caffeine Heterocyclic comfound that, like other alkaloids, has marked physiological effects. It occurs in coffee beans, tea leaves, kola nuts, cacao, mate, and guarana and in the products made from them. Its stimu¬ lating effect on the central nervous system, heart, cardiovascular system, and kidneys makes it medically useful in treating respiratory depression caused by overdose of barbiturates, morphine, or heroin. Its positive effects can include improved motor performance, decreased fatigue, increased alert¬ ness, and enhanced sensory activity. Excessive caffeine can produce irri¬ tability, anxiety, insomnia, and potentially serious symptoms such as heart irregularities and delirium. Much of the caffeine included in many over- the-counter stimulants, cold remedies, and painkillers has been extracted during production of decaffeinated coffee and tea.
Cagayan de Oro X.ka-ga-'yan-da-'o-roX City (pop., 2000: 461,877), northern Mindanao, Philippines. Located along the Cagayan River near the head of Macajalar Bay, it was established as a mission station in the 17th century and fortified by the Spaniards. Chartered as a city in 1950, it has become northern Mindanao’s transportation and commercial hub.
Cagayan River or Rio Grande de Cagayan River, northeastern Luzon, Philippines. Flowing north 220 mi (354 km) to the port of Aparri on the Babuyan Channel, it is the longest river in Luzon and is navigable for much of its course. Its chief tributary is the Chico. Its valley, 50 mi (80 km) wide, is agriculturally important.
Cage, John in full John Milton Cage, Jr. (b. Sept. 5, 1912, Los Angeles, Calif., U.S.—d. Aug. 12, 1992, New York, N.Y.) U.S. avant- garde composer and writer. The son of an inventor. Cage studied music with Arnold Schoenberg and Henry Cowell. From the early 1940s he was closely associated with the choreographer Merce Cunningham. Though he began as a 12-tone composer (see serialism), by 1943 his sonic experiments had marked him as notably original. He soon turned to Zen Buddhism and concluded that all activities that make up music are part of a single natural process and that all sounds are potentially musical; thenceforth he advocated indeterminism and endeavoured to ensure randomness in his works, using increasingly inventive notation and often relying on the Confucian classic Yijing. By the 1960s he had expanded into the realm of multimedia. His disparate works include Bacchanale for prepared piano (1938), Imaginary Landscape No. 4 for 12 radios (1951), Fontana Mix for tape (1958), HPSCHD for seven harpsichords, 51 tapes, and nonmu¬ sical media (1969), and Roaratorio (1979). His widely read books include Silence (1961), A Year from Monday (1967), Notations (1969), and M (1973). His international influence was far greater than that of any pre¬ vious American composer.
Cagliari Vkal-ya-re\ ancient Caralis City (pop., 2001 prelim.: 158,351), capital of Sardinia, Italy. Located on the southern coast of the island of Sardinia, Cagliari was founded by the Phoenicians. Held suc¬ cessively by Rome, the Saracens, Pisa, Spain, and Austria, it passed with the rest of Sardinia to the house of Savoy in 1718. Long the military head¬ quarters of the island, Cagliari was bombed heavily in World War II. The rebuilt harbour is Sardinia’s principal port.
Cagney, James (b. July 17, 1899, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. March 30, 1986, Stanfordville, N.Y.) U.S. actor. He toured in vaudeville as a song-and-dance man before starring in the successful Broadway musical Penny Arcade (1929). He played the first in a series of pugnacious crimi¬ nal roles in the film Public Enemy (1931), followed by Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) and White Heat (1949). As George M. Cohan in Yankee
Gold fibula from the Regolini-Galassi tomb, Caere, 7th century bc; in the Vat¬ ican Museum.
SCALA/ART RESOURCE, NEW YORK
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
310 I Cahn ► Cajun
Doodle Dandy (1942, Academy Award) he showed off his dance skills and streetwise charm. Later films include Mister Roberts (1955) and Rag¬ time (1981).
