her role as the mother of James Dean's character in East of Eden (1955), for which she won an Academy Award (b. Dec. 30, 1919--d. June 10, 1996).

Biblical Literature, Hellenistic religions

With the expansion of Christianity into the Hellenistic world either to Jews or increasingly to Gentiles, there were various reasons why the Christian message that spread, for example by Paul, met the needs of the Hellenistic Age and world. There was no lack of religions, but there was a crisis of upheaval, unrest, and uncertainty and a desire to escape from mortality

Baracaldo

Also spelled �Barakaldo, � industrial municipality, northern Biscay (Vizcaya) provincia, in the autonomous Basque Country, northeastern Spain. It lies on the south bank of the Nervi�n River. Baracaldo consists of the Bilbao suburbs of El Regato, San Vicente de Baracaldo, Ir�uregui, and Alons�tegui. It is the terminus of a mining railway; the locality's primary economic activities include iron

Biblical Literature, Kings: the second book

The Second Book of Kings continues the history of the monarchies of Israel and Judah and of the prophetic movement. Ahaziah fell from an upper chamber of his palace in Samaria and sought help from Baalzebub, the god of Ekron. Elijah met the messengers to castigate them for not seeking aid from Yahweh, the God of Israel, and told a third delegation that had been sent out

Masai

Also spelled �Maasai � nomadic pastoralists of East Africa. Masai is essentially a linguistic term, referring to speakers of this Eastern Sudanic language (usually called Maa) of the Nilo-Saharan language family. These include the pastoral Masai who range along the Great Rift Valley of Kenya and Tanzania, the Samburu of Kenya, and the semipastoral Arusha and Baraguyu (or Kwafi) of

Biblical Literature, II Esdras (or IV Esdras)

Two important apocalyptic pseudepigrapha (II Esdras and the Apocalypse of Baruch), in which the political and eschatological aspects are central to the aim of the books, were written in Palestine at the end of the 1st century CE as a consequence of the catastrophic destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem (70). Both were written as if they reflected the doom that befell

Zola, �mile

In full� �mile-�douard-charles-antoine Zola � French novelist, critic, and political activist who was the most prominent French novelist of the late 19th century. He was noted for his theories of naturalism, which underlie his monumental 20-novel series Les Rougon-Macquart, and for his intervention in the Dreyfus Affair through his famous open letter, �J'accuse.�

Taft, William Howard

For additional writings by Taft, see Limited Presidential Power and The Cabinet and the Congress.

Biblical Literature, Joshua

The Book of Joshua takes its name from the man who succeeded Moses as the leader of the Hebrew tribes - Joshua, the son of Nun, a member of the tribe of Ephraim. In post-biblical times Joshua himself was credited with being the author of the book, though internal evidence gives no such indication. According to the views of the German biblical scholar Martin Noth, which have

Taal Lake

Lake in southwestern Luzon, Philippines, occupying a volcanic crater with a maximum width of 15 miles (24 km), at less than 10 feet (3 m) above sea level. It has an area of 94 square miles (244 square km) and is the country's third largest lake. Within the lake rises Volcano Island (984 feet [300 m]), which itself contains another small crater (Yellow Lake). Volcano Island, called Taal Volcano, has erupted 25 times

Chamber Music, Classical period, c. 1750 - 1825

The 83 string quartets (of which seven are single-movement arrangements of orchestral pieces titled The Seven Words of Our Saviour on the Cross and known as The Seven Last Words) by Joseph Haydn (1732 - 1809) constitute a series in which virtually the entire history of the string quartet is represented. Most of them appeared in sets of six, each under a separate opus number. The earliest

Pacific Ocean, The monsoon regime

The western Pacific is subject to a seasonal climatic regime that replaces the planetary system. This is the regime of the monsoon (rain-bearing winds), which is associated with the heating of the Asian landmass in summer and its intense cooling in winter. The heating of air masses over tropical Asia in summer initiates a low-pressure system, which becomes the focal

Baseball

Game played with a bat, a ball, and gloves between two teams of nine players each on a field with four white bases laid out in a diamond (i.e., a square oriented so that its diagonal line is vertical). Teams alternate positions as batters (offense) and fielders (defense), exchanging places when three members of the batting team are �put out.� As batters, players try to hit the ball

