Monday, April 04, 2005

Comenius, John Amos

Czech  Jan Ámos Komenský  Czech educational reformer and religious leader, remembered mainly for his innovations in methods of teaching, especially languages. He favoured the learning of Latin to facilitate the study of European culture. Janua Linguarum Reserata (1631; Gate of Tongues Unlocked, 1633?) revolutionized

North Germanic Languages

Also called  Scandinavian languages  group of Germanic languages consisting of modern standard Danish, Swedish, Norwegian (Dano-Norwegian and New Norwegian), Icelandic, and Faroese. These languages are usually divided into East Scandinavian (Danish and Swedish) and West Scandinavian (Norwegian, Icelandic, and Faroese) groups.

Ligament

Tough fibrous band of connective tissue that serves to support the internal organs and hold bones together in proper articulation at the joints. A ligament is composed of dense fibrous bundles of collagenous fibres and spindle-shaped cells known as fibroblasts, with little ground substance (a gel-like component of the various connective tissues). Ligaments may

Sunday, April 03, 2005

Wolfenbüttel

City, Lower Saxony Land (state), northwestern Germany. The city lies along the Oker River, just south of Brunswick. First mentioned in 1118, it grew around the castle that became a favourite Welf residence about 1283. Chartered in 1540, it was captured by the Protestant Schmalkaldic League in 1542 and was transferred to Brunswick in 1753–54. The old town has many Renaissance and Baroque half-timbered

Kachin Hills

Heavily forested group of highlands situated in the northeasternmost section of Myanmar (Burma). They range north-south and are bordered on the northwest by Arunachal Pradesh state of India, on the north by the Tibet autonomous region of China, and on the east by Yunnan province of China. The hills blend with the Kumon Range to the west. The Kachin Hills are drained by

Friday, April 01, 2005

Wilfrid, Saint

One of the greatest English saints, a monk and bishop who was outstanding in bringing about close relations between the Anglo-Saxon Church and the papacy. He devoted his life to establishing the observances of the Roman Church over those of the Celtic Church and fought

Hawaii, Flag Of

In 1793 Captain George Vancouver from Great Britain presented the Union Jack to the conquering king Kamehameha I, who was then uniting the islands into a single state; the Union Jack flew unofficially as the flag of Hawaii until 1816. That year Western advisers to the king recommended the addition of red, white, and blue stripes to the Union Jack, thus creating a distinctive

Thursday, March 31, 2005

Yüeh-yang

It was a fortified place called

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Haarlem

Gemeente (commune) and capital, Noord-Holland provincie, western Netherlands. It lies along the Spaarne River, 4.5 miles (7 km) from the North Sea, just west of Amsterdam. Haarlem was mentioned in the 10th century and by the 12th century had become a fortified town and the residence of the counts of Holland. It was chartered in 1245 and was ravaged in 1346 and 1351 during the civil wars in Holland.

Neolithic Period

Also called  New Stone Age  final stage of cultural evolution or technological development among prehistoric humans. It was characterized by stone tools shaped by polishing or grinding, dependence on domesticated plants or animals, settlement in permanent villages, and the appearance of such crafts as pottery and weaving. The Neolithic followed the Paleolithic Period, or age of chipped-stone

Sunday, March 27, 2005

Haldeman, H.r.

Haldeman graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles in business

Kiddush

Also spelled  Qiddush (Hebrew: “sanctification”)  Jewish benediction and prayer recited over a cup of wine immediately before the meal on the eve of the sabbath or of a festival; the ceremony acknowledges the sanctity of the day that has just begun. Chanting, or recitation, usually performed by the head of the household, may involve several or all members of the family, depending on the custom; each then sips wine from

Saturday, March 26, 2005

Sangamon Interglacial Stage

Major division of Pleistocene time and deposits in North America (the Pleistocene Epoch began about 1,600,000 years ago and ended about 10,000 years ago). The Sangamon Interglacial follows the Illinoian Glacial Stage and precedes the Wisconsin Glacial Stage, both periods of widespread continental glaciation and severe climatic conditions, as opposed to the moderate conditions