geoid: Flattening (f) is defined as the difference in magnitude between the semimajor axis (a) and the semiminor axis (b) divided by the semimajor axis, or f = (a − b)/a. For Earth the semimajor axis and semiminor axis differ by about 21 kilometres (13 miles),…

flatulence, the presence of excessive amounts of gas in the stomach or intestine, which sometimes results in the expulsion of the gas through the anus. Healthy individuals produce significant amounts of intestinal gas (flatus) daily; without rectal release, gases trapped within the digestive system

intestinal gas, material contained within the digestive tract that consists principally of swallowed air and partly of by-products of digestion. In humans the digestive tract contains normally between 150 and 500 cubic cm (10 and 30 cubic inches) of gas. During eating, air is swallowed into the

flatware, spoons, forks, and serving implements used at the table. The term flatware was introduced toward the end of the 19th century. Strictly speaking, it excludes knives, which are classified as cutlery, although in common American usage knives are generally included. In the earliest spoons,

Mississippi: Relief and soils: A low-lying narrow region called Flatwoods skirts the western edges of the Pontotoc Ridge and the Black Prairie. Its heavy clay soils drain poorly, and the area has never developed a prosperous economy. The North Central Hills range through northern and central Mississippi and eastward to Alabama. Their red clay…

flatworm, any of the phylum Platyhelminthes, a group of soft-bodied, usually much flattened invertebrates. A number of flatworm species are free-living, but about 80 percent of all flatworms are parasitic—i.e., living on or in another organism and securing nourishment from it. They are bilaterally

Julian Barnes: Flaubert’s Parrot (1984) is a humorous mixture of biography, fiction, and literary criticism as a scholar becomes obsessed with Flaubert and with the stuffed parrot that Flaubert used as inspiration in writing the short story “Un Coeur simple.” Barnes’s later novels included A History of…

Gustave Flaubert was a novelist regarded as the prime mover of the realist school of French literature and best known for his masterpiece, Madame Bovary (1857), a realistic portrayal of bourgeois life, which led to a trial on charges of the novel’s alleged immorality. Flaubert’s father, Achille

heraldry: Ordinaries: The flaunch, or flanch, is a segment of a circle drawn from the top of the shield to the base. The lozenge is a parallelogram having equal sides and two acute and two obtuse angles, and a mascle is a lozenge voided. Lozengy is the field…

piccolo, highest-pitched woodwind instrument of orchestras and military bands. It is a small transverse (horizontally played) flute of conical or cylindrical bore, fitted with Boehm-system keywork and pitched an octave higher than the ordinary concert flute. The piccolo’s compass extends three

flute: In transverse, or cross, flutes (i.e., horizontally held and side blown), the stream of breath strikes the opposite rim of a lateral mouth hole. Vertical flutes such as the recorder, in which an internal flue or duct directs the air against a hole cut in the side of…

Nablus, city in the West Bank. It lies in an enclosed fertile valley and is the market centre of a natural oasis that is watered by numerous springs. Founded under the auspices of the Roman emperor Vespasian in 72 ce and originally named Flavia Neapolis, the city prospered in particular because of

Colosseum, giant amphitheater built in Rome under the Flavian emperors. Construction of the Colosseum was begun sometime between 70 and 72 ce during the reign of Vespasian. It is located just east of the Palatine Hill, on the grounds of what was Nero’s Golden House. The artificial lake that was the

Flavian dynasty, (ad 69–96), the ancient Roman imperial dynasty of Vespasian (reigned 69–79) and his sons Titus (79–81) and Domitian (81–96); they belonged to the Flavia gens. The fall of Nero (ad 68) and the extinction of the Julio-Claudian dynasty had been followed by a war of succession that

Flavian I Of Antioch was the bishop of Antioch from 381 to 404, whose election perpetuated the schism originated by Meletius of Antioch (q.v.), a crucial division in the Eastern Church over the nature of the Trinity. With his friend Diodorus, later bishop of Tarsus (Tur.), Flavian defended the

Flavian II Of Antioch was the patriarch of Antioch probably from 498 to 512. He was chosen patriarch by the emperor Anastasius I after he accepted the evasive Henotikon, the decree of union between the Miaphysites (seeomonophysite) and the Chalcedonians. In deference to orthodoxy, however, Flavian

