Dmitri ShostakovichDmitri Shostakovich, early 1940s.(more)Leningrad Symphony No. 7 in C Major, Op. 60, symphony by Dmitry Shostakovich, known as “Leningrad.” The work premiered informally on March 5, 1942, at Kuybyshev (now Samara), a provincial city alongside the Volga, where the composer and many of his colleagues were seeking refuge from World War II. Five months later, it would be...

　　 　　Iron DomeA Tamir interceptor missile being launched from an Iron Dome air defense battery in Ashdod, Israel, on November 12, 2019.(more)Iron Dome, short-range mobile air defense system developed for Israel by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Israel Aerospace Industries, with additional support from Raytheon. First deployed in 2011, Iron Dome constitutes the innermost layer of the tiered Israeli air...

　　 　　Franz LisztHungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-Sharp Minor, the second and most famous of the 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies composed for piano by Franz Liszt between 1846–53. Originally composed in 1851 for solo piano, the work was soon converted into orchestral form by Liszt’s colleague, Franz Doppler, who also added a piano duet version more than two decades after the...

　　Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA), U.S. law that regulates the handling of Indigenous human remains and cultural items. Passed in 1990, the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) requires federal agencies and institutions that receive money from the federal government to return remains and cultural objects of Indigenous peoples in what is now the United...

　　Makar Sankranti, Hindu festival in January celebrating the entrance of the sun into the astrological sign of makara (corresponding to Capricorn) and the beginning of the sun’s uttarayana (northward journey). 　　Makar Sankranti occurs on January 14 (or 15 during a leap year). Unlike most other holidays in Hinduism that are determined according to the lunisolar Hindu calendar, this festival is...

　　 　　Naomi Watts (left) and Laura HarringPublicity still from the 2001 film Mulholland Drive, featuring Naomi Watts (Betty Elms/Diane Selwyn) and Laura Harring (Rita/Camilla Rhodes).(more)Mulholland Drive, American surrealist thriller and neo-noir film, released in 2001, that is considered one of director David Lynch’s finest works. The movie is noted for its dreamlike, nonlinear structure and its exploration of the dark...

　　MySQL, open-source relational database management software, owned by the computer software company Oracle, that allows users to interact with large amounts of data across multiple databases. MySQL is one of the most popular database management programs used worldwide. 　　Though SQL is sometimes referred to as “S-Q-L,” it is more often called “sequel,” in acknowledgment of its historical roots as “Structured...

　　While many associate the modern Olympics with tradition, the quadrennial sporting event is continually changing. There’s the size of the Games: at the Athens Olympics in 1896, 241 athletes competed in 43 events, while the 2020 Tokyo Games (delayed until 2021 owing to the COVID-19 pandemic) featured 11,420 competitors and 339 events. And then there’s the pageantry. Notably, the opening...

　　 　　The Maria Skłodowska-Curie MuseumThe Maria Skłodowska-Curie Museum in the replicated town house in which Marie Curie was born in Warsaw, Poland.(more)Maria Skłodowska-Curie Museum, institution dedicated to the life and work of Marie Curie located in a gracious town house in the New Town district of central Warsaw, Poland. The house is a replica of the 18th-century house in which...

　　 　　Côte d'Ivoirehistory of Côte d’Ivoire, a survey of notable events and people in the history of Côte d’Ivoire. The country, located on the coast of western Africa, is also known as the Ivory Coast. It is made up of four natural regions: the coastal fringe, the equatorial forest zone, the cultivated forest zone, and the northern savanna. The Akan,...

　　history of Indonesia, a survey of notable events and people in the history of Indonesia. Located off the coast of mainland Southeast Asia in the Indian and Pacific oceans, Indonesia was formerly known as the Dutch East Indies (or Netherlands East Indies). Although Indonesia did not become the country’s official name until the time of independence, the name was used...

　　The Home Depot, Inc. is the largest retail home improvement and construction supply company in the world, with more than 2,300 stores in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The company was established in 1978, and today employs nearly 475,000 workers. It is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. 　　Founding and early growth The Home Depot was founded in 1978 by Arthur...