Encyclopædia Britannica Australia -

Encyclopedias since 1768

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Nike ... Ninhar

Nike: in Greek religion, the goddess of victory, daughter of the giant Pallas and of the infernal River Styx. Nike probably did not originally have a separate cult at Athens. As an attribute of both Athena, the goddess of wisdom, and ...
Nike missile: any of a group of U.S. surface-to-air missiles designed in the 1940s and '50s for defense against air attack. The first was Nike Ajax, a two-staged, liquid-fueled missile 6.4 m (21 feet) long. Guided by radar, it could intercept high-flying ...
Nikisch, Arthur: one of the finest conductors of the late 19th century.
Nikkatsu Motion Picture Company: Japan's oldest motion-picture company. Established as an independent company in 1912 with the title Japan Cinematograph Company, it had previously been a part of the Greater Japan Film Machinery Manufacturing Company, Ltd., an attempted monopoly of the industry modeled after ...
Nikko: city, Tochigi ken (prefecture), Honshu, Japan. The city lies along the Daiya River, north of Tokyo. One of the major pilgrimage and tourist centres in Japan, it is situated at the edge of Nikko National Park. The name Nikko means ...
Nikolais, Alwin: American choreographer, composer, and designer whose abstract dances combine motion with various technical effects and a complete freedom from technique and established patterns.
Nikolay Kasatkin, Saint: Russian Orthodox missionary and first Orthodox bishop of Japan.
Nikolayev, Andriyan Grigoryevich: Soviet cosmonaut, who piloted the Vostok 3 spacecraft, launched August 11, 1962. When Vostok 4, piloted by Pavel R. Popovich, was launched a day later, there were, for the first time, two manned craft in space simultaneously. The two made ...
Nikolayevsk-na-Amure: city, Khabarovsk kray (region), far eastern Russia. The city is situated at the head of the Amur River estuary. It was founded in 1850, but its importance as a Pacific port and naval base was overshadowed by the later development ...
Nikon: religious leader who unsuccessfully attempted to establish the primacy of the Orthodox Church over the state in Russia and whose reforms led to a schism in the church.
Nikopol: town, northern Bulgaria. It lies along the Danube River near its confluence with the Osum (Ossam) and opposite Turnu Magurele, Romania. Nikopol was an important Danubian stronghold-ruined fortresses still dominate the town-founded by the Byzantine emperor Heraclius I in AD ...
Nikopol: city, south-central Ukraine. It lies along the northern shore of the Kakhovka Reservoir on the Dnieper River and on the Zaporozhye-Krivoy Rog railway. Founded as Nikitin Rog in the 1630s at a strategic crossing of the river, it was renamed ...
Niksic: town in Montenegro, Serbia and Montenegro, in the valley of the Zeta River. The Romans built a castrum (camp) called Anagastum there, probably on an old tribal settlement site. By the 12th century the name had been transliterated to Onogost, ...
Nil Sorsky, Saint: first Russian mystic to write about the contemplative life and to formulate a guide for spiritual self-perfection.
Nile perch: (species Lates niloticus), large food and game fish of the family Latidae (order Perciformes), found in the Nile and other rivers and lakes of Africa. A large-mouthed fish, the Nile perch is greenish or brownish above and silvery below and ...
Nile River: river, the father of African rivers and the longest river in the world. It rises south of the equator and flows northward through northeastern Africa to drain into the Mediterranean Sea. It has a length of about 4,132 miles (6,650 ...
Nile, Battle of the: (Aug. 1, 1798), battle that was one of the greatest victories of the British admiral Horatio Nelson. It was fought between the British and French fleets in Abu Qir Bay, near Alexandria, Egypt.
Niles: city, Trumbull county, northeastern Ohio, U.S. It lies along the Mahoning River, 7 miles (11 km) northwest of Youngstown, and is a part of the Mahoning industrial complex. Ruben Harmon, the first white settler (1797), and others discovered deposits of ...
Niles: city, Berrien county, southwestern Michigan, U.S. It lies along the St. Joseph River, 10 miles (16 km) north of South Bend, Ind. It is the only locality in the state to have been under the control of France, Great Britain, ...
Niles, Hezekiah: editor and newspaper publisher who was one of the foremost figures in early American journalism.
Niles, John Jacob: American folksinger, folklorist, and composer of solo and choral songs.
nilgai: (species Boselaphus tragocamelus), Indian antelope, family Bovidae (order Artiodactyla), that ranges alone or in small groups in open plains or light forests.
Nilgiri Hills: mountainous region of Tamil Nadu state, southeastern India. The peaks of the Nilgiri rise abruptly from the surrounding plains to an elevation of 6,000-8,000 feet (1,800-2,400 m); one of them, Doda Betta (8,652 feet [2,637 m]), is the highest point ...
Nilo-Saharan languages: a group of languages that form one of the four language stocks or families on the African continent, the others being Afro-Asiatic, Khoisan, and Niger-Congo. The Nilo-Saharan languages are presumed to be descended from a common ancestral language and, therefore, ...
Nilot: any member of several east-central African peoples living in southern Sudan, northern Uganda, and western Kenya. The name refers to the area in which they live, mostly the region of the Upper Nile and its tributaries, and to a linguistic ...
Nilotic languages: group of related languages spoken in a relatively contiguous area from northwestern Congo (Kinshasa), southern Sudan, and western Ethiopia southward across Uganda and Kenya into northern Tanzania. Nilotic languages are part of the Eastern Sudanic subbranch of Nilo-Saharan languages.
