Ryukyu Trench

Also called �Nansei-Shoto Trench� deep ocean trench running north along the eastern edge of the Ryukyu Islands (Japan) in the Philippine Sea, between Taiwan and the Japanese archipelago. The Ryukyu Trench reaches a maximum depth of 24,629 feet (7,507 m) about 60 miles (90 km) south of Okinawa. It is 1,398 miles (2,250 km) long, and its mean width is 37 miles (60 km). Its floor area extends over some 52,000 square miles (135,000 square km), mostly covered by red

Tigrinya Language

Also spelled �Tigrigna, �also called �Tigray, or Tigrai, � Semitic language of the Tigray people of northern Ethiopia and central Eritrea. Written records include religious texts prepared by mission societies and an increasing number of more recently printed textbooks and literary works. The language is closely related to Ge'ez, the ancient language of Ethiopia, and to the Tigr� language. There were nearly 6,000,000 speakers

Genda Minoru

Genda, a graduate of the Japanese Naval Academy (1924), was a fighter

Nagaland

Verrier Elwin, Nagaland (1961); Prakash Singh, Nagaland, 3rd ed., rev. (1981); and Murkot Ramunny, The World of Nagas (1988), are overviews. Majid Husain, Nagaland: Habitat, Society, and Shifting Cultivation (1988), discusses the human geography of the area. On the people, see Julian Jacobs, The Nagas: Hill Peoples of Northeast India (1990). Swabera Islam Saleh, Nagaland's Economy in Transition Since 1964 (1989), examines economic developments. Hokishe Sema, Emergence of Nagaland (1986), is authored by a former chief minister of the state. B.B. Ghosh, History of Nagaland (1982), provides a brief historical survey of the region. M. Horam, Naga Insurgency: The Last Thirty Years (1988), is a personal account of the Naga Underground Movement.

Frey, Adolf

As a biographer Frey showed a predilection for rich character studies in the manner of the 19th-century realists. Because he knew many writers and painters when he was a professor

Music, Recordings.

The record industry continued the trend toward huge boxed-set reissues of materials from its vaults. Without so much as an anniversary excuse, BMG came out with a 65-compact disc (CD) compilation of all of violinist Jascha Heifetz' RCA recordings, and Teldec issued a 60-CD repackaging of the pioneering period-instruments Bach cantata recordings of Nikolaus Harnoncourt

Buddhism, All Souls festival

The importance of the virtues of filial piety and the reverence of ancestors in China and Japan have established Ullambana, or All Souls Day, as one of the major Buddhist festivals in those countries. In China, worshipers in Buddhist temples make �boats of the law� ( fa-ch'uan) out of paper, some very large, which are then burned in the evening. The purpose of the celebration

Buddhism, All Souls festival

Small to medium-sized herbivorous dinosaurs that flourished about 115 million to 110 million years ago during the Early Cretaceous Period. Hypsilophodon was up to 2 metres (6.5 feet) long and weighed about 60 kg (130 pounds). It had short arms with five fingers on each hand and was equipped with much longer four-toed hind feet. In its mouth was a set of high, grooved, self-sharpening cheek

Astley, Philip

A horseman with a British dragoon regiment from about 1759, Astley was at first the sole performer in the Amphitheatre, specializing in riding with one foot on the saddle and one on the horse's

Mckinley, Mount

Basidiocarp

In fungi, a large sporophore, or fruiting body, in which sexually produced spores are formed on the surface of club-shaped structures (basidia). Basidiocarps are found among the members of the class Basidiomycetes (q.v.), with the exception of the rust and smut fungi. The largest basidiocarps include giant puffballs (Calvatia gigantea), which can be 1.6 m (5.25 feet) long, 1.35 m broad, and

Valabhi

City of ancient India that was the capital of the Maitraka dynasty in the 5th - 8th century AD. It was situated on an inlet of the Gulf of Cambay (Khambhat), northwest of the port of Bhavnagar, in Saurastra (later Gujarat), western India. The city is thought to have been established about AD 470 by the founder of the dynasty, Senapati Bhatarka, during the period when the Gupta empire was breaking

Dworkin, Andrea

Dworkin began writing at an early age. During her undergraduate years at Vermont's Bennington College (B.A., 1968), she became involved with the student demonstrations against the Vietnam War. Her experience in the New

Ashur-uballit I

(reigned c. 1365 - 30 BC), king of Assyria during Mesopotamia's feudal age, who created the first Assyrian empire and initiated the Middle Assyrian period (14th to 12th century BC). With the help of the Hittites he destroyed the dominion of the Aryan Mitanni (a non-Semitic people from upper Iran and Syria who had subjugated Assyria), ravaged Nineveh (near present Mosul, Iraq), and sent off the image

