Delaware, constituent state of the United States of America. The first of the original 13 states to ratify the federal Constitution, it occupies a small niche in the Boston–Washington, D.C., urban corridor along the Middle Atlantic seaboard. It ranks 49th among the 50 U.S. states in terms of total

first strike, attack on an enemy’s nuclear arsenal that effectively prevents retaliation against the attacker. A successful first strike would cripple enemy missiles that are ready to launch and would prevent the opponent from readying others for a counterstrike by targeting the enemy’s nuclear

Konstantin Stanislavsky: He formed the First Studio in 1912, where his innovations were adopted by many young actors. In 1918 he undertook the guidance of the Bolshoi Opera Studio, which was later named for him. There he staged Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin in 1922, which was acclaimed as a…

Western painting: Roman paintings: …were decorated in a so-called Incrustation, or First, style; that is, the imitation in painted stucco of veneers, or crustae (“slabs”), of colored marbles. But in the second half of the 1st century bce, there suddenly appeared in Rome and in the Campanian cities (the most famous of which is…

Aleksandr Scriabin: …with mystical philosophy, and his Symphony No. 1, composed in that year, has a choral finale, to his own words, glorifying art as a form of religion. In Switzerland he completed his Symphony No. 3, first performed under Arthur Nikisch in Paris in 1905. The literary “program” of this work,…

Aleksandr Glazunov: In 1882 Balakirev conducted Glazunov’s First Symphony. A revised version of the piece was printed in 1886 by M.P. Belyayev, a millionaire timber merchant and founder of the famous Belyayev music-publishing firm that Glazunov later helped direct. Glazunov continued to compose, producing two string quartets, two overtures on Greek folk…

Stephen A. Smith: From newspapers to TV star: …to the network, the show First Take has become Smith’s most recognized vehicle for sports talk-cum-debate programming. He originally cohosted the program with Skip Bayless, who proved a counterpoint to Smith’s in-your-face style. The combination of his high-decibel volume and distinctive Queens accent earned him the nickname “Screamin’ A” early…

Roberta Flack: Career: …notes of her debut album First Take (1969), “Her voice touched, tapped, trapped, and kicked every emotion I’ve ever known. I laughed, cried, and screamed for more.” McCann arranged for Flack to audition for Atlantic Records producer Joel Dorn, for whom she played more than 40 songs from her extensive…

Māori: The rise of the King Movement: …of his tribe, precipitating the First Taranaki War (1860–61). Only the extremist wing of the King Movement joined in the First Taranaki War.

Temple of Jerusalem, either of two temples that were the centre of worship and national identity in ancient Israel. In the early years of the Israelite kingdom, the Ark of the Covenant was periodically moved about among several sanctuaries, especially those of Shechem and Shiloh. After King David’s

Angelina Jolie: Directing: Jolie followed with First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers (2017), an adaption of Loung Ung’s memoir about her childhood during the brutal Khmer Rouge regime of the 1970s.

David Malouf: …Thicket (1974), Wild Lemons (1980), First Things Last (1980), Typewriter Music (2007), Earth Hour (2014), and An Open Book (2018). Malouf also wrote the libretto for Richard Meale’s opera Voss (1986), based on the novel of the same name by Patrick White.

Roberta Flack: …for the number-one hits “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” (1972) and “Killing Me Softly with His Song” (1973), and for her duets with soul music singer Donny Hathaway “Where Is the Love” (1972) and “The Closer I Get to You” (1977). Flack excels at telling stories…

Carol Channing: …Basil Rathbone and on-screen in The First Traveling Saleslady (1956), a western in which she starred with Clint Eastwood.