Saint Flavian ; feast day February 18) was the patriarch of Constantinople from 446 to 449, who opposed the heretical doctrine of the Monophysites (q.v.). He presided at the Synod of Constantinople (448), which condemned the monk Eutyches (q.v.), proponent of an extreme form of Monophysitism. Pope

flavin, any of a group of pale-yellow, greenly fluorescent biological pigments (biochromes) widely distributed in small quantities in plant and animal tissues. Flavins are synthesized only by bacteria, yeasts, and green plants; for this reason, animals are dependent on plant sources for them,

cell: Formation of the electron donors NADH and FADH2: …nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), yielding NADH and FADH2. It is the subsequent oxidation of these hydrogen acceptors that leads eventually to the production of ATP.

Dan Flavin was an American artist whose installations featuring fluorescent lighting tubes in geometric arrays emit a rich ambient monochrome or multicoloured light that subtly reshapes the interior spaces in which they are displayed, creating intense visual sensations for the viewer. He was one of

cell: Formation of the electron donors NADH and FADH2: …nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) and flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), yielding NADH and FADH2. It is the subsequent oxidation of these hydrogen acceptors that leads eventually to the production of ATP.

Gordon Parks: Photography: …with poetry (1978), both titled Flavio. Parks was also noted for his intimate portraits of such public figures as Langston Hughes, Ingrid Bergman, Barbra Streisand, Gloria Vanderbilt, and Muhammad Ali.

Timon of Athens: …visited by his loyal servant Flavius, by the churlish philosopher Apemantus, and by two mistresses of the general Alcibiades, all of whom sympathize to some degree with Timon’s plight, but to no avail; Timon has turned his back on ungrateful humankind. While digging for roots to eat, Timon uncovers gold,…

Petronius Maximus was the Western Roman emperor from March 17 to May 31, 455. He was not recognized as emperor by the Eastern empire. Maximus was prefect of Rome in 420 and twice served as consul. In 454 he and the eunuch Heraclius engineered the assassination of the powerful patrician Aetius.

Arrian was a Greek historian and philosopher who was one of the most distinguished authors of the 2nd-century Roman Empire. He was the author of a work describing the campaigns of Alexander the Great. Titled Anabasis, presumably in order to recall Xenophon’s work of that title, it describes

Honorius was a Roman emperor in the West from 393 to 423, a period when much of the Western Empire was overrun by invading tribes and Rome was captured and plundered by the Visigoths. The younger son of Theodosius I (emperor 379–395) and Aelia Flacilla, Honorius was elevated to the rank of augustus

Jovian was a Roman emperor from 363 to 364. Jovian took part in the expedition of the emperor Julian against Sāsānian Persia. He held the rank of senior staff officer and was proclaimed emperor by his troops after Julian was killed on June 26, 363. To extricate his army from Persia, the new ruler

Constans I was a Roman emperor from 337 to 350. The youngest son of Constantine the Great (reigned 306–337), Constans was proclaimed caesar by his father on December 25, 333. When Constantine died on September 9, 337, Constans and his two brothers, Constantius II and Constantine II, each adopted

Constantius I was a Roman emperor and father of Constantine I the Great. As a member of a four-man ruling body (tetrarchy) created by the emperor Diocletian, Constantius held the title of caesar from 293 to 305 and caesar augustus in 305–306. Of Illyrian descent, Constantius had a distinguished

Constantius II was a Roman emperor from ad 337 to 361, who at first shared power with his two brothers, Constantine II (d. 340) and Constans I (d. 350), but who was the sole ruler from 353 to 361. The third son of Constantine I the Great and Fausta, Constantius served under his father as caesar

Crispus was the eldest son of Constantine the Great who was executed under mysterious circumstances on his father’s orders. Crispus’s mother, Minerva (or Minervina), was divorced by Constantine in 307. Crispus received his education from the Christian writer Lactantius. On March 1, 317, Constantine

Magnentius was a usurping Roman emperor from Jan. 18, 350, to Aug. 11, 353. His career forms one episode in the struggles for imperial power that occurred after the death of Constantine the Great (ruled 306–337). Magnentius was a pagan of German descent who had achieved distinction as a soldier

Ricimer was a general who acted as kingmaker in the Western Roman Empire from 456 to 472. Ricimer’s father was a chief of the Suebi (a Germanic people) and his mother was a Visigothic princess. Early in his military career he befriended the future emperor Majorian. After turning back an attempted