Fields, Dame Gracie

In music halls from childhood, Fields gained fame playing the role of Sally Perkins in a touring revue called Mr. Tower of London (1918 - 25). She became tremendously popular in Great Britain with an act composed of low-comedy songs, such as �The Biggest Aspidistra in the World,� and sentimental ballads,

Craigavon

New town (built after 1966), Craigavon district, Northern Ireland, southwest of Belfast. Craigavon new town was developed under the New Towns Act of 1965 as a commercial, light industrial, and residential centre linking the older towns of Lurgan and Portadown. It was named after James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon, the first prime minister (1921 - 40) of Northern Ireland. The new town's planning

Atar

Town, west-central Mauritania. It is an oasis and a caravan stopping point and lies on a road leading southwest to Nouakchott, the national capital. The oasis produces dates and grains and supports cattle, sheep, and goat grazing. Atar is the site of an airstrip; it also has a school for traditional weaving, and it is an important source of rugs. Pop. (1977) 16,326; (1988) 21,366.

Wu San-kuei

Wu had been the Ming general in charge of defending the northeast frontier against the Manchus. When the Imperial

Ghent, State University Of

Dutch �Rijksuniversiteit Te Gent, � state-financed coeducational institution of higher learning with limited autonomy in Ghent, Belg. Founded in 1817 under King William I of The Netherlands, the university at first conducted its instruction in Latin; in 1830 the language was changed to French; in 1916, during the German occupation of World War I, to Flemish (Dutch); in 1918 back to French; and by 1930 back permanently to Flemish.

Intelligence

Military intelligence is as old as warfare itself. Even in biblical times, Moses sent spies to live with the Canaanites in order to learn about their ways and about their strengths and weaknesses. In the American Revolution George

Islam, Shrines of Sufi saints

By the late 20th century, the Sufi shrines, which were managed privately in earlier periods, were almost entirely owned

Gregory, Cynthia

Gregory began taking ballet lessons at the age of five. She later studied with Michel Panaieff, Robert Rossellat, and Carmelita Maracci, and while still a child she appeared in productions of the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera and the Santa Monica Civic Ballet. In 1961 she joined

Pembroke Table

Light, drop-leaf table designed for occasional use, probably deriving its name from Henry Herbert, 9th Earl of Pembroke (1693 - 1751), a noted connoisseur and amateur architect. The table has two drawers and flaps on either side that can be raised by brackets on hinges (known as �elbows�) to increase its size. Usually provided with casters (it was often used for bedside meals), the legs of

Ghica, Ion

Descended from the Walachian prince Grigore III Ghica, Ion Ghica joined the opposition to the rule of his cousin Alexandru II Ghica, prince of Walachia from 1834, that resulted in Alexandru's deposition in October 1842. Ghica figured prominently

France, History Of, Seeds of discord

Security could not be taken for granted, however, because the Revolution progressively alienated or disappointed important elements of French society. Among the elites, opposition began almost immediately when some of the king's close relatives left the country in disgust after July 14, thus becoming the first �migr�s. Each turning point in the Revolution touched

Marsh Frog

(Rana ridibunda), large aquatic frog (family Ranidae), similar in appearance and habits to the closely related pool frog (R. lessonae) and the edible frog (R. esculenta). In Europe they are all called green frogs. The marsh frog inhabits marshes, river banks, and lake edges in Europe and western Asia. About 9 to 13 cm (3.5 to 5 inches) long, it is brown or green, with or without irregular black

Activation Energy

In chemistry, the minimum amount of energy that is required to activate atoms or molecules to a condition in which they can undergo chemical transformation or physical transport. In terms of the transition-state theory (q.v.), the activation energy is the difference in energy content between atoms or molecules in an activated or transition-state configuration and

Zalau

Town, capital of Salaj judet (county), northwestern Romania. It is located in an isolated part of the country on the northwestern slopes of the Mezes Mountains. It is the terminal of a branch line railway and a local market centre for the district's agricultural produce. A furniture factory in Zalau uses timber from the surrounding hills. The town has an archaeological museum

Jam Master Jay

American rap musician and producer (b. Jan. 21, 1965, New York, N.Y. - d. Oct. 30, 2002, New York City), was a member of Run-D.M.C., the first rap group to attract a worldwide audience. Jam Master Jay teamed with Joe (�Run�) Simmons and Darryl (�D.M.C.�) McDaniels to form the group in the early 1980s. The trio's debut album, Run-D.M.C. (1984), featuring the hit singles �It's like That� and �Sucker MCs,� became the first rap album to attain gold

Obuchi Keizo

Obuchi received a degree in English literature from Waseda University, Tokyo, in 1962. The following year, he won the seat his father had held in the House of Representatives, becoming the youngest person