Wildcat Bank

Unsound bank chartered under state law during the period of uncontrolled state banking (1816 - 63) in the United States. Such banks distributed nearly worthless currency backed by questionable security (e.g., mortgages, bonds) and were located in inaccessible areas to discourage note redemption. Note circulation by state banks ended after the passage of the National Bank

Baragwanathia

A genus of fossil plants from the Early Devonian Epoch (about 408 to 387 million years ago) of Australia, of interest as being perhaps the earliest club moss class (or subdivision) Lycopsida. The plants exceeded the size of present-day lycopsids, some being up to 28 cm (11 inches) long.

Xia Gui

For a time after his death, Xia may have suffered the same low esteem as other Southern Song academy painters in the eyes of proponents of the new literati, or scholar-amateur, school of painting, for whom professionalism was equated with empty technique and academicism. Zhuang Su wrote in 1298 in Huaji Buyi:He painted landscapes and figures, all very vulgar and debased.

East Germany

Formally �German Democratic Republic�, German �Ostdeutschland�, or �Deutsche Demokratische Republik� European state (1945 - 90) that now constitutes the eastern portion of the Federal Republic of Germany. See Germany.

Parakeet

Also spelled �Parrakeet� any of numerous seed-eating parrots of small size, slender build, and long, tapering tail. In this sense the name is given to some 115 species in 30 genera of the subfamily Psittacinae (family Psittacidae) and has influenced another parrot name, lorikeet (see parrot). To indicate size only, the name is sometimes extended to little parrots with short, blunt tails, as the hanging

Qadarif, Al-

Also spelled �El-gedaref, � town, east-central Sudan. It is situated about 120 miles (200 km) southwest of Kassala town. Located at an elevation of 1,975 feet (608 m), it is a commercial centre for the cotton, cereals, sesame seeds, and fodder produced in the surrounding area. The Gash Irrigation Project is located to the northwest of al-Qadarif. Light industries include cotton ginning and spinning mills and soap factories.

Beresford, Charles William De La Poer Beresford, 1st Baron

Second son of the 4th Marquess of Waterford, Beresford distinguished himself as commander of the gunboat Condor at Alexandria (1882) and as commander

Locke, Matthew

By 1661 Locke had been appointed composer in ordinary to the king. After his conversion to Roman Catholicism he was appointed organist to the queen. With Christopher Gibbons he wrote the music for James Shirley's masque Cupid and Death (1653), possibly the most elaborate

Salamanca, University Of

Spanish �Universidad De Salamanca, � state institution of higher learning at Salamanca, Spain. It was founded in 1218 under Alfonso IX, but its real beginnings date from 1254, when, under Alfonso X, grandson of the founder, three chairs in canon law and one each in grammar, arts, and physics were established. From that time until the end of the 16th century, Salamanca was one of the leading centres of learning in Europe, ranking

Obstetrics And Gynecology

The medical care of pregnant women (obstetrics) and of female genital diseases (gynecology) developed along different historical paths. Obstetrics had for a long time been the province

Appomattox Court House

In the American Civil War, site in Virginia of the surrender of the Confederate forces to those of the North on April 9, 1865. After an engagement with Federal cavalry, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia was surrounded at Appomattox, seat of Appomattox county, Virginia, 25 miles east of Lynchburg. Three miles to the northeast, at the former county seat, known as Appomattox

Appomattox Court House

In the American Civil War, site in Virginia of the surrender of the Confederate forces to those of the North on April 9, 1865. After an engagement with Federal cavalry, the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia was surrounded at Appomattox, seat of Appomattox county, Virginia, 25 miles east of Lynchburg. Three miles to the northeast, at the former county seat, known as Appomattox

Guinea-bissau, Relief

The coastal area is demarcated by a dense

Meloria

Rocky islet in the Ligurian Sea, off the coast of Tuscany, north central Italy, opposite Livorno. Meloria is known as the site of two 13th-century naval battles, both features of the long-standing rivalry between Pisa and Genoa. In the first battle (1241) the fleets of the Holy Roman emperor Frederick II and of Pisa attacked a Genoese squadron and captured the English, French, and

Toarcian Stage

Division representing all rocks deposited worldwide during the Toarcian Age (193 - 187 million years ago). The Toarcian is the fourth of 11 divisions (in ascending order) that make up the Jurassic System and is the uppermost stage of the Early Jurassic. No global stratotype section and point (GSSP) for the base of the stage has been approved by the International Commission on Stratigraphy.