Cahn, Sammy orig. Samuel Cohen (b. June 18, 1913, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. Jan. 15, 1993, Los Angeles, Calif.) U.S. song lyricist. He became a professional songwriter while still a teenager and later formed a songwriting team with Saul Chaplin; their first hit was “Rhythm Is Our Business” (1935). With Jule Styne he collaborated on songs for many films and musicals, including “Three Coins in the Fountain” (1954, Academy Award). In 1955 Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen formed a partnership and went on to write dozens of songs for Frank Sinatra, whose recordings won them Academy Awards for “All the Way,” “High Hopes,” and “Call Me Irresponsible.”
Caicos Islands See Turks and Caicos Islands
Caillaux \ka-'yo\, Joseph (-Marie-Auguste) (b. March 30, 1863, Le Mans, France—d. Nov. 22, 1944, Mamers) French politician. Serving several times as minister of finance, he was an early but unsuccessful advocate of a national income tax. He was named premier in 1911 but was forced to resign after negotiating a controversial treaty with Germany over the second of the Moroccan crises. Later his opposition to World War I and friendship with German agents led to conviction on charges of corresponding with the enemy. Granted amnesty in 1924, he was later elected to the Senate and became head of the Commission of Finance (1927^10).
Caillebotte \ka-y9-'bot\, Gustave (b. Aug. 19, 1848, Paris, Fr.—d. Feb. 21, 1894, Gennevilliers) French painter and art collector. Born to a wealthy family, he was a naval architect by profession. He pursued his interest in painting at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and became a prolific painter of contemporary subjects, town and country views, still lifes, and boating scenes. In Caillebotte’s masterpiece, Paris Street; Rainy Day (1877), he used bold perspective to create a monumental portrait of a Paris intersection. In addition to his own painting, Caillebotte was the chief organizer, promoter, and financial backer of the Impressionist exhibitions, and he purchased works by Edouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Paul Cezanne, and others. He bequeathed his collection to the state, and in 1897 it formed the basis of the first Impressionist exhibition in a French museum. See Impressionism.
caiman Vka-monV Any member of several species of Central and South American reptiles of the alligator family. Like the rest of the crocodile order, caimans are amphibious, lizardlike carnivores. They live along the edges of rivers and other bodies of water, and reproduce by laying hard- shelled eggs in nests built and guarded by the female. The largest species is the black caiman (Melanosuchus niger ), a potentially dangerous animal with a maximum length of about 15 ft (4.5 m). Average lengths for the other species (genera Caiman and Paleosuchus) are 4-7 ft (1.2-2.1 m).
Cain and Abel In the Hebrew scriptures, the sons of Adam and Eve. According to Genesis, Cain, the firstborn, was a farmer, and his brother Abel was a shepherd. Cain was enraged when God preferred his broth¬ er’s sacrifice of sheep to his own offering of grain, and he murdered Abel. When God asked where Abel was, Cain pretended ignorance, saying, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” God punished Cain by sending him into exile but marked him with a sign as a warning to others, promising that he would be avenged if he were killed.
cairn terrier Breed of terrier developed in Scotland to rout animals that prey on game. The modern breed’s characteristics are carefully patterned on those of the dog’s ancestor, a 17th-century terrier of the Isle of Skye. This short-legged dog has a short, broad face. Its coarse coat is usually bluish gray, tan, or pale yellowish brown. Generally active, hardy, alert, and spirited, it is valued as a pet and watchdog. It stands 9-10 in. (23- 25.5 cm) high and weighs about 13-14 lbs (6-6.5 kg).
Cairngorm Mountains Vkarn-.gornA Mountain range, northeastern Scotland. It is located in the Highlands between the Spey and Dee river valleys; its highest peak is Ben Macdui, at 4,296 ft (1,309 m) the second- highest (after Ben Nevis) in the British Isles. Since World War II winter sports have developed in the area. It is a chief source of the cairngorm variety of quartz.