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"A to Z Introduction",1,0,0,0
This is the main part of Webster's World Encyclopedia. From here, you can explore thousands of interesting entries and jump straight to related information in other parts of the Encyclopedia.
BK Webster
#
"α Becket, Thomas",2,0,0,0
EN See Becket, St Thomas α
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XCY y
#
"α Kempis, Thomas",3,0,0,0
EN See Kempis, Thomas α
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#
"A level",4,0,0,0
EN An abbreviation for \BAdvanced level,\b the examination taken by British pupils, usually near the age of 18, which qualifies them for entrance to higher education and the professions. It is a single-subject examination at a level representing two further years of study beyond the \JGCSE\j.
University matriculation requirements normally specify A levels in at least two subjects. One A level is deemed equivalent to two passes in the Advanced Supplementary \I(A / S level)\i examination.
BK a
#
"A-bomb",5,0,0,0
EN See atomic bomb
BK a
XCY y
#
"Aachen",6,0,0,0
PN [\Bah\bkhen]
EN 50░47N 6░04E, pop (1995e) 252 000. Manufacturing city in Cologne district, \JGermany\j; 64 km/40 mi SW of Cologne, near the Dutch and Belgian borders; N capital of Charlemagne's empire; 32 German emperors crowned here; annexed by \JFrance\j, 1801; given to \JPrussia\j, 1815; badly bombed in World War 2; railway; technical college; textiles, glass, machinery, chemicals, light \Jengineering\j, foodstuffs, \Jrubber\j products; cathedral (15th-c), town hall (1350); Bad Aachen hot springs; international riding, jumping, and driving tournament.
BK Geog99
#
"Aakjaer, Jeppe",7,0,0,0
PN [\Baw\bkyayr]
DT1 1866
DT2 1930
EN Novelist and poet, born in Aakjaer, Denmark. A leader of the 'Jutland movement' in Danish literature, his works include the novel \IVredens B°r\i (1904, Children of Wrath) and the poems of \IRugens Sange\i (1906, Songs of the Rye). He wrote much in the Jutland \Jdialect\j, into which he translated some of Burns's poems.
MEX Burns, Robert
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#
"Aalto, (Hugo Henrik) Alvar",8,0,0,0
PN [\Bawl\btoh]
DT1 1898
DT2 1976
EN Architect and designer, the father of \JModernism\j in Scandinavia, born in Kuortane, \JFinland\j. He studied at \JHelsinki\j \JPolytechnic\j, and evolved a unique architectural style based on irregular and asymmetric forms and the imaginative use of natural materials. He designed numerous public and industrial buildings in \JFinland\j, including the Finlandia concert hall in \JHelsinki\j. In the 1930s he also pioneered the use of factory-made laminated birchwood for a distinctive style of Finnish furniture.
SX m
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#
"Aaltonen, WΣin÷ (Valdemar)",9,0,0,0
PN [\Bahl\btonen]
DT1 1894
DT2 1966
EN Sculptor, born in St Mσrtens, \JFinland\j. He studied at \JHelsinki\j, and became one of the leading Finnish sculptors, working in many styles. His best-known works are the bust of Sibelius (in the \JGothenburg\j Museum) and the statue of the Olympic runner Paavo Nurmi (commissioned by the Finnish government in 1924).
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Aar, River",10,0,0,0
EN See Aare, River
BK a
XCY y
#
"aardvark",11,0,0,0
PN [\Bah(r)d\bvah(r)k]
EN A southern African \Jmammal\j \I(Orycteropus afer); \i length, 1-1.5┐m / 31/4-5┐ft; long ears, pig-like snout, long sticky tongue, strong claws; digs burrows; inhabits grassland and woodland; eats ants and termites; mainly nocturnal; also known as \Bant bear\b or \Bearth pig.\b It is the only member of the order Tubulidentata. \B(Family:\b Orycteropodidae.)
BK a
#
"aardwolf",12,0,0,0
PN [\Bah(r)d\bwulf]
EN A rare southern African \Jcarnivore\j \I(Proteles cristatus)\i of the hyena family; slender, yellow with black stripes; inhabits dry plains; eats mainly termites; lives in a den (often an abandoned \Jaardvark\j burrow); nocturnal; also known as \Bmaned \Jjackal\j.\b
BK a
#
"Aare, River",13,0,0,0
PN [\Bah\bruh]
HS , Fr \BAar\b
EN Largest river entirely in \JSwitzerland\j; emerges from Lake Grimsel in the Bernese Alps and flows N then W through Lake Brienz, Lake Thun, and Lake Biel to enter the Rhine; length, 295┐km / 183┐mi; navigable from the Rhine to Thun.
BK a
#
"Aarhus",14,0,0,0
EN See ┼rhus or Aarhus
BK a
XCY y
#
"Aaron",15,0,0,0
PN [\Bair\bon]
DT1 15
DT1b th
DT2 13
DT2b th-c BC
EN Biblical \Jpatriarch\j, the first high priest of the Israelites, and said to be the founder of the priesthood; the elder brother of Moses. He was spokesman for Moses to the Egyptian pharoah in his attempts to lead their people out of \JEgypt\j. He later joined rebellious Israelites in making a \Jgolden calf\j for idolatrous worship.
He and his sons were ordained as priests after the construction of the Ark of the Covenant and the \JTabernacle\j, and he was confirmed as hereditary high priest by the miracle of his rod blossoming into an almond tree (hence various plants nicknamed 'Aaron's Rod').
MEX Moses
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#
"Aaron's rod",16,0,0,0
EN See Aaron
BK a
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#
"Aaron, Hank",17,0,0,0
PN [\Bair\bon]
HS , popular name of \BHenry Lewis Aaron,\b nickname \BHammerin' Hank\b
DT1 1934
EN \JBaseball\j player, born in Mobile, AL. A right-handed batting outfielder, he set almost every batting record in his 23-season career with \JMilwaukee\j Braves, \JAtlanta\j Braves, and \JMilwaukee\j Brewers: 2297 runs batted in, 1477 extra-base hits, and 755 home runs, still a major league record.
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"Aasen, Ivar (Andreas)",18,0,0,0
PN [\Baw\bsen]
DT1 1813
DT2 96
EN Philologist, lexicographer, and writer, born in Sunm°re, \JNorway\j. A fervent nationalist, he was the creator of the 'national language' called \ILandsmσl\i (later known as \INynorsk,\i 'New Norwegian'), based on W Norwegian dialects. It eventually achieved recognition alongside the official Dano-Norwegian \IRiksmσl\i ('language of the realm') in 1885.
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#
"abaca",19,0,0,0
EN A fibre obtained from the leaf-stalks of a species of banana \I(Musa textilis)\i native to the \JPhilippines\j; the oldest, outermost stalks give the strongest, darkest fibres, 0.9-2.7┐m / 3-9┐ft long; also called \BManila \Jhemp\j.\b Strong and buoyant, it is used for cables, carpets, and ships' hawsers. \B(Family:\b Musaceae.)
BK a
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"abacus",20,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bbakuhs]
EN A device for performing calculations by sliding bead counters, representing various values, along a set of rods or in grooves. It may have originated in \JBabylonia\j, and was used in ancient China, \JGreece\j, and \JRome\j. It became widespread in Europe in the \JMiddle Ages\j, as well as in China and \JJapan\j, where it is still in use.
In \JJapan\j, for example, it is taught in primary schools as part of arithmetic, and there is a recognized examination and licence system. However, since the huge growth of the Japanese \Jelectronics\j industry, the \Jabacus\j is increasingly being replaced by the calculator.
BK a
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"Abadan",21,0,0,0
PN [aba\Bdahn\b]
EN 30░20N 48░16E, pop (1995e) 396 000. Oil port in Khuzestan province, WC \JIran\j, close to the \JIraq\j border; on \JAbadan\j I, in Shatt al-Arab delta, at head of Persian Gulf; terminus of \JIran\j's major oil pipelines; airport; severely damaged in the \JIran\j--\JIraq\j War.
BK Geog99
#
"Abailard",22,0,0,0
EN See Abelard, Peter
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"Abakanowicz, Magdalena",23,0,0,0
PN [aba\Bkan\bovich]
DT1 1930
EN Artist, born in Falenty, near Warsaw. She studied at the Warsaw Academy of Fine Arts (1950--5), and sought to escape from conventional art forms through weaving. In the 1960s she achieved international recognition with her monumental abstract woven fibre installations called "Abakans'. After 1965 she taught at the State College of Arts, \JPoznan\j, becoming professor in 1979.
BK Biog99
#
"Abakans",24,0,0,0
EN See Abakanowicz, Magdalena
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"Abalkin, Leonid Ivanovitch",25,0,0,0
PN [a\Bbal\bkin]
DT1 1930
EN Russian economist. He was director of the Institute of Economics of the Academy of Sciences and member of the former Supreme Soviet with special responsibility for economic affairs. His published works centre on the theoretical problems of political economy under Socialism.
BK Biog99
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"abalone",26,0,0,0
PN [aba\Bloh\bnee]
EN A primitive marine snail which feeds on \Jalgae\j on rocky shores; characterized by a single row of holes extending back from the front margin of its ovoid shell; collected for decoration and for human consumption; also called \Bormer.\b \B(Class:\b Gastropoda. \BOrder:\b Archaeogastropoda.)
\BMore information provided by Webster Publishing\b
The common name for a shellfish of the \Jgenus\j \Ihaliotis.\i The shell is shaped like an ear, and has a series of holes running around it. In \JNew Zealand\j, the same animal is called a paua, and it is also known around the world, from its appearance, as an ear shell, or sea-ear. The Latin name \Iauris maris,\i has become the French \Ioreille-de-mer,\i and this is the origin (by corruption) of the alternative name ormer.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
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"Abarbanel, Isaac ben Jehudah",27,0,0,0
PN [abah(r)ba\Bnel\b]
DT1 1437
DT2 1508
EN Jewish writer and philosopher, born in \JLisbon\j. His works comprise commentaries on the \JBible\j and philosophical treatises. His eldest son, \BJuda Leon\b (known as \BLeo Hebraeus\b in Latin) (c.1460-1535), a doctor and philosopher, wrote \IDialoghi di Amore\i (1535, trans Philosophy of Love).
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"Abati, Niccolo dell'",28,0,0,0
EN See Abbate, Niccolo dell
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"Abbado, Claudio",29,0,0,0
PN [a\Bbah\bdoh]
DT1 1933
EN Musical conductor, born in Milan, \JItaly\j. From a distinguished musical family, he began training in \Jpiano\j, composition, and conducting. He made his British debut in Manchester (1965), was conductor and director at La Scala, Milan (1968--86), and principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra (1979--87).
Other posts include principal conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (1971), musical director of the Vienna State Opera (1986--91), and principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (1989). In 1994 he was artistic director of the \JSalzburg\j Easter Festival and triumphed with a spectacular postmodern production of Mussorgsky's \IBoris Godunov\i.
BK Biog99
#
"Abbas",30,0,0,0
DT1a c.
DT1 566
DT2a c.
DT2 652
EN Ancestor of the Abbasid dynasty of the Islamic empire who ruled as caliphs of \JBaghdad\j (750-1258). He was the maternal uncle of the \Jprophet\j Mohammed. A rich merchant of Mecca, he was at first hostile to his nephew, but ultimately became one of the chief apostles of \JIslam\j.
MEX Mohammed
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"Abbas Hilmi Pasha",31,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bbas \Bhil\bmee]
DT1 1874
DT2 1943
EN The last \Jkhedive\j of \JEgypt\j (1892-1914). He succeeded his father, Tewfik Pasha, and attempted to rule independently of British influence. At the outbreak of war in 1914 he sided with Turkey, and was deposed when the British made \JEgypt\j a protectorate.
MEX Tewfik Pasha
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"Abbas I",32,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bbas]
HS , known as \BAbbas the Great\b
DT1 1571
DT2 1629
EN The fifth Safavid shah of \JPersia\j. After his accession (1588), he set about establishing a counterweight to the Turkmen tribal chiefs who had constituted the principal political and military powers in the state. From 1598 he was able to recover \JAzerbaijan\j and parts of Armenia from the Ottomans, and Khurasan from the Uzbeks. He transferred his capital from Qazvin to Isfahan, and established diplomatic and economic relations with W Europe.
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"Abbas Pasha",33,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bbas \Bpa\bsha]
DT1 1813
DT2 54
EN \JKhedive\j of \JEgypt\j from 1848. A grandson of Mehemet Ali, he took an active part in his grandfather's Syrian war, but later did much to undo the progress made under him, notably by blocking the construction of the Suez Canal.
MEX Mehemet Ali
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"Abbas, Ferhat",34,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bbas]
DT1 1899
DT2 1985
EN Algerian nationalist leader, born in Taher, \JAlgeria\j. He founded a Muslim Students' Association in 1924, then became a chemist. In 1955 he joined the Front de LibΘration Nationale (FLN), the main Algerian resistance organization, founding in 1958 the 'Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic' in \JTunis\j. After independence in 1962, he was appointed President of the National Constituent Assembly, but fell out of favour and was exiled. He was rehabilitated shortly before his death.
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"Abbasids",35,0,0,0
PN [a\Bba\bsidz]
EN A dynasty of caliphs, which replaced that of the Ummayyads in 749, establishing itself in \JBaghdad\j until its sack by the \JMongols\j in 1258. Early Abbasid power reached its peak under Harun al-Rashid (786-809). The \JAbbasids\j came from the family of the \JProphet\j Mohammed's uncle \JAbbas\j, and were thus able to claim legitimacy in the eyes of the pious.
BK a
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"Abbate, Niccolo dell",36,0,0,0
PN [a\Bbah\btay]
HS , also spelled \BAbati\b
DT1a c.
DT1 1512
DT2 71
EN \JFresco\j painter, born in Modena, \JItaly\j. He died in Paris, having executed frescoes for the palace of \JFontainebleau\j. Few of his frescoes are extant, but the Louvre has a collection of his drawings.
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"Abbe, Cleveland",37,0,0,0
DT (1838-1916)
EN meteorologist; born in New York City. He worked on the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey before apprenticing himself in 1864 at the Russian Pulkovo Observatory, home of the then largest refracting \Jtelescope\j in the world. On his return in 1866 he tried but failed to establish an observatory in New York City.
In 1868 he became the director of the \JCincinnati\j Observatory. While there, he implemented a daily \Jweather\j bulletin for the Chamber of Commerce using telegraphed reports of storms. In 1871 he became scientific assistant to the Weather Bureau of the Signal Corps and continued forecasting until his death.
In 1879 Abbe proposed establishing time zones based on the system used by the railroads; this was adopted in 1883 when the U.S.A. was divided into four zones. An author and editor of many publications on the \Jweather\j, he is credited with setting high standards for the new science of \Jmeteorology\j.
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"Abbe, Ernst",38,0,0,0
PN [abuh]
DT (1840-1905)
EN German physicist and developer of optical instruments.
Abbe was professor of physics and observatory director at Jena. He worked on optical theory and with Carl Zeiss (1816-88), an instrument maker, and Otto Schott (1851-1935), a glass maker, was able to improve several devices. These include the Abbe condenser for converging light on \Jmicroscope\j specimens; the achromatic \Jlens\j, which is free from colour distortion (1886); and the Abbe refractometer. From 1888 he was the sole owner of the Zeiss company, whose optical instruments were of the highest standard. In 1893 he patented the now-familiar prismatic binocular.
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"abbey",39,0,0,0
EN A building or group of buildings used by a religious order for worship and living. It houses a community under the direction of an abbot or abbess as head, who is elected for a term of years or for life. Abbeys were centres of learning in the \JMiddle Ages\j.
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"Abbey Theatre",40,0,0,0
EN Irish theatre. The Abbey is the Dublin playhouse by whose name the Irish National Theatre Society Ltd is popularly known. The Society's predecessors were the Irish Literary Theatre (1899-1901), founded by W. B. Yeats, Augusta Lady Gregory, Edward Martyn and George Moore; and the Irish National Dramatic Company of Frank and Willie Fay.
The aim of the Society, formed by the Fay brothers, Yeats, Lady Gregory and J. M. Synge, was to encourage new writers, in Synge's words, to 'work in English that is perfectly Irish in essence'. The Abbey Street theatre, converted from a former morgue, was the gift in 1904 of an English admirer of Yeats, Annie Horniman.
The Fay brothers were amateurs, both capable actors with practical stage experience. Yeats and the Fays had compatible approaches to theatre, but by 1908 Miss Horniman had removed the Fays, whom she detested, and by 1911 her subsidy also. With the death of Synge in 1909 Yeats was effectively in control.
The indisputable dramatic genius of these years is Synge, whose disreputable peasant characters provoked riotous nationalist demonstrations, especially against The Playboy of the Western World (1907). More to the Abbey audience's taste were Lady Gregory's folk dramas. Synge's mantle passed to Sean O'Casey and his synthesis of poetic vernacular and urban realism.
O'Casey's irreverent treatment of the patriotic myths of Easter 1916 in The Plough and the Stars (1926) caused more riots. 'You have disgraced yourselves again,' Yeats told the audience. Sadly, O'Casey abandoned the Abbey when in 1928 it rejected his part- expressionistic The Silver Tassie.
Alongside the uncommon brilliance of Synge and O'Casey, the Abbey had consolidated a line of essentially realist dramas on local themes, initiated by Padraic Colum (Broken Soil, 1903), Lennox Robinson (The Clancy Name, 1908) and T. C. Murray (Birthright, 1910). Robinson also inaugurated the Dublin Drama League (1919-29), opening the Abbey stage to experimental European and American drama. The relative security of an annual government subsidy from 1925 enabled the directors to accommodate a little theatre, the Peacock.
Their better-known players, including Cyril Cusack, remained at risk to the rewards of London and \JHollywood\j. Under the autocratic rule of Ernest Blythe, with Yeats now infrequently present, the Abbey languished but survived. In the 1930s and 40s the discipline of acting and direction slackened, vulgarizing perhaps its best writer of the period, George Shiels. A few substantial new playwrights - including Paul Vincent Carroll and M. J. Molloy - emerged. Hugh Hunt's tenure (play-director 1935-8) was too brief to establish reform.
The fire which destroyed the old Abbey in 1951 exiled the company for 15 years to the decrepit Queen's Theatre, a larger house requiring runs longer than the Abbey's practice. Its new home, on the old site, is a 628-seat modern theatre with sophisticated stage and lighting facilities.
After an indecisive start, the new Abbey found its confidence, enlivened by the considerable talents of the directors Tomas MacAnna, Alan Simpson, Joe Dowling, and a gifted company. However, recent times have seen both trouble and triumph. On the one hand there have been five artistic directors in about eight years, and the Abbey's primacy has been challenged by the resurgent Gate Theatre. On the other, in recent years the Abbey has undertaken successful European and American tours, and it has had the stimulus of distinguished guest directors.
It remains a writers' theatre and was an important instrument in the dramatic revival which began in the 1960s. Among the contemporary Irish writers mainly associated with it are Brian Friel, Bernard Farrell, Tom Murphy, Tom Kilroy, Hugh Leonard, Tom MacIntyre, Frank McGuinness and Sebastian Barry. So, despite its recent turbulent history, the Abbey continues to be at the centre of Irish theatre and a major force in Irish cultural life.
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"Abbey, Edward",41,0,0,0
DT (1927-89)
EN author, conservationist; born in Home, Pa. Raised on a \JPennsylvania\j farm, he moved permanently to the Southwest in 1947. He published his first book, the novel \IJonathan Troy,\i in 1954. In \IDesert Solitaire\i (1968), an account of his years as a part-time ranger in the Arches National Monument, \JUtah\j, he called for, among other things, a ban on motor vehicles in wilderness preserves.
\IThe Monkey Wrench Gang\i (1976), a novel about a gang of ecological saboteurs, was a bestseller and made him a \Jcult\j hero; although he disavowed such extremists who actually engaged in sabotage on behalf of ecological goals, he became increasingly quirky in his writings and public statements.
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"Abbey, Edwin Austin",42,0,0,0
DT (1852-1911)
EN painter, illustrator; born in Philadelphia. In 1872 he worked as an illustrator for \IHarper's Magazine,\i New York. He later painted murals in \JBoston\j (1895-1901) and at the \JPennsylvania\j capitol (1908). Much of his life was spent in England, painting historical subjects.
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"Abbot, C(harles) G(reely)",43,0,0,0
DT1 1872
DT2 1973
EN Astrophysicist, born in Wilton, NH. As director of the Astrophysical Observatory at the Smithsonian Institution (1907-44), he carried out important research on solar radiation. He became the 'grand old man' of US solar physics, devising an apparatus for converting solar \Jenergy\j to power just before his 100th birthday.
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"Abbot, Francis (Ellingwood)",44,0,0,0
DT (1836-1903)
EN philosopher; born in \JBoston\j, Mass. Forced to resign as a Unitarian pastor because of his free-thinking views (1868), he devoted himself to aggressively promoting them: he was president of the National Liberal League (1876-78), editor of \IThe Index: A Journal of Free Religion\i (1870-80), and author of such works as \IScientific Theism\i (1885).
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"Abbot, George",45,0,0,0
DT1 1562
DT2 1633
EN Protestant clergyman, born in Guildford, Surrey, south-east England, UK. He studied at Oxford, and rose to be Master of University College (1597), Dean of Winchester (1600), and three times Vice-Chancellor of \JOxford University\j (1600-5). He owed his promotion to the sees of Lichfield (1609), London (1610), and Canterbury (1611) to the Earl of Dunbar. A sincere but narrow-minded Calvinist, he was equally opposed to Catholics and to heretics.
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"Abbott and Costello",46,0,0,0
EN Comedy film partners: \BBud Abbott,\b originally \BWilliam A Abbott\b (1896-1974), born in Asbury Park, NJ, and \BLou Costello,\b originally \BLouis Francis Cristillo\b (1908-59), born in Paterson, NJ. Both men had theatrical experience before teaming up as a comedy double act, Costello playing the clown and Abbott his straight man. They began performing on radio (1938), appeared on Broadway (1939), and made a number of successful comedy films, beginning with \IBuck Privates\i (1941).
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"Abbott, Berenice",47,0,0,0
DT (1898-1991)
EN photographer; born in Springfield, Ohio. After a short time at Ohio State University (1917-18) and a few weeks at Columbia University in New York City (1918), she took up the study of drawing and sculpture in New York City (1918-21), Paris (1921-23 - partially under Antoine Bourdelle), and Berlin (1923). Back in Paris she became an assistant to the photographer, Man Ray (1923-25), and then opened her own portrait studio (1926-29); one of her best-known portraits was of James Joyce.
Meanwhile, she had discovered the work of Eugene Atget (1857-1927), the French photographer known for his semidocumentary studies of cityscapes and activities in Paris and its suburbs; on his death she acquired his \Jarchives\j and thereafter promoted his work.
She went back to New York City and worked as an independent documentary and portrait photographer (1929-68); she occasionally did commissions for \IFortune\i and other magazines, but became best known for the series she did for the Federal Art Project (under the Works Progress Administration), a thorough and sensitive documentation of Manhattan during the 1930s, published as \IChanging New York\i (1939).
In 1940 she turned to a new subject, capturing in photographs such scientific phenomena as magnetism, gravity, and motion; some of her work was used to illustrate high school physics texts. She also taught photography at the New School for Social Research (1935-68). Her final major projects included photographing a series on rural \JCalifornia\j and U.S. Route 1 from Maine to \JFlorida\j. In 1968 she moved up to Maine where she worked until near her death.
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"Abbott, Diane (Julie)",48,0,0,0
DT1 1953
EN British politician, born in London, England, UK. She studied at Cambridge, and was an administration trainee in the civil service before working for the National Council for Civil Liberties, the Greater London Council, and Lambeth Borough Council.
She joined the Labour Party in 1981, and served on the Westminster City Council 1982--6. Elected to parliament as MP for Hackney North and Stoke Newington in 1987, she became the first black woman member of the \JHouse of Commons\j.
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#
"Abbott, George",49,0,0,0
DT 1887-1995
EN American director, playwright and actor. In his 1963 \Jautobiography\j Abbott praised his Harvard drama teacher George Pierce Baker in a way that defined his own theatrical creed: 'Professor Baker gave you no nonsense about inner meanings and \Jsymbolism\j; he turned your whole thoughts and energies into the practical matter of how to make a show.' Taking Baker's lessons to heart, Abbott became the most practical showman in Broadway history, and performer, co-author and director of over 130 productions.
He first acted on a Broadway stage in 1913; in the autumn of 1989 he directed a workshop production of a new musical called Frankie. As both director and co-author his specialities were racy \Jmelodrama\j (Broadway, 1926), split-second \Jfarce\j (Three Men on a Horse, 1935) and peppy musicals with vigorous \Jchoreography\j (On Your Toes, 1936; Damn Yankees, 1955).
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"Abbott, Grace",50,0,0,0
DT (1878-1939)
EN social worker, activist; born on Grand Island, Nebr. She studied at the Universities of \JNebraska\j and \JChicago\j and in 1908 went to live at \JChicago\j's Hull House to head the Immigrants' Protective League. Author of forceful articles exposing the exploitation of immigrants, she also campaigned for child labor laws, and as director of the federal Children's Bureau (from 1919), she administered grants to provide health care for mothers and children. She was president of the National Conference of Social Workers (1923-24), an adviser to the \JLeague of Nations\j (1922-34), and professor of public welfare at the University of \JChicago\j (1934-39).
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"Abbott, Jacob",51,0,0,0
DT1 1803
DT2 79
EN Clergyman, born in Hallowell, ME, the father of Lyman Abbott. He founded Mount Vernon School for Girls in \JBoston\j (1829) and was the author of \IThe Young Christian\i (1832) and many other works.
MEX Abbott, Lyman
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"Abbott, Lyman",52,0,0,0
DT (1835-1922)
EN Congregational clergyman, editor; born in Roxbury, Mass. He graduated from New York University (1853) and joined a law firm before turning to the ministry and becoming ordained in 1860. Between 1860-65, he had a parish in Terre Haute, Ind. At the end of the \JCivil War\j, he went to New York City, where, in addition to serving a parish, he worked with the American Union Commission for more sympathetic reconstruction policies in the South.
He became editor of a new periodical, \IThe Illustrated Christian Weekly\i (1870-76), then joined Henry Ward Beecher at the \IChristian Union; \i Abbott replaced Beecher as editor in 1881 and the magazine's name was changed to \IOutlook\i in 1893. When Beecher died in 1890, Abbott took over his Brooklyn parish; he retired in 1899 to devote his final years to editing, writing, and guest preaching and speaking. He was noted for the intelligence, balance, and tolerance that he combined with traditional Christian teachings.
BK AmBg
#
"ABC Islands",53,0,0,0
EN An abbreviated name often applied to the three main islands of \JAruba\j, \JBonaire\j, and Curacao in the S Netherlands \JAntilles\j, off the N coast of \JSouth America\j.
BK a
#
"Abd al-Aziz ibn Saud",54,0,0,0
EN See Saud, al-
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#
"Abd-ar-Rahman I",55,0,0,0
PN [abder\Brah\bman]
DT1 731
DT2 88
EN An Umayyad emir who survived the massacre of his family by the \JAbbasids\j in 750, and conquered most of Muslim \JSpain\j. He founded the emirate of al-Andalus (756), with its capital at C≤rdoba.
SX m
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#
"Abd-ar-Rahman III",56,0,0,0
PN [abder\Brah\bman]
DT1 891
DT2 961
EN Emir of C≤rdoba, who ruled from 912 and proclaimed himself caliph in 929. Under him the Umayyad emirate reached the peak of its power, extending its boundaries in successful campaigns against the Fatimids and the kings of Leon and Navarre.
SX m
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#
"Abd-el-Kader",57,0,0,0
PN [abdul\Bka\bder]
DT1 1807
DT2 83
EN Algerian nationalist hero, born in Mascara, \JAlgiers\j. After the French conquest of \JAlgiers\j, the Arab tribes of Oran elected him as their emir, and with great perseverance he waged a long struggle with the French (1832-47). Eventually crushed by overpowering force, he took refuge in Morocco, and began a crusade against the enemies of \JIslam\j, but was defeated at Isly in 1844.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Abd-el-Krim",58,0,0,0
PN [abdul\Bkrim\b]
HS , nickname \Bthe Wolf of the Rif Mountains\b
DT1 1882
DT2 1963
EN \JBerber\j chief, born in Ajdir, Morocco. He led unsuccessful revolts against \JSpain\j and \JFrance\j (1921, 1924-5), formed the Republic of the Rif and served as its president (1921-6), but was brought to surrender by a large Franco-Spanish army under Marshal PΘtain. He was exiled to the island of RΘunion. Granted amnesty in 1947, he went to \JEgypt\j, where he formed the North African Liberation Committee.
MEX PΘtain
SX m
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#
"Abd-ul-Hamid II",59,0,0,0
PN [abdul\Bha\bmid]
HS , nickname \BThe Great Assassin\b
DT1 1842
DT2 1918
EN The last sultan of Turkey (1876-1909). He promulgated the first Ottoman constitution in 1876, but his reign was notable for his cruel suppression of revolts in the Balkans, which led to wars with \JRussia\j (1877-8), and especially for the Armenian massacres of 1894-6. A reform movement by the revolutionary Young Turks forced him to summon a parliament in 1908, but he was deposed and exiled in 1909.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Abd-ul-Medjid",60,0,0,0
PN [abdul\Bme\bjid]
DT1 1823
DT2 61
EN Sultan of Turkey from 1839. He continued the Westernizing reforms of the previous reign of Mahmut II (1785-1839), reorganizing the court system and education, and granting various rights to citizens, including Christians. In 1854 he secured an alliance with Britain and \JFrance\j to resist Russian demands, thus precipitating the \JCrimean War\j (1854-6).
SX m
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#
"Abdias",61,0,0,0
EN See Obadiah
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#
"Abdias, Book of",62,0,0,0
EN See Obadiah, Book of
BK a
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#
"abdication",63,0,0,0
EN A political situation which occurs when the ruler of a country gives up the throne or other high office. Most abdications take place under duress: the ruler is forced to abdicate following a wartime defeat, a revolution, or a constitutional crisis. Napoleon Bonaparte was forced to abdicate twice - once in 1814, and again in 1815.
Edward VIII of Britain was forced to abdicate in 1936 because of public disapproval of his proposed marriage to a divorcee. Some rulers choose to abdicate, perhaps because of illness or old age, or simply because they feel they have ruled for too long. Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands voluntarily abdicated in 1948, as did her daughter, Queen Juliana, in 1980.
BK a
#
"Abdim's stork",64,0,0,0
EN A small stork \I(Ciconia abdimii)\i native to Africa and the south-west Arabian Peninsula; feeds in drier habitats than other storks; eats insects, especially locusts.
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#
"abdomen",65,0,0,0
EN The lower part of the trunk, extending from within the pelvic floor to under the cover of the chest wall. Except for the vertebral column, pelvis, and ribs, it is bounded entirely by muscles. It contains most of the \Jalimentary canal\j (from \Jstomach\j to \Jrectum\j), the liver, \Jpancreas\j, \Jspleen\j, \Jkidneys\j, and bladder, and the internal organs of reproduction. The cavity has a lining (the \Iperitoneum)\i which covers or completely surrounds and suspends the majority of the various contents. Major blood vessels and nerves pass into it from the chest and out of it to the lower limbs.
BK a
#
"abdominal thrust",66,0,0,0
EN See Heimlich manoeuvre
BK a
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#
"Abdul Rahman (Putra Alhaj), Tunku",67,0,0,0
PN [abdul \Brah\bman]
DT1 1903
DT2 90
EN The first prime minister of Malaya (1957-63) and \JMalaysia\j (1963-70), born in Alor Star, Kedah, Malaya. The son of the Sultan of Kedah, he trained as a lawyer at Cambridge and joined the civil service in Kedah in 1931. In 1945 he founded the United Malays' National Organization (UMNO), and in 1952 entered Malayan politics, becoming chief minister (1955) and then prime minister. He negotiated the formation of the Federation of \JMalaysia\j, remaining as prime minister. He left active politics in 1970, then became the first secretary-general of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.
SX m
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#
"Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem",68,0,0,0
PN [abdul \Bja\bber]
HS , originally \BLewis Ferdinand Alcindor\b, known as \BLew Alcindor\b
DT1 1947
EN \JBasketball\j player, born in New York City, USA. A talented player from youth, his exceptional height (7┐ft 2┐in/2┐m 5┐cm) made him a formidable opponent. He studied at the University of \JCalifornia\j (1965), then joined the National \JBasketball\j Association (NBA) \JMilwaukee\j Bucks (1969), leading them to victory in the NBA championships (1971).
Already converted to \JIslam\j, he took an Arabic name (1971). He moved to the L A Lakers in 1984, and went on to establish an individual points record of 38┐387. He retired in 1989.
BK Biog99
#
"Abdullah (ibn Hussein)",69,0,0,0
PN [ab\Bdu\bla ibn hu\Bsayn\b]
DT1 1882
DT2 1951
EN First king of Jordan (1946-51), the second son of Hussein ibn Ali and grandfather of King Hussein. Emir of the British mandated territory of Transjordan in 1921, he became king when the mandate ended in 1946, but was assassinated.
MEX Hussein
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#
"Abdullah, Sheikh Mohammed",70,0,0,0
PN [ab\Bdu\bla]
HS , nickname \BThe Lion of Kashmir\b
DT1 1905
DT2 82
EN Kashmiri statesman, born in Soura, near Srinagar, Kashmir, India. A Muslim, he spearheaded the struggle for constitutional government against the (Hindu) Maharajah of Kashmir during the years between the two World Wars. He was imprisoned in 1931, and on his release formed the All Jammu and Kashmir \JMoslem\j Conference (renamed the National Conference in 1938).
He agreed to the accession of the state to India, but was imprisoned (1953-68) when he reaffirmed the right of the people of Kashmir 'to decide the future of the State'. He was chief minister from 1975 until his death.
SX m
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#
"Abe, Kobo",71,0,0,0
PN [\Bah\bbay]
DT1 1924
DT2 93
EN Novelist and playwright, born in \JTokyo\j. He trained as a doctor, but turned to literature after graduating. Recognition in \JJapan\j came with the award of the Akutagawa Prize for \IThe Wall\i in 1951. His predominant theme of alienation was explored in a series of works, his novels including \IInter \JIce Age\j Four\i (1971), \IThe Woman in the Dunes\i (1965), and \ISecret Rendezvous\i (1980).
SX m
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#
"Abegg, Richard",72,0,0,0
PN [abeg]
DT (1869-1910)
EN German physical chemist.
Abegg's Rule (for which he is best remembered) states that each element has a positive valence and a negative valence, whose sum is 8. This idea reflects in primitive form the '\Joctet\j rule', ie the trend shown by most elements of the second and third (short) periods to attain an outer \Joctet\j of electrons, but even as a mnemonic it applies only to elements of the fourth to seventh periodic groups.
BK Scie
#
"Abel",73,0,0,0
PN [\Bay\bbel]
EN Biblical character, the second son of \JAdam and Eve\j. He is described as a shepherd, whose offering God accepts; but he was then murdered by his brother, Cain.
MEX \JAdam and Eve\j; Cain
SX m
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#
"Abel, John Jacob",74,0,0,0
PN [aybel]
DT (1857-1938)
EN US biochemist: detected adrenalin, and crystallized \Jinsulin\j; isolated amino acids from blood.
An Ohio farmer's son, Abel studied very widely in Europe before returning to Johns Hopkins University equipped with a wide knowledge of chemistry, \Jbiology\j and medicine, as professor of \Jpharmacology\j. He studied the adrenal hormone now known as adrenalin (epinephrine); and in 1926 first crystallized \Jinsulin\j and showed it was a protein and contained zinc.
He was the first to isolate amino acids from blood, in 1914. He did this by passing blood from an artery through a Cellophane tube immersed in saline; the amino acids dialysed through the tube and the blood was returned to a vein of the animal. The proof that amino acids are present in blood is fundamental in animal biochemistry and the method used led the way towards \Jdialysis\j in the treatment of kidney disease.
BK Scie
#
"Abel, Karl Friedrich",75,0,0,0
PN [\Bah\bbel]
DT1 1725
DT2 87
EN Musician, born in K÷then, \JGermany\j. He was a noted composer of symphonies, and a virtuoso on the viola da gamba. In 1758 he went to England, where he was appointed chamber musician to Queen Charlotte. With Johann Christian Bach he promoted a celebrated series of concerts in London.
MEX Bach, J C
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#
"Abel, Niels Henrik",76,0,0,0
PN [ahbel]
DT (1802-29)
EN Norwegian mathematician: pioneer of group theory; proved that no algebraic solution of the general fifth-degree equation exists.
Abel was the son of a Lutheran minister. In 1821 he went to Oslo to study at the university, but his father's death forced him to give this up in order to support the large family of which he was the eldest; he was extremely poor throughout his life. In 1825 he visited \JGermany\j and \JFrance\j and with Leopold Crelle (1780-1855) founded Crelle's Journal in which much of his work was published, since Abel could not persuade the French AcadΘmie des Sciences to do so.
Having failed to find a university post in \JGermany\j, and with his health failing due to tuberculosis, he returned to \JNorway\j, where he died shortly afterwards aged 26. Two days later a letter from Crelle announced that the professorship of \Jmathematics\j at Berlin, one of the most prestigious posts in the world, had been awarded to him.
Despite his tragically early death Abel largely founded the theory of groups, and in particular commutative groups, which were later known as Abelian groups. He also showed that the general fifth-degree equation is not solvable algebraically (ironically Gauss threw this proof away unread when Abel sent it to him). He revolutionized the important area of elliptic integrals with his theory of elliptic and transcendental functions, and contributed to the theory of infinite series.
BK Scie
#
"Abel, Sir Frederick (Augustus)",77,0,0,0
PN [aybel]
DT (1827-1902)
EN British chemist: expert on military explosives.
An early pupil of Hofmann at the Royal College of Chemistry, he became chemist to the War Department in 1854. He showed that guncotton (obtained by nitrating cotton) could be made safe by removing traces of acid, which, if not removed, led to instability. In 1889 with Dewar he invented 'cordite', a mixture of guncotton and nitroglycerin gelatinized with \Jpropanone\j and \Jpetroleum\j jelly, which became the standard British military propellant. It produces little smoke on firing, an important advantage on a battlefield.
BK Scie
#
"Abelard, Peter",78,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bbelah(r)d]
DT1 1079
DT2 1142
EN Theologian, born near \JNantes\j, \JFrance\j. He studied under Roscellinus and Guillaume de Champeaux (c.1070-1171). As lecturer in the cathedral school of Notre Dame in Paris, he became tutor to HΘlo∩se, the 17-year-old niece of the canon Fulbert. They fell passionately in love, but when their affair was discovered, they fled to Brittany, where HΘlo∩se gave birth to a son. After returning to Paris, they were secretly married.
HΘlo∩se's relatives took their revenge on Abelard by castrating him. He fled in shame to the abbey of St Denis to become a monk, and HΘlo∩se took the veil at Argenteuil as a nun. In 1121, a synod at Soissons condemned his Nominalistic doctrines on the Trinity as heretical, and Abelard took to a hermit's hut at Nogent-sur-Seine, where his pupils helped him build a monastic school he named the Paraclete.
In 1125 he was elected abbot of St Gildas-de-Rhuys in Britanny, and the Paraclete was given to HΘlo∩se and a sisterhood. In his final years he was again accused of numerous heresies and he retired to the monastery of Cluny. After his death, he was buried in the Paraclete at HΘlo∩se's request, and when she died in 1164 she was laid in the same tomb. In 1817 they were buried in one sepulchre at PΦre Lachaise.
MEX Roscellinus
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#
"Abeles, Sir (Emil Herbert) Peter",79,0,0,0
PN [\Bay\bblz]
DT1 1924
EN Industrialist, born in Budapest, \JHungary\j. He studied in Budapest, then went to Sydney in 1949. The following year he founded Alltrans, which in 1967 merged with Thomas Nationwide Transport (TNT). Under his leadership TNT expanded into all forms of road transport, air courier services, and containerized and bulk shipping.
In 1979 TNT and Rupert Murdoch's News Limited gained control of Ansett Airlines, and Abeles became joint managing director of the new company, resigning in 1992. Knighted in 1972, he is known for his friendships with prominent politicians, particularly Bob Hawke.
BK Biog99
#
"Abell, Kjeld",80,0,0,0
DT 1901-61
EN Danish playwright. He began his career designing Balanchine's ballets at the Kongelige Teater. His first writing for the theatre, the ballet-scenario The Widow in the Mirror (1934), introduced a recurrent Abell theme, the anguish caused by alienation from life. Ballet undoubtedly influenced the plays that followed, beginning with The Melody that Got Lost (1935) produced at the Riddersalen cabaret theatre.
His early expressionistic plays (see \Jexpressionism\j), The Melody and Eve Serves Her Childhood, sharply depict the suffocating effect of bourgeois values. His plays during and immediately after World War II, such as Anna Sophie Hedvig, Judith, The Queen on Tour, Silkeborg and Days on a \JCloud\j, identify activism as essential to freedom and escapism as self-annihilation. His later plays became more complex and mystical, such as Vetsera Does Not Bloom for Everyone, The Blue \JPekingese\j and The Scream.
BK Thea
#
"Abelson, Phillip H(auge)",81,0,0,0
PN [\Bay\bblson]
DT1 1913
EN Physical chemist, born in \JTacoma\j, Washington, USA. He studied at Washington State College and the University of \JCalifornia\j at Berkeley, and was appointed director of the \Jgeophysics\j laboratory of the Carnegie Institution, WA, in 1953 (president 1971).
In 1940 he assisted Edwin Mattison McMillan to bombard uranium with neutrons, which led to the discovery of a new element, neptunium. From 1941 he worked on the Manhattan atomic bomb project, developing diffusion methods for obtaining enriched uranium-235; this was the fuel for the first A-bomb.
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#
"Aberconwy and Colwyn",82,0,0,0
PN [aber\Bkon\bwee, \Bkol\bwin]
EN pop (1995e) 110 700; area 1130 sq km / 436 sq mi. County (unitary authority from 1996) in NC Wales, UK; drained by the R Conwy; administrative centre, Colwyn Bay; other chief town, Llandudno; seaside resorts on north coast; tourism, livestock, light industry; part of Snowdonia National Park; castle at Conwy; Bodnant Gardens, Great Orme Cable Railway, Welsh Mountain Zoo.
BK Geog99
#
"Abercrombie, Lascelles",83,0,0,0
PN [aber\Bkrom\bbee]
DT1 1881
DT2 1938
EN Poet and critic, born in Ashton-upon-Mersey, Greater Manchester, north-west England, UK. He studied at Malvern College and Victoria University, Manchester, became professor of English at Leeds (1922) and London (1929), and reader at Oxford (1935). His works include \IThe Idea of Great Poetry\i (1925) and \IPrinciples of Literary Criticism\i (1932).
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Abercrombie, Sir (Leslie) Patrick",84,0,0,0
PN [aber\Bkrom\bbee]
DT1 1879
DT2 1957
EN British architect and pioneer of town planning in Britain, the brother of Lascelles Abercrombie. He was professor of town planning at Liverpool (1915-35) and University College, London (1935-46). His major work was the replanning of London, as seen in the \ICounty of London Plan\i (1943) and the \IGreater London Plan\i (1944).
MEX Abercrombie, Lascelles
SX m
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#
"Abercromby, Sir Ralph",85,0,0,0
PN [aber\Bkrom\bbee]
DT1 1734
DT2 1801
EN Soldier and hero of the Napoleonic Wars, born in Menstrie, Clackmannanshire, C Scotland, UK. He went to Rugby School, studied law at Edinburgh and \JLeipzig\j, served in Europe in the Seven Years' War (1756-63), and was MP for Clackmannanshire (1774-80). He led successful operations against the French in St Lucia and Trinidad (1795-6), and also led the successful amphibious operation of the Anglo-Turkish forces against the French at Aboukir Bay in 1801, but was mortally wounded in the action.
SX m
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#
"Aberdare, Henry Austin Bruce, Baron",86,0,0,0
PN [aber\Bdair\b]
DT1 1815
DT2 95
EN British statesman, born in Duffryn, Aberdare, S Wales, UK. He was called to the bar in 1837, and was elected Liberal MP for Merthyr Tydfil (1852-73). Home secretary under Gladstone (1868-73), he then became Lord President of the Council (1873-4). Influential in the movement for the establishment of the University of Wales, he was its first chancellor in 1895.
MEX Gladstone
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#
"Aberdeen",87,0,0,0
EN 57░10N 2░04W, pop (1995e) 221 000. Seaport city council (\JAberdeen\j City), and administrative centre of Aberdeenshire council, NE Scotland, UK; on the North Sea, between Rivers Dee (S) and Don (N), 92 km/57 mi NE of Dundee; royal burgh since 1179; airport; \Jhelicopter\j port; ferries to Orkney and Shetland; railway; university (1494); Robert Gordon University (1992, formerly Institute of Technology); port trade and fishing, finance, oil supply service, granite ("Granite City'), tourism; Art Gallery; Gordon Highlanders Regimental Museum; maritime museum; St Machar's Cathedral (1131); Bridge of Dee (1500); Brig o' Balgownie (c.1320); Aberdeen festival (Jul--Aug).
BK Geog99
#
"Aberdeen terrier",88,0,0,0
EN See Scottish terrier
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#
"Aberdeen, George Hamilton Gordon, 4th Earl of",89,0,0,0
DT1 1784
DT2 1860
EN British statesman and prime minister (1852-5), born in Edinburgh, EC Scotland, UK. He studied Cambridge, succeeding his grandfather as earl in 1801. He was foreign secretary twice, under the Duke of Wellington (1828-30) and then Sir Robert Peel (1841-6). A confirmed free-trader, he resigned with Peel over the repeal of the corn-laws in 1846.
In 1852 he was made prime minister of a coalition government that was immensely popular at first, until he reluctantly committed Britain to an alliance with \JFrance\j and Turkey in the \JCrimean War\j in 1854. The gross mismanagement of the war aroused popular discontent, and he was forced to resign.
MEX Wellington; Peel, Robert
SX m
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#
"Aberfan",90,0,0,0
PN [aber\Bvan\b]
EN 51░42N 3░21W. Village in \Jcoal\j-mining region, Merthyr Tydfil county, S Wales, UK; scene of major disaster in 1966, when a landslip of mining waste engulfed several houses and the school, killing 144, including 116 children.
BK a
#
"Aberhart, William",91,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bberhah(r)t]
HS , nickname \BBible Bill\b
DT1 1878
DT2 1943
EN Canadian politician, born in Huron Co, \JOntario\j, Canada. He studied at Queen's University, Kingston, and in 1915 became principal of Crescent Heights School, \JCalgary\j, where he remained until 1935. He then became a member of the Alberta legislature, formed his own Social Credit Party, and became provincial premier (1935-43). He had founded the \JCalgary\j Prophetic \JBible\j Institute in 1918, and his evangelical style of public-speaking gave him his byname.
SX m
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#
"Abernathy, Ralph D(avid)",92,0,0,0
DT (1926-90)
EN Baptist clergyman, \Jcivil rights\j activist; born in Linden, Ala. An early \Jcivil rights\j organizer and leading confidante of Martin Luther King Jr., he was pastor of the West Hunter Street Baptist Church in \JAtlanta\j, Ga. throughout his \Jcivil rights\j career (1961-90). He was King's chosen successor as head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) (1968-77).
Although he was a competent leader, the SCLC never regained the influence it had under King. He resigned the SCLC leadership to run unsuccessfully for Andrew Young's congressional seat (1977). Turning away from the \Jcivil rights\j movement, he devoted his attention to the West Hunter Street Baptist Church and the issues of worldwide peace.
BK AmBg
#
"Abernethy, John",93,0,0,0
PN [aber\Bneth\bee]
DT1 1764
DT2 1831
EN Surgeon, celebrated for his eccentric lectures and manners, born in London, England, UK. In 1813 he was appointed surgeon to Christ's \JHospital\j, London, in 1814 professor of anatomy and surgery to the College of Surgeons, and in 1815 full surgeon to St Bartholomew's \JHospital\j, a post which he resigned in 1829. His practice increased with his celebrity, which the eccentricity and rudeness of his manners helped to heighten.
SX m
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#
"aberration (astronomy)",94,0,0,0
EN In \Jastronomy\j, the aberration of starlight is the apparent change in the observed position of a star, caused by a combination of the Earth's velocity in \Jorbit\j around the Sun, and the finite velocity of light.
\BMore information provided by Webster Publishing\b
The effect is nonrelativistic; which means that \Jspecial relativity\j is not required to derive it. It can be demonstrated simply from Newtonian mechanics, so long as we assume that the speed of light is constant. This effect is responsible for the "tunnel vision" effect of travelling at relativistic speeds, an effect which is popular with film and \Jtelevision\j directors.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
BK a
#
"aberrations",95,0,0,0
HS (\Joptics\j)
EN Deviations in lenses from perfect images, as consequences of the laws of \Jrefraction\j. \IChromatic\i \Jaberrations\j result from the dependence of the bending power of a lens on wavelength, and may produce images having coloured haloes.
Colour-independent \Jaberrations\j \I(monochromatic)\i deform an image \I(distortion,\i \Ifield curvature,\i \Icoma,\i \Iastigmatism)\i and blur it \I(spherical aberration).\i Aberrations in cameras, binoculars, and other optical instruments can be minimized using \Jlens\j combinations. Mirrors have similar monochromatic \Jaberrations\j to lenses, but no chromatic \Jaberrations\j.
BK a
#
"Aberystwyth",96,0,0,0
PN [aber\Bist\bwith]
EN 52░25N 4░05W, pop (1995e) 12 600. Administrative centre of Cardiganshire county, W Wales, UK; university and resort town, at the mouth of the Ystwyth and Rheidol Rivers, on Cardigan Bay; built around a castle of Edward I, 1227; college of University of Wales (1872); National Library of Wales (1955); railway; boatbuilding, brewing, agricultural trade; university theatre summer season.
BK Geog99
#
"Abidjan",97,0,0,0
PN [abee\Bjan\b]
EN 5░19N 4░01W, pop (1995e) 2 722 000. Industrial seaport and former capital (1935--83) of C⌠te d'Ivoire, W Africa; on N shore of EbriΘ lagoon; port facilities added in early 1950s; airport; railway; university (1958); farm machinery, \Jmetallurgy\j, car assembly, electrical appliances, plastics, soap, \Jcoffee\j and \Jcocoa\j trade, timber products, \Jtobacco\j, food processing, beer, chemicals; Ifan museum.
BK Geog99
#
"Abington, Fanny",98,0,0,0
DT 1737-1815
EN English actress. By 1755 she was working with Theophilus Cibber at the Haymarket Theatre and in 1756 joined Drury Lane. After a period acting in Ireland she returned to Drury Lane to join Garrick's company. She played Lady Teazle in Sheridan's The School for Scandal (1777). Having retired, she made an unsuccessful return in 1799, by which time she was overweight and no longer a leader of fashion.
BK Thea
#
"abiogenesis",99,0,0,0
PN [aybiyoh\Bjen\besis]
EN See spontaneous generation
BK a
XCY y
#
"ablaut",100,0,0,0
PN [\Bab\blowt]
EN Vowel changes in related forms of a word, found in Indo-European languages. \JAblaut\j can be seen in English in several sets of verb forms, such as \Idrive / drove / driven.\i
BK a
#
"ABM",101,0,0,0
EN See antiballistic missile (ABM)
BK a
XCY y
#
"Abney level",102,0,0,0
EN See clinometer
BK a
XCY y
#
"Abney, Sir William (de Wiveleslie)",103,0,0,0
PN [\Bab\bnee]
DT1 1844
DT2 1920
EN Chemist and educationist, born in Derby, \JDerbyshire\j, C England, UK. Assistant secretary (1899) and adviser (1903) to the Board of Education, he was known for his research in photographic chemistry and colour photography, and did important pioneer work in photographing the solar spectrum.
SX m
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#
"abnormal psychology",104,0,0,0
EN The scientific study of the nature and origins of psychologically abnormal states. In contrast to clinical \Jpsychology\j and \Jpsychiatry\j, where the emphasis is on the assessment and treatment of individuals, abnormal \Jpsychology\j seeks more general theories about disorders, in such areas as personality, intelligence, and social behaviour.
BK a
#
"┼bo",105,0,0,0
EN See Turku
BK a
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#
"abolitionist movement",106,0,0,0
EN A 19th-c movement to end \Jslavery\j in the US South; distinguished from earlier anti-slavery movements by its uncompromising attitude. Blacks as well as whites, and women as well as men took active parts. Abolitionism crystallized around the American Anti-Slavery Society, founded in 1833. Its great achievement was to make \Jslavery\j an issue that could not be ignored.
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"Abomey",107,0,0,0
PN [a\Bbo\bmay]
EN 7░14N 2░00E, pop (1995e) 78 000. Town in Zou province, S Benin, W Africa; 105 km/65 mi NW of Porto Novo; capital of old \JYoruba\j kingdom of Dahomey; burned by the Portuguese and abandoned to the French, 1892; Royal Palace of Djema, including the tomb of King Gbehanzin (still guarded by women), a world heritage site.
BK Geog99
#
"abominable snowman",108,0,0,0
EN See Bigfoot or Sasquatch; \JYeti\j
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#
"Aboriginal art",109,0,0,0
EN The art of the Australian \JAborigines\j, which originated at least 13┐000 years ago - dates of up to 30┐000 years have been suggested. Two main stylistic traditions exist: the figurative and the geometric (the latter based on the marks left by animals, humans, and artefacts in the sand). Paints include red ochre, white clay, and charcoal.
Carvings on rock and in wood are also common. Much of the art depicts episodes from the 'Dreamtime', the creation period of Aboriginal legend, though sorcery paintings and everyday records of hunting and gathering are also widespread. \JAboriginal art\j is placed on rock, wood, bark, and the human body.
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"Aboriginal land rights",110,0,0,0
EN The rights of \JAustralia\j's indigenous people to the land they inhabited, formerly unrecognized by the white settlers of \JAustralia\j. Although Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders are spiritually attached to their traditional land, they have been dispossessed of it since 1788. Land rights symbolize the struggle for the autonomy and self-determination of Aboriginal people, and have become a national political issue in \JAustralia\j since the 1970s.
Governments have granted some Aboriginal land claims since then, but the issue attracts controversy because of the opposing interests of mining companies, pastoralists, and the states. The controversy came to a head following the landmark High Court \IMabo\i case, named after one of the plaintiffs.
In 1992 the Court rejected the doctrine of \Iterra nullius\i - that the land claimed by the colonizers had no prior owners - finding that native title continued to exist after British annexation. While \IMabo\i might become the basis for a new relationship between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians, the political difficulties of reconciliation through recognition of native title are immense.
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"Aborigines",111,0,0,0
PN [abo\Brij\bineez]
EN The indigenous inhabitants of \JAustralia\j, the first of whom reached the continent c.60┐000 years ago. By 1788, when European occupation began, there were c.600 territorially defined groups, subsisting on hunting and gathering, with a population of 300┐000-1 million.
Numbers then fell dramatically, partly through conflict with the Europeans, but mainly through European diseases, especially the smallpox epidemics of 1789 and 1829. By 1933 the population had fallen to c.66┐000; it then steadily increased, and now numbers c.250┐000.
At first Europeans portrayed Aboriginals as 'noble savages', but this image quickly gave way to contempt, and policies were designed to turn them into Christians with European lifestyles. In the late 19th-c, Social Darwinist ideas were influential, maintaining that \JAborigines\j were an inferior race incapable of self-management and destined to die out. In \JVan Diemen's Land\j (\JTasmania\j) the government removed the last survivors of massacre and disease to Flinders I in the late 1820s; the last full-blooded Aborigine, Truganini, died there in 1876.
A community of people with mixed descent remains in \JTasmania\j. Elsewhere in \JAustralia\j, strenuous efforts were made to confine them to government reserves or Christian missions.
Aborigines have not accepted their lot passively. In the 1950s they began moving into the cities of south-east \JAustralia\j and formed advancement groups; but it was not until the mid-1960s that activism became prominent. In 1965 Charles Perkins (1936-) became the first Aboriginal university graduate, and helped organize 'freedom rides' in \JNew South Wales\j to protest against discrimination.
In 1967 90..8% of Australian voters approved a referendum which granted the federal government the power to count \JAborigines\j in the \Jcensus\j and to make laws on their behalf, thus enabling them to be provided with official assistance. Although their condition has since improved significantly, they remain the most disadvantaged group in Australian society. Their disadvantages were the basis for a campaign, begun in 1972, for 'land rights'.
Opposition to their claims has come from mining and pastoral interests, and from conservative governments, particularly in \JQueensland\j. Nevertheless by the mid-1980s \JAborigines\j had gained freehold title to about 6% of \JAustralia\j (mostly in the N and C), and were in the process of being granted further areas. The landmark \IMabo\i decision in the Australian High Court recognized, for the first time, that Aboriginal people had rights to land in \Jcommon law\j based on prior occupancy of the continent.
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"abortion",112,0,0,0
EN The spontaneous or induced termination of \Jpregnancy\j before the fetus is viable. In the UK and for legal purposes, this is taken to be the 24th week, although some fetuses expelled before then may survive. In the USA and in some European countries, the time limit may be set some weeks earlier.
There is no consensus on the matter in the USA, but the Supreme Court decision in \IRoe\i v. \IWade\i (1973) made abortions legal during the first six months of \Jpregnancy\j. Spontaneous \Jabortion\j \I(miscarriage)\i occurs in about 20% of apparently normal pregnancies, and may not be recognized. It may arise from defects in the products of conception, in the uterus and placenta, or in the maternal environment, such as maternal illness. \JAbortion\j can be induced by the use of drugs (recently especially prostaglandins and mitepristone) and by surgery.
Unless permitted by the \JAbortion\j Acts, induced \Jabortion\j is a criminal offence in the UK. The moral issues surrounding \Jabortion\j have received increasing publicity in the 1990s, with conflict between extremists from 'pro-life' (anti-abortion) and 'right-to-choose' (pro-abortion) groups leading to violent confrontation, especially in the USA.
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#
"Aboukir Bay, Battle of (Aug 1798)",113,0,0,0
EN (Aug 1798) A naval battle during the War of the Second Coalition, in which Nelson destroyed the French fleet under Brueys off the coast of \JEgypt\j; also known as the \BBattle of the Nile.\b This victory forced Napoleon to abandon his Egyptian campaign, aimed at threatening British territory in India, and return to \JFrance\j.
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#
"Aboukir Bay, Battle of (July 1799)",114,0,0,0
EN (July 1799) The last French victory of the Egyptian campaign, in which Napoleon's Army of \JEgypt\j captured Aboukir citadel, north-east of Alexandria, defeating an Ottoman Turkish force over twice the size, led by Mustafa Pasha; also known as the \BBattle of Aboukir.\b
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"Abrabanel",115,0,0,0
EN See Abarbanel, Isaac ben Jehudah
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#
"Abraham, Abram, or Ibrahiz",116,0,0,0
DT1a after
DT1 2000
DT1b BC
EN Revered in the \JHebrew\j \JBible\j as the father of the \JHebrew\j people and of several other nations. According to \IGenesis\i he came from the Sumerian town of Ur ('Ur of the Chaldees') in modern \JIraq\j, and migrated with his family and flocks to the 'Promised Land' of Canaan, where he settled at Shechem (modern Nablus).
He lived to be 175 years old, and was buried with his first wife Sarah in \JHebron\j. By Sarah he was the father of Isaac (whom he was prepared to sacrifice at Moriah at the command of the Lord, as a test of his faith); by Sarah's Egyptian maid, \JHagar\j, he was the father of Ishmael, the ancestor of twelve clans; by his third wife Keturah he had six sons who became the ancestors of the Arab tribes. He is traditionally regarded as the father of \JJudaism\j, \JChristianity\j, and \JIslam\j. \I(Gen\i 22).
MEX \JHagar\j; Ishmael
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"Abraham, Plains / Heights of",117,0,0,0
EN The site of a battle (1759), Quebec City, Canada, in which British forces under Wolfe defeated French, Amerindian, and Canadian forces under Montcalm and Vaudreuil, and gained control over Quebec. Wolfe and Montcalm were both killed in the battle.
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"Abraham, Sir Edward (Penley)",118,0,0,0
DT1 1913
EN Biochemist, born in \JSouthampton\j, Hampshire, S England, UK. He studied at Oxford, where he became professor of chemical \Jpathology\j (1964--80). He had a major role in early studies of the penicillins, and especially of the cephalosporin \Jantibiotics\j.
BK Biog99
#
"Abraham, William",119,0,0,0
HS , nickname \BMabon\b
DT1 1842
DT2 1922
EN Trade unionist and politician, born in Cwmavon, \JGwent\j. A leading figure in the miners' union in South Wales, he was a strong advocate of sliding-scale agreements whereby wages were regulated by the selling price of \Jcoal\j, and also a believer in compromise with the \Jcoal\j owners. He was elected MP for the Rhondda (1885-1918) and for the West Rhondda division (1918-20), and devoted himself to mining legislation.
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"Abrahams, Peter",120,0,0,0
DT1 1919
EN Novelist, born in Vrededorp, South Africa. Most of his work was produced in exile. The impoverished township where he was born is vividly recreated in a memoir, \ITell Freedom\i (1954). His third novel, \IMine Boy\i (1946), won critical notice.
His mature work produced novels which dealt mainly with the political struggles of black people, such as \IA Wreath for Udomo\i (1956), \IA Night of their Own\i (1965), \IThis Island Now\i (1966), and \IThe View from Coyaba\i (1985).
\BMajor Works\b
\INovels\i
1945 Song of the City
1946 Mine Boy
1948 The Path of Thunder
1950 Wild Conquest
1954 Tell Freedom: Memories of Africa (semi-autobiographical)
1956 A Wreath for Udomo
1965 A Night of Their Own
1966 This Island Now
1985 The View from Coyaba
\IStories\i
1942 Dark Testament
\IOther\i
1953 Return to Goli
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#
"Abram",121,0,0,0
EN See Abraham, Abram, or Ibrahiz
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#
"Abrams, Creighton Williams",122,0,0,0
DT (1914-74)
EN soldier; born in Springfield, Mass. The son of a railroad repairman, he graduated (1936) in the bottom third of his West Point class but became one of the boldest junior armored commanders of World War II. His tank unit played an important role in the relief of Bastogne, \JBelgium\j, during the Battle of the Bulge.
In 1962, during racial unrest when James Meredith became the first black to enter the University of Mississippi, Abrams served as chief of staff of federal troops posted in Memphis, Tenn. Appointed to succeed William Westmoreland as U.S. commander in Vietnam in June 1968, he was effectively assigned to do little more than preside over the policy of "Vietnamization" that led to the gradual disengagement and eventual withdrawal of U.S. forces there.
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"abrasives",123,0,0,0
EN Hard, rough, or sharp textured materials used to wear down, rub, or polish materials which are less hard, as in the traditional grindstone or whetstone. Naturally occurring abrasive substances include various forms of \Jsilica\j (sand, \Jquartz\j, or flint), \Jpumice\j, and emery (an \Jaluminium\j oxide mineral). Artificial \Jabrasives\j include silicon carbide, synthetic diamond, and \Jboron\j carbide. They can be used as powders or incorporated in hand or machine tools.
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"Abravanel",124,0,0,0
EN See Abarbanel, Isaac ben Jehudah
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#
"Abravanel, Maurice",125,0,0,0
DT (1903-93)
EN conductor; born in Saloniki, \JGreece\j. After conducting in Europe and at the Metropolitan Opera (1936-38), he began a brilliant tenure with the \JUtah\j Symphony (1947-79), where he became known for performing works of American and other contemporary composers.
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"Abruzzi or Abruzzo",126,0,0,0
PN [a\Bbrut\bsee]
EN pop (1995e) 1 254 000; area 10 794 sq km/4152 sq mi. Region in EC \JItaly\j, between the \JApennines\j and the Adriatic Sea, in the valley of the upper Sangro; \Jcereals\j, chemicals, foodstuffs processing, fishing, tanning, tourism, textiles, winter sports; resort village of Pescasseroli; national park (400 sq km/150 sq mi) in the S, established in 1922.
BK Geog99
#
"Absalom",127,0,0,0
PN [\Bab\bsalom]
DT1 11
DT1b th-c BC
EN Third and favourite son of King David of Israel in the \JOld Testament\j. A handsome, vain young man, he rebelled against his father and drove him from \JJerusalem\j, but in an ensuing battle he was killed by Joab.
MEX David
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"Absalon or Axel",128,0,0,0
PN [\Bab\bsalon]
DT1 1128
DT2 1201
EN Danish clergyman and statesman, the founder of the city of \JCopenhagen\j. The foster-brother of \BValdemar I\b (1131-82), he was appointed Bishop of Roskilde (1158), and elected \JArchbishop\j of Lund (1177). As chief minister to Valdemar he led an army against the Wends in 1169, and extended Danish territories in the Baltic. In 1169 he built a fortress at Havn which became the nucleus of \JCopenhagen\j.
MEX Saxo Grammaticus
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"abscess",129,0,0,0
EN A localized collection of pus in an organ or tissue, surrounded by an inflammatory reaction which forms a well-defined wall (an \Jabscess\j cavity). It is commonly due to infection with pus-forming \I(pyogenic)\i \Jbacteria\j, but occasionally a foreign body is responsible.
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"abscissa",130,0,0,0
In \Jmathematics\j, the abscissa is the x-axis of a graph, while the y-axis is called the ordinate. The word is related to abscission layer because an abscissa was originally a section of a line which was cut off. The abscissa is at right angles to the ordinate.
A handy mnemonic to recall which is which of abscissa and ordinate is to think of them as the \Iabxissa\i and the \Iyordinate.\i
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
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"abscission layer",131,0,0,0
When deciduous plants lose their leaves, a number of changes take place in the cells of the leaf, mainly involving the transfer of valuable minerals from the leaf before it is lost. The break in the leaf's petiole, when it comes, happens at the abscission zone. This is a layer of cells which may be laid down early in the leaf's formation, or just before it drops.
The layer is made of parenchyma cells which are often smaller than usual, and which may lack the lignin that is found in most of the other nearby cells. The abscission zone is a protective layer, preventing \Jwater\j loss or microbial attack after the leaf has fallen.
Abscission is less common in annual plants, which die rather than shed their leaves, but abscission also turns up when plants shed their seeds, and petals are commonly abscised after \Jpollination\j has taken place.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
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"Abse, Dannie",132,0,0,0
PN [\Bab\bsee]
DT1 1923
EN Writer and physician, born in \JCardiff\j, S Wales, UK. He studied at the Welsh National School of Medicine, King's College London, and Westminster Hospital, becoming senior specialist in the chest clinic at the Central Medical Establishment, London, in 1954.
His literary output includes several volumes of poetry, two novels, and a number of plays. His autobiographical volumes are \IA Poet in the Family\i (1974), \IA Strong Dose of Myself\i (1983), \IThere was a Young Man from Cardiff\i (1991), and the novel \IAsh on a Young Man's Sleeve\i (1954).
\BMajor Works\b
\IPoetry\i
1948 After Every Green Thing
1952 Walking Under Water
1957 Tenants of the House
1962 Poems, Golders Green
1968 A Small Desperation
1973 Funland and Other Poems
1981 Way Out in the Centre
1970 Selected Poems
1977 Collected Poems 1948-76
1989 White Coat, Purple Coat: Collected Poems 1948-88
\INovels\i
1954 Ash on a Young Man's Sleeve
1956 Some Corner of an English Field
1970 O. Jones, O. Jones
\IPlays\i
1956 Fire in Heaven
1961 The Eccentric
1967 Three Questor Plays
1972 The Dogs of Pavlov
1979 Pythagoras
\IAutobiography\i
1956 Some Corner of an English Field
1974 A Poet in the Family
1983 A Strong Dose of Myself
1991 There Was a Young Man from Cardiff
\IEditor\i
1983 Wales in Verse (anthology)
1984 Doctors and Patients (anthology)
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#
"absolute humidity",133,0,0,0
For most purposes, where we are more interested in the drying effects of air, the relative \Jhumidity\j is the most relevant concern, because this tells us how much \Jwater\j is present, as a fraction of the maximum possible. The absolute \Jhumidity\j measures how much \Jwater\j is actually present in a certain amount of air, and is usually measured in grams of \Jwater\j per cubic metre, although it may also be explained as the vapour pressure exerted by the \Jwater\j in the air.
As air becomes warmer, it is able to carry more \Jwater\j vapour, as shown in this table, where the pressure values are given in both mm of mercury and millibars, while the \Jwater\j mass is given in grams per cubic metre. At each \Jtemperature\j, the air is at 100% relative \Jhumidity\j.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
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#
"absolute liability",134,0,0,0
EN See strict liability
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"absolute magnitude",135,0,0,0
A bright star which is a long way off can easily look less bright than a dim star which is close to us here on \Jearth\j. This difference is the relative \Jmagnitude\j, which is important in navigation, but absolute \Jmagnitude\j is a much more useful measure when you are trying to map the galaxy or work out how the main sequence stars develop.
Star magnitudes are like golf scores, where the best numbers are the smallest. Our own \Jsun\j, for example, has a relative magnitude of -26.7 on the standard scale. The idea of absolute magnitude was first put forward by Ejnar Hertzsprung (1873 - 1967), who gave his name to the \JHertzsprung-Russell diagram\j.
In the table, a number of the nearest and brightest stars are listed: as you can see, some of them do not fit into both categories. The brightness of a star as we see it on \Jearth\j depends in part on the inverse square law, which says that the brightness of a glowing object is reduced to a quarter when the distance is doubled. But if we are going to estimate the absolute magnitudes of stars, we need to know how far away they are, so we can apply that law.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
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#
"absolute temperature",136,0,0,0
This term is commonly used to refer to what is more correctly called the Kelvin \Jtemperature\j scale, in which \Jtemperature\j is measured in kelvin. One kelvin represents the same \Jtemperature\j difference as one \JCelsius\j degree, but the zero point on the scale is \Jabsolute zero\j, the \Jtemperature\j at which all movement and all vibration has ceased. A \JCelsius\j \Jtemperature\j may be converted to an absolute \Jtemperature\j by the addition of 273.15 to the \JCelsius\j value.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
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#
"absolute zero",137,0,0,0
EN The \Jtemperature\j of a system for which a reversible isothermal process involves no heat transfer. It represents the state of lowest possible total \Jenergy\j of a system, and is denoted by 0┐K (-273..15░C). It is unattainable, according to the third law of \Jthermodynamics\j.
\BMore information provided by Webster Publishing\b
Absolute zero is the \Jtemperature\j at which molecules cease to have any rotational, translational or vibrational movement: they do not turn, they do not move sideways, and they do not vibrate in any way.
The existence of an \Jabsolute zero\j can be inferred from the way in which most gases contract by 1/273 of their volume at 0░C for each drop in the \Jtemperature\j by one degree \JCelsius\j. On this basis, an \Jideal gas\j will have zero volume at -273░C. In reality, no gas is ideal, and all gases have liquefied, and then solidified, before they reach this \Jtemperature\j, and so they retain a finite volume, even at \Jabsolute zero\j.
But even if gases did behave in an ideal way, there was an obvious contradiction, since below 0K, a gas sample would have a negative volume, and this led to the belief that there must be such a limiting \Jtemperature\j. This idealised relationship is usually referred to either as Charles's Law or as Gay-Lussac's Law, depending on which of these worthies is favoured by the writer.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
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"absolution",138,0,0,0
EN A declaration of forgiveness of sins. In Christian worship, it is understood as God's gracious work in Jesus Christ, pronounced by a priest or minister either in private after confession or as part of the \Jliturgy\j in public worship.
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"absolutism",139,0,0,0
EN A theory of kingship elaborated and practised in early modern Europe, associated notably with \JLouis XIV\j of \JFrance\j; sometimes equated loosely with systems of government in which one person exercises unlimited power. Absolute power was justified by the belief that monarchs were God's representatives on Earth.
Armed with this notion of Divine Right, kings were owed unquestioning obedience by their subjects; as a corollary, the powers of hereditary monarchs were tempered by concepts of fundamental law and responsibility to their subjects and to God.
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"absorbed dose",140,0,0,0
EN See \Jradioactivity\j units
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"absorption spectrum",141,0,0,0
The emission spectrum of an element depends on \Iexcited electrons,\i electrons which gain \Jenergy\j, and move into higher orbitals around a nucleus. As there are only a limited number of orbitals, each associated with a particular \Jenergy\j state, when an \Jelectron\j drops down into a lower orbital again, a certain amount of \Jenergy\j is emitted, equal to the difference in \Jenergy\j between the two orbitals.
This \Jenergy\j is emitted in the electromagnetic spectrum, often in the visible region that we see as light-a typical example is the "sodium flame" that we see when salt or glass (both sodium compounds) are heated in a gas flame, or in a "sodium lamp".
In a reverse operation, when white light shines through a group of atoms, some quanta of light which have just the right amount of \Jenergy\j, will be absorbed by atoms, with the \Jenergy\j being used to "promote" an \Jelectron\j into a higher orbital.
This jump will often involve "promotion" up through several orbitals, while the \Jelectron\j later drops back down by smaller stages, emitting quanta with other wave lengths, so the specific colour of light absorbed in the first place will never be seen, even with a delay, when the absorbed \Jenergy\j is released again. When light which has passed through a \Jcloud\j of atoms or ions is examined, the spectrum will show black lines at all those wave-lengths where light has been absorbed. The same thing applies to light which has come from a star, as the atoms in the star's outer layers will absorb light quite effectively.
This is extremely important in \Jastronomy\j, where the absorption spectrum gives us wonderful clues about the speed at which a body is travelling towards us or away from us. As a body moves towards us, there is a form of the Doppler effect known as a blue shift, and as it moves away, there is a red shift. These shifts cannot be measured just by looking at the light itself, as all frequencies move equally, but the absorption lines also move.
This is the theoretical basis of the work which has recently allowed Hubble Space \JTelescope\j scientists to take the spectra of stars more than fifty light years away, and to detect the local gravitational and tidal effects of orbiting planets, as seen in the absorption spectra of those stars.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
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#
"abstract art",142,0,0,0
EN A form of art in which there is no attempt to represent objects or persons, but which relies instead on lines, colours, and shapes alone for its aesthetic appeal. It seems to have emerged c.1910, and was partly a reaction against 19th-c Realism and Impressionism. Early abstract artists include Kandinsky, Mir≤, Pevsner, and Brancusi. Stylistically, abstract art ranges from the 'geometrical' (Mondrian, \IDe Stijl,\i Constructivism) to the 'organic' (Arp, Moore).
More recent developments include action painting and Op Art. Historically, abstract tendencies have been present in one form or another in most cultures. Two trends should be distinguished: (a) the simplification, distortion, or reduction of natural appearances, characteristic not only of \JCubism\j, \JExpressionism\j, and many other kinds of \Jmodern art\j, but present too in much figurative art in earlier periods (such as \JMannerism\j), which always has its starting-point in objective reality; and (b) the total rejection - in theory, at least - of any dependence on natural appearances.
Such works establish their own 'reality' and are intended to appeal in their own right. Only the latter should, strictly speaking, be called 'abstract', but the term is often used imprecisely to cover a wide range of 20th-c art.
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"abstract expressionism",143,0,0,0
EN See action painting
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#
"absurd, theatre of the",144,0,0,0
EN see theatre of the absurd
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#
"absurdism",145,0,0,0
EN The expression in art of the meaninglessness of human existence. It is explored in Camus' \ILe Mythe de Sysiphe\i (1942, The Myth of Sisyphus), where human efforts are seen as pointless but compulsory. Its potential for comedy and terror has been exploited especially in the theatre \B(Theatre of the Absurd),\b as in the plays of Ionesco, Beckett, and Pinter.
BK a
#
"Abu al-Faraj",146,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bboo alfa\Braj\b]
HS , also known as \BBar-Hebraeus\b
DT1 1226
DT2 86
EN Syrian historian, born in Armenia. A master of \JSyriac\j, Arabic, and Greek, he was equally learned in philosophy, \Jtheology\j, and medicine. At the age of 20, he was made a bishop, and as Bishop of \JAleppo\j rose to the second highest dignity among the Eastern Jacobite (Monophysite) Christians.
SX m
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#
"Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani",147,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bboo alfa\Braj\b alisfa\Bhah\bnee]
DT1 897
DT2 967
EN Arabic scholar and literary historian, born in \JBaghdad\j. His greatest work, \IAl-Aghani,\i is a treasury of Arabic song and poetry.
SX m
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#
"Abu al-Hassan ibn al Haytham",148,0,0,0
EN See Alhazen
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#
"Abu Dhabi or Abu Zabi",149,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bboo \Bda\bbee]
EN pop (1995e) 883 000; area c.67 600 sq km/26 000 sq mi. Largest of the seven member states of the United Arab Emirates; capital Abu Dhabi, pop (1995e) 359 000; main oasis settlement, al-Ayn; vast areas of desert and salt flats; coastline 400 km/250 mi; a major oil region; petrochemical and gas liquefaction industry at Das I; power and \Jdesalination\j complex at Taweelah.
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"Ab√ MΓdε, IlyΓ",150,0,0,0
DT (?1890-1957)
EN poet; born in \JLebanon\j. He moved to \JEgypt\j where he worked as a tobacconist, then emigrated to the U.S.A. (1911). He published several books, notably \IAl-Jadowil,\i ("\IThe Brooks\i "), (1925). Largely self-taught, he set up a biweekly literary review, \Ial-Samir,\i in New York City (1929). It became a daily in 1936 and he edited it until his death. He was known as a romantic poet, a poet of moods.
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#
"Abu Mashar",151,0,0,0
EN See Albumazar or Abu-Mashar
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#
"Abu Mena",152,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bboo \Bmen\ba]
EN A site at Bumma, north-west \JEgypt\j, sacred to the 3rd-c AD martyr Abu Mena (St Menas). Many miracles were associated with his burial place, which was a centre of pilgrimage for almost 400 years. The ruins of the early 5th-c \Jbasilica\j erected here by Emperor Arcadius are a world heritage site.
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"Abu Nasr al-Farabi",153,0,0,0
EN See al-Farabi, Mohammed
BK bg a
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#
"Abu Nuwas",154,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bboo \Bnoo\bwas]
DT1a c.
DT1 760
DT2a c.
DT2 815
EN Poet, considered one of the greatest poets of the Abbasid period. He abandoned older, traditional forms for erotic and witty lyrics. He was a favourite at the court in \JBaghdad\j, and figures in the \IArabian Nights.\i
MEX \JAbbas\j
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Abu Simbel",155,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bboo \Bsim\bbel]
EN 22░22N 31░38E. The site of two huge \Jsandstone\j temples carved by Pharaoh Rameses II (c.1304-1273 BC) out of the Nile bank near \JAswan\j; now a world heritage site. They were dismantled and relocated in the 1960s when the rising waters of the newly-constructed \JAswan\j High Dam threatened their safety.
BK a
#
"Abu Tammam, Habib ibn Aus",156,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bboo \Bta\bmam]
DT1 807
DT2a c.
DT2 850
EN Poet, born near Damascus, \JSyria\j. He travelled extensively, and on one of his journeys discovered a private library of desert poetry at Hamadhan. From this he compiled a celebrated anthology of early Arab poetry, the \IHamasu.\i
SX m
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#
"Abu Zabi",157,0,0,0
EN See Abu Dhabi or Abu Zabi
BK a
XCY y
#
"Abu-Bakr or Abu-Bekr",158,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bboo \Bba\bker]
DT1a c.
DT1 573
DT2 634
EN The first Muslim caliph, one of the earliest converts to \JIslam\j, born in Mecca. He became chief adviser to Mohammed, who married his daughter A∩shah, and on the death of the \Jprophet\j was elected leader of the Muslim community (632). In his short reign he put down a religious and political revolt, and set in motion the great wave of Arab conquests over \JPersia\j, \JIraq\j, and the \JMiddle East\j.
MEX A∩shah; Mohammed
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Abu-Bekr",159,0,0,0
EN See Abu-Bakr or Abu-Bekr
BK bg a
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#
"Abuja",160,0,0,0
PN [a\Bboo\bja]
EN 9░05N 7░30E, pop (1995e) 412 000. New capital (from 1991) of \JNigeria\j, in Federal Capital Territory, C \JNigeria\j; planned in 1976, to relieve pressure on the \Jinfrastructure\j of Lagos; under construction at the geographical centre of the country; government offices began moving from Lagos in the 1980s.
BK Geog99
#
"abulia",161,0,0,0
EN A lack of drive or inability to make decisions or to translate decisions into action. The term was considered a cardinal feature of \Jschizophrenia\j by early psychiatrists, and can be paraphrased as 'the spirit is willing but the \Jenergy\j for action is lacking'.
BK a
#
"abundance",162,0,0,0
(1) The term used in ecological studies to describe the numbers of a particular species in an \Jecosystem\j. With large animals, it may be expressed in animals per hectare or square \Jkilometre\j. With \Jbacteria\j, it is more likely to be expressed as organisms per millilitre of fluid.
The methods used to assess abundance will depend on the organism, but must avoid any possibility of sampling bias. This generally means starting from a point selected on a map, or randomly selected at the site, and then proceeding in a pre-determined \Jstraight line\j, so that the sample collectors are not tempted to stray into or out of certain areas.
Large animals living on plains or open ground are generally assessed from the air, with an aeroplane flying over the area at a fixed height, while a trained observer counting every animal which is seen inside two markers on the plane. Typically, these markers, at the chosen height, define a strip which is 200, 500 or 1000 metres wide, so that the sampled area is a belt transect. If the length of the transect is measured, the observer immediately has an estimate of abundance in numbers per unit of area.
Plants and slow-moving animals are often more easily assessed with a ground-based study. A belt transect may be carried out by walking over the ground, counts all specimens which fall within a fixed distance of the pre-determined line. Small plants and sessile animals are often estimated by laying down a quadrat, a square frame, and counting the numbers which fall inside the area of the frame.
Quadrats must also be applied to the sampled area in a random way, and it is usual to take a number of samples with averaging, or sometimes the elimination of the highest and lowest counts, followed by averaging of the remainder.
(2)The term is also found used, generally as "natural abundance" when referring to the amounts of one or another of the \Jisotopes\j of an element (particularly an element which is radioactive) which are found in natural conditions. Such abundances are usually given in percentages.
The abundances of different \Jisotopes\j in a radioactive decay series is important in \Jgeology\j, as it can often give a good indication of the age of a mineral sample.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
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#
"abuse of process",163,0,0,0
EN The unjust or improper use of a legal proceeding. In civil law, it refers to the bringing of a suit where there is no reasonable chance of success, or for such reasons as to burden the defendant with an onerous lawsuit. In criminal law, abuse of process covers a wide range of conduct. It most often involves deliberate and sometimes negligent delays in prosecution, so that the defence has an unrealistic chance of obtaining evidence to establish innocence.
It may also involve a further prosecution on slightly altered charges after an acquittal, in order to harass the defendant. When the conduct gives rise to genuine unfairness or \Jprejudice\j to the preparation or conduct of the defence, a resulting conviction may be overturned.
BK a
#
"abyssal hills",164,0,0,0
EN Low hills which occur on the deep sea floor. Large areas of the Atlantic and Indian Ocean floors and more than three-quarters of the Pacific floor are covered by these hills, no higher than about 1000┐m / 3000┐ft. They tend to occur as series of parallel ridges 1-10┐km / 1/2-6┐mi across, and represent the rugged \Jtopography\j of mid-ocean ridges subdued by burial beneath thick layers of sediments.
BK a
#
"abyssal plains",165,0,0,0
EN Extremely flat areas of the deep ocean floor which may extend for more than 1000┐km / 600┐mi. They typically have slopes less than 1:1000, and are found off continental margins where sediments can enter the deep sea unobstructed. They are common in the Atlantic and Indian oceans, but rare in the Pacific, where deep trenches and island arcs serve as barriers to the transport of sediment from the continents. Abyssal plains represent thick deposits of primarily land-derived sediments smoothing over more rugged topographic features of the sea floor.
BK a
#
"Abyssinia",166,0,0,0
EN See \JEthiopia\j
BK a
XCY y
#
"Abyssinian cat",167,0,0,0
EN A breed of domestic cat, popular in the USA (known as the \Bforeign short-haired); \b reddish-brown, each hair with several dark bands; orange-red nose; two types: \BAbyssinian\b \B(standard Abyssinian\b or \Bruddy Abyssinian)\b and the redder \Bred Abyssinian.\b
EN Feminist, lawyer, and politician, born in New York City, USA. She studied at Hunter College and Columbia University, and practised as a lawyer in New York City. A prominent peace campaigner, she founded Women Strike for Peace (1961) and the National Women's Political \JCaucus\j. Winning a seat in Congress (1971), she was a vigorous champion of welfare issues.
BK Biog99
#
"acacia",169,0,0,0
EN See wattle
BK a
XCY y
#
"AcadΘmie Francaise",170,0,0,0
EN See academy
BK a
XCY y
#
"Academus",171,0,0,0
EN See academy
BK bg a
XCY y az
#
"academy",172,0,0,0
EN A place of learning or association formed for scientific, literary, artistic, or musical purposes, the word deriving from the Greek hero \IAcademus,\i who gave his name to the olive grove where \JPlato\j taught (387 BC). From the Renaissance the term was applied in Europe to institutions of higher learning (eg the \IAccademia della Crusca,\i 1587) and advanced teaching (until the term 'university' became widespread in the 18th-c).
It was also used to describe societies of distinguished figures and experts in the arts and sciences (eg the \IAcadΘmie Francaise,\i 1634). Since the 19th-c, the term has been used in many countries for national centres to promote science, literature, and the arts.
BK a
#
"Academy Award",173,0,0,0
EN See Academy; 23815 Oscar
BK a
XCY y
#
"Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences",174,0,0,0
EN An American academy widely known since 1927 for its annual awards for creative merit and craftsmanship in film production. It has been influential in establishing technical standards.
The awards are announced in a widely publicized ceremony in March, and deal with a wide range of categories, including awards of merit for technical achievement in film science and \Jengineering\j, and special awards to individuals whose contribution to cinema has been preeminent.
The categories include:
Best Actor (Leading Role)
Best Actor (Supporting Role)
Best Actress (Leading Role)
Best Actress (Supporting Role)
Best Picture
Best Foreign Language Film
Best Achievement in Animated Short Films
Best Achievement in Art Direction
Best Achievement in \JCinematography\j
Best Achievement in Costume Design
Best Achievement in Directing
Best Achievement in Documentary Features
Best Achievement in Documentary Short Subjects
Best Achievement in Film Editing
Best Achievement in Live Action Short Films
Best Achievement in Makeup
Best Achievement in Music (Original Score)
Best Achievement in Music (Original Song)
Best Achievement in Sound
Best Achievement in Sound Effects Editing
Best Achievement in Visual Effects
Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
Best Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published
BK a
#
"Acadia",175,0,0,0
PN [a\Bkay\bdia]
EN Part of \JFrance\j's American empire; what is today Prince Edward Island, \JNova Scotia\j, and New \JBrunswick\j, Canada. The first settlement was established at Port Royal in 1605 by Champlain, and the area was exchanged between \JFrance\j and England until the Treaty of \JUtrecht\j (1713) handed most of \JAcadia\j to Britain. In 1755, 10┐000 Acadians were evicted from the territory by the British for resolving to pursue a policy of \Jneutrality\j in the conflicts between \JFrance\j and Britain. The last French stronghold, Louisbourg, fell in 1758.
BK a
#
"acanthus",176,0,0,0
PN [a\Bkan\bthuhs]
EN A plant with thick, prickly leaves \I(Acanthus spinosus),\i stylized representations of which are often used to decorate mouldings or carved parts of a building. It was first used by the Greeks in the 5th-c BC, especially on the capitals of Corinthian columns. In recent centuries it is often found in carved furniture decoration. \B(Family:\b Acanthaceae.)
BK a
#
"Acapulco",177,0,0,0
PN [aka\Bpul\bkoh]
EN 6░51N 99░56W, pop (1995e) 657 000. Port and resort town in Guerrero state, S Mexico; on the \JPacific Ocean\j, 310 km/193 mi SW of \JMexico City\j; airfield; leading Mexican tourist resort ("the Mexican Riviera'); Fort \JSan Diego\j; badly damaged by hurricane Pauline in 1997.
BK Geog99
#
"Acari",178,0,0,0
PN [\Bak\bariy]
EN See mite
BK a
XCY y
#
"ACAS",179,0,0,0
PN [\Bay\bkas]
EN \JAcronym\j for \BAdvisory, Conciliation and \JArbitration\j Service,\b a UK body set up under the Employment Protection Act (1975) under the management of a council appointed by the \Jsecretary of state\j for employment. Its function is to provide facilities for conciliation, \Jarbitration\j, and mediation in industrial disputes.
BK a
#
"Accademia della Crusca",180,0,0,0
EN See academy
BK a
XCY y
#
"acceleration",181,0,0,0
EN For linear motion, the rate of change of velocity with time; equals force divided by mass; symbol \Ia,\i units m / s\U2\u; a vector quantity. For rotational motion, the rate of change of angular velocity with time; equals \Jtorque\j divided by moment of \Jinertia\j; angular acceleration symbol \fa\n, units radians / s\U2\u; a vector quantity.
\BMore information provided by Webster Publishing\b
Acceleration can mean a change in either speed, or direction, or both, and is defined as something which happens when a force acts on a mass. On this definition, a \Jsatellite\j moving in a regular 24 hour \Jorbit\j around the \Jearth\j, is said to be accelerating, even though it appears to be staying in one place.
This is just one of many examples of the way in which scientific understanding appears to be contrary to "common sense", but when Sir Isaac Newton "discovered gravity", the role of the legendary apple in his thinking was to make him wonder why the moon stayed in the sky when it was affected by the same gravitational pull as the apple.
Once Newton realised that a moving object would keep moving in a \Jstraight line\j, unless a force acted on it, and once he realised that circular motion could only happen if a force kept pulling on the orbiting object to keep it circling, the rest was easy.
(This is a bit like the "Columbus trick" of standing an egg on its end -- people are supposed to have told Columbus he had achieved little, that anybody could have done what he did, so he challenged them to stand an egg on end. When they failed, the legend tells us he struck the blunt end a quick blow on the table, cracking the shell inwards and making a flat surface on which the egg could stand. "That's easy," they said, to which Columbus supposedly said "It is now". Newton's trick in recognising that the moon was falling is in the same area of ease -- easy once somebody had done it.)
Acceleration is measured in terms of the change from one time unit to the next, so if an object is travelling at 30 metres per second, and a second later, is travelling at 35 metres per second, we say it is accelerating at 5 metres per second per second. If the force keeps acting in the same way (as a gravitational pull does), then we can predict that after a further nine seconds, the object will have accelerated to 80 metres/second. This sort of acceleration is called uniformly accelerated motion.
The beauty of this sort of calculation is that we can use it to calculate when a cannon ball will reach the highest point in its climb, before it starts to fall to \Jearth\j again, provided we know how fast it is travelling, the direction it is travelling in, and the acceleration due to gravity at that point. All that we have to do is remember that gravity is a vector quantity, so it has direction, and can produce either negative or positive acceleration, depending on whether the cannon ball is still going up, or whether it has started to fall back towards the ground.
(Throughout science, scientists have been able to get funding for their work by suggesting war-like uses for their inventions. \JGalileo\j Galilei suggested that the \Jtelescope\j would be useful in identifying ships while they were a long way off a port that they were attacking. "Gunnery tables" were one of the needs which drove the development of computers during World War II. So in the Renaissance, when physicists were able to explain the flight of a cannon-ball, the way was set to produce tables which would tell ignorant soldiers the angle and \Jgunpowder\j load needed to hit a target, and they were on a winner, so far as funding was concerned.)
Altogether, there are seven variables which can be measured or calculated about an accelerating or moving mass. These are the rate of acceleration (a), the force acting on the body (F, measured in newtons), the mass of the body (m, measured in kilograms), the time period under study (t, measured in seconds), the distance travelled during that time (s, measured in metres), the velocity at the start of the time (u, measured in metres per second or ms-1), and the velocity at the end of the time (v, also measured in metres per second or ms-1). These variables are linked together by these equations:
F = ma
v\U2\u = u\U2\u + 2as
v = u + at
s = ut + 1/2at\U2\u
Depending on the values which have been measured, the equations can be manipulated, according to the usual rules of \Jalgebra\j, so other values may be calculated, but all of these rely on the requirement that acceleration is uniform, which in turn requires that the force is constant.
The idea of acceleration comes to us from \JGalileo\j Galilei, who was probably the first to realise that it would be easier to time objects sliding down a slope than it was to time objects falling directly down. This, together with the primitive timing devices which he and his colleagues made, allowed \JGalileo\j to see clearly, for the first time, what acceleration really was.
Galileo used slow objects because he lacked any effective timing devices. If the shortest unit of time that you can estimate is a second, this makes it very hard to observe and measure any acceleration. He recognised that a sliding or rolling object is still subject to the same force, but in smaller amounts over a longer period of time. He also realised that the final speed at the bottom would be the same, whether it was achieved directly through a simple drop, or indirectly after running down a long ramp, the sort of ramp that physicists call an inclined plane.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
BK a
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"acceleration due to gravity",182,0,0,0
The gravity pull of the \Jearth\j is not uniform all over the world. In general, it is smallest at the equator, and it is greater at sea level than at a higher altitude. Another factor which plays a part is the mean density of the rocks closest to the point where the acceleration due to gravity is being measured.
The total pull is the sum of all of the small pulls, and close to a large mountain range, the principle of \Jisostasy\j ensures that the rock beneath the surface is less dense. In addition, the mass of rock above the \Jearth\j's surface in the nearby mountain actually produces a measurable upward component in the force due to gravity.
In the table shown, the American locations are all at close to the same latitude, while varying in altitude, the other locations have values given for sea level. All are actual measurements, with the exception of the \JNorth Pole\j value, which has been calculated from known data.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
BK Webster
#
"accent",183,0,0,0
EN The emphasis on a syllable in speech, resulting from a combination of loudness, pitch, and duration; also known as \Baccentuation,\b and sometimes referred to as \Bstress.\b It can be clearly heard in the contrast between the two forms of \I\Bpres\bent\i (noun), \Ipre\Bsent\b\i (verb). A similar notion is found in music, where a particular note or beat can be given extra emphasis.
BK a
#
"accent (regional)",184,0,0,0
EN The features of pronunciation which mark a speaker's regional background or social class. Accent is to be distinguished from \Jdialect\j, which involves the study of other linguistic features, such as grammar and vocabulary.
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#
"accentor",185,0,0,0
EN A \Jsparrow\j-like bird native to N Africa, Europe, and Asia; brownish-grey to chestnut above, often streaked; grey beneath; feeds on ground; eats insects in summer, seeds in winter. \B(Genus:\b \IPrunella,\i 12 species. \BFamily:\b \JPrunellidae\j.)
BK a
#
"accentuation",186,0,0,0
EN See accent
BK a
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#
"acceptance",187,0,0,0
EN The act of adding one's signature to a bill of exchange, thus accepting a liability to pay the bill at maturity if the original signatory fails to do so. If the acceptor is of high financial standing, such as a merchant bank, this makes the bill more marketable. The acceptor is taking the risk, and makes a charge for this. In the UK the top accepting houses form the Accepting Houses Committee.
BK a
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"accepting house",188,0,0,0
EN A merchant bank which buys ('accepts') three-month bills of exchange issued by companies. In the UK, the top accepting houses in London form the Accepting Houses Committee.
BK a
#
"Accepting Houses Committee",189,0,0,0
EN See accepting house
BK a
XCY y
#
"Accesi",190,0,0,0
EN Two Italian acting companies, of the commedia dell'arte. Both begun under the patronage of Vincenzo I Gonzaga, Duke of \JMantua\j, the first may have been founded around 1595, the other around 1600 by Tristano Martinelli and Pier Maria Cecchini. The troupe toured \JItaly\j and \JFrance\j and merged briefly with Giovan Battista Andreini's troupe, the Fedeli, before dissolving about 1626, at which time Silvio Fiorillo was the company's outstanding player in his role as Captain Matamoros.
BK Thea
#
"access",191,0,0,0
EN In law, a situation where custody of a child has been granted by a court to a parent or guardian following a divorce, a judicial separation, or the annulment of a marriage, and the non-custodial parent is given permission to be with the child. The court may permit the child to stay with the non-custodial parent on a regular basis or during the holidays, or may limit the non-custodial parent's access to visiting the child at his or her home.
Access may be refused if it is considered by the court not to be in the child's interests. Where a child is in the care of a local authority, both parents are normally permitted access, though in certain circumstances such access may be supervised.
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"access course",192,0,0,0
EN In the UK, a bridging course offered to would-be students not in possession of normal entry requirements which, on successful completion, will permit them to start the course of their choice. It is often provided specifically for students who have been prevented from obtaining formal qualifications, or who have been otherwise disadvantaged.
BK a
#
"access time",193,0,0,0
EN The length of time required to retrieve information from computer memory or other computer storage media, such as magnetic disks or tapes. Access times from integrated circuit memory are much shorter than those from magnetic disks.
BK a
#
"accessory",194,0,0,0
EN See \Jaccomplice\j
BK a
XCY y
#
"Accipitridae",195,0,0,0
EN \BEagles, hawks, vultures\b
Eagles and their kin (family \JAccipitridae\j, order Falconiformes) are frequently referred to as 'raptors' as a holdall term of convenience covering hawks, eagles, vultures, kites, and all other members of this large and varied cosmopolitan family of more than 200 species.
Some species are little bigger than thrushes, while others rival in size the largest of all flying birds. Most have exceptional powers of flight and sight, with strong hooked beaks and powerful, sharply-taloned feet. Most (but not all) hunt mainly by \Jday\j.
Females are usually larger than males-in some species nearly twice the size. Most are mainly black, brown, or gray in plumage, but polymorphism is widespread.
The raptors are so diverse as to defeat generalization, with many aberrant or specialized species, but five basic 'models' are widespread: kites, harriers, vultures, hawks, and eagles. One especially large and cosmopolitan group, the \Jgenus\j \IAccipiter\i with nearly 50 species, are specialized forest bird-catchers: they rely on stealth and sudden attack from cover, and they have short, rounded wings to maximize acceleration and long tails for maneuverability.
Typical members include the Northern Goshawk \IAccipiter gentilis\i of boreal forests across the Northern Hemisphere.
Vultures specialize in carrion, and scores of vultures of several species may congregate at a large carcass on the plains of Africa or India.
Many have specialist roles: the Lappet-faced Vulture \ITorgos tracheliotus,\i for example, eats mainly the skin, tendons, and other coarse tissue, leaving muscles and other soft parts to the Griffon vultures of the \Jgenus\j \IGyps; \i Hooded Vultures \INecrosyrtes monachus\i pick up the scraps, and Lammergeirs \IGypaetus barbatus\i tackle the large bones.
Many of the very large eagles (such as the Golden Eagle \IAquila chrysaetos\i of the Northern Hemisphere and the Wedge-tailed Eagle \IAquila audax\i of \JAustralia\j soar high over open country, relying on acute eyesight to locate small mammals on the ground. Members of the large and widespread \Jgenus\j \IButeo,\i as well as numerous snake-catchers, such as the Bateleur \ITerathopius ecaudatus\i of Africa, hunt in somewhat similar ways.
Several of the largest eagles, such as the unusually blue-eyed Monkey-eating Eagle \IPithecophaga jeffryi\i of the \JPhilippines\j are tropical forest-dwellers that specialize in eating monkeys. The white-tailed kites, such as the widespread Black-shouldered Kite \IElanus caeruleus,\i are small raptors that hover over open country like kestrels (\JFalconidae\j) and feed mainly on large insects.
Harriers, such as the Marsh Harrier \ICircus aeruginosus,\i are similarly widespread. Harriers have slight bodies and very large wings and long tails optimized for extremely slow flight; they fly in methodical search patterns low over grasslands, searching for mice and similar small prey in thick cover.
Other widespread groups are represented by the Black Kite \IMilvus migrans,\i a small scavenger common over much of the Old World, and the fish eagles, such as the majestic Steller's Sea Eagle \IHaliaeetus pelagicus\i of \JJapan\j and eastern \JSiberia\j and the Bald Eagle \IHaliaeetus leucogaster,\i symbolic bird of the United States of America.
Some raptors are extremely specialized. The Bat-hawk \IMachaerhamphus alcinus,\i for example, hunts mainly bats; the Osprey \IPandion haliaetus\i lives entirely on fish captured by plunge-diving; the Everglade Kite \IRostrhamus sociabilis\i preys exclusively on aquatic snails; the Eurasian Honey-buzzard \IPernis apivorus\i raids the nests of bees and wasps for their larvae; the Palm-nut Vulture \IGypohierax angolensis\i of West Africa (the only vegetarian raptor) subsists on fruit of the oil-palm.
Some species have anatomical specialization's, such as the remarkably flexible ankle joint of the African Harrier-hawk \IPolyboroides typicus,\i which facilitates groping in narrow tree cavities for the nestling birds and similar hole-dwellers on which it largely preys. There are behavioral specialties as well: the Egyptian Vulture \INeophron percnopterus,\i for example, throws stones at large eggs to break them.
Raptors inhabit all continents except \JAntarctica\j, and occupy all habitats from desert to \Jrainforest\j. Many are common, but some of the largest eagles require enormous hunting ranges; the magnificent Martial Eagle \IPolemaetus bellicosus\i of Africa, for example, needs about 200-300 square kilometers per pair, which may make it the most thinly-spread of all birds.
Vultures are largely confined by diet and foraging technique to regions of open country rich in large mammals, such as India and East Africa. Most tropical species are sedentary, but many species nesting across northern Eurasia and \JNorth America\j are strongly migratory.
Raptors form permanent pair-bonds and most nests are dispersed (though a few, such as the Letter-winged Kite \IElanus scriptus\i of arid \JAustralia\j, nest in colonies). Courtship displays are mostly aerial. Most species build leaf-lined nests of sticks in trees (but the harriers, \ICircus,\i nest on the ground).
Most species lay clutches of 2-3 eggs, but a few very small species lay up to 5-6. The incubation period varies (roughly according to size) from 28-50 days, and fledging periods range from 28 days to as much as 120 days in large eagles and up to 150 days in some vultures. Typically, the female incubates and cares for the young, the male fetches food for both mate and chicks.
BK wan
#
"acclimatization",196,0,0,0
(1)Plants and animals usually do best in the climate conditions under which they normally live. When they move to a new environment, the body slowly changes to become better able to deal with the new conditions. Athletes in particular need to become acclimatized to unusual situations, like running a marathon at high altitude (and low oxygen) in \JMexico City\j, as happened in the 1968 \JOlympic Games\j.
(2)A more common use of the term refers to the practice of introducing plants and animals to new environments, with the intention of either releasing them into the wild, or farming them. In most cases, the successfully introduced plants and animals have proven to be a problem, as they are placed in an environment where they lack natural predators which would keep them under control. Because of this, it is often possible to check the advance and spread of the new species, using biological control.
Examples of acclimatized species include birds from Europe in \JNorth America\j and \JAustralia\j, deer in \JAustralia\j and \JNew Zealand\j, wild horses in America and \JAustralia\j, while almost every crop plant used by humans today has been acclimatized for different environments. The same general principle of biological problems and control methods applies to weeds and animals which are introduced accidentally or allowed to escape into a new environment, such as mink and \Jcoypu\j in Britain, and tumbleweed (also called Russian Thistle, from Russia) in America.
Some species were introduced as biological controls, like the \Jmongoose\j, introduced into \JFiji\j and Hawaii to control rats, and the cane \Jtoad\j, \IBufo marinus,\i introduced into many Pacific islands and also into \JAustralia\j, to help control the cane beetle. In each case, the introduced species did not touch its target, but caused havoc to other wildlife, in part because it came from a similar habitat, and quickly settled in to its new home. Mongooses have also been introduced on St. Croix to control snakes, and caused damage there as well.
Other species like the bulbul (both \JAustralia\j and Hawaii) or the English \Jsparrow\j (Australia and the USA) were introduced because of their supposed aesthetic values. Starlings may well have been introduced into other countries for the same reason, and kudzu vine, now a major pest in the southern United States was originally introduced as a ground cover.
Yet other species just invaded with humans. Hawaii has a problem with what they regard as the brown tree snake of \JGuam\j. This snake wiped out many bird species on \JGuam\j after it arrived there from \JAustralia\j, probably by plane, and has been known to travel to the islands of \JMicronesia\j by plane, riding in cargo crates.
Mention of \JAustralia\j turns up in many of the best-known case studies, partly because it is a highly diverse continent with wide range of species ready to be exported, and has provided possums to \JNew Zealand\j, \IMelaleuca\i to \JFlorida\j and \IHakea\i to South Africa, and partly because the 19th century saw a wide range of enthusiastic and well-meaning "Acclimatization Societies" in the colonies which made up \JAustralia\j at that time.
These groups merrily sent animals to all parts of the world, and received animals in return which might be edible, or provide some easy form of economic exploitation, or even just "look nice" or "sound nice". Once again, the diversity of climate and existing biota in \JAustralia\j offered a large number of opportunities to new arrivals.
Australia's feral animals include \Jcattle\j, camels, horses, donkeys, cats, dogs, foxes, pigs, goats, rabbits, hares, rats, mice, \Jcarp\j, \Jtrout\j, mosquito fish, cane toads, and a wide range of birds.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
BK Webster
#
"accommodation",197,0,0,0
Most of the focusing of light reaching our eyes comes from the action of the \Jcornea\j, while the last 25% is handled by the \Jlens\j of the eye. When the ciliary muscle which surrounds the \Jlens\j is relaxed, the \Jlens\j is able to focus distant objects onto the \Jretina\j. The \Jlens\j is flat when the ciliary muscle is relaxed, because a series of suspensory ligaments are pulling the \Jlens\j outwards in all directions.
To focus on closer objects, the eye needs to have a more powerful \Jlens\j, a fatter \Jlens\j, and that means tightening the ciliary muscle, pulling the ciliary process and the choroid forward to the \Jlens\j, loosening the hold of the ligaments, and allowing the elastic \Jlens\j to sag into a fatter shape.
The near point of vision is the closest point to which we can accommodate. For young people, this is about 10 cm (4 inches), but as people get older, and the \Jlens\j loses elasticity, this extends further away. Around the age of 40, the near point may have extended to 20 cm (8 inches), and around 60, it may be as great as 80 cm (30 inches) for an unaided eye. This loss of accommodation with age is called presbyopia.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
BK Webster
#
"accomplice",198,0,0,0
EN A person who knowingly, voluntarily, and with a common interest participates with at least one other in committing a crime. The \Jaccomplice\j may be a \Iperpetrator\i \I(principal\i in the USA) or an \Iaccessory,\i ie someone who either incites the crime or assists the perpetrator before or after it has been committed.
BK a
#
"accordion",199,0,0,0
EN A portable musical instrument of the reed organ type, fed with air from bellows activated by the player. In the most advanced models a treble keyboard is played with the right hand, while the left operates (usually) six rows of buttons, producing bass notes and chords.
The earliest type was patented in Vienna in 1829, since when, despite continuous improvements to its tone and mechanism, it has remained primarily an instrument for popular music, though several major 20th-c composers, including Berg and Prokofiev, have written for it.
BK a
#
"accountancy",200,0,0,0
EN The profession which deals with matters relating to money within an organization. Traditionally its role was that of recording the organization's economic transactions; but it now handles a wide range of activities, including financial planning, management accounting, taxation, and treasury management (managing money), as well as recording and presenting accounts for management and owners.
The content and form of published accounts are set by company law, stock exchanges, and standards issued by professional \Jaccountancy\j bodies.
BK a
#
"Accra",201,0,0,0
PN [a\Bkrah\b]
EN 5░33N 0░15W, pop (1995e) 1 134 000. Seaport capital of \JGhana\j, on the Gulf of Guinea coast, 415 km/258 mi SW of Lagos; founded as three forts and trading posts, 17th-c; capital of Gold Coast, 1877; capital of \JGhana\j, 1957; airport; railway; university (1948) at Legon 13 km/8 mi W; food processing, fishing, brewing, \Jengineering\j, scrap metal trade, cacao, gold, timber, fruit, export of zoo animals.
BK Geog99
#
"accretion",202,0,0,0
EN In \Jastronomy\j, a process in which a celestial body, particularly a star in a binary star system, or a \Jplanet\j, accumulates extraneous matter falling in under gravity often from an orbiting disk. In binary stars this can cause intense X-ray emission.
BK a
#
"acculturation",203,0,0,0
EN A process involving the adoption and acceptance of the ideas, beliefs, and symbols of another society. This may occur by \Iimmigration,\i when incoming members of a society adopt its culture, or by \Iemulation,\i when one society takes on cultural features from another, such as happened in colonial contexts.
BK a
#
"Accum, Friedrich",204,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bkuhm]
DT1 1769
DT2 1838
EN Chemist, born in Buckeburg, \JGermany\j. In 1793 he came to London, where he pioneered the introduction of gas lighting, and did much to arouse public opinion against unclean food and dishonest trading.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"accumulator",205,0,0,0
EN A device to store electricity, by accepting a charge and later releasing it; also called a \Bbattery.\b It is a lead-acid system, with plates of lead \Joxides\j and an \Jelectrolyte\j of sulphuric acid. Each cell produces 2 volts of direct current. Accumulators are widely used to start car engines, and also to propel electric vehicles such as milk floats.
Other systems include nickel-iron \I(Nife)\i and nickel-cadmium \I(Nicad)\i plates, with alkaline electrolytes, producing 1..5 volts per cell. Some are made in small sizes, to replace torch and other batteries with rechargeable versions.
BK a
#
"accuracy",206,0,0,0
Accuracy in science has a number of aspects to it. If something is simply measured, there is normally a degree of uncertainty about it, because of the limits of the measuring instrument. If a value is calculated from measurements, then the result of the calculation is subject to all of the uncertainty of those measurements.
As a general rule, uncertainties are additive. If a result \Bc\b is obtained from measurement a which has an uncertainty of 1%, and measurement \Bb\b which has an uncertainty of 2%, then the uncertainty of \Bc\b is 3%. This is because you have no way of being sure that the two errors are not both operating in the "same direction" at any given time.
\BSignificant digits\b
In any value, there will be a number of significant digits, sometimes referred to as significant figures. These are the reliably known digits in the number. In the value 0.0081, there are two significant digits, as the zeros are merely place holders, while 3.2001 has five significant digits.
There is a particular problem with a number like 60. If we say that two towns are 60 km apart, this probably means "more than 55 but less than 65", so there is just one significant digit, but if the speed limit is 60 km/hr, there are two significant digits in the number, as any numerate police officer will explain while filling out your speeding ticket.
In the abc percentage example above, c is less certain than either \Ba\b or \Bb,\b but if \Bc = a/b,\b and the values of \Ba\b and \Bb\b are 32 and 77 respectively, how many people will report that the value of \Bc\b is 0.42, and how many will return their calculator's answer of 0.4155844155844? Since we have established that there is a 3% uncertainty in the value, all we can say is that the value probably lies between 0.41 and 0.43. Most of the digits produced in the calculator's display are not significant digits.
There is a reversal of this problem if you use a calculator to work out 2.5 x 3.2, since most calculators will simply give this as "8", when the most correct answer is "8.0", because the inputs each had two significant digits.
Spurious accuracy is often generated when calculations are carried out. A fire in London may be reported as having caused damage of "a hundred million pounds", probably meaning that the damage bill will be somewhere between 50 million and 150 million, but reporters who own calculators will normally convert this into dollars on the current exchange rate, all the way down to the last cent. A sign in a tree advertising "apples for sale, one mile ahead" will be converted to read "apples for sale 1.612 km ahead".
\BScientific notation\b
The common practice in science is to use exponential notation, otherwise called scientific notation, in order to make meanings clear. The value .0081 is written as 8.1 x 10\U-3\u, showing clearly that there are two significant digits. The number 48 500 can either be written as 4.85 x 10\U4\u, or as 4.850 x 10\U4\u, reflecting three and four significant figures respectively.
\BA point to ponder:\b A common source of false accuracy is in the collection of "sports statistics". It is strange but true, but if all the pundits who make a living from sports statistics were laid end to end, they still wouldn't agree. On a more serious note, what are the odds of Seles beating Hingis if Seles has won 19 of the 25 matches they have played together? Would you change your estimation if Hingis had lost the first nineteen, and then won the last six matches? With this in mind, what do you need, as well as some statistics, before you can make an accurate judgement?
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
BK Webster
#
"accusatorial system",207,0,0,0
EN See prosecution
BK a
XCY y
#
"acetaldehyde",208,0,0,0
PN [asi\Btal\bdihiyd]
EN CH\D3\dCHO, IUPAC \Bethanal,\b boiling point 21░C. The product of gentle \Joxidation\j of \Jethanol\j, intermediate in the formation of acetic acid; a colourless liquid with a sharp odour. A reducing agent, the compound is actually the one detected in the 'breathalyzer' test.
BK a
#
"acetals",209,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bsitlz]
EN Substances of the general structure R\D2\dC(OR)\D2\d, formed by the reaction of an alcohol with an aldehyde, \Jwater\j also being formed. Internal acetal formation gives most sugars ring structures.
BK a
#
"acetate film",210,0,0,0
EN See safety film
BK a
XCY y
#
"acetic acid",211,0,0,0
PN [a\Bsee\btik]
EN CH\D3\dCOOH, IUPAC \Bethanoic acid,\b boiling point 118░C. The product of \Joxidation\j of \Jethanol\j. The pure substance is a viscous liquid with a strong odour. Its aqueous solutions are weakly acidic; partially neutralized solutions have a \JpH\j of about 5. Vinegar is essentially a 5% aqueous solution of acetic acid.
BK a
#
"acetone",212,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bsitohn]
EN CH\D3\dCOCH\D3\d, IUPAC \Bpropanone,\b boiling point 56░C. A volatile liquid with an odour resembling ethers. It is a very widely used solvent, especially for plastics and lacquers.
BK a
#
"acetyl",213,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bsitiyl]
EN CH\D3\dCO-, IUPAC \Bethanoyl.\b A functional group in chemistry, whose addition to a name usually indicates its substitution for \Jhydrogen\j in a compound.
BK a
#
"acetylcholine",214,0,0,0
PN [asitiyl\Bkoh\bleen]
EN An \Jacetyl\j \Jester\j of \Jcholine\j (C\D7\dH\D1\d\D6\dNO\D2\d\U+\u) which functions as a \Jneurotransmitter\j in most animals with nervous systems. In mammals it is present in the brain, spinal cord, and ganglia of the autonomic nervous system, as well as the terminals of motor neurones (which control skeletal muscle fibres) and the post-ganglionic fibres of the parasympathetic nervous system.
BK a
#
"acetylene",215,0,0,0
PN [a\Bset\bileen]
EN HC\f║\nCH, IUPAC \Bethyne,\b boiling point -84░C. The simplest alkyne, a colourless gas formed by the action of \Jwater\j on \Jcalcium\j carbide. It is an important starting material in organic synthesis, and is used as a fuel, especially (mixed with oxygen) in the oxyacetylene torch.
BK a
#
"Achaea",216,0,0,0
EN See \JAchaeans\j
BK a
XCY y
#
"Achaeans",217,0,0,0
PN [a\Bkee\banz]
EN In classical \JGreece\j, the inhabitants of Achaea, the territory to the S of the Corinthian Gulf.
BK a
#
"Achaemenes",218,0,0,0
EN See \JAchaemenids\j
BK a
XCY y
#
"Achaemenids",219,0,0,0
PN [a\Bkiy\bmenidz]
EN The first royal house of \JPersia\j, founded by the early 7th-c BC ruler, Achaemenes. Its capitals included Parsagadae, \JSusa\j, and \JPersepolis\j.
BK a
#
"Achard, Franz (Karl)",220,0,0,0
PN [ashah(r)]
DT1 1753
DT2 1821
EN Chemist, born in Berlin. He took up Andreas Marggraf's discovery of sugar in beet, and perfected a process for its extraction on a commercial scale, then in 1801 opened the first beet sugar factory, in \JSilesia\j.
MEX Marggraf
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Achebe, Chinua",221,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bchaybay]
HS , originally \BAlbert Chinualumogo\b
DT1 1930
EN Novelist, born in Ogidi, \JNigeria\j. He studied at the University College of Ibadan, and his early career was in broadcasting. He was in Biafran government service during the Nigerian \JCivil War\j (1967--70), and then taught at US and Nigerian universities. His first novel, \IThings Fall Apart\i (1958), presenting an unsentimentalized picture of the Ibo tribe, was heralded as a fresh voice in African literature, and has since been translated into over 40 languages.
Writing exclusively in English, his other novels include \IArrow of God\i (1964), \IAnthills of the Savanna\i (1987), which was short-listed for the Booker Prize, and \IA Tribute to James Baldwin\i (1989). He has also written short stories, poetry, and children's books. His essays include \IBeware, Soul Brother\i (1971) on his experiences during the War.
\BMajor Works\b
\INovels\i
1958 Things Fall Apart
1960 No Longer at Ease
1964 Arrow of God
1966 A Man of the People
1987 Anthills of the Savannah
1989 A Tribute to James Baldwin
\IStories\i
1962 The Sacrificial Egg and Other Stories
1972 Girls at War and Other Stories
\IChildren's Books\i
1966 Chike and the River
1972 How the Leopard Got His Claws
1978 The Flute
1978 The Drum
\IPoetry\i
1971 Beware, Soul Brother
1973 Christmas in \JBiafra\j and Other Poems
\IEssays\i
1975 Morning Yet on Creation Day
1983 The Trouble with Nigeria
1987 Hopes and Impediments: Selected Essays, 1965--87
\ICo-Editor\i
1971 Okike: an African Journal of New Writing
1971 The Insider: Stories of War and Peace from Nigeria
1978 Don't Let Him Die
1985 African Short Stories
BK Biog99
#
"Achelous, River",222,0,0,0
PN [akel\Boh\bus]
HS , Gr \BAkhel≤÷s\b
EN Second longest river of \JGreece\j; rises in the Pindus Mts, flows S through mountain gorges to the fertile Agrinion plain and enters the Ionian Sea opposite Cephalonia I; length 220┐km / 137┐mi.
BK a
#
"Achenbach, Andreas",223,0,0,0
PN [\Bakh\benbakh]
DT1 1815
DT2 1910
EN Landscape and marine painter, born in Kassel, \JGermany\j. He studied at St Petersburg, then travelled extensively in Holland, Scandinavia, and \JItaly\j, where he produced many \Jwater\j-colours. His paintings of the North Sea coasts of Europe had considerable influence in \JGermany\j, and he came to be regarded as the father of 19th-c German \Jlandscape painting\j.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"achene",224,0,0,0
PN [a\Bkeen\b]
EN A dry fruit, not splitting to release the single seed. It is usually small, often bearing hooks, spines, or other structures which aid in dispersal.
BK a
#
"Achernar",225,0,0,0
PN [a\Bker\bna(r)]
EN See Eridanus
BK a
XCY y
#
"Acheron",226,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bkeron]
EN In Greek \Jmythology\j, the chasm or abyss of the Underworld, and the name of one of the rivers there which the souls of the dead have to cross. It is also the name of a river in Epirus, which disappeared underground, and was thought to be an entrance to \JHades\j.
BK a
#
"Acheson, Dean (Gooderham)",227,0,0,0
DT (1893-1971)
EN diplomat, lawyer; born in Middletown, Conn. He was educated at Groton School and Yale, and received his law degree from Harvard in 1918. He served in the navy during World War I, then as private secretary to Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis (1919-21).
After serving briefly as undersecretary of the treasury under Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933), he returned to private practice before becoming assistant \Jsecretary of state\j (1941-43) and a council member of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) (1943).
As undersecretary of state (1945-47), he helped formulate America's \JCold War\j "containment" policy vis-a-vis the \JSoviet Union\j and was closely involved in the creation of the Marshall Plan and the Truman Doctrine. As secretary of state (1947-53) he was instrumental in the creation of \JNATO\j, the rebuilding and rearming of \JGermany\j, formulation of atomic policy, and the non-recognition of Communist China.
He advised Presidents Kennedy and Johnson and recommended withdrawal from Vietnam. His memoirs, \IPresent at the Creation\i (1969), received a Pulitzer Prize (1970).
