Encyclopædia Britannica Australia -

Encyclopedias since 1768

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manganese ... Manjusri

manganese: chemical element, one of the silvery-white, hard, brittle metals of Group VIIb of the periodic table. It was recognized as an element (1774) by the Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele while working with the mineral pyrolusite and was isolated the ...
manganese processing: preparation of the ore for use in various products.
Mangang: village, Sikkim state, northeastern India, on the North Sikkim Highway. A trading centre, it lies on the east bank of the Tista River, south of where it joins the Talung. Mangang has a hospital, a rest house, and a small ...
manganite: an ore mineral of manganese, basic manganese oxide [MnO(OH)] that forms dark gray to black crystal bundles or fibrous masses. Important deposits exist at Ilfeld, Ilmenau, Siegen, and Horhausen, Ger.; the Lauron and Aure valleys, in France; St. Just, Cornwall, ...
Mangas Coloradas: Mimbreno Apache chief noted for uniting the Apache nation.
Mangbetu: peoples of Central Africa living to the south of the Zande in northeastern Congo (Kinshasa). They speak a Central Sudanic language of the Nilo-Saharan language family. The Mangbetu are a cluster of peoples who penetrated and now occupy the formerly ...
mange: skin disease of animals caused by any of six varieties of mites, characterized by inflammation, itching, thickening of the skin, and hair loss. The most severe variety is caused by the mite Sarcoptes scabiei, which also causes human scabies. Some ...
Mangelsdorff, Albert: German trombonist, who began playing bop and in time became an outstanding modal, free jazz, and jazz-rock improviser. He was among the first post-World War II European jazz musicians to create original music.
Manggarai: Indonesian people inhabiting western Flores, one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, in Indonesia. Numbering more than 400,000 in the mid-1980s, they are of Proto-Malay stock and speak a language in the Bima-Sumba subgroup of Indonesian languages. The Manggarai were historically ...
Mangiarotti, Edoardo: Italian fencer who was one of the most successful performers in the history of the sport. Over a 40-year career, Mangiarotti won 13 Olympic medals and 13 team world championships in foil and epee.
Mangla Dam: embankment dam on the Jhelum River, Pakistan, completed in 1967. Mangla Dam is one of the two main structures in the Indus Basin project (the other is Tarbela Dam (q.v.). The Mangla Dam rises 453 feet (138 m) above ground ...
Mango: town, northern Togo, western Africa, situated on the Oti River near the Keran National Park. The town served as the principal locale of Savanes until the late 1970s, when Dapango (formerly Dapaong) assumed that position. Mango still functions as a ...
mango: member of the cashew family (Anacardiaceae), one of the most important and widely cultivated fruits of the tropical world, considered indigenous to eastern Asia, Myanmar (Burma), and Assam state of India. The tree is evergreen, often reaching 15-18 metres (50-60 ...
Mangoaela, Z D: Southern Sotho writer and folklorist whose early work set the stage for much South African indigenous literature.
Mangochi: town, south-central Malawi, on the Shire River below its efflux from Lake Nyasa (Malawi) and 5 miles (8 km) south of its entrance into Lake Malombe. The town began as a British colonial defense post founded by the colonial administrator ...
mangosteen: (species Garcinia mangostana), handsome tropical tree of the family Guttiferae, native to Southeast Asia, and its tart-sweet fruit. In Myanmar (Burma) it is called men-gu. Under favourable conditions, the slow-growing mangosteen tree can reach a height of 9.5 m (31 ...
Mangrai: Thai founder of the city of Chiang Mai and the kingdom of Lan Na (reigned 1296-1317) in the north region of present Thailand, which remained an independent state until its capture by the Burmese in the 16th century.
mangrove: any of certain shrubs and trees, of the families Rhizophoraceae, Verbenaceae, Sonneratiaceae, and Arecaceae (Palmae), that grow in dense thickets or forests along tidal estuaries, in salt marshes, and on muddy coasts and characteristically have prop roots-i.e., exposed, supporting roots. ...
mangrove snake: (genus Boiga), any of about 30 species (family Colubridae) of weakly venomous, rear-fanged snakes, ranging from tropical Africa to Australia and Polynesian islands. They are at home on the ground and in trees; many catch birds at night. Because they ...
Mangunkusumo, Tjipto: early 20th-century Indonesian nationalist leader whose resistance to Dutch colonial rule brought him exile and long imprisonment.
Mangyshlak: oblast (province), southwestern Kazakhstan, east of the Caspian sea. The oblast covers an area of 64,320 square miles (166,600 square km) and consists of vast flatlands, with some depressions (the Batyr Depression is 425 feet [130 m] below sea level). ...
Manhattan: borough of New York City, coextensive with New York county, in southeastern New York state, U.S. The borough, mainly on Manhattan Island, spills over into the Marble Hill section on the mainland and includes a number of islets in the ...
Manhattan: city, seat (1857) of Riley county and partly in Pottawatomie county, northeastern Kansas, U.S. The city lies where the Big Blue and Kansas rivers meet, there dammed to form Tuttle Creek Lake, on the northern edge of the rolling Flint ...
Manhattan Project: U.S. government research project (1942-45) that produced the first atomic bombs.
Mani: Iranian founder of the Manichaean religion, a church advocating a dualistic doctrine that viewed the world as a fusion of spirit and matter, the original contrary principles of good and evil, respectively.
mania: in psychiatric terminology, any abnormal or unusual state of excitement, as in the manic phase of bipolar disorder.
Manichaeism: dualistic religious movement founded in Persia in the 3rd century AD by Mani (q.v.), who was known as the "Apostle of Light" and supreme "Illuminator." Although Manichaeism was long considered a Christian heresy, it was a religion in its own ...
