United Nations, Flag Of The

In April 1945, near the end of World War II, 50 Allied nations gathered in San Francisco. The lapel button worn by delegates was �smoke blue,� a shade chosen by U.S. Secretary of State Edward R. Stettinius, Jr. The design on the button, by Donal McLaughlin, showed a view of the Earth based on a projection centred on the North Pole. This indicated the worldwide scope of the new organization,

Keating, Paul

Growing up in working-class Bankstown, a suburb of Sydney, Australia, Keating left school at age 14. He became involved in trade union activity, drifted into labour politics, and was elected in 1969 to the House of Representatives at age

Xerox Corporation

The company was founded in 1906 as Haloid Company, changed its name to Haloid Xerox Company in 1958, and to Xerox Corporation in 1961. In 1960 Xerox first marketed the 914 xerographic copier; the process, which made photographic copies onto plain, uncoated paper, had been known

Frederick William Iii

His policy of neutrality in the Wars of the Second

Insurance, Costs

Following the publication in the early 1970s of about 40 studies revealing inadequacies in workers' compensation in the United States, most states passed laws increasing the number of workers covered, raising weekly benefits to equal or exceed 66 2/3 percent of the average weekly wage, and making other improvements. Compensable claims now include those involving back pain,

Amide

Any member of either of two classes of nitrogen-containing compounds related to ammonia and amines. The covalent amides are neutral or very weakly acidic substances formed by replacement of the hydroxyl group (OH) of an acid by an amino group (NR2, in which R may represent a hydrogen atom or an organic combining group such as methyl, CH3). The carboxamides (R�CONR2), which are

Cinder Cone

Also called �Ash Cone, � deposit around a volcanic vent, formed by pyroclastic rock fragments (formed by volcanic or igneous action), or cinders, which accumulate and gradually build a conical hill with a bowl-shaped crater at the top. Cinder cones develop from explosive eruptions of mafic (heavy, dark ferromagnesian) and intermediate lavas and are often found along the flanks of shield volcanoes.

Art, Antiques, And Collections

The ways that photographs were bought, sold, auctioned, and merchandised as art increased dramatically during 1999 with the Internet's explosive growth. Whereas the world's first on-line photography auction had taken place only a year previously, by the end of 1999 such auctions had become commonplace. Swann Galleries in New York City was experimenting with the idea, and Sotheby's

Meleager

In Greek mythology, the leader of the Calydonian boar hunt. The Iliad relates how Meleager's father, King Oeneus (q.v.) of Calydon, had omitted to sacrifice to Artemis, who sent a wild boar to ravage the country. Meleager collected a band of heroes to drive it away and eventually killed it himself. The Calydonians and the Curetes (neighbouring warriors who aided in the hunt)

Gwandu

Originally settled by the Kebbawa, a subgroup of the Hausa people, the town was named for the surrounding gandu (�royal farmlands�) that formerly belonged to Muhammadu Kanta, who founded the Kebbi kingdom in the 16th century. Although Fulani

Centre

Industrial district in Hainaut province, southwestern Belgium. It lies in the upper valley of the Haine River and is centred on the town of La Louvi�re between Mons and Charleroi. The coal mines that gave rise to the district are now closed, but heavy industry continues in the form of blast furnaces and steelworks at La Louvi�re, a petroleum refinery at Felay, and an

Romanian Orthodox Church

Christianity first reached Dacia (roughly coextensive with modern Romania) under the Roman Empire at least as early as the 4th century

Anthimus I

As bishop of Trebizond Anthimus participated in discussions at Constantinople in 532, to effect religious and political unity between East and West. Although avowing support for the orthodox party, Anthimus

Black Sand

Accumulation of fragments of durable heavy minerals (those with a density greater than that of quartz), usually of a dark colour. These accumulations are found in streambeds or on beaches where stream and wave energy was sufficient to carry away low-density material but not the heavy minerals. Thus, heavy minerals resistant to weathering and abrasion concentrate

Nagai Kafu

Rebellious as a youth, Kafu failed to finish his university studies and was sent abroad from 1903 to 1908. Before he left, he had produced three novels, which were influenced by French naturalism. After he returned to Japan he continued to be a student and translator

Photometry

The earliest observations of the apparent brightness of the stars were made by Greek astronomers. The system used by Hipparchus about

Python

In Greek mythology, a huge serpent that was killed by the god Apollo at Delphi either because it would not let him found his oracle, being accustomed itself to giving oracles, or because it had persecuted Apollo's mother, Leto, during her pregnancy. In the earliest account the serpent is nameless and female, but later it is male and named Python (Pytho was the old name for

Kourouma, Ahmadou

Kourouma spent his early years in Guinea and attended secondary school in Bamako, Mali, until he was expelled and was drafted into the army by the French. He was sent to Indochina and served in Saigon. Later he continued

Tear Duct And Gland,

Also called �Lachrymal, or Lacrimal, Duct And Gland, � the structures that produce, distribute, and carry away tears (drops of clear saline fluid that are diffused between the eye and eyelid). Tears moisten the membrane that covers the eye (conjunctiva) and facilitate motion. Tears are also secreted as a reflex response to various stimuli, including irritants to the cornea, bright lights, and hot or peppery substances in

Teesdale

District, administrative county of Durham, northeastern England, in the southwestern part of the county. The district lies on both sides of the River Tees. The area north of the river belongs to the historic county of Durham, and the area to the south lies in the historic county of Yorkshire. Teesdale is mostly an upland area within the northern Pennines. Its bleak basalt

Ariosto, Ludovico

Ariosto's father, Count Niccol�, was commander of the citadel at Reggio Emilia. When Ludovico was 10, the family

Bridgman, Laura Dewey

Bridgman was struck by scarlet fever at the age of two and left without sight or hearing. Her other senses were also affected, but she retained the sense of touch, which she developed sufficiently to learn to sew and knit. In 1837 her case came to the attention

Switzerland

Astronomical Observatory

Any structure containing telescopes and auxiliary instruments with which to observe celestial objects. Observatories can be classified on the basis of the part of the electromagnetic spectrum in which they are designed to observe. The largest number of observatories are optical; i.e., they are equipped to observe in and near the region of the spectrum visible

Anticholinesterase

Any of several drugs that prevent destruction of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine by the enzyme acetylcholinesterase within the nervous system. Acetylcholine acts to transmit nerve impulses within the parasympathetic nervous system - i.e., that part of the autonomic nervous system that tends to induce secretion, to contract smooth muscles, and to dilate

Glaucophane

Common amphibole mineral, a sodium, magnesium, and aluminum silicate that occurs only in crystalline schists formed from sodium-rich rocks by low-grade metamorphism. It also forms from sedimentary rocks by the introduction of sodium oxide (Na2O). Glaucophane typically occurs in folded rocks associated with epidote amphibolites and greenschists. Both ferrous

Ambler, Eric

Ambler was the son of music-hall entertainers. After studying engineering at London University, he worked as an advertising writer. It was while thus employed that he completed his first novel, The Dark

Hawthorne Research

Also called �Hawthorne effect� socioeconomic experiments conducted by Elton Mayo in 1927 among employees of the Hawthorne Works factory of the Western Electric Company in Cicero, Illinois. For almost a year, a group of female workers were subjected to measured changes in their hours, wages, rest periods, lighting conditions, organization, and degree of supervision and consultation in order to determine