Deere, John

Apprenticed to a blacksmith at age 17, Deere set up his own smithy trade four years later and, for 12 years, did work in various towns of his native Vermont. In 1837, when 33 years old, he headed west and eventually settled in Grand Detour, Ill., where he set up a blacksmith's shop, and

Hector

In Greek legend, the eldest son of the Trojan king Priam and his queen Hecuba. He was the husband of Andromache and the chief warrior of the Trojan army. In Homer's Iliad he is represented as an ideal warrior and the mainstay of Troy. His character is drawn in most favourable colours as a good son, a loving husband and father, and a trusty friend. His leave-taking of Andromache

Ogham Writing

Ogham also spelled �Ogam, or Ogum, � alphabetic script dating from the 4th century AD, used for writing the Irish and Pictish languages on stone monuments; according to Irish tradition, it was also used for writing on pieces of wood, but there is no material evidence for this. In its simplest form, ogham consists of four sets of strokes, or notches, each set containing five letters composed of from one to five

Cone

In neurology, light-sensitive neuron with a conical projection in the retina of the vertebrate eye, associated with colour vision and perception of fine detail. Shorter and far fewer than the eye's rods (light-sensitive cells), cones are less sensitive to low illumination levels and are mediators of photopic rather than scotopic (Greek skotos, �dark�) vision. Cones are

Cone

In neurology, light-sensitive neuron with a conical projection in the retina of the vertebrate eye, associated with colour vision and perception of fine detail. Shorter and far fewer than the eye's rods (light-sensitive cells), cones are less sensitive to low illumination levels and are mediators of photopic rather than scotopic (Greek skotos, �dark�) vision. Cones are

Cone

In neurology, light-sensitive neuron with a conical projection in the retina of the vertebrate eye, associated with colour vision and perception of fine detail. Shorter and far fewer than the eye's rods (light-sensitive cells), cones are less sensitive to low illumination levels and are mediators of photopic rather than scotopic (Greek skotos, �dark�) vision. Cones are

Disarmament

In international relations, any of four distinct conceptions: (1) the penal destruction or reduction of the armament of a country defeated in war (the provision under the Versailles Treaty [1919] for the disarmament of Germany and its allies is an example of this conception of disarmament); (2) bilateral disarmament agreements applying to specific geographic areas (naval

Pitot, Henri

Beginning his career as a mathematician and astronomer, Pitot won election to the Academy of Sciences in 1724. He became interested in the problem of flow of water in rivers and canals and discovered that much contemporary theory was erroneous - for example,

Osheroff, Douglas D.

Osheroff received a bachelor's degree (1967) from the California Institute of Technology and a doctorate (1973) from Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y. He was a graduate student

Confederate States Of America

Convinced that their way of life, based on slavery, was irretrievably threatened by the election of President Abraham Lincoln (November 1860), the seven states of the Deep

Ketch, Jack

Ketch is believed to have received his appointment as public hangman in 1663. The first recorded mention of him appears in an anti-Roman Catholic broadside published in 1678 entitled The

Arwad, Jazirat

Greek �Arados�, Phoenician �Arvad� island in the eastern Mediterranean off the Syrian coastal town of Tartus. Originally settled by the Phoenicians in the early 2nd millennium BC, it formed an excellent base for their commercial operations, into both the Orontes Valley and the hinterland as far as the Euphrates, and also to Egypt. Arwadian soldiers fought against the Egyptians at the Battle of Kadesh (c. 1299 BC). From

Sogamoso

City, Boyac� departamento, east-central Colombia. It lies along the Chicamocha River in the Andean Cordillera (mountains) Oriental, at an elevation of 8,428 feet (2,569 m) above sea level. Once a sacred city of the pre-Columbian Chibcha Indians, Sogamoso is a commercial and manufacturing centre for the surrounding agricultural and pastoral lands. Flour and textile milling and

Qishon River

Also spelled �Kishon River, �Hebrew �Nahal Qishon, � stream, northern Israel, one of the country's few perennial rivers. It is formed by small streams and seasonal watercourses (wadis), which rise chiefly in the Hare (Mountains of) Gilboa' to the south and west and the Nazareth Hills of Lower Galilee to the north. From the river's southern sources the Qishon's total length is about 25 miles (40 km); the area of the drainage basin is about

China, Sui and T'ang periods

The best general account of Chinese relations with its northern neighbours in the steppes is Rene Grousset, The Empire of the Steppes (1970; originally published in French, 1939; 4th French ed., 1960). On Chinese overseas trade and relations with Southeast Asia, see Gungwu Wang, The Nanhai Trade: A Study of the Early History of Chinese Trade in the South China Sea (1958).