Rufinus was a minister of the Eastern Roman emperor Arcadius (ruled 383–408) and rival of Stilicho, the general who was the effective ruler of the Western Empire. The conflict between Rufinus and Stilicho was one of the factors leading to the official partition of the empire into Eastern and

Vespasian: Early life: …overshadowed by his older brother, Flavius Sabinus, who rose to hold an important command on the Danube about ad 48 and was prefect of Rome for many years under Nero. Although Vespasian is said to have hesitated before following his brother into the Senate, his career was in no sense…

Constantius I was a Roman emperor and father of Constantine I the Great. As a member of a four-man ruling body (tetrarchy) created by the emperor Diocletian, Constantius held the title of caesar from 293 to 305 and caesar augustus in 305–306. Of Illyrian descent, Constantius had a distinguished

Vegetius was a Roman military expert who wrote what was perhaps the single most influential military treatise in the Western world. His work exercised great influence on European tactics after the Middle Ages. A patrician and reformer with little actual military experience, Vegetius lived in an era

Gnaeus Flavius was a Roman legal writer and politician who made public the technical rules of legal procedure, which had been kept secret by the patricians and the pontifices (advisers to the king, dictator, or emperor) so that they could maintain their advantage over the plebeians. Flavius learned

flavivirus, any virus belonging to the family Flaviviridae. Flaviviruses have enveloped and spherical virions (virus particles) that are between 40 and 60 nm (1 nm = 10−9 metre) in diameter. The flavivirus genome consists of nonsegmented single-stranded positive-sense RNA (ribonucleic acid).

flavivirus, any virus belonging to the family Flaviviridae. Flaviviruses have enveloped and spherical virions (virus particles) that are between 40 and 60 nm (1 nm = 10−9 metre) in diameter. The flavivirus genome consists of nonsegmented single-stranded positive-sense RNA (ribonucleic acid).

flavivirus: Flaviviridae contains three genera: Flavivirus, Hepacivirus, and Pestivirus. Species of Flaviviridae are transmitted by either insects or arachnids and cause severe diseases such as yellow fever, dengue, tick-borne encephalitis, and Japanese B encephalitis.

flavonoid, any of a class of nonnitrogenous biological pigments extensively represented in plants. Flavonoids are water-soluble phenolic compounds (having a –OH group attached to an aromatic ring) and are found in the vacuoles of plant cells. More than 3,000 different flavonoids have been

flavonoid, any of a class of nonnitrogenous biological pigments extensively represented in plants. Flavonoids are water-soluble phenolic compounds (having a –OH group attached to an aromatic ring) and are found in the vacuoles of plant cells. More than 3,000 different flavonoids have been

Axel Hugo Teodor Theorell: …pure sample of the “old yellow enzyme,” which is instrumental in the oxidative interconversion of sugars by the cell. Theorell found that the enzyme is composed of two parts: a nonprotein coenzyme—the yellow riboflavine (vitamin B2) phosphate—and a protein apoenzyme. His discovery (1934) that the coenzyme actively facilitates oxidation of…

flavour, in particle physics, property that distinguishes different members in the two groups of basic building blocks of matter, the quarks and the leptons. There are six flavours of subatomic particle within each of these two groups: six leptons (the electron, the muon, the tau, the

food additive: Flavourings: Flavour enhancers are compounds that are added to a food in order to supplement or enhance its own natural flavour. The concept of flavour enhancement originated in Asia, where cooks added seaweed to soup stocks in order to provide a richer flavour to certain foods.…

De La Soul: …by Ghostface Killah, Common, and Flavor Flav. In 2006 De La Soul and the virtual group Gorillaz shared the Grammy Award for best pop collaboration with vocals for the song “Feel Good Inc.” De La Soul subsequently issued several mixtapes before releasing the Kickstarter-funded And the Anonymous Nobody (2016), a…

flavouring, any of the liquid extracts, essences, and flavours that are added to foods to enhance their taste and aroma. Flavourings are prepared from essential oils, such as almond and lemon; from vanilla; from fresh fruits by expression; from ginger by extraction; from mixtures of essential oils

Alanis Morissette: Morissette’s other recordings included Flavors of Entanglement (2008); Havoc and Bright Lights (2012), which featured lush textures and a spiritual focus; and the simmering, introspective Such Pretty Forks in the Road (2020).