War of the Spanish Succession: Dynastic claims: …with William III in a Partition Treaty (signed at The Hague) to recognize Joseph Ferdinand’s rights to Spain, the Spanish Netherlands, and the Indies. Milan was to go to the archduke Charles (later the emperor Charles VI), the emperor’s younger son (who would presumably be excluded from the imperial throne…

François-Joachim de Pierre de Bernis: …resulted in the first (defensive) treaty of Versailles between France and Austria (May 1, 1756) and then to the second (offensive) treaty of Versailles (May 1, 1757). This alliance with France’s old enemy and the abandonment of the former alliance with Prussia formed the diplomatic prelude to the Seven Years’…

Thoroughbred American Pharoah is the odds-on favorite to win the 147th running of the Belmont Stakes on June 6. If he does, he will become the first horse to win the Triple Crown of American races—by taking the Belmont, the Kentucky Derby, and the Preakness Stakes—since 1978. spotlight, horse

decoy: The so-called First U.S. Army Group (FUSAG) consisted of thousands of cardboard and rubber dummy tanks and airplanes, fake troop barracks and supply dumps, and enough humans to give the appearance of great activity. Even after the actual invasion had begun, the Germans were convinced that FUSAG…

Louis Renault: …International Law and in 1917 First Violations of International Law by Germany, concerning the invasion of Belgium and Luxembourg in breach of Germany’s treaty obligations.

Indian Rebellion of 1857, widespread but unsuccessful rebellion against British rule in India in 1857–59. The revolt began in Meerut with an uprising of Indian troops (sepoys) in the service of the British East India Company, and it spread to Delhi, Agra, Kanpur, and Lucknow. It was long described

Marcia Gay Harden: …appeared in the film comedies The First Wives Club (1996) and Flubber (1997), in which she played opposite Robin Williams, as well as in the drama Meet Joe Black (1998), loosely based on Death Takes a Holiday (1934), and in Clint Eastwood’s adventure movie Space Cowboys (2000). Harden’s

World War I, an international conflict that in 1914–18 embroiled most of the nations of Europe along with Russia, the United States, the Middle East, and other regions. The war pitted the Central Powers—mainly Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey—against the Allies—mainly France, Great Britain,

calligraphy: Revival of calligraphy (19th and 20th centuries): …by John Howard Benson as The First Writing Book. Benson wrote out his translation using both the layout and the writing style of the original; he included a facsimile of Arrighi’s work as well as notes on writing Arrighi’s italic.

Ruth First was a South African activist, scholar, and journalist known for her relentless opposition to South Africa’s discriminatory policy of apartheid. She was assassinated while living in exile. First was the daughter of Latvian Jewish immigrants Julius and Matilda First, who were founding

Ruth First was a South African activist, scholar, and journalist known for her relentless opposition to South Africa’s discriminatory policy of apartheid. She was assassinated while living in exile. First was the daughter of Latvian Jewish immigrants Julius and Matilda First, who were founding

Sean Penn: Later work: …astronaut in the TV series The First (2018), a fictional account of the pioneer manned mission to Mars; it was canceled after one season. Penn returned to the big screen in The Professor and the Madman (2019), about the early compilation of The Oxford English Dictionary. In 2020 Penn married…

Friedrich von Esmarch: …technique and instituted training in first aid for civilian and military personnel. His manuals on first aid were the best in their field and were widely used. A patent of nobility was conferred upon him in 1887 by the German emperor.

postal system: United States: First-class, or letter, mail (called letter post in the United Kingdom) is the basis of the postal service monopoly and, as the class of mail most commonly used by the public, has generally had a simplified rate structure. The other classes were established according to…

burn: In a first-degree burn, only the epidermis is affected. These injuries are characterized by redness and pain; there are no blisters, and edema (swelling due to the accumulation of fluids) in the wounded tissue is minimal. A classic example of a first-degree burn is moderate sunburn.

first-fruits ceremony, a type of ritual or festival in which the first produce of a harvest is offered to a deity or deities. Closely related to harvest festivals, first-fruits practices operate on the belief that the first crops gathered have sacred significance. Examples of this type of ritual

computer: ENIAC: …vacuum tubes are known as first-generation computers. (With 1,500 mechanical relays, ENIAC was still transitional to later, fully electronic computers.)

