Ray, James Earl
Ray had been a small-time crook, a robber of gas stations and stores, who had served time in prison, once in Illinois and twice in Missouri, and received a suspended sentence in Los Angeles. He escaped from the Missouri State Penitentiary on April 23, 1967; and in Memphis,
Kii Peninsula
Japanese �Kii-hanto, � peninsula of southern Honshu, Japan, facing the Pacific Ocean (east and south) and the Kii Strait and the Inland Sea (west). The peninsula is composed of the Kii Range, whose mountains end abruptly on the north in a fault scarp that commands the valleys of the Kushida River and the Kino River. In general, the mountains are of strong relief, being broken by deep valleys, sharp
French Literature, The novel between the wars
With a few notable exceptions, novels were less technically innovative in the second quarter of the century. The Surrealists made their contribution with Andr� Breton's Nadja (1928; Eng. trans., Nadja) and Louis Aragon's Le Paysan de Paris (1926; The Night-Walker), and they influenced the works of Raymond Queneau. The tradition of the family novel was continued by Roger Martin du
Margam
Locality, Neath Port Talbot county borough, historic county of Glamorgan (Morgannwg), Wales. Situated inland of the sandy Margam Burrows at the base of the peaks Mynydd Margam and Moel Ton-mawr, the community of Margam developed around a Cistercian abbey founded by Robert, earl of Gloucester, in 1147. Margam Abbey was a prominent cultural and educational centre until its
Endocrine System, Human
It is important to
Floodgate
Gate for shutting out or releasing the flow of water over spillways, in connection with the operation of a dam. Vertical lift, or radial, gates rise to permit flow under the gate but over the spillway crest. Drum gates rotate backward, lowering their tops and permitting a measured flow over the top of the gate. Drum gates present the fewest problems in the passage of ice
Ancient Rome, Second Punic War (218 - 201 BC)
It seemed that the superiority of the Romans at sea ought to have enabled them to choose the field of battle. They decided to send one army to Spain and another to Sicily and Africa. But before their preparations were complete, Hannibal began the series of operations that dictated the course of the war for the greater part of its duration. He realized that as long as the
Turban Shell
Any marine snail of the family Turbinidae (subclass Prosobranchia of the class Gastropoda) that has a wide aperture in the first whorl of the stout shell, which is topped by a bulbous, turbanlike coil. The shell may be beaded, knobbed, or ridged. The largest species of turban shell is the 20-centimetre (8-inch) green turban (Turbo marmoratus), native to the East Indies and Australia;
Anomaly
In astronomy, originally the nonuniform (anomalous) apparent motions of the planets. In present usage, three kinds of anomaly are distinguished to describe the position in the orbit of a planet, a satellite, or a star (in a binary system) around the centre of mass. The following text relates to the orbit of a planet. True anomaly is the angle, V, between lines drawn
Ria
Funnel-shaped estuary that occurs at a river mouth and is formed by the submergence of the lower portion of the river valley. Generally occurring along a rugged coast perpendicular to a mountain chain, many rias were formed by the rise in sea level after the melting of the vast continental glaciers. Rias are commonly very irregular and may have several branching
Radial Keratotomy
Surgical procedure to correct myopia (nearsightedness) by reducing the radius of curvature of the cornea and astigmatism (asymmetrical curvature of the cornea). A series of 4 to 8 equally spaced deep cuts are made in the peripheral cornea, leaving the central cornea above the pupil clear. Intraocular pressure then pushes the weakened central cornea outward, flattening
Abae
Ancient town in the northeast corner of Phocis, Greece. The town was famous for its oracle of Apollo, which was one of those consulted by the Lydian king Croesus. Although the Persians sacked and burned the temple in 480 BC, the oracle continued to be consulted - e.g., by the Thebans before the Battle of Leuctra (371 BC). The temple, burned again during the Sacred War (355 - 346 BC), was partly restored by
Ibex
Any of several surefooted, sturdy wild goats of the genus Capra, family Bovidae (order Artiodactyla), found in the mountains of Europe, Asia, and northeastern Africa. The European, or Alpine, ibex (C. ibex ibex) is typical. It stands about 90 cm (3 feet) at the shoulder and has brownish gray fur, darker on the underparts. The male has a beard and large, semicircular horns with broad, transversely
Bar Form
In music, the structural pattern aab as used by the medieval German minnesingers and meistersingers, who were poet-composers of secular monophonic songs (i.e., those having a single line of melody). The modern term Bar form derives from a medieval verse form, the Bar, consisting of three stanzas, each having the form aab. The musical term thus refers to the melody of a single
Hippolytus, Canons Of Saint
These canons are neither the authentic work of St. Hippolytus nor the oldest church regulations but are a later adaptation of the Apostolic Tradition of St. Hippolytus. The unknown author
Mold
Also spelled mould, in biology, a conspicuous mass of mycelium (masses of vegetative filaments, or hyphae) and fruiting structures produced by various fungi (division Mycota). Fungi of the genera Aspergillus, Penicillium, and Rhizopus form mold and are associated with food spoilage and plant diseases.
