FROM THE EDITORS OF THE ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA

Revised and Expanded Edition

Britannica

CONCISE

ENCYCLOPEDIA

Britannica

Britanrrica

CONCISE

ENCYCLOPEDIA

Front cover: (clockwise from top row, left) Vincenzo Pinto�AFP/Getty Images; Toni Angermayer; Hans Hinz, Basel; Sean Gallup/Getty Images; courtesy of the Schmuckmuseum, Pforzheim, Germany, John F. Shrawder/Shostal. Back cover: NASA/JPL;Goodshoot/Jupiterimages;Pramod Chandra; Anthony Mercieca from The National Audubon Society Collection/Photo Researchers; J.C. Allen and Son; Stephen Collins�Photo Researchers.

Britannica

CONCISE

ENCYCLOPEDIA

ENCYCLOPAEDIA

Britannica

Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Chicago � London � New Delhi � Paris � Seoul � Sydney � Taipei � Tokyo

Britannica

CONCISE

ENCYCLOPEDIA

Encyclopaedia Britannica

First published in 1768, the Encyclopaedia Britannica has long been the standard by which all other reference works are judged. It represents a tradition of excellence that was built, over the centuries, on meticulous scholarship and unmatched attention to detail. Today, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., produces a range of fine products for reference, education, and learning in different media and in many different languages. Wherever you see the Britannica name�in print, on the Internet, CD-ROM, or DVD�it is your guarantee of quality, accuracy, and authority.

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The original edition of this book, created in conjunction with Merriam-Webster, Incorporated, was published in 2000 as Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Encyclopedia.

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Contents

V

Foreword vi

Explanatory Notes vii

Abbreviations ix

Pronunciation Symbols x

Guide to Plates and Map Legend xi

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia 1

Encyclopaedia Britannica Corporate Page 2115

Merriam-Webster Editorial Staff 2116

ENCYCLOPEDIA

Britannica

Foreword

T he need for information and the craving for knowledge are timeless and univer� sal. The Britannica Concise Encyclopedia satisfies the essence of both these needs. This volume represents the distillation of essential information into a compact and eminently useful single volume.

This latest version of Britannica Concise Encyclopedia answers today's need for a portable, convenient ref� erence work covering history, geography, the sci� ences, religion, sports, entertainment, technology, and the arts. We hope it will become a favourite source for helping students with their homework, for background to news events, for writers and crossword-puzzle enthusiasts, for solving disputes, and for random browsing.

This printing of Britannica Concise Encyclopedia has been broadly revised. Among the 2.8 million words that make up the nearly 28,000 entries are many new titles and many that have been updated. In the 16-page colour plates section, you will find the

newest versions of national flags as well as a world map, maps of world religions and popula� tion characteristics, a selection of World Heritage sites, and a useful world map depicting interna� tional time zones. More than 30 tables catalog everything from Nobel Prize winners to chemical elements to popes to the International System of Units of measurement and their U.S. equivalents. Many of the more than 190 maps have been revised, and all of the more than 150 illustrations have been redrawn. The more than 2,000 photo� graphs enhance both the appearance and content of Britannica Concise.

The editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica are proud to present the Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. We hope that you will consult it often and that it will both satisfy your immediate need for information and lead you to the in-depth information of the 40 million words of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. Creating the highest level of reference works has been our goal for 238 years, and we are pleased to welcome you to the Britannica family.

Anita Wolff Editor

� 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

VII

Explanatory Notes

Alphabetization. The articles are alphabetized word by word, with further alphabetizing letter by letter within a word. A "word" is here defined as a unit of one or more characters set off from other words by spaces, dashes, hyphens, or other symbols. Entry titles consisting of more than one word are arranged in alphabetical order of the succeeding words. Titles with identical spellings are arranged in the order (1) persons, (2) places, and (3) things. The following list illustrates the word-by-word principle:

horn

Horn, Cape Horn of Africa hornbill Horne, Lena horned toad Hornsby, Rogers

Further alphabetization rules include the follow� ing: (1) Diacritics, apostrophes, dashes, periods, and ampersands are ignored in alphabetization. (2) Names of monarchs and popes that are identical except for the Roman numeral following the name are ordered numerically. (3) Names beginning with Mac- and Me- are ordered literally, all names begin� ning with Mac- preceding (by a number of pages) all names beginning with Me-. (4) Entry headwords beginning with numbers are alphabetized as if they were spelled out.

Entry headword style. Variant spellings or ver� sions of the encyclopedia's entry headwords are printed in boldface type when they are in common use; more obscure variants are printed in ordinary roman type. No effort has been made to be exhaus� tive in listing variants.

Several italicized terms are used to discriminate among the variants. The label or simply indicates a common alternative name or spelling. The label orig. precedes the birth name of a person who is entered under a name that was adopted or acquired subsequently. When a person's original surname is different from the name in the principal headword, the entire birth name is given, not enclosed in parentheses. The label known as precedes a common way of referring to a person that may never have had formal status. The label formerly indicates an

older and generally discarded name for an entity, usually a geographical locale. The label officially indicates a formal or legal version of a name. The label in full precedes a fully spelled-out version of a name that is usually encountered in its shorter form. A label consisting of a language name pre� cedes a native version or spelling of a name or term.

Biographical entry headwords in particular may employ parentheses in several ways. Parentheses may enclose portions of a person's name that are rarely used, a person's original given name or names, a later addition such as a title, or transla� tions of titles or epithets.

drum or croaker Odin or Wotan

Bacall, Lauren orig. Betty Joan Perske O'Connell, Daniel known as the Liberator Iqaluit formerly Frobisher Bay Latvia officially Republic of Latvia OCR infill optical character recognition fax infill facsimile

Magellan, Strait of Spanish Estrecho de Magallanes

Odysseus Roman Ulysses Connelly, Marc(us Cook)

Doctorow, E(dgar) L(aurence)

Hughes, (James Mercer) Langston Basil II known as Basil Bulgaroctonus ("Slayer of the Bulgars")

Pronunciations. Entries for terms and names whose pronunciation the encyclopedia's likely users might hesitate over are supplied with pro� nunciations. Foreign names or terms that are pro� nounced in a markedly different way by native speakers and English-speakers are frequently pro� vided with two pronunciations, one of them pre� ceded by a language label (e.g., English, French, Spanish). Thus, for Hassan II we provide the pro� nunciations Vha-san, English ha-'sanV The sym� bols employed and the sounds they represent are listed on page x.

Romanization of foreign languages. Words from languages that do not use the Western (Roman) alphabet generally reflect the spellings most com� monly seen in English-language contexts.

� 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

VIII

Chinese names are almost always transcribed according to the Pinyin system. Where a Chinese name or term appears as a headword, the older Wade-Giles spelling is given as an or variant. Place- names and biographical names on Taiwan, howev� er, are generally listed in their Wade-Giles spelling, with the Pinyin spelling as a variant. A few Chinese names widely used in English (e.g., Confucius) retain their traditional English spelling.

Japanese names and terms are generally transcribed according to the Hepburn system but without macrons to indicate vowel length.

Russian names and terms generally observe tradi� tional Western spellings and follow the diacritic- free system employed by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.

Arabic names and terms generally follow the best- established Western usage. Except in a few well- established Western transliterations, the l in the arti� cle nl- or el- ("the") is not assimilated to a following consonant (thus, we employ the spelling Harun nl- Rnshid, not Harun ar-Rashld), even though such assimilation reflects Arabic pronunciation and is sometimes encountered in English sources.

Cross-references. Cross-references to other articles are indicated by small capitals in sans-serif type for the alphabetized element of the term or name. Thus, "J. von Neumann" sends the reader to the V's, "J. W. von Goethe" to the G's; "Cape Breton Island" sends the reader to the C's, "Cape of Good Hope" to the G's; and so on. In the case of personal names in which

there is no ambiguity as to alphabetical placement, the entire name appears in small capitals.

A term is cross-referenced only when it is likely that the reader of the article within which the cross-ref� erence appears would want to be notified about the additional article. Hence many terms for which there are corresponding entries are not highlighted as references. For instance, in the article on Tim Berners-Lee, we have cross-referenced "World Wide Web" (whose invention was his principal achieve� ment) but not "Internet," which is naturally cross- referenced within the "World Wide Web" article. Because cross-referencing of this kind is discre� tionary, readers should not assume that a noun lacks its own entry simply because it is not refer� enced within the article being read.

For the sake of saving space, many people who receive their own entries have their given names abbreviated and their surnames in small capitals when they are mentioned in an article, regardless of how likely the reader of the article is to want to be alerted to the biographical entry. The names of countries, U.S. states, and Canadian provinces, by contrast, are virtually never referenced, regardless of their centrality to a given article, on the pre� sumption that readers will correctly assume that the encyclopedia contains articles on all such entities.

Some 3,000 cross-references are provided at their own alphabetical place, to direct the reader who has looked up a variant version of the name or has expected an entry to be alphabetized according to an element other than the one actually used.

� 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Abbreviations

Mass.

Md.

Massachusetts

Maryland

AD

anno Domini

Me.

Maine

Adm.

Admiral

mi

mile(s)

Ala.

Alabama

Mich.

Michigan

Amer.

American

Minn.

Minnesota

Ariz.

Arizona

Miss.

Mississippi

Ark.

Arkansas

ml

millilitre(s)

BC

before Christ

mm

millimetre(s)

C

Celsius

Mo.

Missouri

c.

circa

Mont.

Montana

Cal.

California

mph

miles per hour

Capt.

captain

N

North

cc

cubic centimetre(s)

N.C.

North Carolina

cent.

century, centuries

N.D.

North Dakota

cm

centimetre(s)

NE

northeastern

Co.

Company, County

Neb.

Nebraska

Col.

Colorado, Colonel

Nev.

Nevada

Conn.

Connecticut

N.H.

New Hampshire

Corp.

Corporation

N.J.

New Jersey

cu

cubic

N.M.

New Mexico

D.C.

District of Columbia

NW

northwestern

Del.

Delaware

N.Y.

New York

Dr.

Doctor

Okla.

Oklahoma

E

East

Ore.

Oregon

e-g-

exempli gratia (for example)

oz

ounce(s)

est.

estimate, estimated

Pa.

Pennsylvania

Eth.

Ethiopia

Ph.D.

Doctor of Philosophy

F

Fahrenheit

Pres.

President

fl.

flourished

Queen.

Queensland

Fla.

Florida

r.

reigned, ruled

ft

foot, feet

Rev.

Reverend

g

gram(s)

R.I.

Rhode Island

Ga.

Georgia

S

South

Gen.

General

s.c.

South Carolina

Gov.

Governor

S.D.

South Dakota

i.e.

id est (that is)

SE

southeastern

Ill.

Illinois

Sen.

Senator

in.

inch(es)

sq

square

Ind.

Indiana

St.

Saint

Jr-

Junior

sw

southwestern

K

Kelvin

Tenn.

Tennessee

Kan.

Kansas

UN

United Nations

k g

kilogram(s)

u.s.

United States

km

kilometre(s)

Va.

Virginia

kph

kilometres per hour

vs.

versus

Ky.

Kentucky

Vt.

Vermont

La.

Louisiana

w

West

lb, lbs

pound, pounds

w.v.

West Virginia

m

metre(s)

Wash.

Washington

M.A.

Master of Arts

Wise.

Wisconsin

Maj.

Major

Wy.

Wyoming

� 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Pronunciation Symbols

3

banana, collide, abut, humdrum

6

saw, all, caught

3

preceding \1\, \n\, \m\, \q\, as

ce

French boeuf, German Holle

in battle, mitten, eaten, lock and key - 3 rj-\; following \1\, \m\, \r.

oe

French feu, German Flohle

as in French table, prisme, titre

oi

coin, destroy

ar

further, merger, bird

P

pepper, lip

a

mat, gag

r

red, car, rarity

a

day, fade, aorta

s

source, less

a

bother, cot, father, cart

sh

shy, mission, machine, special

a

father as pronounced by speakers

t

tie, attack, late, latter

who do not rhyme it with bother,

French patte

th

th

thin, ether

then, either, this

au

now, loud, out

ii

rule, youth, union X'yiin-yonX,

b

baby, rib

few X'fyiiX

ch

chin, nature X'na-chorX

u

pull, wood, book

d

did, adder

IE

German fiillen, hiibsch

e

bet, bed, peck

U2

French rue, German fiihlen

e

beat, easy

V

vivid, give

f

fifty, cuff

w

we, away

g

go, big

y

yard, cue X'kyiiX, union

h

hat, ahead

X'yiin-yanX

i

tip, banish

y

indicates that during the articula-

l

site, buy

tion of the sound represented by

j

gem, judge

the preceding character the front

k

kin, cook, ache

of the tongue has substantially the position it has when pronouncing

k

German ich, Buch

y, as in French digne XdenA

1

lily, pool

z

zone, raise

m

murmur, dim

zh

vision, azure X'a-zhorX

n

no, own

1

precedes a syllable with primary

n

indicates that a preceding vowel or diphthong is pronounced with

(strongest) stress: X'pen-man- ,ship\

the nasal passages open, as in

l

precedes a syllable with secondary

French un bon vin blnnc

(medium) stress: X'pen-mon-

\oe n -bo n -va n -bla n \

.shipX

q

singX'siqX, singerX'siq-arX,

Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'arl See Abu al-Hasan al-AsH c ARi

AbG �All Hasan ibn �All See Nizam al-Mulk

Abu Bakr \9-,bu-'ba-k3r\ (b. c. 573, Mecca, Hejaz, Arabian Peninsula�d. Aug. 23, 634, Medina) One of the close Companions of the Prophet Muhammad and the first Muslim caliph. Some Muslim traditions say he was the first male convert to Islam after Muhammad. He became caliph after Muhammad�s death in 632, and during his two years in that office he consolidated central Arabia under Muslim control, engaging in the wars of apostasy ( riddah ). He also realized the urgency of expanding the regions under Muslim control in order to maintain peace among Arab tribes.

Abu Dhabi Arabic Abu ZabI City (pop., 1995: 398,695), capital of AbG ZabI emirate and national capital of the United Arab Emirates. It occu� pies most of the small island of Abu ZabI, which is connected to the mainland by a bridge. Settled in 1761, it was of little importance until the discovery of oil in 1958. Oil royalties thereafter revolutionized its politi� cal and economic position, and it has grown into a modem city.

AbO HanTfah \3- 1 bu-ha- , ne-f3\ (al-Nu'mdn ibn Thabit) (b. 699, Kufah, Iraq�d. 767, Baghdad) Muslim jurist and theologian. The son of a merchant in Kufah, he gained wealth in the silk trade and studied law under the noted jurist Hammad. After Hammad�s death (738), Abu Hanl- fah became his successor. He was the first to develop systematic legal doctrines from the accumulated Islamic legal tradition. Primarily a scholar, he neither accepted a judgeship nor took direct part in court poli� tics; he supported the successors of �Au over the ruling Umayyad and 'Abbasid dynasties. His doctrinal system became one of four canonical schools of Islamic law (Sharia) and is still widely followed in India, Paki� stan, Turkey, Central Asia, and Arab countries.

Abu Muslim Xa-.bu-'mus-limX (d. 755) Leader of a revolutionary move� ment in Khorasan whose efforts brought down the Umayyad dynasty. Born into the mawall (non-Arab Muslim) class and of humble origins, he met an agent of the 'Abbasid family while in prison (741). After his arranged release, he was sent to Khorasan (745-746) to instigate a revolt. Recruit-

� 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

8 I Abu Qir ► academy

ing from various discontented groups, he succeeded in overthrowing the last Umayyad caliph, Marwan II (750), and was rewarded with the gov� ernorship of Khorasan. His popularity led the second 'Abbasid caliph, al-Mansur, to view him as a threat and have him put to death. See also �Abbasid dynasty.

Abu Qir \,a-bu-'ker\ Bay Inlet of the Mediterranean Sea, lying near the Rosetta mouth of the Nile along the coast of Egypt. It was the scene of the Battle of the Nile (1798), in which an English fleet under Horatio Nel� son defeated the French fleet of Napoleon I.

Abu Simbel Site of two temples built by Ramses II in the 13th century bc. The area, at the southern frontier of pharaonic Egypt, lies near Egypt�s current border with The Sudan. The temples were unknown to the outside world until their rediscovery in 1813.

The larger temple displays four 67-ft (20-m) seated figures of Ramses; the smaller was dedicated to Queen Nefertari. When the reservoir created by the building of Aswan High Dam threatened to submerge the site in the early 1960s, an international team disassembled both temples and reconstructed them 200 ft (60 m) above the riverbed.

Abu Zabi or Abu Dhabi Larg� est constituent emirate (pop., 2003 est.: 1,591,000) of the United Arab Emirates. Bounded to the north and west by the Persian Gulf, to the south and southwest by Saudi Arabia, and to the east by Oman, it has an area of 28,210 sq mi (73,060 sq km). It has numerous offshore islands, and inter� nally it partially surrounds Dubayy and has a short boundary with Al-Shariqah (Sharjah). Since the 18th century the A1 Bu Falah, a clan of the Banu Yas confederation, has held power. In 1761 they found wells of potable water at the site of Abu Dhabi city, and they made their headquar� ters there from 1795. In the 19th century territorial conflicts with Muscat (Masqat) and Oman and with the ancestors of the Sa�0d dynasty (which now rules Saudi Arabia) led to border disputes that have remained largely unsettled. Abu Zabi signed an agreement with Great Britain in 1892, placing its foreign affairs under British control. When Britain withdrew from the Persian Gulf in 1968, the emirate and the other Trucial States formed the United Arab Emirates. Its rich oil fields make it and Dubayy the federation�s two most prosperous emirates.

Abu Zayd \ab-u-'zld\, Nasr Hamid (b. Oct. 7, 1943, Tanta, Egypt) Egyptian scholar. He attended Cairo University and received a Ph.D. in Arab and Islamic studies. His research and writings on Quranic exegesis, including his well-known Critique of Islamic Discourse (1995), offended some Islamic fundamentalists. In 1993 a colleague denounced him in a major Cairo mosque, and Islamic radicals successfully sought a nullifi� cation of his marriage from an Egyptian family court on the grounds that his writings demonstrated his apostasy (and under Egyptian law a Mus� lim woman may not be married to a non-Muslim man). Though the court declined to pass judgment, an appeals court divorced Abu Zayd and his wife, a decision confirmed by the Egyptian Supreme Court. The case attracted widespread concern among intellectuals and human rights groups. Since 1995 Abu Zayd and his wife have lived in exile in The Netherlands.

Abuja \a-'bii-ja\ City (pop., 2003 est.: 452,000), federal capital of Nige� ria. Construction of the city, at a site chosen for its healthful climate and central location about 300 mi (480 km) northeast of Lagos, began in 1976 under the architect Tange Kenzo. It officially replaced Lagos as the capi� tal in 1991.

Abydos \3-'bi-d9s\ Sacred city, one of the most important archaeologi� cal sites of ancient Egypt. It was a royal necropolis of the first two dynas� ties and later a pilgrimage centre for the worship of Osiris. The pharaohs, including Thutmose III and Ramses III, embellished the temple to Osiris, and some pharaohs had cenotaphs at Abydos. The temple of Seti I, one of the most beautiful, has helped decode Egyptian history: in a long gallery is a

relief, the so-called Abydos list of kings, showing Seti and his son Ram� ses making offerings to the cartouches of 76 dead predecessors.

Abydos Ancient Anatolian town northeast of modern Qanakkale, Tur� key, on the eastern side of the Dardanelles. It was colonized c. 670 bc by the Milesians (see Miletus). Xerxes I crossed the strait on a bridge of boats to invade Greece in 480 bc. Abydos is celebrated for its resistance to Philip V of Macedon in 200 bc and for the legend of Hero and Leander.

abyssal plain \3-'bis-3l\ Flat seafloor area at a depth of 10,000-20,000 ft (3,000-6,000 m), generally adjacent to a continent. The larger plains are hundreds of miles wide and thousands of miles long. The plains are largest and most common in the Atlantic Ocean, less common in the Indian Ocean, and even rarer in the Pacific Ocean, where they occur mainly as small, flat floors of marginal seas or as long, narrow bottoms of trenches. They are thought to be the upper surfaces of land-derived sediment that accumulates in abyssal depressions.

Abyssinia See Ethiopia

Abyssinian cat \,ab-3-'si-ne-3n\ Breed of domestic cat, considered more similar to the sacred cat of ancient Egypt than any other living cat. It is lithe and has slender legs and a long, tapering tail. Its short, finely textured coat is ruddy reddish brown, with individual hairs distinctively ticked, or tipped, with bands of black or brown. The nose is red, and the tail tip and backs of the hindlegs are black. The Abyssinian is affection� ate and quiet, though generally shy with strangers.

Abzug Vab-z3g\, Bella orig. Bella Savitzky (b. July 24, 1920, New York, N.Y., U.S.�-d. March 31, 1998, New York City) U.S. lawyer and politician. She studied law at Columbia University and subsequently took on numerous union, civil liberties, and civil rights cases, representing several people charged by Sen. Joseph McCarthy. She founded and chaired (1961-70) the antiwar Women Strike for Peace and later the National Women�s Political Caucus. In the House of Representatives (1971-77), she was known for her flamboyant style, her opposition to the Vietnam War, and her outspoken support for the Equal Rights Amendment, abor� tion rights, and child-care legislation.

AC See ALTERNATING CURRENT

acacia \9-'ka-sh3\ Any of the approximately 800 species of trees and shrubs that make up the genus Aca� cia, of the mimosa family. Acacias are native to tropical and subtropical regions of the world, particularly Australia and Africa. Sweet acacia (A. farnesiana ) is native to the south� western U.S. Acacias have distinc� tive, finely divided leaflets, and their leafstalks may bear thorns or sharp spines at their base. Their small, often fragrant, yellow or white flow� ers have many stamens apiece, giv� ing each a fuzzy appearance. On the plains of southern and eastern Africa, acacias are common features of the landscape. Several species are important economically, yielding substances such as gum arabic and tannin, as well as valuable timber.

academic degree See academic

DEGREE

Academie Francaise \a-ka-da- 'me-fra n -'sez\ Literary academy in France. The Academie Frangaise was established by Cardinal Richelieu in 1634 to maintain standards of liter� ary taste and to establish the literary language. In modern times it has endeavoured (somewhat absurdly) to purify French of foreign loanwords. Its membership is limited to 40. Despite its conservatism, most of France�s great writers, including Pierre Corneille, Jean Racine, Voltaire, and Victor Hugo, have been members.

academy Society of learned individuals organized to advance art, sci� ence, literature, music, or some other cultural or intellectual area of endeavour. The word comes from the name of an olive grove outside

Sandstone figures of Ramses II in front of the main temple at Abu Simbel near Aswan, Egypt.

� SPECTRUM COLOUR LIBRARY/HERITAGE-IMAGES

Spreading wattle (Acacia genistifolia), an Australian acacia in which the leaf� stalks are flattened and function as leaves

C. RALPH AND DAPHNE KELLER/AUSTRALASIAN NATURE TRANSPARENCIES

� 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Academy Awards ► account receivable I 9

ancient Athens, the site of Plato�s famous school of philosophy in the 4th century bc. Academies appeared in Italy in the 15th century and reached their greatest influence in the 17th�18th centuries. Their purpose gener� ally was to provide training and, when applicable, to create exhibiting or performance opportunities for their members or students. Most European countries now have at least one academy sponsored by or otherwise con� nected with the state. See also Academie Francaise.