Nilpolis: city and suburb of Rio de Janeiro city, Rio de Janeiro estado (state), southeastern Brazil. It lies in the Guandu-Mirim River valley, at 92 feet (28 metres) above sea level. Situated 15 miles (24 km) northwest of ...
Nilsson, Birgit: Swedish operatic soprano, celebrated as a Wagnerian interpreter and known for her powerful, rich voice.
Nilus Of Ancyra, Saint: Greek Byzantine abbot and author of extensive ascetical literature that influenced both Eastern and Western monasticism. He also participated in the prevalent theological controversies concerning the Trinity and the person and work of Christ.
Nilus Of Rossano, Saint: abbot and promoter of Greek monasticism in Italy, who founded several communities of monks in the region of Calabria following the Greek rule of St. Basil of Caesarea. A supporter of the regular successors to the papal crown in their ...
Nimach: town, western Madhya Pradesh state, central India, located on a barren ridge. Handloom weaving is the major industry. Formerly a large British cantonment of Gwalior princely state, the town in 1822 became the headquarters of the combined Rajputana-Malwa political agency ...
Nimba Range: mountain chain extending in a southwest-northeast direction along the Guinea-Cote d'Ivoire-Liberia border. It reaches its highest elevation at Mount Nimba (5,748 feet [1,752 m]) in Guinea. Surrounded by lowland rain forest to the south and savanna to the north, the ...
Nimbarka: Telugu-speaking Brahman, yogi, minor philosopher, and prominent astronomer who founded the devotional sect called Nimbarkas, Nimandi, or Nimavats, who worshiped the deity Krishna (Krsna) and his consort, Radha.
Nimeiri, Gaafar Mohamed el-: major general, commander of the armed forces, and president of The Sudan (1971-85).
Nimes: city, capital of Gard departement, Languedoc-Roussillon region, southern France, south-southwest of Lyon. Situated at the foot of some barren hills called the Monts Garrigues to the north and west of the city, Nimes stands in a vine-planted plain extending south ...
Nimitz, Chester W: commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet during World War II. One of the navy's foremost administrators and strategists, he commanded all land and sea forces in the Pacific area.
Nimrod: legendary biblical figure, described in Gen. 10:8-12 as "the first on earth to be a mighty man. He was a mighty hunter before the Lord." The only other references to Nimrod in the Old Testament are Mic. 5:6, where Assyria ...
Nimzowitsch, Aron: Latvian-born chess master and theoretician who was renowned for his book My System (1925) but failed to win a world championship, despite many attempts. See the table of world chess champions.
Nin, Anais: French-born author of novels and short stories whose literary reputation rests on the eight published volumes of her personal diaries. Her writing shows the influence of the Surrealist movement and her study of psychoanalysis under Otto Rank.
Ninazu: in Mesopotamian religion, Sumerian deity, the city god of Enegir, which was located on the Euphrates River between Larsa and Ur in the southern orchard region. Ninazu was also the city god of Eshnunna (modern Tall al-Asmar in eastern Iraq). ...
Nine Men's Morris: board game of great antiquity, most popular in Europe during the 14th century and played throughout the world in various forms.
ninepins: bowling game that probably originated in continental Europe during the Middle Ages. Many regional variations of the game developed. Early German ninepins lanes were made of clay or cinders; later a single long plank about one foot wide was added, ...
Ninety Mile Beach: western coast of Aupori Peninsula, the northernmost extension of North Auckland Peninsula, North Island, New Zealand. It stretches for 55 mi (88 km) from Scott Point (northwest) to Ahipara Bay (southwest) and is bordered by scrubland and sand dunes.
Ninety-five Theses: propositions for debate concerned with the question of indulgences, written (in Latin) and possibly posted by Martin Luther on the door of the Schlosskirche (Castle Church), Wittenberg, on Oct. 31, 1517. This event came to be considered the beginning of ...
Nineveh: the oldest and most populous city of the ancient Assyrian Empire, situated on the east bank of the Tigris opposite modern Mosul (in Iraq). From time immemorial, roads from the foothills of Kurdistan debouched there, and a tributary of the ...
Ning Tsung: 13th emperor of the Sung dynasty, whose reign (1194/95-1224/25) is noted as a period of intellectual and cultural achievement; Chu Hsi, the great Neo-Confucian philosopher, wrote some of his most famous works during this time. The government, however, was plagued ...
Ning-po: city in the coastal plain of northeastern Chekiang sheng (province), China. Ning-po ("Calm Waves") is situated on the Yung River, some 16 miles (25 km) upstream from its mouth, at the junction with its chief western tributary, the Yu-yao. Ning-po ...
Ningishzida: in Mesopotamian religion, Sumerian deity, city god of Gishbanda, near Ur in the southern orchard region. Although Ningishzida was a power of the netherworld, where he held the office of throne bearer, he seems to have originally been a tree ...
Ningsia: autonomous region located in north-central China. It is bounded on the east in part by Shensi; on the east, south, and west by Kansu; and on the north by the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Most of the region is desert, ...
Ningxia carpet: floor covering woven in Hui Autonomous Region of Ningxia, China, characterized by stylized floral designs and subtle use of blue, red, and beige. Geometric patterns are sometimes used. The heavy wool pile of the Ningxia is cut so that the ...
Ninhar: in Mesopotamian religion, Sumerian deity, city god of Kiabrig, near Ur in the southern herding region. Ninhar was god of the thunder and rainstorms that made the desert green with pasturage in the spring; as such he was represented in ...