'amr Ibn Al-'as

A wealthy member of the Banu Sahm clan of the important tribe of Quraysh, 'Amr accepted Islam in 629 - 630. Sent to Oman, in southeastern Arabia, by the Prophet Muhammad, he successfully completed his first mission by converting its rulers to Islam. As the leader of one of the three military forces sent to Palestine by the caliph Abu Bakr, he took

Foy, Eddie

As a child he sang and danced in the streets of New York and Chicago to help support his family. He gained his first professional recognition in the mining camps and cow towns of the West, beginning around 1878. He returned to Chicago in 1888 as the star comedian

Foy, Eddie

As a child he sang and danced in the streets of New York and Chicago to help support his family. He gained his first professional recognition in the mining camps and cow towns of the West, beginning around 1878. He returned to Chicago in 1888 as the star comedian

Fukien, Education

One of the most notable institutions of higher learning in Fukien is Amoy University. Fu-chou, famous since the Sung dynasty as a cultural centre, is the site of Fu-chou University, Fukien Medical College, Fukien Agricultural Institute, Fukien Normal College, and the Fukien Institute of Epidemiology of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Illiteracy has generally

Cozzi Porcelain

Soft-paste porcelain made in Venice by Geminiano Cozzi from about 1764 to 1812. Cozzi products, often freely adapted versions of Meissen porcelain, consisted mainly of figures, vases, and tablewares with Rococo decoration that was frequently distinguished by an imaginative interpretation wholly Italian in style. Rich colours, including red, bluish purple, and emerald

Jefferson, Thomas, Life at Monticello

The domestic context at Monticello is the subject of several important books. Sarah N. Randolph, The Domestic Life of Thomas Jefferson (1871, reprinted 1978), provides an affectionate portrait by his descendants. Jack McLaughlin, Jefferson and Monticello: The Biography of a Builder (1988, reissued 1990), goes beyond architectural issues to explore the daily lives of all the residents on the mountain. Elizabeth Langhorne, Monticello: A Family Story (1987, reissued 1989), focuses on the white residents. Edwin Morris Betts (ed.), Thomas Jefferson's Farm Book (1953, reprinted 1987), reproduces Jefferson's plantation records. Susan R. Stein, The Worlds of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello (1993), recovers the material objects Jefferson gathered inside the mansion. Merrill D. Peterson (ed.), Visitors to Monticello (1989), reproduces the accounts of firsthand observers.

Cordial

A liqueur (q.v.); though the term cordial was formerly used for only those liqueurs that were thought to have a tonic or stimulating quality due to the medicinal components of their flavourings, the terms cordial and liqueur are now used interchangeably.

River, Deltas and time

The most significant effect is that the site of deposition shifts dramatically with time.

Czech Republic, History Of

The Czech Republic came into being on Jan. 1, 1993, upon the dissolution of the Czechoslovak federation. At the time of separation, the federation's assets were divided at a ratio of two to one

Azogues

City, south-central Ecuador. It lies in a high Andean valley northeast of Cuenca. Its economy is based on agricultural trade, and grains and fruit are cultivated in the surrounding area. Important local industries include flour milling, Panama hat making, and leather tanning. The city takes its name from the Spanish azogue, meaning �mercury,� which is a local resource.

Ann, Cape

Cape on the Atlantic Ocean comprising the eastern extremity of Essex county, northeastern Massachusetts, U.S., 30 miles (48 km) northeast of Boston. Sheltering Ipswich Bay, it is indented by Annisquam Harbor on the north and Gloucester Harbor on the south. The tidal Annisquam River, a 4-mile- (6.4-km-) long navigable waterway, connects the two harbours. The cape also shelters the northern

Middlebury College

Private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Middlebury, Vt., U.S. It is a small liberal arts college at which particular emphasis is given to the study of modern languages. Course work at Middlebury is divided into eight academic categories: literature, the arts, foreign languages, philosophical and religious studies, physical and life sciences, historical

Wandering Spider

Phoneutria fera, which occurs in South America, is poisonous to humans. Zora pumila, common in the eastern United States, is mostly

Gheyn, Matthias Van Den

He was born into a celebrated family of Flemish bell founders. He moved with his family to Louvain in 1726 and probably received his first musical education