BK AmBg
#
"Acheson, Edward Goodrich",228,0,0,0
DT (1856-1931)
EN inventor, metallurgist, electrical engineer; born in Washington, Pa. With little formal schooling, he invented a rock-boring machine for \Jcoal\j mines and by 1880 was working in Thomas Edison's lab. In the late 1880s he helped install electrical plants in Europe.
Back in America, he made several inventions (including electrical wire \Jinsulation\j), discovered Carborundum, and founded several companies that produced products he pioneered in developing for the electrothermal process - an electric furnace, artificial \Jgraphite\j, lubricants.
BK AmBg
#
"Acheson, Lila Bell",229,0,0,0
EN See Wallace, DeWitt
BK bg a
XCY y
#
"Acheulian",230,0,0,0
PN [a\Bshoo\blian]
EN In Europe, Africa, and Asia, a broad term for early prehistoric cultures using symmetrically-flaked stone handaxes. These first appear in E Africa (eg at Koobi Fora, \JKenya\j) c.1..5 million years ago, but were still being made c.150┐000 BC. In Europe they are characteristic of N \JFrance\j / England during the Lower Palaeolithic Age, c.300┐000-200┐000 BC. The name derives from finds made c.1850 at Saint-Acheul, a suburb of \JAmiens\j in the Somme Valley, N \JFrance\j.
BK a
#
"Acheulian tools",231,0,0,0
The Acheulian (also called Acheulean) tools can be distinguished from the earlier Oldowan tools (the primitive finds made in the Olduvai Gorge) by the way the makers retouched some of the larger flakes into objects which are far more clearly tools than anything in an Oldowan tool kit, which was basically made up of choppers and scrapers. Typically, the Acheulian tools include hand axes with both faces worked, and edges which go most of the way around the tool.
The simplest stone tool is a flake, struck from a \Jbasalt\j boulder, or some other fine-grained cobble, by hitting it on a second boulder. More complex tools are made when further blows release more flakes, but the best tools only come when both of the new faces are worked further, to refine the edge. The Oldowan tools could almost be mistaken for broken pieces of rock, although the best ones feel "just right" when they are held in the hand.
Even as casts, they have a "just right" feel when they are held in the right hand (to this writer and his students, that is), but felt far less comfortable in the left hand. While this is more inference than proof, studies of the directions of strike in flaking also point to a right-hand predominance as far back as 1.9 million years ago.
Working a cobble to get a bifacial flake requires a higher level of intelligence: it requires the ability to plan ahead, and a greater degree of spatial reasoning. The Acheulian tools that began to appear 1.5 million years ago, were bifacial handaxes. Sites as old as 800 000 years show clear evidence of suitable stone being carried several kilometres and up to 20 kilometres, showing either a highly-developed ability to plan ahead on the part of \IHomo erectus,\i or exchange networks, or both.
In European sites, the Acheulian tools are often divided into the Abbevillian (hard-hammer) tools and the Chellan (soft-hammer) tools, based on the implement used to touch them up. Oddly enough, given the early date at which they appear in Africa, some of the oldest European sites like Issernia in \JItaly\j and Vallonet in the south of \JFrance\j do not feature these tools at all. It is only the later sites, like Ambrona, Torralba, Boxgrove and Hoxne, which feature Acheulian tools. In later sites still, Mousterian tools are found.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
BK Webster
#
"Achilles",232,0,0,0
PN [a\Bkil\beez]
EN A legendary Greek hero, son of Peleus and Thetis, who dipped him in the River \JStyx\j so that he was invulnerable, except for the heel where she had held him. When the Trojan War began, his mother hid him among girls on Scyros, but he was detected by Odysseus and so went to Troy.
The whole story of the \IIliad\i turns on his excessive pride; in his anger he sulks in his tent. When his friend \JPatroclus\j is killed, he rejoins the battle, kills Hector, brutally mistreats his body, but finally allows \JPriam\j to recover it. He was killed by Paris, who shot him in the heel with a poisoned arrow.
BK a
#
"Achilles tendon",233,0,0,0
The \Jtendon\j which connects the heel-bone or calcaneus to the calf muscle or gastrocnemius muscle. It gets its name from the legend of \JAchilles\j, whose only weakness was at his heel. The more correct name is calcaneal \Jtendon\j, reflecting the fact that the \Jtendon\j joins the calcaneus to the gastrocnemius.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
BK Webster
#
"achondroplasia",234,0,0,0
PN [aykondro\Bplay\bzhuh]
EN An inherited form of \Jdwarfism\j, in which growth of the limb bones is disproportionately shortened. There is a characteristic bulging of the forehead, and a saddle nose. Circus dwarfs are commonly achondroplastic.
BK a
#
"achromatic lens",235,0,0,0
A \Jlens\j composed of several segments of different \Jrefractive index\j, so arranged that the different wavelengths of light, usually separated by chromatic \Jaberrations\j, are together again after passing through the \Jlens\j, although they get there by slightly different paths.
Typically, the achromatic \Jlens\j is made up of a doublet of two lenses cemented together with a clear adhesive. One of the lenses is diverging (biconcave), while the other is converging (biconvex), with each of the lenses having the same curvature, so they fit snugly together. They are also sometimes referred to more simply as "colour-corrected lenses".
It is generally not possible to correct all \Jaberrations\j with a single \Jlens\j pair, and the expensive lenses found in microscopes and cameras often contain a number of separate lens pairs, often referred to as elements of the compound lens.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
BK Webster
#
"Achurch, Janet",236,0,0,0
DT 1864-1916
EN English actress. Her career is identified with Ibsen and Shaw. As a member of F.R. Benson's company in the 1880s, she established a reputation as a tragedian. On taking over the management of London's Novelty Theatre in 1889 she played Nora in the first British production of A Doll's House, returning to play Mrs Linde as her final stage appearance in 1911. In 1900 she starred in the premieres of \JCandida\j and Captain Brassbound's Conversion.
BK Thea
#
"acid",237,0,0,0
EN Usually, a substance reacting with metals to liberate \Jhydrogen\j gas, or dissolving in \Jwater\j with \Jdissociation\j and the formation of \Jhydrogen\j ions. Acids are classed as strong or weak depending on the extent to which this \Jdissociation\j occurs. More general concepts of acidity are that an acid is a proton donor or an \Jelectron\j pair acceptor. Strong acids are corrosive.
\BMore information provided by Webster Publishing\b
Most of the protonic acids, the acids which contain acidic \Jhydrogen\j atoms, exhibit a number of properties when they are in an aqueous solution, or dissolved in \Jwater\j. These are generally the properties of hydrated \Jhydrogen\j ions.
òThey cause changes in a number of coloured organic compounds, mainly vegetable \Jpigments\j such as litmus, so that these compounds are referred to as indicators;
òThey conduct an electric current;
òThe solutions taste sour and vinegary (this is best taken on trust, as strong acids can burn the tongue quite nastily-early chemists took all sorts of risks which we need not repeat);
òThey neutralise metal \Joxides\j and hydroxides, forming salts and \Jwater\j;
òUnless they are oxidising acids (like nitric acid), they react with metals more active than \Jhydrogen\j in the activity series, releasing \Jhydrogen\j as a gas.
As far back as 1680, Robert Boyle noted that acids dissolve many things, affect indicators such as litmus, and can be neutralised by bases, but until chemical analysis improved, there was little more that could be said about acids, although Antoine Lavoisier suggested that all acids had in common the fact that they contained oxygen.
By 1810, Sir Humphry Davy had shown that \Jhydrogen\j chloride was made up of just \Jhydrogen\j and \Jchlorine\j. The first useful theory of what an acid was came from Svante Arrhenius in 1884, when he suggested that acids are substances which contain \Jhydrogen\j, and produce \Jhydrogen\j ions in solution.
The "\Jhydrogen\j ions" of Arrhenius are still the common talk of chemistry classes, but in truth, naked protons probably do not exist in acids. Rather, we assume that most or all of the protons exist as hydronium ions (sometimes called hydroxonium ions), H3O+, formed by a proton attaching itself to a \Jwater\j molecule. With this being kept in mind, in the rest of this discussion, it will be referred to as a "proton".
The next advance came in 1923, when T. M Lowry (1874 - 1936) and J. N. Br°nsted (1879 - 1947) independently suggested an extended version of the Arrhenius theory, generally called either the Br°nsted theory, or the Lowry-Br°nsted theory, although American books tend to call it the Br°nsted-Lowry theory. Under their definition, an acid is a proton donor, and a base is a proton acceptor, while an acid-base reaction simply involves the transfer of a proton from the acid to the base. So when \Jhydrogen\j chloride is dissolved in \Jwater\j, the HCl is an acid donating a proton to a \Jwater\j molecule, which accepts the proton, and so is a base in this reaction.
The main implication of this theory is that certain chemical species can act as either an acid or a base, depending on the context. An example is the HS- ion, which can accept a proton to form \Jhydrogen\j sulphide, or donate a proton, leaving a S\U2-\u ion. A secondary implication is that each acid, in donating a proton, then becomes a base, able to accept a proton at some later time. The strength (or weakness) of an acid (or base) will depend on the attractions that the different species have for each other.
There was another advance in 1923, when the delightfully-named (for a scientist) Gilbert Newton Lewis (1875 - 1946) set out his theory that an acid is any species that can accept a share in an \Jelectron\j pair, while a base is any species that can "donate" a share in an \Jelectron\j pair. This theory, however, was not fully formulated until 1938.
On the Lewis definition, \Jboron\j trifluoride is an acid, although it does not qualify as a Lowry-Br°nsted acid. \JBoron\j trifluoride does not have a complete \Joctet\j of electrons around the \Jboron\j, and so the molecule can act as an electron-pair acceptor when it reacts with ammonia.
While the Lewis model is a more difficult one for the non-specialist to consider, it offers particular advantages to the chemist, in that it is a more general theory, and so can be used to explain more observable chemical effects. On that basis, the Lewis concept is the one generally favoured by chemists.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
BK a
#
"acid rain",238,0,0,0
EN A term first used in the 19th-c to describe polluted rain in Manchester, England. Colloquially it is used for polluted rainfall associated with the burning of \Jfossil\j fuels. Acid \Jpollution\j can be wet (rain, snow, mist) or dry (gases, particles). A number of gases are involved, particularly sulphur dioxide (SO\D2\d) and \Joxides\j of \Jnitrogen\j (NO). Reactions in the \Jatmosphere\j lead to the production of sulphuric acid (H\D2\dSO\D4\d) and nitric acid (HNO\D3\d).
In Europe c.85% of SO\D2\d in the air comes from the burning of \Jfossil\j fuels; chemical plants which remove the sulphurous emissions are being fitted to some power stations. The main emissions of \Joxides\j of \Jnitrogen\j, including (NO) and (NO\D2\d), are from \Jfossil\j-fuel power generation and the \Jinternal combustion engine\j. Acid rain is implicated in damage to forests and the acidification of soils and lakes.
In 1985, 19 countries formed the 'Thirty Percent Club', agreeing to lower their emissions of SO\D2\d by 30% by 1993, using 1980 emissions as the baseline. European Community states also agreed to reduce emissions of SO\D2\d by 20% of 1980 levels by 1993, with further reductions of 40% by 1998 and 60% by 2003.
The Commission on Long-Range Transboundary Air \JPollution\j also aims to reduce emissions of NO but, like emissions of SO\D2\d, these are the subject of international debate.
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"acid test",239,0,0,0
One form of acid test, the one best known to geologists and crystal collectors is the test for calcite. Calcite and \Jquartz\j can look very similar, and in some rocks with small crystals, testing for hardness is not easy. A drop of dilute hydrochloric acid gives us an answer straight away: if the mineral "fizzes", it is a carbonate, and so probably calcite, if it does not "fizz, you have a sample of \Jquartz\j.
The real "acid test" is used to identify gold, or more particularly, faked gold, which is an alloy of some other less valuable metal with some gold. One of the tests which is used by jewellers uses a black streak plate, and a streak taken from the metal. Gold is an unusual metal, because it is one of the few metals which resists acid. If you "streak" the metal across a piece of black pottery (Wedgwood, for example), the streak can then be tested with acid. The more it disappears, the more cheap metal there must have been in the original sample.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
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"acidic oxides",240,0,0,0
EN See \Joxides\j
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"Ackerley, Joseph (Randolf)",241,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bkerlee]
DT1 1896
DT2 1967
EN Writer, born in Herne Hill, Kent, south-east England, UK. In 1956 he published \IMy Dog Tulip,\i and in 1960 his only novel, \IWe Think the World of You,\i in which an Alsatian dog plays a lead role. He was also literary editor of \IThe Listener\i (1935-59).
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"Ackerman, Nathan W. (Ward)",242,0,0,0
DT (1909-71)
EN psychiatrist, family therapist, educator; born in \JRussia\j. Brought as a four-year-old to the U.S.A. (he became a citizen in 1920), he took his B.A. (1929) and M.D. (1933) at Columbia University. After serving a residency and on the staff of the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kans. (1935-37), he returned to New York City to become chief psychiatrist of the Jewish Board of Guardians (1937-51).
In addition to various other teaching and staff posts in the field of \Jpsychiatry\j, he was a professor of \Jpsychiatry\j at Columbia's medical school (1957-71). He was the recipient of many honors and authored numerous articles and books, but he was most widely known and honored for pioneering "family therapy" - namely, the approach that treated individuals with mental illness in the context of their families.
To this end he founded the Family Institute in 1960, now known as the Ackerman Family Therapy Institute, in New York City, a major clinical center as well as training ground for therapy that focuses on the psychodynamics of troubled families.
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"Ackermann family",243,0,0,0
EN The most important family of German actors in the 18th century. Having joined the Sch÷nemann troupe in 1740, Konrad (Ernst) (1712-71) soon left to set up his own troupe, along with Sophie Schr÷der (1714-92), whom he later married. The Ackermann troupe toured widely in Central and Eastern Europe and introduced to the German stage the genre of the bⁿrgerliches Trauerspiel, becoming widely known for the comparative realism of its acting, particularly after Ekhof joined the troupe in 1764.
After his stepfather's death, Friedrich Schr÷der took over the troupe, eventually settling it permanently in the \JHamburg\j Town Theatre. Ackermann's two daughters, Dorothea (1752-1821) and Charlotte (1757-74), were also actresses.
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"Ackermann, Rudolph",244,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bkerman]
DT1 1764
DT2 1834
EN Art publisher, born in \JSaxony\j, \JGermany\j. In 1795 he opened a print shop in London and published a well-known set of coloured engravings of London. He is said to have introduced \Jlithography\j as a fine art into England.
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"Ackroyd, Peter",245,0,0,0
DT1 1949
EN Writer, born in London, England, UK. He studied at Cambridge, and spent some time at Yale. He is chiefly known for his biographical studies of Pound, T S Eliot, and Dickens, and also for his fiction, which includes \IThe Last Days of Oscar Wilde\i (1983), \IHawksmoor\i (1985, Whitbread), \IFirst Light\i (1989), \IDan Leno and the Limehouse Golem\i (1994), and \IMilton in America\i (1996). His other work includes poetry, \Jtelevision\j criticism, and regular reviews for \IThe Times\i since 1986.
\BMajor Works\b
\INovels\i
1982 The Great Fire of London
1983 The Last Days of Oscar Wilde
1985 Hawksmoor
1987 Chatterton
1989 First Light
1992 English Music
1993 The House of Doctor Dee
1994 Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem
\IPoetry\i
1973 London Lickpenny
1978 Country Life
1987 The Diversions of Purley
\IOther\i
1976 Notes for a New Culture
1979 Dressing Up
1980 Ezra Pound and His World
1984 T S Eliot
1990 Dickens
1991 Introduction to Dickens
1995 Blake
1996 Milton in America
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"Acland, Sir Richard (Thomas Dyke)",246,0,0,0
PN [\Bak\bland]
DT1 1906
DT2 90
EN British politician. He studied at Oxford, entered parliament in 1931, but resigned from the Liberals to found, with J B Priestley, the Common Wealth Party (1942). Consistent with its advocacy of public ownership on moral grounds, he gave away his Devon family estate to the National Trust. He became a Labour MP in 1945, but resigned in 1955 in protest against Labour support for Britain's nuclear defence policy.
MEX Priestley, J B
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"acne",247,0,0,0
PN [\Bak\bnee]
EN A chronic \Jinflammation\j of the sweat glands in the skin, notably affecting the face, upper chest, and back. It is particularly found in adolescents.
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"Aconcagua, Cerro",248,0,0,0
PN [akon\Bkag\bwa]
EN 32░39S 70░01W. Mountain rising to 6960┐m / 22┐834┐ft in \JMendoza\j province, W Argentina; in the \JAndes\j, E of the Chilean border; 112┐km / 70┐mi north-west of \JMendoza\j; the highest peak in the Western hemisphere; \JUspallata\j Pass at its S foot; first climbed in 1897 by the Fitzgerald expedition.
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"aconite",249,0,0,0
EN See monkshood; 3465 winter aconite
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"Acontius, Jacobus",250,0,0,0
EN See Aconzio, Jacopo
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"Aconzio, Jacopo",251,0,0,0
PN [a\Bkon\btsioh]
HS , Lat \BJacobus Acontius\b
DT1a c.
DT1 1500
DT2 66
EN Engineer, courtier, and writer, born in Trent, \JItaly\j. He went to \JBasel\j in 1557, and in 1559 to England, after repudiating \JRoman Catholicism\j. His antidogmatic \IStratagemata Satanae\i (1565) offers a very early advocacy of toleration.
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"acorn",252,0,0,0
EN The fruit of the oak tree, actually a specialized nut borne in a cup-shaped structure, the cupule.
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"acornworm",253,0,0,0
EN A worm-like, marine \Jinvertebrate\j, length up to 2.5┐m / 8 1/4┐ft; body soft, divided into a proboscis, collar, and trunk; gill slits supported by skeletal rods; c.70 species, found in soft intertidal and subtidal sediments. \B(Phylum:\b Hemichordata. \BClass:\b Enteropneusta.)
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"Acosta, (Bertram Blanchard) Bert",254,0,0,0
DT (1895-1954)
EN aviator, aeronautical engineer; born in \JSan Diego\j, Calif. One of the best-known civil aviators in the 1920s, he helped establish the first transcontinental (\JNorth America\j) mail service (1920) and set a number of early speed and endurance records. He was a member of the crew of the \IAmerica\i that made the sixth nonstop transatlantic flight (June 1927).
Although he made one more brief bid for glory by flying for the Loyalists in the Spanish \JCivil War\j in 1936, he was frequently in trouble with the law and his own \Jalcoholism\j, and he died penniless.
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"acouchi",255,0,0,0
PN [a\Bkoo\bshee]
EN A \Jcavy\j-like rodent; inhabits Amazonian forests; eats plants; resembles a small \Jagouti\j, but with a longer tail (white, used for signalling). \B(Genus:\b \IMyoprocta,\i 2 species. \BFamily:\b Dasyproctidae.)
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"acoustic beat",256,0,0,0
The effect of having two waves of very similar but different frequency. At certain times, the two waves are in the same phase, so that they add to each other. When they are in opposite phase, they cancel each other out. The number of beats per second is equal to the frequency difference of the two sources.
One common use of beats is in tuning \Jguitar\j strings. Once the lowest pitched string has been set to a reference tone from a tuning fork, a pitch pipe, or something similar, the others may then be tuned, one after another by clamping off the lower pitched string of a pair at the fifth fret (or the fourth, in one case), and controlling the tension of the higher pitched string, until no beats can be detected, then using the newly tuned string as the lower of the next pair of strings.
A less common version of acoustic beating can be found in older (World War II) vintage \Jaircraft\j, where the engines can occasionally be heard to show a beat phenomenon. This effect is even more marked in films made during that time, possibly as a way of demonstrating the faithfulness of the sound recording.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
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"acoustic coupler",257,0,0,0
EN A device which allows a computer or terminal to communicate with other computers over a \Jtelephone\j network using a standard \Jtelephone\j handset. Digitally coded data is transmitted as audio signals.
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"acoustics",258,0,0,0
EN The study of sound: the production, detection, and propagation of sound waves, and the absorption and reflection of sound. It includes the study of how electrical signals are converted into mechanical signals, as in loudspeakers, and the converse, as in microphones; also, how sound is produced in musical instruments, and perceived by audiences in concert halls; the protection of workers from damaging levels of sound; and the use of detection techniques, such as \Jsonar\j and ultrasonic scanning.
\BMore information provided by Webster Publishing\b
Practical \Jacoustics\j began in around 500 BC, when Greek theatres had open vases strategically placed around them to enhance sound levels by \Jresonance\j. Modern theatres are designed, as far as possible, to avoid "dead spots" where sounds reflected from different surfaces interfere with each other. Another major concern is to produce an auditorium which mimics the acoustic effects of a full auditorium, which means that an empty seat needs to have similar properties of absorption and reflection as a full seat.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
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"Acquart, AndrΘ",259,0,0,0
DT 1922-
EN French stage designer. He is known primarily for his work in the 1960s on such productions as The Blacks (1959), directed by Roger Blin, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (1961), co-directed by Jean Vilar and Georges Wilson, and Biedermann and the Firebugs (1960), directed by Jean-Marie Serreau. His designs are abstract, utilizing skeletal structures such as tubes or movable flats and multiple playing levels.
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"acquired characteristics",260,0,0,0
The features of a living thing which are not inherited. The view of \Jevolution\j attributed to Lamarck (earlier espoused by Erasmus Darwin) was that the acquired characteristics like a blacksmith's brawny arms were inherited by the blacksmith's children, so that the term often appears as "the inheritance of acquired characteristics".
In a way, this simple belief is easy to understand: blacksmiths were probably naturally brawny to begin with, and if their children were trained to the forge, then they, too, would develop significant muscles, but only because they had inherited their father's genes and trade. It was and is an attractive belief, because it suggests that the efforts of the parents to improve themselves may not be entirely wasted. Sadly, attractiveness is not a key requirement for scientific theories.
The Lamarckian legend has it that Lamarck suggested that giraffes wanted (wished for) longer necks, their necks grew, and the longer necks were then inherited. In fact, Lamarck suggested that the giraffes had a want (a need) of longer necks, and that longer necks were inherited. In a sense, he was quite close to the Darwinian view of variability occurring in nature, with some variants being more successful than others.
The classical experiment refuting the inheritance of acquired characteristics is probably to be found in the need for certain cultures to continue circumcising their male offspring, and Charles Darwin recorded that in the Muslim \JCelebes\j (Sulawesi in modern \JIndonesia\j), boys went naked up to the age of six or seven, and a correspondent had assured him that the prepuces of boys there were noticeably shorter, \Jcircumcision\j being a later operation than is the Jewish practice.
A more formal experiment was carried out by August Weismann (1834 - 1914), who cut off the tails of mice through 22 generations, but obtained no shortening effect in the offspring.
The other "experiment" carried out on this effect is the celebrated "case of the midwife \Jtoad\j", the studies undertaken by Dr Paul Kammerer, which ended when he took his life in 1926. Born in 1880, Kammerer was well-known as a biologist in Vienna who was immensely skilful in breeding amphibians. One of these involved the two European salamanders, \ISalamandra atra,\i an \Jalpine\j species, and \ISalamandra maculosa,\i found in the lowlands, which produces tadpoles, unlike the \Jalpine\j species.
Kammerer apparently managed to demonstrate that the lowland species, bred under \Jalpine\j climatic conditions, produced live metamorphosed young, while the \Jalpine\j species in lowland climatic conditions, produced tadpoles after several attempts. More importantly, the changes became more pronounced after several generations.
Then came the work with the midwife \Jtoad\j, \IAlytes obstetricans,\i which mates on land. The male \Jtoad\j grips the female (amplexus) and holds on until the female lays eggs in \Jwater\j, and the male then covers these with sperm. For those species mating in \Jwater\j, the male grips the slippery female with small horny spines, called nuptial pads. The midwife \Jtoad\j, mating on land, does not need these pads. Kammerer reported that when the midwife \Jtoad\j was forced to mate in \Jwater\j, the males, over several generations, developed nuptial pads.
After many years' breeding, the strain of toads died out during the disruptions caused by the First World War, and one surviving male was preserved. One of the pads was converted into \Jmicroscope\j slides, the other survived on the preserved specimen. When this specimen was shown to have been injected with Indian ink to produce the "pad", a scandal broke out, leading to Kammerer's suicide.
To this \Jday\j, nobody knows who did the injecting. Some suggest Kammerer was a simple \Jfraud\j, others suggest that an assistant may have "touched up" a fading specimen. The best available account is in a book by Arthur Koestler, called \IThe Case of the Midwife Toad.\i The doctrine of inheritance of acquired characteristics was popular in Stalin's \JRussia\j, and the story of Kammerer was made into a propaganda film called \ISalamandra.\i
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
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"Acre",261,0,0,0
EN 32░55N 35░04E, pop (1995e) 48 300. Ancient town in Northern district, NW Israel; resort centre on the \JMediterranean Sea\j; capital of the Crusader kingdom after capture of \JJerusalem\j in 1187; railway; ancient and modern harbour; fishing, light industry; \Jcrypt\j of the Knights \JHospitallers\j of St John, 18th-c city walls, 18th-c mosque.
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"acridine",262,0,0,0
PN [\Bak\brideen]
EN C\D13\dH\D9\dN, melting point 111░C. A \Jcoal\j-tar base structurally related to \Janthracene\j. An important class of dyestuffs is derived from it.
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"acrobatics",263,0,0,0
EN Form of physical entertainment. One of the most ancient and prevalent, it is represented in Egyptian and Etruscan murals by leapers and vaulters. The earliest work devoted to the subject is Arcangelo Tuccaro's Trois dialogues de l'exercice de sauter et voltiger en l'air (1599). The most basic move is the salto or leap into the air, in which neither hands nor feet must move.
All sorts of combinations are possible - backwards, forwards, sideways (the Arab jump), the flip-flop (a backward somersault from a standing position), and from trampolines and flying trapezes. The salto mortale or death-defying leap is so called from its dangerousness. A double salto mortale was first performed by an Englishman named Tomkinson in 1840.
Other forms of acrobatics include the antipodean, in which one acrobat lies on his back and juggles the other performer with his feet; and its offshoot, the Icarian games, invented by the Englishman Cottrelly c.1850, in which performers are tossed, balanced and caught by the feet of their partners, lying on specially constructed cushions.
In popular amusements like the commedia dell'arte and the \Jharlequinade\j, acrobatics is at a premium, but it is neglected by the dramatic stage, except in actors' training. Tom Stoppard in Jumpers (1972) used acrobatics as a \Jmetaphor\j for mental \Jgymnastics\j.
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"acromegaly",264,0,0,0
PN [akroh\Bmeg\balee]
EN An adult disorder which arises from the over-secretion of growth hormone by specific cells of the front pituitary \Jgland\j. There is enlargement of many tissues, with coarsening and thickening of the subcutaneous tissues and the skin. The skull, jaw, hands, and feet enlarge.
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"acronym",265,0,0,0
EN A word formed from the initial letters of the words it represents, as in \INATO\i (=\INorth Atlantic Treaty Organization),\i especially one which can be pronounced as a word. Some authorities distinguish acronyms from \Binitialisms\b (eg \IBBC)\i which have to be pronounced letter by letter.
Both should be distinguished from an \Bacrostic\b - a composition, usually a poem, in which typically the initial letters of the lines make up words. The pattern may also make use of letters from other parts of the lines or combinations of letters (such as the first and last), to produce a wide variety of puzzles and riddles.
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"Acropolis, The",266,0,0,0
PN [a\Bkro\bpolis]
EN The citadel of ancient \JAthens\j. Rising high above the city, the fortified outcrop contained the national treasury and many sacred sites and shrines, most of them (such as the \JParthenon\j and the Erechtheum) associated with the worship of Athene, the patron goddess of \JAthens\j. The present ruins date mainly from the second half of the 5th-c BC. The term \Iacropolis\i in its general sense is not restricted to \JAthens\j, but applies to any such citadel in ancient \JGreece\j.
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"acrostic",267,0,0,0
EN See \Jacronym\j
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"acrylic acid",268,0,0,0
PN [a\Bkril\bik]
EN CH\D2\d=CH.COOH, IUPAC \Bprop-2-enoic acid.\b The simplest unsaturated carboxylic acid. Its nitrile, CH\D2\d=CH.C\f║\nN, is the \Jmonomer\j of a range of polymers used as fibres and paints. Its methyl \Jester\j and the related CH\D2\d=C(CH\D3\d)-COOCH\D3\d, \Bmethylmethacrylate,\b form other polymers used in paints, \Jadhesives\j, and safety glass.
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"acrylic painting",269,0,0,0
EN An art form using plastic paints, ie colours mixed with a vehicle made from a polymethyl methacrylate solution in mineral spirits. Quick-drying but impermanent, it was popular in the 1960s with young painters whose works are now a source of worry to their owners - including many public galleries.
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"Act of Congress",270,0,0,0
EN A bill sanctioned by the US legislature, consisting of the two houses of Congress: the \JHouse of Representatives\j and the Senate. The bill must then be signed by the president to become law.
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"act of God",271,0,0,0
EN In law, any natural phenomenon such as an \Jearthquake\j or a hurricane which, without human intervention, exclusively and directly causes an accident; known in Scots law as a \Idamnum fatale.\i A gust of wind which directly causes a car to veer off the road constitutes an \Jact of God\j.
Heavy rain or \Jfog\j to which drivers do not respond appropriately, with the result that their negligence leads to an accident, is not an \Jact of God\j. The climatic conditions would have to be sufficiently exceptional for the defendant to overcome the test of foreseeability in a negligence action.
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"Act of Parliament",272,0,0,0
EN A bill which has passed five stages (first reading, second reading, committee stage, report stage, third reading) in both houses of the UK parliament, and received the royal assent. The same kind of procedure applies in other parliamentary systems, although the specific stages through which a bill passes may vary.
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"Actaeon",273,0,0,0
PN [ak\Btee\bon]
EN A hunter in Greek \Jmythology\j, whose story epitomizes the fate of a mortal who encounters a god. He came upon \JArtemis\j, the goddess of chastity, while she was bathing and therefore naked: she threw \Jwater\j at him, changing him into a stag, so that he was pursued and then killed by his own hounds.
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"acting",274,0,0,0
EN The impulse to make-believe and play is common to humanity. To act is both to do and to pretend to do. For both actor and spectator, the uncanny power of any performance springs from an ambiguous tension between what is actual and what is fictional.
This ambiguity is present in all acting, however much a particular society or individual may wish to resolve it. In the 20th century many Western theories of acting have stressed the integrity of the doing, while in the 18th century, for example, Europeans were more concerned with the authentic nature of the pretence, its style and social aptness.
Throughout history, the unease aroused by this ambiguity has been reflected in the status of the actor. Even in classical \JGreece\j (see Greek theatre, ancient), where acting had religious and political importance, there is evidence from the 4th century bc onwards that the technitai of Dionysus were viewed with ambivalence.
Certainly in \JRome\j acting was felt to be the work of slaves and aliens (see Roman theatre), while in modern Europe players long existed on the margins of law and religion (MoliΦre could not be buried in consecrated ground). This ambivalence can be traced elsewhere.
In Asia, outside the confines of local prestige, religious purpose or court patronage, performers were, and often still are, equated with wanderers and beggars. Although in ancient India actors were believed to trace their ancestry to a member of the highest caste, the priestly Bharata, sacred myths tell how they were soon condemned to the lowest caste for their satire and mockery of the sages.
Only through the intervention of kings could this ambivalence be allayed. In China, decrees from as early as 1369 banned actors from entering for state examinations.
The social assimilation of the acting profession in the West, around the beginning of the 20th century, was paralleled by sustained and serious evaluation of its art. In England, for example, Irving's knighthood in 1895, the first to be bestowed on an actor, was followed not only by further theatrical knighthoods (six before 1914) but also by the founding of the Academy of Dramatic Art (later RADA).
Similar developments are evident throughout Europe, most notably in \JRussia\j where for \JStanislavsky\j training combined with a radical analysis of the art. \JStanislavsky\j's accounts of his psycho-physical method constitute the first systematic examination of acting, in the West, written from the viewpoint of the actor. Earlier writings are either anecdotal or, as with Diderot, written from the perspective of the auditorium.
In the East, such approaches to practice can be found in works like the Natyasastra (c.200 bc) and Zeami's treatises on the n⌡ (c.1402-30). The systematic encoding of traditional acting genres found in such manuals emphasizes a performer's obligation to embody the received wisdom and aesthetics of particular styles and techniques.
Training in the genre rather than rehearsal for the individual play is paramount. In Asian theatre, the master-pupil relationship is ubiquitous. Imparting the traditional form through example, through long apprenticeship and disciplined physical preparation and practice, establishes the importance of performance over text, of the transmitted skill in its present- tense embodiment over individual expression.
The art of acting lies in showing and sharing an action, image, character or story. It is rooted in the present-tense encounter of actor with actor, and/or actor with audience. The material of the art is the body, voice and being of the performer. Different styles demand different skills of this material.
Bodily skills may range from the acrobatic and pantomimic, as in traditional Chinese theatre, through schematic languages of dance and gesture, as found in kutiyattam or \Jkathakali\j, to the faithful reproduction of everyday motions, as in Western \Jnaturalism\j.
Vocal skills likewise may range from song, through chant or declamation, to conversational speech. This is not simply a contrast between a presentational mode of acting with its emphasis on display and a representational mode with its stress on verisimilitude. It relates to a range of percepts of which masks and trance are an ambiguous part.
Acting works with living presence. This is of the utmost importance in performance and of the utmost contention in discussion. Contraries abound - inspiration versus technique, talent versus training. Kean or \JKemble\j, Irving or Coquelin, Duse or Bernhardt?
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"Acting Company",275,0,0,0
EN American company, originally known as the City Center Acting Company. John Houseman and Margot Harley organized the first graduating class of the drama division of the Juilliard School into a permanent repertory troupe, which began performing at the City Center in New York in 1972.
By 1984 it functioned as the touring arm of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC. The company's members are selected nationally by auditions. Alumni of the company include Kevin Kline, Patti LuPone, William Hurt and Christopher Reeve.
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"actinides",276,0,0,0
PN [\Bak\btiniydz]
EN Elements with an atomic number between 89 and 104 in which an inner \Jelectron\j shell is filling, the best known being uranium (92) and \Jplutonium\j (94). Those heavier than uranium are known as the \Itransuranic elements.\i All of their \Jisotopes\j are radioactive, and most are artificially made. They are chemically similar to \Jlanthanides\j.
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"actinomorphic flower",277,0,0,0
EN A flower which is radially symmetrical or of regular shape so that, if cut through the middle in any plane, each half is identical.
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"actinomycete",278,0,0,0
PN [aktinoh\Bmiy\bseet]
EN A typically filamentous bacterium. Most have branching filaments, forming a fungal-like network, and require the presence of oxygen for growth. They are usually found in soil and decaying vegetation, feeding as saprophytes. Some species are disease-causing in plants and animals, including the causative agents of tuberculosis and \Jpotato\j scab. \B(Kingdom:\b Monera. \BOrder:\b Actinomycetales.)
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"actinomycosis",279,0,0,0
PN [aktinohmiy\Bkoh\bsis]
EN An infection with \IActinomyces israeli,\i in which chronic abscesses are formed in many tissues, notably in and around the face and neck, where they discharge onto the skin. The filaments of the organism form yellow granular masses in the abscesses \I(sulphur granules),\i and can be seen with the aid of a \Jmicroscope\j.
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"action",280,0,0,0
EN In mechanics, the difference between kinetic \Jenergy\j \IK\i and potential \Jenergy\j \IV\i \I(K-V),\i summed over time; symbol \II\i or \IS,\i units J.s (joule.second). Formally, action is the sum over time of the lagrangian. It is crucial to the least-action formulation of mechanics, and to the path-integral formulation of quantum theory.
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#
"action painting",281,0,0,0
EN A form of abstract art which flourished in the USA from the late 1940s, its leading exponent being Jackson Pollock. The snappy term was introduced by the critic Harold Rosenberg in 1952 in preference to the more cumbersome \Iabstract \Jexpressionism\j,\i though the latter has not gone out of use. Many US art historians, for example, consider action painting to be a genre within abstract \Jexpressionism\j.
The physical act of applying paint to canvas is emphasized, rather than the picture as a finished artefact; so the paint is thrown or dribbled onto the canvas which may be tacked to the floor. Persons may roll naked or ride bicycles across the wet surface. In \JFrance\j, a similar movement was called \ITachisme\i \I(tache,\i 'blot, mark').
BK a
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"action potential",282,0,0,0
EN A brief electrical signal transmitted along a nerve or muscle fibre following stimulation. At the site of the action potential, the inside of the fibre temporarily becomes positively charged with respect to the outside, because of a transient change in the permeability of the fibre's plasma membrane to sodium and \Jpotassium\j ions (ie sodium flows in and later \Jpotassium\j flows out of the fibre). It provides the basis for the transmission of information.
BK a
#
"actions, limitation of",283,0,0,0
EN See limitation of actions
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#
"Actium, Battle of",284,0,0,0
PN [\Bak\btium]
EN (31 BC) The decisive victory of Octavian (later the Emperor Augustus) over the forces of Antony and Cleopatra off the coast of north-west \JGreece\j. It traditionally marks the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Roman Empire.
BK a
#
"activated charcoal",285,0,0,0
EN Wood, carbonized by heating in limited air and treated with acid to make it adsorb large quantities of gases and polymeric materials from solution. It is used in gas masks, unducted cooker hoods, and vacuum technology, and for decolourizing solutions.
BK a
#
"activated complex",286,0,0,0
EN The arrangement of atoms during a \Jchemical reaction\j involving two or more reacting molecules which is unstable, and which decomposes either to regenerate starting material or to form products.
BK a
#
"active galaxy",287,0,0,0
EN See Galaxy (\Jastronomy\j)
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#
"activity (physics)",288,0,0,0
EN See \Jradioactivity\j units
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#
"Acton (of Aldenham), John Emerich Edward Dalberg Acton, Baron",289,0,0,0
DT1 1834
DT2 1902
EN Historian, born in Naples, \JItaly\j, grandson of Sir John Acton. He studied at St Mary's College, Oscott, Ireland, and at Munich University. He sat as a Liberal member of parliament (1859-64), and was created a baron in 1869. As a leader of the Liberal Roman Catholics in England, he opposed the doctrine of papal infallibility. In 1895 he was appointed professor of modern history at Cambridge, and was founder editor of the \ICambridge Modern History.\i
MEX Acton, Sir John
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"Acton, Sir John (Francis Edward)",290,0,0,0
DT1 1736
DT2 1811
EN British naval officer in the service of Tuscany and Naples, and prime minister of Naples under Ferdinand IV (reigned 1759-1806), born in Besancon, \JFrance\j. He became successively admiral and generalissimo of the Neapolitan forces, and then prime minister. He fell from power on the entry of the French into Naples in 1806 and fled to \JPalermo\j in \JSicily\j.
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"Actors Studio, The",291,0,0,0
EN American acting workshop. Founded in 1947 by Group Theatre alumni Elia Kazan, Cheryl Crawford and Robert Lewis, the Actors Studio is a unique workshop for professional actors. It is not a school; it charges no tuition fees and once an actor is accepted (by a rigorous audition process) he or she becomes a member for life. Under Lee Strasberg, its artistic director from 1951 to 1982, the Studio became renowned as the high temple of the Method.
Studio actors have been both praised for their psychological revelation and attacked for self-indulgence and \Jmannerism\j, but the influence of the Method is undeniable and has come to be identified as the quintessential American style. The enduring legacies are the films directed by Kazan and the performances of the Studio's many illustrious members - from Marlon Brando, James Dean and Montgomery Clift to Dustin Hoffman, Robert de Niro, Al Pacino, Shelley Winters, Geraldine Page and Frank Corsaro, who is the Studio's present artistic director.
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#
"Actors Theatre of Louisville",292,0,0,0
EN American theatre. One of the leading regional theatres, located in \JLouisville\j, Kentucky, it was founded by Richard Block and Ewel Cornett in 1964 and is noted for encouraging and producing original scripts. Block was replaced in 1969 by Jon Jory, whose leadership proved beneficial.
In 1972 the company moved to their present location, the Old Bank of \JLouisville\j Building. In 1977 the Actors Theatre initiated the Festival of New American Plays. Scripts such as Gin Game and Crimes of the Heart premiered at the Actors Theatre, moved to Broadway, and won Pulitzer Prizes for Drama.
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#
"Acts of the Apostles",293,0,0,0
EN A \JNew Testament\j book, the second part of a narrative begun in Luke's Gospel, which traces the early progress of Jesus's followers in spreading the Christian faith. It begins with the \Jresurrection\j and \Jascension\j of Jesus, but concentrates largely upon the growth of the \JJerusalem\j Church, its spread to \JSamaria\j and Antioch, and the missionary journeys of Paul to \JAsia Minor\j, the Aegean lands, and \JRome\j.
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"actual bodily harm",294,0,0,0
EN See bodily harm
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#
"actuary",295,0,0,0
EN A statistician specializing in life expectancy, sickness, retirement, and accident matters. Actuaries are employed by insurance companies and pension funds to calculate probability and risk.
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"actuator",296,0,0,0
EN A mechanical or electrical device used to bring other equipment into operation; sometimes called a \Bservomotor.\b It commonly refers to the equipment used for the automatic operation of brake valves in car or train brake systems.
\BMore information provided by Webster Publishing\b
All control systems require that some action be taken on some external object, either a fuel, \Jwater\j or gas supply, or an alarm, or a warning light, or something else. This means an output device of some type has to be designed and built into the system.
These actuators, output devices for control, are as varied in their type and application as the sensors that feed information to the control system. All they have in common is that each one performs some physical action based on the inputs to the system. An electrical current in a conductor can cause a magnetic effect. If a current flows through a wire, there will be a weak magnetic field around the wire, and if you coil the wire up, the electrical field gets stronger, at least while the current is flowing. This is how solenoids work: they are coils of insulated wire, hollow in the centre (the coil, not the wire!). When electricity flows through the wire of the \Jsolenoid\j, this causes a magnetic field which can move a magnetised rod in or out of the centre of the coil, and this movement can then create some physical effect.
This physical effect can be used to create "electric relays", which turn electric switches on and off, allowing for indirect switching of signals in a system. A current flowing through one part of a circuit will activate a \Jsolenoid\j which then moves a metal rod to close another circuit allowing a current to flow there.
Most automatic washing machines use solenoids to control the \Jwater\j supply. A simple system such as a float senses the depth of the \Jwater\j, and the \Jsolenoid\j slams the \Jwater\j supply off as soon as the float reaches the right level. If your washing machine or dishwasher floods, this is usually because the \Jsolenoid\j has failed to work properly-these solenoids are generally cheap and easy to replace, provided you can work out where to look for them inside the machine.
Electric motors provide rotational movement in a process (that is, they make something turn or spin). Normal motors are limited in their usefulness in a control system, mainly because the amount of movement is difficult to control precisely, and stepper motors are usually a preferred choice.
These stepper motors turn in response to individual electrical pulses, each of which turns the motor shaft through a fixed angle (usually about 7.5 degrees). By controlling the number of pulses which are in the output, the stepper motor can be accurately positioned. The motors in scanners, disc drives, mechanical plotters and dot matrix printers are all stepper motors. Stepper motors are also common in robots, and are responsible for the whining noises made as a robot's limbs move.
Piston actuators consist of movable rods, working in much the same way as the \Jsolenoid\j but operated by non-electrical means such as pneumatics (gas) or \Jhydraulics\j (liquid) under pressure. Pistons work more slowly than solenoids, but they are much more powerful, and so they can move larger objects.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
BK a
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"actus reus",297,0,0,0
HS (Lat 'guilty act') and \B\Imens rea\i\b (Lat 'guilty mind')
EN Two elements which criminal law in common-law countries requires must be present in all crimes. The Latin maxim states: \IActus non facit reum, nisi mens sit rea\i ('The intent \I(mens rea)\i and the act \I(actus reus)\i must both concur to constitute a crime'). The \Iactus reus\i is any overt act towards an intended crime, and may include an act of omission, if there is a legal duty to act; but the crime will not be committed unless the \Imens rea,\i the intent needed to commit that crime, is also present.
The type of intent required depends on the crime; in theft there must be intent to permanently deprive the victim of the property, while in murder there must be intent to kill.
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"Acuff, (Claxton) Roy",298,0,0,0
DT (1903-92)
EN country music singer, fiddler, songwriter; born in Maynardville, Tenn. Forced by poor health to abandon a promising \Jbaseball\j career, he polished his skills as a singer and fiddler and began to play publicly in 1932. He performed on radio in the 1930s with the \JTennessee\j Cracklers, then joined the "Grand Ole Opry" in 1938 with the Smoky Mountain Boys, becoming that radio program's first network broadcasting host.
During World War II he was immensely popular and became known as "the King of Country Music." In the 1940s he appeared in several films and toured the United States. His unique moaning singing style influenced such musicians as Hank Williams. Among his most famous songs are "The Great Speckled Bird" and "Wabash Cannon Ball."
Although his style of country music was somewhat pushed aside by the late 1950s, he continued to appear on "Grand Ole Opry"; he was a co-owner of Acuff-Rose, a music publishing company, and he remained active in \JTennessee\j Republican politics.
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"acuity",299,0,0,0
PN [a\Bkyoo\bitee]
EN Acuteness of perception, especially of vision or hearing; the smallest visual features (usually measured in terms of angular size in the retinal image) that can be seen, or auditory difference that can be heard. The bars of a fine grating can just be resolved when the spacing of the bars in the image is approximately equal to the diameter of a single retinal receptor (about a 500th of a \Jmillimetre\j).
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"acupressure",300,0,0,0
EN A system of treatment said to be the forerunner of \Jacupuncture\j. It involves the application of pressure using thumb and fingers, but sometimes also the palms, knees, elbows, and feet, to stimulate \Jacupuncture\j points and meridians. Practitioners may have a background in martial arts such as tai chi chuan, and the healing aspects of these arts include \Jacupressure\j techniques together with dietary advice and remedial exercises.
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"acupuncture",301,0,0,0
EN (Lat \Iacus\i 'needle' + \Ipunctura\i 'piercing') A medical practice known in China for over 3000 years, which has come to attract attention in the West. It consists of the insertion into the skin and underlying tissues of fine needles, usually made of steel, and of varying lengths according to the depth of the target point.
The site of insertion of each needle is selected according to the points and meridians related to the tissue or organ believed to be disordered, and several hundred specific points have been identified. Areas which are painful on pressure may also be selected ('trigger point' \Jacupuncture\j).
Studies are now in progress to establish which disorders benefit from \Jacupuncture\j, but \Jneuralgia\j, \Jmigraine\j, sprains, and \Jasthma\j are claimed to respond, while infectious disease and tumours are unlikely to do so. It is also employed as an analgesic during surgery in the Far East, where skills in local or general anaesthesia are often not easily available.
Today, \Jacupuncture\j is used widely among the general population in China; equipment can be purchased in shops, and used in the way simple pain killers are employed in the West. The efficacy of the method is now being subjected to statistically-controlled trials, but accounts of successes remain anecdotal. Its mechanism of action is also unknown.
In the terms of Chinese philosophy it is believed to restore the balance of the contrasting principles of \Iyin\i and \Iyang,\i and the flow of \IQi\i in hypothetical channels of the body \I(meridians).\i Research has shown that brain tissue contains \Jmorphine\j-like substances called \Iendorphins,\i which may be released in increased amounts when deep sensory nerves are stimulated by injury near the body surfaces. A possible mode of action therefore is that these substances are released by \Jacupuncture\j, and some degree of tranquillity and analgesia is induced.
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"acyl",302,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bsiyl]
EN IUPAC \Balkanoyl.\b In chemistry, the general name for an organic functional group R.CO-, where River represents H or an \Jalkyl\j group.
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"ADA",303,0,0,0
EN A computer programming language developed for the US Department of Defense which permits the development of very large computer systems, and can cope with complex real-time applications. It was named after Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace, daughter of Lord Byron, who worked with Charles Babbage.
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"Adad",304,0,0,0
PN [\Bay\bdad]
EN The Mesopotamian god of storms, known throughout the area of Babylonian influence; the Syrians called him Hadad, and in the \JBible\j he is Rimmon, the god of thunder. He helped to cause the Great Flood in \IGilgamesh.\i His symbol was the \Jlightning\j held in his hand; his animal was the bull.
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"Adair, John",305,0,0,0
PN [a\Bdair\b]
DT1a c.
DT1 1655
DT2 ?
DT2 1722
EN Scottish surveyor and cartographer, who did notable work in mapping Scotland and its coast and islands. He prepared maps of counties in the central belt of Scotland (1680-6), and in 1703 published \IDescription of the Sea-Coast and Islands of Scotland\i (Part 1).
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#
"Adair, John (Eric)",306,0,0,0
PN [a\Bdair\b]
DT1 1934
EN British leadership-development consultant and writer. He studied at Cambridge, London, and Oxford universities, and developed his Action-Centred Leadership model while involved with leadership training at Sandhurst (1963--9) and as an associate director of the Industrial Society (1969--73).
The model states that a leader has to ensure that needs are met in three related areas - getting the task done, maintaining the team, and establishing the personal requirements of individual members.
BK Biog99
#
"Adair, Red",307,0,0,0
PN [a\Bdair\b]
HS , popular name of \BPaul Adair\b
DT1 1915
EN Fire-fighting specialist, born in Houston, \JTexas\j, USA. He is regularly called in as a troubleshooter to deal with major oil fires. In 1984 he and his team put out a major fire on an offshore rig near \JRio de Janeiro\j, and in 1988 they were the first men to board the Piper Alpha oil rig in the North Sea after it was destroyed by an explosion.
He was also one of the first called to extinguish the oil fires started in \JKuwait\j by Saddam Hussein at the end of the Gulf conflict (Operation Desert Storm, 1991). He is the subject of a film, \IHellfighters\i (1968), starring John Wayne.
BK Biog99
#
"Adalbert",308,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bdalbert]
DT1a c.
DT1 1000
DT2 72
EN German \Jarchbishop\j, born of a noble Saxon family. In 1043 he was appointed \JArchbishop\j of Bremen and \JHamburg\j. As papal legate to the North (1053), he extended his spiritual sway over Scandinavia, and carried \JChristianity\j to the Wends.
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#
"Adalbert, St (Benedictine missionary)",309,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bdalbert]
DT1 ?
DT2 981
EN Benedictine missionary. In 961 he was sent by Emperor Otto I at the request of St Olga, Princess of \JKiev\j, to convert the Russians. He became the first Bishop of \JMagdeburg\j in 968. Feast \Jday\j 20 June
MEX Olga; Otto I
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#
"Adalbert, St, known as the Apostle of the Prussians",310,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bdalbert]
HS , known as \Bthe \JApostle\j of the Prussians\b
DT1 956
DT2 97
EN Missionary priest, born in \JBohemia\j. In 982 he was appointed the first native Bishop of \JPrague\j, but the hostility of the corrupt \Jclergy\j obliged him to withdraw to \JRome\j in 990. He then took the Gospel to the Hungarians, the \JPoles\j, and finally the Prussians, who murdered him. He was canonized in 999; feast \Jday\j 23 April.
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#
"Adam and Eve",311,0,0,0
EN Biblical characters described in the Book of Genesis as the first man and woman created by God. Adam was formed from the dust of the ground and God's breath or spirit; Eve was made from Adam's rib. Biblical traditions describe their life in the garden of Eden, their disobedience and banishment, and the birth of their sons Cain, Abel, and Seth.
Their fall into sin is portrayed as a temptation by the serpent (the Devil) to disobey God's command not to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Many further traditions emerged in later Jewish and Christian writings.
MEX Abel; Cain
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#
"Adam de la Halle",312,0,0,0
EN See Halle, Adam de la
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#
"Adam of Bremen",313,0,0,0
DT1 ?
DT2a c.
DT2 1085
EN Ecclesiastical historian. As a canon at Bremen Cathedral from c.1066, he compiled a monumental \IGesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum\i (History of the Archbishopric of \JHamburg\j, completed c.1075), the most important source for the history, \Jgeography\j, and politics of N Europe for the 8-11th-c.
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#
"Adam's needle",314,0,0,0
EN A species of yucca \I(Yucca gloriosa)\i native to south-east USA with short, woody trunk, stiff erect leaves, and numerous white bell-shaped flowers; commonly grown in gardens. \B(Family:\b Agavaceae.)
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#
"Adam's Peak",315,0,0,0
HS , Sinhala \BSri Pada\b
EN 6░49N 80░30E. Sacred mountain in \JSri Lanka\j, rising to 2243┐m / 7359┐ft north-east of Ratnapura; pilgrimages are made (Dec-Apr) to the foot-shaped hollow found on the mountain's summit, believed to be the footprint of \JBuddha\j by Buddhists, of Adam by Muslims, of the god Siva by Hindus, and of St Thomas the \JApostle\j by some Christians.
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"Adam, Adolphe (Charles)",316,0,0,0
PN [adπ]
DT1 1803
DT2 56
EN Composer, born in Paris. The son of the pianist \BLouis Adam\b (1758-1848), he wrote some successful operas, such as \ILe Postillon de Longjumeau\i (1835), but is chiefly remembered for the ballet \IGiselle\i (1841).
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#
"Adam, Auguste Villiers de L'Isle",317,0,0,0
EN See Villiers de L'Isle Adam, comte (Count) (Philippe) Auguste (Mathias)
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#
"Adam, James",318,0,0,0
EN See Adam, Robert
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#
"Adam, Juliette",319,0,0,0
PN [adπ]
HS , \InΘe\i \BLamber\b
DT1 1836
DT2 1936
EN Writer, born in Verberie, \JFrance\j. During the period of the French empire her salon became renowned for her gatherings of wits, artists, and politicians. She produced stories and books on social and political questions, and in 1879 founded the \INouvelle Revue.\i She later published her \IMΘmoires\i (1895-1905).
SX f
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#
"Adam, Louis",320,0,0,0
EN See Adam, Adolphe (Charles)
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#
"Adam, Paul (Auguste Marie)",321,0,0,0
PN [adπ]
DT1 1862
DT2 1920
EN Novelist and essayist, born in Paris. Among his numerous novels are \IChair Molle\i (1885) and \ILa Force\i (1899). He was co-founder of \ISymboliste\i and other French literary periodicals.
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#
"Adam, Robert",322,0,0,0
DT1 1728
DT2 92
EN Architect, born in Kirkcaldy, Fife, E Scotland, UK. He studied at Edinburgh and in \JItaly\j (1754-8), and became architect of the king's works (1761-9), jointly with Sir William Chambers. He established a practice in London in 1758, and during the next 40 years he and his brother \BJames Adam\b (1730-94), succeeded in transforming the prevailing Palladian fashion in \Jarchitecture\j by a series of romantically elegant variations on diverse classical originals.
One of their greatest projects was the Adelphi (demolished 1936), off the Strand, London. Good surviving examples of their work are Home House in London's Portland Square, and Register House in Edinburgh.
MEX Chambers, William; Kauffmann
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#
"Adamic, (Alojzij) Louis",323,0,0,0
DT (?1899-1951)
EN writer; born in Blato, \JSlovenia\j, Yugoslavia. He emigrated to America (1913), became a citizen (1918), and served in the United States Army in World War I. He lived in Milford, N.J., and wrote many articles, stories, and books based on his experiences in America and his former life in Yugoslavia, the best known being \IThe Native's Return: An American Immigrant Visits Yugoslavia and Discovers His Old Country\i (1934).
Although he supported Tito, he was opposed to Soviet \JCommunism\j, and when he was found dead of a gunshot wound, there was inconclusive speculation as to whether he had committed suicide or been murdered by Soviet agents.
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#
"Adamnan, St",324,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bdamnan]
DT1a c.
DT1 625
DT2 704
EN Monk, born in Co \JDonegal\j, N Ireland. At 28 he joined the Columbian brotherhood of Iona, and was chosen abbot in 679. He came to support the Roman views on the dating of Easter and the shape of \Jtonsure\j. His works include the \IVita Sancti Columbae\i (Life of St Columba), which reveals much about the Iona community. Feast \Jday\j 23 September.
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#
"Adamov, Arthur",325,0,0,0
DT 1908-70
EN French playwright. Armenian in origin, Adamov settled in Paris in 1924. Between 1947 and 1953 he completed seven plays. Influenced by Strindberg, they depict a world of terror and persecution stemming from Adamov's own dreams and neuroses, but with stage images that embody a whole state of mind. The masterpiece of this period is Professor Taranne (1953). In 1955 Adamov's Ping-Pong heralded a move towards a more politicized theatre.
His Paolo Paoli (directed by Roger Planchon, 1957) was praised as the first successful Brechtian play in \JFrance\j. Adamov's later successes were Off Limits (directed by Garran and Grⁿber, 1969) and Si l'ΘtΘ revenait (If Summer Returned), published in 1970. A. A. ThΘΓtres d'Adamov, a posthumous tribute directed by Planchon, was performed at the ThΘΓtre National Populaire in 1975.
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#
"Adams (nΘe Kiskadden), Maude",326,0,0,0
DT 1872-1953
EN American actress. Her adult career began in New York at 16 and in 1890 she began an association with producer Charles Frohman which lasted until 1915. In 1897 she capitalized on her eternal youthfulness and whimsy as Lady Babbie in The Little Minister, a character rewritten for her by Barrie.
She also starred in American productions of his Quality Street (1901), Peter Pan (1905), What Every Woman Knows (1908), The Legend of Leonora (1914) and A Kiss for Cinderella (1916). Other parts included the title role in Rostand's L'Aiglon, the strutting hero in his Chantecler, and Shakespeare's Viola, Juliet, Rosalind and Portia.
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#
"Adams, (Llewellyn) Sherman",327,0,0,0
DT (1899-1986)
EN governor, government official; born in East Dover, Vt. A lumber company executive and New Hampshire Republican legislator (1941-44), he served New Hampshire in the U.S. \JHouse of Representatives\j (1945-47). As governor (1949-53), he streamlined government and encouraged business development. As President Eisenhower's domineering chief of staff (1953-58), he resigned under pressure after accepting expensive gifts from businessmen. He later developed a ski resort.
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"Adams, Abigail",328,0,0,0
DT (1744-1818)
EN First Lady; born in Weymouth, Mass. A minister's daughter, she married John Adams in 1764, beginning a classic partnership that lasted for 54 years. She had no formal schooling but taught herself Latin and then educated her five children, one of whom, John Quincy Adams, became the sixth president. Adams was often away on government business and she ran the family farm in Quincy.
She and Adams maintained a long correspondence during those years of separation; her letters displayed a political bent which exceeded that of most Revolutionary period women. She was not overly happy as first lady; she resented both the expense of entertaining and the lack of privacy.
She and Adams resided in Philadelphia until 1800, when she supervised the move to Washington, D.C. Following the presidency, she continued her letter writing (Thomas Jefferson was one of her correspondents). She is the only woman to have been both the wife and the mother of U.S. presidents.
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"Adams, Alvin",329,0,0,0
DT (1804-87)
EN businessman; born in Andover, Vt. Orphaned as a child, he began working odd jobs at age 16. In 1840 in New York City he formed Adams & Company, an express package business between \JBoston\j and New York City. The company prospered, buying routes in New England (1841) and in the west and south as far as St. Louis (1842), eventually opening 35 offices in \JCalifornia\j (1849). In 1854 the Adams Express Company incorporated and expanded to Europe.
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#
"Adams, Ansel (Easton)",330,0,0,0
DT (1902-84)
EN photographer, conservationist; born in \JSan Francisco\j. A commercial photographer for 30 years, he made visionary photos of western landscapes that were inspired by a boyhood trip to \JYosemite\j. He won three Guggenheim grants to photograph the national parks (1944-58). Founding the f/64 group with Edward Weston in 1932, he developed zone exposure to get maximum tonal range from black-and-white film. He served on the Sierra Club Board (1934-71).
BK AmBg
#
"Adams, Brooks",331,0,0,0
DT (1848-1927)
EN historian, lawyer; born in Quincy, Mass. (grandson of President John Quincy Adams, son of Charles Francis Adams, brother of Henry Adams). After graduating from Harvard (1870), he served his father as secretary in Geneva and practiced law in \JBoston\j. His major historical work, \IThe Law of Civilization and Decay\i (1895), a cyclical view of history, influenced his brother Henry. He lectured on law at \JBoston\j University (1904-11).
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#
"Adams, Charles Francis",332,0,0,0
DT (1807-86)
EN diplomat; born in \JBoston\j, Mass. (son of John Quincy Adams, grandson of John Adams). He practiced law in \JBoston\j, wrote and edited family histories, and served in the \JMassachusetts\j legislature as a Whig. He was a member of the \JHouse of Representatives\j (Rep., Mass.; 1859-61).
As ambassador to \JGreat Britain\j (1861-68), he skillfully lobbied to keep Britain neutral during the \JCivil War\j. He declined the presidency of \JHarvard University\j, but served as one of the University's overseers.
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#
"Adams, Charles Kendall",333,0,0,0
DT (1835-1902)
EN university president, historian; born in Derby, Vt. As president of Cornell University (1885-92), he established new schools of law and history and political science and recruited a scholarly faculty. Known as a "building president," he greatly expanded enrollments and the campus of the University of \JWisconsin\j as president there (1892-1901).
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#
"Adams, Diana",334,0,0,0
DT (1926-93)
EN ballet dancer; born in Stanton, Va. She studied with Edward Canton and Anthony Tudor and appeared in two Broadway musicals before she joined the Ballet Theatre in 1943. There she performed featured roles in several ballets. She joined the New York City Ballet in 1950 where she created numerous roles until her retirement in the mid-1960s.
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#
"Adams, Douglas (Noel)",335,0,0,0
DT1 1952
EN Writer, born in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, EC England, UK. He studied at Cambridge, then worked as a writer, producing material for radio and \Jtelevision\j shows, and also for stage revues. He is known for his humorous \Jscience fiction\j novels, especially \IThe Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy\i (1979, originally a radio series, 1978, 1980, later televised). Later works include \IThe Meaning of Liff\i (1984, with John Lloyd), \IMostly Harmless\i (1992), and \IThe Illustrated Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy\i (1994).
\BMajor Works\b
\INovels\i
1979 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy
1980 The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
1982 Life, the Universe and Everything
1984 The Meaning of Liff (with John Lloyd)
1984 So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
1987 Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
1988 The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
1990 Last Chance to See... (with Mark Carwardine)
1990 The Deeper Meaning of Liff (with John Lloyd)
1992 Mostly Harmless
1994 The Illustrated Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy
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"Adams, Edwin",336,0,0,0
DT 1834-77
EN American actor. He established himself during the \JCivil War\j as a travelling star distinguished for his playing of romantic or light comedy characters in such vehicles as The Lady of Lyons and Narcisse. In 1869, Edwin Booth selected him to play Mercutio opposite his Romeo for the opening of Booth's Theatre, where he later featured in the title role in a dramatization of Tennyson's Enoch Arden.
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"Adams, Franklin P. (Pierce)",337,0,0,0
DT (1881-1960)
EN journalist; born in \JChicago\j. A New York based columnist for four decades through 1941, Adams was better known under the byline "F.P.A." He had top writers vying to contribute to his "Conning Tower" where he also supplied his own crisp, humorous verse and wide-ranging commentary; on a regular basis he substituted a diary of his doings on the New York literary scene, in a style parodying 18th-century English diarist Samuel Pepys.
He was a panelist on the popular radio show \IInformation Please\i (1938-48) and he is also remembered for his 1910 verse, "Tinker to Evers to Chance."
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"Adams, Gerry",338,0,0,0
DT1 1948
EN Northern Ireland politician, born in \JBelfast\j, NE Northern Ireland, UK. He joined Sinn FΘin, and during the 1970s was interned because of his connections with the IRA. In 1978 he became vice-president of Sinn FΘin and later its president.
Elected to the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1982, the following year he was also elected to the UK parliament as member for \JBelfast\j West, but he declined to take up his seat at Westminster. He achieved national prominence as the chief contact with the IRA during the events relating to the IRA ceasefire (1994--6), and retained his seat in the 1997 general election.
BK Biog99
#
"Adams, Hannah",339,0,0,0
DT (1755-1831)
EN compiler of historical data; born in Medford, Mass. Privately educated and in frail health from childhood, she was encouraged by a boarder in her family home to research comparative religions. Her \IAlphabetical Compendium of the Various Sects\i (1784) was well received and went into several editions in the United States and England.
Her other compilations include \IA Summary History of New England\i (1799), \IHistory of the Jews\i (1812), and \ILetters of the Gospels\i (1824). She is remembered as the first American woman to support herself by writing.
BK AmBg
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"Adams, Harriet S",340,0,0,0
EN See Stratemeyer, Edward L
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XCY y
#
"Adams, Henry (Brooks)",341,0,0,0
DT (1838-1918)
EN historian; born in \JBoston\j, Mass. (grandson of President John Quincy Adams, son of Charles Francis Adams, brother of Brooks Adams). After graduating from Harvard and studying law in \JGermany\j, he served as secretary to his father during the latter's term as ambassador to England (1861-68).
On returning to the U.S.A. he went to Washington, D.C., but, disillusioned by the new government, he turned to teaching both medieval and American history at Harvard (1870-77) (where he is credited with introducing the seminar system into U.S. education). He left teaching and returned to Washington, D.C., where although he had a small circle of elite friends, he remained out of step with the new nation; he expressed this in his novel \IDemocracy\i (1880).
He continued to publish biographies and a nine-volume \IHistory of the United States of America from 1801 to 1817\i (1889-91). After the death of his wife, Marian Hooper (1885), he traveled to many parts of the world but he always returned to Washington.
He privately published \IMont-Saint-Michel and Chartres\i (1904) and \IThe Education of Henry Adams\i (1907), but their success led to trade editions (1913 and 1918, respectively); the latter, now regarded as an idiosyncratic American classic, was his detached view of his problematic relationship with his times, and he did not have to deal with the irony of its receiving a posthumous Pulitzer Prize (1919).
BK AmBg
#
"Adams, Henry Cullen",342,0,0,0
DT (1850-1906)
EN U.S. representative; born in \JOneida\j County, N.Y. A dairy farmer in \JWisconsin\j, he was Dairy and Food Commissioner of \JWisconsin\j (1895-1902) and a Democratic congressman (1903-06). He championed the National Food and Drugs Act and Meat Inspection Laws.
BK AmBg
#
"Adams, Herbert Baxter",343,0,0,0
DT (1850-1901)
EN historian, educator; born in Shutesbury, Mass. Educated at Amherst College and Heidelberg, \JGermany\j, he joined the faculty of Johns Hopkins University at its inception (1876) and played a major role in the professionalization of American history.
His \IJohns Hopkins Studies in Historical and Political Science\i series (1877) set standards throughout the country. He was one of the founders of the American Historial Society (1884) and was its secretary until 1900.
BK AmBg
#
"Adams, Herbert Samuel",344,0,0,0
DT (1858-1945)
EN sculptor; born in West Concord, Vt. He studied in Paris (1885-90), taught at the Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, (1890-98), and settled in New York City and Plainfield, N.H. He is noted for his marble and polychrome sculptures and for the bronze doors of St. Bartholomew's Church, New York City (1902).
BK AmBg
#
"Adams, John Bodkin",345,0,0,0
DT1 1899
DT2 1983
EN British physician. A general practitioner in Eastbourne, south-east England, UK, he was tried in March 1957 for the murder of one of his patients, Edith Alice Morrell. Morrell had died in mysterious circumstances, following long courses of heroin and \Jmorphine\j prescribed by Adams, who was a beneficiary of her will.
Although found not guilty, he was struck off the Medical Register, but reinstated in 1961. While some believed he had killed patients for personal gain, others have argued that he was practising a form of \Jeuthanasia\j.
SX m
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"Adams, John Couch",346,0,0,0
DT (1819-92)
EN British astronomer: predicted existence of Neptune.
As the son of a tenant farmer, Adams had financial problems in entering Cambridge, but his career was successful and he remained there throughout his life.
By 1820 it had become apparent to astronomers that the motion of Uranus could not be explained by Newton's law of gravitation and the influence of the known planets alone, since a small but increasing perturbation in its \Jorbit\j had been observed. While still an undergraduate, Adams proved that the deviation had to be due to the influence of an eighth, undiscovered, planet.
He sent his prediction for its position to Airy, the Astronomer Royal, who was sceptical of its value and ignored it. Only when Leverrier, in \JFrance\j, announced similar results 9 months later did Airy initiate a search by James Challis (1803-82) at the Cambridge Observatory, based on Adams's prediction.
The \Jplanet\j, now named Neptune, was however found first by Johann Galle (1812-1910) in Berlin in 1846, using Leverrier's figures. A bitter controversy about the credit for the prediction soon developed. Adams's precedence was eventually recognized, despite his taking no part in the debate. He turned down the subsequent offers of a knighthood and the post of Astronomer Royal.
BK Scie
#
"Adams, John Quincy",347,0,0,0
DT (1767-1848)
EN sixth U.S. president; born in Braintree (later Quincy), Mass. (son of John Adams). Reared for public service, he traveled in childhood on his father's diplomatic missions and at age 14 was private secretary to the American envoy at St. Petersburg. In 1787 he graduated from Harvard and was admitted to the bar in 1790.
Successively ambassador to the Netherlands, \JGreat Britain\j, \JPortugal\j, and Berlin, he was elected as a \JMassachusetts\j Federalist to the U.S. Senate (1803); in 1806, however, his support of Jefferson outraged New England Federalists and he lost his seat in 1808. In 1809 he was ambassador to \JRussia\j; in 1814, a member of the commission to negotiate peace with \JGreat Britain\j; and from 1815 to 1817, ambassador to \JGreat Britain\j.
As a brilliant \Jsecretary of state\j under President Monroe (1817-25), Adams negotiated with \JSpain\j the treaty for the acquisition of \JFlorida\j and wrote a good deal of the "Monroe Doctrine" (1823). In 1824 he won the presidential election over Andrew Jackson, but only after a close vote in the \JHouse of Representatives\j. Cold in manner and too independent to command a following, he was an ineffective president and lost to Jackson in 1828.
In 1831 he entered the U.S. \JHouse of Representatives\j where for the rest of his life he was a champion of the antislavery faction. In 1841 he successfully defended the African mutineers of the slave ship \IAmistad.\i He suffered a stroke while sitting in the House and died two days later.
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"Adams, John Quincy, Inaugural Address",348,0,0,0
\BInaugural Address
Friday, March 4, 1825\b
In compliance with an usage coeval with the existence of our Federal Constitution, and sanctioned by the example of my predecessors in the career upon which I am about to enter, I appear, my fellow-citizens, in your presence and in that of Heaven to bind myself by the solemnities of religious obligation to the faithful performance of the duties allotted to me in the station to which I have been called.
In unfolding to my countrymen the principles by which I shall be governed in the fulfilment of those duties my first resort will be to that Constitution which I shall swear to the best of my ability to preserve, protect, and defend. That revered instrument enumerates the powers and prescribes the duties of the Executive Magistrate, and in its first words declares the purposes to which these and the whole action of the Government instituted by it should be invariably and sacredly devoted-to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to the people of this Union in their successive generations.
Since the adoption of this social compact one of these generations has passed away. It is the work of our forefathers. Administered by some of the most eminent men who contributed to its formation, through a most eventful period in the annals of the world, and through all the vicissitudes of peace and war incidental to the condition of associated man, it has not disappointed the hopes and aspirations of those illustrious benefactors of their age and nation.
It has promoted the lasting welfare of that country so dear to us all; it has to an extent far beyond the ordinary lot of humanity secured the freedom and happiness of this people. We now receive it as a precious inheritance from those to whom we are indebted for its establishment, doubly bound by the examples which they have left us and by the blessings which we have enjoyed as the fruits of their labors to transmit the same unimpaired to the succeeding generation.
In the compass of thirty-six years since this great national covenant was instituted a body of laws enacted under its authority and in conformity with its provisions has unfolded its powers and carried into practical operation its effective energies. Subordinate departments have distributed the executive functions in their various relations to foreign affairs, to the revenue and expenditures, and to the military force of the Union by land and sea.
A coordinate department of the judiciary has expounded the Constitution and the laws, settling in harmonious coincidence with the legislative will numerous weighty questions of construction which the imperfection of human language had rendered unavoidable. The year of jubilee since the first formation of our Union has just elapsed; that of the declaration of our independence is at hand. The consummation of both was effected by this Constitution.
Since that period a population of four millions has multiplied to twelve. A territory bounded by the Mississippi has been extended from sea to sea. New States have been admitted to the Union in numbers nearly equal to those of the first Confederation. Treaties of peace, amity, and commerce have been concluded with the principal dominions of the \Jearth\j. The people of other nations, inhabitants of regions acquired not by conquest, but by compact, have been united with us in the participation of our rights and duties, of our burdens and blessings.
The forest has fallen by the ax of our woodsmen; the soil has been made to teem by the tillage of our farmers; our commerce has whitened every ocean. The dominion of man over physical nature has been extended by the invention of our artists. Liberty and law have marched hand in hand. All the purposes of human association have been accomplished as effectively as under any other government on the globe, and at a cost little exceeding in a whole generation the expenditure of other nations in a single year.
Such is the unexaggerated picture of our condition under a Constitution founded upon the republican principle of equal rights. To admit that this picture has its shades is but to say that it is still the condition of men upon \Jearth\j. From evil-physical, moral, and political-it is not our claim to be exempt. We have suffered sometimes by the visitation of Heaven through disease; often by the wrongs and injustice of other nations, even to the extremities of war; and, lastly, by dissensions among ourselves-dissensions perhaps inseparable from the enjoyment of freedom, but which have more than once appeared to threaten the dissolution of the Union, and with it the overthrow of all the enjoyments of our present lot and all our earthly hopes of the future.
The causes of these dissensions have been various, founded upon differences of speculation in the theory of republican government; upon conflicting views of policy in our relations with foreign nations; upon jealousies of partial and sectional interests, aggravated by prejudices and prepossessions which strangers to each other are ever apt to entertain.
It is a source of gratification and of encouragement to me to observe that the great result of this experiment upon the theory of human rights has at the close of that generation by which it was formed been crowned with success equal to the most sanguine expectations of its founders. Union, justice, tranquillity, the common defense, the general welfare, and the blessings of liberty-all have been promoted by the Government under which we have lived. Standing at this point of time, looking back to that generation which has gone by and forward to that which is advancing, we may at once indulge in grateful exultation and in cheering hope.
From the experience of the past we derive instructive lessons for the future. Of the two great political parties which have divided the opinions and feelings of our country, the candid and the just will now admit that both have contributed splendid talents, spotless integrity, ardent patriotism, and disinterested sacrifices to the formation and administration of this Government, and that both have required a liberal indulgence for a portion of human infirmity and error.
The revolutionary wars of Europe, commencing precisely at the moment when the Government of the United States first went into operation under this Constitution, excited a collision of sentiments and of sympathies which kindled all the passions and embittered the conflict of parties till the nation was involved in war and the Union was shaken to its center. This time of trial embraced a period of five and twenty years, during which the policy of the Union in its relations with Europe constituted the principal basis of our political divisions and the most arduous part of the action of our Federal Government.
With the catastrophe in which the wars of the \JFrench Revolution\j terminated, and our own subsequent peace with \JGreat Britain\j, this baneful weed of party strife was uprooted. From that time no difference of principle, connected either with the theory of government or with our intercourse with foreign nations, has existed or been called forth in force sufficient to sustain a continued combination of parties or to give more than wholesome animation to public sentiment or legislative debate.
Our political creed is, without a dissenting voice that can be heard, that the will of the people is the source and the happiness of the people the end of all legitimate government upon \Jearth\j; that the best security for the beneficence and the best guaranty against the abuse of power consists in the freedom, the purity, and the frequency of popular elections; that the General Government of the Union and the separate governments of the States are all sovereignties of limited powers, fellow-servants of the same masters, uncontrolled within their respective spheres, uncontrollable by encroachments upon each other; that the firmest security of peace is the preparation during peace of the defenses of war; that a rigorous economy and accountability of public expenditures should guard against the aggravation and alleviate when possible the burden of taxation; that the military should be kept in strict subordination to the civil power; that the freedom of the press and of religious opinion should be inviolate; that the policy of our country is peace and the ark of our salvation union are articles of faith upon which we are all now agreed.
If there have been those who doubted whether a confederated representative democracy were a government competent to the wise and orderly management of the common concerns of a mighty nation, those doubts have been dispelled; if there have been projects of partial confederacies to be erected upon the ruins of the Union, they have been scattered to the winds; if there have been dangerous attachments to one foreign nation and antipathies against another, they have been extinguished.
Ten years of peace, at home and abroad, have assuaged the animosities of political contention and blended into harmony the most discordant elements of public opinion. There still remains one effort of magnanimity, one sacrifice of \Jprejudice\j and passion, to be made by the individuals throughout the nation who have heretofore followed the standards of political party. It is that of discarding every remnant of rancor against each other, of embracing as countrymen and friends, and of yielding to talents and virtue alone that confidence which in times of contention for principle was bestowed only upon those who bore the badge of party communion.
The collisions of party spirit which originate in speculative opinions or in different views of administrative policy are in their nature transitory. Those which are founded on geographical divisions, adverse interests of soil, climate, and modes of domestic life are more permanent, and therefore, perhaps, more dangerous. It is this which gives inestimable value to the character of our Government, at once federal and national. It holds out to us a perpetual admonition to preserve alike and with equal anxiety the rights of each individual State in its own government and the rights of the whole nation in that of the Union.
Whatsoever is of domestic concernment, unconnected with the other members of the Union or with foreign lands, belongs exclusively to the administration of the State governments. Whatsoever directly involves the rights and interests of the federative fraternity or of foreign powers is of the resort of this General Government. The duties of both are obvious in the general principle, though sometimes perplexed with difficulties in the detail. To respect the rights of the State governments is the inviolable duty of that of the Union; the government of every State will feel its own obligation to respect and preserve the rights of the whole.
The prejudices everywhere too commonly entertained against distant strangers are worn away, and the jealousies of jarring interests are allayed by the composition and functions of the great national councils annually assembled from all quarters of the Union at this place. Here the distinguished men from every section of our country, while meeting to deliberate upon the great interests of those by whom they are deputed, learn to estimate the talents and do justice to the virtues of each other. The harmony of the nation is promoted and the whole Union is knit together by the sentiments of mutual respect, the habits of social intercourse, and the ties of personal friendship formed between the representatives of its several parts in the performance of their service at this metropolis.
Passing from this general review of the purposes and injunctions of the Federal Constitution and their results as indicating the first traces of the path of duty in the discharge of my public trust, I turn to the Administration of my immediate predecessor as the second. It has passed away in a period of profound peace, how much to the satisfaction of our country and to the honor of our country's name is known to you all.
The great features of its policy, in general concurrence with the will of the Legislature, have been to cherish peace while preparing for defensive war; to yield exact justice to other nations and maintain the rights of our own; to cherish the principles of freedom and of equal rights wherever they were proclaimed; to discharge with all possible promptitude the national debt; to reduce within the narrowest limits of efficiency the military force; to improve the organization and discipline of the Army; to provide and sustain a school of \Jmilitary science\j; to extend equal protection to all the great interests of the nation; to promote the civilization of the Indian tribes, and to proceed in the great system of internal improvements within the limits of the constitutional power of the Union.
Under the pledge of these promises, made by that eminent citizen at the time of his first induction to this office, in his career of eight years the internal taxes have been repealed; sixty millions of the public debt have been discharged; provision has been made for the comfort and relief of the aged and indigent among the surviving warriors of the Revolution; the regular armed force has been reduced and its constitution revised and perfected; the accountability for the expenditure of public moneys has been made more effective; the Floridas have been peaceably acquired, and our boundary has been extended to the \JPacific Ocean\j; the independence of the southern nations of this hemisphere has been recognized, and recommended by example and by counsel to the potentates of Europe; progress has been made in the defense of the country by fortifications and the increase of the Navy, toward the effectual suppression of the African traffic in slaves; in alluring the aboriginal hunters of our land to the cultivation of the soil and of the mind, in exploring the interior regions of the Union, and in preparing by scientific researches and surveys for the further application of our national resources to the internal improvement of our country.
In this brief outline of the promise and performance of my immediate predecessor the line of duty for his successor is clearly delineated.
To pursue to their consummation those purposes of improvement in our common condition instituted or recommended by him will embrace the whole sphere of my obligations. To the topic of internal improvement, emphatically urged by him at his inauguration, I recur with peculiar satisfaction. It is that from which I am convinced that the unborn millions of our posterity who are in future ages to people this continent will derive their most fervent gratitude to the founders of the Union; that in which the beneficent action of its Government will be most deeply felt and acknowledged.
The magnificence and splendor of their public works are among the imperishable glories of the ancient republics. The roads and aqueducts of \JRome\j have been the admiration of all after ages, and have survived thousands of years after all her conquests have been swallowed up in despotism or become the spoil of barbarians. Some diversity of opinion has prevailed with regard to the powers of Congress for legislation upon objects of this nature.
The most respectful deference is due to doubts originating in pure patriotism and sustained by venerated authority. But nearly twenty years have passed since the construction of the first national road was commenced. The authority for its construction was then unquestioned. To how many thousands of our countrymen has it proved a benefit? To what single individual has it ever proved an injury?
Repeated, liberal, and candid discussions in the Legislature have conciliated the sentiments and approximated the opinions of enlightened minds upon the question of constitutional power. I can not but hope that by the same process of friendly, patient, and persevering deliberation all constitutional objections will ultimately be removed. The extent and limitation of the powers of the General Government in relation to this transcendently important interest will be settled and acknowledged to the common satisfaction of all, and every speculative scruple will be solved by a practical public blessing.
Fellow-citizens, you are acquainted with the peculiar circumstances of the recent election, which have resulted in affording me the opportunity of addressing you at this time. You have heard the exposition of the principles which will direct me in the fulfilment of the high and solemn trust imposed upon me in this station. Less possessed of your confidence in advance than any of my predecessors, I am deeply conscious of the prospect that I shall stand more and oftener in need of your indulgence.
Intentions upright and pure, a heart devoted to the welfare of our country, and the unceasing application of all the faculties allotted to me to her service are all the pledges that I can give for the faithful performance of the arduous duties I am to undertake.
To the guidance of the legislative councils, to the assistance of the executive and subordinate departments, to the friendly cooperation of the respective State governments, to the candid and liberal support of the people so far as it may be deserved by honest industry and zeal, I shall look for whatever success may attend my public service; and knowing that "except the Lord keep the city the watchman waketh but in vain," with fervent supplications for His favor, to His overruling providence I commit with humble but fearless confidence my own fate and the future destinies of my country.
BK Webster
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"Adams, John, alias Alexander Smith",349,0,0,0
HS , alias \BAlexander Smith\b
DT1a c.
DT1 1760
DT2 1829
EN British seaman, and a ringleader in the mutiny against Captain William Bligh on the \IBounty\i in 1789. With other mutineers he founded a colony on Pitcairn I. When the island was visited in 1809 by the US sealer \ITopaz,\i Adams was the sole European survivor. Revered as the \Jpatriarch\j of the Pitcairn settlement, he received a royal pardon for his part in the mutiny.
MEX Bligh
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"Adams, John, Inaugural Address",350,0,0,0
\BInaugural Address in the City of Philadelphia
Saturday, March 4, 1797\b
When it was first perceived, in early times, that no middle course for America remained between unlimited submission to a foreign legislature and a total independence of its claims, men of reflection were less apprehensive of danger from the formidable power of fleets and armies they must determine to resist than from those contests and dissensions which would certainly arise concerning the forms of government to be instituted over the whole and over the parts of this extensive country. Relying, however, on the purity of their intentions, the justice of their cause, and the integrity and intelligence of the people, under an overruling Providence which had so signally protected this country from the first, the representatives of this nation, then consisting of little more than half its present number, not only broke to pieces the chains which were forging and the rod of iron that was lifted up, but frankly cut asunder the ties which had bound them, and launched into an ocean of uncertainty.
The zeal and ardor of the people during the Revolutionary war, supplying the place of government, commanded a degree of order sufficient at least for the temporary preservation of society. The Confederation which was early felt to be necessary was prepared from the models of the Batavian and Helvetic confederacies, the only examples which remain with any detail and precision in history, and certainly the only ones which the people at large had ever considered. But reflecting on the striking difference in so many particulars between this country and those where a courier may go from the seat of government to the frontier in a single \Jday\j, it was then certainly foreseen by some who assisted in Congress at the formation of it that it could not be durable.
Negligence of its regulations, inattention to its recommendations, if not disobedience to its authority, not only in individuals but in States, soon appeared with their melancholy consequences-universal languor, jealousies and rivalries of States, decline of navigation and commerce, discouragement of necessary manufactures, universal fall in the value of lands and their produce, contempt of public and private faith, loss of consideration and credit with foreign nations, and at length in discontents, animosities, combinations, partial conventions, and insurrection, threatening some great national calamity.
In this dangerous crisis the people of America were not abandoned by their usual good sense, presence of mind, resolution, or integrity. Measures were pursued to concert a plan to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquillity, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty. The public disquisitions, discussions, and deliberations issued in the present happy Constitution of Government.
Employed in the service of my country abroad during the whole course of these transactions, I first saw the \JConstitution of the United States\j in a foreign country. Irritated by no literary altercation, animated by no public debate, heated by no party animosity, I read it with great satisfaction, as the result of good heads prompted by good hearts, as an experiment better adapted to the genius, character, situation, and relations of this nation and country than any which had ever been proposed or suggested. In its general principles and great outlines it was conformable to such a system of government as I had ever most esteemed, and in some States, my own native State in particular, had contributed to establish.
Claiming a right of suffrage, in common with my fellow-citizens, in the adoption or rejection of a constitution which was to rule me and my posterity, as well as them and theirs, I did not hesitate to express my approbation of it on all occasions, in public and in private. It was not then, nor has been since, any objection to it in my mind that the Executive and Senate were not more permanent. Nor have I ever entertained a thought of promoting any alteration in it but such as the people themselves, in the course of their experience, should see and feel to be necessary or expedient, and by their representatives in Congress and the State legislatures, according to the Constitution itself, adopt and ordain.
Returning to the bosom of my country after a painful separation from it for ten years, I had the honor to be elected to a station under the new order of things, and I have repeatedly laid myself under the most serious obligations to support the Constitution. The operation of it has equaled the most sanguine expectations of its friends, and from an habitual attention to it, satisfaction in its administration, and delight in its effects upon the peace, order, prosperity, and happiness of the nation I have acquired an habitual attachment to it and veneration for it.
What other form of government, indeed, can so well deserve our esteem and love?
There may be little solidity in an ancient idea that congregations of men into cities and nations are the most pleasing objects in the sight of superior intelligences, but this is very certain, that to a benevolent human mind there can be no spectacle presented by any nation more pleasing, more noble, majestic, or august, than an assembly like that which has so often been seen in this and the other Chamber of Congress, of a Government in which the Executive authority, as well as that of all the branches of the Legislature, are exercised by citizens selected at regular periods by their neighbors to make and execute laws for the general good.
Can anything essential, anything more than mere ornament and decoration, be added to this by robes and diamonds? Can authority be more amiable and respectable when it descends from accidents or institutions established in remote antiquity than when it springs fresh from the hearts and judgments of an honest and enlightened people? For it is the people only that are represented. It is their power and majesty that is reflected, and only for their good, in every legitimate government, under whatever form it may appear.
The existence of such a government as ours for any length of time is a full proof of a general dissemination of knowledge and virtue throughout the whole body of the people. And what object or consideration more pleasing than this can be presented to the human mind? If national pride is ever justifiable or excusable it is when it springs, not from power or riches, grandeur or glory, but from conviction of national innocence, information, and benevolence.
In the midst of these pleasing ideas we should be unfaithful to ourselves if we should ever lose sight of the danger to our liberties if anything partial or extraneous should infect the purity of our free, fair, virtuous, and independent elections. If an election is to be determined by a majority of a single vote, and that can be procured by a party through artifice or corruption, the Government may be the choice of a party for its own ends, not of the nation for the national good. If that solitary suffrage can be obtained by foreign nations by flattery or menaces, by \Jfraud\j or violence, by terror, intrigue, or venality, the Government may not be the choice of the American people, but of foreign nations. It may be foreign nations who govern us, and not we, the people, who govern ourselves; and candid men will acknowledge that in such cases choice would have little advantage to boast of over lot or chance.
Such is the amiable and interesting system of government (and such are some of the abuses to which it may be exposed) which the people of America have exhibited to the admiration and anxiety of the wise and virtuous of all nations for eight years under the administration of a citizen who, by a long course of great actions, regulated by prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude, conducting a people inspired with the same virtues and animated with the same ardent patriotism and love of liberty to independence and peace, to increasing wealth and unexampled prosperity, has merited the gratitude of his fellow-citizens, commanded the highest praises of foreign nations, and secured immortal glory with posterity.
In that retirement which is his voluntary choice may he long live to enjoy the delicious recollection of his services, the gratitude of mankind, the happy fruits of them to himself and the world, which are daily increasing, and that splendid prospect of the future fortunes of this country which is opening from year to year. His name may be still a rampart, and the knowledge that he lives a bulwark, against all open or secret enemies of his country's peace. This example has been recommended to the imitation of his successors by both Houses of Congress and by the voice of the legislatures and the people throughout the nation.
On this subject it might become me better to be silent or to speak with diffidence; but as something may be expected, the occasion, I hope, will be admitted as an apology if I venture to say that if a preference, upon principle, of a free republican government, formed upon long and serious reflection, after a diligent and impartial inquiry after truth; if an attachment to the \JConstitution of the United States\j, and a conscientious determination to support it until it shall be altered by the judgments and wishes of the people, expressed in the mode prescribed in it; if a respectful attention to the constitutions of the individual States and a constant caution and delicacy toward the State governments; if an equal and impartial regard to the rights, interest, honor, and happiness of all the States in the Union, without preference or regard to a northern or southern, an eastern or western, position, their various political opinions on unessential points or their personal attachments; if a love of virtuous men of all parties and denominations; if a love of science and letters and a wish to patronize every rational effort to encourage schools, colleges, universities, academies, and every institution for propagating knowledge, virtue, and religion among all classes of the people, not only for their benign influence on the happiness of life in all its stages and classes, and of society in all its forms, but as the only means of preserving our Constitution from its natural enemies, the spirit of sophistry, the spirit of party, the spirit of intrigue, the profligacy of corruption, and the pestilence of foreign influence, which is the angel of destruction to elective governments; if a love of equal laws, of justice, and humanity in the interior administration; if an inclination to improve agriculture, commerce, and manufacturers for necessity, convenience, and defense; if a spirit of equity and humanity toward the aboriginal nations of America, and a disposition to meliorate their condition by inclining them to be more friendly to us, and our citizens to be more friendly to them; if an inflexible determination to maintain peace and inviolable faith with all nations, and that system of \Jneutrality\j and impartiality among the belligerent powers of Europe which has been adopted by this Government and so solemnly sanctioned by both Houses of Congress and applauded by the legislatures of the States and the public opinion, until it shall be otherwise ordained by Congress; if a personal esteem for the French nation, formed in a residence of seven years chiefly among them, and a sincere desire to preserve the friendship which has been so much for the honor and interest of both nations; if, while the conscious honor and integrity of the people of America and the internal sentiment of their own power and energies must be preserved, an earnest endeavor to investigate every just cause and remove every colorable pretense of complaint; if an intention to pursue by amicable negotiation a reparation for the injuries that have been committed on the commerce of our fellow-citizens by whatever nation, and if success can not be obtained, to lay the facts before the Legislature, that they may consider what further measures the honor and interest of the Government and its constituents demand; if a resolution to do justice as far as may depend upon me, at all times and to all nations, and maintain peace, friendship, and benevolence with all the world; if an unshaken confidence in the honor, spirit, and resources of the American people, on which I have so often hazarded my all and never been deceived; if elevated ideas of the high destinies of this country and of my own duties toward it, founded on a knowledge of the moral principles and intellectual improvements of the people deeply engraven on my mind in early life, and not obscured but exalted by experience and age; and, with humble reverence, I feel it to be my duty to add, if a veneration for the religion of a people who profess and call themselves Christians, and a fixed resolution to consider a decent respect for \JChristianity\j among the best recommendations for the public service, can enable me in any degree to comply with your wishes, it shall be my strenuous endeavor that this sagacious injunction of the two Houses shall not be without effect.
With this great example before me, with the sense and spirit, the faith and honor, the duty and interest, of the same American people pledged to support the \JConstitution of the United States\j, I entertain no doubt of its continuance in all its \Jenergy\j, and my mind is prepared without hesitation to lay myself under the most solemn obligations to support it to the utmost of my power.
And may that Being who is supreme over all, the Patron of Order, the Fountain of Justice, and the Protector in all ages of the world of virtuous liberty, continue His blessing upon this nation and its Government and give it all possible success and duration consistent with the ends of His providence.
BK Webster
#
"Adams, John, U.S. president",351,0,0,0
DT (1735-1826)
EN second U.S. president; born in Braintree (now Quincy), Mass. He studied at Harvard and settled into law practice in \JBoston\j. Although he defended British soldiers after the \JBoston\j Massacre (1770), he had also shown "patriot" sympathies by pamphleteering against the Stamp Act in 1765.
Having gained prominence as a political thinker and writer, he was sent as a \JMassachusetts\j delegate to the First (1774) and Second (1775-77) Continental Congresses; he helped edit Jefferson's \JDeclaration of Independence\j and led the debate that ratified it (1776).
During the \JAmerican Revolution\j he chaired several committees and served on many more, was commissioner to \JFrance\j and Holland, and in 1779 drafted the influential \JMassachusetts\j constitution. After the war he was ambassador to England (1785-88), where he wrote the \IDefense of the \JConstitution of the United States\j.\i After eight frustrating years as vice-president under Washington (1789-97), he assumed the presidency (1797-1801).
The prickly Adams proved less able as a practical politician than as a theorist; his regime was torn by partisan wrangles between Hamiltonian Federalists and Jeffersonian Democrat-Republicans, all of whom he antagonized; his persistence in negotiating peace with \JFrance\j when his fellow Federalists were urging war cost him their support.
Meanwhile his Alien and Sedition Acts (1798), which virtually forbade criticism of the government, outraged many citizens. Defeated for reelection by Jefferson in 1800, Adams retired from public life. In later years he pursued an extensive correspondence with many men, including his one-time opponent Thomas Jefferson, and both men died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the signing of the \JDeclaration of Independence\j.
BK AmBg
#
"Adams, Leason Heberling",352,0,0,0
DT (1887-1969)
EN geophysicist; born in Cherryvale, Kans. In 1920, he and E. D. Williamson published their invention of a new method of \Jannealing\j optical glass; Adams gained further reknown for his research in the elastic properties of minerals and rocks at high pressure, especially as related to the composition of the \Jearth\j. He served as professor of \Jgeophysics\j at the University of \JCalifornia\j: Los Angeles from 1958 until his retirement in 1965.
BK AmBg
#
"Adams, Louisa (Catherine)",353,0,0,0
DT (1775-1852)
EN First Lady; born in London, England (mother of Charles Francis Adams, grandmother of Henry Adams). Daughter of a Maryland merchant and English mother, she met the young John Quincy Adams in London in 1795 when her father was the first U.S. consul; they were married in 1797.
Renowned for her beauty, and accustomed to a more elegant life than were the Adams clan, she stayed by her husband as he pursued his career of public service in Europe and Washington but she often suffered from both physical illness and mental depression. In 1840 she began a memoir, \IThe Adventures of a Nobody,\i but her many letters provide the most revealing glimpse of her world.
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#
"Adams, Marian Hooper ('Clover')",354,0,0,0
DT (1843-85)
EN hostess, photographer; born in \JBoston\j, Mass. Her mother died when she was five and she would remain extremely close to her wealthy physician father. Privately educated in Cambridge, Mass., she volunteered for the Sanitary Commission during the \JCivil War\j, then traveled abroad (1866), where she met young Henry Adams in London. Back in Cambridge, she and Henry married in 1872, and their home in \JBoston\j soon became an intellectuals salon.
In 1877 she and Henry moved to Washington, D.C., and now their home on Lafayette Square, across from the \JWhite House\j, again became the gathering place for a lively circle of intellectuals, politicians, and all who aspired to be among the elite. (Her gossipy letters to her father provide a superb view of the Washington of the \Jday\j.) She had by this time taken up photography and did her own developing.
She and Henry were planning a new home on Lafayette Square when her father died in 1885; profoundly depressed, she took her own life with a developing chemical. Henry Adams commissioned Augustus Saint-Gaudens to sculpt the brooding figure that marks her (and his) burial place in Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington.
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#
"Adams, Richard (George)",355,0,0,0
DT1 1920
EN Novelist, born in Berkshire, S England, UK. He studied at Oxford, and after wartime service in the army worked as a civil servant in the Department of the Environment (1948--74). He made his name as a writer with the best-selling \IWatership Down\i (1972), an epic tale of a community of rabbits.
Later books include \IShardik\i (1974), \IThe Iron Wolf\i (1980), \IThe Bureaucrats\i (1985), \ITraveller\i (1988), and \ITales from Watership Down\i (1996). His \Jautobiography\j \IThe Day Gone By\i appeared in 1990.
\BMajor Works\b
\INovels\i
1972 Watership Down
1974 Shardik
1975 Nature Through the Seasons
1976 The Tyger Voyage
1977 The Ship's Cat
1977 The Plague Dogs
1978 Nature Day and Night
1980 The Girl in a Swing
1980 The Iron Wolf
1982 Voyage Through the Antarctic
1984 Maia
1985 The Bureaucrats
1985 A Nature Diary
1986 The Legend of Te Tuna
1988 Traveller
1996 Tales from Watership Down
\IPoetry\i
1986 Occasional Poets (anthology)
\IAutobiography\i
1990 The Day Gone By
BK Biog99
#
"Adams, Roger",356,0,0,0
DT (1889-1971)
EN chemist; born in \JBoston\j, Mass. After completing his graduate studies in \JGermany\j, he joined the faculty of the University of Illinois (1916-50s). He was influential in changing the emphasis of chemistry education in the U.S.A. from pure research toward a meshing of academic and industrial needs; the University of Illinois became particularly noted for providing chemists for industry. He is also regarded as one of the founders of the modern field of \Jorganic chemistry\j.
BK AmBg
#
"Adams, Samuel",357,0,0,0
DT (1722-1803)
EN politician, Revolutionary leader; born in \JBoston\j, Mass. (second cousin of John Adams). After studying law, he failed at several business enterprises, then devoted himself to politics. One of the first and most outspoken colonists to oppose British laws and policies, in the \JMassachusetts\j legislature (1765-74) he promoted corresponding with other colonies' leaders, wrote newspaper articles criticizing British rule, and composed and circulated a declaration of colonists' rights.
He helped organize the \JBoston\j Tea Party (1773) and by 1774 was advocating open resistance to Britain. He served in the First and Second \JContinental Congress\j and signed the \JDeclaration of Independence\j. At first he backed George Washington as commander-in-chief, but he criticized what he thought was an overly cautious pursuit of the war. Regarded as too radical by many, he resigned from Congress in 1781 but supported the Federal Constitution of 1787. He was governor of \JMassachusetts\j (1794-97).
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#
"Adams, Sir John",358,0,0,0
DT1 1920
DT2 84
EN British nuclear physicist, and founder member of CERN (Centre EuropΘan pour la Recherche NuclΘare) at Geneva. He went from school in London into the Siemens Research Laboratory in Woolwich, then worked on wartime radar development. At Harwell he engineered the world's first major postwar accelerator (the 180┐MeV cyclotron) in 1949.
At CERN he engineered the 25┐GeV proton synchroton (1954), and became director-general there in 1960. In 1961 he established the laboratory at Culham for research on controlled nuclear fusion, and was appointed controller of the new ministry of technology in 1964. He returned to Geneva to mastermind the building of the 450 GeV super-proton-synchroton (1969-76), and was director-general of CERN for a second time (1976-80).
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#
"Adams, Tony",359,0,0,0
DT1 1966
EN Footballer, born in Romford, Essex, SE England, UK. He played for Arsenal's youth team before joining the club as a centre back in 1983, eventually becoming team captain. He was the Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year in 1987. He captained England in 1994, 1995, and during the European Cup in 1996, and by the end of that year had won 46 caps, but he was hampered by injuries in 1997.
BK Biog99n
#
"Adams, Walter (Sydney)",360,0,0,0
DT (1876-1956)
EN US astronomer: discovered first white dwarf star.
Adams was born in \JSyria\j, where his American parents were missionaries, but he returned with them when he was 9 and was educated in the USA and in Europe.
Adams's work was principally concerned with the spectroscopic study of stars. He showed how dwarf and giant stars could be distinguished by their spectra, and established the technique of spectroscopic \Jparallax\j to deduce a star's distance. In 1915 he observed the spectrum of \JSirius\j B, the faint companion of \JSirius\j, and discovered it to be an exceptionally hot star.
Since it is only 8 light years distant he realized that it must therefore be very small (otherwise it would be brighter), and hence of very high density. \JSirius\j B proved to be a 'white dwarf' and the first of a new class of stellar objects; such stars are the final stage in the \Jevolution\j of stars of similar mass to the Sun, which have collapsed to form extremely dense objects.
Adams also searched for the relativistic spectral shift expected from a heavy star's presumed intense gravitational field. This he succeeded in finding in 1924, thereby proving his hypothesis about the nature of \JSirius\j B and strengthening the case for Einstein's \Jgeneral relativity\j theory as well. Adams spent most of his working life at the Mount Wilson Observatory in southern \JCalifornia\j, and was its director from 1923 until 1946.
BK Scie
#
"Adams, Will(iam)",361,0,0,0
DT1 1564
DT2 1620
EN Navigator, born in Gillingham, Kent, south-east England, UK. He took service with the Dutch in 1598, and reached \JJapan\j in 1600. The first Englishman to visit \JJapan\j, he was cast into prison as a pirate at the instigation of jealous Portuguese traders, but was freed after building two fine ships for \JShogun\j Ieyasu, receiving a pension, the rank of \Jsamurai\j, and 'living like unto a lordship in England' (1600-20).
MEX Tokugawa
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#
"Adams, William (Bridges)",362,0,0,0
DT1 1797
DT2 1872
EN Engineer and inventor, born in Madeley, Staffordshire, C England, UK. He built some of the first steam rail-cars, and in 1847 patented the fish-plate which is universally used for jointing rails.
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#
"Adams-Stokes attacks",363,0,0,0
EN Brief sudden periods of unconsciousness \I(syncope)\i resulting from a transient cessation of the action of the heart \I(asystole)\i or of a disorder of rhythm, such as ventricular fibrillation. The patient is pulseless, and may develop convulsions. Recovery is attended by flushing of the face, but sudden death may occur. The syndrome is named after physician William Stokes and surgeon Robert Adams, working in Dublin in the 19th-c.
BK a
#
"Adamson, Joy (Friedericke Victoria)",364,0,0,0
HS , \InΘe\i \BGessner\b
DT1 1910
DT2 80
EN Naturalist and writer, born in \JAustria\j. Living in \JKenya\j with her third husband, British game warden \BGeorge Adamson\b (1906-89), she studied and painted wildlife, and made her name with a series of books about the lioness Elsa: \IBorn Free\i (1960), \IElsa\i (1961), \IForever Free\i (1962), and \IElsa and Her Cubs\i (1965). She was murdered in her home by tribesmen.
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#
"Adamson, Robert",365,0,0,0
DT1 1821
DT2 48
EN Chemist and pioneer in photography, born in Scotland, UK. In 1843 he helped David Hill apply the calotype process of making photographic prints on silver chloride paper. Working together, they produced some 2500 calotypes, mainly portraits but also landscapes (1843-8).
MEX Hill, David
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#
"Adan",366,0,0,0
EN See Aden
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#
"Adana",367,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bdana]
EN 37░00N 35░19E, pop (1995e) 1 021 000. Commercial capital of Adana province, S Turkey, on R Seyhan; fourth largest city in Turkey; railway; airfield; university (1973); centre of a fertile agricultural region.
BK Geog99
#
"Adanson, Michel",368,0,0,0
PN [adπs⌡]
DT1 1727
DT2 1806
EN Botanist, born in Aix-en-\JProvence\j, \JFrance\j, the first exponent of classification of plants into natural orders, before Linnaeus. His works include \ILes Familles naturelles des plantes\i (1763, Natural Families of Plants). The \Jbaobab\j \Jgenus\j of African trees, \IAdansonia,\i is named after him.
MEX Linnaeus
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#
"adaptation (biology)",369,0,0,0
HS (\Jbiology\j)
EN The process of adjustment of an individual organism to environmental conditions. It may occur by natural selection, resulting in improved survival and reproductive success, or involve physiological or behavioural changes that are not genetic. As well as being a process, an adaptation can also be the end product of such a process, ie any structural, behavioural, or physiological character that enhances survival or reproductive success.
BK a
#
"adaptation (literature)",370,0,0,0
EN The process of taking a work of art from one medium and interpreting it in terms of another. The process can be seen in many domains: in the illustration of scenes from classical epic, \Jmythology\j, and the \JBible\j through the use of painting, statuary, and \Jstained glass\j; in the dramatization of sacred texts (eg the mediaeval miracle and mystery plays) and historical records (eg 'history plays'); and in prose versions of plays themselves (eg Lamb's \ITales from Shakespeare).\i With modern communications technology, adaptation has become a major source of cultural recycling.
Film and \Jtelevision\j (united via the video cassette) are particularly voracious, but radio and audio tapes also reprocess much written material. Shakespeare's plays have been imaged on film, voiced for radio, reduced for \Jtelevision\j, and even abstracted in \Jcartoon\j versions \I(The Animated Tales,\i 1992). The novels of Dickens have been a magnetic subject for film-makers, with David Lean's \IGreat Expectations\i (1946) a classic example.
Epics such as \IBen Hur\i and \IQuo Vadis?\i were soon exploited by the cinema, where biblical subjects have always exerted a fascination - as have the sacred texts of other cultures in their own film industries (the \JBombay\j 'theologicals'). \JHollywood\j became known as 'the writer's graveyard' (Fitzgerald), but adaptation thrived, and the Western proved to be a favourite subject. Meanwhile the relative intimacy of TV has offered scaled-down possibilities.
The domestic drama of Chekov, Ibsen, and Shaw has transferred successfully to the small screen, as have the novels of Jane Austen and Trollope. The adaptation process works both ways, as fictions may also bear the impress of cinematic technique (eg James Joyce, Graham Greene, Salman Rushdie).
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"adaptive optics",371,0,0,0
EN The continual adjustment of optical components to counter the effects of distortions introduced during the passage of light from object to imaging device. The field is especially important in \Jastronomy\j, where adaptive optical techniques will allow most distortion due to atmospheric turbulence to be removed, improving the resolution of ground-based optical telescopes by up to one thousand times.
BK a
#
"adaptive radiation",372,0,0,0
EN A burst of \Jevolution\j in which a single ancestral type diverges to fill a number of different ecological roles or modes of life, usually over a relatively short period of time, resulting in the appearance of a variety of new forms. This phenomenon may occur after the colonization of a new habitat, such as the radiation of Darwin's finches in the Galapagos Is.
BK a
#
"adaptive suspension",373,0,0,0
EN A pneumatic or hydro-pneumatic suspension system fitted to a motor car or a commercial vehicle that damps out the variations in road surface, and maintains the vehicle at a constant level while in use. This levelling device can be controlled electronically, allowing the suspension system to adapt itself automatically to the road surface conditions and the speed of travel.
BK a
#
"adaptogen",374,0,0,0
EN A substance which maintains or stimulates the body's mechanisms for adapting to change in both the internal and external environment. Health and survival depends upon keeping a physiological balance even in the presence of adverse factors such as infectious organisms, toxins, and radiation. Herbs such as \IEleutherococcus senticosus\i are used as general adaptogens, but the term is also applied to more specific adaptors of self-regulation, such as immune stimulants.
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#
"Adcock, Fleur",375,0,0,0
DT1 1934
EN Poet, born in Papakura, \JNew Zealand\j. She studied at Victoria University, Wellington, taught at the University of Otago, then held various library posts in \JNew Zealand\j and the UK, where she has lived since 1963.
Her poetry is notable for its unsentimental treatment of personal and family relationships, its psychological insights, and its interest in classical themes. She has also edited \IThe Oxford Book of \JNew Zealand\j Verse\i (1982) and \IThe Faber Book of Twentieth Century Women's Poetry\i (1987), and co-edited \IThe Oxford Book of Creatures\i (1995).
\BMajor Works\b
\IPoetry\i
1964 The Eye of the Hurricane
1967 Tigers
1971 High Tide in the Garden
1974 The Scenic Route
1979 The Inner Harbour
1983 Selected Poems
1986 The Incident Book
1986 Hotspur
1988 Meeting the Comet
1991 Time Zones
\IEditor\i
1982 The Oxford Book of \JNew Zealand\j Verse
1987 The Faber Book of Twentieth Century Women's Poetry
1995 The Oxford Book of Creatures (co-editor)
BK Biog99
#
"Addams, Charles Samuel",376,0,0,0
DT1 1912
DT2 88
EN Cartoonist, born in Westfield, NJ. He was a regular contributor to \IThe New Yorker\i from 1935 onwards, specializing in macabre humour and a ghoulish group which was immortalized on \Jtelevision\j in the 1960s as \IThe Addams Family.\i
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#
"Addams, Jane",377,0,0,0
DT (1860-1935)
EN social reformer, pacifist; born in Cedarville, Ill. Raised in comfort by her widowed father, a state senator and abolitionist (he was a friend of Abraham Lincoln), she studied at the Women's Medical College of \JPennsylvania\j for a few months before spinal illness and a realization that she was not cut out to be a doctor led her to withdraw (1882).
Disturbed by urban poverty and searching for meaningful work, she visited Toynbee Hall, a pioneering settlement house in London, which inspired her, with Ellen Starr, to found Hull House, a settlement house in \JChicago\j (1889). She lived and worked out of Hull House for the rest of her life, developing educational, cultural, and medical programs for the community, while lobbying for improved housing, fair labor practices, and just treatment for immigrants and the poor.
Hull House also had great influence beyond \JChicago\j by both inspiring similar institutions in American cities and by training many individuals who became notable reformers. Addams herself was so far in advance of many Americans on social issues in her \Jday\j that she was attacked by some as a subversive. A staunch supporter of women's suffrage, she served as vice-president of the National American Suffrage Alliance (1911-14).
An unwavering pacifist, she was president of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (1919-35) and shared the Nobel Prize for Peace (1931). She lectured and published widely; her many books include \ITwenty Years at Hull-House\i (1910) and \IPeace and Bread in Time of War\i (1922).
BK AmBg
#
"addax",378,0,0,0
PN [\Bad\baks]
EN A horse-like \Jantelope\j \I(Addax nasomaculatus)\i native to N African deserts; resembles the \Joryx\j, but has thicker, spiralling horns; pale with clump of brown hair on the forehead; never drinks; lives in herds.
BK a
#
"adder",379,0,0,0
EN A venomous snake of the family Viperidae; three species: \IVipera berus\i \B(European adder\b or \Bcommon European viper,\b the only venomous British snake) and the puff adders; also Australian \Bdeath adders\b of family Elapidae (2 species). The name is used in place of 'viper' for some other species, such as the \Bhorned \Jadder\j / viper\b and \Bsaw-scaled \Jadder\j / viper.\b
BK a
#
"adder's tongue",380,0,0,0
EN A fern native to grasslands of Europe, Asia, N Africa, and \JNorth America\j \I(Ophioglossum vulgatum); \i underground \Jrhizome\j producing a fertile spike 5┐cm / 2┐in long bearing sporangia and sheathed by a single oval; the entire frond is 10-20┐cm / 4-8┐in long. \B(Family:\b Ophioglossaceae.)
BK a
#
"Adderley, (Julian) 'Cannonball'",381,0,0,0
DT (1928-75)
EN jazz musician; born in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He was an alto saxophonist, a sideman with Miles Davis in 1958-59, and the leader of his own soulful, hard-bop bands thereafter.
BK AmBg
#
"Addington, Henry",382,0,0,0
EN See Sidmouth (of Sidmouth), Henry Addington, 1st Viscount
BK bg a
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#
"Addington, Maybelle",383,0,0,0
EN See Carter Family, The
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#
"Addinsell, Richard",384,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bdinsel]
DT1 1904
DT2 77
EN Composer, born in Oxford, Oxfordshire, SC England, UK. A student of law at Oxford, he went on to study music in London, Berlin, and Vienna. He composed much film music, including the popular 'Warsaw \JConcerto\j' for the film \IDangerous Moonlight\i (1941).
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Addis Ababa or Adis Abeba",385,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bdis \Bab\baba]
EN 9░02N 38░42E, pop (1995e) 1 943 000. Capital of \JEthiopia\j; altitude 2400 m/7874 ft; founded by Menelik II, 1887; capital, 1889; occupied by \JItaly\j, 1936--41, declared capital of Italian East Africa; airport; railway to port of Djibouti; university (1950); \Jtobacco\j, foodstuffs, textiles, chemicals, cement; national museum, national library, St George Cathedral, Menelik II's tomb; headquarters of UN Economic Commission for Africa, and of the Organization of African Unity.
BK Geog99
#
"Addison's disease",386,0,0,0
EN A medical condition resulting from the destruction of the adrenal \Jcortex\j by infection (commonly tuberculosis) or by an auto-immune reaction. A fall in the output of corticosteroids causes physical weakness, mental apathy, low blood pressure, and increased skin pigmentation.
Without treatment, death is unavoidable. Taking synthetic steroids by mouth restores the patient to normal health, but these must be continued for life.
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#
"Addison, Christopher, 1st Viscount",387,0,0,0
DT1 1869
DT2 1951
EN British statesman, born in Hogsthorpe, Lincolnshire, E England, UK. He qualified in medicine at St Bartholomew's \JHospital\j, London, and became professor of anatomy at Sheffield University. Liberal MP for Hoxton (1910-22), he was parliamentary secretary to the Board of Education (1914), minister of munitions (1916), and Britain's first minister of health (1919).
He resigned in 1921 and joined the Labour Party. Elected MP for \JSwindon\j, he was made minister of agriculture in 1929. Created a baron in 1937, he assumed leadership of the Labour peers in 1940, becoming Leader of the \JHouse of Lords\j in 1945.
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#
"Addison, Joseph",388,0,0,0
DT1 1672
DT2 1719
EN Essayist and politician, born in Milston, Wiltshire, S England, UK. A student at Oxford, he was a distinguished Classical scholar, beginning his literary career in 1693 with a poetical address to Dryden. In 1699 he obtained a pension to train for the diplomatic service, and spent four years abroad.
While under-\Jsecretary of state\j (1705-8) he produced his opera \IRosamond\i (1706), and in 1708 was elected to parliament for Malmesbury. He became a member of the Kitcat Club, and contributed to the \ITatler,\i started by his friend Richard Steele in 1709. In 1711 he and Steele founded the \ISpectator,\i 274 numbers of which were his own work.
In 1716 he became a lord commissioner of trade, and married Charlotte, Countess of Warwick. In the Hanoverian cause, he issued (1715-16) a political newspaper, the \IFreeholder,\i which cost him many of his old friends, and he was satirized as 'Atticus' by Alexander Pope. In 1717 he was appointed \Jsecretary of state\j under \JSunderland\j, but resigned his post because of failing health.
MEX Dryden; Pope, Alexander; Steele, Richard
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"Addison, Thomas",389,0,0,0
DT (1793-1860)
EN British physician: a founder of endocrinology.
A graduate in medicine from Edinburgh and London, his early work included the first clear descriptions of appendicitis, lobar \Jpneumonia\j and the action of poisons on the living body. In 1855 his small book On the Constitutional and Local Effects of Disease of the Supra-renal Capsules described two new diseases: one is 'pernicious' anaemia; the other, also an anaemia, is associated with bronzing of the skin and weakness, and is known as Addison's disease.
He found that cases of the latter showed post- mortem changes in the suprarenal capsules (one on top of each kidney). Later, physiological studies by others showed that the suprarenal capsules are glands, now known as the adrenal glands, which produce a complex group of \Jhormones\j. Addison's disease was the first to be correctly attributed to endocrine failure (ie disorder of the ductless glands of internal secretion).
BK Scie
#
"addition of vectors",390,0,0,0
Keep in mind that a vector is a measure which has both a scale size and a direction attached to it. In most cases, if there are two vectors, they can be added together, and replaced by a single composite vector, usually called the resultant. Graphically, you can represent this by a parallelogram, where the sides have the appropriate directions, and sizes which match the scale size of each vector. Then a diagonal line, drawn from the start of the first vector to the end of the second vector, shows the size and direction of the resultant.
Most reference books will suggest that all vectors may be added, but there is one class of vectors, called Poynting vectors, which can not be added together in the usual way, though these are rather too specialised to deal with here.
In physics, it is common to speak of the resultant force, which is the net force produced when two different forces act on a body at the same time. Yachts sail because of the resultant force which arises from \Jwater\j pushing against the hull and keel, combined with the wind force on the sail give a resultant force pushing the boat forward, much as two fingers, squeezing on an orange pip, give the pip a resultant force away from the hand.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
BK Webster
#
"addition reaction",391,0,0,0
EN A \Jchemical reaction\j in which a product contains all atoms of two or more reactants, eg the chlorination of \Jethylene\j, CH\D2\d=CH\D2\d+Cl\D2\d\f(r)\nCH\D2\dCl.CH\D2\dCl. Similarly, \Baddition polymerization\b is the formation of a polymer without elimination from the reactants, for example, the formation of \Jpolyethylene\j, \In\i CH\D2\d=CH\D2\d\f(r)\n(-CH\D2\d.CH\D2\d-)\I\Dn.\d\i The product of an addition reaction is known as an \Badduct.\b
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"additives",392,0,0,0
EN Strictly, any chemical, even a vitamin, added to a food during its processing or preparation; more usually, chemicals which have been added in order to achieve a specific aim. They include (a) \Ipreservatives,\i which reduce spoilage by \Jbacteria\j, (b) \Ianti-oxidants,\i which prevent fats from becoming rancid, (c) \Iemulsifiers,\i which permit a stable mixture of oil and \Jwater\j, (d) \Icolouring matter,\i to vary colour to specifications, (e) \Isweeteners,\i and (f) \Iflavouring agents / enhancers,\i to achieve a given flavour.
Many additives are naturally occurring compounds; others are synthetic. Legislation exists in most countries to ensure that food additives are technologically desirable and at the same time safe. However, in recent years many consumers have come to fear synthetic additives, leading to an increase in the use of natural additives.
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"adduct",393,0,0,0
EN See addition reaction
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"Ade, George",394,0,0,0
DT (1866-1944)
EN journalist, writer, playwright; born in Kentland, Ind. He was a \JChicago\j newspaperman (1890-1900) whose collected columns, \IFables in Slang\i (1899), became a classic of midwestern vernacular satire. He continued to publish more collections of his "fables," and between 1900-10 he wrote a dozen popular Broadway plays and musicals.
Collections of his trademark fables, such as \IPeople You Know\i (1903) and \IHand-Made Fables\i (1920), are the most durable of his voluminous writings. He lived in \JIndiana\j after 1904 but traveled widely.
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#
"Adejumo, Moses Olaiya",395,0,0,0
EN [Baba Sala] 1936- Nigerian actor- manager. The founder-owner of the Alawada Theatre ('theatre of the one who entertains'), Olaiya, whose stage name is Baba Sala, is the most popular comedian in \JNigeria\j today; and his registered company (both acting and trading) is the most commercially successful, despite performances being almost entirely in \JYoruba\j.
A deeply religious Christian, since 1965 he has performed continually all over \JNigeria\j and coastal West Africa. His satirical comedies are improvisations which debunk social pretensions. He and his Alawada Theatre perform extensively on \Jtelevision\j, and since the late 1970s he has become increasingly involved in film-making.
In 1984 Olaiya made a feature film, Orun Mooru (Heaven Is Heated). Subsequently he has also turned to video as a medium.
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#
"Adela, Princess",396,0,0,0
PN [a\Bday\bla]
DT1a c.
DT1 1062
DT2 1137
EN Princess of England, the youngest daughter of William the Conqueror. In 1080 she married Stephen, Count of Blois, and had nine children, the third of whom came to be King Stephen of England. She had a flair for administration, and was cultured and pious.