Aldabra Islands

Atoll, one of the world's largest, in the Indian Ocean about 600 miles (1,000 km) southwest of the Seychelles group, and part of the Republic of the Seychelles. The Aldabras, together with Farquhar and Desroches islands and the Chagos Archipelago, formed part of the British Indian Ocean Territory from 1965 to 1976. The Aldabra Islands were formerly under the hegemony of the Seychelles, to

Frumentius, Saint

A student of philosophy from Tyre, Frumentius and a colleague, Aedesius, were

Permafrost, Air temperature and ground temperature

In areas where the mean annual air temperature becomes colder than 0� C, some of the ground frozen in the winter will not be completely thawed in the summer; therefore, a layer of permafrost will form and continue to grow downward gradually each year from the seasonally frozen ground. The permafrost layer will become thicker each winter, its thickness controlled by

Permafrost, Air temperature and ground temperature

In areas where the mean annual air temperature becomes colder than 0� C, some of the ground frozen in the winter will not be completely thawed in the summer; therefore, a layer of permafrost will form and continue to grow downward gradually each year from the seasonally frozen ground. The permafrost layer will become thicker each winter, its thickness controlled by

Acriflavine

Dye obtained from coal tar, introduced as an antiseptic in 1912 by the German medical-research worker Paul Ehrlich and used extensively in World War I to kill the parasites that cause sleeping sickness. The hydrochloride and the less irritating base, neutral acriflavine, both are odourless, reddish-brown powders used in dilute aqueous solutions primarily as topical

Camargo, Marie (-anne De Cupis De)

Camargo studied in Paris under Fran�oise Prevost and danced in Brussels and Rouen before her Paris Op�ra debut in 1726 in Les Caract�res de la danse. Her success provoked the jealousy of her aging teacher, Prevost, who

Yamasaki, Minoru

Following his graduation from the University of Washington, Seattle, Yamasaki went in 1934 to New York City, where he held a number of design positions

Velasco Ibarra, Jos� Mar�

Velasco Ibarra was born into a wealthy family and educated in Quito and Paris. He held various public posts before being elected president as the Conservative Party's candidate in 1933, assuming office in 1934. His economic-development plans, which

Usuki

City, Oita ken (prefecture), Kyushu, Japan. The city faces Usuki Bay on the Bungo Channel between the Inland Sea and the Pacific Ocean. An early castle town, Usuki once carried on trade with Portugal. It is now a fishing port and commercial centre; the main industrial activity is brewing. Usuki is perhaps most noted as the site of the former Buddhist Mangetsu Temple, with its

Buzau Pass

Romanian �Pasul Buzau� pass connecting Brasov with Buzau, southeastern Romania, over the Buzau Mountains, in the Eastern Carpathians. It follows the valley of the Buzau River for most of its distance. A road crosses the pass, and there are short, nonconnecting rail branches from Brasov and Buzau.

Stork

Any of 17 species of large, long-necked, birds constituting the family Ciconiidae (order Ciconiiformes), related to the herons, flamingos, and ibises. Storks range from about 60 centimetres (2 feet) to more than 150 centimetres (5 feet) in height. All or part of the head and upper neck may be bare of feathers and brightly coloured. Storks are voiceless or nearly so, for lack of a fully developed

Skaz

The word is of Russian origin and literally means �tale�; it is derived from skazat,

Spotswood, Alexander

After service under the 1st duke of Marlborough in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701 - 14), he was appointed lieutenant governor of Virginia (1710). In this post he recommended the establishment of a Virginia company to carry

Jackson, Andrew

Jackson's interest in public affairs and in politics had always been keen. He had gone to Nashville as a political appointee, and in 1796 he became a member of the convention that drafted a constitution for the new state of Tennessee. In the same year he was elected as the first representative from Tennessee to the U.S. House of Representatives. An undistinguished legislator, he refused to seek reelection and served only until March 4, 1797. Jackson returned to Tennessee, vowing never to enter public life again, but before the end of the year he was elected to the U.S. Senate. His willingness to accept the office reflects his emergence as an acknowledged leader of one of the two political factions contending for control of the state. Nevertheless, Jackson resigned from the Senate in 1798 after an uneventful year. Soon after his return to Nashville he was elected a judge of the superior court (in effect, the supreme court) of the state and served in that post until 1804. In 1802 Jackson had also been elected major general of the Tennessee militia, a position he still held when the War of 1812 opened the door to a command in the field and a hero's role.