Academy Awards Annual awards of merit in the U.S. presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Academy was formed in 1927 by Louis B. Mayer and others to raise the standards of film production, and its first awards were presented in 1929. The awards (nick� named Oscars) recognize excellence in acting, directing, screenwriting, and other activities related to film production.

Acadia North American possession of France in the 17th�18th century, centred in what is now Nova Scotia. Acadia was probably intended to include the other present Maritime Provinces as well as parts of Maine and Quebec. The first European settlement was founded by Samuel de Cham� plain and Pierre du Gast in 1604. The area at times was also claimed by the British and was contested often in the 18th-century colonial wars; in 1713 Nova Scotia came under British rule. In 1755 many French-speaking Acadians were deported by the British because of imminent war with France; several thousand settled in French-ruled Louisiana, where their descendants were known as Cajuns. The event was the theme for Henry W. Longfellow�s Evangeline.

Acadia National Park Preserve on the coast of Maine, U.S. It has an area of 65 sq mi (168 sq km). Originally established as Sieur de Monts National Monument (1916), it became the first national park in the east� ern U.S. as Lafayette National Park (1919) and was renamed Acadia in 1929. It consists mainly of a forested area on Mount Desert Island, domi� nated by Cadillac Mountain.

Acadia University Privately endowed university in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada. Founded in 1838, it took its current name and status in 1891. It has faculties of arts, professional studies, science, theology, edu� cation, and graduate studies. Acadia ranks among the country�s top under� graduate institutions.

Acadian orogeny Vs-'ka-de-on-o-'ra-jo-neV Mountain-building event that affected the northern portion of the Appalachian Geosyncune from present-day New York to Newfoundland during the Devonian period. The orogeny was most intense in northern New England. Its origin has been ascribed to the collision of the northeastern portion of the North Ameri� can Plate with western Europe. Evidence for the orogeny includes defor� mation of pre-Devonian and Devonian rocks.

acanthus \3-'kan-thos\ Any of the more than 2,500 plant species that make up the family Acanthaceae, of the figwort order. Acanthus are found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. Most are herbaceous plants or shrubs that grow in tropical rainforests; some are climbers (vines) or trees. Acanthus have simple leaves arranged in opposite pairs on the twigs and enlarged cells called cystoliths in streaks or protuberances in the vegeta� tive parts. The bisexual flowers are bilaterally symmetrical and usually crowded together in clusters. Individual flowers are enclosed by leaflike bracts, which are often coloured and large. Acanthus are mainly of hor� ticultural interest and include some ornamentals.

Acapulco in full Acapulco de Juarez City and port (pop., 2000: 619,253), southwestern Mexico. Situated on a deep semicircular bay, it has the best harbour on Mexico�s Pacific coast. It was discovered by Hernan Cortes in 1531, and a settlement was founded in 1550. Until 1815 it was a main depot for Spanish colonial fleets going to the Far East. It has become a major international resort for tourists attracted by its sce� nic beauty, climate, and excellent beaches.

Acarnania V.a-kor-'na-ne-oV District, ancient Greece, bounded by the Ionian Sea, the Ambracian Gulf, and the Achelous River. First settled in the 7th-6th centuries bc, it developed into a federal state by the late 5th century bc; its capital was Stratus. It later came under Athenian, Theban, and Macedonian rule. Part of Acarnania recovered its independence in 231 bc and began an alliance with Philip V of Macedon. Rome overthrew the Macedonian dynasty in 167 bc, and Acarnania survived until Augus� tus incorporated many Acamanians into his new city Nicopolis Actia.

acceleration Rate of change of velocity. Acceleration, like velocity, is a vector quantity: it has both magnitude and direction. The velocity of an

object moving on a straight path can change in magnitude only, so its acceleration is the rate of change of its speed. On a curved path, the velocity may or may not change in magnitude, but it will always change in direction, which means that the acceleration of an object moving on a curved path can never be zero. If velocity is stated in metres per second (m/s) and the time interval in seconds (s), then the units of acceleration are metres per second per second (m/s/s, or m/s 2 ). See also centripetal ACCELERATION.

accelerator, particle See particle accelerator

accelerometer \ik- 1 se-b- , ra-m3-t3r\ Instrument that measures accel� eration. Because it is difficult to measure acceleration directly, the device measures the force exerted by restraints placed on a reference mass to hold its position fixed in an accelerating body. The output is usually either a varying electrical voltage or displacement of a moving pointer over a fixed scale. Specially designed accelerometers are used in varied applications: control of industrial vibration test equipment, detection of earthquakes (seismographs), and input to navigational and inertial guidance systems.

accent In prosody, a rhythmically significant stress on the syllables of a verse, usually at regular intervals. Though the term is often used inter� changeably with stress, some prosodists use accent to mean the empha� sis determined by normal language usage and stress to mean emphasis determined by metrical pattern.

acceptance Short-term credit instrument consisting of a written order that requires a buyer to pay a specified sum to the seller at a given date, signed by the buyer as a promise to honor the obligation. Acceptances are often used in export/import transactions: an exporter may require a buyer to sign and return an acceptance, which the exporter can then sell to the bank at a discount, thereby obtaining payment promptly. The buyer then has until the bill�s maturity date to dispose of the goods and pay the promised sum (now owed to the bank). See also bill of exchange; promis� sory note.

acclimatization Any of numerous gradual, long-term responses of an individual organism to changes in its environment. The responses are more or less habitual and reversible should conditions revert to an earlier state. These criteria differentiate acclimatization from homeostasis; from growth and development (which cannot be reversed); and from evolution� ary adaptation (which occurs in a population over generations). Acclima� tization can occur in anticipation of a change and enable organisms to survive conditions beyond their natural experience. Examples include adaptations to seasonal changes and adjustments to changes in altitude.

accordion Portable musical instrument that uses a hand-pumped bel� lows and two keyboards to sound free reeds, small metal tongues that vibrate when air flows past them.

The keyboards on either side of the bellows effectively resemble indi� vidual reed organs. The right-hand keyboard plays the treble line or lines. Most of the keys on the left- hand (bass) keyboard sound three- note chords; �free-bass� accordions permit the playing of single-note lines. A prototype accordion, using buttons rather than keys, was pat� ented in Berlin in 1822 by Friedrich Buschmann (also inventor of the har� monica). The instrument gained wide popularity in dance bands and as a folk instrument. See also concertina.

account payable Any amount owed as the result of a purchase of goods or services on a credit basis. Although a firm making a purchase issues no written promise of payment, it enters the amount owed as a cur� rent liability in its accounts. Companies often incur this type of short� term debt in order to finance their inventories, especially in industries where inventory turnover is rapid. See also account receivable.

account receivable Any amount owed to a business as the result of a purchase of goods or services from it on a credit basis. Although the firm making the sale receives no written promise of payment, it enters the amount due as a current asset in its books. Accounts receivable constitute a major portion of the assets of many companies, and they may even be sold or pledged as collateral to obtain loans. See also account payable; factoring.

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10 I accounting ► Acheson

accounting Systematic development and analysis of information about the economic affairs of an organization. The actual recording and sum� marizing of financial transactions is known as bookkeeping. When the data thus produced are abstracted in reports (usually quarterly or annually) for the use of persons outside the organization, the process is called finan� cial accounting. Three reports are typically generated in financial account� ing: the balance sheet, which summarizes the firm�s assets and liabilities; the income statement, which reports the firm�s gross proceeds, expenses, and profit or loss; and the statement of cash flow, which analyzes the flow of cash into and out of the firm. The creation of reports (usually monthly) for internal planning and decision-making is called managerial account� ing. Its aim is to provide managers with reliable information on the costs of operations and on standards with which those costs can be compared, to assist them in budgeting.

Accra Va-kro, o-'kra\ Capital and largest city (pop., 2001 est.: 1,551,200) of Ghana, on the Gulf of Guinea. When the Portuguese first settled on the coast in 1482, the site was occupied by the Ga people. Three fortified trading posts were built 1650-80 by the Danes, the Dutch, and the Brit� ish. The Danes and Dutch left the region in 1850 and 1872, respectively, and in 1877 Accra became the capital of the British Gold Coast colony. The city became Ghana�s administrative, economic, and educational cen� tre after the country gained its independence in 1957. Tema, 17 mi (27 km) east, has taken over Accra�s former port functions.

acculturation See culture contact

accused, rights of the In law, the rights and privileges of a person accused of a crime. In most modem legal systems these include the pre� sumption of innocence until proved guilty, trial by jury, representation by counsel, the right to present witnesses and evidence to establish one�s innocence, and the right to cross-examine one�s accusers. Also important are a prohibition against an unreasonable search and seizure, the right to a speedy trial, and guarantees of freedom from double jeopardy and of the right to appeal. In the U.S. a person accused of a crime must be notified immediately of the right to secure counsel and the right to refuse to answer questions if answering might be incriminating (see Miranda v. Arizona ).

acetaminophen Vs-.se-to-'min-o-fonV Drug used to relieve mild head� ache or muscle and joint pain and to reduce fever. An organic compund, it relieves pain by inhibiting prostaglandin synthesis in the central nervous system and reduces fever by acting on the temperature-regulating centre of the brain. Unlike aspirin, it has no anti-inflammatory effect. It also is much less likely to irritate the stomach and cause peptic ulcers, is not linked with Reye syndrome, and can be taken by persons using anticoagulants or allergic to aspirin. Overdosages can cause fatal liver damage. A common brand name in much of the world is Tylenol. See also ibuprofen.

acetate C 2 H 3 0 2 _ ion, a salt, ester, or acylal derived from acetic acid. Acetates are important in the biochemical synthesis of fats from carbo� hydrates in plants and animals. Industrially, metal acetates are used in printing, vinyl acetate in plastic production, cellulose acetate in photo� graphic films and textiles (one of the first synthetic fibres, often called simply acetate), and volatile organic esters as solvents.

acetic acid \o-'se-tik\ Most important carboxylic acid (CH 3 COOH). Pure (�glacial�) acetic acid is a clear, syrupy, corrosive liquid that mixes readily with water. Vinegar is its dilute solution, from fermentation and oxidation (see oxidation-reduction) of natural products. Its salts and esters are acetates. It occurs naturally as a metabolic intermediate in body fluids and plant juices. Industrial production is either synthetic, from acetylene, or biological, from ethanol. Industrial chemicals made from it are used in printing and as plastics, photographic films, textiles, and solvents.

acetone Va-s3-,ton\ or dimethyl ketone Vdl-'me-thol-'ke-.tonX Sim� plest and most important ketone (CH 3 COCH 3 ). It is a colourless, flam� mable liquid, boiling at 133 �F (56.2 �C). Many fats, resins, and organic materials dissolve easily in it, so it is used to make artificial fibres, explo� sives, resins, paints, inks, cosmetics (including nail-polish remover), coat� ings, and adhesives. Acetone is used as a chemical intermediate in pharmaceuticals and many other compounds.

acetylcholine \3-,se-t 3 l-'ko-len\ Ester of choline and acetic acid, a neu� rotransmitter active at many nerve synapses and at the motor end plate of vertebrate voluntary muscles. It affects several of the body�s systems, including the cardiovascular system (decreases heart rate and contraction strength, dilates blood vessels), gastrointestinal system (increases peristal� sis in the stomach and amplitude of digestive contractions), and urinary

system (decreases bladder capacity, increases voluntary voiding pressure). It also affects the respiratory system and stimulates secretion by all glands that receive parasympathetic nerve impulses (see autonomic nervous sys� tem). It is important in memory and learning and is deficient in the brains of those with late-stage Alzheimer disease.

acetylene or ethyne \'e-,thm\ Simplest alkyne, C 2 H 2 . A colourless, flammable, explosive gas, it is used as a fuel in welding and cutting met� als and as a raw material for many organic compounds and plastics. It is produced by reaction of water with calcium carbide, passage of a hydro� carbon through an electric arc, or partial combustion of methane. Decom� posing it liberates heat; depending on degree of purity, it is also an explosive. An acetylene torch reaches about 6,000 �F (3,300 �C), hotter than combustion of any other known gas mixture. See also hydrocarbon.

Achaean Any member of an ancient Greek people identified in Homer as those who, with the Danaoi and the Argeioi, attacked Troy. Some iden� tify them with the Mycenaeans of the 14th�13th century bc; others say that they arrived in the 12th-century Dorian invasions. They may have held power only a few generations before being replaced by the Dorians. Herodotus claims the later Achaeans of the northern Peloponnese (see Achaean League) were descended from these earlier Achaeans.

Achaean League \o-'ke-3n\ 3rd-century bc confederation of towns of Achaea, an area in the northern Peloponnese of ancient Greece. Twelve cities had joined together by the 4th century bc to combat piracy, but they disbanded after the death of Alexander the Great. Ten cities renewed the league in 280 bc, later admitting non-Achaean cities to defend themselves against Macedonia, then Sparta, and finally Rome. Rome dissolved the league after defeating it in 146 bc. Later a smaller league was formed that existed into the Roman imperial age.

Achaemenian \,a-k3-'me-ne-3n\ dynasty (559-330 bc) Early Per� sian dynasty. It derives its name from Achaemenes, who is thought to have lived in the early 7th century bc. From his son Teispes were descended two lines of kings. The older line included Cyrus I, Cambyses I, Cyrus II (the Great), and Cambyses II; the junior line began with Darius I and ended with the death of Darius III after his defeat by Alexander the Great (330 bc). Its greatest rulers were Cyrus II (r. 559-c. 529 bc), who actually established the Persian empire and from whose reign it is dated; Darius I, who secured the borders from external threats; and Xerxes I, who com� pleted many of Darius�s public works. At its height, the Achaemenian Empire reached from Macedonia to northern India and from the Cauca� sus Mountains to the Persian Gulf. The ruins of one of its capitals, Per- sepous, survive from its golden age.

Achebe \a-'cha-ba\, (Albert) Chinua(lumogu) (b. Nov. 16, 1930, Ogidi, Nigeria) Nigerian Igbo novelist. Concerned with emergent Africa at its moments of crisis, he is acclaimed for depictions of the disorien� tation accompanying the imposition of Western customs and values on traditional African society. Things Fall Apart (1958) and Arrow of God (1964) portray traditional Igbo life as it clashes with colonialism. No Longer at Ease (1960), A Man of the People (1966), and Anthills of the Savannah (1988) deal with corruption and other aspects of postcolonial African life. Home and Exile (2000) is in part autobiographical, in part a defense of Africa against Western distortions.

Achelous River V.a-ko-'lo-osX Longest river in Greece. It rises in the Pindus Mountains and flows south 140 mi (220 km) to the Ionian Sea. Hydroelectric dams harness its waters at Kastraki and Kremasta. In ancient mythology, Achelous was a protean river god, who was van� quished by Hercules.

Acheson Va-cho-sonN, Dean (Gooderham) (b. April 11, 1893, Mid� dletown, Conn., U.S.�d. Oct. 12, 1971, Sandy Spring, Md.) U.S. secre� tary of state (1949-53). After graduating from Yale University and Harvard Law School, he practiced law in Washington, D.C. In 1941 he joined the State Department, where he later served as undersecretary (1945-47). In 1947 he helped design the Truman Doctrine and the Mar� shall Plan. As secretary of state under Harry S. Truman, he promoted the formation of NATO and was a principal creator of U.S. foreign policy in the early years of the Cold War. During congressional hearings held by Sen. Joseph McCarthy, Acheson refused to fire any alleged subversives in the State Department, including Alger Hiss. He established the policies of nonrecognition of China and aid to the regime of Chiang Kai-shek in Tai� wan, and he supported U.S. aid to the French colonial regime in Indo-

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Acheson ► acorn I 11

china. After leaving office, he continued to advise successive presidents. His memoir Present at the Creation won a 1970 Pulitzer Prize.

Acheson, Edward Goodrich (b. March 9, 1856, Washington, Pa., U.S.�d. July 6, 1931, New York, N.Y.) U.S. inventor. He helped develop the incandescent lamp and in 1881 installed the first electric lights for Tho� mas Alva Edison in Italy, Belgium, and France. Attempting to produce artificial diamonds, he created instead the highly effective abrasive mate� rial Carborundum. He later found that the silicon vaporizes from Carbo� rundum at 7,500 �F (4,150 �C), leaving graphitic carbon, and patented his GRAPHiTE-making process in 1896.

Acheulean Vo-'shii-le-onX industry Stone-tool industry of the Lower Paleolithic Period characterized by bifacial stone tools with round cutting edges and typified especially by an almond-shaped (amygdaloid) flint hand ax measuring 8-10 in. (20-25 cm) in length and flaked over its entire surface. Other implements include cleavers, borers, knives, and choppers. The name derives from the site near St.-Acheul, in northern France, where such tools were first discovered. Acheulean industry was extremely long- lived (1,500,000-110,000 years ago) and is associated with both Homo erectus and archaic Homo sapiens.

Achilles \a -'ki-lez\ In Greek mythology, the bravest and strongest of the Greek warriors in the Trojan War. Because his mother dipped him into the River Styx, he was invulnerable except at the heel by which she held him. During the war against Troy Achilles took 12 nearby cities, but after a quarrel with Agamemnon he refused further service. He allowed his beloved cousin Patroclus to fight in his armor, and when Hector slew Patroclus, Achilles returned to battle, killed Hector, and dragged his body around the walls of Troy. Homer mentions Achilles� funeral but not the circumstances of his death; the later poet Arctinus relates that Paris killed Achilles with an arrow guided by Apollo.

Achilles Painter (fl. 5th century bc) Greek vase painter, named for an amphora decorated with a painting of Achilles and Briseis attributed to him. He was active in Athens in the time of Pericles and was a contem� porary of Phidias. His Achilles vase (c. 450 bc) is among the finest sur� viving examples of red-figure pottery from the Classical period. He is also known for his lekythoi (funerary vases with coloured figures on a white background), which are regarded as the most reliable documentation of monumental Greek paintings. Over 200 extant vase paintings are attrib� uted to him.

Achinese X.a-cho-'nezX One of the main ethnic groups on the island of Sumatra, Indon. In the 13th century the Achinese became the first people in the archipelago to adopt Islam. After expelling the Portuguese in the 17th century, the sultanate of Acheh was dominant in northern Sumatra until it was conquered by the Dutch in 1904 (see Achinese War). Now part of the Indonesian republic, the Achinese are restive and are administered within a special district. They trace their descent through both maternal and paternal lines. Women have a high social position, and they do not wear veils. The group numbers roughly 2.1 million.

Achinese War (1873 -1904) Armed conflict between The Netherlands and the Muslim sultanate of Acheh in northern Sumatra. The Dutch con� sidered the sultanate to be within their northern Sumatran sphere of influ� ence and invaded it. Although the sultan capitulated, the Achinese people engaged the Dutch in a prolonged and costly guerrilla war, which the Dutch were able to win only by researching the area and devising a new �castle strategy� that relied on fortified bases.

acid Any substance that in water solution tastes sour, changes the colour of acid-base indicators (e.g., litmus), reacts with some metals (e.g., iron) to yield hydrogen gas, reacts with bases to form salts, and promotes cer� tain chemical reactions (e.g., acid catalysis). Acids contain one or more hydrogen atoms that, in solution, dissociate as positively charged hydro� gen ions. Inorganic, or mineral, acids include sulfuric acid, nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, and phosphoric acid. Organic acids include carboxylic acids, phenols, and sulfonic acids. Broader definitions of acids cover situ� ations in which water is not present. See also acid-base theory.

acid and basic rocks Division of igneous rocks on the basis of their silicate mineral content, these minerals usually being the most abundant in such rocks. Rocks are described as acid, intermediate, basic, and ultraba- sic, in order of decreasing silica content, because it was earlier thought that silica is present in rock magmas in the form of silicic acid. In mod�

em usage the terms do not refer to acidity in the chemical sense. In gen� eral, the gradation from acid to basic corresponds to an increase in colour (i.e., light to dark).

acid-base theory Any of several theories that give rise to alternative definitions of acids and bases. The original theory was based on Svante Arrhenius�s electrolytic theory of solutions and involved the dissociation of water into hydrogen and hydroxide ions. To explain the behaviour of a chemical, particularly if water is not present, two other theories were developed. The most widely accepted and useful is the Brpnsted-Lowry definition (1923): An acid is a chemical that tends to lose a proton (H + ), and a base is a chemical that tends to gain a proton. Another is the Lewis definition (also 1923): An acid (see electrophile) is a chemical that can accept an electron pair from a base (see nucleophile), which they share to form a covalent bond. The three theories have superficial similarities but subtle and important differences for certain applications.

acid rain Any precipitation, including snow, that contains a heavy con� centration of sulfuric and nitric acids. This form of pollution is a serious environmental problem in the large urban and industrial areas of North America, Europe, and Asia. Automobiles, certain industrial operations, and electric power plants that burn fossil fuels emit the gases sulfur diox� ide and nitrogen oxide into the atmosphere, where they combine with water vapour in clouds to form sulfuric and nitric acids. The highly acidic precipitation from these clouds may contaminate lakes and streams, dam� aging fish and other aquatic species; damage vegetation, including agri� cultural crops and trees; and corrode the outsides of buildings and other structures (historic monuments are especially vulnerable). Though usu� ally most severe around large urban and industrial areas, acid precipita� tion may also occur at great distances from the source of the pollutants.

Ackermann, Konrad Ernst (baptized Feb. 4, 1712, Schwerin, Mecklenburg�d. Nov. 13, 1771, Hamburg) German actor-manager. After training with a theatre company that specialized in German adaptations of French plays, he led a troupe on tour throughout Europe in the 1750s. He became known for domestic drama and for playing roles that com� bined the comic and the sentimental. In 1765 he opened a theatre in Ham� burg, considered the first German national theatre, and later turned its management over to his stepson, Friedrich L. Schroder (1744-1816), who brought Shakespeare to the German stage. See also actor-manager system.

ACLU See American Civil Liberties Union

acne \'ak-ne\ Inflammatory disease of the oil glands of the skin. Acne vulgaris, probably the most frequent chronic skin disorder, results from an interplay of hereditary factors, hormones, and bacteria, beginning in the teen years when overactive sebaceous glands are stimulated by high levels of androgens. Its primary lesion, the blackhead, may be open or closed; it consists of a plug of skin oil (sebum), cell debris, and micro� organisms in a hair follicle. Acne has four grades of severity, with increas� ing degrees of spread, inflammation, pustule formation, and scarring. Methods of treatment vary from skin medication to antibiotics and hor� mones; many cases eventually resolve spontaneously.

Acoma Va-ko-moX Indian pueblo, west-central New Mexico, U.S. It is located on a reservation west of Albuquerque and is known as the �Sky City.� Its people live in terraced dwellings made of stone and adobe atop a sandstone butte 357 ft (109 m) high. Settled in the 10th century, it is believed to be the oldest continuously inhabited place in the U.S. In 1540 Spanish explorer Francisco Vazquez de Coronado described it as the strongest defensive position in the world.