Manicouagan River: river in the Cote-Nord (North Shore) region, eastern Quebec province, Canada. Rising near the Labrador border, the river drains lakes Muskalagan and Manicouagan southward into the mouth of the St. Lawrence River near Baie-Comeau and Hauterive. It is more than ...
maniera: (Italian: "manner," "style"), in art criticism, certain stylistic characteristics, primarily in Mannerist painting (see Mannerism). In the 14th and 15th centuries, maniere in France and maniera in Italy designated refined, courtly manners and sophisticated bearing. The name was first applied ...
Manifest Destiny: in U.S. history, the supposed inevitability of the continued territorial expansion of U.S. boundaries westward to the Pacific, and even beyond. The idea of "Manifest Destiny" was often used by American expansionists to justify U.S. annexation of Texas, Oregon, New ...
manifold: in mathematics, topological space equipped with a family of local coordinate systems that are related to each other by coordinate transformations belonging to a specified class. Manifolds occur in algebraic geometry, differential equations, and classical dynamics. They are studied for ...
Manila: capital and chief city of the Philippines. The city is the centre of the country's economic, political, social, and cultural activity. It is located on the island of Luzon and spreads along the eastern shore of Manila Bay at the ...
Manila Bay: bay of the South China Sea extending into southwestern Luzon Island, Philippines. Almost completely landlocked, it is considered one of the world's great harbours and has an area of 770 sq mi (2,000 sq km) with a 120-mi (190-km) circumference. ...
Manila Bay, Battle of: (May 1, 1898), defeat of the Spanish Pacific fleet by the U.S. Navy, resulting in the fall of the Philippines and contributing to the final U.S. victory in the Spanish-American War. After the United States had declared war (April 25), ...
Manila galleon: Spanish sailing vessel that made an annual round trip (one vessel per year) across the Pacific between Manila, in the Philippines, and Acapulco, in present Mexico, during the period 1565-1815. They were the sole means of communication between Spain and ...
Manilius, Marcus: last of the Roman didactic poets. Little of his life is known. He was the author of Astronomica, an unfinished poem on astronomy and astrology probably written between the years AD 14 and 27. Following the style and philosophy of ...
Manin, Daniele: leader of the Risorgimento in Venice.
Maning, Frederick: New Zealand author and judge, who was known for his histories of the British colony in New Zealand and for his service as a judge (1865-76) in land disputes, the key issue dividing settlers and the native Maoris.
maniple: in early Christianity, narrow silk band worn over the left forearm, with ends hanging down on each side, and formerly used by clergy when celebrating or assisting at mass. It was about two to four inches wide and three to ...
Manipur: state of India. It is located in the northeastern part of the country. It has an area of 8,621 square miles (22,327 square kilometres), making it one of the smaller states of India. It is bordered by the states of ...
manipuri: one of the six classical dance styles of India, the others being bharata-natya, kathak, kathakali, kuchipudi, and orissi. It is indigenous to Manipur and is characterized by a variety of forms that are linked to folk tradition and ritual. Themes ...
Manisa: city, western Turkey. It lies in the valley of the Gediz River (ancient Hermus River), below Mount Sipylus (Manisa Dagi), 20 miles (32 km) northeast of Izmir. It was called Magnesia ad Sipylum (q.v.) in ancient times, and the Magnetes ...
Manises ware: in ceramics, a style that evolved at Manises, Spain, in the 14th and 15th centuries. It combined Arabic and Christian Gothic influences, the former evident in rhythmic drawing, the latter in representing heraldic animals and foliage. The eagle of St. ...
Manistee: city, seat (1855) of Manistee county, northwestern Michigan, U.S., between Lake Michigan and Manistee Lake. The city is situated at the mouth of the Manistee River, 85 miles (137 km) north of Muskegon. Built on the river site that the ...
Manitoba: province of Canada, one of the Prairie Provinces, lying midway between the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. Of its more than 38,500 lakes, Lake Winnipeg is the 13th largest in the world. More than two-fifths of its land area is ...
Manitoba, Lake: narrow, irregularly shaped lake in south-central Manitoba, Canada, 45 miles (72 km) northwest of Winnipeg. Fed by many small streams and by Crane Narrows (the outlet from Lake Winnipegosis [north]), it is drained northeastward into Lake Winnipeg via Lake St. ...
Manitoulin Islands: archipelago of limestone-cored islands in northern Lake Huron, straddling the U.S.-Canadian border and forming one of the prominent features of the Niagara Escarpment. The Ontario island of Manitoulin, the largest freshwater island in the world, has a length of 100 ...
Manitowoc: city, seat (1853) of Manitowoc county, eastern Wisconsin, U.S. It lies on the western shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Manitowoc River. Manitowoc adjoins the city of Two Rivers (northeast) and is about 80 miles (130 km) ...
Maniu, Iuliu: statesman who served as prime minister of Romania (1928-30, 1930, 1932-33) and as head of the National Peasant Party. Maniu was one of the most important Romanian political leaders of the period.
Manizales: capital of Caldas departamento, central Colombia, situated on a commanding ridge of the Andean Cordillera (mountains) Central, 6,975 feet (2,126 m) above sea level. Its gray cathedral is visible for miles in all directions. Founded in 1848 by colonists from ...
Manjusri: in Mahayana Buddhism, the bodhisattva ("Buddha-to-be") personifying supreme wisdom. His name in Sanskrit means "gentle, or sweet, glory"; he is also known as Manjughosa ("Sweet Voice") and Vagisvara ("Lord of Speech"). In China he is called Wen-shu Shih-li, in Japan ...