Hanks, Tom

For his gripping portrayal in the film Philadelphia--as a gay, AIDS-stricken lawyer embroiled in a discrimination suit against the law firm that had fired him--U.S. actor Tom Hanks was presented in 1994 with both the Academy Award and the Golden Globe award. The dramatic role, for which he shed 35 pounds and thinned his hair, was a vast departure from his many performances in light

Aeschines

Aeschines was brought up in humble circumstances, and in the early part of his career he worked as a tragic actor and held minor posts in the state service. In 346 BC he, like Demosthenes, was a member of the embassies to Philip II that resulted

Aeschines

Aeschines was brought up in humble circumstances, and in the early part of his career he worked as a tragic actor and held minor posts in the state service. In 346 BC he, like Demosthenes, was a member of the embassies to Philip II that resulted

Narayanganj

City, east-central Bangladesh, situated along both banks of the Lakhya River at its confluence with the Dhaleswari. The chief river port for nearby Dhaka, the city also has steamer connections with major inland ports and Chittagong. Narayanganj is the busiest trade market in the country, a collection centre for hides and skins, and a terminal market for jute. Together with

Girl Scouts

Also called (in Great Britain and some other countries) �Girl Guides� worldwide organization for girls, dedicated to training them in citizenship, good conduct, and outdoor activities. Robert (later Lord) Baden-Powell founded the Girl Guides in Great Britain in 1910 in response to the requests of girls who were interested in the Boy Scout movement established by him in 1908. The first Girl Scout troop in the United States was formed in 1912 by Juliette

Vend�e, Wars Of The

(1793 - 96), counterrevolutionary insurrections in the west of France during the French Revolution. The first and most important occurred in 1793 in the area known as the Vend�e, which included large sections of the d�partements of Loire-Inf�rieure (Loire-Atlantique), Maine-et-Loire, Deux-S�vres, and the Vend�e proper. In this fervently religious and economically backward region,

B�hm-bawerk, Eugen Von

After graduating from the University of Vienna, B�hm-Bawerk worked in the Austrian Ministry of Finance (1872 - 75) and was allowed by the ministry to study at several

Pacific, War Of The

Spanish �Guerra Del Pac�fico� (1879 - 83), conflict involving Chile, Bolivia, and Peru, which resulted in Chilean annexation of valuable disputed territory on the Pacific coast. It grew out of a dispute between Chile and Bolivia over control of a part of the Atacama Desert that lies between the 23rd and 26th parallels on the Pacific coast of South America. The territory contained valuable mineral resources, particularly

Durian

The fruit is spherical and 15 to 20 centimetres (6 to 8 inches) in diameter. It has a hard external husk, or shell, covered

Anderson, Margaret

Anderson was reared in a conventional Midwestern home and educated at Western College for Women, Oxford, Ohio. She renounced the "bourgeois" values

Frederick Ii

King of Sicily (1197 - 1250), duke of Swabia (as Frederick VI, 1228 - 35), German king (1212 - 50), and Holy Roman emperor (1220 - 50). A Hohenstaufen and grandson of Frederick I Barbarossa, he pursued his dynasty's imperial policies against the papacy and the Italian city states; and he also joined in the Sixth Crusade

Valdemar Iv Atterdag

A son of King Christopher II, Valdemar lived after 1328 at the court of Louis IV the Bavarian, Holy

Koguryo Style

Korean visual-arts style characteristic of the Koguryo kingdom (37 BC - AD 668) of the Three Kingdoms period. The Koguryo were a horse-riding northern people, and their art was powered by the forceful spirit of a hunter-warrior tribe. Their fresco paintings on the walls of tombs are characterized by movement and emotion rather than formal beauty and decorative visual effect. Outlines

Amstetten

Town, Nieder�sterreich Bundesland (federal state), northeastern Austria. It is situated near the Ybbs River, northeast of Steyr. Recorded in 996 as a possession of the bishops of Passau, it was fortified and granted market rights when it passed to the Habsburgs in 1276. It achieved town status in 1897. The 14th-century parish church in the town incorporates an earlier Romanesque basilica.

Fish Processing, Vitamins and minerals

Fish provide a number of important vitamins and minerals to the diet. They are a good source of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K and the B vitamins riboflavin, niacin, and thiamine. The mineral content includes calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and iron.