Aconcagua X.a-kon-'ka-gwaX, Mount Mountain, western Argentina, on the Chilean border. Located in the Andes Mountains at an elevation of 22,834 ft (6,960 m), it is widely considered the highest peak in the West� ern Hemisphere. It is of volcanic origin but is not itself an active volcano. The summit was first reached in 1897.

aconite X'a-ka-.nltX Any member of two genera of perennial herbaceous plants of the buttercup family: Aconitum (monkshood or wolfsbane), con� sisting of summer-flowering poisonous plants, and Eranthis (winter aco� nite), consisting of spring-flowering ornamentals. The dried tuberous root of A. napellus was formerly used as a sedative and a painkiller.

acorn Nut of the oak. Acorns are usually seated in or surrounded by a woody cupule. They mature within one to two seasons, and their appear� ance varies depending on the species of oak. Acorns provide food for wildlife and are used to fatten swine and poultry.

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12 I Acosta ► acting

Acosta \a-'k6-sta\, Uriel orig. Gabriel da Costa (b. c. 1585, Oporto, Port.�d. April 1640, Amsterdam, Neth.) Portuguese Jewish free� thinker. Born into a Marrano family, he came to feel that there was no salvation through the Roman Catholic church and converted to Judaism. His mother and brother also converted, and he and his family fled to Amsterdam. In 1616 he attacked rabbinic Judaism as nonbiblical and was excommunicated. When he enlarged on his criticisms in 1623-24, deny� ing the immortality of the soul, he was arrested and fined. He recanted but was later excommunicated again. He recanted publicly in 1640, after which he wrote a short autobiography. Example of a Human Life , and shot himself.

acoustics \3-'ku-stiks\ Science of production, control, transmission, reception, and effects of sound. Its principal branches are architectural, environmental, musical, and engineering acoustics, and ultrasonics. Envi� ronmental acoustics focuses on controlling noise produced by aircraft engines, factories, construction machinery, and general traffic. Musical acoustics deals with the design and use of musical instruments and how musical sounds affect listeners. Engineering acoustics concerns sound recording and reproduction systems. Ultrasonics deals with ultrasonic waves, which have frequencies above the audible range, and their appli� cations in industry and medicine.

acoustics, architectural Relationship between sound produced in a space and its listeners, of particular concern in the design of concert halls and auditoriums. Good acoustic design takes into account such issues as reverberation time; sound absorption of the finish materials; echoes; acoustic shadows; sound intimacy, texture, and blend; and external noise. Architectural modifications (e.g., orchestral shells, canopies, and undu� lating or angled ceilings and walls) may act as focusing elements to improve sound quality.

acquired immunodeficiency syndrome See AIDS Acre See 'Akko

acrobatics Art of jumping, tumbling, and balancing. The art is of ancient origin; acrobats performed leaps, somersaults, and vaults at Egyp� tian and Greek events. Acrobatic feats were featured in the commedia dell'arte theatre in Europe and in jingxi (�Peking opera�) in China. The later use of apparatuses such as poles, tightropes, and flying trapezes made acrobatics a major attraction in circus performances. Its popularity increased in the 20th century with such performers as the Flying Wallen- das (see Karl Wallenda).

acromegaly V.a-kro-'me-go-leN Growth and metabolic disorder in which the skeletal extremities enlarge when a pituitary gland tumor causes over� production of growth hormone after maturity. It is often associated with pituitary gigantism. Acromegaly is characterized by gradual enlargement of hands and feet, exaggeration of facial features, skin thickening, and enlargement of most internal organs, along with headaches, excessive sweating, and high blood pressure. Acromegalic individuals are likely to develop congestive heart failure, muscle weakness, joint pain, osteoporo� sis, and often diabetes mellitus and visual problems, including blindness. If treatment with surgery and/or radiation fails, then hormone therapy is used. Treatment can cause hormone deficiency, necessitating hormone replace� ment therapy; spontaneous events may also cause hormone deficiency.

acropolis (Greek: �city at the top�) Central, defensively oriented dis� trict in ancient Greek cities, located on the highest ground and contain� ing the chief municipal and religious buildings. The renowned Athens Acropolis (5th century bc), atop a craggy walled hill, is home to four main edifices�the Propylaea (see propylaeum), Parthenon, Erechtheum (Ionic temple noted for its caryatid porch), and Temple of Athena Nike�all built from white marble plentiful in the region. See photograph opposite.

acrostic Originally, a short verse composition, constructed so that one or more sets of letters (such as the initial, middle, or final letters of the lines), taken consecutively, form words. An acrostic in which the initial letters form the alphabet is called an abecedarius. Ancient Greek and Latin writers, medieval monks, and Renaissance poets are among those who devised acrostics. Today the term is used for a type of word puzzle uti� lizing the acrostic principle. A popular form is double acrostics, puzzles constructed so that the middle or last, as well as initial, letters of lines may form words.

acrylic compound Any of a class of synthetic plastics, resins, and oils used to manufacture many products. By varying the starting reagents

(such as acrylic acid, C 3 H 4 0 2 , or acrylonitrile, C 3 H 3 N) and the process of forming, a material may be produced that is hard and transparent, soft and resilient, or a viscous liquid. Acrylic compounds are used to make molded structural and optical parts, jewelry, adhesives, coating com� pounds, and textile fibres. Lucite and Plexiglas are trademarks used for glasslike acrylic materials.

acrylic \9-'kri-lik\ painting Painting executed in the medium of acrylic resins�synthetic resins that dry rapidly, are water-soluble, and serve as a vehicle for any pigment. Its effects may range from the transparent bril� liance of watercolour to the density of oil paint. Acrylics are less affected by heat and deterioration than oils. They were first used by artists in the 1940s but became popular with Pop artists when they were produced commercially in the 1960s.

Act of Union See Act of Union (1707), Act of Union (1800)

Acta Latin "Acts" In ancient Rome, the daily minutes of public busi� ness and a record of political and social events. Julius Caesar in 59 bc ordered that the Senate�s daily doings ( acta diurna, commentaria Sena- tus) be made public; Caesar Augustus later prohibited publication, though the Senate�s acts continued to be recorded and could be read with special permission. There were also public registers (acta diurna urbis, �daily minutes of the city�) of the acts of the popular assemblies and the courts as well as births, deaths, marriages, and divorces. These constituted a daily gazette, a prototype of the modern newspaper.

ACTH in full adrenocorticotropic \3- , dre-no- l kor-ti-ko- , tro-pik\ hormone Polypeptide hormone made in the pituitary gland. It regulates the activity of part of the adrenal cortex (see adrenal glands), the produc� tion site of important steroid hormones that affect electrolyte and water balance and the metabolism of fats, carbohydrates, and proteins. ACTH is found in vertebrates (except jawless fishes); in mammals it contains 39 amino acids. Overproduction of ACTH is one cause of Cushing syndrome.

actin One of two proteins responsible for contraction of muscle cells and the motility of other cells. It occurs as a monomer, G-actin, a globular protein, and in living cells as a polymer, F-actin, which resembles two strings of beads twisted around each other into thin filaments. The fila� ments occur in regular structures, alternated and interwoven with thick filaments that contain myosin, the other major muscle protein. The thick and thin filaments slide past each other, under the control of calcium ions, resulting in contraction (shortening) and relaxation (lengthening) of the muscle cells.

acting Art of representing a character on a stage or before a camera by means of movement, gesture, and intonation. Acting in the Western tra� dition originated in Greece in the 6th century bc; the tragedian Thespis is traditionally regarded as founder of the profession. Aristotle defined act� ing as �the right management of the voice to express various emotions� and declared it a natural gift that he doubted could be taught. Acting declined as an art in the Middle Ages, when Christian liturgical drama was performed by craft guilds and amateurs. Modern professional acting emerged in the 16th century with Italy�s commedia dell'arte troupes. It

The Acropolis, Athens.

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actinide ► Acuff I 13

flourished during the era of William Shakespeare. Not until the 18th cen� tury, however, was acting considered a profession to be taken seriously, through the efforts in England of the actor-manager David Garrick and the talents of actors such as Sarah Siddons, Edmund Kean, and Henry Irving. Modern acting styles have been influenced by Konstantin Stanislavsky�s emphasis on the actor�s identification with his role and by Bertolt Brecht�s insistence on the objectivity and discipline of the actor. The Stanislavsky method was adopted in the U.S. by Lee Strasberg and Stella Adler (1901� 92) and is the basis of most contemporary training, which features the cultivation of emotional and sense memory, physical and vocal training, and improvisation.

actinide \ l ak-t9-,nld\ Any of the series of 15 consecutive chemical ele� ments in the periodic table from actinium to lawrencium (atomic numbers 89-103). All are radioactive heavy metals; and only the first four (actinium, thorium, protactinium, and uranium) occur in nature in appre� ciable quantities. The other 11 (the transuranium elements) are unstable and are produced only artificially. Actinides are transition elements, so their atoms have similar configurations and similar physical and chemical behaviour; the most usual valences are 3 and 4.

actinolite \ak- , ti-n 3 l-,It\ Colourless to green amphibole mineral, darken� ing with increased iron content from green to black. It has a prismatic and splintery texture and is abundant in regionally metamorphosed (see meta� morphism) rocks such as schists. Actinolite has a monoclinic crystal struc� ture, and it may alter to chlorite. See also asbestos.

actinomycete \,ak-ti-no-'mI-set\ Any of a group of generally low- oxygen-utilizing bacteria identified by a branching growth pattern that results in large threadlike structures. The filaments may break apart to form rods or spheroidal shapes. Some actinomycetes can form spores. Many species occur in soil and are harmless to animals and higher plants; others are important disease-causing agents. For diagnostic purposes in human infections, the presence of sulfur granules is used.

Action Francaise \ak-se-'o n -fra n -'sez\ (�French Action�) Influential right-wing antirepublican group in early 20th-century France, whose views were promoted in a newspaper of the same name. The Action Francaise movement, led by Charles Maurras, espoused the antiparlia� mentarian, anti-Semitic, and strongly nationalist views inspired by the Alfred Dreyfus Affair. The movement peaked after World War I, when nationalist feeling was strong. It was denounced by the papacy in 1926, and ceased to exist after World War II because of its association with the collaborationist Vichy government (see Vichy France).

action painting Direct, instinctual, dynamic style of painting that involves the spontaneous application of vigorous, sweeping brush strokes and the chance effects of dripping and spilling paint onto the canvas. The term characterizes the work of Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, and Franz Kune. The �automatic� techniques developed in Europe by the Sur� realists in the 1920s and �30s had great influence on U.S. artists, who regarded a picture not merely as a finished product but as a record of the process of its creation. It was a major force in Abstract Expressionism in the 1950s. See also automatism, Tachism.

action potential Brief (about one-thousandth of a second) reversal of electric polarization of the membrane of a nerve or muscle cell. Stimu� lation of the cell by certain chemicals or by sensory receptor cells causes depolarization of the membrane, permitting an impulse to move along the nerve fibre (in nerve cells) or causing the cell to contract (in muscle cells).

Actium Vak-she-omV Battle of (31 bc) Naval battle off Acarnania, Greece, between Octavian (later Augustus) and Mark Antony. With 500 ships and 70,000 infantry, Antony camped at Actium, between the Ionian Sea and the Ambracian Gulf. Octavian, with 400 ships and 80,000 infan� try, cut Antony�s line of communication from the north. Desertion by allies and a lack of supplies forced Antony to act. Outmaneuvered on land, he followed Cleopatra�s advice to attack Octavian at sea. Antony�s larger fleet included his own and Cleopatra�s ships. In the heat of battle Cleo� patra fled with her galleys, and Antony followed with a few ships. His fleet surrendered immediately, his army a week later. Octavian�s victory left him undisputed ruler of the Roman world.

activation energy Minimum amount of energy (heat, electromagnetic radiation, or electrical energy) required to activate atoms or molecules to a condition in which it is equally likely that they will undergo chemical reaction or transport as it is that they will return to their original state. Chemists posit a transition state between the initial conditions and the

product conditions and theorize that the activation energy is the amount of energy required to boost the initial materials �uphill� to the transition state; the reaction then proceeds �downhill� to form the product materi� als. Catalysts (including enzymes) lower the activation energy by altering the transition state. Activation energies are determined by experiments that measure them as the constant of proportionality in the equation describing the dependence of reaction rate on temperature, proposed by Svante Arrhenius. See also entropy, heat of reaction.

active galactic nucleus Small region at the centre of a galaxy that emits a prodigious amount of energy in the form of radio, optical. X-ray, or gamma radiation or high-speed particle jets. Many classes of �active galaxies� have been identified; they appear similar in many respects to quasars. Astronomers suspect that the observed energy is generated as matter accretes onto a supermassive black hole with a mass millions or even billions of times that of the Sun. The accreting matter can outshine the rest of the galaxy as it is heated in very high-speed collisions outside the black hole�s event horizon. It is believed that many galaxies harbour these central black holes and that they might have been quasars in their early history, although they now appear to be dormant unless orbiting matter is accreting onto the black hole.

activity coefficient Number expressing the ratio of a substance�s chemical activity to its molar concentration (see mole). The measured concentration of a substance may not be an accurate indicator of its chemi� cal effectiveness as represented by the equation for a particular reaction; in such cases, the activity is calculated by multiplying the concentration by the activity coefficient. In solutions, the activity coefficient is a mea� sure of how much the solution differs from an ideal solution.

Acton (of Aldenham), John Emerich Edward Dahlberg Acton, 1st Baron (b. Jan.10, 1834, Naples, Kingdom of Naples�d. June 19, 1902, Tegernsee, Bavaria, German Empire) English historian. He served in the House of Commons (1859-65). Editor of the Roman Catholic monthly The Rambler (1859-64), he resigned because of papal criticism of his scientific approach to history. An adviser to William E. Gladstone from 1865, he was raised to the peerage in 1869. In 1895 he was appointed Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Cambridge. He later coordinated the massive publication project of The Cambridge Mod� ern History. A critic of nationalism, he coined the familial - aphorism �Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.�

actor-manager system Method of theatrical production prevalent in 19th-century England and the U.S. In this system, an actor formed a theatre company, chose the plays he wanted to produce, played the lead� ing roles in them, and managed the company�s business arrangements. The first actor-managers emerged in the 17th century, and in the 18th cen� tury actor-managers such as Colley Cibber and David Garrick gained promi� nence. The system produced high performance standards, typified by 19th-century figures such as William Macready, Henry Irving, and Herbert Tree. It waned as actor-managers were replaced first by stage managers and later by directors.

Actors Studio Professional actors� workshop based in New York City. Founded in 1947 by the directors Cheryl Crawford, Eua Kazan, and Rob� ert Lewis as a leading centre of the Stanislavsky method, it was directed by Lee Strasberg from 1948 to 1982. In 1962 it launched a company, and a workshop was established in Los Angeles in 1966. Actors work together without the pressures of commercial production. Membership is by invi� tation; six or seven new members are chosen yearly from 1,000 auditions. Members have included Marlon Brando, AAarilyn Monroe, Paul Newman, and Robert De Niro.

actuary One who calculates insurance risks and premiums. Actuaries compute the probability of the occurrence of such events as birth, mar� riage, illness, accidents, and death. They also evaluate the hazards of property damage or loss and the legal liability for the safety and well� being of others. Usually employed by insurance companies, actuaries set premium rates based on statistical studies, establish underwriting proce� dures, and determine the amounts of money required to assure the pay� ment of benefits.

Acuff \'a-kof\, Roy (Claxton) (b. Sept. 15, 1903, Maynardsville, Tenn., U.S.�d. Nov. 23, 1992, Nashville, Tenn.) U.S. singer, songwriter, and fiddler. He turned to music after an aborted baseball career and gained immediate popularity with his recordings of �The Great Speckled Bird� and �The Wabash Cannonball.� Reasserting the mournful musical tradi-

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14 I acupressure ► Adams

tions of Southeastern rural whites, he became a national radio star on the �Grand Ole Opry� broadcasts. In 1942 he and songwriter Fred Rose founded Acuff-Rose Publishing, the first publishing house exclusively for country music. In 1962 Acuff was elected the first living member of the Country Music Hall of Fame.

acupressure or shiatsu \she-'at-su\ Alternative-medicine practice in which pressure is applied to points on the body aligned along 12 main meridians (pathways), usually for a short time, to improve the flow of vital force (Qi). Though often referred to by its Japanese name, shiatsu, it originated in China thousands of years ago. A single point may be pressed to relieve a specific symptom or condition, or a series of points can be worked on to promote overall well-being. Some studies suggest that acu� pressure can be effective for certain health problems, including nausea, pain, and stroke-related weakness. Risks are minimal with cautious use. See also acupuncture.

acupuncture Medical technique in which needles are inserted into the skin and underlying tissues, devised in China before 2500 bc. One or more small metal needles are inserted at precise points along 12 meridians (pathways) in the body, through which the vital life force (qi) is believed to flow, in order to restore yin-yang balance and treat disease caused by yin-yang imbalance. Acupuncture appears to relieve pain and is used as an anesthetic for surgery. Theories to explain its effects include stimula� tion of release of natural opiates, blockage of pain-signal transmission, and a placebo effect. See also acupressure.

Ada Va -do\ High-level computer programming language whose develop� ment was initiated in 1975 by the U.S. Dept, of Defense and standard� ized in 1983. Ada (named for the countess of Lovelace) was intended to be a common language for use on the department�s computers, which were produced by many different manufacturers. It is similar to Pascal but contains many additional features convenient for the development of large-scale, multiplatform programs. The 1995 revision, called Ada 95, Supports OBJECT-ORIENTED PROGRAMMING.

Adad \a-'dad\ Babylonian and Assyrian god of weather, the son of Anu ( sometimes called the son of Bel). He was known as the Lord of Abun� dance for rains that made the land bloom, but he sent death-dealing storms to his enemies. He was also the god of oracles and divination. Though widely worshiped, he was a minor god and appears to have had no cult center of his own.

Ada I Va-doL Historical Islamic state, eastern Africa, southwest of the Gulf of Aden, with its capital at Harer (now in Ethiopia). Its rivalry with Christian Ethiopia began in the 14th century. In the early 16th century Adal launched a series of attacks. By 1533 Adal, now led by Ahmed Gran, succeeded in gaining control of most of central Ethiopia. Gran was killed in battle in 1543, and the Oromo invasions of the later 16th century ended Adal�s power.

Adalbert Yad-^-.bartV, Saint orig. Vojtech (b. 956, Libice?, Bohemia�d. April 23, 997, near Gdansk, Pol.; feast day April 23) Czech prelate. Descended from the princes of Bohemia, he was trained in the� ology at Magdeburg. Elected the first native bishop of Prague in 982, he promoted the political aims of the Bohemian prince by extending the influence of the church beyond the Czech kingdom. Failing to convert his people, he retired in 988 to a monastery near Rome. On papal orders, he returned in 992 to find little change. Disillusioned, he left Bohemia in 994 to become a missionary along the Baltic coast, where he was martyred in 997. An account of his life was written by his friend and disciple St. Bruno of Querfurt. He was recognized as a saint soon after his death.

Adam, Robert (b. July 3, 1728, Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scot.�d. March 3, 1792, London, Eng.) Scottish architect and designer. Son of the architect William Adam, he apprenticed in his father�s offices. He traveled in Europe in 1754-58, studying architectural theory and Roman ruins. On his return to London, he and his brother James (1732-94) developed an essentially decorative style�known as the Adam style�that was marked by a new lightness and freedom in the use of the Classical elements of architecture. This style is most remembered for its application in interi� ors, which were characterized by contrasting room shapes and delicate Classical ornaments. Robert Adam�s executed works, mainly remodeled interiors and exteriors of private houses, include Osterley Park (1761-80) in Middlesex and Kedleston Hall (c. 1765-70) in Derbyshire. Other works include the Adelphi development in London (1768-72) and the Univer� sity of Edinburgh (1789). He was also a leading furniture designer; his

style, popularized by designer George Hepplewhite, was meant to harmo� nize with his interior architecture down to the last detail.

Adam and Eve In the Judeo-Christian and Islamic traditions, the par� ents of the human race. Genesis gives two versions of their creation. In the first, God creates �male and female in his own image� on the sixth day. In the second, Adam is placed in the Garden of Eden, and Eve is later created from his rib to ease his loneliness. For succumbing to temptation and eating the fruit of the forbidden tree of knowledge of good and evil, God banished them from Eden, and they and their descendants were forced to live lives of hardship. Cain and Abel were their children. Chris� tian theologians developed the doctrine of original sin based on the story of their transgression; in contrast, the Quran teaches that Adam�s sin was his alone and did not make all people sinners.

Adamawa \,a-da-'ma-wa\ Traditional emirate centered in what is now Adamawa state, eastern Nigeria. It was founded by Modibbo Adama in the early 19th century. He moved the capital several times before finally settling it in 1841 in Yola. The British Royal Niger Company established trading posts there; when the emir tried to force them out in 1901, they captured the town. Adamawa was partitioned in 1901 between British Northern Nigeria and German Kamerun (Cameroon). In 1919 the Cam� eroon portion was divided between the French and the British. The emir� ate�s territories eventually came to form almost all of northern Cameroon and part of eastern Nigeria.

Adamawa-Ubangi X.ad-o-'ma-wo-ii-'baq-geV languages formerly Adamawa-Eastern languages Branch of the huge Niger-Congo language family. Adamawa-Ubangi languages are spoken in eastern Nige� ria, northern Cameroon, southwestern Chad, and western Central African Republic. The branch has two divisions, Adamawa in the west and Ubangi in the east. The Adamawa group comprises 80 languages, the least-studied languages in the Niger-Congo family. Nearly all have fewer than 100,000 speakers. The Ubangi group includes 40 languages and extends across a much broader region, from northern Cameroon across the Central Africa Republic to adjacent parts of southern Sudan and northern Congo (Kin� shasa). Ubangi languages with more than a million speakers include those of the Banda, Gbaya, Ngbaka, and Zande peoples. Sango, a restructured form of one or more languages of the Ngbandi group of Ubangi, has become a lingua franca of the Central African Republic.

Adamov Xo-'da-movV Arthur (b. Aug. 23, 1908, Kislovodsk, Russia�d. March 16, 1970, Paris, France) Russian-born French play� wright. He settled in Paris in 1924, and his first major work, written after suffering a nervous breakdown, was his autobiography, The Confession (1938-43). Influenced by August Strindberg and Franz Kafka, he began writing plays in 1947. Professor Taranne (1953) and Ping-Pong (1955) expressed a view of life�s meaninglessness that was characteristic of the Theatre of the Absurd. In Paolo Paoli (1957) and later plays, he abandoned Absurdism for radical political theatre influenced by Bertolt Brecht. He died from a drug overdose, an apparent suicide.

Adams, Abigail orig. Abigail Smith (b. Nov. 22, 1744, Weymouth, Mass.�d. Oct. 28, 1818, Quincy, Mass., U.S.) U.S. first lady. She was the daughter of a Congregational minister. Educated entirely at home, she became an avid reader of history. She married John Adams in 1764 and raised four children, including John Quincy Adams, in Quincy, Mass. In 1774 she began a prolific correspondence with her husband, who was attending the Continental Congress in Philadelphia; she described daily life and discussed public affairs during the American Revolution with wit and political acuity. She continued her letters to family and friends while in Europe (1784-88) and Washington, D.C. (1789-1801), during her hus� band�s diplomatic and presidential careers. She was considered an influ� ential adviser to him.