machine language, the numeric codes for the operations that a particular computer can execute directly. The codes are strings of 0s and 1s, or binary digits (“bits”), which are frequently converted both from and to hexadecimal (base 16) for human viewing and modification. Machine language

sound recording: The compact disc: …a computer memory called a first-in first-out buffer. Using an internal 44.1-kilohertz clock, each point is converted in order into analog form and then input into a standard power amplifier and loudspeaker. The time scale for the recording is exactly reproduced, eliminating the frequency instabilities inherent in other types of…

sonata form, musical structure that is most strongly associated with the first movement of various Western instrumental genres, notably, sonatas, symphonies, and string quartets. Maturing in the second half of the 18th century, it provided the instrumental vehicle for much of the most profound

metalogic: Background and typical problems: A first-order language is given by a collection S of symbols for relations, functions, and constants, which, in combination with the symbols of elementary logic, single out certain combinations of symbols as sentences. Thus, for example, in the case of the system N (see above Example…

formal logic: The lower predicate calculus: A predicate calculus in which the only variables that occur in quantifiers are individual variables is known as a lower (or first-order) predicate calculus. Various lower predicate calculi have been constructed. In the most straightforward of these, to which the most…

formal logic: Special systems of LPC: LPC-with-identity. The word “is” is not always used in the same way. In a proposition such as (1) “Socrates is snub-nosed,” the expression preceding the “is” names an individual and the expression following it stands for a property attributed to that individual. But, in a…

formal logic: The lower predicate calculus: A predicate calculus in which the only variables that occur in quantifiers are individual variables is known as a lower (or first-order) predicate calculus. Various lower predicate calculi have been constructed. In the most straightforward of these, to which the most…

metalogic: Background and typical problems: A first-order theory is determined by a language and a set of selected sentences of the language—those sentences of the theory that are, in an arbitrary, generalized sense, the “true” ones (called the “distinguished elements” of the set). In the particular case of the system N,…

poison: Biotransformation: …phenomenon is known as the first-pass effect. As a result, smaller amounts of certain chemicals are distributed throughout the body after oral administration than after other exposure routes, such as intravenous or intramuscular injections. Biotransformation of a chemical primarily facilitates its excretion into urine or bile; however, certain chemicals are…

electronic shooter game: …PCs, was not the original first-person shooter (FPS) game, it set the standard for the subgenre. id Software followed up with Doom (1993), the first FPS game with multiplayer support. Other popular FPS games released in the 1990s include Duke Nukem 3D (1996), Quake (1996), Half-Life (1998), and Unreal Tournament…

Buying your first house or condominium has long been a monumental step, but steadily increasing home prices have made affording a home even more challenging for many first-time homebuyers. High costs, fluctuating mortgage rates, and a shortage of homes for sale have left aspiring homeowners feeling

Buying your first home can feel intimidating. It’s complicated and expensive, and once you’ve signed the documents and received the keys, there’s no turning back. It’s a feeling that’s both exhilarating and nerve-racking, and if you’ve been slow-walking the whole “adulting” thing, buying that first

First Interstate Bancorp, once one of the largest American multibank holding corporations. The corporation was formed in 1957 as Firstamerica Corporation and started operations in 1958 when it acquired all of the directly held shares of Transamerica Corporation’s stock in banks in which

infanticide: Religious offerings, especially of the firstborn, are known from the Bible, as well as from the histories of Egypt, Greece, and Rome. Firstborn sacrifice was once common among many peoples in India; here the motive was the offering of one’s most precious possession to the deities. In modern societies the…

Louise Glück: Her first collection of poetry, Firstborn (1968), used a variety of first-person personae, all disaffected or angry. The collection’s tone disturbed many critics, but Glück’s exquisitely controlled language and imaginative use of rhyme and metre delighted others. Although its outlook is equally grim, The House on Marshland (1975) shows a…

FirstCity (FCFC), American financial-services company founded in 1950 as the bank holding company First City Bancorporation of Texas, Inc. Headquarters are in Waco, Texas. First City Bancorporation provided managerial direction, financial resource coordination, and advisory services for its various

FirstCity (FCFC), American financial-services company founded in 1950 as the bank holding company First City Bancorporation of Texas, Inc. Headquarters are in Waco, Texas. First City Bancorporation provided managerial direction, financial resource coordination, and advisory services for its various

Cleveland: The contemporary city: …which opened in 1996; and Cleveland Browns Stadium (1999), home of the Browns, the city’s professional football team. The southern downtown area includes the Gateway Complex, comprising two sports venues that opened in 1994: Jacobs Field, which is built in the style of early 20th-century ballparks, for the Cleveland Guardians…

