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Alcala, Calle de ... Aldabra Islands

Alcala, Calle de one of the main thoroughfares of Madrid. It originates at the eastern edge of the Puerta del Sol (the focal point and principal square of the city) and runs northeast approximately 4 mi (6 km) through the Plaza de la Independencia and the Puerta de Alcala (a gateway originally built ... alcalde (from Arabic al-qadi, "judge"), the administrative and judicial head of a town or village in Spain or in areas under Spanish control or influence. The title was applied to local government officials whose functions were various but always included a judicial element. Types of alcaldes were differentiated according to the ... Alcamenes sculptor and younger contemporary of Phidias, noted for the delicacy and finish of his works, among which a Hephaestus and an Aphrodite of the Gardens are noteworthy. A copy of the head of his Hermes Propylaeus at Pergamum has been identified by an inscription, and he is said by the ... Alcamo town, northwestern Sicily, Italy, 23 miles (37 km) west-southwest of Palermo. The name comes from that of the nearby Saracen fortress, Alqamah, on Mount Bonifato. The present town was founded by the emperor Frederick II in 1233. Notable churches include the 17th-century Assunta Church and the Church of San Tomaso ... Alcan Aluminium Limited Canadian multinational company incorporated in 1928 (as Aluminium Limited) and now the largest Canadian industrial enterprise, operating in more than 100 countries. It has mining and refining operations for bauxite; smelting plants for aluminum; hydroelectric plants; fabricating plants for a wide variety of aluminum products; transportation operations; facilities for production ... Alcantara seaport, northern Maranhao estado (state), northern Brazil. It is located on the western shore of Sao Marcos Bay about 12 miles (19 km) northwest of the state capital, Sao Luis, which lies across the bay on Sao Luis Island. Alcantara is one of Maranhao's oldest towns; it flourished during the ... Alcantara town, Caceres provincia (province), in the Extremadura comunidad autonoma (autonomous community), western Spain, on a rock above the southern bank of the Tagus (Tajo) River just east of the Portuguese frontier. The walled town was named by the Moors after the six-arched Roman bridge Al-Qantarah (Arabic: "The Bridge"), which there ... Alcantara, Order of major military and religious order in Spain. It was founded in 1156 or 1166 by Don Suero Fernandez Barrientos and was recognized in 1177 by Pope Alexander III in a special papal bull. Its purpose was to defend Christian Spain against the Moors. In 1218 King Alfonso IX of Leon ... Alcaraz carpet floor covering handwoven in 15th- and 16th-century Spain at Alcaraz in Murcia. These carpets use the Spanish knot on one warp. A number of 15th-century examples imitate contemporary Turkish types but differ in border details and colouring. Alcatraz former maximum-security prison located on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay, off the coast of California. Alcatraz Island rocky island in San Francisco Bay, California, U.S. The island occupies an area of 22 acres (9 hectares) and is located 1.5 miles (2 km) offshore. alcazar any of a class of fortified structures built in the 14th and 15th centuries in Spain. (The term is derived from the Arabic word al-qasr, meaning "castle," or "fortress.") As the Spanish efforts to drive out the Moors became more strenuous, the dual need for fortification and an imposing edifice ... Alcazar de San Juan town, Ciudad Real provincia (province), in the comunidad autonoma (autonomous community) of Castile-La Mancha, central Spain. It lies on the high southern Meseta Central at 2,135 feet (650 metres) above sea level. Known to the Romans as Alces, the town was renamed al-Qasr ("the Palace," or "the Castle") by the ... Alceste title character of Moliere's comedy Le Misanthrope (first performed 1666). Alceste's disgust with the superficialities and deceits of his fellows, culminating in his withdrawal from society, provides the play's mild dramatic conflict. Alcestis in Greek legend, the beautiful daughter of Pelias, king of Iolcos. She is the heroine of the eponymous play by the dramatist Euripides (c. 484-406 BCE). According to legend, the god Apollo helped Admetus, son of the king of Pherae, to harness a lion and a boar to a chariot ... Alcestis drama by Euripides, performed in 438 BCE. Though tragic in form, the play ends happily. It was performed in place of the satyr play that usually ended the series of three tragedies that were produced for festival competition. Alchemist, The