Eisenhüttenstadt

City, Brandenburg Land (state), eastern Germany. The city lies along the Oder River at the Polish border, southeast of Frankfurt an der Oder. It was formed in 1961 by the union of Fürstenberg, Stalinstadt, and Schönfliess. Stalinstadt was a planned-residence town for workers employed in a metallurgical complex established in 1951 just west of the old town of Fürstenberg. Now one

Rouget De Lisle, Claude-joseph

Author of “La Marseillaise,” the French national anthem. A lowly army officer and only a moderate republican, Rouget de Lisle never wrote anything else of significance. He composed both the words and music of “La Marseillaise” for his comrades in 1792 while stationed at Strasbourg; it was originally called “Chant de guerre de l'armée

Kamehameha Ii

In 1820 he admitted the first company of missionaries (from New England), who, within two years, had learned the language, reduced it to writing, and printed the first textbook. Kamehameha resisted conversion to Christianity, allegedly because he refused to give up four of his five wives as well as rum

Cermak, Anton J.

Cermak was born about 50 miles (80 km) from Prague but celebrated his first birthday on Ellis Island in New York harbour. His parents settled in Braidwood, Ill., where,

Kamanja

Also called  kemanche , or  kamanche  stringed instrument of the fiddle family prominent in Arab and Persian art music. It is a spike fiddle; i.e., its small, round or cylindrical body appears skewered by the neck, which forms a “foot” that the instrument rests on when played. Measuring about 30 inches (76 cm) from neck to foot, it has a membrane belly and, commonly, two to four strings tuned in fourths or fifths. The musician,

Mar-pa

The chief source of information on the life of Mar-pa is a 14th-century biography written by the “Mad Yogin of Tsang.” According to it, Mar-pa was born of wealthy parents. He had a violent nature and was

Tibaldi, Pellegrino

Tibaldi grew up in Bologna in a family of Lombard stonemasons. He was trained as a painter under minor Emilian artists who imitated the style of Raphael; in 1547, however, he went to Rome and worked with Perino del Vaga.

Iraq, Recurrence of military coups, 1963–68

The military faction that brought about the collapse of the Qasim regime preferred to remain behind the scenes rather than assume direct responsibility. The Ba'th Party, a group of young activists who advocated Arab nationalism and socialism, was entrusted with power. Ba'th leaders invited 'Abd al-Salam 'Arif to assume the presidency. A National Council for Revolutionary

Adab

Modern  Bismayah  ancient Sumerian city located south of Nippur (modern Niffer or Nuffar), Iraq. Excavations (1903–04) carried out by the American archaeologist Edgar James Banks revealed buildings dating from as early as the prehistoric period and as late as the reign of Ur-Nammu (reigned 2112–2095 BC). Adab was an important Sumerian centre only up to about 2000. The Sumerian king list ascribed to the city one