Ube

City, Yamaguchi ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan, on the Inland Sea. Coal was mined in the area in the late 17th century, but Ube remained a small village until undersea mining operations began in the Meiji period (1868 - 1912). It then developed into a large mining and industrial city, manufacturing chemicals from coal. Because of the gradual decline of coal mining in Japan after World

Kazoku

In Japan, the unified, crown-appointed aristocracy of the period 1869 - 1947, which replaced the feudal lords. The kazoku (�flower family�) class was created in 1869 as part of the Westernizing reforms of the Meiji Restoration. In this class the old feudal lords (daimyo) and court nobles (kuge) were merged into one group and deprived of territorial privileges. In 1884 the kazoku was reorganized

Murrumbidgee River

Major right-bank tributary of the Murray River, rising on the western slope of the Eastern Highlands (20 mi [32 km] north of Kiandra), in southeastern New South Wales, Australia. It flows at first southeastward and then, after a remarkable fishhook bend, directly northward through the Australian Capital Territory. At Yass it trends westward, being joined by the Lachlan between

Medicine, Britain

Public health services in Britain are organized locally under the National Health Service. The medical officer of health is employed by the local council and is the adviser in health matters. The larger councils employ a number of mostly full-time medical officers; in some rural areas, a general practitioner may be employed part-time as medical officer of

Alimony

In divorce law, compensation owed by one spouse to the other for financial support after divorce. Alimony aims at support of the one spouse, not punishment of the other. In some places, the term means simply a property settlement irrespective of future support. Alimony has traditionally been granted from husbands to wives but has occasionally been granted from wives

Sigismund Ii Augustus

The only son of Sigismund I the Old and Bona Sforza, Sigismund II was elected and crowned coruler with his father in 1530. He ruled the duchy of Lithuania from 1544 and became king

Korea Cold Current, North

Surface oceanic current flowing southward east of Korea near Vladivostok, Russia. The North Korea Cold Current forms a small counterclockwise gyre in the Sea of Japan.

Henry I

The son of Robert II the Pious and grandson of Hugh Capet, founder of the Capetian dynasty, Henry was anointed king at Reims (1026) in his father's lifetime, following the death of his elder brother Hugh. His mother, Constance, however, favoured his younger brother

Sabkhah

Also spelled �Sebkha� (Arabic), saline flat or salt-crusted depression, commonly found along the coasts of North Africa and Saudi Arabia. Sabkhahs are generally bordered by sand dunes and have soft, poorly cemented but impermeable floors, due to periodic flooding and evaporation. Concentration of seawater and capillary discharge of groundwater result in deposits of gypsum, calcite,

Swimming

Eighty divers from 18 countries competed in the 24th International at Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on May 6-9. In the women's events, Simona Koch of Germany won the 1-m springboard; Irina Lashko of Russia took the 3-m springboard; and Svetlana Khokhlova of Russia won the 10-m platform. Winners in the men's competition were Wang Yijie of China in the 1-m springboard, Lan Wei of China in the 3-m springboard,

Durrell, Gerald Malcolm

British naturalist (b. Jan. 7, 1925, Jamshedpur, India--d. Jan. 30, 1995, St. Helier, Jersey), gained international stature among conservationists for his pioneering yet sometimes controversial role in preserving and breeding endangered species by housing them in zoos with the intention of eventually returning them to the wild. He was also a prolific author, producing more than 35 amusing

Louis

Also called �Louis D'or, � gold coin circulated in France before the Revolution. The franc (q.v.) and livre were silver coins that had shrunk in value to such an extent that by 1740 coins of a larger denomination were needed. The French kings therefore had gold coins struck and called after their name Louis, or louis d'or (�gold Louis�). After the Revolution, Napoleon continued the practice but called the

Mies Van Der Rohe, Ludwig

Four years later, in 1937 - again after working mainly on projects that were never built - Mies moved to the United States. Soon after he arrived in the country, he gained an appointment as director of the School of Architecture at Chicago's Armour Institute (later the Illinois Institute of Technology). Mies served as the school's director for the next 20 years, and, by the time he

Carrick On Suir

Irish �Carraig Na Si�ire� town, County Tipperary, Ireland, on the River Suir. Located beside the foothills of the Comeraghs and having steep, narrow streets, it is connected with its southern suburb Carrickbeg, in County Waterford, by two bridges across the Suir. Ormonde Castle, begun in 1309, was the seat of the Butlers, the dukes of Ormonde. Anne Boleyn, mother of Elizabeth I of England, is said to have