comedy in five acts by Ben Jonson, performed in 1610 and published in 1612. The play concerns the turmoil of deception that ensues when Lovewit leaves his London house in the care of his scheming servant, Face. With the aid of a fraudulent alchemist named Subtle and his companion, Dol ... alchemy a form of speculative thought that, among other aims, tried to transform base metals such as lead or copper into silver or gold and to discover a cure for disease and a way of extending life. Alchevsk city, eastern Ukraine. It lies along the railway from Luhansk to Debaltseve. Alchevsk was founded in 1895 with the establishment of the Donetsko-Yuryevsky ironworks. The plant developed into a large, integrated ironworks and steelworks, which was expanded greatly in the 1950s and '60s. The city has been a major bituminous-coal ... Alchian, Armen A. American economist whose teachings countered some of the popular economic theories of the late 20th century, such as those regarding labour costs or the implications of property ownership. Alcibiades brilliant but unscrupulous Athenian politician and military commander who provoked the sharp political antagonisms at Athens that were the main causes of Athens' defeat by Sparta in the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC). Alcidae bird family, order Charadriiformes, which includes the birds known as auk, auklet, dovekie, guillemot, murre, murrelet, and puffin (qq.v.). Alcidamas prominent Sophist and rhetorician who taught in Athens. He was a pupil of Gorgias and a rival of Isocrates. His only extant work, Peri sophiston ("Concerning Sophists"), stresses the superiority of extempore (though prepared) speeches over written ones. The oration attributed to him entitled Odysseus is spurious. Only fragments of ... Alcinous in Greek mythology, king of the Phaeacians (on the legendary island of Scheria), son of Nausithous, and grandson of the god Poseidon. In the Odyssey (Books VI-XIII) he entertained Odysseus, who had been cast by a storm onto the shore of the island. Scheria was identified in very early times ... Alciphron rhetorician who wrote a collection of fictitious letters, a form of literature popular in his day. About 120 letters have survived. The background of them all is Athens in the 4th century BC, and the imaginary writers are farmers, fishermen, parasites (stock comic figures known for living off others), and ... Alcithoe in Greek legend, the daughter of Minyas of Orchomenus, in Boeotia. She and her sisters once refused to participate in Dionysiac festivities, remaining at home spinning and weaving. Late in the day Dionysiac music clanged about them, the house was filled with fire and smoke, and the sisters were metamorphosed ... alclad laminated metal produced in sheets composed of a Duralumin (q.v.) core and outer layers of aluminum. Alcmaeon Greek philosopher and physiologist of the academy at Croton (now Crotone, southern Italy), the first person recorded to have practiced dissection of human bodies for research purposes. He may also have been the first to attempt vivisection. Alcmaeon inferred that the brain was the centre of intelligence and that the ... Alcmaeon in Greek legend, the son of the seer Amphiaraus and his wife Eriphyle. When Amphiaraus set out with the expedition of the Seven Against Thebes, which he knew would be fatal to him, he commanded his sons to avenge his death by slaying Eriphyle (who had been bribed by Polyneices ... Alcmaeonid Family a powerful Athenian family, claiming descent from the legendary Alcmaeon, that was important in 5th- and 6th-century-BC politics. During the archonship of one of its members, Megacles (632? BC), a certain Cylon failed in an attempt to make himself tyrant, and his followers were slain at an altar sanctuary. Accused ... Alcman Greek poet who wrote choral lyrics in a type of Doric related to the Laconian vernacular, used in the region that included Sparta. Alcoa city, Blount county, eastern Tennessee, U.S., about 15 miles (25 km) south of Knoxville and adjacent to Maryville. The city is a gateway to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which lies to the southeast. It was founded in 1913 by the Aluminum Company of America (Alcoa) on a tract of ... Alcobaca town, west-central Portugal. It lies at the confluence of the Alcoa and Baca rivers, just south-southwest of the city of Leiria. Alcobaca is notable for its Cistercian monastery (Mosteiro de Santa Maria), founded in 1152 by King Afonso I in thanksgiving for the reconquest of Santarem from the Moors and ... Alcock Convention agreement regarding trade and diplomatic contact negotiated in 1869 between Great Britain and China. The