Ussuri River

Chinese  (Wade-Giles) Wu-su-li Chiang,  or (Pinyin)  Wusuli Jiang,  northward-flowing tributary of the Amur River that for a considerable distance forms the boundary between China (Heilungkiang province) and Russia (Siberia). The Ussuri is formed by the confluence of the Ulakhe and Arsenyevka rivers, both of which rise on the southwestern slopes of the Sikhote-Alin mountains. Its length from the source of the Ulakhe is 565 miles (909 km), and

Peter Martyr, Saint

Peter's parents were members of the Cathari, and there was some family opposition to Peter's

Vienna, University Of

The university was first chartered, following the model of the University of Paris, by the Habsburg duke Rudolf IV of Austria, as an expression of his rivalry with German king Charles IV, who had founded the University of Prague

Metalwork

Useful and decorative objects fashioned of various metals, including copper, iron, silver, bronze, lead, gold, and brass. The earliest man-made objects were of stone, wood, bone, and earth. It was only later that humans learned to extract metals from the earth and to hammer them into objects. Metalwork includes vessels, utensils, ceremonial and ritualistic objects, decorative

Pitney, Mahlon

After graduating from the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University), Pitney studied law with his father and took over his father's practice when the latter was appointed vice chancellor of New Jersey in 1889. In 1894 Pitney was elected to the U.S. Congress, in which he served until

Tallahatchie River

River rising in Tippah county, Mississippi, U.S., and flowing 230 miles (370 km) west and then south to join the Yalobusha River just north of Greenwood in Leflore county to form the Yazoo River. The upper section of the river (above the influx of the Yocona and Coldwater rivers) is sometimes called the Little Tallahatchie. Immediately southeast of Sardis, Mississippi, is a dam, constructed

Turtle

One-man submarine, the first to be put to military use, built and designed by the American inventor David Bushnell (q.v.) in 1775 for use against British warships. The pear-shaped vessel, made of oak reinforced with iron bands, measured about 2.3 m (7.5 feet) long by 1.8 m (6 feet) wide. It was equipped with a mine that was to be attached to the hull of an enemy ship. In 1776, in New York harbour, the Turtle tried

Shamanism

Although the classic model and most complete expression of shamanism is found in the Arctic and Central Asian regions, the phenomenon must not be considered as limited to those countries. It is encountered, for example, in Southeast Asia, Oceania, and among many North American aboriginal tribes (shamanism does not play a role of the first order in Africa). A distinction

San Cristóbal

City, capital of Táchira estado (“state”), western Venezuela. Situated in an isolated intermontane basin of the Mérida Mountains, at 2,700 feet (820 m) above sea level, the city occupies three sloping alluvial terraces overlooking the Torbes River. Founded in 1561, it retains a colonial atmosphere despite its being the largest of the cities in the so-called Andean Region of Venezuela.

Avery, Oswald

Avery received a medical degree

Turbat

Town, Balochistan province, Pakistan. The town is located on the left bank of the Kech River, which is a tributary to the Dasht River. The area in which Turbat is situated is drained to the south by the Dasht River; the Makran Range to the north and east descends to coastal plains in the south. The town is a marketplace for dates grown in the surrounding region and has a date-processing

Santa Cruz Island

Also called  Indefatigable Island,   one of the Galápagos Islands, in the eastern Pacific Ocean, about 600 miles (965 km) west of Ecuador. Circular in shape, it has an area of 389 square miles (1,007 square km), and a central volcanic crater rises to 2,300 feet (701 m). Puerto Ayora, on the southern coast, originally a colony of Scandinavians and Germans, has a harbour that can accommodate boats. Subsistence farming, fruit and sugarcane cultivation,

Cavalcanti, Alberto

Cavalcanti established his reputation as a documentary filmmaker in Britain during the 1930s and went on to produce some notable films for Ealing Studios. In the 1950s he returned to Brazil and was a leading