Shinran

Original name �Matsuwaka-Maru, �also called �Han'en, Shakku, Zenshin, or Gutoku Shinran, posthumous name Kenshin Daishi � Buddhist philosopher and religious reformer whose concern for the salvation of the masses apart from those endowed with self-enlightenment led him to establish (1224) the Jodo Shinshu (True Pure Land sect), the largest school of Buddhism in modern Japan. His monumental anthology Kyogyoshinsho (1224; �Teaching-Action-Faith-Attainment�) made an original contribution

Rybinsk Reservoir

Russian �Rybinskoye Vodokhranilishche, � large artificial body of water on the upper Volga River, northwestern Russia, formed by two dams on the Volga and its tributary, the Sheksna. The project began in 1935, the artificial lake began to form in 1941, and, when the project was completed in 1947, a lake of 1,768 square miles (4,580 square km) in area, a maximum width of 37 miles (60 km), and an average depth of 18 feet (5.6 m) had been formed. At that time, the Rybinsk

Tyndall, John

Tyndall was born into a poor Protestant Irish family. After a thorough basic education he worked as a surveyor in Ireland and England (1839 - 47). When his ambitions turned from engineering to science, Tyndall

Usakligil, Halit Ziya

He was educated at a French school in Izmir, where he became devoted to the works of the 19th-century French novelists. A journey to France also contributed to his knowledge of European culture,

Aleut

The Aleuts hunted seals, sea otters, whales,

Production Management

Also called �operations management, � planning and control of industrial processes to ensure that they move smoothly at the required level. Techniques of production management are employed in service as well as in manufacturing industries. It is a responsibility similar in level and scope to other specialties such as marketing or human resource and financial management. In manufacturing operations,

Egypt, Growth of Mamluk armies

The only real security for Ayyubid Egypt lay in its independent military strength. This explains why one of the last sultans, al-Malik as-Salih Ayyub (died 1249), resorted to increased purchase of Turkish slaves - called Mamluks, a name derived from the Arabic word for slave - as a means of manning his armies. Although slave troops had formed an important part of Egyptian armies since

Nation

In medieval universities, a group of students from a particular region or country who banded together for mutual protection and cooperation in a strange land. In some universities nations were responsible for educating and examining students. Each one was governed by its own proctor, who was elected for terms varying from one month (at the University of Paris) to

Levitt, Helen

Levitt began her career in photography at age 18 working in a portrait studio in the Bronx. After seeing the works of French photographer Henri-Cartier Bresson, she was inspired to purchase a 35-mm Leica camera and began to scour the poor

Yamuna River

The Yamuna then passes Delhi, where it feeds the Agra Canal. Near

Cimarron River

River rising in northeastern New Mexico, U.S., near Capulin Mountain National Monument and flowing 698 mi (1,123 km) to enter the Arkansas River near Tulsa, Okla. From its source, the Cimarron flows east past Black Mesa, a peak 4,973 ft (1,516 m) high, through the northern Oklahoma Panhandle and bends northward through the southeastern corner of Colorado and the southwestern corner of Kansas.

Chambers, John Graham

After a distinguished college career rowing for Cambridge, Chambers coached the Cambridge team from 1871 to 1874. In 1866 he founded the Amateur Athletic Club and was instrumental in organizing the

Chambers, John Graham

After a distinguished college career rowing for Cambridge, Chambers coached the Cambridge team from 1871 to 1874. In 1866 he founded the Amateur Athletic Club and was instrumental in organizing the

Silk Spider

Also called �Golden Silk Spider� (Nephila), any of a genus of the class Arachnida (phylum Arthropoda), so named because of the great strength of their silk and the golden colour of their huge orb webs. These webs often measure one metre (about three feet) or more in diameter and are suspended between trees by guy lines. About 60 species are known to live in the warmer regions of the world. Adult females are very

Woolley, Sir (charles) Leonard

From 1907 to 1911 Woolley served with an archaeological expedition

Mander, Carel Van

Born of a noble family at Meulebeke,

Bitis

Snake genus belonging to the poisonous viper family Viperidae, including the puff adders (e.g., Bitis arietans; see adder), the Gaboon viper (q.v.; B. gabonica), and the rhinoceros viper (q.v.; B. nasicornis).

