Abadan

Arabic �'Abbadan� city, extreme southwestern Iran. The city is situated in Khuzestan, part of the oil-producing region of Iran. Abadan lies on an island of the same name along the eastern bank of the Shatt Al-'Arab (river), 33 miles (53 km) from the Persian Gulf. The city thus lies along Iran's border with Iraq. Abadan Island is bounded on the west by the Shatt Al-'Arab and on the east by the Bahmanshir, which is an outlet

Cultured Pearl

Natural but cultivated pearl produced by a mollusk after the intentional introduction of a foreign object inside the creature's shell. The discovery that such pearls could be cultivated in freshwater mussels is said to have been made in 13th-century China, and the Chinese have been adept for hundreds of years at cultivating pearls by opening the mussel's shell and

Colling, Robert; And Colling, Charles

After visiting Robert Bakewell, the outstanding livestock breeder, at Dishley, Leicestershire, Charles began in 1782 a program of improving the quality of cattle in the Tees River valley. His brother, who occupied another farm in the district,

Highland Games

Originally, athletic meetings carried out in the Scottish Highlands. The name now denotes similar athletic competitions in any part of the world, usually conducted under the auspices of a local Caledonian society and held according to what are believed to be traditional customs. The games originated in impromptu competitions at clan assemblies summoned by

Uyuni

Town, southwestern Bolivia. It lies on the cold, windswept Altiplano, a high intermontane plateau, at 12,024 feet (3,665 m) above sea level, just east of the vast Uyuni Salt Flat. Founded in 1890, it prospered, with the assistance of Slav and Syrian colonists, as a railroad junction and mining and market centre. Northeast of the town are the Pulacayo and Huanchaca silver mines. From Uyuni a branch

Synagogue Council Of America

A Jewish organization founded in 1926 to provide most congregationally affiliated Jews (regardless of individual differences) with a common voice in interfaith activities, especially those involving Christians. Council membership thus includes as Orthodox constituents the Rabbinical Council of America and the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America;

Gatton

Town and shire, southern Queensland, Australia. It lies along Lockyer Creek, about 58 miles (93 km) west of Brisbane. Probably named after Gattonside near Roxburgh in the Borders region, Scotland, it was gazetted as the site for a village in 1855 and by 1858 was a place of call for travelers between Brisbane and the Darling Downs. Gatton is now the service centre for a mixed-farming district

Hsin-yang

Pinyin �Xinyang� city in southern Honan sheng (province), China. Hsin-yang is in the very south of the Honan plain, in the basin between the Ta-pieh Mountains and the Huai River. It has traditionally been on a cultural divide between the plain and the hilly districts to the south. It was also a natural route centre on the Shih River, a tributary of the Huai. The Shih has become passable for relatively

Lutfi As-sayyid, Ahmad

Lutfi studied law and accepted a job in the legal department of the central government. In March 1907 he founded a newspaper, al-Jaridah, to present the views of the Ummah Party, representing the moderate wing of Egyptian nationalism. With the advent of

Sinkiang, Uygur Autonomous Region Of

Uygur also spelled �Uighur, �Chinese (Wade-Giles) �Hsin-chiang Wei-wu-erh Tzu-chih-ch'�, �(Pinyin) �Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu, � autonomous region occupying the northwestern corner of China. It is bordered by Mongolia to the northeast, Russia to the north, Kazakstan to the northwest, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the west, Afghanistan and the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir to the southwest, the Tibet Autonomous Region to the southeast, and the Chinese provinces of Tsinghai and Kansu

Fuji, Mount

Japanese �Fuji-san�, also called �Fujiyama�, or �Fuji No Yama� highest mountain in Japan, rising to 12,388 feet (3,776 metres) near the Pacific coast in Yamanashi and Shizuoka ken (prefectures), central Honshu, about 60 miles (100 km) west of Tokyo. It is a volcano that has been dormant since its last eruption in 1707 but is still generally classified as active by geologists. The mountain's name, of Ainu origin, means �everlasting life.� Mount Fuji, with its graceful

Bohol Sea

Also called �Mindanao Sea,� section of the western North Pacific Ocean. Measuring about 170 miles (270 km) east - west, it is bounded by the islands of the Philippines - Mindanao (south and east), Leyte, Bohol, and Cebu (north), and Negros (west). It opens north to the Visayan Sea through Bohol and Ta�on straits and the Canigao Channel, east to the Philippine Sea through the Surigao Strait, and west to the Sulu Sea. The

Rwanda

Also spelled �Ruanda�, officially �Republic of Rwanda�, French �R�publique Rwandaise�, Rwanda �Republika y'u Rwanda� landlocked republic lying south of the Equator in east-central Africa. It is bounded on the west by Congo (Kinshasa) and Lake Kivu, on the north by Uganda, on the east by Tanzania, and on the south by Burundi. The capital is Kigali. Like its neighbour to the south, Rwanda is a country of minute dimensions (10,169 square miles [26,338 square kilometres]), grinding poverty, and high population

Chan Ii

When Chan's father, King Eng, died in 1796, the Thais had superiority. In 1802 Chan was recognized as the king of Cambodia by the Thais, and he was crowned in the Thai capital of Bangkok in 1806. The advisers to the

