U Nu (1907-1995) was the first prime minister of independent Burma (now called Myanmar) after freedom was obtained in 1948 from British colonial rule. He was also a leader of the Buddhist revival and a noted writer. After being ousted by t...

Shortly after U.S. involvement in World War I ended, American serviceman Daniel Mack died in his uniform. He wasn't killed on the battlefields of Europe, but like many other black Americans Daniel Mack was a casualty of World War I....

The September 11 attacks on U.S. targets by al-Qaeda agents brought about the first war between a state and a transnational terrorist network. Al-Qaeda erased the difference between the battlefield and the home front by striking from the ...

Militia movements—and militant individuals—have violently attacked people and groups in the United States. Government officials, especially the U.S. government, and specifically the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and t...

When Americans are asked what social problem bothers them most, the majority mention violence. Certainly there is no question that violence in this country has become epidemic. But while there are many who are quick to propose building new...

Many health care agencies have written policies concerning patient's rights, or the factors of care that patients can expect to receive. The American Hospital Association has affirmed a "Patient's Bill of Rights" that is recognized and hono...

Since tobacco is a plant native to the New World, Native Americans were the first to use it. In addition to smoking it, they used it in smokeless forms—mainly chewing it, making teas and drinks from it, even using the ash in rituals...

The Big Money - John Dos Passos - 1936 Introduction John Dos Passos's The Big Money (1936) argues that the pursuit of the American dream ends in corruption. No matter what good intentions the characters possess, the desire for big mo...

ṢUḤBAH (lit., "companionship"). In mystical parlance, ṣuḥbah can refer to (1) a mystic's return from seclusion (ʿuzlah) to human society; (2) the company of the spiritual mentor, whic...

Do walls have ears? Not right now, but it will not be long before walls not only have ears, but will also be able to see what we are doing and even tell us things that are relevant to our activities. Traditionally, when people said that wa...

The Republic of Uganda is bordered by Sudan to the north, Kenya to the east, Lake Victoria, Tanzania, and Rwanda to the south, and Congo (formerly Zaire) to the west. The name Uganda is the Swahili term for Buganda, the homeland of the na...

1877-1963 Italian psychiatrist and neurologist who developed the method of electroconvulsive shock (electroshock) therapy (ECT) to treat certain mental pathologies. While chair of the Department of Mental and Neurological Diseases at the U...

UKKO. Finnish incantations dating from the Middle Ages call upon Ukko, the supreme god or the god in heaven. Typical is the following such invocation: "O Ukko, god supreme, old man in heaven, god of the skies." His name, whic...

(2000 est. pop. 774,000). Ulaanbaatar (also Ulan Bator, Urga, Niislel Huree), situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters in central Mongolia, is the capital of the Mongolian People's Republic and is the country's largest city. ...

Ulcerative colitis (pronounced UHL-suh-RATE-ihv kuh-LY-tiss) is an inflammation of the large intestine that causes swelling, ulcerations (open sores), and loss of function in the large intestine. Ulcerative colitis is a form of inflammat...

1522-1605 Italian physician and one of the founders of modern natural science. Aldrovani studied law, mathematics, philosophy, and medicine at the universities of Bologna, Pisa, and Padua, receiving his medical degree from Bologna in 1553....

1845-1918 Italian mathematician whose most important work was on the theory of functions of real variables. He also conducted studies on surfaces and on some of the work performed by Joseph Liouville and Eugenio Beltrami, solving a difficu...

ULTRAMONTANISM is the tendency of Roman Catholicism that emphasizes the authority of the papacy in the government and teaching of the church. Originally articulated in opposition to Gallicanism, ultramontanism stressed the unity of the chu...

UVA rays are more harmful than UVB rays. They are 100 to 1,000 times more abundant, depending on the season. UVB light only reaches the outer layer of skin, but UVA goes through the inner layer, where it can damage blood vessels, cells...

1394-1449 Central Asian ruler, astronomer, and mathematician who, in addition to gathering a number of leading scientific minds around him, made important contributions to trigonometry. A grandson of the Mongol conqueror Tamerlane, Ulugh B...

Ulysses Simpson Grant (1822-1885), having led the Northern armies to victory in the Civil War, was elected eighteenth president of the United States. As a general in the Civil War, Ulysses S. Grant possessed the right qualities for prosecu...

Al-Hajj Omar ibn Said Tal (ca. 1797-1864) was a West African Moslem leader who started a holy war and established a far-reaching empire on the Upper Niger. Al-Hajj Omar was born in the Futa Toro near the town of Podar on the Senegal River....

The Italian explorer and airship designer Umberto Nobile (1885-1978) was a pioneer in Arctic aviation. His dirigible flight over the North Pole encouraged greater use of aircraft in the Arctic. Umberto Nobile was born in Lauro, Italy, near...

UMMAH is an Arabic term denoting a grouping of individuals constituting a larger community with a single identity. The term is often translated as "community" or "people," and the plural (umam) is commonly used ...