Canadian physicist who in 1990 shared the Nobel Prize for Physics with Jerome Friedman and Henry Kendall for his collaboration in proving the existence of quarks, which are now generally accepted as being among the basic building blocks of matter.
12th president of the United States (1849-50). Elected on the ticket of the Whig Party as a hero of the Mexican War (1846-48), he died only 16 months after taking office. (For a discussion of the history and nature of ...
autonomous okrug (district), Krasnoyarsk kray (region), northeastern central Russia. It has an area of 332,850 square miles (862,100 square km) on the hilly Taymyr Peninsula, the most northerly part of the Eurasian continent, and extends south to the northern edge ...
northernmost extension of the Eurasian landmass, in north-central Siberia in Krasnoyarsk kray (region), northeastern central Russia. The northernmost point of the peninsula is Cape Chelyuskin, north of which lie Vilkitsky Strait and Severnaya Zemlya. To the west of the peninsula ...
weasellike mammal of tropical forests from southern Mexico through South America to northern Argentina. The tayra is short-legged, yet slender and agile, weighing from 2.7 to 7 kg (5.95 to 15.4 pounds). The body, measuring about 60-68 cm (24-27 inches), ...
city, north-central Morocco. Located south of the Er-Rif Mountains, the city is composed of two formerly separate towns built on separate terraces overlooking a mountain valley. The old town (medina) is at an elevation of 1,919 feet (585 m) above ...
capital of the republic of Georgia, on the Kura (Mtkvari) River at its dissection of the Trialeti and Kartliysky (Kartli, or Kartalinian) ranges. Founded in 458 (in some sources, 455), when the capital of the Georgian kingdom was transferred there ...
the most popular Russian composer of all time. His music has always had great appeal for the general public in virtue of its tuneful, open-hearted melodies, impressive harmonies, and colourful, picturesque orchestration, all of which evoke a profound emotional response. ...
Russian-born American pianist and composer, known for his stylistic mixture of Romanticism and modern experimentation-e.g., with a nine-note scale and with complex rhythms. In smaller forms his work was often coloured by Russian and Chinese motifs.
town, southwestern Gabon. It lies along the north bank of the Nyanga River and at the intersection of roads from Mouila, Ndende, and Mayumba. It has regular air connections with Port-Gentil, 210 miles (340 km) north-northwest. It is a traditional ...
town, southeastern Liberia. Tchien has expanded into an important administrative, marketing, and traffic centre. It is surrounded by rubber plantations and diamond mines; cattle are abundant. Rubber, coffee, cocoa, piassava, sugarcane, tobacco, and citrus fruits are collected there from the ...
city, Pomorskie wojewodztwo (province), north-central Poland. It lies along the Vistula River, 19 miles (30 km) above its mouth. Tczew is a major river port, with links to Gdansk, and a rail junction for lines to Warsaw, ...
(Chinese: "virtue," or "potentiality"), in Chinese Taoism, the potentiality of the mysterious Tao, or Way, the undefinable, transcendent reality that produces all things. In contrast, Confucianism views te as the virtue of internal goodness and proper behaviour toward others. As ...
lake, the largest of the Southern Lakes, southwest South Island, New Zealand. About 38 miles (61 km) long and 6 miles (10 km) wide, the lake, with an area of 133 square miles (344 square km), has four western extensions-Worsley ...
town, Waikato local government region, northern North Island, New Zealand, on the Waihou (Thames) River. The settlement, established in 1880 as a river port for a new gold find, was known as Aroha Gold Field Town, Morgantown, and Aroha. It ...
Latin hymn to God the Father and Christ the Son, traditionally sung on occasions of public rejoicing. According to legend, it was improvised antiphonally by St. Ambrose and St. Augustine at the latter's baptism. It has more plausibly been attributed ...
ninth emperor (reigned 779/780-805) of the T'ang dynasty and the only emperor in the latter half of the dynasty to reign more than 20 years. In spite of his long reign, he never successfully controlled the militarists who commanded the ...
summer palace and horse farm near Mantua, Italy, of Duke Federico Gonzaga II. It was designed and built (c. 1525-35) by Giulio Romano, who also executed several of the fresco murals decorating the interior. The palace and its wall paintings ...
beverage produced by steeping in freshly boiled water the young leaves and leaf buds of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis. Two principal varieties are used, the small-leaved China plant (C. sinensis sinensis) and the large-leaved Assam plant (C. sinensis assamica). ...