implementation of the Alcock Convention would have put relations between the two countries on a more equitable basis than they had been in the past. Its rejection by the British government weakened the power of ... Alcock, John architect, bishop, and statesman who founded Jesus College, Cambridge, and who was regarded as one of the most eminent pre-Reformation English divines. Alcock, Sir John William aviator who, with fellow British aviator Arthur Brown, made the first nonstop transatlantic flight. Alcoforado, Mariana Portuguese nun, long believed to have written Lettres portugaise (1669; "Portuguese Letters"), a collection of five love letters, though most modern authorities reject her authorship. alcohol any of a class of organic compounds characterized by one or more hydroxyl (OH) groups attached to a carbon atom of an alkyl group (hydrocarbon chain). Alcohols may be considered as organic derivatives of water (H2O) in which one of the hydrogen atoms has been replaced by an alkyl group, ... alcohol consumption the drinking of beverages containing ethyl alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are consumed largely for their physiological and psychological effects, but they are often consumed within specific social contexts and may even be a part of religious practices. Because of the effects that alcohol has on the body and on behaviour, governments ... alcoholic beverage any fermented liquor, such as wine, beer, or distilled spirit, that contains ethyl alcohol, or ethanol (CH3CH2OH), as an intoxicating agent. A brief treatment of alcoholic beverages follows. For full treatment, see alcohol consumption. Alcoholics Anonymous voluntary fellowship of alcoholic persons who seek to get sober and remain sober through self-help and the help of other recovered alcoholics. Although general conventions meet periodically and Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc., is headquartered in New York City, all AA groups are essentially local and autonomous. To counteract self-indulgence ... alcoholism excessive and repetitive drinking of alcoholic beverages to the extent that the drinker repeatedly is harmed or harms others. The harm may be physical or mental; it may also be social, legal, or economic. Because such use is usually considered to be compulsive and under markedly diminished voluntary control, alcoholism ... Alcor star with apparent magnitude of 4.01. Alcor makes a visual double with the brighter star Mizar in the middle of the handle of the Big Dipper (Ursa Major). The two are 1.2 light-years apart and may be gravitationally bound to each other. Alcor itself is orbited by a faint red ... Alcorn State University public, coeducational institution of higher learning near Lorman, Mississippi, U.S. It is a land-grant university consisting of schools of Arts and Sciences, Business, Education and Psychology, Nursing, and Agriculture and Applied Sciences. The university's School of Nursing is located in Natchez. In addition to undergraduate studies, Alcorn State offers several ... Alcott, Bronson American philosopher, teacher, reformer, and member of the New England Transcendentalist group. Alcott, Louisa May American author known for her children's books, especially the classic Little Women. alcove recess opening off a room or other space enclosed by walls or hedges. In medieval architecture it was commonly used as a sleeping space off the main body of a drafty hall. The separation of the alcove from the main space was accomplished at first by means of curtains and ... Alcoy town, Alicante provincia (province), in the comunidad autonoma (autonomous community) of Valencia, southeastern Spain. It lies in rugged foothills at the confluence of the two headstreams of the Serpis River, north of Alicante city. The site was settled before Roman times, but the present Alcoy was founded by the Moors, ... Alcuin Anglo-Latin poet, educator, and cleric who, as head of the Palatine school established by Charlemagne at Aachen, introduced the traditions of Anglo-Saxon humanism into western Europe. He was the foremost scholar of the revival of learning known as the Carolingian Renaissance. He also made important reforms in the Roman Catholic ... Alda, Alan American actor, director, and screenwriter best known for his role in the long-running television series M*A*S*H (1972-83). Aldabra Islands atoll, one of the world's largest, in the Indian Ocean about 600 miles (1,000 km) southwest of the Seychelles group, and part of the Republic of the Seychelles. The Aldabras, together with Farquhar and Desroches islands and the Chagos Archipelago, formed part of the British Indian Ocean Territory from 1965 ...