MEX Stephen; William I (of England)
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#
"Adelaide",397,0,0,0
EN 34░56S 138░36E, pop (1995e) 1 082 000. Port capital of South \JAustralia\j, on the Torrens R where it meets the St Vincent Gulf; founded, 1837; the first Australian municipality to be incorporated, 1840; airfield; railway; three universities (1874, 1966, 1991); oil refining, motor vehicles, electrical goods, shipbuilding; trade in wool, grain, fruit, wine; fine beaches to the W, including Maslin Beach (the first nude bathing beach in Australia); many parks; two cathedrals; major wine-growing area to the S (McLaren Vale) and to the N (Barossa Valley); Adelaide Festival Centre; South Australian Museum (large collection of \Jaboriginal art\j); Art Gallery of South Australia; Constitutional Museum; Ayers House (1846), headquarters of the South Australian National Trust; Maritime Museum in Port Adelaide; arts festival, held every two years; Adelaide Cup Day (May).
BK Geog99
#
"Adelaide, Queen",398,0,0,0
DT1 1792
DT2 1849
EN Consort of King William IV of \JGreat Britain\j, the eldest daughter of George, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Meiningen. In 1818 she married William, Duke of Clarence, who succeeded his brother, \JGeorge IV\j, to the throne as William IV (1830-7). Their two children, both daughters, died in infancy.
MEX \JGeorge IV\j; William IV
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#
"Adelaide, St",399,0,0,0
HS , Ger \BAdelheid\b
DT1 931
DT2 99
EN Holy Roman Empress, a daughter of Rudolf II of Burgundy. She married Lothair of \JItaly\j in 947. After his death in 950 she was imprisoned by his successor, Berengar II, but was rescued by King Otto I of \JGermany\j, who married her as his second wife in 951. They were crowned emperor and empress in 962.
Their son was \BOtto II\b (955-83). As queen mother, she exercised considerable influence. She became joint regent for her grandson \BOtto III\b (980-1002), and then sole regent (991-6). Thereafter she retired to a convent in \JAlsace\j. Feast \Jday\j 16 December.
MEX Otto I
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#
"AdΘlie Land",400,0,0,0
PN [a\Bday\blee]
HS or \BAdΘlie Coast,\b Fr \BTerre AdΘlie\b
EN area c.432┐000┐km\U2\u / 167┐000┐mi\U2\u. Territory in \JAntarctica\j 66-67░S, 136-142░E; first seen by the French navy in 1840; explored 1911-14 and 1929-31; French territory, 1938; French research station at Base Dumont d'Urville.
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"Adelphi Theatre",401,0,0,0
EN (London) Of four theatres on the same site in the Strand, the first was built in 1806 and called the Sans Pareil. It was renamed the Adelphi in 1819. During the long management (1844-74) of Benjamin Webster, it was rebuilt to accommodate 1,500 (1858).
It was well attended for most of this time, and the description 'Adelphi dramas' was familiarly attached to strong melodramas. Buckstone and Boucicault were among the featured dramatists. William Terriss's murder at the stage door of the Adelphi in 1897 brought the great years of the theatre to an abrupt end. It was subsequently twice rebuilt, in 1901 and in 1930.
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"Aden or Adan",402,0,0,0
PN [\Bay\bdn]
EN 12░50N 45░00E, pop (1995e) 427 000. Commercial capital of Republic of Yemen; port on the Gulf of Aden, at the entrance to the \JRed Sea\j; taken by British, 1839; capital of former Aden protectorate; after opening of Suez Canal (1869), an important coaling station and transshipment point; British crown colony, 1937; scene of fighting between nationalist groups in 1960s; capital of former South Yemen, 1968--90; airport; oil refining, shipping.
BK Geog99
#
"Aden, Gulf of",403,0,0,0
PN [\Bay\bdn]
EN E arm of the \JRed Sea\j, lying between Yemen (north) and \JSomalia\j (south); connected to the \JRed Sea\j by the Strait of Ba\mab al Mandab; length 885┐km / 550┐mi.
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"Adenauer, Konrad",404,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bdenower]
DT1 1876
DT2 1967
EN German statesman, born in Cologne, \JGermany\j. He studied at Freiburg, Munich, and \JBonn\j, before practising law in Cologne, where he became lord mayor in 1917. A member of the Centre Party under the Weimar Republic, he became a member of the Provincial Diet and of the Prussian State Council (president 1920-33).
In 1933, he was dismissed from all his offices by the Nazis, and imprisoned in 1934 and again in 1944. In 1945, under Allied occupation, he was again mayor of Cologne, and founded the Christian Democratic Union. As chancellor from 1949 (re-elected 1953 and 1957), his policy was to rebuild West \JGermany\j on a basis of partnership with other European nations through \JNATO\j and the European Economic Community, with the ultimate aim of bargaining from strength for the reunification of \JGermany\j. He retired in 1963.
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#
"adenine",405,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bdeneen]
EN C\D4\dH\D5\dN\D5\d. A base derived from purine; one of the five found in nucleic acids, where it is generally paired with \Jthymine\j or uracil.
BK a
#
"adenoids",406,0,0,0
EN An accumulation of lymphoid tissue, arranged as a series of folds behind the opening of the auditory tube in the nasopharynx; also known as the \Bpharyngeal \Jtonsils\j.\b When enlarged in children they can block or reduce the size of the auditory tube opening and fill the nasopharynx, giving an abnormal \Jresonance\j to speech.
BK a
#
"adenosine triphosphate (ATP)",407,0,0,0
PN [a\Bden\boseen]
EN A molecule formed by the condensation of \Jadenine\j, \Jribose\j, and triphosphoric acid: HO-P(O)OH-O-P(O)OH-O-P(O)OH-OH. It is a key compound in the mediation of \Jenergy\j in both plants and animals. Energy is stored when it is synthesized from \Badenosine diphosphate\b (ADP) and phosphoric acid, and released when the reaction is reversed.
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"Ader, ClΘment",408,0,0,0
PN [adair]
DT1 1841
DT2 1926
EN Engineer and pioneer of \Javiation\j, born in Muret, \JFrance\j. In 1890 he built a steam-powered bat-winged aeroplane, the \IEole,\i which made the first powered take-off in history, but it could not be steered, and flew for no more than 50┐m.
SX m
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#
"adhesives",409,0,0,0
EN Materials whose function is to bind one substance to another. Examples are (1) substances of biological origin, generally \Jwater\j soluble, known as \Iglues,\i which are usually proteins or carbohydrates, and (2) synthetic materials, both \Jthermoplastic\j and thermosetting resins and rubbers.
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"Adi Granth",410,0,0,0
PN [\Bah\bdee \Bgrahnt\b]
HS (\JHindi\j 'First Book')
EN The principal Sikh scripture, originally called the \BGranth Sahib\b (\JHindi\j 'Revered Book'). The name Adi Granth distinguishes it from the Dasam Granth, a later second collection. The text used today is an expanded version of Guru Arjan's original compilation, and is revered by all Sikhs.
BK a
#
"adiabatic demagnetization",411,0,0,0
EN See magnetic cooling
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"adiabatic process",412,0,0,0
PN [adia\Bbat\bik]
EN In \Jthermodynamics\j, a process in which no heat enters or leaves a system, such as in a well-insulated system, or in some process so rapid that there is not enough time for heat exchange. Sound waves in air involve adiabatic pressure changes. The compression and power strokes of a car engine are also adiabatic.
\BMore information provided by Webster Publishing\b
Adiabatic cooling is an example of an adiabatic process, and is usually discussed in terms of the \Jtemperature\j drop which arises when a mass of air rises and expands. No heat has left the mass of air, but the cooling effect is still measurable with a thermometer. The usual result of adiabatic cooling is the condensation of \Jwater\j drops as the air rises, resulting in rain or even snow.
The distinction between heat and \Jtemperature\j, which is critically important in understanding this process, was first made clearly by Joseph Black.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
BK a
#
"Adie, Kate",413,0,0,0
PN [\Bay\bdee]
HS , popular name of \BKathryn Adie\b
DT1 1945
EN News reporter and correspondent, born in \JSunderland\j, Tyne and Wear, NE England, UK. She studied at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne, then joined local BBC radio (1969--76), moving to BBC TV South (1977--8).
As a reporter for BBC TV News (1979--81), correspondent (1982), and chief correspondent (1989-- ), she has become a familiar figure presenting reports from the heart of war-torn countries around the world. Among her awards are the Royal Television Society's News Award (1981, 1987), and the BAFTA Richard Dimbleby Award (1989).
BK Biog99n
#
"Adige, River",414,0,0,0
PN [ah\Bdi\bje]
HS , Ger \BEtsch,\b ancient \BAthesis\b
EN River in N \JItaly\j, rising in three small \JAlpine\j lakes at Passodi Resia; flows E and S, then E into the Adriatic Sea, south-east of Chioggia; length 410┐km / 254┐mi; chief river of \JItaly\j after the Po.
BK a
#
"adipic acid",415,0,0,0
PN [a\Bdi\bpik]
EN HOOC-(CH\D2\d)\D4\d-COOH, IUPAC \Bhexanedioic acid,\b melting point 153░C. It is one of the monomers for nylon, the other being 1,6-diaminohexane.
BK a
#
"adipose tissue",416,0,0,0
EN See fat
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"Adirondack Mountains",417,0,0,0
PN [adi\Bron\bdak]
EN Mountain range largely in north-east New York State, USA; rises to 1629┐m / 5344┐ft at Mount Marcy; named after an American Indian tribe; source of the Hudson and Ausable Rivers; locations such as Lake Placid are noted winter resorts; largest state park in USA.
BK a
#
"Adis Abeba",418,0,0,0
EN See Addis Ababa or Adis Abeba
BK a
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#
"adit",419,0,0,0
A horizontal passage which leads into a mine.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
BK Webster
#
"adjutant",420,0,0,0
EN A stork native to tropical south-east Asia. There are two species: the \Bgreater adjutant stork\b \I(Leptoptilos dubius),\i and the \Blesser,\b \Bhaircrested,\b or \BJavan adjutant stork\b \I(Leptoptilos javanicus); \i grey and white; head nearly naked; eats carrion, frogs or fish; related to the \Jmarabou\j.
BK a
#
"Adler, (Pearl)",421,0,0,0
DT (1900-62)
EN Polly madam; born in Avanovo, \JRussia\j. Emigrating at age 12, she worked in factories, and in 1920 opened a house of prostitution in New York City. Her clients included politicians, gangsters, and vice squad police, and this was said to be the reason she survived so long. Subpoenaed by the Seabury Commission in 1930, she refused to testify. She closed down in 1943 and moved to Los Angeles. She later graduated from college and wrote \IA House is Not a Home\i (1953).
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#
"Adler, Alfred",422,0,0,0
DT1 1870
DT2 1937
EN Pioneer psychiatrist, born in Vienna. He trained in Vienna, and first practised as an ophthalmologist, but later turned to mental disease and became a prominent member of the psychoanalytical group which formed around Sigmund Freud in 1900. His most widely referenced work, \IStudie ⁿber Minderwertigkeit von Organen\i (1907, trans Study of Organ Inferiority and its Psychical Compensation), aroused great controversy.
In 1911 he broke with Freud and investigated the \Jpsychology\j of the individual person considered to be different from others. His main contributions include the concept of the inferiority complex and his special treatment of \Jneurosis\j as the exploitation of shock. He moved to the USA to teach in 1932.
MEX Freud, Sigmund
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#
"Adler, Cyrus",423,0,0,0
DT (1863-1940)
EN educator; born in Van Buren, Ark. A graduate of the University of \JPennsylvania\j, he was named librarian of the Smithsonian Institution in 1892. In 1908 he became president of the new Dropsie College for \JHebrew\j and Cognate Learning, Philadelphia, and in 1924 president of the Jewish Theological Seminary, New York. He edited the \IJewish Quarterly Review\i (1910-40). He was a founder (1929) and later president of the American Jewish Committee.
BK AmBg
#
"Adler, Dankmar",424,0,0,0
DT (1844-1900)
EN architect; born in Langsfeld, \JGermany\j. A childhood immigrant to America, he trained in \JChicago\j and \JDetroit\j, Mich. Adler was the \Jengineering\j and structural expert in his partnership with Louis Sullivan (1882-95); famous for their midwestern skyscrapers, the pair completed 120 buildings, including the Guaranty Building, Buffalo, N.Y. (1894-95). Adler was largely responsible for the nation's first registration act for architects being passed in Illinois in 1897.
BK AmBg
#
"Adler, Elmer",425,0,0,0
DT (1884-1962)
EN printer; born in Rochester, N.Y. A collector of books and fine prints, he founded Pynson Printers in 1922 to produce works of high graphic quality, and in 1930 founded \IColophon: A Book Collector's Quarterly.\i After closing Pynson in 1940, he moved his collection to Princeton University, where he established a department of graphic arts and was a professor and curator.
BK AmBg
#
"Adler, Larry",426,0,0,0
DT1 1914
EN Musician and self-taught virtuoso on the \Jharmonica\j, born in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. He studied at Baltimore City College, and began his show business career in New York City at the age of 14. He played as a soloist with some of the world's leading symphony orchestras, and wrote the music for several films, including \IGenevieve\i (1954).
He emigrated to Britain after being blacklisted in the USA for alleged pro-Communist leanings, and there worked as a journalist and restaurant critic, contributing to leading newspapers and magazines. His \Jautobiography\j \IIt Ain't Necessarily So\i was published in 1985.
\BMajor Works\b
\IFilm Scores\i
1954 Genevieve
1963 The Great Chase
1964 High Wind In Jamaica
1964 King And Country
\IPublications\i
1937 How I Play
1960 Larry Adler's Own Arrangements
1963 Jokes And How to Tell Them
1985 It Ain't Necessarily So (\Jautobiography\j)
BK Biog99
#
"Adler, Mortimer J(erome)",427,0,0,0
DT1 1902
EN Philosopher and writer, born in New York City, USA. He taught at the University of \JChicago\j (1930--52), where in 1946 he helped design the Great Books programme, and directed the Institute for Philosophical Research from 1952.
He popularized the great ideas of Western civilization in such works as \IGreat Books of the Western World\i (54 vols, 1954, revised 1990), \IHow to Read a Book\i (1940, revised 1972), and \ISix Great Ideas\i (1981).
\BMajor Works\b
\IPublications\i
1940 How to Read a Book (revised 1972)
1941 A Dialectic of Morals
1954 Great Books of the Western World (revised 1990)
1958 The Capitalist Manifesto (with Louis O Kelso)
1958 The Revolution in Education (with Milton Mayer)
1978 Aristotle for Everyone
1980 How to Think About God
1981 Six Great Ideas
\IPublished lectures\i
1965 The Conditions of Philosophy
1967 The Difference of Man and the Difference it Makes
1970 The Time of Our Lives
\IMemoirs\i
1977 Philosopher at Large: an Intellectual Autobiography
BK Biog99
#
"Adler, Samuel",428,0,0,0
DT (1809-91)
EN rabbi; born in Worms, \JGermany\j. He was educated, ordained, and served as a rabbi in \JGermany\j (1842-57). In 1857 he came to New York to become rabbi of Temple Emanu-El. He wrote numerous monographs and played a leading role in Reform \JJudaism\j; his revision of the prayer book became a model for later Reform prayer books.
BK AmBg
#
"Adler, Stella",429,0,0,0
DT 1903-92
EN American actress. One of a family of \JYiddish\j actors from Riga who achieved popular success in America, Stella studied at the American Laboratory Theatre in the 1920s, joined the Group Theatre in 1931 and married its founder, Harold Clurman. A tall, statuesque blonde, Adler ironically succeeded best in playing downtrodden Depression-era housewives in the Group's productions of Clifford Odets's Awake and Sing! (1935) and Paradise Lost (1935).
From 1949, when she founded the Stella Adler \JConservatory\j, she was an exhilarating teacher. Countering her arch- rival Lee Strasberg's Method with its focus on self, she urged students to transcend their own experiences by investigating the play's circumstances rather than their own. (See also \JYiddish\j theatre.)
BK Thea
#
"administrative law",430,0,0,0
EN The body of law relating to administrative powers exercised principally by central and local government. The exercise of such powers can be the subject of scrutiny by the courts or tribunals on legal, but not policy, grounds. In several countries, administrative law is distinguished from constitutional law by being concerned purely with matters of public administration, and not with broad constitutional issues which may impinge on administrative matters.
BK a
#
"Admiral's Cup",431,0,0,0
EN A yacht race for up to three boats per nation, first contested in 1957 and held biennially. Races take place in the English Channel, at \JCowes\j, and around the Fastnet rock. The trophy is donated by the Royal Ocean Racing Club.
BK a
#
"Admiral's Men",432,0,0,0
EN English company. These Elizabethan players took their name from their patron, Lord Howard, who was created Lord High Admiral in 1585, the year in which the Admiral's Men first appeared at Court. It was Edward Alleyn's acting in Christopher Marlowe's plays at Philip Henslowe's Rose that established the company's reputation.
In 1594 the formation of the Lord Chamberlain's Men nudged the Admiral's Men into second place in the theatrical hierarchy. Henslowe's financial involvement helped the company to evade the general prohibition of plays after the Isle of Dogs affair in 1597. But Henslowe was not himself a member of the Admiral's Men: he was the owner of their theatre.
When, in 1599, the Lord Chamberlain's Men opened the Globe, very close to the Rose, the Admiral's Men suffered in the competition for audiences. Unlike their rivals, they did not own their own theatre, and may not have commanded the same loyalty from their actors. Alleyn's increasing involvement in his business partnership with Henslowe deprived them of a star.
The move north of the river, to the Fortune, in 1600 brought a new audience and sufficient prosperity. As London's acknowledged second company, they were granted royal patronage and the title of Prince Henry's Men after the accession of James I.
Regular writers included Dekker, Munday and Chettle, but the sinking reputation of the Fortune during the 1620s announced the company's creative impoverishment. As the Palsgrave's Men, they continued their occupation of the Fortune, but without much success.
By 1631, when some of the Fortune actors joined a newly formed Prince Charles's Men at Salisbury Court, the long tradition of the Admiral's Men had been broken.
BK Thea
#
"Admiralty Court",433,0,0,0
EN An English court which is part of the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court. Its work deals with maritime claims in civil law, such as salvage. In the USA, the federal district courts exercise \Jjurisdiction\j over maritime actions. In Scotland, the Court of Session and the Sheriff Court have \Jjurisdiction\j in such matters.
BK a
#
"Admiralty Islands",434,0,0,0
EN pop (1995e) 35 200; area 2000 sq km/800 sq mi. Island group in N Papua New Guinea, part of the \JBismarck\j Archipelago; c.40 islands, main island, Manus; chief town, Lorengau; German protectorate, 1884; under Australian mandate, 1920; fishing, copra, pearls.
BK Geog99
#
"adolescence",435,0,0,0
EN That period of personal development marked by the onset of puberty and continuing through the early teenage years. While it is associated with the process of physical maturation, normally occurring more quickly in girls than in boys, the actual age-range and behavioural patterns involved can vary considerably from one society to another.
Adolescence in the Third World, for example, is more likely to mean working in the fields for one's parents and taking on adult responsibilities from as young as age 9 or 10 than a prolonged period of schooling as it does in more prosperous societies. Whatever the differences, adolescents commonly want to be independent of their parents; the conflicts this may generate are sometimes said to reflect 'the generation gap'.
BK a
#
"Adonis",436,0,0,0
PN [a\Bdoh\bnis]
EN In Greek \Jmythology\j, a beautiful young man who was loved by \JAphrodite\j. He insisted on going hunting and was killed by a boar, but \JPersephone\j saved him on condition that he spent part of the year with her in the Underworld. There was a yearly commemoration of the event, with wailing and singing. There is a clear connection with the growth and death of vegetation, and similar Eastern ceremonies.
BK a
#
"adoption",437,0,0,0
EN A legal procedure in which a civil court makes an order giving parental rights and duties over a minor to someone other than the natural parents. On adoption, the minor becomes the legal child of his or her adoptive parents, and the same as any natural child. Natural parents lose all rights in the child and in his or her property.
BK a
#
"adoptionism",438,0,0,0
EN In early \JChristianity\j, the understanding of Jesus as a human being of sinless life adopted by God as son, usually thought to be at the time of his \Jbaptism\j by John in the River Jordan. Such teaching was declared heretical, in that it implied that Jesus could not have had a fully divine nature. Associated with Arianism, it figured in 4th-c controversies over the person of Christ, in \JSpain\j in the 8th-c, and in some scholastic \Jtheology\j (eg Abelard, Lombard).
BK a
#
"Adorno, Theodor (Wiesengrund)",439,0,0,0
PN [a\Bdaw(r)\bnoh]
HS , originally \BTheodor Wiesengrund\b
DT1 1903
DT2 69
EN Social philosopher and musicologist, born in Frankfurt, \JGermany\j. He was a student in Frankfurt and later an associate of the Institute for Social Research, becoming a member of the movement known as the 'Frankfurt School'. In 1934 he emigrated to the USA to teach at the Institute in exile, returning to Frankfurt in 1956.
His philosophy is most fully presented in \INegative Dialectics\i (1966). His sociological writings on music, mass-culture, and art include \IPhilosophie der neuen Musik\i (1949, Philosophy of Modern Music) and \IMahler\i (1960).
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"Adrastea",440,0,0,0
PN [adras\Btee\ba]
EN A tiny natural \Jsatellite\j of Jupiter, discovered in 1979 by Voyager 2; distance from the \Jplanet\j 129┐000┐km / 80┐000┐mi; diameter 24┐km / 15┐mi.
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#
"adrenal glands",441,0,0,0
PN [a\Bdree\bnl]
EN Paired compound endocrine glands in mammals, one situated above each kidney; also known as the \Bsuprarenal glands.\b Each comprises an outer \Jcortex\j and an inner medulla. The \Jcortex\j consists of three zones, which produce specific steroid \Jhormones\j: the outer zone produces mineralocorticoids (eg \Jaldosterone\j), whereas the intermediate and inner zones produce \Jglucocorticoids\j (eg \Jcortisol\j) and sex \Jhormones\j (\Jandrogens\j, oestrogens, and progestagens). The medulla secretes a specific \Jcatecholamine\j (either adrenaline or noradrenaline). The various groups of \Jhormones\j are chemically similar in all vertebrates.
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"adrenaline or adrenalin",442,0,0,0
PN [a\Bdren\balin]
EN A hormone released from the adrenal medulla in response to stress, and in some other circumstances; also known as \Bepinephrine\b in the USA. It increases heart rate, raises blood pressure, and causes release of sugar into the blood from liver stores.
Thus, in situations of stress the body is prepared for the 'fight or flight reaction'. It may also be a \Jneurotransmitter\j in the brain, where it is associated with many functions, including cardiovascular and respiratory responses. Therapeutic uses include acute \Jasthma\j, heart attack, and severe allergic responses.
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#
"adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH)",443,0,0,0
PN [a\Bdree\bnohkaw(r)tikoh\Btroh\bfik]
EN A chemical substance (a \Jpeptide\j) produced in the front lobe of the pituitary \Jgland\j; also known as \Bcorticotrophin.\b It stimulates the synthesis and release of \Jglucocorticoids\j from the adrenal \Jcortex\j, and is released in response to physical, emotional, or chemical stress through a releasing factor produced in the \Jhypothalamus\j.
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"Adrian (Gilbert) (b. Adrian Adolph Greenburg)",444,0,0,0
DT (1903-59)
EN fashion designer; born in Naugatuck, Conn. Discovered as a student in Paris by Irving Berlin, he designed costumes for countless Broadway shows and \JHollywood\j films (1920s-1930s). Under his own Beverly Hills label (1941-53), he designed women's couture and quality ready-to-wear; his trademarks included padded shoulders and dolman sleeves.
BK AmBg
#
"Adrian IV",445,0,0,0
HS , also \BHadrian,\b originally \BNicholas Breakspear\b
DT1a c.
DT1 1100
DT2 59
EN The first and only Englishman to become pope (1154-9), born in Abbots Langley, \JHertfordshire\j, south-east England, UK. He studied at Merton Priory and Avignon, became a monk in the monastery of St Rufus, near Avignon, and in 1137 was elected its abbot. Complaints about his strictness led to a summons to \JRome\j, where the pope recognized his qualities and appointed him Cardinal-Bishop of Albano in 1146.
In 1152 he was sent as papal legate to Scandinavia to reorganize the Church, where he earned fame as the '\JApostle\j of the North'. One of his early acts as pope is said to have been the issue of a controversial bull granting Ireland to Henry II. In 1155 he crowned Frederick I Barbarossa as Holy Roman Emperor in front of his massed army in a show of strength in support of the papacy, but he later engaged in a bitter struggle with him for supremacy in Europe.
MEX Frederick I; Henry II (of England)
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"Adrian VI",446,0,0,0
HS , originally \BAdrian Dedel\b
DT1 1459
DT2 1523
EN The only Dutch pope (1522-3), born in \JUtrecht\j, The Netherlands. He studied in \JLouvain\j, became a doctor of \Jtheology\j (1491), and was appointed tutor in 1507 to the seven-year-old Charles, later to be King of \JSpain\j (as Charles I) and Holy Roman Emperor (as Charles V). In 1516, Charles made Adrian inquisitor-general of Aragon and co-regent. As pope he tried to attack the sale of indulgences which had prompted Luther's first revolt, and allied with the emperor, England, and \JVenice\j against \JFrance\j.
MEX Luther; Charles V (Emperor)
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"Adrian, Edgar Douglas, Baron Adrian",447,0,0,0
DT (1889- 1977)
EN British neurophysiologist: showed frequency code in nerve transmission.
Adrian began his research in \Jphysiology\j in Cambridge before the First World War, but in 1914 he speedily qualified in medicine and tried to get to \JFrance\j. In fact he was kept in England working on war injuries and his later work was a mixture of 'pure' research and applications to medical treatment.
In the 1920s he began his best-known work. Already, crude methods were available for detecting electrical activity in nerve fibres. Adrian used thermionic diode amplifiers to reliably record nerve impulses in a single nerve fibre, and to show that they do not change with the nature or strength of the stimulus, confirming work by his friend K Lewis (1881-1945) in 1905 on this 'all or none' law.
He went on to show that a nerve transmits information to the brain on the intensity of a stimulus by frequency \Jmodulation\j, ie as the intensity rises the number of discharges per second (perhaps 10-50) in the nerve also rises - a fundamental discovery. He then worked on the brain, using the discovery by Berger in 1924 that electrical 'brainwaves' can be detected.
From 1934 he studied these brainwave rhythms, which result from the discharge of thousands of neurones and which can be displayed as an electroencephalogram (\JEEG\j). Within a few years the method was widely used to diagnose \Jepilepsy\j cases, and later to locate lesions, eg those due to tumours or injury.
Adrian was linked with Trinity College Cambridge for nearly 70 years and did much to advance \Jneurophysiology\j. He was a very popular figure; as a student he was a skilful night roof- climber and an excellent fencer, and he sailed and rock-climbed until late in life. He helped to organize a famous hoax exhibition of modern pictures in 1913.
He was never solemn, moved very quickly and claimed his own brainwaves were as rapid as a \Jrabbit\j's; as a motorist his quick reflexes alarmed his passengers. When in a hurry he would use a \Jbicycle\j in the long dark basement corridors of the Physiological Laboratory. He shared a Nobel Prize in 1932.
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"Adriani, Placido",448,0,0,0
EN died c.1740 Italian actor. A Benedictine monk, residing in Naples, he played the role of Pulcinella in monastery recitals. His manuscript collection, Selva, overo Zibaldone di concetti comici (1734), is a rich repository of commedia dell'arte scenarios, plots and lazzi (see lazzo).
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#
"Adrianople, Battle of",449,0,0,0
EN (AD 378) A battle between the Romans and the \JVisigoths\j at present-\Jday\j Edirne in European Turkey. This was one of the crucial battles of the ancient world, as the crushing Visigoth victory, under Fritigern, opened up Roman territory to Germanic invasion. Two-thirds of the Roman army, including Emperor Valens, were killed.
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"Adriatic Sea",450,0,0,0
PN [aydree\Ba\btik]
EN Arm of the \JMediterranean Sea\j, between the E coast of \JItaly\j and the Balkan Peninsula; Gulf of \JVenice\j at its head (north-west); separated from the Ionian Sea (south) by the Strait of Otranto; length 800┐km / 500┐mi; width 93-225┐km / 58-140┐mi; maximum depth 1250┐m / 4100┐ft; highly saline; lobster, sardines, \Jtuna\j; chief ports, \JVenice\j, \JRijeka\j, \JAncona\j, Bari, Brindisi; flat, sandy Italian coast; rugged, irregular E coast.
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"adsorption",451,0,0,0
EN The extraction of a component from one phase into another phase, usually by chemical interaction \I(chemisorption)\i between the material adsorbed (the \Badsorbate)\b and the surface of the adsorbing material (the \Badsorbent).\b Sometimes, the adsorbate is incorporated into the structure of the adsorbent; an example is the \Jadsorption\j of \Jhydrogen\j gas by \Jpalladium\j, which can adsorb several hundred times its own volume of the gas.
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"adult education",452,0,0,0
EN The provision of further or continuing educational opportunities for people over the minimum school-leaving age; also known as \Bcontinuing education.\b Frequently this takes place in institutions specially set up to cater for mature learners, but it is also common for schools and colleges and other centres of learning to be used. A wide network of providers exists.
In addition to the formal opportunities offered by institutions, there are numerous informal sources of adult education, such as broadcast programmes on radio and \Jtelevision\j, as well as correspondence and distance-learning courses, for people who wish to or must learn at home or as part of their job.
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"Advaita",453,0,0,0
PN [ad\Bviy\bta]
HS (Sanskrit, 'non-dual')
EN An influential school of \JVedanta\j \JHinduism\j, revived in a modern form during the 20th-c. Associated primarily with the thought of Shankara (8th-c), it holds that there is only one absolute reality, \JBrahman\j. All selves are in effect identical, since in essence they are one with \JBrahman\j.
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"Advent",454,0,0,0
EN In the Christian Church, a period of penitence and preparation for the celebration of the first coming of Christ at Christmas, and for his promised second coming to judge the world. It begins on \BAdvent Sunday,\b the fourth Sunday before Christmas (in effect, the Sunday nearest 30 November).
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"Adventists",455,0,0,0
EN Those Christians whose most important belief is in the imminent and literal Second Coming of Christ. Found in most periods of history and in most denominations, a separate movement began in the USA with William Miller (1781-1849), who predicted Christ's return (and the end of the world) in 1843-4, and whose followers eventually formed a denomination called \BSeventh Day \JAdventists\j.\b
They believe that the Second Coming of Christ is delayed only by a failure to keep the Sabbath (Friday evening to Saturday evening), which, along with \JOld Testament\j dietary laws, is held to rigorously.
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"adventitious roots",456,0,0,0
In general, "adventitious" in a plant means "found in an unusual place", so adventitious buds are buds found in some place other than the leaf axils. Adventitious roots are found coming from leaves and stems in some plants. In a strict sense, the roots on the runners of grass are adventitious, and so are the prop roots which grow from the lower nodes on a corn \I(Zea mays)\i plant. The cuttings of rose and \Jgeranium\j which are "struck" by placing them in damp soil are able to develop because adventitious roots develop on the piece of stem which is the cutting.
The most spectacular adventitious roots are those found on the \Jbanyan\j tree and the pandanus palm. The \Jbanyan\j is a kind of fig which drops roots from its branches to the ground. These roots then help support the branches, allowing the tree to extend the branches further, so that some large specimens occupy as much as two hectares (five acres).
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
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"adversary politics",457,0,0,0
EN A political situation said to exist in two-party electoral systems (eg the UK) where the policies of the parties and government are polarized between right and left, resulting in significant reversals in policy when government changes. It is usually associated with a 'first past the post' electoral system.
Because the system works against successful challenges from third parties, the views of the majority of the electorate occupying the 'middle ground' are not reflected.
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"adverse possession",458,0,0,0
EN The creation of an ownership right in real property through hostile, open, and continuous possession for a period of time, such as when a squatter seizes possession, or a tenant refuses to pay rent. The period required was traditionally 20 years, but is now 12 years in England and Wales (with exceptions for crown land or land owned by charitable institutions), and is fixed by statute from 5 to 20 years in most US jurisdictions.
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"advertising",459,0,0,0
EN The practice of informing and influencing others not personally known to the communicator through paid messages in the media; also the advertisements themselves. From humble origins (eg tradesmen's signs), advertising has developed in parallel with modern industrial society and the mass media. News-sheets in the 17th-c carried brief statements (eg announcing the sale of patent medicines), but it was not until the late 19th-c, with the advent of mass production of consumer goods, that the industry developed on the huge scale found today.
Advertising for consumer goods, whether of the 'fast moving' variety (eg washing powders) or 'durables' (eg cars) has long been the most conspicuous kind, on poster sites, in the press, and on \Jtelevision\j. 'Display' ads for such products in newspapers or magazines are characterized by their size and use of graphics (especially photographs), slogans, and large type.
In contrast, 'classified' ads are typically single-column width, consisting of words only, and grouped together under headings (eg 'personal', 'situations vacant', or 'wanted'). Other approaches include direct marketing (by post or \Jtelephone\j) and direct response advertising (via tear-off coupons), both of which have resulted from the difficulty mass media advertising has in reaching a target audience and measuring its own effectiveness.
Manufacturers and retailers are not the only groups to realize the value of communicating with the general public through advertising. Governments, political parties, service industries (eg banks and financial institutions), trade unions, employers' associations, pressure groups, and charities also employ advertising as a major means of promoting ideas and causes.
Regulations on who may advertise and on the quantity and nature of ads, especially commercials, vary from country to country. In recent years some advertisers have found the sponsorship of sporting and cultural events a convenient way to side-step controls applying elsewhere to the promotion of their products (especially cigarettes) and a means of associating these with healthy or prestigious activities.
From being small-scale brokers of advertising space on behalf of newspaper proprietors, most modern \Badvertising agencies\b now offer a 'full service', comprising market research and creative expertise, media planning, and media buying. The influence of the USA in developing advertising techniques (Madison Avenue) has been central. Since the 1960s, however, 'creative shops' have offered specialist design and copywriting services, with 'media independents' later doing the same for media planning and buying.
Advertising is only one, though perhaps the most controversial, of the elements of the 'marketing mix'. As such it has always been subject to attack, whether on moral, ideological, or aesthetic grounds. Underlying this criticism is the presumption that advertising has pernicious effects on individuals, social groups, or whole societies. Apologists respond by claiming that advertising merely reflects the values and styles already existing in society.
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"Advisory, Conciliation, and Arbitration Service",460,0,0,0
EN See ACAS
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#
"advocacy planning",461,0,0,0
EN A form of planning in which the planner acts for the interests of a particular group or community in opposition to plans prepared by the official planning authority. It is a means of aiding groups whose interests may be damaged or not represented by the planning authority. The planner is responsible to the group, and not to the authority.
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"advocate",462,0,0,0
EN A term frequently applied to lawyers practising in the courts as professional representatives of those who bring or defend a case. In Scotland, the term is used as an equivalent to an English \Jbarrister\j, and denotes exclusive right of audience before the superior courts.
Also in Scotland, since 1993, a hybrid form of lawyer called a \Bsolicitor advocate\b has been created from existing solicitors who, on passing further examinations, will be permitted to appear in the High Court or the Court of Session. These senses are not found in other jurisdictions.
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"╞",463,0,0,0
EN See Russell, George William
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#
"aechmea",464,0,0,0
PN [ak\Bmay\ba]
EN A member of a \Jgenus\j of plants (epiphytes) native to tropical America; rosettes of succulent leaves forming a \Jwater\j-filled cup in the centre, \Jinflorescence\j produced on a stout, well-developed stalk. Many species are grown as house plants. \B(Genus:\b \IAechmea,\i 172 species. \BFamily:\b Bromeliaceae.)
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"Aedes",465,0,0,0
PN [ay\Bee\bdeez]
EN The yellow-fever mosquito, found in coastal and riverside habitats throughout the tropics and subtropics; eggs laid in stagnant \Jwater\j; aquatic larvae colourless except for black respiratory siphon. The adult females feed on blood, transmitting diseases such as yellow fever and \Jdengue\j. \B(Order:\b \JDiptera\j. \BFamily:\b Culicidae.)
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"Aegean civilization",466,0,0,0
PN [ee\Bjee\ban]
EN The \JBronze Age\j cultures which flourished in the third and second millennia BC on the islands of the \JAegean Sea\j and around its coasts.
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"Aegean Islands",467,0,0,0
PN [ee\Bjee\ban]
EN pop (1995e) 467 000; area 9122 sq km/3521 sq mi. Island group and region of \JGreece\j; the name is generally applied to the islands of the \JAegean Sea\j, including Lesbos, \JChios\j, \JSamos\j, Lemnos, and Thasos; a major tourist area.
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"Aegean Sea",468,0,0,0
PN [ee\Bjee\ban]
EN Arm of the \JMediterranean Sea\j, bounded W and N by \JGreece\j, north-east and E by Turkey, S by islands of \JCrete\j and Rhodes; dotted with islands on which the Aegean civilization of 3000-1000 BC flourished; length (N-S) 645┐km / 400┐mi; width 320┐km / 200┐mi; greatest depth, 2013┐m / 6604┐ft; sardines, sponges; \Jnatural gas\j off north-east coast of \JGreece\j; tourism.
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"Aegina",469,0,0,0
PN [ee\Bjiy\bna]
EN pop (1995e) 11 800; area 83 sq km/32 sq mi. One of the largest of the Saronic Islands, \JGreece\j, SW of \JAthens\j; chief town Aiyna; a popular resort; Temple of Aphaia.
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#
"aegis",470,0,0,0
PN [\Bee\bjis]
EN Originally a goatskin, and then, in Greek \Jmythology\j, a fringed piece of armour or a shield. Zeus shakes his aegis, which may possibly be the thunder-\Jcloud\j; Athene's is equipped with the \JGorgon\j's head.
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"Aegisthus",471,0,0,0
PN [\Bee\bgisthuhs, \Bee\bjisthuhs]
EN In Greek legend, the son of Thyestes; while \JAgamemnon\j was absent at Troy he became the lover of Clytemnestra. Together they killed \JAgamemnon\j on his return to \JArgos\j. Aegisthus was later killed by Orestes.
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"Aegithalidae",472,0,0,0
EN \BLong-tailed tits\b
The long-tailed tits make up a small family of songbirds (family \JAegithalidae\j, order Passeriformes, suborder Oscines) consisting of six species in the \Jgenus\j \IAegithalos\i and one, perhaps three, species in \IPsaltriparus; \i \IAegithalus\i is confined to Eurasia, while the Bushtit \IPsaltriparus\i inhabits forest and woodland on the west coast of \JNorth America\j.
The relationships of the little-known Pygmy Tit \IPsaltria\i \Iexilis\i of the mountain forests of Java remain enigmatic, but it may belong in this family. Their closest relatives are the true tits, family \JParidae\j.
Long-tailed tits are very small, and few weigh more than 10 grams. They have loose, fluffy plumage, stocky bodies, short wings, and long tails (especially long in the case of the Long-tailed Tit \IAegithalos\i \Icaudatus); \i their legs are rather long and slender, and their bills are short and pointed. Plumage patterns are simple, and colors are usually restricted to black, white, dark gray, and muted shades of dull red.
All species are strongly sociable, living in permanent groups of up to about 20 birds; they seem always on the move, but they probably remain always within an extensive group territory. Sometimes they associate for a time with flocks of other woodland birds, especially in winter. The group even roosts together at night, cuddled up close together on a branch.
One species, the common Long-tailed Tit \IAegithalos\i \Icaudatus\i occurs in forests and woodlands across Eurasia from the \JBritish Isles\j to \JJapan\j. The other members of \IAegithalos\i are essentially Himalayan in distribution, inhabiting mainly high-altitude forest and \Jalpine\j scrub, though one species, the Black-throated Tit \IAegithalos\i \Iconcinnus,\i extends as far east as \JTaiwan\j.
The ancestors of the Bushtit \IPsaltriparus\i \Iminimus\i may have reached the present distribution via the Bering Strait during some former period of milder climate, but now the North American species is considerably isolated, geographically, from others of its family. It occurs from extreme south-western British Columbia southward in coastal and mountain forests to the highlands of \JGuatemala\j. It occurs in three more-or-less isolated populations that may represent distinct species.
All populations are strongly sedentary, although high-altitude forms retreat to find milder conditions at lower levels in winter.
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"Aegothelidae",473,0,0,0
EN \BOwlet-nightjars\b
Owlet-nightjars (family \JAegothelidae\j, order Caprimulgiformes, suborder Caprimulgi) are small, nocturnal, insect-eating birds restricted to the Australasian region. In many ways they resemble nightjars (family \JCaprimulgidae\j) but their closest relatives are the frogmouths (family \JPodargidae\j). Fossil species are known, including one from the Pleistocene of \JNew Zealand\j that may have been flightless.
Anatomically, owlet-nightjars are distinctive in several respects. They have a bronchial syrinx like frogmouths, but they differ in a number of other features: for example, they have an oil \Jgland\j and two carotid arteries, but they lack powder-down.
All other members of the order Caprimulgiformes have a caecum, but owlet-nightjars do not. The tail is moderately long, but the wings are short and rounded. The bill is short but very wide, and nearly obscured by dense bristles and filoplumes on the face and forehead.
Most species are about 25 cm in total length. They perch upright, but do not use the 'broken branch' posture typical of frogmouths. The plumage is fluffy, and cryptically patterned in gray, fawn, slate, brown, buff, rufous, and white. Males and females are similar, and there is little age or seasonal variation. Downy chicks are white.
Owlet-nightjars are common and widespread, but often overlooked because of their nocturnal habits and because they roost in tree cavities during the \Jday\j, leaving only their soft calls to reveal their presence. However, they can often be induced to stick their heads out of their hideaways to look about by lightly tapping the tree-trunk below with a stick.
New Guinea has five of the eight species, one of which, the Australian Owlet-\Jnightjar\j \IAegotheles cristatus,\i is also very widespread in \JAustralia\j, and another occurs in eastern \JIndonesia\j. An endemic species on New Caledonia was discovered during the first phase of European exploration of the Pacific, but has not been seen since. All are sedentary birds confined to forest and woodland.
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"╞lfric",474,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bfrik, \Bal\bfrich]
HS , also known as \B╞lfric Grammaticus\b ('The Grammarian')
DT1a c.
DT1 955
DT2a c.
DT2 1020
EN \JAnglo-Saxon\j clergyman and writer, the greatest vernacular prose writer of his time. He became a monk and later abbot at the new monastery of Cerne \JAbbas\j in \JDorset\j, S England, and subsequently the first Abbot of Eynsham in Oxfordshire, SC England.
He composed two books of 80 \IHomilies\i in Old English, a paraphrase of the first seven books of the \JBible\j, and a book of \ILives of the Saints.\i He also wrote a Latin grammar and Latin-English glossary, accompanied by a Latin \IColloquium\i which gives a vivid picture of social conditions in England at the time.
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"Aelian",475,0,0,0
PN [\Bee\blian],
HS , in full \BClaudius Aelianus\b
DT1a c.
DT1 170
DT2a c.
DT2 235
EN Greek rhetorician, born in Praeneste, near \JRome\j. He taught \Jrhetoric\j in \JRome\j c.220, and wrote numerous works, including \IVaria historia\i (Historical Miscellanies) and \IDe natura animalium\i (On the Characteristics of Animals).
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"Aelred of Rievaulx",476,0,0,0
EN See Ailred of Rievaulx, St
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"Aemilian Way",477,0,0,0
PN [iy\Bmeel\bian]
EN A continuation of \JRome\j's major trunk road to the N, the Flaminian Way. It ran from Rimini on the Adriatic coast to the River Po.
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"Aeneas",478,0,0,0
PN [ee\Bnee\bas]
EN In Roman legend, the ancestor of the Romans. He was a Trojan hero, the son of Anchises and Venus, who escaped after the fall of Troy, bearing his father on his shoulders. After wandering through the Mediterranean, he reached \JItaly\j at Cumae and visited the Underworld, where the destiny of \JRome\j was made clear to him.
He married the daughter of the King of Latium, and allied himself to the Latins in local wars. His son founded Alba Longa, and a line of kings from whom Romulus was said to be descended.
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"Aeolian deposits",479,0,0,0
Wind-blown deposits of sediment, typically of sand grain size. When these deposits are later eroded, they show a characteristically chaotic arrangement, as aeolian deposits are usually more frequently moved and moved again after their first deposition, while \Jwater\j-borne deposits tend to settle and remain, unless they are deposited in a river bed or delta. The windward and leeward slopes of the temporary dunes show different angles of repose, and "blow-outs" are common, and it is these characteristics which make it easy to recognise the aeolian deposits.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
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"aeolian harp",480,0,0,0
PN [ee\Bohl\bian]
EN A wooden soundbox fitted with strings (usually about a dozen) of various thicknesses, but tuned to a single pitch, which are made to vibrate freely by the surrounding air, producing an ethereal, 'disembodied' sound. It takes its name from Aeolus, god of the winds.
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"Aeolians",481,0,0,0
PN [ee\Bohl\bianz]
EN A sub-group of Hellenic peoples who colonized the north-west coast of \JAsia Minor\j and the islands of the N Aegean (eg Lesbos) towards the end of the second millennium BC.
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"Aeolus",482,0,0,0
PN [\Bee\bolus]
EN In Greek \Jmythology\j, the god of the winds. In the \IOdyssey\i Aeolus lived on an island, and gave Odysseus the winds tied in a bag so that his ship would not be blown off course. The ship had nearly reached Ithaca when Odysseus' men opened the bag, thinking it contained treasure. As a result, the ship was blown far away.
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"Aepyornis",483,0,0,0
PN [eepi\Baw(r)\bnis]
EN See elephant bird
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"aerenchyme",484,0,0,0
This is a form of tissue found in the stems and roots of many \Jwater\j plants. It is a variation of parenchyma (thin-walled randomly-arranged cells), but with air cavities within it. These cavities serve to assist in gas exchange within the plant (gases diffuse much faster through air than through \Jwater\j), and also to help the plant to float.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
BK Webster
#
"aerial",485,0,0,0
EN See antenna \B(technology)\b
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"aerial photography",486,0,0,0
EN Photography of the ground surface from an aerial viewpoint such as a \Jballoon\j or \Jaircraft\j, with application to archaeology, \Jecology\j, \Jgeology\j, and wartime reconnaissance. In \Baerial survey mapping,\b the \Jaircraft\j flies at a constant height along specified paths, taking pictures at regular intervals to build up a mosaic of overlapping images; ground contour and building heights are measured by viewing pairs of images stereoscopically.
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"aerobe",487,0,0,0
PN [\Bair\bohb]
EN An organism that requires the presence of oxygen for growth and reproduction. The great majority of all living organisms are aerobic, requiring oxygen for \Jrespiration\j. Some micro-organisms, typically \Jbacteria\j, are anaerobic, able to grow only in the absence of oxygen; these are known as \Banaerobes.\b
\BMore information provided by Webster Publishing\b
There is good reason to believe that the first living things were anaerobic, and that the aerobes only sprang up after the \Jearth\j's \Jatmosphere\j was "poisoned" by large amounts of free oxygen, generated by the first photosynthesisers.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
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"aerobics",488,0,0,0
PN [air\Boh\bbiks]
EN A system of physical training in which exercises such as walking, swimming, and running are pursued for a sufficiently long period to improve performance. The increases can be assessed using a point scoring system available on charts for different ages and types of effort.
In the 1980s the term was particularly used for movement exercises in time to music, which became popular among keep-fit groups of all ages. The use of oxygen by muscles in carrying out any form of physical activity is known as \Iaerobic \Jmetabolism\j.\i
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"aerocapture",489,0,0,0
EN A proposed technique for placing a \Jspacecraft\j in \Jorbit\j around a \Jplanet\j, without the expenditure of chemical propellants, by taking advantage of planetary \Jatmosphere\j. The \Jspacecraft\j would be equipped with an aerobrake similar to the heat shields on space capsules like Apollo, and would be navigated into the planet's upper \Jatmosphere\j, where friction would slow it down.
The technique offers the prospect of reducing trip times to the outer planets by using less massive \Jspacecraft\j, and of carrying heavier payloads to Mars for sample return missions and, eventually, human exploration.
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"aerodynamics",490,0,0,0
EN The study of the flow of air and the behaviour of objects moving relative to air; a subject which is applicable to other gases, and is part of the larger subject of fluid mechanics. Aerodynamic principles explain flight. The shape and orientation of an \Jaircraft\j wing (curved upper surface, wing tilted down) mean that the air above the wing travels further than the air beneath. Air above the wing thus travels faster and so has lower pressure (Bernoulli's principle).
The pressure difference provides lift to support the \Jaircraft\j. The available lift increases with wing area, and decreases with altitude. The movement of an \Jaircraft\j through the air produces a force which impedes motion, called \Idrag,\i dependent on the \Jaircraft\j size and shape.
Air movement across the surface is impeded by friction, which produces additional drag called \Ifrictional drag; \i this causes heating, which can sometimes be extreme, as in the case of space re-entry vehicles. Friction losses increase with wing area and velocity, and decrease with altitude.
At velocities greater than the speed of sound (Mach 1, approximately 331.5┐m / 1088┐ft per second) air can no longer be treated as incompressible and new rules apply, giving rise to \Bsupersonic aerodynamics.\b Passing from subsonic to \Jsupersonic\j speeds, \Jaircraft\j cross the 'sound barrier', marked by a dramatic increase in drag.
Supersonic drag is reduced using thin, swept-back wings typical of military fighter \Jaircraft\j. \JAircraft\j flying at \Jsupersonic\j speeds produce sonic booms - shock waves in the air around the \Jaircraft\j, produced because the \Jaircraft\j's velocity is too great to allow the air pressure to adjust smoothly around it. Vehicles moving through air experience drag forces which increase fuel consumption.
Also, buildings and bridges sway due to wind. These effects must be allowed for in design, and can be minimized by attending to the shape of the object as seen by the oncoming air stream. Wind tunnels allow scale models to be exposed to simulated wind conditions, and aerodynamic properties of design can be determined. Of special importance are effects of abnormal air flows such as turbulence and vortices.
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"aerofoil (airfoil)",491,0,0,0
The name given to a particular cross-section, found in the propeller, the \Jturbine\j and the \Jboomerang\j. It is also the most desirable shape for the sail of a racing yacht, especially when it is sailing upwind, and it can also be seen in the cross-section of a bird's wing. When a fluid (gas or liquid) flows past this shape, the surface provides lift, as predicted by Bernoulli's principle.
The shape is designed to produce laminar flow, and to ensure that the path taken by the fluid over one surface is greater than the path taken over the other surface. This difference in distance, over the same time, translates into a difference in speed, which translates in turn into a difference in pressure, providing lift.
In the case of an \Jaircraft\j, the wing is usually tilted slightly upwards, so that further lift is provided from that source as well, but the aerofoil effect is still important.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
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"aerometry",492,0,0,0
PN [air\Bom\betree]
EN The measurement of airflow through the nose and mouth during speech. In the pronunciation of most sounds, air comes through the mouth; but in the case of nasal consonants (eg [m], [n]) and nasal vowels (eg [⌡], as in French \Ibon)\i the air travels wholly or partly through the nose. Using an \Baerometer,\b the variations in the use of the nasal cavity in running speech can be plotted.
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"aeronautics",493,0,0,0
EN The broad body of scientifically based knowledge describing aeroplanes as objects subject to the laws of physics. The term is usually taken to mean knowledge which focuses upon the vehicle itself, rather than upon the associated commercial or operational usage, although in practice such a definition is not rigidly adhered to.
Thus, aeronautics is taken to cover such topics as the generation of lift to make the aeroplane fly, the physical factors affecting manoeuvring, the production of thrust through the use of propellers and jets, the strength of the structure, and the way these various elements are combined to produce a functioning vehicle.
\BMore information provided by AND Reference Data\b
As early as the 16th-c, \JLeonardo da Vinci\j was designing flying machines based on emulating the flapping motion of birds' wings, but the vehicle which first carried people clear of the \Jearth\j's surface was a hot-air \Jballoon\j constructed by the Montgolfier brothers and flown on an ascent over Paris in 1783 by De Rosier and D'Arlandes. The Frenchman Charles was developing a lighter-than-air \Jballoon\j (or aerostat) at about the same time, but it was 1852 before the practical problems of controlling direction of travel and coping with adverse \Jweather\j were overcome by the development of the \Jballoon\j into an \Jairship\j by Henri Gifford.
In the intervening period, research was being conducted using models which would be recognized today as a conventional \Jaircraft\j configuration and, by 1853, Sir George Cayley, the father of aeronautics, had constructed a man-carrying glider. Also during this period (1847), John Stringfellow and William Henson built a steam-powered \Jaircraft\j which, although unfortunately incapable of sustained flight, had a significant influence on subsequent \Jaircraft\j design.
The development of man-carrying gliders was pursued vigorously by Otto Lilienthal who, from his study of bird flight, recognized the importance of curved airfoil sections to increase the efficiency of wing surfaces. With the continuing refinement of the \Jinternal combustion engine\j, invented in 1876 by Nikolaus August Otto and successfully harnessed car propulsion by Karl Benz in 1885, the way was cleared for the most significant landmark in manned, powered flight. In 1903, Orville Wright took off and flew for 12 seconds in a 12-hp engined bi-plane constructed by his brother, Wilbur, in their cycle workshop. As the reliability of the structures and engines improved, the latter particularly through Lawrence Hargrave's radical rotary design, so pioneers exploited the new medium. Amongst these were Henry Farman, who made the first cross-country flight in 1908, and Louis Bleriot, who flew across the English Channel the following year.
World War 1 provided a powerful stimulus to all aspects of aeronautical research and development, and in 1919, John William Alcock and Arthur Brown crossed the Atlantic in a twin-engined Vickers Vimy bomber. This feat was followed by flights of ever-increasing range, including the overflight of the \JNorth Pole\j by Richard Byrd in 1927. Later pioneering flights included Charles Lindbergh's solo crossing of the Atlantic; Amelia Earhart over the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans; Amy Johnson from England to \JAustralia\j, and James Mollinson to South Africa and India.
World War 2 created a similar impetus. By the end of that conflict the later marks of the Spitfire, designed by Reginald Mitchell; the Hurricane, designed by Sidney Camm; and the Messerschmitt, designed by Wilhelm Messerschmitt and Walter Rethel, were representative of the highest states of \Jevolution\j of piston-engined \Jaircraft\j. This war also heralded the arrival of the jet fighter: in 1939 the Heinkel HE 178, built by Ernst Heinkel, became the world's first jet \Jaircraft\j. It was followed less than two years later by the Gloster E 28/39 powered by a jet engine designed by Frank Whittle.
Rocket-powered \Jaircraft\j had been introduced into limited service by the \JLuftwaffe\j during the later stages of the war, and research was continued by the USA. In 1947, Charles (Chuck) Yeager flew a Bell X-1 rocket-powered research \Jaircraft\j to become the first man to fly faster than the speed of sound, breaking the so-called sound barrier. This marked a significant advance in aeronautical \Jengineering\j.
The considerable use of long-range bomber \Jaircraft\j during the war led directly to the development of passenger-carrying \Jaircraft\j, and to the rapid growth of international air travel. By 1968 the world's first \Jsupersonic\j airliner, the Tupolev TU-144, had flown; followed a little later by the Anglo-French \JConcorde\j. The latter has remained in scheduled service. Its normal cruising speed is twice that of sound.
Among other significant developments have been Sidney Camm's Harrier, (the first Vertical-Take-Off-and-Landing [VTOL] \Jaircraft\j successfully to enter service); and the incorporation on some \Jaircraft\j, notably the General Aerodynamics F-111 fighter/bomber and the BAC \JTornado\j, of swing wings. This concept, first conceived by Barnes Wallis, enables the angle of sweep-back of the wings to be varied in flight, in order to optimize aerodynamic efficiency during the various stages of flight.
With some military \Jaircraft\j capable of reaching and operating on the fringes of space, the distinction between aeronautics and astronautics is becoming increasingly blurred. Indeed, future developments will probably draw on both sciences. The concept of \Jaircraft\j taking off from normal airfields and climbing to achieve \Jearth\j \Jorbit\j before re-entering the \Jatmosphere\j prior to a conventional aircraft-style approach and landing has already been explored by British Aerospace in their Horizontal-Take-Off-and-Landing (HOTOL) project.
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"aerophone",494,0,0,0
EN Any musical instrument in which air is the main vibrating agent. Aerophones form one of the main categories of instruments in the standard classification of Hornbostel and Sachs (1914). They are subdivided into types according to (a) the main material they are made of, and (b) how the air is set in motion (via a mouthpiece, a reed, or neither).
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"aeroplane / airplane",495,0,0,0
EN The general name given to a vehicle whose operational medium is air and which supports itself in the Earth's \Jatmosphere\j by means of \Ilift.\i Lift is produced through specially shaped fixed wings attached to the aeroplane's body or \Ifuselage; \i these alter the airflow so that the pressure distribution of the air over the wing creates an upward force.
The airflow is in turn produced by the aeroplane being 'pushed' or 'pulled' through the air by the propulsion device driven by a motor. By means of design, the lift produced by the wing can be made greater than the weight of the airframe and propulsive system, allowing a payload to be carried.
The first truly powered flight was made by Orville Wright in December 1903, when he flew 260┐m / 852┐ft. However, it was not until World War 1 that governments on both sides of the conflict put money into the development of engines and airframes. This led to the rapid development of specialized \Jaircraft\j, particularly the fighter.
After the War, the needs of American transcontinental passenger travel produced \Jaircraft\j with multi-engines, metal skins, and retractable undercarriages to replace the previously fabric-covered types. World War 2 saw a further investment in \Jaircraft\j by both the Axis and Allied powers, culminating in the world's first operational jet fighter, the Me 262.
In the period following the War, jet engines were applied to ever larger passenger \Jaircraft\j, culminating in the introduction of the Boeing 747 Jumbo Jet in 1970. This period also saw the arrival of the \Jsupersonic\j \JConcorde\j in 1976. Similarly, warplanes of all types had jet engines applied to them, the trend being towards ever higher speeds.
Recent developments in civilian \Jaircraft\j have been away from higher speed towards more economical and quieter operation, while military and large commercial \Jaircraft\j are becoming increasingly reliant upon \Jelectronics\j to control and keep them stable in flight.
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"aerosol",496,0,0,0
EN An airborne suspension of microscopic particles or liquid droplets, typically formed by forcing a liquid through a fine nozzle under pressure. \JAerosol\j sprays are useful as a means of depositing fine even layers of material, such as in paint sprays.
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"Aertsen, Pieter",497,0,0,0
PN [\Bairt\bsen]
DT1 1508
DT1b / 9
DT2 79
EN Painter, born in \JAmsterdam\j. He worked in Antwerp (1535-c.55), the first of a family dynasty of painters. Few of his religious altarpieces survived the turmoils of the Reformation. He is best known for paintings of everyday life and contemporary domestic interiors, but these frequently include some religious reference.
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"Aeschines",498,0,0,0
PN [\Bees\bkineez]
DT1a c.
DT1 390
DT1b BC
DT2 ?
EN Orator, born in \JAthens\j. He advocated appeasement of Philip II of Macedon, and was a member of a Greek embassy that negotiated peace with Philip in 346. Demosthenes tried to have him indicted for \Jtreason\j in 343, and in 330 Aeschines tried to prevent Demosthenes from being awarded a golden crown for his services to \JAthens\j. Defeated, Aeschines withdrew to Rhodes, where he established a school of eloquence.
MEX Demosthenes; Philip II (of Macedon)
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"Aeschylus",499,0,0,0
DT 525/4-456/5 bc
EN Greek tragic playwright. A native of Eleusis, Aeschylus is said to have produced tragedies as early as 499, and won his first victory at the Great Dionysia (see Greek theatre, ancient) in 484. He fought against the Persians at the Battle of Marathon (490), and probably also at Salamis (480).
He became the most popular tragedian of his \Jday\j, winning a total of 13 victories at \JAthens\j and also visiting \JSicily\j to produce plays for the tyrant Hieron I of Syracuse. It was on a later visit to \JSicily\j that he died. Already by the time of \JAristophanes\j, who affectionately parodies his style in Frogs, he was regarded as the first of the great tragedians.
For at least part of his career he played the leading role in his own plays, as was normal until the time of \JSophocles\j. He is said to have been responsible for reducing the role of the Chorus and for introducing the second actor - clearly a momentous innovation. Many of his plays belonged to connected tetralogies.
He is said to have written 90 plays: we know the titles of over 70; seven survive under his name. Persians (472), which depicts the despair of the Persian court on hearing of the Greek victory at Salamis, is the earliest drama we possess and the only surviving Greek tragedy on a historical subject. It did not belong to a connected tetralogy.
Seven against Thebes (467) was the third play of a tetralogy about Oedipus and his family, the others being \JLaius\j, Oedipus and the \Jsatyr\j play Sphinx. Suppliant Women (once thought to be the earliest play but now dated between 466 and 459) almost certainly belonged to a connected tetralogy about the daughters of Danaus. \JAgamemnon\j, Choephori (Libation-Bearers) and Eumenides together form the Oresteia (458), the only connected trilogy that survives (the lost \Jsatyr\j play \JProteus\j completed the tetralogy).
The seventh play, \JPrometheus\j Bound, was until recently accepted as authentic by most scholars, but detailed examination of its language, metre and stagecraft has made it very probable that it is post-Aeschylean, perhaps datable to the 440s. It was accompanied by the lost \JPrometheus\j Unbound, in which \JPrometheus\j was released from his torment by \JHeracles\j. Like the Oresteia, \JPrometheus\j Bound employs three actors.
Fragments also survive, not extensive but providing valuable evidence for Aeschylus' \Jsatyr\j plays, as well as for lost tragedies.
The surviving plays, though few in number, are extremely diverse. Each is fairly simple in plot, though those of the Oresteia, perhaps influenced by \JSophocles\j, are more complex than the others. Each, except Suppliant Women and Eumenides, invests a single public event (such as the Persian defeat or the murder of \JAgamemnon\j by his wife Clytemnestra) with great moral and religious significance.
Before it occurs, or is announced, the event is foreshadowed with foreboding or (in Choephori) with illusory hope, and we become more and more aware of the network of forces making it inevitable; afterwards its ethical implications are explored and its future consequences predicted.
Characterization tends to be subordinate to the deeds which the characters perform rather than being pursued for its own sake; but this does not prevent those characters from being fully intelligible in human terms. The Chorus is constantly exploited and its songs carry much of the moral and emotional weight of the drama.
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"Aesculapius",500,0,0,0
PN [eeskyu\Blay\bpius]
EN The Latin form of \BAsclepius,\b the Greek god of healing. His \Jcult\j was transferred from Epidauros to \JRome\j in 291 BC after a plague.
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"Aesop",501,0,0,0
PN [\Bee\bsop]
DT1 ?
DT1 6
DT1b th-c BC
EN Legendary Greek fabulist. The fables attributed to him are in all probability a compilation of tales from many sources. The stories were popularized by the Roman poet Phaedrus in the 1st-c AD, and rewritten in sophisticated verse by La Fontaine in 1668.
MEX La Fontaine; Phaedrus
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"Aesthetic / Esthetic Movement",502,0,0,0
EN A view of art based on the theory that art is autonomous and should not be judged by non-aesthetic criteria, whether moral, religious, or political; it flourished in the 19th-c. The French writer Victor Cousin first used the phrase \Il'art pour l'art\i ('art for art's sake') in 1836, but the doctrine occurs in various forms in the writings of (among others) Kant, Coleridge, and Emerson.
Aestheticism was attacked for its exaggerated detachment from everyday life by Ruskin and later by Tolstoy. The view that purely 'formal' rather than associational or 'literary' qualities are paramount has played a major role in 20th-c discussion.
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"aesthetics / esthetics",503,0,0,0
EN The philosophical investigation of art, understood to include all the visual arts, music, literature, drama, and dance. The term originally denoted the study of sense-experience generally, and began to emerge as a sub-field of philosophy concerned with beauty and artistic value with the work of Baumgarten and Kant in the 19th-c.
Aesthetics now deals with such issues as what it is for an object or a performance to be a work of art; whether there are objective standards for judging it; and what meaning and function can be ascribed to art and the concepts used within it.
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"aestivation",504,0,0,0
Australia does not have animals which hibernate in winter. Instead, it has migratory moths which perform the summer equivalent of hibernating. To be technical, they aestivate.
Late each spring, the bogong moths \I(Agrotis infusa)\i fly along the mountain ranges that parallel the Australian east coast to spend their summer in the \JAustralian Alps\j, more than 1000 kilometres from where they hatched and developed, and 1500 metres or more above sea level. Once in the high country, the moths land on granite outcrops and pack together in crevices in the rocks, where they stay for as long as five months, from November to April. During all this time, they hardly feed at all, though they may occasionally fly out at dusk to drink some \Jwater\j. Just as hibernating mammals slow down their metabolisms, so do the aestivating moths.
Digressing briefly, 'hibernate' and 'aestivate' are derived from the Latin words for 'winter' and 'summer' respectively, but that aside, both processes are very similar, with the animals involved preparing in advance for their long quiet period. There is related effect called quiescence, where animals respond to bad conditions by 'shutting down', but quiescence is a spontaneous reaction, not a planned and prepared-for one.
The next generation of bogongs begins when these adults emerge from shelter and return to their homes in April (\JAustralia\j's autumn) to mate and lay eggs in pastures across three states. The newly hatched grubs ('cutworms' to farmers) then lurk in the soil, feeding on the winter annuals which are their preferred food. They grow during the winter and spring, then change into moths, and fly to the high country to wait out the hot Australian summer.
Aestivation lets the adult moths live across summer when there is no suitable food for them. Summer is also the time when grasses take over the open country where the bogongs breed, and their grubs do not thrive on grasses, so the species depends on \Jaestivation\j each year. To last through the summer, the adult moths need to have a good \Jenergy\j store. In fact, their dry weight is 60% fat, with some protein and a smaller amount of \Jcarbohydrate\j.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
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"╞thel-",505,0,0,0
HS (\JAnglo-Saxon\j name)
EN See Athelstan or ╞thelstan; Ethelbert or ╞thelbert; Etheldreda or ╞thelthryth, St; Ethelflaed or ╞thelflaed
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"Aethelbert",506,0,0,0
EN See Ethelbert or ╞thelbert
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"Aethelflaed",507,0,0,0
EN See Ethelflaed or Aethelflaed
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"╞thelthryth",508,0,0,0
EN See Etheldreda or ╞thelthryth, St
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"aether",509,0,0,0
EN See ether, physics
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"Aδtius, Flavius",510,0,0,0
PN [ay\Bee\btius]
DT1a c.
DT1 390
DT2 454
EN Roman general, born in Moesia. In 433 he became patrician, consul, and general-in-chief, and maintained the empire against the barbarians for 20 years. His crowning victory was at ChΓlons over \JAttila\j in 451. Three years later Emperor Valentinian III (reigned 425-55), jealous of his greatness, stabbed him to death.
MEX \JAttila\j; Theodoric I
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"affenpinscher",511,0,0,0
EN This wiry-haired, smaller-than-average dog has a face resembling a monkey - it is otherwise known as the "Monkey Dog."
\BHistory:\b
The \JAffenpinscher\j may have been the ancestor of the familiar Brussels Griffon, although some believe it was the other way around. Or perhaps these animals may have both descended from the former German Pinscher. Certainly, the \JAffenpinscher\j was known in Europe during the fifteenth century, and is considered to be one of Europe's oldest toy breeds.
\BPhysical characteristics:\b
A stocky small dog. \IHeight:\i 9 - 11 in (23 - 28 cm). \IWeight:\i 6 - 9 lb (2.7 - 4 kg). The \JAffenpinscher\j has a rounded head, prominent eyes, shaggy hair around the face, and the ears are set high on the head. The coat is usually stiff and quite dense, and preferably colored black.
\BBehavior:\b
The \JAffenpinscher\j makes an excellent watch-dog as it bravely defends its territory. However, its endearing expressions can fool owners into allowing this potentially bossy and exuberant dog to take control of the family. Initially, the young \JAffenpinscher\j should be kept under close control so it becomes an excellent companion.
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"affinity",512,0,0,0
EN A relationship by marriage. Countries generally have rules prohibiting marriage between certain people where there is an affinity - for example between parents and their step-children. Such prohibitions also apply where there is \Iconsanguinity\i (a blood relationship).
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"affirmative action",513,0,0,0
EN Policies requiring institutions to act 'affirmatively' in employment practices to avoid discrimination on grounds of race, ethnic origin, gender, disability, or sexual orientation; usually found in the USA. Executive Order 10925 issued by President Kennedy contained the first use of the term.
Affirmative action policies can range from encouraging the employment of minorities to the setting of quotas of minorities to be employed.
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"affix",514,0,0,0
EN A grammatical element which cannot occur on its own, but must always attach to the root or stem of a word. Every language has a limited or closed set of affixes. In English, they may precede the stem \B(prefixes),\b as in \I\Bim\bpossible,\i or follow it \B(suffixes),\b as in \Iform\Bal.\b\i Some other languages have \Binfixes,\b which are attached within the word.
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"afforestation",515,0,0,0
EN The planting of woodland areas. The aim may be to increase the extent of economically useful wood (eg \Jconifer\j plantations in upland UK) or to protect against soil erosion and \Jdesertification\j by providing shelter belts and vegetation cover on bare ground.
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"Afghan hound",516,0,0,0
EN This elegant-looking dog has a fine noble head complemented by a luxuriant flowing coat and a majestic gait. The extremely fast Afghan Hound is ideally suited for racing across the open plains or quickly changing direction in the rough terrain of mountainous regions.
\BHistory:\b
As its name suggests, the Afghan Hound originated from \JAfghanistan\j, where it was bred as a sight hound. It was trained to chase and knock down its quarry, and then to keep it there until the handler could catch up. Originally, the short-haired variety were bred for the plains region and the long-haired dogs were restricted to the mountains.
Nomads found the Afghan Hound invaluable as a guard for their herds and as a watch-dog for their camps. Historical evidence of cave drawings suggests a similar dog existed as far back as 4000 years ago. In 1907 the Afghan Hound was shown in London under the name of Oriental \JGreyhound\j, and in 1926 was granted official recognition as the Afghan Hound.
\BPhysical characteristics:\b
A tall, refined-looking dog with a springy gait. \IHeight:\i for the adult dog 27 - 29 in (69 - 74 cm) \IWeight:\i 55 66 lb (25 - 30 kg). The skull and muzzle should be long, with preferably dark eyes slanting slightly upward. The long ears should be well-covered with silky hair.
\BBehavior:\b
Despite their elegant and aloof appearance, Afghan Hounds are often very demanding of their owner's attention. Generally, this dog has a gentle nature and is very sociable with other dogs and people. Their height gives them an air of superiority and confidence when meeting most other dogs, yet their playful manner soon puts other dogs and people at ease.
As Afghan Hounds are intelligent animals, they require lots of mental as well as physical stimulation. Considerate owners should provide these noble animals with plenty of exercise and attention. It is a sheer delight to watch an Afghan Hound race across an open space and playfully gambol around.
Although Afghan Hounds are easy to train, a wise owner should be aware that they are sight hounds and so have a strong chase-reflex. They can simply take off, or at least be very distracted by moving animals or objects such as cats or a windblown paper bag.
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"Afghan Wars",517,0,0,0
EN A series of wars (1838-42, 1878-80, 1919) between Britain and \JAfghanistan\j, prompted by the British desire to extend control in the region to prevent the advance of Russian influence towards India. The third Afghan War resulted in the country's independence (1921).
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"Afghanistan",518,0,0,0
EN pop (1995e) 21 017 000, plus an estimated 21/2 million nomadic tribesmen and 3 million living in \JPakistan\j and \JIran\j as refugees; area 647 497 sq km/249 934 sq mi. Republic in S Asia, divided into 29 provinces; timezone GMT +41/2; capital, Kabul; other chief towns, Mazar-i-Sharif, Herat, \JKandahar\j; Pathans the main ethnic group, with several minorities; official languages Pushtu, Dari (Persian); chief religion \JIslam\j, mostly Sunni; unit of currency the Afghani, subdivided into 100 puls.
\IPhysical description and climate\i
A mountainous country centred on the Hindu \JKush\j system, reaching over 7000 m/24 000 ft in the C and NE; many secondary ranges; to the NW, height decreases towards the border; also NW, the fertile valley of Herat; arid uplands to the S; desert in the SW; landlocked, over 500 km/300 mi from the sea; continental climate, winter severity increased by altitude; summers warm everywhere except on highest peaks; protected from summer monsoons by S mountains; rain mostly during spring and autumn; annual rainfall averages 338 mm/131/4 in; winters generally cold, with much snow at higher altitudes; a desert or semi-arid climate at lower levels.
\IHistory and government\i
Nation first formed in 1747 under Ahmad Shah Durrani; seen by Britain as a bridge between India and the \JMiddle East\j, but Britain failed to gain control during a series of Afghan Wars (the last in 1919); feudal monarchy survived until after World War 2, when the constitution became more liberal under several Soviet-influenced 5-year economic plans; king deposed (1973) and a republic formed; new constitution, 1977; coup (1978) installed a new government under the communist leader, Nur Mohammad Taraki; further coup (1979) brought to power Hafizullah Amin, which led to the invasion by USSR forces and the establishment of Babrak Karmal as head of state (1979--86); new constitution, 1987, provided for an executive president, bicameral National Assembly, and council of ministers; election of Nazibullah, 1987; Soviet withdrawal implemented, 1988--9; regime met heavy guerrilla resistance from the Mujahideen (Islamic fighters), and its influence extends effectively over only 20 %of the population; resignation of President Najibullah, 1992; new Constituent Assembly, 1992, provides for a 2-year rotating presidency; continuing unrest and disunity among Mujahideen groups, hindering implementation of UN-led peace plans and proposals for new constitution; power struggle between president and prime minister led to new conflict, 1994--5, with emergence of a new Muslim force, the \Italiban\i(army of students); \Italiban\ivictory imposed strict Islamic regime, with execution of Najibullah (Sep 1996), followed by counter-attack by Mujahideen alliance.
\IEconomy\i
Over 60% of labour force engaged in agriculture, especially wheat, fruit, nuts and vegetables, \Jmaize\j, \Jbarley\j, cotton, sugar-beet, sugar cane; sheep, \Jcattle\j, goats; forest wood for fuel; food processing, textiles (especially carpets), leather goods, plastics, fertilizers, furniture, footwear, mechanical spares; \Jnatural gas\j production in the N, largely for export; most sectors have been affected by the \JCivil War\j, especially sugar and textiles.
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"Afinogenov, Aleksandr (Nikolaevich)",519,0,0,0
DT 1904-41
EN Soviet playwright. He searched for a new psychological drama in the post- revolutionary years of transition from primitive agit-prop to doctrinaire socialist realism. He was a Communist Party member from 1922. His early plays - Robert Tim (1923), The Other Side of the Slot (adapted from Jack London, 1926), At the Breaking Point (1927), Keep Your Eyes Peeled (1927) and Raspberry Jam (1928) - were produced by the Proletkult Theatre, where Afinogenov served as literary manager and director, and reflected the group's proletarian bias.
Tiring of the schematic, Proletkult style, he formally broke with the organization in 1928, joining the Russian Association of Proletarian Writers (RAPP), whose approach to art he helped to define in The Creative Method of the Theatre: The Dialectics of the Creative Process (1931). However, in his 1929 drama The Eccentric, a character study of a romantic non-communist dreamer, the author had the temerity to cast communists as villains.
His best play, Fear (1931), which brings subtlety and humanity to a confrontation between a good communist and an unenlightened but salvageable elder scientist, was considered pivotal in the Soviet dramatic canon, and was successfully staged by \JStanislavsky\j at the Moscow Art Theatre. His remaining plays include Distant Point (1935), a Soviet philosophical drama; Hail, \JSpain\j! (1936), a popular romantic piece; and Mashenka (1940), an amalgam of personal and patriotic dramas.
His insistence on psychological realism at the expense of ideological concerns cost Afinogenov his Party membership in 1937. It was restored in 1938.
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"AFL / CIO",520,0,0,0
EN Organizations (AFL / \JCIO\j) American Federation of Labor - Congress of
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"aflatoxin",521,0,0,0
PN [afla\Btok\bsin]
EN A toxin produced by the mould \IAspergillus flavus\i (from \IA\i spergillus \Ifla\i vus \Itoxin)\i commonly found in groundnuts (peanuts), cottonseed, soybeans, wheat, \Jbarley\j, \Jsorghum\j, and nuts such as pistachios, almonds, and cacao, where the climate favours its growth.
The major epidemic of 'Turkey-X disease' in turkeys in the USA in 1960 was caused by feeding with contaminated groundnuts. Symptoms of poisoning include weight loss, loss of co-ordination, convulsions, and death. It also damages the liver, and causes liver tumours when fed long-term at low doses.
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"Afonso I",522,0,0,0
EN See Alfonso I or Alfonso Henriques
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"Africa",523,0,0,0
EN area c.30.97 million┐km\U2\u / 11.6 million┐mi\U2\u. Second largest continent, extending S from the \JMediterranean Sea\j; bounded W by the \JAtlantic Ocean\j and E by the Indian Ocean and the \JRed Sea\j; bisected by the Equator; maximum length, 8000┐km / 5000┐mi; maximum width, 7200┐km / 4500┐mi; highest point, Mount \JKilimanjaro\j (5895┐m / 19┐340┐ft); major rivers include the \JCongo\j, \JNiger\j, Nile, Zambezi.
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"Africa, Partition of",524,0,0,0
EN The division of the continent of Africa into colonial territories, which occurred in the last three decades of the 19th-c. Europeans had traded with Africa for several centuries, using a series of coastal settlements. Portuguese efforts to penetrate the interior in the 16th-17th-c had largely failed, and only the Dutch at the Cape had been able to establish a dynamic permanent settlement.
In the course of the 19th-c, efforts to abolish the \Jslave trade\j, missionary endeavours, and optimistic views of African riches helped to encourage colonial ambitions. The countries involved in the Partition included Britain, \JFrance\j, \JGermany\j, \JPortugal\j, and \JItaly\j, as well as the \JBoers\j in the S, and (in his private capacity) King Leopold of the Belgians.
When the French and the Italians completed the Partition of N Africa in the years before World War 1, only \JLiberia\j and \JEthiopia\j remained independent. At the end of the two World Wars, a repartitioning occurred with the confiscation of German and Italian territories. Most of the countries created by the Partition achieved independence in or after the 1960s, and the Organization of African Unity pledged itself to the maintenance of the existing boundaries.
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"African art",525,0,0,0
EN Visual art forms of the Continent of Africa, originally rock painting and drawings, in open shelters rather than caves. Scratched or incised drawings occur more abundantly throughout the Sahara than anywhere else in the world, and extend chronologically from ancient times almost to the present \Jday\j.
Early representations of wild animals, some now extinct, attest to a hunting culture that flourished before c.4000 BC. The style, as in European Palaeolithic art, is naturalistic. Later rock art is more schematic. Horses and chariots, and later camels, appear. In S Africa the \JBushmen\j have practised their own form of rock painting and drawing from early times to the present.
The major form of African tribal (as opposed to prehistoric) art, practised mainly in the W \JSudan\j, the Guinea Coast, Middle Africa, and the \JCongo\j, has been sculpture, especially masks and small figures, stools and thrones, as well as everyday objects. Materials, apart from wood, include ivory, metal (mostly bronze), terracotta, raffia, and occasionally stone. Painting has been much less important.
In the early 20th-c, African sculpture inspired artists such as Picasso to employ 'primitive' forms in reaction against the conventions of 19th-c \Jnaturalism\j. In recent years, especially since c.1960, artists working in independent states have created original forms of art by combining traditional African with modern Western ideas, techniques, and aesthetic attitudes.
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"African buffalo",526,0,0,0
EN A member of the \Jcattle\j family, native to S and E Africa \I(Syncerus caffer); \i heavy black or brown body; thick horns lying across head like a helmet, with tips curved upwards; large drooping ears; also known as \BCape buffalo\b (small form called \Bdwarf forest buffalo).\b
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"African dance",527,0,0,0
EN A vast number of dances, often part of traditional tribal structures, which operate within larger geographical boundaries (not always identical with current political boundaries). Some relate to religious belief or communicate socially acceptable moral codes; others express social hierarchies or celebrate ceremonial and social events.
Dancing and drumming occur together with clapping and singing. Performances take place within a community as part of a \Jcarnival\j or an arts festival, and in a theatrical context for tourists. Movement is typically from a crouched position, bare-footed with knees bent and shuffling steps, the motion beginning in the hips.
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"African Golden Cat",528,0,0,0
EN \BLatin Name:\b \IProfelis aurata\i\b
\BSize:\b head and body 70-55 cm; tail 28-32 cm\b
\BWeight:\b 13-18 kg\b
\BDistribution:\b Central Africa, from \JSenegal\j across to Kenya\b
A strongly built animal about twice the size of a domestic cat, the African Golden Cat can be found in a variety of colors from rich red-brown to silver-gray and occasionally even black. Different colored animals can be found in the one area and can sometimes be given different names. A red-furred animal may be known by locals as a golden cat, while a gray one is a silver cat.
It is found in rain forest and dense jungle areas and spends most of the \Jday\j resting in the lower branches of trees. At night it hunts for birds and small mammals, such as tree hyraxes and rodents; it is also strong enough to bring down small antelopes such as duikers.
Length of \Jpregnancy\j is 75-78 days and one to three kittens are born.
It features strongly in local stories and superstitions. In certain pygmy tribes, the tail is said to bring good luck during elephant hunts.
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"African history",529,0,0,0
EN The study of the history of the continent of Africa. Early approaches were bedevilled by the way Europeans regarded history as the study of societies through \Jliteracy\j, the examination of pre-literate societies being dubbed 'pre-history'. Africans themselves, however, though largely non-literate, had a clear conception of history which they maintained through oral traditions.
Much could be established about the African past through the archaeological record and through literate sources derived from the ancient world, \JIslam\j, and the earliest European travellers. The Portuguese in particular observed, interacted with, and recorded features of several African societies from the 15th-c, and also began the process of collecting traditions.
This was developed by explorers, missionaries, administrators, and anthropologists in the 19th-c and early 20th-c. It was only after World War 2 that the professional study of African history was put on a sound footing, and rapid strides were made in the utilization of all available sources, including oral history (often with a chronological depth up to five centuries). There is now a vigorous school of indigenous African historians.
\BMore information provided by AND Reference Data\b
Long before the birth of Christ, Africa was home communities and civilizations whose influences spread through the continent over thousands of years. Hunters and gatherers were gradually displaced by agriculturists and iron-workers, who brought with them different forms of political organization in successive waves of migratory movements. The continent had been widely explored by Africans themselves by the time European ships first touched W African shores.
Unlike the long history of European encounters with N African Muslim states across the Mediterranean, contact with W Africa dated back no further than the 15th-c. Merchant interests in W Europe provided the impetus to attempt navigation of the W bulge and S tip of Africa, in order to reach the Indian subcontinent. The most prominent navigators in the 15th-c were the Portuguese, especially in the era of Prince Henry the Navigator. Bartholomeu Diaz led the first expedition, which sailed around the Cape in 1488. Permanent trading posts gradually sprang up along the W African littoral between \JSenegal\j as far as \JAngola\j. Trade was conducted with African communities by the Portuguese, Dutch, Danes, French, and English, both on the coast and in the interior, through the agency of middlemen. As the New World became part of the European mercantile \Jorbit\j, trade relations with the peoples of the African coastline were increasingly dominated by the \Jslave trade\j. Slaving reached its peak in the 18th-c, with over six million Africans transported across the Atlantic.
At the end of the 18th-c, European contact with Africa was still largely restricted to its coastline. There were notable exceptions: James Bruce, for example, journeyed into \JEthiopia\j and brought back drawings and travel accounts, which he published in 1790. French scholars in North Africa produced scholarly reams on both \JEgypt\j and \JAlgeria\j, under the direction of Napoleon I and Louis Philippe respectively. The decoding, by Jean-Franτois Champollion, of Egyptian hieroglyphic script in 1822 also gave a spur to the study of Egyptology and archaeology.
But between 1790--1875 the nature of the European presence in Africa was rapidly and profoundly transformed. The gap between their respective technologies and political structures widened tremendously, as the economies of W Europe began to industrialize, and competing nation-states projected their rivalries with renewed vigour into the distant trading zones of the globe. Exploration, in its best and worst sense, drew scores of travellers and explorers into the interior of the African continent. A spirit of scientific enquiry prompted some; others were drawn by commercial and religious ambition. During this era, African exploration was the symptom of a new kind of interest in the continent which prefigured colonization.
Several mercantile powers, notably Britain, sought to make the transition from the \Jslave trade\j to legitimate commerce. Britain banned the \Jslave trade\j in her own dominions in 1807, and \Jslavery\j itself in 1833. Quite apart from philanthropic and religious pressures, the British government also recognized sound economic reasons. However, poorer nations, such as \JPortugal\j, remained economically dependent on \Jslavery\j for some time.
With increasing industrialization, European governments had greater resources available to embark on colonial enterprises. Britain acquired colonies on the W African coast, including the Gold Coast in 1821, which acted as outposts against the \Jslave trade\j. The British government between 1805--30 financed a series of expeditions to demystify the interior of W Africa. In addition, geographical societies arose in several European capitals to promote the exploration of the Dark Continent, a term coined by British explorer and journalist, Henry Morton Stanley, in the 1870s. Missionaries, too, invested their lives in the exploration and evangelization of Africa from the early 19th-c.
River systems, regarded as the key to African \Jgeography\j, were initially targeted for exploration by the various interested bodies and individuals. Mungo Park, a Scottish surgeon, was commissioned to explore the \JNiger\j by the African Association of London, later the Royal Geographical Society. His first journey, which established the E flow of the \JNiger\j, took place during 1795--7. He drowned on his second journey, seeking the mouth of the river. The latter, in the river delta of the Gulf of Guinea, was reached by the British explorer Richard Lander during his 1830--1 expedition.
The existence of the Zambezi R was unknown to Europeans until the Scottish missionary, Dr David Livingstone, encountered it on his journey (1852--6) through the \JKalahari\j Desert to L Ngami in the NW. His quest was to reveal the extent of the \Jslave trade\j, and it took him upstream of the Zambezi and all the way to \JLuanda\j on the W coast. On his return he saw the Victoria Falls on the Zambezi, which local Africans referred to as Mosi oa Tunya (Smoke that Thunders). Livingstone continued down the Zambezi until he reached Quelimane on the E coast. After publishing his findings on both the \Jslave trade\j and his travels, he made a second journey to establish missionary outposts and explore the Shire and Rovuma rivers. He made his last journey between 1865--71, exploring L Nyasa, L Tanganyika, and the headwaters of the \JCongo\j, when he became severely ill. Stanley was sent to Livingstone's rescue by the New York Herald in 1871, but Livingstone was determined to continue his explorations and died at L Bangweulu in 1873.
Since 1850, locating the source of the Nile had become the main focus of exploration. Two Englishmen, Richard Burton and John Speke, were the first Europeans to see L Tanganyika in 1858. Speke went on N alone and reached L Victoria (L Nyanza) the same year, believing he had found the source of the Nile. In 1862 he was accompanied by James Grant, and the two found \JRipon\j Falls, the outlet from Nyanza which gave rise to the Nile. The unravelling of the central mystery of Africa's river systems was completed in 1875, when Stanley made a circuit of L Victoria, followed the Lualuba R to the \JCongo\j R, and traced the \JCongo\j to its mouth.
By 1875, while there were still many gaps in European knowledge about Africa's \Jgeography\j, the areas of ignorance were diminishing. Smaller-scale explorations uncovered much of geographical and ethnographic interest. Following the emphasis on river systems, the mysteries of African peoples became a focus of considerable attention.
Francis Galton published travel accounts in 1853 of his journey to Ovamboland in N SW Africa, with Swede Karl Johan Andersson (1827--67). Galton continued his scientific career as a eugenicist in Britain, and criticized later European travellers whose interactions with the same African groups were less altruistic. Andersson remained in the region, exploring the Kavango R area and L Ngami.
Vivid, published accounts of European explorations tended to diminish journeys of similar \Jmagnitude\j undertaken by Africans, mixed-race residents of the African interior, and even other Europeans. Several traders of Portuguese descent who lived in the Angolan interior had, in fact, visited Barotseland on the Zambezi R before Livingstone. One, Silva Porto (1817--90), a Portuguese resident of BihΘ, received little recognition for his significant findings, and his manuscripts remained unpublished. The Hungarian explorer, Lßzl≤ \JMagyar\j (1817--64), who married an African king's daughter in BihΘ, was more successful in publishing information on the interior peoples of present-\Jday\j C and S \JAngola\j in 1859.
The acclaim that Livingstone met with in Britain and elsewhere was due in large part to his outspokenness on the issue of \Jslavery\j at a time when the anti-slavery movement provided receptive audiences. The Portuguese government initially attempted to hold its ground against the pressures of the international anti-slavery movement. But, after increasing debate, they officially abolished the trade in 1875. \JSlavery\j, however, went on in various guises, and demand for slaves continued to affect large areas of Africa for several decades.
The aim of exploration was to facilitate Portuguese claims to a C African empire in the face of British and German competition. In the centre of the trans-African route was the prominent trading kingdom of Mwata Yamvo, which became the goal of Portuguese explorers. The earliest Portuguese explorer to reach Mwata Yamvo had been Lourenτo Pinto (nd) between 1849--50; but \JPortugal\j's most renowned explorer, Serpa Pinto (1846--1900), succeeded in a W--E traverse of the continent, with the help of Silva Porto, between 1877--9. Other official explorers despatched by \JLisbon\j were Hermenegildo de Brito Capelo (nd) and Roberto Ivens (nd), who circuited the region of the Mbundu chiefships in 1878--9. The latter's mission was eclipsed at the outset by Stanley's sensational and well-publicized arrival in Boma and \JLuanda\j. Verney Lovett Cameron had been the first to traverse C Africa between 1872--5, moving from E--W. Cameron's condemnatory account of the continuing impact of \Jslavery\j fuelled the debate over abolition in \JLisbon\j.
Other European explorers in C Africa included Anton Lux (nd) and Paul Pogge (1838--84) during 1875--6, sponsored by the Berlin Geographical Society. The same organization promoted the journey of Max Bⁿchner (1852--1905) to Mwata Yamvo in 1879. Von Mechow explored the Kwango in 1880. Such activity was symptomatic of awakening German public and state interest in acquiring African colonies. On the French side, the most influential explorer was Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza (1852--1905), who launched his first expedition into the \JCongo\j R basin during 1875--8.
The focus of European interest in Africa had shifted again by the 1870s. The potential resources that Africa offered were increasingly highlighted, especially after unexpected diamond discoveries in Kimberley in 1875. Explorers were superseded by a new breed of commercial and colonial agents. Stanley, for example, became an agent for Leopold II of \JBelgium\j, and was instrumental, albeit perhaps unintentionally, in opening up the \JCongo\j's equatorial forest and local African labour for exploitation. De Brazza's second expedition up the \JCongo\j R (1879--82), which agreed a protection treaty with the Teke people, prevented any initiative by Stanley to take over the N basin area on behalf of the Belgian king.
Official colonial agents were authorized to solicit treaties of protection from African chiefs, but on occasion reluctant European governments had their hands forced by treaties obtained by agents - often calling themselves explorers - despatched by colonial pressure groups. The latter sought to mobilize metropolitan action on colonial acquisition. Among them was Karl Peters (nd), active in East Africa on behalf of the Society for German Colonization from the mid-1880s. This treaty-seeking reached its highest pitch immediately before the convening of the Berlin Conference in 1884. The Conference fixed most of the colonial boundaries in Africa, and committed European powers irrevocably to direct colonization of the African territories to which they had laid claim.
Dr Patricia Hayes, Bucknell University
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"African horse sickness",530,0,0,0
EN A disease of horses caused by a virus of the Orbivirus group. It affects all Equidae, but asses, mules, and zebra are more resistant than horses. The organism is transmitted by a mosquito and is highly infectious. It causes mainly respiratory signs, often with swelling of the head and neck. There is a high mortality rate, and the disease is notifiable in the UK. A vaccine is available which protects against some strains of the virus.
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"African hunting dog",531,0,0,0
EN A member of the dog family \I(Lycaon pictus),\i native to S Africa; also known as \BCape hunting dog; \b the only dog with four toes on each foot; long legs; large rounded ears; mottled light and dark coat; inhabits open plains; packs hunt large grazing mammals.
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"African languages",532,0,0,0
EN The languages of the continent of Africa; c.1300, spoken by c.400 million people. They are difficult to classify, because relatively few have been systematically described, and it is not always clear whether two varieties are separate languages or dialects of the same language.
Few had written form before the Christian missionary activities of the 19th-c. Many of these languages do not have official status, but are subservient to the languages of \Jcolonialism\j, especially English and French. There are few with more than a million speakers. It is generally agreed, however, that there are four main groups.
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"African lily",533,0,0,0
EN An evergreen perennial \I(Agapanthus africanus)\i with thick, tough rhizomes, native to S Africa; leaves strap-shaped, leathery, growing to 1┐m / 3┐ft; flowers with six \Jperianth\j-segments, bell-shaped, blue, rarely white, in large umbels on leafless stalks. \B(Family:\b Liliaceae.)
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"African literature",534,0,0,0
EN The literature of the continent of Africa. Much still belongs to the oral tradition, closely linked to both secular occupation and religious ritual. Throughout the many language groups, there is a wealth of dirges, laments, love songs, chants, celebrations, invectives, and poems inciting warriors to battle, with musical accompaniment. Literature is written in both African and the post-colonial languages.
Much vernacular composition tends to be in drama and poetry, such as Kwasi Fiawoo's Ewe play \IToko Atolia\i (1937, The Fifth Landing Stage), and Okot p'Bitek's satirical poem in Acholi; whereas Africans writing in English or French will often prefer fiction. Notable examples include the English novels of Chinua Achebe (among them \IThings Fall Apart,\i 1958), the plays of Wole Soyinka, and the French poetry of AimΘ CΘsaire.
\IAfrican Literature Today\i provides an annual review of the field; while the anthology \IDaughters of Africa\i (1992) adds women's writing to what is now available. The quite different culture of South Africa has produced a number of distinguished novelists, most recently writing against or despite the \Japartheid\j state, among them Olive Schreiner (1855-1920), Nadine Gordimer, J M Coetzee, and Christopher Hope (1944-) .
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"African marigold",535,0,0,0
EN A misleading name for \ITagetes erecta,\i a popular garden annual originating from Mexico, with deeply cut leaves and showy yellow, orange, or red flower-heads up to 10┐cm / 4┐in diameter. \BFrench marigold,\b \ITagetes erecta,\i also from Mexico, is very similar but has smaller flower-heads. \B(Family:\b Compositae.)
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"African Methodist Episcopal Church",536,0,0,0
EN A Church formed at a national meeting of Black Methodists in 1816 in the USA, the culmination of a movement begun in 1787. It expanded rapidly after the \JCivil War\j, and today has over a million members. In 1841 it established the first African-American publishing house in the USA.
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"African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church",537,0,0,0
EN An African-American Methodist Church in the USA, dating from 1821, which emerged when a group reacted against the discrimination they experienced as members of a New York City Methodist foundation. The Church grew rapidly after the \JAmerican Civil War\j, and by 1990 its membership was approaching 1..5 million.
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"African music",538,0,0,0
EN The indigenous music of the African continent. Generalization is difficult because of the size of the continent, the diversity of its peoples and languages, the profound influence of Arab culture in the N, and the more recent infiltration of Western music in all parts.
The most typical features seem to be: the absence, until the 20th-c, of any system of \Jmusical notation\j (except in the ancient chant of the Ethiopian church); the ubiquity of song, especially in a solo-refrain form; the close interaction of language and music, both vocal and instrumental; the importance of improvisation; and the complexity and sophistication of rhythm.
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"African National Congress (ANC)",539,0,0,0
EN The most important of the Black South African organizations opposed to the \JPretoria\j regime. It began life in 1912 as the South African Native National Congress, and under the influence of Gandhi organized passive resistance to white power.
Banned by the South African government in 1961, it began a campaign of industrial and economic sabotage through its military wing, and in the 1980s started attacking persons as well as property. Based in \JZambia\j for several years, it was estimated to have a force of 6000 guerrillas. It was unbanned in February 1990, and suspended its armed struggle in August 1990, shortly before commencing negotiations with the South African government.
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"African theatre",540,0,0,0
EN The roots of theatre in Africa are ancient and complex and lie in areas of community festival, seasonal rhythm and religious ritual as well as in the work of court jesters, travelling professional entertainers and storytellers. Since the late 1950s, in a movement that has paralleled the political emancipation of so much of the continent, there has grown a theatre that comments back from the colonized world to the world of the colonialists, that discusses the shared experience in the shared languages, and its own cultural and linguistic integrity.
Contemporary African theatre serves a purpose within communities and cultures that is much greater than simply that of entertainment or diversion. This functional quality gives the theatre a sense of purpose, and influences not only its material but also the nature of its performance and reception. The present- \Jday\j theatre is enriched and complemented by its coexistence with traditional forms, skills and understanding.
Its vitality, diversification and variety of form and content warn against too homogeneous a view of African theatre, but centuries of European economic and political domination have inevitably influenced Africa's cultural life, and especially its theatre. During the first half of the 20th century indigenous theatre movements often reflected Western models, whether in the Nigerian and Ghanaian 'concert party' or the \Jvaudeville\j presentations of southern African theatre.
The Western influences were, however, effectively subverted and eventually dominated or replaced by indigenous forms. The influence of Western-style education continues to determine elements of theatrical form and language in much contemporary drama, but here again we can see playwrights and performers working increasingly on their own terms and asserting a powerful cultural and political identity.
Theatre in many parts of Africa has been at the forefront of the anti- colonial struggle, and has not relaxed its sense of purpose in the post-independence world. (Witness the banning of Hubert Ogunde's work not only by the colonial government of \JNigeria\j in the 1940s but also by the independent government of the 1960s; or the imprisonment of Wole Soyinka during the Nigerian \Jcivil war\j; or Ngugi wa Thiong'o's exile from \JKenya\j.)
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"African violet",541,0,0,0
EN A perennial with hairy leaves in a dense rosette \I(Saintpaulia ionantha); \i white, pink, blue, purple, or red flowers; native to tropical E Africa. Their wide colour range and long flowering period make them popular house plants, with numerous hybrids and cultivars available. It was named after its discoverer, a German provincial governor, Adalbert Saint Paul-Illaire. \B(Family:\b Gesneriaceae.)
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"African-American theatre",542,0,0,0
EN African-American theatre has a dual origin. First came the indigenous theatre consisting of folk tales, songs, music, dance and \Jmimicry\j that blacks performed in cabins, at camp meetings and in open parks like Gongo Square in \JNew Orleans\j. African in spirit, these expressions were transformed by the American environment. Then came the African theatre in imitation of white playhouses and scripted dramas that William Henry Brown established in 1821.
The African theatre had no successors in antebellum America, except for two plays written by the ex-slave William Wells Brown. Black indigenous expressions, however, were by the 1840s adopted by white comedians and fashioned into blackface minstrelsy that caricatured black folk on Southern plantations.
Ironically, the now disdained minstrel show opened the professional stage to African-Americans. At the same time black performers were polishing their acting skills in short farces which were added to their shows. Since black playgoers were segregated in an upper gallery section in most theatres, these shows played primarily to white audiences.
Yet their success ensured perpetuation of the genre into the first decades of the 20th century. Vying for popularity with the minstrels were the ubiquitous 'Tom shows', which, based on the dramatization of Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852), also began to employ blacks as slave characters. But eventually the play was denounced by black leaders.
Black companies of higher calibre emerged after the \JCivil War\j. The Astor Place Company of Coloured Tragedians under J. A. Arneaux came into being in 1884 with a Shakespearian repertoire, and in 1889 Theodore Drury gave the first performance of his Opera Company.
In straight drama William Edgar Easton wrote two historical plays on the Haitian revolution: Dessalines (1893) and Christophe (1911), which were produced by Henrietta Vinton Davis. Scott Joplin composed his opera Treemonisha (1911), but it remained unproduced for decades. In 1897 Bob Cole organized a stock company and training school at Worth's Museum in New York. Others followed, urged on by black critics. In New York the Negro Players were formed in 1912 and the Lafayette Players in 1915.
Blacks first appeared on Broadway in dramatic roles in Three Plays for a Negro Theatre (1917) by the white writer Ridgely Torrence. In 1920 Charles Gilpin gave a stunning performance for the Provincetown Players in The Emperor Jones (1920). W. E. B. DuBois, editor of the Crisis, urged formation of a nationwide movement of little theatres presenting plays 'about us, by us, for us, and near us'.
His magazine and Opportunity sponsored playwriting competitions and published prizewinning entries. In the years ahead black college drama professors would begin writing and directing original plays with their students.
Three dramas by white playwrights demonstrated the reach of black histrionic talent. Paul Green's In Abraham's Bosom (1926) shared Pulitzer Prize honours with an experienced cast including the gifted Rose McLendon; Dubose and Dorothy Heyward's 1927 hit \JPorgy\j inspired the operatic version by George Gershwin; and Marc Connelly's The Green Pastures (1930) earned a Pulitzer Prize and a five-year run.
The 1930s witnessed an upsurge of socially relevant plays like Hall Johnson's Run Little Chillun (1933), Langston Hughes's Mulatto (1935), and Stevedore (1934) by white authors Paul Peters and George Sklar. The short-lived Federal Theatre Project through its Negro units in 22 cities sponsored black playwrights and productions, including Theodore Browne's Natural Man (1937) in Seattle, Theodore Ward's Big White Frog (1938) in \JChicago\j, and Orson Welles's production of the 'voodoo' Macbeth (1936) in Harlem.
In the 40s the American Negro Theatre made steady progress in training and production at its Harlem-based Library Theatre. Paul Robeson's record-breaking Othello (1943) belongs to this decade. After World War II the \Jcivil rights\j movement gained momentum. Plays such as Alice Childress's Trouble in Mind (1955) and Loften Mitchell's A Land Beyond the River (1957) dealt unambiguously with the racial problem and used racially mixed casts.
Companies like Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival began to cast black actors in traditionally white roles. The trend towards \Jintegration\j was reflected in Lorraine Hansberry's award- winning drama A Raisin in the Sun (1959), and Ossie Davis's satiric comedy Purlie Victorious (1961).
The search for a black identity led to experimentation with new dramatic forms. In 1969 Charles Gordone's No Place to Be Somebody captured the Pulitzer Prize. Other significant playwrights of the period were Ed Bullins, Phillip Hayes Dean, Adrienne Kennedy, Ron Milner, Charlie Russell, Joseph Walker and Richard Wesley.
Among the few theatre groups to survive when funding was withdrawn were the Negro Ensemble Company of New York, the Free Southern Theatre in \JNew Orleans\j and the Inner City Cultural Center in Los Angeles. African-American theatre had gained immeasurably from this period of upheaval. Important black productions of recent years include Ntozake Shange's For Colored Girls...and Vinnette Carroll's Your Arms Too Short to Box with God, both in 1976, Phillip Hayes Dean's monodrama Paul Robeson (1978), and Charles Fuller's Pulitzer Prize-winning A Soldier's Play (1981).
The most important voice to emerge in the 1980s was that of August Wilson, who wrote and staged a series of plays chronicling black life in this century. Two met with particular success, Fences (1983) and The \JPiano\j Lesson (1990).
BK Thea
#
"Africanus, Sextus Julius",543,0,0,0
PN [afri\Bkah\bnus]
DT1a c.
DT1 160
DT2a c.
DT2 240
EN Traveller and historian, born in \JLibya\j. He wrote \IChronologia,\i a history of the world from the creation to AD 221. His chronology, which antedates Christ's birth by three years, was accepted by Byzantine Churches.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Africar",544,0,0,0
EN A basic car specifically designed in the mid-1980s for operation in Africa. The hope was to produce a machine that could eventually be mass-produced in Africa, requiring minimal maintenance and using easily available spare parts. It was designed so that it could easily be extended to carry greater loads, giving increased flexibility. The design is still being evaluated.
BK a
#
"Afrika Korps",545,0,0,0
EN A German expeditionary force of two divisions under the command of Rommel, sent to N Africa (Mar 1941) to reinforce Italian troops there. It had been given special desert training in \JGermany\j, and proved highly effective in desert warfare between 1941 and 1944.
BK a
#
"Afrikaans",546,0,0,0
EN South African or Cape Dutch, the language of Dutch colonization, and a variety of West Germanic, but with many loan words from Bantu and other languages. It became a written language in the late 19th-c. In the Namaland region of south-west Africa, there is an \JAfrikaans\j-based \Jpidgin\j used in communication between tribesmen and \JAfrikaners\j.
BK a
#
"Afrikaners",547,0,0,0
EN An early 18th-c term to describe those Europeans who had been born in the Dutch colony at the Cape and were therefore 'Africans', also known as \BBoers\b (Dutch 'farmers'). They emerged as a separate people derived from an admixture of Dutch, German, French, and non-white. During the 18th-c they penetrated the interior of the Cape as pastoral farmers.
After 1835, groups left Cape Colony and established independent republics in the interior, which later coalesced into the Orange Free State and the South African Republic. After the Boer War (1899-1902) the British hoped to encourage emigration to South Africa, transforming the \JAfrikaners\j into a minority.
Such large-scale emigration failed to materialize, and after the Union of South Africa in 1910 the \JAfrikaners\j became the dominant force in white South African politics. Never a monolithic force, they have produced repeated political fission in the search for security against the African majority.
BK a
#
"Afro-Asiatic languages",548,0,0,0
EN The major language family in N Africa, the E horn of Africa, and south-west Asia. It comprises more than 200 languages, spoken by 200 million people. The major subgroup is the Semitic family, consisting principally of Arabic, \JHebrew\j, Tigrinya, and Amharic. Egyptian is now extinct. Amongst other subgroups are Cushitic, \JBerber\j, and Chadic.
BK a
#
"Afsluitdijk Sea Dam",549,0,0,0
PN [\Bahf\bsluhdiyk]
EN A sea dam built (1927-32) across the \JZuider Zee\j inlet to facilitate land reclamation; length 32┐km / 20┐mi.
BK a
#
"afterburning",550,0,0,0
EN A method of increasing the thrust of a jet engine. Fuel is injected into the hot exhaust gases leaving the engine, thereby igniting the fuel and providing extra thrust.
BK a
#
"AFV",551,0,0,0
EN See armoured fighting vehicle (AFV)
BK a
XCY y
#
"Aga Khan",552,0,0,0
PN [\Bah\bga \Bkahn\b]
EN Title of the hereditary head of the Ismailian sect of Muslims, who trace their origins to the mediaeval Assassins. The title has been held by four men: \BHasan Ali Shah\b (r.1818-81); \BAli Shah\b (r.1881-5); \BSir Sultan Muhammad Shah\b (r.1885-1957), and \BKarim,\b 49th imam of the line (r.1957-) . In the 20th-c the Aga Khans have played prominent roles as world statesmen; Aga Khan III served as President of the \JLeague of Nations\j, while Aga Khan IV is a noted philanthropist.
BK a
#
"Aga Khan III",553,0,0,0
PN [ahga \Bkahn\b]
HS , in full \BAga Sultan Sir Mohammed Shah\b
DT1 1877
DT2 1957
EN Imam of the Ismaili sect of Muslims, born in \JKarachi\j, \JPakistan\j. He succeeded to the title in 1885, and in 1910 founded Aligarh University. He worked for the British cause in both World Wars, and in 1937 was president of the \JLeague of Nations\j Assembly. A keen racecourse enthusiast, he owned several Derby winners.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Aga Khan IV, Karim",554,0,0,0
PN [ahga \Bkahn\b]
DT1 1936
EN Imam of the Ismaili sect of Muslims, born in Geneva, \JSwitzerland\j the grandson of Aga Khan III. He succeeded his grandfather as 49th Imam in 1957. Educated at Le Rosey in \JSwitzerland\j, he later studied oriental history at Harvard. He married an English woman, \BSarah Croker Poole\b, in 1969 (dissolved, 1995), and has two sons and one daughter. He is a leading owner and breeder of race horses in \JFrance\j and Ireland.
BK Biog99
#
"Agadir",555,0,0,0
PN [aga\Bdeer\b]
EN 30░30N 9░40W, pop (1995e) 147 000. Seaport in Sud province, W Morocco; on the Atlantic coast, 8 km/5 mi N of the mouth of the R Sous; named Santa Cruz by the Portuguese, 1505--41; taken by the French in 1913; extensive rebuilding after \Jearthquake\j in 1960; airport; fishing, tourism; 16th-c kasbah fortress; African People's Arts Festival (Jul).
BK Geog99
#
"Agamemnon",556,0,0,0
PN [aga\Bmem\bnon]
EN King of \JArgos\j and commander of the Greek army in the Trojan War. In the \IIliad,\i Homer calls him 'king of men'. On his return home he was murdered by his wife Clytemnestra.
BK a
#
"agamid",557,0,0,0
PN [a\Bga\bmid]
EN A lizard native to Africa (except Madagascar), S and south-east Asia, and \JAustralia\j; body usually broad, head large, scales with ridges and spines; tongue thick and fleshy; tail cannot be shed; some species able to change colour; also known as \Bchisel-tooth lizard.\b \B(Family:\b Agamidae, 300 species.)
BK a
#
"Aga±a",558,0,0,0
PN [a\Bgah\bnya]
EN 13░28N 144░45E, pop (1995e) 1300. Port and capital town of \JGuam\j, Mariana Is, W \JPacific Ocean\j; taken by \JJapan\j, 1941; destroyed during its recapture by the USA, 1944; university (1952); US naval base; cathedral (1669).
BK Geog99
#
"agapanthus",559,0,0,0
EN See African lily
BK a
XCY y
#
"agar",560,0,0,0
PN [\Bay\bgah(r)]
EN A jelly-like compound produced from \Jseaweed\j. It is used, after sterilization and the addition of suitable \Jnutrients\j, for culture of fungi or \Jbacteria\j for medicinal or research purposes.
BK a
#
"Agassiz, Alexander (Emmanuel Rodolphe)",561,0,0,0
DT (1835-1910)
EN oceanographer; born in NeuchΓtel, \JSwitzerland\j. He came to the U.S.A. (1849) to join his father, the naturalist Jean Louis Agassiz. He graduated from Harvard with degrees in \Jengineering\j (1857) and \Jzoology\j (1862), then amassed a fortune in the copper mines of Lake Superior (1866-69).
He was curator of Harvard's Museum of Comparative \JZoology\j (1873-85), founded by his father. He made numerous oceanographic zoological expeditions, wrote many books, and examined thousands of \Jcoral\j reefs to refute Darwin's ideas on \Jatoll\j formation.
BK AmBg
#
"Agassiz, Jean Louis Rodolphe",562,0,0,0
PN [agasee]
DT (1807-73)
EN Swiss-US naturalist and glaciologist: proposed former existence of an \JIce Age\j.
Agassiz owed much of his scientific distinction to the chance of his birth in \JSwitzerland\j. He studied medicine in \JGermany\j, but \Jzoology\j was his keen interest. He studied under Cuvier in Paris and then returned home and worked with enthusiasm on \Jfossil\j fishes, becoming the world expert on them (his book describes over 1700 ancient species of fish).
Holidaying in his native Alps in 1836 and 1837, he formed the novel idea that glaciers are not static, but move. He found a hut on a \Jglacier\j which had moved a mile over 12 years; he then drove a \Jstraight line\j of stakes across a \Jglacier\j, and found they moved within a year.
Finding rocks which had been moved or scoured, apparently by glaciers, he concluded that in the past, much of Northern Europe had been ice-covered. He postulated an '\JIce Age\j' in which major ice sheets had formed, moved and were now absent in some areas - a form of catastrophism, in contrast to the extreme \Juniformitarianism\j of Lyell. We now know that a series of ice ages has occurred.
In 1846 Agassiz was invited to the USA to lecture, enjoyed it and stayed to work at Harvard. He found evidence of past \Jglaciation\j in \JNorth America\j; it too had undergone an \JIce Age\j. His studies on \Jfossil\j animals could have been used to support Darwin's ideas on \Jevolution\j, but in fact Agassiz was America's main opponent to Darwin's view that species had evolved.
\BMore information provided by Webster Publishing\b
While the work Agassiz did contributed greatly to our understanding of the forces that shape \Jevolution\j, Agassiz was, himself, opposed to Darwin's ideas. Born in a French-speaking part of \JSwitzerland\j, he went to Paris in November 1831, where he worked with Cuvier until Cuvier's death some six months later. Cuvier was so impressed with the scientific skills of the young Swiss that he gave him his notes and drawings on \Jfossil\j fish for Agassiz to develop further.
Agassiz is mainly recalled today for this "work" on the \Jfossil\j fishes, but it was in fact more a case of bringing together the efforts of many other collaborators, many of them amateurs. In particular, Professor Thomas Traill of Edinburgh University, John Malcolmson, an Indian Army surgeon, and a third Scotsman, Hugh Miller, a former stonemason who provided many of the specimens that Malcolmson drew and described. Miller would later publish a popular work, The Old Red \JSandstone\j, which made the subject more popular.
Returning to \JSwitzerland\j, Agassiz began studying glaciers in about 1836, even as he continued his works on the \Jfossil\j fish, and in 1837, he first used the term "\JIce Age\j" (Eiszeit). In \JSwitzerland\j, he readily identified the main signs of past glaciers, glacial erratic boulders and moraines, from which he deduced that most of Europe had once been in the grip of an \JIce Age\j. Later, his travels in north America (he moved there in 1846) would reveal many more signs of the same effects on that continent as well.
Agassiz was firmly committed to a \Jbiology\j in which the forms of living things reflected the plans of a careful designer, and he was unwilling to accept Darwin's notion of new species arising under the influence of mere chance in the form of natural selection, a stand that he maintained up until his death.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
BK Scie
#
"agate",563,0,0,0
PN [\Bag\bayt]
EN A form of chalcedony, a fine-grained variety of the mineral \Jquartz\j. It is formed in cavities, and characterized by fine colour-banding of successive growth layers. Colour variations result in semi-precious stones such as \Jonyx\j (white / grey), carnelian (red), and \Jchrysoprase\j (apple-green).
BK a
#
"Agate, James (Evershed)",564,0,0,0
DT 1877-1947
EN British critic. Theatre critic of The Sunday Times from 1923 until his death, \JAgate\j established himself as the most feared and most courted of theatrical judges. Determined always to write well, his views could be unreliable; he delighted in flamboyant actors, from Sarah Bernhardt to Donald Wolfit, and tended to resist radical change in the London theatre.
His natural \Jconservatism\j was a discouragement to dramatic innovation. \JAgate\j's self-consciousness is disarmingly confessed in the title of his nine-volume diary, Ego (1932-47). Among his 20 volumes of selected criticism is Buzz, Buzz! (1918), Brief Chronicles (1943), Red-Letter Nights (1944) and Immoment Toys (1945). He also wrote a \Jbiography\j of the French actress Rachel.
BK Thea
#
"Agatha, St",565,0,0,0
DT1 ?
DT2 251
EN Christian martyr from \JCatania\j, \JSicily\j. According to legend, she rejected the love of the Roman consul, Quintilianus, and suffered a cruel martyrdom in 251. She is the patron saint of \JCatania\j, is invoked against fire and \Jlightning\j, and is also the patron saint of bell-founders. Feast \Jday\j 5 February.
SX f
BK bg a
#
"Agathocles",566,0,0,0
PN [a\Bgath\bokleez]
DT1 361
DT2 289
DT2b BC
EN Tyrant of Syracuse, \JSicily\j, from 317 BC. He fought the Carthaginians and invaded \JTunisia\j, styling himself King of \JSicily\j c.304 BC. Under him \JSicily\j achieved her last period of independent power before the Roman conquest.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Agathon",567,0,0,0
DT c.447-c.401 bc
EN Greek tragic playwright. A tragedian at \JAthens\j, he departed c.407 for the court of Archelaus of Macedon. Aristotle mentions a tragedy of his (Antheus) in which plot and characters were entirely invented (not drawn from myth), and another which contained enough material for an epic. He also says that Agathon was the first to write choral odes which were mere interludes, irrelevant to the play's action. A few fragments survive.
BK Thea
#
"agave",568,0,0,0
PN [a\Bgah\bvee]
EN An evergreen perennial native to S USA, \JCentral America\j, and N \JSouth America\j; stems very short, tough; leaves sword-shaped, often spiny on margins, thick, fleshy, and waxy, forming a rosette. The plant grows for many years, adding a few leaves and building up reserves each year, finally producing a huge branched \Jinflorescence\j up to 7┐m / 23┐ft high, with many flowers, after which it dies.
Many species produce useful fibres, such as henequen. In Mexico, the sap of several species is fermented to produce pulque; stems and leaf bases are used to make mescal, an alcoholic drink of which tequila is one variety. \B(Genus:\b \IAgave,\i 300 species. \BFamily:\b Agavaceae.)
BK a
#
"age-sets",569,0,0,0
EN Social groups recruited by age. Individuals typically join an age-set at \Jadolescence\j, passing with their fellow-members through a series of grades such as warrior and elder. \JAge-sets\j are best known among E African peoples such as the Masai.
BK a
#
"Agee, James",570,0,0,0
DT (1909-55)
EN writer, poet; born in Knoxville, Tenn. He attended St. Andrews School, Tenn., (1914-24), Phillips Exeter (1925-28), and Harvard (1928-32). Based in New York City, he worked for several periodicals, and is known for his study of tenant farmers in \JAlabama\j, \ILet Us Now Praise Famous Men\i (1941), co-authored with the photographer Walker Evans. He is also known for poetry, film scripts, such as \IThe African Queen\i (1952), and his novels, notably \IA Death in the Family\i (1957).
BK AmBg
#
"ageing",571,0,0,0
EN See senescence
BK a
XCY y
#
"ageing population",572,0,0,0
The term used to describe a population in which the mean age and median age are rising. Around the world, ageing populations arise from declining birth rates, women postponing childbirth, and better health care keeping the elderly alive for a longer period.
The effect is often made more apparent in large cities, where the older, more established citizens occupy the inner suburbs and the central city, while young people with children are forced into the outer suburbs where land is cheaper.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
BK Webster
#
"Agenbegyan, Abel",573,0,0,0
DT1 1932
EN Economist, born in Tbilisi, Georgia. Director of the Institute of Economics and Industrial Engineering, with his colleagues he developed the models for managing the national economy which the Soviet government started to apply in the late 1980s. He was personal adviser to President Gorbachev on economic affairs.
BK Biog99
#
"Agence France Press (AFP)",574,0,0,0
PN [azhπs frπs]
EN An international news agency, with headquarters in Paris. The direct successor to Havas (established in 1832), AFP is the oldest surviving world agency, and one of the largest.
BK a
#
"Agent Orange",575,0,0,0
EN (2,4,5-T or 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy acetic acid) A \Jherbicide\j used as a \Jdefoliant\j in jungle warfare, for example by the British in Malaya and the USA in Vietnam. Its name derives from the orange rings painted around the containers used in Vietnam. It is toxic to humans because it contains traces of \Jdioxin\j, which produces severe skin eruptions \I(chloracne),\i and also birth abnormalities and cancer in laboratory animals.
BK a
#
"Ager Fikir",576,0,0,0
EN (Patriotic Theatre Association) The first professional Ethiopian theatre company. It was established in 1935, before the Italian invasion, in order to present short propaganda plays to prepare the people of Addis Ababa for resistance. After the restoration of the monarchy it was revived.
Programmes were largely musical, though many short plays were performed. The present home was acquired in 1953. Today, full- length plays and music and dance shows are performed there to popular audiences four times a week.
BK Thea
#
"Agesilaus",577,0,0,0
PN [ajeesi\Blay\bus]
DT1 444
DT2 360
DT2b BC
EN King of Sparta (399-360 BC). Called on by the Ionians to assist them in 397 BC against Artaxerxes II (reigned 404-358 BC), he launched an ambitious campaign in Asia, but the Corinthian War recalled him to \JGreece\j. At Coronea (394 BC) he defeated the Greek allied forces, and peace was eventually concluded in favour of Sparta (387 BC). He precipitated the Battle of Leuctra against Thebes (371 BC), a disaster which signified the end of Spartan ascendancy and the beginning of a decade of Theban supremacy in \JGreece\j.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Aggeus",578,0,0,0
PN [\Bag\bayus]
EN See Haggai, Book of
BK a
XCY y
#
"aggiornamento",579,0,0,0
PN [ajaw(r)na\Bmen\btoh]
EN The process of making the life, doctrine, and worship of the Roman \JCatholic Church\j effective in the modern world. This was initiated by Pope John XXIII at the Second Vatican Council.
