Crompton, Samuel

As a youth Crompton spun cotton on a spinning jenny for his family; its defects inspired him to try to invent a better device. In 1779, after devoting all his spare time and money to the effort, he produced a machine

Hind

Any of certain species of fishes in the sea bass family, Serranidae (order Perciformes). All species referred to as hinds are in the genus Epinephelus, which also includes many groupers. They are found in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico along the North American coast, with the exception of the red hind (E. guttatus), which ranges from the Carolinas to Brazil. The rock

Yi-dam

In Tibetan Buddhism, a tutelary, or guardian, deity with whom a lama (monk) has a special, secret relationship. The lama first prepares himself by meditation, then selects from among the guardian deities the one that reveals itself as offering the right guidance for a specific or lifelong goal. The lama will thereafter begin each day by worshiping his yi-dam. Any of the

Czech Language

Formerly  Bohemian , Czech  Ceština  West Slavic language closely related to Slovak, Polish, and the Sorbian languages of eastern Germany. It is spoken in the historical regions of Bohemia, Moravia, and southwestern Silesia in the Czech Republic, where it is the official language. Czech is written in the Roman (Latin) alphabet. The oldest records in the language are Czech glosses appearing in Latin and

Topology, Cartesian-product spaces

Starting with a pair of topological spaces X1, X2, the Cartesian product of X1 and X2 (written X1 ´ X2) may be constructed as follows: the points of X1 ´ X2 are ordered pairs (a, b) in which a X1 and b X2. Basis elements of X1 ´ X2 are sets of the form U1 ´ U2 in which U1 is a basis element of X1; U2 is a basis element of X2; and U1 ´ U2 denotes the set of all points (x1, x2) of X1 ´ X2 in which x1 U1, x2 U2. In a certain sense, the plane Â2 is the Cartesian product of two lines. Also Âm + n is the Cartesian

San Carlos

City, northeastern Negros island, Philippines. Set in an area of concentrated sugarcane production, it is the site of a large sugar mill established in 1912. Frequent ferry service across Tanon Strait from Toledo on the island of Cebu brings large numbers of migrant workers to the surrounding sugar plantations. The city has deepwater port facilities and also has an airport.

Agoult, Marie (-catherine-sophie) De Flavigny, Comtesse D'

Mme d'Agoult was the daughter of the émigré Comte de Flavigny. In 1827 she married Col. Charles d'Agoult, 20 years her senior. She had early shown strength of will and enthusiasm for justice and freedom, and her marriage disappointed

Nero

Nero's father, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, died in about AD 40, and Nero was brought up by his mother, Agrippina the Younger, a great-granddaughter of the emperor Augustus. After poisoning her second husband, Agrippina incestuously became the wife of her uncle, the emperor Claudius, and persuaded him to favour Nero for the succession, over the rightful claim of his own son,

Kenite

Member of a tribe of itinerant metalsmiths related to the Midianites and the Israelites who plied their trade while traveling in the region of the Arabah (the desert rift valley extending from the Sea of Galilee to the Gulf of Aqaba) from at least the 13th century to the 9th century BC. The Kenites' name was derived from Cain, whose descendants they were believed to be. The Kenites