Adams, Ansel (b. Feb. 20, 1902, San Francisco, Calif., U.S.�d. April 22, 1984, Carmel, Calif.) U.S. photographer. In 1927 he published Parme- lian Prints of the High Sierras, photographs that imitated Impressionist painting by suppressing detail in favour of soft, misty effects achieved in the darkroom. Adams was known for his dramatic images of mountain landscapes. He became one of the outstanding technicians in the history of photography; Making a Photograph (1935) was the first of his many books on photographic technique. He worked consistently to foster pub� lic awareness of photography as a fine art. In 1940 he helped organize the first public collection of photographs, at the Museum of Modern Art, and in 1946 he established, at the California School of Fine Arts, the first aca� demic photography department.

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Adams ► Adamson I 15

Adams, Charles Francis (b. Aug. 18, 1807, Boston, Mass., U.S.�d. Nov. 21, 1886, Boston) U.S. diplo� mat. The son of John Quincy Adams and the grandson of John Adams, he served in the Massachusetts legisla� ture and edited a Whig journal. He helped form the antislavery Free-Soil Party and in 1848 was chosen its can� didate for U.S. vice president. As ambassador to Britain (1861-68) he was instrumental in securing Brit� ain�s neutrality during the American Civil War and in promoting the arbi� tration of the Alabama claims.

Adams, Gerry orig. Gerard Adams (b. Oct. 6, 1948, Belfast,

N.Ire.) Irish nationalist and president of Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA). He was interned without trial as a suspected terrorist in 1972, 1973-76, and 1978.

He became vice president of Sinn Fein in 1978 and persuaded the group to enter candidates in the 1981 elections. Elected to the British House of Commons in 1983, he refused to take the oath of allegiance and never took his seat. In 1991, as Sinn Fein�s president (from 1983), he began to shift its strategy toward negotiation; his efforts led to indirect talks with the British government and a 1993 agreement (the Downing Street Declaration) by the British and Irish prime ministers to consider the future of Northern Ireland. He was credited with the IRA�s 1994 cease-fire announcement and was pivotal in winning support for the Good Friday Agreement (1998), which led to the creation of a power-sharing assembly in Northern Ireland.

Adams, Henry (Brooks) (b. Feb. 16, 1838, Boston, Mass., U.S.�d. March 27, 1918, Washington, D.C.) U.S. historian and man of letters. A product of Boston�s elite Brahmin class and a descendant of two presi� dents, he was infused with disgust for American politics of his time. As a young newspaper correspondent and editor, he called for social and political reforms, but he later became disillusioned with a world he char� acterized as devoid of principle. That loss of faith was reflected in his novel Democracy (1880). His study of U.S. democracy culminated in his nine-volume History of the United States of America (1889-91), which received immediate acclaim. In Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres (1913) he described the medieval worldview as reflected in its architecture. The Education of Henry Adams (1918), his best-known work and one of the outstanding autobiographies of Western literature, traced his confronta� tions with the uncertainties of the 20th century.

Adams, John (b. Oct. 30, 1735, Braintree, Mass.�d. July 4, 1826, Quincy, Mass., U.S.) U.S. politician, first vice president (1789-97) and second president (1797-1801) of the U.S. After graduating from Harvard College in 1755, he practiced law in Boston. In 1764 he married Abigail Smith (see Abigail Adams). Active in the American independence move� ment, he was elected to the Massa� chusetts legislature and served as a delegate to the Continental Congress (1774-78), where he was appointed to a committee with Thomas Jefferson and others to draft the Declaration of Independence. In 1776-78 he was appointed to many congressional committees, including one to create a navy and another to review foreign affairs. He served as a diplomat in France, the Netherlands, and England (1778�88). In the first U.S. presidential election, he received the second largest number of votes and became vice president under George Washington. Adams�s term as president was marked by controversy over

his signing of the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798 and by his alliance with the conservative Federalist Party. In 1800 he was defeated for reelection by Jefferson and retired to live a secluded life in Massachusetts. In 1812 he overcame his bitterness toward Jefferson, with whom he began an illu� minating correspondence. Both men died on July 4, 1826, the Declara� tion�s 50th anniversary. John Quincy Adams was his son.

Adams, John (Coolidge) (b. Feb. 15, 1947, Worcester, Mass., U.S.) U.S. composer. After studying at Harvard University he taught at the San Francisco Conservatory and conducted widely. His compositions, initially strongly influenced by minimalism, became tempered by expressive ele� ments. His Nixon in China (1987) and The Death of Klinghoffer (1991) are two of the best-known operas of the late 20th century. Other celebrated works include Harmonium (1980), Grand Pianola Music (1982), and Harmonielehre (1984-85).

Adams, John Quincy (b. July 11, 1767, Braintree, Mass.�d. Feb. 23, 1848, Washington, D.C., U.S.) Sixth president of the U.S. (1825-29). He was the eldest son of John Adams, second president of the U.S., and Abigail Adams. He accompanied his father to Europe on diplomatic mis� sions (1778-80) and was later appointed U.S. minister to the Netherlands (1794) and to Prussia (1797). In 1801 he returned to Massachusetts and served in the U.S. Senate (1803-08). Resuming his diplomatic service, he became U.S. minister to Russia (1809-11) and to Britain (1815-17). Appointed secretary of state (1817-24), he was instrumental in acquiring Florida from Spain and in drafting the Monroe Doctrine. He ran for the presidency in 1824 against three other candidates; none received a major� ity of the electoral votes, though Andrew Jackson received a plurality. By constitutional design, the selection of the president went to the House of Representatives, where Adams was elected after receiving crucial support from Henry Clay, who had finished third in the initial balloting. He appointed Clay secretary of state, which further angered Jackson. Adams�s presidency was unsuccessful; when he ran for reelection, Jackson defeated him. In 1830 he was elected to the House, where he served until his death. He was outspoken in his opposition to slavery; in 1839 he proposed a constitutional amendment forbidding slavery in any new state admitted to the Union. Southern congressmen prevented discussion of antislavery petitions by passing gag rules (repealed in 1844 as a result of Adams�s persistence). In 1841 he successfully defended the slaves in the Amistad mutiny case.

Adams, Samuel (b. Sept. 27, 1722, Boston, Mass.�d. Oct. 2, 1803, Boston, Mass., U.S.) American Revolutionary leader. A cousin of John Adams, he graduated from Harvard College in 1740 and briefly practiced law. He became a strong opponent of British taxation measures and orga� nized resistance to the Stamp Act. He was a member of the state legisla� ture (1765-74), and in 1772 he helped found the Committees of Correspondence. He influenced reaction to the Tea Act of 1773, organized the Boston Tea Party, and led opposition to the Intolerable Acts. A delegate to the Continental Congress (1774-81), he continued to call for separa� tion from Britain and signed the Declaration of Independence. He helped draft the Massachusetts constitution in 1780 and served as the state�s governor (1794-97).

Adams, Walter S(ydney) (b. Dec. 20, 1876, Syria�d. May 11, 1956, Pasadena, Calif., U.S.) Syrian-born U.S. astronomer. He returned to the U.S. with his missionary parents when he was eight and studied at Dartmouth College, the University of Chicago, and the University of Munich. Using spectroscopy, he investigated sunspots and the rotation of the Sun, the velocities and distances of thousands of stars, and planetary atmospheres. In 1904 he joined the original staff of Mount Wilson Obser� vatory, where he served as director (1923-46). He took an important part in planning the 200-in. (5-m) telescope for the Palomar Observatory.

Adam's Peak Mountain, south-central Sri Lanka. Standing 7,360 ft (2,243 m) high, it is sacred and a place of pilgrimage to Buddhists, Mus� lims, and Hindus. On its summit, it has a large hollow, 5 ft (1.5 m) long, that is venerated as the footprint of Buddha, Adam, and Shiva, respectively. Many pilgrims of all faiths visit the peak every year.

Adamson, Joy orig. Joy-Friederike Victoria Gessner (b. Jan. 20, 1910, Troppau, Silesia, Austria-Hungary�d. Jan. 3, 1980, Shaba National Reserve, Kenya) Czech-born British naturalist. Educated in Vienna, she moved to Kenya in 1939. She became known worldwide for books describing how she and her husband, George, raised a lion cub, Elsa, and returned it to its natural habitat: Born Free (1960), Living Free (1961), and Forever Free (1962). The books were adapted into two films.

Charles Francis Adams

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON, D.C.

John Adams, oil painting by Gilbert Stuart, 1826; in the National Collec� tion of Fine Arts, Washington, D.C.

COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL COLLECTION OF FINE ARTS, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, WASHINGTON D.C.

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16 I Adamson ► additive

She later repeated her rehabilitation success with cheetah and leopard cubs. In addition to writing other books, she founded the Elsa Wild Ani� mal Appeal (1961), an international conservation fund. She was killed by a disgruntled employee.

Adamson, Robert See Hill, David Octavius, and Robert Adamson

Adana \,a-da-'na\ City (pop., 1997: 1,041,509), south-central Turkey, on the Seyhan River. An agricultural and industrial centre and one of Tur� key�s largest cities, it probably overlies a Hittite settlement that dates from c. 1400 bc. Conquered by Alexander the Great in 335-334 bc, it was later a Roman military station. It came under the rule of the 'Abbasid dynasty at the end of the 7th century ad and changed hands intermittently until the late 14th century, when it fell into the hands of the Ramazan dynasty, a Turkmen group that remained influential even after the city�s conquest by the Ottoman Empire in 1516. Adana�s prosperity has long derived from the fertile valleys behind it and its position as a bridgehead on the trade routes connecting Anatolia and the Arabian Peninsula.

Adanson \a-da n -so n \, Michel (b. April 7, 1727, Aix-en-Provence, France�d. Aug. 3, 1806, Paris) French botanist. He studied theology, classics, and philosophy in Paris before traveling to Senegal, where he lived several years. He returned with a large collection of plant speci� mens, now in the National Museum of Natural History. In Families of Plants (1763), he described his classification system; it was opposed by Carolus Linnaeus, whose system eventually prevailed. He was the first to classify mollusks. He also studied electricity in torpedo fish and the effects of electrical current on regenerating frog legs and heads. He is now known mainly for introducing the use of statistical methods in botanical studies.

Adapa \3-'da-p3\ Legendary sage of the Sumerian city of Eridu. Endowed with great intelligence by Ea but still mortal, he was the hero of the Sumerian myth of the Fall of Man. Adapa was fishing when he was blown into the sea by the southern wind, whose wings he broke in rage. The heavenly doorkeepers Tammuz and Ningishzida interceded for him when he was summoned before Anu for punishment, but when Anu offered him the bread and water of eternal life, he refused, and human� kind thus became mortal.

adaptation In biology, the process by which an animal or plant becomes fitted to its environment. It is the result of natural selection act� ing on inherited variation. Even simple organisms must be adapted in many ways, including structure, physiology, and genetics; movement or dispersal; means of defense and attack; and reproduction and develop� ment. To be useful, adaptations must often occur simultaneously in dif� ferent parts of the body.

ADD See attention deficit disorder

Adda River \'ad-da\ River, Lombardy region, Italy. It flows southward 194 mi (313 km) through Lake Como and across the Lombardy Plain before joining the Po River above Cremona. It is used extensively for hydroelectric power in its upper course and for irrigation on the plain. Historically, it has served as a strategic defense line in wars dating back to the Roman period.

Addams, Charles (Samuel) (b. Jan. 7, 1912, Westfield, N.J., U.S.�d. Sept. 29, 1988, New York, N.Y.) U.S. cartoonist. He worked briefly as a commercial artist before selling his first cartoon to The New Yorker in 1933. He became famous for darkly humorous cartoons depict� ing morbid behaviour by sinister-looking characters, especially a family of ghouls whose activities travestied those of a conventional family; in one popular image, they prepare to pour boiling oil on a group of Christ� mas carolers. These evolved into The Addams Family, a 1960s television series that generated two Hollywood films.

Addams, Jane (b. Sept. 6, 1860, Cedarville, Ill., U.S.�d. May 21, 1935, Chicago, Ill.) U.S. social reformer. Addams graduated from Rock� ford Female Seminary in Illinois in 1881 and was granted a degree the following year when the institution became Rockford College. During a trip to Europe in 1887-88 she visited the Toynbee Hall settlement house in London, which sparked her interest in social reform. Determined to create something like Toynbee Hall in the U.S., in 1889 she cofounded Hull House in Chicago, one of the first settlement houses in North America to provide practical services and educational opportunities for the poor. She subsequently championed social reforms such as juvenile- court law, justice for immigrants and African Americans, worker�s rights and compensation, and women�s suffrage. In 1910 she became the first

female president of the National Conference of Social Work. An ardent pacifist, she served in 1915 as chair of the International Congress of Women and helped form the Women�s International League for Peace and Freedom and the American Civil Liberties Union. In 1931 she shared the Nobel Prize for Peace with Nicholas M. Butler.

adder Any of several venomous snakes of the viper family (Viperidae) and the death adder, a viperlike elapid. Vipers include the common adder, puff adders, and night adders.

Adders occur in Europe, Asia,

Africa, and Australia. They range in length from 18 in. to 5 ft (45 cm to 1.5 m). The puff adder of Africa and the death adder of Australia and the nearby islands are particularly ven� omous, with a bite potentially lethal to humans. The name is also used for other snakes (e.g., the hognose SNAKE).

Adderley, Cannonball orig. Julian Edwin Adderley (b. Sept. 15, 1928, Tampa, Fla., U.S.�d. Aug. 8, 1975, Gary, Ind.) U.S. jazz saxo� phonist. He worked as a music teacher and led army bands before mov� ing to New York City in the mid-1950s. Acclaimed as a stylistic heir of Charlie Parker, he was also influenced by the more traditional rhythm-and- blues phrasing of Benny Carter. He performed with trumpeter Miles Davis from 1957 to 1959, then led an ensemble with his brother, cornetist Nat Adderley (1931-2000). In the 1960s he introduced gospel-music harmo� nies to his music.

Addis Ababa Vad-dis-'a-ba-.ba, 'a-dos-'a-bs-boX Capital and largest city (pop., 1994: 2,112,737) of Ethiopia. It lies on a plateau in the coun� try�s geographic centre at an altitude of about 8,000 ft (2,450 m). The city was founded as the capital in 1887 because of the unsatisfactory location of the former capital, Entoto. Addis Ababa was the capital of Italian East Africa 1935-41. It has become the national centre for higher education, banking and insurance, and trade. Several international organizations have their headquarters there, including the Organization of African Unity. In recent decades it has suffered unrest and extensive damage as a result of the country�s political instability.

Addison, Joseph (b. May 1, 1672, Milston, Wiltshire, Eng.�d. June 17, 1719, London) English essayist, poet, and dramatist. His poem on the Battle of Blenheim, The Campaign (1705), brought him to the attention of leading Whigs and paved the way to important government posts (including secretary of state) and lit� erary fame. With Richard Steele, he was a leading contributor to and guiding spirit of the periodicals The Tatler (1709-11) and The Spectator (1711-12, 1714). One of the most admired masters of English prose, he brought to perfection the periodical essay. His Cato (1713), a highly suc� cessful play with political overtones, is one of the important tragedies of the 18th century.

Addison disease Disease in which gradual atrophy of the adrenal cortex causes the adrenal glands to produce insufficient quantities of the steroid hydrocortisone while causing the pituitary gland to produce excess quantities of pituitary hormones. Most of the cortex tissue is destroyed by the time symptoms (including weakness, abnormal coloration, weight loss, and hypotension) appear. Hydrocortisone-replacement therapy is often successful, usually given with other hormones to stabilize sodium levels. More than half of cases are believed to be due to an autoimmune reaction (see autoimmune disease); the remainder are caused by destruction of the adrenal gland by granuloma (e.g., tuberculosis).

additive In foods, any of various chemical substances added to produce desirable effects. Additives include such substances as artificial or natu� ral colourings and flavourings; stabilizers, emulsifiers, and thickeners;

Puff adder (Bitis arietans)

COPYRIGHT� 1971 Z. LESZCZYNSKI-ANIMALS ANIMALS

Joseph Addison, oil painting by Michael Dahl, 1719; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, LONDON

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Adelaide ► Adler I 17

preservatives and humectants (moisture-retainers); and supplementary nutrients. Though many additives are harmless or even beneficial, others reduce nutritional value or conceal inferior raw materials or processing.

Adelaide City (pop., 2004 est.: 1,124,315) and capital, South Austra� lia. Adelaide lies at the base of the Mount Lofty Ranges on the Torrens River, near its harbour facilities at Port Adelaide. Founded in 1836, it was incorporated in 1840 as Australia�s first municipal government. Its rise as an agricultural marketing centre and the proximity of natural mineral deposits contributed to its economic growth. It is an industrial centre and has petroleum refineries as well as connections by pipeline to natural gas fields. Landmarks include the University of Adelaide, Parliament House, Government House, and two cathedrals.

Aden Va-don, 'a-don\ Seaport city (pop., 2004 prelim.: 580,000), south� ern Yemen, on the Gulf of Aden. It was a principal terminus of the spice road of western Arabia for about 1,000 years before the 3rd century ad. It then became a trading centre under Yemeni, Ethiopian, and Arab con� trol. The Ottoman Empire captured the city in 1538, and the British (who established a garrison there around 1800) governed it from India (1839� 1937). It grew in importance as a coaling station and transshipment point after the opening of the Suez Canal. It was made a crown colony in 1937, incorporated in the Federation of South Arabia (1963-67), and served as the capital of South Yemen until that republic�s merger with North Yemen in 1990.

Aden, Gulf of Arm of the Indian Ocean between the Arabian Peninsula and Somalia. To the west, it narrows into the Gulf of Tadjoura; its east� ern limit is the meridian of Cape Guardafui. In these terms it is about 550 mi (885 km) long; geologically, it extends a total of 920 mi (1,480 km), to the eastern limits of the continental shelf beyond the Khuriyya Muriyya islands to the north and the island of Socotra to the south. Its marine life is rich in quantity and variety. Its coastline lacks large-scale fishing facili� ties but supports many fishing towns, as well as the major ports Aden and Djibouti.

Adena Vo-'de-noX culture Culture of various communities of ancient North American Indians who occupied the middle Ohio River valley c. 500 bc-ad 100. The Adena usually lived in villages containing circular houses constructed of poles and bark. They subsisted by hunting, fishing, and gathering wild plant foods, and they used a variety of stone tools and simple pottery. Adena ornaments of copper, mica, and seashells indicate trade with faraway peoples. See also Woodland culture.

Adenauer \'a-d 3 n-aur\, Konrad (b. Jan. 15, 1876, Cologne, German Empire�d. April 19, 1967, Rhon- dorf, W.Ger.) German statesman, first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Ger� many). Elected to the Cologne city council (1906), he served as the city�s lord mayor (1917-33). He was elected to the Prussian Staatsrat (state council) in 1920 and served as its speaker (1928-33). He lost his posts when the Nazis came to power, and in 1944 he was sent to a concen� tration camp. As World War II drew to a close, he played an important role in the formation of the Christian Democratic Union. As chancellor from 1949, Adenauer stressed indi� vidualism under the rule of law. His fear of Soviet expansion made him a strong supporter of NATO. He worked hard to reconcile Germany with its former enemies, especially France. He retired his post in 1963.

adenine \'a-d 3 n-,en\ Organic compound of the purine family, often called a base, consisting of two rings, each containing both nitrogen and carbon atoms, and an amino group. It occurs free in tea and in combined form in nucleic acids, ATP, vitamin B 12 , and several coenzymes. In DNA its complementary base is thymine. It or its corresponding nucleoside or nucle� otide may be prepared from nucleic acids by selective techniques of HYDROLYSIS.

adenoids Va-d 3 n-,6idz\ or pharyngeal tonsils N.far-on-'je-ol, fo-'rin-je-olX Mass of lymphoid tissue, similar to the (palatine) tonsils, on the back wall of the nasal pharynx. If the adenoids become infected in child� hood, their inflammation can obstruct nasal breathing and sinus drainage (promoting sinusitis) and block the eustachian tubes that connect to the middle ear (setting the stage for otitis). Surgical removal of enlarged or infected adenoids is frequently recommended.

adenosine triphosphate See ATP

adenovirus \ 1 a-d 3 n-o-'vI-r9s\ Any of a group of spheroidal viruses, made up of DNA wrapped in a protein coat, that cause sore throat and fever in humans, hepatitis in dogs, and several diseases in fowl, mice, cattle, pigs, and monkeys. An adenovirus develops within the nucleus of an infected cell. In humans, adenoviruses, like cold viruses, may cause infections of the upper respiratory tract, the eyes, and frequently the lymph nodes. Like cold viruses, adenoviruses are often found in inactive infec� tions in clinically healthy persons. Because only a few adenoviruses com� monly cause illness in humans, vaccines against them are possible.

Ades Vad-9s\, Thomas (b. March 1, 1971, London, Eng.) British com� poser. Trained as a pianist at the Guildhall School, he later attended King�s College, Cambridge. Initial recognition came for his virtuoso piano play� ing, but he started to write music in 1990 (Five Eliot Landscapes ) and was instantly acclaimed as a major composer for his inventiveness and remarkably assured technique. His controversial opera Powder Her Face (1995), about a 20th-century divorce scandal, attracted international atten� tion, as did his large symphonic work Asyla (1997).

ADHD See ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER

Adi Granth \,a-de-'granth\ (Punjabi: �First Book�) Sacred scripture of Sikhism. Composed of nearly 6,000 hymns of the Sikh Gurus and Hindu and Islamic saints, it is the central object of worship in all gurdwaras (temples). It is ritually opened and closed daily and is read continuously on special occasions. First compiled in 1604 by Arjan, it included his own hymns and those of his predecessors and the devotional songs of saints. In 1704 the last Guru, Gobind Singh, added more hymns and decreed that after his death the Granth would take the place of the Guru. Written mostly in Punjabi or Hindi, it contains the Mul Mantra (basic prayer), Japji (the most important scripture, written by Nanak), and hymns arranged accord� ing to the ragas in which they are to be sung.

Adige Va-de-ja\ River River, 255 mi (410 km) long, the longest in Italy after the Po. It rises below the Resia Pass and flows southeast through the Venosta valley. After receiving the Isarco River at Bolzano, it turns south across the Po lowlands to enter the Adriatic Sea south of Chioggia. It sup� plies hydroelectric power in its upper Alpine section and irrigation for the Veneto. Its floods, notably those of 1951 and 1966, do great damage and require constant control of the riverbank. The Adige has been the scene of many battles, especially in the Austrian-Italian campaign of 1916.

adipose tissue or fatty tissue Connective tissue consisting mainly of fat cells, specialized to synthesize and contain large globules of fat, within a structural network of fibres. It is found mainly under the skin but also in deposits between the muscles, in the intestines and in their mem� brane folds, around the heart, and elsewhere. The fat stored in this tissue comes from dietary fats or is produced in the body. It acts as a fuel reserve for times of starvation or great exertion, helps conserve body heat, and forms pads between organs.