Forth Bridge, railway bridge over the Firth of Forth, the estuary of the River Forth in Scotland. It was one of the first cantilever bridges and for several years was the world’s longest span. Designed and built by Benjamin Baker and John Fowler in the late 1880s, its opening on March 4, 1890,

Colin Firth is a British actor especially known for his portrayals of aloof characters who gradually shed their reserve to become emotionally available, notably Mr. Darcy in a television adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (1995) and the future king George VI in The King’s Speech

Colin Firth is a British actor especially known for his portrayals of aloof characters who gradually shed their reserve to become emotionally available, notably Mr. Darcy in a television adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (1995) and the future king George VI in The King’s Speech

John R. Firth was a British linguist specializing in contextual theories of meaning and prosodic analysis. He was the originator of the “London school of linguistics.” After receiving an M.A. in history from the University of Leeds (1913), Firth joined the Indian Education Service in 1915 and

John R. Firth was a British linguist specializing in contextual theories of meaning and prosodic analysis. He was the originator of the “London school of linguistics.” After receiving an M.A. in history from the University of Leeds (1913), Firth joined the Indian Education Service in 1915 and

John R. Firth was a British linguist specializing in contextual theories of meaning and prosodic analysis. He was the originator of the “London school of linguistics.” After receiving an M.A. in history from the University of Leeds (1913), Firth joined the Indian Education Service in 1915 and

Sir Charles Firth was an English historian noted for his work on 17th-century English history. Firth was educated at Clifton and at New College and Balliol College, Oxford. He settled in Oxford in 1883 and lived there for the rest of his life. For many years he worked with S.R. Gardiner and

Sir Charles Firth was an English historian noted for his work on 17th-century English history. Firth was educated at Clifton and at New College and Balliol College, Oxford. He settled in Oxford in 1883 and lived there for the rest of his life. For many years he worked with S.R. Gardiner and

Sir Raymond Firth was a New Zealand social anthropologist best known for his research on the Maori and other peoples of Oceania and Southeast Asia. Firth began his studies at Auckland University College in his native New Zealand and then continued at the London School of Economics, from which he

Sir Raymond Firth was a New Zealand social anthropologist best known for his research on the Maori and other peoples of Oceania and Southeast Asia. Firth began his studies at Auckland University College in his native New Zealand and then continued at the London School of Economics, from which he

ancient Iran: Intermittent conflicts from Yazdegerd I to Khosrow I: Fīrūz (reigned 457–484) fell in battle against them; his treasures and family were captured, and the country was devastated. His brother Balāsh (484–488), unable to cope with continuing incursions, was deposed and blinded. The crown fell to Kavadh (Qobād) I, son of Fīrūz. While the…

Chagatai literature: The khan Sayyid Muḥammad Raḥīm Bahādur II introduced printing to Khiva in 1874, the year of Āgahī’s death. Taking the pen name Firuz, he also wrote verse in Chagatai.

India: Sher Shah and his successors: …his death his young son, Fīrūz, came to the Sūr throne but was murdered by his own maternal uncle, and subsequently the empire fractured into several parts.

India: Bahmanī consolidation of the Deccan: …gained control, Fīrūz succeeded as Fīrūz Shah Bahmanī. His reign (1397–1422) was a period of notable cultural activity in the Bahmanī sultanate, as well as one of continued development of the trend toward wider political participation. Noted for his intelligence and learning, Fīrūz established on the Bhima River his new…

South Asian arts: Islāmic architecture in India: period of the Delhi and provincial sultanates: The Koṭla Fīrūz Shāh (1354–70), with its mosques, palaces, and tombs, is now in ruins but represents the major building activity of Fīrūz Shāh, who took a great interest in architecture. Many mosques and tombs of this period and of the 15th century are found in Delhi…

Delhi, city and national capital, and union territory, north-central India. The city of Delhi actually consists of two components: Old Delhi, in the north, the historic city; and New Delhi, in the south, since 1947 the capital of India, built in the first part of the 20th century as the capital of