flavour, in particle physics, property that distinguishes different members in the two groups of basic building blocks of matter, the quarks and the leptons. There are six flavours of subatomic particle within each of these two groups: six leptons (the electron, the muon, the tau, the

flavour, attribute of a substance that is produced by the senses of smell, taste, and touch and is perceived within the mouth. Tasting occurs chiefly on the tongue through the taste buds. The taste buds are stimulated by five fundamental taste sensations—sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami.

flavour, attribute of a substance that is produced by the senses of smell, taste, and touch and is perceived within the mouth. Tasting occurs chiefly on the tongue through the taste buds. The taste buds are stimulated by five fundamental taste sensations—sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami.

flavouring, any of the liquid extracts, essences, and flavours that are added to foods to enhance their taste and aroma. Flavourings are prepared from essential oils, such as almond and lemon; from vanilla; from fresh fruits by expression; from ginger by extraction; from mixtures of essential oils

heterocyclic compound: Six-membered rings with one heteroatom: The flavylium cation is the parent of the anthocyanidines, substances that in chemical combination with sugars form the anthocyanin pigments, the common red and blue colouring matters of flowers and fruits. The colour range from yellow to reddish orange is provided by anthoxanthins, which constitute a…

Australian literature: Literature from 1970 to 2000: Patrick White’s Flaws in the Glass (1981) was of particular interest. Malouf and Koch both wrote a volume of essays, and these too were interesting for the light they shed upon the writers as well as being fine examples of the essay form. Travel writing continued to…

flax, (Linum usitatissimum), plant of the family Linaceae, cultivated both for its fibre, from which linen yarn and fabric are made, and for its nutritious seeds, called flaxseed or linseed, from which linseed oil is obtained. Though flax has lost some of its value as a commercial fibre crop owing

Linaceae, the flax family, comprising about 14 genera of herbaceous plants and shrubs, in the order Malpighiales, of cosmopolitan distribution. The genus Linum includes flax, perhaps the most important member of the family, grown for linen fibre and linseed oil and as a garden ornamental.

community ecology: Gene-for-gene coevolution: …wild flax (Linum marginale) and flax rust (Melampsora lini) in Australia. Local populations of flax plants and flax rust harbour multiple matching genes for resistance and avirulence. The number of genes and their frequency within local populations fluctuate greatly over time as coevolution continues. In small populations, the resistance genes…

Max Liebermann: In works such as The Flax Spinners (1887), Liebermann did for German painting what Millet had done for French art, portraying scenes of rural labour in a melancholy, yet unsentimental, manner.

John Flaxman was an English sculptor, illustrator, and designer, a leading artist of the Neoclassical style in England. As a youth, Flaxman worked in his father’s plaster-casting studio in London while studying Classical literature, which was to be a continual source of inspiration. In 1770 he

flaxseed, edible seeds harvested from flax (Linum usitatissimum) plants, used as a health food and as a source of linseed, or flaxseed, oil. Consumed as food by the ancient Greeks and Romans, flaxseed has reemerged as a possible “superfood” because of its high dietary fibre and omega-3 fatty acid

linseed oil, edible and industrial vegetable oil made from the seeds of the flax plant (Linum usitatissimum). Flaxseeds and food-grade linseed oil (called flaxseed oil in some places) are considered to have health benefits and are ingested as a food. Lower quality linseed oil, which typically has a

Bobby Flay is an American chef, restaurateur, and television personality who was best known for his frequent appearances on the cable station Food Network, where he first garnered attention as one of the original competitors on Iron Chef America. Flay, who grew up on New York City’s Upper East

Bobby Flay is an American chef, restaurateur, and television personality who was best known for his frequent appearances on the cable station Food Network, where he first garnered attention as one of the original competitors on Iron Chef America. Flay, who grew up on New York City’s Upper East

Noam Chomsky: Philosophy of mind and human nature: …computational system alone, whereas the faculty in the broad sense (FLB) includes perceptual-articulatory systems (for sound and sign) and conceptual-intentional systems (for meaning). These are the systems with which the computational system interacts at its interfaces. Regarding evolution, the authors point out that, although there are homologues and analogs in…

flea, (order Siphonaptera), any of a group of bloodsucking insects that are important carriers of disease and can be serious pests. Fleas are parasites that live on the exterior of the host (i.e., are ectoparasitic). As the chief agent transmitting the Black Death (bubonic plague) in the Middle