Adirondack V.a-do-'ran-.dakX Mountains Mountains in northeastern New York state, U.S. They extend south from the St. Lawrence River val� ley and Lake Champlain to the Mohawk River valley. The Adirondack region covers more than 6 million acres (2.4 million hectares). It has more than 40 summits higher than 4,000 ft (1,219 m); the tallest, Mount Marcy (5,344 ft [1,629 mj), is the state�s highest. Samuel de Champain became the first European to sight the Adirondacks in 1609. The area was sparsely settled when in 1892 the state legislature created Adirondack Park, which has grown over the years to become, at more than 5 million acres (2 mil� lion hectares), the largest U.S. state or national park outside of Alaska.

Adler, Alfred (b. Feb. 7, 1870, Penzing, Austria�d. May 28, 1937, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Scot.) Austrian psychiatrist. He earned his medical degree in Vienna, and from his earliest years as a physician he stressed consideration of the individual in relation to his total environ� ment. A student and associate of Sigmund Freud (1902-11), he eventually broke with Freud over the importance of early-childhood sexual conflicts

Konrad Adenauer.

�KARSH/WOODFIN CAMP AND ASSOCIATES

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18 I Adler ► adrenal

in the development of psychopathology. With his followers he developed the school of individual psychology�the humanistic study of drives, feel� ings, emotions, and memory in the context of the individual�s overall life plan. Adler advanced the theory of the inferiority complex to explain cases of psychopathology; Adlerian psychotherapy sought to direct patients emotionally disabled by inferiority feelings toward maturity, common sense, and social usefulness. He established the first child guidance clinic in 1921 in Vienna. He taught in the U.S. (at Columbia University and the Long Island College of Medicine) from 1927 until his death. His works include Understanding Human Nature (1927) and What Life Should Mean to You (1931).

Adler, Guido (b. Nov. 1, 1855, Eibenschiitz, Moravia, Austrian Empire�d. Feb. 15, 1941, Vienna, Austria) Austrian musicologist. After studying music theory and composition at the Vienna Conservatory, he studied music history at the University of Vienna under Eduard Hanslick (1825-1904), whom he succeeded as professor. He worked with Philipp Spitta (1841-94) and Friedrich Chrysander in founding musicology as an academic discipline. Among his distinguished students were Karl Geir- inger (1899-1989), Knud Jeppesen (1892-1974), Anton Webern, and Egon Wellesz (1885-1974).

Adler, Larry orig. Lawrence Cecil Adler (b. Feb. 10, 1914, Bal� timore, Md., U.S.�d. Aug. 7, 2001, London, Eng.) U.S. harmonica player. Though he was initially unable to read music, he learned classical compositions by ear and became the first person to perform concert music on the harmonica. His musicality attracted many composers to write espe� cially for him, including Darius Milhaud and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Accused of communist sympathies and blacklisted in the early 1950s, he was unable to find work in the U.S. and took up residence in England.

Adler, Mortimer J(erome) (b. Dec. 28, 1902, New York, N.Y., U.S.�d. June 28, 2001, San Mateo, Calif.) U.S. philosopher, educator, and editor. He earned a doctorate in philosophy from Columbia Univer� sity (1928) and taught philosophy of law from 1930 at the University of Chicago, where with Robert M. Hutchins he promoted the idea of liberal education through regular discussions of the great books. Together they edited the 54-volume Great Books of the Western World (1952); for Ency- CLOPAlDIA Britannica, Inc., they edited an annual, The Great Ideas Today (from 1961), and the 10-volume Gateway to the Great Books (1963). In 1969 Adler became director of planning for the 15th edition of Encyclo- pcedia Britannica , published in 1974. His many books include How to Read a Book (1940), How to Think About God (1980), Six Great Ideas (1981), and Ten Philosophical Mistakes (1985).

administrative law Law regulating the powers, procedures, and acts of public administration. It applies to all public officials and public agen� cies. As distinguished from legislative and judicial authority, administra� tive authority entails the power to issue rules and regulations based on statutes, grant licenses and permits to facilitate the conduct of govern� ment business, initiate investigations of and provide remedies for com� plaints or problems, and issue orders directing parties to conform to governing statutes or rules. An administrative-law judge is a government official with quasi-judicial powers, including the authority to conduct hearings, make findings of fact, and recommend resolution of disputes concerning the agency�s actions.

admiral butterfly Any of several species of butterflies (family Nymph- alidae) that are colourful, fast-flying, and much prized by collectors. The migratory red admiral ( Vanessa atalanta ), widespread in Europe, Scandi� navia, North America, and North Africa, feeds on stinging nettles. The Indian red admiral (V indica) is found in the Canary Islands and India. The white admiral ( Limenitis Camilla, or Basilarchia arthemis), a Eur� asian and North American species, feeds on honeysuckle.

Admiralty, High Court of See High Court of Admiralty

Admiralty Islands Island group (pop., 2000 est.: 41,748), Papua New Guinea. An extension of the Bismarck Archipelago comprising about 40 islands, the Admiralty Islands lie about 190 mi (300 km) north of the mainland of Papua New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. Most of the land area of the islands is contained in Manus Island, which is the site of Lorengau, the islands� principal settlement. First sighted by the Dutch explorer Willem Schouten in 1616, it was named by the British captain Philip Carteret in 1767. Subsequently ruled by the Germans, Australians, and Japanese, the islands were made part of the UN Trust Territory of

New Guinea in 1946. When Papua New Guinea attained independence in 1975, the islands became part of that country.

admiralty law See maritime law

adobe \3-'do-be\ Handmade sun-dried bricks formed from a mixture of heavy clay and straw found in arid regions. As a building material, adobe dates back thousands of years and is found in many parts of the world. Molds for shaping the bricks were brought to the New World by the Spanish. Excellent insulating properties make adobe an ideal material for both dwellings and ovens; home interiors retain heat in winter and stay cool in summer. The adobe buildings at Taos, N.M., are typical of Native American pueblo dwellings.

adolescence Period of life from puberty to adulthood (roughly ages 12-20) characterized by marked physiological changes, development of sexual feelings, efforts toward the construction of identity, and a progres� sion from concrete to abstract thought. Adolescence is sometimes viewed as a transitional state, during which youths begin to separate themselves from their parents but still lack a clearly defined role in society. It is gen� erally regarded as an emotionally intense and often stressful period.

Adonis \3-'da-nos\ In Greek mythology, a youth of remarkable beauty, the favorite of Aphrodite. As a child he was put in the care of Persephone, who refused to allow him to return from the underworld. Zeus ruled that he should spend a third of the year with Persephone, a third with Aph� rodite, and a third on his own. He became a hunter and was killed by a boar. In answer to Aphrodite�s pleas, Zeus allowed him to spend half the year with her and half in the underworld. Mythically, Adonis represents the cycle of death and resurrection in winter and spring. He is identified with the Babylonian god Tammuz.

adoption Act of transferring parental rights and duties to someone other than the adopted person�s biological parents. The practice is ancient and occurs in all cultures. Traditionally, its goal was to continue the male line for the purposes of inheritance and succession; most adoptees were male (and sometimes adult). Contemporary laws and practices aim to promote child welfare and the development of families. In the latter part of the 20th century, there was a relaxation of traditional restrictions on age dif� ferences between adoptive parents and children, on the parents� minimum income level, on the mother�s employment outside the home, and on placements across religious and ethnic lines. Single-parent adoptions and adoptions by same-sex couples also became more acceptable. Beginning in the 1970s, a growing adoptees-rights movement in the United States called for the repeal of confidentiality laws in most states that prevented adoptees as adults from viewing their adoption records, including their original birth certificates.

Adorno Xa-'dor-noV Theodor (Wiesengrund) (b. Sept. 11, 1903, Frankfurt am Main, Ger.�d. Aug. 6, 1969, Visp, Switz.) German phi� losopher. He immigrated to England in 1934 to escape Nazism. He lived for 10 years in the U.S. (1938-48) before returning to Frankfurt, where he taught and headed the Frankfurt Institute for Social Research (see Frankfurt School). He is notable for his books and essays on philosophy, literature, psychology, sociology, and music (which he studied with Alban Berg). For Adorno, the great task of modernist music, literature, and art was to keep alive the possible social alternatives to capitalism, which phi� losophy and political theory could no longer imagine. His works include Dialectic of Enlightenment (1947; with Max Horkheimer), Minima Mora- lia (1951), and Notes to Literature (4 vols., 1958-74).

Adour \3-'dur\ River River, southwestern France. Flowing northwest from the Pyrenees, it traverses the scenic Campan valley; beyond Tarbes it feeds irrigation canals, most importantly the Canal d�Alaric. After a course of 208 mi (335 km), it empties into the Bay of Biscay below Bay� onne.

adrenal \9-'dre-n 3 l\ gland or suprarenal \ 1 su-pr9-'re-n 3 l\ gland Either of two small, triangular endocrine glands over the kidneys. In humans, each gland weighs about 0.15 oz (4.5 g) and consists of an inner medulla, which produces the catecholamine hormones epinephrine and norepinephrine, and an outer cortex (about 90% of the gland), which secretes the steroid hormones aldosterone, cortisol, and androgens (the last two in response to ACTH from the pituitary gland). Diseases of the adre� nal glands include pheochromocytoma (a tumour of the medulla) and the cortical disorders Addison disease, adrenal hypertrophy, Cushing syndrome, and primary aldosteronism.

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adrenaline ► advertising I 19

adrenaline See epinephrine

Adrian \'a-dre-3n\ IV orig. Nicholas Breakspear (b. 1100?, Abbot�s Langley, near St. Albans, Hertfordshire, Eng.�d. Sept. 1, 1159, Anagni, near Rome [Italy]) Pope (1154-59), the only Englishman ever to hold the office. He served in France and Italy before a successful mission to Scandinavia led to his election as pope. Adrian crowned Frederick I Bar- barossa emperor in 1155, after Frederick had turned over Arnold of Bres� cia, leader of a revolt in Rome. The relationship quickly soured, however, as a result of Adrian�s policy toward the Normans of southern Italy and his assertion that Frederick had received the imperial crown as a benefice. His controversial bull Laudabiliter supposedly gave Ireland to Henry II of England, a claim that was later refuted. Adrian�s refusal to recognize the king of Sicily, William I, stirred revolt in the Campania.

Adrian, Edgar Douglas later 1st Baron Adrian of Cambridge

(b. Nov. 30, 1889, London, Eng.�d. Aug. 4, 1977, London) British elec� trophysiologist. He amplified electrical potential variations in nerve impulses from sense organs to record ever smaller changes, eventually recording impulses from single sensory endings and motor nerve fibres. His work clarified the physical basis of sensation and the mechanism of muscular control. Adrian�s later studies of brain electrical activity included investigations into epilepsy and the location of cerebral lesions. He shared a 1932 Nobel Prize with Charles Sherrington.

Adrianople, Battle of or Battle of Hadrianopolis (ad 378) Battle fought in what is now Edirne, Tur., that marked the beginning of serious Germanic incursions into Roman territory. It pitted the Roman army under the emperor Valens against the horsemen of the Visigoths, Ostrogoths, and other Germanic tribes. The Roman army was annihilated and Valens died on the battlefield. His successor, Theodosius I, and the Goths agreed in 382 that the Goths would help with imperial defenses in exchange for food subsidies. The treaty set the pattern for later barbarian intrusions.

Adrianople, Treaty of see Treaty of Edirne

Adriatic Sea Arm of the Mediterranean Sea, lying between Italy and the Balkan Peninsula. It is about 500 mi (800 km) long, with an average width of 110 mi (175 km), a maximum depth of 4,035 ft (1,324 m), and an area of 50,590 sq mi (131,050 sq km). The Italian coast is relatively straight and continuous, having no islands, but the Balkan coast is full of islands, generally running parallel to the shore. The Strait of Otranto at its southeasterly limit links it with the Ionian Sea.

adsorption Capability of a solid substance (adsorbent) to attract to its surface molecules of a gas or solution (adsorbate) with which it is in con� tact. Physical adsorption depends on van der Waals forces of attraction between molecules and resembles condensation of liquids. In chemical adsorption (often called chemisorption; see catalysis), the gas is held to the surface by chemical forces specific to the chemicals involved, and formation of the bond may require an activation energy.

'Adullam Vo-'dol-omN Ancient village, Israel, about 15 mi (24 km) south� west of Jerusalem. A cave in its vicinity was from early times a place of refuge; it is mentioned several times in the Bible (e.g., as the place where David hid from Saul).

adult education See continuing education

adultery Sexual relations between a married person and someone other than his or her spouse. Prohibitions against adultery are found in virtu� ally every society; Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions all condemn it, and in some Islamic countries it is still punishable by death. Attitudes toward adultery in different cultures have varied widely. Under the Code of Hammurabi (18th century bc) in Babylonia it was punishable by death by drowning, and in ancient Rome an offending woman could be killed, though men were not severely punished. In western Europe and North America, adultery by either spouse is a ground for divorce, though in the U.S. the shift to no-fault divorce significantly reduced the importance of adultery as an element in divorce proceedings. The spread of Western ideas of equality in marriage has resulted in pressure for equal marital rights for women in traditional African and Southeast Asian societies.

adulthood Period in the human life span in which full physical and intellectual maturity have been attained. Adulthood is commonly thought of as beginning at age 20 or 21. It includes middle age (commencing around age 40) and old age (from about age 60). Physically, it is char� acterized by the peaking (around age 30) and gradual decline of bodily

functioning; the postpeak phase includes diminished acuity of the senses, reduction in muscular and skeletal mass, buildup of cholesterol in the arteries, weakening of the heart muscle, and diminished production of hormones. Some slowing in the rate of central-nervous-system process� ing also begins with middle age, but it is generally compensated for by an increased capacity to retain practical information and apply accumu� lated cultural knowledge. In old age, most individuals experience a sig� nificant decline in physical capacity, and many eventually also suffer impaired mental function.

Advaita \3d-'vl-t3\ (Sanskrit: �Nondualism�) Most influential school of Vedanta. It originated with Gaudapada�s 7th-century commentary on the Mandukya Upanishad. Gaudapada builds on the Mahayana Buddhist phi� losophy of emptiness, asserting that there is no duality; the mind, awake or dreaming, moves through maya (illusion). The mind�s ignorance con� ceals the truth that there is no becoming and no individual soul or self (jiva), only a temporary delineation from the atman (all-soul). In the 8th century Sankara developed Advaita further, arguing that the world is unreal and that the Upanishads teach the nature of Brahman, the only real� ity. The extensive Advaita literature influences modem Hindu thought.

Advent In the Christian calendar, the first season of the church year, a period of preparation for the birth of Jesus. Advent begins on the Sunday nearest to November 30 and continues until Christmas. Viewed as a peni� tential season, it is also considered a time of preparation for the Second Coming of Christ. The origin of Advent is unknown, but it was observed as early as the 6th century. In many countries it is celebrated with popu� lar customs such as the lighting of Advent candles.

Adventist Member of any of a group of Protestant churches that arose in the U.S. in the 19th century and believe that the Second Coming of Christ is close at hand. Adventism was founded during a period marked by millennialism by William Miller (1782-1849), a former U.S. army officer, who asserted that Christ would return to separate saints from sin� ners and inaugurate his 1,000-year kingdom on earth sometime in the year before March 21, 1844. After that date passed, Miller and his followers set a new date, Oct. 22, 1844. The �Great Disappointment� was followed by a Mutual Conference of Adventists in 1845. Those who persisted con� cluded that Miller had misinterpreted the signs and that, though Christ had begun the �cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary,� he would not appear until he had completed that task. These Millerites founded the Seventh- Day Adventists in 1863; other Adventist groups include the Evangelical Adventists and the Advent Christian Church. Seventh-Day Adventists observe Saturday as the Sabbath and avoid eating meat and using narcot� ics or stimulants.

adversary procedure In Anglo-American law, the principal method of offering evidence in court. It requires the opposing sides to present per� tinent information and to introduce and cross-examine witnesses before a jury and/or a judge. Each side must conduct its own investigation. In criminal proceedings, the prosecution represents the government and has at its disposal the police department with its investigators and laborato� ries; the defense must arrange and pay for its own investigation. (Legal aid is available for the poor.) In civil (noncriminal) proceedings the adver� sary system works similarly, except that both sides engage private attor� neys to prepare their cases. Skillful questioning often produces testimony that can be interpreted in various ways; in cross-examination, lawyers seek to alter the jury�s initial perception of the testimony.

adverse possession In Anglo-American property law, holding of real property (see real and personal property) with the knowledge and against the will of one who has a superior ownership interest in it. Statutes of limitation in most U.S. states allow an adverse possessor to acquire legal title if the owner does not seek timely possession.

advertising Techniques and practices used to bring products, services, opinions, or causes to public notice for the purpose of persuading the pub� lic to respond in a certain way. Weekly newspapers in London first carried advertisements in the 17th century; by the 18th century such advertising was flourishing. The first advertising agencies were established in the 19th century to broker for space in newspapers, and by the early 20th century agencies were producing the advertising message itself, including copy and artwork. Most advertising promotes goods for sale, but similar meth� ods are used in public service messages to promote causes, charities, or political candidates. In many countries, advertising is the most important source of income for the media through which it is conducted. In addition to newspapers, magazines, and broadcast media, advertising media

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20 I Adwa ► aepyornis

include direct mail (see direct-mail marketing), billboards and posters, tran� sit advertising, the Internet, and promotional items such as matchbooks or calendars. Advertisers attempt to choose media that are favoured by the advertisers� target audience. See also marketing; merchandising.

Adwa Vad-9-w9\, Battle of or Battle of Adowa (March 1, 1896) Military clash at Adwa, in north-central Ethiopia, between the Ethiopian army of King Menilek II and Italian forces. The decisive Ethiopian victory produced independence for Ethiopia and checked Italy�s attempt to build an empire in Africa comparable to that of the French or British. The colony of Eritrea was carved out in the ensuing peace negotiations.

adze or adz Hand tool for shaping wood. A handheld stone chipped to form a blade, it is one of the earliest tools, and was used widely in the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods. By Egyptian times, it had acquired a wooden haft (handle) with a copper or bronze blade set flat at the top of the haft to form a T. In this form but with a steel blade, it continued to be the prime hand tool for shaping and trimming wood; the carpenter stands on or astride a log or other piece of timber, swinging the adze like a pick, down and between the legs.

A \'a-'e\ orig. George William Russell (b. April 10, 1867, Lurgan, County Armagh, Ire.�d. July 17, 1935, Bournemouth, Hampshire, Eng.) Irish poet and mystic. A leading figure in the Irish Literary Renaissance, he published many books of verse, including Homeward (1894). Though ini� tially considered by many to be the equal of William Butler Yeats, he did not develop as a poet, and many critics found him facile, vague, and monotonous. His pseudonym arose from a proofreader�s query about an earlier pseudonym, jEon.

Aegean \e-'je-9n\ civilizations The Bronze Age civilizations that arose and flourished c. 3000-1000 bc in the region bordering the Aegean Sea. They included Crete, the Cyclades, the Greek mainland south from Thessaly, including the Peloponnese, and Macedonia, Thrace, and western Anatolia. The most significant were the Minoan and Mycenaean civiliza� tions. The term also sometimes refers to Neolithic civilizations in the same region c. 7000-3000 bc.

Aegean \e-'je-9n\ Islands Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, particu� larly the Cyclades, Sporades, and Dodecanese groups. The Cyclades con� sist of about 30 islands. The Dodecanese, or Southern Sporades, include Kalimnos, Karpathos, Cos, Leros, Patmos, Rhodes, and Simi. The Spo� rades, or Northern Sporades, include Skyros, Skopelos, and Skiathos.

Aegean Sea Arm of the Mediterranean Sea, lying between Greece and Turkey. About 380 mi (610 km) long and 186 mi (300 km) wide, it has a total area of some 83,000 sq mi (214,000 sq km) and a maximum depth of 11,627 ft (3,543 m). The straits of the Dardanelles, the Sea of Marmara, and the Bosporus connect it with the Black Sea. The Aegean was the cradle of the great early civilizations of Crete and Greece. Thira, one of its numerous islands, has been linked with the legend of Atlantis.

Aegina \e-'jl-n9\ Island in the Saronic group of Greece. Located 16 mi (26 km) southwest of Piraeus, it has an area of 32 sq mi (83 sq km). Its chief town and port, Aegina, lies over the ancient town of the same name. Inhabited since c. 3000 bc, it became a maritime power after the 7th cen� tury bc; its period of glory, reflected in Pindar�s poetry, was in the 5th cen� tury bc. Its economic rivalry with Athens led to frequent warfare, and in 431 bc the Athenians deported all its population. It came under Roman rule in 133 bc. It was briefly the capital of independent Greece (1826-28). See photograph opposite.

aegirine Va-g9-,ren\ Pyroxene mineral, sodium and iron silicate (NaFe +3 Si 2 0 6 ), commonly found in alkaline igneous rocks, particularly in syenites (composed of an alkali feldspar and a ferromagnesian min� eral) and syenite pegmatites. It also occurs in schists. Aegirine is gener� ally dark green to greenish black.

aegis Ye-jas\ In ancient Greece, the leather cloak or breastplate associ� ated with Zeus. It was worn most prominently by Zeus�s daughter Ath� ena (whose aegis bore the head of Medusa) but occasionally also by other gods (e.g., Apollo in the Iliad).

Aegospotami X.e-gs-'spa-ts-.mlX, Battle of (405 bc) Naval victory of Sparta over Athens in the final battle of the Peloponnesian War. The Spar� tans under Lysander surprised the Athenians at anchor off Aegospotami, in Thrace, and defeated them decisively. The Athenians escaped with only 20 of 180 ships, and the Spartans put almost 4,000 captured Athenians to death. The victory led the Spartans to march on Athens, and the Athe� nians surrendered in 404 bc.

Aehrenthal Ve-rsn-.talX, Aloys, Count Lexa von (b. Sept. 27, 1854, Gross-Skal, Bohemia�d. Feb. 17, 1912, Vienna, Austria-Hungary) Austro-Hungarian diplomat. As foreign minister of Austria-Hungary (1906-12), he aggressively revived the empire�s dormant foreign policy. His proclamation of the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908 provoked fears of war with Russia, inflamed Serbia�s Austrophobe pas� sions, and drew international censure, leading to the Bosnian crisis.

Aeneas \i-'ne-3s\ Mythical hero of Troy and Rome. He was the son of Aphrodite and Anchises, a member of Trojan royal family. According to Homer, he was second only to his cousin Hector in defending Troy dur� ing the Trojan War. Virgil�s Aeneid tells of Aeneas�s escape after Troy�s fall, carrying his elderly father on his back, and of his journey to Italy, where his descendants became the rulers of Rome. See also Dido.

Aeolian harp \e-'o-le-9n\ Stringed instrument played by the wind (named for the wind god Aeolus). It is usually a long, narrow, shallow box with soundholes and 10 or 12 strings strung lengthwise between two bridges. The strings are of the same length but different thicknesses and are all tuned to the same pitch; the wind makes them vibrate in succes� sively higher harmonics. The harp may be hung, or set horizontally under a window sash. The first known Aeolian harp was constructed c. 1650 by Athanasius Kircher (1601-1680).