BK a
#
"agglomerate",580,0,0,0
EN Coarse volcanic rock that consists of a mixture of fragments of various sizes and shapes. It is usually deposited as part of a volcanic cone and derived from the rocks through which the volcanic \Jmagma\j has travelled on its way to the surface.
BK a
#
"agglutinating language",581,0,0,0
EN A type of language in which words are typically made up of sequences of elements, as in English \Ide-human-ize.\i Such languages are at the opposite extreme from \Ifusional\i languages, in which there is no necessary one-to-one correspondence between the string of elements and the total meaning of the word.
BK a
#
"Agincourt, Battle of",582,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bzhinkaw(r)t]
EN (1415) A battle between \JFrance\j and England during the Hundred Years' War. \JHenry V\j of England was forced to fight near Hesdin (Pas-de-\JCalais\j) by the French who, ignoring the lessons of CrΘcy (1346) and Poitiers (1356), pitched cavalry against dismounted men-at-arms and archers. Though heavily outnumbered, the English won another overwhelming victory, and returned in 1417 to begin the systematic conquest of Normandy.
BK a
#
"aging",583,0,0,0
EN See senescence
BK a
XCY y
#
"agit-prop",584,0,0,0
EN Term that describes theatre pieces devised to ferment political action (agitation) and propaganda.
BK Thea
#
"Agitprop",585,0,0,0
EN An abbreviation for the \BDepartment of Agitation and Propaganda,\b established in 1920 as a section of the Central Committee Secretariat of the Soviet Communist Party. Its role was to ensure the compatibility of activities within society with Communist Party \Jideology\j. The term later came to be widely used in an artistic or literary context for works which adopted an ideological stance.
BK a
#
"Agnelli, Giovanni",586,0,0,0
PN [ag\Bnel\bee]
DT1 1866
DT2 1945
EN Manufacturer, born in \JPiedmont\j, \JItaly\j. He studied at a military academy, and became a cavalry officer. In 1899 he founded Fiat (Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino). He was appointed a senator in 1923, and mobilized Italian industry in World War 2.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Agnes of Assisi, St",587,0,0,0
DT1 1197
DT2 1253
EN Christian saint, born in Assisi, \JItaly\j, the daughter of Count Favorino Scifi and the younger sister of St Clare. In 1211, she joined her sister in a convent, co-founding the order of the Poor Ladies of San Damiano (Poor Clares). In 1219 she became abbess of a newly established community of the order at Monticelli.
MEX Clare, St
SX f
BK bg a
#
"Agnes, St",588,0,0,0
DT1 4
DT1b th-c
EN Christian martyr, born in \JRome\j. She is thought to have been killed at \JRome\j c.304 in her 13th year, during the persecutions of Diocletian. She is said to have refused to consider marriage, and consecrated her maidenhood to God. Honoured as the patron saint of virgins, her emblem is a lamb. Feast \Jday\j 21 January.
MEX Diocletian
SX f
BK bg a
#
"Agnesi, Maria Gaetana",589,0,0,0
PN [anyayzee]
DT (1718-99)
EN Italian mathematician and scholar: remembered in the naming of the cubic curve 'the Witch of Agnesi'.
Born in Milan, Maria was one of the 24 children of a professor of \Jmathematics\j at the University of \JBologna\j. With his encouragement she spoke seven languages by the age of 11, and by the age of 14 she was solving problems in ballistics and \Jgeometry\j. Her interests covered logic, physics, \Jmineralogy\j, chemistry, botany, \Jzoology\j and \Jontology\j; her father arranged her public debates.
From this time she suffered a recurring illness in which convulsions and headaches were symptoms. Her father agreed that she should in future lead a quiet life free from social obligations. Maria thereafter devoted herself to the study of new mathematical ideas. Her Instituzioni analitiche ad uso della giovent∙ (1748, Analytical Institutions) was published as a teaching manual.
In 1750, she was appointed to the chair of \Jmathematics\j and philosophy at \JBologna\j. Maria Agnesi's work was one of promise rather than fulfilment: she made no original discoveries and her major work was written as a guide to students. The cubic curve named the Witch of Agnesi was formulated by Fermat. A mistranslation caused the use of 'witch' for 'curve'.
BK Scie
#
"Agnew, Spiro T(heodore)",590,0,0,0
PN [\Bag\bnyoo]
DT1 1918
DT2 96
EN US vice-president, born in Baltimore, MD. After service in World War 2 he graduated in law from Baltimore University (1947). In 1966 he was elected governor of Maryland on a liberal platform, introducing anti-racial-discrimination legislation that year. As a compromise figure acceptable to most shades of Republican opinion, he was Nixon's running mate in 1968 and 1972, and took office as vice-president in 1969. He resigned in 1973, following an investigation into alleged tax violations.
MEX Nixon
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Agni",591,0,0,0
PN [\Buhg\bni]
EN The Hindu god of fire, especially important to the priesthood, because in the fire-\Jcult\j he takes offerings and sacrifices to the gods. More hymns are addressed to him than to any other god. His chariot is drawn by red horses, and clears a way through the jungle by burning: but he is welcome in every home as a principle of life and because he drives away demons.
BK a
#
"Agnon, Shmuel Yosef",592,0,0,0
HS , originally \BShmuel Josef Czaczkes\b
DT1 1888
DT2 1970
EN Novelist, born in Buczacz, \JPoland\j. He went to Palestine in 1907, studied in Berlin (1913-24), then settled permanently in \JJerusalem\j and changed his surname to Agnon. He wrote in \JHebrew\j an epic trilogy of novels on Eastern Jewry in the early 20th-c: their translated titles are \IBridal Canopy\i (1931), \IA Guest for the Night\i (1939), and \IDays Gone By\i (1945). He is also known for several volumes of short stories. In 1966 he became the first Israeli to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"agnosia",593,0,0,0
PN [ag\Bnoh\bzia]
EN A condition found in some brain-damaged individuals, whereby they are unable to recognize objects despite adequate basic visual and intellectual abilities. It is often specific to a particular sensory modality; for example a patient might be able to recognize by touch but not by sight.
BK a
#
"agnosticism",594,0,0,0
EN Strictly, the view that God's existence cannot be known \I(\Jtheism\j)\i nor denied \I(\Jatheism\j).\i The term was derived from the 'unknown' God in \IActs\i 17.23, and first used (by T H Huxley) in 1869: agnostics were contrasted with \Bgnostics,\b or metaphysicians.
It was later extended to include the view that knowledge must be restricted to what is available to the senses, and that anything not so available (including therefore religion and God) is irrelevant to life today.
BK a
#
"Agostini, Giacomo",595,0,0,0
PN [ago\Bstee\bnee]
DT1 1944
EN Motor-cyclist, born in Lovere, \JItaly\j. He won a record 15 world titles between 1966 and 1975, including the 500┐cc title a record eight times (1966--72, 1975); 13 of the titles were on an MV Agusta, the others on a Yamaha. He won 10 \JIsle of Man\j TT Races (1966--75), including the Senior TT five times (1968--72). After retirement in 1975, he became manager of the Yamaha racing team.
BK Biog99
#
"Agostino (di Duccio)",596,0,0,0
PN [agos\Btee\bnoh]
DT1 1418
DT2 81
EN Sculptor, born in Florence, \JItaly\j. His best and most original work is the relief decoration for the Tempio Malatestiano at Rimini, a church designed by Alberti.
MEX Alberti, Leon Battista
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Agoult, Marie de Flavigny, comtesse d'(Countess of)",597,0,0,0
PN [agoo]
HS , pseudonym \BDaniel Stern\b
DT1 1805
DT2 76
EN Writer, born in Frankfurt, \JGermany\j, the daughter of the French emigrΘ Comte de Flavigny. She was educated at a convent in Paris. She married Comte d'Agoult in 1827, but in 1834 left him for Franz Liszt, by whom she had three daughters; the youngest, Cosima, married first Hans von Bⁿlow, and later Wagner. A close friend of George Sand, she held a famous salon in Paris, and wrote on numerous subjects.
MEX Bⁿlow, Hans; Liszt; Sand; Wagner, Richard
SX f
BK bg a
#
"agouti",598,0,0,0
PN [a\Bgoo\btee]
EN A \Jcavy\j-like rodent, native to Central and \JSouth America\j and Caribbean Is; length, 50┐cm / 20┐in; rat-like with long legs and minute black tail. \B(Genus:\b \IDasyprocta,\i 11 species. \BFamily:\b Dasyproctidae.)
BK a
#
"Agra",599,0,0,0
PN [\Bah\bgra]
EN 27░17N 77░58E, pop (1995e) 973 000. City in Uttar Pradesh, NE India, 190 km/118 mi SE of Delhi; founded, 1566; Mughal capital until 1659; taken by the British, 1803; seat of the government of North-West Provinces, 1835--62; airfield; railway; university (1927); commerce, glass and leather crafts, carpets; Taj Mahal (1632--54), Pearl Mosque of Shah Jahan, Mirror Palace (Shish Mahal), a world heritage site; Great Mosque, fort (16th-c), tomb of Akbar to the N at Sikandra.
BK Geog99
#
"agranulocytosis",600,0,0,0
PN [aygranyoolohsiy\Btoh\bsis]
EN A clinical condition in which granulocytes (a type of white cell) disappear from the blood, and leave the patient vulnerable to infection. It has many causes, including certain drugs and diseases that damage the bone marrow.
BK a
#
"agraphia",601,0,0,0
EN See dysgraphia
BK a
XCY y
#
"agribusiness",602,0,0,0
EN The combined businesses of: farmers, who produce commodities; input industries, which supply them with equipment, chemicals, and finance; and merchants, processors, and distributors, who convert commodities into foodstuffs, ready for sale to consumers. In many countries the \Jagribusiness\j sector employs more labour and generates more income than any other sector of the economy.
BK a
#
"agrichemicals",603,0,0,0
EN Farm inputs derived from the chemical industry - in particular, inorganic fertilizers and sprays.
BK a
#
"Agricola, Georgius",604,0,0,0
PN [agrikola]
DT (1494-1555)
EN German mineralogist, geologist and metallurgist: described mining and metallurgical industries of 16th-c.
Born in \JSaxony\j, Agricola trained in medicine in \JLeipzig\j and in \JItaly\j. The link between medicine and minerals led to his interest in the latter, and his work as a physician in \JSaxony\j put him in ideal places to develop this interest and to extend it to mining and metal extraction by smelting, and related chemical processes.
His book De natura fossilium (1546, On the Nature of Fossils) classifies minerals in perhaps the first comprehensive system. Later he wrote on the origin of rocks, mountains and volcanoes. His best-known book, De re metallica (1556, On the Subject of Metals) is a fine illustrated survey of the mining, smelting and chemical technology of the time. An English edition (1912) was prepared by the American mining engineer H C Hoover (who became president of the USA, 1929-33) and his wife.
\BMore information provided by Webster Publishing\b
Agricola's \IDe Re Metallica\i went through ten editions in three languages over a period of some 180 years, a record which is probably only eclipsed by the great religious works of the world. Agricola first studied classics and taught Latin and Greek before taking up the study of medicine, which he seems to have practised without a great deal of enthusiasm.
After he began to practise at Joachimsthal, Agricola developed an interest in mining and \Jgeology\j, both important in that mining community, and in 1536, he moved to another mining town, Chemnitz, (another mining town, known as Karl-Marx-Stadt from 1953 to 1990) where he was elected burgomaster in 1546. He wrote a number of other books before the posthumous publication of his greatest work, \IDe Re Metallica,\i in 1556.
In this last book, he ruled out the use of divining-rods and other magical means of finding ores, describing in fine detail the methods of surveying and digging, assaying ores, smelting, mine administration, and even the occupational diseases of miners. He also noted that ore-bearing rocks are found in layers which persist over large distances, contributing the idea of stratigraphy to the infant science of \Jgeology\j.
The "fossils" in Agricola's book were any items found buried in the ground. He identifies a large number of fossils (in our modern sense) as resembling various life forms, but usually stopped short of actually suggesting that they came from things which had formerly been alive.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
BK Scie
#
"Agricola, Gnaeus Julius",605,0,0,0
PN [a\Bgri\bkola]
DT1 40
DT2 93
EN Roman statesman and soldier, born in FrΘjus (formerly, Forum Julii). Having served with distinction in Britain, Asia, and Aquitania, he was elected consul in 77, and returned to Britain as governor some time after. In 80 and 81 he extended Roman occupation N into Scotland, and in 84 defeated Calcagus at Mons Graupius.
After this campaign, his fleet circumnavigated the coast, for the first time discovering Britain to be an island. The news of Agricola's successes inflamed the jealousy of \JDomitian\j, and in 84 he was recalled.
MEX \JDomitian\j
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Agricola, Johann",606,0,0,0
PN [a\Bgri\bkola]
HS , originally \BSchneider\b or \BSchnitter,\b also called \BMagister Islebius\b
DT1 1492
DT2 1566
EN Protestant reformer, born in Eisleben, \JGermany\j. Having studied at \JWittenberg\j and \JLeipzig\j, he was sent to Frankfurt by Luther in 1525 to institute Protestant worship there. Appointed in 1536 to a chair at \JWittenberg\j, he resigned in 1540 over his opposition to Luther in the great Antinomian controversy. He later became court preacher in Berlin.
MEX Luther
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Agricola, Rudolphus",607,0,0,0
PN [a\Bgri\bkola]
HS , originally \BRoelof Huysmann\b
DT1 1443
DT2 85
EN Humanist, born near \JGroningen\j, The Netherlands. He studied in \JItaly\j (1473-80), Heidelberg, and Worms, and his writings had a profound influence on Erasmus. He was the foremost scholar of the Renaissance 'new learning' in \JGermany\j.
MEX Erasmus
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Agricultural Revolution",608,0,0,0
EN The name popularly given to a series of changes in farming practice occurring first in England and later throughout W Europe. Some historians date these as far back as the end of the 16th-c, but the term usually covers the period 1700-1850. The main changes included: greater intensity of productive land use; the reduction of fallow land and waste lands; the introduction of crop rotation; the development of artificial grasses; and scientific animal breeding.
Many such changes were facilitated by the replacement of open fields by enclosures. They also depended upon tenant farming and market production replacing subsistence and peasant agriculture. The widespread use of mechanized farming techniques, such as threshing machines and mechanical ploughs, mostly post-dated the changes of this agricultural revolution.
\BAdditional information provided by Cambridge Dictionary of Scientists\b
A History of Agriculture in the Developed World
Until the middle of the 18th-c the authorities on agriculture were Roman writers such as Lucius Columella (1st-c) and Rutilius \JTaurus\j Aemilianus Palladius (4th-c) the ability of agriculture to support a non-agricultural community remained strictly limited. Innovation began in the Low Countries at the very end of the 17th-c, but new ideas were taken up and developed in Britain where, because of the lower population density, there was greater opportunity for them to produce dramatic increases in productivity.
Agricultural reforms were of three types. The first were innovations in husbandry, such as the selective stock-breeding methods developed by Robert Bakewell (1725-95) in Leicestershire in the middle of the 18th-c, and the four-year rotation of crops devised slightly earlier by Charles, Viscount Townshend-'Turnip' Townshend (1674-1738).
Samuel Marsden (1764-1838) pioneered the breeding of Australian sheep for wool, and this work was carried on in the middle of the 19th-c by John MacArthur (1767-1834) and especially by his wife Elizabeth (1766-1850), who introduced the \Jmerino\j sheep to \JNew South Wales\j. William James Farrer (1895-1906) emigrated to Australia in 1870 and, by his scientific breeding of specialist strains of wheat, was almost single-handedly responsible for the success of the Australian wheat industry.
Except in undeveloped areas, the advances that could be made by improvements in methods were limited. In the middle of the 18th-c, however, advances in technology began to make a great difference to agriculture. One of the first areas of improvement was plough design.
The plough with an iron coulter was invented by ancient Egyptians, and had not been much altered until several improved types were brought out in the mid-18th-c. In 1771 James Arbuthnot introduced the use of a mould-board, which was much more efficient.
James Anderson (1739-1808) invented the Scotch plough for use on heavy ground and James Smith (1789-1850) designed the subsoil plough for use on land with poor drainage. One of the most influential figures was Robert Ransome (1753-1830), who invented a self-sharpening plough and also designed one that could be dismantled and modified, thus obviating the necessity for small farmers to have several expensive pieces of equipment.
Other inventors produced other pieces of machinery. Jethro Tull (1674-1741) invented the seed drill in 1701, and the horse hoe a few years afterwards. The effect of these two inventions, although not felt until two generations later because of the scepticism with which they were received, revolutionized the way in which \Jcereals\j were cultivated and greatly improved yield.
James Meikle (c.1690-1717), an East Lothian miller, produced a winnowing machine around 1720 and his son Andrew Meikle, besides inventing the \Jfantail\j which allowed windmills to turn into the wind automatically and thus to work more efficiently, also invented the first effective threshing drum. His design, which used a revolving drum and longitudinal beater bars, is essentially the same as that used in modern combine harvesters.
At the same time, steam power was coming into use on the farm, following the inventions of Richard Trevithick (1771-1833) and WATT. Steam threshing was introduced by the Shropshire ironmaster John Wilkinson (1728-1808) in 1798, and the use of steam power rapidly spread. Steam ploughing came into use during the 1850s in places where the fields were long and flat enough to make it economic, and continued until steam power was superseded by the diesel engine and by the ubiquitous tractors produced by such manufacturers as Harry George Ferguson (1884-1960) and Henry Ford (1863-1947).
Where horse power was still necessary, however, other inventions improved productivity. James Smith's (1789-1850) experimental reaper of 1811 did not work because the speed of the horses affected the action of the gathering drum, but an effective reaper was designed in 1827 by Patrick Bell (1799-1869) .
When sent to America, this machine enabled the production of the first commercially successful reaping machines by Obed Hussey (in 1833) and Cyrus Hall McCormick (in 1834). Mechanical reapers caught on very quickly thereafter, and by 1870 a quarter of all the harvest in Britain was being cut mechanically.
In the 20th-c the development of diesel and electric power, and machinery in general, came together with the production of ever more complex and efficient pieces of equipment, such as the combine harvester and the electric milking machine. As in other areas, however, these were the products of research teams and commercial companies rather than individual pioneers.
The above advances were largely technological, or the direct result of farming experience, such as the use of liming to reduce the soil acidity that results from sustained crop removal. Agricultural scier1ce began with LAVOISIER'S work, was enhanced by DAVY'S lectures and his book on the subject (1813), and emerged fully with LIEBIG'S books \IChemistry and its Applications to Agriculture and Physiology\i (1840) and \IThe Natural Laws of Husbandry\i (1862) .
By the middle of the 19th-c studies by BOUSSINGAULT, LAWES and others had shown the importance of \Jnitrogen\j (N), \Jphosphorus\j (P) and \Jpotassium\j (K) in plant \Jnutrition\j, chemical fertilizers were supplementing the use of \Jmanure\j and Lawes had founded the agricultural research centre at his Rothamsted estate in 1842. By the early 20th-c the long-neglected fundamental work in \Jgenetics\j by MENDEL was being applied in agricultural botany by BIFFEN and others. S M Babcock (1843-1931) in the USA had developed scientific dairying. ELEANOR ORMEROD had effectively created the study of agricultural \Jentomology\j and given a scientific basis for insect pest control.
The Second World War intensified studies on food production, and on animal and human \Jnutrition\j. Some insecticides had been used since the 1870s; but DDT, introduced by P H M▄LLER from1939, was highly effective and widely used, until its injurious effects in food chains was fully appreciated, notably by RACHEL CARSON in the 1960s, and bans on its use in the UK and USA soon followed. In \JGermany\j organophosphorus esters were made and tested for use in chemical warfare, and some of these (e.g. Parathion) found major uses as insecticides after 1945. Rodenticides to reduce food losses were also needed, and after 1939 work by K P Link in \JWisconsin\j led to warfarin which was highly effective: its anticoagulant effect on animal blood also causes it to find important use in medicine.
Another wartime effort was directed to finding chemicals to destroy the enemy's crops. One result was '2,4-D', which has a valuable selective action in attacking \Jdicotyledons\j but hardly affects \Jmonocotyledons\j (which include \Jcereals\j). Although not used in war, it has been much used as an agricultural \Jherbicide\j as a result. Unselective destruction of all above-ground plant growth without soil toxicity is achieved by paraquat, which was marketed as able to replace the plough and is widely used. Unselective crop destruction, notably by 'Agent Orange', was employed during the Vietnam War.
More recently, emphasis in agricultural science has moved from newer pesticides and fungicides towards 'greener' methods of biological control, by methods such as the use of one insect species to control another, or the use of insect \Jhormones\j to achieve deception and facilitate trapping. Modern \Jgenetics\j has opened up a range of techniques with applications in agriculture, and the 'green revolution' has led to great interest not only in improved strains of animals and food crops but also in the better understanding and management of ecosystems. The importance of such advances, especially in the less developed countries, was signalled by the award of the Nobel Prize not for science but for peace in 1970 to Norman E Borlaug (1914- ) of the USA, in recognition of his work on the development of a new short-stemmed wheat.
Sukie Hunter
BK a
#
"agriculture",609,0,0,0
EN The cultivation of crops and the keeping of domesticated animals for food, fibre, or power. Settled agriculture enabled primitive people, who depended on hunting, fishing, and gathering, to live in communities, which could then grow as their agricultural productivity grew. This was aided by the development of such implements as ploughs, hoes, and sickles - and in drier countries by the construction of irrigation systems.
In mediaeval Britain, agriculture was based on the manorial three-field system, growing two crops of \Jcereals\j, followed by a year's fallow. Livestock were grazed on the common pastures, but lack of winter feed kept productivity low. Enclosures in the 16th-18th-c made experimentation easier, particularly in the selective breeding of livestock. New rotations, which included turnips as a winter livestock feed, also contributed to a rapid improvement in agricultural productivity.
By 1990, 37% of the world's land area was in agricultural production - 10% in crops and 26% in permanent pasture. Nearly 5% of this land was irrigated. World agricultural production is dominated by \Jcereals\j: total world cereal production in 1990 was nearly 2 thousand million tonnes. China was the largest producer (404 million tonnes), followed by the USA (313 million tonnes); W Europe produced 285 million tonnes.
\BMore information provided by AND Reference Data\b
Until the middle of the 18th-c, the authorities on agriculture were Roman writers such as Lucius Columella (1st-c) and Rutilius \JTaurus\j Aemilianus Palladius (4th-c); the ability of agriculture to support a non-agricultural community remained strictly limited. Innovation began in the Low Countries at the very end of the 17th-c, but new ideas were taken up and developed in Britain where, because of the lower population density, there was greater motivation for them to produce dramatic increases in productivity.
Agricultural reforms were of three types. The first were innovations in husbandry; such as the selective stock-breeding methods developed by Robert Bakewell in Leicestershire in the middle of the 18th-c, and the four-year rotation of crops devised slightly earlier by Charles, Viscount Townshend - "Turnip' Townshend. Samuel Marsden pioneered the breeding of Australian sheep for wool, and this work was carried on in the middle of the 19th-c by John Macarthur, and especially by his wife Elizabeth, who introduced the \Jmerino\j sheep to \JNew South Wales\j. William James Farrer emigrated to \JAustralia\j in 1870 and, by his scientific breeding of specialist strains of wheat, was almost single-handedly responsible for the success of the Australian wheat industry.
Except in undeveloped areas, the advances that could be made by improvements in methods were limited. In the middle of the 18th-c, however, advances in technology began to make a great difference to agriculture. One of the first areas of improvement was plough design. The plough with an iron coulter was invented by ancient Egyptians, and had not been much altered until several improved types were brought out in the mid-18th-c. In 1771 James Arbuthnot (nd) introduced the use of a mould-board which was much more efficient. James Anderson (1739--1808) invented the Scotch plough for use on heavy ground, and James Smith (1789--1850) invented the subsoil plough for use on land with poor drainage. One of the most influential figures was Robert Ransome (1753--1830), who invented a self-sharpening plough, and also designed one that could be dismantled and modified, thus obviating the necessity for small farmers to have several expensive pieces of equipment.
Other inventors produced other pieces of machinery. Jethro Tull invented the seed drill in 1701, and the horse hoe a few years afterwards. The effect of these two inventions, although not felt until two generations later because of the scepticism with which they were received, revolutionized the way in which \Jcereals\j were cultivated, and greatly improved yield. James Meikle (c.1690--1717), an East Lothian miller, produced a winnowing machine around 1720, and his son Andrew Meikle, besides inventing the \Jfantail\j which allowed windmills to turn into the wind automatically and thus to work more efficiently, also invented the first effective threshing drum. His design, which used a revolving drum and longitudinal beater bars, is essentially the same as that used in modern combine harvesters.
At the same time, steam power was coming into use on the farm, following the inventions of Richard Trevithick and James Watt. Steam threshing was introduced by the Shropshire ironmaster John Wilkinson in 1798, and the use of steam power rapidly spread. Steam ploughing came into use during the 1850s in places where the fields were long and flat enough to make it economic, and continued until steam power was superseded by the diesel engine and by the ubiquitous tractors produced by such manufacturers as Harry George Ferguson and Henry Ford.
Where horse power was still necessary, however, other inventions improved productivity. James Smith's experimental reaper of 1811 did not work because the speed of the horses affected the action of the gathering drum, but an effective reaper was designed in 1827 by Patrick Bell. When sent to America, this machine enabled the production of the first commercially successful reaping machines by Obed Hussey (in 1833) and Cyrus Hall McCormick (in 1834). Mechanical reapers caught on very quickly thereafter, and by 1870 a quarter of all the harvest in Britain was being cut mechanically. In the 20th-c, the development of diesel and electric power, and machinery in general, came together with the production of ever more complex and efficient pieces of equipment, such as the combine harvester and the electric milking machine. As in other areas, however, these were the products of research teams and commercial companies rather than individual pioneers.
The third type of agricultural reform was the development of agricultural science. This began in a small way with the great 18th-c French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, who pioneered the application of chemistry to agriculture. Justus von Liebig founded the science of agricultural chemistry in the mid-19th-c, and many other scientists, such as Augustus Voelcker and Jean-Baptiste Boussingault carried out valuable research into the chemical and physical foundations of agriculture. In 1842, the Rothamsted Agricultural Laboratory was founded by John Bennet Lawes who, with his partner Joseph Henry Gilbert, was largely responsible for the development of chemical fertilizers. In the 1890s in the USA, Stephen Moulton Babcock developed dairying as a science, and introduced a test for the fat content of milk; while George Washington Carver carried out important research into such products as peanut butter. In the UK, Sir Rowland Biffen, appointed first professor of agricultural botany at Cambridge in 1908, pioneered the breeding of rust-resistant strains of wheat.
In the 20th-c, interest centred particularly on the problems of the Third World. In the aftermath of World War 2, John Boyd Orr, the first director of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, did a great deal to improve the world food supply; while George Beadle and other researchers studied the \Jgenetics\j of foodstuffs, such as \Jmaize\j - work which eventually led to the prospect of creating disease-resistance and other desirable characteristics in food plants by gene transfer.
Sukie Hunter
BK a
#
"agrimony",610,0,0,0
PN [\Bag\brimonee]
EN An erect perennial \I(Agrimonia eupatoria)\i growing to 60┐cm / 2┐ft, native to Europe, W Asia, and N Africa; leaves hairy, \Jpinnate\j with pairs of small leaflets alternating with large ones; flowers 5-8┐mm / 0.2-0.3┐in diameter, 5-petalled, yellow, in a long terminal spike. The fruit is a burr with hooked spines around the top. \B(Family:\b Rosaceae.)
BK a
#
"Agrippa",611,0,0,0
EN See Herod \JAgrippa\j I; 15282 Herod \JAgrippa\j II
BK bg a
XCY y
#
"Agrippa von Nettesheim, Henricus Cornelius",612,0,0,0
PN [a\Bgri\bpa fon \Bne\btes-hiym]
DT1 1486
DT2 1535
EN Occultist philosopher, born in Cologne, \JGermany\j. He travelled widely and had a varied, if insecure, career as physician, diplomat, teacher, and soldier. His major and influential work, a treatise on magic, \IDe occulta philosophia,\i was completed in 1510 and published in 1533.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Agrippa, Marcus Vipsanius",613,0,0,0
PN [a\Bgri\bpa]
DT1a c.
DT1 63
DT2 12
DT2b BC
EN Roman commander and statesman. His third wife was Julia, daughter of the emperor Augustus, whom he helped to gain power. He defeated Sextus, the son of Pompey, at Mylae and Naulochus in 36 BC, and Mark Antony at Actium in 31 BC.
MEX Antonius; Augustus; Julia; Pompey
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Agrippina, known as Agrippina the Elder",614,0,0,0
PN [agri\Bpee\bna]
HS , known as \BAgrippina the Elder\b
DT1a c.
DT1 14
DT1b BC
DT2a AD
DT2 33
EN Roman noblewoman, the daughter of Marcus Vipsanius \JAgrippa\j and grand-daughter of Emperor Augustus. She married Germanicus Caesar (15 BC-AD 19), and was the mother of \JCaligula\j and Agrippina the Younger. Regarded as a model of heroic womanhood, she accompanied her husband on his campaigns.
Her popularity incurred the anger of Emperor Tiberius, who banished her in 29 to the island of Pandateria, where she died of starvation in suspicious circumstances.
MEX \JAgrippa\j, Marcus Vipsanius; Augustus; \JCaligula\j; Tiberius; Agrippina (the Younger)
SX f
BK bg a
#
"Agrippina, known as Agrippina the Younger",615,0,0,0
PN [agri\Bpee\bna]
HS , known as \BAgrippina the Younger\b
DT1 15
DT2 59
EN Roman noblewoman, the daughter of Agrippina (the Elder). She first married Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, by whom she had a son, the future Emperor Nero. Her third husband was Emperor Claudius, though her own uncle. She persuaded Claudius to adopt Nero as his successor, then proceeded to poison all Nero's rivals and enemies, and finally (allegedly) the emperor himself. Her ascendancy proved intolerable to Nero, who eventually put her to death.
MEX Claudius; Nero; Agrippina (the Elder)
SX f
BK bg a
#
"agroforestry",616,0,0,0
EN The cultivation of tree or bush crops (such as \Jcoffee\j, oil palm, \Jrubber\j, or tea), sometimes alternating with annual food crops, to give a sustainable and economically viable agricultural cropping system. Such systems are frequently used in place of the climax forest vegetation of the humid or sub-humid tropics.
BK a
#
"agronomy",617,0,0,0
EN The theory and practice of field-crop production and soil management. The subject embraces several disciplines, including plant breeding, plant \Jphysiology\j, plant \Jpathology\j, and soil conservation.
BK a
#
"Aguesseau, Henri Francois d'",618,0,0,0
PN [agesoh]
DT1 1668
DT2 1751
EN Jurist, born in Limoges, \JFrance\j. A steady defender of the rights of the people and of the Gallican Church, he was advocate general and attorney general to the Parlement of Paris, and three times Chancellor of \JFrance\j under \JLouis XV\j (1717-18, 1720-22, 1737-50).
MEX Louis XV
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Aguilera Malta, Demetrio",619,0,0,0
DT 1909-79
EN Ecuadorian playwright, poet, novelist and diplomat. He was one-fifth of the famous Grupo de \JGuayaquil\j, a leftist literary group dedicated to social change but committed as well to literary excellence.
In the early period he wrote realistic social dramas, but his best efforts clearly belong to his expressionistic period (see \Jexpressionism\j), with El tigre (The Tiger, 1955), a play of magical realism in the \Jsupernatural\j tropics, Dientes blancos (White Teeth, 1955) and Honorarios (Fees, 1957). During his later years as a diplomat he wrote Infierno negro (Black Hell, 1967) and Muerte, S.A. (Death Inc., 1970).
BK Thea
#
"Aguinaldo, Emilio",620,0,0,0
DT (1870-1964)
EN Filipino revolutionary. He led the uprising against \JSpain\j (1896-98) and later the U.S.A. (1899-1901); captured in 1901, he took an oath of allegiance to the U.S.A. and retired from politics.
BK AmBg
#
"Agulhas, Cape",621,0,0,0
PN [a\Bgul\byas]
EN 34░50S 20░00E. The most southerly point of the African continent, 160┐km / 100┐mi south-east of the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa; running past it, round the whole S coast, is a reef, the Agulhas Bank, an important fishing ground.
BK a
#
"Agustφn, JosΘ",622,0,0,0
DT 1944-
EN Mexican playwright and novelist. He combines novelistic and dramatic techniques into interesting compositions. Abolici≤n de la propiedad (Abolition of Property), first staged in 1979, relies on \Jtelevision\j recordings and projections in dealing with an almost psychopathic perception of reality.
Cφrculo vicioso (Vicious Circle, 1972), an exposΘ of corruption in the Mexican penal system, was originally censored by the Mexican authorities for its gross language.
BK Thea
#
"Agutter, Jenny",623,0,0,0
PN [\Bag\buhter]
DT1 1952
EN Film and stage actress, born in \JTaunton\j, Somerset, SW England, UK. She became known following her role in \IThe Railway Children\i (1970). Her other film credits include \IThe Snow Goose\i (1971, Emmy, Best Supporting Actress), \IEquus\i (1977, BAFTA), \IChild's Play 2\i (1991), and \IBlue Juice\i (1995).
\BMajor Works\b
\IStage\i
1972 School for Scandal
1973 Arms and the Man
1974 The Tempest
\IFilms\i
1970 The Railway Children
1970 Walkabout
1975 Logan's Run
1997 The Eagle Has Landed
1977 Equus
1981 An American Werewolf in London
1990 Child's Play 2
1995 Blue Juice
\ITelevision\i
1967 Long After Summer
1971 The Cherry Orchard
1971 The Snow Goose
1984 Love's Labours Lost
1985 Silas Marner
1986 Murder She Wrote
1990 Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less
BK Biog99
#
"Ahab",624,0,0,0
PN [\Bay\bhab]
DT1 9
DT1b th-c BC
EN King of Israel (c.873-c.852 BC), the son of Omri. He was a warrior king and builder on a heroic scale, extending his capital city of \JSamaria\j and refortifying \JMegiddo\j and Hazor. He married Jezebel, daughter of the king of Tyre and Sidon, who introduced the worship of the \JPhoenician\j god, \JBaal\j, and thus aroused the hostility of the \Jprophet\j Elijah.
MEX Elijah; Jezebel
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Ahaggar Mountains",625,0,0,0
PN [aha\Bgah(r)\b]
HS or \BHoggar Mountains\b
EN Mountain range in S \JAlgeria\j, N Africa; rises to 2918┐m / 9573┐ft at Mount Tahat, the highest point in \JAlgeria\j; peaks rise from a plateau with a mean elevation of c.2000┐m / 6500┐ft; includes the 'mountain of goblins', Garet el Djenoun (2327┐m / 7634┐ft), according to legend a holy mountain.
BK a
#
"Aharonov-Bohm effect",626,0,0,0
PN [aha\Bron\bof \Bbohm\b]
EN An effect produced when a single \Jelectron\j beam is divided into two parts, passing either side of a \Jsolenoid\j containing a magnetic field, and recombining at a screen beyond. A quantum mechanical interference pattern is produced which is sensitive to the magnetic vector potential rather than to the magnetic field.
It reveals the nature of the interaction between wave function and electromagnetic influence. The effect, first described in 1959 by Yakir Aharonov and David Bohm, has been confirmed experimentally.
BK a
#
"Ahern, Bertie",627,0,0,0
PN [a\Bhern\b]
DT1 1951
EN Irish politician and prime minister (1997-- ). He studied at Rathmines College of Commerce and University College Dublin, became a \Jhospital\j accountant and union organizer, and became a member of the Dßil in 1977.
After a series of junior posts, he became minister of state at the departments of Taoiseach and Defence (1982), minister for labour (1987--91) and finance (1991--4), and leader of the opposition and President of Fianna Fßil in 1994. He became head of a coalition government after defeating John Bruton in 1997.
BK Biog99
#
"Ahidjo, Ahmadou",628,0,0,0
PN [a-hee\Bjoh\b]
DT1 1924
DT2 89
EN Cameroonian statesman and president (1960-82), born in Garoua, \JCameroon\j. He became prime minister in 1958, and led his country to independence in 1960. He was elected the first president of the new Republic of \JCameroon\j, a post which he held until his retirement. He then went into exile in \JFrance\j.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Ahimsa",629,0,0,0
PN [a\Bhim\bsa]
EN The principle of respect for all life and the practice of non-injury to living things, found in certain Hindu sects, \JBuddhism\j, and especially \JJainism\j. It is based on the belief that violence has harmful effects on those who commit it, including an unfavourable future rebirth. The rule of non-violence was applied by Mahatma Gandhi in the political sphere during India's struggle for independence.
BK a
#
"Ahmad Shah Durani",630,0,0,0
PN [\Bah\bmad shah ju\Brah\bnee]
DT1 1724
DT2 73
EN Founder and first monarch of \JAfghanistan\j. A chieftain of the Durani clan of the Abdali tribe, and a cavalry general under the Persian emperor Nadir Shah, he was elected king of the Afghan provinces in 1745. He established his capital at \JKandahar\j, and made nine successful invasions of the Punjab.
In 1761 he defeated the Marathas decisively at the Battle of Panipat, but was eventually obliged to acknowledge Sikh power in the Punjab.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Ahmadabad or Ahmedabad",631,0,0,0
PN [\Bah\bmadabad]
EN 23░00N 72░40E, pop (1995e) 3 110 000. Commercial centre and industrial city in \JGujarat\j, W India; on the R Sabarmati, 440 km/273 mi N of \JBombay\j; founded, 1411; fell to the Mughals, 1572; British trading post, 1619; centre of Gandhi's activities during the 1920s and 1930s; airfield; railway; university (1949); textiles; several temples, mosques, forts; Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram.
BK Geog99
#
"Ahmadiyya",632,0,0,0
PN [ah\Bmahd\biya] or \BAhmadis\b
EN An Islamic religious movement founded in 1899 in India by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (c.1839-1908), believed to be the \JMessiah\j \JMahdi\j. Rejected by orthodox \JIslam\j, the sect is marked by its missionary zeal. It is active in Asia, Africa, and Europe.
BK a
#
"Ahmed Arabi",633,0,0,0
PN [\Bah\bmed \Ba\brabee]
HS , also known as \BArabi Pasha\b
DT1 1839
DT2 1911
EN Egyptian soldier and nationalist leader. He was the leader of a rebellion against the \Jkhedive\j, Tewfik Pasha, in 1881 which led to the setting up of a nationalist government. The British intervened to protect their interests in the Suez Canal, and he was defeated at Tel-el-Kebir (1882) and exiled to Ceylon. He was pardoned in 1901.
MEX Tewfik Pasha
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Ahmose I",634,0,0,0
PN [\Bah\bmohs]
DT1 16
DT1b th-c BC
EN Egyptian pharoah, who founded the 18th dynasty. He freed \JEgypt\j from the alien Shepherd Kings (Hyksos), and established control over Nubia.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Ahmose II",635,0,0,0
PN [\Bah\bmohs]
DT1 6
DT1b th-c BC
EN Egyptian pharaoh (ruled 570-26 BC). He cultivated the friendship of the Greeks, and greatly promoted the prosperity of \JEgypt\j. A major achievement of his reign was the building of the temple of Isis at Memphis.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Ahriman",636,0,0,0
PN [\Bah\briman]
EN The supreme evil spirit, Angra Mainyu, the lord of darkness and death in \JZoroastrianism\j. Ahriman is engaged in a continuing struggle with Ahura Mazda, \JZoroaster\j's name for God.
BK a
#
"Ahura Mazda",637,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bhura \Bmaz\bda]
HS (Persian 'Wise Lord')
EN The name for God used by \JZoroaster\j and his followers. The world is the arena for the battle between Ahura Mazda and Ahriman, the spirit of evil - a battle in which Ahura Mazda will finally prevail and become fully omnipotent.
BK a
#
"Ahvenanmaa",638,0,0,0
PN [\Bah\bvenanmah]
EN pop (1995e) 24 800; area 1550 sq km/600 sq mi. Island group forming a district of \JFinland\j, in the Gulf of Bothnia between Sweden and \JFinland\j; capital, Maarianhamina; 6554 islands, 80 inhabited; first language, Swedish.
BK Geog99
#
"AI",639,0,0,0
EN See artificial intelligence (AI)
BK a
XCY y
#
"Ai Qing",640,0,0,0
PN [iy ching]
DT1 1910
DT2 96
EN Poet, born in Jinhua Co, China. He studied painting in \JFrance\j (1928-31), but returned to China and began to write socially and politically conscious poetry. In 1949 he became associate editor of the \IPeople's Literature\i journal. He was an active propagandist for Communist-controlled literature, but in 1957 was accused of revisionism. In 1959 he was exiled to Zinjiang for 17 years. He began to publish again in 1978.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Aidan, St",641,0,0,0
PN [\Bay\bdn]
HS , known as the \BApostle of Northumbria\b
DT1 ?
DT2 651
EN A monk from the Celtic monastery on the island of Iona, born in Ireland. He was summoned in 635 by King Oswald of \JNorthumbria\j to evangelize the North. He established a church and monastery on the island of Lindisfarne, and was appointed the first bishop there. He later founded several churches throughout \JNorthumbria\j. Feast \Jday\j 31 August.
MEX Oswald, St
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Aidoo, Ama Ata",642,0,0,0
DT 1942-
EN Ghanaian playwright and novelist; Secretary for Education in the Rawlings government. Her reputation rests upon her two plays, The Dilemma of a Ghost (1964) and Anowa (1970). The Dilemma of a Ghost explores the problems of a marriage between a Ghanaian man who has achieved academic honours in the United States and a black American woman whom he brings home to \JGhana\j. Anowa is concerned with the legacy of \Jslavery\j, and the tragic outcome. Aidoo now lives in Zimbabwe.
BK Thea
#
"AIDS",643,0,0,0
EN \JAcronym\j for \Bacquired immuno-deficiency syndrome,\b the result of infection with a human immuno-deficiency virus (\JHIV\j). Groups at high risk of acquiring the disease are homosexual or bisexual men, individuals with a history of intravenous drug abuse, sufferers from haemophilia who have received many transfusions of blood or of coagulation factor VIII prior to 1986, persons who have had casual sexual relationships, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, \JSan Francisco\j, or New York City, and sexual partners and children of any of those.
The origin of \JHIV\j virus is unknown, but it is possible that it originated from a group of African monkeys, themselves immune to the disease. In humans, transmission is by direct blood or seminal contact. The virus enters cells of the immune system, notably T-helper cells and macrophages, which engulf \Jbacteria\j and cell debris. In this way the defence of the body against infection is slowly destroyed.
Infected individuals may remain free from symptoms and show \JHIV\j \Jantibodies\j only in the blood. With the passage of months or years, infections from organisms that usually do not cause illness develop, along with a rare form of skin cancer. \JLymph\j nodes throughout the body enlarge, and \Jdementia\j may occur. Mortality is high, but during the 1990s slow progress towards a treatment was being made through the use of new combinations of durgs (AZT, 3TC, protease inhibitors).
\BAdditional information provided by Cambridge Dictionary of Scientists\b
AIDS and HIV
In 1981, the first reports of a new disease came from medical centres on the USA's West Coast. Its key feature was collapse of the body's immune system, leading to low resistance to some cancers and to infections, such as \Jpneumonia\j, which are usually treatable, but which in these cases were often fatal. By 1982 it was named as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
The AIDS epidemic spread, with deaths from it in the USA increasing from 2000 in 1984 to over 10 times as many in 1986. Its victims were then almost entirely among the 'five H's': homosexual men, heroin addicts, hookers, Haitians and haemophiliacs. At a fairly early stage it was judged to be viral in origin, with its spread associated with the transfer of body fluids such as blood or semen during sexual contact, or from mother to child before birth, or during blood transfusion or by sharing of contaminated hypodermic needles. The 100% fatality rate and rapidly increasing number of victims (especially in Africa) clearly warranted major investigation.
However, the expansion of AIDS research soon exposed some unusual aspects. These included intense and damaging rivalry between two leading research groups (those led by MONTAGNIER at the Pasteur Institute in Paris and by Robert Gallo (1937- ) of the National Cancer Institute in Washington, DC); the moralistic overtones associated with studies on a mainly sexually-transmitted disease; and the large sums of money linked with research on AIDS, on patentable test methods for identifying its victims and on drugs for its treatment.
By the early 1990s it was widely agreed that AIDS follows infection by one of the strains of a \Jretrovirus\j, human immunodeficiency virus (\JHIV\j), which attacks the T-lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). Then, after a period of normally some years, AIDS develops. Treatment was attempted from 1986 with the costly drug AZT (now called zidovudine), but a large-scale trial begun in 1988 showed by 1993 that this alone gave no clear benefits, whether the drug treatment began early on patients shown to be HlV-positive or was delayed until the full symptoms of AIDS were present.
Despite intensive efforts by epidemiologists to predict the pattern of spread of the disease, their projected figures have recurrently needed revision; the number of cases in the early 1990s was much below earlier projections.
Predictions that the disease would spread among heterosexuals have largely been unfulfilled in the USA and northern Europe, but in parts of Africa have been realized, with up to 50% of the general population infected in countries such as \JKenya\j, while significant infection in some less-developed European countries such as \JRomania\j has occurred through poor medical hygiene. Some geographical areas and population groups have remained unaffected by the epidemic (e.g. parts of the \JMiddle East\j), for reasons that are unclear. The scale and intensity of research on AIDS is remarkable; by 1992, over 36 000 research papers had been published on it, over $6000 million had been spent on the study of the disease and an estimated 500 000 victims of it had died.
As a result of this massive programme, \JHIV\j is one of the most fully studied of all disease-causing microorganisms. It is known to be highly variable, with its genetic make-up changing frequently to give new strains; this adds to the difficulty of devising a protective vaccine. But many questions are unanswered, such as: where and when did the virus originate? Why are so few T-lymphocytes in the blood of most HlV-positive people infected? Why is there a delay of typically 7 years between infection by \JHIV\j and the onset of AIDS? And why do a very small number of \JHIV\j carriers fail to develop AIDS?
Problems also arise with test animals. Chimpanzees are used because they can be infected with \JHIV\j. However, they are costly and not easy to work with, and their \Jimmunology\j does not model human patients closely-they are not made ill by \JHIV\j and do not proceed to develop AIDS. Trials of protective vaccines in human subjects will offer obvious problems. Despite the difficulties, the potential problem of AIDS is so important that great efforts will continue to be made both to develop a vaccine against \JHIV\j, and to secure an effective drug for treatment: AIDS is seen by many workers as the greatest threat to public health of our time.
EN poet, writer; born in Savannah, Ga. He was raised in Cambridge, Mass., attended Harvard (B.A. 1907-12), lived in England for various periods, and settled in Brewster, Mass. (1940). He wrote for leading periodicals, and was noted for his rather difficult poetry, such as \IThe Preludes for Memmon\i (1931), and for his demanding novels and short stories.
BK AmBg
#
"Aiken, George L.",645,0,0,0
DT 1830-76
EN American playwright. He is known for one play: Uncle Tom's Cabin, or Life Among the Lowly, a dramatization of Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel, presented in September 1852 with Aiken in the part of George Harris. In response to audience demand for more episodes from the novel, Aiken prepared a sequel, The Death of Uncle Tom, or the Religion of the Lowly, and in mid-November combined the two plays into one drama of six acts, now the standard version.
BK Thea
#
"Aiken, Howard (Hathaway)",646,0,0,0
DT (1900-73)
EN computer engineer, mathematician; born in Hoboken, N.J. He was educated at the Universities of \JWisconsin\j and \JChicago\j before joining the faculty of Harvard, where he spent most of his professional career (1939-61). With his colleagues at Harvard - and with some assistance from International Business Machines - by 1944 he had built the Mark I, the world's first program-controlled calculator; an early form of a digital computer, it was controlled by both mechanical and electrical devices.
Although he went on to build the Mark II (1947) and other computers, they would soon be made obsolete by more advanced \Jelectronics\j. On retiring from Harvard he taught at the University of Miami (1961-73).
BK AmBg
#
"Aiken, Joan (Delano)",647,0,0,0
PN [\Bay\bken]
DT1 1924
EN British writer, the daughter of Conrad Aiken. She was educated privately, then worked as a librarian for the UN Information Committee (1943--9) and as features editor for \IArgosy\i magazine (1955--60). Her many books for children include \IAll You've Ever Wanted\i (1953), \IThe Kingdom and the Cave\i (1960), \ITales of Arabel's Raven\i (1974), and \IVoices Hippo\i (1988). Among her adult novels are \IThe Silence of Herondale\i (1964), \ICastle Barebane\i (1976), \IMansfield Revisited\i (1985), \IThe Haunting of Lamb House\i (1991), and \IThe Jewel Seed\i (1997).
\BMajor Works\b
\IBooks for children\i
1960 The Kingdom and the Cave
1962 The Wolves of Willoughby Chase
1964 Black Hearts in Battersea
1966 Night Birds on Nantucket
1968 The Whispering Mountain
1969 Night Fall
1970 Smoke From Cromwell's Time
1971 The Cuckoo Tree
1973 Winterthing & The Mooncusser's Daughter
1974 Midnight is a Place
1974 Tales of Arabel's Raven
1974 Not What You Expected
1976 Tale of a One-Way Street
1976 The Angel Inn
1978 Mice and Mendelson
1978 Go Saddle the Sea
1979 Arabel and Mortimer
1980 The Shadow Guests
1981 The Stolen Lake
1983 Mortimer's Cross
1983 Bridle the Wind
1984 Fog Hounds, Wind Cat, Sea Mice
1984 The Kitchen Warriors
1985 The Last Slice of Rainbow
1985 Mortimer Says Nothing
1986 Dido and Pa
1986 Past Eight O'Clock
1987 A Goose on Your Grave
1987 Beware of the Moon
1988 The Teeth of the Gale
1988 The Erl King's Daughter
1989 Blackground
1989 Give Yourself a Fright
1989 Voices
1990 A Foot in the Grave
1992 Morningquest (with Lizza Aiken)
1992 Mortimer and Arabel
1993 A Creepy Company
1993 The Midnight Moropus
1993 The Shoemaker's Boy
1993 Is
1994 Eliza's Daughter
1994 The Winter Sleepwalker
1995 Cold Shoulder Road
1995 A Handful of Gold
1996 The Cockatrice Boys
1996 Emma Watson
\IStories for Children\i
1953 All You've Ever Wanted
1955 More than You Bargained For
1968 A Necklace of Raindrops
1969 A Small Pinch of Weather
1970 Armitage, Armitage, Fly Away Home
1971 The Kingdom Under the Sea (folk-tales)
1971 The Green Flash
1972 A Harp of Fish Bones
1976 A Bundle of Nerves
1977 The Faithless Lollybird
1984 Up the Chimney Down and Other Stories
1990 A Fit of Shivers
\IPoetry for Children\i
1976 The Skin Spinners
\IPlays for Children\i
1978 Street
\IBooks for adults\i
1964 The Silence of Herondale
1965 The Fortune Hunters
1966 Trouble with Product X (US Beware of the Bouquet)
1967 Hate Begins at Home (US Dark Interval)
1967 The Ribs of Death (US The Crystal Crow)
1970 The Embroidered Sunset
1970 The Butterfly Picnic (US A Cluster of Separate Sparks)
1972 Died on a Rainy Sunday
1975 Voices in an Empty House
1976 Castle Barebane
1977 Last Movement
1977 The Five-Minute Marriage
1978 The Smile of the Stranger
1980 The Lightning Tree (US The Weeping Ash)
1982 The Girl from Paris
1982 The Way to Write for Children
1982 A Whisper in the Night
1983 Foul Matter
1984 Mansfield Revisited
1987 Deception
1990 Jane Fairfax
1991 The Haunting of the Lamb House
1997 The Jewel Seed
\IStories for Adults\i
1969 The Windscreen Weepers
1979 A Touch of Chill
BK Biog99n
#
"Aikenvald, Yuly (Isaevich)",648,0,0,0
DT 1872-1928
EN Russian literary critic and theatre reviewer. He became embroiled in the pre-revolutionary debate over theatre's true nature and proper function. His article 'Rejecting the Theatre' (Studio, 1912) defied attempts by the \Jsymbolists\j (see \Jsymbolism\j) Meyerhold, Evreinov and others to poeticize theatre by asserting that it had no value except as dramatic literature.
Aikenvald's broadside encouraged directors Nemirovich-Danchenko and Komissarzhev-sky, critic D. N. Ovsyaniko- Kulikovsky and dramatist-actor A. I. Yuzhin-Sumbatov to publish Debating the Theatre (1912), in which they defended their roles as artistic interpreters.
BK Thea
#
"aikido",649,0,0,0
PN [iy\Bkee\bdoh]
EN An ancient Japanese art of self-defence, with ethical and philosophical undertones - a combination of karate and judo deriving from ancient \Jjujitsu\j. There are two main systems, \Itomiki\i and \Iuyeshiba.\i
BK a
#
"Ailey, Alvin",650,0,0,0
DT (1931-90)
EN choreographer, modern dancer, director; born in Rogers, \JTexas\j. He studied with Lester Horton, made his debut with the company in 1950, and became director in 1953. A noted Broadway dancer and choreographer, he formed the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre in 1958 and founded a school (1971) and junior troupe (1972). His works, influenced by classical ballet, jazz, Afro-Caribbean, and modern dance, explore a wide range of black experience, from gospel music to social inequality.
BK AmBg
#
"Ailian, Dai",651,0,0,0
DT1 1916
EN Dancer and choreographer, born in Trinidad. She studied during the 1930s in Britain, working from 1940 in China, where she was instrumental in introducing the principles and study of Western ballet. In 1959 she co-founded what is now known as the Central Ballet of China, and became the company's artistic adviser.
BK Biog99
#
"Ailly, Pierre d'",652,0,0,0
PN [ayee]
HS , Lat \BPetrus de Alliaco\b
DT1 1350
DT2 1420
EN Theologian and nominalist philosopher, born in CompiΦgne, \JFrance\j. He became Chancellor of the University of Paris and Bishop of CompiΦgne, and was appointed cardinal (1411) by the anti-pope John XXIII. He was prominent in the election of Pope Martin V in 1417, an event which ended the Great Schism.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Ailred of Rievaulx, St",653,0,0,0
PN [\Bayl\bred, ree\Bvoh\b]
HS , also \BAelred\b or \BEthelred\b
DT1 1109
DT2 66
EN Chronicler, born in Hexham, \JNorthumberland\j, north-east England, UK. A Cistercian monk at Rievaulx Abbey, he was a friend and adviser to both David I of Scotland and Stephen of England, and wrote a vivid Latin account of the battle between them at Northallerton, Yorkshire (1138). Feast days 12 January, 3 March.
MEX David I; Stephen
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Aimee, Anouk",654,0,0,0
PN [emay]
HS , originally \BFrancoise Sorya\b
DT1 1934
EN Film actress, born in Paris, \JFrance\j. She studied dance at the \JMarseille\j Opera, and drama under Rene Simon in Paris, and made her film debut in \ILa Maison Sous la Mer\i (1947). Later films include \ILa Dolce Vita\i (1960, The Sweet Life), \IUn Homme et Une Femme\i (1966, A Man and a Woman), and \IJustine\i (1969).
\BMajor Works\b
1947 La Maison Sous la Mer
1949 Les Amants de Verone (The Lovers of Verona)
1950 The Golden Salamander
1960 La Dolce Vita (The Sweet Life)
1961 Lola
1966 Un Homme et Une Femme (A Man and a Woman)
1969 Justine
BK Biog99
#
"Ainsworth, William Harrison",655,0,0,0
PN [\Baynz\bwerth]
DT1 1805
DT2 82
EN Historical novelist, born in Manchester, Greater Manchester, north-west England, UK. He studied for the law, but began a literary career instead, and is chiefly remembered for popularizing the story of the highwayman Dick Turpin in \IRookwood\i (1834) and the legend of Herne the Hunter in \IWindsor Castle\i (1843). He edited \IAinsworth's Magazine\i (1842-54), and wrote nearly 40 popular historical romances.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Ainu",656,0,0,0
PN [\Biy\bnoo]
EN The caucasoid aboriginals of \JJapan\j, now intermarried with other Japanese and culturally assimilated; their own language and religion has largely disappeared. Traditionally hunters and fishers, today many are factory workers and labourers. Population c.15┐000.
BK a
#
"air",657,0,0,0
EN See atmosphere
BK a
XCY y
#
"air cushion vehicle (ACV)",658,0,0,0
EN A revolutionary form of sea transport in which the vehicle is supported on a cushion of air; also called a \Bground effect machine,\b or (following the principle proposed by Christopher Cockerell in 1950) a \Bhovercraft.\b An ACV is propelled by an airscrew, and rides on a cushion of air trapped between the hull and the surface of the \Jwater\j by a flexible skirt, usually made of heavy-duty neoprene, which allows it to surmount obstacles.
Cockerell's design was one in which the cushion pressure was maintained by angled peripheral jets; later versions with flexible skirts often had a single plenum chamber supplying the air, which then leaked out under the skirt. The development of Cockerell's craft was delayed for a decade, while funding was found for the project.
The success of the concept also depended on the development of the flexible skirt, and this became available only in 1960. As a result, the first regular \Jhovercraft\j service did not begin until 1962 (across the River Dee estuary, between Rhyl and Wallasey in Britain). Hovercrafts are now in use worldwide in many varied forms.
BK a
#
"air force",659,0,0,0
EN The branch of the armed forces which operates \Jaircraft\j and missiles. The first air forces were founded 1911-14. During World War 1 these fledgling air arms became major military organizations engaged in prosecuting war in the air. Air forces proved decisive to the outcome of World War 2, whether they fought in a tactical role (fighters and short-range ground-attack aircraft), strategically (long-range bombers), or at sea (coastal and carrier-based \Javiation\j).
The advent of atomic weapons post-1945 changed air forces from being newcomers to warfare into the elite of military establishments. In the USA the US Air Force (USAF) was split from the army in 1947, in the 1950s was given responsibility for the US long-range nuclear missile force, and is now the most powerful air force in the world. The US, Royal, Russian, and French navies maintain separate, sea-warfare oriented air forces with great striking power in their own right.
BK a
#
"air resistance",660,0,0,0
EN See drag
BK a
XCY y
#
"Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS)",661,0,0,0
PN [\Bay\bwaks]
EN An \Jaircraft\j-mounted radar system able to detect and track hostile intruders at long range and direct friendly fighters to intercept them. The US Air Force operates the Boeing E-3 Sentry \JAWACS\j. The Sentry is also flown by a joint European \JNATO\j unit, has been supplied to Saudi \JArabia\j, and is on order for the British and French air forces.
BK a
#
"airbrush",662,0,0,0
EN A miniature spray-gun used to create smoother tonal transitions and more delicate colour effects than are possible with a conventional brush. The technique is mainly used by commercial illustrators.
BK a
#
"aircraft",663,0,0,0
EN Any vehicle designed to operate within the Earth's \Jatmosphere\j, supporting itself by means of lift generated by wings or other methods.
BK a
#
"aircraft carrier",664,0,0,0
EN A naval vessel on which \Jaircraft\j can take off and land, developed during World War 1. The first carrier, HMS \IFurious\i (1918), was a battle-cruiser with forward and after flight-decks. The alighting \Jaircraft\j had to fly alongside and sideslip onto the deck, forward of the bridge. \IFurious\i was reconstructed in 1925 and fitted with an island bridge layout on the starboard side of a continuous flight-deck. This became the conventional carrier design.
The USA and \JJapan\j rapidly developed the carrier to hold many more \Jaircraft\j, and during World War 2 US supremacy in the use of \Jaircraft\j carriers was a deciding factor in reversing the fortunes of war in the Pacific. Britain's later significant contributions were the steam catapult, the angled flight-deck, and the mirror landing-sight.
The USA now have the five largest carriers. The USS \INimitz\i (91┐487 tonnes displacement) has 260┐000 shaft \Jhorsepower\j, is 323┐m / 1092┐ft long, has a crew of 5684, and carries over 90 \Jaircraft\j. The first nuclear-powered carrier, the USS \IEnterprise,\i was completed in 1961.
BK a
#
"Airedale terrier",665,0,0,0
EN This large, wiry, hairy Terrier is characterized by its ever-alert expression and its loyalty to its owners.
\BHistory:\b
The Airedale is named after a river in the north of England that was famous for its otters. These small aquatic mammals were notorious for deleting the fish stock so highly prized by both professional and amateur fisherfolk, and so the Airedale Terrier was especially bred for that region.
It was crossed from the \JOtter Hound\j and the now extinct Black and Tan Terrier. The combination of these two breeds provided the Airedale with the admirable characteristics of an excellent sense of smell, swimming ability, and a resilient strength.
Although initially known by various names including the Working Terrier, the Airedale was officially recognized as a breed in 1879. Although the Airedale was always too large to enter the narrow burrows of rabbits, it was especially good at tracking.
The Airedale's excellent sense of smell provided the English and German police forces with an excellent early recruit for their tracking services. However, it was during the First World War that the Airedale truly made its mark in history. Both the German and English armed forces used the Airedale in the battlefields.
This strong dog was well-suited to the mud and \Jwater\j of the trenches and was used for both the early detection of opposing forces and for carrying dispatches in difficult terrain.
\BPhysical characteristics:\b
A large, elegant dog with a well-proportioned body and a characteristic alert expression. \IHeight:\i for the adult male 23 - 24 in (58.4 - 61 cm). \IWeight:\i no specific weight but generally proportionate to its height, around 45 - 60 lb (20.4 - 27.2 kg). Airedales should have a long flat skull with an elongated muzzle, and muscular jaws ending with a black nose. The small v-shaped ears should hang towards the side of the head. The stiff and wiry coat should be colored black and tan.
\BBehavior:\b
Although outwardly a gentle dog, new owners are strongly advised to strictly control the activities of their young Airedale, or it will quickly take over as leader of the family. In Africa, India, Canada, and America, the Airedale has been used to hunt lions and bears. Its history shows that the Airedale is a large dog that is readily trained.
However, wise owners will remember that this dog is very scent-oriented and may be readily distracted by interesting odors. The Airedale can make an excellent family dog as it is generally very sociable with people and other dogs, and is slow to anger. This hardy, resilient dog will thrive when given attention and regular exercise.
BK wan
#
"airplane",666,0,0,0
EN See aeroplane / airplane
BK a
XCY y
#
"airship",667,0,0,0
EN A self-propelled steerable \Jaircraft\j whose lift is generated by using lighter-than-air gases to provide \Jbuoyancy\j. The main body is cigar-shaped, with engines and gondolas (cabins) being suspended from it. There are three types of \Jairship\j construction: \Irigid,\i \Isemi-rigid,\i and \Inon-rigid.\i In the first type, the body shape is maintained by a rigid frame, with the lift being provided by individual gas cells fitted within the envelope defined by the frame.
In the non-rigid \I(blimp)\i type, the shape of the body is maintained by using the pressure of the gas. A semi-rigid type is similar to a non-rigid type, but with a keel running the length of the \Jairship\j. The lighter-than-air gas used to provide \Jbuoyancy\j was originally \Jhydrogen\j, but its highly inflammable nature and poor safety record led to its replacement by \Jhelium\j. Following its heyday in the 1930s, the \Jairship\j has spasmodically been revived as a cheap observation and patrolling platform, but so far with only limited success.
BK a
#
"Airy, Sir George (Biddell)",668,0,0,0
PN [ayree]
DT (1801-92)
EN British geophysicist and astronomer: proposed model of \Jisostasy\j to explain gravitational anomalies.
Airy was successful early in life, his talent and \Jenergy\j leading to his appointment as Astronomer Royal in 1835, a post he held for 46 years. He much extended and improved the astronomical measurements made in Britain. Airy's researches were in the fields of both \Joptics\j and \Jgeophysics\j. He experimented with cylindrical lenses to correct astigmatism (a condition he suffered from himself); and he studied the Airy discs in the \Jdiffraction\j pattern of a point source of light.
In \Jgeophysics\j he proposed that mountain ranges acted as blocks of differing thickness floating in hydrostatic equilibrium in a fluid mantle, rather like icebergs in the sea. He was thus able to explain gravitational anomalies that had been observed in the \JHimalayas\j, as due to the partial counteraction of the gravitational attraction of the \Jtopography\j above sea level with that of a deep 'root' extending into the mantle. His model of \Jisostasy\j satisfactorily explains the gravity field observed over mountainous terrain in much of the world.
Airy was arrogant and unlucky in his failings, now almost better known than his successes. He failed to exploit Adams's prediction of a new \Jplanet\j, Neptune; he was against \JFaraday\j's idea of 'lines of force' (a fruitful intuition, in fact); and although he expended great effort to ensure precise measurements of the transits of Venus, observed in 1874 and 1882, the results failed to give accurate measurements of the scale of the \Jsolar system\j because Venus's \Jatmosphere\j makes the timing of its apparent contact with the Sun's disc uncertain. An ingenious inventor of laboratory devices, he was remarkably precise, to the extent of labelling empty boxes 'empty'.
BK Scie
#
"A∩shah or Ayeshah",669,0,0,0
PN [a\Bee\bsha]
DT1a c.
DT1 613
DT2 78
EN Third and favourite of the nine wives of the \Jprophet\j Mohammed, and daughter of Abu-Bakr, the first caliph. When Mohammed died in 632 she resisted the claims to the caliphate of Ali, Mohammed's son-in-law, in favour of her father. She led a revolt against Ali in 656, but was defeated and exiled to \JMedina\j. She is known as the 'mother of believers'.
MEX Abu-Bakr; Ali; Mohammed
SX f
BK bg a
#
"aisles",670,0,0,0
EN The corridors running lengthways on either side of the W (entrance) part of a church, singly or in pairs. Aisles flank the nave, and are separated from it by a line of arches or columns.
BK a
#
"Ait-Ben-Haddou",671,0,0,0
PN [iyt ben \Bha\bdoo]
EN A walled village in SC Morocco; a world heritage site. It is a spectacular example of a pre-Saharan ksar, or fortified village, with red \Jearth\j houses and decorated kasbahs clinging to the steep side of an escarpment.
BK a
#
"Aitken, Robert Grant",672,0,0,0
PN [\Bayt\bken]
DT1 1864
DT2 1951
EN Astronomer, born in Jackson, CA. He was professor of \Jmathematics\j and \Jastronomy\j at the University of the Pacific (1891-5), then joined Lick Observatory, CA, where he became director (1930-5). His discovery of more than 3000 double stars gained him the gold medal of the Royal Astronomical Society in 1932.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Aitken, Sir (John William) Max(well)",673,0,0,0
PN [\Bayt\bken]
DT1 1910
DT2 85
EN Newspaper publisher, born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, the son of the 1st Lord Beaverbrook. He established a reputation as a socialite before the war, but served with great distinction as a fighter pilot. He became a Conservative MP for Holborn (1945-50), then joined his father in running Beaverbrook Newspapers (the \IDaily Express\i and the \ISunday Express).\i They had frequent disagreements.
When Lord Beaverbrook died in 1964, Max renounced his claim to the barony but retained his father's baronetcy. He became a leading ocean-racing skipper, and promoted offshore powerboat racing and \Jmotor racing\j.
MEX Beaverbrook
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Aix-en-Provence",674,0,0,0
PN [eks π provπs]
EN 43░31N 5░27E, pop (1995e) 128 000. Ancient city in Bouches-du-Rh⌠ne department, SW \JFrance\j; 30 km/19 mi N of \JMarseille\j in a fertile plain surrounded by mountains; founded as Aquae Sextiae in 123BC;important centre for Provencal literature since the 15th-c; airport; railway; university (1409); olive oil, fruit, almond processing; many fountains; archbishopric; 11th--16th-c St Saver Cathedral, Baroque town hall (1658), art galleries, thermal springs, casino; home of CΘzanne; International Music Festival (Jul--Aug); Saison d'Aix (Jun--Sep).
BK Geog99
#
"Aix-La-Chapelle",675,0,0,0
EN See Aachen
BK a
XCY y
#
"Ajaccio",676,0,0,0
PN [a\Bzhak\bseeoh]
EN 41░55N 8░40E, pop (1995e) 61 800. Seaport and capital of the Island of \JCorsica\j, \JFrance\j; on the W coast, at the head of Golfe de Ajaccio; founded by the Genoese, 1492; made capital by Napoleon, 1811; \JCorsica\j's second largest port; airport; railway; car ferries to \JMarseille\j, \JToulon\j, Nice; fishing, timber trade, tourism; casino; Maison Bonaparte (birthplace of Napoleon).
BK Geog99
#
"Ajanta Caves",677,0,0,0
PN [a\Bjan\bta]
EN A group of 29 Buddhist cave-temples and monasteries cut into cliffs over River Wagurna, near Ajanta, \JMaharashtra\j, India; a world heritage site. The caves, which were built from the 2nd-c BC onwards, are particularly noted for their wall paintings. They were abandoned in the 7th-c, when building activity was transferred to Ellora, and rediscovered in 1819.
BK a
#
"Ajax, known as Telamonian Ajax",678,0,0,0
PN [\Bay\bjaks]
HS , Latin form of Greek \BAias.\b
EN A legendary Greek hero during the Trojan War. The son of Telamon, King of Salamis, therefore known as \BTelamonian Ajax.\b He was proverbial for his size and strength; in all the worst situations he 'stood like a tower'. When the armour of the dead \JAchilles\j was not given to him, he went mad and killed himself.
BK a
#
"Ajax, son of Oileus",679,0,0,0
PN [\Bay\bjaks]
HS , Latin form of Greek \BAias.\b
EN A legendary Greek hero who fought in the Trojan War, the son of Oileus, King of Locris. When he returned from Troy, he provoked the anger of the gods, and was killed by Poseidon as he reached the shore of \JGreece\j.
BK a
#
"Ajman",680,0,0,0
PN [aj\Bman\b]
EN pop (1995e) 84 400; area c.250 sq km/100 sq mi. Smallest of the seven member states of the United Arab Emirates, entirely surrounded by the territory of Shariqah except on the coast; capital, \JAjman\j; relatively undeveloped, with no significant oil or gas reserves yet discovered.
EN Athlete, born in London, England, UK. He joined the army in 1975, and went on to become one of the leading athletes of the 1990s. His achievements include gold medals in the 4 x 100┐m relay at the 1986 European Championships and Commonwealth Games (1986), the 400┐m hurdles at the 1990 European Championships (also breaking a 22-year world record) and Commonwealth Games, the 4 x 400┐m relay at the 1991 World Championships in \JTokyo\j, and the 4 x 400┐m relay in the 1993 European Cup. His Olympic medals include silver in the 4 x 100┐m relay (1984) and bronze for the same event in 1994. Since 1993 he has become known as a \Jtelevision\j presenter.
BK Biog99n
#
"Akahito, Yamabe no",682,0,0,0
PN [aka\Bhee\btoh]
DT1 8
DT1b th-c
EN Japanese poet. A minor official at the imperial court, he seems to have kept his position largely through his poetic ability. He is known as one of the 'twin stars' - Hitomaro being the other - of the great anthology of classical Japanese poetry called the \IManyoshu\i (Collection of a Myriad Leaves).
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Akalaitis, JoAnne",683,0,0,0
DT 1937-
EN American actress and director. She is a founding and continuing member of the avant-garde group Mabou Mines. Her experimental works have been performed at major art centres and festivals throughout the USA and Europe. From 1990 to 1993 Akalaitis was artistic director of the New York Shakespeare Festival.
BK Thea
#
"Akan",684,0,0,0
EN A cluster of Twi (Kwa)-speaking peoples mostly in \JGhana\j, and in the C⌠te d'Ivoire and \JTogo\j, comprising several kingdoms. The best known and largest is the \JAsante\j (Ashanti). All recognize matrilineal descent, and have a long urban and trading tradition. Population c.5 million.
BK a
#
"Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge",685,0,0,0
PN [akashee kiykyoh]
EN A major steel suspension bridge across the Akashi Straits between \JHonshu\j and Shikoku, \JJapan\j, begun in 1978 and due for completion in 1998. It will carry a road and railway on two decks and have a main span of 1780┐m / 5840┐ft.
BK a
#
"Akbar the Great",686,0,0,0
PN [\Bak\bber]
HS , in full \BJalal ud-Din Muhammad Akbar\b
DT1 1542
DT2 1605
EN Mughal emperor of India, born in Umarkot, \JSind\j. He succeeded his father, Humayun, in 1556, and assumed power in 1560. The early years of his reign were marred by \Jcivil war\j and rebellion, but after triumphing over his enemies within the empire he turned to foreign conquest, extending his control to the whole of N India. He reformed the tax system, promoted commerce, encouraged science, literature, and the arts, and abolished \Jslavery\j. Although brought up a Muslim, he pursued a tolerant and eclectic religious policy.
MEX Jahangir
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Akeley, Carl (Ethan) (1864-1926) and Mary Lee Akeley",687,0,0,0
PN [\Bayk\blee]
HS , nΘe \BJobe\b
DT1 1878
DT2 1966
EN Naturalists and explorers, born in Clarendon, NY and Tappan, OH, respectively. He worked as a taxidermist in Rochester, NY, and then at the \JMilwaukee\j Museum. By the time he joined the staff at the Field Museum of Natural History in \JChicago\j (1895), he was perfecting new techniques for making large habitat groups of wild animals - sculpting realistic forms on which real skins, horns, and other bodily parts were placed. He made several trips to Africa (1896, 1905, 1909, 1926), and invented a special motion-picture camera for naturalists to study wildlife (1916).
He died in Africa, two years after he married Mary Lee Jobe, his second wife. She had explored in the Canadian Rockies (1913-18), and she continued his African expedition (1926-7). Returning to Africa in 1935 and 1946, she collected further materials for the American Museum of Natural History, New York City. She won international recognition for her work in informing the world of the importance of maintaining primitive and natural life in Africa.
SX g
BK bg a
#
"Aken, Jerome van",688,0,0,0
EN See Bosch, Hieronymus
BK bg a
XCY y
#
"Akenside, Mark",689,0,0,0
PN [\Bay\bkensiyd]
DT1 1721
DT2 70
EN Poet and physician, born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, north-east England, UK. In 1744 he published his best-known work, the didactic poem \IThe Pleasures of Imagination.\i His haughty and pedantic manner was caricatured in Tobias Smollett's \IAdventures of Peregrine Pickle\i (1757). In 1761 he was appointed one of the physicians to the queen.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Akhel≤÷s, River",690,0,0,0
EN See Achelous, River
BK a
XCY y
#
"Akhenaton",691,0,0,0
PN [ake\Bna\bton]
HS , also \BAkh(e)naten\b or \BAmenhotep (Amenophis) IV\b[amen\Bhoh\btep]
DT1 14
DT1b th-c BC
EN Egyptian king of the 18th dynasty. He renounced the worship of the old gods, introduced a monotheistic solar \Jcult\j of the \Jsun\j-disc (Aton), and changed his name. He built a new capital at Amarna (Akhetaton), where the arts blossomed while the empire weakened. He was married to \JNefertiti\j.
MEX \JNefertiti\j; Tutankhamen
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Akhmatova, Anna",692,0,0,0
PN [akh\Bmah\btofa]
HS , pseudonym of \BAnna Andreeyevna Gorenko\b
DT1 1889
DT2 1966
EN Poet, born in Odessa, \JUkraine\j. She studied in \JKiev\j before moving to St Petersburg. In 1910 she married Nicholas Gumilev, and with him started the Neoclassicist Acmeist movement. After her early collections of lyrical poems, including \IEvening\i (1912) and \IBeads\i (1914), she developed an Impressionist technique.
Following the publication of \IAnno Domini\i (1922), she was officially silenced until 1940, when she published \IThe Willow.\i Among her best-known works is \IRequiem,\i written in the late 1930s, a poetic cycle on the Stalin purges. In 1946 her verse was again banned. She was 'rehabilitated' in the 1950s, and received official tributes on her death.
MEX Gumilev
SX f
BK bg a
#
"Akiba ben Joseph",693,0,0,0
PN [a\Bkee\bba ben \Bjoh\bzef]
HS , also spelled \BAkiva\b
DT1a c.
DT1 50
DT2 135
EN Rabbi and teacher in Palestine. He founded a rabbinical school at Jaffa, and played a great part in reshaping the \JMishnah\j. He was a supporter of the unsuccessful revolt of bar Kokhba against \JHadrian\j (131-5), and was put to death by the Romans.
MEX bar Kokhba
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Akihito",694,0,0,0
PN [aki\Bhee\btoh]
DT1 1933
EN Emperor of \JJapan\j (1989-- ), born in \JTokyo\j, \JJapan\j, the son of \JHirohito\j. He studied among commoners at the elite Gakushuin school, and in 1959 married \BMichiko Shoda\b (1934-- ), the daughter of a flour company president, who thus became the first non-aristocrat to enter the imperial family.
An amateur marine biologist, he is also an accomplished cellist. On becoming emperor in 1989, the new \IHeisei\i ("the achievement of universal peace') era commenced.
BK Biog99
#
"Akimov, Nikolai (Pavlovich)",695,0,0,0
DT 1901-68
EN Soviet stage and film designer. His graceful, whimsical and vibrantly colourful stage realizations defined the character of the \JLeningrad\j Theatre of Comedy, where he was artistic director (1935-49, 1955-68). As a designer in the 1920s Akimov worked in \JLeningrad\j and Moscow on Soviet dramas. He began directing in 1929 and in 1932 staged a controversial formalist production of Hamlet for Moscow's Vakhtangov Theatre.
His sharp and witty style was most clearly demonstrated in his Theatre of Comedy productions, particularly Evgeny Shvarts's The Shadow (1940, 1960), The Dragon (1944, 1962) and An Ordinary Miracle (1956), and in Sukhovo-Kobylin's The Case (1964) and Krechinsky's Wedding (1966).
From 1951 to 1955 he served as the Lensoviet Theatre's artistic director, where he staged Saltykov-Shchedrin's Shadows (1953) and an earlier version of The Case (1955). He also designed theatre posters and wrote two books which blended memoirs with theatre aesthetics and practice. In 1960 he was named a People's Artist of the USSR.
BK Thea
#
"Akins, Z÷e",696,0,0,0
DT 1886-1958
EN American playwright and screenwriter. She began her career with an experimental free-verse drama, The Magical City (1916). Early sophisticated comedies and wistful tragedies about jaded, worldly women were followed by a rash of popular comedies. Her first and best hit was DΘclassΘe (1919).
Others were Papa (1919), Greatness: A Comedy (1921, also called The \JTexas\j Nightingale), Daddy's Gone A-Hunting (1921) and The Greeks Had a Word for It (1929, later filmed as The Golddiggers). In 1935 she won the Pulitzer Prize for her adaptation of Edna Ferber's The Old Maid.
BK Thea
#
"akita",697,0,0,0
EN The Japanese are very proud to have produced this magnificent dog. It is a large and very strong dog with a tenacious spirit.
\BHistory:\b
Originally the \JAkita\j was restricted to the nobility because of its excellent hunting skills. At first it was bred to hunt deer and wild pigs. Later, when it was discovered just how formidable the \JAkita\j could be, it was even used to hunt bears. The breed has remained essentially the same for the past 300 years.
\BPhysical characteristics:\b
The \JAkita\j is a large stocky dog and is one of the three Spitz types of dogs from \JJapan\j. \IHeight:\i for the adult male 26 - 28 in (66 - 71 cm). \IWeight:\i 88 - 110 lb (40 - 50 kg). Both the eyes and ears are triangular, and the triangular head is broad and flat with a powerful short muzzle. The general appearance of the body is one conveying power, with a rounded well-muscled chest, shoulders and flanks. The two-layered coat is made up of a thick undercoat and a coarse outer coat.
\BBehavior:\b
This magnificent dog was originally bred by the Japanese to be a powerful hunting dog. Over its 300-year history, the breed has changed very little. During feudal times, the \JAkita\j was used extensively for dog-fighting. Either as a result of dog-fighting or because fewer were bred after this practice was outlawed, \JAkita\j numbers went into steep decline. The remaining dogs regained popularity and were once again used extensively, but this time as police and guard dogs.
The \JAkita\j can make a wonderful pet, especially for those people who insist on keeping the dog in its place from the beginning. This noble and truly magnificent animal is certainly not for the faint-hearted. However, once the dominance hierarchy is well-established, the \JAkita\j can be a wonderful companion.
The \JAkita\j should be given a lot of exercise and responds very well to training. As this dog has a lot of muscle, it requires slightly more than the average amount of food. It is especially important to provide the young growing \JAkita\j with sufficient food and exercise. The dog's coat will benefit from regular brushing and infrequent bathing.
BK wan
#
"Akiva ben Joseph",698,0,0,0
EN See Akiba ben Joseph
BK bg a
XCY y
#
"Akkadian",699,0,0,0
PN [a\Bkay\bdian]
EN One of the oldest languages in the Semitic (Afro-Asiatic) family, with a substantial literature written in cuneiform script. It is now extinct.
BK a
#
"Akko",700,0,0,0
EN See Acre
BK a
XCY y
#
"Akmola",701,0,0,0
EN 51░10N 71░30E, pop (1995e) 290 000. Capital of \JKazakhstan\j (from 1997), on R Ishim; founded as a fortress, 1830; airport; railway junction; agricultural machinery, \Jceramics\j, foodstuffs, clothing.
BK Geog99
#
"Akron",702,0,0,0
EN 41░05N 81░31W, pop (1995e) 232 000. Seat of Summit Co, NE Ohio, USA, on the Little Cuyahoga R; laid out, 1825; city status, 1865; airfield; railway; university (1913); centre of US \Jrubber\j industry; metal products, tyres, machinery; polymer research centre; Goodyear World of Rubber Museum, E J Thomas Performing Arts Hall, Blossom Music Centre.
BK Geog99
#
"Akrotiri",703,0,0,0
PN [akro\Btee\bree]
EN Bay on S coast of Cyprus; main port town, \JLimassol\j; British base on peninsula separating Akrotiri Bay (east) from Episkopi Bay (west).
BK a
#
"Aksakov, Sergei Timofeyevitch",704,0,0,0
PN [ak\Bsah\bkof]
DT1 1791
DT2 1859
EN Novelist, born in \JUfa\j, \JRussia\j. He held government posts in St Petersburg and Moscow before a meeting with Gogol in 1832 turned him to literature. His house became the centre of a Gogol \Jcult\j. He wrote \IThe Blizzard\i (trans, 1834), \IChronicles of a Russian Family\i (trans, 1846-56), and \IYears of Childhood\i (trans, 1858). His writing shows his love of country sports and deep feeling for nature.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Aksum",705,0,0,0
EN 14░08N 38░43E. Ancient city in the highlands of N \JEthiopia\j; a world heritage site. During the 1st-7th-c AD it was the capital of a powerful kingdom dominating trade - particularly in ivory and skins - between the Sudanese Nile Valley and the Roman Mediterranean through the \JRed Sea\j port of Adulis (near modern \JMassawa\j). Its multi-storied stone buildings, massive funeral slabs, and coinage are notable.
BK a
#
"Aksyonov, Vasily (Pavlovich)",706,0,0,0
DT 1932-
EN Soviet novelist and playwright. He is part of the intellectual tradition of literary \Jparody\j and grotesque realism of Gogol and others. As part of the Young Prose movement centred on Valentin Kataev's journal Youth (1955), he became a spokesman for the post-World War II generation. His early novels, characterized by racy dialogue, Western-style fashions and colloquialisms, reflect the problems of youth and maturation in Soviet society.
His later writing is more experimental and fantastic, reverting to the Russian avant-garde of the 1920s. Always on Sale, a realistic social satire and highly theatricalist pastiche of popular culture, was a great success in Oleg Efremov's 1965 production at Moscow's Sovremennik Theatre.
Your Murderer (published in English, 1977), subtitled 'An Anti- alcoholic Comedy in Eight Scenes with a Prologue and an Epilogue', is a grotesque, fanciful \Jparable\j of an artist who is destroyed by his own creation. A third play, The Heron (unpublished), is a Chekhovian \Jparody\j set at a health resort. In 1980 Aksyonov emigrated to the United States.
BK Thea
#
"Aktie Tomaat",707,0,0,0
EN (Action \Jtomato\j, or the \Jtomato\j campaign) Dutch theatre movement. Late in 1969, tomatoes were thrown at actors during a performance by the Nederlandse Comedie at the municipal theatre of \JAmsterdam\j: students from the Toneelschool (Amsterdam School of Drama) were launching a protest against the limited theatrical repertory, lacking in social relevance, and against the authoritarian status of the director, who subordinated the actors to his views.
This protest linked up with the call for democracy by students and workers in Europe and America. As a result, new Dutch companies, such as Werkteater, organized on democratic principles, emerged: the director became a creative assistant or member of a collective; actors could start to explore their creative potential; productions were improvised and dramatic texts updated. The new theatre groups were subsidized by the Ministry of Culture.
BK Thea
#
"Aktyubinsk",708,0,0,0
PN [ak\Btyoo\bbyinsk]
EN 50░16N 57░13E, pop (1995e) 267 000. Capital city of Aktyubinskaya oblast, NW \JKazakhstan\j; in the S foothills of the Ural Mts, on the left bank of the R Ilek; established, 1869; airport; railway; \Jengineering\j, agricultural machinery, chemicals, building materials, clothing, furniture, foodstuffs.
BK Geog99
#
"Al Fayed, Mohamed",709,0,0,0
PN [al \Bfa\byed]
DT1 1933
EN Businessman, born in \JEgypt\j. He studied at Alexandria University, and made rapid progress in the international business world, becoming owner of the Ritz Hotel in Paris in 1979, and of Harrods in London in 1985, and one of the world's wealthiest men. One of his children, \BDodi\b (1955--97), received worldwide publicity in 1997 when the press discovered his relationship with Princess Diana. A graduate of Sandhurst military academy, he became a film producer, renowned for his flamboyant lifestyle. He was killed along with Diana in a car accident in Paris while trying to escape the attentions of paparazzi.
BK Biog99n
#
"al-Banna, Hassan",710,0,0,0
PN [al\Bba\bna]
DT1 1906
DT2 49
EN Islamic fundamentalist, born in Mahmudiya, near \JCairo\j. In 1928 he founded in \JEgypt\j the Society of Muslim Brothers (better known as the Muslim Brotherhood or Brethren), which preached a return to the purity of early \JIslam\j. In 1948 the Egyptian prime minister, Nuqrashi-Pasha, was killed by a Brotherhood member, and in 1949 al-Banna was himself murdered, though he had condemned the assassination. His movement has had considerable influence on contemporary Islamic \Jfundamentalism\j.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"al-Farabi, Mohammed",711,0,0,0
PN [al fa\Brah\bbee]
HS , also known as \BAbu Nasr,\b \BAlfarabius,\b and \BAvennasar\b
DT1a c.
DT1 870
DT2 950
EN Islamic philosopher, born in Farab, Turkmenia. He was much influenced by \JPlato\j's \IRepublic,\i and can be regarded as the first Islamic Neoplatonist. He also published a utopian political philosophy of his own, known under the title \IThe Perfect City.\i
MEX \JPlato\j
SX m
BK bg a
#
"al-Fatah",712,0,0,0
EN See PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization)
BK a
XCY y
#
"Al-Fayed, Dodi",713,0,0,0
DT1 1955
DT2 1997
Dodi al-Fayed was the 41 year old son of billionaire Mohamed al-Fayed owner of Harrods Department Store in London. Al-Fayed formed his film production company in the early 80s. Known as Allied Stars, the company went on to produce films such as "Chariots of Fire" (1980), "Hook" with Dustin Hoffman and "The Scarlet Letter" (1995) with Demi Moore. He was tragically killed in a car accident in Paris with Princess Diana on August 31st 1997.
BK Webster
#
"al-Khwarizmi, (Abu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Musa)",714,0,0,0
PN [al-khwahrizmee]
DT (c.800-c.850)
EN Persian mathematician: introduced modern number notation.
Little is known of al-Khwarizmi's life; he was a member of the \JBaghdad\j Academy of Science and wrote on \Jmathematics\j, \Jastronomy\j and \Jgeography\j. His book \JAlgebra\j introduced that name, although much of the book deals with calculations. However, he gives a general method (al-Khwarizmi's solution) for finding the two roots of a quadratic equation
ax\U2\u + bx + c = 0 (where a \F╣\n0);
he showed that the roots are
x\D1\d = [- b + (b\U2\u - 4ac)\U1/2\u]/2a
and x\D2\d = [- b - (b\U2\u - 4ac)\U1/2\u]/2a
In his book \ICalculation with the Hindu Numerals\i he described the Hindu notation (misnamed 'Arabic' numerals) in which the digits depend on their position for their value and include zero. The term '\Jalgorithm\j' (a rule of calculation) is said to be named after him. The notation (which came into Europe in a Latin translation after 1240) is of huge practical value and its adoption is one of the great steps in \Jmathematics\j. The 10 symbols (1-9 and 0) had almost their present shape by the 14th-c, in surviving manuscripts.
BK Scie
#
"al-Kindi",715,0,0,0
PN [al\Bkin\bdee]
DT1a c.
DT1 800
DT2a c.
DT2 870
EN Arab philosopher, born in Kufa, \JIraq\j. Known as 'the philosopher of the \JArabs\j', he was one of the first responsible for spreading Greek thought (particularly that of Aristotle) in the Arab world and synthesizing it with Islamic doctrine.
MEX Aristotle
SX m
BK bg a
#
"al-RayhΓnε, Amεn",716,0,0,0
DT (1876-1940)
EN poet; born in \JLebanon\j. He went with his family to New York City (1888) and worked for a time with them as a peddler. He toured with a theater company and turned to poetry. He wrote \IMyrtle and Myrrh\i (1905) and \IThe Book of Khalid\i (1911), and was often referred to as the "father of prose poetry in Arabic."
Always conscious of his position as an ambassador between East and West, he wrote, "Neither Crescent nor Cross we adore/Nor \JBuddha\j nor Christ we implore/Nor Muslim nor Jew we abhor/We are free."
BK AmBg
#
"Alabama",717,0,0,0
EN pop (1995e) 4 283 000; area 133 911 sq km/51 705 sq mi. State in SE USA, divided into 67 counties; the "Heart of Dixie', the "Camellia State', or "Yellowhammer'; first permanent settlement by the French at Mobile, 1711; N \JAlabama\j became part of the USA in 1783, the remainder being acquired by the Louisiana Purchase in 1803; the 22nd state to be admitted to the Union, 1819; seceded, 1861; \Jslavery\j abolished, 1865; refused to ratify the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution and placed under military rule, 1867; re-admitted to the Union in 1868, but Federal troops remained until 1876; capital, Montgomery; other chief cities, Birmingham, Mobile, \JHuntsville\j; rivers include the \JAlabama\j (formed by the confluence of the Tallapoosa and Coosa Rivers), Tombigbee, Mobile, \JTennessee\j, Chattahoochee; highest point Mt Cheaha (734 m/2408 ft); a mountainous NE, separated from the S coastal plain by the rolling plain of the Appalachian \JPiedmont\j; diversified agriculture, after the boll weevil blight of 1915; \Jcattle\j, poultry, cotton, soybeans, peanuts; chemicals, textiles, paper products, processed food; iron and steel industry centred on Birmingham; \Jcoal\j, oil, stone; lumbering, fishing; many \Jcivil rights\j protests in the area in the 1950s and 1960s.
BK Geog99
#
"Alabama (continued 2)",718,0,0,0
\BHistory\b
\B\IIndian Days, Exploration, and Settlement\b\i\b
Cliff-dwelling Indians lived in the \JAlabama\j region 8,000 years ago. Excavations in Russell Cave, in northeastern Jackson County, have revealed details of their lives. Later the \JCherokee\j, Creek, Choctaw, and Chickasaw Indians lived in the region. Whites called these groups Civilized Tribes because they adopted many European customs.
Alonso Alvarez de Pi±eda, a Spanish explorer, sailed into Mobile Bay in 1519. In 1528, an expedition led by Panfilo de Narvaez passed through \JAlabama\j coastal waters. ┴lvar N·±ez Cabeza de Vaca, the first European to cross \JNorth America\j, was a member of this expedition. Hernando de Soto, another Spaniard, led an expedition into the \JAlabama\j region from the northeast in 1540.
He became the first white person to explore the interior. De Soto (also called Soto) and the Indians fought a bloody battle at Mabila, north of present-\Jday\j Mobile. De Soto's forces defeated Chief Tuskalusa and his warriors, and burned their village.
In 1559, Tristßn de Luna, a Spanish adventurer from Mexico, searched for gold in the \JAlabama\j region. He organized small settlements on Mobile Bay and at the present site of Claiborne. In 1561, he was removed from his command and forced to return to Mexico.
The first permanent group of white settlers in the \JAlabama\j region were French. In 1699, two French-Canadian brothers, Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d'lberville, and Jean Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville, sailed to Dauphin Island in Mobile Bay. In 1702, they founded Fort Louis nearby along the Mobile River. Fort Louis became the capital of the French colony known as Louisiana.
In 1711, river floods forced the French to move 27 miles (43 km) south to the present site of Mobile. This settlement, also called Fort Louis, became the first permanent white settlement in \JAlabama\j. It was renamed Fort CondΘ in 1720. The settlement was the capital of French Louisiana until 1722, when \JNew Orleans\j became the capital.
In 1763, the French gave most of their colony of Louisiana to Britain in the Treaty of Paris. This treaty ended the French and Indian War. The Mobile area became part of West \JFlorida\j, under British control. Northern \JAlabama\j was included in the Illinois country, a region in what is now the central United States.
In 1779, \JSpain\j declared war on Britain. In 1780, Bernardo de Gßlvez captured Mobile from the British. In the Treaty of Paris signed in 1783, Britain gave the Mobile region to \JSpain\j.
\B\ITerritorial Days\b\i\b
In 1795, Thomas Pinckney, a US statesman, negotiated the Treaty of San Lorenzo. This treaty, also called the Pinckney Treaty, fixed the southern boundary of the United States along the 31st parallel of north latitude. All of present-\Jday\j \JAlabama\j except the Mobile area lay north of the line and became part of the United States. In 1798, the \JAlabama\j region, except the Mobile area, became part of the Mississippi Territory organized by the U.S. Congress.
During the \JWar of 1812\j against Britain, the United States seized the Mobile area from \JSpain\j. On April 15, 1813, the Stars and Stripes flew over the entire \JAlabama\j region for the first time. Also in 1813, the Creek Indians massacred several hundred pioneers at Fort Mims near Tensaw. In 1814, U.S. forces, under General Andrew Jackson, defeated the Creek in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend.
The Creeks then surrendered their land to the United States. William Weatherford, a half-breed Creek chief also known as Red Eagle, led the tribe in its bitter fight against Jackson's troops.
In 1817, the \JAlabama\j Territory was organized. St. Stephens, on the Tombigbee River, was the capital.
\B\IEarly Statehood\b\i\b
A constitutional convention met in \JHuntsville\j in 1819 and drew up the territory's first constitution. On Dec. 14, 1819, \JAlabama\j entered the Union as the 22nd state. \JHuntsville\j served as the capital of \JAlabama\j for a little more than a year. William Wyatt Bibb, who had been governor of the \JAlabama\j Territory, became the new state's first governor. Cahaba became the capital in 1820. In 1825, floods from the \JAlabama\j River caused great damage to Cahaba. Because of the floods, the capital was moved to Tuscaloosa in 1826.
In 1838, federal troops marched into the remaining Indian territory of \JAlabama\j, in the northeast section of the state. They demanded that all the Indians move to the west. By 1840, all but a few scattered tribes had moved west beyond the Mississippi River.
Alabama suffered severe financial troubles during the 1840s and 1850s. The state bank, created during the 1820s, was poorly managed. The bank issued too much money and, as a result, the money decreased in value. The bank also loaned large amounts of money for political reasons. In 1837, a financial panic and depression swept across the United States.
The \JAlabama\j state bank could not afford to pay back the money it owed to its depositors. For this reason, Governor Benjamin Fitzpatrick began to liquidate (close) the bank during the early 1840s. Many Alabamians lost all their savings. The state also suffered from a \Jdrought\j that ruined crops, and from several epidemics of yellow fever.
During the 1840s, many people in the North wanted the federal government to outlaw \Jslavery\j in the nation's western territories. In 1848, a Democratic state convention in \JAlabama\j adopted the "Alabama Platform" supported by William L. Yancy, a prominent statesman. This platform declared that the federal government did not have the right to bar slaves from the territories.
\B\IThe \JCivil War\j and Reconstruction\b\i\b
Disagreements over \Jslavery\j continued during the 1850s. Economic rivalries between the agricultural South and the industrial North and disagreements about the right of states also created conflicts. These conflicts deepened after Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860. \JAlabama\j seceded (withdrew) from the Union on Jan. 11, 1861, and declared itself the Republic of \JAlabama\j.
The \JAlabama\j secession convention invited other Southern States to send delegates to Montgomery. On February 8, the convention established the Confederate States of America, with Montgomery as its capital. For this reason Montgomery is known as the Cradle of the Confederacy. The capital of the Confederate States was moved to Richmond, Va., in May 1861.
The most important \JCivil War\j action in the state was the Battle of Mobile Bay in 1864, won by Union forces under Rear Admiral David G. Garragut. Union forces also made several raids into \JAlabama\j during the war. In 1863, Confederate forces led by General Nathan Bedford Forrest captured a much larger group of Union raiders at \JCedar\j Bluffs. In 1865, Union General James H. Wilson led the largest raid into \JAlabama\j and won victories at Selma and Montgomery.
Most of \JAlabama\j escaped the ruin that spread across the South during the \JCivil War\j. However, Florence, \JHuntsville\j, Montgomery, Selma, and other cities in the northern and central parts of the state suffered destruction and looting.
Alabama faced mounting financial problems during the Reconstruction period that followed the war. The state debt increased from $8 million to more that $32 million from 1866 to 1873. The state government came under the control of former Northerners called carpet-baggers and Southerners called scalawags.
On June 25, 1868, \JAlabama\j was readmitted to the Union. In 1874, conservative Democrats succeeded in electing most state officials. The state government was reformed, and a new constitution was adopted in 1875.
\B\IState Prosperity\b\i\b
State prosperity followed the Reconstruction period. During the 1870s, several railroads were completed. Also during the 1870s, Alabamians proved they could make iron by burning iron ore with coke, rather than with charcoal. This was important because north-central \JAlabama\j had large deposits of coal, from which coke is made. The same region also had vast supplies of iron ore and \Jlimestone\j, the two other minerals needed to make iron and steel.
In 1880, \JAlabama\j's first blast furnace, Alice No. 1, began operating in Birmingham. Within a few years, Birmingham became a great iron and steel center. Important iron and steel works were also built in Anniston, Bessemer, Decatur, Russellville, and Talladega.
By 1890, iron and steel making had become \JAlabama\j's most important manufacturing industry. The lumber industry and textile industry also grew rapidly in the late 1800s.
\B\IWorld War I and the Great Depression\b\i\b
Alabama's industry and commerce grew after the United States entered World War I in 1917. Shipbuilding became an important industry in Mobile. \JAlabama\j farmers increased production of cotton and food to meet the demands of the war effort.
In the mid-1920s, the \JAlabama\j State Docks agency built new port facilities at Mobile. \JAlabama\j's trade with other countries increased greatly as a result. In 1929, the Alabama-Tombigbee river system flooded large areas in southern \JAlabama\j, causing about $6 million damage.
Many Alabamians suffered financial setbacks during the \JGreat Depression\j of the 1930s. Between 1929 and 1931, more than 60 \JAlabama\j banks failed, with a loss of more than $16 million. During the early 1930s, \JAlabama\j passed a state income tax law and the Budget Control Act to help save the state from \Jbankruptcy\j.
In 1933, the federal government created the \JTennessee\j Valley Authority (TVA). The TVA was given the responsibility of building flood-control and electric-power projects on the \JTennessee\j River. The TVA took over Wilson Dam and two \Jnitrate\j plants at Muscle Shoals.
The dam and plant had been built by the government during World War I and the 1920s. The TVA later built Wheeler and Guntersville dams on the \JTennessee\j River. The \JAlabama\j Power Company, a private firm, also built dams and hydroelectric plants during the 1930s. These plants provided inexpensive power for \JAlabama\j factories, and so boosted the state's industrial growth.
\B\IThe Mid-1900s\b\i\b
During World War II (1939-1945), \JAlabama\j's agricultural and industrial production expanded greatly. The government established the Redstone Arsenal in \JHuntsville\j in 1941. The arsenal developed the rocket, satellites, and \Jspacecraft\j that launched the United States into the space age.
After the war, \JAlabama\j became an important producer of chemicals, minerals, \Jrubber\j products, and textiles. \JAlabama\j's industrial growth slowed down during the 1950s, and many Alabamians left the state to find jobs in the North and West. Iron ore production in \JAlabama\j dropped sharply during the 1950s. By the early 1960s, most of \JAlabama\j's iron ore mines had closed.
During the 1950s and 1960s, \JAlabama\j farmers became less dependent on cotton. Farm income came increasingly from broiler chickens, \Jcattle\j, hogs, peanuts, and soybeans. As agricultural methods and products changed, fewer farmworkers were needed. Many moved to the cities, and \JAlabama\j became mainly an urban state.
Like many other states, \JAlabama\j faced serious racial problems in the 1950s and 1960s. In 1955 and 1956, \Jcivil rights\j leader Martin Luther King, Jr. directed the Montgomery bus boycott. Many blacks refused to ride in public buses in Montgomery because the law required them to sit in the rear. In 1956, a federal court ordered Montgomery to desegregate its buses.
In 1954, the Supreme Court of the United States had ruled that compulsory segregation in public schools was unconstitutional. But in 1963, Governor George C. Wallace personally tried to halt the \Jintegration\j of \JAlabama\j's public schools. In June, he stood in the doorway of Foster Auditorium at the University of \JAlabama\j in Tuscaloosa and refused to admit two blacks.
President John F. Kennedy called the National Guard to active duty, and the troops enforced the law. In September, Wallace tried to prevent the \Jintegration\j of public elementary and secondary schools in several cities. President Kennedy again called in the National Guard, and the black students were admitted.
Since 1963, \JAlabama\j has gradually integrated most of its public schools. In March 1965, King led a five-\Jday\j march from Selma to Montgomery to protest discrimination in voter registration. In August, Congress passed the Voting Rights Act, which made thousands of \JAlabama\j blacks eligible to vote.
Republicans gained increasing success in \JAlabama\j, a traditionally Democratic state. In 1965, Barry M. Goldwater became the first Republican presidential candidate to carry \JAlabama\j since 1872.
In 1960, the government established the George C. Marshall Space Flight Center at \JHuntsville\j. The Saturn 5 rocket system, which powered the first missions that landed astronauts on the moon, was developed at \JHuntsville\j during the 1960s.
\B\IRecent Developments\b\i\b
Alabama, like other states, faced financial problems in the 1980s and early 1990s. The state government sought ways to provide sufficient funds for such services as state-supported nursing homes and public education. In 1980, the state legislature increased taxes on cigarettes and alcohol to increase funds for government services.
The rising costs of \Jpetroleum\j and \Jnatural gas\j have led to increased use of \Jcoal\j. This action has spurred further development of \JAlabama\j's \Jcoal\j deposits.
Industry continues to grow in the state, and the population has been rising steadily. Blacks are playing an increasingly important role in local and state politics. Republicans have also been gaining strength in local and state governments. In 1986, Guy Hunt became the first Republican to be elected governor of \JAlabama\j since Reconstruction. But he was removed from office in 1993, following his conviction for \Jfelony\j ethics violations. Hunt appealed the conviction.
BK Webster
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"Alabama (continued)",719,0,0,0
\BLand and Climate\b
\B\ILand\b\i\b
Breathtaking forest-covered mountains, hills, and ridges cover much of north \JAlabama\j, and the bright red clay soils add splashes of color to the landscape. In fact, the Appalachian Mountain Range has its birthplace in \JAlabama\j. Also, there are many dams to help prevent floods, and hydroelectric power stations are housed at some of the larger ones.
In the southern part of \JAlabama\j, the hills give way to thick pine forests, rolling grasslands, and low croplands. The Mobile Delta area has many swamps and bayous, and along the Gulf of Mexico are pristine beaches of white sand.
\B\ISoil\b\i\b
Alabama's Black Belt is known for its black clay soils. Parts of the East Gulf Coastal Plain have sandy soils. Red soils cover most other parts of the state. In many areas, these red soils were once covered by gray or yellow topsoil. Much of the fertile topsoil was carried away by erosion after farmers cut down trees and plowed the land. Today, many \JAlabama\j farmers help save fertile soils by contour plowing, terracing, and other conservation methods.
\B\IMinerals\b\i\b
Valuable deposits of \Jcoal\j and \Jlimestone\j lie fairly close together in the Birmingham area of \JAlabama\j. These minerals are used in the production of iron and steel. \JAlabama\j's most important \Jcoal\j beds are located in the north-central part of the state. Major deposits of \Jlimestone\j are also found in northern \JAlabama\j.
Alabama has important oil and \Jnatural gas\j fields in Choctaw, Escambia, Mobile, and other southwestern counties. Other minerals found in the state include \Jasphalt\j, \Jbauxite\j, clay, \Jdolomite\j, marble, mica, salt, sand and gravel, \Jsandstone\j, and talc.
\B\INatural Resources\b\i\b
Natural resources of \JAlabama\j include thick pine forests, areas of fertile soil, valuable mineral deposits, and deep rivers.
\B\IRegions\b\i\b
Most of southern \JAlabama\j lies less than 500 feet (150 meters) above sea level. The surface of the state rises gradually toward the northeast. \JAlabama\j has six main land regions and the coastline:
-East Gulf Coastal Plain
-Black Belt
-Piedmont
-Appalachian Ridge and Valley Region
-Cumberland Plateau
-Interior Low Plateau
-Coastline
\B\IEast Gulf Coastal Plain\b\i\b
This is \JAlabama\j's largest land region. It covers the entire southern two-thirds of the state, except for a narrow strip of land called the Black Belt. In western \JAlabama\j, the plain extends north almost to \JTennessee\j. The plain has several sections; the low, swampy land of the Mobile River Delta makes up the southwestern section. The southeastern part is called the Wiregrass area. It is named for a tough grass that once grew there in pine forests.
Today, the Wiregrass area is an important farming region. The northern part of the plain is often called the Central Pine Belt because many pine forests cover its low, rolling hills. In the western part of this section, the soils are gravely and sandy, and are not good for growing crops.
\B\IBlack Belt\b\i\b
The Black Belt is a narrow strip of rolling prairie wedged between the northern and southern parts of the East Gulf Coastal Plain. The Black Belt was named for the sticky black clay soils of its rolling uplands. Early in \JAlabama\j's history, farmers developed large plantations in this region. Boll weevils came to the Black Belt in 1915, and damaged the cotton crop. Some farmers then changed from growing cotton to raising livestock.
\B\IPiedmont\b\i\b
The \JPiedmont\j region, in east-central \JAlabama\j, is an area of low hills and ridges separated by sandy valleys. The clay soils of these hills and ridges have been badly eroded. Most of the land is forested. Cheaha Mountain, the highest point in \JAlabama\j, rises 2,407 feet (734 meters) on the northwestern edge of the \JPiedmont\j.
Deposits of \Jcoal\j, iron ore, \Jlimestone\j, and marble, together with electric power from projects on the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers, make the \JPiedmont\j an important manufacturing area. Textile production is the main industry in many small cities of the region.
\B\IAppalachian Ridge and Valley Region\b\i\b
This is an area of \Jsandstone\j ridges and fertile \Jlimestone\j valleys. It lies northwest of the \JPiedmont\j. The region has \Jcoal\j, iron ore, and limestone-the three basic minerals used in making iron and steel. For this reason, Birmingham and other large cities in the region developed as centers of iron and steel production.
\B\ICumberland Plateau\b\i\b
The Cumberland Plateau, also known as the Appalachian Plateau, lies northwest of the Appalachian Ridge and Valley Region. The surface varies from flat to gently rolling land. It reaches a height of about 1,800 feet (549 meters) above sea level in the northeast.
The land slopes to about 500 feet (150 meters) where it meets the East Gulf Coastal Plain in the southwest. Farmers could not grow large crops in the plateau's sandy soils until the 1880s, when commercial fertilizers came into common use. Today, farmers raise hogs and poultry there, and grow cotton, hay, potatoes, and vegetables.
\B\IInterior Low Plateau\b\i\b
This region lies in the northwestern part of the state. Much of the land is in the valley of the \JTennessee\j River. Farmers in the region grow corn, cotton, and hay. The plateau has \Jwater\j transportation and hydroelectric power, which encourage manufacturing. Decatur and "The Shoals," the area of Muscle Shoals, Florence, Sheffield, and Tuscumbia, are industrial centers.
\B\ICoastline\b\i\b
Alabama's general coastline extends for 53 miles (85 km) along the Gulf of Mexico. The tidal shoreline, which includes small bays and inlets, is 607 miles (977 km) long. Mobile Bay, at the mouth of the Mobile River, is the chief feature of the \JAlabama\j coastline. It is an important harbor area. The Mississippi Sound borders the coast west of Mobile Bay.
Perdido Bay is at the border between \JAlabama\j and \JFlorida\j. The long, sandy peninsula between Mobile and Perdido Bays is known as the Gulf Coast. Dauphin Island, \JAlabama\j's largest coastal island, lies at the entrance to Mobile Bay. An overseas highway connects the island with the mainland.
\B\IRivers and Lakes\b\i\b
Navigable rivers flow through almost every part of \JAlabama\j. The Mobile River and its tributaries flow south to the Gulf of Mexico. They form the most important river system in the state. The \JAlabama\j and Tombigbee, \JAlabama\j's longest rivers, meet about 45 miles (72 km) north of Mobile and form the Mobile River.
The \JAlabama\j River begins where the Coosa and Tallapoosa Rivers meet, just north of Montgomery. The Tombigbee starts in Mississippi and flows southeast into \JAlabama\j. Its main tributary in \JAlabama\j is the Black Warrior.
The Chattahoochee River forms much of the border between \JAlabama\j and Georgia. The \JTennessee\j River is the most important river in northern \JAlabama\j. It flows west across almost the entire width of the state.
Alabama has no large natural lakes, but dams on rivers have created many artificial lakes. The largest of these, Guntersville Lake, covers 110 square miles (285 km\U2\u). It is formed by Guntersville Dam on the \JTennessee\j River. Other large artificially created lakes, in order of size, include Wheeler on the \JTennessee\j River, Martin on the Tallapoosa River, and Weiss on the Coosa River.
\B\IClimate\b\i\b
Alabama has a mild climate. January temperatures average about 52║F (11║C) in the southern part of the state, and about 46║F (8║C) in the north. July temperatures average about 80 ║F (27 ║C) throughout the state. \JAlabama\j's lowest temperature, -27║F (-33║C), occurred at New Market on January 30, 1966. The highest temperature, 112║F (44║C), was at Centreville on September 5, 1925.
Alabama's annual precipitation (rain, melted snow, and other moisture) averages from about 65 inches (165 cm) on the coast to 53 inches (135 cm) in the north. Snow falls in the north, but is rare on the coast.
\B\IFor more information click on \b\i\JAlabama (continued 2)\j
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"Alabama claims",720,0,0,0
EN (1869-72) A US / British diplomatic dispute, arising from damage inflicted during the \JAmerican Civil War\j by Confederate naval vessels (one named \IAlabama)\i built in Britain. It was resolved in 1872 by an international tribunal (\JItaly\j, \JSwitzerland\j, \JBrazil\j), with an indemnity to the USA of $15┐500┐500.
BK a
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"alabaster",721,0,0,0
EN A fine-grained banded variety of the mineral \Jgypsum\j; pale and translucent. It is soft enough to be carved and polished by hand for ornamental use.
BK a
#
"Alacoque, St Marguerite Marie",722,0,0,0
PN [alakok]
DT1 1647
DT2 90
EN French nun at Paray-le-Monial, and a member of the Visitation Order. The founder of the devotion to the Sacred Heart, she was canonized in 1920. Feast \Jday\j 17 October.
SX f
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"Alaia, Azzedine",723,0,0,0
PN [a\Bliy\ba]
EN Tunisian fashion designer. He was educated in \JTunis\j, where he studied sculpture, then worked for Dior and other designers before giving his first show in New York City (1982). His designs emphasize the figure, and he is noted for his black leather-studded gauntlets, little black dresses, and use of zippers.
SX m
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#
"Alain-Fournier, Henri",724,0,0,0
PN [alφ\ti foornyay]
HS , pseudonym of \BHenri-Alban Fournier\b
DT1 1886
DT2 1914
EN Writer, born in Sologne, \JFrance\j. He became a literary journalist in Paris, and was killed at St RΘmy soon after the outbreak of World War 1. He left a semi-autobiographical fantasy novel, \ILe Grand Meaulnes\i (1913, trans The Lost Domain), now considered a modern classic.
SX m
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"Alamßn, Lucas",725,0,0,0
PN [ala\Bman\b]
DT1 1792
DT2 1853
EN Mexican statesman and historian, born in Guanajuanto, Mexico. As a deputy to the Spanish \JCortes\j (1820-1), he spoke out for Mexican independence. Mexico's most influential Conservative, and chief minister under Bustamante (1829-32), he founded the National Museum, and died shortly after completing his monumental \IHistoria de Mexico\i (1842-52).
SX m
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#
"Alamo",726,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bamoh]
EN A battle fought during the 1836 Texan War of Independence against Mexico, when 180 Texans and US citizens held the old mission / fort of \JAlamo\j against a large number of Mexican troops. In an epic of resistance they held out for 11 days until the last survivors were overwhelmed.
BK a
#
"Alanbrooke (of Brookeborough), Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount",727,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\blanbruk]
DT1 1883
DT2 1963
EN British field marshal, born in BagnΦres-de-Bigorre, \JFrance\j. He joined the Royal Field Artillery in 1902, and in World War 1 rose to general staff officer. In World War 2 he commanded the 2nd corps of the British Expeditionary Force (1939-40), covering the evacuation from \JDunkirk\j in \JFrance\j.
He became commander-in-chief of home forces (1940-1), Chief of the Imperial General Staff (1941-6), and principal strategic adviser to Winston Churchill. He became a field marshal in 1944, and was created baron in 1945 and viscount in 1946. His war diaries presented a controversial view of Churchill and Eisenhower.
MEX Churchill, Sir Winston; Eisenhower
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#
"┼land",728,0,0,0
EN See Ahvenanmaa
BK a
XCY y
#
"Alarc≤n (y Ariza), Pedro Antonio de",729,0,0,0
PN [alah(r)\Bhon\b]
DT1 1833
DT2 91
EN Writer, born in Guadix, \JSpain\j. He served with distinction in the African campaign of 1859-60, and became a radical journalist. He published a war diary, travel notes, and poems, but is best known for his novels, particularly \ISombrero de tres picos\i (1874) on which Manuel de Falla based his ballet \IThe Three-Cornered Hat.\i
MEX Falla
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#
"Alarc≤n, Juan Ruiz de",730,0,0,0
EN see Ruiz de Alarc≤n (y \JMendoza\j), Juan
BK Thea
#
"Alaric I",731,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\barik]
DT1a c.
DT1 370
DT2 410
EN King of the \JVisigoths\j (395-410), born in Dacia. After his election as king, he invaded \JGreece\j (395), but was eventually driven out by Flavius Stilicho. In 401 he invaded \JItaly\j until checked by Stilicho at Pollentia (402). He agreed to join the Western emperor, Honorius, in an attack on Arcadius, but when Honorius failed to pay the promised subsidy Alaric laid siege to \JRome\j, and in 410 pillaged the city. Later that year he set off to invade \JSicily\j, but died at Cosenza.
MEX Honorius, Flavius; Stilicho
SX m
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#
"Alaric II",732,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\blarik]
DT1 450
DT2 507
EN King of the \JVisigoths\j (485-507), who reigned over Gaul S of the Loire, and over most of \JSpain\j. In 506 he issued a code of laws known as the Breviary of Alaric \I(Breviarum Alaricianum).\i An Arian Christian, he was killed at the Battle of VouillΘ, near Poitiers, by the orthodox Clovis, King of the Franks.
MEX Clovis
SX m
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#
"Alas (y Ure±a), Leopoldo",733,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bas]
HS , pseudonym \BClarφn\b
DT1 1852
DT2 1901
EN Writer, born in Zamora, \JSpain\j. He was professor of law at \JOviedo\j, but better known as a forceful literary critic (his pseudonym means '\Jbugle\j'). He published short stories \I(Cuentos morales,\i 1896), a drama \ITeresa,\i and several novels, including \ILa regenta\i (1885, The Regent's Wife).
SX m
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#
"Alaska",734,0,0,0
EN pop (1995e) 647 000; area 1 518 748 sq km/586 412 sq mi. US state, divided into 23 boroughs, in the extreme NW corner of the continent, "The Last Frontier' or "The Great Land', separated from the rest of the nation by Canada; first permanent settlement by Russians on Kodiak I, 1784; managed by the Russian-American Fur Company, 1799--1861; period of decline, as Russians withdrew from the area; bought by the USA, 1867 (known as Seward's Folly, after the chief US negotiator); gold discovered in 1889 (at Nome) and 1902 (at \JFairbanks\j); territorial status, 1912; Aleutian islands of Attu and Kiska occupied by the Japanese (Jun 1942--Aug 1943); granted statehood as the 49th state, 1959; large oil reserves discovered in 1968 (\JAlaska\j Pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez completed in 1977); the largest state, but the least populated; capital, \JJuneau\j; other chief city, \JAnchorage\j; bounded N by the Beaufort Sea and \JArctic\j Ocean, W by the Chukchi Sea, Bering Strait, and Bering Sea, S by the Gulf of \JAlaska\j and the \JPacific Ocean\j, and E by Canada (\JYukon\j territory and British Columbia); a third of the area within the \JArctic\j Circle; rivers include the \JYukon\j (with tributaries the Porcupine, Tanana, and Koyukuk), Colville, Kuskokwim, Susitna and Copper; North Slope in the N, rising to the Brooks Range, part of the Rocky Mts; Kuskokwim Mts in the SW; Aleutian Is and Aleutian Range in the SW; Chugach Mts along the S coast; Wrangell Mts in the SE; highest point Mt McKinley (6194 m/20 321 ft); oil, \Jnatural gas\j, wide range of minerals; food processing, paper, lumber, seafood; eight national parks; tourism; balance between industrial development and landscape preservation an ongoing controversy.
BK Geog99
#
"Alaska Highway",735,0,0,0
EN An all-\Jweather\j road which runs from Dawson Creek in British Columbia, Canada, to \JFairbanks\j in \JAlaska\j, linking the state to the North American highway system. It was built in 1942 to supply military forces stationed in \JAlaska\j during World War 2.
BK a
#
"Alaska, Gulf of",736,0,0,0
EN area 1┐327┐000┐km\U2\u / 512┐000┐mi\U2\u. N part of the \JPacific Ocean\j, between the Alaskan Peninsula (west) and the mainland Alaskan Panhandle (east); warm Alaskan Current keeps ports ice-free; main port, Valdez.
BK a
#
"Alaskan malamute",737,0,0,0
EN This large and very powerful animal was once a working dog and a constant companion for the North American \JInuit\j.
\BHistory:\b
The Alaskan \JMalamute\j is one of the Spitz-type dogs that has been used for centuries by the North American \JInuit\j. The Alaskan \JMalamute\j was bred to be hardy enough to withstand the extreme cold and strong enough to drag heavy sleds across the frozen wastes of the \JArctic\j.
Records reveal that Alaskan Malamutes sometimes carried packs as heavy as 50 pounds (22.5 kg). It is likely that the Alaskan \JMalamute\j is a direct descendant of the boreal wolf. The present-\Jday\j characteristics of stockiness and muscularity have been selectively bred over the generations, while the Alaskan Malamutes' other traits of stamina and height can still be seen in its ancestor, the wolf.
The modern-\Jday\j use of motor sleds has meant that the Alaskan \JMalamute\j is now called to be a sled dog only during displays and competitions. Yet this incredible dog is still loved by the people of the \JArctic\j Circle, as it provides both protection for their property and excellent companionship for their families.