Fīrūzābād, town situated about 55 miles (88 km) south of Shīrāz, in the Fars region of south-central Iran. The town is said to have been founded by the Sāsānian king Ardashīr I (ad 224–241) in commemoration of his victory over the Parthian king Artabanus. The Sāsānian town was circular in plan and

al-Fīrūzābādī was a lexicographer who compiled an extensive dictionary of Arabic that, in its digest form, Al-Qāmūs (“The Ocean”), served as the basis of later European dictionaries of Arabic. After teaching in Jerusalem (1349–59), al-Fīrūzābādī traveled through western Asia and Egypt and settled

Battle of Nahāvand: The Sāsānian troops, commanded by Fīrūzan, were entrenched in a strong fortified position. After an indecisive skirmish, Nuʿmān pretended to be defeated and withdrew from the battlefield. Fīrūzan then abandoned his position and pursued his foe. The pursuit proved to be a major tactical error because the Sāsānians were forced…

chess: Queen: Each player has one queen, which combines the powers of the rook and bishop and is thus the most mobile and powerful piece. The White queen begins at d1, the Black queen at d8.

Islamic Salvation Front, Algerian Islamist political party. Known best by its French acronym, the organization was founded in 1989 by Ali Belhadj and Abbasi al-Madani. The party won a majority of the seats contested in local elections in 1990 and most of the seats in the National Assembly in the

speed skiing: …Fédération Internationale de Ski (FIS; International Ski Federation). As an advisory body to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), FIS has lobbied for the inclusion of speed skiing in the Olympic Winter Games. While the IOC wants to limit the speed of the skiers to about 125 miles per hour, such…

The Vision of Adamnán, in the Gaelic literature of Ireland, one of the earliest and most outstanding medieval Irish visions. This graceful prose work dates from the 10th century and is preserved in the later The Book of the Dun Cow (c. 1100). Patterned after pagan voyages (immrama) to the

USA PATRIOT Act: Provisions: …was established by the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) to authorize electronic surveillance (and later physical searches) targeting foreign powers or their agents. Section 218 removed the requirement that the government certify in its applications for surveillance authority that “the” purpose of the surveillance was to collect foreign intelligence…

rowing: History: …des Sociétés d’Aviron (FISA; the International Rowing Federation) was founded. Events in rowing (for crews of eight, four, and two) and in sculling were established. In races for eights and for some fours and pairs, there is also a coxswain, who sits at the stern, steers, calls the stroke, and…

The Vision of Adamnán, in the Gaelic literature of Ireland, one of the earliest and most outstanding medieval Irish visions. This graceful prose work dates from the 10th century and is preserved in the later The Book of the Dun Cow (c. 1100). Patterned after pagan voyages (immrama) to the

skibobbing: …under the jurisdiction of the Fédération Internationale de Skibob (FISB), founded in 1961 and headquartered in Vienna.

USA PATRIOT Act: …communications, the operation of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, money laundering, immigration, and other areas. It also defined a host of new crimes and increased penalties for existing ones.

fiscal crisis, inability of the state to bridge a deficit between its expenditures and its tax revenues. Fiscal crises are characterized by a financial, economic, and technical dimension on the one hand and a political and social dimension on the other. The latter dimension tends to have the more

fiscal federalism, financial relations between units of governments in a federal government system. Fiscal federalism is part of broader public finance discipline. The term was introduced by the German-born American economist Richard Musgrave in 1959. Fiscal federalism deals with the division of

Fiscal policy refers to the spending programs and tax policies that the government uses to guide the economy. Governments frequently use fiscal measures along with monetary policy to achieve economic policy goals, including: These three factors lay the general foundation for a government’s economic

fiscal year (FY), in finance and government, an annual accounting period for which an institution’s financial statements are prepared. Different countries and companies use different fiscal years (often referred to in financial records with the acronym FY), and the fiscal year need not align with

Johann Fischart was a German satirist, the principal German literary opponent of the Counter-Reformation. Fischart received a good education and before 1570 traveled widely, visiting the Netherlands and probably England and studying in Paris, Strasbourg, and Siena, Italy. In 1574 he received a

Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games: Notable events from the Vancouver Winter Games: February 21:

organometallic compound: Alkylidene ligands: …6–8, and they are called Fischer carbenes. The Fischer carbenes can be modified by electron-rich groups. For example, the attack of an amine on the electron-poor carbon atom of a Fischer carbene results in the displacement of the OR group to yield a new carbene (Me represents the methyl group,…

chess: The Fischer clock: Quick chess took a new turn in the 1990s with a variation on Staunton’s single-move principle and Lasa’s time-budget idea. Fischer, who had not played a public game since winning the world championship in 1972, patented a chess clock in 1988 that added…

Fischer projection, method of representing the three-dimensional structures of molecules on a page, devised by Emil Fischer. By convention, horizontal lines represent bonds projecting from the plane of the paper toward the viewer, and vertical lines represent bonds projecting away from the viewer.

freestyle chess, variation of chess in which the pieces on the first and eighth rank are placed randomly with two conditions. The pawns are placed in their usual positions on the second and seventh ranks. As in regular, or classical, chess, the black pieces are set up to mirror the white pieces;

Select Decisions of the United States Supreme Court: Fischer v. United States 2024 Reversed the conviction of a rioter in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol under a law preventing the obstruction of an official proceeding, holding that the law applies only to acts that impair the integrity or availability of…

Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach was an Austrian architect, sculptor, and architectural historian whose Baroque style, a synthesis of classical, Renaissance, and southern Baroque elements, shaped the tastes of the Habsburg empire. Fischer’s works include the Dreifaltigkeitskirche (1694–1702) and

Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach: Final projects.: …masterpiece completed, but his son Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach completed the church with some alterations. Joseph Emanuel also completed the Imperial Stables (1719–23) and built, according to his father’s designs, the Imperial Library (designed 1716, built 1723–37), the interior of which was the most imposing library hall of its…

Annie Fischer was a Hungarian pianist who gained international renown in the 20th century. Fischer was a child prodigy. Her debut performance, at age eight, was of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Concerto in C Major. She studied at the Academy of Music in Budapest under Arnold Székely and Ernst von

Birgit Fischer: Superlative Olympian: “Youngest,” “oldest,” “most,” and, finally, “greatest”: all of these superlatives have applied to German kayaker Birgit Fischer at one time or another. At age 18 she became the youngest-ever Olympic canoeing-kayaking champion when she won the gold medal in the 500-metre women’s singles kayak event…

Bobby Fischer was an American-born chess master who became the youngest grandmaster in history when he received the title in 1958. His youthful intemperance and brilliant playing drew the attention of the American public to the game of chess, particularly when he won the world championship in 1972.

graphic design: Postwar graphic design in the United States: …photographs and photomontages, usually by Carl Fischer, to make succinct editorial statements about the United States. These designs acted as independent visual/verbal statements about such topics as assassinations and civil rights.

David Hackett Fischer is an American educator and historian whose books on American and comparative history combine academic rigour with popular accessibility. His works focus not only on great individuals but also on the societies and people behind the wider movements that inform those

Deb Fischer is an American politician who was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate in 2012 and began representing Nebraska in that body the following year. In 2024 Fischer won reelection against Dan Osborn, an independent candidate. Strobel grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska. She attended the

Deb Fischer is an American politician who was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate in 2012 and began representing Nebraska in that body the following year. In 2024 Fischer won reelection against Dan Osborn, an independent candidate. Strobel grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska. She attended the

Edmond H. Fischer was an American biochemist who was the corecipient with Edwin G. Krebs of the 1992 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries concerning reversible phosphorylation, a biochemical mechanism that governs the activities of cell proteins. Fischer, who was the son of

Edmond H. Fischer was an American biochemist who was the corecipient with Edwin G. Krebs of the 1992 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries concerning reversible phosphorylation, a biochemical mechanism that governs the activities of cell proteins. Fischer, who was the son of

Alfred Brendel: …von Kaan, Eduard Steuermann, and Edwin Fischer. He made his debut in Graz, Austria, in 1948 and won a prize at the Concorso Busoni at Bolzano in 1949. He performed extensively throughout Austria. In 1962 he performed the complete sonatas of Beethoven in London and in 1963 made his first…