Aeolus Ye-a-lssV Greek god of the winds. In the Odyssey Homer repre� sents Aeolus as the mortal ruler of the floating island of Aeolia. He gives Odysseus a favourable wind for his voyage and a bag in which the unfavourable winds are confined, but Odysseus�s careless companions open the bag, releasing the winds and driving their ship back to shore. Later writers depicted Aeolus as a minor god rather than a human being. The Aeolian harp is named for him.

aeon or eon \'e-,an\ In Gnosticism or Manichaeism, one of the orders of spirits, or spheres of being, emanating from the godhead. The first aeon emanated directly from unmanifested divinity and was charged with divine force. Aeons increased in number and decreased in divine energy with increased remoteness from the divinity. At sufficient remoteness, error became possible and was the source of the material universe. Aeons may be viewed positively, as embodiments of the divine, or negatively, as media through which the soul must pass to reach its divine origin.

aepyornis \,e-pe-'6r-n3s\ or elephant bird Any of a group of giant flightless birds in the extinct genus Aepyornis, found as fossils in Pleis-

The temple of Aphaea, Aegina, Greece

SUSAN MCCARTNEY-PHOTO RESEARCHERS

Aegirine crystals from Magnet Cove, Arkansas

BY COURTESY OF THE FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, CHICAGO; PHOTOGRAPH, JOHN H. GERARD

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aerarium ► aesthetics I 21

tocene and post-Pleistocene deposits on Madagascar. Most were massively constructed (some stood more than 10 ft, or 3 m, high) and had a small skull and a long slim neck. Remains of aepyomis and its eggs (as large as 3 ft, or 1 m, in circumference) are common. Its ancestry is uncertain.

aerarium (Saturni) Central treasury of ancient Rome, housed in the Temple of Saturn. During the republic (509-27 bc), two quaestors man� aged the treasury and the Senate controlled it. All revenues were paid into the aerarium, and approved payments were made from it. Under the prin- cipate (27 bc-ad 305) the aerarium lost funds and importance as emper� ors and magistrates bypassed Senate control and drew directly from the fisci (provincial treasuries). From ad 6 Augustus used taxes to fund the aerarium militare, a public treasury, to reward veterans, and the aerar� ium Saturni became the treasury of the city of Rome.

aerial See antenna

aerial perspective Method of producing a sense of depth in a paint� ing by imitating the effect of atmosphere that makes objects look paler, bluer, and hazier or less distinct in the middle and far distance. The term was coined by Leonardo da Vinci, but the technique can be seen in ancient Greco-Roman wall paintings (e.g., at Pompeii). It was discovered that dust and moisture in the atmosphere caused the scattering of light passing through it; short-wavelength light (blue) is scattered most and long- wavelength light (red) least. Italian painters in Leonardo�s time used the device; it was exploited by 15th-century northern European artists and later by J.M.W. Turner.

aerobatics Sport of performing maneuvers such as rolls, loops, stalls, spins, and dives with an airplane. As an organized sport, rather than as an air show attraction (�stunt flying�), aerobatics began international com� petition in 1960 under the auspices of the Federation Aeronautique Inter� nationale.

aerobics System of physical conditioning for increasing the efficiency of the body�s intake of oxygen. Aerobic exercises (e.g., running, jogging, swimming, dancing) stimulate heart and lung activity. To produce a ben� efit, aerobic training must raise the heart rate (pulse) to the exerciser�s target level for at least 20 minutes and include at least three sessions a week. The concept of aerobics was pioneered by Kenneth H. Cooper and popularized in his books Aerobics (1968) and The Aerobics Way (1977).

aerodynamics Branch of physics concerned with the forces acting on bodies passing through air and other gaseous fluids. It explains the prin� ciples of flight of aircraft, rockets, and missiles. It is also involved in the design of automobiles, trains, and ships, and even stationary structures such as bridges and tall buildings, which must withstand high winds. Aerodynamics emerged as a discipline around the time of Wilbur and Orville Wright�s first powered flight in 1903. Developments in the field have led to major advances in turbulence theory and supersonic flight.

Aeroflot \,ar-9-'fl6t\ -Russian Airlines National airline of the former Soviet Union. Founded in 1928 as Dobroflot, it was reorganized as Aer� oflot in 1932. During the Soviet era Aeroflot was the world�s largest air� line, with about 15% of all civil air traffic. After the 1991 breakup of the Soviet Union, Aeroflot surrendered its monopoly over commercial air travel in the former Soviet states. It was renamed Aeroflot-Russian Air� lines in June 2000.

aerosol System of tiny liquid or solid particles evenly distributed in a finely divided state through a gas, usually air. Aerosol particles partici� pate in chemical processes and influence the electrical properties of the atmosphere. Though true aerosol particles range in diameter from a few nanometres to about one micrometre, the term is commonly used to refer to fog or cloud droplets and dust particles, which can have diameters of more than 100 micrometres. See also colloid; emulsion.

aerospace engineering Field concerned with the development, design, construction, testing, and operation of airplanes and spacecraft. The field has its roots in balloon flight, gliders, and airships, and in the 1960s it was broadened to include space vehicles. Principal technologies are those of aerodynamics, propulsion, structure and stability, and control. Aerospace engineers in academic, industrial, and government research centres cooperate in designing new products. Flight testing of prototypes follows, and finally quantity production and operation take place. Impor� tant developments in aerospace engineering include the metal monocoque fuselage, the cantilevered monoplane wing, the jet engine, supersonic flight, and spaceflight.

aerospace medicine Branch of medicine, pioneered by Paul Bert, dealing with atmospheric flight (aviation medicine) and space flight (space medicine). Intensive preflight simulator training and attention to design of equipment and spacecraft promote the safety and effectiveness of humans exposed to the stresses of flight and can prevent some problems. The world�s first unit for space research was established in the U.S. in 1948. Physicians trained in aerospace medicine are known as flight sur� geons.

Aeschines Ves-ko-.nezX (b. 390 bc �d. c. 314 bc) Athenian orator. He and Demosthenes, who later became his bitter opponent, participated in 346 bc in forging a peace between Athens and Macedonia. Demosthenes later accused Aeschines of treason because he had promoted the Mace� donian cause during the negotiations. At a trial (343) Aeschines was acquitted by a narrow majority. In 339 he helped incite the war that led to the Battle of Chaeronea and to Macedonian control of central Greece. In 336 he opposed as illegal a motion to honour Demosthenes; the mat� ter came to trial in 330, and Aeschines suffered an overwhelming defeat.

Aeschylus Ves-ko-.bsX (b. 525/524�d. 456/455 bc, Gela, Sicily) Greek tragic dramatist. He fought with the Athenian army at Marathon (490) and in 484 achieved the first of his many victories at the major dramatic competition in Athens. He wrote over 80 plays, but only 7 are extant; the earliest of these, Persians, was performed in 472 bc. Other plays that sur� vive are the Oresteia trilogy ( Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, and The Eumenides ), Seven Against Thebes, The Suppliants, and Prometheus Bound. Considered the father of Greek tragic drama, he added a second actor to the performance, an innovation that enabled the later develop� ment of dialogue and created true dramatic action. He was the first of the three great Greek tragedians, preceding Sophocles and Euripides.

Aesculapius See Asclepius

Aesir \'a-zir\ In Germanic religion, one of the two main groups of dei� ties, the other being the Vanir. Odin, his wife Frigg, Tyr (the god of war), and Thor were the four Aesir common to the Germanic nations. Balder and Loki were considered Aesir by other peoples. The Aesir were a war� like race and were originally dominant over the Vanir, but after numer� ous defeats in battle they were forced to grant the Vanir equal status. The poet-god Kvasir was born out of the peace ritual in which the two races mingled their saliva in the same vessel.

Aesop \'e-,sap\ Supposed author of a collection of Greek fables, almost certainly a legendary figure. Though Herodotus, in the 5th century bc, said that he was an actual personage,

�Aesop� was probably no more than a name invented to provide an author for fables centring on beasts. Aeso� pian fables emphasize the social interactions of human beings, and the morals they draw tend to embody advice on how to deal with the com� petitive realities of life. The Western fable tradition effectively begins with these tales. Modern editions list some 200 Aesopian fables.

Aestheticism \es- , thet-9-,siz-9m\

Late 19th-century European arts movement that centred on the doc� trine that art exists for the sake of its beauty alone. It began in reaction to prevailing utilitarian social philoso� phies and to the perceived ugliness and philistinism of the industrial age. Its philosophical foundations were laid by Immanuel Kant, who proposed that aesthetic standards could be separated from morality, utility, or plea� sure. James McNeill Whistler, Oscar Wilde, and Stephane Mallarme raised the movement�s ideal of the cultivation of refined sensibility to perhaps its highest point. Aestheticism had affinities with French Symbolism and was a precursor of Art Nouveau.

aesthetics \es-'thet-iks\ Philosophical study of the qualities that make something an object of aesthetic interest and of the nature of aesthetic value and judgment. It encompasses the philosophy of art, which is chiefly concerned with the nature and value of art and the principles by which it should be interpreted and evaluated. Three broad approaches to the sub-

Aesop, with a fox, from the central medallion of a kylix, c. 470 bc; in the Gregorian Etruscan Museum, the Vati� can

AUNARI/ART RESOURCE

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22 I Aethelberht I ► Afghanistan

ject have been taken, each distinguished by the types of questions it treats as foremost: (1) the study of aesthetic concepts, often specifically through the examination of uses of aesthetic language; (2) the study of the states of mind�responses, attitudes, emotions�held to be involved in aesthetic experience; and (3) the study of objects deemed aesthetically interesting, with a view to determining what about them makes them so. Seminal works in the field include the Symposium of Plato ; the Rhetoric of Aris� totle; Inquiry into the Original of Our Ideas of Beauty and Virtue (1725), by Francis Hutcheson (1694-1746); �Of the Standard of Taste� (in Four Dissertations [1757]), by David Hume; On the Sublime and Beautiful (1757), by Edmund Burke; Critique of Judgment (1790), by Immanuel Kant; The Sense of Beauty (1896), by George Santayana; The Psychology of Imagination (1948), by Jean-Paul Sartre; and two works by Ludwig Witt� genstein, Lectures and Conversations on Aesthetics, Psychology, and Reli� gious Belief (1966) and Culture and Value (1977).

Aethelberht I See Ethelbert I

Aethelred Unraed See Ethelred II

Aetolia \e-'to-le-3\ District north of the Gulf of Corinth, ancient Greece. Aetolia figures prominently in early legend. By 367 bc it had been orga� nized by various tribes into a federal state comprising the Aetolian League. Coming under Roman rule, it was incorporated into the province of Achaea (see Achaean League) in 27 bc by Augustus. Governed later by Albania and Venice, it came under Turkish rule in ad 1450. It was the scene of fierce fighting in the War of Greek Independence (1821-29). Mod� em Aetolia is linked with Acarnania as a department of Greece.

Aetolian \e-'to-le-3n\ League Federal state of ancient Aetolia in cen� tral Greece, probably based on a looser tribal community. A leading power by c. 340 bc, the Aetolian League resisted invasions by Macedonia in 322 and 314-311, expanded into Delphi, and allied with Boeotia c. 300. It fended off the Gauls in 279 and formed an alliance with Macedonia (c. 270-240). The league�s power in central Greece was confirmed with the defeat of the Boeotians (245). From the late 3rd century Aetolia began to lose power and territory to Macedonia, culminating in the sacking of the league�s federal capital, Thermum, by Philip V in 220. The league then allied with Rome against Macedonia and defeated Philip at Cynosceph- alae (197). Rome later forced it into a permanent alliance (189) that cost it territory, power, and independence.

Afars and Issas, French Territory of the See Djibouti

Affair of the Diamond Necklace (1785) Scandal at the court of Louis XVI that discredited the French monarchy on the eve of the French Revolution. An adventuress, the countess de la Motte, schemed to acquire a valuable diamond necklace by duping cardinal de Rohan into believing that Queen Marie-Antoinette wanted to obtain it surreptitiously and that he could gain her favour by facilitating its purchase. When the plot came to light, Louis XVI had the cardinal arrested. Though acquitted, the arbi� trary treatment of the cardinal deepened impressions of the autocratic nature of the king�s government.

affective disorder Mental disorder characterized by dramatic changes or extremes of mood. Affective disorders may include manic or depres� sive episodes less severe than those of bipolar disorder, such as anxiety and depression. Symptoms include elevated, expansive, or irritable moods, with hyperactivity, pressured (rapid and forced) speech, and inflated self-esteem; or dejected moods, characterized by lack of interest in life, sleep disturbances, agitation, and feelings of worthlessness or guilt.

affenpinscher Va-fon-.pin-choA Sturdy breed of toy dog, known since the 17th century. Standing 10 in. (26 cm) high or less and weighing 7-8 lbs (3-3.5 kg), it is a TERRiER-like dog with small, erect ears, round black eyes, and a short, docked tail. Its wiry, preferably black coat is short on parts of the body but longer on the legs and face, where it produces the monkeylike expression for which the breed is named (from German Affe, �ape�).

affidavit \,a-f3-'da-v9t\ Written statement made voluntarily, confirmed by the oath or affirmation of the party making it, and signed before an officer empowered to administer such oaths. It usually names the place of execution and certifies that the person making it states certain facts and appeared before the officer on a certain date and �subscribed and swore� to the statement.

affirmative action In the U.S., the effort to improve the employment and educational opportunities of women and members of minority groups through preferential treatment in job hiring, college admissions, the

awarding of government contracts, and the allocation of other social ben� efits. First undertaken at the federal level following passage of the land� mark Civil Rights Act of 1964, affirmative action was designed to counteract the lingering effects of generations of past discrimination. The main criteria for inclusion in affirmative action programs are race, sex, ethnic origin, religion, disability, and age. The Supreme Court of the United States placed important limitations on affirmative action programs in its 1978 ruling in Regents of the University of California v. Bakke; several sub� sequent Supreme Court decisions (e.g., Adarand Constructors v. Pena in 1995 and Texas v. Hopwood in 1996) imposed further restrictions. In 1996 California voters passed Proposition 209, which prohibited government agencies and institutions from discriminating against or giving preferen� tial treatment to individuals or groups on the basis of race, sex, colour, ethnicity, or national origin. Similar measures were subsequently passed in other states. In 2003, in two landmark rulings involving admission to the University of Michigan and its law school, the U.S. Supreme Court reaffirmed the constitutionality of affirmative action but ruled that race could not be the preeminent factor in such decisions.

Affleck, Thomas (b. 1745, Aberdeen, Scot.�d. 1795, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.) Scottish-bom U.S. cabinetmaker. Trained in England, he moved to Philadelphia, where he produced outstanding furniture in the Chippen� dale style for Gov. John Penn and other leading citizens. The Marlborough- style leg (straight, grooved, with a block foot) and elaborate carving characterize his work.

afforestation See deforestation

Afghan hound Breed of dog developed as a hunter in the hill coun� try of Afghanistan. It was brought to Europe in the late 19th century by British soldiers returning from the Indian-Afghan border wars. It hunts by sight, and in Afghanistan it has been used to pursue leopard and gazelle. Its high, wide hipbones are well adapted to rough country. It stands 24-28 in. (61-71 cm) high and weighs 50-60 lbs (23-27 kg). It has floppy ears, a long topknot, and a long silky coat of various colours.

Afghan wars Series of wars in Afghanistan during the 19th, 20th, and early 21st centuries. In the 19th century Britain twice invaded Afghanistan (the first and second Anglo-Afghan Wars; 1839-40 and 1878-80). The British were unable to fully subdue the country, and the third Anglo-Afghan War (1919) led to its full independence. The outbreak of civil war in 1978 led to an inva� sion by the Soviet Union the following year (the Afghan War). For the next 10 years the Soviets supported the communist government against a coalition of Islamic insurgents, the mujahideen, who toppled the regime in 1992. A group of disaffected fighters known as the Taliban had taken con� trol of most of the country by 1996. The ensuing stalemate was broken in 2001 when the U.S. overthrew the Taliban for supporting international terrorism.

Afghani, Jamal al-DTn al- See Jamal al-Din al-AfghanI

Afghanistan officially Islamic State of Afghanistan Country, south-central Asia. Area: 249,347 sq mi (645,807 sq km). Population (2005 est.: 23,867,000). Capital: Kabul. About two-fifths of the people belong to the Pashtun ethnic group; other ethnic groups include Tajiks, Uzbeks, and Hazara. Languages: Pashto, Persian (both official). Religions: Islam (official; predominantly Sunni); also Zoroastrianism. Currency: afghani. Afghanistan has three distinctive regions: the northern plains are the major agricultural area; the southwestern plateau consists primarily of desert and semiarid landscape; and the central highlands, including the Hindu Kush, separate these regions. Afghanistan has a developing economy based largely on agriculture; its significant mineral resources remain largely untapped because of the Afghan War of the 1980s and subsequent fighting. Traditional handicrafts remain important; woolen carpets are a major export. The area was part of the Persian Achaemenian Empire in the 6th century bc and was conquered by Alexander the Great in the 4th century bc. Hindu influence entered with the Hephthalites and Sasanians; Islam became entrenched during the rule of the Saffarids, c. ad 870.

Afghan hound

SALLY ANNE THOMPSON

� 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

AFL-CIO ► Africa I 23

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� 2002 Encyclopaedia Britani

TURKMENISTAN

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Afghanistan was divided between the Mughal Empire of India and the Safavid empire of Persia until the 18th century, when other Persians under Nadir Shah took control. Britain fought several wars in the

area in the 19th century. From the 1930s the country had a stable mon� archy, which was overthrown in the 1970s. Marxist reforms sparked rebel� lion, and Soviet troops invaded. Afghan guerrillas prevailed, and the Soviets withdrew in 1989. In 1992 rebel factions overthrew the govern� ment and established an Islamic republic. In 1996 the Taliban militia took power in Kabul and enforced a harsh Islamic order. The militia�s unwill� ingness to extradite extremist leader Osama bin Laden and members of his al-Qaeda militant organization following the September 11 attacks in 2001 led to military conflict with the U.S. and allied nations, the overthrow of the Taliban, and the establishment of an interim government.

AFL-CIO in full American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations U.S. federation of labour unions formed in 1955 by the merger of the AFL and the CIO. The AFL was founded in 1886 as a loose federation of craft unions under the leadership of Samuel Gompers. Member unions retained autonomy and received protection of their workers and jurisdiction over a certain industrial territory. The CIO was founded in 1935 as the Committee for Industrial Organization by a splinter group of AFL unions whose leaders believed in organizing skilled and unskilled workers across entire industries; at its first convention in 1938, it adopted its current name and elected John L. Lewis president. For two decades the AFL and CIO were bitter rivals for the leadership of the U.S. labour movement, but they formed an alliance in the increasingly conservative, antilabour climate of the postwar era, and in 1955 they merged under the leadership of George Meany. AFL-CIO membership reached 17 million in the late 1970s but declined from the 1980s as the U.S. manufacturing sector shrank. AFL-CIO activities include recruiting and organizing members, conducting educational campaigns, and sup� porting political candidates and legislation deemed beneficial to labour. See also Lane Kirkland; Knights of Labor; Walter Reuther.

Aflaq Vaf-lak\, Michel (b. 1910, Damascus, Syria�d. June 23, 1989, Paris, France) Syrian social and political leader. While studying at the University of Paris (1929-34), he came to believe that the Arab nation� alist struggle had to oppose both the native aristocracy and foreign rul� ers. Hoping to unite all the Arab states into a single socialist nation through nonviolence, he helped establish the Ba'th Party in 1946 and served as its teacher, theorist, and organizer. He persuaded the Syrian government to form the United Arab Republic with Egypt in 1958, but Syria withdrew from it in 1961. His career in Syrian politics ended in 1966 when he moved to Lebanon. See also Pan-Arabism.

aflatoxin X.a-fta-'tak-sonN Complex of toxins formed by molds of the genus Aspergillus, which frequently contaminate improperly stored nuts (especially peanuts), grains, meals, and certain other foods. Discovered after an outbreak of �turkey X disease� in England in 1960, aflatoxins may cause liver disease and cancer and may trigger Reye syndrome.

Afonso I known as Afonso the Conqueror (b. 1109/11, Guima- raes. Port.�d. Dec. 6, 1185, Coimbra) First king of Portugal (1139-85). He defeated his mother to take the throne (1128), ruling first as a vassal of his cousin Alfonso VII of Leon but later securing Portuguese indepen� dence and gaining the title of king (1139). He defeated nearby Muslims and imposed tribute on them, then took Lisbon (1147) with the help of Crusaders. Afonso eventually extended Portugal beyond the Tagus River. He shared power with his son Sancho I and left him a stable, independent monarchy.

Afonso III (b. May 5, 1210, Coimbra, Port.�d. Feb. 16, 1279, Lisbon) King of Portugal (1248-79). He emigrated to France and became, by marriage, count of Boulogne. He gained the Portuguese crown when his older brother Sancho II was deposed by order of the pope. As king, Afonso regained control of the district of Faro (1249) and completed the recon� quest of the Algarve from the Muslims. His reign saw the first admission of commoners to the Portuguese Cortes (parliament). Afonso�s assertion of the royal right to repossess church lands led to his excommunication by the pope.

Afonso the Great See Afonso de Albuquerque

Africa Second largest continent on Earth. It is bounded by the Mediter� ranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, the Red Sea, and the Indian Ocean and is divided almost equally by the Equator. Area: 11,717,370 sq mi (30,348,110 sq km). Population (2001 est.): 816,524,000. Africa is com� posed largely of a rigid platform of ancient rocks that underlies vast pla� teau regions in the interior. Its average elevation is about 2,200 ft (670 m), but elevations range from 19,340 ft (5,895 m) at Mount Kilimanjaro to 515 ft (157 m) below sea level at Lake Assal. The Sahara, the world�s largest contiguous desert, occupies more than one-fourth of the total land area. The continent�s hydrology is dominated by the Nile River in the north, the Niger River in the west, and the Congo River in central Africa. Less than one-tenth of the land area is arable, while nearly one-fourth is for� ested or wooded. The peoples of Africa probably speak more languages than those of any other continent. Arabic is predominant from Egypt to Mauritania and in The Sudan. Northern Africans speak a family of lan� guages known as Afro-Asiatic. The vast majority of sub-Saharan peoples speak Bantu languages of the Niger-Congo family, while smaller num� bers in central Africa speak Nilo-Saharan languages and in southern Africa Khoisan languages. Peoples of European descent are found mostly in the south; Dutch (Boer) migrations began in the 17th century, and the English first settled in what is now Kenya and Zimbabwe in the 19th cen� tury. Africa as a whole is a developing region. Agriculture is the key sec� tor of the economy in most countries. Diamond and gold mining are especially important in the south, while petroleum and natural gas are produced particularly in the west. Most African governments are con� trolled by the military or a single party. Many legal systems combine laws introduced by European powers during the colonial era with traditional law, though North African countries derive many laws from Islam. Afri� can leaders have sought to develop a pan-African approach to the conti� nent�s political and military affairs through the Organization of African Unity and its successor, the African Union. Africa is widely recognized as the birthplace of humankind. Archaeological evidence indicates that the continent has been inhabited by humans and their hominid forebears for some 4,000,000 years or more. Anatomically modern humans are believed to have appeared about 100,000 years ago in the eastern region of sub- Saharan Africa. Somewhat later these early humans spread into northern Africa and the Middle East and, ultimately, to the rest of the world. Afri� ca�s first great historical kingdom, Egypt, arose along the Nile c. 3000 bc and flourished for nearly 3,000 years. The Phoenicians established a colony at Carthage and controlled the western Mediterranean for nearly 600 years. While northern Africa was dominated by the Romans for several centuries, the first known empire in western Africa was Ghana (5th�11th century ad). Muslim empires included those of Mali (c. 1250-1400) and Songhai (c. 1400-1591). In eastern and central Africa the emphasis was on trade with Arabia, and several powerful city-states, including Moga� dishu and Mombasa, were established. The Portuguese explored the west� ern coast in the 15th century. Before the late 19th century, Europe showed little interest in colonizing Africa, but by 1884 European countries had

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24 I Africa ► Afrikaner

begun a scramble to partition the continent, and by 1920 much of it was under colonial rule. Anticolonial sentiment developed gradually, becom� ing widespread after 1950, and one by one the colonies became indepen� dent, the last in 1990. Political instability, refugee problems, famine, and AIDS are the chief problems facing the continent at the start of the 21st century. See map on following page.

