Jewfish

Any of several large fishes of the sea bass (q.v.) family (Serranidae), especially Epinephelus itajara, found on the Atlantic coast of tropical America. This species sometimes attains a length of 2.5 metres (8 feet) and a weight of about 320 kilograms (700 pounds). The adult is dull olive-brown with faint spots and bands. Adult jewfish are usually solitary and typically remain in the same

West Bengal Duars

The West Bengal Duars were ceded to the British by Bhutan in 1863. They constitute a lowland forest belt along the junction between the Himalayan

Reform Bill

Any of the British parliamentary bills that became acts in 1832, 1867, and 1884–85 and that expanded the electorate for the House of Commons and rationalized the representation of that body. The first Reform Bill primarily served to transfer voting privileges from the small boroughs controlled by the nobility and gentry to the heavily populated industrial towns. The two subsequent

Abdullah, Sheikh Muhammad

Abdullah was educated at the Prince of Wales College (Jammu) and the Islamia College (Lahore) and received an M.S. degree in physics from Aligarh

Mercer, David

Mercer left school at the age of 14 and became a medical laboratory technician. He eventually joined the Royal Navy and, after his discharge in 1948, studied painting at King's College, Newcastle

Coral Sea

Sea of the southwestern Pacific Ocean, extending east of Australia and New Guinea, west of New Caledonia and the New Hebrides, and south of the Solomon Islands. It is about 1,400 miles (2,250 km) north-south and 1,500 miles east-west and covers an area of 1,849,800 square miles (4,791,000 square km). To the south it merges with the Tasman Sea, to the north with the Solomon Sea, and to the east with the Pacific; it is connected

Moses, Assumption Of

A pseudepigraphal work (not in any biblical canon), a prophecy of the future relating to Israel, put into the mouth of Moses and addressed to Joshua just before the great lawgiver died. Using Moses' predictions and instructions to Joshua as a framework, the book's unknown author sets forth a brief history of Israel from Moses to the messianic age as viewed in apocalyptic

Essex

One of the kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England; i.e., that of the East Saxons. An area of early settlement, it probably originally included the territory of the modern county of Middlesex; London was its chief town. Essex sometimes had joint kings, and from 664 they were subject to the rulers of the midland kingdom of Mercia. From 825 Essex was controlled by Wessex, first as a subkingdom

Palembang

Kotamadya (municipality) and capital, Sumatera Selatan provinsi (“province”), Indonesia. It lies on both banks of the Musi River, there spanned by the Ampera Bridge. Sumatra's second largest city (after Medan), it was long the chief town of the Palembang sultanate. The city served as the capital of the Buddhist Srivijaya empire from the 7th century until the kingdom was overthrown

Hawes, Harriet Ann Boyd

Harriet Boyd graduated from Smith College, Northampton, Massachusetts, in 1892; thereafter she taught ancient and modern languages for four years, first as a private tutor in Henderson, North Carolina, and then at a girls' school in Wilmington,

Vladimir

Oblast (province), western Russia. It is centred on Vladimir city and lies east of Moscow in the basin of the Oka River. The greater part is a low plain, with extensive swamps in the south. The oblast has spruce, pine, and oak, but much of the forest has been cleared. Industries produce textiles, engineering goods, timber goods, and glassware. Agriculture is concentrated chiefly

Indriidae

Family of arboreal Madagascan primates. See avahi; indri; sifaka.

Strasser, Gregor; And Strasser, Otto

The brothers were born into a Bavarian middle-class family.

Korhogo

Town, north central Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast). The town's traditional founder was Nangui (Nengué), a 14th-century Senufo (Senoufo) patriarch from Kong. Modern Korhogo (Heritage) is the chief trade centre (corn [maize], manioc, millet, and yams) for the Senufo farmers of the savanna. Muslim Fulani herdsmen from the north also helped make it a major centre for livestock (cattle, sheep,

Nitti, Francesco Saverio

After a career as a journalist and professor of economics, Nitti was elected deputy in 1904. A Left Liberal, he served as minister of agriculture, industry, and commerce in 1911–14 and as minister of the treasury in 1917–19. He succeeded Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, the wartime prime minister,

Melanesian Culture

The beliefs and practices of those indigenous peoples of the Pacific Islands grouped as Melanesia. The islands include (generally from west to east) the island of New Guinea, the Admiralty Islands, and the Bismarck and Louisiade archipelagoes; the Solomon Islands and the Santa Cruz Islands; New Caledonia and the Loyalty Islands; Vanuatu (formerly New Hebrides); Fiji;

Muhammad 'ali

Viceroy and pasha of Egypt (1805–49), founder of the dynasty that ruled Egypt from the beginning of the 19th century to the middle of the 20th. He encouraged the emergence of the modern Egyptian state.

Tigris-euphrates River System, Physiography of the Euphrates

The headwaters of the Euphrates are the Murat and the Karasu rivers in the Armenian Highland of northeastern Turkey. Considerably altered in the 20th century by water-control projects, they join to form the Euphrates at Keban, near Elazig, where the Keban Dam, completed in 1974, spans a deep gorge. The river breaks through the Taurus Mountains and descends to the high plain of

Krylov, Ivan Andreyevich

Born to an impoverished family, Krylov had

Bingham, Hiram

As a boy Bingham learned mountaineering from his father, a well-known Pacific missionary. This skill vastly aided

Agreda, María De

Her virtues and holy life were universally acknowledged, but controversy arose over her mystical writings, her political influence, and her missionary activities.

Fructidor, Coup Of 18

The Directory, fearing that it was losing favour in the country, called upon Napoleon Bonaparte to send a general to command troops guarding the legislature at the Tuileries. On 18 Fructidor, year V (September 4, 1799), General Pierre-Fran

Babylonia

Ancient cultural region occupying southeastern Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (modern southern Iraq from around Baghdad to the Persian Gulf). Because the city of Babylon was the capital of this area for so many centuries, the term Babylonia has come to refer to the entire culture that developed in the area from the time it was first settled,

Contract Bridge

In 1994 bridge playing and exchanges of information about the game via computerized networks expanded rapidly. Many professionals began using the networks for coaching clients and for gaining match practice with other pros. Duplicate tournaments were open to all. The 1994 NEC world bridge championships were held in Albuquerque, N.M., from September 17 to October 1, and the tournament's

Acadian Orogeny

A mountain-building event that affected the northern portion of the Appalachian Geosyncline from present-day New York to Newfoundland during the Devonian Period (408 to 360 million years ago). Orogenic activity began during the Early Devonian in Gaspé, spread westward throughout Devonian time, and affected the western margins of the geosyncline in Late Devonian time.

Chiao-tso

Its modern development has been almost entirely based on its rich coal deposits. The mining