Damon Albarn: …the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Flea on bass.

flea beetle, any member of the insect subfamily Alticinae (Halticinae) belonging to the leaf beetle family Chrysomelidae (order Coleoptera). These tiny beetles, worldwide in distribution, are usually less than 6 mm (0.25 inch) in length and dark or metallic in colour. The enlarged hindlegs are

flea market, event where vendors sell used and antique goods. Flea markets often take place outside or in large contained spaces. Vendors are generally asked to pay a set fee to display their goods in a designated area or stall. In some states a seller’s permit or license is required to sell goods

fourth wall: …Off (1986) and the series Fleabag (2016–19) were widely celebrated for their skillful use of the concept.

fleabane, any of the plants of the genus Erigeron of the family Asteraceae, order Asterales, containing about 200 species of annual, biennial, and perennial herbs native primarily to temperate parts of the world. Some species are cultivated as rock garden or border ornamentals, especially E.

Cabinda: …of various factions of the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC) as well as other groups, which were fighting for Cabindan independence from Angola. In 2004 some of the groups formed an umbrella organization, Cabinda Forum for Dialogue (which also included civil and religious groups), and…

flèche, in French architecture, any spire; in English it is an architectural term for a small slender spire placed on the ridge of a church roof. The flèche is usually built of a wood framework covered with lead or occasionally copper and is generally of rich, light, delicate design, in which

metalwork: Pewter: …technique known in German as Flecheln, in which the straight line made by the burin is broken up into a series of long or short zigzag strokes. The last method makes the design look fuller and broader and also makes it stand out more sharply. This type of decoration first…

hard-target munition: …long thin rod called a fléchette surrounded by a casing (or sabot) that allows the round to fit into the barrel of the firing weapon. After the round is fired, the sabot falls away, and the fléchette continues to the target. Upon impact, the nose of the fléchette splits in…

Béla Fleck is an American musician recognized as one of the most inventive and commercially successful banjo players of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Fleck became fascinated by bluegrass music during his youth in New York City. He began to play banjo when he was 15 years old, inspired by

Béla Fleck is an American musician recognized as one of the most inventive and commercially successful banjo players of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Fleck became fascinated by bluegrass music during his youth in New York City. He began to play banjo when he was 15 years old, inspired by

Richard Flecknoe was an English poet, dramatist, and traveller, whose writings are notable for both the praise and the ridicule they evoked. Flecknoe was possibly a Jesuit of Irish extraction. The most authentic information about him is contained in his Relation of Ten Years’ Travels in Europe,

Béla Fleck: …in 1988, Fleck assembled the Flecktones, the group with which he would record most consistently for the next two decades. The original lineup of the band included harmonica and keyboard player Howard Levy, bassist Victor Wooten, and drummer Roy (“Futureman”) Wooten. Levy left the Flecktones in 1992, and the group…

inflection, in linguistics, the change in the form of a word (in English, usually the addition of endings) to mark such distinctions as tense, person, number, gender, mood, voice, and case. English inflection indicates noun plural (cat, cats), noun case (girl, girl’s, girls’), third person singular

frog and toad: Direct development from egg to froglet: In Flectonotus and Fritziana the eggs are contained in one large basinlike depression in the back, whereas in other genera, such as the Surinam toad (Pipa pipa) and its relatives, each egg occupies its own individual depression. In Hemiphractus gill-like structures and cords similar to those…

Bricriu’s Feast, in early Irish literature, a comic, rowdy account of rivalry between Ulster warriors. One of the longest hero tales of the Ulster cycle, it dates from the 8th century and is preserved in The Book of the Dun Cow (c. 1100). Bricriu, the trickster, promises the hero’s portion of his

Die Fledermaus, operetta by the Austrian composer Johann Strauss the Younger (German libretto by Carl [or Karl] Haffner and Richard Genée) that premiered in Vienna on April 5, 1874. It is the best-known stage work by Strauss, whose fame rested mainly on his ballroom dance pieces. Die Fledermaus was

Octavia E. Butler: …of the Talents (1998), and Fledgling (2005). Butler’s short story Speech Sounds won a Hugo Award in 1984, and her story Bloodchild, about human male slaves who incubate their alien masters’ eggs, won both Hugo and Nebula awards. Her collection Bloodchild and Other Stories was published in 1995. That same…