Africa Proconsular Roman province. It was founded after Rome defeated Carthage in 146 bc and was subsequently extended to include Numidia and the northern part of modem Libya. Between 30 bc and ad 180, other parts of northern Africa, including Cyrenaica and Mauretania, became part of the Roman Republic and Empire. In the 5th century the region was taken by the Vandals, though areas were later reconquered by the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire; the Muslims conquered the area in the late 7th century.

Africa, Horn of See Horn of Africa

African ant bear See aardvark

African arts Visual, performing, and literary arts of sub-Saharan Africa. What gives art in Africa its special character is the generally small scale of most of its traditional societies, in which one finds a bewildering variety of styles. The earliest evidence of visual art is provided by fig� ures scratched and painted on rocks c. 3000 bc. Pastoral cultures in the east emphasize personal adornment; sculpture predominates in the agri� cultural societies in the west and south. Clay figurines found in Nigeria date to 500 bc. Metalworking was practiced from the 9th century ad. Sculptures in stone, ivory, and wood date from the 16th-17th centuries; some of the finest wood sculptures date from the 20th century. Architec� ture dominates the arts of the north and of the eastern coast, where Islam and Christianity exerted their influence; important work includes mag� nificent mosques built of mud and rock-hewn churches. Perhaps the most distinctive features of African music are the complexity of rhythmic pat� terning achieved by a great variety of drums and the relationship between melodic form and language tone structure. Without this the text of a song is rendered meaningless; but, even in purely instrumental music, melodic pattern is likely to follow speech tone. Dances are realized in radically different styles throughout Africa. Movement patterns often depend upon the way in which environmental, historical, and social circumstances have been articulated in working, social, and recreational movements. Often there is no distinction between ritual celebration and social recreation. The masquerade is a complex art form employing many media; masquerades may entertain, be used to fight disease, be consulted as oracles, initiate boys to manhood, impersonate ancestors, judge disputes, or execute crimi� nals. The mask is essentially a dramatic device enabling performers to stand apart from their everyday role in the community. The content and style of urban African theatre are influenced by both African dramatic tra� ditions and Western theatre. The literary arts of Africa�especially its oral traditions�are immensely rich and varied. They include myths, praise songs, epic poetry, folktales, riddles, spells, and proverbs. Written litera� tures have existed for several centuries in Hausa, Swahili, and Amharic. In the 20th century, written literatures in other African languages also developed, alongside those in English, French, and Portuguese. See also Buu style; deble; segoni-kun; telum figure; trickster tale; and African authors by name, such as Chinua Achebe; Aime Cesaire; Birago Diop; Athol Fugard; Nadine Gordimer; Wole Soyinka; Amos Tutuola.

African languages Languages indigenous to Africa that belong to the Niger-Congo, Nilo-Saharan, Khoisan, and Afro-Asiatic language phyla. Africa is the most polyglot continent; estimates of the number of African languages range from 1,000 to more than 1,500. Many have numerous dialects. Distinctions in tone play a significant role in nearly all sub- Saharan languages. Contact between people who do not speak the same language has necessitated the development of lingua francas such as Swa� hili in East Africa, Lingala in the Congo River basin (see Bantu languages), Sango in the Central African Republic (see Adamawa-Ubangi languages), and Arabic across much of the Sahel.

African lily or lily of the Nile Perennial evergreen herbaceous plant (Agapcinthus africanus) of the lily family, native to Africa. In summer, long stalks bear many funnel-shaped flowers. The attractive, thick, dark green leaves are sword-shaped. There are many varieties, some with white or purple flowers and others with patterned leaves. If grown in a climate with frost, they must be kept in containers and moved indoors to survive the cold weather.

African lion dog See Rhodesian ridgeback

African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME Church) African American Methodist denomination formally organized in 1816. It origi� nated with a group of black Philadelphians who withdrew in 1787 from St. George�s Methodist Episcopal Church (see Methodism) because of racial discrimination and built Bethel African Methodist Church. In 1799 Richard Allen became minister of Bethel, and in 1816 he was consecrated bishop of the newly organized African Methodist Episcopal Church. Lim� ited at first to the Northern states, the church spread rapidly in the South after the Civil War. It founded many colleges and seminaries, notably Wilberforce University (1856) in Ohio. In the late 20th century the church claimed 3,500,000 members and 8,000 congregations. Its headquarters are in Washington, D.C.

African National Congress (ANC) South African political party and black nationalist organization. Founded in 1912 (as the South African Native National Congress), the ANC was long dedicated to the elimination of apartheid. In response to government massacres of demonstrators at Sharpeville (1960) and Soweto (1976), it carried out acts of sabotage and guerrilla warfare. The campaign was largely ineffective because of strin� gent South African internal security measures, including an official ban on the ANC between 1960 and 1990. In 1991, with the ban lifted, Nelson Mandela succeeded Oliver Tambo as ANC president. In 1994 the party swept the country�s first elections based on universal suffrage; the ANC led a coalition government that initially included members of its longtime rival, the National Party, and Mandela became South Africa�s president. In 1999 Thabo Mbeki replaced him as president of the ANC and of South Africa. See also Inkatha Freedom Party; Albert Lutuli; Pan-African movement.

African religions Indigenous religions of the African continent. The introduced religions of Islam (in northern Africa) and Christianity (in southern Africa) are now the continent�s major religions, but traditional religions still play an important role, especially in the interior of sub- Saharan Africa. The numerous traditional African religions have in com� mon the notion of a creator god, who made the world and then withdrew, remaining remote from the concerns of human life. Prayers and sacrifi� cial offerings are usually directed toward secondary divinities, who are intermediaries between the human and sacred realms. Ancestors also serve as intermediaries (see ancestor worship). Ritual functionaries include priests, elders, rainmakers, diviners, and prophets. Rituals are aimed at maintaining a harmonious relationship with cosmic powers, and many have associated myths that explain their significance. Animism is a com� mon feature of African religions, and misfortune is often attributed to WITCHCRAFT AND SORCERY.

African Union (AU) African intergovernmental organization. It is the successor to the Organization of African Unity (OAU). The AU was estab� lished in 2002 to promote unity and solidarity among African states, spur economic development, and promote international cooperation. The OAU was established in 1963 with similar goals, and during its tenure the group mediated several border disputes on the African continent. More eco� nomic in nature and with a stronger mandate to intervene in conflicts, the AU replaced the OAU in 2002. In 2004 the AU�s Pan-African Parliament was inaugurated, and the organization agreed to create a peacekeeping force. The AU�s headquarters are in Addis Ababa, Eth.

African violet Any plant of the genus Saintpaulia, of the gesneriad family, especially S. ionantha. African violets are native to high eleva� tions in tropical eastern Africa. They are small, hairy, usually stemless herbaceous plants with crowded, long-stalked leaves. The violet, white, or pink flowers bloom most of the year. They are popular houseplants, and hundreds of varieties have been developed, including half-sized min� iatures.

Afrikaans \,af-ri-'kanz\ language Germanic language of South Africa. It was developed from 17th-century Dutch by descendants of Euro� pean settlers, indigenous KHOlSAN-speaking peoples, and African and Asian slaves in the Dutch colony at the Cape of Good Hope. It differs from Dutch in its sound system, in some grammatical simplification, and in vocabulary. Afrikaans is spoken as a first language by close to six million South Afri� cans and as a second or third language by several million more; there are also about 150,000 Afrikaans speakers in Namibia. Standard Afrikaans was formally separated from Dutch and made an official language in South Africa in 1925; it is one of 11 official South African languages.

Afrikaner V.af-ri-'kan-orV formerly Boer Historically, any South Afri� can of Dutch or Huguenot descent whose native language is Afrikaans. Beginning in the late 20th century, the term also was used for all Afri-

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25

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� 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

airbrush ► airship I 33

nuclear-armed bombers. In the jet age, air power has continued to be used in strategic bombing of an enemy�s home territory (as in the Vietnam War, 1965-74), destroying enemy air forces (as in the Arab-Israeli wars), attacking and defending carrier-based naval fleets (as in the Falkland Islands War, 1982), and supporting ground forces (as in the Persian Gulf War, 1990-91).

airbrush Pneumatic device for developing a fine, small-diameter spray of paint, protective coating, or liquid colour (see aerosol). The airbrush can be a pencil-shaped atomizer used for various highly detailed activities such as shading drawings and retouching photographs; in contrast, a spray gun is usually used for covering large surfaces with paint.

Airbus S.A.S. European aircraft manufacturer that is the world�s sec� ond largest maker of commercial aircraft (after Boeing Co.). It is co-owned by the German-French-Spanish European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS), with an 80% interest, and Britain�s BAE Systems, with 20%. Airbus was formed as a consortium in 1970 by French and German aerospace firms (later joined by Spanish and British companies) to fill a market niche for short- to medium-range, high-capacity jetliners and to compete with long-established American manufacturers. Its first product, the A300, entered service in 1974. It was the first wide-body jetliner equipped with only two engines for more economical operation. The twin- engine A320 (entered service 1988) incorporated numerous technical innovations, notably fly-by-wire (electric rather than mechanically linked), computer-based flight controls. The four-engine A340 (1993) and smaller, twin-engine A330 (1994) were long-range airliners. In 2000 Air� bus launched development of the A380, intended to be the world�s larg� est passenger jet with a typical seating of 555 people. The consortium integrated into a single company in 2001.

aircraft carrier Naval vessel equipped with a platform that allows air� planes to take off and land. Takeoffs are facilitated by the use of catapults or by a ramp at the end of the flight deck. For landing, aircraft are fitted with retractable hooks that engage arresting wires on the deck, or they are built with vectored-thrust engines that allow them to be landed vertically. Britain�s Royal Navy developed the first true aircraft carrier near the end of World War I, and carriers played leading roles in World War II naval engagements such as the Pearl Harbor attack and the Battles of Midway and the Coral Sea. The largest modern carriers are 1,000-ft (300-m) nuclear-powered vessels of the U.S. Navy, which can carry 100 jet air� craft. Other types include the light carrier, equipped for anti-submarine warfare and ground attack, and the helicopter carrier, intended for con� ducting amphibious assault.

airplane Fixed-wing aircraft that is heavier than air, propelled by a screw propeller or a high-velocity jet, and supported by the dynamic reac� tion of the air against its wings. An airplane�s essential components are the body or fuselage, a flight-sustaining wing system, stabilizing tail sur� faces, altitude-control devices such as rudders, a thrust-providing power source, and a landing support system. Beginning in the 1840s, several British and French inventors produced designs for engine-powered air� craft, but the first powered, sustained, and controlled flight was only achieved by Wilbur and Orville Wright in 1903. Later airplane design was

affected by the development of the jet engine; most airplanes today have a long nose section, swept-back wings with jet engines placed behind the plane�s midsection, and a tail stabilizing section. Most airplanes are designed to operate from land; seaplanes are adapted to touch down on water, and carrier-based planes are modified for high-speed short takeoff and landing. See also airfoil; aviation; glider; helicopter.

wing

Two physical forces essential to airplane flight are thrust and lift. Jet engines, such as the turbofan shown, provide forward thrust by taking in air through the front of the engine, compressing it, and burning it with fuel in the combustor. Hot exhaust gases and air are then expelled at high speed from the rear of the engine. Lift is generated by the flow of air past the wings. Air flowing over the rounded upper surface of a wing moves faster than air flowing past the flat lower surface; as a result, the air above the wing exerts a lower pressure than the air below, producing a net upward force, or lift. Both lift and drag (friction caused by the plane moving through air) can be adjusted by the movement of ailerons, landing flaps, and tabs on the wings' edges. At the rear of the plane, the elevator, located on the horizon� tal stabilizer, controls the airplane's movement around the lateral axis. Both the elevator and the rudder, located on the vertical stabilizer, help to control turning movements initiated by the ailerons.

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airport Site and installations for the takeoff and landing of aircraft. Early airports were open, grass-covered fields, called landing fields, that allowed a pilot to head directly into the wind to aid a plane�s lift on take� off and to decrease its speed on landing. In the 1930s heavier airplanes required paved runway surfaces. Larger planes needed longer runways, which today can reach 15,000 ft (4,500 m) to accommodate the largest jet aircraft. Air traffic is regulated from control towers and regional cen� tres. Passenger and cargo terminals include baggage-movement and passenger-transit operations.

airship or dirigible Lighter-than-air aircraft with steering and propul� sion systems. Airships could be nonrigid (blimps), semirigid, or rigid.

Airedale terrier Dog breed that is the largest of the terriers, probably descended from the otterhound and the extinct Old English terrier. It stands about 23 in. (58 cm) high, weighs 40-50 lbs (18-23 kg), and has a boxy appearance, with a long, squared muzzle. Its coat is dense and wiry, with a black saddle and tan legs, muzzle, and underparts. Intelligent and courageous, powerful and affec� tionate (though reserved with strang� ers), the Airedale has been used as a wartime dispatch carrier, police dog, guard, and big-game hunter.

airfoil Shaped surface, such as an airplane wing, tail, or propeller blade, that produces lift and drag when moved through the air. An airfoil pro� duces a lifting force that acts at right angles to the airstream and a drag� ging force that acts in the same direction as the airstream. High-speed aircraft usually employ thin, low-drag, low-lift airfoils; slow aircraft that carry heavy loads use thicker airfoils with high drag and high lift.

Airedale terrier

SALLY ANNE THOMPSON/EB INC.

compressor core turbine fan fan turbine

jet engine

core

nozzle

air

intake

exhaust

fan air duct

fuel

fan

combustor nozzle

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34 I 'A�ishah ► Akhenaton

They all included a large cigar-shaped bag or balloon filled with a gas such as hydrogen or helium, a car or gondola suspended below the balloon that held the crew and passengers, engines to drive the propellers, and rudders for steering. Attempts to control the flight of balloons began soon after their invention in the 1780s. The first propeller-driven airship, built by Henri Giffard, flew in 1852 in France; design improvements led to construction of the rigid zeppelin (1900). The nonrigid helium-filled blimp was principally developed by Alberto Santos-Dumont (1873-1932). In 1928 Germany began regular transatlantic airship passenger service. Sev� eral explosions, particularly the 1937 Hindenburg disaster, and airplane developments made the airship commercially obsolete. See also balloon.

�A�ishah \'a-esho\ (bint AbT Baler) (b. 614, Mecca, Arabia�d. July 678, Medina) Third wife of Muhammad. The daughter of his supporter Abu Bakr, she became Muhammad�s favourite wife. Left a childless widow at 18, she became politically active during the reign of the third caliph, �Uth- man ibn �Affan, leading the opposition that resulted in his murder in 656. She led an army against his successor, 'All, who defeated her in the Battle of the Camel. She was allowed to live her remaining years quietly in Medina and is credited with transmitting more than a thousand HadIth.

Aitken, William Maxwell See Baron Beaverbrook

Aix-en-Provence \,eks-a n -pro-'va n s\ City (pop., 1999: 134,222), southeastern France. Founded as a military colony by the Romans c. 123 bc, it was the scene of the defeat of the Teutons by Marius in 102 bc. Visigoths, Franks, Lombards, and finally Muslim invaders from Spain successively plundered the town. As the capital of Provence, it was a cen� tre of culture during the Middle Ages; it became part of France in 1486. It is now a residential suburb of Marseille; its industries include tourism, food processing, and the manufacturing of electrical machinery.

Aix-la-Chapelle See Aachen

Aix-la-Chapelle \,eks-la-sha-'pel\, Congress of (Oct. 1-Nov. 15, 1818) First of four congresses held by Britain, Austria, Prussia, Russia, and France to address European problems following the Napoleonic Wars. At Aix-la-Chapelle (now Aachen, Ger.), the participants accepted an offer by France to pay most of the war indemnity owed to the allies in exchange for the withdrawal of their armies of occupation. France was also admit� ted to the new Quintuple Alliance.

Aix-la-Chapelle, Treaty of (Oct. 18, 1748) Treaty that ended the War of the Austrian Succession. The treaty, negotiated largely by Britain and France, was marked by the mutual restitution of conquests, includ� ing the fortress of Louisbourg (in Nova Scotia) to France and Madras (now Chennai; in India) to England. It preserved Maria Theresa�s right to the Austrian lands, but the Habsburgs were weakened by Prussia�s retention of Silesia. The treaty did not resolve any issues in the commercial colo� nial struggle between England and France and thus did not lead to a last� ing peace.

Aizawl \I-'zaul\ City (pop., 2001 prelim.: 229,714), capital of Mizoram state, India. It is situated on a ridge at an elevation of about 2,950 ft (900 m) The surrounding region is part of the Assam-Myanmar geologic prov� ince, with steeply inclined hill ranges. Many in the population are from Myanmar. In the 1970s Aizawl was the scene of an armed attack on the government treasury by members of the Mizo National Front. Manufac� tures include aluminum utensils, handloom textiles, and furniture.

Ajax Greek hero of the Trojan War. In the Iliad Homer described him as of great stature and second only to Achilles in strength and bravery. He fought Hector in single combat and rescued the body of Achilles from the hands of the Trojans. When Achilles�s armour was awarded to Odysseus, he was so enraged that he went mad. According to several Greek and Roman poets, Ajax slaughtered a flock of sheep he mistook for his enemies, then returned to his senses and killed himself out of shame.

Ajodhya See Ayodhya

AK \'a-'ka\ -47 Soviet assault rifle. Designed by Mikhail T. Kalashnikov (its name stands for �automatic Kalashnikov 1947�), it had both semiau� tomatic and automatic capabilities and fired intermediate-power 7.62-mm ammunition. It was manufactured in the former Soviet Union and Soviet- bloc countries and soon became the basic shoulder weapon for virtually all communist armies as well as for many guerrilla and nationalist movements. In the Soviet military it was replaced in the 1960s by the AKM, which fea� tured a lighter, cheaper stamped-metal receiver, and in the 1970s by the AK-74, which fired a high-velocity 5.45-mm round. See also Ml 6 rifle.

Aka I Takht Vo-'kal-'tok-toX Chief centre of religious authority for Indian Sikhs, located in Amritsar opposite the Golden Temple. It also serves as the headquarters of the Akali Party. Since the line of Gurus came to an end in 1708, the Sikh community has settled religious and political disputes at meetings in front of the Akal Takht. In the 20th century local congre� gations began to pass resolutions on matters of Sikh doctrine and rules of conduct; disputed resolutions may be appealed to the Akal Takht. It was badly damaged during the assault on the Golden Temple by the Indian army in 1984 and had to be rebuilt. See also Sikhism.

Akali Party \3-'ka-le\ Sikh political party in India. The term Akali was first applied to suicide squads that appeared in the Sikh armies c. 1690 in response to Mughal persecution. The Akali name was revived in the 1920s during the gurdwara reform movement to refer to a semimilitary corps of volunteers opposed to British rule. Akalis took the lead in agitation for a Punjabi-speaking Sikh-majority state, a goal achieved in 1966 with the establishment of the Indian state of Punjab. The modem Akali Party par� ticipates in national elections but is mainly concerned with the status of the Sikhs in Punjab.

Akan \'a-,kan\ Cluster of peoples inhabiting southern Ghana, eastern Cote d�Ivoire, and parts of Togo. Their languages are of the Kwa branch of Niger-Congo languages. In the 14th-18th centuries several Akan states, notably the Fante confederacy and the Asante empire, formed in regions where gold was produced and traded. Many of the Akan, who number some 16 million, work in urban districts.

Akbar in full Abu al-Fath Jalal al-DTn Muhammad Akbar

(b. Oct. 15, 1542, Umarkot, Sind, India�d. 1605, A*gra) Greatest of the Mughal emperors (see Mughal dynasty) of India (r. 1556-1605). Akbar, whose ancestors included Timur and Genghis Khan, ascended the throne as a youth. Initially his rule extended only over the Punjab and the area around Delhi. The Rajput raja of Amber (Jaipur) acknowledged his suzer� ainty in 1562, and other Rajput rajas followed suit. Akbar included Rajput princes and other Hindus in the highest ranks of his government and reduced discrimination against non-Muslims. He continued his conquests, taking Gujarat in the west (1573) and Bengal in the east (annexed in 1576). Toward the end of his reign he conquered Kashmir (1586) and moved south into the Deccan. Administratively, he strengthened central power, establishing that all military officers and civil administrators were to be appointed by the emperor. He encouraged scholars, poets, painters, and musicians, making his court a centre of culture. He had Sanskrit clas� sics translated into Persian and was enthusiastic about the European paint� ings presented to him by Jesuit missionaries. His reign was often portrayed as a model by later governments�strong, benevolent, tolerant, and enlightened. See also Babur.

Akerlof, George A. (b. June 17, 1940, New Haven, Conn., U.S.) U.S. economist. He studied at Yale University (B.A., 1962) and the Massa� chusetts Institute of Technology (Ph.D., 1966) and in 1966 began teaching at the University of Califor� nia, Berkeley, becoming Goldman Professor of Economics in 1980.

Akerlof s research often drew on other disciplines, including psychol� ogy, anthropology, and sociology, and he played an important role in the development of behavioral eco� nomics. His landmark study on asymmetric information in the used car market demonstrated how mar� kets malfunction when sellers have more information than buyers. Aker� lof shared the 2001 Nobel Prize for Economics with A. Michael Spence and Joseph E. Stiglitz.

Akhenaton or Akhnaton \ak- 'na-t 3 n\ orig. Amenhotep Ya- m3n-'ho-,tep\ IV (r. 1353-36 bc)

Egyptian pharaoh of the 18th dynasty (1539-1292 bc). He came to power during a period of Egyptian preeminence, with Egypt controlling Palestine, Phoenicia, and Nubia.

Akhenaton, detail of the sandstone pil� lar statue from the Aton temple at Kar- nak, c. 1370 bc; in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo.