Spotlight: Sub-saharan Africa In A New Era
Although 41 of the 48 governments in the region had committed themselves to establishing multiparty parliamentary systems, by year's end only 9 could be judged to have met the criteria for pluralism
Gravesend
The discovery of the skull of Swanscombe man near Gravesend dates early settlement in the area to the Second Interglacial Period (about 200,000 years ago). Gravesend is mentioned in Domesday Book (1086) as Gravesham, possessing a hithe
'ali Ar-rida
In full �Abu Al-hasan Ibn Musa Ibn Ja'far 'ali Ar-rida� eighth imam of the Twelver Shi'ites, noted for his piety and learning until 817, when the caliph al-Ma'mun, in an attempt to heal the division between the majority Sunnites and the Shi'ites, appointed him his successor. The appointment aroused varying reactions - few of them, even among the Shi'ites, wholly favourable - and Iraq, already irritated
Adam, Robert
Toward the end of his life, Adam built the Register House (1772 - 92), Edinburgh, in which he
Richardson, Henry Handel
From 1883 to 1887 Richardson was a pupil at the Presbyterian Ladies'
Maugham, W. Somerset
Maugham was orphaned at the age of 10; he was brought up by an uncle and educated at King's School, Canterbury. After a year at Heidelberg, he entered St. Thomas' medical school,
Eisenerz
Town, Bundesland Steiermark (federal province of Styria), Austria, in the Erzbach Valley, at the northern foot of the Erzberg (Ore Mountain; 5,033 ft [1,534 m]), northwest of Leoben. Iron has been mined on the Erzberg by terraced open-pit methods since Roman times, and Eisenerz (�iron ore�) is the principal centre of Austrian iron mining, supplying most of the nation's total output. Notable
Ch�telet
In Paris, the principal seat of common-law jurisdiction under the French monarchy from the Middle Ages to the French Revolution. Located on the right bank of the Seine River, the building was originally a small fort that guarded the northern approach to the �le de la Cit�. Frequently rebuilt, it was known as the Grand Ch�telet to distinguish it from the Petit Ch�telet
'alawite
The roots of 'Alawism lie in the teachings of Muhammad ibn Nusayr an-Namiri (fl. 850), a Basran contemporary of the 10th Shi'ite imam, and the sect was chiefly established by Husayn ibn Hamdan al-Khasibi (d. 957 or 968) during the period of the Hamdanid dynasty (905 - 1004), at which time the 'Alawites had great influence in Aleppo. With the fall of
Welland Canal
Waterway in southern Ontario, Can., that provides navigation for large vessels between Lake Erie to the south and Lake Ontario to the north and forms an important link in the St. Lawrence Seaway. The canal was necessary because the Niagara River, the natural connection between Lakes Erie and Ontario, has impassable falls and rapids. The modern Welland Canal extends
Swaziland System
Major division of rocks and time in southern Africa in Precambrian Time (3.96 billion to 540 million years ago). The system consists of a great thickness of sedimentary and metamorphic (altered) rocks with numerous intrusions of igneous bodies. Two major subdivisions of the Swaziland System are recognized, an Upper and a Lower series. Many of the units that constitute the
Catch
Also called �Round, � perpetual canon designed to be sung by three or more voices, especially popular in 17th- and 18th-century England. Like all rounds, catches are indefinitely repeatable pieces in which all voices begin the same melody on the same pitch but enter at different time intervals. The name may derive from caccia, a 14th-century canonic form, or may refer to each singer's �catching� the
Hand
Ancient unit of length, now standardized at 4 inches (10.16 cm) and used today primarily for measuring the height of horses from the ground to the withers (top of the shoulders). The unit was originally defined as the breadth of the palm including the thumb. A statute of King Henry VIII of England established the hand at four inches. Units of various lengths were used by the ancient
Ma'daba
An ancient city, Ma'daba was mentioned in the Old Testament as being laid waste by the Israelites under Moses when the Amorites refused passage through their territory (Numbers 21). It was subsequently