Burdwan

Also called �Bardhaman, or Barddhaman, � city, central West Bengal state, northeastern India. The city is a major communications centre lying astride the Banka River just north of the Damodar River. Rice and oilseed milling and hosiery, cutlery, and tool manufacturing are the chief industries. Of historic interest are the Rajbari (the maharaja's palace and gardens), several ancient Muslim tombs, and 108 Siva linga,

Palam�s, Kost�

Palam�s was educated at Mesolongion and at Athens and became the central figure in the Demotic movement of the 1880s, which sought to shake off traditionalism and draw inspiration for a new Greek literary and artistic style from the life and language of the people.

Islamic World, The second fitnah

The second fitnah followed Mu'awiyah's caliphate (661 - 680), which itself was not free from strife, and coincided with the caliphates of Mu'awiyah's son Yazid I (ruled 680 - 683), whom he designated as successor, and Yazid's three successors. This fitnah was a second-generation reprise of the first; some of the personnel of the former were descendants or relatives of the leaders of the latter. Once

Arab League

Also called �League Of Arab States (LAS)�, Arabic �Al-Jami'a Al-'Arabiyah, or Al-Jami'a Ad-Duwal Al-'Arabiyah, � regional organization of Arab states in the Middle East, formed in Cairo on March 22, 1945. The founding member states were Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Transjordan (now Jordan), Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. Other members are Libya (1953); The Sudan (1956); Tunisia and Morocco (1958); Kuwait (1961); Algeria (1962); Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (1971); Mauritania (1973); Somalia (1974); the Palestine Liberation Organization

Insurance, Homeowner's insurance

Homeowner's insurance covers individual, or nonbusiness, property. Introduced in 1958, it gradually replaced the older method of insuring individual property under the �standard fire policy.�

Grumman, Leroy Randle

After graduating from Cornell University, Grumman joined the U.S. Navy and served as a flight instructor and later as a test pilot. Following World War I he worked for the Loening

Theism, Hindu theism

It was noted, for example, that the Vedic hymns that appear in the earliest Hindu scriptures contain significant intimations of a sense of �the wonder of existence,� �the outpourings,� as Savepalli Radhakrishnan, the former philosopher-president of India, has expressed it, �of poetic minds who were struck by the immensity of the universe and the inexhaustible mystery

Mansur, Abu Yusuf Ya'qub Al-

When his father, Abu Ya'qub Yusuf, died on July 29, 1184, Abu Yusuf Ya'qub succeeded to the throne with minor difficulties. In November factious tribes in Algeria captured Algiers and other towns, but by 1188 he had pacified his African territories

Computer Science

The study of computers, including their design (architecture) and their uses for computations, data processing, and systems control. The field of computer science includes engineering activities such as the design of computers and of the hardware and software that make up computer systems. It also encompasses theoretical, mathematical activities, such as the

Ate

Greek mythological figure who induced rash and ruinous actions by both gods and men. She made Zeus take a hasty oath that resulted in the Greek hero Heracles becoming subject to Eurystheus, ruler of Mycenae. Zeus thereupon cast Ate out of Olympus, after which she remained on earth, working evil and mischief. She was followed by the Litai (�Prayers�), the old and crippled

Vratya

Wandering ascetic, member of either an ethnic group or a sect, located principally in the Magadha (South Bihar) region of ancient India. The vratyas lived outside the fold of the dominant Aryan society and practiced their own forms of austerity and esoteric rites. Much speculation regarding the vratyas has left unsettled the question of whether they were forerunners

Amaranthaceae

The amaranth family of flowering plants in the order Caryophyllales, with about 60 genera and more than 800 species of herbs, with a few shrubs, trees, and vines, native to tropical America and Africa. The leaves of members of the family usually have nonindented edges. Flowers may be male or female or contain both types of reproductive structures; several

Ae

After attending the Metropolitan School of Art, Dublin, where he met the poet William Butler Yeats, Russell

Consideration

In contract law, an inducement given to enter into a contract that is sufficient to render the promise enforceable in the courts. The technical requirement is either a detriment incurred by the person making the promise or a benefit received by the other person. Thus, the person seeking to enforce the promise must have paid, or bound himself to pay, money, parted with

Wyatt, James

In 1762 Wyatt went to Italy, where he remained six years. On his return to England, he designed the London Pantheon (opened 1772; later demolished), a Neoclassical building