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National Museum of Anthropology

(Encyclopedia)National Museum of Anthropology, Mexico City. The present building, designed by Pedro Ramírez Vázquez and inspired by ancient Mexican architecture, was opened in 1964 and houses choice and extensive...

Hakuho

(Encyclopedia)Hakuho, 1985–, Mongolian sumo wrestler, b. Ulaanbaator as Mönkhbatyn Davaajarga. The son of a wrestler, he went to Japan in 2000 to train and made his professional debut in 2001. He won his first c...

Numa Pompilius

(Encyclopedia)Numa Pompilius no͞oˈmə pŏmpĭlˈēəs [key], legendary king of Rome, successor to Romulus. His consort, the nymph Egeria, was said to have aided him in his rule. The origin of Roman ceremonial law...

Passover

(Encyclopedia)Passover, in Judaism, one of the most important and elaborate of religious festivals. Its celebration begins on the evening of the 14th of Nisan (first month of the religious calendar, corresponding t...

Fructidor

(Encyclopedia)Fructidor frŭkˈtĭdôr, Fr. früktēdôrˈ [key], 12th month of the French Revolutionary calendar. The coup of 18 Fructidor (Sept. 4, 1797), in which General Augereau was a key figure, annulled the ...

Catherine, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Catherine, Saint kăthˈrən, kăthˈərĭn [key], 4th cent.?, Alexandrian virgin martyr. Nothing certain is known of her life, and in 1969 her name was dropped from the liturgical calendar. According...

Christopher, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Christopher, Saint krĭsˈtəfər [key] [Gr.,=Christ bearer], 3d cent.?, martyr of Asia Minor. His characteristic legend is that one day when he was carrying a little child over a river, he felt the c...

Philomena of Dacia, Peter

(Encyclopedia)Philomena of Dacia, Peter, or Peter Nightingale, fl. 1291–1303, Danish astronomer and mathematician. He taught at the Univ. of Bologna (1291–92) and in Paris, and was a canon of Roskilde Cathedral...

Jewish Autonomous Region

(Encyclopedia)Jewish Autonomous Region or Birobidzhan bērōbējänˈ [key], autonomous region (1995 pop. 211,900), c.13,800 sq mi (35,700 sq km), Khabarovsk Territory, Russian Far East, in the basins of the Biro a...

Jewish liturgical music

(Encyclopedia)Jewish liturgical music, the music used in the religious services of the Jews. The Bible and the Talmud record that spontaneous music making was common among the ancient Jews on all important occasion...