\BPhysical characteristics:\b
The Alaskan \JMalamute\j is a large solid-looking dog that resembles a very stocky wolf. \IHeight:\i 21 - 28 in (55 - 71 cm). \IWeight:\i 85 - 125 lb (38.6 - 56.7 kg). Small upright ears are set far back on a proportionately large and broad head. The small triangular eyes are deep-set and fix you with a penetrating gaze over a thick muzzle containing powerful jaws.
The muscular body slopes straight back from high shoulders towards rugged thighs. A thick bushy tail is carried high and curved over the back. The Alaskan \JMalamute\j has a double coat: the inner coat is thick and woolly and covered by a coarse outer coat. The most common coat colors are usually light gray or black and white.
\BBehavior:\b
As an adult, the Alaskan \JMalamute\j is a tall dog, and so is usually also very confident. The Alaskan \JMalamute\j is normally good-natured with other dogs and can be extremely playful, although owners should be aware that other smaller dogs can sometimes become fearful and aggressive the first time they meet an Alaskan \JMalamute\j. However, once they see the \JMalamute\j remaining calm, the fear goes away.
When you look into the eyes of an Alaskan \JMalamute\j you are met with the steady gaze of a very intelligent dog. This dog has a tenacious spirit that allows it to overcome many difficulties in life. Its keen sense of hearing makes it an excellent watch-dog, and its size and power means it really can act as a true guard dog.
If you intend to keep your Alaskan \JMalamute\j around people, then the dog must be adequately socialized. The dog must be allowed to learn that people are not harmful to it, and should also not be pushed around. The Alaskan \JMalamute\j can make a wonderful family dog if it is kept under strict control from the beginning. Care should be taken that the dog does not accidentally knock over small children, and rough play should be inhibited.
As this dog thrives on the attention it receives from people, it can be readily trained and most certainly enjoys the work. This intelligent dog requires the stimulation of regular activities and exercise to maintain it in peak condition.
Traditionally, this dog has been kept in cold or temperate climates where it still often prefers to sleep outside. Where this dog is kept in hotter climates, it should only be given intensive or sustained exercise during the cooler parts of the \Jday\j so as to avoid heat exhaustion.
If the Alaskan \JMalamute\j is exercised regularly it will require quite a lot of food to keep it in top form. Usually an Alaskan \JMalamute\j which receives little exercise will moderate its own diet, and leftover food should be discarded. The thick double coat should be brushed several times a week to keep it in top form, especially when molting. The Alaskan \JMalamute\j is rarely ill and makes an excellent companion.
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#
"Alastor",738,0,0,0
PN [a\Blas\btaw(r)]
EN In Greek \Jmythology\j, an avenging demon or power. The name was used by Shelley as the title of a poem outlining a myth of his own making, in which a young poet is led through various symbolic states and ultimately to destruction.
BK a
#
"Alaudidae",739,0,0,0
EN \BLarks\b
Larks (family \JAlaudidae\j, order Passeriformes, suborder Oscines) are small, brown, unobtrusive birds of open country. They rarely perch in trees except, in some species, to sing. They range in size from about 11-20 cm. In shape and proportions they much resemble sparrows and many other small songbirds, and their distinguishing characteristics are not obvious to casual examination. Despite their unassuming appearance they are in fact quite distinct, and have no close living relatives.
Among their anatomical peculiarities is a lack of an ossified pessulus in the syrinx, and their legs are unique in bearing scutes (scales) both front and back; like pipits and wagtails (family \JMotacillidae\j), their hind claws are extremely long, sharp, and almost straight.
Most larks are brown in plumage, variably streaked with black, and many are extremely difficult to tell apart (their songs, however, are strongly species-specific). Males usually resemble females and young birds resemble adults. Most species are territorial when nesting but form flocks in winter, though they do not roost communally.
More than half of all lark species are confined to Africa, and many other species migrate or visit there. Larks are also common across Europe and Asia, but only one species (the Singing Bushlark \IMirafra\i \Ijavanica)\i reaches \JAustralia\j, and only one (the Horned Lark \IEremophila\i \Ialpestris)\i inhabits North or \JSouth America\j.
All larks are terrestrial, inhabiting open country of all kinds, including prairies, deserts, steppes, and \Jtundra\j. Where species are numerous, partitioning often involves degrees of tolerance to the density of trees. In Europe, for example, Woodlarks \ILullula\i \Iarborea\i and Skylarks \IAlauda\i \Iarvensis\i often occur in the same region: the former favors scattered trees but the latter tends to shun them.
In the patterns of their movements larks range the spectrum of possibilities from highly sedentary species to long-distance migrants. The Horned Lark, for example, nests throughout the \JArctic\j \Jtundra\j (its breeding distribution is so enormous that it may be among the world's most numerous birds), but migrates to spend the winter across \JNorth America\j and southern Eurasia. In the tropics, insectivorous species tend to be sedentary, whereas seed-eaters are often strongly nomadic.
Nesting is usually seasonal in temperate species but many desert forms breed after rain. Larks form monogamous pairs, and displays usually take the form of complex songs uttered in display-flights of various kinds. All larks nest on the ground, usually in a simple shallow scrape lined with grass, and often in the shade of a tussock or a stone. A number of species of \IMirafra\i differ in building domed nests.
Tropical species usually lay 2-3 eggs but those nesting in temperate or \JArctic\j regions usually lay four. Both incubation and fledging periods are usually about 10-12 days. In most species only the female incubates but in others the male assists; both sexes participate in rearing the young, which usually leave the nest several days before they can fly.
BK wan
#
"Alawada Theatre",740,0,0,0
EN see Adejumo, Moses Olaiya
BK Thea
#
"Alawi",741,0,0,0
PN [a\Blah\bwee]
EN Moroccan royal family, tracing their line to the grandson of the \JProphet\j Mohammed, Hasan bin Ali, from which they derive their name.
BK a
#
"Alawi (Islam)",742,0,0,0
EN Offshoot sect of Shiite \JIslam\j, found mainly in the north-west mountains of \JSyria\j, as well as in \JLebanon\j and Turkey. Persecuted over the centuries for their heterodox beliefs, the Alawis have observed the outward forms of Sunni \JIslam\j while observing their own rites in secret.
In \JSyria\j, where the Alawis (also known as \BNusayris)\b represent some 6% of the total population, members of the sect have advanced through the military and the Baath Party to head the national government, particularly since the presidency of Hafez al-Asad (1971-) , an \JAlawi\j.
BK a
#
"Alba Iulia",743,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bba \Byool\bya]
EN 46░04N 23░33E, pop (1995e) 74 000. Capital of Alba county, WC \JRomania\j, on the R Mures; founded by the Romans, 2nd-cAD;former seat of the princes of \JTransylvania\j; railway; wine trade, footwear, soap, furniture; 12th-c Romanesque church, Bathyaneum building.
BK Geog99
#
"Alba, Duke of",744,0,0,0
EN See Alva or Alba, Ferdinand Alvarez de Toledo, duque d'(Duke of)
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#
"Albacete",745,0,0,0
PN [alba\Bthay\btay]
EN 30░00N 1░50W, pop (1995e) 130 000. Capital of \JAlbacete\j province, Castilla-La Mancha, SE \JSpain\j; 251 km/156 mi SE of Madrid; bishopric; railway; footwear; clothing, tools, wine, flour, cutlery, souvenir knives; cathedral (16th-c); fairs and fiestas (Sep).
BK Geog99
#
"albacore",746,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bbakaw(r)]
EN Large \Jtuna\j fish \I(Thunnus alalunga)\i with long pectoral fins, widespread in open waters of tropical and warm temperate seas; length up to 1.3┐m / 4 1/4┐ft, with an iridescent blue band on sides of body; extensively fished commercially, and much prized by sea anglers. \B(Family:\b Scombridae.)
BK a
#
"Alban, St",747,0,0,0
PN [\Bawl\bbn]
DT1 3
DT1b rd-c
EN Roman soldier, venerated as the first Christian martyr in Britain. A pagan Romano-Briton living in the town of \JVerulamium\j (now St Albans), he was scourged and beheaded AD c.305 for sheltering and changing clothes with a fugitive Christian priest who had converted him. Feast \Jday\j 17 or 20 June.
SX m
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#
"Albani, Francesco",748,0,0,0
PN [al\Bbah\bnee]
DT1 1578
DT2 1660
EN Painter of the Bolognese school, born in \JBologna\j, \JItaly\j. He studied first under Denis Calvaert (c.1540-1619), and afterwards under Ludovico Carracci. He painted about 45 altarpieces, but most of his work deals with mythological or pastoral subjects.
MEX Carracci
SX m
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#
"Albania",749,0,0,0
EN A Republic in the W part of the Balkan Peninsula, divided into 26 districts (\Irrethet\i); pop (1995e) 3 549 000, coastline 418 km/260 mi; area 28 748 sq km/11 097 sq mi; timezone GMT +1; capital, Tiranδ; other chief towns, Shkodδr, Durrδs, Vlorδ, Korcδ, Elbasan; unit of currency the lek (100 qintars); mainly Albanians (96%), some Greeks, Vlachs, Gypsies, and Bulgarians; language, Albanian; population mainly Muslim in origin, with some Orthodox and Catholic Christians.
\IPhysical description and climate\i. A mountainous country, relatively inaccessible and untravelled; N \JAlbanian\j Alps rise to 2692 m/8832 ft; rivers include the Drin, Shkumbin, Seman, Vijosδ; many lakes throughout the country; Mediterranean-type climate; hot and dry on the plains in summer (average Jul 24--25░C), thunderstorms frequent; mild, damp, and cyclonic winters (average Jan 8--9░C); winters in the mountains often severe, with snow cover lasting several months; annual mountain precipitation exceeds 1000 mm/40 in.
\IHistory and government\i. Independence followed the end of Turkish rule in 1912, but Italian forces occupied the country, 1914--20; became a republic in 1925, and a monarchy in 1928, under Zog I; occupied by \JGermany\j and \JItaly\j in World War 2; new republic in 1946, headed by Enver Hoxha (until 1985); dispute with the \JSoviet Union\j in 1961; withdrew from Warsaw Pact in 1968; maintained close links with China; Socialist People's Republic instituted in 1976; first free multi-party elections, March 1991; worsening economic and political circumstances led to Government of National Stability, June 1991; \JAlbanian\j Labour Party renamed Socialist Party of Albania at 10th Congress, June 1991; supreme legislative body is the single-chamber People's Assembly of 140 deputies; election by universal suffrage every four years; Assembly elects the Presidium, and forms the government (the Council of Ministers).
\IEconomy\i. The seventh 5-year plan (1981--5) particularly concerned industrial expansion, especially in oil (chiefly at Kucova, where a pipeline connects with the port of Vlorδ), mining, chemicals, \Jnatural gas\j; hydroelectric power plants on several rivers; agricultural product processing, textiles, oil products, cement; main crops wheat, sugar-beet, \Jmaize\j, potatoes, fruit, grapes, oats.
BK Geog99
#
"Albanian",750,0,0,0
EN The official language of \JAlbania\j, spoken also by substantial numbers in neighbouring regions of Yugoslavia, \JGreece\j, and \JItaly\j - in all, some 3 million speakers. It is an idiosyncratic development within the Indo-European group, with no written records earlier than the 15th-c, and much interference with its present-\Jday\j structure from substantial word-borrowing.
BK a
#
"Albany (Australia)",751,0,0,0
EN 34░57S 117░54E, pop (1995e) 19 900. Resort and seaport in Lower Great Southern statistical division, Western \JAustralia\j; one of the oldest towns in \JAustralia\j, founded in 1826; once used as a stopover point for vessels on their way to India; airfield; railway; canning, wool, agricultural trade.
BK Geog99
#
"Albany (USA)",752,0,0,0
EN 42░39N 73░45W, pop (1995e) 103 000. Capital of New York State in Albany Co, E New York, USA; on the Hudson R, 232 km/144 mi N of New York City; the second oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the 13 original colonies, settled by the Dutch, 1624; state capital, 1797; railway; two universities (1844, 1848); State Capitol, Schuyler Mansion; annual Tulip Festival.
BK Geog99
#
"Albany Congress",753,0,0,0
EN (1754) A US colonial gathering of delegates at which Benjamin Franklin proposed a 'plan of union' for the separate British colonies. Both the colonial governments and the British authorities rejected the idea.
BK a
#
"Albany Regency",754,0,0,0
EN A US political faction centred on Martin Van Buren (president, 1837-41), and on the city of Albany, NY, which he made his power base. It was notorious for its use of the 'spoils system' of filling public office.
EN Wife of Charles Edward Stuart ('\JBonnie Prince Charlie\j'), the daughter of Prince Gustavus Adolphus of Stolberg. In 1772 she married the ageing Prince Charles in Florence. She left him in 1780 and the marriage was dissolved in 1784, whereupon she took up with the Italian playwright, Count Vittorio Alfieri. After his death in 1803 she lived with a French painter, Francois Fabre.
MEX Alfieri; Stuart, Charles
SX f
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#
"albatross",756,0,0,0
EN A large, slender-winged seabird, wingspan up to 3┐m / 10┐ft; glides near \Jwater\j in air currents; lands only to breed. \B(Order:\b Procellariiformes \B(tubenoses).\b \BFamily:\b \JDiomedeidae\j, 14 species.)
BK a
#
"albedo",757,0,0,0
PN [al\Bbee\bdoh]
EN The ratio of the radiation reflected by a surface to the total incoming solar radiation, expressed as a decimal or percentage. The degree of \Jreflectance\j varies according to the type of surface: snow-covered ice has an \Jalbedo\j of 0..8 (80%), a dry sandy desert 0..37 (37%), a tropical \Jrainforest\j 0..13 (13%). The average planetary \Jalbedo\j is close to 0..3 (30%).
BK a
#
"Albee, Edward (Franklin)",758,0,0,0
PN [\Bawl\bbee, \Bal\bbee]
DT1 1928
EN Playwright, born near Washington, District of Columbia, USA. He studied at Trinity College, CT, and at Columbia University. His major works include \IThe Zoo Story\i (1958), a one-act duologue on the lack of communication in modern society, \IThe American Dream\i (1960), and \IWho's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?\i (1962, filmed 1966), which won several awards. \IA Delicate Balance\i (1966), \ISeascape\i (1975), and \IThree Tall Women\i (1991) won Pulitzer Prizes. Other plays include \IWalking\i (1982), \IMarriage Play\i (1988), and \IFragments\i (1993).
\BMajor Works\b
\IPlays\
1958 The Zoo Story
1959 The Death of Bessie Smith
1959 The Sandbox
1960 The American Dream
1962 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
1963 The Ballad of the Sad CafΘ (adapted from Carson McCullers' novel)
1964 Tiny Alice
1965 Malcolm (adapted from James Purdy's novel)
1966 A Delicate Balance
1968 Box
1968 Quotations from Mao-Tse Tung
1971 All Over
1975 Seascape
1975 Listening
1976 Counting the Ways
1978 The Lady from Dubuque
1979 Lolita (adapted from V Nabakov)
1981 The Man Who Had Three Arms
1982 Finding the Sun
1982 Walking
1988 Marriage Play
1991 Three Tall Women
1992 The Lorca Play
1993 Fragments
BK Biog99
#
"Albee, Edward F.",759,0,0,0
EN see \Jvaudeville\j
BK Thea
#
"Albee, Fred (Houdlette)",760,0,0,0
DT (1876-1945)
EN orthopedic surgeon; born in Alna, Maine. Starting in 1906 in New York, he pioneered the techniques of bone grafting. By 1911, he had perfected techniques for fusing tubercular vertebrae without using metal. He invented machine tools for his operations (1912). His techniques found widespread use during World War I. After the war, he turned his attention to victims of industrial accidents in New York and \JNew Jersey\j.
BK AmBg
#
"AlbΘniz, Isaac (Manuel Francisco)",761,0,0,0
PN [al\Bbe\bnith]
DT1 1860
DT2 1909
EN Composer and pianist, born in Camprod≤n, \JSpain\j. He studied under Liszt, and became a brilliant pianist and composer of picturesque works for \Jpiano\j based on Spanish folk music, notably \IIberia\i (1906-9). He also wrote several operas.
MEX Liszt
SX m
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#
"Alberoni, Giulio",762,0,0,0
PN [albe\Broh\bnee]
DT1 1664
DT2 1752
EN Spanish statesman and cardinal, born in Firenzuola, \JItaly\j. He became prime minister of \JSpain\j and was made a cardinal in 1717. His domestic policies were liberal and wise, but in foreign affairs his decisions were often impetuous and irresponsible. He violated the Treaty of \JUtrecht\j by invading \JSardinia\j, and was subsequently confronted by the Quadruple Alliance of England, \JFrance\j, \JAustria\j, and Holland, resulting in the destruction of the Spanish fleet. Dismissed in 1719, he returned to \JItaly\j.
SX m
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#
"Albers, Josef",763,0,0,0
DT (1888-1976)
EN painter; born in Bottrop, \JGermany\j. In 1933, fleeing from Nazism, he emigrated to America to continue his teaching career at Black Mountain College, \JNorth Carolina\j (1933-49), and at Yale University (1950-60). A series of paintings, \IHomage to the Square,\i reveals his fascination with color relationships. He was influential in introducing the Bauhaus art school concepts from \JGermany\j, which stressed craftsmanship and a functional approach to design.
BK AmBg
#
"Albert I",764,0,0,0
DT1 1875
DT2 1934
EN King of the Belgians (1909-34), born in Brussels, the younger son of Philip, Count of Flanders. At the outbreak of World War 1 he refused a German demand for the free passage of their troops, and after a heroic resistance led the Belgian army in retreat to Flanders. He commanded the Belgian and French army in the final offensive on the Belgian coast in 1918. After the war he took an active part in the industrial reconstruction of the country.
SX m
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#
"Albert Medal",765,0,0,0
EN In the UK, a civilian decoration, instituted in 1866 to commemorate the Prince Consort (1819-61), to reward gallantry in saving life. In October 1971 all surviving holders of the medal exchanged it for the George Cross.
BK a
#
"Albert Nile",766,0,0,0
EN Upper reach of the River Nile in north-west \JUganda\j; issues from the north-east corner of Lake Albert, close to the Victoria Nile Delta; flows north-east into the \JSudan\j; known in \JSudan\j as the Bahr el Jebel until its meeting point with the Bahr el Ghazal to form the White Nile.
BK a
#
"Albert, Abraham Adrian",767,0,0,0
DT (1905-72)
EN mathematician; born in \JChicago\j. Known primarily for his work with associative and nonassociative algebras and Riemann matrices, this National Academy of Science member chaired the University of \JChicago\j \JMathematics\j Department (1958-62), fought for government funding of math (1950s-60s), and was vice- president of the International Mathematical Union (1971).
BK AmBg
#
"Albert, Carl (Bert)",768,0,0,0
DT1 1908
EN US politician, born in North McAlester, Oklahoma, USA. He studied at the universities of Oklahoma and Oxford, then practised as a lawyer in Oklahoma. He became a Democratic member of the US \JHouse of Representatives\j (1947--77), and as majority leader (from 1962) created an alliance between Northern liberals and Southern "boll weevils' to ensure the passage of President Johnson's Great Society legislation.
In 1968, he presided over the disastrous Democratic convention, ruling against the delegates opposed to the war in Vietnam. Speaker of the House in 1971, he finally voted against the war in 1973. He retired in 1977.
BK Biog99
#
"Albert, Eugen (Francis Charles) d'",769,0,0,0
PN [albair]
DT1 1864
DT2 1932
EN Pianist and composer, born in Glasgow, W Scotland, UK. He composed several operas, notably, \ITiefland\i (1903), a suite, a symphony, many songs, and much music for the \Jpiano\j.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Albert, First Duke of Prussia",770,0,0,0
DT1 1490
DT2 1568
EN Last grand master of the Teutonic Order and first duke of \JPrussia\j, the younger son of the Margrave of Ansbach. Elected grand master in 1511, he embraced the Reformation, and declared himself duke following the advice of Martin Luther.
MEX Luther
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Albert, Heinrich",771,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bbert]
DT1 1604
DT2 51
EN Composer, born in Lobenstein, \JGermany\j. After studying at \JLeipzig\j, he became organist in K÷nigsberg (1631). He did much to develop \ILieder,\i and composed many airs, songs, chorales, and hymn tunes.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Albert, known as Albert the Bold",772,0,0,0
HS , known as \BAlbert the Bold\b
DT1 1443
DT2 1500
EN Duke of \JSaxony\j, the son of Frederick the Gentle. He was joint ruler with his brother Ernest from 1464 until 1485 when, by the Treaty of \JLeipzig\j, they divided their inheritance between them. The two branches of the Wettin family then became known as the \IAlbertine\i and \IErnestine\i lines.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Albert, known as the Bear",773,0,0,0
HS , known as \Bthe Bear\b
DT1a c.
DT1 1100
DT2 70
EN Count of Ballenstδdt from 1123, and founder of the House of Ascania which ruled in Brandenburg for 200 years. In 1134, in return for service in \JItaly\j, he was invested by Emperor Lothar III with extensive lands between the Elbe and the Oder.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Albert, Lake",774,0,0,0
HS , Zaire \BLake Mobuto SΘsΘ Seko\b
EN area c.6400┐km\U2\u / 2500┐mi\U2\u. Lake in EC Africa; in the W Rift Valley on the frontier between Zaire and \JUganda\j; length, c.160┐km / 100┐mi; width, 40┐km / 25┐mi; altitude, 619┐m / 2031┐ft; receives the Victoria Nile (north-east) and Semliki (south-west) Rivers; Albert Nile flows N; European discovery by Samuel Baker, 1864; originally named after Queen Victoria's consort.
BK a
#
"Albert, Prince",775,0,0,0
HS , in full \BFrancis Albert Augustus Charles Emmanuel, Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha\b
DT1 1819
DT2 61
EN Prince Consort to Queen Victoria, born at Schloss Rosenau, near Coburg, \JGermany\j, the younger son of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Louisa, daughter of the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Altenburg. He studied in Brussels and \JBonn\j, and in 1840 married his first cousin, Queen Victoria - a marriage that became a lifelong love match. Ministerial distrust and public misgivings because of his German connections limited his political influence, although his counsel was usually judicious and far-sighted.
He planned and managed the \JGreat Exhibition\j of 1851, whose profits enabled the building of museum sites in South Kensington and the Royal Albert Hall (1871). He died of typhoid in 1861, occasioning a long period of seclusion by his widow. The Albert Memorial in Kensington Gardens was erected to his memory in 1871.
MEX Victoria
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"Alberta",776,0,0,0
EN pop (1995e) 2 702 000; area 661 190 sq km/255 285 sq mi. Province in W Canada, bordered S by the USA; mainly a rolling plain, with edge of Rocky Mts in W; rivers, lakes, and forests in N, with much open prairie; treeless prairie in S; drained (N) by Peace, Slave, and Athabasca Rivers, and (S) by North Saskatchewan, Red Deer, and Bow Rivers (S); largest lakes, Athabasca, Claire, Lesser Slave; several national parks; capital, \JEdmonton\j; other chief cities, \JCalgary\j, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat; oil, \Jnatural gas\j, grain, \Jcattle\j, timber products, \Jcoal\j, food processing, chemicals, fabricated metals, tourism; originally part of Rupert's Land, granted to Hudson's Bay Company, 1670; sovereignty acquired by the Dominion, 1869; status as province, 1905; governed by a lieutenant-governor and an elected 83-member Legislative Assembly.
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"Albertazzi, Giorgio",777,0,0,0
DT 1925-
EN Italian actor and director. He began his career as an actor in the early 1940s, and became internationally known in films like L'annΘe derniΦre α Marienbad and Morte di un bandito. He is a strong lead player with an impressive stage presence. Among his major roles in classic drama have been Shakespeare's Hamlet, Macbeth and Richard III (the last in his own version, most recently in 1988), Pirandello's Enrico IV and Ibsen's Peer Gynt (1988).
He has directed in theatre and film and, since 1985, with Lucia di Lammermoor, for the musical stage. He has supported the work of modern foreign dramatists on the Italian stage, most recently directing the Italian premiere of Arnold Wesker's Letter to a Daughter (1993).
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"Alberti, Domenico",778,0,0,0
PN [al\Bbair\btee]
DT1a c.
DT1 1710
DT2 40
EN Composer, born in \JVenice\j, \JItaly\j. His music is almost entirely forgotten, but he is remembered as the inventor of the \IAlberti bass,\i common in 18th-c keyboard music, in which accompanying chords are split up into figurations based upon each chord's lowest note.
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"Alberti, Leon Battista",779,0,0,0
PN [al\Bbair\btee]
DT1 1404
DT2 72
EN Architect, born in \JGenoa\j, \JItaly\j. Influenced by Vitruvius Pollio, he wrote \IDe re aedificatoria\i (10 vols, 1485), which stimulated interest in antique Roman \Jarchitecture\j. His own designs, which include the churches of S Francesco at Rimini and S Maria \JNovella\j at Florence, are among the best examples of the pure Classical style. One of the most brilliant figures of the Renaissance, he was also skilled as a musician, painter, poet, and philosopher.
MEX Rossellino, Bernardo; Vitruvius
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"Albertina",780,0,0,0
EN An art gallery founded in 1768 by Duke Albert of \JSaxony\j-Tescha. Since 1795 it has been housed in the former Taroucca Palace in Vienna. Its holdings include a vast collection of graphic material.
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"Albertus Magnus, St, Graf von (Count of) BollstΣdt",781,0,0,0
HS , known as \BDoctor Universalis\b ('Universal Doctor')
DT1a c.
DT1 1200
DT2 80
EN Philosopher, bishop, and doctor of the Church, born in Lauingen, \JGermany\j. In 1254 he became provincial of the Dominicans in \JGermany\j, and in 1260 was named Bishop of Ratisbon. Of his works the most notable are the \ISumma theologiae\i and the \ISumma de creaturis.\i
He excelled all his contemporaries in the breadth of his learning, and did more than anyone to bring about that union of \Jtheology\j and Aristotelianism which is the basis of scholasticism. He was canonized in 1931 and named a doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XI. Thomas Aquinas was his most famous pupil. Feast \Jday\j 15 November.
MEX Aquinas; Aristotle
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"Albery, James",782,0,0,0
DT 1838-89
EN English playwright. His one outstanding success, Two Roses (1870), established Henry Irving as a star. Charles Wyndham got Albery to adapt the saucy marital \Jfarce\j Les Dominos Roses into The Pink Dominos (1877). Where's the Cat? (1880) was a disappointment for the critics, who ruined Albery's talent by expecting too much of it.
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"Albigenses",783,0,0,0
PN [albi\Bjen\bseez]
HS or \BAlbigensians\b
EN Followers of a form of \JChristianity\j which in the 11th-c and 12th-c especially had its main strength in the town of Albi, south-west \JFrance\j. It was derived from 3rd-c followers of the Persian religious teacher, Mani, whose ideas gradually spread along trade routes to Europe, especially \JItaly\j and \JFrance\j.
Also known as \BCathari\b or \BBogomils,\b they believed life on Earth to be a struggle between good (spirit) and evil (matter). In extreme cases, they were rigidly ascetic, with marriage, food, and procreation all condemned. They believed in the transmigration of souls. Condemned by the Roman \JCatholic Church\j, they were devastated in the early 13th-c crusade against them, which also broke down the distinctive civilization of \JProvence\j, \JFrance\j.
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"Albin, Eleazar",784,0,0,0
DT1 ?
DT2 1759
EN English naturalist and \Jwater\j-colourist, who published the first book on British birds with coloured plates. His works include \IThe History of Insects\i (1720), illustrated with his own metal engravings, and \IA Natural History of British Birds\i (3 vols, 1731-8).
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"albinism",785,0,0,0
EN A common inherited pigmentary disorder of vertebrates: affected individuals lack pigmentation of the skin, hair, eyes (iris), feathers, or scales. The disorder can be harmful, as the missing \Jpigments\j protect against sunlight and / or provide camouflage against predators. Albinism is found in all human races: the absence of pigment (or \Imelanin)\i results in white hair, pink skin, and pink irises. Varying degrees of non-pigmentation occur.
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"albino horse",786,0,0,0
EN A breed of horse; white with pale blue or brown eyes; developed in USA by deliberately cross-breeding naturally occurring albino individuals of other breeds.
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"Albinoni, Tomasso (Giovanni)",787,0,0,0
PN [albi\Bnoh\bnee]
DT1 1671
DT2 1751
EN Composer, born in \JVenice\j, \JItaly\j. He wrote 48 operas, and a number of concertos which have been revived in recent times. He was one of the first composers to write concertos for solo violin.
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"Albinus",788,0,0,0
EN See Alcuin
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"Albizu Campos, Pedro",789,0,0,0
DT (1891-1964)
EN revolutionary; born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. Educated at Harvard (B.S. 1916, LL.B. 1923), he joined the Nationalist Party in 1924 and was the most prominent \Iindependentista\i of his time. He was jailed from 1936-47 for advocating the violent overthrow of the U.S. administration of Puerto Rico.
He masterminded a 1950 nationalist uprising in Puerto Rico and was accused of being behind the October 31, 1950, assassination attempt on President Truman at Blair House. After he was sentenced to prison for 53 years, Governor Luis Mu±oz Marφn offered him a conditional pardon in 1953, but withdrew it after the nationalist attack on the U.S. \JHouse of Representatives\j the next year. Campos spent his final years in prison.
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"Alboin",790,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bboyn]
DT1 ?
DT2 574
EN King of the Lombards in Pannonia from 561. He fought against the \JOstrogoths\j, and slew Kunimond, King of the Gepids in 566, marrying his daughter Rosamond. In 568 he invaded \JItaly\j, subdued it as far as the Tiber, and made his capital at \JPavia\j.
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"Albrechtsberger, Johann Georg",791,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bbrekhtsberger]
DT1 1736
DT2 1809
EN Composer and writer on musical theory, born in Klosterneuburg, \JAustria\j. He became court organist at Vienna and chapel master of St Stephen's. Hummel and Beethoven were among his pupils.
MEX Beethoven; Hummel
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"Albright, Horace Marden",792,0,0,0
DT (1890-1987)
EN conservationist, business executive; born in Bishop, Calif. The son of a millwright, he obtained a law degree from the University of \JCalifornia\j and was admitted to the bar in 1914. In 1916, as an official of the U.S. Department of the Interior, he helped found the National Park Service.
He served as superintendent of \JYellowstone\j National Park from 1919-29 and in 1929 became the second director of the park service. He resigned in 1933 to start a second career in business, as vice-president and general manager of the United States \JPotash\j Co. He rose to president of the company in 1946.
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"Albright, Ivan (Le Lorraine)",793,0,0,0
DT (1897-1983)
EN painter; born in North Harvey, Ill. He studied at the Art Institute of \JChicago\j (1920-23) and lived in various places until settling in Woodstock, Vt. A former medical draftsman, he drew on this background, both in his preoccupation with decay and in his paintings' macabre surrealistic details - as in \IThat Which I Should Have Done I Did Not Do\i (1931-32). He attained his widest exposure from the painting that was the centerpiece of the movie, \IThe Picture of Dorian Gray\i (1945).
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"Albright, Madeleine K(orbel)",794,0,0,0
DT1 1937
EN US \Jsecretary of state\j (from 1997), born in \JCzechoslovakia\j. Formerly permanent US representative to the UN, in the second Clinton administration she became the first women to head the State Department.
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"Albright, W(illiam) F(oxwell)",795,0,0,0
DT (1891-1971)
EN archaeologist, biblical scholar; born in Coquimbo, \JChile\j. Son of missionaries, he came to the U.S.A. at age 12. He directed the American School of Oriental Research, \JJerusalem\j (1920-29, 1933-36), and taught at Johns Hopkins (1929-58). An authority on biblical languages and commentator on the Dead Sea scrolls, he brought archaeology and linguistics to bear on biblical studies, identified numerous biblical villages during many Middle Eastern expeditions, and authored 800 publications.
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"Albufeira",796,0,0,0
PN [albu\Bfay\bra]
EN 37░05N 8░15W, pop (1995e) 25 500. Fishing village and resort, Faro district, S \JPortugal\j; 38 km/24 mi W of Faro, in a bay on the S coast; figs, almonds, tourism; Moorish-style \Jarchitecture\j; \JPortugal\j's busiest seaside resort.
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"Albumazar or Abu-Mashar",797,0,0,0
PN [albuma\Bzah\b(r)]
DT1 787
DT2 885
EN Astronomer and astrologer, born in Balkh, \JAfghanistan\j. He spent much of his life in \JBaghdad\j, where he became the leading astrologer of his \Jday\j, and his books were widely circulated.
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"albumins",798,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bbyuminz]
EN Part of a system of classification of simple proteins, usually referring to those that are readily soluble in \Jwater\j and in dilute salt solutions. They are present in most animals and plants. Two important \Jalbumins\j are serum albumin (in blood), and lactalbumin (in milk).
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"Albuquerque",799,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bbuhkerkee]
EN 35░05N 106░39W, pop (1995e) 428 000. Seat of Bernalillo Co, C New Mexico, USA, on the Rio Grande; largest city in the state; settled, 1706; later a military post during the Mexican War, 1846--70; city status, 1890; airport; railway; two universities (1889, 1940); agricultural trade, \Jelectronics\j, processed foods; base for many federal agencies (eg Atomic Energy Commission); health resort; tourism; church of San Felipe de Neri (1706), the Old Town Plaza, National Atomic Museum; Feria Artesana (Aug), International Balloon Fiesta (Oct).
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#
"Albuquerque, Affonso d'",800,0,0,0
PN [alboo\Bker\bkay]
HS , known as \BAffonso the Great\b
DT1 1453
DT2 1515
EN Portuguese viceroy of the Indies, born near \JLisbon\j. He landed on the Malabar coast in 1502, conquered \JGoa\j (1510), and established the basis of the Portuguese East Indies. He established a reputation for his wisdom and fairness, but was replaced peremptorily by the king in 1515.
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#
"Alcaeus",801,0,0,0
PN [al\Bsee\bus]
DT1a c.
DT1 620
DT2a c.
DT2 580
DT2b BC
EN One of the greatest Greek lyric poets. He lived at Mytilene on the island of Lesbos, and was a contemporary of Sappho. He was the first exponent of the so-called \IAlcaic\i four-lined stanza, which was named after him. Of the ten books of odes he is said to have composed, only fragments now remain.
MEX Sappho
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"Alcamenes",802,0,0,0
PN [al\Bkam\beneez]
DT1 5
DT1b th-c BC
EN Greek sculptor, the pupil and rival of Phidias. A Roman copy of his '\JAphrodite\j' is in the Louvre.
MEX Phidias
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"Alcazar",803,0,0,0
PN [al\Bka\bzah(r)]
EN The name of several palaces built by the Moors in cities of S \JSpain\j. In 1936 the \JAlcazar\j of Toledo was the scene of a protracted siege during the Spanish \JCivil War\j.
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"Alcedinidae",804,0,0,0
EN \BRiver kingfishers\b
The \JAlcedinidae\j (order Coraciiformes) are one of the three families of kingfishers (the others are \JHalcyonidae\j and Cerylidae) and, like the \JHalcyonidae\j, are confined to the Old World. A typical member of this family is a small, solitary, brightly-colored, silent, and inconspicuous forest waterside bird that spends much of its time, intent and motionless, on a low perch a meter or so above the surface, scanning the water below for fish. When changing hunting perches it flies, low and bullet-like, and usually follows minutely the course of its home stream or river.
There are perhaps 24 species arranged in three genera: \IAlcedo\i (about 16 species), \ICeyx\i (5 species), and \IIspidina\i (3 species).
Most members of the \Jgenus\j \IAlcedo\i are about the size of the familiar Common or River Kingfisher \IAlcedo atthis\i of Europe-about 16 cm in length and 35-40 grams in weight, but members of both \ICeyx\i and \IIspidina\i are very much smaller.
River kingfishers have large heads; short and rounded wings; short tails; small feet; and long, straight, dagger-like bills. The syndactylous feet have three or four toes (the second is reduced or absent in some species). Anatomically, there is no caecum, and the feathers lack aftershafts. The bill is black in some species, bright red in others. The basic plumage pattern is similar in all species--brilliant blue above, and white or chestnut below.
Some species have a white loral spot just in front of the eye, and all have a conspicuous tuft of white feathers behind the ear. The sexes are similar in appearance; there is no seasonal variation, and juveniles differ from adults in being somewhat duller and a little shorter-billed.
The river kingfishers have an extensive distribution in the Old World, with the ranges of three especially common and closely related forms almost defining that of the family as a whole. The Common Kingfisher is found across Europe and Asia to \JJapan\j and the Solomon Islands; \IAlcedo semitorquata\i in most of Africa; and the Azure Kingfisher \IAlcedo azurea\i in \JAustralia\j.
Several species are very widespread but a few have very small distributions: the Sulawesi Kingfisher \ICeyx fallax,\i for example, is confined to Sulawesi, \JIndonesia\j. The \Jgenus\j \ICeyx\i is restricted to the Australasian and Oriental Regions, while \IIspidina\i occurs only in Africa and Madagascar. Many species inhabit streams in dense forest, but others occur in woodland, and some occur in a wide range of habitats from mangroves to paddyfields.
Few species are entirely migratory, but the River Kingfisher in northern Europe and Asia wanders as necessary to avoid frozen waterways in winter, and the Pygmy Kingfisher \IIspidina picta\i is a conspicuous migrant in South Africa.
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"Alcestis",805,0,0,0
PN [al\Bses\btis]
EN In Greek \Jmythology\j, the wife of Admetus; he was doomed to die, and she saved him by offering to die in his place. The action so impressed \JHeracles\j that he wrestled with the messenger of death and brought her back to life.
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"alchemy",806,0,0,0
EN The attempt from early times to find an elixir of immortal life. The first reference is by a Chinese Taoist in 140 BC, and a Chinese alchemical text dates from AD 142. The word \Ialchemy\i may be an Arabic derivative from Chinese, and the practice probably spread to Europe via Arab traders, where it was taken up by such scholars as Roger Bacon (1214-92).
Alchemists sought to convert base metals into gold - not to create wealth, but as a step towards discovering the recipe for eternity. Chinese Taoists initially sought an immortality pill through refining mercury sulphide: this led to many deaths, including Tang emperors. Later alchemists aimed to promote internal processes towards immortality.
Alchemists needed accurate scales, clocks, and \Jtemperature\j control. Their work thus facilitated important discoveries in chemistry, medicine, \Jmineralogy\j, and \Jpharmacology\j, including the development of natural drugs, experiments with \Jarsenic\j, copper, iron, lead and mercury, knowledge of dyeing, and (probably) the invention of fireworks and \Jgunpowder\j. They also discovered anaesthesia and distillation.
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"Alciatus, Andrea Alciato",807,0,0,0
PN [al\Bchah\btus]
DT1 1492
DT2 1550
EN Jurist, born in Milan, \JItaly\j. He was one of the leaders of legal \Jhumanism\j, and a correspondent of More and Erasmus.
MEX Erasmus; More, Thomas
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"Alcibiades",808,0,0,0
PN [alsi\Bbiy\badeez]
DT1a c.
DT1 450
DT2 404
DT2b BC
EN Athenian statesman and general, a member of the aristocratic Alcmaeonid family. A ward of \JPericles\j and a pupil of \JSocrates\j, he was a leader against Sparta in the Peloponnesian War, and a commander of the Sicilian expedition (415 BC). Recalled from there to stand trial for sacrilege, he fled to Sparta and gave advice which contributed substantially to \JAthens\j' defeat in \JSicily\j (413 BC) and her economic discomfiture at home.
Falling out with the Spartans in 412 BC, he began to direct Athenian operations in the E Aegean, and won several notable victories; but finding himself unjustly blamed for the Athenian defeat off Notium (406 BC), he went into voluntary exile, where he actively intrigued with the Persians until his assassination in 404 BC.
MEX \JPericles\j; \JSocrates\j; Thrasybulus
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"Alcidae",809,0,0,0
EN \BAuks\b
Auks (family \JAlcidae\j, order Charadriiformes) in many respects resemble miniature penguins, but the family is confined to seas and oceans of the Northern Hemisphere. Though they look very similar and have similar life-styles (especially in pursuing their prey like penguins using their wings as paddles to 'fly' underwater), they are not at all related.
A plethora of English names-including guillemot, puffin, murre, auklet, and several others-attaches to the group, leading to potential confusion that ornithologists usually attempt to avoid by using the name 'alcid' to refer to the family as a whole.
There are about 22 species, grouped among 10-14 genera. Their closest relatives are the gulls, from which, according to the \Jfossil\j record, they diverged some time during the Upper Cretaceous period nearly 100 million years ago.
Several species are enormously abundant, ranking among the most numerous seabirds in the Northern Hemisphere, and several alcid breeding colonies are veritable avian cities, numbering in the millions of nesting pairs.
Auks range in size from the tiny Least Auklet \IAethia pusilla,\i which is only about 14 cm long, to the Razorbill \IAlca torda,\i which is about 36 cm long and weighs about one kg. One species, the Great \JAuk\j \IPinguinus impennis,\i was much larger, weighing around five kg, but it became extinct last century (the last breeding pair was shot on a small rocky islet off the coast of \JIceland\j in June 1844).
The tail is very short, and the wings narrow and tapered. The wings are used for propulsion underwater and have a total area comparatively much smaller than that of most other flying birds, resulting in a characteristically 'whirring' flight style. The legs are short, the feet are webbed, and the hind toe is much reduced or absent. Bill forms vary widely, and in some species-notably the puffins-bear brightly colored plates while breeding, which fall off in winter. Several of the larger species-such as the Razorbill-molt their flight feathers simultaneously, so the birds are unable to fly for several weeks while new ones grow.
In plumage most species are black above, white below, but several are entirely black (some with bold white wing-patches), and some of the smaller auklets are largely brown in color. Many species have elongated plumes on the head in summer. Winter plumages often differ from breeding plumage in various ways, but a common feature is a white throat. The sexes are nearly identical, though males are usually slightly larger than females.
Auks are marine birds that come ashore only to breed. Many species nest in the high \JArctic\j, but the major center of diversity in the Bering Sea (where 18 species occur, 12 of which are endemic), though several species extend along the west coast of \JNorth America\j to Baja \JCalifornia\j.
In contrast to their diversity in the Bering Sea, only three species are endemic in the North Atlantic: the Little \JAuk\j \IAlle alle,\i the Atlantic Puffin \IFratercula arctica,\i and the Razorbill. All species are migratory to some extent, though many-such as guillemots and some auklets-do little more than disperse from their breeding colonies. Little Auks and several other species nesting in the high \JArctic\j move far southward to spend the winter along both coasts of \JNorth America\j and western Europe, where many reach the Bay of Biscay.
Auks nest in simple pairs, each partner cooperating fully in incubating the eggs and feeding the chick. Courtship often involves calling, displaying the brightly colored interior of the mouth, and various ritualized postures. Alcids are unique among all birds in the diversity of their nesting behavior: some nest in colonies on sea cliffs, on high narrow ledges or in rock crevices, but several-notably the puffins-nest in burrows and one species-the Marbled Murrelet-nests in trees.
Some colonies are enormous, and may contain as many as eight species breeding together. The black guillemots \I(Cepphus)\i and four small auklets (Xantus' Murrelet, Craveri's Murrelet, Ancient Murrelet \ISynthliboramphus antiquus\i and the rare Japanese Murrelet \ISynthliboramphus wumiausume)\i lay a clutch of two, but the puffins and auklets lay only one.
The eggs are very variable in color but many are markedly pyriform in shape; when moved they tend to roll in a circular path, which reduces the risk of rolling off the cliff ledge during incubation. The incubation and fledging periods vary widely according to species, but most eggs hatch at 28-35 days and chicks fledge from 18-40 days after hatching.
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"Alcindor, Lew",810,0,0,0
EN See Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem
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#
"Alcmaeon (mythology)",811,0,0,0
PN [alk\Bmee\bon]
EN In Greek \Jmythology\j, the son of Amphiaraos. To avenge his father's death, he killed his mother, and was pursued by the \JFuries\j until he came to a land which had not seen the Sun at the time of his mother's death; he found this recently-emerged land at the mouth of the River Achelous. He was commanded by Apollo to lead the expedition of the Epigoni against Thebes.
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#
"Alcmaeon, (of Croton)",812,0,0,0
PN [alk\Bmee\bon]
DT1 6
DT1b th-c BC
EN Greek physician and philosopher from Croton, \JItaly\j. The first recorded anatomist, he was the true discoverer of the Eustachian tubes, and a pioneer of embryology through anatomical dissection.
SX m
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#
"Alcmaeonids",813,0,0,0
PN [alk\Bmiy\bonidz]
EN An aristocratic Athenian family to which many prominent Athenian politicians belonged. It was particularly influential in the period 632-415 BC.
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#
"Alcman",814,0,0,0
DT1a fl.
DT1 620
DT1b BC
EN Greek lyric poet, probably born in Sardis, Lydia. The first to write erotic poetry, he composed in Doric \Jdialect\j the \IParthenia\i (songs sung by choruses of virgins), bridal hymns, and verses in praise of love and wine.
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"Alcock, Sir John William",815,0,0,0
DT1 1892
DT2 1919
EN Aviator, born in Manchester, Greater Manchester, north-west England, UK. He served as a captain in the Royal Naval Air Service in World War 1, then became a test pilot with Vickers \JAircraft\j. On 14 June 1919, with Arthur Whitten Brown as navigator, he piloted a Vickers-Vimy biplane non-stop from St John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Co \JGalway\j, Ireland, in a time of 16┐h 27┐min. Soon afterwards Alcock was killed in an aeroplane accident in \JFrance\j.
MEX Brown, Arthur
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#
"alcohol strength",816,0,0,0
EN The measurement of the amount of \Jethanol\j (the active constituent) in alcoholic drinks, commonly expressed using either volumetric measures or proof strength. The volumetric measure is becoming increasingly popular: this declares the volume of \Jethanol\j present in a unit volume of the alcoholic beverage; for example, an average red wine contains 12% by volume \Jethanol\j or 90 millilitres of \Jethanol\j per average bottle.
\IProof spirit\i is a mixture containing a standard amount of \Jethanol\j: in the UK it is 57..07% by volume, while in the USA it is 50%. Thus, a bottle of Scotch which claims to be 70░ proof is in fact 70% of 57..07% (volume), or 40% \Jethanol\j by volume.
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"Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)",817,0,0,0
EN A self-help group for alcoholics trying to stop drinking. Founded in the USA in 1935 by 'Bill W' (William Griffith Wilson, (1895-1971) and 'Dr Bob S' (Robert Holbrook Smith, 1879-1950), it consists of local groups where members (identified by first names only) meet to give each other support. There are more than a million members in 92 countries. In the early 1990s it influenced the development of several similar programmes for various types of dependencies.
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"alcoholism",818,0,0,0
EN An ambiguous term, for some implying a disease, for others a severe form of alcohol dependence. It is also used as a term of opprobrium relating to anyone who has continuing difficulties associated with excessive alcohol consumption. A major limitation of the term is that it suggests a dichotomy between abstinence and moderate drinking, on the one hand, and excessive and uncontrolled drinking, on the other.
'Alcohol abuse' can be found in all social classes, though there is evidence that those suffering from anxiety or depression are most susceptible, with a recent notable increase in the disease among housewives and the young and long-term unemployed.
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#
"alcohols",819,0,0,0
EN IUPAC \Balkanols.\b Generally organic compounds containing a hydroxyl (-OH) function bonded to a carbon atom which is not itself bonded to further atoms other than carbon or \Jhydrogen\j. When none or one of these atoms is carbon, the alcohol is called \Iprimary; \i with two or three carbon substituents, it is \Isecondary\i or \Itertiary\i respectively.
Compounds in which the hydroxyl group is bonded directly to an aromatic ring are called \Iphenols,\i and are not classed as alcohols. Characteristic reactions of alcohols include \Jdehydration\j to ethers, and reaction with acids to give esters. In everyday use, the word \Balcohol\b is often restricted to \Iethanol\i \B(\Jethyl\j alcohol),\b CH\D3\dCH\D2\dOH.
BK a
#
"Alcott, (Amos) Bronson",820,0,0,0
DT (1799-1888)
EN educator, mystic, author; born near Wolcott, Conn. (father of Louisa May Alcott). Largely self-educated, he became an itinerant teacher (1823-33) before settling in \JBoston\j to found his own school (1834). By this time he was a mystic and transcendentalist and his radical ideas of educating children - plus his acceptance of a black girl as a pupil - led to the failure of his school (1839). He settled in Concord, Mass., but after an 1842 trip to England, where a school (Alcott House) based on his theories had been set up, he returned to establish a utopian community, Fruitlands, outside \JBoston\j (1844).
Devoted to vegetarianism as well as to high thinking, the community failed within 8 months. He took his family back to Concord, and although he had to move about to teach and lecture, he spent most of the rest of his life there, the center of the transcendentalists. He was appointed superintendent of schools in Concord (1857) and he is credited with several innovations including the first parent-teacher association.
The success of Louisa May Alcott's \ILittle Women\i (1868) gave the family financial security and allowed him to set up his Concord Summer School of Philosophy and Literature (1879). He wrote poetry, several books on his theories of education, a \Jbiography\j of Ralph Waldo Emerson, and an \Jautobiography\j, but his greatest impact seems to have come through his personal presence and conversation.
BK AmBg
#
"Alcott, Louisa M(ay)",821,0,0,0
DT (1832-88)
EN writer; born in Germantown, Pa. She was tutored by her father, Amos Bronson Alcott, until 1848, and studied informally with family friends such as Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Theodore Parker. Residing in \JBoston\j and Concord, Mass., she worked as a domestic servant, a teacher, and at other jobs to help support her family (1850-62); during the \JCivil War\j she went to Washington, D.C., to serve as a nurse.
Unbeknown to most people, she had been publishing poems, short stories, thrillers, and juvenile tales since 1851, under the pen name of "Flora Fairfield"; in 1862 she also adopted the pen name "A. M. Barnard"; some of her melodramas were actually produced in \JBoston\j stages. But it was her account of her \JCivil War\j experiences, \IHospital Sketches\i (1863), that confirmed her desire to be a serious writer.
She began to publish stories under her real name in \IAtlantic Monthly\i and \ILady's Companion\i and took a brief trip to Europe in 1865 before becoming editor of a girls' magazine, \IMerry's Museum,\i in 1868. The great success of \ILittle Women\i (1869-70) gave her financial independence and also created a demand for more writings.
For the rest of her life she turned out a steady stream of novels and short stories, most for young people, and, like \ILittle Women,\i drawing fairly directly on her family life: \ILittle Men\i (1871), \IEight Cousins\i (1875), \IJo's Boys\i (1886). She also tried her hand at adult novels - \IWork\i (1873), \IA Modern Mephistopheles\i (1877) - but did not have the literary talent to attract serious readers.
Like so many women of her \Jday\j and class, she supported women's suffrage and temperance; but she never found much happiness in her personal life. She grew impatient with the demands made on her as a successful writer, she became the caretaker of her always impractical father, and she became increasingly beset by physical ailments that led to a succession of remedies and healers. Sickly and lonely, she died at age 55 on the \Jday\j of her father's funeral.
BK AmBg
#
"Alcuin",822,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bkwin]
HS , originally \BEalhwine,\b Lat \BAlbinus\b
DT1a c.
DT1 737
DT2 804
EN Scholar and adviser to the emperor Charlemagne, born in York, North Yorkshire, N England, UK. He studied at the cloister school, of which he became master in 778. In 781, he met Charlemagne at Parma, and joined the court at Aix-la-Chapelle (Aachen).
Here he devoted himself first to the education of the royal family, but through his influence the court became a school of culture for the Frankish empire, inspiring the Carolingian Renaissance. His works comprise poems; works on grammar, \Jrhetoric\j, and dialectics; theological and ethical treatises; lives of several saints; and over 200 letters.
MEX Charlemagne
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Alcyone",823,0,0,0
EN See Halcyone or Alcyone
BK a
XCY y
#
"Alda, Alan",824,0,0,0
PN [\Bawl\bda]
DT1 1936
EN Actor and director, born in New York City, USA. He made his Broadway debut in \IOnly in America\i (1959), and his film debut in \IGone Are the Days\i (1963), but it was his extensive involvement in the \Jtelevision\j series \IM\i\U*\u\IA\i\U*\u\IS\i\U*\u\IH\i (1972--83) that earned him his greatest popularity. He won numerous awards for the series (including five Emmies), which provided a showcase for his talents as a socially conscious writer, director, and performer.
His acerbic sense of humour has been uppermost in such films as \IThe Four Seasons\i (1981), \ISweet Liberty\i (1985), and \IA New Life\i (1988). Later films include \ICrimes and Misdemeanours\i (1990), \ICanadian Bacon\i (1995), and \IEveryone Says I Love You\i (1997).
\BMajor Works\b
\IFilms\i
1981 The Four Seasons
1985 Sweet Liberty
1988 A New Life
1990 Crimes and Misdemeanours
1995 Canadian Bacon
1997 Everyone Says I Love You
\ITelevision\i
1972--83 M*A*S*H*
BK Biog99
#
"Aldabra Islands",825,0,0,0
PN [al\Bdab\bra]
EN 9░25S 46░20E; \BArea:\b 154┐km\U2\u / 59┐mi\U2\u. \JCoral\j \Jatoll\j nature reserve in south-west Indian Ocean, north-west of Madagascar; 1200┐km / 750┐mi south-west of MahΘ; outlying dependency of the \JSeychelles\j; occupied by scientific staff; habitat of the giant land \Jtortoise\j; nature reserve, established in 1976; a world heritage site.
BK a
#
"Aldebaran",826,0,0,0
PN [al\Bdeb\baran]
EN See \JTaurus\j
BK a
XCY y
#
"aldehydes",827,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bdihiydz]
EN IUPAC \Balkanals.\b Organic compounds containing a (-CHO) function. Aldehydes are readily oxidized (to carboxylic acids) and reduced (to alcohols). The aldehyde function is found in most sugars, notably \Jglucose\j.
BK a
#
"Alden, John",828,0,0,0
DT (c. 1599-1687)
EN Pilgrim; born in England. He was a cooper aboard the \IMayflower\i and signed the Mayflower Compact. Although he did marry Priscilla Mullens, there is no basis for the story told in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's \IThe Courtship of Miles Standish.\i He held several important posts within the Duxbury colony, where he had moved to from nearby Plymouth c. 1627.
BK AmBg
#
"alder",829,0,0,0
EN A small, deciduous N temperate tree, often growing by \Jwater\j or in wet soils; leaves oval or rounded; male and female flowers on separate plants; male catkins long, pendulous; females short, erect, becoming woody and cone-like in fruit. \B(Genus:\b \IAlnus,\i 35 species. \BFamily:\b Betulaceae.)
BK a
#
"Alder, Kurt",830,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bder]
DT1 1902
DT2 58
EN Organic chemist, born in Chorzow, \JPoland\j (formerly Konigshⁿtte, \JGermany\j). With Otto Diels he discovered in 1928 the Diels-Alder diene reaction, valuable in organic synthesis, and they shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1950.
MEX Diels
SX m
BK bg a
#
"alderfly",831,0,0,0
EN A slow, awkwardly flying insect with two pairs of large, translucent wings held over its body at rest; found around well-aerated, freshwater ponds and streams; larvae aquatic and carnivorous. \B(Order:\b \JMegaloptera\j. \BFamily:\b Sialidae, c.50 species.)
BK a
#
"Alderney",832,0,0,0
PN [\Bawl\bdernee]
EN pop (1995e) 2280; area 8 sq km/3 sq mi. Third largest of the Channel Is, UK, off the coast of French Normandy, W of \JCherbourg\j; separated from \JFrance\j by the Race of \JAlderney\j; in the Bailiwick of \JGuernsey\j, with its own legislative assembly; chief town, Saint Anne; tourism, dairy farming.
BK Geog99
#
"Alderton, John",833,0,0,0
DT1 1940
EN Actor, born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, EC England, UK. A member of the York Repertory Company, he made his debut in \IEmergency Ward 10\i (1961), and his West End debut in \ISpring and Port Wine\i at the Apollo Theatre. From 1969 he has appeared regularly on stage, and became popularly known on \Jtelevision\j with series such as \IPlease Sir\i, \IMy Wife Next Door\i, and \IForever Green\i (with actress wife Pauline Collins). His films include \IPlease Sir\i (1971), \IIt Shouldn't Happen to a Vet\i (1976), and \IClockwork Mice\i (1995).
\BMajor Works\b
\ITelevision\i
Please Sir
My Wife Next Door
Forever Green
\IFilms\i
1968 Duffy
1971 Please Sir
1974 Zardoz
1976 It Shouldn't Happen to a Vet
1995 Clockwork Mice
BK Biog99n
#
"Aldhelm, St",834,0,0,0
PN [\Bald\bhelm]
HS , also spelled \BEaldhelm\b
DT1a c.
DT1 640
DT2 709
EN \JAnglo-Saxon\j scholar and clergyman. He studied at Malmesbury and Canterbury, and became the first Abbot of Malmesbury about 675, and the first Bishop of Sherbourne in 705. A great scholar, he wrote Latin treatises, letters, and verses, as well as some English poems that have perished. Feast \Jday\j 25 May.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Aldington, Richard",835,0,0,0
PN [\Bawl\bdingtn]
HS , originally \BEdward Godfree\b
DT1 1892
DT2 1962
EN Writer, born in Hampshire, S England, UK. He studied at London University, and in 1913 became editor of \IThe Egoist,\i the periodical of the Imagist school. His experiences in World War 1 led to his best-known novel, \IDeath of a Hero\i (1929). He published several volumes of poetry, \IPoetry of the English-Speaking World\i (1941), and many critical works and biographies. \IWellington\i (1946) was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. He married Hilda Doolittle in 1913 (divorced, 1937).
MEX Doolittle, Hilda
SX m
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#
"Aldiss, Brian (Wilson)",836,0,0,0
PN [\Bawl\bdis]
DT1 1925
EN Science-fiction writer and novelist, born in Dereham, Norfolk, E England, UK. He studied at Framlingham College, and his first novel, \IThe Brightfount Diaries\i, appeared in 1955. He is best known as a writer of \Jscience fiction\j, such as \IHothouse\i (1962) and \IThe Saliva Tree\i (1966).
There are two collections of short stories (1988, 1989), and he has produced histories of \Jscience fiction\j such as \IBillion Year Spree\i (1973) and \ITrillion Year Spree\i (1986). Among later works are a novel, \IDracula Unbound\i (1991), and the poetry collections \IAt the \JCaligula\j Hotel\i (1995) and \IThe Poems of Makhtumkuli\i (1996).
\BMajor Works\b
\INovels/Science fiction works\i
1955 The Brightfount Diaries
1957 Space, Time and Nathaniel
1958 Non-Stop
1959 Canopy of Time
1961 The Male Response
1962 Hothouse
1963 The Airs of Earth
1964 The Dark-Light Years
1964 Introducing SF
1964 Greybeard
1965 Earthworks
1966 The Saliva Tree
1967 An Age
1968 Report on Probability A
1968 Farewell, Fantastic Venus!
1969 A Brian Aldiss Omnibus
1969 Barefoot in the Head
1970 The Hand-Reared Boy
1970 The Shape of Further Things
1971 The Moment of Eclipse
1971 A Soldier Erect
1971 Brian Aldiss Omnibus II
1973 Billion Year Spree: a history of science fiction
1973 \JFrankenstein\j Unbound
1974 The Eighty-Minute Hour
1975 Science Fiction Art: the fantasies of SF
1977 Brothers of the Head
1977 Last Orders
1978 Rude Awakening
1978 Enemies of the System
1979 This World and Nearer Ones
1979 New Arrivals, Old Encounters
1980 Life in the West
1980 Moreau's Other Island
1981 Foreign Bodies
1982 Helliconia Spring
1983 Helliconia Summer
1984 Seasons in Flight
1985 Helliconia Winter
1985 The Horatio Stubbs Saga
1985 The Pale Shadow of Science
1986 ... And the Lurid Glare of the Comet
1986 Trillion Year Spree (with David Wingrove)
1987 Cracken at Critical
1987 Ruins
1988 Forgotten Life
1988 Science Fiction Blues
1989 A Romance of the Equator
1990 Bury My Heart at W H Smith's
1991 Dracula Unbound
1992 Home Life with Cats
1993 Remembrance Day
1993 A Tupolev Too Far
1994 Somewhere East of Life
1995 The Detached Retina
1995 At the \JCaligula\j Hotel
1995 The Secret of This Book
\IStories\i
1962 Best Fantasy Stories
1965 Best SF Stories of Brian W Aldiss
1969 Intangibles Inc. and other Stories
1988 Best SF Stories of Brian Aldiss
\IPoetry\i
1995 At the \JCaligula\j Hotel
1996 The Poems of Makhtumkuli
BK Biog99
#
"aldosterone",837,0,0,0
PN [al\Bdos\bterohn]
EN A type of hormone (a mineralocorticoid) secreted from the adrenal \Jcortex\j into the blood. Its primary role in humans is to stimulate sodium reabsorption and \Jpotassium\j excretion by the \Jkidneys\j, in order to maintain \Jelectrolyte\j and \Jwater\j balance. Excessive secretion is known as \Baldosteronism,\b indicated by \Jpotassium\j depletion, sodium retention, and \Jhypertension\j.
BK a
#
"Aldred or Ealdred",838,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bdred]
HS , also found as \BAlred\b
DT1 ?
DT2 1069
EN \JAnglo-Saxon\j clergyman. He became Abbot of Tavistock (1027), Bishop of Worcester (1044), and \JArchbishop\j of York (1060), and was the first English bishop to visit \JJerusalem\j. He crowned William I, and proved a faithful servant to the Norman king.
MEX William I (of England)
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Aldredge, Theoni",839,0,0,0
DT 1932-
EN American costume designer. Born in \JGreece\j, Aldredge studied and then worked at the Goodman Theatre in \JChicago\j before moving to New York in 1958. From 1962 onwards she was a principal designer for the New York Shakespeare Festival. From the mid-1970s she has been part of the collaborative team - Michael Bennett, Robin Wagner and Tharon Musser - that produced Chorus Line and Dreamgirls, among others.
Aldredge has designed landmark productions such as Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Hair. She also designs for ballet, opera, \Jtelevision\j and film, including Network and The Great Gatsby. Costumes for the elegant but short-lived musical Nick and Nora (1991) were designed by her. Aldredge is a collaborative artist; her designs are integrated with and supportive of the direction and overall visual statement of a production.
BK Thea
#
"Aldrich, Nelson W(ilmarth)",840,0,0,0
DT (1841-1915)
EN U.S. representative/ senator; born in Foster, R.I. After prospering in the wholesale grocery business, he was elected from \JRhode Island\j as a Republican to the U.S. \JHouse of Representatives\j (1879-81) and to the U.S. Senate (1881-1911). A friend of business interests and the high protective tariff, he became a major power in the Republican controlled Senate after 1897; he was known for the Aldrich-Vreeland Act for monetary reform (1908), the Payne-Aldrich Tariff (1909), and the Aldrich Plan for reforming the American banking system. His own investments allowed him to leave a large fortune to his heirs and favored philanthropies.
BK AmBg
#
"Aldrich, Thomas Bailey",841,0,0,0
DT (1836-1907)
EN writer, poet; born in Portsmouth, N.H. He worked in New York City mainly in publishing (1852-65), published poetry, settled in \JBoston\j (1865), and was editor of the \IAtlantic Monthly\i (1881-90). He remains best known for his novel, \IThe Story of a Bad Boy\i (1870).
BK AmBg
#
"Aldridge, Ira (Frederick)",842,0,0,0
DT (1807-67)
EN stage actor; probably born in New York City. He got his start in his teens with the African Theatre, established by William Henry Brown in New York City in 1821 to present all-black casts in a variety of plays. In 1824 Aldridge went to England, where for the next 25 years he became widely known throughout Britain and Ireland.
In 1833 he replaced the mortally ill Edmund Kean as Othello at London's Covent Garden Theatre (to mixed reviews). He played both comedy and tragedy and is credited with introducing psychological realism in acting in the 1850s, before his European counterparts. In 1852 he began a series of highly successful appearances in Europe and \JRussia\j, receiving several decorations from heads of state. His return to the London stage in 1865 was well received. He died in \JPoland\j while on an engagement there.
BK AmBg
#
"Aldrin, Buzz",843,0,0,0
PN [\Bawl\bdrin]
HS , popular name of \BEdwin Eugene Aldrin\b
DT1 1930
EN Astronaut, born in Montclair, \JNew Jersey\j, USA. He trained at West Point, flew combat missions in Korea, and later flew in \JGermany\j with the 36th Tactical Wing. In 1966 he set a world record by walking in space for 5┐h 37┐min during the Gemini 12 mission. He was the second man to set foot on the Moon in the Apollo 11 mission in 1969.
BK Biog99
#
"Aldrovandi, Ulisse",844,0,0,0
PN [aldro\Bvan\bdee, oo\Blee\bsay]
DT1 1522
DT2 1605
EN Naturalist, born in \JBologna\j, \JItaly\j. He studied medicine at the University of \JBologna\j (1553), occupied successively its chairs of botany and natural history, and established its botanical garden in 1567. He published many handsomely illustrated books on birds, fishes, and insects.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Aldus Manutius",845,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bdus ma\Bnoot\bius]
HS , Latin name of \BAldo Manucci\bor \BManuzio\b
DT1a c.
DT1 1450
DT2 1515
EN Scholar and printer, born in Bassiano, \JItaly\j. He was the founder of the Aldine Press, which produced the first printed editions of many Greek and Roman classics. He had beautiful founts of Greek and Latin type made, and was the first to use italics on a large scale.
MEX Campagnola, Giulio; Francia
SX m
BK bg a
#
"ale",846,0,0,0
EN An alcoholic beverage brewed from \Jbarley\j which has been malted (ie softened in \Jwater\j and allowed to germinate). It was a popular drink prior to the introduction of hops as a flavouring agent, thus creating beer. However, the term \Iale\i is still used to describe the hops-flavoured brew, while \Ibeer\i has a broader international interpretation at present, and includes lager and stouts.
BK a
#
"Aleardi or Aleardo, conte di (Count of)",847,0,0,0
PN [alee\Bah(r)\bdee]
DT1 1812
DT2 78
EN Italian patriot and poet, born in Verona, \JItaly\j (then in \JAustria\j). He took part in the rising against \JAustria\j in 1848, became a deputy in the Italian parliament (1866), and later a senator. He was popular in his time as a writer of patriotic lyrics.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"aleatory music",848,0,0,0
PN [\Bayl\biatree]
EN Music of which the composition or performance is, to a greater or lesser extent, determined by chance or by whim. The notation may be conventional but indeterminate (ie with the notes but not their sequence composed), or it may take some 'graphic' form which conveys only a general pattern to performers, or elicits an intuitive response from them. The chief proponent of aleatory music has been John Cage.
BK a
#
"alecost",849,0,0,0
EN See costmary
BK a
XCY y
#
"Aleichem, Sholem",850,0,0,0
PN [a\Blay\bkhem]
HS , also spelled \BSholom\b or \BShalom,\b pseudonym of \BSolomon J Rabinowitz\b
DT1 1859
DT2 1916
EN Writer, born in Pereyaslev, \JUkraine\j. After working as a rabbi, he devoted himself to writing and \JYiddish\j culture. The pogroms of 1905 drove him to the USA, where he attempted to establish himself as a playwright for the \JYiddish\j theatre in New York City.
His short stories and plays portray Jewish life in \JRussia\j in the late 19th-c with vividness, humour, and sympathy, and were first widely introduced to a non-Jewish public in 1943 in Maurice Samuel's \IThe World of Sholom Aleichem.\i The popular musical \IFiddler on the Roof\i is based on the stories of Aleichem.
SX m
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#
"Aleixandre, Vicente",851,0,0,0
PN [alayk\Bsahn\bdray]
DT1 1898
DT2 1984
EN Poet, born in Seville, \JSpain\j. It was the appearance of his collected poems, \IMis poemas mejores\i (1937), that established his reputation as a major poet. His later publications include \IEn un vasto dominio\i (1962, In a Vast Domain) and \IAntologia total\i (1976). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1977.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Alekhine, Alexander Alexandrovich",852,0,0,0
PN [alekeen]
DT1 1892
DT2 1946
EN Chess player, world champion (1927-35, 1937-46), born in Moscow. He became addicted to chess from the age of 11 and gained the title of master at St Petersburg in 1909. After the Russian Revolution, he worked as a magistrate in \JFrance\j, and became a French citizen. He defeated Capablanca in 1927 to win the world championship, and defended it successfully (apart from a defeat by Euwe in 1935) for nearly 20 years.
MEX Capablanca; Euwe
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Alekseev, K.S.",853,0,0,0
EN see \JStanislavsky\j
BK Thea
#
"Alemßn, Mateo",854,0,0,0
PN [ale\Bman\b]
DT1 1547
DT2a c.
DT2 1614
EN Novelist, born in Seville, \JSpain\j. His great work is a picaresque novel, \IGuzmßn de Alfarache\i (1599, trans The Spanish Rogue), about a boy running away from home. He emigrated to Mexico in 1608.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Alembert, Jean le Rond d'",855,0,0,0
PN [dalπbair]
DT (1717-83)
EN French mathematician: discovered d'Alembert's principle in mechanics.
D'Alembert's forename comes from that of the church, St Jean le Rond, on whose steps he was found as a baby. He was probably the illegitimate son of a Parisian society hostess, Mme de Tenzin, and the chevalier Destouches; the latter paid for his education while he was brought up by a glazier and his wife. He studied law, and was called to the bar in 1738, but then flirted briefly with medicine before choosing to study \Jmathematics\j and to live on his father's annuity.
Early research by d'Alembert clarified the concept of a limit in the \Jcalculus\j and introduced the idea of different orders of infinities. In 1741 he was admitted to the AcadΘmie des Sciences and 2 years later published his TraitΘ de dynamique (Treatise on Dynamics), which includes d'Alembert's principle, that Newton's Third Law of Motion holds not only for fixed bodies but also for those free to move.
A wide variety of new problems could now be treated, such as the derivation of the planar motion of a fluid. He developed the theory of partial differential equations and solved such systems as a vibrating string and the general wave equation (1747). He joined Euler, A I Clairault (1713-65), Lagrange and Laplace in applying \Jcalculus\j to celestial mechanics and determined the motion of three mutually gravitating bodies. This then allowed many of the celestial observations to be understood; for example, d'Alembert explained mathematically (1754) Newton's discovery of precession of the equinoxes, and also the perturbations in the orbits of the planets.
D'Alembert was then persuaded by his friend, Denis Diderot (1713-84), to participate in writing his encyclopedia, contributing on scientific topics. This project was denounced by the Church after one volume, and d'Alembert turned instead to publishing eight volumes of abstruse mathematical studies.
Shortly before his death J H Lambert (1728-77) wished to name his 'newly discovered moon of Venus' after d'Alembert, but the latter was sufficiently acute to doubt (correctly) from calculations that it existed, and gently declined the offer.
BK Scie
#
"Alentejo",856,0,0,0
PN [alφ\ti\Bte\bzhu]
EN Sparsely populated agricultural area of SEC \JPortugal\j, south-east of the River Tagus (the name is from Arabic, 'beyond the Tagus'); divided in 1936 into the two provinces of \BAlto Alentejo\b and \BBaixo \JAlentejo\j; \b low-lying plain with cork tree forests, heaths, \Jmaquis\j; prehistoric standing stones and chambered cairns; chief towns, \JEvora\j, Beja; corn, \Jcattle\j, pigs; noted for the Alter Real breed of horse.
BK a
#
"Aleotti, Giovanni Battista",857,0,0,0
DT 1546-1636
EN Italian architect, engineer and stage designer. He spent most of his working life in the service of the court of the Estensi at \JFerrara\j, where he built the Teatro degli Intrepidi in 1605. His finest surviving work is the Teatro Farnese in Parma (1618), one of the largest baroque theatres, with a seating capacity of 4,500. Aleotti is thought to have introduced sliding flat wings by 1618, replacing traditional Serlian (see Serlio) fixed angle wings and permitting frequent and rapid shifts of scene. (See also Torelli.)
BK Thea
#
"Aleppo",858,0,0,0
PN [a\Ble\bpoh]
EN 36░12N 37░10E, pop (1995e) 1 597 000. Capital city of Halab governorate, NW \JSyria\j; 350 km/217 mi N of Damascus; chief commercial and industrial centre of N \JSyria\j; airport; road and rail junction; university (1960); industrial refrigeration plant; old city, a world heritage site; Cotton Festival (Sep).
BK Geog99
#
"Alessi, Galeazzo",859,0,0,0
PN [a\Ble\bsee]
DT1 1512
DT2 72
EN Architect, born in \JPerugia\j, \JItaly\j. After studying ancient \Jarchitecture\j, he gained a reputation within Europe from his designs for palaces and churches in \JGenoa\j and elsewhere. He was a friend of \JMichelangelo\j.
MEX \JMichelangelo\j
SX m
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#
"Aletsch",860,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bech]
EN area 117..6┐km\U2\u / 45..4┐mi\U2\u. \JGlacier\j in SC \JSwitzerland\j, W and S of the Aletschhorn; length, 23..6┐km / 14..6┐mi; the largest \Jglacier\j in Europe.
BK a
#
"Aleut",861,0,0,0
PN [al\Byoot\b]
EN Peoples of the Aleutian Is and W \JAlaska\j, who are physically, linguistically, and culturally similar to the Eskimo. In the past, they lived in villages and hunted seals, walruses, whales, and bears. Community life and culture were disrupted by Russian occupation of the area in the 18th-19th-c, and the population has since declined from c.25┐000 to c.2500 in the 1980s.
BK a
#
"Aleutian Islands",862,0,0,0
PN [a\Bloo\bshn]
EN pop (1995e) 14 000; area 18 000 sq km/7000 sq mi. Group of c.150 islands stretching c.1600 km/1000 mi from the Alaskan Peninsula, USA; chief islands Attu, Andreanof, Rat, Umnak, Unimak, Unalaska (chief town, Dutch Harbor); many volcanic peaks over 1000 m/3000 ft; discovered by Russian explorers in 18th-c; purchased by USA, 1867; several military bases; wildlife refuge.
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#
"alewife",863,0,0,0
EN Deep-bodied, \Jherring\j-like fish \I(Alosa pseudoharengus),\i locally abundant along the American Atlantic seaboard; length up to 40┐cm / 16┐in; migrates into rivers (Mar / Apr) to spawn in slow backwaters; commercially fished using traps and nets (seines). \B(Family:\b Clupeidae.)
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#
"Alexander",864,0,0,0
HS (Greek \Jmythology\j)
EN See Paris (\Jmythology\j)
BK a
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"Alexander (nΘe Quigley), Jane",865,0,0,0
DT 1939-
EN American actress. She came to stardom as the white mistress of the black boxing champion in The Great White Hope (1968). Dedicated to regional theatre, to which she returns frequently, she was critically acclaimed as Lavinia in O'Neill's Mourning Becomes Electra at the American Shakespeare (Festival) Theatre in 1971.
Other New York theatre appearances include Six Rms Riv Vu (1972), First Monday in October (1978), William Gibson's Monday After the Miracle (1982), Shadowlands (1990) and The Visit (1992). In 1993 she was selected to head the controversial National Endowment for the Arts.
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"Alexander (of Tunis), Sir Harold (Rupert Leofric George) Alexander, 1st Earl",866,0,0,0
DT1 1891
DT2 1969
EN British soldier, born in London, England, UK. He trained at Sandhurst, and in World War 1 commanded a battalion of the Irish Guards on the Western Front. He commanded 1 Corps as rearguard at the \JDunkirk\j evacuation (1940), and was the last man to leave \JFrance\j.
In 1942 he commanded in \JBurma\j, then became commander-in-chief \JMiddle East\j (1942-3), his North African campaign being one of the most complete victories in military history. He commanded the invasions of \JSicily\j and \JItaly\j (1943), and became supreme allied commander in the Mediterranean. He was later Governor-General of Canada (1946-52) and minister of defence (1952-4) in the Conservative government.
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"Alexander Archipelago",867,0,0,0
EN Group of 1100 mountainous islands south-east of \JAlaska\j, USA; chief islands Chichagof, Baranof (\JSitka\j naval base and national monument), Admiralty, Kupreanof, Kuiu, and Prince of Wales.
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"Alexander I, (of Russia)",868,0,0,0
HS (of \JRussia\j)
DT1 1777
DT2 1825
EN Tsar of \JRussia\j (1801-25), born in St Petersburg, \JRussia\j, the grandson of Catherine the Great. The early years of his reign were marked by the promise of liberal constitutional reforms and the pursuit of a vigorous foreign policy. In 1805 \JRussia\j joined the coalition against Napoleon, but after a series of military defeats was forced to conclude the Treaty of Tilsit (1807) with \JFrance\j.
When Napoleon broke the treaty by invading \JRussia\j in 1812, Alexander pursued the French back to Paris. At the Congress of Vienna (1814-15) he laid claim to \JPoland\j. During the last years of his reign his increased political reactionism and religious \Jmysticism\j resulted in the founding of the Holy Alliance.
His mysterious death at Taganrog caused a succession crisis which led to the attempted revolutionary coup of the Decembrists.
MEX Napoleon; Catherine the Great
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"Alexander I, (of Scotland)",869,0,0,0
HS (of Scotland)
DT1a c.
DT1 1077
DT2 1124
EN King of Scots, the fifth son of Malcolm Canmore and Queen Margaret. In 1107 he succeeded his brother, Edgar, but only to that part of the kingdom N of the Forth. He married Sibilla, a natural daughter of \JHenry I\j of England.
MEX \JHenry I\j; Margaret (of Scotland) St
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"Alexander I, (of Yugoslavia)",870,0,0,0
HS (of Yugoslavia)
DT1 1888
DT2 1934
EN King of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (1921-9), then King of Yugoslavia (1929-34), born in Cetinje, Yugoslavia, the second son of Peter I. He tried to build up a strong and unified Yugoslavia, imposing a royal dictatorship in 1929, but was assassinated in Marseilles.
MEX Peter I (of \JSerbia\j)
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"Alexander II, (of Russia), known as Alexander the Liberator",871,0,0,0
HS (of \JRussia\j), known as \BAlexander the Liberator\b
DT1 1818
DT2 81
EN Tsar of \JRussia\j from 1855, born in St Petersburg, \JRussia\j, the son of \JNicholas I\j. He succeeded to the throne during the \JCrimean War\j, and signed the Treaty of Paris which ended it in 1856. A determined reformer, the great achievement of his reign was the emancipation of the serfs in 1861 (hence his byname), followed by reform of the legal and administrative systems, and the establishment of elected assemblies in the provinces.
Despite his liberal views, his government was severe in repressing peasant unrest and revolutionary movements, and he was assassinated.
MEX \JNicholas I\j (of \JRussia\j)
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"Alexander II, (of Scotland)",872,0,0,0
HS (of Scotland)
DT1 1198
DT2 1249
EN King of Scots, born in Haddington, East Lothian, E Scotland, UK, who succeeded his father, William I, in 1214. He allied with the disaffected English barons and made an incursion as far S as Dover. The accession of Henry III of England allowed a rapprochement, cemented by his marriage in 1221 to Henry's sister, Joan, and the frontier question was settled by the Treaty of York (1237).
Her death without children in 1238, and Alexander's marriage to the daughter of a Picardy nobleman, Marie de Coucy, then strained relations with England. His reign is notable for the vigorous assertion of royal authority in the W Highlands and the south-west during the years of peace with England.
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"Alexander III (of Russia)",873,0,0,0
DT1 1845
DT2 94
EN Tsar of \JRussia\j (1881-94), born in St Petersburg, \JRussia\j, the younger son of Alexander II. He followed a repressive policy in home affairs, especially in the persecution of Jews. Abroad, he consolidated \JRussia\j's hold on C Asia to the frontier of \JAfghanistan\j, provoking a crisis with Britain (1885).
MEX 22909 Nicholas II
00886 Alexander II \B(of \JRussia\j)\b
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"Alexander III, (of Scotland)",874,0,0,0
HS (of Scotland)
DT1 1241
DT2 86
EN King of Scots (1249-86), the son of Alexander II. In 1251 he married \BMargaret\b (1240-75), the eldest daughter of Henry III of England. He completed the consolidation of the W part of the kingdom by annexing the \JHebrides\j and the \JIsle of Man\j, after defeating Haakon IV of \JNorway\j at Largs in 1263. The period between 1266 and the death of Queen Margaret in 1275 has often been seen as a golden age for Scotland.
MEX Alexander II, (of Scotland)
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"Alexander III, originally Orlando Bandinelli\",875,0,0,0
HS , originally \BOrlando Bandinelli\b
DT1a c.
DT1 1105
DT2 81
EN Pope (1159-81), born in Siena, \JItaly\j. He was engaged in a struggle with Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, who refused to recognize him, and set up antipopes until compelled to sign the Treaty of \JVenice\j (1177). He was also involved in the quarrel between Henry II of England and Thomas α Becket.
MEX Becket; Frederick I; Henry II (of England)
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"Alexander Nevski, St",876,0,0,0
HS , also spelled \BNevsky\b
DT1a c.
DT1 1218
DT2 63
EN Russian hero and saint, prince of \JNovgorod\j. In 1240 he defeated the Swedes in a famous battle on the River Neva, near the site of modern \JLeningrad\j, and in 1242 he defeated the Teutonic knights on the frozen Lake Peipus. Although a \Jvassal\j of the Mongol occupation army, he sought to live with them in peace, and suppressed anti-Mongol revolts. He was canonized by the \JRussian Orthodox Church\j in 1547. Feast \Jday\j 30 August or 23 November.
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"Alexander of Battenberg",877,0,0,0
EN See Battenberg, Prince Alexander of
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"Alexander of Hales",878,0,0,0
HS , known as \BDoctor Irrefragabilis\b ('Irrefutable Doctor')
DT1a c.
DT1 1170
DT2 1245
EN English theologian and philosopher, born in Hales, \JGloucestershire\j, SWC England, UK. He became a professor of philosophy and \Jtheology\j in Paris, and later entered the Franciscan order. He is known chiefly from the major work ascribed to him, the \ISumma theologica.\i
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"Alexander of Tralles",879,0,0,0
PN [\Btra\bleez]
DT1 6
DT1b th-c
EN Greek physician, born in Tralles. He practised in \JRome\j, where he wrote his \ITwelve Books on Medicine,\i a major work on \Jpathology\j which was current for several centuries in Latin, Greek, and Arabic.
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"Alexander Severus",880,0,0,0
PN [\Bse\bverus]
DT1 205
DT2 35
EN Roman emperor (221-35), the cousin and adopted son of Heliogabalus, whom he succeeded. A weak ruler, under the influence of others (especially his mother), he failed to control the military. Though successful against the Sassanid Ardashir I, he was murdered by mutinous troops during a campaign against the Germans.
MEX Ardashir I; Heliogabalus
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"Alexander technique",881,0,0,0
EN A method of releasing unwanted physical and mental tension from the body by encouraging posture training and self-awareness, developed by the Australian actor Frederick Matthias Alexander (1869-1955). Parents are taught to improve their self-awareness, particularly of bad posture and tension in the neck.
Re-educating the muscle system to relax these tensions is said to result not only in a lightness and ease of movement throughout the body but also to have beneficial effects on the mind, emotions, and spirit. The technique is becoming popular as a treatment for headache, backache, anxiety, and depression, and particularly benefits stage performers.
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"Alexander the Great",882,0,0,0
DT1 356
DT2 323
DT2b BC
EN King of Macedonia (336-323 BC), born at Pella, the son of Philip II and Olympias. He was tutored by Aristotle, and ascended the throne when less than 20 years old. After crushing all opposition at home, he set out to conquer \JGreece\j's hereditary enemy, Achaemenid \JPersia\j.
This he achieved with great rapidity in a series of famous battles: Granicus (334 BC), Issus (333 BC), and Gaugmela (331 BC). By 330 BC, Darius III had fled, and the capitals of \JSusa\j, \JPersepolis\j, and Ecbatana had been taken. In the next three years, the E half of the empire was also conquered, and Alexander set out for India. He reached the Punjab, and had set his sights on the Ganges, when his troops mutinied and forced his return. He died shortly after at \JBabylon\j.
MEX Aristotle; Philip II (of Macedon)
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"Alexander VI",883,0,0,0
HS , originally \BRodrigo Borgia\b
DT1 1431
DT2 1503
EN Pope (1492-1503), born in Jßtiva, \JSpain\j, the father of Cesare and Lucretia Borgia. In 1455 he was made a cardinal by his uncle, Calixtus III, and on the death of Innocent VIII was elevated to the papal chair, which he had previously secured by bribery. He endeavoured to break the power of the Italian princes, and to appropriate their possessions for the benefit of his own family, employing the most execrable means to gain this end.
During his pontificate, he apportioned the New World between \JSpain\j and \JPortugal\j, and introduced the \Jcensorship\j of books.
MEX Savonarola; Borgia, Cesare; Borgia, Lucretia
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"Alexander, Archibald",884,0,0,0
DT (1772-1851)
EN Protestant clergyman, educator; born near \JLexington\j, Va. The son of a merchant/farmer, he underwent a religious conversion in 1789, began to evangelize, and proved to be a fluent and persuasive preacher. Ordained in the Presbyterian ministry in 1794, he served two terms as president of Hampden-Sidney College (1796-1801, 1802-07).
He became a professor at the newly established Princeton Theological Seminary in 1812 and remained there for the rest of his life. His teaching, along with a series of published essays, reviews, tracts, and sermons, gave him wide influence among the Presbyterians of his time.
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"Alexander, Bill",885,0,0,0
DT1 1948
EN Stage director, born in Hunstanton, Norfolk, E England, UK. He worked at the \JBristol\j Old Vic (1971--3), and the Royal Court Theatre, London (1972--8), before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1977, where he became associate director (1984--91), and honorary associate director (1991-- ). In 1993 he joined the Birmingham Repertory Theatre as artistic director.
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#
"Alexander, Cecil Frances",886,0,0,0
HS , \InΘe\i \BHumphreys\b
DT1 1818
DT2 95
EN Poet and hymn writer, born in Co Wicklow, Ireland. In 1848 she published her immensely popular \IHymns for Little Children,\i which included the well-known 'All Things Bright and Beautiful', 'Once in Royal David's City', and 'There is a green hill far away'.
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"Alexander, De Alva Standwood",887,0,0,0
DT (1845-1925)
EN U.S. representative, historian; born in Richmond, Maine. A member of the Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the \JCivil War\j, he was a teacher and newspaperman in \JIndiana\j before becoming a lawyer in 1877. In 1885 he moved his practice to Buffalo, N.Y.; he served this district as a Republican congressman (1897-1911). He wrote a three-volume \IPolitical History of the State of New York\i (1906-09) and \IThe History and Procedure of the House of Representatives\i (1916).
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#
"Alexander, Franz (Gabriel)",888,0,0,0
DT1 1891
DT2 1964
EN Psychoanalyst, born in Budapest. He worked at the Institute for \JPsychoanalysis\j in Berlin, then settled permanently in the USA in 1932, where he founded the \JChicago\j Institute for \JPsychoanalysis\j. His work on psychosomatic disorders was especially influential.
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"Alexander, George (George Samson)",889,0,0,0
DT 1858-1918
EN Anglo-Scottish actor and theatre manager. He was with Irving at the London \JLyceum\j from 1881 to 1889, most notably as Valentine in Faust (1885). He bought the lease on the St James's, where his declared policy was to encourage and support the writing of new plays by British authors.
The first English producer of Oscar Wilde - Lady Windermere's Fan (1892) - and the creator of Jack \JWorthing\j in The Importance of Being Earnest (1895), he enjoyed his greatest (and boldest) success with Pinero's The Second Mrs Tanqueray (1893), which made a star of Mrs Patrick Campbell. Later Pinero premieres included The Princess and the Butterfly (1897), His House in Order (1906), The Thunderbolt (1908) and Mid-Channel (1909).
The 1902 production of Stephen Phillips's Paolo and Francesca earned for Alexander an undeserved reputation as an upholder of literary standards. He was, in fact, a shrewd businessman and efficient theatre manager, who took risks only occasionally. He was knighted in 1911.
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"Alexander, Grover (Cleveland)",890,0,0,0
DT (1887-1950)
EN \Jbaseball\j player; born in \JElba\j, Neb. One of \Jbaseball\j's great (right-handed) pitchers, he won 373 games and pitched 90 shutouts during his Hall of Fame career, mostly with the Philadelphia Phillies and \JChicago\j Cubs (1911-30). An epileptic and admitted alcoholic, his life was portrayed in the 1952 film, \IThe Winning Team,\i starring Ronald Reagan.
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"Alexander, Hattie Elizabeth",891,0,0,0
DT (1901-68)
EN pediatrician, microbiologist; born in Baltimore, Md. Educated at Baltimore's Goucher College (B.A. 1923), she worked as a bacteriologist for state and federal Public Health Services for three years to save money for medical school. She received the M.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1930 and specialized in \Jpediatrics\j at the Harriet Lane Home in Baltimore.
She was a research and teaching staff member of New York's Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center for 37 years. Her studies on influenzal meningitis resulted in a successful treatment for this previously fatal disease (1939). Her 1940s research into DNA made her one of the first geneticists.
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"Alexander, Jean",892,0,0,0
DT1 1925
EN Actress, born in Liverpool, \JMerseyside\j, NW England, UK. After several years with repertory companies, she began to appear on \Jtelevision\j, and eventually joined the cast of the long-running \ICoronation Street\i (1964--87). Her character of the dowdy, tactless gossip, Hilda Ogden, made her a national institution and won her the Royal Television Society's Best Performance Award in 1984. Her \Jautobiography\j, \IThe Other Side of the Street\i, was published in 1989.
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#
"Alexander, John (White)",893,0,0,0
DT (1856-1915)
EN painter; born in Allegheny, Pa. He began as an illustrator for \IHarper's Weekly\i in New York (c. 1874), studied in \JGermany\j and \JVenice\j (1877), returned to New York (1879), and moved to Paris (1890-1901). He settled in New York (1901), and was a successful portrait painter using an art nouveau style, as seen in \IIsabella; or the Pot of Basil\i (1897).
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"Alexander, Samuel",894,0,0,0
DT1 1859
DT2 1938
EN Philosopher, born in Sydney, \JNew South Wales\j, \JAustralia\j. He studied at Oxford, and in 1893 was appointed to the chair of philosophy at Manchester University. His growing concern for the situation of European Jewry led him to introduce Chaim Weizmann, his colleague at Manchester, to Arthur James Balfour - a meeting which led to the Balfour Declaration, establishing the principle of a Jewish national home.
MEX Balfour, Arthur; Weizmann
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"Alexanderson, Ernst F(rederick) W(erner)",895,0,0,0
DT (1878-1975)
EN electrical engineer, inventor; born in \JUppsala\j, Sweden. He came to the United States in 1901 and went to work for the General Electric Co. the following year. He invented radio receiving and transmitting systems, and by 1930, had perfected a complete \Jtelevision\j system. He produced a successful color \Jtelevision\j receiver in 1955.
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"Alexandra Feodorovna",896,0,0,0
PN [\Bfyod\borovna]
DT1 1872
DT2 1918
EN German princess, and Empress of \JRussia\j as the wife of Nicholas II, born in Darmstadt, \JGermany\j, the daughter of Grand Duke Louis of Hesse-Darmstadt and Alice Maud Mary (the daughter of Queen Victoria). She married Nicholas in 1894. Deeply pious and superstitious, she came under the influence of the fanatical Rasputin. During World War 1, while Nicholas was away at the front, she meddled disastrously in politics. When the revolution broke out, she was imprisoned by the \JBolsheviks\j, and shot in a cellar at Yekaterinburg.
MEX Nicholas II; Rasputin
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#
"Alexandra, Princess, the Hon Lady Ogilvy",897,0,0,0
DT1 1936
EN Daughter of George, Duke of Kent, and Princess Marina of \JGreece\j. In 1963 she married \BSir Angus James Bruce Ogilvy\b (1928-- ). They have a son, \BJames Robert Bruce\b (1964-- ) and a daughter, \BMarina Victoria Alexandra\b (1966-- ).
James married Julia Rawlinson and they have a son, \BAlexander Charles\b (1996-- ) and a daughter \BFlora Alexandra\b (1994-- ). Marina married Paul Mowatt and they have a daughter, \BZenouska May Mowatt\b (1990-- ), and a son, \BChristian Alexander Mowatt\b (1993-- ).
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#
"Alexandra, Queen",898,0,0,0
DT1 1844
DT2 1925
EN Consort of King Edward VII of \JGreat Britain\j, the eldest daughter of King Christian IX of Denmark (reigned 1863-1906). She married Edward in 1863 when he was Prince of Wales, and became known for her charity work; in 1902 she founded the Imperial (now Royal) Military Nursing Service, and in 1912 instituted the annual Alexandra Rose Day in aid of hospitals.
MEX Edward VII
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"Alexandria",899,0,0,0
EN 31░13N 29░55E, pop (1995e) 3 631 000. Seaport capital of Alexandria governorate, N \JEgypt\j; on the Mediterranean coast, 180 km/112 mi NW of \JCairo\j; second largest city of \JEgypt\j and the country's main port; founded in 332BCby Alexander the Great; capital of the Ptolemies 304--30BC;former centre of Hellenistic and Jewish culture; noted for its famous royal libraries; airport; railway; university (1942); car assembly, oil refining, \Jnatural gas\j processing, food processing, trade in cotton, vegetables and grain; Catacombs of Kom El Shugafa (1st--2nd-cAD),Graeco-Roman museum, Pompey's Pillar (297), Serapium temple ruins, Abu'l \JAbbas\j mosque.
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"Alexandria, Library of",900,0,0,0
EN The greatest library in the Ancient World and the most important centre for literary studies; founded by Ptolemy I and greatly extended by Ptolemy II. At one time it was reputed to have contained 700┐000 volumes. It was destroyed in the civil wars of the 3rd-c AD.
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"alexandrine",901,0,0,0
PN [alig\Bzahn\bdrin]
EN A French term for a line of verse consisting of 12 syllables (= a Latin hexameter). Common in French poetry and dramatic verse, it is used most often in English for contrast, as in the last line of the Spenserian stanza, or in Pope, who both uses and describes an alexandrine in the line 'Which, like a wounded snake, drags its slow length along'.
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"Alexandrov, Pavel Sergeyevich",902,0,0,0
PN [alek\Bsahn\bdrof]
DT1 1896
DT2 1982
EN Mathematician, born in Bogorodsk, \JRussia\j. The leader of the Soviet school of topologists, he developed many of the methods of combinatorial \Jtopology\j.
MEX Hopf
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#
"Alexey I Mihailovitch",903,0,0,0
PN [a\Blek\bsay, mi\Bhiy\blovich]
DT1 1629
DT2 76
EN Second Romanov tsar of \JRussia\j (1645-76), who succeeded his father, Michael Romanov. He waged war against \JPoland\j (1654-67), regaining \JSmolensk\j and \JKiev\j. His attempts to place the Orthodox Church under secular authority brought him into conflict with the \JPatriarch\j, Nikon. By his second wife he was the father of Peter I.
MEX Sophia Alexeyevna; Peter I (of \JRussia\j)
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#
"Alexeyev, Mikhail Vasilevich",904,0,0,0
PN [alek\Bsay\bef]
DT1 1857
DT2 1918
EN Russian soldier. In World War 1 he was appointed Chief of the Imperial General Staff (1915), and directed the retreat from Warsaw after the crushing German victory. After the Revolution in 1917 he organized the volunteer army against the \JBolsheviks\j.
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#
"Alexeyev, Vasiliy",905,0,0,0
PN [alek\Bsay\bef]
DT1 1942
EN Weightlifter, born in Pokrovo-Shishkino, \JRussia\j. He set 80 world records (1970--7), more than any other athlete in any sport. Olympic super-heavyweight champion in 1972 and 1976, he won eight world titles and nine European titles. He was made a major in the Russian army, and obtained the title of Master of Sport.
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#
"alexia",906,0,0,0
EN See \Jdyslexia\j
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#
"Alexis",907,0,0,0
PN [a\Blek\bsis]
HS , in full \BAlexey Petrovitch\b
DT1 1690
DT2 1718
EN Prince, born in Moscow, the eldest son of Peter I. Having opposed the tsar's reforms, he was excluded from the succession, and escaped to Vienna, and thence to Naples. Induced to return to \JRussia\j, he was condemned to death, then pardoned, but died in prison a few days after. His son became tsar as Peter II (reigned 1727-30).
MEX Peter I (of \JRussia\j)
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"Alexius I Comnenus",908,0,0,0
PN [kom\Bnee\bnus]
DT1 1048
DT2 1118
EN Byzantine emperor (1081-1118), the founder of the Comnenian dynasty, born in \JIstanbul\j. He defeated a major invasion mounted by the Normans of \JSicily\j under Robert Guiscard (1081-2) and later under Bohemond I (1083); in alliance with the Cumans he destroyed the Patzinaks at Mount Levounion (1091). He built up a new fleet with the aim of re-establishing Byzantine rule in \JAsia Minor\j.
This coincided with the arrival of the First Crusade (1096-1100), with which he co-operated to recover \JCrete\j, Cyprus, and the W coast of Anatolia. His reign is well known from the \IAlexiad,\i the \Jbiography\j written by his daughter, Anna Comnena.
MEX Anna Comnena; Bohemond I; Guiscard
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#
"alfalfa",909,0,0,0
EN See \Jlucerne\j
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#
"Alfieri, Vittorio, conte di (Count)",910,0,0,0
DT 1749-1803
EN Italian playwright and poet. He wrote in both French and Italian, his first tragedy Cleopatra appearing in 1775. Over the next decade he produced the bulk of his dramatic work, including 19 tragedies, non-dramatic verse and many political writings. At their best his plays reveal a distinctively personal blend of the classical and romantic, a taste for Aristotelian rules combined with a highly individual insistence on the exercise of heroic will.
But although 19th- century actors like Salvini performed some of Alfieri's great poetic dramas abroad, and several have survived on the modern Italian stage, none has entered the European repertoire. Of his 21 tragedies perhaps the best are Oreste (1778), Virginia (1778), Saul (1782) and Mirra (1786); none of his six comedies now attracts interest.
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"Alf÷ld",911,0,0,0
PN [\Bol\bfuld]
EN Great Plain region of S \JHungary\j, E of the River Danube, extending into adjoining countries; a flat area covering about half of \JHungary\j, crossed by a system of canals which provide irrigation for grain and fruit; livestock on the arid grasslands \I(pusztas); \i national parks at Hortobßgy, Bⁿkk, and Kiskunsßg.
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#
"Alfonsφn (Foulkes), Raul",912,0,0,0
PN [alfon\Bseen\b]
DT1 1927
EN Argentinian president (1983-9), born in Chascom·s, Argentina. He studied at military and law schools, joining the Radical Union Party in 1945. He served in local government (1951-62), but was imprisoned by the Per≤n government for his political activities in 1953. When constitutional government returned, he was elected president. He ensured that several leading military figures were brought to trial for human rights abuses, and in 1986 was co-recipient of the Council of Europe's human rights prize.
MEX Per≤n, Juan
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#
"Alfonso I or Alfonso Henriques",913,0,0,0
HS , also spelled \BAfonso\b
DT1a c.
DT1 1110
DT2 85
EN Earliest king of \JPortugal\j, born in Guimarπes, \JPortugal\j. He was only two years old at the death of his father, Henry of Burgundy, the conqueror and first Count of \JPortugal\j, so that the management of affairs fell to his mother, Theresa of Castile. Wresting power from her in 1128, he defeated the Moors at Ourique (1139), and proclaimed himself king. He took \JLisbon\j (1147), and later all \JGalicia\j, Estremadura, and Elvas.
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#
"Alfonso III",914,0,0,0
HS , known as \BAlfonso the Great\b
DT1 ?
DT2 910
EN King of Le≤n, Asturias, and \JGalicia\j (866-910). He fought over 30 campaigns and gained numerous victories over the Moors, occupied Coimbra, and extended his territory as far as \JPortugal\j and Old Castile.
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"Alfonso X",915,0,0,0
HS , nicknames \BAlfonso the Astronomer\b or \BAlfonso the Wise\b
DT1 1221
DT2 84
EN King of Le≤n and Castile (1252-84), born in Burgos, \JSpain\j. He captured Cadiz and \JAlgarve\j from the Moors, and thus united \JMurcia\j with Castile. The founder of a Castilian national literature, he caused the first general history of \JSpain\j to be composed in Castilian, as well as a translation of the \JOld Testament\j to be made by Toledo Jews. His great code of laws \I(Siete Partidas)\i and his planetary table were of major importance. In 1282, he lost power following a rising under his son, Sancho IV.
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"Alfonso XII",916,0,0,0
DT1 1857
DT2 85
EN King of \JSpain\j (1874-85), the son of Isabella II. After a period of republican rule following the overthrow of his mother by the army in 1868, he was formally proclaimed king. In 1876 he suppressed the last opposition of the Carlists (supporters of the Spanish pretender Don Carlos de Bourbon and his successors), and drafted a new constitution.
In 1879 he married \BMaria Christina\b (1858-1929), daughter of Archduke Charles Ferdinand of \JAustria\j, and was succeeded by his son, Alfonso XIII.
MEX Alfonso XIII; Carlos, Don
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"Alfonso XIII",917,0,0,0
DT1 1886
DT2 1941
EN King of \JSpain\j (1886-1931), the posthumous son of Alfonso XII. In 1906 he married princess Ena, grand-daughter of Queen Victoria. After \Jneutrality\j during World War 1, the Spanish were defeated by the Moors in Morocco in 1921, and from 1923 he associated himself with the military dictatorship of Primo de Rivera. In 1931 the king agreed to elections, which voted overwhelmingly for a republic. He refused to abdicate, but left \JSpain\j, and died in exile.
MEX Primo de Rivera
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"Alfred",918,0,0,0
HS , known as \BAlfred the Great\b
DT1 849
DT2 99
EN King of \JWessex\j (871-99), born in Wantage, Berkshire, S England, UK, the fifth son of King Ethelwulf. When he came to the throne, the Danes had already conquered much of \JNorthumbria\j, parts of Mercia, and East Anglia, and threatened to subdue \JWessex\j itself. He inflicted on them their first major reverse at the Battle of Edington, Wiltshire (878), and began to win back Danish-occupied territory by capturing the former Mercian town of London (886). He stole the military initiative from the Danes by reorganizing his forces into a standing army, building a navy, and establishing a network of burhs (fortified centres).
These developments were complemented by his revival of religion and learning, a programme designed to win God's support for victory over the pagan Danes and to consolidate loyalty to himself as a Christian king. He personally translated several edifying Latin works into English. He forged close ties with other English peoples not under Danish rule, and provided his successors with the means to reconquer the Danelaw and secure the unity of England.
The famous story of his being scolded by a peasant woman for letting her cakes burn has no contemporary authority, and is first recorded in the 11th-c.
MEX Orosius
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"AlfvΘn, Hannes (Olof G÷sta)",919,0,0,0
PN [alfvayn]
DT (1908-95)
EN Swedish theoretical physicist: pioneer of plasma physics.
Educated at \JUppsala\j, AlfvΘn worked in Sweden until 1967, when he moved to \JCalifornia\j. Much of his work was on plasmas (gases containing positive and negative ions) and their behaviour in magnetic and electric fields. In 1942 he predicted magnetohydrodynamic waves in plasmas (AlfvΘn waves) which were later observed.
His ideas have been applied to plasmas in stars and to experimental nuclear fusion reactors. He shared a Nobel Prize in 1970 for his pioneering theoretical work on \Jmagnetohydrodynamics\j.
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"AlfvΘn, Hugo Emil",920,0,0,0
PN [al\Bfen\b]
DT1 1872
DT2 1960
EN Composer and violinist, born in Stockholm. He was a prolific composer in the late Romantic tradition, his works including five symphonies and the ballet \IProdigal Son\i (1957). His best-known piece is \IMidsommarvaka\i (1904, Midsummer Vigil), better known as the \ISwedish Rhapsody.\i
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"algae",921,0,0,0
EN An informal grouping of primitive, mainly aquatic plants that have \Jchlorophyll\j \Ia\i as their primary photosynthetic pigment; body \I(\Jthallus\j)\i not organized into root, stem, and leaf; no true vascular system; reproductive organs not surrounded by a layer of sterile cells; range in form from simple unicellular plant plankton to massive seaweeds many metres in length.
\BMore information provided by Webster Publishing\b
While there are a number of flagellates which have chloroplasts, nobody knows for sure whether these are closely related to the \Jalgae\j or not. If the serial endosymbiosis theory is correct, then it is quite possible that the organism which became the chloroplasts was absorbed by larger cells on more than one occasion. So it might be possible for organisms which are only distantly related to have similar structures.
Still, the problem "\Jalgae\j", the Glaucocystophyta have to be dealt with somewhere, so we will consider them here. The chloroplasts of the glaucophytes are much more like cyanobacteria, the blue-green bacteria, often wrongly called the blue-green \Jalgae\j. They contain \Jchlorophyll\j a and phycobilin \Jpigments\j, as do the cyanobacteria, and they have the same peptidoglycan wall, as well as a circular \Jchromosome\j with a limited range of genes on it. These chloroplasts are technically called cyanelles.
\BBrown algae\b
A large group of mainly marine seaweeds, characterised by their photosynthetic \Jpigments\j which include chlorophylls a and c, \Fa\n-\Jcarotene\j, \Fb\n-\Jcarotene\j, fucoxanthin; and several other lesser \Jpigments\j. Their reproduction is usually sexual, involving a sperm with two whip-like flagella. Over 1500 species known in about 240 genera around the world, mainly from intertidal and sublittoral zones, and the body form ranges from filamentous to large blades. The most spectacular of these \Jalgae\j are the giant kelps which make up whole forests off the coasts of \JCalifornia\j and \JTasmania\j, supporting whole ecosystems.
While they can also be found referred to as the class \JPhaeophyceae\j, it is probably more correct to identify the brown \Jalgae\j as either the division or the \Jphylum\j Phaeophyta. This may be considered to be made up of one class, or three, depending on the life cycles, which are unknown for many of the genera. There are, in any case, eleven orders. The larger kelps (order Laminariales to botanists) are sources of two important industrial substances, algin and fucoidin.
Algin is the source of the alginates which are found in many foodstuffs, printer's ink, soaps and shampoos, in moulding material for artificial limbs, film coatings, paints, varnishes, toothpaste, lipsticks, shaving cream and beer. Some of the Laminariales have also been used as a source of kombu, a common food in \JJapan\j and China. The \Jalgae\j are dried, pressed into blocks, and cut into thin slices for cooking. Brown \Jalgae\j are used in many parts of the world as fertiliser, providing \Jpotassium\j, together with smaller amounts of \Jphosphorus\j and \Jnitrogen\j.
The kelps are differentiated into a stipe (similar to a trunk), blades (rather like leaves) and a holdfast (superficially like roots, but wrapping around rocks, rather than penetrating into the sand or mud). The kelps were once thought of as ancestral to the modern trees, because of their apparent similarity, but this resemblance is probably more due to the effects of convergence in \Jevolution\j.
Fossils of brown \Jalgae\j are known from the Triassic, although there may have been similar \Jalgae\j much earlier. The free-swimming cells have a characteristic biflagellate arrangement which probably indicates an origin in similar free-swimming cells of an early ocean. The presence of \Jchlorophyll\j c and fucoxanthin suggest a relationship (albeit a distant one) to the yellow-brown \Jalgae\j, the diatoms, and the dinoflagellates.
The other main orders are the Chordariales, Desmarestiales, Dictyotales, Ectocarpales, Fucales, and the Sphacelariales.
\BDiatoms and golden algae\b
The diatoms are microscopic, single-celled green \Jalgae\j common in marine and freshwater habitats, with about 5500 species in 190 genera. They have an external shell (frustule) which is often ornate, containing \Jsilica\j, and consisting of two separate valves. They commonly reproduce by splitting in two in a process known as binary fission. Their green colour derived from their \Jchlorophyll\j \Jpigments\j: they have \Jchlorophyll\j a and \Jchlorophyll\j c, carotenes and xanthophylls. They are generally placed in the class: Bacillarophyceae, and linked to the golden \Jalgae\j, or Chrysophyceae.)
The Chrysophyceae (sometimes promoted to their own \Jphylum\j, Chrysophyta) are sometimes called the "golden-brown flagellates". There are 75 genera and about 300 species, distributed across freshwater and marine environments. The chloroplasts which give them their colour are similar to those of the brown \Jalgae\j and the dinoflagellates. They have \Jsilica\j coverings and often have calcified plates as well. Some of the pigmented (photosynthetic) species are also capable of ingesting food particles, making rather a joke of the traditional biological division between plants and animals.
The diatoms are a much more interesting group, in part because they fossilise so well-if the fossil types are taken into account, around 10 000 species are known. These fossil forms often occur in vast numbers, forming diatomaceous \Jearth\j. Older deposits have been degraded to \Jchert\j (diatoms can be traced back at least as far as the Jurassic), but more recent deposits are mined as a source of material for filters and as \Jabrasives\j in polishes and toothpastes. The deposits in the Santa Maria oilfields of \JCalifornia\j can be as much as 1000 metres deep, with as many as six million frustules (shells) in a single millilitre (cubic \Jcentimetre\j).
Most diatoms do not need an external source of vitamins as the golden \Jalgae\j do, although some cases have been seen where the diatoms needed vitamin B\D12\d. Reproduction in these two groups is rarely to occasionally sexual, with binary fission being the norm.
\BDinoflagellates\b
A microscopic, single-celled organism, mostly marine, but also found in brackish \Jwater\j, fresh \Jwater\j, and beach sand, and as symbionts in some types of \Jcoelenterate\j. There are about 1000 species in about 120 genera. They are classified either as an alga (Class: Dinophyceae) or as a \Jflagellate\j protozoan (Phylum: Mastigophora).
They sometimes contain \Jchlorophyll\j pigment for \Jphotosynthesis\j; characterised by two whip-like organelles (flagella), one lying in a groove around the cell, called the sulcus. Most species are enclosed in a rigid shell (test) encrusted with \Jsilica\j. They range in size from 25 to 500 micrometres across.
They may also be placed in the division or \Jphylum\j Pyrrophyta, with two classes, the Dinophyceae and the Cryptophyceae (which are themselves sometimes poked into a separate \Jphylum\j, the Cryptophyta-classification is like that, being more a matter of opinion and interpretation, rather than easy facts). These things do not always fit easily as plants, especially as some of the motile forms have a pigmented eye spot which seems to be light-sensitive.
Those with \Jchlorophyll\j have both \Jchlorophyll\j a and \Jchlorophyll\j c, and some xanthophyll \Jpigments\j that are only found in this group. One of these, peridinin, gives them their characteristic brown colour. Some of the "phosphorescence" seen in tropical waters when a ship or a paddle disturbs the water, is due to dinoflagellates like \INoctiluca scintillans.\i These oceanic forms are more commonly unarmoured, with the armoured forms being more common in coastal plankton.
Dinoflagellates are also the cause of an algal bloom which is often called "red tide" or "red \Jwater\j". If this is caused by \INoctiluca scintillans,\i there is no need to worry, but another dinoflagellate, \IGymnodinium mikimotoi,\i causes a much nastier problem. A \IGymnodinium\i bloom can kill a variety of marine life, though whether fish are killed by having their gills choked with the dinoflagellates, or whether it is a toxin in the \Jalgae\j is uncertain. When the \Jalgae\j are absorbed by fish in smaller doses, the toxin they produce may remain in the meat, and cause severe symptoms or even death.
This effect, often called ciguatera poisoning, is apparently caused by a toxin similar in structure to curare. It can also be acquired from eating shellfish like mussels and oysters. In all, there are about thirty species known to carry these toxins. Strictly, ciguatera is only caused by one species, \IGambierdiscus toxicus,\i while other diseases such as paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) are caused by \Ialexandrium\i sp. and \IGymnodinium catenatum,\i and diarrhoetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) is caused by yet other species.
The dinoflagellate problems of the world may be getting worse. There is evidence that they thrive on the eutrophication caused by \Jpollution\j, and resting spores of a number of dinoflagellates have been found in the ballast tanks of ships, suggesting that species will be introduced into new areas from time to time. Any new species of any sort is a potential problem when it is first released into a new area, as it is unlikely to have any natural predators to keep it in balance.
\BGreen algae\b
A large and diverse group of 7000 species of alga-like plants in 450 genera. They are characterised by the photosynthetic \Jpigments\j, chlorophylls a and b, which give them their green colour; typically storing food as starch in chloroplasts; found mainly in fresh \Jwater\j. Many have motile stages (zoospores) that swim using flagella.
They may be treated either as the class Chlorophyceae, or as the \Jphylum\j Chlorophyta. The \Jphylum\j Chlorophyta, when recognised, is divided into the Chlorophyceae and the Charophyceae. The green \Jalgae\j will be treated here as a \Jphylum\j divided into those two classes. (Other taxonomists prefer to recognise three other classes, carved from the Chlorophyceae: the Prasinophyceae, the Ulvophyceae, and the Conjugatophyceae.)
The Charophyceae is the smaller of the two classes. Commonly known as the stoneworts, there are about 250 species in six recognised genera. They are mostly found in fresh \Jwater\j, and as they are submerged plants, they are generally overlooked. They are usually encrusted with \Jcalcium\j carbonate, and some aspects of their reproduction suggest that they are more closely related to the land plants than any other algal group. \IChara\i and \INitella\i are the two most common genera.
The Chlorophyceae, as the term is used here, include everything from single-celled motile and non-motile forms, to large non-motile "plants" and motile colonies like Volvox. Among the multicellular forms, there are simple filaments, broad sheets of parenchyma-type tissue, and long coenocytic filaments with multiple nuclei.
The desmids are single-celled \Jalgae\j which lack flagella. They reproduce by conjugation, a process in which a tube is formed between two strains so that an amoeboid \Jgamete\j can pass through. These, and similar filamentous \Jalgae\j, sometimes called the Conjugatophyceae, are mainly found in fresh \Jwater\j.
The green \Jalgae\j are not particularly important in an economic sense. The Japanese make miso soup from \IUlva\i sp. the sea \Jlettuce\j, and this is sometimes used to make laver in \JJapan\j and Wales, as is \IMonostroma.\i Some experimentation has been carried out on the use of \BChlorella\b as a food source or \Jenergy\j-capturing mechanism, but this remains largely in the realm of \Jscience fiction\j.
Fossil green \Jalgae\j have been suggested for all ages back to the Precambrian, and there are definite signs in rocks from the Ordovician onwards, while the Charophyceae are clearly present from the Silurian onwards.
\BRed algae\b
The red \Jalgae\j of the \Jphylum\j Rhodophyta are a large and diverse group of alga-like plants. They range in form from single cells to large differentiated bodies, with some of the most important being the encrusting lawns of coralline \Jalgae\j, which serve to bind the world's \Jcoral\j reefs together.
Their reddish colour stems from the mixture of photosynthetic \Jpigments\j, as they contain \Jchlorophyll\j a, phycobilins (phycocyanin and phycoerythrin, which produces the characteristic red colouring), and carotenoids inside their cells. These \Jpigments\j can make effective use of red light, the wavelength which penetrates deepest into the sea, and so they may even be found 250 metres below the surface of the sea.
Reproduction in this group involves the production of an egg cell inside a specialised organ (an oogonium) receptive to the male \Jgamete\j. In some classifications, they are reduced to a mere class, the Rhodophyceae, but this now appears to be an unwise decision. It is probably better to regard them as a division or \Jphylum\j with a single class. (The word oogonium is sometimes written as "÷ogonium", to indicate that the pronunciation of the "oo" is like that in "\Jzoology\j".)
The red \Jalgae\j are economically important. The stabilising and thickening agent, carrageenan (also called carrageenin), is used in chocolate milk, cheeses, ice cream, confectionery, insect sprays, \Jwater\j-base paints and cosmetics, and it can also be eaten as a dessert like \Iblancmange\i when it is flavoured. Carrageenan is mainly prepared from the red alga \IChondrus crispus,\i commonly found on the Atlantic coast of the United States.
Another product, funori, is a \Jcolloid\j like carrageenan, obtained from \IGloiopeltis.\i It is a \Jwater\j-soluble sizing used in paints, hair-dressing and as a starch in laundering.
Biologically, the most important product is \Jagar\j, which has been known from \JJapan\j since 1760. Once it was produced almost exclusively from \IGelidium,\i but now a much wider algal range is cropped. \JAgar\j (or agar-agar, as it is also called) has some of the physical properties of gelatin, while being chemically different. A 1.5g scoop of \Jagar\j will turn 100 mL of boiling \Jwater\j into a firm jelly when it is allowed to set, and \Jagar\j plates are the basis of most bacterial culture methods, and also for the culture of fungi and even plant tissue.
Agar is also useful as a treatment for intestinal orders, since it absorbs large amounts of \Jwater\j, provides bulk, and is a mild laxative. \JAgar\j is also used to make capsules which are needed to carry drugs beyond the \Jstomach\j for slow release.
Red \Jalgae\j are also useful as a source of foods. Dulse, found in many parts of the world, is derived from \IRhodymenia,\i and \IPorphyra,\i or purple laver. It is widely used as a food, and even cultivated in beds in \JJapan\j. Dried \IPorphyr,\i known in Japanese as \Inori,\i is used as the wrapping on sushi.
The red \Jalgae\j may be conveniently divided into two sub-classes, the Bangiophycidae with about 70 species, all simple marine \Jalgae\j, and the Florideophycidae, with some 3500 species, mostly marine, but with about 200 species found in fresh \Jwater\j.
The calcified \Jalgae\j of the Florideophycidae were once considered to be corals, and are still called the "coralline algae". These species are commonly found around the low-tide mark.
\BYellow-brown algae\b
Aquatic \Jalgae\j containing the photosynthetic \Jpigments\j \Jchlorophyll\j a and c, fucoxanthin and various carotenoids which produce the yellow-green colour of the chloroplasts. There are about 75 genera and 400 species, mainly living in fresh \Jwater\j or soil, although there are a few marine species.
They vary in form from single cells to filaments and they produce motile spores (zoospores) with a hairy forward-pointing \Jflagellum\j and a naked backward-pointing \Jflagellum\j. Generally placed in the class Xanthophyceae, or the \Jphylum\j Xanthophyta, they are mainly significant as planktonic species at the low end of the food chain. There is little \Jfossil\j evidence of this group.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
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"Algardi, Alessandro",922,0,0,0
PN [al\Bgah(r)\bdee]
DT1 1598
DT2 1654
EN Sculptor, born in \JBologna\j, \JItaly\j. His chief work is a colossal relief, in St Peter's, \JRome\j, showing Pope Leo I restraining \JAttila\j from marching on the city.
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"Algarve",923,0,0,0
PN [al\Bgah(r)v\b]
EN area 5072┐km\U2\u / 1958┐mi\U2\u. Region and former province of S \JPortugal\j, bounded W and S by the \JAtlantic Ocean\j; Moorish kingdom, 1140; capital, Faro; figs, almonds, fishing, fish canning, tourism; \BCosta do Algarve\b is the S Atlantic coast of \JPortugal\j from Cape St Vincent (west) to River Guadiana on the Spanish border; the most popular tourist resort area in \JPortugal\j, with resorts at \JPraia\j da Luz, \JPraia\j da Rocha, \JPraia\j do Carvoeiro, \JAlbufeira\j, Vilamoura.
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"Algazel, Abu Mohammed al-",924,0,0,0
EN See Ghazali, Abu Hamid Mohammed al-
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#
"algebra",925,0,0,0
EN A branch of \Jmathematics\j in which unknown quantities are represented by letters or other symbols. It was developed and brought to Europe by the \JArabs\j, from whose word \Ial-jabr\i the name of the subject is derived. In classical \Jalgebra\j (or \Barithmetic algebra),\b the operations in use are those of arithmetic; whereas in \Babstract algebra,\b developed in the 19th-20th-c, different operations are defined.
In particular, in many abstract algebras, the commutative law does not apply. William Hamilton (1805-65) developed the non-commutative \Jalgebra\j of quaternions, Arthur Cayley and others matrix \Jalgebra\j, and George Boole the \Jalgebra\j of sets that bears his name. \INon-associative\i algebras do not follow the associative laws of arithmetic; examples are \BJordan algebras,\b named after the German physicist Paul Jordan in the 1930s, and most of the \BLie algebras\b extensive in modern physics.