Brendan, Saint

Brendan also spelled �Brandon, or Brandan, �also called �Brendan of Clonfert, Brendan the Voyager, or Brendan the Navigator, Gaelic Br�naind � Celtic saint, monastic founder, abbot, and hero of legendary voyages in the Atlantic Ocean. Reputedly raised and educated by Abbess St. Ita at her boys' school in what later became County Limerick, he later studied under Abbot St. Jarlath of Tuam. After becoming a monk and priest, he was entrusted with

Hippo

Hippo, later called Hippo Regius, located near the modern town of Annaba (formerly B�ne) in Algeria, was probably first settled by Carthaginians in the 4th century BC. It later became the home of Numidian rulers. Under Roman control it was first made a municipium (a community that exercised partial rights of Roman citizenship)

Hamid Dynasty

Turkmen dynasty (c. 1300 - 1423) that ruled in southwestern Anatolia. It was founded by Felekuddin D�ndar, whose father, Ilyas, was a frontier ruler under the Seljuqs and who named it after his grandfather; D�ndar governed the Hamid principality jointly with his brother Yunus, with two capitals, one at Egridir and one at Antalya (Attalia). D�ndar was defeated and killed (1324) by Demirtas, the

Absolute Zero

The notion that there is an ultimately lowest temperature was suggested by the behaviour of gases at low pressures: it was noted that gases seem to contract indefinitely as the temperature is decreased. It appeared that an ideal

Myanmar (burma)

In late May Myanmar's military junta, the State

Nagodba

(Serbo-Croatian: �Agreement�), English in full� Croatian-hungarian Agreement Of � 1868, pact that governed Croatia's political status as a territory of Hungary until the end of World War I. When the Ausgleich, or Compromise, of 1867 created the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy, Croatia, which was part of the Habsburg empire, was merged with Slavonia and placed under Hungarian jurisdiction. Although many Croats who sought full autonomy for the South Slavs of

Kaministiquia River

Also spelled �Kaministikwia,� river, western Ontario, Can. It rises in Dog Lake and, after a crooked course of 60 miles (95 km), empties into Thunder Bay, an arm of Lake Superior. It has many rapids and cataracts, notably the wide Kakabeka Falls (154 feet [47 m] high), site of a major hydroelectric station. The river divides into three channels as it enters Thunder Bay, providing deepwater shipping docks at the city of Thunder

Van De Graaff, Robert Jemison

After working for a time as an engineer with the Alabama Power Company,

Saarland

The heart of the Saarland is an area of thickly forested hills that is crossed from southeast to northwest by the valley of the Saar River. The Saar River valley is in parts underlain by extensive coal deposits, and coal mines and mining settlements are dispersed in the wooded countryside. Concentrated along the river valley, from Saarbr�cken to V�lklingen, are blast

Caconda

A Portuguese military post was established at Caconda about 1680 to facilitate expansion of the slave trade. In the late 18th century, a permanent

Gu Kaizhi

Gu Kaizhi's art is known today from both written records and paintings that are

Philip

Byname �Philip The Magnanimous, �German �Philipp Der Grossm�tige� landgrave (Landgraf) of Hesse (1509 - 67), one of the great figures of German Protestantism, who championed the independence of German princes against the Holy Roman emperor Charles V.

Utopia Planitia

Northern lava plain on the planet Mars that was selected as the landing site of the U.S. Viking 2 planetary probe. Photographs transmitted from the Viking 2 lander, which touched down at 47.97� N, 225.74� W, on September 3, 1976, depicted a boulder-strewn plain that superficially resembles the Viking 1 landing site in Chryse Planitia. Soil-sample analyses conducted by the landers show that the

Fibreglass

Glass fibres were little more than a novelty until the 1930s, when their thermal and electrical insulating properties were appreciated and methods for producing continuous glass filaments were developed. Modern manufacture begins with liquid glass obtained directly

Torch Cactus

T. pasacana, a stout tree up to 10.5 m in height,

Muggleton, Lodowick

After claiming to have had spiritual revelations, beginning in 1651, Muggleton and his cousin John Reeve announced themselves as the two prophetic witnesses referred to in Revelations 11:3. Their book, A Transcendent