(1773), in British American colonial history, legislative maneuver by the British ministry of Lord North to make English tea marketable in America. A previous crisis had been averted in 1770 when all the Townshend Acts (q.v.) duties had been lifted ...
set of vessels and implements for making and serving tea and coffee, the items often of matched design. Elaborate 18th-century examples had tea and coffee pots, a milk or cream jug, a pair of tea caddies, a sugar bowl and ...
time-honoured institution in Japan, rooted in the principle of Zen Buddhism and founded upon the adoration of the beautiful in the daily routine of life. It is an aesthetic way of entertaining guests, in which everything is done according to ...
any plant of the genus Osmanthus in the family Oleaceae, often grown for its fragrant flowers and shining, evergreen foliage. There are more than 30 species, native to eastern North America, Mexico, southeastern Asia, Hawaii, and New Caledonia. Sweet olive, ...
cultivation of the tea plant, usually done in large commercial operations. The plant, a species of evergeen (Camellia sinensis), is valued for its young leaves and leaf buds, from which the tea beverage is produced. This article treats the cultivation ...
large deciduous tree of the family Verbenaceae, or its wood, one of the most valuable timbers. Teak has been widely used in India for more than 2,000 years. The name teak is from the Malayalam word tekka.
any of about 15 small ducks of the genus Anas (family Anatidae), found on the six major continents and many islands. Within the divisions of true duck species, the teal belong in the dabbling duck (q.v.) group. Many of the ...
game played between two teams of 7 or 11 players who try to throw or hit an inflated ball into a goal at either end of a rectangular playing area while preventing their opponents from doing so. It is unrelated ...
rodeo event in which two mounted cowboys attempt to rope and immobilize a full-grown steer. The event is timed, and the team with the lowest time wins. The team is allowed three throws. The first roper, called the header, must ...
largest private-sector labour union in the United States, representing truck drivers and workers in related industries (such as aviation). The union was formed in 1903 when the Team Drivers International Union (1899) merged with the Teamsters National Union (1902). Local ...
in American history, scandal of the early 1920s surrounding the secret leasing of federal oil reserves by the secretary of the interior, Albert B. Fall. After President Warren G. Harding transferred supervision of the naval oil reserve lands from the ...
the structures that produce, distribute, and carry away tears (drops of clear saline fluid that are diffused between the eye and eyelid). Tears moisten the membrane that covers the eye (conjunctiva) and facilitate motion. Tears are also secreted as a ...
any of a group of substances that irritate the mucous membranes of the eyes, causing a stinging sensation and tears. They may also irritate the upper respiratory tract, causing coughing, choking, and general debility. Tear gas was first used in ...
any of about 15 species constituting the genus Dipsacus of the family Dipsacaceae, native to Europe, the Mediterranean area, and tropical Africa. Many teasels are prickly, coarse biennials with opposite leaves that join at the base to form a rainwater-holding ...
town, northeastern Algeria. It is located 146 miles (235 km) by road south of Annaba and 12 miles (19 km) west of the Tunisian frontier. Tebessa was an outpost of Carthage in the 7th century BC and a Roman garrison ...
chemical element, synthetic radioactive metal of Group VIIb of the periodic table, the first element to be artificially produced. The isotope technetium-97 (2,600,000-year half-life) was discovered (1937) by the Italian mineralogist Carlo Perrier and the Italian-born American physicist Emilio Segre ...
form of aid given to less-developed countries by international organizations such as the United Nations (UN) and its agencies, individual governments, foundations, and philanthropic institutions. Its object is to provide those countries with the expertise needed to promote development. Most ...