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"algebraic geometry",926,0,0,0
EN The study of \Jgeometry\j by algebraic means. Originally it was the study of curves and surfaces from their equations using algebraic methods, and often avoiding the \Jcalculus\j (thus contrasting it with differential geometry). The subject became part of projective \Jgeometry\j, and once complex numbers were admitted during the 19th-c, deep connections were found by Riemann and PoincarΘ to complex function theory.
Many unresolved questions were reformulated and solved by Oscar Zariski in the 20th-c with the introduction of techniques of modern \Jalgebra\j, leading to a great generalization of the subject. This in turn was overtaken by the methods of Alexandre Grothendieck, which introduce deep geometric ideas into algebraic number theory.
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"Algeciras",927,0,0,0
PN [alje\Bsee\bras]
EN 36░09N 5░28W, pop (1995e) 102 000. Seaport and resort in Cßdiz province, \JAndalusia\j, SW \JSpain\j; on W side of Algeciras Bay, opposite \JGibraltar\j; founded by the Moors, 713; largely destroyed, 14th-c; rebuilt, 18th-c; scene of Algeciras Conference (over the future of Morocco), 1906; railway; car ferries to Canary Is, Melilla, Tangier, \JGibraltar\j; paper, tourism, trade in oranges, cork; Old Algeciras; watersports; fair and fiestas (Jun), patronal fiestas (Aug), Festival of \JSpain\j (Aug).
BK Geog99
#
"Alger, Horatio",928,0,0,0
DT (1834-99)
EN author; born in Revere, Mass. He graduated from Harvard Divinity School (1860), and became a Unitarian minister (1864), but resigned and settled in New York City (1866). His inspirational novels such as \IRagged Dick\i (1867) made his name synonymous with the American ideal of young men gaining success through hard work. He died impoverished after giving his wealth to the poor.
BK AmBg
#
"Alger, Russell Alexander",929,0,0,0
DT (1836-1907)
EN soldier, politician; born in Lafayette Township, Ohio. A lawyer and lumberman, he was an officer with the \JMichigan\j cavalry and fought for the Union in various battles including Gettysburg. He was a Republican governor of \JMichigan\j (1885-86) and was head of the Grand Army of the Republic (1889). As secretary of war (1897-99) he was blamed for the U.S. unpreparedness during the opening months of the Spanish-American War and was forced to resign.
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"Algeria",930,0,0,0
EN pop (1995e) 28 513 000; area 2 460 500 sq km/949 753 sq mi. N African republic, divided into 31 departments (\Iwilaya\i); timezone GMT +1; capital, \JAlgiers\j (Alger); other chief towns, Constantine, Oran, Annaba, Blida, Tlemcen, Skikda, Mostaganem; 99% of the population of Arab or \JBerber\j origin; chief religion, \JIslam\j, 99% Sunni Muslim; official language Arabic, with French also spoken; unit of currency, the dinar.
\IPhysical description and climate\i
Mountains rise from Mediterranean coast in a series of ridges and plateaux to the Atlas Saharien; 91% of population located on narrow coastal plain; part of \JSahara Desert\j in S; major depression, Chott Melrhir, in NE; Ahaggar Mts in far S, rising to 2918 m/9573 ft at Mt Tahat; typical Mediterranean climate on N coast; rainfall annual average of 400--800 mm/15.8--31.5 in (mostly Nov--Mar); snow on higher ground; \JAlgiers\j annual rainfall of 760 mm/30 in, average maximum daily temperatures 15--29░C; rest of the country an essentially rainless Saharan climate.
\IHistory and government\i
Indigenous peoples (Berbers) driven back from the coast by many invaders, including Phoenicians, Romans, Vandals, \JArabs\j, Turks, and French; became a province of the Roman Empire; \JIslam\j and Arabic introduced by \JArabs\j, 8th--11th-c; Turkish invasion, 16th-c; French colonial campaign in 19th-c led to control by 1902; guerrilla war (1954--62) with French forces by the National Liberation Front (FLN); independence gained, 1962; first president of the republic, Ahmed Ben Bella, replaced after coup in 1965; elections and a new constitution, 1976; cancellation of general election, 1991, following the likely victory of the Islamic Salvation Front; formation of a non-party transitional government; state of emergency, 1992, with continuing violence involving Islamic fundamentalists, including attacks on foreigners, 1993; under the constitution, governed by a president and a 430-member National People's Assembly, elected every 5 years; a 200-member National Transition Council introduced in 1994.
\IEconomy\i
Large-scale \Jnationalization\j after 1963; agriculture, mainly on N coast (wheat, \Jbarley\j, oats, grapes, \Jcitrus\j fruits, vegetables); food processing, textiles, clothing; \Jpetroleum\j products account for c.30% of national income; \Jnatural gas\j reserves estimated to be world's fourth largest; pioneer in the development of liquid \Jnatural gas\j; constructed with \JItaly\j the first trans-Mediterranean gas pipeline.
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"Algiers",931,0,0,0
PN [al\Bjeerz\b]
EN 36░50N 3░00E, pop (1995e) 3 208 000. Seaport capital of \JAlgeria\j, N Africa; 805 km/500 mi SW of \JMarseille\j (\JFrance\j); founded 10th-c by Berbers on the site of Roman Icosium; Turkish rule established by Barbarossa, 1518; taken by the French, 1830; Allied headquarters and seat of de Gaulle's provisional government in World War 2; University of \JAlgeria\j (1879); university of sciences and technology (1974); airport; railway; trade, commerce and administration, wine; Sidi Abderrahman Mosque, Sidi Mohammed Sherif Mosque, Djama Djehid Mosque (16th-c); cathedral; national library; Bardo Museum, Museum of Antiquities, National Museum of Fine Arts.
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"alginates",932,0,0,0
EN The \Jcalcium\j salts of alginic acid, found in seaweeds, forming viscous solutions which hold large amounts of \Jwater\j. They are used in food manufacturing as thickening agents in such products as ice-creams and yogurts. They are not digested in the small \Jintestine\j, but are fermented by the microflora of the large \Jintestine\j.
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"Algol",933,0,0,0
EN An eclipsing binary star in Perseus, the prototype of the Algol-type variable stars. English astronomer John Goodricke (1764-86) suggested in 1782 that the variations were due to an unseen companion revolving around the star with immense velocity, a theory confirmed by \Jspectroscopy\j in 1889. There is also a third star in \Jorbit\j. Distance: 35 parsec.
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"ALGOL (Algorithmic Language)",934,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bgol]
EN \JAcronym\j for \BALGOrithmic Language,\b a high-level programming computer language developed in Europe in the late 1950s for mathematical and scientific use at approximately the same time as \JFORTRAN\j was being developed in the USA.
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"Algonkin",935,0,0,0
PN [al\Bgong\bkin]
HS or \BAlgonquin\b
EN Scattered small groups of \JAmerican Indians\j speaking Algonkian (Algonquian) languages, living in forest regions around the \JOttawa\j River in Canada. Most were slaughtered by the \JIroquois\j or died from European diseases: only c.2000 survive. They work mainly as trappers, hunters' guides, and market gardeners.
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"Algonquin",936,0,0,0
EN See Algonkin
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"algorithm",937,0,0,0
EN A set of explicit, finite, and precisely determined rules, the step-by-step application of which to a complex problem will yield a solution or optimal results. The set of rules for doing simple multiplication is an \Jalgorithm\j. Because they are precise and can be applied without judgment, algorithms can be programmed into computers.
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"Algren, Nelson",938,0,0,0
DT (1909-81)
EN writer; born in \JDetroit\j, Mich. He trained as a journalist after a childhood in the \JChicago\j slums. After working at a variety of jobs during the Depression, he settled in \JChicago\j and became a leading exponent of the \JChicago\j school of realism; his five streetwise novels include \IThe Man With the Golden Arm\i (1949, National Book Award) and \IA Walk on the Wild Side\i (1956).
After 1956 he wrote mostly stories and essays, producing only one novel (1981). In later years he became known for having had an affair with the French intellectual/writer, Simone de Beauvoir.
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"Alhambra",939,0,0,0
PN [al\Bham\bbra]
EN The palace-fortress of the Moorish kings, built at \JGranada\j, \JSpain\j, in the 13th-14th-c; a world heritage site. It was partially demolished and rebuilt by Charles V in the 16th-c, but retains many beautiful halls and gardens characteristic of mediaeval Islamic \Jarchitecture\j.
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"Alhazen",940,0,0,0
PN [alhazen]
DT (c.965-1038)
EN Egyptian physicist: made major advances in \Joptics\j.
Alhazen rejected the older idea that light was emitted by the eye, and took the view that light was emitted from self- luminous sources, was reflected and refracted and was perceived by the eye. His book The Treasury of \JOptics\j (first published in Latin in 1572) discusses lenses (including that of the eye), plane and curved mirrors, colours and the \Jcamera obscura\j (pinhole camera).
His career in \JCairo\j was nearly disastrous. Born in Basra (now in \JIraq\j), he saw in \JCairo\j the annual flooding of the Nile and persuaded the caliph al-Hakim to sponsor an expedition to southern \JEgypt\j with the object of controlling the river and providing an irrigation scheme. Alhazen's expedition showed him only the difficulties, and on his return he realized that the caliph would probably ensure an unpleasant death for him.
To avoid this, he pretended to be mad, and maintained this successfully until the caliph died in 1021. Alhazen then considered studying religion, before turning fully to physics in middle age. His mathematical and experimental approach is the high point of Islamic physics, and his work in \Joptics\j was not surpassed for 500 years.
\BMore information provided by Webster Publishing\b
Alhazen was the first person known to have used a \Icamera obscura\i to study the \Jsun\j during eclipses, and he correctly explained the optical illusion which causes the \Jsun\j and the moon to look larger when they are near the horizon. One of his most interesting piece of work came when he noticed that the twilight only ceases or begins when the \Jsun\j is 19░ below the horizon, and tried to measure the height of the \Jatmosphere\j from that information. He estimated the height of a homogeneous \Jatmosphere\j to be some 90 kilometres.
Alhazen also studied the motion of bodies, and proposed something very similar to Newton's first law of motion, that moving bodies continue to move until some force acts on them. Today, he is commemorated in the Arabic world as a great scholar, and on the moon, by having his name attached to a plain to the west of the Mare Crisium.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
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#
"Ali",941,0,0,0
DT1 ?
DT2 661
EN Fourth caliph (656-61), the cousin and son-in-law of Mohammed. He converted to \JIslam\j when still a boy, and married the \Jprophet\j's daughter, Fatima. He withdrew, or was excluded from government during the caliphates of Abu-Bakr and Omar, and disagreed with Uthman in the interpretation of the Koran.
Opposition to his caliphate, led by Muawiyah, began a major division within \JIslam\j between Sunni and Shiah Muslims. He was murdered in the mosque at Kufa. He is held by Shiah Muslims to be the only true successor to the \Jprophet\j.
EN Egyptian ruler, a slave from the Caucasus who distinguished himself in the service of Ibrahim Katkhuda and rose to be chief of the Mamluks. Victorious in the power-struggle that followed the death of Ibrahim in 1754, he had himself declared sultan (1768) and proceeded to establish in \JEgypt\j an adminstration independent of Ottoman overlordship. Defeated by Ottoman forces in 1772, he was forced to take refuge in \JSyria\j. Under him \JEgypt\j briefly achieved independence for the first time in more than 200 years.
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#
"Ali Pasha",943,0,0,0
HS , known as \Bthe Lion of Janina\b
DT1 1741
DT2 1822
EN Turkish leader. An \JAlbanian\j brigand and assassin, he became Pasha of Trikala in 1787 and Janina (in \JGreece\j) in 1788, and in 1803 became Governor of Rumili. At Janina he maintained a barbarous but cultured court often visited by European travellers, among them Lord Byron. He intrigued with \JFrance\j and Britain, but was deposed in 1820 and put to death.
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#
"Ali, (Chaudri) Mohamad",944,0,0,0
DT1 1905
DT2 80
EN Pakistani statesman and prime minister (1955-6), born in Jullundur, India. He studied at Punjab University, and in 1945 was the first Indian to be appointed financial adviser of war and supply. In 1947, on the partition of India, he became the first secretary-general of the \JPakistan\j government, in 1951 finance minister, and in 1955 prime minister. He resigned in 1956 because of lack of support from members of his own party, the Muslim League.
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"Ali, Muhammad",945,0,0,0
DT1 1942
EN \JBoxer\j, born in \JLouisville\j, Kentucky, USA. He was an amateur \Jboxer\j (1954--60), who then became the Olympic light-heavyweight champion. He won the world heavyweight title in 1964, defeating Sonny Liston when he retired at the end of the sixth round. At that time he joined the Black Muslims and adopted the name Muhammad Ali.
In 1967, he refused to be drafted into the army on religious grounds, and was stripped of his title and barred from the ring. He took his case to the Supreme Court and had his boxing licence restored in 1970. In 1971 he was beaten by Joe Frazier, but beat him in 1974, and went on to meet George Foreman later that year, knocking him out in eight rounds to regain his title. He was beaten by Leon Spinks (1953-- ) in a split decision (Feb 1978), but regained the title the same year - the first man to win the world heavyweight title three times. His flamboyant style has made him a legend, and his slogan "I am the greatest' became a catch phrase.
Ali was President Carter's special envoy to Africa in 1980 (attempting to persuade nations to boycott the Olympics). He has starred in two films, \IThe Greatest\i (1976) and \IFreedom Road\i (1978), and an Oscar-winning documentary film, \IWhen We Were Kings\i, recounting the 1974 Ali v. Foreman fight, appeared in 1996. Ali retired in 1981.
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#
"Alia, Ramiz",946,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\blia]
DT1 1925
EN \JAlbanian\j statesman and president (1985--92), born in Shkoder, Albania. A former president of the youth wing of the ruling Communist Party of Labour of Albania (APL), he was inducted into the Party's central committee in 1954 and made minister of education (1955) and head of agitprop (1958).
He entered the APL's secretariat (1960) and \JPolitburo\j (1961), and on the death of Hoxha (1985) took over as APL leader. Although returned to power in the country's first multi-party elections in 1991, he was defeated the following year.
BK Biog99
#
"Alißkmon, River",947,0,0,0
PN [ali\Bak\bmon]
HS , ancient \BHaliacmon\b
EN River in W Macedonia region, N \JGreece\j; rises near the \JAlbanian\j border, flows south-east then north-east to enter the Gulf of Salonika; longest river in \JGreece\j; length 297┐km / 185┐mi.
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#
"alibi",948,0,0,0
EN A type of defence to a criminal charge: the defendant claims that at the time of the crime he or she was elsewhere. In English law, details of an \Jalibi\j defence have to be given within seven days of committal; usually an \Jalibi\j defence cannot be 'sprung' upon a criminal court. Most US jurisdictions also require advance notice of an \Jalibi\j defence. In Scotland, a plea of special defence, such as an \Jalibi\j, must be put at the first court appearance, unless special cause is shown.
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"Alicante",949,0,0,0
PN [alee\Bkan\btay]
EN 38░23N 0░30W, pop (1995e) 263 000. Seaport and capital of Alicante province, SE \JSpain\j; 422 km/262 mi SE of Madrid; airport; railway; car ferries to \JMarseille\j, Oran, Ibiza, Palma de Mallorca; popular winter resort; metal products, textiles, paper, \Jtobacco\j, \Jfertilizer\j, trade in fruit and wine; promenade, Castle of St Barbara, Church of St Mary (14th-c); bonfires in honour of St John (Jun).
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#
"Alice Maud Mary, Princess",950,0,0,0
DT1 1843
DT2 78
EN British princess, the second daughter of Queen Victoria. In 1862 she married \BPrince Louis of Hesse-Darmstadt\b (1837-92). They had four daughters: the eldest became the mother of Louis, Earl Mountbatten; the youngest, Alexandra, married Nicholas II of \JRussia\j.
MEX Alexandra Feodorovna; Mountbatten (of \JBurma\j)
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#
"Alice Springs",951,0,0,0
EN 23░42S 133░52E, pop (1995e) 21 600. Urban centre in \JNorthern Territory\j, C \JAustralia\j; administrative and supply centre for the settlements and \Jcattle\j stations of the Outback; established, 1890; airfield; railway terminus; Flying Doctor Service regional headquarters; tourist centre for the region; \Javiation\j museum; Camel Cup camel races (May); Bangtail Muster with rodeos, parades, and \Jcattle\j round-ups (May); \JAlice Springs\j Show Day (5 Jul); Henley-on-Todd Regatta, with mock yacht races on the dry bed of the Todd R (Aug).
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#
"alien",952,0,0,0
EN A person who is not a citizen of a state. A citizen of country X is usually an alien in country Y and vice versa. In the UK, for example, aliens may hold most kinds of property, but may not vote or hold a public office. The US constitution prohibits discrimination against aliens in jobs that do not require state security.
Aliens may acquire citizenship of a country by naturalization or, in some cases, marriage. It has yet to be decided whether any of this applies in the case of the other modern use of the term, referring to visitors from outer space.
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"Alien and Sedition Acts",953,0,0,0
EN (1798) US laws passed to crush political opposition, led by Thomas Jefferson, then vice-president. Two Alien Acts gave the president great power over foreigners. The Sedition Act authorized fining and imprisonment for public criticism of the government. They lapsed or were repealed during the period 1800-2.
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"alienation",954,0,0,0
EN Until the mid-20th-c, known mainly as a term referring either to the legal transfer of property or to progressive insanity. It then acquired currency as a key term in sociology, deriving from its earlier use by Hegel and Marx, denoting the \Jdisorientation\j, depersonalization, and powerlessness of the individual in an increasingly bureaucratized industrial society.
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#
"alienation-effect",955,0,0,0
HS or \BV-effect\b
EN A common translation of German \IVerfremdungseffekt,\i a term coined by Brecht to describe any theatrical means - directorial, histrionic, or literary - used to help an audience see as unfamiliar what they assume to be familiar. These effects remind the audience that what they are watching is only a play, and not real life. The audience is thus distanced from what is taking place on the stage.
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#
"alimentary canal",956,0,0,0
EN A tube in which foodstuffs are ingested, digested, and absorbed, and waste products excreted; also known as the \Bgut,\b or the \Bgastro-intestinal tract.\b It may exist as a simple structure with only one opening to the exterior (as in coelenterates, platyhelminths), or as a more complex structure with two openings (as in vertebrates). In the latter case, food is ingested via the mouth, and unassimilated material is expelled from the anus.
In many animals the canal is anatomically divided to provide partial separation (eg in invertebrates such as insects and cephalopods), or complete separation (eg in higher vertebrates such as mammals and birds) into regions which secrete different enzymes and absorb digestive products.
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#
"Alinsky, Saul (David)",957,0,0,0
DT (1909-72)social activist; born in
EN \JChicago\j. Director of the Industrial Areas Foundation (1939-72), he organized \JChicago\j slum dwellers to demand better housing and education, then trained others to be community organizers. After the 1964 race riots, he brought his organizing skills to urban ghettos. In \IRules for Radicals\i (1971), he articulated his principles of social activism.
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#
"aliphatic compound",958,0,0,0
PN [ali\Bfat\bik]
EN A carbon compound, especially one derived from a fatty acid, containing no aromatic groups.
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#
"aliyah",959,0,0,0
PN [ah\Blee\bah]
HS (Heb 'ascend')
EN The name given to the waves of Jewish migration to Palestine. The different waves were inspired by the push of persecution and the pull of \JZionism\j, and drew Jews from \JRussia\j, C Europe, and the \JMiddle East\j. The first two waves, spanning the years 1882-1914, were in response to pogroms in \JRussia\j and C Europe as well as the encouragement of the World Zionist Organization, and brought an estimated 60-70┐000 Jews to Palestine.
The next three waves (1919-39), initially encouraged by the Balfour Declaration and the establishment of the British Mandate in Palestine, incurred opposition from Palestinian \JArabs\j as 365┐000 immigrants began to change the demographic balance. To preserve the peace in Palestine with the onset of World War 2, Jewish \Jimmigration\j was halted.
The sixth aliyah, coming mostly between 1945 and the establishment of the state of Israel, brought over 118┐000 Jews, including many survivors of the \JHolocaust\j. By 1948, the Jewish community numbered c.650┐000, or one third of the population of Palestine. Since statehood, numerous waves of immigrants have reached Israel, such as the Falashas from \JEthiopia\j (1984) and emigrΘs from the former \JSoviet Union\j, reaching a peak of 10┐000 a month in early 1990.
BK a
#
"alkali",960,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bkaliy]
EN A strong base, especially sodium and \Jpotassium\j hydroxides. Solutions of alkalis have high values of \JpH\j, and are used as cleaning materials, as they dissolve fats. The \Balkali metals\b are Group I of the \Jperiodic table\j: \Jlithium\j, sodium, \Jpotassium\j, rubidium, and caesium. They are all characterized by being readily oxidized to compounds in which they exist as singly charged cations, and by having hydroxides which are strong bases.
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"alkaline-earth",961,0,0,0
EN Strictly, the elements \Jcalcium\j, \Jstrontium\j, \Jbarium\j, and \Jradium\j, but often including \Jberyllium\j and \Jmagnesium\j as well, hence Group II of the \Jperiodic table\j. These elements mainly form compounds in which they occur as doubly charged cations, and are largely responsible for the hardness of \Jwater\j.
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#
"alkaloids",962,0,0,0
EN Organic, \Jnitrogen\j-containing bases from plants which include complex ring structures. Their functions are not fully understood, but may include protection against grazing animals, and a role in \Jnitrogen\j assimilation. Many \Jalkaloids\j have biological activity, and have been used as drugs, such as \Jquinine\j, \Jmorphine\j, and \Jcocaine\j. However, they may also be very toxic, as in the case of \Jstrychnine\j.
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#
"alkanamides",963,0,0,0
EN See \Jamides\j
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#
"alkanes",964,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bkaynz]
EN Saturated \Jhydrocarbons\j, having a general formula C\Dn\d H\D2n +2\d, derived from \Jmethane\j by the addition of successive -CH\D2\d- groups. Also known as \Iparaffins,\i they are generally unreactive, but make up the major components of \Jpetroleum\j.
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#
"alkanet",965,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bkanet]
EN The name given to several plants of the borage family. True alkanet \I(Alkanna tinctoria)\i is a bristly perennial growing to 15┐cm / 6┐in; leaves oblong; flowers with a red tube and blue lobes; native to S Europe. The roots yield a red dye of the same name. \B(Family:\b Boraginaceae.)
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#
"alkanoic acids",966,0,0,0
EN See carboxylic acids
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#
"alkanols",967,0,0,0
EN See alcohols
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#
"alkanones",968,0,0,0
EN See \Jketones\j
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#
"alkanoyl",969,0,0,0
EN See acyl
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#
"alkenes",970,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bkeenz]
EN \JHydrocarbons\j containing one or more double bonds; also called \Bolefins.\b With one double bond, their general formula is C\Dn\d H\D2n\d. They are mainly reactive by addition.
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#
"alkyl",971,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bkiyl]
EN A group C\Dn\d H\D2n+1\d-, derived from an alkane, such as methyl (CH\D3\d-), \Jethyl\j (C\D2\dH\D5\d-), and \Jpropyl\j (C\D3\dH\D7\d-).
BK a
#
"alkynes",972,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bkiynz]
EN \JHydrocarbons\j containing one or more triple bonds; also called \Bacetylenes.\b With one triple bond, the general formula is C\Dn\d H\D2n-2\d.
BK a
#
"All Blacks",973,0,0,0
EN The \JNew Zealand\j national rugby union football team. The term was first applied to the team that toured Britain in 1905.
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#
"All Fools' Day",974,0,0,0
EN See April Fool
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#
"All Saints' Day",975,0,0,0
EN A Christian festival commemorating all the Church's saints collectively; held on 1 November in the Roman Catholic and Anglican Churches, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Eastern Churches; formerly known as \BAll Hallows\b (Old English \Ihalga,\i 'saint'); the preceding evening is \JHallowe'en\j.
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"All Souls' Day",976,0,0,0
EN In the Roman \JCatholic Church\j, the \Jday\j (2 Nov) set apart as a \Jday\j of prayer for souls in \Jpurgatory\j; also celebrated by some Anglicans; in the Eastern Orthodox Church celebrated about two months before Easter.
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"All-India Muslim League",977,0,0,0
EN A political organization (founded 1906) to protect Indian Muslim rights. During the 1930s and 1940s it campaigned under M A Jinnah's leadership for an independent Muslim state separate from future independent India. It was the dominant party in \JPakistan\j after 1947.
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"Allah",978,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bah]
EN The Islamic name for God. Prior to Mohammed, Allah was the supreme but not the sole deity in \JArabia\j. It was Mohammed's mission to proclaim Allah as the sole God, the creator and sustainer of all things, who in the last days will judge all of humanity. Allah is known to human beings through the revelation of his will in the Koran which he delivered piecemeal to his \JProphet\j Mohammed.
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"Allahabad",979,0,0,0
PN [\Bah\bla-habahd]
EN 25░25N 81░58E, pop (1995e) 873 000. City in Uttar Pradesh, NE India; on N bank of R Yamuna where it joins the R Ganges, 560 km/348 mi SE of New Delhi; founded, 1583; ceded to the British, 1801; airfield; railway; cotton, sugar; centre of \JHindi\j literature; Great Mosque, Sultan Khossor's caravanserai, fort containing the Asoka pillar (240BC);Hindu religious festival (Kumbh Mela), held every 12 years.
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#
"Allais, Maurice",980,0,0,0
PN [alay]
DT1 1911
EN Economist and engineer, born in Paris, \JFrance\j. He was professor of economic theory at the Institute of Statistics in Paris (1947--68), and since 1954 has been director of the Centre for Economic Analysis.
His primary contributions have been in the reformulation of the theories of general economic equilibrium and maximum efficiency, and in the development of new concepts relating to capital and consumer choice. He received the Nobel Prize for Economics in 1988.
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#
"Allan, David",981,0,0,0
DT1 1744
DT2 96
EN Genre and portrait painter, known as the 'Scottish Hogarth', born in Alloa, Clackmannanshire, C Scotland, UK. He studied in Glasgow and in \JRome\j, went to London (1777-80) to paint portraits, and became director of the Edinburgh Academy of Arts in 1786. He illustrated Allan Ramsay's \IGentle Shepherd\i and some of Robert Burns' poems.
MEX Hogarth
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#
"Allan, Sir Hugh",982,0,0,0
DT1 1810
DT2 82
EN Shipowner, born in Saltcoats, North Ayrshire, W Scotland, UK. He settled in 1826 in Canada, where his company of shipbuilders prospered, and founded the Allan Line of steamers. His financial support of the 1872 Conservative Party election campaign led to a scandal which brought down the government.
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#
"Allan, Sir William",983,0,0,0
DT1 1782
DT2 1850
EN Historical painter, born in Edinburgh, EC Scotland, UK. In 1805 he went to St Petersburg, then spent several years in \JRussia\j and Turkey, painting scenes of Russian life. In 1841 he was appointed Queen's \JLimner\j (painter) in Scotland. His Scottish historical paintings include scenes from the novels of Sir Walter Scott.
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#
"Allard, Harry A. (Ardell)",984,0,0,0
DT (1880-1963)
EN botanist; born in Oxford, Mass. He worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (1906-46), concentrating his research on the \Jphysiology\j and \Jpathology\j of \Jtobacco\j and cotton. In 1920, with Wightman Garner, he discovered photoperiodism, a fundamental botanical law stating that the blossoming and fruiting of plants depends on the amount of exposure to light.
Allard was a consummate naturalist whose field explorations to study the plants of Virginia and West Virginia resulted in a variety of publications dealing with the songbirds, amphibians, and the "musical" insects of the region, such as crickets and grasshoppers.
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#
"Allardice, Robert",985,0,0,0
EN See Barclay-Allardice, Robert
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#
"Allbutt, Sir Thomas (Clifford)",986,0,0,0
DT1 1836
DT2 1925
EN Physician, born in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, N England, UK. He studied at Cambridge, London, and Paris universities, practised medicine at Leeds, and became professor of medicine at Cambridge in 1892. In 1867 he introduced the short clinical thermometer. He wrote many medical works, especially on the heart and on the history of medicine.
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#
"Allcock, Tony",987,0,0,0
DT1 1955
EN British bowls player. His achievements include world outdoor champion (1980, 1984, 1988), world outdoor singles champion (1992, 1996), world indoor singles champion (1986--7), and world indoor pairs champion with David Bryant (1986--7, 1989--92). His books include \IImprove Your Bowls\i (1988) and \IBowl to Win\i (1994).
BK Biog99n
#
"Allegheny Mountains",988,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\buhgenee, aluh\Bgay\bnee]
EN Mountain range in E USA; W part of the Appalachian Mts; extends over 800┐km / 500┐mi from N \JPennsylvania\j SSW through Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia; forms the watershed between the Atlantic and the Mississippi R; highest point Spruce Knob, 1481┐m / 4859┐ft; rich in timber, \Jcoal\j, iron, and \Jlimestone\j.
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#
"allegory",989,0,0,0
EN A literary device by which another level of meaning is concealed within what is usually a story of some kind; also, the story itself. Myth and \Jfable\j are both allegorical. \JAllegory\j may therefore be understood as extended \Jmetaphor\j, or a continuous figure of speech. The form allows (indeed, invites) interpretation; it has often been used for works with a religious or political bearing, such as Bunyan's \IPilgrim's Progress\i (1678) and Orwell's \IAnimal Farm\i (1945).
BK a
#
"allele",990,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bleel, a\Bleel\b]
HS or \Ballelomorph\b
EN One of the alternative forms of a gene which can occur at a given point on a \Jchromosome\j (a \Ilocus).\i Alleles at a given locus controlling a particular character may vary in their effect, and there may be two, three, or more such alleles available in a population, of which each individual carries two - one from the father and one from the mother.
The term, introduced in 1902 to apply to Mendelian inheritance, is today increasingly applied to a short variant sequence of DNA, either within or adjacent to a functional gene.
BK a
#
"allemande",991,0,0,0
PN [ale\Bmahnd\b]
EN A dance originating in the 16th-c, probably in \JGermany\j. In the 17th-c it became a standard movement in the suite for lute or keyboard. It is in 4 / 4 time and moderate tempo, and usually begins with a short note before the first main beat.
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#
"Allen, Bryan",992,0,0,0
EN See MacCready, Paul (Beattie)
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#
"Allen, Edgar",993,0,0,0
EN See Doisy, Edward (Adelbert)
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#
"Allen, Ethan",994,0,0,0
DT (1738-1789)
EN soldier, Vermonter; born in Litchfield, Conn. He and his brothers acquired large landholdings in the "New Hampshire Grants" as \JVermont\j was then known. He formed the Green Mountain Boys, and resisted all efforts by New York and New Hampshire to control the \JVermont\j area. He and Benedict Arnold jointly captured Fort Ticonderoga (1775) but he was then captured by the British during an attack on Montreal.
After his imprisonment (1775-78), he returned to the new Republic of \JVermont\j. He sought to represent \JVermont\j as an independent political entity - he even negotiated with the British in pursuit of this goal. He died two years before \JVermont\j achieved statehood.
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#
"Allen, Florence (Ellinwood)",995,0,0,0
DT (1884-1966)
EN jurist, women's suffrage activist; born in \JSalt Lake City\j, \JUtah\j. The daughter of the first woman admitted to Smith College, she studied music but decided she lacked the talent to become a concert pianist and took up law instead. Admitted to the Ohio bar in 1914, she served as legal counsel for the suffragist movement, became assistant prosecutor for Cuyahoga County (1919) and was elected a common pleas court judge (1920).
In 1922 she won election to the Ohio Supreme Court. Appointed to the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in 1934, she served for 25 years and in 1958 became the first woman named to a federal appellate chief judgeship. She retired from the bench the following year. Despite strong support from women's groups, she never received the U.S. Supreme Court nomination she sought.
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#
"Allen, Fred (b. John F. Sullivan)",996,0,0,0
DT (1894-1956)
EN comedian; born in Cambridge, Mass. Starting as a juggler as a youth, he switched to comedy when he found he was getting more laughs for his quips than applause for his skill. He appeared in \Jvaudeville\j and Broadway shows in the 1920s and moved into radio in the 1930s.
As host of \ITown Hall Tonight\i (1934-40) and then CBS's \ITexaco Star Theatre\i (1940-49), he wrote much of his material and was one of the first American comedians to employ situations and a cast of characters that satirized topical events. He converted somewhat reluctantly to \Jtelevision\j, starring in \IThe Colgate Comedy Hour\i (1953-54) and \IFred Allen's Sketchbook\i (1954).
The nature of his characteristically wry, ironic, even occasionally mordant humor was expressed in the title of his \Jautobiography\j, \ITreadmill to Oblivion\i (1954).
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"Allen, Frederick Lewis",997,0,0,0
DT (1890-1954)
EN author, editor; born in \JBoston\j. He became editor of \IHarper's Magazine\i in 1941 and was widely known for his colorful works of \Jsocial history\j, including \IOnly Yesterday\i (1931).
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"Allen, George",998,0,0,0
DT1 1832
DT2 1907
EN Publisher and engraver, born in Newark, \JNottinghamshire\j, C England, UK. A pupil of Ruskin, whose publisher he subsequently became, he started a business in Bell Yard, Fleet Street, which ultimately merged with others and became the house of Allen and Unwin.
MEX Ruskin
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"Allen, Gracie",999,0,0,0
EN see Burns, George
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"Allen, Henry Justin",1000,0,0,0
DT (1868-1950)
EN publisher, governor; born in Pittsfield, Pa. Starting as a reporter in Kansas, he bought his first newspaper in 1895, later publishing the \IWichita Beacon\i (1907-28), exposing local corruption. He worked for the American Red Cross in \JFrance\j in 1917-18, returning to be Republican governor of Kansas (1919-23); although he generally supported fairly liberal and reform legislation, he became best known for passing the Kansas Industrial Act to curb striking unions (1920). Briefly a U.S. senator (1929-31), he returned to journalism.
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"Allen, James (Alfred) Van",1001,0,0,0
EN See Van Allen, James (Alfred)
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"Allen, Paula Gunn",1002,0,0,0
DT1 1939
EN Poet and novelist, born in Cubero, New Mexico, USA. Of mixed Laguna Pueblo, Sioux, and Chicano parentage, she has been associated with the Native American Studies programme at the University of \JCalifornia\j, Berkeley. She has written several volumes of poetry and novels, all exploring a bicultural world.
\BMajor Works\b
\IPoetry\i
1974 The Blind Lion
1978 Coyote's Daylight Trip
1981 Starchild
1981 A Cannon between My Knees
1982 Shadow Country
1988 Skins and Bones
1991 Grandmothers of the Light: A Medicine Woman's Sourcebook
\INovels\i
1983 The Woman Who Owned The Shadows: The Autobiography of Ephanie Atenico
\IEditor\i
1989 Spider Woman's Granddaughters
\IOther\i
1987 The Sacred Hoop: Recovering the Feminine In American Indian Traditions
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"Allen, Ralph",1003,0,0,0
HS , known as \Bthe Man of Bath\b
DT1 ?
DT1 1694
DT2 1764
EN English philanthropist. A deputy postmaster at Bath, south-west England, UK, he made a fortune by improving postal routes in England. He built the mansion of Prior Park, near Bath.
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"Allen, Red",1004,0,0,0
HS , originally \BHenry Allen, Jr\b
DT1 1908
DT2 67
EN Jazz trumpeter and singer, born in \JAlgiers\j, LA. As a boy, he marched alongside his father's famous \JNew Orleans\j Brass Band. In \JChicago\j in 1927, he joined King Oliver's band and travelled with it to New York, where he made his first recordings. He played the Mississippi steamboats (1928-9), then joined Fletcher Henderson's orchestra (1932-4).
He recorded prolifically, but when he joined Armstrong's orchestra (1937-40) he was kept in the background. When he finally made it to Europe in 1959, he was lionized, and for the rest of his days he happily played \JDixieland\j either in the raucous band at the Metropole in New York or on European tours.
MEX Armstrong, Louis; Henderson, Fletcher; Oliver, King
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"Allen, Richard",1005,0,0,0
DT (1760-1831)
EN Methodist minister, church founder; born in Philadelphia. Born a slave, he was sold as a child to a farmer in \JDelaware\j. He converted to \JMethodism\j as a young man and then converted his owner, who allowed Allen to obtain his freedom. While working at odd jobs, he educated himself and traveled throughout the mid-Atlantic state preaching.
By 1874 he was accepted as a Methodist preacher and he returned to Philadelphia to preach (1786-87). After an incident in which white parishioners forced the African-Americans present to segregate themselves, Allen led his black parishioners to form a Free African Society (1787). In 1794 he established a separate Methodist church for African-Americans.
In 1816 a number of independent black Methodist churches around the Northeast came together to form the African Methodist Episcopal Church; Allen was ordained its first bishop (April 11, 1816) and led it until his death as it expanded not only as a religious force but also in civil and social activism. This has often been called one of the most enduring institutions ever organized by African-Americans.
Allen himself was a strong patriot, even supporting the \JWar of 1812\j, and he denounced the notion of sending African-Americans to colonize in Africa.
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"Allen, Sir George Oswald Browning",1006,0,0,0
HS , known as \BGubby Allen\b
DT1 1902
DT2 89
EN Cricketer, born in Sydney, \JNew South Wales\j, \JAustralia\j. He studied at Cambridge, played for England in 25 Tests, and was captain in the Tests against India in 1936. He is the only player to have taken all ten wickets in an innings at Lord's (10-49 against Lancashire, 1929), and with Lake E G Ames (1905-90) he holds the all-time Test eighth-wicket record with a partnership of 246 against \JNew Zealand\j in 1931.
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"Allen, Sir Harry Brookes",1007,0,0,0
DT1 1854
DT2 1926
EN Pathologist, born in Geelong, Victoria, \JAustralia\j. He studied at Melbourne University, and became its Foundation professor of \Jpathology\j (1906-24). On a visit to the UK in 1890 he persuaded the General Medical Council in London to recognize medical degrees conferred by Melbourne, pioneering the eventual wider recognition of colonial academic qualifications.
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"Allen, Steve",1008,0,0,0
DT1 1921
EN Entertainer, born in New York City, USA. Born into a show business family, his early life was spent travelling with their \Jvaudeville\j act. He later worked in \JHollywood\j for the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), and successfully pioneered the first late-evening talk show, \IThe Tonight Show\i (1953). A diversely talented man, he composed many hit songs including "This Could Be the Start of Something Big' and "Impossible'.
\BMajor Works\b
\IAlbums\i
1955 Jazz for Tonight
\IComposer - songs\i
This Could Be The Start of Something Big
Impossible
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"Allen, Terry (de la Mesa)",1009,0,0,0
DT (1888-1969)
EN soldier; born in Fort Douglas, \JUtah\j. The famously profane son of a professional soldier, "Terrible Terry" Allen failed to graduate from West Point, and fought as a professional \Jboxer\j for a time. During World War II, he became the only officer to lead two infantry divisions in battle - the 1st, composed largely of regulars, in \JSicily\j in 1943, and the conscript 104th, which he trained in Oregon and led in \JFrance\j and \JGermany\j in 1944-45.
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"Allen, Viola",1010,0,0,0
DT 1869-1948
EN American actress. In 1884 the actor John McCullough engaged her to play his daughter in Virginius, then made her his leading lady. Later she played opposite W.E. Sheridan, Tommaso Salvini and Joseph Jefferson III. She was leading lady in Charles Frohman's Empire Stock Company. An intelligent and appealing actress, she was highly regarded for such portrayals as Viola and the double roles of Hermione and Perdita. She retired in 1918.
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"Allen, Walter (Ernest)",1011,0,0,0
DT1 1911
DT2 95
EN Novelist and critic, born in Birmingham, West Midlands, C England, UK. He studied at Birmingham University, then held several university posts in Britain and the USA. His first novel, \IInnocence is Drowned,\i was published in 1938, and he scored a considerable success with \IDead Man Over All,\i in 1950. He wrote several critical works, including \IThe English Novel: A Short Critical History\i (1954).
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"Allen, William (1532-94)",1012,0,0,0
DT1 1532
DT2 94
EN Clergyman, born in Rossall, Lancashire, north-west England, UK. He became principal of St Mary's Hall, Oxford, but after the accession of Queen Elizabeth in 1558 he went into exile in Flanders (1561) rather than take the Oath of Supremacy. In 1568 he founded the English college at Douai to train missionary priests for the reconversion of England to Catholicism, and supervised the Reims-Douai translation of the \JBible\j. In 1587 he was created a cardinal.
MEX Elizabeth I
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"Allen, William (1803-79)",1013,0,0,0
DT (1803-79)
EN U.S. representative, governor; born in Edenton, N.C. He moved to Ohio (1819) and was admitted to the bar in 1827. He served in the U.S. \JHouse of Representatives\j (Dem., Ohio; 1833-35) and in the U.S. Senate (Dem., Ohio; 1837-49). An ardent expansionist, he was chairman of the committee on foreign relations.
He acted as a spokesperson for President James Polk during the deliberations on the start of the Mexican War. An antiwar Democrat during the \JCivil War\j, he later served as governor of Ohio (1874-76). Ohio placed his statue in the U.S. Capitol.
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"Allen, William (Hervey)",1014,0,0,0
DT (1889-1949)
EN writer, poet; born in \JPittsburgh\j, Pa. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy but took his B.S. from the University of \JPittsburgh\j (1915). He served briefly on the Mexican border with the National Guard and then with the U.S. Army in \JFrance\j during World War I; his war diary, \IToward the Flame\i (1926), was highly regarded in its \Jday\j. After some graduate study at Harvard, he taught English at a high school in Charleston, S.C. (1919-25) and then at several colleges.
During the 1920s he published many volumes of his poetry and lectured on poetry at the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference (Vt.), but his reputation as a poet soon faded. Instead, he is best known for his still-relevant \Jbiography\j of Edgar Allan Poe, \IIsrafel\i (1926), and for a swashbuckling historical novel, \IAnthony Adverse\i (1933). The popularity of the latter freed him to go on writing historical novels set in the \JCivil War\j and the \JPennsylvania\j frontier, but nothing ever repeated the success he enjoyed with \IAnthony Adverse.
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"Allen, William (McPherson)",1015,0,0,0
DT (1900-85)
EN \Jaircraft\j manufacturer; born in Lolo, Montana. A Harvard educated lawyer, he worked for the legal counsel of Boeing \JAircraft\j, joining the company's board of directors in 1931. First as president and then chairman and chief executive officer, from 1945 to 1972 he guided Boeing as it became the world's largest commercial jet transport producer.
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"Allen, Woody",1016,0,0,0
DT1 1935
EN Film actor and director, born in Brooklyn, New York City, USA. \IWhat's New, Pussycat?\i (1965) saw the start of a prolific film-making career that initially consisted of slapstick lunacy and genre \Jparody\j in such productions as \IBananas\i (1971) and \ILove and Death\i (1975). \IAnnie Hall\i (1977) marked a shift in style and substance to more concentrated, autobiographical pieces and won him Oscars for writing and direction.
Subsequently, he has explored his concerns with mortality, sexual inadequacies, show-business nostalgia, \Jpsychoanalysis\j, and urban living in such films as \IInteriors\i (1978), \IManhattan\i (1979), \IBroadway Danny Rose\i (1984), and \IHannah and Her Sisters\i (1986, Oscar). His books include \IGetting Even\i (1971) and \IWithout Feathers\i (1976).
Later films include \IHusbands and Wives\i (1992) - whose release ironically coincided with the much-publicized breakdown of his long-term relationship with actress \BMia Farrow\b (1945-- ) - \IBullets over Broadway\i (1994, Oscar), and \IEveryone Says I Love You\i (1997). In 1993 his private life received adverse publicity after losing a court battle for custody of three of their children, following the revelation of an affair with Farrow's adopted daughter, Soon-Yi.
\BMajor Works\b
\IActor/Director\i
1971 Bananas
1973 Sleeper
1975 Love and Death
1977 Annie Hall
1979 Manhattan
1984 Broadway Danny Rose
1986 Hannah and Her Sisters
1989 Crimes and Misdemeanors
1990 Scenes from a Mall
1992 Husbands and Wives
1997 Everyone Says I Love You
\IDirector only\i
1978 Interiors
1984 The Purple Rose of Cairo
1987 September
1988 Another Woman
1990 Alice
1994 Bullets Over Broadway
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"Allenby, Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount",1017,0,0,0
DT1 1861
DT2 1936
EN British soldier, born in Brackenhurst, \JNottinghamshire\j, C England, UK. He trained at Sandhurst, and joined the Inniskilling Dragoons. In World War 1 he commanded the 1st Cavalry Division and then the Third Army in \JFrance\j (1915-17). Thereafter he was appointed commander-in-chief of the Egyptian expeditionary force against the Turks, took Beersheba and Gaza, and entered \JJerusalem\j (1917). In 1918 he routed the Egyptians in the great cavalry battle of \JMegiddo\j. He was later high commissioner in \JEgypt\j (1919-25).
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"Allende (Gossens), Salvador",1018,0,0,0
PN [a\Byen\bday]
DT1 1908
DT2 73
EN Chilean statesman and president (1970-3), born in Valparaφso, \JChile\j. He helped found the Chilean Socialist Party, was elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1937, served as minister of health for three years, and was a senator (1945-70). He sought, and failed to win, the presidency in 1952, 1958, and 1964, but was narrowly successful in 1970.
He tried to build a Socialist society within the framework of a parliamentary democracy, but met widespread opposition from business interests. He was overthrown by a military junta, led by General Augusto Pinochet, and died in the fighting.
MEX Pinochet
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"Allende, Isabel",1019,0,0,0
PN [a\Byen\bday]
DT1 1942
EN Novelist, born in Lima, \JPeru\j, the niece and god-daughter of Salvador Allende, the former president of \JChile\j. Several months after the overthrow of \JChile\j's coalition government in 1973, she fled \JChile\j, seeking sanctuary in Venezuela. Her first novel, \IThe House of the Spirits\i (1985), which arose directly out of her exile, became a worldwide best-seller and critical success. Her later books include \IOf Love and Shadows\i (1987) and \IThe Infinite Plan\i (1993).
\BMajor Works\b
\INovels\i
1985 The House of the Spirits
1987 Of Love and Shadows
1993 The Infinite Plan
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"allergy",1020,0,0,0
EN A reaction of the body or tissue to contact with certain foreign substances. These substances are called \Ballergens,\b and in sensitive individuals they react with proteins \I(\Jantibodies\j)\i produced within the body by cells of the immune system. The reaction between the allergen and \Jantibodies\j results in the liberation of substances which damage body cells and tissues, including \Jhistamine\j, hydroxtryptamine, and bradykinin. A large number of substances found in nature (eg \Jpollen\j) are actual or potential allergens, and are capable of inducing a wide range of illnesses such as \Jasthma\j and \Jdermatitis\j.
\BMore information provided by Webster Publishing\b
Approximately one person in eight is genetically predisposed to be allergic.
\ITreatment:\i Avoidance of allergen where possible (e.g. house dust mite for \Jasthma\j sufferers). Medications include anti-histamines which reduce the acute effects of symptoms or long term corticosteroid drugs which can prevent symptoms from occurring.
Modern technology is responsible for producing new chemical allergens each year in plastics, paints, food additives, etc. Thus allergic disease is increasing in western countries.
\IWritten by Jane King\i
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"alley farming",1021,0,0,0
EN An \Jagroforestry\j system developed to maintain soil productivity, in which rows of fast-growing leguminous trees are planted at intervals of 4-6┐m / 13-20┐ft within fields of annual crops. The trees reclaim \Jnutrients\j from deep soil layers and fix atmospheric \Jnitrogen\j. Their branches can be used as nitrogen-rich forage or as green \Jmanure\j, thus making a useful contribution to sustainable agriculture.
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"Alley, Rewi",1022,0,0,0
DT1 1897
DT2 1987
EN Writer and teacher, born in Springfield, Canterbury, \JNew Zealand\j. After service in World War 1 and a failed farming venture, he went to China in 1927. There he spent the rest of his life promoting the concept of industrial co-operative education. From 1938 he was involved with the \IGung Ho\i ('work together') scheme, and from 1945 at Shandan in China he directed a model school to teach peasants how to produce goods for the community by employing low technology methods.
He wrote over 70 books, including volumes of travel and poetry. Sympathetic to the Communists, he was one of the few Westerners who remained in China after they came to power there in 1949.
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"Alleyn, Edward",1023,0,0,0
DT 1566-1626
EN English actor. He is known to have been with the Admiral's Men at the Rose by 1592, where he played Marlowe's towering heroes. His career, unlike that of his fellow leading actor Richard Burbage, was interrupted when he retired from the stage in 1597, and with his father-in-law Philip Henslowe ran the Bear Garden and built the Fortune as a new home for the Admiral's Men.
When the Fortune opened in 1600, Alleyn returned to the stage. His highly rhetorical style may by then have seemed old- fashioned, but he did not finally retire until 1604. In 1613 he began the building of the College of God's Gift at Dulwich (then a few miles southeast of London).
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"AllgΣu Alps",1024,0,0,0
PN [\Bahl\bgoy]
HS , Ger \BAllgΣuer Alpen\b
EN Mountain range extending E from Lake Constance along the Austro-German border to the Lech River valley; highest peak, the MΣdelegabel (2645┐m / 8678┐ft); major \Jcattle\j-rearing area (the AllgΣu breed), dairying; many spas and medicinal springs.
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"Allgood, Sara",1025,0,0,0
DT1 1883
DT2 1950
EN Actress, born in Dublin. At the Abbey Theatre she created the parts of Juno Boyle and Bessie Burgess in Sean O'Casey's \IJuno and the Paycock\i and \IThe Plough and the Stars\i (1926) respectively. In 1940 she settled in \JHollywood\j, and appeared in over 30 films, including \IJane Eyre\i (1943), \IThe Lodger\i (1944), and \IBetween Two Worlds\i (1944).
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"Alliaco, Petrus de",1026,0,0,0
EN See Ailly, Pierre d''
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#
"Alliance",1027,0,0,0
EN See Liberal Party (UK); Social Democratic Party (SDP)
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#
"Alliance for Progress",1028,0,0,0
EN A 10-year programme of modernization and reform for countries in \JLatin America\j, sponsored by the US government in 1961 on the initiative of President Kennedy. Few of its aims were achieved, despite numerous specific development projects.
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"Allibone, Samuel Austin",1029,0,0,0
DT (1816-89)
EN bibliographer; born in Philadelphia. He started out in business, working for an insurance company in Philadelphia. Between 1867 and 1879, as editor of the American Sunday School Union, he published many indices and anthologies, including \IAn Alphabetical Index to the New Testament\i (1868) and \IProse Quotations from \JSocrates\j to Macaulay\i (1876). His invaluable three-volume \ICritical Dictionary of English Literature and British and American Authors\i was published in 1858 and 1871.
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"Allies",1030,0,0,0
EN The term generally applied to the nations that fought the 'Axis' powers during World War 2. By 1942 the combatant countries comprising the Allies included \JGreat Britain\j and the \JBritish Commonwealth\j, USA, \JSoviet Union\j, \JFrance\j, and China, while Costa Rica, \JCuba\j, \JBrazil\j, and Mexico had also declared war on \JGermany\j and \JJapan\j. By March 1945 they had been joined by \JBulgaria\j, \JFinland\j, \JHungary\j, \JItaly\j (which nations had been previously allied to Nazi Germany), and Turkey.
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"alligator",1031,0,0,0
EN A \Jcrocodile\j-like \Jreptile\j of family Alligatoridae; short broad snout; fourth tooth from the front on each side of the lower jaw is hidden when the jaws are closed (unlike the \Jcrocodile\j); two species: \BAmerican alligator\b \I(Alligator mississippiensis)\i from south-east USA, and the rare \BChinese alligator\b \I(Alligator chinensis).\i
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"Allingham, Margery",1032,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\binguhm]
DT1 1904
DT2 66
EN Detective-story writer, the creator of the fictional detective Albert Campion, born in London, England, UK. She wrote a string of elegant and witty novels, including \ICrime at Black Dudley\i (1928), \ITiger in the Smoke\i (1952), and \IThe China Governess\i (1963).
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"Allingham, William",1033,0,0,0
DT1 1824
DT2 89
EN Poet, born in Ballyshannon, Co \JDonegal\j, Ireland. In 1874 he succeeded James Froude as editor of \IFraser's Magazine.\i His works include \IDay and Night Songs\i (1854), illustrated by Rossetti and Millais, and \IIrish Songs and Poems\i (1887).
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"Allison, William B. (Boyd)",1034,0,0,0
DT (1829-1908)
EN U.S. senator; born in Perry, Ohio. A lawyer by profession, he entered Ohio politics and joined the new Republican Party. In 1857 he moved to \JIowa\j and practiced law before going to the U.S. \JHouse of Representatives\j (Rep., \JIowa\j; 1963-72).
Although implicated in the Credit Mobilier railroad scandal of 1870, he went on to serve in the U.S. Senate (1873-1908) where he became one of the leaders of the Republican delegation, renowned for his ability to unite opposing groups. A fiscal conservative, he took moderate stands on currency issues such as the Bland-Allison Silver Act (1878).
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"alliteration",1035,0,0,0
EN The repetition of a consonantal sound or sounds; to be distinguished from \Bassonance,\b the repetition of a vowel sound. Both are illustrated in these lines by Keats: 'Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn / Among the river sallows, borne aloft / Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies'. The dominant consonants here are \Il,\i \Im / n,\i and \Iw; \i an example of assonance is the link between \Ismall,\i \Imourn,\i and \Iborne.\i An intrinsic part of the sound-structure of poetry, alliterative effects may also be cultivated in prose.
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"Allitt, Beverley",1036,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bit]
DT1 1969
EN British convicted murderer. A nurse by profession, she was convicted in 1993 of the murder of four children in her care and of the attempted murder of three others. Dubbed the UK's first female serial killer, she allegedly suffered from a medical condition termed "Mⁿnchhausen's syndrome by proxy'.
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"allium",1037,0,0,0
EN A member of a large \Jgenus\j of perennials, all with a strong, distinctive onion smell, native to the Northern hemisphere; most form bulbs with a brown papery skin; leaves usually tubular, sometimes elliptical or strap-shaped; flowers with six \Jperianth\j-segments, bell- or star-shaped, in dense umbels.
In many species the flowers are mixed with, or completely replaced by bulbils, which allow the plant to reproduce vegetatively. They include several well-known vegetables and ornamentals. \B(Genus:\b \IAllium,\i 450 species. \BFamily:\b Liliaceae.)
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"allopathy",1038,0,0,0
PN [a\Blo\bpathee]
EN (Gr \Iallos,\i 'different' + \Ipathos,\i 'suffering') A term used by Samuel Hahnemann to describe the approach of orthodox medicine, which gives treatment to suppress the symptoms of an illness using the principle of opposites (eg analgesics for pain, purgatives for \Jconstipation\j). This contrasts with the homeopathic approach, which encourages rather than suppresses the body's reaction to a disease process.
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"allophone",1039,0,0,0
EN See \Jphoneme\j
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"Allori, Alessandro",1040,0,0,0
PN [a\Blaw\bree]
DT1 1535
DT2 1607
EN Florentine mannerist painter, adopted and trained by Bronzino, whose name he and his son, \BCristofano\b (1577-1621), later adopted. They both were portrait painters at the Medici court, and executed religious works for the churches of Florence.
MEX Bronzino
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"Allosaurus",1041,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bosawrus]
EN A large flesh-eating \Jdinosaur\j reaching 11┐m / 36┐ft in length and two tonnes in weight; bipedal, powerful hindlimbs, and short forelimbs, both with three claws; muscular tail assisted in balancing; teeth with serrated edges; known from the Upper Jurassic period of \JNorth America\j. \B(Order:\b Saurischia.)
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"allotrope",1042,0,0,0
EN One of several forms in which an element may exist. These may be different molecular forms, as O\D2\d and O\D3\d, or they may be different crystal modifications, as \Jgraphite\j and diamond (allotropes of C).
\BMore information provided by Webster Publishing\b
Sulphur is found in several forms, \Jphosphorus\j occurs in two forms, and tin is also capable of arranging itself in two distinct ways.
There is a popular legend that Napoleon's troops, retreating from Moscow, suffered the indignity of having their trousers fall down, as a result of their tin buttons crumbling in the intense Russian cold. Sadly, there is no truth to this legend.
Carbon must have one of the highest number of allotropes, with eight distinct forms known, apart from the common ones mentioned above: two forms of \Jgraphite\j, two forms of diamond, chaoit (discovered in 1968), and carbon VI, found in 1972. Two distinct fullerenes were also discovered in 1985 by Robert F. Curl, Harold W. Kroto and Richard E. Smalley, along with two graduate students, J. R. Heath and S. C. O'Brien.
That being said, the major allotropes of carbon are diamond and \Jgraphite\j. In diamond each carbon atom has four single (sigma) bonds to four other carbon atoms and is in a tetrahedral arrangement. This gives the diamond a very strong 3-dimensional structure. \JGraphite\j has a two dimensional structure, which explains why it is such an effective \Jlubricant\j.
Each carbon atom in \Jgraphite\j is surrounded by three other carbon atoms in the same plane (a trigonal planar arrangement). The bond order between each carbon atom in the plane is 1.5. The different planes of carbon atoms are weakly held together by the interacting \Jpi\j-clouds, but this is much less effective, allowing the planes to slip past each other. Berzelius converted amorphous carbon to \Jgraphite\j in 1841.
The allotropes of \Jphosphorus\j have very different chemical properties. White \Jphosphorus\j will auto-ignite at 29░C, while red \Jphosphorus\j only does so at 260░C.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
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"alloy",1043,0,0,0
EN A blend of a metal with one or more other metals or with a non-metallic substance. Most pure metals lack the properties needed to make them practically useful, and are nearly always used as some alloy. The properties of the alloy may differ considerably from those of any of the constituents, and vary with the proportions used, as with brass.
Alloys known since ancient times include bronze (copper with tin), brass (copper with zinc), and \Jpewter\j (lead with tin). Modern alloys include stainless steels (iron / \Jchromium\j / nickel), and high \Jtemperature\j-resistant alloys for use in gas turbines (containing \Jtitanium\j).
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"Allport, Gordon (Willard)",1044,0,0,0
DT (1897-1967)
EN psychologist; born in Montezuma, Ind. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard in 1922, then spent 1922-24 in Europe on a fellowship. He was instructor of social ethics at Harvard (1924-26) and assistant professor of \Jpsychology\j at Dartmouth (1926-30); he returned to Harvard's \Jpsychology\j faculty in 1930, where he became Cabot Professor of Social Ethics in 1966. His most influential work was \IPersonality: A Psychological Interpretation\i (1937), revised as \IPatterns and Growth in Personality\i (1961).
Among his several innovative approaches to the study of human \Jpsychology\j was his use of individuals' personal writings and artistic creations. He was a guest professor at various institutions, served as president of the American Psychological Association from 1939-40, and was awarded the American Psychological Foundation's gold medal in 1963.
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"Allsopp, Samuel",1045,0,0,0
PN [\Bawl\bsop]
DT1 1780
DT2 1838
EN British philanthropist, a member of the brewing firm of Allsopp & Sons, Burton-on-Trent, C England, UK. The youngest of his three sons, \BHenry\b (1811-87), to whom the development of the firm was largely due, represented Worcestershire in parliament (1874-80), and in 1886 was created Lord Hindlip.
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"allspice",1046,0,0,0
EN An evergreen tree \I(Pimenta dioica)\i native to tropical America and the West Indies; leaves elliptical; flowers creamy; fruit small, round; also known as \Bpimento\b or \BJamaican pepper.\b Spice made from its dried, unripe fruits has a flavour like that of \Jcinnamon\j, cloves, and \Jnutmeg\j combined, hence the name. \B(Family:\b Myrtaceae.)
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"Allston, Robert (Francis Withers)",1047,0,0,0
DT (1801-64)
EN farmer, governor; born in Waccamaw, S.C. A West Point graduate (1821), he spent a year on the Geodetic Coastal Survey when family matters called him home to oversee the rice plantation. An innovative farmer, he improved cultivation methods and developed better varieties of seed, samples of which won medals at the 1855 Paris Exposition.
In 1843 he published \IMemoir on Rice.\i In addition to farming, he was South Carolina's surveyor general (1823-27), a state representative (1828-30) and a state senator (1832-56) until he was elected governor (1856-58). As governor, he emphasized the importance of local taxation to supplement the support of schools.
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"Allston, Washington",1048,0,0,0
DT (1779-1843)
EN painter; born in \JGeorgetown\j County, N.C. He spent many years in England (1801-18), studied with Benjamin West (1801-03), became friends with Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Washington Irving, and produced romantic paintings, such as \IThe Rising of a \JThunderstorm\j at Sea\i (1804).
He returned to \JBoston\j (1818), settled in Cambridgeport, Mass., and continued to paint poetic and narrative subjects, as in \IThe Flight of Florimell\i (1819) and \IThe Moonlit Landscape\i (1819). His most famous pupil was Samuel F. B. Morse.
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"Alltrans",1049,0,0,0
EN See Abeles, Sir (Emil Herbert) Peter
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"alluvium",1050,0,0,0
EN A geological term for unconsolidated material deposited by a river. The material ranges in size from clay, through silt and sand, to gravel. \JAlluvium\j is generally well sorted (ie deposits are of a uniform or narrow size range), and the material is rounded.
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"Alma-Ata",1051,0,0,0
EN See Almaty
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"Alma-Tadema, Sir Lawrence",1052,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bma \Btad\bema]
DT1 1836
DT2 1912
EN Painter of Classical-genre paintings, born in Dronrijp, The Netherlands. He studied at the Antwerp Academy of Art, and came to specialize in subjects from Greek, Roman, and Egyptian antiquity. He achieved great popularity with such Classical idyllic scenes as 'Tarquinius Superbus' (1867) and 'The Conversion of Paula' (1898).
He was a painstaking technician and spared no expense. For 'The Roses of Heliogabalus' (exhibited Royal Academy, 1896), fresh roses were sent weekly from the S of \JFrance\j so that every petal - and the picture contains thousands - could be depicted accurately. He settled permanently in England in 1873, and was knighted in 1899.
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"Almack, William",1053,0,0,0
DT1 ?
DT2 1781
EN British clubman, of either Yorkshire or Scottish origin (possibly originally \BMcCall).\b He came at an early age to London, opening a gaming club in Pall Mall in 1763, and Almack's Assembly Rooms in King Street, St James's, in 1765. These became centres of London society.
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"Almagro, Diego de",1054,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bmagroh]
DT1a c.
DT1 1475
DT2 1538
EN Conquistador, born in Almagro, \JSpain\j. He was on the first exploratory expedition from \JPeru\j against the Incas led by Francisco Pizarro (1524-8). In the second expedition (from 1532), he joined Pizarro in 1533 at Cajamarca, and occupied the Inca capital of Cuzco.
In 1535-6 he led the conquest of \JChile\j, but came back to Cuzco in 1537 and, after a dispute with Pizarro, occupied it by force, thus beginning a \Jcivil war\j between the Spaniards. Early in 1538 he was defeated by an army led by Pizarro's brother, Hernando, and was captured and executed.
MEX Pizarro, Francisco
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"Almaty",1055,0,0,0
PN [al\Bma\btee]
EN 43░15N 76░57E, pop (1995e) 1 198 000. Former capital city of \JKazakhstan\j (to 1997, now Akmola); in the N foothills of the Zailiyskiy Alatau range, c.300 km/185 mi from the Chinese frontier; established in 1854 as a military fortress and trading centre; destroyed by \Jearthquake\j, 1887; airport; railway; university (1934); Academy of Sciences (1968); \Jengineering\j, printing, film-making, foodstuffs, \Jtobacco\j, textiles, leather; noted tourist and athletic centre; \JAscension\j cathedral (1904, world's second highest wooden building).
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"Almeida, Brites de",1056,0,0,0
PN [al\Bmay\bda]
DT1a fl.
DT1 1385
EN Legendary Portuguese heroine, born in Aljubarrota, \JPortugal\j. She is said to have been a baker; about 1385, during the war between John I and the King of Cadiz, she led her townspeople against the Spanish forces and killed seven of them with her baker's shovel. The incident was celebrated by Camoens in a poem.
MEX Camoens
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"Almeida, Francisco de",1057,0,0,0
PN [al\Bmay\bda]
DT1a c.
DT1 1450
DT2 1510
EN Portuguese soldier and first viceroy of the Portuguese Indies (1505-9), until he was superseded by Affonso d'Albuquerque. He was killed in South Africa on his voyage home in a skirmish with natives at Table Bay.
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"Almeida-Garrett, Joπo Baptista da Silva Leitπo",1058,0,0,0
EN See Garrett, Joπo Baptista de Almeida
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"Almirante, Giorgio",1059,0,0,0
PN [almi\Bran\btay]
DT1 ?
DT1 1915
DT2 88
EN Leader of \JItaly\j's neo-Fascist Party, born near Parma, \JItaly\j. He helped to found the neo-Fascist movement after the war, becoming national secretary of the Party in 1969. He retired in 1987 because of ill health.
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"Almodovar, Pedro",1060,0,0,0
PN [almo\B\Ut\u\b;\B\Uh\u\b;o\Bvar\b]
DT1 1951
EN Film director, born in Calzada de Calatrava, \JSpain\j. His films are known for their provocative treatment of sexual themes. \IMujeres Al Borde de Un Ataque de Nervous\i (1988, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown) won several prizes, and had an Oscar nomination as Best Foreign Film. Later films include \IAtame!\i (1990, Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!) and \IHigh Heels\i (1991).
\BMajor Works\b
\IFilms\i
1983 Entre Tinieblas (Dark Habits)
1986 Matador
1987 La Ley Del Deseo (The Law of Desire)
1988 Mujeres Al Borde de Un Ataque de Nervous (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown)
1990 Atame! (Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!)
1991 High Heels
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"Almohads",1061,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bmuhhadz]
EN See \JBerber\j
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"almond",1062,0,0,0
EN A small, deciduous, sometimes spiny tree \I(Prunus dulcis)\i growing to 8┐m / 26┐ft, native to Asia; leaves narrowly oval, toothed; flowers pink fading to white, appearing before the leaves; fruit greyish, velvety, 3.5-6┐cm / 11/2-21/2┐in, oval; thin, leathery flesh surrounding pitted stone.
The \Bsweet almond\b (variety \Idulcis)\i is the source of edible almond nuts; \Bbitter almond\b (variety \Itamara)\i is inedible, but provides oil of bitter almonds used in industry; ornamental flowering almonds are other species. \B(Family:\b Rosaceae.)
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"Almond, Edward Mallory",1063,0,0,0
DT (1892-1979)
EN soldier; born in Luray, Va. A veteran of World War I and World War II, he commanded the amphibious invasion of Inchon, Korea, and captured the South Korean capital, Seoul (1950). When a massive Chinese counteroffensive threw the United Nations' drive into reverse, he led the X Corps in a fighting withdrawal southward from Choisin Reservoir.
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"Almoravids",1064,0,0,0
PN [almo\Bra\bvidz]
EN See \JBerber\j
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"Almquist or Almqvist, Carl Jonas Love",1065,0,0,0
PN [\Balm\bkwist]
DT1 1793
DT2 1866
EN Writer, born in Stockholm. He had a bizarrely chequered career as a clergyman and teacher; he was accused of \Jforgery\j and attempted murder, and fled to the USA. From 1865 he lived in Bremen under an assumed name. His prolific literary output, ranging from \JRomanticism\j to (from the late 1830s) Social Realism, encompassed novels, plays, poems, and essays, and was published in a 14-volume series, \IT÷rnrosens Bok\i (1832-51, The Book of the Briar Rose).
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"aloe",1066,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\boh]
EN A member of a large \Jgenus\j of shrub- or tree-like evergreens, native to Africa, especially S Africa, and \JArabia\j; leaves sword-shaped, tough, fleshy, often waxy and toothed, in rosettes at tips of stems; flowers tubular, yellow to red; often planted for ornament. The drug \Bbitter aloes\b is obtained from the sap. \B(Genus:\b \IAloe,\i 275 species. \BFamily:\b Liliaceae.)
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"Alonso de Santos, JosΘ Luis",1067,0,0,0
DT 1942-
EN Spanish playwright, acting teacher and critic. He became associated with the independent collective theatre movement during his student years. The premiere of his first original play coincided with Franco's death in November 1975, and he is recognized as a major author of the new theatre of democratic \JSpain\j.
Among important works are La estanquera de Vallecas (Hostages in the Barrio, 1981), El ßlbum familiar (Family Album, 1982) and Bajarse al moro (Going down to Marrakesh, 1985), the latter widely acclaimed, translated and filmed. Typically Alonso de Santos's plays are bitter-sweet comedies. Their surface humour, creative use of contemporary slang and intertextual references to filmic codes make them particularly appealing to a younger generation of theatregoers.
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"Alonso, Alicia",1068,0,0,0
PN [a\Blon\bsoh]
HS , originally \BAlicia de la Caridad del Cobre Martφnez Hoyo\b
DT1 1921
EN Dancer and choreographer, born in \JHavana\j, \JCuba\j. She launched her career in the USA where she studied and performed with the School of American Ballet and George Balanchine. In 1948 she returned to \JCuba\j to form the Alicia Alonso Company, which grew into a national ballet company for \JCuba\j. As a dancer she was famed for several roles, particularly the title role in \IGiselle\i.
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"Alonso, Dßmaso",1069,0,0,0
PN [a\Blon\bsoh]
DT1 1898
DT2 1990
EN Poet and philologist, born in Madrid. He travelled widely in Europe and America as teacher and lecturer, then became professor of romance philology at Madrid University, establishing his reputation as an authority on G≤ngora y Argote. He also published poetry, of which \IHijos de la ira\i (1944, Children of Wrath) is the best known.
MEX G≤ngora
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"alopecia",1070,0,0,0
PN [alo\Bpee\bsha]
EN Hair loss resulting from the failure of hair formation by the hair follicles. It may be patchy \I(alopecia areata)\i or generalized \I(\Jbaldness\j).\i It may be inherited, or stem from an underlying general illness or toxin (eg a drug) which disturbs the follicular activity.
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"Aloysius, St",1071,0,0,0
EN See Gonzaga, Luigi, St
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"Alp-Arslan",1072,0,0,0
HS (Turk 'hero-lion')
DT1 1030
DT2 72
EN Seljuk sultan, who succeeded his uncle Tⁿgrⁿl Beg in 1062. A skilful and courageous commander, he devoted his energies to extending the frontiers of the Seljuk empire. He restored good relations with the Abbasid caliph, and was about to launch a major offensive against its rivals, the Fatimids, when he was recalled to meet a Byzantine offensive in Armenia. At Manzikert in 1071 he defeated a numerically superior army, opening up the interior of Anatolia to penetration by the nomadic Turkmen tribes.
MEX Fatima
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"alpaca",1073,0,0,0
PN [al\Bpa\bka]
EN A domesticated member of the camel family, from \JPeru\j and \JBolivia\j \I(Lama pacos); \i resembles a long-haired \Jllama\j, but with a shorter face, neck, and legs; kept mainly for wool; sheared every two years; two breeds: \Ihuacaya\i and \Isuri.\i It may be cross-bred with the vicu±a (to produce the finer-woolled \Ipaco-vicu±a)\i or with the \Jllama\j.
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"Alpe Adria",1074,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bpay \Bad\bria]
EN A working association of 11 neighbouring regions in \JAustria\j, \JGermany\j, \JItaly\j, and former Yugoslavia, linked by cultural and economic interests; established in 1978; Ober÷sterreich, \JSalzburg\j, and Steiermark federal states in \JAustria\j; Veneto, Lombardy, Trentino-Alto Adige, and Friuli-Venezia Giulia regions in \JItaly\j; Bayern in \JGermany\j; \JCroatia\j; and \JSlovenia\j.
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"Alpers, Boris (Vladimirovich)",1075,0,0,0
DT 1894-1974
EN Soviet theatre critic and scholar. Following the 1917 Revolution he adopted a Bolshevik bias in his writing. A former member of Meyerhold's Dr Dapertutto Studio on Borodinsky Street (1914-15), Alpers helped to establish the Ligovsky Dramatic Theatre in Petrograd (1921-4), and later the Moscow Theatre of the Revolution, where he headed the literary section (1924-7) and where many of the 'social themes' originally proposed at the Ligovsky were realized.
From 1921 he wrote reviews, theoretical articles and books, the most important being The Theatre of the Social Mask (1931), written in the late 1920s, which presented the first proper assessment of Meyerhold's work to that point.
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"Alpha Centauri",1076,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bfa sen\Btaw\bree]
EN See \JCentaurus\j
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"alpha decay",1077,0,0,0
EN A naturally occurring radioactive decay process in which the atomic nucleus breaks up into a lighter nucleus and an alpha particle, which is ejected. It is governed by the \Jstrong nuclear force\j. Lead-210 is an alpha particle source with a half-life of 21 years.
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"alpha particle",1078,0,0,0
EN A particle emitted in alpha decay. It is composed of two neutrons plus two protons, the same as the \Jhelium\j nucleus, and identified as such by Ernest Rutherford in 1906; charge +2. It typically travels a few centimetres in the air before being brought to rest by collisions with air molecules. It causes the production of many ions, and in living tissue substantial biological damage.
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"alphabet",1079,0,0,0
EN The most economical and versatile form of writing system yet devised, because it breaks words down into their phonic components, assigning letters or combinations of letters to represent speech sounds. Thus, in English, the letter (or \Igrapheme)\i \Im\i represents the sound (or \Iphoneme)\i [m] in such words as \Imat; \i less obviously, the series \Io...e\i represents the long [ou] vowel sound in such words as \Ibone.\i
The symbols of an alphabetic writing system are not tied to the meanings of the words they represent, and the need for several thousand pictograms, for instance, is avoided. Most alphabets contain less than 30 symbols. However, they differ substantially in the regularity with which they correspond to the sound system: Spanish and Welsh, for instance, have a very regular system, whereas English and Irish \JGaelic\j (particularly in its most traditional form) have many exceptional spelling patterns which can be learned only by special rules.
Also, the alphabets of W European languages give vowels and consonants the same status, as full letters; but in the case of \Iconsonantal\i alphabets (eg the alphabets of India), the two types of sound are treated differently: the consonants are assigned the function of 'mapping out' the basic form of the word, and the vowels are added as diacritic marks.
The \JHebrew\j and Arabic alphabets take this system one step further, and allow the marking of the vowel diacritics to be optional. The model for all Western alphabets was the Etruscan (c.800 BC), itself based on the Greek alphabet, which had modified the \JPhoenician\j consonantal alphabet by adding vowel letters to it.
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"alphanumeric characters",1080,0,0,0
EN A set of characters which includes all the lower and upper case letters of the alphabet (a to z, A to Z), the digits 0 to 9, and some punctuation characters. The term is widely used in business computing, particularly with languages such as COBOL.
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"Alpher, Ralph (Asher)",1081,0,0,0
DT1 1921
EN Physicist, born in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. After studying at George Washington University, he spent World War 2 as a civilian physicist and afterwards worked at Johns Hopkins University and in industry. Together with Hans Bethe and George Gamow, he proposed in 1948 the "alpha, beta, gamma' theory, which suggests the possibility of explaining the abundances of chemical elements as the result of thermonuclear processes in the early stages of a hot, evolving universe. These ideas became part of the "\Jbig bang\j' model of the universe.
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"Alphonso",1082,0,0,0
EN See Alfonso I or Alfonso Henriques
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#
"Alphonsus Liguori, St",1083,0,0,0
EN See Liguori, St Alfonso Maria de''
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#
"alphorn",1084,0,0,0
EN A musical instrument found in rural communities, particularly in the Swiss Alps. Most alphorns are about 1.8┐m / 6┐ft long, made of wood, and can sound the first five or six harmonics; but examples up to twice that length are not uncommon.
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"alpine",1085,0,0,0
EN A botanical term for vegetation growing in mountains above the tree-line; also used for plants naturally occurring in such regions. Alpines are typically low-growing or dome-shaped perennials, adapted to withstand high levels of solar radiation and \Jdrought\j as well as cold.
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"Alpini, Prospero",1086,0,0,0
PN [al\Bpee\bnee]
HS , Lat \BProsper Alpinus\b
DT1 1553
DT2 1616
EN Botanist and physician, born in Marostica, \JItaly\j. While in \JCairo\j he observed the sexual \Jfertilization\j of the date palm, in which male and female flowers are on different trees, and described 57 wild or cultivated species in \JEgypt\j. In 1594 he became lecturer in botany at Padua, and director of the botanic garden there (1603). His \IDe medecina Egyptorum\i (1591) brought the \Jcoffee\j plant and the banana to European attention.
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"Alps",1087,0,0,0
EN Principal mountain range of Europe, covering 259┐000┐km\U2\u / 100┐000┐mi\U2\u in \JSwitzerland\j, \JFrance\j, \JGermany\j, \JAustria\j, \JLiechtenstein\j, \JItaly\j, \JSlovenia\j, \JCroatia\j, and Yugoslavia; a series of parallel chains over 1000┐km / 600┐mi SW-NE; originally formed by collision of African and European tectonic plates; source of many great European rivers, notably the Rhine, Po, and Rh⌠ne; \BWestern Alps\b (highest peaks in parentheses) consist of (1) \IAlpes-Maritimes\i (Cima Sud Argentera 3297┐m / 10┐817┐ft); (2) \IAlpes Cottiennes\i or \ICottian Alps\i (Monte Viso 3851┐m / 12┐634┐ft); (3) \IAlpes Dauphine\i (Barre des Ecrins 4101┐m / 13┐455┐ft); (4) \IAlpes Graian\i or \IGraian Alps\i (Gran Paradiso 4061┐m / 13┐323┐ft); \BMiddle Alps\b consist of (1) \IAlpi Pennine\i (\JMont Blanc\j 4807┐m / 15┐771┐ft, highest peak in the range; Matterhorn 4477┐m / 14┐688┐ft); (2) \IAlpi Lepontine\i (3553┐m / 11┐657┐ft); (3) \IAlpi Retiche\i or \IRhaetian Alps\i (Piz Bernina 4049┐m / 13┐284┐ft); (4) \IBerner Alpen\i or \IBernese Alps\i (Finsteraarhorn 4274┐m / 14┐022┐ft); (5) \IAlpi Orobie; \i (6) \I╓tztaler Alpen\i (Wildspitze 3774┐m / 12┐382┐ft); (7) \IDolomiti\i or \IDolomites\i (Marmolada 3342┐m / 10┐964┐ft); (8) \ILechtaler Alpen\i (3038┐m / 9967┐ft); \BEastern Alps:\b (1) \IZillertaler Alpen\i or \IAlpi Aurine\i (3510┐m / 11┐516┐ft); (2) \IKitzbⁿhler Alpen\i (2559┐m / 8396┐ft); (3) \IKarnische Alpen\i or \ICarnic Alps\i (2781┐m / 9124┐ft); (4) \IJulijske Alpe\i or \IJulian Alps\i (Triglav 2863┐m / 9393┐ft); (5) \IHohe Tauern\i or \INoric Alps\i (\JGrossglockner\j 3797┐m / 12┐457┐ft); (6) \INiedere Tauern\i (2863┐m / 9393┐ft); notable passes include the Mont Cenis, St Bernard (Little and Greater), Gemmi, Simplon, St Gotthard, Splugen, Stilfserjoch (Stelvio), and Brenner; railway tunnels at Col de FrΘjus, Lotschberg, Simplon, and St Gotthard; summer pasture on many lower slopes; major tourist region, with highly developed facilities; \Jmountaineering\j and \Jskiing\j; towns have manufactures concerned with native and imported products such as textiles, clocks, chocolate, wooden goods; in 1911 Karl Blodig was the first to climb all peaks over 4000┐m (13┐000┐ft).
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"Alred",1088,0,0,0
EN See Aldred or Ealdred
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"Alsace",1089,0,0,0
PN [al\Bsas\b]
EN pop (1995e) 1 674 000; area 8280 sq km/3196 sq mi. Region of NE \JFrance\j, comprising the departments of Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin, part of Upper Rhine Plain on frontier with \JGermany\j; crossed S--N by Rhine and Ill Rivers; traditional scene of Franco--German conflict; formerly part of Lorraine before becoming part of German Empire; Treaty of \JWestphalia\j (1648) returned most of \JAlsace\j to \JFrance\j; ceded to \JGermany\j, 1871; returned to \JFrance\j, 1919; occupied by \JGermany\j in World War 2; chief towns, \JStrasbourg\j, \JMulhouse\j, Colmar; several spas, wine towns, and vineyards; fertile and industrially productive region; wine, beer, pottery, chemicals, paper, printed fabrics, textile dyeing and spinning, machinery, car manufacture.
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"alsatian",1090,0,0,0
EN See German shepherd dog
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#
"alsike",1091,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bsiyk]
EN A species of clover \I(Trifolium hybridum),\i probably native to Europe, grown as a fodder crop and now occurring in many temperate countries; a variable perennial growing to 60┐cm / 2┐ft; leaves with three-toothed leaflets, widest towards the tip; pea-flowers white or pink, in lax rounded heads to 3┐cm / 1 1/4┐in across. \B(Family:\b Leguminosae.)
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"Alsop, Joseph (Wright), Jr.",1092,0,0,0
DT (1910-89)
EN journalist; born in Avon, Conn. He wrote a syndicated political column, "Capital Parade" (1937-40) with Robert Kinter. He interrupted his career for wartime service with the U.S. Navy. In 1946 he started a new column, "Matter of Fact," which he wrote with his brother, Stewart Alsop, until 1958, then by himself until 1974. His interest in archaeology led him to write \IFrom the Silent Earth\i (1964).
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#
"Alsop, Stewart",1093,0,0,0
DT (1914-74)
EN journalist; born in Avon, Conn. A self-described New Deal liberal, he wrote a widely syndicated political column with his brother, Joseph Alsop, from 1946 to 1958. Later a \INewsweek\i columnist, he wrote \IStay of Execution\i (1973) about his final battle with leukemia.
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#
"Alston, Richard",1094,0,0,0
PN [\Bawl\bston]
DT1 1948
EN Choreographer, born in Stoughton, West Sussex, S England, UK. He studied at \JEton\j and Croydon College of Art (1965--7), and at the London School of Contemporary Dance (1967--70). He co-founded Strider in 1972 (disbanded 1975), the forerunner of the contemporary dance company Second Stride.
He studied in New York with Merce Cunningham (1975--7), then joined Ballet Rambert as resident choreographer (1980--6), and director (1986--92). In 1994 he became artistic director of the Richard Alston Dance Company.
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#
"alta comedia",1095,0,0,0
EN see comedia
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#
"Altai Mountains",1096,0,0,0
PN [\Bahl\btiy]
HS , Chin \BAltai Shan\b
EN Major mountain system of C Asia, extending from \JRussia\j (north-west) south-east along the border between north-west China and \JMongolia\j, into \JMongolia\j itself; source of the Irtysh and Ob Rivers; highest point, Mount Belukha (4506┐m / 14┐783┐ft); major mineral reserves.
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"Altaic",1097,0,0,0
PN [al\Btay\bik]
EN A hypothesized family of languages extending from the Balkan peninsula to the north-east of Asia; not accepted as a genetic family by many linguists. About 40 languages fall into three groups: Turkic, of which Turkish is the main member, spoken by c.45 million people in and near Turkey; Mongolian, of which Mongol is the main member, spoken by c.4 million in \JMongolia\j and China; and Manchu-Tungus, of which Evenki (as Tungus is now known) may have 30┐000 speakers. Manchu, once a lingua franca between China and the outside world, is now spoken by few of the 3 million who live in the Manchu province of China.
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"Altair",1098,0,0,0
PN [al\Btair\b]
EN See Aquila (\Jastronomy\j)
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"Altamira",1099,0,0,0
PN [alta\Bmee\bra]
EN 43░18N 4░08E. A Palaeolithic \Jlimestone\j cave of c.13┐500 BC on the N Spanish coast near Santander, celebrated for its vivid ceiling paintings of game animals (principally \Jbison\j, bulls, horses, hinds, and boars), some over 2┐m / 61/2┐ft long. Though discovered in 1879 by local landowner Marcelino de Sautuola, its authenticity was not established before 1902. It is now a world heritage site.
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"altarpiece",1100,0,0,0
EN In a Christian church, a carved or painted screen placed above the altar facing the congregation; known as an \Iancona\i (Ital), \Iretable\i (Fr), or \Ireredos\i (Eng). The earliest examples appeared in the 10th-11th-c. The \Ipala d'oro\i (gold \Jaltarpiece\j) in St Mark's, \JVenice\j, commissioned 1105, consists of gold and enamel-work, as well as sculptured figures, and includes images of Christ in Majesty with angels and saints, with scenes from the \JNew Testament\j and the life of the titular saint, Mark.
An \Jaltarpiece\j consisting of two panels is called a \Idiptych; \i three panels make a \Itriptych.\i They vary greatly in size, and were numerous in late mediaeval and Renaissance churches. In Protestant countries this development ended abruptly at the Reformation, and many altarpieces were destroyed, but in Catholic countries their production was encouraged, leading to the luxurious altarpieces of the Baroque period, both painted (Rubens, \JCaravaggio\j, van Dyck) and carved (Bernini). The modern preference for plain altars set forward, as in the early Church, has practically ruled out the \Jaltarpiece\j. There is simply nowhere to put it.
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"altazimuth",1101,0,0,0
PN [al\Btaz\bimuhth]
EN A type of \Jtelescope\j in which the principal axis can be moved independently in altitude (swinging on a horizontal axis) and \Jazimuth\j (swinging on a vertical axis). It is used in very large optical telescopes and radio telescopes, as well as simple amateur telescopes.
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"Altdorfer, Albrecht",1102,0,0,0
PN [\Balt\bdaw(r)fer]
DT1a c.
DT1 1480
DT2 1538
EN Painter, engraver, and architect, the leading member of the Danube School of German painting, born in \JRegensburg\j, \JGermany\j. His most outstanding works are biblical and historical subjects set against highly imaginative and atmospheric landscape backgrounds. He was also a pioneer of copperplate etching.
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"Alter, David",1103,0,0,0
DT (1807-81)
EN US physicist: contributed to spectral analysis.
A physician and inventor as well as a physicist, Alter was one of the earliest investigators of the spectrum. In 1854 he showed that each element had its own spectrum, conclusively proved a few years later by Bunsen and Kirchhoff in their pioneer research on the Fraunhofer lines. He also forecast the use of the spectroscope in \Jastronomy\j.
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"alternating current (AC)",1104,0,0,0
EN An electrical current whose direction of flow reverses periodically; the alternative is \Bdirect current (DC),\b where the flow is in a single direction only. The variation of current with time is usually sinusoidal, as produced naturally by rotating coils in magnetic fields (generators). Household current is AC, with frequencies varying to some extent between countries, eg 50┐Hz (UK), 60┐Hz (USA). Power transmission and transformers rely on AC.
\BMore information provided by Webster Publishing\b
Electricity comes to our homes in two different forms. We have the high voltage electricity which comes down the power lines, and the low voltage electricity which we get from torch batteries. But if you look carefully at a torch (flashlight) battery, you will see that the two \Jpoles\j are marked with plus and minus signs. The electricity from a dry cell (or any other cell for that matter) always flows in the same direction.
Join the \Jpoles\j of an electric cell with a conductor, and electrons flow from the negative electrode to the positive one. Unfortunately, Benjamin Franklin defined "positive" and "negative" in an arbitrary way, and so the "official" direction for current flow is from positive to negative-the opposite direction to the way the electrons travel. Usually, this does not matter, but you always need to be careful when you read old books about electricity, as they will probably use this convention.
Your power sockets have no \Jpoles\j at all, no positive and negative. Either 100 or 120 times each second, the current changes direction: we say it alternates. First it flows one way, and then it flows the other, giving us AC, or alternating current. The first thing we have to do with the electric power for computers and other electronic equipment, is to feed it to a transformer-\Jrectifier\j unit.
The transformer changes the voltage down to a safer level, and the \Jrectifier\j changes the electricity from AC to DC, which most electronic appliances need. So why bother to use high voltage AC at all? There are good reasons why: we waste less power when we send higher voltages down the wires, and a transformer only works on a variable current.
The stated voltages in different areas are misleading for two reasons. In the first place, a 240 volt supply can easily be 10 volts out, either way, and a 110 volt supply can vary by about five volts, depending on where the power is being received, with regard to the nearest step-down transformer (often called a "pole transformer" or a "sub-station"). Secondly, the peak voltage with a sine wave (sinusoidal) AC will actually be \F╓\n2 times the stated voltage. So a 240 volt supply can deliver as much as 350 volts at the peak of the high end of the range.
The variation between 50 Hz and 60 Hz AC standards is a little harder to explain. Early records reveal that German and British AC was 50 Hz in their AC sources, while in the USA, it was recognised that the most dangerous AC was 40 Hz, as this was the frequency most likely to cause fibrillation in the heart of a person exposed to electric shock. Yet while the US standard was set further away from the danger zone, many other parts of the world have stayed with the more risky 50 Hz.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
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"alternation of generations",1105,0,0,0
EN The progression of the life-cycle of a plant through two reproductive forms. The \Bsexual generation\b or \Igametophyte\i produces haploid gametes. These fuse and give rise to a diploid \Isporophyte,\i which produces haploid spores from which grow new gametophytes \B(asexual generation).\b
In \Jalgae\j, the \Jgametophyte\j is the dominant generation, occupying the major portion of the life-cycle, although the two generations are generally indistinguishable in structure. In bryophytes the \Jgametophyte\j is also dominant, but is very different in structure from the \Jsporophyte\j.
In ferns, \Jgymnosperms\j, and flowering plants, the \Jsporophyte\j is dominant; the \Jgametophyte\j of flowering plants is represented only by the \Jpollen\j tube and the embryo-sac. Alternation of generations also occurs in some animals; in coelenterates, for example, a sexual medusa-like stage alternates with an asexual polyp-like stage.
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"alternative and augmentative communication",1106,0,0,0
EN A means of communicating devised to help severely disabled people who are unable to speak or write normally because of a physical or mental handicap. \IAugmentative\i systems supplement normal language use; \Ialternative\i systems replace normal language entirely.
Examples include the use of sign languages, symbol boards, speech synthesizers, and \Jbraille\j. Typically, users wear or sit in front of a device containing a selection of letters, words, or messages, and type, touch, or point to the element they wish to communicate, using any mobile part of their body (eg foot, mouth, eyebrow) to operate a keyboard, switch, or pointing device. Major advances are in progress, following developments in electronic and computational technology.
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"alternative energy",1107,0,0,0
EN Sources of \Jenergy\j which do not rely on the burning of \Jfossil\j fuels (eg \Jcoal\j, gas, oil) or nuclear power to provide \Jenergy\j. With the controversial nature of nuclear power, and the recognition that \Jfossil\j fuels are a non-renewable resource and contribute significantly to \Jpollution\j, there is considerable interest in some countries in alternative sources, such as \Jsolar power\j, geothermal power, hydroelectric power, tidal power, and wind power.
Such sources are particularly important in countries which lack \Jfossil\j fuels, and are seen as having potential in economically developing countries. Alternative sources are often seen as being environmentally sound because \Jpollution\j is rarely a problem. However, their development is not without controversy: schemes to build barrages across estuaries to harness tidal \Jenergy\j are often attacked because of damage to estuarine ecosystems; hydroelectric power projects may require valleys to be flooded and people made homeless; the large number of wind towers needed for wind power are a visual intrusion.
\BMore information provided by Webster Publishing\b
The major problems with most \Jalternative energy\j sources involve keeping up an even supply of energy, and meeting peak demands. Wind farms produce very little energy in a dead calm, solar energy systems do not work so well at night, and tidal power gives nothing at the slack points, close to high and low tide. There is also no easy way of increasing the power of a system when people need a maximum power level on cold winter nights.
One solution lies in using the \Jalternative energy\j sources to produce power and store it, either by charging batteries (which is not very efficient, and costs a lot) or by pumping \Jwater\j from low level storages to higher storages. The problem here is that there are not very many good sites for storage at the tops of mountains-usually, you need a long deep valley for the job.
In one French tidal power installation, at Rance, there is a walled-off section inside the tidal dam which is kept full as the tide runs out, while the system is generating power from the rest of a tidal dam. At low tide, when there is no flow in either direction, \Jwater\j is allowed to pour from this dammed-off portion, generating power.
By the time this section is emptied, the tide is running back into the main dam, so the smaller dam is now closed off, and \Jenergy\j comes from the main flow. Then at the top of the tide, when there is no tidal flow, \Jwater\j is allowed to pour into the smaller dam until such time as the \Jwater\j outside the main dam has started to drop again.
As people start to evaluate \Jalternative energy\j properly, they will begin to realize that there are hidden 'carbon costs' associated with even an apparently clean method such as hydroelectricity. For example, a dam needs concrete and steel, and those require the use of energy which usually means burning \Jfossil\j fuels. There are also the costs of excavation and blasting, hauling materials, and producing the generators.
There is also a carbon cost from the plants which no longer are able to grow where the dam is now, and there will also be \Jmethane\j generated in the deep \Jwater\j of the dam, where vegetation rots in the oxygen-free \Jwater\j at the bottom of the dam. Some experts think that a hydroelectric dam may have to run for as long as 300 years to pay back the carbon costs associated with establishing the dam in the first place.
To take an extreme example, the Balbina dam in \JBrazil\j is a shallow dam covering 310,000 hectares (766,000 acres), with a third of that area being less than 4 metres (13 feet) deep. In \Jmethane\j and carbon dioxide (CO\D2\d), the dam generates the equivalent of 12 million tonnes of CO\D2\d, dropping to one million tonnes after ten years, and after 50 years, will still be producing an equivalent of 500,000 tonnes of CO\D2\d. Yet the output from a \Jfossil\j fuel power station delivering the same amount of electricity would be less than 400,000 tonnes a year, and you would not have to wait 50 years to get to that sort of level.
A better example, the Tucurui dam, also in \JBrazil\j, produces just half of the CO\D2\d of an equivalent \Jfossil\j fuel station, but this evaluation leaves out the initial carbon cost of building the dam. Around the world, hydroelectric dams cover some 600,000 square kilometres (230,000 square miles), and may be responsible for as much as 7% of the human-created CO\D2\d that fuels the \Jgreenhouse effect\j.
Advances in \Jalternative energy\j will require newer, lighter materials for the blades of wind turbines, materials with a low carbon cost, and materials for solar cells which also have a low carbon cost. The biggest of the wind turbines can now produce half a megawatt under ideal conditions, and researchers suggest that the year 2050 might see as much as 20% of the world's power taken from the wind.
The other needed advance is in \Jenergy\j storage methods, with \Jhydrogen\j from \Jelectrolysis\j usually being seen as the best prospect. \JHydrogen\j, of course, is highly flammable or explosive, in the right mix of gases, but it is easy to store, and \Jhydrogen\j is cheaper to transmit over longer distances (anything over 1,000 kilometres/620 miles) than the electrical \Jenergy\j that it represents. The only drawback is that, unlike cables, pipelines cannot cross large oceans.
The future may also see us all tapping into a global grid, with power cables linking the continents. Mountainous countries like \JNepal\j (current generating capacity 278 megawatts) could provide hydroelectric power from their steep valleys, and generate as much as 40,000 megawatts. At present, a 6,000 \Jkilometre\j (3,700 mile) transmission of electrical power is reasonably efficient. With that sort of cable length east and west, most developed countries could draw on \Jsolar power\j for 24 hours a \Jday\j.
Around the world, a variety of plant-based fuels have been tried, ranging from \JBrazil\j's large (but now uneconomic) \Jethanol\j production from sugar cane, coconut oil fuels, rape seed oil, oils derived from an alga called \IChlorella,\i several diatoms, and the saps of different trees.
Other attempts have been made to extract fuels from rubbish, and even from tallow derived from sheep. None of these has been highly successful but sooner or later we are going to run low on \Jfossil\j fuels, and when we do, some of these alternative technologies could come into their own.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
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"alternative medicine",1108,0,0,0
EN Approaches to the treatment of illness using procedures other than those recommended by orthodox medical science. The demand for such treatment has increased in recent years, as individuals who have not been relieved of their complaints by orthodox methods have become more inclined to look elsewhere for treatment.
There are many different approaches, and a recent publication on alternative medicine lists over 600 entries. Some of these procedures are based on theories of disease for which there is scanty evidence, and some invoke principles that most people would recognize as bizarre.
The fact that many of these approaches are empirical in their origin is not in itself a fault, as many medical treatments now incorporated into orthodox medical practice began as empirical observations, and only later acquired scientific justification. The problem is how to distinguish the genuinely effective from witchcraft and \Jsuperstition\j.
Hardly any of the therapeutic methods used as alternative medicine have been, or are readily capable of being, rigorously assessed, using the standard scientific techniques of critical assessment and refutation, or of comparison with the natural course of the ailment or with other remedies claimed to influence the ailment. At present, most of the claims for the success of alternative remedies remain anecdotal.
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"Altgeld, John Peter",1109,0,0,0
DT (1847-1902)
EN governor; born in Nieder Selters, \JGermany\j. Brought to Ohio as a baby, he received little schooling while working on his father's farm. A Union private in the \JCivil War\j (1864-65), he then taught school in Ohio, moving to Missouri where he became a lawyer in 1871 and a county attorney (1874-75). Moving to \JChicago\j, he opened his own law practice, making a fortune in real estate. He wrote \IOur Penal Machinery and Its Victims\i (1884), becoming Superior Court judge (1886-90), then \Jchief justice\j (1890-91).
As the Democratic governor of Illinois (1893-97), he gained sudden fame - and offended the conservative establishment - when he pardoned the remaining Haymarket Riot anarchists, claiming they had not been given a fair trial. He improved prison conditions and reformed trial and parole procedures. He advocated child labor laws and opposed the use of federal troops to end the Pullman Strike in 1894.
After campaigning for William Jennings Bryan in 1896, he lost his own re-election campaign, returning to his law practice with his partner, Clarence Darrow. He was penniless when he died but his reputation as a progressive reformer increased over the years.
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"Althusser, Louis",1110,0,0,0
PN [alt-hⁿser]
DT1 1918
DT2 90
EN Political philosopher, born in \JAlgiers\j. He studied in \JAlgiers\j and in \JFrance\j, was imprisoned in concentration camps during World War 2, and from 1948 taught in Paris. He joined the Communist Party in 1948, and wrote influential works on Marxist theory, including \IPour Marx\i (1965, For Marx) and \ILΘnin et la philosophie\i (1969, Lenin and Philosophy). In 1980 he murdered his wife, and was confined in an asylum until his death; self-justifying autobiographical pieces were published in 1992.
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"Altichiero",1111,0,0,0
PN [alti\Bkyay\broh]
DT1a c.
DT1 1330
DT2a c.
DT2 1395
EN Painter and possible founder of the Veronese School, born near Verona, \JItaly\j. He worked in Verona and also in Padua, where his frescoes in the \JBasilica\j of S Antonio (painted 1372-9) and in the Oratory of S Giorgio (1377-84) combine the solid Realism of Giotto with a new Gothic elegance typical of the later 14th-c. In S Giorgio he shared the work with a painter called Avanzo.
MEX Giotto
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"altimeter",1112,0,0,0
EN A device carried by an \Jaircraft\j to measure its height above the ground. The usual type operates by sending out a radio signal, and measuring the time taken by the signal to return, since the speed at which the radio signal travels is known. When the ground rises below the \Jaircraft\j, and the \Jaircraft\j maintains level flight, the \Jaltimeter\j registers a drop in altitude.
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"Altiplano",1113,0,0,0
PN [alti\Bplah\bnoh]
EN The arid plateau of W \JBolivia\j and S \JPeru\j between the W and E cordilleras; elevation 3000-5000┐m / 9800-16┐400┐ft. It is covered by widespread alluvial and glacial deposits, and the rivers and streams of the plateau drain into Lake Titicaca (Bolivia / Peru) and Lake Poop≤ (Bolivia). Both are closed lake basins, ie they do not drain to the sea.
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"Altizer, Thomas J(onathan) J(ackson)",1114,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\btiyzer]
DT1 1927
EN Theologian, born in Cambridge, \JMassachusetts\j, USA. He studied at \JChicago\j University, then taught religion, and later English, at Emory University (1956--68) and the State University of New York (from 1968).
As a proponent of one strand of the 1960s "Death of God' \Jtheology\j, he held that in the \JIncarnation\j God became fully human and lost his divine attributes and existence. His writings include \IThe Gospel of Christian Atheism\i (1966) and \IThe Self-Embodiment of God\i (1977).
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"Altman, Benjamin",1115,0,0,0
DT (1840-1913)
EN businessman, art collector; born in New York City. Much of his early life is obscure and he had little formal education. By 1865 he owned a dry goods store in New York City, and later founded B. Altman & Company (1906), which became one of the country's most stylish department stores.
He collected paintings and sculptures among other art works during his many visits to Europe. He bequeathed his collection to the Metropolitan Museum and a legacy to the National Academy of Design.
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"Altman, Robert",1116,0,0,0
DT1 1925
EN Film director, born in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. After serving in World War 2 as a pilot, he took up writing for radio and magazines, then produced industrial films. His first feature film was \IThe Delinquents\i (1957). He gained instant recognition for \IM\i\U*\u\IA\i\U*\u\IS\i\U*\u\IH\i (1970), and went on to direct and/or produce a series of highly individualistic films, noted especially for their simultaneous layers of dialogue.
Impatient with \JHollywood\j's conservative and commercial approach to film-making, he moved to Europe, although he returned to America to make such films as \INashville\i (1975), \IThe Player\i (1991), and \IKansas City\i (1996).
\BMajor Works\b
\IFilms\i
1957 The Delinquents
1957 The James Dean Story
1967 Countdown
1970 MASH
1971 McCabe and Mrs Miller
1972 Images
1973 The Long Goodbye
1975 Nashville
1976 Buffalo Bill and the Indians
1977 Three Women
1982 Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean
1983 Streamers
1984 Secret Honor
1991 The Player
1996 Kansas City
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"Altman, Sidney",1117,0,0,0
DT1 1939
EN Biochemist, born in Montreal, Canada. He became affiliated with Yale in 1971, and holds dual citizenship. He showed that the RNA molecule could rearrange itself, thereby altering the material it produces without requiring an \Jenzyme\j - a breakthrough in our understanding of genetic processes. He shared the Nobel Prize for Chemistry with Thomas Cech in 1989.
BK Biog99
#
"Alto Paranß, River",1118,0,0,0
EN See Paranß, River
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#
"altocumulus clouds",1119,0,0,0
EN Middle-level clouds of the cumulus family at altitudes of c.2000-7000┐m / 6500-23┐000┐ft. They are white and / or grey in colour, and usually indicate fine \Jweather\j. \JCloud\j symbol: Ac.
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"altostratus clouds",1120,0,0,0
EN Middle-level clouds of the stratus family, similar to stratus clouds but less dense and occurring at higher elevations, typically c.2000-7000┐m / 6500-23┐000┐ft. They are greyish in colour with a sheet-like appearance, and give a warning of warm, rainy \Jweather\j associated with the passage of a warm front. \JCloud\j symbol: As.
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"Altounyan, Roger Edward Collingwood",1121,0,0,0
PN [altoonyan]
DT (1922-87)
EN British medical pioneer; introducer of the anti-\Jasthma\j drug sodium cromoglycate.
Of Irish-Armenian and English parentage, he was also the grandson of W G Collingwood (1854-1932), the friend and biographer of John Ruskin (1819-1900). Roger Altounyan was born in \JSyria\j, but spent summer holidays sailing in the Lake District with his sisters. Here the family met Arthur Ransome (1884-1967) and became the model for his Swallows and Amazons children's books. Roger's \Jasthma\j, however, was fact as well as fiction.
He studied medicine, and practised it at the Armenian \JHospital\j in \JAleppo\j run by his father and grandfather. In 1956 he returned to England and joined a pharmaceutical company. He was concerned that \Jasthma\j was not taken seriously and determined to find a cure.
For the next 10 years he worked in his own time testing compounds on himself, inducing \Jasthma\j attacks two or three times a week with a brew of guinea pig hair, to which he was allergic, almost certainly to the detriment of his own health. Compound 670, sodium cromoglycate, has been much used to prevent attacks of allergic \Jasthma\j and rhinitis. The Spinhaler device he invented to inhale the drug was based on \Jaircraft\j propellers; he had been a pilot and flying instructor during the war.
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"altruism",1122,0,0,0
EN The philosophical thesis that people sometimes do or should intentionally promote the interests of others to the detriment of their own interests. It is usually contrasted with \Iegoism,\i which asserts that all actions are really self-interested. Sociobiologists have recently studied how apparently altruistic behaviour in animals can be adaptive for the species.
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"alum",1123,0,0,0
EN Usually KAl(SO\D4\d)\D2\d.12H\D2\dO. Hydrated \Jpotassium\j \Jaluminium\j sulphate, \Bcommon alum.\b Other alums have Al substituted by Fe \B(iron alum)\b or Cr \B(chrome alum).\b All form large, octahedral crystals. Common \Jalum\j hydrolyzes in \Jwater\j to give gelatinous Al(OH)\D3\d, and can be used as a coagulant in \Jwater\j clarification.
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"alumina",1124,0,0,0
PN [a\Bloo\bmina]
EN Al\D2\dO\D3\d. Aluminium(III) oxide, the principal ingredient of \Jbauxite\j. It occurs in various forms, including emery or \Jcorundum\j (used as \Jabrasives\j), and the coloured forms, rubies and sapphires. Hydrated \Jalumina\j is used in \Jchromatography\j.
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"aluminate",1125,0,0,0
PN [a\Bloom\binuht]
EN Salt containing an anion derived from Al(OH)\D3\d by the replacement of \Jhydrogen\j by metal. \BSodium aluminate\b (NaAlO\D2\d) is used in \Jwater\j purification, coagulating various impurities in a precipitate of hydrated \Jalumina\j.
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"aluminium",1126,0,0,0
PN [alyoo\Bmin\byuhm] or \Baluminum\b [a\Bloo\bminuhm]
EN Al, element 13, melting-point 660░C, density 2.7┐g / cm\U3\u. A silvery metal, the third most abundant element in the Earth's crust, occurring mostly as aluminosilicates. It is extracted mainly by \Jelectrolysis\j of \Jalumina\j from \Jbauxite\j fused with cryolite (Na\D3\dAlF\D6\d). Although the metal is strongly electropositive, it forms a tough oxide coating and is then passive to further \Joxidation\j. Its cheapness, lightness, and \Jcorrosion\j resistance have found it many uses as an alloy in materials ranging from cooking utensils to \Jaircraft\j components. In its compounds, it mainly shows an \Joxidation\j state of +3.
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"Alva or Alba, Ferdinand Alvarez de Toledo, duque d'(Duke of)",1127,0,0,0
DT1 1507
DT2 82
EN Spanish general and statesman, born in Piedrahita, \JSpain\j. A brilliant tactician, he became a general at 26, and a commander-in-chief at 30. After the \Jabdication\j of Charles V in 1556, he overran the States of the Church, but was obliged by Philip II to conclude a peace and restore all his conquests.
On the revolt of the Netherlands, he was sent as lieutenant-general in 1567 to enforce Spanish control there, establishing the 'Bloody Council' which drove thousands of Huguenot artisans to emigrate to England. He defeated William of Orange, and entered Brussels in triumph in 1568. Recalled by his own desire in 1573, he commanded the successful invasion of \JPortugal\j in 1581.
MEX Philip II (of \JSpain\j); William I (of the Netherlands)
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"alvar",1128,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bvah(r)]
EN A particularly fervent devotional Hindu saint of the Vaishava tradition. The word means 'diver', and is attributed to one who enters into the depth of mystical experience. Alvars are closely associated with the Tamils of S India.
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"Alvarado, Pedro de",1129,0,0,0
PN [alva\Brah\bt\buh\buoh]
DT1a c.
DT1 1485
DT2 1541
EN Conquistador, a companion of CortΘs during the conquest of Mexico (1519-21), born in \JBadajoz\j, \JSpain\j. He became Governor of Tenochtitlßn, where the harshness of his rule incited an Aztec revolt. He was sent by CortΘs on an expedition to \JGuatemala\j (1523-7), during which he also conquered parts of El Salvador. He returned to \JSpain\j, and in 1529 was appointed Governor of \JGuatemala\j.
MEX CortΘs
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"┴lvarez Lleras, Antonio",1130,0,0,0
DT 1892-1956
EN Colombian playwright. Considered to be the father of the modern Colombian theatre, he wrote 15 plays. From his first effort in 1907 to his masterpiece, El virrey Solis (The Viceroy Solis, 1948), he sought to internationalize Colombian theatre with psychologically realistic plays that were didactic and often historical.
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#
"Alvarez Quintero",1131,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bvareth keen\Btay\broh]
EN Playwrights and brothers: \BSerafφn Alvarez Quintero\b (1871-1938) and \BJoaquin Alvarez Quintero\b (1873-1944), born in Utrera, \JSpain\j. They were the joint authors of well over 100 modern Spanish plays, all displaying a characteristic gaiety and sentiment. Some are well known in the translations of Helen and Harley Granville-Barker, such as \IFortunato,\i \IThe Lady from Alfaqueque,\i and \IA Hundred Years Old\i (all produced in 1928), and \IDon Abel Writes a Tragedy\i (1933).
MEX Granville-Barker
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"Alvarez, JosΘ",1132,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bvareth]
DT1 1768
DT2 1827
EN Spanish sculptor of the Classical school. He was imprisoned in \JRome\j for refusing to recognize Joseph Bonaparte as King of \JSpain\j, but was later released and employed by Napoleon to decorate the Quirinal Palace. In 1816 he became court sculptor to Ferdinand VII in Madrid.
MEX Bonaparte, Joseph
SX m
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#
"Alvarez, Luis W(alter)",1133,0,0,0
PN [alvahrez]
DT (1911-88)
EN US physicist: developed the bubble-chamber technique in \Jparticle physics\j.
Alvarez was a student under Compton, and then joined Lawrence at the University of \JCalifornia\j at Berkeley in 1936. He remained there, becoming professor of physics in 1945.
Alvarez was an unusually prolific and diverse physicist. He discovered the phenomenon of orbital \Jelectron\j capture, whereby an atomic nucleus 'captures' an orbiting \Jelectron\j, resulting in a \Jnuclide\j with a lower proton number. In 1939, together with Bloch, he made the first measurement of the \Jmagnetic moment\j of a neutron.
During the Second World War he worked on radar, developing such devices as microwave navigation beacons and radar landing approach systems for \Jaircraft\j, and also worked on the American atomic bomb project. In 1947 he built the first proton linear accelerator, and later developed the bubble-chamber technique for detecting charged subatomic particles, which in turn led to a great increase in the number of known particles. For this he received the Nobel Prize for physics in 1968.
He was ingenious in the application of physics to a variety of problems. He used the X-ray component of natural cosmic radiation to show that Chephren's pyramid in \JEgypt\j had no undiscovered chambers within it; and he used physics applied to the Kennedy assassination evidence to confirm that only one killer was involved.
With his son Walter (1940- ) , a geologist, he studied the problem of the catastrophe of 65 000 000 years ago which killed the dinosaurs and other \Jfossil\j species; they concluded from tracer analysis that a probable cause was Earth's impact with an asteroid or \Jcomet\j, resulting in huge fires and/or screening of the Sun by dust.
His interest in optical devices led him to found two companies; one to make variable focus spectacle lenses, devised by him to replace his bifocals; the other to make an optical stabilizer, which he invented to avoid shake in his cine camera and in binoculars. He was an engaging and popular personality.
\BMore information provided by Webster Publishing\b
Luis Alvarez worked in his later years with his son Walter, trying to unravel the mystery of the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary, when the dinosaurs became extinct. It began with a \JCalifornia\j team studying the rocks at this boundary in Gubbio in \JItaly\j, looking for a chemical signature which might identify the same boundary in other parts of the world. On this clearly marked boundary, they found clear evidence of the rare metal iridium in clays, right on the boundary.
Typically, the levels of iridium were about 100 times higher than normal, and extrapolating this to the whole world, it suggested an input of iridium which could only have come from an asteroid with around 200 000 tonnes of iridium in it, something which would demand an asteroid about 10 km across.
Any asteroid travelling across space would probably crash into the \Jearth\j at around 15-20 km/s, and should leave a crater about 60 km across. It would send up huge tidal waves, pour vast amounts of mud into the sky, where it would evaporate to leave dust clouds high in the \Jstratosphere\j. Here was something that the physicist Alvarez (the father) could relate to, as he was aware that other physicists were worried about a "nuclear winter", where atomic bombs might put enough dust into the high \Jatmosphere\j to reflect away the \Jsun\j's rays, and maybe start a new \JIce Age\j.
Even a single volcanic eruption can put a "blip" in the \Jearth\j's \Jweather\j, so nuclear winter was a likely scenario, and Alvarez realised that an asteroid of that size would have the same \Jenergy\j as about a million one megatonne \Jhydrogen\j bombs. Perhaps, thought the Alvarezes and their colleagues, they had the answer.
Since then, similar raised levels of iridium have shown up at over 100 Cretaceous-Tertiary (K-T) boundary sites, and a likely site for the impact has been found: the Yucatαn Peninsula in Mexico, although others favour the Manson crater in \JIowa\j which may be too small (or were there several asteroid impacts at about the same time?). There is other evidence to support this theory, like the carbon deposits found just above the iridium layer in some places, which may have been caused by wildfires started at the same time.
The problem, of course, is that there have been other extinctions where there seem to have been no \Jasteroids\j, and there have been asteroid impacts which seem not to be associated with extinctions, but if the theory is ever established beyond doubt, it is likely that Alvarez will be remembered more for that contribution than for any work leading to a Nobel Prize.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
BK Scie
#
"alveoli",1134,0,0,0
EN See lungs
BK a
XCY y
#
"Alvey programme",1135,0,0,0
EN A UK-based collaborative research programme involving industry, government, and academic institutions which was intended to develop information technology and, in particular, fifth generation computers. It was established in 1982 through a working party chaired by John Alvey (1925-) .
BK a
#
"Alypius",1136,0,0,0
PN [a\Blip\bius]
DT1a fl.c.
DT1 360
DT1b BC
EN Greek writer on music. His surviving work, published in 1652, consists of a list of symbols for the notation of the Greek modes and scales.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"alyssum",1137,0,0,0
PN [\Bal\bisuhm]
EN An annual to perennial, mat-forming or bushy but low-growing, native to Europe and Asia; leaves narrow; flowers cross-shaped, white, blue, or yellow. \BGolden \Jalyssum\j,\b a grey-leaved, yellow-flowered perennial, is often grown in gardens, but the popular white garden annual commonly called \Jalyssum\j is a different, though related, plant. \B(Genus:\b \IAlyssum,\i 150 species. \BFamily:\b Cruciferae.)
BK a
#
"Alzheimer's disease",1138,0,0,0
PN [\Balts\bhiymer]
EN A common form of generalized cerebral atrophy which results in slowly progressive \Jdementia\j affecting all aspects of brain function. It leads ultimately to total disintegration of the personality. The disease was first described in 1906 by a German neurologist, Alois Alzheimer (1864-1915).
Current theories as to its cause include a slow viral infection, environmental toxins (eg \Jaluminium\j), a systemic metabolic illness, and the involvement of a heritable factor in certain forms.
\BMore information provided by Webster Publishing\b
While the condition gets worse as the patient gets older, and while the incidence is greater in older people, there is no evidence to suggest that the condition is in any way related to the ageing process. The main problem is that the disease can be identified with a fair amount of confidence, but it can only be confirmed absolutely by an autopsy after death, when abnormal proteins and evidence of nerve cell loss can be identified.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
BK a
#
"Alzheimer, Alois",1139,0,0,0
PN [\Balts\bhiymer]
DT1 1864
DT2 1915
EN Psychiatrist and neuropathologist, born in Marktbreit, \JGermany\j. He studied medicine in Wⁿrzburg and Berlin universities, and in 1912 became professor of \Jpsychiatry\j and \Jneurology\j at Breslau University (now \JWroclaw\j, \JPoland\j). He is remembered for his full clinical and pathological description, in 1907, of pre-senile \Jdementia\j \I(Alzheimer's disease).\i
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Amadeus",1140,0,0,0
EN See Hoffmann, E(rnst) T(heodor) W(ilhelm)
BK bg a
XCY y
#
"Amado, Jorge",1141,0,0,0
PN [a\Bmah\bdoo]
DT1 1912
EN Novelist, born in Ferradas, \JBrazil\j. Brought up on a cacao plantation in NE \JBrazil\j, his early writing focused on the poverty and social conditions of the plantation workers. He became a journalist in 1930, was imprisoned for his political beliefs in 1935, and spent several periods in exile.
He was elected a Communist deputy of the Brazilian parliament (1946--7). His novels include \ITerras do sem-fin\i (1944, trans The Violent Land), \IGabriela, cravo e canela\i (1958, Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon), and \ITenda dos milagres\i (1969, Tent of Miracles).
\BMajor Works\b
\INovels\i
1944 The Violent Land
1958 Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon
1966 Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands
1969 Tent of Miracles
1977 Tieta, The Goat Girl
1982 The Swallow and the Tom Cat
BK Biog99
#
"Amagatsu, Yushio",1142,0,0,0
PN [ama\Bgat\bsoo]
DT1 1948
EN Choreographer and dancer, born in Yokosuka, \JJapan\j. He became artistic director of the \Ibutoh\i dance-theatre troupe Sankai Juku (Studio of the Mountain and Sea). His company, based partly in Paris, was formed in 1975 out of intensive physical and psychological workshops.
BK Biog99
#
"Amal",1143,0,0,0
PN [\Bam\bal]
EN The first political organization of \JLebanon\j's Shiite Muslims, the country's largest yet economically most disadvantaged community. Founded in the mid-1970s by the charismatic Shiite cleric, the Imam Musa al-Sadr, the party has been led since al-Sadr's 1978 disappearance in \JLibya\j by the lawyer Nabih Berri (1939-) . Its militia was believed to number over 4000 before the 1991 demobilization of militias in \JLebanon\j.
BK a
#
"Amalekites",1144,0,0,0
PN [a\Bmal\bekiyts]
EN An ancient nomadic people, notorious for their treachery, who lived S of Canaan. According to \IGen\i 36.12, they were descended from Esau.
BK a
#
"amalgam",1145,0,0,0
EN An alloy of mercury with some other metal(s), known since classical times. Copper, zinc, and tin amalgams are used in dentistry. Gold amalgam was used in Renaissance \Jgilding\j techniques.
BK a
#
"Amalrik, Andrei (Alekseevich)",1146,0,0,0
DT 1938-80
EN Soviet historian and playwright. An outspoken dissident, after years of intermittent exile and internment for his plays and political writings, Amalrik emigrated in 1976. His Notes of a Revolutionary (1982) is a personal \Jbiography\j and a cultural history of the USSR, 1966-76, focusing upon the individual's destruction by the governmental system.
Amalrik's short plays reflect his childhood interest in the puppet theatre, as well as the influence of the Russian poet- dramatist Velimir Khlebnikov, Beckett and, especially, Ionesco. My Aunt Is Living in Volokolamsk (1963, 1964, 1966), East-West: A Dialogue in Suzdal (1963), The Fourteen Lovers of Ugly Mary-Ann (1964), The Story of the Little White Bull (1964), Is Uncle Jack a Conformist? (1964) and Nose! Nose? No-se! (adapted from Gogol's short story, 'The Nose', 1964), all one-acts, are characterized by Freudian-based sex and violence, illogical character behaviour and language which ranges from aphoristic to nonsensical.
BK Thea
#
"Amalthea",1147,0,0,0
PN [amal\Bthee\ba]
EN The fifth natural \Jsatellite\j of Jupiter, discovered in 1892; distance from the \Jplanet\j 181┐000┐km / 112┐000┐mi; diameter 270┐km / 168┐mi.