John Dyer: Dyer’s longest poem, The Fleece (1757), a blank-verse poem on the subject of tending sheep, is a typically 18th-century attempt to imitate Virgil’s Georgics. Dyer also wrote The Ruins of Rome (1740), which again combines description and meditation.

military unit: …which in turn form a fleet. For operations, however, many navies organize their vessels into task units (3–5 ships), task or battle groups (4–10 ships), task forces (2–5 task groups), and fleets (several task forces).

admiral: Navy a fleet admiral ranks with a general of the army or general of the air force. Admiral ranks with general and vice admiral with lieutenant general. The upper half of the rear admirals’ list rank with major generals, the lower half with brigadier generals. Rank insignia…

rackets: History.: In Fleet Prison the game was well established by the middle of the 18th century, and in the new Fleet of 1782 it achieved such popularity that its fame spread to taverns and other public houses. Robert Mackey, an inmate of Fleet, is listed as the…

Spanish treasure fleet, from the 16th to the 18th century, Spanish convoy of ships transporting European goods to the Spanish colonies in the Americas and transporting colonial products, especially gold and silver, back to the mother country. Beginning in the 1560s, shipping between Spain and the

Paul Cadmus: …that program that he painted The Fleet’s In! (1934), a work of social satire that depicts sailors on shore leave and contains elements of prostitution, homoeroticism, and drunkenness. The work infuriated navy officials, and it was pulled from an exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., in 1934…

Titanic: Final hours: Two lookouts, Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee, were stationed in the crow’s nest of the Titanic. Their task was made difficult by the fact that the ocean was unusually calm that night: because there would be little water breaking at its base, an iceberg would be more…

Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, Viscount Northcliffe: …the Amalgamated Press (from 1959 Fleetway Press), the largest periodical-publishing empire in the world.

yacht: Transatlantic racing and global circumnavigation: 6-metre length: Fleetwing, Vesta, and Henrietta. Henrietta, owned by the American newspaper publisher James Gordon Bennett, won in 13 days of sailing. The first single-sailor transatlantic voyage was made in a 6-metre boat by Alfred Johnson in 1876 to commemorate the centenary of U.S. independence. The first…

Wyre: Fleetwood is the major fishing port on the west coast of England and is an important port for containerized shipping. Chemicals, plastics, and leather goods are the principal products manufactured at Fleetwood. Retired people favour the seaside resorts of Thornton Cleveleys and Fleetwood. Poulton-le-Fyld, in…

Fleetwood Mac, British blues band that evolved into the hugely popular Anglo-American pop-rock group whose 1977 album Rumours was one of the biggest-selling albums of all time. The original members were Mick Fleetwood (b. June 24, 1947, Redruth, Cornwall, England), John McVie (b. November 26, 1945,

Charles Fleetwood was an English Parliamentary general, son-in-law and supporter of Oliver Cromwell. He joined the Parliamentary army at the beginning of the Civil War between Parliament and King Charles I and fought in the major Parliamentary victories at Naseby (June 1645), Dunbar (September

Fleetwood Mac: The original members were Mick Fleetwood (b. June 24, 1947, Redruth, Cornwall, England), John McVie (b. November 26, 1945, London, England), Peter Green (original name Peter Greenbaum; b. October 29, 1946, London—d. July 25, 2020, Canvey Island, Sussex), and Jeremy Spencer (b. July 4, 1948, West Hartlepool, Durham, England).…

Eduard Robert Flegel was a German explorer in Africa who was the first European to reach the source of the Benue River. In 1879 Flegel travelled about 525 miles (845 kilometres) up the Benue River and in 1880 went by way of the Niger to Sokoto, in northwestern Nigeria, where he obtained permission

Dutch Schultz was an American gangster of the 1920s and ’30s who ran bootlegging and other rackets in New York City. Born in the Bronx, Schultz took his alias from an old-time Bronx gangster and advanced from burglaries to bootlegging, ownership of breweries and speakeasies, and policy rackets in

Naples: … to the east and the Campi Flegrei (Phlegraean Fields) to the northwest. The most recent eruption of Vesuvius occurred in 1944. In 1980 an earthquake damaged Naples and its outlying towns, and since then Pozzuoli to the west has been seriously afflicted by bradyseism (a phenomenon involving a fall or…