Sothern, Edward Hugh

The son of the English comedian Edward Askew Sothern, he made his first stage appearance with his father's company in New York City in 1879. He toured England in 1882 and 1883 and became leading comedian in John

Binyon, (robert) Laurence

The son of a clergyman, Binyon was educated at St. Paul's School, London. At Trinity College, Oxford, he won the Newdigate Prize for his poem Persephone (1890). He combined his lifelong interests - books and painting - when in

'abd Al-wadid Dynasty

Also called �Zayyanid Dynasty�, or �Banu Zayyan� dynasty of Zanatah Berbers (1236 - 1550), successors to the Almohad empire in northwestern Algeria. In 1236 the Zanatahs, loyal vassals to the Almohads, gained the support of other Berber tribes and nomadic Arabs and set up a kingdom at Tilimsan (Tlemcen), headed by the Zanatah amir Yaghmurasan (ruled 1236 - 83). Yaghmurasan was able to maintain internal peace through the successful control of the rival

Pavlova, Anna

Pavlova studied at the Imperial School of Ballet at the Mariinsky Theatre from 1891, joined the Imperial Ballet in 1899, and became a prima ballerina in 1906. In 1909 she went to Paris on the historic tour of the Ballets Russes. After 1913 she danced independently with her own

Henry The Navigator

After Alfarrobeira, Henry spent most of his time at Sagres, though he did not altogether abandon public life. He was accorded by the King the sole right to send ships to visit and trade with the Guinea coast of Africa. He appeared occasionally at the Lisbon court and in 1450 helped arrange for the marriage of the King's sister to the emperor Frederick III. During most of his

Dacia

In antiquity, the area of the Carpathian Mountains and Transylvania, in present north-central and western Romania. The Dacian people had earlier occupied lands south of the Danube and north of the mountains, and the Roman province eventually included wider territories both to the north and east. The Dacians were agricultural and also worked their rich mines of

Connors, Jimmy

Connors learned to play tennis from his mother at an early age, and when he was eight years old he competed in the U.S. boys' championship. A former student at the University of California at Los Angeles, he joined team tennis in 1972. In 1974 he won three of the Big Four tournaments

Liquid Crystal

A substance that flows as a liquid but maintains some of the ordered structure characteristic of a crystal. Certain organic substances when heated will not melt directly but will turn from a crystalline solid to a liquid-crystal (mesomorphic) state. Upon further heating, a temperature is reached at which a true (isotropic) liquid is formed. The liquid-crystal state

Svay Rieng

The surrounding region is important for its agriculture; rice, corn (maize), potatoes, bananas, mulberry, and cotton are grown. Pop. (1987 est.) town, 14,000.

Kaduqli

Town, south-central Sudan. It is situated 149 miles (240 km) south of al-Ubayyid, at the northern edge of the White Nile plain. Kaduqli came under Egyptian rule in the early 19th century and was probably a centre for recruiting slaves for the Egyptian army. It is now a trading centre for gum arabic and livestock. Industries include textiles, soap factories, and the production of leather

West Bromwich

Locality in the metropolitan borough of Sandwell, metropolitan county of West Midlands, historic county of Staffordshire, England. It lies about 5 miles (8 km) northwest of the city of Birmingham. Though the town is of ancient origin, its appearance is modern and industrial. Coal was long mined in and around the locality until the end of the 20th century, and West Bromwich

Rabin, Yitzhak

Israeli statesman and soldier who, as prime minister of Israel (1974 - 77, 1992 - 95), led his country toward peace with its Palestinian and Arab neighbours. He was chief of staff of Israel's armed forces during the Six-Day War (June 1967). Along with Shimon Peres, his foreign minister, and Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) chairman

Byzantine Empire

The very name Byzantine illustrates the misconceptions to which the empire's history has often been subject, for its inhabitants would hardly have considered the term

Industry

A group of productive enterprises or organizations that produce or supply goods, services, or sources of income. In economics, industries are customarily classified as primary, secondary, and tertiary; secondary industries are further classified as heavy and light.

Argenteuil

Town, Val-d'Oise d�partement, �le-de-France r�gion, France. It lies along the north bank of the Seine River, northwest of Paris. The town's name comes from silver (argent) deposits exploited there by the Gauls. Argenteuil grew up around a convent that was founded there in the 7th century and of which Charlemagne's daughter Th�orade may have been an early abbess. H�lo�se, of the