Bearden, Romare (howard)

Bearden studied at the Art Students League in New York City with George Grosz (1936 - 37) and at Columbia University (1943). His early paintings were realistic and often

Gorbachev, Mikhail

In full� Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev � Soviet official, the general secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) from 1985 to 1991 and president of the Soviet Union in 1990 - 91. His efforts to democratize his country's political system and decentralize its economy led to the downfall of communism and the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. In part because he ended the Soviet

Lancaster, Sir James

In 1588 Lancaster served under Sir Francis Drake as commander of the Edward Bonaventure against the Spanish Armada. On April 10, 1591, commanding the same ship, he sailed from Plymouth for the

China, Provincial separatism

The post-rebellion settlement not only pardoned several of the most powerful rebel generals but also appointed them as Imperial governors in command of the areas they had surrendered. Hopeh was divided into four new provinces, each under surrendered rebels, while Shantung became the province of An Lu-shan's former garrison army from P'ing-lu in Manchuria, which

World War I, The Egyptian frontiers, 1915 - July 1917

Even after the evacuation from Gallipoli, the British maintained 250,000 troops in Egypt. A major source of worry to the British was the danger of a Turkish threat from Palestine across the Sinai Desert to the Suez Canal. That danger waned, however, when the initially unpromising rebellion of the Hashimite amir Husayn ibn 'Ali against the Turks in the Hejaz was developed by the

Porsgrunn

Town, Telemark fylke (county), southern Norway, at the mouth of the Skienselva (river) on Frierfjorden. Established as a customs post in 1652 with the name Porsgrund, it received its town charter in 1842. An export and industrial centre, it contains the huge Norsk Hydro chemical factories, a factory that produces Norway's finest porcelain, shipyards, metalworks, and lumber mills.

Christian Ii

After serving as viceroy in Norway (1502, 1506 - 12), Christian succeeded his father, John, king of Denmark and Norway, in 1513. He obtained office by agreeing to a royal charter that granted extensive privileges to the nobility,

Saigyo

Also called �Sato Norikiyo � Japanese Buddhist priest-poet, one of the greatest masters of the tanka (a traditional Japanese poetic form), whose life and works became the subject matter of many narratives, plays, and puppet dramas. He originally followed his father in a military career, but, like others of his day, he was oppressed by the sense of disaster that overwhelmed Japan as

J.p. Morgan Chase

The Morgan branch of the corporation traces its history to J.P. Morgan and Company, Inc. (established 1895), and Guaranty Trust Company of New York (1864), which merged in 1959. The bank was renamed Morgan Guaranty

Skadi

Old Norse �Skaoi� in Norse mythology, the giant wife of the sea god Nj�rd. In order to avenge the death of her father, the giant Thiazi, Skadi took up arms and went to attack the rival tribe of the gods (the Aesir) in Asgard, home of the gods. The Aesir, wanting to appease her anger, offered her the choice of one of their number for a husband, with the stipulation that she choose a god by his legs (or feet)

Saratoga, Battles Of

In the American Revolution, closely related engagements in the fall of 1777 that are often called the turning point of the war in favour of the Americans. The failure of the American invasion of Canada in 1775 - 76 had left a large surplus of British troops along the St. Lawrence River. In 1777 these troops were to move south and join forces with General Sir William Howe's troops along the

Uguccione Della Faggiuola

A member of an old Ghibelline (pro-imperial) family, Uguccione had served as podest� (chief magistrate) and captain general in several Italian cities when the sudden death of Holy Roman Emperor