BK a
#
"Amanita",1148,0,0,0
EN See fly agaric
BK a
XCY y
#
"Amanullah Khan",1149,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bmanula \Bkahn\b]
DT1 1892
DT2 1960
EN Ruler of \JAfghanistan\j (1919-29), born in Paghman, \JAfghanistan\j. After an inconclusive religious war against the British in India (1919-22), independence for \JAfghanistan\j was recognized by Britain by the Treaty of Rawalpindi (1922). He assumed the title of king in 1926, but his zeal for Westernizing reforms provoked rebellion in 1928. He abdicated and fled the country in 1929, and went into exile in \JRome\j.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"amaranth",1150,0,0,0
PN [\Bam\baranth]
EN An annual or perennial herb, native to tropical and temperate regions; flowers usually small and forming dense inflorescences, \Jperianth\j-segments in whorls of three or five, often brightly coloured; also known as \Bpigweed.\b Some Asian species yield edible grain used as a substitute for cereal. \B(Genus:\b \IAmaranthus,\i 60 species. \BFamily:\b Amaranthaceae.)
BK a
#
"Amarasimha",1151,0,0,0
DT1a probably
DT1 6
DT1b th-c
EN Sanskrit lexicographer. He wrote the \IAmara-kosha,\i a dictionary of synonyms in verse.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Amarillo",1152,0,0,0
PN [ama\Bril\boh]
EN 35░13N 101░50W, pop (1995e) 174 000. Seat of Potter Co, NW \JTexas\j, USA; airport; railway; commercial, banking, and industrial centre for the \JTexas\j panhandle; oil refining, meat packing, flour milling, zinc smelting, helicopters.
BK Geog99
#
"amaryllis",1153,0,0,0
PN [ama\Bril\bis]
EN A large bulb, native to tropical America \B(Genus:\b \IHippeastrum,\i 75 species); flowers flaring, trumpet-shaped, up to 15┐cm / 6┐in long, in a range of bright colours, 1-10 (but usually 2-4) on a hollow stalk, appearing in spring before the strap-shaped leaves. The popular pot plants are mostly complex hybrids increased by bulb division. It is often confused with the belladonna lily \I(Amaryllis bella-donna).\i \B(Family:\b Amaryllidaceae.)
BK a
#
"Amaterasu",1154,0,0,0
PN [amate\Bra\bsu]
EN The principal deity in the \JShinto\j religion of \JJapan\j. She is both the Sun-goddess who rules all the gods and the mother-goddess who ensures fertility. Once when she shut herself in her cave, the whole world became darkened and no plants could grow. The other gods played music and offered presents to make her return.
BK a
#
"Amati, Andrea",1155,0,0,0
PN [a\Bmah\btee]
DT1a c.
DT1 1520
DT2 80
EN Violin-maker, the founder member of a famous family of violin-makers from Cremona, \JItaly\j. His earliest known label dates from 1564. Other members of the family were his younger brother, \BNicol.\b (1530-1600); Andrea's two sons, \BAntonio\b (1550-1638) and \BGeronimo\b (1551-1635); and the latter's son, \BNicol.\b (1596-1684), the master of Guarnieri and Stradivari.
MEX Guarnieri; Stradivari
SX g
BK bg a
#
"amatol",1156,0,0,0
EN A group of high explosives consisting of mixtures of trinitrotoluene (TNT) and ammonium \Jnitrate\j. It was much used in World War 1 to economize on TNT, but later fell out of favour because of such faults as the absorption of undesirable \Jwater\j from the air \I(hygroscopicity).\i
BK a
#
"Amazon ant",1157,0,0,0
EN An ant that depends entirely on slaves of other ant species to run its nest and care for its larvae. The workers have sickle-shaped jaws \I(mandibles)\i used as weapons when raiding other nests. \B(Order:\b \JHymenoptera\j. \BFamily:\b Formicidae.)
BK a
#
"Amazon, River",1158,0,0,0
HS , Port \BRio Amazonas\b
EN River in N \JSouth America\j, the largest in the world by volume, and the second longest; two major headstreams, the Mara±≤n and the Ucayali, rising in the \JAndes\j of \JPeru\j (c.150┐km / 83┐mi from the Pacific) and joining S of Iquitos; flows generally W-E across \JBrazil\j, entering the Atlantic in a wide delta; drains a basin c.7┐000┐000┐km\U2\u / 2┐700┐000┐mi\U2\u; more than 1100 tributaries; ocean steamers as far as Iquitos, 3680┐km / 2287┐mi from the Atlantic; deepest point (37┐m / 121┐ft) at the influx of the Trombetas R; large island, Ilha de Maraj≤, at the delta; length from Lake Lauricocha (at the headwaters of the Mara±≤n) 6280┐km / 3902┐mi; from Lake Vilafro following the Ucayali and Apurφmac headwaters to the mouth of the Amazon via the Canal do Norte, 6449┐km / 4007┐mi; river levels at Manaus fluctuate by over 15┐m / 50┐ft; N channels of the delta made dangerous by a frequent tidal bore \I(Pororoca)\i moving up river at up to 65┐kph / 40┐mph, with waves sometimes 5┐m / 16┐ft high; cargo launches reach the interior, carrying fish, cedarwood, flour, \Jrubber\j, and jute; discovered by Europeans, 1500; first descended 1541, ascended 1637; opened to world shipping, 1866; free navigation guaranteed by \JColombia\j-Brazil treaty, 1929.
BK a
#
"Amazons",1159,0,0,0
PN [\Bam\baznz]
EN In Greek \Jmythology\j, a nation of women soldiers, located by Herodotos in Scythia (\JRussia\j). Strong and athletic, they were said to mutilate the right breast in order to use the bow. With no apparent basis in fact, this story fascinated the Greeks and was a frequent subject in art, perhaps because of its suggestion of an alternative society.
BK a
#
"Ambartsumian, Viktor Amazaspovich",1160,0,0,0
DT1 1908
DT2 96
EN Astrophysicist, born in Armenia. He studied at the University of \JLeningrad\j, was professor of astrophysics there (1934-43) and at Erevan, and founded the Byurakan Astronomical Observatory. He devised and developed theories of young star clusters, and devised a method for computing the mass ejected from \Jnova\j stars.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"ambassador",1161,0,0,0
EN The highest ranking diplomat resident abroad, who officially represents his or her country in relations with foreign governments. Ambassadors are to be distinguished from \Bconsuls,\b whose chief functions are to protect citizens abroad, and to protect the commercial interests of these citizens.
BK a
#
"Ambedkar, Bhimrao Ramji",1162,0,0,0
PN [\Bam\bbedker]
DT1 1893
DT2 1956
EN Indian politician and champion of the depressed castes, born near \JBombay\j, India. He studied at \JBombay\j, Columbia University in New York City, and the London School of Economics, and practised as a \Jbarrister\j in London. He later became a member of the \JBombay\j Legislative Assembly and leader of 60 million Untouchables.
Appointed law minister in 1947, he was the principal author of the Indian Constitution. He resigned in 1951, and with some thousands of his followers he publicly embraced the Buddhist faith not long before his death.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"ambergris",1163,0,0,0
PN [\Bam\bbergrees]
EN ('grey amber') A grey waxy substance found in the intestines of the sperm whale, \IPhyseter catodon; \i up to 450┐g / 1┐lb per whale; formerly used in perfumes to make the fragrance last longer.
BK a
#
"Ambler, Eric",1164,0,0,0
DT1 1909
EN Novelist and playwright, born in London, England, UK. He studied at Colfe's \JGrammar School\j and London University, and worked as an advertising copy-writer before turning to writing thrillers, invariably with an espionage background. He published his first novel, \IThe Dark Frontier\i, in 1936.
His best-known books are \IEpitaph for a Spy\i (1938), \IThe Mask of Dimitrios\i (1939), \IDirty Story\i (1967), and \IThe Intercom Conspiracy\i (1970). He has received the Crime Writers' Association Award four times, as well as the Edgar Allan Poe Award (1964). Later books include \IHere Lies: An Autobiography\i (1985) and \IThe Story So Far\i (1993).
\BMajor Works\b
\INovels\i
1936 The Dark Frontier
1937 Uncommon Danger
1938 Epitaph for a Spy
1938 Cause for Alarm
1939 The Mask of Dimitrios
1940 Journey into Fear
1951 Judgment on Deltchev
1953 The Schirmer Inheritance
1956 The Night-Comers
1959 Passage of Arms
1962 The Light of Day
1964 A Kind of Anger
1967 Dirty Story
1970 The Intercom Conspiracy
1972 The Levanter
1974 Doctor Frigo
1977 Send No More Roses
1981 The Care of Time
\IAutobiography\i
1983 Here Lies: An Autobiography
1993 The Story So Far
\IScreenplays\i
1944 The Way Ahead (with Peter Ustinov)
1947 The October Man
1948 The Passionate Friends
1950 Highly Dangerous
1951 The Magic Box
1952 Gigolo and Gigolette, in Encore
1952 The Card
1953 Rough Shoot
1953 The Cruel Sea
1954 Lease of Life
1954 The Purple Plain
1957 Yangtse Incident
1958 A Night to Remember
1959 Wreck of the Mary Deare
1970 Love Hate Love
\IEssays\i
1963 The Ability to Kill
\IEditor\i
1964 To Catch a Spy
BK Biog99
#
"Amboise, Georges d'",1165,0,0,0
PN [Σmbwahz]
DT1 1460
DT2 1510
EN Clergyman and French statesman, born in Chaumont-sur-Loire, \JFrance\j. Bishop of Montauban (1474) and \JArchbishop\j of \JRouen\j (1493), he became cardinal and prime minister under Louis XII in 1498. An able minister, who carried out many important domestic reforms, he effected the Treaty of Blois in 1505 that brought about an alliance between \JFrance\j and \JSpain\j.
MEX Louis XII
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Ambrose, St",1166,0,0,0
DT1a c.
DT1 339
DT2 97
EN Roman clergyman and doctor of the Church, born in Trier, \JGermany\j. He practised law in \JRome\j, and in 369 was appointed consular prefect of Upper \JItaly\j, whose capital was Milan. When the bishopric fell vacant in 374, he was chosen bishop by universal acclamation, even though he was still only a catechumen undergoing instruction.
He was quickly baptized, and consecrated bishop eight days later. He fought for the integrity of the Church at the imperial court, resisting Empress-regent Justina over the introduction of Arian churches. He introduced the use of hymns and made many improvements in the \Jliturgy\j, notably the \IAmbrosian ritual\i and \IAmbrosian chant.\i Feast day 7 December.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"ambrosia beetle",1167,0,0,0
EN A small dark beetle that burrows into wood. The adults have cylindrical bodies with short, clubbed antennae. The fleshy, legless larvae feed on fungi that line the walls of tunnels made in the wood. \B(Order:\b Coleoptera. \BFamily:\b Scolytidae.)
BK a
#
"ameba",1168,0,0,0
EN See amoeba / ameba
BK a
XCY y
#
"Amen",1169,0,0,0
EN See \JAmun\j
BK a
XCY y
#
"Amenhotep II",1170,0,0,0
PN [ahmen\Bhoh\btep]
DT1 15
DT1b th-c BC
EN King of \JEgypt\j in the 18th Dynasty (1450-1425 BC), the son of Thuthmose III. He fought successful campaigns in Palestine and on the Euphrates. His mummy was found in the Valley of the Tombs of the Kings, Thebes.
MEX Thuthmose
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Amenhotep III",1171,0,0,0
PN [amen\Bhoh\btep]
DT1a c.
DT1 1411
DT2 1379
DT2b BC
EN King of \JEgypt\j (1417-1379 BC), the son of Thuthmose IV. He consolidated Egyptian supremacy in \JBabylonia\j and \JAssyria\j. In a reign of spectacular wealth and magnificence, he built his great capital city, Thebes, and its finest monuments, including the Luxor temple, the great pylon at Karnak, and the colossi of \JMemnon\j.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Amenhotep IV",1172,0,0,0
EN See \JAkhenaton\j
BK bg a
XCY y
#
"amenorrhoea / amenorrhea",1173,0,0,0
PN [ameno\Bree\ba]
EN The absence of normal \Jmenstruation\j. It arises when the cyclical hormonal control (by the front pituitary \Jgland\j and ovaries) of normal \Jmenstruation\j is disturbed by physical or psychological factors.
BK a
#
"America's Cup",1174,0,0,0
EN Yachting's most famous race, held approximately every 4 years. The trophy was originally called the One Hundred Guinea Cup, and was donated by the Royal Yacht Squadron for a race around the \JIsle of Wight\j, S England, UK in 1851. It was renamed the \JAmerica's Cup\j after the schooner \IAmerica\i won the race six years later.
The New York Yacht Club offered the cup as a challenge trophy. Between 1870 and 1983 it remained in US ownership until the successful challenge of \IAustralia II.\i The USA won it back in 1987, and then successfully held off a challenge from \JNew Zealand\j in 1988, which resulted in a lengthy legal battle.
BK a
#
"American Anti-Slavery Society",1175,0,0,0
EN See abolitionist movement
BK a
XCY y
#
"American black and tan coonhound",1176,0,0,0
EN This is an excellent tracking dog in its determined pursuit of its quarry. This dog is often known as the "treeing hound," as it forces the raccoon to take refuge in a tree.
\BHistory:\b
The American Black and Tan Coonhound has a most impressive ancestry. This dog was bred from a combination of the Talbot Hound from the eleventh century, the \JFoxhound\j, the Kerry \JBeagle\j from Ireland, the \JBloodhound\j, and the American Virginia \JFoxhound\j. The American Black and Tan Coonhound was bred especially for the local conditions of tracking and treeing raccoons and opossums.
\BPhysical characteristics:\b
The American Black and Tan Coonhound is a large powerful dog with an athletic build. \IHeight:\i 23 - 27 in (58 - 69 cm). \IWeight:\i 55 - 75 lb (25 - 34 kg). This dog has the appearance of a classic hound. The well-set, light brown eyes reveal the dog's intelligence as they look out at you over a long square muzzle. The long drooping ears are set well back on the large well-proportioned head.
This dog has a long powerful neck with a muscular yet athletic body. The long tail usually flows down towards the ground but is held upright when the dog is alert. The dense coat is short and, as the name suggests, is colored black with tan markings above the eyes, on the sides of the muzzle, and on the lower extremities of the legs and feet.
\BBehavior:\b
The American Black and Tan Coonhound gains a degree of confidence from its large size and appears to be a very well-balanced dog. This animal is very intelligent and perfectly bred for the tasks of tracking and chasing. This very alert dog makes an excellent watch-dog. It acts as a real deterrent when it sounds off its magnificent hound-like bark. Unlike its smaller cousins, the American Black and Tan Coonhound also satisfies the requirements of a true guard dog, as it can be very territorial.
This dog is normally very gregarious and gets along very well with other dogs. Understandably, care should be taken so as not to upset the social hierarchy when several of these hounds are kept together. Generally, these American Black and Tan Coonhounds are kept as working dogs. However, where they are to be kept as companion animals, they should be socialized with people when they are puppies. Their large size and robust physique mean they are not normally scared of larger children and can become excellent companions, although care should be taken that smaller children do not get bowled over in rough games. Never leave small children unattended with several hounds together.
The American Black and Tan Coonhound is a marvel to watch as it nimbly races across difficult terrain. It should be provided with lots of exercise and thrives if given regular tasks. Bored, under-exercised dogs have a tendency to become snappy and unhappy. This well-mannered dog is readily trainable with an assertive owner, who will be rewarded with a very loyal hound. The American Black and Tan Coonhound is a tenacious dog. Once it fully understands the task it will tirelessly keep at it until it succeeds.
This dog has few common ailments but its feet should be checked after working, and particular attention should be given to its ears. The large hanging ears may be susceptible to infections or become damaged during a chase. A truly magnificent working dog.
BK wan
#
"American Black Bear",1177,0,0,0
EN \B\I(Ursus americanus)\b\i\b
The American black bear is a medium-sized bear that is native only to the continent of \JNorth America\j. These bears are forest animals and live in a highly varied habitat throughout most of Canada, the United States and occasionally Mexico. The official name for the American black bear is \IUrsus americanus.\i \IUrsus\i is the Latin word meaning "bear" while \Iamericanus\i simply means American, the location where the bear is found in the wild. Native Americans viewed the American black bear with respect and reverence and included the bear in many of their religious customs.
Some of the names they used included "phantom of the woods" and "spirit of the forest." Today, for most people who live in \JNorth America\j, it is the one bear many people can count on seeing in the wild at least once in their lifetime. It is estimated that there are between 400,000 and 750,000 American black bears throughout \JNorth America\j. This is a very small number of bears when one considers that there are more American black bears than all other bears in the world put together.
\BAnatomy and Characteristics\b
The American black bear is a large \Jmammal\j whose size and weight are extremely variable depending on the ready availability of food and the existing climatic conditions.
The height of an adult male American black bear measured from the ground to the highest point of the shoulder averages from 75 to 90 centimeters (approximately 2.5 to 3 feet). Measured from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail, the length of an adult male American black bear averages from 137 to 183 centimeters (approximately 4.5 to 6 feet).
The weight of an American black bear, which is highly variable, ranges from 55 to 270 kilograms (approximately 125 to 600 pounds) with adult males within a geographic region averaging about a third larger than adult females. The largest American black bear recorded to date was found in Riding Mountain National Park in \JManitoba\j, Canada, weighing in at 365 kilograms (803 pounds).
All American black bears have a heavy body with strong muscular legs. They have a broad head with a Roman or convex face. The ears of the black bear are small, rounded and set well back on the head. The eyes are small in relation to the size of the head. The tail is short and stubby at 10 to 13 centimeters (4 to 5 inches). Black bears lack the distinct shoulder hump of the brown bear.
American black bears move in a manner similar to most other bears. They amble or pace with both legs on one side of their body moving together. The front feet of the black bear are turned-in (pigeon-toed). When galloping, black bears have been clocked at 25 to 30 miles per hour over a short distance. Black bears are also strong and skillful swimmers. They will swim for pleasure as well as to gather food. American black bears are outstanding tree climbers. They climb to feed and also to avoid their enemies.
Black bears have relatively flat feet with five toes. Their non-retractable claws are much shorter than that of a brown bear. The claws are round and taper to a sharp point. The hind and front claws are about the same length but the front claws are more sharply curved. From a distance, the front claws of a black bear are not as visible as they are on a brown bear. The most common colors of the claws are black or grayish brown.
While once long ago, American black bears may have primarily been meat eaters, today they are, in fact, omnivores. To accommodate this, both their teeth and digestive tracts have undergone major changes so that they can extract sufficient \Jnutrients\j from vegetable matter to maintain their large body mass.
American black bears are covered with a soft dense underfur which serves as \Jinsulation\j to keep them warm. They also have a covering of long, thick guard hairs. Black bears shed their fur annually. The name, the American black bear, is actually a misnomer, given the many color phases of this bear. Only about 70 per cent of black bears are truly black in color. Researchers have determined that in the eastern areas where the climate is wetter, "black" bears predominate, while in the drier inland areas to the west, brown and blond bears are more common. Many American black bears also show a white throat or chest patch.
There is also an American black bear which has beautiful cream-colored fur. This bear, called the Kermode bear, is often referred to as the "ghost bear." It is found only on three small, isolated islands off the western coast of British Columbia in Canada. The brown eyes and black nose of these bears eliminate any possibility that the Kermode bears are an albino race. A female Kermode bear may give birth to both black and white-phased cubs within the same litter.
Black bears have good eyesight. They have binocular vision as do most predators, including humans. This gives them good depth perception. It is thought that most bears may be somewhat nearsighted due to feeding close to the ground. Despite this, black bears are still able to detect moving prey from far away. They also appear to have color vision. Bears demonstrate excellent hearing.
No animal has a better sense of smell than a bear. It has been said that a bear uses its nose to learn about its world in the same way that we use our eyes. An old Native American saying sums it up best: "A pine needle fell in the forest. The eagle saw it. The dear heard it. The bear smelled it." Because their sense of smell is so important, bears will often rise to a standing position or move to a higher elevation, to better "sniff the air."
In the wild, American black bears have been known to live for over 30 years. The age of a bear is normally determined by taking a small premolar tooth. The tooth is then cross-sectioned and the age is determined by the number of rings. This is similar to how the age of a tree is determined. Surviving into adulthood is very difficult for black bears. Many hazards await a small cub, including starvation, disease, accidents and predation by other animals including male bears. Mother bears or sows are very protective but the dangers are great.
\BBehavior\b
American black bears are known to be extremely intelligent and clever. Another defining characteristic of this species is their intense curiosity in everything around them. Their inquisitive nature and willingness to play either alone or with other members of a family unit (i.e., mother and siblings) has entertained many a wildlife observer. But it should also be remembered that they are also highly unpredictable. They are easily conditioned to human garbage and then become problem bears.
Lacking the ability to vary their facial expressions, bears are nonetheless very expressive and communicative animals. In addition to posturing and scenting, bears use many different vocalizations to express themselves both to other bears and to other animals. American black bears, like many other bears, roar when they are very angry. A few of the other sounds they make include bawling to express pain; squalling when they are disappointed; and chomping when they are annoyed.
Most adult male bears live a very solitary life except for periodic mating with a receptive female. Females on the other hand, spend almost all of their lives in a family unit either as a cub growing into adulthood or as a mother raising her cubs. Even juvenile bears who have been driven off by their mother just before she mates once more, will live together as litter mates for several months to more than a year. This has led us to study the importance of the family unit as a basic construct for understanding bears' behavior.
American black bear cubs usually spend the first sixteen to eighteen months of life at the side of their mother and in the company of one or more siblings. They are then driven off, sometimes very fiercely, by their mother. With females coming into estrus, mating, conceiving and giving birth and then raising cubs in a repeating cycle, females live the majority of their lives within a family unit. Adult bears, usually as a mating pair, may also live together for a short period during the breeding season.
In the world of the bear, bigger means stronger and more dominant. For the most part, bears have learned to avoid serious fights which might critically injure both combatants. The older adult males are usually the biggest and the most dominant bears. Next come the adult females and below them are the juvenile bears. This dominance hierarchy works most of the time, but a female with cubs will often fight to the death to protect her young cubs. Also, large males of almost equal size will sometimes fight over a dead animal or some other food source that they both happen to discover at the same time.
Female American black bears normally become sexually mature between their third to fifth year with some waiting up to seven years for their first mating. Copulation normally takes place in a manner similar to members of the (canine) dog family. In warmer climates, mating may take place as early as May or June while in more northern (and therefore colder) locations, mating may be delayed until July or early August. Females will normally mate with several males over the two to three weeks of the breeding season. Females will normally breed every other year.
Through a process called delayed implantation, the fertilized \Jovum\j divides a few times and then floats free within the uterus for about six months with its development arrested. Sometime around the denning period, the embryo will attach itself to the uterine wall and after a period of rapid growth lasting about eight weeks (in January or February), the cubs will be born while the mother is still in \Jhibernation\j. If the mother has not put on enough fat reserves to last her through the winter, the embryo stops growing and is simply reabsorbed.
The number of cubs born normally ranges from one to four with two to three cubs being average. As a rule, a first-time mother will have only one cub. The number of cubs a female will have increases as she gets older.
At birth, the cubs are blind, toothless, covered with fine gray hair and very tiny. They weigh from 240 to 330 grams (approximately 8.5 to 11.5 ounces). Virtually helpless, they are, however, able to move sufficiently to suckle on their mother who remains asleep. Her milk is calorically very rich containing over 20 per cent fat.
In contrast, human milk only contains about 4 per cent fat. The cubs eyes open between 28 and 40 days after they are born. The cubs are able to walk by about five weeks. At this time, they have grown to about five pounds. Over the next several months, the cubs will develop rapidly such that they weigh between 40 and 60 pounds by the time they are six months of age.
Living in the wild is very dangerous for bear cubs. Of all American black bear cubs born, only 50 per cent will live to see their third birthday. Starvation and disease claim a number of cubs. Also, wolves, bobcats, eagles, mountain lions and, in more urban areas, dog packs have been known to kill young cubs who become separated from their mother's side.
Infanticide is also a factor. Predation of cubs by adult male black bears is common. Three reasons have been suggested to account for \Jinfanticide\j: to provide food; to create a breeding opportunity for an adult male bear; and to reduce competition for common territory. While the mother is foraging, the cubs are often placed under the shelter of a thicket or in a nearby tree. In the event of danger, the cubs will stay in the tree while their mother either takes guard on the forest ground below, or climbs the tree after them.
The cubs will stay with their mother for the entire first year. They are generally weaned between July and September of their first year and stay with their mother through the first full winter. Their survival is totally dependent on the skill of the mother in both protecting them and teaching them the basics of what to eat, where and how to get food, where to den, and how to cope with danger.
As adolescents, young American black bears are still in extreme danger. Normally they are driven off by their mother as she prepares to breed once more during their second summer. The juvenile bears must now become rapidly self sufficient if they are to stay alive and find enough food to build up their fat reserves to last over the long winter. Occasionally, young bears will spend a period of time together after they have been driven off by their mothers.
The American black bear appears to be the bear species which has the greatest ability to live in close proximity to humans. By far the most widely distributed bear in \JNorth America\j, its range extends from the northern tree limit of the \JArctic\j, to the south through most of Canada and the United States. It is found as far south as the Sierra Madre Mountains which are located in north-west Mexico.
The preferred habitat of the American black bear includes forests with occasional open areas such as meadows. This includes the hardwood forests along the eastern side of \JNorth America\j as well as the coniferous forests found in the more central and western parts of the continent. The only habitat from which black bears are absent are those areas where heavy deforestation has occurred.
The American black bear is currently known to be present in 32 of the 48 continental American states. \JCalifornia\j, \JIdaho\j, Montana, Oregon, and Washington are estimated to have black bear populations numbering over 10,000. However, \JAlaska\j, with an estimated population of 100,000 black bears, is clearly the heart of black bear country.
In many areas, the bear numbers are relatively stable. In a few states, the number of black bears is very low due to habitat reduction. Hawaii has never had bears. In Canada, American black bears are present in healthy numbers in 9 of the 10 provinces and both of the northern territories. British Columbia is estimated to have over 100,000 bears while \JOntario\j is estimated to have 70,000 bears. Canada's smallest province, Prince Edward Island, no longer has a resident black bear population.
While American black bears are certainly not numerous in Mexico, it is thought that some bears may be present in several Mexican states, particularly in the northwest areas of the country. This is a more isolated area with mountain habitat possibly providing large enough ranges for black bears to have survived.
\BDiet and Habitat\b
American black bears, like all wild creatures, seek foods which will give them the highest amount of food \Jenergy\j for the least amount of work. They are primarily wanderers and foragers. They are constantly moving to take advantage of seasonal food sources and scavenge whatever they may unexpectedly find in their travels.
Eating hundreds of different types of plants, researchers have determined that more than 75 per cent of a black bear's diet consists of vegetable matter including berries; flowers; grasses and sedges; herbs; tubers and roots; and nuts of all kinds. For the remaining portion of their diet, animal matter such as decaying animal carcasses, fish, small marine animals, ants and other insects, honey, elk and moose calves and a variety of other small mammals (e.g., ground squirrels, marmots, etc.) are consumed.
American black bears like to feed in the cool of the evening or in the early morning. During the heat of the \Jday\j, they will often seek shade in the dense underbrush.
Bears have home ranges, but are not territorial in that they don't normally fight to keep other bears out of an area. The home range is the land a bear usually travels as it lives its life. The size of the home range of an individual black bear will vary with the concentration of high quality food sources. The richer the food sources and the closer together they are, the smaller the range a bear needs.
In different parts of \JNorth America\j, the home ranges of adult female black bears may vary from 6.5 square kilometers (approximately 2.5 square miles) to 26 square kilometers (10 square miles). In the far north, the size of a bear's home ranges is often far larger. Adult males will normally have a home range which is about four times larger than the females at 26 to 124 square kilometers (approximately 10 to 40 square miles). The home range of a mature male bear will often overlap the home range of several female bears.
Within the home range of a black bear, not all of the land is suitable habitat. Rather, most home ranges are composed of several smaller food source areas connected by travel lanes. Open areas are usually avoided by black bears as they prefer wooded cover. Stream and creek beds are often used as travel lanes because of the thick undergrowth and a barrier-free escape route. This is particularly true in areas where there is heavy urban build-up.
\BHibernation\b
During late summer and early fall, all bears from the cold northern climates must, in order to survive, gain as much weight as possible. By gorging on locally available nut crops, berries, etc., American black bears are able to make very large weight gains. Such gains may be as much as 14 kilograms (30 pounds) per week. At such times, foraging may occur both \Jday\j and night with rest periods very infrequent.
Most American black bears, including all who live in areas with severe \Jweather\j climates, will hibernate for between four and seven months. Where the \Jweather\j is much more temperate and the period without food available is quite short, black bears may either not hibernate or they may simply nest in a thicket or other sheltered area for brief periods of time. In northern areas, the body of a bear undergoes many remarkable changes as bears prepare to survive the long, very cold winter.
Hibernation is an \Jenergy\j-saving process bears have developed to allow them to survive for long periods when there is insufficient food available to maintain their body mass. It is a different type of \Jhibernation\j than that experienced by bats, marmots and a number of other small rodents. As they stop eating and become increasingly sluggish, the bear will enter a cave; dig out a den; or hole up in a dense brush pile, hollow log or tree cavity.
While hibernating, a bear's heart rate drops from between forty to seventy beats per minute to only eight to twelve beats per minute and its \Jmetabolism\j slows down by half. Unlike other hibernators, the bear's body \Jtemperature\j undergoes only a minor reduction of 3 to 7 degrees \JCentigrade\j (5 to 9 degrees Fahrenheit). During the entire period of \Jhibernation\j, the black bear will neither pass \Jurea\j or solid fecal waste. While \Jurea\j poisoning causing death would occur in all other animals, bears have developed a unique process of recycling the \Jurea\j into usable proteins.
Most black bears vacate their winter dens over a one to two month period commencing in April or May. Both the climatic conditions (snow cover and \Jtemperature\j) and physiological factors such as the bear's age, their health and their remaining fat reserves, affect the exact time that they leave their den. Adult males usually emerge first while females with newborn cubs are usually the last to leave their dens.
During the \Jhibernation\j period, all bears lose a great deal of weight. Adult males and adolescent bears lose between 15 per cent and 30 per cent of their weight while it is not uncommon for a female cub with newborn cubs to have lost as much as 40% of her weight. The black bear will then resume its normal foraging pattern as it completes the cycle of life.
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"American Civil Liberties Union",1178,0,0,0
EN A leading US group which promotes \Jcivil rights\j. It has tended to use the courts to gain changes based on the rights afforded under the Constitution, and is particularly concerned with freedom of speech and maintaining an open society.
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"American Civil War",1179,0,0,0
The \JAmerican Civil War\j resolved two great issues: the nature of the Federal Union (and the relative power of the states and central government); and the existence of black \Jslavery\j. On his election as US president (Nov 1860), Abraham Lincoln was opposed to the extension of \Jslavery\j. This provoked South Carolina into seceding from the Union (Dec 1860). Following the secession of a further six Southern states (Mississippi, \JFlorida\j, \JAlabama\j, Georgia, Louisiana, and \JTexas\j) a Southern Constitution was drawn up, and Jefferson Davis was sworn in as provisional president of the Confederate States (Feb 1861).
Hostilities commenced when Confederate forces under Pierre Gustav Beauregard fired on Fort Sumter, Charleston, SC (12 Apr 1861). Lincoln quickly proclaimed a blockade of the Southern ports, and called for the raising of an army of 75'000 men. This prompted the secession of four more Southern states, and Richmond, VA, became the Confederate seat of government.
During the early summer, George B McClellan, commander of the Federal forces in S Ohio, advanced into West Virginia and, having eliminated Confederate resistance in three small but very significant battles, made it possible for the new state of West Virginia to join the Union in 1863. Meanwhile, some 350'00 Union troops marched on Richmond under the command of Irvin McDowell (1818--85). Ignoring the advice of his army commander, Winfield Scott, Lincoln ordered McDowell to attack Beauregard's Confederate forces, which were attempting to hold the important rail crossroads at Manassas. Further Union troops were to hold Joseph Eggleston Johnston's Confederate Army of the Shenandoah at Bull Run, to prevent it reinforcing Beauregard. In the ensuing battle (Jul 1861), the Union forces were forced to retreat to Washington. A notable defensive action on the part of Confederate brigade commander, Thomas Jonathan Jackson, earned him the nickname Stonewall.
Following defeat at Bull Run (Manassas), Lincoln called for a further 500'000 army recruits; he also determined a policy of simultaneous and widespread multiple offensives, together with an intensification of the naval blockade. McClellan was appointed as commander of the Army of the Potomac. However, until the appointment, much later in the war, of Ulysses S Grant as overall commander (Mar 1864), Lincoln's generals were unsuccessful.
In early 1862 Grant commenced a major campaign to gain control of the \JTennessee\j and Cumberland rivers. His initial successes (Feb 1862) in capturing the Confederate strongholds of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, TN, were followed by John Pope's capture of New Madrid, MO, and Island Number 10 in the Mississippi R (Apr 1862). Continuing S towards \JCorinth\j, Grant was surprised at Shiloh, and hard-pressed by strong Confederate forces under Albert Sidney Johnston and Beauregard (Apr 1862). Only the death of Johnston and the later arrival of Union reinforcements from Nashville under Don Carlos Buell (1818--98) enabled Grant to recover and force a Confederate withdrawal. With the subsequent occupation of \JCorinth\j, the Union forces controlled the upper and lower reaches of the Mississippi. \JNew Orleans\j was taken (May 1862) by David Glasgow Farragut, the naval fleet commander, who had run the Confederate forts of St Philip and Jackson, 90'mi S of the city.
In the E, McClellan had initiated his Peninsular Campaign, planning to attack Richmond from the SE along the peninsula between the York and James rivers, rather than by a direct overland assault (favoured by Lincoln). After slow progress up the peninsula, delayed by a month-long siege of \JYorktown\j (May 1862) and rearguard Confederate action at Williamsburg, his troops approached Richmond, where they were attacked by J E Johnston's forces at Seven Pines (May 1862). Johnston was seriously wounded, and his troops withdrew into Richmond. He was replaced by Robert E Lee, who engaged McClellan in a series of indecisive but costly actions, the Seven Days Battle (25 Jun--1 Jul 1862), which convinced McClellan of the need for considerable reinforcement before approaching Richmond again. Lincoln, who had surreptitiously withheld a large number of McClellan's troops to defend Washington, insisted on withdrawal. He transferred most of McClellan's Army of the Potomac to Pope's Army of Virginia, and replaced McClellan as general-in-chief with Henry Wager Halleck.
Pope was then ordered to move overland to Richmond, but Lee defeated him at the Second Battle of Bull Run (Manassas, Aug 1862). Pope was then dismissed by Lincoln, and McClellan reinstated. McClellan reorganized his troops to pursue Lee into Maryland. However, despite having obtained a copy of Lee's orders and dispositions, McClellan was unable to score a decisive victory at Antietam (Sharpsburg, Sep 1862) against the numerically inferior Confederates, allowing Lee to retreat into Virginia. Lincoln again relieved McClellan of his command, and substituted Ambrose E Burnside, who led the demoralized Union troops into a major defeat at Fredericksburg, VA (Dec 1862). Lincoln appointed a new army commander, Joseph (Fighting Joe) Hooker, who engaged Lee at the Battle of Chancellorsville (May 1863), but was outmanoeuvred by Jackson.
Lee regrouped and reorganized his forces, and once again invaded the N, moving into \JPennsylvania\j, shadowed by Hooker. Hooker requested further reinforcements, and resigned his command when this was refused. George Gordon Meade succeeded him, and encountered Lee unexpectedly at Gettysburg. This developed into a climactic battle (Jul 1863), with Meade holding a defensive position, and successfully withstanding Lee's attacks. However, with Meade declining to counter-attack, Lee retreated into Virginia. Almost simultaneously, this change in Confederate fortunes was reflected in the W, where Union forces commanded by Grant, and ably assisted by gunboats under David Dixon Porter, had captured \JVicksburg\j (Jul 1863), the major Confederate stronghold on the Mississippi. Having eliminated the few remaining Confederate posts, Grant consolidated Union control of the Mississippi.
After the Battle of Shiloh in 1862, Bluell had been ordered against the vital rail centre at Chattanooga, TN, which was being held by Confederate Braxton Bragg. However, Bragg invaded Kentucky, and drew Buell out of \JTennessee\j. Their armies met at Perryville (Oct 1862) and, after an indecisive battle, Bragg retreated S. Buell's tardy pursuit displeased Lincoln, who replaced him with William Starke Rosecrans. The latter forced Bragg to retreat further after the Battle of Murfreesboro (Stone's River, 31 Dec 1862--2 Jan 1863), but Bragg received reinforcements from Lee, and later in the year defeated Rosecrans at Chickamauga (Sep 1863). Rosecrans took refuge in Chattanooga, besieged by Bragg. Grant, newly appointed departmental commander of the West, then replaced Bragg with George Henry Thomas, and himself proceeded to the relief of Chattanooga. With Hooker, Thomas, and William Tecumseh Sherman, he scored a signal victory there (Nov 1863), routing Bragg's forces. Bragg was replaced by J E Johnston.
In March 1864, Grant succeeded Halleck, and became commander of all Union armies. His strategy to the end of the war was for the Army of the West, under Sherman, to destroy the remains of J E Johnston's Confederate army and their resources in N Georgia, while he accompanied Meade's Army of the Potomac against Richmond. On his march S towards Richmond, Grant fought the costly and indecisive Battle of the Wilderness (May 1864), and at Spotsylvania (May 1864) he was repulsed with heavy losses. Following further serious losses against Lee's forces at Cold Harbor (Jun 1864), and the failure of an assault against Beauregard at Petersburg (Jun 1864), a vital centre for rail communications with Richmond, Grant settled down to a nine-month siege of the city, gradually increasing his encirclement of the region to cut off Richmond from the rest of the Confederacy. During this period, cavalry were active on both sides. Union cavalry under Philip Henry Sheridan had raided the Richmond area while assisting Grant's campaign; and in July, Confederate troops led by Jubal Anderson Early advanced to the suburbs of Washington, before being repulsed by Sheridan.
Confederate steamships had been active since early in the war, harassing Northern shipping and blockade-running in the North and South Atlantic, as well as the \JPacific Ocean\j. These were originally captained by authorized privateers, but later the Confederacy acquired its own navy, comprising British-built raiders. In June 1864, the most notorious of these, the \JAlabama\j, under the command of Raphael Semmes, was sunk by the USS Kearsage just outside \JCherbourg\j harbour in \JFrance\j, ending a commission during which Semmes had captured some 69 Union ships. Following the sinking, Semmes received a hero's welcome in \JSouthampton\j, England. He returned to America, and eventually assumed command of the Confederate navy. He scuttled its remaining ships in the James R (Apr 1865).
In the W, meanwhile, Sherman had advanced towards \JAtlanta\j in pursuit of Johnston. He eventually forced a confrontation at Kennesaw Mountain (Jun 1864), but was beaten, with heavy losses. Johnston's failure to eliminate Sherman's army displeased the Confederate president, who replaced him with John Bell Hood. The latter initiated several unsuccessful offensives against Sherman, and finally evacuated \JAtlanta\j (Sep 1864). After initial pursuit, Sherman left Thomas to deal with Hood (Nashville, Dec 1864), while he began a 300-mi march of destruction through Georgia to the sea. Reaching Savannah (Dec 1864), he turned N again, and advanced through only light opposition. Lee had recently been appointed Confederate general-in-chief, and had immediately reinstated Johnston; the latter, however, perceiving that it would be impossible to arrest Sherman's advance, surrendered near Durham, NC (Apr 1865).
The end came in the E, when Lee's forces, diminished by casualties, disease, and desertions, evacuated both Richmond and Petersburg (Apr 1865) and attempted to move W to join up with Johnston in \JNorth Carolina\j. However, cut off by Sheridan's cavalry, and pursued by Grant and Meade, he eventually surrendered at Appomattox Court House (9 Apr 1865). There remained only isolated Confederate units, the last of which surrendered in June 1865.
Both the Confederate and Union armies had used African-Americans as labourers in the war, but only the Union used them as combat troops. In August 1862, the enlistment of 5000 such troops was officially approved in the North, and eventually c.180'000 served in the Union army, many of them former slaves who had run away from their Southern owners. These troops, who were required to serve under white officers and who received lower pay than whites, demonstrated great courage in several engagements.
The larger population and the superior resources of the North finally prevailed against the cotton-based farming economy of the South. The cost to both sides, however, was enormous: Union forces suffered 359'000 dead and 275'000 injured, the Confederates 258'000 dead and some 225'000 wounded.
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"American Colonization Society",1180,0,0,0
EN A US pre-abolitionist anti-\Jslavery\j group, aimed at resettling freed slaves in Africa. It was supported by some slaveholders, anxious to keep freed blacks separate from slaves.
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"American Conservatory Theater",1181,0,0,0
EN Non-commercial regional American repertory company. Combining performing with a training school, ACT was founded in 1965 by William Ball. It has made its home in \JSan Francisco\j since 1967. As a result of \Jearthquake\j damage, in 1990-1 ACT moved from the Geary to the Palace of Fine Arts Theater.
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"American eagle",1182,0,0,0
EN See bald eagle
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"American Federation of Labor - Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL / CIO)",1183,0,0,0
EN A US federation of trade unions, formed in 1955 from the merger of the AFL (mainly craft unions, founded in 1886) with the \JCIO\j (mainly industrial workers' unions, founded in 1935). It has c.14..5 million members. Its aims include educational campaigns on behalf of the labour movement, the settlement of disputes among affiliates, and political support for beneficial legislation. Policy is decided at a biennial convention.
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"American football",1184,0,0,0
EN The national fall (autumn) and winter sport in the USA, played between September and January. It resembles rugby, but forward passing of the ball is permitted. It is played on a rectangular field 360┐ft (110┐m) by 160┐ft (49┐m), divided into 5-yd (4.6-m) segments which give the field a gridiron effect.
The object is to score \Itouchdowns\i - the moving of the ball across the goal line in a running or passing play. This is similar to the \Itry\i in rugby, but progress has to be made upfield by a series of \Iplays,\i and a team must make 10┐yd (9.1┐m) of ground within four plays, otherwise it loses possession of the ball. Six points are awarded for a touchdown and one point for a \Iconversion\i (kicking the ball between the posts and over the crossbar), as in rugby. A goal kicked from anywhere on the field (a \Ifield goal)\i is worth 3 points.
Teams consist of more than 40 squad members, but only 11 are allowed on the field for each team at any one time. Special units come on for specific roles. When a team is attacking, the 11 players will be different from those on the field when they are on the defence. The game was first played in US colleges in the mid-19th-c, and the first rules were drawn up at Princeton College in 1867.
The professional game in the USA comes under the auspices of the National Football League, which is divided into the American Football Conference (AFC) and National Football Conference (NFC). The leading teams of the two conferences meet in a series of play-off games each January for the Super Bowl (instituted 1966-7).
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"American foxhound",1185,0,0,0
EN See \Jfoxhound\j
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"American Indians",1186,0,0,0
EN The original inhabitants of the American continent, who arrived during the last glacial period (according to some estimates, 14-40┐000 years ago, but the issue is controversial) from Asia, crossing from \JSiberia\j over the Bering Strait, perhaps in three waves. They settled in \JNorth America\j, where the earliest sites are now thought to date from c.17┐000 years ago, extended into Middle America (Mesoamerica), and reached what is now \JChile\j by c.13┐000 years ago.
Common origins with the Chinese north-east of the Yenisey River have been suggested. There are similarities (eg knife shapes) between Indian and late Palaeolithic / \JNeolithic\j Chinese cultures, and there are stylistic resemblances between the \Jtotem\j-pole art of North and \JSouth America\j and Shang dynasty shamanistic motifs.
\BNorth American Indians\b The palaeo-Americans were hunter-gatherers, who established themselves in the forested E coastal zone, on the grassy Great Plains, in the NW, and in the W deserts. The sharp and pronounced climatic changes and over-hunting resulted in a dramatic decline in big-game animals, and the \Jextinction\j of many species, including the mammoth. Except on the Great Plains, it brought to an end the mobile hunting adaptation based on communal game drives. Instead a new pattern emerged, based largely on sedentary resources such as nuts, seeds, and shellfish.
In the W, a Desert culture developed (at least 7000 years ago) where people settled in densely populated villages, and cultivated plants, produced baskets and other artifacts, and built adobe shelters. On the Plains the people became specialized \Jbison\j hunters, and (much later) started to grow crops and live in permanent settlements. In the E, which was colder and densely forested, seasonal movement occurred in response to food availability; people mainly survived by collecting nuts and seeds, and hunting \Jcaribou\j and sea mammals.
From the 16th-c, with the coming of European settlers, the lives of most Indians were severely disrupted. Conflict over land resulted in numerous bloody clashes, and many died from diseases introduced by Europeans. The population was very much reduced, from an estimated 1.5 million at its height, and by the 1880s most Indians had been confined to reservations. In the past generation there has been increasing political activity on the part of Indians to reclaim land rights.
\BMiddle American Indians\b The cultural and geographical region includes all of C and S Mexico, and extends into the Central American states of \JGuatemala\j, \JBelize\j, \JHonduras\j, and El Salvador. The cultivation of a cereal crop (\Jmaize\j) accelerated economic and social development, giving rise to indigenous civilizations based upon them. During the Formative Era (2500 BC-AD 300) the foundations of future cultural development were laid: the emergence of hieroglyphic writing, calendrics, astronomical observation, monumental \Jarchitecture\j, large religious and ceremonial centres, specialization in art and craft, and intensive agriculture.
Because of the spread of \Jmaize\j from the highlands and the introduction of new strains more suited to dry areas, people were able to live in more densely concentrated settlements. The area was warm, and an ideal environment for agriculture. The first beginnings of high civilization occurred in the Olmec culture c.1200 BC.
The \IClassic Period\i (AD 300-900) represented Mesoamerican civilization at its height, during which the Maya civilization flourished in parts of \JGuatemala\j, the Yucatßn, and the Mexican Chiapas. In the \IPost-Classic\i period (900-1520), the Mayans were superseded by the Toltecs and then the \JAztecs\j, based in the C highlands of Mexico, who flourished and expanded over several centuries until the arrival of the Spanish.
In 1521, CortΘs and a small army of soldiers took the last Aztec emperor captive, and the empire ceased to exist. At its height, the Indian population was much larger than in \JNorth America\j - some suggest as many as 20 million. Today most Middle Americans live in small farming and trading village communities, are Roman Catholic and Spanish-speaking, and show a high rate of admixture with the descendants of the Spanish settlers.
\BSouth American Indians\b The earliest peoples were hunter-gatherers, who were gradually replaced by sedentary agricultural societies. Between c.3000 and 1500 BC in most of the region, settled life based on \Jhorticulture\j became the norm. The people probably obtained \Jmaize\j from Middle America, though there is evidence that several local plants (eg the \Jpotato\j tuber) were domesticated as early as 5-7000 BC. Later, from c.1000 BC, larger-scale societies developed, culminating in AD 1000 in one of the world's major civilizations, the Inca.
In the century before the Spanish invasion of the region, the Inca state brought together much of the Andean area in the New World's largest empire. In the Amazon basin, tropical forest hunting-and-gathering culture existed from at least 2000 BC. With the European conquest in the 16th-c, some of the groups in the S became extinct, while others were absorbed into colonial society. But in a few remote parts, there are groups which have preserved their culture virtually intact.
\BMore information provided by Webster Publishing\b
\BHistory\b
Although the past remains enshrouded in mystery, one thing is certain - Native Americans arrived in America long before Columbus sailed to the European "New World."
Although historians are not sure how Native Americans evolved in America, there are a number of theories. Some historians believe a land bridge once joined \JSiberia\j and \JAlaska\j, and humans may have traveled over it between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago. Other scholars have discovered evidence that challenges this belief that Native Americans traveled to \JNorth America\j over the Bering Land Bridge.
While recent \Jradiocarbon dating\j of remains in a rock shelter on a \Jsandstone\j cliff in northeastern \JBrazil\j indicate Indians have been there for at least 32,000 years -- longer than previously thought. Humans certainly occupied this shelter where charcoal hearths and stone tools were found. If humans occupied \JSouth America\j, some scholars argue that perhaps the peoples of \JNorth America\j actually came from the south, rather than from the north.
Thus far we have based most of what we know about pre-Columbian Native peoples on European studies of their eighteenth and nineteenth-century customs. These studies certainly are marred by European values and beliefs. Rather than starting from the present and working backwards, perhaps we should look at prehistoric cultures and move forward. For example, if we assume that people migrated over the Bering Land Bridge, we need to know who occupied \JSiberia\j at that time.
Many Native cultures have more in common with Mediterranean peoples than ancient people from \JSiberia\j. What was the influence of pre-Columbian visitors and settlers on America? Evidence shows that Phoenicians, Druids, and Africans visited here nearly 2,000 years ago. On the east coast, many remained and mixed with the American people, thus affecting their culture as well as their language, economy, and physical characteristics.
Finally, we cannot ignore the oral traditions passed on by the elders to the young in everyday life. Much is missing from written accounts of their way of life -- both present and past. In the oral tradition, learning is a part of daily life. Children learned about their history, culture, and religious beliefs as a part of their daily activities, but written accounts are sparse. Thus to modern scholars the early history of America before Columbus remains something of a mystery
Although historians do not know the names of all Indian tribes, the following recalls some of the main tribes from different regions
\BTribes of the Northwest Coast and California\b
The tribes of the Pacific Coast of what is now Washington, Oregon, and Northern \JCalifornia\j included the \JHaida\j, Kwakiutl, Nootka and Bella Coola of British Columbia; the coastal \JSalish\j of Washington; and the Yurok, \JHupa\j, and Modoc of Oregon and \JCalifornia\j. The Tlingit and Tsimshian lived along the Alaskan coast.
\BTribes of the Great Plains\b
The Great Plains area includes the territory stretching from Alberta, Canada, into \JTexas\j and west from the middle of the Dakotas, Oklahoma, \JNebraska\j, and Kansas to the foothills of the Rockies.
The tribes of this area included the well known Blackfeet, Crow, and Pawnee and the lesser known Mandan and Prairie. The French explorers also called the Dakota tribes the Sioux and Cheyenne. The tribes of the Great Plains are also remembered in such place names as \JIowa\j, Omaha, and \JWichita\j
\BTribes of the Great Basin and Plateau\b
The Great Basin covers over 200,000 square miles of grim desert scrub land and salt flats in what is now Nevada, \JUtah\j, the Western edge of \JColorado\j, and the southern portions of Washington and \JIdaho\j. The Plateau lies to the north and northwest of the Great Basin. On today's map, this includes parts of British Columbia and Alberta, Washington, Oregon, Montana, and \JIdaho\j
The tribes of the Great Basin and Plateau included the Utes (after whom \JUtah\j is named),Nez Perce (who bred the Appaloosa horse) Washos, \JPaiute\j, Walla Walla, Yakima, \JFlathead\j, Paloos, Shoshone, Bannock, Shoshone-Bannock, Chinook, Cayuse, and Kootenai.
\BTribes of the Eastern Woodlands, North and South\b
The lands of the northern woodlands cover the vast region stretching from the \JAtlantic Ocean\j to the Mississippi River, from the upper shores of Lake Superior to the northern border of what is now \JTennessee\j.
Over 40 different tribes inhabited this region in which the impressive \JIroquois\j Confederacy of tribes was formed just before whites settled the northeast. This League of the \JIroquois\j which had a governing council of fifty chiefs united the Mohawk, \JOneida\j, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca tribes, originally, with the Tuscarora joining later.
The Confederacy has its own oral constitution, and a set of laws that created peace for the member tribes for many years. This Confederacy, however, fought the Algonquian tribes and the independent Huron (known for their farming techniques).
Other tribes in this region included Mahicans, Ojibwa, Chippewa, \JDelaware\j, Powhatan, Unami, Winnebago, Micmac, Sauk, Fox, Menominee, and Montauk. There were also tribes at Narragensett and Penobscot.
The lands of the southeast woodlands stretch from the Gulf of Mexico to what is now lower Mississippi, Ohio, Kentucky, and Virginia, from the Atlantic coastal marshes to the Mississippi River.
Tribes in this region included Chickasaw, \JCherokee\j (who had a written language), Creek, Choctaw, Natchez, Apalachee, Miccosukee and Timuaca, along with the famous \JSeminole\j tribes of \JFlorida\j.
\BTribes of the Southwest\b
The Southwest stretches from the northern borders of the Grand \JCanyon\j, east to \JColorado\j, and south through New Mexico and \JArizona\j.
Tribes of this area included the famous Navajo, Apache and \JHopi\j (known for their \JHopi\j Kachina figurines representing their spirits). Ancient tribes included the Anasazi, who lived at Mesa Verde. New Mexican tribes included Acoma, Jemez, Taos and a dozen other Pueblos who built the adobe houses. \JArizona\j tribes include Pima, \JPapago\j and \JZuni\j.
\BFurther reading: \IIndian Tribes of \JNorth America\j,\b\i by Josepha Sherman, published by Todtri Productions Limited\b
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"American Laboratory Theatre",1187,0,0,0
EN American acting school. Inspired by the first American appearance of the Moscow Art Theatre in January 1923, the American Laboratory Theatre (originally called the Theatre Arts Institute) was founded six months later as a school for training young actors in the \JStanislavsky\j system: a significant first step in translating \JStanislavsky\j's ideas about truth in acting into an American idiom.
The focus of the school was the classes taught by Richard Boleslavski and Maria Ouspenskaya, two impassioned ΘmigrΘs from \JStanislavsky\j's company. The Lab (disbanded in 1933) and its theatre (1925-30), were important links between the appearance of \JStanislavsky\j's company and the establishment in 1931 of America's first true theatrical collective, the Group Theatre.
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"American Legion",1188,0,0,0
EN In the USA, an association for former members of the armed forces (veterans), the largest in the world. Incorporated in 1919, its aims are to rehabilitate veterans, promote child welfare, ensure a strong national defence, and encourage patriotism.
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"American literature",1189,0,0,0
EN The first literary works of the English-speaking peoples of \JNorth America\j were sermons, journals, and histories - concerns reflected in the work of the early poets Ann Bradstreet (c.1612-72) and Edward Taylor (c.1645-1729). In the Revolutionary period the most important work was practical or political, eg Benjamin Franklin's \IPoor Richard's Almanac\i (1732-58). Franklin's \IAutobiography\i (1781) is a memorable testament to a Puritan sensibility.
After the international impact of Washington Irving's \ISketch-Book\i (1819-20), Fenimore Cooper likewise became a celebrity in the USA and Europe with his \ILeatherstocking Tales\i (1823-41), which introduced the theme of the problematic relationship between the wilderness and encroaching American civilization. Transcendentalism was enunciated by Ralph Waldo Emerson in \INature\i (1836) and by H D Thoreau in \IWalden\i (1855). Walt Whitman's free-form \ILeaves of Grass\i (appearing 1855-92) is the most sustained and successful response to Emerson's call for a literature free from European influence.
By contrast, the poetry of Emily Dickinson offers unique concentration and intensity. Another group that spoke for the darker side of existence in the USA included Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Herman Melville. Poe's sinister \ITales\i (1840, 1845) continue to fascinate; while Hawthorne's \IThe Scarlet Letter\i (1850), and Melville's epic \IMoby-Dick\i (1852), are central works of the American imagination. But Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-\Jslavery\j novel \IUncle Tom's Cabin\i (1852) was the best-selling novel of the century.
Henry James and W D Howells (1837-1920) reacted against the parochialism of American literature, James going to Europe and producing a definitive series of novels on the clash of the two cultures, and Howells editing literary journals that published work by the European realists, James, and himself.
Howells also published Mark Twain, whose \IHuckleberry Finn\i (1885) is one of the few humorous books of the 19th-c whose humour remains uncorroded. Kate Chopin's brilliant short novel, \IThe Awakening\i (1899), went unregarded for 60 years, while Stephen Crane's \IThe Red Badge of Courage\i (1895) was accepted as a classic.
Naturalism was the dominant mode of American fiction until after World War 1, whether in stories like those by Jack London of life in hostile environments, or in the depiction by Theodore Dreiser of the developing industrial centres. The novels of Edith Wharton took New York society as their subject.
T S Eliot and Ezra Pound came to Europe after the war, using experimental verse to express their dismay at the decline of European civilization. Wallace Stevens too adopted the modernist faith in aesthetic values in a world where moral certainties seemed no longer tenable.
In the novel, Ernest Hemingway and Scott Fitzgerald represented 'The Lost Generation', while another important innovator, William Faulkner, wrote a series of novels about the South. American drama makes its appearance with the plays of Eugene O'Neill, which rework autobiographical material with classical and expressionist techniques, and Arthur Miller (eg \IDeath of a Salesman,\i 1949).
The novels of Jewish writers Bernard Malamud and Saul Bellow invoke urban life with subtlety and humour, while Norman Mailer (like Hemingway) sees his writing as a form of action. The most significant postwar poets have been Robert Lowell, John Berryman, and Sylvia Plath, who dealt harrowingly with the anguish and madness of the contemporary world, and John Ashbery, who imports the postmodern condition into poetry.
The recent novel has tended to polarize between the 'new journalism' represented by Truman Capote and Tom Wolfe, and the postmodern experimentalism of John Barth and Thomas Pynchon; but meanwhile, writers such as Gore Vidal, John Updike, and Philip Roth continue the history of America in fiction.
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"American Medical Association (AMA)",1190,0,0,0
EN An association founded in Philadelphia in 1847 'to promote the science and art of medicine and the betterment of public health'. Its membership includes over 300┐000 US doctors from all specialties, expressing a corporate view on most aspects of health care.
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"American Museum of Natural History",1191,0,0,0
EN An institution founded in New York City in 1869. It includes the Hayden \JPlanetarium\j, as well as the zoo in Bronx Park, run by the American Zoological Society.
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"American Muslim Mission",1192,0,0,0
EN See Black Muslims
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"American ostrich",1193,0,0,0
EN See \Jrhea\j
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"American presidency",1194,0,0,0
American politicians, historians, and political scientists have long debated the position of the president in American political life. The central question was (and to some extent still remains) this: how much power should be concentrated in the hands of one person? Does the presidency fit into the framework of checks and balances laid out in the Constitution, or has it come to usurp undue power in the nation's political life?
The Founding Fathers of the USA were children of the Enlightenment. Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, James Madison, Gouverneur Morris, James Wilson, and their peers believed that people, through the use of reason, could construct a humane and efficient government - one that would govern rather than rule, and inform rather than instruct. After a series of debates during the summer of 1787, the Founding Fathers designed a presidency that should be significant but not dominant in the national life. Indeed, the US Constitution's Article I dealt with establishing the legislature, presumably signifying its primary importance. Article II provided for a chief executive to command the army, navy, and militias, to make treaties (with advice and consent of the Senate), to grant reprieves and pardons, and to appoint ambassadors, Supreme Court judges, and other officers of the nation. The authors of the Constitution granted these powers to the president in confident anticipation that George Washington would be the first to hold that office. Most historians concur that Washington was a model first president. He abided strictly by the Constitution, shunned political parties, and retired after two terms of office. He had set a pattern of restrained and judicious government.
Members of the \JMassachusetts\j and Virginia dynasties (1797--1829) followed in Washington's footsteps. They used the presidential powers sparingly, and adhered to the notion of checks and balances in government. An important exception occurred in 1802, when Thomas Jefferson exceeded constitutional limits in purchasing the Louisiana Territory from \JFrance\j.
Andrew Jackson (president 1829--37) ended the vision of a limited presidency. A frontiersman and a "man of the people', he used the presidential veto often, "killed' the Bank of the United States, and instituted a vigorous "spoils system' that replaced previous appointees with men of his own choosing. He used the presidential powers to their fullest extent, and was both praised and vilified for his actions.
James K(nox) Polk (president 1845--9) stands out as the most vigorous of Jackson's immediate successors. Polk settled the Oregon dispute with \JGreat Britain\j, and provoked a war with Mexico that acquired vast areas of new land for the USA. He retired after one term in office, and the presidency again took its place among the checks and balances until the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln in 1861.
Faced with the \JCivil War\j crisis, Lincoln suspended habeas corpus, extended the size of the army and navy, and hired and fired generals. He increased the power of the presidency by making himself responsible for the course of the war. His actions held the nation together, but at a cost to himself and to the office. Many people resented his assumption of extra-constitutional powers, and some even charged him with desiring to become a dictator. His assassin, John Wilkes Booth, shouted Sic semper tyrannis ("thus ends tyranny') after shooting Lincoln.
Following Lincoln's death (1865), the presidency entered a period of gradual decline. One president (Andrew Johnson) was impeached, but not convicted; one (Ulysses S Grant) allowed corrupt men into his Cabinet; and another (Rutherford B Hayes) came to the presidency tainted by a deal struck in the \JHouse of Representatives\j. During this period (1865--1901) the president was often thwarted by Congress, which experienced a resurgence of its power.
Theodore Roosevelt's presidency (1901--9) signalled another change in the political balance of power. He busted trusts, took Panama from \JColombia\j in order to be able to dig the Canal, and sent the Great White Fleet around the world. In him, the president became the policeman of the country, just as the country was starting to see itself as the policeman of the world. Woodrow Wilson, the scholar-politician, also asserted the power of the presidency (1913--21) as he led the USA into World War 1 as a democratic cause, but the Senate rejected the Versailles Treaty and America's participation in the \JLeague of Nations\j. The rejection was a sharp reminder of Congressional powers and of the need for the president to maintain support, both in Congress and among the people at large. The president became less vital under the corruption of Warren Harding's administration and the \Jlaissez-faire\j politics of Calvin Coolidge. The start of the \JGreat Depression\j (1929), however, brought the presidency to the fore of the nation again.
Herbert Hoover (president 1929--33) saw the presidency as limited, and he called for private charity, rather than government programmes, to combat the \JGreat Depression\j. It took the inventiveness, forcefulness, and at times ruthlessness of Franklin D Roosevelt (president 1933--45) to make the presidency responsible for the economic well-being of the American people. Roosevelt closed the banks, created numerous new government agencies, and tangled with the Supreme Court. He used radio "fireside chats' to bring average Americans into his corner and to circumvent congressional opposition. Elected to the presidency four times (1932, 1936, 1940, 1944), and commander-in-chief during World War 2, he held more power than any other president, before or since. His successors have struggled with and against his legacy. They have faced the awkward reality that presidential power had become more all-pervasive than the Founding Fathers had ever intended it to be.
Since 1945, the president has remained in the forefront of US politics. The advent of \Jtelevision\j and the threat posed by the \JCold War\j made the president more powerful than Congress. In 1961, John F Kennedy brought youth and glamour to the \JWhite House\j. Americans began to feel that their president must be handsome, witty, and graceful, as well as commanding and assertive. But after Kennedy's assassination in 1963, the presidency floundered for nearly 20 years. The Vietnam War, the \JWatergate\j scandal, the pardon of Richard Nixon, economic difficulties, and the \JIran\j hostage crisis (1979--81) all helped to create a pessimistic view of the Oval Office. \JTelevision\j both portrayed and magnified the weaknesses and failings of the presidency during these years (1963--81). It took the skills of the actor-turned-president, Ronald Reagan (1981--9), to make the presidency well respected once more. Reagan used Franklin Roosevelt's method of appealing to the people over the heads of the congressional leaders, even though he was seeking to reverse the trend towards "big government' that Roosevelt had initiated. George Bush (1989--93), less skilled in public relations, found his programme blocked by a Congress controlled by the opposition party.
After 200 years, the USA has not definitively answered a central constitutional question: does the president or the Congress determine the course of the nation? The presidency's power has thrived at times and suffered at others, but there has been a clear trend towards the presidency holding a more exalted and significant role than Congress. Whether through intention or circumstance, the presidency looms large in public consciousness. Popular expectations and desires focus upon the president; indeed, many Americans have come to look upon the president not only as the greatest authority in political affairs but also as the final arbiter of American society. Only the passage of time will indicate whether this movement towards presidential omnipotence has been a lasting or an ephemeral one.
Samuel Crompton, Holyoke Community College
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"American Repertory Theatre",1195,0,0,0
EN (USA) The first company of this name, founded in 1946 by Eva Le Gallienne, Margaret Webster and Cheryl Crawford, was located on Columbus Circle, New York. It was defunct by 1948. The second company (ART) under Robert Brustein began an association in 1980 with \JHarvard University\j.
Dedicated to neglected works from the past, to new American plays and to innovative classical productions, the theatre has staged controversial productions, innovative direction and experimental work, such as the 1985 presentation of portions of Robert Wilson's The Civil Wars and inaugural productions, such as Marsha Norman's 'night, Mother (1982).
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"American Revolution",1196,0,0,0
The \JAmerican Revolution\j developed from the issue of the authority of the British parliament to levy direct taxes on its American colonies; it culminated in the War of Independence (1775--83), and the establishment of the USA and, indirectly, Canada.
The first of the three main phases was marked by progressively deteriorating relations between Britain and the colonies over Britain's increasingly authoritarian rule and its resulting limitation on American economic freedom. Strong but diffused American resentment became focused in opposition to parliament's Stamp Act (1765), introduced by the British government under George Grenville. This act sought to raise revenue from the colonies, both to contribute towards their defence and to offset some of the debts accrued during the recently concluded French and Indian Wars. Colonial opposition centred on boycotting British imports, outspoken criticism from elected representatives, and the formation of the Sons of Liberty under Samuel Adams. There were other revolutionary parties, concentrated in the East Coast ports, led by Richard Henry Lee (1732--94), Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, and others.
In repealing the Stamp Act (Mar 1766), parliament claimed to have recognized the difference (that had been distinguished by Benjamin Franklin - American envoy to Britain) between acceptable "external taxes' incurred through normal commercial duties, and unacceptable "internal taxes' levied by a parliament in which the colonies were not represented. However, the repeal was followed immediately by the Declaratory Act, proclaiming parliament's authority to legislate for the colonies "in all cases whatsoever'. More trouble erupted with the passage of a series of laws introduced by the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Charles Townshend. These Townshend Acts (Jun 1767) raised revenue to pay British colonial officials, increased the efficiency of the customs service, and suspended the New York legislature. One of the incidents arising from the tension resulting from further and increasingly effective trade boycotts involved British troops. It began as a snowball fight but, believing themselves to be under attack, the troops panicked and fired on the crowd throwing snow at them, killing five (The \JBoston\j Massacre, 15 Mar 1770).
Following the repeal of most of the Townshend Acts, many colonists hoped for a peaceful settlement with the government of Lord North. However, radicals, organized by Samuel Adams, vigorously opposed any reconciliation. In May 1773, parliament granted favourable tea export-duty concessions to the near-bankrupt British East India Company, precipitating another crisis by putting the American tea traders at a disadvantage. The radicals, roused by Samuel Adams and Josiah Quincy, and disguised as Mohawk Indians, boarded the company ship Dartmouth at \JBoston\j, and threw its cargo of tea into the harbour - the \JBoston\j Tea Party (16 Dec 1773). At the same time as this happened, tea cargoes were confiscated in Charleston.
Parliament's swift riposte was the passing of four acts, referred to by the colonists as the Intolerable Acts which, amongst other effects, significantly amended the \JMassachusetts\j charter, closed \JBoston\j as a port, and appointed General Thomas Gage as Governor of \JMassachusetts\j. What was seen as alarming and drastic action on the part of parliament prompted the calling of the \JContinental Congress\j in Philadelphia (Sep 1774) to orchestrate resistance. Prominent at this first Congress were Samuel Adams, his cousin John Adams, and John Dickinson (1732--1808), known as the Penman of the Revolution for his earlier articles opposing the Townshend Acts - among them "Letter from a Farmer in \JPennsylvania\j'. John Hancock and George Washington were also present. Congress petitioned King \JGeorge III\j for a return to their status of 1763, while agreeing to enforce the boycott on British ports.
A second \JContinental Congress\j was called for May 1775, but this was preceded in April by the first military skirmishes of the war when General Gage sent British troops to seize military stores at \JLexington\j and Concord. In the ensuing battle, Gage's troops were driven back to \JBoston\j. Moderate colonists, who previously had been loyal to the king (seeing their dispute as being only with a corrupt government), began to rally to the radicals' cause. They were persuaded by the king's intransigence and by the arguments in Thomas Paine's pamphlet, "Commonsense'. In June 1776, following a proposal by delegate Richard Henry Lee, a committee was appointed under the leadership of Thomas Jefferson to draw up a \JDeclaration of Independence\j, and independence was declared on 4 July that year.
Meanwhile, the second phase of the Revolution was signalled by a deteriorating military situation. Following the armed action at \JLexington\j, Ethan Allen's Green Mountain Boys of \JVermont\j irregulars with Benedict Arnold's forces captured forts Ticonderoga and Crown Point, seizing the British artillery in the process (May 1775). Washington, whom Congress had appointed commander of the continental forces, sent Harry Knox (1750--1806) 300┐mi to \JBoston\j to recover the British heavy cannons.
The first major engagement came in the Battle of Bunker Hill (Jun 1775). The actual battle site, Breed's Hill, across the Charles R from \JBoston\j, was occupied by colonists who had besieged Gage's troops in the town. British troops under General William Howe, supported by fire from warships in the harbour, made a frontal assault on the hill. They sustained serious losses until the colonists' ammunition was exhausted, whereupon the colonists (under Israel Putnam, Colonel William Prescott (1726--95), and John Stark) retreated, claiming a moral victory.
In July 1775, Congress authorized an expedition against Quebec. Philip John Schuyler was to advance via L Champlain to meet up with Arnold approaching along the Kentucky R. After delays through ill-health, Schuyler resigned in favour of Richard Montgomery (1738--1775). The expedition finally commenced in September, entering a friendly Montreal in November. Montgomery then moved on to assist Arnold in besieging Quebec, but was killed during an attempt to storm the town. Arnold was badly wounded, but maintained the siege throughout the winter. The colonists, weakened by smallpox, starvation, and desertion, were eventually forced to retreat ahead of the newly arrived British reinforcements commanded by the Governor of Quebec, General Sir Guy Carleton. By June 1776 they had left Canada and fallen back on Ticonderoga, but in October Arnold built a fleet of warships on L Champlain, forcing Carleton to do likewise. Arnold was defeated in the subsequent battle, but had succeeded in delaying the British advance, causing Carleton to return to winter quarters in Canada.
In early 1776, Congress authorized Washington to bombard the besieged British in \JBoston\j. The siting of the captured Ticonderoga cannons overlooking the town convinced Howe of the futility of defence and, with Washington's agreement, he evacuated \JBoston\j without attack. He then sailed for \JHalifax\j, \JNova Scotia\j, together with many colonists who remained loyal to the Crown.
Congress had decided that New York should be defended, so Washington moved his troops to occupy the S end of Manhattan Island. Howe followed from \JHalifax\j, and landed his troops on \JStaten Island\j. More British troops arrived with Howe's brother, Admiral Richard Howe, bringing his forces to some 34000 men. Admiral Howe had been authorized to discuss surrender terms with the colonists but, when the latter showed no interest, British troops were landed on Long Island (Jul 1776) and defeated an outpost at Brooklyn Heights commanded by Israel Putnam (Aug 1776). Shortly after, Washington withdrew by night from an untenable position and, after more peace negotiations, was forced into a series of further withdrawals, pursued first by Howe, then by General Charles Cornwallis. Congress fled from Philadelphia to Baltimore.
However, despite his forces being seriously depleted and demoralized, Washington surprised the British by an audacious night crossing of the ice-packed \JDelaware\j R, and took Trenton, NJ, capturing some 1000 mercenaries in the process (Dec 1776). Colonist morale received a further boost when Washington rounded on Cornwallis, who was in pursuit, threatening his lines of communication near Princeton (Jan 1777) and forcing him into a precipitate retreat. Howe, alarmed by Washington's successes, concentrated his troops around New York.
British strategy in 1777 until the end of the war was to isolate New England from the other states. In order to achieve this, Sir John Burgoyne was to move S from Canada to meet up at Albany with Lt Col Barry St Leger, advancing E from L \JOntario\j, and Howe, moving N from New York. While Burgoyne and St Leger commenced their moves in June and July, Howe became obsessed with capturing Philadelphia; he left General Sir Henry Clinton in command in New York, and embarked his army for Chesapeake Bay. At Brandywine Creek (Sep 1777), Washington was badly beaten, attempting to prevent Howe's occupation of Philadelphia. After a further unsuccessful attempt on British lines located at Germantown, N of the capital (Oct 1777), Washington went into winter quarters at \JValley Forge\j, 20┐mi NW of Philadelphia. While there, enduring serious privations from cold, disease, and lack of food, his troops received valuable training from Baron Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, a Prussian officer in the service of \JFrance\j.
American defeats were offset by success against the planned British invasion from Canada. Initially, Burgoyne had enjoyed an easy victory at Fort Ticonderoga when General Arthur St Clair (1736--1818) evacuated the fort without a fight (Jul 1777). However, his advance towards Albany was seriously hindered by the continued harassment of forces under the newly appointed American general, Horatio Gates. Burgoyne's position was further weakened by desperate food shortages, and by St Leger's return to L \JOntario\j after punishing engagements at Fort Stanwix and Oriskany (Aug 1777). Finally, after battles at Bennington, VT (Aug 1777), and against Arnold at Freemans Farm (Sep 1777), Burgoyne engaged Arnold at Blemis Heights (Oct 1777), where he was defeated. Having retreated to Saratoga, Burgoyne then surrendered to Gates (Oct 1777). This had a decisive effect on American morale, and was instrumental in \JFrance\j's crucial entry into the war on the side of the Americans. In December 1777, King \JLouis XVI\j recognized the independence of the United States.
Howe had resigned after Burgoyne's defeat, and his replacement, Clinton, had been ordered to abandon Philadelphia and return to New York. Washington followed Clinton, and in June 1778 Americans led by General Charles Lee attacked the British rearguard at Monmouth Courthouse, NJ. Clinton countered the attack, and only the intervention of Washington prevented an American retreat from what should have been a decisive victory. Lee was court-martialled and later dismissed.
The following month, a French fleet under the command of Admiral Comte Hector d'Estaing arrived off New York. Unable to enter New York harbour, and having tried unsuccessfully to assist General John Sullivan against the British at \JRhode Island\j, d'Estaing withdrew to the West Indies, leaving the Royal Navy unchallenged in American waters.
Apart from British raids in \JMassachusetts\j and Connecticut, American attacks under Sullivan against Britain's Indian allies in New York, and the taking of Vincennes, IN, in February 1778 by Colonel George Rogers Clark (1752--1818), action in the N entered a stalemate. British strategy was now aimed at the S, and in November 1778 Clinton sent an army S to join British troops from \JFlorida\j under General Augustine Prevost (nd). Landing at Savannah (Dec 1778), Clinton's troops overcame American opposition, and occupied the town (29 Dec). By the end of 1778, most of Georgia was under the control of a British governor, Sir James Wright (nd). An American campaign led by General Benjamin Lincoln, and assisted by French troops landed by Admiral d'Estaing, failed to dislodge the British from Savannah. The siege was abandoned (Oct 1779), and d'Estaing returned to \JFrance\j. Later (May 1780), Lincoln was forced to surrender his whole army of 5000 men while attempting to defend Charleston against more of Clinton's troops, who had been evacuated from New York to reinforce the S. Clinton returned his troops to New York to guard against a possible threat from a recently landed French force under the Comte de Rochambeau, leaving Cornwallis in command in the S. Congress sent an army under General Gates to retake the S; but having invaded South Carolina he was heavily defeated by Cornwallis at Camden (Aug 1780), leaving the latter free to invade \JNorth Carolina\j virtually unopposed. Other American misfortunes during this period included the defection of Arnold, and a long-runnning series of mutinies precipitated by considerable arrears of pay and poor conditions of service.
Cornwallis's advance was halted by news of the defeat of a party of loyalists under Major Patrick Ferguson at Kings Mountain (Oct 1780). Having received more troops from Clinton, Cornwallis went after the new American commander, General Nathaniel Greene. The first contact was made by Cornwallis's cavalry leader, Banastre Tarleton, whose forces were destroyed at Cowpens (Jan 1781) by part of Greene's army under Daniel Morgan (1736--1802). Later, Cornwallis won a narrow victory over Greene at Guilford Court House, NC (Mar 1781), but at the expense of serious casualties. Thus weakened, Cornwallis withdrew to join part of Clinton's forces in Virginia.
Some 8000 British troops under Francis Rawdon, Lord Hastings, remained in the S. Despite defeating Greene at Hobkirk's Hill (Apr 1781), at Ninety-Six (1781), and later, under Colonel Alexander Stuart (nd), at Eutaw Springs (Sep 1781), they faced continual harassment from irregulars led by such men as Francis Marion (1732--95), Andrew Pickens (1739--1817), and Thomas Sumter, and retired to Savannah and Charleston for the remainder of the war.
Ignoring Clinton's orders to hold \JNorth Carolina\j, Cornwallis meanwhile had entered Virginia, where he began fortifying \JYorktown\j, opposed by forces under the Marquis de Lafayette, von Steuben, and Anthony Wayne. Washington had joined forces with Rochambeau at Newport, RI, in July 1780. After an unsuccessful campaign to retake New York, and appeals to \JFrance\j for more help, they were joined by the fleet of Admiral Franτois, comte de Grasse (1722--88) and French troops at Chesapeake Bay, from where they moved S to besiege \JYorktown\j. Rescue efforts by Clinton were indecisive and late, and in October 1781 Cornwallis surrendered his army of 7000 men. Fighting on land effectively ceased with this surrender, and subsequently Clinton's successor, Sir Guy Carleton, evacuated Savannah (Jul 1781) and Charleston (Dec 1781), together with many loyalists. The British forces finally evacuated New York in December 1783, leaving Washington to enter in triumph.
At sea privateers such as John Paul Jones caused some serious losses to British shipping while operating around the \JBritish Isles\j. The activities of the Spanish and Dutch fleets were also instrumental in keeping the British fleet occupied, thus hampering an effective blockade of American ports and, together with the French, threatening the invasion of Britain. The chief British protagonists who at various times and places engaged de Grasse in generally indecisive encounters were Admiral Sir George Rodney (1718--92), later to defeat and capture de Grasse at the Battle of the Saints off Dominica (1782), Admiral Samuel Hood, who had failed to reach the besieged forces at \JYorktown\j, and Admiral Thomas Graves (?1725--1802), who had also attempted to reach \JYorktown\j.
The news of the surrender of \JYorktown\j led to the resignation of the British prime minister, Lord North, and his cabinet (Mar 1782). He was replaced by the Marquis of Rockingham, who died four months later. His successor, Lord Shelburne, agreed to a preliminary peace treaty (Nov 1782) drawn up by Franklin, John Adams, John Ray, and Henry Laurens (1724--1792), acknowledging the independence of the United States. However, the definitive peace treaty was delayed until the formal cessation of hostilities between Britain and America's allies (Treaty of Paris, 1783), whereupon the last British forces withdrew from New York. The third phase of the Revolution had begun with the \JDeclaration of Independence\j in 1776, which effectively created 13 free and independent states. Immediately after this declaration, the Second \JContinental Congress\j set up a committee under John Dickinson to draw up a constitution for the United States. The committee's draft proposals for a central goverment were rejected, and not until 1781 were the Articles of Confederation adopted, binding the states in a league of friendship. When the weaknesses of these Articles became apparent, mainly through the inability of Congress to raise taxes or enforce decisions, Congress sought initially to revise them. However, in September 1787 the Constitutional Convention presented further proposals for central government. These were advocated by the rising Federalist movement, named after the 85 essays defending the Constitution. These essays, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay (originally under the pseudonym Publius) were influential in securing the required majority of states to ratify the Constitution in 1788. With the abolition of the Articles of Confederation and the adoption of the new Constitution, the Revolution was effectively over.
Two other consequences of the Revolution should be noted. First, \JAmerican Indians\j allied themselves with both sides during the conflict, and fought sporadically but fiercely. Notably, the tribes of the League of the \JIroquois\j disagreed over which side to take, and after some of them sided with the British, American troops engaged them and demolished their settlements, destroying the League both as a military force and as a union. Secondly, by supporting the \JDeclaration of Independence\j and its contention that liberty is one of the unalienable rights due to all people, the Revolution benefited African-Americans by helping to eliminate slave-holding in the Northern states, and to create abolition movements in the South.
BK AND
#
"American Samoa",1197,0,0,0
PN [sa\Bmoh\ba]
EN pop (1995e) 56 400; area 197 sq km/76 sq mi. Territory of the USA, in the CS \JPacific Ocean\j, some 3500 km/2175 mi NE of \JNew Zealand\j, divided into five counties; five principal volcanic islands and two \Jcoral\j atolls; capital, Fagatogo; timezone GMT -11; people largely of Polynesian origin; main religion, \JChristianity\j; official language, English; main island, Tutuila (109 sq km/42 sq mi); to the E and N are Aunu'u, the Manu'a Group (Ta'u, Olosega, Ofu), the atolls of Swain's I, and the uninhabited Rose I; main islands hilly, with large areas covered by thick bush and forest; Tutuila rises to 653 m/2142 ft, Ta'u to 970 m/3182 ft; tropical maritime climate, with small annual range of \Jtemperature\j (eg Pago Pago average Jan 28.3░C, Jul 26.7░C) and plentiful rainfall (annual average, 5000 mm/200 in); US acquired rights to \JAmerican Samoa\j in 1899, and the islands were ceded by their chiefs, 1900--25; now an unincorporated territory of the USA, administered by the Department of the Interior; bicameral legislature established in 1948; governor is administrative head of the executive branch; legislature (the \IFono\i) comprises the Senate (18 members, chosen every four years by county councils according to Samoan custom) and the \JHouse of Representatives\j (20 members, plus one non-voting member, chosen every two years by popular vote); principal crops are \Jtaro\j, breadfruit, yams, bananas, coconuts; fish canning, \Jtuna\j fishing, local inshore fishing, handicrafts.
BK Geog99
#
"American Shakespeare Theatre",1198,0,0,0
EN (USA) Founded in Stratford, Connecticut, in 1951 as the American Festival Theatre under the guidance of Lawrence Langner, its name was changed in 1972. The octagonal theatre, reminiscent of the exterior of the original Globe Theatre, with a thrust stage and an auditorium seating about 1,500, opened on 12 July 1955 with Julius Caesar. The repertoire included non-Shakespearian works. Since 1979 production has been sporadic, and since 1982 virtually non-existent.
BK Thea
#
"American Sign Language (ASL)",1199,0,0,0
EN A sign language widely used by the deaf in the USA; also known as \BAmeslan.\b The system contains over 4000 signs, and is used by over half a million deaf people - by many, as a native language.
BK a
#
"American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals",1200,0,0,0
EN See RSPCA
BK a
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#
"American Veterinary Medical Association",1201,0,0,0
EN See veterinary science
BK a
XCY y
#
"American water spaniel",1202,0,0,0
EN The American Water Spaniel was bred to be a powerful working gun dog. It is only one of the few breeds that are credited with being purely American.
\BHistory:\b
It is believed that the American Water Spaniel was developed as a breed in the \JMiddle East\j before being brought to America. Dedicated breeders selectively bred the American Water Spaniel until it became the truly magnificent Spaniel of today. The breed was made up from crossing various \Jwater\j spaniels such as the Old English and the Irish, with a contribution from the Curly Coated Retriever.
\BPhysical characteristics:\b
This powerfully built medium-sized dog has the appearance of an athlete, just waiting for its owner's command to spring into action. \IHeight:\i 15 18 in (38 - 46 cm). \IWeight:\i 25 45 lb (11.3 - 20.4 kg). It has a long, lean head with eyes neatly filling but not protruding from the sockets. The long ears set the face to provide a very endearing and gentle expression.
The medium-length muscular neck smoothly flows onto a compact body with a broad chest. The muscular flanks are complemented by a long tail which seems to never stop wagging. The dense coat is closely curled and may be colored dark chocolate or liver, with just a small amount of white on the chest or toes.
\BBehavior:\b
This medium-sized dog has a gentle nature, but it has managed to retain the qualities of a working gun dog. It is very intelligent and responds well to training. As the name suggests, this dog was bred to retrieve from \Jwater\j, and it is generally an excellent swimmer. Owners of the American Water Spaniel should not be surprised if their dog pulls them in the direction of lakes and other bodies of \Jwater\j.
American Water Spaniels make very good watch-dogs and will happily alert their owner to the sound of intruders. In most cases they get along very well with other dogs but benefit from socialization as puppies. Like other spaniels, the American Water Spaniel can make an excellent companion dog for both single people and families alike. Although they may be content with only moderate exercise, they will thrive if they are worked regularly.
These dogs require regular thorough brushing and particular attention should be given to their ears.
BK wan
#
"American whitewood",1203,0,0,0
EN See tulip tree
BK a
XCY y
#
"Amery, John",1204,0,0,0
PN [\Bay\bmeree]
DT1 1912
DT2 45
EN British pro-Nazi adventurer, the son (later disowned) of Lake S Amery. Recruited by the Nazis in \JFrance\j, he began pro-Hitler broadcasts from Berlin in 1942. He tried to raise an anti-Bolshevik free corps in the British internee camp at St Denis to fight for the Nazis on the Russian front (1943), and made speeches for Hitler in \JNorway\j, \JFrance\j, \JBelgium\j, and Yugoslavia (1944). Captured by Italian partisans in 1945, he was tried in London for high \Jtreason\j, and hanged in December 1945.
MEX Amery, Lake S
SX m
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#
"Amery, L(eopold Charles Maurice) S(tennett)",1205,0,0,0
DT1 1873
DT2 1955
EN British statesman, born in Gorakpur, India. He studied at Oxford, and became Conservative MP for Sparkbrook, Birmingham, a seat which he held for 34 years. He served as colonial under-secretary, First Lord of the Admiralty, and colonial secretary between 1919 and 1929, then returned to office in Churchill's wartime administration as \Jsecretary of state\j for India and \JBurma\j. He became famous for his exhortation to Neville Chamberlain, in May 1940, adapting Cromwell's words, 'In the name of God, go!'
MEX Chamberlain, Neville
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#
"Ames, Adelbert",1206,0,0,0
DT (1835-1933)
EN governor; born in Rockland, Maine. A West Point graduate (1861), he saw continuous action, distinguishing himself at 1st Bull Run, Gettysburg, and Petersburg. Governor of the Mississippi military district (1868-70), he served in the U.S. Senate (Rep., Miss.; 1870-74). Returning as governor of Mississippi (1874-76), he was unable to quell widespread disorder, including the \JVicksburg\j riots, and resigned when threatened with \Jimpeachment\j.
He moved to New York City, investing in \JMinnesota\j flour mills and manufacturing in Lowell, Mass. As a volunteer brigadier general, he saw service in \JCuba\j during the Spanish-American War in 1898, retiring to Lowell afterward.
BK AmBg
#
"Ames, Ezra",1207,0,0,0
DT (1768-1836)
EN painter; born in Framingham, Mass. He worked in Worcester, Mass. (1790-93), settled in Albany, N.Y., (1793), and started as a carriage painter and miniaturist. Later he painted portraits, including that of Vice-President George Clinton (1812).
BK AmBg
#
"Ames, James Barr",1208,0,0,0
DT (1846-1910)
EN legal scholar; born in \JBoston\j, Mass. He was educated at Harvard and taught at Harvard Law School from 1872 until his death. He advanced the case method of instruction by compiling and publishing cases on torts, partnerships, trusts, and equity \Jjurisdiction\j. He took part in founding the \IHarvard Law Review\i in 1887 and published \ILectures on Legal History\i (1913).
BK AmBg
#
"Ames, Jessie Daniel",1209,0,0,0
DT (1883-1972)
EN suffragist, \Jcivil rights\j activist; born in Palestine, \JTexas\j. Educated at Southwestern College (1902), she made lynching a southern white women's issue by linking feminism to racial justice. She became director of the Commission on Interracial Cooperation Women's Committee (1929) and founded the Association of Southern Women for the Prevention of Lynching (1930-42). She remained politically active until 1968.
BK AmBg
#
"Ames, Joseph",1210,0,0,0
PN [aymz]
DT1 1689
DT2 1759
EN Bibliographer and antiquarian, born in Yarmouth, \JIsle of Wight\j, S England, UK. He became an ironmonger or ship-chandler in London, and at the suggestion of friends compiled \ITypographical Antiquities\i (1749), the foundation of English bibliography.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Ames, Oakes (1804-73)",1211,0,0,0
DT (1804-73)
EN capitalist, U.S. representative; born in Easton, Mass. At age 16 he began working at Oliver Ames & Co., his father's shovel factory, and when his father retired in 1844, he took over the company with his brother, Oliver Jr. Their business flourished, riding the waves of the \JCalifornia\j Gold Rush of 1848, the Australian gold rush, the westward exodus, and the \JCivil War\j.
Active in politics, Oakes served in the U.S. \JHouse of Representatives\j (Rep., Mass.; 1863-73). In 1865 he joined CrΘdit Mobilier, financiers of the Union Pacific Railroad. In 1872 he was investigated for selling CrΘdit Mobilier railroad stock to Congressmen below par value in order to influence their votes on behalf of the financial scheme. His actions were condemned by a House resolution in 1873 and he died soon thereafter.
BK AmBg
#
"Ames, Oakes (1874-1950)",1212,0,0,0
DT (1874-1950)
EN botanist; born in North Easton, Mass. He taught and performed research at Harvard (1898-1941). In 1900 he was instrumental in founding Harvard's Atkins Garden in \JCuba\j. His skilled administration (1937-45) brought Harvard's Botanical Museum to prominence. He amassed a large collection of orchid specimens, his specialty, and made major contributions to studies of their \Jtaxonomy\j and \Jevolution\j.
A pioneer in economic botany, he devised the Ames charts in which plant families were pictured and identified by their economic products. His theory (1930s) that civilization was directly dependent on agriculture - eventually supported by archaeological findings - was summed up in his masterwork, \IEconomic Annuals and Human Culture\i (1939).
BK AmBg
#
"Ames, William",1213,0,0,0
PN [aymz]
HS , Lat \BAmesius\b
DT1 1576
DT2 1633
EN Puritan theologian, born in \JIpswich\j, Suffolk, E England, UK. He wrote mostly in Latin, and spent the later half of his life in Holland, where he became a professor of \Jtheology\j. He is celebrated for his exposition of Calvinist doctrine.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Ames, Winthrop",1214,0,0,0
DT 1871-1937
EN American producer and director. Ames, a wealthy Bostonian, was the first American to make a serious study of the European art theatres and their scenic innovations. In 1912 he introduced the 'new stagecraft' to New York by bringing over Reinhardt's production of Sumrun. He encouraged Norman Bel Geddes's experiments in stage lighting at his two New York theatres, the Little and the Booth.
Ames prepared minutely detailed prompt scripts, 'mother copies', for his productions, most notably Galsworthy's The Pigeon (1912), Schnitzler's The Affairs of Anatol (1912), Shaw's The Philanderer (1913), Snow White (1913, his own adaptation), Maeterlinck's The Betrothal (1918), and Kaufman and Connelly's Beggar on Horseback (1924).
BK Thea
#
"Ameslan",1215,0,0,0
EN See American Sign Language (ASL)
BK a
XCY y
#
"amethyst",1216,0,0,0
EN A violet-to-purple form of \Jquartz\j. It is prized as a precious stone.
BK a
#
"Amhara",1217,0,0,0
EN A Semitic-speaking people of the Ethiopian C highlands who, with the Tigray, dominate the country. They are descended from the original Semitic conquerors from S \JArabia\j. The Christian empire of \JEthiopia\j was ruled by \JAmhara\j dynasties (1260-1974) which, by intermarriage and cultural assimilation, incorporated people from almost every ethnic group of the empire. \IAmharic\i is the official language of \JEthiopia\j. Population c.9 million.
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#
"Amherst (of Arakan), William Pitt, 1st Earl",1218,0,0,0
DT1 1773
DT2 1857
EN Colonialist, born in Bath, south-west England, UK, the nephew and adopted son of Jeffrey, 1st Baron Amherst. In 1816 he was sent as ambassador to China, but his mission failed when he refused to kow-tow to the emperor. In 1823 he was appointed Governor-General of India, where he weathered the first Burmese War and was rewarded with an earldom (1826).
MEX Amherst, Jeffrey
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#
"Amherst, Jeffrey, 1st Baron Amherst",1219,0,0,0
DT1 1717
DT2 97
EN British soldier, born in Sevenoaks, Kent, south-east England, UK. Joining the army at the age of 14 he played an important part in the North American phase of the Seven Years' War (1756-63). He was in command of the expedition against the French in Canada, and captured Louisburg (1758). Appointed commander-in-chief of North America in 1759, he captured Montreal in 1760. He was Governor-General of British North America (1760-3), then commander-in-chief of the British army (1772-96).
SX m
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#
"amicable numbers",1220,0,0,0
EN Two numbers such that each is the sum of all the divisors of the other. Thus 284 and 220 are amicable, for the divisors of 284 are 1,2,4,71,142, whose sum is 220, and the divisors of 220 are 1,2,4,5,10,11,20,22,44,55,110, whose sum is 284. Note that 1 is counted as a divisor.
Pythagoras is credited with the discovery of amicable numbers, though he seems only to have known of this pair. Fermat in 1636 announced that 17┐296 and 18┐416 were amicable. Since then other pairs of amicable numbers have been found. In former times, such numbers were prominent in magic and \Jastrology\j.
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#
"Amichai, Yehuda",1221,0,0,0
PN [\Bam\bichiy]
DT1 1924
EN Poet, born in Wⁿrzburg, \JGermany\j. In 1936 he went with his family to what was then Palestine. A dozen volumes of verse since \INow and in Other Days\i (1955, trans title) are divided in subject-matter between the idyll of childhood and the struggle of Israel to establish and defend its identity. These include \INow in the Turmoil\i (1968, trans title) and \IAmen\i (1978, trans by Amichai with Ted Hughes).
\BMajor Works\b
\IPoetry\i
1955 Now and in Other Days
1968 Now in the Turmoil
1978 Amen
BK Biog99
#
"Amici, Giovanni Battista",1222,0,0,0
PN [ameechee]
DT (1786-1868)
EN Italian microscopist: improved the compound \Jmicroscope\j.
Amici trained as an engineer and architect in \JBologna\j; he became a teacher of \Jmathematics\j but was soon invited to Florence to head the observatory and science museums there. His interest from his youth was in optical instruments, especially microscopes. At that time compound microscopes were inferior to simple types, partly because of \Jaberrations\j and also because of the false idea that enlargement was the dominant target of design.
Amici devised in 1818 a catadioptric (mirror) design that was free of chromatic aberration and used it to observe the circulation of protoplasm in Chara cells; at once he became distinguished as an optician and as a biologist. By 1837 he had a design with a resolving power of 0.001 mm and a numerical aperture of 0.4 that was able to magnify 6000 times. His objectives had up to six elements; he invented the technique of immersion microscopy, using oil.
He also much improved telescopes, but his main interest remained in \Jbiology\j, where he made the notable discovery of the \Jfertilization\j of phanerogams, observing in 1821 the travel of the \Jpollen\j tube through the \Jpistil\j of the flower.
BK Scie
#
"Amidah",1223,0,0,0
PN [a\Bmee\bda]
EN (Heb 'standing') The principal component of the daily prayers of Talmudic \JJudaism\j, recited while standing, and said silently except when in a congregational service. It consists of 19 (originally 18) benedictions, firstly in praise of God, secondly asking for his help (petitions), and closing with thanksgiving. An altered form of the prayer is also recited on sabbaths and festivals.
BK a
#
"amides",1224,0,0,0
PN [\Bay\bmiydz, \Ba\bmidz]
EN Inorganic salts of ammonia, eg sodium amide (NaNH\D2\d), strongly basic and hydrolyzed by \Jwater\j to NH\D3\d and OH\U-\d.
BK a
#
"amides, also called alkanamides",1225,0,0,0
PN [\Bay\bmiydz, \Ba\bmidz]
EN Organic compounds containing the function -CO.NR\D2\d, also called \Balkanamides,\b derived from carboxylic acids by substituting NR\D2\d for OH (R is H or any \Jalkyl\j group). \BPolyamides\b include proteins and some artificial polymers, such as nylon.
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#
"Amiel, Henri FrΘdΘric",1226,0,0,0
PN [amyel]
DT1 1821
DT2 81
EN Philosopher and writer, born in Geneva. He was professor of aesthetics (1849) and then moral philosophy (1853-81) at the Academy of Geneva. His fame as an intellectual and critic rests on his diaries from 1847 onwards, published posthumously as \IJournal in time\i (1883).
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#
"Amiens",1227,0,0,0
PN [amy\ti], ancient \BSamarobriva\b
EN 49░54N 2░16E, pop (1995e) 136 000. Agricultural market town and capital of Somme department, N \JFrance\j; 130 km/81 mi N of Paris, on left bank of R Somme; railway; university (1964); bishopric; textiles, food processing, chemicals, market gardening; war-time cemeteries at Arras to the E; Gothic cathedral (13th-c), largest in area in \JFrance\j, a world heritage site.
BK Geog99
#
"Amies, Sir (Edwin) Hardy",1228,0,0,0
PN [\Bay\bmeez]
DT1 1909
EN Couturier, and dressmaker by appointment to Queen Elizabeth II. He worked as a trainee in Birmingham, C England, UK before becoming a managing designer in London in 1934, where he made his name especially with his tailored suits for women.
He founded his own fashion house in 1946, and started designing for men in 1959, receiving the British Fashion Council Hall of Fame Award in 1989. His books include \IThe Englishman's Suit\i (1994). He was knighted in 1989.
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#
"Amin (Dada), Idi",1229,0,0,0
PN [a\Bmeen\b]
DT1a c.
DT1 1925
EN Ugandan soldier and dictator (1971-9). After a rudimentary education he joined the army, rising from the ranks to become a colonel in 1964. As a friend of prime minister Milton Obote, he was made commander-in-chief of the army and air force, but worsening relations between them resulted in a coup establishing a military dictatorship (1971).
He proceeded to expel all Ugandan Asians and many Israelis, seized foreign-owned businesses and estates, and ordered the killing of thousands of his opponents, making his regime internationally infamous. His decision in 1978 to annex the Kagera area of \JTanzania\j gave President Nyerere the opportunity to send his troops into \JUganda\j.
Within six months Amin was defeated. He fled to \JLibya\j, and later attempted to make his home in several countries, and eventually settled in exile in Saudi \JArabia\j.
MEX Museveni; Obote
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#
"amines",1230,0,0,0
PN [\Bay\bmeenz, \Ba\bmeenz]
EN Organic compounds derived from ammonia by the substitution of the \Jhydrogen\j atoms by one, two, or three \Jalkyl\j groups; these are \Iprimary,\i \Isecondary,\i and \Itertiary\i amines respectively. They are basic compounds; their solutions, when partially neutralized by strong acids, have \JpH\j values of about 9.
BK a
#
"amino acids",1231,0,0,0
PN [a\Bmee\bnoh, a\Bmiy\bnoh]
EN Aminoalkanoic acids with the general formula R-CH(NH\D2\d)COOH. About 24 are involved in protein synthesis; 10 of these cannot be made by the human body, and thus form an essential component of the diet \B(essential amino acids).\b All amino acids except the simplest, \Jglycine\j (R=H), are chiral. Nearly all which occur in nature have the arrangement shown in the figure, called the \IL-configuration.\i
BK a
#
"aminobenzene",1232,0,0,0
EN See \Janiline\j
BK a
XCY y
#
"aminoethanoic acid",1233,0,0,0
EN See \Jglycine\j
BK a
XCY y
#
"Amiot, Jacques",1234,0,0,0
EN See Amyot or Amiot, Jacques
BK bg a
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#
"Amis, Martin",1235,0,0,0
PN [\Bay\bmis]
DT1 1949
EN Novelist and journalist, the son of Kingsley Amis. He studied at Exeter College, Oxford, and wrote his first novel, \IThe Rachel Papers\i (1973), when he was 21. Later works include \IDead Babies\i (1975), \IOther People\i (1981), \IMoney\i (1984), \ITime's Arrow\i (1991), \IThe Information\i (1995), and \INight Train\i (1997). He has also produced a collection of short stories, \IEinstein's Monsters\i (1986), and a great deal of literary journalism.
\BMajor Works\b
\INovels\i
1973 The Rachel Papers
1975 Dead Babies
1978 Success
1984 Money
1986 The Moronic Inferno and Other Visits to America
1989 London Fields
1991 Time's Arrow
1993 Visiting Mrs Nabakov and Other Excursiosn
1995 The Information
1997 Night Train
\IStories\i
1981 Other People: a mystery story
1987 Einstein's Monsters
BK Biog99
#
"Amis, Sir Kingsley",1236,0,0,0
PN [\Bay\bmis]
DT1 1922
DT2 95
EN Novelist and poet, born in London, England, UK. He studied at Oxford, and became a lecturer in English literature at Swansea (1948-61) and a fellow of Peterhouse, Cambridge (1961-3). He achieved huge success with his first novel, \ILucky Jim\i (1954), the story of a comic anti-hero in a provincial university; Jim appeared again as a small-town librarian in \IThat Uncertain Feeling\i (1956), and as a provincial author abroad in \II Like It Here\i (1958).
After the death of \BIan Fleming,\b he wrote a James Bond novel, \IColonel Sun\i (1968), under the pseudonym of \BRobert Markham,\b as well as \IThe James Bond Dossier\i (1965). His later novels include \IJake's Thing\i (1978), \IThe Old Devils\i (1986, Booker), \IThe Folks that Live on the Hill\i (1990), \IThe Russian Girl\i (1992), and \IYou Can't Do Both\i (1994). He was married (1965-83) to the novelist \BElizabeth Jane Howard\b (1923-) , and was knighted in 1990.
MEX Amis, Martin
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#
"Amiss, Dennis (Leslie)",1237,0,0,0
PN [\Bay\bmis]
DT1 1943
EN Cricketer, born in Birmingham, West Midlands, C England, UK. He played with distinction for Warwickshire, and won admiration by the way he endured a battering by West Indian bowlers in 1976, which re-established his place in first-class cricket. He made 50 appearances in Test matches for England, and scored 11 centuries.
BK Biog99
#
"Amman",1238,0,0,0
PN [a\Bman\b]
EN 31░57N 35░52E, pop (1995e) 1 736 000. Industrial and commercial capital city of Jordan; in \JAmman\j governorate, East Bank, on the R \JZarqa\j; capital of the Ammonite kingdom in Biblical times; capital of Transjordan, 1923; many refugees after the Arab--Israeli Wars; airport; railway; university (1962); noted for its locally-quarried coloured marble; food processing, textiles, paper, plastics; Roman amphitheatre (1st-cBC),archaeological museum.
BK Geog99
#
"Amman, Jakob",1239,0,0,0
DT1a c.
DT1 1645
DT2a c.
DT2 1730
EN Swiss Mennonite bishop whose followers founded the Amish (Ger \IAmisch)\i sect in the 1690s. Their members still practise an exclusively rural and simple way of life in various parts of the USA and Canada.
SX m
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#
"Ammanati, Bartolommeo",1240,0,0,0
PN [ama\Bnah\btee]
DT1 1511
DT2 92
EN Architect and sculptor, born in Settignano, \JItaly\j. Working in the late Renaissance style he executed the ducal palace at Lucca, part of the Pitti Palace and the Ponte Santa Trinitα (destroyed in World War 2) in Florence.
SX m
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#
"Ammann, Othmar Hermann",1241,0,0,0
DT1 1879
DT2 1965
EN Structural engineer, born in Schaffhausen, \JSwitzerland\j. He emigrated to the USA in 1904, where he designed some of America's greatest suspension bridges, including the George Washington Bridge (3500┐ft) in New York (1931), Golden Gate Bridge (4200┐ft) in \JSan Francisco\j (1937), and Verrazano Narrows Bridge (4260┐ft) in New York (1965), each in its \Jday\j the longest span in the world.
SX m
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#
"ammeter",1242,0,0,0
An ammeter is a specialised \Jgalvanometer\j, set up so a moving needle can be used to estimate the current in amperes which is flowing in a circuit. To do this, the ammeter needs to be inserted in series into the circuit.
Since the ammeter must have a measurable resistance if it is to react to the current, it is normal to place a shunt, a comparatively large piece of low-resistance metal, in parallel with the \Jgalvanometer\j coil. In this way, virtually all of the current flows past the coil, unaffected by it. A small amount of current flows through the coil, and so long as the resistances of the coil and the shunt are both known, the small measured current in the coil can be used to estimate the much larger current in the shunt, which is, with the small current in the coil, the total current flowing in the circuit as a whole.
While a voltmeter is a \Jgalvanometer\j wired in parallel to a circuit and with a large resistance in series with it, an ammeter is a \Jgalvanometer\j wired in series to a circuit, with a very small resistance in parallel.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
BK Webster
#
"Ammianus Marcellinus",1243,0,0,0
PN [ami\Bah\bnus mah(r)se\Blee\bnus]
DT1a c.
DT1 330
DT2 90
EN Roman historian, born of Greek parents in Antioch. He wrote in Latin a history of the Roman Empire from AD 98 in 31 books, of which only the last 18 are extant.
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#
"ammine",1244,0,0,0
PN [\Bam\been]
EN Co-ordinated ammonia, or a compound with co-ordinated ammonia. Ammines were among the first identified co-ordination compounds or complex ions, eg [Co(NH\D3\d)\D6\d]\U3+\u, hexamminecobalt(III).
BK a
#
"Ammon",1245,0,0,0
EN See \JAmun\j
BK a
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#
"ammonia",1246,0,0,0
EN NH\D3\d, boiling point -33░C. A colourless gas with a pungent odour; its molecule is pyramidal with bond angles c.107░C. It is a weak base; aqueous solutions partially neutralized with strong acid have a \JpH\j c.9.5. It reacts with acids to form ammonium ions. An important industrial chemical, it is mainly prepared by the Haber process.
BK a
#
"ammonia-soda process",1247,0,0,0
EN See Solvay process
BK a
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#
"ammonite",1248,0,0,0
EN An extinct, \Jnautilus\j-like \Jmollusc\j; found extensively as \Jfossil\j shells from the Devonian to the Upper Cretaceous periods; shell external in life, typically a flattened spiral, divided internally by transverse walls. \B(Class:\b \JCephalopoda\j. \BSubclass:\b Ammonoidea.)
BK a
#
"Ammonites",1249,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bmoniyts]
EN An ancient Semitic people who in \JOld Testament\j times lived in S Transjordan. Tradition had it that they were descended from Lot.
BK a
#
"ammonium",1250,0,0,0
EN NH\D4\d\U+\u. A cation formed by the reaction of ammonia with acid. It is found in many salts, particularly the chloride \I(sal ammoniac)\i and the carbonate \I(sal volatile).\i Aqueous solutions of ammonia are often called \Iammonium \Jhydroxide\j.\i
BK a
#
"Ammonius",1251,0,0,0
PN [a\Bmoh\bnius]
HS , known as \BAmmonius Saccas\b
DT1a c.
DT1 160
DT2 242
EN Greek philosopher, who received his surname because in his youth he was a sack-carrier in Alexandria. He was the founder of Neoplatonic philosophy, and the teacher of \JPlotinus\j, \JOrigen\j, and Longinus, but left no writings.
MEX Longinus; \JOrigen\j; \JPlotinus\j
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#
"Ammons, Elias Milton",1252,0,0,0
DT (1860-1925)
EN rancher, public official; born in Macon County, Ga. He went to \JColorado\j and entered the \Jcattle\j business in 1886. A "Silver Republican" after 1896, he was governor of \JColorado\j (1913-15). He was accused of favoring the mine owners during a coalfield strike in 1913-14. He returned to business enterprises.
BK AmBg
#
"amnesia",1253,0,0,0
EN Memory disability, often associated with brain damage or a traumatic event. \BRetrograde amnesia\b is the inability to remember material learned before the precipitating event. \BAnterograde amnesia\b is difficulty in learning new material. The most common form of \Jamnesia\j is one in which short-term memory is adequate, long-term episodic memory (the ability to remember specific past events) is poor, and long-term semantic memory (memory for facts, such as word meanings) is relatively intact.
BK a
#
"Amnesty International",1254,0,0,0
EN A human rights organization founded in London in 1961 largely by the efforts of Peter Benenson, a Catholic lawyer. It is based in the UK, but there are several groups in other, mainly industrialized, countries. The fundamental concern of Amnesty is to seek the immediate and unconditional release of prisoners of conscience, as long as they have not advocated violence.
It also campaigns against torture and the death penalty, and tries to produce independent, authoritative reports on countries' abuses of human rights.
BK a
#
"amniocentesis",1255,0,0,0
PN [amniohsen\Btee\bsis]
EN A procedure in \Jpregnancy\j which involves the withdrawal of amniotic fluid within the uterus by the insertion of a needle through the abdominal wall and the uterus. Amniotic fluid is in close contact with the fetus, and abnormalities in its development reflect many inherited and congenital fetal abnormalities. These include haemolytic disease of the newborn, Down's syndrome, and spina bifida. The procedure can also reveal the sex of the fetus and other normal features of development.
BK a
#
"amoeba / ameba",1256,0,0,0
PN [a\Bmee\bba]
EN A naked, single-celled protozoan which moves by protoplasmic flow, changing its shape by the formation of irregular lobes \I(pseudopodia); \i feeds by engulfing food particles with pseudopodia, or by infolding of the outer surface \I(invagination); \i c.0.6┐mm / 0.025┐in across; reproduces mainly by splitting in two \I(binary fission).\i Most are free-living in aquatic habitats; some are parasitic, and can cause amoebic \Jdysentery\j in humans. \B(Phylum:\b Sarcomastigophora. \BClass:\b Rhizopoda.)
BK a
#
"Amon",1257,0,0,0
EN See \JAmun\j
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#
"Amontons, Guillaume",1258,0,0,0
PN [am⌡t⌡]
DT (1663-1705)
EN French physicist: discovered interdependence of \Jtemperature\j and pressure of gases.
In his teens Amontons became deaf, and his interest in mechanics seems then to have begun. He later improved the design of several instruments, notably the hygrometer, the \Jbarometer\j and the constant-volume air thermometer. In 1699 he discovered that equal changes in the \Jtemperature\j of a fixed volume of air resulted in equal variations in pressure, and in 1703 seemed near to suggesting that at a sufficiently low \Jtemperature\j the pressure would become zero.
Unfortunately his results were ignored and it was almost a century later before Charles rediscovered the relationship. His work on the thermal expansion of mercury, however, contributed to the invention of the mercury thermometer by Fahrenheit.
BK Scie
#
"Amorites",1259,0,0,0
PN [\Bam\boriyts]
EN The name borne by various Semitic peoples who lived in \JMesopotamia\j, \JSyria\j, and Palestine in \JOld Testament\j times.
BK a
#
"amorphous solid",1260,0,0,0
EN A solid in which the atoms are in some disordered arrangement, lacking the perfect ordered structure of crystals, as in glass, \Jrubber\j, and polymers. Many substances may form either amorphous or crystalline states having radically different properties.
BK a
#
"amortization",1261,0,0,0
PN [amaw(r)tiy\Bzay\bshn]
EN A method used in \Jaccountancy\j which reduces the value of a depreciating asset, such as a quarry, over the length of its expected life. It also applies to intangible assets (eg goodwill) and patents which have been acquired at a price, but which may not be resaleable.
EN British statesman, born in Tiverton, Devon, south-west England, UK. He studied at Oxford, and became a Conservative MP in 1945. He was minister of pensions (1951-3), minister at the board of trade (1953-4), and minister of agriculture (1954-8). He became a viscount during his period as Chancellor of the Exchequer (1958-60).
SX m
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#
"Amory, Thomas",1263,0,0,0
PN [\Bay\bmoree]
DT1a c.
DT1 1691
DT2 1788
EN English writer and eccentric, of Irish descent. He is best known for his \ILife of John Buncle\i (2 vols, 1756-66) a combination of \Jautobiography\j, fantastic descriptions, deistical \Jtheology\j, and sentimental \Jrhapsody\j.
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#
"Amos",1264,0,0,0
PN [\Bay\bmos]
DT1 835
DT2 765
DT2b BC
EN \JOld Testament\j \Jprophet\j, the earliest \Jprophet\j in the \JBible\j to have a book named after him. A herdsman from the village of Tekoa, near \JBethlehem\j of Judaea, he denounced the iniquities of the N kingdom of Israel.
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#
"Amos, Book of",1265,0,0,0
EN One of the twelve so-called 'minor' prophetic writings in the \JHebrew\j \JBible\j / \JOld Testament\j; attributed to the \Jprophet\j Amos, who was active in the N kingdom of Israel in the mid-8th-c BC. It proclaims judgment on Israel's neighbours for idolatry, and on Israel itself for social injustices and ethical immorality.
BK a
#
"Amoy",1266,0,0,0
HS (China)
EN See Xiamen, Hsia-men, or \JAmoy\j
BK a
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#
"amp",1267,0,0,0
EN See \Jampere\j
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#
"Ampato, Nevado de",1268,0,0,0
PN [nay\Bva\bt\buh\buoh t\buh\buay am\Bpa\btoh]
EN Andean massif in the Cordillera Occidental, S \JPeru\j; height, 6310┐m / 20┐702┐ft; Ca±on del Colca nearby, a gorge cut by the River Colca; 60┐km / 37┐mi long and 3000┐m / 10┐000┐ft deep, considered to be the deepest \Jcanyon\j in the world.
BK a
#
"ampere",1269,0,0,0
PN [\Bam\bpair]
EN The base SI unit of current; symbol \IA,\i often called \Bamp,\b named after AndrΘ AmpΦre; defined as the constant current which, if maintained in two straight parallel conductors of infinite length, of negligible cross-section, and placed 1 metre apart in vacuum, would produce a force equal to 2┐x┐10\U-7\u┐N / m.
BK a
#
"AmpΦre's law",1270,0,0,0
PN [\Bam\bpair, πpair]
EN In magnetism, the magnetic field resulting from electric current flowing in a wire; formulated by AndrΘ AmpΦre in 1827. For any closed loop drawn around the wire, the sum of magnetic flux density contributions at each point along the line is proportional to the current enclosed by the loop.
BK a
#
"AmpΦre, AndrΘ Marie",1271,0,0,0
PN [πpair]
DT (1775-1836)
EN French physicist and mathematician: pioneer of \Jelectrodynamics\j.
AmpΦre was a very gifted child, combining a passion for reading with a photographic memory and linguistic and mathematical ability. He was largely self-taught. His life was disrupted by the \JFrench Revolution\j when, in 1793, his father, a Justice of the Peace, was guillotined along with 1500 fellow citizens in Lyon.
For a year AmpΦre seems to have suffered a state of shock; he was aged 18. Ten years later, his adored young wife died following the birth of his son. His second marriage, undertaken on the advice of friends, was a disaster. His professional life ran more smoothly.
In 1802 AmpΦre was appointed to the first of a series of professorships, and in 1808 was appointed inspector-general of the university system by Napoleon, a post he retained until his death.
AmpΦre was a versatile scientist, interested in physics, philosophy, \Jpsychology\j and chemistry, and made discoveries in this last field that would have been important had he not been unfortunate in being pre-empted by others on several occasions. In 1820 he was stimulated by Oersted's discovery, that an electric current generates a magnetic field, to carry out pioneering work on electric current and \Jelectrodynamics\j.
Within months he had made a number of important discoveries: he showed that two parallel wires carrying currents flowing in the same direction attracted one another while when the currents ran in opposite directions they were repelled; he invented the coiled wire \Jsolenoid\j; and he realized that the degree of deflection of Oersted's compass needle by a current could be used as a measure of the strength of the current, the basis of the \Jgalvanometer\j.
Perhaps his most outstanding contribution, however, came in 1827, when he provided a mathematical formulation of \Jelectromagnetism\j, notably AmpΦre's Law, which relates the magnetic force between two wires to the product of the currents flowing in them and the inverse square of the distance between them. It may be generalized to describe the magnetic force generated at any point in space by a current flowing along a conductor.
The SI unit of electric current, the \Jampere\j (sometimes abbreviated to amp) is named in his honour. The \Jampere\j is defined as that steady current which, when it is flowing in each of two infinitely long, straight, parallel conductors that have negligible areas of cross-section and are 1 metre apart in a vacuum, causes each conductor to exert a force of 2 x 10\U-7\u N on each metre of the other.
BK Scie
#
"amphetamine",1272,0,0,0
EN A powerful stimulant of the central \Jnervous system\j, which causes wakefulness and alertness, elevates mood, increases self-confidence, loquaciousness, and the performance of simple mental tasks, and improves physical performance. Initially, it decreases appetite. It is widely abused to increase \Jenergy\j and alertness, but tolerance often develops after repeated use. Its effects are followed by mental depression and fatigue.
It was once used clinically as a slimming aid, but therapeutic use is now restricted to the treatment of \Jnarcolepsy\j because of the problems of addiction and tolerance. Prolonged use may result in paranoia or clinical \Jpsychosis\j. As a drug of abuse it is called \Bspeed; \b it is illegally manufactured as a powder which can be sniffed ('snorted') or injected. \JAmphetamine\j sulphate was formerly available medically under the trade name \BBenzedrine.\b It is now available only as dexamphetamine sulphate, an isomer, under the proprietary name \BDexedrine.\b
BK a
#
"amphibian",1273,0,0,0
EN A vertebrate animal of class Amphibia (c.4000 species), exhibiting a wide range of characters and lifestyles; usually four legs and glandular skin, lacking scales or other outgrowths; larvae usually live in \Jwater\j and breathe through feathery external gills; undergo a \Jmetamorphosis\j during development, when the gills shrink and disappear; adults breathe using lungs (and partly through the skin); three major groups: salamanders and newts \B(Order:\b Urodela or Caudata), frogs and toads \B(Order:\b Anura or Salientia), and the legless caecilians \B(Order:\b Gymnophiona or Apoda).
BK a
#
"amphiboles",1274,0,0,0
PN [\Bam\bfibohlz]
EN A group of hydrous silicate minerals of considerable chemical complexity, characterized structurally by a double-chain of linked SiO\D4\d tetrahedra, with iron, \Jmagnesium\j, \Jcalcium\j, sodium, and \Jaluminium\j among the elements which may be present between the chains. It is widely distributed in igneous and metamorphic rocks. Common varieties include \Jhornblende\j, actinolite, and tremolite. Fibrous forms belong to the \Jasbestos\j group of minerals.
BK a
#
"amphioxus",1275,0,0,0
PN [amfi\Bok\bsuhs]
EN A primitive chordate; body slender, length up to 70┐mm / 23/4┐in, tapered at both ends; \Jnotochord\j present, extending into head; possesses gill slits and segmented muscle blocks, resembling ancestors of vertebrates; 23 species found in shallow marine sediments; also known as \Blancelet.\b \B(Subphylum:\b Cephalochordata.)
BK a
#
"amphisbaena",1276,0,0,0
PN [amfis\Bbee\bna]
EN A \Jreptile\j native to South and \JCentral America\j, Africa, south-west Asia, and south-west Europe; body worm-like with encircling rings; no legs or only front legs present; small eyes covered by skin; the only truly burrowing \Jreptile\j; eats small animals; also known as \Bworm lizard\b or \Bringed lizard.\b \B(Order:\b Squamata. Suborder: Amphisbaenia, 140 species.)
BK a
#
"amphitheatre / amphitheater",1277,0,0,0
EN An open-air theatre where tiers of seats are situated round a central circular or oval performance space. The Romans developed this form of building from Campanian (or possibly Etruscan) origins for gladiatorial combats, naval exhibitions, and other events. There are good examples at \JPompeii\j (70 BC), Verona (AD 290) and, most famously, the Colosseum in \JRome\j (AD 72-80).
BK a
#
"Amphitrite",1278,0,0,0
PN [amfi\Btriy\btee]
EN In Greek \Jmythology\j, a goddess of the sea, married to Poseidon. She is the mother of Triton and other minor deities.
BK a
#
"Amphitryon",1279,0,0,0
PN [am\Bfit\brion]
EN In Greek \Jmythology\j, the husband of Alcmene. In his absence, Zeus took his shape and so became the father of \JHeracles\j.
BK a
#
"amphoteric",1280,0,0,0
PN [amfo\Bte\brik]
EN In chemistry, having two different properties, usually that of being an acid and a base. An example is \Jaluminium\j \Jhydroxide\j (Al(OH)\D3\d), which forms salts of Al\U3+\d in acid and of AlO\D2\d\U-\d in \Jalkali\j.
BK a
#
"amplitude",1281,0,0,0
EN In a wave or \Joscillation\j, the maximum displacement from equilibrium or rest position; symbol \IA.\i It is always a positive number.