France, History Of, France after de Gaulle

De Gaulle's departure from the scene provoked some early speculation about the survival of the Fifth Republic and of the Gaullist party (the UDR); both, after all, had been tailored to the general's measure. But both proved to be durable, although his successors gave the system a somewhat different tone. Georges Pompidou won the presidency in June 1969 over several left and

Moreto (y Caba�a), Agust�

The son of Italian parents, Moreto studied law at the University of

Extremadura

During the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula, the name Extremadura was used during static periods to refer to the zones outside of Moorish territory; it

Augustus Iii

Also called �Augustus Frederick�, Polish �August Fryderyk�, German �August Friedrich� king of Poland and elector of Saxony (as Frederick Augustus II), whose reign witnessed one of the greatest periods of disorder within Poland. More interested in ease and pleasure than in affairs of state, this notable patron of the arts left the administration of Saxony and Poland to his chief adviser, Heinrich von Br�hl, who in turn left

Cosenza

Latin �Cosentia, � city, capital of Cosenza provincia, Calabria regione, southern Italy, on the Crati River at its confluence with the Busento, north-northeast of Reggio di Calabria. The ancient Cosentia, it was the capital of the Bruttii (an Italic tribe) before it was taken by the Romans in 204 BC. Alaric, king of the Visigoths, died there in 410 and is said to have been buried, together with his treasure

Qualitative Chemical Analysis

Branch of chemistry that deals with the identification of elements or grouping of elements present in a sample. The techniques employed in qualitative analysis vary in complexity, depending on the nature of the sample. In some cases it is necessary only to verify the presence of certain elements or groups for which specific tests applicable directly to the sample

Gattamelata

Also called �Equestrian monument of Erasmo da Narni� bronze statue of the Venetian condottiere Erasmo da Narni, (popularly known as Gattamelata, meaning �honeyed cat�) by the 15th-century Italian Early Renaissance sculptor Donatello. It was completed between 1447 and 1450 but was not installed on its pedestal in the Piazza del Santo in front of the Basilica of Sant'Antonio in Padua, Italy, until 1453. The statue established a prototype

Logical Positivism

The Logical Positivist school differs from earlier empiricists and positivists (David Hume, Ernst Mach) in holding that the ultimate basis of knowledge

Amis, Sir Kingsley

Amis was educated at the City of London School and at St. John's College, Oxford (B.A., 1949). His education was interrupted during World War II by his service as a lieutenant in the Royal Corps of Signals.

Rochester

City, seat of Olmsted county, southeastern Minnesota, U.S., situated at the confluence of three tributaries of the Zumbro River, in a mixed-farming region, 75 miles (121 km) south of Minneapolis. The site, which originally served as a camping ground for wagon trains, was settled in 1854 and named for Rochester, N.Y. Its growth has been stimulated to a great degree by the Mayo Medical Center,

Lusignan Family

Noble family of Poitou (a province of western France) that provided numerous crusaders and kings of Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Lesser Armenia. A branch of the family became counts of La Marche and Angoul�me and played a role in precipitating the baronial revolt in England against King Henry III. The castle of Lusignan is associated with the medieval legend of M�lusine.

Dahriyah

The Dahriyah are portrayed in Islamic theological literature

Bloemfontein

Founded by Major H. Douglas Warden in 1846 as a fort and residency, it became the seat of the British-administered Orange River Sovereignty (1848 - 54) and of the Orange Free State (an independent Boer republic formed in 1854). The failure of the Bloemfontein Conference

Channel Islands

French ��les Normandes, or Anglo-normandes, � archipelago in the English Channel, west of the Cotentin peninsula of France, at the entrance to the Gulf of Saint-Malo, 80 miles (130 km) south of the English coast. The islands are dependencies of the British crown (and not strictly part of the United Kingdom), having been so attached since the Norman Conquest of 1066, when they formed part of the duchy of Normandy. They comprise four

Lock Haven

City, seat (1839) of Clinton county, north-central Pennsylvania, U.S. It lies along the West Branch Susquehanna River (a major tributary of the Susquehanna), on the southern slope of Bald Eagle Mountain, 26 miles (42 km) southwest of Williamsport. Founded in 1834 by Jeremiah Church, a land speculator, it was laid out on the site of the frontier post, Fort Reed, and developed as a lumbering centre.

Maccarthy Island

Also called �Jangjangbure, �originally �Lemain Island, � island, in the Gambia River, 176 miles (283 km) upstream from Banjul, central Gambia. It was ceded in 1823 to Captain Alexander Grant of the African Corps, who was acting for the British crown. Designated as a site for freed slaves, the island was renamed for Sir Charles MacCarthy, British colonial governor (1814 - 24). In the 1830s peanut (groundnut) cultivation was introduced by the Wesleyan Mission

'abd Al-malik

In general, Umayyad rule was greatly strengthened by 'Abd al-Malik, who enjoyed good relations with the Medinese religious circles, an element with considerable moral influence in the Islamic world. 'Abd al-Malik was more pious than any of his Umayyad predecessors. His long sojourn in Medina had enabled him to know the sentiments of Medinese religious scholars. As caliph,