BK a
#
"amplitude modulation (AM)",1282,0,0,0
EN In wave motion, the altering of wave \Jamplitude\j in a systematic way, leaving frequency unchanged. In AM radio, an electrical signal is used to modulate the \Jamplitude\j of the broadcast carrier radio wave. A radio receiver reproduces the signal from the modulated wave by \Idemodulation.\i
BK a
#
"Amr ibn al-As",1283,0,0,0
PN [\Bam\bribnal\Bas\b]
DT1 ?
DT2 664
EN Arab soldier. A convert to \JIslam\j, he joined the \Jprophet\j Mohammed in c.629, and took part in the conquest of Palestine in 638. In 639 he undertook the conquest of \JEgypt\j, becoming its first Muslim governor (642-44). He helped Muawiyah to seize the caliphate from Ali.
MEX Mohammed; Muawiyah
SX m
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#
"Amritsar",1284,0,0,0
PN [am\Brit\bser]
EN 31░35N 74░57E, pop (1995e) 768 000. City in Punjab, NW India; centre of the Sikh religion; founded in 1577 by Ram Das around a sacred tank, known as the pool of immortality; the Golden Temple, found at the centre of the tank, is particularly sacred to Sikhs; under the gold and copper dome is kept the sacred book of the Sikhs, Adi Granth; centre of the Sikh empire in the 19th-c, and of modern Sikh \Jnationalism\j; massacre of Indian nationalists, 1919; battle between the Indian Army and Sikh militants inside the Golden Temple led to 1000 deaths, including a Sikh leader, 1984; militants re-established in temple, 1986; airport; university (1969); commerce, textiles, silk.
BK Geog99
#
"Amritsar Massacre",1285,0,0,0
PN [am\Brit\bser]
EN A massacre at \JAmritsar\j, Punjab, in April 1919. Local disturbances caused the British army commander, General Dyer, to believe that another Indian Mutiny was imminent. When a public meeting took place in a walled garden (the Jallianwalabagh), he ordered his troops to open fire on an unarmed crowd which had no chance of escape; 380 were killed and 1200 injured. Dyer was censured and resigned, but a public subscription was opened for him in Britain. The massacre was the cue for the opening of Gandhi's Non-Co-operation Movement, and transformed the whole tenor of Indian \Jnationalism\j.
BK a
#
"Amsberg, Claus-Georg von",1286,0,0,0
EN See Beatrix
BK bg a
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#
"Amsterdam",1287,0,0,0
PN [\Bam\bsterdam]
EN 52░23N 4░54E, pop (1995e) 728 000. Major European port and capital city of The Netherlands, in North Holland province, W Netherlands; at the junction of the R Amstel and an arm of the Ijsselmeer; chartered, 1300; member of the Hanseatic League, 1369; capital, 1808; airport (Schiphol), railway; two universities (1632, 1880); harbour industry developed after World War 2; major transshipping point; important commercial and cultural centre; banking, shipbuilding, \Jengineering\j, cars, \Jaircraft\j, textiles, brewing, foodstuffs, publishing and printing, chemicals, data processing, diamond-cutting; Concertgebouw Orchestra; House of Anne Frank, Rembrandt House (1606), Oude Kerk (consecrated 1306), Nieuwe Kerk (15th-c), royal palace (17th-c), \JRijksmuseum\j, Stedelijk Museum, Van Gogh Museum; international Windjammer Regatta "Sail \JAmsterdam\j' (Aug).
BK Geog99
#
"Amsterdamse Schouwburg",1288,0,0,0
EN Dutch theatre. The first municipal theatre of \JAmsterdam\j, built by Jacob van Campen, was opened on 3 January 1638 with a performance of Joost van den Vondel's Gijsbrecht van Aemstel, which marked the beginning of a New Year's tradition that would continue for centuries. It was here that in 1655 the first Dutch actress, Ariana Roozemond, appeared on stage.
Two subsequent theatres (1664-1772 and 1774-1890) were destroyed by fire. The present theatre was built in 1894 at the Leidseplein. The resident company chooses its repertory from all over the world.
BK Thea
#
"amu",1289,0,0,0
EN See atomic mass unit (amu)
BK a
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#
"Amudarya, River",1290,0,0,0
PN [amu\Bda\brya]
HS , ancient \BOxus\b
EN River formed by the junction of the Vakhsh and Pyandzh Rivers on the Turkmenia-\JAfghanistan\j frontier, forming part of the border; flows W and north-west to enter the Aral Sea in a wide delta; length 1415┐km / 879┐mi; largest river of C Asia, and an important source of irrigation.
BK a
#
"Amun",1291,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bmun]
HS , also spelled \BAmon,\b \BAmmon,\b or \BAmen\b
EN From the time of the Middle Kingdom, the supreme deity in Egyptian religion. Later he was given the qualities of the \Jsun\j-god Re, hence the usual title \BAmun-Re.\b The name means 'the hidden one'.
EN Explorer, born in Borge, \JNorway\j. From 1903 to 1906 he sailed the Northwest Passage from E-W, and located the Magnetic \JNorth Pole\j. In 1910 he set sail in the \IFram\i in an attempt to reach the \JNorth Pole\j, but hearing that Peary had apparently beaten him to it, he switched to the Antarctic and reached the South Pole in December 1911, one month ahead of Captain Scott.
In 1926 he flew the \Jairship\j \INorge\i across the \JNorth Pole\j with Ellsworth and Nobile. In 1928 he disappeared when searching by plane for Nobile and his \Jairship\j \IItalia,\i which had gone missing on another flight to the Pole.
MEX Ellsworth; Nobile; Peary; Scott, River F
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"Amur River",1293,0,0,0
PN [a\Bmoor\b], Chin \BHeilong Jiang\b
EN River in north-east China and \JRussia\j, part of the international border; main source rises in the Greater Khingan Range, Inner \JMongolia\j; flows generally E then north-east to enter the Sea of Okhotsk; length, 4350┐km / 2700┐mi; scene of several Sino-Soviet incidents since the 1960s.
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"amyl",1294,0,0,0
PN [\Bay\bmiyl, \Ba\bmil]
EN CH\D3\dCH\D2\dCH\D2\dCH\D2\dCH\D2\d-, IUPAC \Bpentyl.\b A group derived from \Jpentane\j by removing one \Jhydrogen\j atom. \BAmyl alcohol\b is a fraction of fusel oil, boiling point c.130░C, a mixture of several \Jisomers\j of C\D5\dH\D11\dOH. \BAmylose\b is a low molecular weight fraction of starch. \BAmyloid\b is a combination of protein and polysaccharides deposited as a fibrous substance in some animal organs affected by certain diseases (e.g. kuru).
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"amyl nitrite",1295,0,0,0
EN (C\D5\dH\D11\dNO\D2\d) A drug in the form of a volatile liquid, administered by inhalation, which acts very rapidly and very briefly. It has some use in the treatment of \Jangina\j but is also sold as a sex aid ('poppers'). It is also used in the emergency treatment of \Jcyanide\j poisoning.
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"amylases",1296,0,0,0
PN [\Bam\bilayziz]
EN A group of enzymes which speed up the breakdown of starch and \Jglycogen\j into disaccharides and small polysaccharides. They occur widely in plants and animals; for example, \fa\n\d-amylase is found in \Jsaliva\j and the pancreatic secretions of some vertebrates, ▀-amylase in plants.
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"Amyot or Amiot, Jacques",1297,0,0,0
PN [\Bam\byoh]
DT1 1513
DT2 93
EN Humanist, born in Melun, \JFrance\j. He translated many Classical texts, the most important being his French version of \JPlutarch\j's \ILives,\i which was the basis of Sir Thomas North's translation into English, and of some of Shakespeare's history plays.
MEX \JPlutarch\j; North, Thomas
SX m
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"An Lushan",1298,0,0,0
PN [an looshan]
HS , also spelled \BAn Lu-shan\b
DT1 ?
DT2 757
EN Chinese general under the Tang dynasty in China (618-907), of Turkish origin. He overthrew the crown, and established the short-lived Yan dynasty (755-7). He was patronized by Yang Guifei, mistress to Emperor \JXuanzong\j (ruled 712-55), who adopted him as her son.
Controlling 160┐000 troops as commandant of three north-east regions, he revolted in 755, capturing Luoyang and Changan (\JXian\j). The emperor fled and Yang was executed. An Lushan made himself emperor on \JXuanzong\j's \Jabdication\j (755), but was murdered by his own son (757).
MEX \JXuanzong\j
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"Anabaptists",1299,0,0,0
EN The collective name given to groups of believers stemming from the more radical elements of the 16th-c Reformation; also known as \BRebaptizers.\b They believed in the \Jbaptism\j of believing adults only, refusing to recognize infant \Jbaptism\j. They emphasized adherence to the word of scripture, strict Church discipline, and the separation of Church and state.
Being prepared to criticize the state, they frequently suffered savage persecution. They were associated with Thomas Mⁿntzer and the Zwinglian prophets in \JWittenberg\j (1521); the Swiss brethren in Zⁿrich (1525); and Jan Mattys (d.1534) in Mⁿnster (1533-4), where the \JAnabaptists\j achieved supremacy; and spread to Moravia, N and W \JGermany\j, the Low Countries (especially the \JMennonites\j in Holland), and later the USA. They were the forerunners of the \JBaptists\j, who are in many respects their spiritual heirs.
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"anabatic wind",1300,0,0,0
EN A local upslope wind which develops best in a valley. During the \Jday\j the air in contact with the valley sides is heated to a greater degree than air at the same elevation but above the valley floor. This leads to convectional rising of the heated air, and a circulation pattern of upslope airflow from valley floor to ridge, to replace rising air. Windspeeds of 10-15┐m / 32-50┐ft per second can occur.
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"anabolic steroids",1301,0,0,0
EN Drugs with structures similar to the male sex \Jhormones\j \I(\Jandrogens\j)\i but with reduced androgenic activity and increased anabolic activity to promote weight and muscle development. They are used clinically to accelerate recovery from protein deficiency, in muscle-wasting disorders, and sometimes in breast cancer. They are used illegally to promote the performance of athletes and racing animals, and were first used by weightlifters and bodybuilders.
The International Olympic Committee requires that medal winners at major competitions are subject to urine sample analysis to prove themselves drug free. The International \JWeightlifting\j Association also has random checks. In women, anabolic steroids can cause masculinization - growth of facial hair, deepening of the voice, etc.
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"anabolism",1302,0,0,0
EN See \Jmetabolism\j
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"anaclitic therapy",1303,0,0,0
EN A form of \Jpsychotherapy\j in which the patient is allowed to regress. The term \Banaclitic depression\b was introduced by RenΘ Spitz (1887-1974), a Hungarian-born US psychoanalyst, who in 1946 described a syndrome of regression in infants separated from their love objects. It has also been used to describe changes in infants in institutions.
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"anaconda",1304,0,0,0
EN A \Jboa\j from \JSouth America\j \I(Eunectes murinus),\i the largest snake in the world; may be more than 11┐m / 36┐ft long, weighing over 500┐kg / 1100┐lb; dull colour with large irregular dark spots; inhabits slow-moving \Jwater\j; may climb low trees; eats birds, mammals, caimans, turtles; also known as the \Bgreen \Janaconda\j.\b
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"Anacreon",1305,0,0,0
PN [a\Bna\bkreeon]
DT1a c.
DT1 570
DT2a c.
DT2 475
DT2b BC
EN Greek lyric poet, from Teos, modern Turkey. He was invited to \JSamos\j by Polycrates to tutor his son, and after the tyrant's downfall, was taken to \JAthens\j by Hipparchus, son of the tyrant Pisistratus. He was famous for his satires and his elegant love poetry, of which only fragments remain.
MEX Pisistratus; Polycrates
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"anaemia / anemia",1306,0,0,0
EN A reduction in the amount of oxygen-carrying pigment, haemoglobin, in the red cells circulating in the blood. The condition causes skin pallor, weakness, and breathlessness. There are many causes, including blood loss, excessively rapid destruction of red blood cells, and failure of their normal maturation in the bone marrow.
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"anaerobe",1307,0,0,0
EN See aerobe
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"anaesthetics / anesthetics, general",1308,0,0,0
EN Drugs which produce a reversible state of unconciousness deep enough to permit surgery. They may be inhaled (eg halothane, nitrous oxide) or given intravenously (eg thiopentone, alphaxalone). \INitrous oxide\i ('laughing gas') was discovered by Joseph Priestley in 1776, and its use in surgical operations was suggested in 1799 by Humphry Davy, who noted its analgesic action. However, for the next few decades it was used only as fairground entertainment.
In 1844 the US dentist Horace Wells (1815-48) successfully allowed one of his own teeth to be extracted under its influence, and in 1846 American William Morton (1819-68) successfully used it in major surgery. After 1860 its use became established. \IEther\i was discovered in 1540 by Valerius Cordus (1515-44), and shown to control \Jcolic\j pain in 1795. The US surgeon Crawford Williamson Long (1815-78) first used it surgically for minor operations in 1842.
\IChloroform\i was discovered in 1831 and first used in 1847 as a general anaesthetic by Scottish obstetrician James Young Simpson (1811-70), despite strong opposition from the Church. Today, intravenous anaesthetics are used for short operations only. 'Basal' anesthesia is usually induced before the patient leaves the ward to relieve anxiety and hasten the induction of anaesthesia in the theatre. The medical speciality is known as \Banaesthesiology,\b and the presence of a specialist (an \Banaesthetist)\b is required during surgical operations.
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"anaesthetics / anesthetics, local",1309,0,0,0
EN Drugs which produce a reversible loss of sensation in a localized region of the body by blocking nerve impulses. Regional anaesthesia is achieved by topical application or by injection at the site of an operation (as in tooth extraction), near a main nerve trunk (eg to allow operations in limbs), or between spinal vertebrae \B(epidural anaesthesia).\b
The first local anaesthetic was \Jcocaine\j, introduced in the 1880s, but this is now obsolete because of problems of addiction and toxicity. Commonly used local anaesthetics include procaine, lignocaine (lidocaine), and benzocaine.
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"anaglyph",1310,0,0,0
EN A picture for stereoscopic viewing in which the separate right-eye and left-eye images are reproduced in different colours, usually red and blue-green. The observer wears coloured spectacles of complementary colours, so that each eye sees only its appropriate image.
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"anagram",1311,0,0,0
EN The re-arrangement of the letters of a word or sentence to produce a new form or a puzzle. Often an ingenious analogue to the original word can be found, eg \Itotal abstainers\i \f(r)\n\Isit not at ale bars.\i
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"analgesics",1312,0,0,0
EN Drugs which relieve pain. \BNarcotic analgesics\b (eg \Jcodeine\j, \Jmorphine\j, heroin) act by mimicking the natural brain \Jendorphins\j responsible for the subjective perception of pain. \BNon-narcotic analgesics\b (eg aspirin, \Jparacetamol\j, ibuprofen) act by blocking the synthesis of prostaglandins (substances formed at the site of injury involved in the production of pain responses).
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"analog computer",1313,0,0,0
HS , also spelled \Banalogue\b
EN Computers which accept, as inputs, continuous electrical or mechanical variables (such as voltage or current or the rotation rate or position of a shaft) and respond immediately to calculate relevant output signals. The processing is generally done by special electrical circuits, usually operational amplifiers, or by complex mechanical arrangements of gears, cogs, etc.
Examples range from the \Jautomobile\j speedometer to the anti-\Jaircraft\j 'predictors' of World War 2. Analog computers are inherently real-time systems, and continue to find special purpose applications, particularly in control systems, although many of their former tasks are now done using the much more versatile digital computers.
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"analog-to-digital (A / D) conversion",1314,0,0,0
HS , also spelled \Banalogue\b
EN A process of converting analog signals, such as voltage, into a digital form which can be used in a digital computer. It is usually carried out by specialized electronic circuits or discrete integrated circuits called \Ianalog-to-digital converters.\i A / D converters and the converse D / A converters are common in computer-controlled processes.
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"analogue / analog signal",1315,0,0,0
EN See digital techniques
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"analogy",1316,0,0,0
EN A type of inference whose form is 'because \Ix\i is like \Iy\i in some respects it will be in other respects'. Analogy can be suggestive, and sometimes works, but it is not a deductive proof. The argument from analogy for the existence of God, popular in the 18th-c and 19th-c, maintained that the universe is like a mechanism; therefore just as a mechanism requires a maker, so does the universe.
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"analytic / analytical geometry",1317,0,0,0
EN A method of attacking geometrical problems by referring to a point by its co-ordinates in a system; also known as \BCartesian\b or \Bco-ordinate \Jgeometry\j.\b For the plane, the commonest system is of two perpendicular axes, when all points can be identified by a number pair, \I(x,\i\Iy).\i
In three-dimensional \Jgeometry\j a number triple is needed \I(x,\i\Iy,\i\Iz).\i Other systems of co-ordinates, such as polar co-ordinates, have been developed which are more suitable for some types of problems. Descartes is generally credited with inventing this system, but the use of axes in the study of conic sections was known to Apollonius.
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"analytic language",1318,0,0,0
EN A type of language in which words do not vary their form to show their grammatical function in a sentence; also known as an \Bisolating language.\b In such languages (eg Chinese), the relationships between the words are shown solely by their order. Analytic languages are opposed to \Bsynthetic languages,\b in which words typically combine a grammatical meaning with their dictionary meaning; for example, the English word \Ihorses\i contains the meaning of 'plural' in addition to the sense of 'animal'. Most languages display features of both systems.
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"analytic philosophy",1319,0,0,0
EN The dominant tradition in 20th-c Anglo-American academic philosophy, often contrasted with French or German philosophical traditions such as \Jphenomenology\j or \Jexistentialism\j. Much influenced by Frege, Russell, Moore, and Wittgenstein early in the century, it emphasized the importance of logical and linguistic analysis to solve or dissolve philosophical problems.
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"analytical chemistry",1320,0,0,0
EN A branch of chemistry dealing with the composition of material. It includes qualitative and quantitative determinations of elements present, as well as structural analysis. The methods used are based either on chemical reactions or on physical properties, generally electrochemical or spectroscopic.
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"anamorphosis",1321,0,0,0
EN An image drawn or painted in trick perspective so that it appears distorted from a normal viewpoint, but when seen from an extraordinary angle, or through a \Jlens\j, appears normal. A famous example is the skull in Holbein's \IAmbassadors\i in the National Gallery, London.
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"Anand, Mulk Raj",1322,0,0,0
PN [\Ba\bnand]
DT1 1905
EN Novelist, critic, and man of letters, born in \JPeshawar\j, modern \JPakistan\j. He left India for Britain, where he eventually published his first novel, \IUntouchable\i (1935), with a preface by E M Forster.
His novels, such as \IThe Coolie\i (1936) and \IThe Village\i (1939, the first of a trilogy) promote the underdog in society, depicting life in the poverty-stricken Punjab. He later began an ambitious seven-volume autobiographical work of fiction, \IThe Seven Ages of Man\i.
\BMajor Works\b
\INovels\i
1935 Untouchable
1936 The Coolie
1937 Two Leaves and a Bud
1938 The Village
1940 Across the Black Waters
1942 The Sword and the Sickle
1945 The Big Heart
1953 Private Life of an Indian Prince
1960 The Woman and the Cow (reissued as Gauri, 1976)
\IAutobiographical Novels\i
1951 Seven Summers
1968 Morning Face
1976 Confessions of a Lover
1984 The Bubble
1990 Little Plays of Mahatma Gandhi
\IOther\i
1981 Conversations in Bloomsbury
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"Ananda",1323,0,0,0
PN [a\Bnan\bda]
DT1 5
DT1b th
DT2 6
DT2b th-c BC
EN The cousin and favourite pupil of the \JBuddha\j. Noted for his devotion to the \JBuddha\j, and a skilled interpreter of his teachings, he was instrumental in establishing an order for women disciples.
MEX \JBuddha\j
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"Ananke",1324,0,0,0
PN [a\Bnang\bkee]
EN The 12th natural \Jsatellite\j of Jupiter, discovered in 1951; distance from the \Jplanet\j 21┐200┐000┐km / 13┐174┐000┐mi; diameter 30┐km / 19┐mi.
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"anaphylaxis",1325,0,0,0
PN [anafuh\Blak\bsis]
EN A type of \Jhypersensitivity\j reaction which occurs when an individual has been previously sensitized by contact with an \Jantigen\j. It occurs within a few minutes after exposure, and the clinical response depends upon the tissue affected. Examples of local \Janaphylaxis\j include \Jasthma\j, hay fever, and oedema of the tissues of the throat. A severe degree of generalized \Janaphylaxis\j \B(anaphylactic shock)\b may also result in a sudden attack of wheezing, collapse, and cardiac arrest, and may be fatal.
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"anarchism",1326,0,0,0
EN A generic term for political ideas and movements that reject the state and other forms of authority and coercion in favour of a society based exclusively upon voluntary co-operation between individuals. To anarchists the state, whether democratic or not, is always seen as a means of supporting a ruling class or elite, and as an encumbrance to social relations. However, they differ in their view of the nature of their future society, their proposals ranging from a communist society based on mutual aid to one based on essentially self-interested voluntary exchange.
They reject involvement in political institutions, and support civil disobedience action against the state, and on occasions political violence. Anarchist movements were most prevalent in Europe in the second half of the 19th-c and early 20th-c, but virtually died out apart from fringe groups after the Spanish \JCivil War\j.
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"anarthria",1327,0,0,0
EN See dysarthria
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"Anasazi",1328,0,0,0
PN [ana\Bsah\bzee]
EN The prehistoric Indian inhabitants of the arid 'Four Corners' region of the US Southwest (where \JArizona\j, New Mexico, \JColorado\j, and \JUtah\j meet), c.200 BC-AD 1500. The name, from Navajo, means 'enemy ancestors'. The villages were of pithouses before c.700, pueblos or cliff dwellings later, while the economy was predominantly horticultural, based on \Jmaize\j, beans, and squashes. The modern descendants are the \JHopi\j of \JArizona\j, and the Rio Grande \JPueblo\j groups of New Mexico.
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"Anastasia",1329,0,0,0
PN [ana\Bstah\bzia]
HS , in full \BGrand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaievna Romanova\b
DT1 1901
DT2 18
DT2b ?
EN Youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of \JRussia\j, believed to have perished when the Romanov family were executed by the \JBolsheviks\j in 1918. Various people later claimed to be Anastasia, especially Mrs 'Anna Anderson' Manahan, who died in Virginia, USA, in 1984 at the age of 82. For more than 30 years she fought unsuccessfully to establish her identity as Anastasia. Her story inspired two films \I(Anastasia,\i with Ingrid Bergman; \IIs Anna Anderson Anastasia?,\i with Lilli Palmer) and several books.
MEX Nicholas II
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"Anatidae",1330,0,0,0
EN \BDucks, geese, and swans\b
Often collectively known as wildfowl, the ducks, geese, and swans make up the family \JAnatidae\j (order Anseriformes), a cosmopolitan group of aquatic birds familiar to almost everyone. All have short tails, pointed wings, long or moderately long necks, and a uniquely spatulate bill which is difficult to describe but almost impossible to mistake.
A striking characteristic of the group is that virtually all members molt the flight feathers of their wings simultaneously, which renders them temporarily flightless for several weeks while new ones grow. There are about 147 species, the bulk of which can conveniently be broken up into nine groups or tribes.
A tropical group, the whistling-ducks, Dendrocygnini (9 species), are set apart by several behavioral features: they habitually perch in trees, they engage in mutual preening, and both sexes incubate the eggs. Swans and geese make up the tribe Anserini, typical members of which include the \JBlack Swan\j \ICygnus atratus\i of \JAustralia\j, the Mute Swan \JCygnus\j olor of Eurasia, the Greylag Goose \IAnser anser\i (ancestor of the domestic goose), and the Canada Goose \IBranta canadensis.\i
The tribe Tadornini contains the Old World shelducks and several South American groups, such as the sheldgeese \I(Chloephaga,)\i and the three steamer ducks \ITachyeres\i of \JPatagonia\j, two of which are flightless. The Anatini are usually referred to as 'dabbling ducks' because most obtain their food at or near the surface and do not normally dive; the group includes the pintails, widgeons, shovelers, and teal, as well as the almost ubiquitous Mallard \IAnas platyrhynchos,\i ancestor of the domestic duck.
Especially in Northern Hemisphere species, males have a bright nuptial plumage that is replaced by a female-type '\Jeclipse\j' plumage while the flight feathers are molted. The Aythyini is made up of the pochards, which dive for most of their food.
Well known species include the Canvasback \IAythya valisineria\i of \JNorth America\j and the Tufted Duck \IAythya fuligula\i of Europe. The tribe Cairinini is mostly tropical in distribution, but it includes the Wood Duck \IAix sponsa\i of \JNorth America\j and the Australian Wood Duck \IChenonetta jubata\i of \JAustralia\j, as well as the Spurwinged Goose \IPlectropterus gambensis\i of Africa.
The Common Eider \ISomateria mollissima\i and its three close relatives make up the tribe Somateriini, all of which are largely marine and breed mostly in \JArctic\j or subarctic regions. The tribe Mergini includes the scoters, goldeneyes, and mergansers. All are good divers, and several feed largely on fish; the group, most notably the scoters \I(Melanitta)\i and the Oldsquaw \IClangula hyemalis\i -lives largely at sea, except when nesting.
The stifftails, Oxyurini, are represented on all continents except \JAntarctica\j by small tubby little ducks-such as the Ruddy Duck \IOxyura jamaicensis\i in \JNorth America\j, in which males have chestnut bodies and bright blue bills, as well as the bizarre Musk Duck \IBiziura lobata\i in \JAustralia\j. Stifftails have long spiky tails, are secretive, largely nocturnal, and dive for much of their food.
Consensus is far from general on the relationships of several species, including the Torrent Duck \IMerganetta armata\i of rushing mountain torrents in the \JAndes\j, the Pink-eared Duck \IMalacorhynchus membranaceus\i (a nomadic species adapted to exploit blue-green \Jalgae\j blooms in temporary floodwaters), and the Freckled Duck \IStictonetta naevosa\i (both of \JAustralia\j), and the Blue Duck \IHymenolaimus malacorhynchos\i of \JNew Zealand\j, which also inhabits fast mountain streams and feeds largely on green \Jalgae\j and aquatic insects.
Wildfowl occupy wetlands of all kinds, from mangrove swamps to \Jalpine\j streams, on all continents except \JAntarctica\j, and on a number of oceanic islands. But not all groups are equally widespread. The dabbling ducks \I(Anas)\i for example, are found almost everywhere, but the 'typical' geese \I(Anser\i and \IBranta)\i are virtually confined to the Northern Hemisphere, and several groups, such as the pygmy-geese \I(Nettapus)\i are restricted to the tropics.
Some species, such as the Northern Pintail \IAnas acuta,\i are extremely widespread, but others are severely curtailed: the Northern Pintail's close relative, Eaton's Pintail \IAnas eatoni,\i for example, is confined to Kerguelen Island and the Crozets. Wildfowl are highly mobile, and most species are migratory or at least locally nomadic.
Most wildfowl form simple pairs for breeding, and courtship displays-usually conducted on the \Jwater\j-are varied and often spectacular. Many of the smaller ducks nest in tree cavities some distance from the ground, but others nest on the ground; a characteristic feature of wildfowl nests is that most are lined with feathers that the female plucks from her own breast.
The role of the sexes varies widely among species: among geese and swans, for example, the male often helps incubate the eggs, but in ducks the female almost invariably incubates alone. Chicks hatch alert and down-covered, and are fully mobile almost immediately. Clutch size, incubation, and fledging periods vary widely: in swans, for example, incubation takes about 34-40 days, but in teal only about 28 days.
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"Anatoli, Alexander",1331,0,0,0
EN See Kuznetsov, Alexander Vasilievich
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"Anatolia",1332,0,0,0
PN [ana\Btoh\blia]
HS , Turk \BAnadolu\b
EN Asiatic region of Turkey, usually synonymous with \JAsia Minor\j; a mountainous peninsula between the \JBlack Sea\j (north), \JAegean Sea\j (west), and the \JMediterranean Sea\j (south).
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"Anatolian",1333,0,0,0
PN [ana\Btoh\blian]
EN A group of Indo-European languages, now extinct, spoken c.2000 BC in the area of present-\Jday\j Turkey and \JSyria\j. The major language is Hittite, which is recorded on tablets inscribed with cuneiform writing from the 17th-c BC: these are the oldest known Indo-European texts.
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"Anatolian shepherd dog",1334,0,0,0
EN \B(\JAnatolian\j Karabash Dog)\b
Originally a working sheep dog, this powerful animal now usually serves as an excellent guard dog.
\BHistory:\b
The \JAnatolian\j Shepherd Dog undoubtedly originated from the ancient \JMastiff\j. Large working dogs have certainly been around central Asia for hundreds of years. In Roman times this dog was used as a hunter of large game and even as a gladiator. The \JAnatolian\j Shepherd Dog has emerged as perhaps the most successful, and certainly the most famous, of Turkey's working dogs.
\BPhysical characteristics:\b
The \JAnatolian\j Shepherd Dog is a large and sturdy working dog. Although it is quite muscular it remains well-proportioned and moves with a stylish grace. \IHeight:\i 27 - 31 in (68.5 - 79 cm). \IWeight:\i 85 - 150 lb (39 - 69.5 kg). The broad head is complemented by muscular jaws. The well-set eyes look over a medium-length muzzle. This dog has a straight back and a well-defined waist. The mid-length tail has a slight upward curve.
\BBehavior:\b
This large and powerful dog is very confident and has a most determined character. Its alert manner and strong sense of territory make the \JAnatolian\j Shepherd Dog an excellent watch-dog. Its large size and formidable presence acts as a real deterrent and means that this dog also makes a wonderful guard dog.
Generally the \JAnatolian\j Shepherd Dog gets along very well with other dogs, but it is important that it should be well socialized as a puppy. Its sheer size can provoke fear and aggression in other dogs. Wise owners will not allow their dog to run at others, even in play, until the dogs are better acquainted.
Initially, owners of the \JAnatolian\j Shepherd Dog should be very assertive and continue until the dog clearly understands its position in the owner's family. Its large size makes this dog unsuitable for small children, but with firm handling the \JAnatolian\j Shepherd Dog can become a very loyal companion.
Given sufficient exercise, this former working dog will thrive. If allowed to become bored it may become snappy. The \JAnatolian\j Shepherd Dog has few common ailments but its ears should be checked regularly, particularly during hot \Jweather\j.
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"anatomy",1335,0,0,0
EN The science concerned with the form, structure, and spatial relationships of a living organism, and the relation of structure to function. It originally referred to the cutting up of the body to determine the nature and organization of its parts, but nowadays it includes many other aspects of study. \ITopographic\i or \Igross\i anatomy deals with the relative positions of various body parts. \ISystemic\i anatomy is concerned with the study of groups of related structures (eg the respiratory system).
\IApplied\i anatomy considers anatomical facts in relation to clinical medicine.
\IFunctional\i anatomy deals not only with the structural basis of function in the various systems (eg the musculo-skeletal system), but also with the relation of one system to another, and so merges with \Jphysiology\j.
\IDevelopmental\i anatomy is concerned with the prenatal organization and structural changes within the embryo and fetus \I(embryology),\i and with postnatal growth and development.
\IMorbid\i or \Ipathological\i anatomy deals with the anatomy of diseased tissues.
\IRadiological\i anatomy is the study of organs and tissues using radiographic techniques (X-rays, computer-assisted \Jtomography\j, magnetic \Jresonance\j imaging).
\INeuroanatomy\i is the study of the structure and function of nervous systems (central, peripheral, autonomic).
\IComparative\i anatomy describes and compares the form, structure, and function of different animals.
\IVeterinary\i anatomy is the science dealing with the form and structure of the principal domesticated animals. Anatomical science also involves
\Ihistology,\i the study of the \Jarchitecture\j of tissues and organs, and \Icell \Jbiology\j,\i concerned with the basic elements of the cell.
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"Anaxagoras",1336,0,0,0
PN [anak\Bsa\bgoras]
DT1a c.
DT1 500
DT2 428
DT2b BC
EN Greek philosopher, born in Clazomenae. For 30 years he taught in \JAthens\j, where he had many illustrious pupils, among them \JPericles\j and \JEuripides\j. His scientific speculations led to his prosecution for impiety, and he was banished from \JAthens\j. His most celebrated cosmological doctrine was that matter is infinitely divisible into particles, which contain a mixture of all qualities, and that mind \I(nous)\i is a pervasive formative agency in the creation of material objects.
MEX \JEuripides\j; \JPericles\j
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"Anaximander",1337,0,0,0
PN [anaksimander]
DT (611-547 bc)
EN Ionian (Greek) natural philosopher: suggested Earth was a curved body in space.
A pupil of Thales, Anaximander's writings are now lost, but he is credited with a variety of novel ideas. He was the first Greek to use a \Jsundial\j (long known in the \JMiddle East\j), and with it found the dates of the two solstices (shortest and longest days) and of the equinoxes (the two annual occasions when day and night are equal).
He speculated on the nature of the heavens and on the origin of the Earth and of man. Realizing that the Earth's surface was curved, he believed it to be cylindrical (with its axis east to west); and he was probably the first Greek to map the whole known world. He visualized the Earth as poised in space (a new idea).
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#
"Anaximenes",1338,0,0,0
PN [anak\Bzim\beneez]
DT1 ?
DT2a c.
DT2 500
DT2b BC
EN Greek philosopher, born in \JMiletus\j. He was the third of the three great Milesian thinkers, succeeding Thales and Anaximander. He posited that the first principle and basic form of matter was air, which could be transformed into other substances by a process of condensation and rarefaction.
MEX Anaximander; Thales
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"Anchises",1339,0,0,0
PN [an\Bkiy\bseez]
EN In Roman \Jmythology\j, the Trojan father of \JAeneas\j. The \IAeneid\i gives an account of \JAeneas\j's piety in carrying Anchises on his shoulders out of the blazing city of Troy.
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#
"anchor",1340,0,0,0
EN A device which prevents a vessel from drifting. The flukes or arms of an anchor dig into the seabed, thus resisting a horizontal pull; it is made fast to the ship by a heavy cable, usually of studded chain. There are two basic types: the old-fashioned anchor with a stock, usually depicted on badges and flags; and the modern, more common, stockless anchor.
The stockless anchor consists of a shank and a crown, which are free to move in relation to each other, so that when in use the flukes will adopt an angle of about 45░ to the shank. When stowed, the flukes are parallel to the shank.
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#
"Anchorage",1341,0,0,0
EN 61░13N 149░54W, pop (1995e) 266 000. City and seaport in SC \JAlaska\j, USA, at the head of Cook Inlet; largest city in the state; founded as a railway construction camp, 1914; severely damaged by \Jearthquake\j, 1964; important transportation hub; administrative and commercial centre; a vital defence centre, with Fort Richardson military base and Elmendorf air force base nearby; airport; railway; university (1957); mining, tourism; Earthquake Park, National Bank Heritage Library; Iditarod Sled Race (Mar), Great \JAlaska\j Shootout (Nov), Fur Rendezvous (Nov).
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#
"anchovy",1342,0,0,0
PN [\Ban\bchovee]
EN Any of the small \Jherring\j-like fishes of the family Engraulidae, widespread in surface coastal waters of tropical and temperate seas; support extensive commercial fisheries, much of the catch being processed before sale. (5 genera, including \IAnchoa,\i \IEngraulis.)\i
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#
"ancien rΘgime",1343,0,0,0
PN [πsyφ\ti ray\Bzheem\b]
EN The social and political system of \JFrance\j existing from the late 16th-c to the outbreak of the \JFrench Revolution\j (1789). The term implies a hierarchical, corporative society, bound closely to the dynastic state, and is associated particularly with mechanisms upholding traditional orders and privileges.
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#
"ancient lights",1344,0,0,0
EN In English law, an easement acquired through long use, and not by consent or permission, whereby one property can claim the right against another property to enjoy at least a reasonable amount of light. Where it exists, this right may restrict building on neighbouring property. A restrictive covenant against building may be more effective, but such a covenant cannot be acquired through long use.
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"ancona",1345,0,0,0
EN See \Jaltarpiece\j
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#
"Ancre, Baron de Lussigny, marquis d'",1346,0,0,0
PN [πkruh]
HS , originally \BConcino Concini\b
DT1 ?
DT2 1617
EN Adventurer, born in Florence, \JItaly\j. He came to the French court in 1600, in the train of Marie de' Medici, the wife of Henry IV, and became chief favourite of the queen-regent during the minority of \JLouis XIII\j. His prodigality was immense, and he squandered vast sums on the decoration of his palaces. Hated alike by nobility and populace, he was assassinated in the Louvre during a rebellion.
MEX Marie de' Medicis
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"Ancus Marcius",1347,0,0,0
PN [\Bang\bkus \Bmah(r)\bsius]
DT1 7
DT1b th-c BC
EN Traditionally, the fourth king of \JRome\j. He is said to have conquered the neighbouring Latin tribes, and settled them on the Aventine.
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#
"Andalusia",1348,0,0,0
EN <PRON>, Eng [andaloo\Bsee\ba]
pop (1995e) 6 915 000; area 87 268 sq km/33 685 sq mi. Large and fertile autonomous region of S \JSpain\j; dominated by the great basin of the R Guadalquivir and (S) by the Baetic Cordillera, rising to 3478 m/11 411 ft at Cerro de MulhacΘn, \JSpain\j's highest peak; S coastal strip known for its tourist resorts on the Costa del Sol and the Costa de la Luz; sugar cane, fruit, bananas, wine, cotton; chief cities, Mßlaga, Cßdiz, \JGranada\j, C≤rdoba; many remains of Moorish rule (8th--15th-c).
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#
"Andalusian horse",1349,0,0,0
EN A breed of horse; height, 16 hands / 1.6┐m / 51/2┐ft; grey (occasionally black); developed in \JSpain\j over many centuries by crossing African, Spanish, and German horses; a less refined version is called the \BAndalusian-Carthusian\b or \BCarthusian.\b
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#
"andalusite",1350,0,0,0
PN [anda\Bloo\bsiyt]
EN One of the three varieties of mineral \Jaluminium\j silicate (Al\D2\dSiO\D5\d), found in metamorphic rocks, the others being \Ikyanite\i and \Isillimanite.\i Its importance lies as an indicator of the pressure and \Jtemperature\j of metamorphism in rocks.
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"Andaman and Nicobar Islands",1351,0,0,0
PN [\Ban\bdaman, nikoh\Bbah(r)\b]
EN pop (1995e) 302 000; area 8300 sq km/3200 sq mi. Union territory of India, comprising two island groups in the Bay of Bengal; separated from \JMyanmar\j, \JThailand\j, and \JSumatra\j by the Andaman Sea; over 300 islands, stretching 725 km/450 mi N to S; occupied by \JJapan\j in World War 2; part of India, 1950; British penal colony on Andaman Is, 1858--1945; Cellular Jail at Port Blair now a national shrine; Nicobar Is 120 km/75 mi S, a mountainous group of 19 islands; occupied by Denmark, 1756--1848; annexed by Britain, 1869; chief town, Nankauri; tropical forest covers both islands; monsoons frequent (May--Oct); fishing, \Jrubber\j, fruit, rice, hardwood timber.
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"Andaman Sea",1352,0,0,0
PN [\Ban\bdaman]
EN area 564┐900┐km\U2\u / 218┐000┐mi\U2\u. north-east arm of the Indian Ocean; bounded E by \JMyanmar\j and \JThailand\j, N by the Gulf of Martaban, S by \JSumatra\j, and W by the Andaman and Nicobar Is.
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"Andean bear",1353,0,0,0
EN See spectacled bear
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#
"Andean Community",1354,0,0,0
EN An organization modelled on the European Community, with five member countries: \JBolivia\j, \JColombia\j, \JEcuador\j, \JPeru\j, and Venezuela. It was previously known as the \BAndean Pact\b (1969-96)
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"Anders, Wladyslaw",1355,0,0,0
DT1 1892
DT2 1970
EN Polish soldier, born in Blonie, \JPoland\j. He served on the staff of the Russian division and Polish Corps in World War 1 (1914-17). At the outbreak of World War 2 he was captured by the Russians (1939-41), but released to command a Polish ex-POW force organized in \JRussia\j, which he led through \JIran\j into \JIraq\j.
In 1943 he became commander of the 2nd Polish Corps in \JItaly\j, capturing Monte Cassino. After the war, deprived of his nationality by the Polish Communist government, he was a leading figure in the Free Polish community in Britain, and inspector-general of the Polish forces-in-exile.
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#
"Andersen, Dorothy H. (Hansine)",1356,0,0,0
DT (1901-1963)
EN pathologist, pediatrician; born in Asheville, N.C. Discoverer of cystic fibrosis (1938) and related diagnostic tests, she did work on congenital heart defects leading to breakthroughs in open-heart surgery. Working at Babies \JHospital\j at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center (1935-63), she became chief pathologist (1952). Independent and free-thinking, she loved the outdoors and carpentry.
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"Andersen, Hans Christian",1357,0,0,0
DT1 1805
DT2 75
EN Writer, one of the world's great story-tellers, born in Odense, Denmark. After his father's death he worked in a factory, but soon displayed a talent for poetry. He became better known by his \IWalk to Amager,\i a literary satire in the form of a humorous narrative.
In 1830 he published the first collected volume of his \IPoems,\i and in 1831 a second, under the title of \IFantasies and Sketches.\i He wrote many other works, but it is such fairy-tales as 'The Tin Soldier', 'The Tinderbox', and 'The Ugly Duckling' that have gained him lasting fame and delighted children throughout the world.
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"Anderson, Carl (David)",1358,0,0,0
DT (1905-91)
EN US physicist: discovered the \Jpositron\j and the muon.
Anderson, the only son of Swedish immigrants, was educated in Los Angeles and at the \JCalifornia\j Institute of Technology, where he remained for the rest of his career.
Anderson discovered the \Jpositron\j accidentally in 1932 (its existence had been predicted by Dirac in 1928). As a result, Dirac's relativistic quantum mechanics and theory of the \Jelectron\j were rapidly accepted and it became clear that other \Jantiparticles\j existed. Anderson shared the 1936 Nobel Prize for physics with V F Hess for this discovery.
Anderson discovered the \Jpositron\j while studying cosmic rays, which he did by photographing their tracks in a \Jcloud\j chamber in order to find the \Jenergy\j spectrum of secondary electrons produced by the rays. A lead plate divided the chamber so that the direction of movement of the particles could be deduced (they are slowed or stopped by the lead). Also, a magnetic field was applied to deflect particles in different directions according to their charge and by an amount related to their mass.
Many positive particles were seen which were not protons; they were too light and produced too little \Jionization\j. Anderson identified their mass as about that of an \Jelectron\j, concluding that these were positive electrons, or positrons. The discovery was confirmed by Blackett and Occhialini the following year.
Anderson discovered another elementary particle within the same year, again by observing cosmic ray tracks. It had unit negative charge and was 130 times as heavy as an \Jelectron\j, and seemed a possible confirmation of Yukawa's theory of a particle communicating the \Jstrong nuclear force\j (now called a \Jpi\j-\Jmeson\j or pion).
However a series of experiments by Anderson in 1935 revealed that it was not and the role of this mu-\Jmeson\j (or muon), as it is now called, remained unclear. The true \Jpi\j-\Jmeson\j was first found by Powell in 1947. Positrons are inherently stable, but as they are \Jantiparticles\j of electrons the two annihilate each other. Mesons are intrinsically unstable and decay rapidly.
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"Anderson, Clive (Stuart)",1359,0,0,0
DT1 1953
EN Television presenter and \Jbarrister\j, born in London, England, UK. He studied law at Cambridge, where he was president of Footlights, and was called to the bar in 1976. He wrote scripts for radio and \Jtelevision\j, began acting as a TV warm-up man, and joined BBC Radio 4 as chairman of the popular \IWhose Line Is It Anyway?\i (1988).
The show later transferred to Channel 4 Television, where he was also given his own chat-show \IClive Anderson Talks Back\i (from 1989). Later work includes the BBC documentary series, \IOur Man In ...\i (1995-- ), which he also wrote, and he is presenter of \IClive Anderson All Talk\i (1996-- ), and \IHypotheticals\i (1997-- ).
\BMajor Works\b
1998 BBC2 If I Ruled the World
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"Anderson, Dame Judith",1360,0,0,0
DT (1898-1992)
EN actress; born in Adelaide, \JAustralia\j. She made her stage debut in Sydney, \JAustralia\j, in 1915 and launched her American career three years later. Her long association with Broadway began in 1922. Notable for her portrayals of powerful women, her interpretations of Lady Macbeth and of Robinson Jeffers's Medea helped her earn the sobriquet of "First Lady of the American theater." Her credits include 29 motion pictures and many \Jtelevision\j series, among them \ISanta Barbara\i (1984-87).
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"Anderson, Edgar S. (Shannon)",1361,0,0,0
DT (1897-1969)
EN botanist, geneticist; born in Forestville, N.Y. He was a research assistant at Harvard (1920-22), then became a geneticist at the Missouri Botanical Garden (MBG) (1922-30) and a professor at Washington University, St. Louis (1922-31). He then joined Harvard's Arnold \JArboretum\j and lectured at Harvard (1931-35) before returning to Washington University (1935-69) and the MBG (1952-69).
He made major contributions to studies of the \Jcytology\j, crossbreeding, \Jevolution\j, and classification of flowering plants, especially \Jmaize\j, American irises, and \Jtobacco\j. He coined the term "introgressive hybridization" (1938) to describe the gradual introduction of genetic material of one species into another due to repeated backcrossing.
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"Anderson, Elizabeth Garrett",1362,0,0,0
DT (1836-1917)
EN British physician; pioneered the acceptance of women into British medical schools.
Elizabeth Garrett was born in London, where her father had a pawnbroker's shop. He later built an expanding business malting grain at Snape in Suffolk. Educated by a governess at home, followed by boarding school in London, she settled to the duties of daughter at home, helping to run the large household. She joined the Society for Promoting the Employment of Women, whose aim was to improve the status of women through education and employment.
Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to graduate in medicine in America (1849) gave a lecture on 'Young Women Desirous of Studying Medicine', which impressed Elizabeth Garrett and her friend Emily Davies (1830-1921) who decided that Elizabeth should work to open the medical profession in England to women and that Emily Davies would pursue higher education for women (she founded Girton College, Cambridge). As she was the youngest, Elizabeth's sister Millicent (Fawcett) was to work for the vote for women.
After graduation in New York Elizabeth Blackwell was inscribed on the British Medical Register. The Medical Council decided in future to exclude all holders of foreign degrees. To practise medicine in Britain Elizabeth Garrett had to gain admission to a British medical school.
With the financial support of her father she became an unofficial medical student at the Middlesex \JHospital\j in 1860. Although she had the approval of the Dean, students and staff objected and she had to leave. No medical school or university in \JGreat Britain\j would admit a woman, so she applied to the Society of Apothecaries, which provided a minimum qualification in medicine.
After taking counsel's opinion, the Society was unable to refuse her application because of the wording of its Charter, an opening closed soon after her success. She attended a course by T H Huxley on natural history and \Jphysiology\j and John Tyndall's course on physics at the Royal Institution, at their invitation.
Only private tuition for the Apothecaries' medical course was open to her and she found tutors at the medical schools at St Andrews, Edinburgh and London. She passed the Apothecaries' Hall examination in 1865, becoming the first woman to complete a recognized course of medical training with legal qualifications in Britain.
As a woman Elizabeth Garrett was barred from any \Jhospital\j appointment and was unacceptable as an assistant in general practice. She was dependent on an allowance from her father for some time. She became a consultant physician to women and children from her home in London.
Although willing to attend male patients she feared that to do so might create a scandal. In 1865, just before a \Jcholera\j epidemic reached London, she opened the St Mary's Dispensary for Women and Children in a poor area of London and became visiting medical officer to a children's \Jhospital\j in East London.
The \JSorbonne\j in Paris admitted women in 1868 and in 1870 Elizabeth Garrett became the first woman MD from that university. In 1871 she married James Skelton Anderson (died 1907) and combined family life with her work. The London School of Medicine for Women, which was initiated by Sophia Jex-Blake, opened in 1874 and Elizabeth Garrett Anderson served on the Executive Committee, taught in the school and worked for the students to be admitted to the University of London's examinations.
In 1883 she was elected Dean, the same year that Mary Scharlieb and Edith Shove became the first women to gain medical degrees from London University. The School became a college of the University of London. From 1886 Elizabeth Garrett Anderson was concerned with the New \JHospital\j for Women which served as the teaching \Jhospital\j for the London School of Medicine for Women.
In 1908 she was elected mayor of Aldeburgh, the first woman mayor in England. It was due to the efforts of Elizabeth Garrett Anderson that medical education and medical science was opened to women in Britain.
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"Anderson, Gerry",1363,0,0,0
DT1 1929
EN British creator of puppet-character programmes for \Jtelevision\j. He entered the British film industry as a trainee with the Colonial Film Unit, later directing several \Jtelevision\j series. He enjoyed great success with adventure series that combined a range of popular puppet characters with technologically advanced hardware and special effects.
Among the best known are \IFireball XL--5\i (1961), \IThunderbirds\i (1964--6), \ICaptain Scarlett and the Mysterons\i (1967), and \ITerrahawks\i (1983--4). He also branched out into live action shows with human actors, such as \IThe Protectors\i (1971), \ISpace 1999\i (1973--6), and \ISpace Precinct\i (1993--5).
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"Anderson, Gillian",1364,0,0,0
DT1 1968
EN Actor, born in \JChicago\j, Illinois, USA. Brought up in London, her family returned to the USA, where she became involved in community theatre, and studied at DePaul University. She then found theatre parts in New York City, eventually moving to Los Angeles, where she was offered the part of Dana Scully in the new series \IThe X-Files\i (1993-- , Golden Globe, Emmy), which has since become a \Jcult\j classic. She now lives in Vancouver.
\BMajor Works\b
\ITelevision\i
1993- The X-Files
\IFilms\i
1992 The Turning
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"Anderson, J(ohn) H(enry)",1365,0,0,0
DT 1814-74
EN Scottish conjuror, known as the Great Wizard of the North. His genius for publicity brought him years of success in the provinces and in London, and in 1845 he opened his 5,000-seat City Theatre in Glasgow, where for five months he produced minstrel shows, operas and variety as a setting for his demonstrations of magic and \Jsecond sight\j. Anderson originated the pulling of rabbits from top hats and of a live goose from 'The Magic Scrapbook' (Queen Victoria's favourite trick). When his theatre and apparatus burned down, he resumed touring in Europe, the USA and \JAustralia\j.
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"Anderson, John (1726-96) (Scientist)",1366,0,0,0
DT1 1726
DT2 96
EN Scientist, born in Roseneath, Argyll and Bute, W Scotland, UK. He studied at Glasgow, where he became professor of oriental languages, and then of natural philosophy. He also established a bi-weekly class for mechanics, and at his death left all he had to found Anderson's College in Glasgow.
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"Anderson, John (1893-1962) (Philospher)",1367,0,0,0
DT1 1893
DT2 1962
EN Philosopher, born in Scotland, UK. He was professor of philosophy at Sydney from 1927, and can be regarded as the founder and main exponent of an Australian school of philosophy, espousing a distinctive blend of realism, empiricism, and \Jmaterialism\j.
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"Anderson, Joseph R. (Reid)",1368,0,0,0
DT (1813-92)
EN industrialist; born in Botetourt County, Va. An 1836 West Point graduate, he spent five years as an army engineer before joining the Tredegar Iron Company in Richmond, Va. In 1848 he bought the company and turned it into one of the best iron works in the country. As a supporter of the Confederacy, he supplied Southern forces with ordnance and he himself fought in the \JCivil War\j until wounded (1861-63).
He returned to Tredegar where his expert management kept the works running throughout the war, as both the Confederacy's sole supplier of heavy ordnance and the prime supplier of everything from plates for iron-clad ships to railroad trains. Confiscated by the Union in 1865, the company was returned to him in 1867.
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"Anderson, Lindsay (Gordon)",1369,0,0,0
DT 1923-94
EN British director. Having begun his career by making documentary films, he became a forceful member of George Devine's team at the Royal Court. There he directed Willis Hall's The Long and the Short and the Tall (1959) and John Arden's Serjeant Musgrave's Dance (1959); and later the plays of David Storey, which began with In Celebration (1969) and continued through several lovingly detailed studies of contemporary life - The Contractor (1969), Home (1970), The Changing Room (1971), The Farm (1973) and Life Class (1974).
He also worked at the National Theatre and on Broadway, and made a powerful screen impact with the film If (1968), about British public school life and \Jaberrations\j. The success of the latter led to a new career in films and \Jtelevision\j, to which he brought his left-leaning, half-satirical \Jnaturalism\j.
In his later years he worked less in the theatre, although his partnership with Storey continued at the National Theatre with Early Days (1980), The March on \JRussia\j (1989) and Stages (1992). In 1987 he directed a revival of Philip Barry's 1928 American comedy Holiday at the Old Vic.
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"Anderson, Marian",1370,0,0,0
DT (1902-93)
EN contralto; born in Philadelphia. Anderson grew up singing in a church choir, and at age 19 she began formal study. In 1925 she won a major vocal competition in New York City that gained her a career as a recitalist, but was always constricted by the limitations placed on African-American artists.
In the 1930s she traveled across Europe and America, finding acclaim as perhaps the greatest living contralto. Her most electrifying moment came in 1939, when she was refused permission to sing in Washington's Constitution Hall because of her race; instead, she sang at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday, for an audience of 75,000.
In 1955 she became the first African-American singer to appear at the Metropolitan Opera. Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1963, Anderson spent the next two years in a worldwide farewell tour.
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"Anderson, Mary (1859-1940) (American actress)",1371,0,0,0
DT 1859-1940
EN American actress. Her major assets were her classical physical beauty and a rich, expressive voice. She made her New York debut in 1877. W. S. Gilbert wrote a short play, Comedy and Tragedy, for her. Americans proudly called her 'Our Mary', though in 1890 she settled in England. During her 14- year career on both sides of the Atlantic she played 18 leading roles.
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"Anderson, Mary (1872-1964) (Labor leader)",1372,0,0,0
DT (1872-1964)
EN labor leader; born in Lidkoping, Sweden. Emigrating to the U.S.A. at age 16, she became active in union work, becoming an officer of the International Boot and Shoe Workers' Union in \JChicago\j. She was also active in the Women's Trade Union League and worked to obtain equal pay to women for equal work. She was the first director of the Women's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Labor (1920-44).
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"Anderson, Maxwell",1373,0,0,0
DT (1888-1959)
EN playwright; born in Atlantic, Pa. After taking an M.A. at Stanford, he served as an editor with the \INew Republic\i (1918-24) before achieving his first success, collaborating with Lawrence Stallings on a realistic war drama, \IWhat Price Glory?\i (1924). Thereafter he alternated between romantic blank-verse such as \IElizabeth the Queen\i (1930) and \IWinterset\i (1935) and more realistic dramas such as \IKey Largo\i (1939) and \IThe Bad Seed\i (1954).
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"Anderson, Philip W(arren)",1374,0,0,0
DT1 1923
DT2 94
EN British stage and film director, born in \JBangalore\j, India. He studied at Oxford, made short documentary films during the 1950s, and won an Oscar for \IThursday's Children\i (1955). He was a leading proponent of the Free Cinema critical movement, with its focus on working-class themes. He joined the English Stage Company at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 1957.
His first feature film was \IThis Sporting Life\i (1963), followed by \IIf....\i (1968), \IO Lucky Man!\i (1973), \IBritannia Hospital\i (1982), and \IThe Whales of August\i (1987). He also acted cameo parts on film.
\BMajor Works\b
\IFilms\i
1955 (with Guy Brenton) Thursday's Children
1963 This Sporting Life
1968 If...
1973 O Lucky Man
1974 In Celebration
1982 Britannia Hospital
1985 If You Were There...
1987 The Whales of August
1989 Glory! Glory!
\ITheatre\i
1957 The Waiting of Lester Abbs
1959 The Long and the Short and the Tall
1959 Serjeant Musgrave's Dance
1960 The Lily White Boys
1960 Billy Liar
1961 The Fire-Raisers
1963 The Diary of a Madman
1964 Julius Caesar
1966 The Cherry Orchard
1969 Celebration
1969 The Contractor
1970 Home
1971 The Changing Room
1973 The Farm
1974 Life Class
1975 The Sea Gull
1975 The Bed Before Yesterday
1980 Early Days
1981 Hamlet
1984 The Playboy of the Western World
1987 The Whales of August
1989 The March on Russia
1990 Jubilee
1992 Stages
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"Anderson, Robert",1375,0,0,0
DT (1805-71)
EN soldier; born near \JLouisville\j, Ky. A West Point graduate (1825) he served in the Mexican War. As an artillery officer, he commanded the Federal garrison at Fort Sumter, S.C., surrendering there on April 13, 1861, after a 34-hour bombardment that signaled the opening of the \JCivil War\j. He spent most of the rest of the war keeping Kentucky in the Union until disabilities forced his retirement in 1863. In April 1865 he returned to Fort Sumter for the raising of the original flag.
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"Anderson, Robert W(oodruff)",1376,0,0,0
DT 1917-
EN American playwright. He came to prominence by winning the National Theatre Conference Prize with Come Marching Home (1945). Tea and Sympathy (1953), a sensitive study of a young man's growth from innocence into experience, is still considered his outstanding work. Other plays produced by the Playwrights' Company were All Summer Long (1953) and Silent Night, Lonely Night (1959). The Days Between (1965) helped inaugurate the American Playwrights' Theatre. He also wrote one-act plays.
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"Anderson, Sherwood",1377,0,0,0
DT (1876-1941)
EN writer; born in Camden, Ohio. He was raised in the small town of Clyde, Ohio. After age 14 his schooling was erratic; after a succession of jobs he moved to \JChicago\j. He served in the Spanish-American War (1898-99), then attended an academy in Springfield, Ohio. In 1900 he began working as a copywriter and he established his own mail-order company in Cleveland (1906).
From his early years he despised business ethics and resented his dependence on business earnings, and in 1912, suffering from an amnesic nervous breakdown, he walked out on his family and his job managing a paint factory. After his recovery he resumed his \JChicago\j advertising work (1913-22). After publishing two novels (1916, 1917) with the help of Theodore Dreiser and Carl Sandburg, he wrote \IWinesburg, Ohio\i (1919), the collection of stories that is considered his masterpiece.
Subsequent works included his finest novel, \IPoor White\i (1920); another collection of stories, \IThe Triumph of the Egg\i (1921); and the novels \IMany Marriages\i (1923) and \IDark Laughter\i (1925). He won the first \IDial\i literary award (1921). Private patronage after 1922 enabled him to move to a farm in Marion, Va., where he bought and edited two local newspapers (1927-29).
Although his standing among his fellow writers remained high, the literary quality of his work declined greatly. Much of his late work, both journalistic and fictional, concerned Southern industrial conditions; roving reportage on the Depression was collected in \IPuzzled America\i (1935).
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"Anderson, Sir John",1378,0,0,0
EN See Waverley, John Anderson, 1st Viscount
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#
"Anderson, Sir Kenneth (Arthur Noel)",1379,0,0,0
DT1 1891
DT2 1959
EN British soldier, born in India. He trained at Sandhurst, and was commissioned into the Seaforth Highlanders. In World War 1 he served in \JFrance\j (1914-16), then fought under Allenby in Palestine (1917-18). In World War 2 he fought at \JDunkirk\j (1940), and was commander of the 1st British Army in North Africa (1942-3), capturing \JTunis\j (1943). He later became Governor-General of \JGibraltar\j (1947-52).
MEX Allenby
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"Anderson, Thomas",1380,0,0,0
DT1 1819
DT2 74
EN Organic chemist, born in Scotland, UK. He studied at Edinburgh and Stockholm, became professor of chemistry at Glasgow, and is remembered for his discovery of \Jpyridine\j.
SX m
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#
"Anderson, Willa",1381,0,0,0
EN See Muir, Edwin
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#
"Andersson, Bibi",1382,0,0,0
DT1 1935
EN Actress, born in Stockholm, Sweden. She began her career in 1949 as a film extra, and is best known for her roles in many Ingmar Bergman films, such as \IThe Seventh Seal\i (1956) and \IPersona\i (1966). As a theatre actress she has been attached to both the Malm÷ Municipal Theatre and the Royal Dramatic Theatre, Stockholm.
Her later stage successes have been at Dramaten, where she also began directing in the early 1990s. She has been the recipient of many awards, including the British \JAcademy Award\j for Best Foreign Actress (1971) for her part in \IThe Touch\i.
Major Works
Films
1956 The Seventh Seal
1966 Persona
1971 The Touch
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#
"Andersson, Dan(iel)",1383,0,0,0
DT1 1888
DT2 1920
EN Poet and novelist, born in Skattl÷sbergett, Sweden. One of Sweden's foremost writers of his time, he treated religious and metaphysical themes in his novels, such as the autobiographical \IDe Tre Heml÷sa\i (1918, Three Homeless Ones). His poems about traditional charcoal-burners in \IKolarhistorier\i (1914) and \IKolvakterens Visor\i (1915) turned them into national folk-figures.
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#
"Andersson, Johan Gunnar",1384,0,0,0
DT1 1874
DT2 1960
EN Archaeologist, born in Knista, Sweden. Trained as a geologist, he went to China in 1914 as technical adviser to the government, but became fascinated by \Jfossil\j remains. He was the first to identify prehistoric pottery in China, at Yang-shao-ts'un, Hunan, in 1921. He also initiated excavations in the \Jlimestone\j caves at Chou-k'ou-tien near Peking (1921-6), finding important fossils of \IHomo erectus\i (Peking Man).
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"Anderton, Sir (Cyril) James",1385,0,0,0
DT1 1932
EN British police officer. Educated in Manchester, NW England, UK, he joined the local police force in 1953, becoming chief inspector in 1967, and chief constable of the Greater Manchester Police Force (1976--91). He was known for his outspoken and sometimes controversial opinions. He was knighted in 1991.
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#
"Andes",1386,0,0,0
PN [\Ban\bdeez]
EN Major mountain range in \JSouth America\j, running parallel to the Pacific coast from Tierra del Fuego (south) to the Caribbean (north), passing through Argentina, \JChile\j, \JBolivia\j, \JPeru\j, \JEcuador\j, \JColombia\j, and Venezuela; extends over 6400┐km / 4000┐mi; rises to 6960┐m / 22┐834┐ft in the Cerro Aconcagua (Argentina), the highest point in \JSouth America\j; in N Argentina, \JBolivia\j, \JPeru\j, and \JColombia\j, there are several parallel ranges \I(cordilleras)\i and high plateaux; highest peaks are in the Cordillera Agostini on the Chile-Argentina border, with many lakes and tourist resorts; Puna de Atacama to the N, a desolate plateau, average height 3350-3900┐m / 11┐000-12┐800┐ft; C \JAndes\j in \JBolivia\j covers two-fifths of the country in an elevated plateau \I(\Jaltiplano\j)\i of 3000-3600┐m / 9800-11┐800┐ft, enclosing Lake Poop≤ and Lake Titicaca; Bolivian \JAndes\j split into E and W ranges (Cordillera Oriental / Occidental); system divides into many separate ranges in \JPeru\j; narrows in \JEcuador\j, and includes such active volcanoes as \JChimborazo\j (6310┐m / 20┐702┐ft) and Cotopaxi (5896┐m / 19┐344┐ft); three main ranges in \JColombia\j (Cordillera Occidental / Central / Oriental); system continues north-east into Venezuela as the Sierra Nevada de MΘrida; connects via E Panama to the C American ranges.
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"andesite",1387,0,0,0
PN [\Ban\bdeziyt]
EN Fine-grained volcanic rock of intermediate composition containing plagioclase feldspar with biotite, \Jhornblende\j, or pyroxene; chemically equivalent to \Jdiorite\j. Andesites are formed at the continental edge of subduction zones, forming new continental crust, as in the \JAndes\j Mts, \JSouth America\j.
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"Andhra Pradesh",1388,0,0,0
PN [andra pra\Bdaysh\b]
EN pop (1995e) 71 824 000; area 276 814 sq km/106 850 sq mi. State in S India, bounded E by the Bay of Bengal; capital, Hyderabad; made a separate state based on \JTelugu\j-speaking area of Madras, 1953; unicameral Legislative Assembly with 295 seats; sugar cane, groundnuts, cotton, rice, \Jtobacco\j; textiles, sugar milling, chemicals, cement, \Jfertilizer\j, paper, carpets, \Jnatural gas\j, oil refining, shipbuilding, \Jforestry\j.
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"Andorra",1389,0,0,0
PN [an\Bdo\bra]
EN A small, independent, neutral state on the S slopes of the C \JPyrenees\j between \JFrance\j and \JSpain\j, divided into seven parishes; pop (1995e) 67 900 area 453 sq km/175 sq mi; timezone GMT +1; capital, \JAndorra\j la Vella; language, \JCatalan\j, also French and Spanish; currency, French francs and Spanish pesetas; a mountainous country, reaching 2946 m/9665 ft at Coma Pedrosa, occupying two valleys (del Norte and del Orient) of the R Valira; cold, dry, sunny winters, lowest average monthly rainfall (34 mm/1.34 in) in Jan; one of the oldest states in Europe, under the joint protection of \JFrance\j and \JSpain\j since 1278; Co-Princes of the Principality are the President of \JFrance\j and the Bishop of Urgel; independence, 1993; the General Council of the Valleys appoints the head of the government, who appoints four councillors elected from the parishes; hydroelectric power on the R Valira; no restriction on currency exchange, and no direct or value-added taxes; commerce, \Jtobacco\j, potatoes, construction, \Jforestry\j; in recent years, textiles, publishing, leather, mineral \Jwater\j, furniture; tourism; \Jskiing\j at five mountain resorts; airports at La Seu-\JAndorra\j and at La Seo de Urgel in \JSpain\j.
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"Andorra la Vella",1390,0,0,0
PN [an\Bdo\bra la \Bvel\bya]
EN 42░30N 1░30E, pop (1995e) 25 500. One of the seven parishes of the Principality of \JAndorra\j, with a capital town of the same name; on the E side of the Pic d'Enclar (2317 m/7602 ft), 613 km/381 mi NE of Madrid; altitude 1029 m/3376 ft; airports.
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"Andrade, Jorge",1391,0,0,0
DT 1922-84
EN Brazilian playwright. His plays divide into the 'rural' cycle - O telesc≤pio (The \JTelescope\j, (1954), A morat≤ria (The Moratorium, 1955), Pedreira das almas (Stone Quarry of Souls, 1956) and Vereda da salvacπo (Path to Salvation, 1964) - and the 'urban' plays, of which the best-known is Os ossos do Barπo (The Baron's Bones, 1963).
Born into a traditional rural aristocratic family, Andrade specialized in showing the \Jdecadence\j of \JSπo Paulo\j society. Marta, a arvore e o rel≤gio (Martha, the Tree and the Clock, 1970) climaxed his varied production. Rasto atrßs (Step Backwards), his last major play, is an autobiographical projection of a father-son relationship in a context of class \Jdecadence\j.
BK Thea
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"Andrßssy, Gyula, Gr≤f (Count)",1392,0,0,0
PN [\Bon\bdrahshee]
DT1 1823
DT2 90
EN Statesman and prime minister (1867-71), born in Kassa, \JHungary\j (now \JKosice\j, Slovak Republic). A supporter of Kossuth, he was prominent in the struggle for independence (1848-9), after which he remained in exile until 1858. When the Dual Monarchy was formed in 1867, he was made prime minister of \JHungary\j (1871-9).
MEX Kossuth
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"Andre, Carl",1393,0,0,0
PN [\Bon\bdray]
DT1 1935
EN Sculptor, born in \JMassachusetts\j, USA. Best known for his minimalist sculptures of the 1960s, such as "Equivalents', his initial experiments with wood-cutting were inspired by Constantine Brancusi. A job on the \JPennsylvania\j Railroad in the 1960s led to experimentation with mass-produced materials. An interest in \Jmathematics\j and the philosopher \JLaozi\j are evident in his work.
\BMajor Works\b
1960 Equivalents
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"AndrΘ, John",1394,0,0,0
PN [on\Bdray\b]
DT1 1751
DT2 80
EN British soldier, born in London, England, UK of French-Swiss descent. In 1774 he joined the army in Canada, and became aide-de-camp to Sir Henry Clinton, and adjutant-general. When Benedict Arnold obtained the command of West Point in 1780, AndrΘ was selected to negotiate with him for its betrayal. While returning to New York he was captured and handed over to the US military authorities. He was tried as a spy, and hanged.
MEX Arnold, Benedict; Clinton, Henry
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#
"Andrea da Firenza",1395,0,0,0
PN [an\Bdray\ba da fi\Brent\bsa]
HS , originally \BAndrea Bonaiuti\b
DT1a fl.c.
DT1 1343
DT2 77
EN Florentine painter. His most famous work is the monumental \Jfresco\j cycle in the Spanish Chapel of the Dominican Church of S Maria \JNovella\j in Florence, painted c.1366-8. His only other documented work is the 'Life of S Ranieri', frescoes in the Campo Santo in Pisa, completed in 1377.
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#
"Andrea del Sarto",1396,0,0,0
EN See Sarto, Andrea del
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#
"AndreΣ, Johann Valentin",1397,0,0,0
PN [\Ban\bdraye]
DT1 1586
DT2 1654
EN Theologian, born near Tⁿbingen, \JGermany\j. Long regarded as the founder or restorer of the Rosicrucians, he wrote \IChymische Hochzeit Christiani Rosenkreuz\i (1616).
SX m
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#
"andrecium",1398,0,0,0
PN [an\Bdree\bsiuhm]
EN See flower; stamen
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#
"Andreev, Leonid (Nikolaevich)",1399,0,0,0
DT 1871-1919
EN Russian prose writer, playwright and journalist. Prolific and controversial, he rivalled Chekhov and \JGorky\j in popularity and importance during the pre- revolutionary period (c.1905-17). Andreev is an extreme example of the soul sickness, spiritual confusion and sense of isolation suffered by the Russian artistic intelligentsia of this era.
His macabre short stories, like his metaphysical dramas, contemplate man's folly, vanity and brutality and life's horror and falsity, and feature madness, death and all manner of sexual and spiritual perversion. His most representative 'cosmic' dramas include The Life of Man (1906), Tsar Hunger (1907), Black Masks (1908), Anathema (1909) and his international classic, He Who Gets Slapped (1915).
The Life of Man, which utilizes puppet-like characters and stylized speech and action, was produced by both Meyerhold and \JStanislavsky\j in 1907. Andreev's sombreness was parodied in his time. His eventual repudiation of the revolutionary cause made his plays unpopular in the Soviet period.
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"Andreini family",1400,0,0,0
EN Italian actors, originally from Tuscany. The family's founder Francesco Dal Gallo (1548-1624) took the name Andreini when he entered a commedia dell'arte troupe. He perfected the type of the braggart soldier and headed the Gelosi company on its pioneering visit to Paris in 1603-4.
His wife Isabella (1562-1604) played Innamorata with the Gelosi and was the most famous actress of her time. Their eldest son Giovan Battista or Giambattista (1576 or 1579-1654) played Innamorato under the name Lelio. With Tristano Martinelli he founded the Fedeli troupe, which toured \JItaly\j (1613-14) and went to Paris, where he became a favourite of \JLouis XIII\j. He was a prolific writer of tragicomedies, comedies, mystery plays and pastorals. His wife Virginia (1583-1638) performed under the name Florinda.
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"Andress, Ursula",1401,0,0,0
DT1 1936
EN Film actress, born in \JBern\j, \JSwitzerland\j. She made her international debut in \IDr No\i (1963), her later films including \IWhat's New, Pussycat?\i (1965), \ICasino Royale\i (1967), and \IThe Clash of the Titans\i (1981).
\BMajor Works\b
1963 Dr No
1965 She
1965 What's New, Pussycat?
1967 Casino Royale
1971 Red Sun
1981 The Clash of the Titans
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"Andretti, Mario (Gabriele)",1402,0,0,0
PN [an\Bdre\btee]
DT1 1940
EN Motor-racing driver, born in Montona, \JItaly\j. After moving to the USA in 1955, he became a US citizen in 1959. He started out in midget car racing, then progressed to the US Automobile Club circuit, in which he was champion three times.
In a Formula One career stretching from 1968 to 1982, he competed in 128 Grand Prix, winning 16. His most successful year was 1978, when he won the racing drivers' world championship. He was also twice winner, in 1969 and 1981, of the \JIndianapolis\j 500.
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"Andrew (Albert Christian Edward), Duke of York",1403,0,0,0
DT1 1960
EN British prince, the second son of Queen Elizabeth II. He studied at Gordonstoun School, Moray, north-east Scotland, UK, and Lakefield College, \JOntario\j, south-east Canada, then trained at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, where he was commissioned as a \Jhelicopter\j pilot.
He saw service in the Falklands War (1982). In 1986 he married \BSarah (Margaret) Ferguson\b (1959-) , and was made Duke of York. They have two children, \BPrincess Beatrice Elizabeth Mary\b (1988-) and \BPrincess Eugenie Victoria Helena\b (1990-) . The couple separated in 1992, and divorced in 1996.
MEX Elizabeth II
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"Andrew's Beaked Whale",1404,0,0,0
EN \B\BFamily:\b Ziphiidae\b \I(beaked whales)\i\b
\BScientific Name: \IMesoplodon bowdoini\i\b
\BIdentification:\b
Length at birth presumed to be about 6.5 ft (2 m), adults approximately 14 ft (4.3 m); maximum length of males 15 ft (4.57 m), females 15 ft (4.67 m).
Color of stranded specimens is dark blue-black head and body, anterior part of beak white from the tip to the position of the teeth. Body often has many long scars. Dorsal fin small and triangular, slightly more than half way from the rostrum to the flukes. Short, thick beak, with one massive tooth on either side of the lower jaw, about mid-length of the beak in males. Teeth do not erupt in females. Only the tips (denticles) of the teeth are visible, the remainder obscured by the lower lips which form an arch dorsally. Melon not prominent.
\BDistribution\b
Majority of records are strandings from temperate waters of South Pacific and Indian Oceans, in \JNew Zealand\j, \JAustralia\j and subantarctic Macquarie and Campbell Islands. Majority might live in deep water, far from land.
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#
"Andrew, Agnellus (Matthew)",1405,0,0,0
DT1 1908
DT2 87
EN Roman Catholic bishop and broadcaster, born near Glasgow, W Scotland, UK. Ordained in 1932, he became assistant to the head of religious broadcasting at the BBC (1955-67), and adviser to the Independent Broadcasting Authority (1968-75).
Meanwhile he became known as a TV commentator for many papal and national events, and was founder and director of the National Catholic Radio and TV Centre at Hatch End, Greater London (1955-80). Having been made titular Bishop of Numana, he became from 1980 external head of the Vatican commission for communication.
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"Andrew, John Albion",1406,0,0,0
DT (1818-67)
EN governor; born in Windham, Maine. He attended Bowdoin College where he was known for his strong antislavery views. A \JBoston\j lawyer, he helped to organize the Free Soil Party (1848), became a leader of the new Republican Party, and raised money for John Brown's defense (1859).
As governor of \JMassachusetts\j (1860-66), he worked indefatigably to raise and equip regiments for the Union cause. Most notably, he successfully worked for the creation of the first regiment (the 54th) of African-Americans in the Union army.
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"Andrew, St",1407,0,0,0
DT1a d.
DT1 60
EN One of the 12 apostles, the brother of Simon Peter. A fisherman, he was converted by John the Baptist. Tradition says he preached the Gospel in \JAsia Minor\j and Scythia, and was crucified in Achaia (\JGreece\j) by order of the Roman governor. He is the patron saint of Scotland and of \JRussia\j. Feast \Jday\j 30 November.
MEX John the Baptist, St; Peter, St
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#
"Andrewes, Lancelot",1408,0,0,0
DT1 1555
DT2 1626
EN Anglican clergyman and scholar, born in Barking, Essex, south-east England, UK. He studied at Cambridge, took orders in 1580, and rose to become Dean of Westminster in 1601. He attended the \JHampton Court\j Conference, and took part in the translation of the Authorized Version of the \JBible\j (1607).
In 1605 he was consecrated Bishop of Chichester; in 1609 he was translated to Ely, and in 1618 to Winchester. A powerful preacher and defender of Anglican doctrines, he is considered one of the most learned theologians of his time.
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"Andrews Sisters, The",1409,0,0,0
EN popular musical group consisting of (1915-67); Maxine (1918-) ; and (Patricia) Patti (1920-) LaVerne (or Maxene) all born in \JMinneapolis\j, Minn. Of Norwegian-Greek parentage, they formed a harmony trio in 1932, won some local amateur contests, and gained national attention with their recording of "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen" (1937).
They performed on radio with the Glenn Miller Orchestra in the 1930s and 1940s and had another big hit with "Boogie Woogie \JBugle\j Boy" (1940). They appeared as themselves in numerous movies including \IBuck Privates\i (1941), \ISwingtime Johnny\i (1943), and \IHollywood Canteen\i (1944).
After a brief retirement in the mid-1950s, they performed in nightclubs until Laverne's death (1967). Maxine and Patti returned in the early 1970s (with a stand-in for their sister) in a musical, \IOver Here,\i designed to evoke their earlier appeal.
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"Andrews, (Elisha) Benjamin",1410,0,0,0
DT (1844-1917)
EN college president; born in Hinsdale, N.H. A popular teacher of history and political economy, he became president of Brown University (1889-98), where he expanded enrollments and established a new Women's College. As chancellor of the University of \JNebraska\j (1900-08) he added new departments and schools.
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"Andrews, Bert",1411,0,0,0
DT (1901-53)
EN journalist; born in \JColorado\j Springs, Colo. As Washington reporter and bureau chief for the \INew York Herald Tribune\i in the 1940s and early 1950s, he scored many scoops and won a 1947 Pulitzer Prize for articles on government loyalty investigations; he also helped uncover evidence that led to the \Jperjury\j conviction of Alger Hiss.
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"Andrews, Eamon",1412,0,0,0
DT1 1922
DT2 87
EN Broadcaster, born in Dublin, Ireland. He began sports commentating for Radio Eireann in 1939 and subsequently worked on various programmes for BBC Radio, including \ISports Report\i (1950-62). On \Jtelevision\j he hosted the parlour game \IWhat's My Line?\i (1951-63) and \IThis is Your Life\i (1955-87). Active as a chat show host and children's programmes presenter, as well as being a keen businessman, he later returned to \IWhat's My Line?\i (1984-7).
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"Andrews, Frank M(axwell)",1413,0,0,0
DT (1884-1943)
EN soldier, aviator; born in Nashville, Tenn. The son of a newspaperman, he graduated from West Point in 1906 and served in the \Javiation\j section of the Signal Corps during World War I. As the first commander of the army's General Headquarters Air Force (1935-39), Andrews helped develop the B-17 bomber (which would be a key weapon of World War II), and became a prominent advocate of air power as an offensive weapon.
Rugged in looks, and firm but softspoken, he campaigned to establish the Air Corps as an independent service. Andrews held senior commands in the Caribbean and the \JMiddle East\j (1941-43) before succeeding Eisenhower (who had become supreme Allied commander in North Africa) as the head of U.S. forces in Europe (1943). He was killed in an air crash in \JIceland\j on May 3, 1943. Andrews Air Force Base near Washington, D.C., is named after him.
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"Andrews, John Bertram",1414,0,0,0
DT (1880-1943)
EN labor expert, social reformer, economist; born in South Wayne, Wis. After earning a Ph.D. in history and economics at the University of \JWisconsin\j under labor historian John R. Commons (1908), he became the executive secretary of a new organization he had helped to found, the American Association for Labor Legislation - a promoter of progressive labor legislation.
To support its work he would also found and edit the \IAmerican Labor Legislation Review\i (1911-43). A pioneer in the industrial-hygiene and safety movement in the U.S.A., he wrote a report (1908) that led to federal legislation prohibiting the use of poisonous white phosphorous in matches (1912).
His most significant work was on behalf of health and unemployment insurance for working people; he appointed a commission to investigate the feasibility of such insurance (1912); the commission recommended (1915) a compulsory mutual insurance plan modeled on programs operating in Britain and \JGermany\j, but this was attacked from all sides - unions as well as insurance companies.
He continued to speak out for progressive approaches to issues of employment in the U.S.A., but, accepting that Americans were not willing to go along with this kind of compulsory insurance, he helped develop voluntaristic models; elements of his plan for unemployment insurance were incorporated into the Social Security Act of 1935.
In addition to his overt advocacy of his ideas on social reform, he collaborated with his old professor John Commons on several academic texts such as \IPrinciples of Labor Legislation\i (1916), and he taught labor law and other social issue courses at Columbia University.
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"Andrews, Julie",1415,0,0,0
DT1 1935
EN Singer and actress, born in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, SE England, UK. Radio and stage successes led to her selection for the New York City production of \IThe Boyfriend\i (1954), and several long-running Broadway musicals, notably \IMy Fair Lady\i (1956) and \ICamelot\i (1960).
With her film debut in \IMary Poppins\i (1964) she won an Oscar, and this was followed by a further nomination for \IThe Sound of Music\i (1965). Voted the world's most popular star, she broadened her range in \IS.O.B.\i (1981), \IVictor/Victoria\i (1982), \IDuet for One\i (1987), and \IA Fine Romance\i (1992). Since 1970 she has appeared almost exclusively in films directed by her second husband, Blake Edwards (1922-- ).
\BMajor Works\b
\IFilms\i
1964 Mary Poppins
1964 The Americanization of Emily
1965 The Sound of Music
1966 Hawaii
1967 Thoroughly Modern Millie
1968 Star!
1981 S.O.B
1982 Victor/Victoria
1987 Duet for One
1990 Chin-Chin
1992 A Fine Romance
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"Andrews, LaVerne",1416,0,0,0
EN See Andrews Sisters, The
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#
"Andrews, Maxine",1417,0,0,0
EN See Andrews Sisters, The
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#
"Andrews, Patti",1418,0,0,0
EN See Andrews Sisters, The
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#
"Andrews, Roy Chapman",1419,0,0,0
DT (1884-1960)
EN US naturalist and palaeontologist.
Andrews's career was mostly spent with the American Museum of Natural History, New York, and with its expeditions (especially to Asia) to collect specimens. His more dramatic finds included the \Jfossil\j remains of the largest land \Jmammal\j yet found, Paraceratherium, a relative of the rhino which stood 5.5 m high; and the first \Jfossil\j \Jdinosaur\j eggs. He had a special interest in whales and other cetaceans (aquatic mammals) and built up a fine collection of them; and he found evidence of very early human life in central Asia.
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#
"Andrews, Stephen (Pearl)",1420,0,0,0
DT (1812-1886)
EN abolitionist, linguist, social thinker; born in Templeton, Mass. A Baptist minister's son, he went to Louisiana at age 18 and studied and practiced law there; appalled by \Jslavery\j, he became an abolitionist. Having moved to \JTexas\j in 1839, he and his family were almost killed because of his abolitionist lectures and had to flee (1843).
He went off to England where he failed at his scheme to raise funds to free slaves in America. But he became interested in Pitman's new shorthand writing system and on his return to the U.S.A. he taught and wrote about this new passion while continuing his abolitionist lectures. He also became interested in \Jphonetics\j and the study of foreign languages, eventually learning 30 including Chinese.
By the end of the 1840s he began to focus his energies on utopian communities, establishing Modern Times in Islip, N.Y., (1851), and then Unity Home in New York City (1857). By the 1860s he was propounding an ideal society called Pantarchy, and from this he moved on to a philosophy he called "universology," which stressed the unity of all knowledge and activities. The last two decades of his life saw him at the center of many of the progressive social reform circles in New York City.
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"Andrews, Thomas",1421,0,0,0
DT (1813-85)
EN British physical chemist: showed existence of critical \Jtemperature\j and pressure for fluids.
The son of a \JBelfast\j merchant, Andrews studied chemistry and medicine in Scotland. In Paris he studied chemistry under Dumas and at Giessen he studied under Liebig. In \JBelfast\j he first practised medicine and later became professor of chemistry. He proved that 'ozone' is an allotrope of oxygen (ie a different form of the element; ozone was later shown to be O\D3\d; ordinary oxygen is O\D2\d).
He was a fine experimenter and is best known for his work on the continuity of the liquid and gaseous states of matter (1869). Using carbon dioxide, he showed that above its 'critical \Jtemperature\j' (31║C) it cannot be liquefied by pressure alone. This example suggested that at a suitably low \Jtemperature\j, any gas could be liquefied, as was later demonstrated by Cailletet.
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#
"Andrews, William Loring",1422,0,0,0
DT (1837-1920)
EN bibliophile; born in New York City. A wealthy businessman, he collected rare books, and from 1865, commissioned limited editions distinguished for their \Jtypography\j, illustrations, and bindings. He was founder of the Grolier Club in New York City.
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"Andreyev, Leonid Nikolayevich",1423,0,0,0
PN [an\Bdray\bef]
HS , also spelled \BAndreev\b
DT1 1871
DT2 1919
EN Writer and artist, born in Orel, \JRussia\j. He suffered much from poverty and ill health as a student, and attempted suicide, before taking to writing and portrait painting. Many of his works have been translated into English, such as \IKrasnysmekh\i (1905, The Red Laugh) and \IRasskaz o semi poveshennykh\i (1908, The Seven That Were Hanged).
\BMajor Works\b
\IStories\i
1901 Once There Lived
1902 The Abyss
1902 In the Fog
1905 His Excellency The Governor
1908 The Seven That Were Hanged
\IPlays\i
1906 The Life of Man
1907 Tsar Hunger
1908 Black Masks
1909 Anathema
1915 He Who Gets Slapped
BK Biog99n
#
"Andriano·, KyvΘli",1424,0,0,0
DT ?1887-1978
EN Greek actress. She distinguished herself in innocent girl roles and played in a great number of bourgeois dramas, captivating audiences with her melodious voice and sentimental gestures. Eventually she acted in mature roles: Mary Stuart in Schiller's classical drama, and the mother in Brecht's Mother Courage. Several Greek playwrights wrote dramas especially for her to act in.
BK Thea
#
"Andrianov, Nikolay",1425,0,0,0
PN [andri\Bahn\bof]
DT1 1952
EN Gymnast, born in Vladimir, \JRussia\j. He won 15 Olympic medals (including seven golds) between 1972 and 1980. In addition, he won 12 world championship medals, including the overall individual title in 1978.
BK Biog99
#
"Andric, Ivo",1426,0,0,0
PN [\Ban\bdrich]
DT1 1892
DT2 1975
EN Yugoslav diplomat and writer, born near Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina. A member of the diplomatic service, he was minister in Berlin at the outbreak of war in 1939. His chief works (trans titles), \IThe Bridge on the Drina\i (1945) and \IBosnian Story\i (1945), earned him the 1961 Nobel Prize for Literature and the nickname 'the Yugoslav Tolstoy'.
MEX Tolstoy
SX m
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#
"Androcles",1427,0,0,0
PN [\Ban\bdrokleez]
EN According to a Roman story, a slave who escaped from his master, met a lion, and extracted a thorn from its paw. When recaptured, he was made to confront a lion in the arena, and found it was the same animal, so that his life was spared.
BK a
#
"androgens",1428,0,0,0
PN [\Ban\bdrojenz]
EN Chemical substances, usually steroid sex \Jhormones\j, which induce masculine characteristics. In men the androgen \Itestosterone\i is secreted in the testes by the cells of Leydig, with small amounts of additional \Jandrogens\j secreted by the adrenal \Jcortex\j. \JTestosterone\j may be converted to the more powerful \Idihydrotestosterone\i by such target organs as the prostate \Jgland\j.
Androgens are necessary for the development of male genitalia in the fetus; during puberty they promote the development of secondary sexual characteristics (growth of the penis and testes; the appearance of pubic, facial, and body hair; an increase in muscle strength; and deepening of the voice); in adults, they are required for the production of sperm and the maintenance of libido. Small amounts of ovarian and adrenal \Jandrogens\j are present in women. They are probably responsible for the adolescent growth spurt in girls.
BK a
#
"android",1429,0,0,0
EN See robotics \B(\Jcybernetics\j)\b
BK a
XCY y
#
"Andromache",1430,0,0,0
PN [an\Bdrom\bakee]
EN In Greek legend, the wife of Hector, the hero of Troy. After the fall of the city she became the slave of the Greek \JNeoptolemus\j.
BK a
#
"Andromeda (astronomy)",1431,0,0,0
PN [an\Bdrom\bida]
HS (\Jastronomy\j)
EN A \Jconstellation\j in the N sky, one of 48 listed by Ptolemy (AD 140), named for the daughter of \JCepheus\j and Cassiopeia. Its brightest stars are Alpheratz and Mirach. It contains the \BAndromeda galaxy,\b the largest of the nearby galaxies, about 700 \Jkiloparsec\j away. Spiral, like the \JMilky Way\j, about 38┐kpc in diameter, it is the most remote object easily visible to the naked eye.
BK a
#
"Andromeda (mythology)",1432,0,0,0
PN [an\Bdrom\beda]
HS (\Jmythology\j)
EN In Greek \Jmythology\j, the daughter of \JCepheus\j, King of the Ethiopians, and Cassiopeia. To appease Poseidon, she was fastened to a rock by the sea-shore as an offering to a sea-monster. She was rescued by Perseus, who used the \JGorgon\j's head to change the monster to stone. The persons named in the story were all turned into constellations.
BK a
#
"Andronicus",1433,0,0,0
PN [an\Bdron\bikus]
HS , known as \BCyrrhestes\b
DT1 1
DT1b st-c BC
EN Greek architect, born in Cyrrhus. He constructed the Tower of the Winds at \JAthens\j, known in the \JMiddle Ages\j as the Lantern of Demosthenes.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Andronicus of Rhodes",1434,0,0,0
PN [an\Bdron\bikus]
DT1a fl.
DT1 70
DT2 50
DT2b BC
EN Greek philosopher. He lived in \JRome\j in Cicero's time, and edited the writings of Aristotle.
MEX Aristotle; Cicero
SX m
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#
"Andronicus, Livius",1435,0,0,0
EN See Livius Andronicus
BK bg a
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#
"Andropov, Yuri Vladimirovich",1436,0,0,0
PN [\Ban\bdropof]
DT1 1914
DT2 84
EN Russian politician, born in Nagutskoye, \JRussia\j. He began work in the shipyards of the upper Volga at Rybinsk (later called Andropov), where he became politically active. After World War 2 he was brought to Moscow to work for the Communist Party central committee. He was ambassador in Budapest (1954-7), and came to the notice of the strict ideologist, Mikhail Suslov, for his part in crushing the Hungarian uprising of 1956.
In 1967 he was appointed \JKGB\j chief, and in 1973 became a full member of the \JPolitburo\j. His firm handling of dissident movements enhanced his reputation, enabling him to be chosen as Brezhnev's successor in 1983, but he died after less than 15 months in office.
MEX Brezhnev; Suslov
SX m
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#
"Andros (Bahamas)",1437,0,0,0
EN pop (1995e) 8900; area 5955 sq km/2300 sq mi. Island in the W \JBahamas\j, W of New Providence I, on the Great Bahama Bank; largest island in the \JBahamas\j; chief towns on the E coast; W shore is a long, low, barren bank.
BK Geog99
#
"Andros (Greece)",1438,0,0,0
EN area 380┐km\U2\u / 147┐mi\U2\u. Northernmost island of the \JCyclades\j, \JGreece\j, in the \JAegean Sea\j, between \JEuboea\j and Tinos; length 40┐km / 25┐mi; chief town, Andros; bathing beaches at Batsi and Gavrion; rises to 994┐m / 3261┐ft.
BK a
#
"Andros, Sir Edmund",1439,0,0,0
DT (1637-1714)
EN colonial governor; born in London, England. He became governor of the newly created Dominion of New England (including \JMassachusetts\j, Plymouth, Maine, Connecticut, \JRhode Island\j, New Hampshire) in 1686. His aristocratic manner and Anglican sympathies alienated the Bostonians and he was overthrown in a citizens' revolt in 1689.
BK AmBg
#
"anechoic chamber",1440,0,0,0
PN [ane\Bkoh\bik]
EN A room or chamber in which all walls and surfaces are lined with a sound-absorbing material to minimize reflected sound; also called a \Bdead room.\b A sound produced in such a chamber will have no echo. It is important in acoustic experiments in which reflected sound would confuse results.
BK a
#
"Aneirin or Aneurin",1441,0,0,0
PN [a\Bniy\brin]
DT1a fl.
DT1 6
DT1b th
DT2 7
DT2b th-c
EN Welsh court poet. His principal work, the \IGododdin,\i celebrates the British heroes who were annihilated by the Saxons in the bloody Battle of Cattraeth (Catterick, North Yorkshire) about the year 600. The poem's language, metrical forms, and general technique suggest a long tradition of praise-poetry in the \JBrythonic\j language.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"anemometer",1442,0,0,0
EN A device for measuring the speed of a current of air, usually used to determine the speed of wind, or of a vehicle passing through air. There are three main techniques: (1) the speed of rotation of various types of windmill (eg shaped vanes or cups on horizontal arms); (2) the rate of cooling of an electrically heated wire; and (3) pressure differences developed in an open-ended tube facing the direction of the air-flow or gas stream.
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#
"anemone",1443,0,0,0
PN [a\Bne\bmonee]
EN A perennial found throughout N temperate and \Jarctic\j regions, often forming large colonies; flowers with 5-9 \Jperianth\j-segments ranging from white to yellow, pink, or blue, but hybrids exhibit an even greater colour range; the flower stalks have a whorl of small, divided leaves two-thirds of the way up; the main, basal leaves appear later. \B(Genus:\b \IAnemone,\i 150 species. \BFamily:\b Ranunculaceae.)
BK a
#
"aneroid barometer",1444,0,0,0
EN See \Jbarometer\j
BK a
XCY y
#
"anesthetics",1445,0,0,0
EN See anaesthetics / anesthetics, general; anaesthetics / anesthetics, local
BK a
XCY y
#
"Aneto, Pico de",1446,0,0,0
PN [\Bpee\bkoh t\buh\buay a\Bnay\btoh]
EN 42░37N 0░40E. Highest peak of the \JPyrenees\j Mts, rising to 3404┐m / 11┐168┐ft in Huesca province, north-east \JSpain\j.
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#
"aneurysm",1447,0,0,0
PN [\Ban\byurizm]
EN The abnormal enlargement of a segment of a blood vessel (usually an artery) due to the weakening or rupture of some of the layers of the wall of the vessel. If the inner layer \I(intima)\i ruptures, blood passes between the layers of the vessel wall and may escape into surrounding tissues. Rupture of an \Janeurysm\j of the \Jaorta\j or pulmonary trunk often proves fatal.
BK a
#
"Anfinsen, Christian B(oehmer)",1448,0,0,0
DT (1916-95)
EN US biochemist: made discoveries related to the shape and activity of enzymes.
Educated at Swarthmore and Harvard, Anfinsen afterwards worked at Harvard and from 1950 at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. In 1960 Moore and W H Stein (1911-80) found the sequence of the 124 amino acids which make up ribonuclease and it became the first \Jenzyme\j for which the full sequence was known. However, it was clear that enzymes owe their special catalytic ability not only to the sequence of amino acid units but also to the specific shape adopted by the chain-like molecule.
Anfinsen showed that, if this shape is disturbed, it can be restored merely by putting the molecule into the precise environment (of \Jtemperature\j, salt concentration, etc) favourable for it, when it spontaneously takes up the one shape (out of many possibilities) that restores its enzymic activity. He deduced that all the requirements for this precise three-dimensional assembly must be present in the chain sequence; and he showed that other proteins behaved similarly. He shared the Nobel Prize for chemistry with Moore and Stein in 1972.
BK Scie
#
"Angas, George Fife",1449,0,0,0
DT1 1789
DT2 1879
EN Shipowner, born in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, north-east England. He is regarded as a founder of South \JAustralia\j. He was appointed commissioner for the formation of the colony in 1834, and emigrated to Adelaide in 1851.
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#
"angel",1450,0,0,0
EN A celestial spirit, said to serve God in various capacities, such as acting as a messenger, or as a guardian of individuals. In traditional \JChristianity\j, angels were understood to have been created before the world. They feature prominently in Christian art, often depicted with a human body and wings. They are sometimes held to be objects of devotion.
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"angel dust",1451,0,0,0
EN The street name of the drug \Bphencyclidine\b(l-(l-phenylcyclohexyl) piperidine, or \BPCP)\b which is a hallucinogen. It was originally introduced in the 1950s as a general anaesthetic, but soon withdrawn; it is still used in veterinary medicine to produce a trance-like anaesthetic state. As a drug of abuse it is also called 'angel's mist', 'peace pills', 'goon', 'hog', and 'T'.
BK a
#
"Angel Falls",1452,0,0,0
EN 5░57N 62░33W. Waterfall in south-east Venezuela, on a tributary of the River Caronφ; highest waterfall in the world, with a total drop of 980┐m / 3215┐ft; named after the US aviator, Jimmy Angel, who crashed nearby in 1937.
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"Angel, (James Crawford) Jimmy",1453,0,0,0
DT (?1899-1956)
EN adventurer, pilot; birthplace unknown. He joined the Canadian Air Corps at age 16 and during World War I was shot down over \JFrance\j. He became a soldier of fortune and served in China and \JSouth America\j as well as doing stunts in \JHollywood\j.
In 1935, seeking a gold mine on Mount Auyantepui, a plateau in southeastern Venezuela, he flew over the highest waterfall in the world (3,212 feet); as he was the first white person to discover it, the Western world named it Angel Falls. He died in Balboa, \JPanama Canal\j Zone, after a stroke suffered during a minor plane accident.
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#
"Angeles, Victoria de los",1454,0,0,0
PN [\Ban\bjeles]
DT1 1923
EN Lyric soprano, born in \JBarcelona\j, \JSpain\j. Her operatic debut was at \JBarcelona\j in 1944. She then performed at the Paris Opera and La Scala, Milan (1949), Covent Garden (1950), the New York Metropolitan (1951), and subsequently at all the great houses and festivals throughout the world. After retiring from the stage in 1969, she continued to give recitals.
BK Biog99
#
"angelfish",1455,0,0,0
EN Any of several small, brightly coloured fish found in shallow waters of warm seas, commonly around \Jcoral\j reefs; deep, flattened body; small mouth, with gill cover bearing a spine; very popular in marine aquaria; also called \Bbutterfly fish.\b The name is also used for \Jmonkfish\j. \B(Family:\b Chaetodontidae.)
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#
"angelica",1456,0,0,0
PN [an\Bjel\bika]
EN A robust herb growing to 2┐m / 6┐ft or more \I(Angelica archangelica),\i native from N and E Europe to C Asia; stem hollow; leaves divided into oval leaflets up to 15┐cm / 6┐in, the stalks with an inflated base; flowers small, greenish-white, clustered in large rounded umbels. Candied leaf stalks are used for flavouring. Aromatic oil produced from the roots is used in perfumes and herbal liqueurs (eg Chartreuse). \B(Family:\b Umbelliferae.)
BK a
#
"Angelico, Fra",1457,0,0,0
PN [an\Bje\blikoh]
HS , originally \BGuido di Pietro,\b monastic name \BGiovanni da Fiesole\b
DT1a c.
DT1 1400
DT2 55
EN Painter, born in Vicchio, \JItaly\j. He entered the Dominican monastery of San Domenico at Fiesole, and in 1436 was transferred to Florence where he worked for Cosimo de' Medici. In 1445 he was summoned by the pope to \JRome\j, where he worked until his death. His most important frescoes are in the Florentine convent of S Marco, which is now a museum.
These aids to contemplation are characterized by pale colours, crisp delineation of form, the use of local landscape as background, and an air of mystical piety. In \JRome\j only the frescoes in the chapel of Nicholas V survive.
MEX Cosimo de' Medici
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#
"AngΘlique, MΦre",1458,0,0,0
EN See Arnauld, AngΘlique
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#
"Angell, James (Rowland)",1459,0,0,0
DT (1869-1949)
EN educator, psychologist; born in Burlington, Vt. (son of James Burrill Angell). Influenced by such teachers as John Dewey and William James, he completed his graduate studies in Europe and spent a year (1893) as instructor in \Jpsychology\j at the University of \JMinnesota\j before going to the University of \JChicago\j where he was a faculty member and an administrator (1894-1919, serving as acting president in 1919).
While there he began the new \Jpsychology\j department (1905) that became internationally renowned. A proponent of the "\JChicago\j school" of \Jpsychology\j, known as "functionalism," he espoused a rationalism that was influenced by John Dewey. He wrote \IPsychology\i (1904), a widely used textbook.
He went to New York City to head the Carnegie Corporation (1920-21), then became president of Yale (1921-37); at Yale he established residential colleges, strengthened professional schools and the graduate school of arts and sciences, and greatly increased the endowment. Upon retiring he served as an educational consultant to the National Broadcasting Corporation.
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#
"Angell, Joseph K. (Kinnicutt)",1460,0,0,0
DT (1794-1857)
EN legal scholar; born in Providence, R.I. He devoted his life to writing on legal subjects in such classics as \IThe Law of Private Corporation Aggregate\i (1832) and \IThe Common Law in Relation to Watercourses\i (1824).
BK AmBg
#
"Angell, Sir Norman",1461,0,0,0
PN [\Bayn\bjl]
HS , originally \BRalph Norman Angell-Lane\b
DT1 1872
DT2 1967
EN Writer and pacifist, born in Holbeach, Lincolnshire, EC England, UK. He wrote \IThe Great Illusion\i (1910) and \IThe Great Illusion, 1933\i (1933) to prove the economic futility of war even for the winners. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1933.
SX m
BK bg a
#
"Angelou, Maya",1462,0,0,0
PN [\Ban\bjeloo]
DT1 1928
EN Writer, singer, dancer, and African-American activist, born in St Louis, Missouri, USA. She has had a variety of occupations in what she describes as "a roller-coaster life'. She toured Europe and Africa in the musical \IPorgy and Bess\i, and in New York City joined the Harlem Writers Guild. In the 1960s she was involved in black struggles, then spent several years in \JGhana\j as editor of \IAfrican Review\i.
Her multi-volume \Jautobiography\j, commencing with \II Know Why the Caged Bird Sings\i (1970), was a critical and popular success. Her later books include \IAll God's Children Need Travelling Shoes\i (1986) and \IMy Painted House, My Friendly Chicken and Me\i (1994). She has published several volumes of verse, including \IAnd Still I Rise\i (1987) and \IComplete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou\i (1995).
\BMajor Works\b
\ITheatre\i
1960 Cabaret for Freedom
1966 Medea
1966 The Least of These
1967 Gettin' Up Stayed On My Mind
1974 Ajax
1976 And Still I Rise
1975 Look Away
1988 Moon and Rainbow Shawl
\IFilms\i
1972 Georgia, Georgia
1974 All Day Long
1993 Poetic Justice
1996 How to Make an American Quilt
\IAutobiography\i
1969 I Know Why the Caged Birds Sings
1974 Gather Together in My Name
1976 Singin' and Swingin' and Gettin' Merry Like Christmas
1981 The Heart of a Woman
1986 All God's Children Needs Travelling Shoes
1990 I Shall Not Be Moved
1994 My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken and Me
\IPoetry\i
1971 Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Dine
1975 Oh Pray My Wings are Gonna Fit Me Well
1983 Shaker, Why Don't You Sing?
1987 Now Sheba Sings the Song
1987 And Still I Rise
1993 On the Pulse of Morning
1995 Complete Collected Poems of Mary Angelou
\IFilmscripts\i
1974 All Day Long
\IEssays\i
1993 Lessons in Life
\ITelevision\i
1968 Black, Blue, Black
1977 Roots
1982 Sister, Sister
\IOther\i
1975 Assignment America
1976 The Legacy
1976 The Inheritors
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#
"angelshark",1463,0,0,0
EN See \Jmonkfish\j
BK a
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#
"Angevins",1464,0,0,0
PN [\Ban\bjevinz]
EN Three ruling families of the mediaeval county (and later duchy) of \JAnjou\j in W \JFrance\j.
(1) Henry II, founder of the Angevin or Plantagenet dynasty in England, was a descendant of the earliest counts of \JAnjou\j. He established the 'Angevin empire' by taking control of Normandy, \JAnjou\j, and Maine (1150-1), acquiring \JAquitaine\j (1152), and succeeding Stephen in England (1154).
(2) The French crown had annexed \JAnjou\j by 1205, and in 1246 Louis IX's brother Charles, future king of Naples and \JSicily\j, became count.
(3) The third line was descended from Charles of \JValois\j, brother of Philip IV, who married Charles of \JAnjou\j's granddaughter in 1290. This family died out in 1481.
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#
"angina",1465,0,0,0
PN [an\Bjiy\bna]
EN A sudden severe pain or sensation of constriction over the front of the chest resulting from inadequate blood supply to the heart muscle \B(\Jangina\j pectoris).\b The pain is increased with exercise, and rapidly subsides with rest. It may spread to the jaw and arms (usually the left).
It usually results from the narrowing or blockage of one or more of the arteries which supply the heart muscle with blood. It is commonly relieved by the use of drugs which either dilate the blood vessels or reduce the force of cardiac contraction.
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#
"angiography",1466,0,0,0
PN [anji\Bog\brafee]
EN A radiological technique used to demonstrate the pathways and configuration of blood vessels in various parts of the body. A radio-opaque solution is injected into a main arterial trunk, which increases the X-ray contrast between the blood vessel and its surrounding tissues.
After the injection, a number of X-ray plates are taken in rapid succession to follow the course of the blood. The technique is used to show narrowing or blockage of blood vessels, and also reveals increased vascularity of specific tissue, as in cancer.
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#
"Angiolieri, Cecco",1467,0,0,0
PN [anjoh\Blyay\bree]
DT1a c.
DT1 1260
DT2a c.
DT2 1312
EN Poet, born in Siena, \JItaly\j. Nothing is known of his life except from his sonnets, the only kind of verse he wrote, which reveal a cynical, sardonic character. He attacked Dante in three poems.
MEX Dante
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#
"angioplasty",1468,0,0,0
EN See \Jballoon\j angioplasty
BK a
XCY y
#
"angiotensin",1469,0,0,0
EN See \Jrenin\j
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#
"Angkor Thom",1470,0,0,0
PN [\Bang\bkaw(r) \Btom\b]
EN 13░26N 103░50E. The ancient capital of the Khmer Empire, 240┐km / 150┐mi north-west of Phnom Penh, \JCambodia\j. The moated and walled city was built on a square plan, extending over 100┐km\U2\u / 40┐mi\U2\u, and completed in the 12th-c. Abandoned in the 15th-c, it was rediscovered in 1861.
\BAngkor Wat\b is the largest of the temples surrounding the site - linked, richly-sculptured sanctuaries on a massive platform 1000┐m / 3300┐ft square, the work of Suryavarman II (1113-50). Its five \Jsandstone\j towers in the shape of lotus buds rise 65┐m / 200┐ft.
BK a
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"angle",1471,0,0,0
EN A geometrical figure formed by two straight lines meeting at a point. Angles are measured in revolutions (especially per minute [rpm] or per second [rps] when measuring angular velocity), in right angles, degrees (░), radians (rad), or grad. 1 revolution┐=┐4 right angles┐=┐360░┐=┐2\fp\n┐rad┐=┐400┐grad.
\BMore information provided by Webster Publishing\b
A variety of special angles are defined in \Jgeometry\j. A \Iright angle\i is a quarter of a full turn, usually described as 90 degrees or one grade (there are 400 centigrades to a full circle, and this rarely used unit is the reason why the preferred name for the "centigrade" \Jtemperature\j scale is \JCelsius\j).
An acute angle is an angle of less than 90░, while an \Iobtuse angle\i is greater than a right angle, but less than 180░. A \Ireflex angle\i is an angle greater than 180░, and the rarely used \Istraight angle\i is exactly 180░. Two \Icomplementary angles\i sum to 90░. Two \Isupplementary angles\i sum to 180░, with each of the angles being referred to as the "supplementary" of the other. Two \Iexplementary angles\I (also called \Iconjugate angles)\i sum to 360░.
The angle between two curves is taken to be the angle between the tangents to the two curves at the point of intersection, while the angle between a line and a plane is found by taking the angle between the line and the (vertical) projection of that line onto the plane.
A number of other named angles appear when a \Jstraight line\j intersects two parallel straight lines. In this diagram, HGB and FGA are \Iopposite angles\i (which are always equal, and which are also called \Ivertically opposite angles\i or \Ivertical angles),\i while HGB and FGB are adjacent angles (which are always supplementary when formed in this way). Angles FGA and DFG are called \Ialternate angles\i (which are always equal).
The angles EFD and FGB are \Icorresponding angles\i (which are always equal) while angles DFG and FGB are \Ico-interior angles\i (which are always supplementary).
While it is usual to start bearings from the vertical, with the positive direction being clockwise, angles in \Jmathematics\j are typically measured from the horizontal position, and the positive sense is taken as counter-clockwise.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
BK a
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"angle of repose",1472,0,0,0
Also known as the angle of rest, this is the maximum angle that a set of particles will remain piled at, after avalanching has just taken place. While the angle of repose is mainly of interest to geologists studying the nature of sand dunes and of current bedding in sandstones, the angle of repose is also relevant to the study of sloping talus or scree deposits at the bases of cliffs, and to explaining the way in which an ant lion catches its prey. An understanding of the angle of repose will also help to explain why snow fields are sometimes buried under avalanches of snow from higher slopes.
The angle of repose depends on the material, with both the shape of the grains and the surface properties of the grains being important. Smooth glass beads have a measured angle of repose of 23.9 degrees, while spherical \Jquartz\j grains deliver an angle of repose of 31.5 degrees in air and 31.4 degrees in \Jwater\j.
A sand with coarse elongated grains, like \ILithothamnium\i sand, can have an angle of repose of 36.2 degrees, bettered only by long-grain rice, at 36.4 degrees. If smooth glass beads are etched with hydrofluoric acid to roughen their surfaces, the angle of repose can increase by as much as 10 degrees, showing that there is a frictional effect involved.
In most cases, the materials will hold a much steeper slope, called the angle of initial yield. Spherical \Jquartz\j sand grains, for example, can pile up to 45.1 degrees in air, and 44.6 degrees in \Jwater\j, but these slopes are unstable. Sooner or later, the surface will tumble down in an avalanche, and settle out at the angle of repose.
\IWritten by Peter Macinnis\i
BK Webster
#
"anglerfish",1473,0,0,0
EN Any of about 13 families of bizarre shallow to deep-sea fishes which have a dorsal fin spine modified as a lure to attract prey; family Lophiidae includes large bottom-dwelling European species (length up to 1.5┐m / 5┐ft) with broad flattened head, capacious mouth, and narrow tail; also called \Bgoosefish.\b
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#
"Angles",1474,0,0,0
EN A Germanic people from the S Danish peninsula and neighbourhood. With the Saxons, they formed the bulk of the invaders who, in the two centuries following the Roman withdrawal from Britain (409), conquered and colonized most of what became England. Anglian rulers were apparently dominant by the 8th-c, and the Angles ultimately gave their name to England, its language, and people.
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#
"Anglesey",1475,0,0,0
PN [\Bang\bglsee]
EN pop (1995e) 67 200; area 715 sq km/276 sq mi. Island unitary authority (from 1996) in NW Wales, UK; separated from \JGwynedd\j by Menai Straits, spanned by two bridges; chief towns, \JHolyhead\j, Beaumaris, Amlwch, \JLlangefni\j, Menai Bridge; linked to Holy I by an embankment (the Cob); ferry link from \JHolyhead\j to Dun Laoghaire and Dublin, Ireland; agriculture, \Jaluminium\j, sheep rearing, marine \Jengineering\j, tourism; RAF base at Valley; Ucheldre Centre, Oriel M⌠n, Beaumaris Castle, Sea Zoo, Plas Newydd.
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"Anglesey, Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of",1476,0,0,0
PN [\Bang\bglsee]
DT1 1768
DT2 1854
EN British soldier, born in London, England, UK. He studied at Oxford, and sat in parliament at intervals between 1790 and 1810. He served in the army with distinction in Flanders (1794), Holland (1799), and the \JPeninsular War\j (1808), and for his services as commander of the British cavalry at Waterloo, where he lost a leg, he was made Marquess of \JAnglesey\j.
In 1828 he was appointed \JLord-Lieutenant\j of Ireland, where he advocated Catholic Emancipation. From 1846 to 1852 he was Master-General of the Ordnance.
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"Angleton, James (Jesus)",1477,0,0,0
DT (1917-87)
EN public official; born in Boise, \JIdaho\j. He graduated from Yale and in World War II became a member of the Office of Strategic Services. He was director of counterintelligence at the Central Intelligence Agency (\JCIA\j) (1954-74). He came to distrust everyone and pursued Soviet agents within the \JCIA\j itself as well as throughout the world.
His resignation was demanded (1974) following news that he had conducted clandestine mail-opening and surveillance searches within the agency in pursuit of a Soviet "mole." The quintessential \Jparody\j of a suspicious intelligence officer, he was said to relax by reading poetry and cultivating orchids.
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"Anglican chant",1478,0,0,0
EN See chant
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"Anglican Communion",1479,0,0,0
EN A fellowship of some 26 independent provincial or national Churches, several extra-provincial dioceses, and Churches resulting from unions of Anglicans with other Churches, spread throughout the world, but sharing a close ecclesiastical and doctrinal relationship with the \JChurch of England\j.
Most of these Churches are found in the \JBritish Commonwealth\j, and owe their origins to missionary activities of the \JChurch of England\j in the 19th-c; a major exception is the Episcopal Church in the USA, which was fostered by the Scottish Episcopal Church. Churches from non-Commonwealth countries, such as \JBrazil\j, China, and \JJapan\j, are also part of the Anglican Communion.
The Communion is based on co-operation, since there is no worldwide uniform authority, but every 10 years the \JArchbishop\j of Canterbury invites bishops throughout the Anglican Communion to take part in the Lambeth Conference, a consultative body that considers issues of common concern even though it has no decisive policy-making authority. The 1968 Lambeth Conference also set up an Anglican Consultative Council to act during the 10-year intervals. There were over 70 million Anglicans in 1997.
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"Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission",1480,0,0,0
EN See ARCIC
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"Anglicanism",1481,0,0,0
EN See Church of England
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"angling",1482,0,0,0
EN The sport of catching fish, one of the world's most popular pastimes, performed in virtually every country, practised with a rod, line, and hook. Many forms of \Jangling\j exist: freshwater fishing, fly fishing, game fishing, and deep sea fishing. The oldest fishing club still in existence is the Ellem club in Scotland. Rules governing the time of year when different types of fishing take place are very strict, as are the rules governing the type of, and excessive use of, bait.
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"Angliss, Sir William Charles",1483,0,0,0
DT1 1865
DT2 1957
EN Businessman, born in Dudley, West Midlands, C England, UK. He emigrated to \JAustralia\j in 1884, eventually opening a butcher's shop in Melbourne. In 1934, when the family company was sold to the Vestey family interests, it had become the largest meat exporter in \JAustralia\j.
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"Anglo-Burmese Wars",1484,0,0,0
EN Two wars fought largely to advance British trade and the East India Company: the first (1824-6) brought control of Arakan and Tehnasserim; the second (1852-3) led to the occupation of Lower \JBurma\j. In 1885 \JMandalay\j was occupied, and in 1886 all \JBurma\j was proclaimed a province of British India.
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"Anglo-Catholicism",1485,0,0,0
EN A movement within the \JChurch of England\j, the term first appearing in 1838. It stresses the sacramental and credal aspects of Christian faith, and continuity and community with the wider \JCatholic Church\j, especially with \JRoman Catholicism\j.
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"Anglo-Irish Agreement",1486,0,0,0
EN A joint agreement allowing the Irish Republic to contribute to policy in Northern Ireland for the first time since 1922, signed (15 Nov 1985) by the British and Irish prime ministers, Margaret Thatcher and Garrett Fitzgerald. It established an intergovernmental conference to discuss political, security, and legal matters affecting Northern Ireland; early meetings focused on border co-operation. Both governments pledged not to change the status of Northern Ireland without the consent of the majority.
The Agreement was opposed by the Republic's Opposition party, Fianna Fßil; Unionist leaders withdrew co-operation with ministers and boycotted official bodies. This boycott ended in 1992 when representatives of the main Unionist parties met with the Socialist Democratic and Labour Party, the Alliance Party, and Irish government ministers to discuss the future of talks under the Agreement.
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"Anglo-Maori Wars",1487,0,0,0
EN A succession of conflicts (1843-7, 1860-70) in which \JMaori\j people attempted, unsuccessfully, to resist the occupation of \JNew Zealand\j by British settlers. Although faced by trained British troops, the Maoris did not suffer a decisive military defeat. The main fighting finished in 1864 after the Kingite Maoris, who had led the resistance, retreated to the C North Island, where the troops could not easily follow them. It is likely that the British learned the art of trench warfare from the Maoris during these conflicts.
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"Anglo-Saxon",1488,0,0,0
EN See Old English
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"Anglo-Saxons",1489,0,0,0
EN A term probably first used to distinguish the Saxons of England from those of the continent; occasionally adopted by the 10th-c English kings for all their subjects, though 'English' was preferred; now commonly employed for the entire Old English people from the incoming of Angles, Saxons, and \JJutes\j in the 5th-c to the \JNorman Conquest\j.
Among the main themes in \JAnglo-Saxon\j history are the emergence of the early kingdoms, their conversion to \JChristianity\j, their response to attacks by the \JVikings\j, and their eventual unification into a single realm, England, literally 'land of the Angles'.
The \JAnglo-Saxons\j left an enduring legacy, including an advanced system of government and a rich economy. One of the main sources of events during the period is the \BAnglo-Saxon Chronicle,\b first compiled during the reign of Alfred, and then erratically maintained in various locations over the next two centuries (in the case of the Peterborough Chronicle, until 1154).
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"Angola",1490,0,0,0
PN [ang\Bgoh\bla]
EN pop (1995e) 11 539 000; area 1 246 700 sq km/480 354 sq mi. A republic of SW Africa, divided into 18 provinces; separate province of Cabinda enclosed by the \JCongo\j; capital, \JLuanda\j; other chief towns, Huambo, Benguela, Lobito, Namibe (MocΓmedes), Cabinda, Malanje, Lubango; timezone GMT +1; major ethnic groups include the Bakongo, Mbundu, \JOvimbundu\j, Lunda-Chokwe, Nganguela, Nyaneka-Humbe, Herero, Ambo; c.30 000 Europeans (mainly Portuguese); religions Roman Catholic (68%) and Protestant (20%); official language, Portuguese, with many Bantu languages spoken; unit of currency, the kwanza of 100 lweis.
\IPhysical description and climate\i
A narrow coastal plain, widening in the N towards the \JCongo\j delta; high plateau inland, mean elevation 1200 m/4000 ft; highest point, Serro M⌠co (2619 m/8592 ft); numerous rivers, few navigable for any length; mostly a tropical plateau climate, with a single wet season (Oct--Mar) and a long dry season; more temperate above 1500 m/5000 ft; at Huambo on the plateau, average annual rainfall 1450 mm/57 in, average daily temperatures 24--29░C; temperature/rainfall much reduced on the coast, which is semi-desert as far N as \JLuanda\j (eg at Namibe in the S, average annual rainfall 55 mm/2.2 in; in the far N, 600 mm/23.6 in).
\IHistory and government\i
Area became a Portuguese colony after exploration in 1482; estimated 3 million slaves sent to \JBrazil\j during the next 300 years; boundaries formally defined during the Berlin West Africa Congress, 1884--5; became an Overseas Province of \JPortugal\j, 1951; \Jcivil war\j followed independence (1975), with three internal factions: the Marxist MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of \JAngola\j), UNITA (the National Union for the Total Independence of \JAngola\j), and the FNLA (National Front for the Liberation of \JAngola\j); USA supplied arms to the FNLA and UNITA (1975--6); Cuban combat troops arrived from 1976 at request of MPLA; South African forces occupied an area along the \JAngola\j--\JNamibia\j frontier (1975--6), and were active again in support of UNITA, 1981--4; refuge given to Namibian independence movement SWAPO (South West Africa People's Organization), which launched attacks on Namibia from Angolan territory; at end of 1988, Geneva agreement linked arrangements for independence of Namibia with withdrawal of Cuban troops, and the cessation