HIRMER FOTOARCHIV, MUNCHEN

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Akhmatova ► al-Khwarizmi I 35

Shortly after his reign began, he began to encourage the exclusive wor� ship of the little-known deity Aton, a sun god he regarded as the source of all blessings. Assuming the name Akhenaton (�One Useful to Aton�), he moved his capital from Thebes to present-day Tell el-Amarna to escape established religious powers and make a fresh start. A new art style that focused on the details of actual life rather than on timeless conditions became popular. In government, Akhenaton tried to recapture the old authority of the ruler, which had been largely diverted to bureaucrats and officials, but his focus on his new religion to the exclusion of affairs of state resulted in the disintegration of Egypt�s Asian empire. He was suc� ceeded by two of his sons-in-law, Smenkhkare and Tutankhamen, but after Tutankhamen�s early death the army took over the throne, and Akhenaton�s new religion was abandoned.

Akhmatova Xok-'ma-to-voX, Anna orig. Anna Andreyevna Gorenko (b. June 23, 1889,

Bolshoy Fontan, near Odessa,

Ukraine, Russian Empire�d. March 5, 1966, Domodedovo, near Mos� cow) Russian poet. She won fame with her first poetry collections (1912, 1914). Soon after the Revo� lution of 1917, Soviet authorities condemned her work for what they perceived as its narrow preoccupa� tion with love and God, and in 1923, after the execution of her former hus� band on conspiracy charges, she entered a long period of literary silence. After World War II she was again denounced and expelled from the Writers Union. Following Joseph Stalin�s death in 1953, she was slowly rehabilitated. In her later years she became the influential cen� tre of a circle of younger Russian poets. Her longest work, Poem With� out a Hew, is regarded as one of the great poems of the 20th century. Regarded today as one of the greatest of all Russian poets, she is also admired for her translations of other poets� works and for her memoirs.

Akiba ben Joseph Xa-'ke-va-ben-'jo-zofX (b. ad 40�d. c. 135, Cae� sarea, Palestine) Jewish sage, one of the founders of rabbinic Judaism. He is said to have been an illiterate shepherd who began to study after age 40. He believed that Scripture contained many implied meanings in addi� tion to its overt meaning, and he regarded written law (Torah) and oral law (Halakhah) as ultimately one. He collected and systematized the oral traditions concerning the conduct of Jewish social and religious life, thus laying the foundation of the Mishna. He may have been involved in Bar Kokhba�s unsuccessful rebellion against Rome; he gave the rebel leader his title and recognized him as the Messiah. He was imprisoned by the Romans and martyred for his public teaching. See also Ishmael ben Elisha.

Akihito \a-'ke-he-,to\ or Heisei \'ha-'sa\ emperor (b. Dec. 23, 1933, Tokyo, Japan) Emperor of Japan from 1989. Son of Hirohito, his role, like that of his father after 1945, has been largely ceremonial. He is the first Japanese emperor to have married a commoner, in what was hailed at the time as a love match rather than the customary arranged marriage. His children are Crown Prince Naruhito, Prince Akishino, and Princess Nori.

Akita \o -'ke-to\ Breed of working dog that originated in the mountains of northern Japan. In 1931 the Japanese government designated the breed as a national treasure. It is a powerful, muscular dog with a broad head, erect pointed ears, and a large curved tail carried over the back or curled against the flank. Colours and markings vary, including all-white, brindle, and pinto. All but the white akitas bear a distinct mask (dark area around the muzzle). Males stand 26-28 in. (66-71 cm) high, females 24-26 in. (60-66 cm).

Akkad Va -kad\ Ancient region, central Iraq. Akkad was the northern division of ancient Babylonia (Sumer was the southern division). Its name was taken from the city of Agade, founded by the conqueror Sargon c. 2300 bc. Sargon united the city-states in the region and extended the empire to much of Mesopotamia, including Sumer, Elam, and the upper Tigris. The empire waned in the 22nd century bc. Under the kings of Akkad, their Semitic language, Akkadian, became a literary language, and great art was fostered.

Akkadian Xo-'ka-de-onX language <?/ Assyro-Babylonian lan� guage Semitic language spoken in Mesopotamia in the 3rd-lst millen� nia bc. It is known from a great many inscriptions, seals, and clay tablets in cuneiform writing. Akkadian supplanted Sumerian as the major spoken language of southern Mesopotamia by 2000 bc and about this time split into an Assyrian dialect spoken in the northeast and a Babylonian dialect spoken in the south. Akkadian died out as a vernacular in the first half of the 1st millennium bc, being effectively replaced by Aramaic in Meso� potamia, though it continued to be written until about the 1st century ad.

�Akko Va -ko\ or Acre X'a-kro, 'a-korX Seaport town (pop., 2000 est.: 45,737), northwestern Israel. First mentioned in an Egyptian text from the 19th century bc, it was long a Canaanite and Phoenician city. After its conquest by Alexander the Great (336 bc), it was a Greek polity (called Philadelphus), and for several centuries it remained part of the Roman Republic and Empire. The Persians (614) and Arabs (638) conquered the town, but it was ruled by the Turkish SeuOq dynasty when the Crusaders captured it in 1104. The Crusaders renamed the city St. Jean d�Acre and made it their last capital (see Crusades). Except for brief intervals, it was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire from 1516 until British forces took it in 1918. It was part of Palestine under the British mandate and became part of Israel in 1948, when most of its Arab inhabitants fled. Notable structures include the Great Mosque and the Crypt of St. John. It is the burial place of Baha� Ullah, the founder of the Baha�i faith.

Akmola See Astana

Akron City (pop., 2000: 217,074), northeastern Ohio, U.S., on the Cuya� hoga River. At 1,200 ft (370 m) above sea level, Akron was named for its �high place� (Greek: acros) on the watershed between the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes. Laid out in 1825, the town was assured substantial growth by the completion of two canals (1827, 1840). The abundant water supply and the arrival of the railroads prompted Benjamin Franklin Goo� drich to move a rubber factory there in 1871. Akron became known as �rubber capital of the world,� although by the 21st century much pro� duction had moved from the area.

Aksum or Axum X'ak-.siimX Ancient kingdom, northern Ethiopia. At its apogee (3rd-6th century ad), Aksum merchants traded as far as Alex� andria and beyond the Nile River. The modern town of Aksum (pop., 1994: 27,148), once the kingdom�s capital, is a religious centre best known for its antiquities. It has long been regarded as a holy city for the Ethiopian Orthodox church; according to tradition, King Menilek I, son of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, brought the Ark of the Covenant there from Jerusalem. Aksum�s antiquities have made it a tourist centre.

Akwamu X'ak-wa-miiX Historical state of western Africa�s Gold Coast (now Ghana). Founded by an Akan people c. 1600, it grew rich on the sale of gold. At its height in the early 18th century, Akwamu stretched more than 250 mi (400 km) along the coast, from Whydah (now Ouidah, Benin) in the east to beyond Winneba (now in Ghana) in the west. By 1710 the state was being pressured by other groups (including the Asante) that had grown powerful in the area, and by 1731 it had ceased to exist.

Al Among Arab groups, a term denoting a tribe, clan, family, or other patrilineal filiation. It often refers to a ruling line or dynasty and gener� ally precedes a substantive name (e.g., Al Sa'ud) but is not connected by a hyphen; it is unrelated to the Arabic definite article, al-. In Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, entries for Arab tribal and dynastic groups are alphabetized under the substantive (e.g., for Al Sa'ud, see Sa'Gd dynasty).

al- Arabic definite article, meaning �the.� It prefixes Arabic nouns, from which it is generally separated by a hyphen when rendered in Latin script. In Britannica Concise Encyclopedia, entries are alphabetized under the noun the article modifies (e.g., see Azhar University, al-).

Al-JazTrah See Gezira

al-Khwarizmi Xal-'kwar-iz-meX Arabic in full Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi (b. c. 780, Baghdad, Iraq�d. c. 850) Muslim mathematician and astronomer. He lived in Baghdad during the golden age of Islamic science and, like Euclid, wrote mathematical books that collected and arranged the discoveries of earlier mathematicians. His Al-Kitdb al-mukhtasar fi hisdb al-jabr wa�l-muqabala (�The Compendi� ous Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing�) is a compila� tion of rules for solving linear and quadratic equations, as well as problems of geometry and proportion. Its translation into Latin in the 12th century provided the link between the great Hindu and Arab mathematicians and

Anna Akhmatova.

NOVOSTI PRESS AGENCY

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36 I Alabama ► Alaska Highway

European scholars. A corruption of the book�s title resulted in the word algebra ; a corruption of the author�s own name resulted in the term algo� rithm.

Alabama State (pop., 2000: 4,447,000), southern central U.S. It is bor� dered by Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi; the Gulf of Mexico lies to the southwest. Covering 51,718 sq mi (133,950 sq km), its capital is Montgomery. Its original inhabitants included Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, and Creek Indians; evidence of their activity can be found near Tuscaloosa. Hernando de Soto traveled there, and the French founded a settlement at Fort Louis in 1702. The Alabama Territory was created in 1817, and statehood was granted in 1819. Alabama seceded from the Union in 1861, becoming part of the Confederacy; it was readmitted in 1868. Efforts during Reconstruction to include blacks in government failed, and Alabama remained segregationist until the 1960s. Dependent on cotton until the early 20th century, the state has since diversified its agricultural production and developed industrially, especially at Birming� ham; Mobile has become a major ocean terminal.

Alabama claims U.S. maritime grievances against Britain in the American Civil War. Although Britain had declared official neutrality in the war, it allowed the Confederate cruiser Alabama , which later destroyed 68 Union ships, to be constructed in England. U.S. ambassa� dor Charles Francis Adams demanded that the British take responsibility for these damages, and he advocated arbitration to settle the matter. In May 1871 the parties signed the Treaty of Washington, which established certain wartime obligations of neutrals. The tribunal also held Britain liable for losses and awarded the U.S. damages of $15.5 million.

Alabama River River, southern Alabama, U.S. Formed by the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers northeast of Montgomery, it winds westward to Selma and then flows southward. The river�s navigable length is 305 mi (491 km). It is joined above Mobile by the Tombigbee River to form the Mobile and Tensaw rivers, which flow into Mobile Bay. Mobile and Mont� gomery became major cities largely because they were on this important artery.

alabaster Fine-grained gypsum that has been used for centuries for statuary, carvings, and other ornaments. It normally is snow-white and translucent but can be artificially dyed; it may be made opaque and simi� lar in appearance to marble by heat treatment. Florence, Livorno, Milan, and Berlin are important centres of the alabaster trade. The alabaster of the ancients was a brown or yellow onyx marble.

Alaca Huyuk V.a-la-'ja-hoe-.yiBkX Ancient Anatolian site, north-central Turkey. It lies northeast of the old Hittite capital of Bogazkoy. Traces of a Hittite building were found in the early 20th century and below them a royal necropolis of tombs from c. 2500 bc. There is evidence of the advanced accomplishments of Copper Age metallurgy in the form of jew� elry, bowls, and jugs. Though the ethnic identity of the preliterate inhab� itants is uncertain, they probably belonged to the non-Indo-European population that preceded the Hittites.

Aladdin Hero of a well-known story in The Thousand and One Nights. The son of a poor widow, Aladdin is a lazy, careless boy who meets an African magician claiming to be his uncle. He sends Aladdin into a cave to find a magic lamp, but Aladdin refuses to hand over the lamp until he is safely out of the cave. The angry magician shuts the boy in the cave and departs, but Aladdin discovers that he can summon powerful genies (jinn) by rubbing the lamp. The genies grant his every wish, and Aladdin becomes rich, marries the sultan�s beautiful daughter, and reigns for many years.

Alamein, Battles of El See Battles of El Alamein

AlamgTr Val-3m- 1 ger\ II in full ( Az?z al-DTn 'Alamglr II (b. June 6, 1699, Multan, India�d. Nov. 29, 1769, Delhi) Mughal emperor of India (1754-59). He was placed on the throne by the imperial vizier Imad al-Mulk Ghazi al-Dln and was always the puppet of more powerful men, including the Afghan ruler Ahmad Shah Durrani, whose agents occupied Delhi in 1757 and made Alamglr the nominal emperor of Hindustan. He was murdered by Ghazi al-Dln, who feared Alamglr might be captured and used against him in another Afghan invasion.

Alamo Eighteenth-century mission in San Antonio, Texas, site of a his� toric siege of a small group of Texans by a Mexican army (1836) during the Texas war for independence from Mexico. The abandoned mission was occupied occasionally by Spanish troops, who named it the Alamo

(�cottonwood�) after the surrounding trees. At the start of the war in December 1835, volunteers occupied the Alamo and vowed to fight to the death any attempt to recapture it. In February 1836 a Mexican army of several thousand began a siege that lasted 13 days. The Texan force of about 180, led by Jim Bowie and including Davy Crockett, was overrun; nearly all the defenders were killed (about 15 persons, mostly women and children, were spared). Mexican casualties were at least 600. �Remem� ber the Alamo!� became a rallying cry for Texans through the remainder of the war.

Alanbrooke (of Brookeborough), Alan Francis Brooke, 1 st Viscount (b. July 23, 1883, Bagneres-de-Bigorre, France�d. June 17, 1963, Hartley Wintney, Hampshire, Eng.) British military leader. He served in World War I and later became director of military training (1936-37) and an expert on gunnery. In World War II he began as com� mander of a corps in France and covered the Dunkirk evacuation. After serving as commander of the British home forces (1940-41), he was pro� moted to chief of staff (1941�46). He established good relations with the U.S. forces and exercised a strong influence on Allied strategy. He was promoted to field marshal in 1944 and created a viscount in 1946.

Aland \'o-,lan\ Islands Archipelago, southwestern Finland, constitut� ing Ahvenanmaan autonomous kunta (commune). It consists of about 35 inhabited islands (pop., 2002 est.: 26,000) and more than 6,000 uninhab� ited ones, with a total land area of 599 sq mi (1,552 sq km). Aland, the largest island, is the location of Mariehamn, the administrative capital and chief seaport. The islands were Christianized by 12th-century Swedish missionaries. When Finland declared its independence in 1917, the Alanders sought to become part of Sweden. Though the archipelago remains with Finland, it has been given unique autonomy.

alanine Va-lo-nenN Either of two organic compounds. Alpha-alanine is one of the nonessential amino acids, found in most proteins and particu� larly abundant in fibroin, the protein in silk. It is used in research and as a dietary supplement. Beta-alanine is a naturally occurring amino acid not found in proteins. It is an important constituent of the vitamin pantothenic acid and is used in its synthesis, as well as in biochemical research, elec� troplating, and organic synthesis.

Alaric Va-lo-rikV I (b. c. 370, Peuce Island�d. 410, Cosentia, Bruttium) Chief of the Visigoths (395-410). He commanded Gothic troops in the Roman army before leaving to become chief of the Visigoths. He led his tribe into Greece, sacking cities until placated by the Eastern emperor (397). He twice led invasions of Italy, the second time extorting a large payment from the Roman Senate. Alaric�s forces grew after the Romans massacred the wives and children of Visigoths serving in the Roman army. He besieged Rome (408, 409), proclaiming Priscus Attalus as Western emperor. In 410 Alaric occupied and plundered Rome, the first time the city had been captured by a foreign enemy in 800 years. See also Goths.

Alaska State (pop., 2000: 626,932) of the U.S., lying at the northwest extremity of North America. It is the largest in area of the U.S. states, covering 587,875 sq mi (1,522,595 sq km). Bordered by Canada to the east and southeast and facing Siberia across the Bering Strait and Bering Sea to the west, it has the highest point on the continent, Mount McKin� ley. Its capital is Juneau. The original inhabitants, Indians and Eskimos, are thought to have migrated over the Bering Land Bridge as well as from the Arctic. The first European settlement was established in the late 18th century by Russian fur traders on Kodiak Island. Hudson's Bay Co. traders were also interested in the same area, and Russian-Canadian trade rivalry lasted well into the 19th century. In 1867 William Seward negotiated Alas� ka�s sale from the Russians to the U.S., and the subsequent discovery of gold stimulated American settlement. Alaska was a U.S. territory from 1912 until it was admitted as the 49th state in 1959. Its economy has become increasingly centred on oil and natural gas: since the opening of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline in 1977, Alaska has become second only to Texas in the U.S. production of crude oil.

Alaska, Gulf of Broad inlet, southern Alaska, U.S. Situated between the Alaska Peninsula and the Alexander Archipelago, it receives the Susitna and Copper rivers. Ports on the gulf include Anchorage, Seward, and Val� dez; the last is North America�s northernmost year-round harbour and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline�s terminal. In 1741 a Russian expedition led by Vitus Bering, a Dane, became the first Europeans to enter the Gulf.

Alaska Highway formerly Alcan Highway Road through the Yukon, connecting Dawson Creek, British Columbia, with Fairbanks,

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Alaska Peninsula ► Albania I 37

Alaska, a distance of 1,523 mi (2,451 km). It was constructed by U.S. Army engineers in 1942 as an emergency war measure to provide an overland military supply route to Alaska. It is a scenic route now open year-round.

Alaska Peninsula Peninsula, southwestern Alaska, U.S. It stretches about 500 mi (800 km) between the Pacific Ocean and Bristol Bay. The volcanic Aleutian Range runs along its entire length. It is the site of Katmai National Park and Preserve, Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve, and the Becherof, Alaska Peninsula, and Izembek national wildlife refuges.

Alaska Pipeline See Trans-Alaska Pipeline

Alaska Purchase Acquisition in 1867 by the U.S. from Russia of 586,412 sq mi (1.5 million sq km) at the northwestern tip of North America, comprising the current U.S. state of Alaska. The territory, held by Russia since 1741, was considered an economic liability, and in 1866 it was offered for sale. Pres. Andrew Johnson�s secretary of state, William Seward, negotiated its purchase for $7.2 million, or about two cents per acre. Critics labeled the purchase �Seward�s Folly.� Congressional oppo� sition delayed the appropriation until 1868, when extensive lobbying and bribes by the Russian minister to the U.S. secured the required votes.

Alaska Range Mountain range, southern Alaska, U.S. A segment of the Pacific mountain system, it extends in an arc from the Aleutian Range on the Alaska Peninsula to the Yukon Territory boundary. Mount McKinley, near the centre of the range, in Denali National Park and Preserve, is the highest point in North America. Many nearby peaks exceed 13,000 ft (4,000 m), including Mounts Silverthrone, Hunter, Hayes, and Foraker. The range is crossed at Isabel Pass by the Trans-Alaska Pipeline.

Alaskan king crab See king crab

Alaskan malamute Sled dog developed by the Malemiut, an Eskimo group. It is a strongly built dog with a broad head, erect ears, and a plumelike tail carried over its back. Its thick coat is usually gray and white or black and white, the colours frequently forming a caplike or masklike marking on the head. It stands 23-25 in. (58-64 cm) tall and weighs 75-85 lbs (34-39 kg). Characteristically loyal and friendly, it has served on expeditions to the Antarctic.

Alaungpaya \a- I la-uq- , pI-3\ dynasty or Konbaung \ 1 kon-ba- , uq\ dynasty (1752-1885) Last ruling dynasty of Myanmar. In the face of the fragmentation of the Toungoo dynasty, Alaungpaya (1714-60), head� man in a village near Mandalay, raised an army and subdued the sepa� ratist Mon people in southern Myanmar and then conquered the northeastern Shan states. He attacked the Siamese capital of Ayutthaya (now in Thailand) but was forced to retreat. His son Hsinbyushin, the third king of the dynasty (r. 1763-76), sent armies into neighbouring kingdoms and successfully rebuffed four retaliatory Chinese invasions. The sixth king, Bodawpaya (r. 1782-1819), mounted a number of unsuccessful cam� paigns against the Siamese and moved the capital to Amarapura. He also conquered the kingdom of Arakan. His incursions into Assam aroused the ire of the British, and under Bagyidaw (r. 1819-37) Myanmar (subse� quently Burma) was defeated in the first Anglo-Burmese War. From then on the dynasty�s hold on Myanmar gradually declined, ending in total annexation by the British in 1885.

Alawites See 'Alawiyyah

'Alawiyyah Va-la-we-'ya\ or Alawite \a-b-'wet\ or Nusayriyyah

\nii-sl-re-'ya\ Minority sect of ShTite Islam. The sect, which exists mainly in Syria, traces its roots to the teachings of Muhammad ibn Nusayr al-Namlri (fl. 850) and was chiefly established by Husayn ibn Hamdan al-KhasIbl (d. 957/958). Its basic doctrine includes a deification of �Ali and an interpretation of the five Pillars of Islam as symbolic. Some of the group�s religious practices are secret; it celebrates some Islamic and some Christian holidays.

Alba, Fernando Alvarez de Toledo (y Pimentel), 3rd duke

de (b. Oct. 29, 1507, Piedrahita, Old Castile, Spain�d. Dec. 11, 1582, Lisbon) Spanish soldier. He commanded Charles V�s imperial armies to defeat the Schmalkaldic League in 1547, and he served as viceroy of Naples (1556-59). As a chief minister to Philip II, Alba became notorious for his tyranny as governor-general of the Netherlands (1567-73), where he insti� tuted the Council of Troubles. That court set aside local laws and con� demned some 12,000 people for rebellion. Recalled to Spain in 1573, Alba later conducted a brilliant campaign against Portugal (1580) but never regained Philip�s favor. See photograph above.

Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, 3rd duke de Alba, oil painting by Sir Antony More, 1549; in the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium, Brussels.

COURTESY OF THE MUSSES ROYAUX DES BEAUX-ARTS, BRUSSELS

paintings, and idyllic landscapes, logical and poetic subjects.

albacore Large oceanic tuna (Thunnus alalunga ) that is noted for its fine flesh. The streamlined bodies of these voracious predators are adapted to fast and continuous swim� ming. They occur in both the Atlan� tic and Pacific oceans and migrate long distances. The bluefin tuna is also sometimes called albacore.

Albani, Francesco or Fran� cesco Albano (b. March 17, 1578, Bologna, Papal States�d. October 1660, Bologna) Italian painter. He trained with the Carracci family in Bologna then moved to Rome in 1601 and collaborated with Annibale Carracci and Domenichino on the decoration of the Farnese Pal� ace. While in Rome he established his own studio and painted frescoes in various churches and palaces. In 1617 he returned to Bologna and produced altarpieces, allegorical s best-known paintings are of mytho-

Albania officially Republic of Albania Country, Balkan Peninsula, southeastern Europe. Area: 11,082 sq mi (28,703 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 3,130,000. Capital: Tirane. Language: Albanian (official).

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algebraic equation Mathematical statement of equality between algebraic expressions. An expression is algebraic if it involves a finite combination of numbers and variables and algebraic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, raising to a power, and extracting a root). Two important types of such equations are linear equations, in the form y = ax + b, and quadratic equations, in the form y = ax 2 + bx + c. A solution is a numerical value that makes the equation a true statement when substituted for a variable. In some cases it may be found using a formula; in others the equation may be rewritten in simpler form. Alge� braic equations are particularly useful for modeling real-life phenomena.

algebraic geometry Study of geometric objects expressed as equa� tions and represented by graphs in a given coordinate system. In contrast to Euclidean geometry, algebraic geometry represents geometric objects using algebraic equations (e.g., a circle of radius r is defined by x 2 + y 2 = r 2 ). Objects so defined can then be analyzed for symmetries, intercepts, and other properties without having to refer to a graph.

algebraic topology Field of mathematics that uses algebraic struc� tures to study transformations of geometric objects. It uses functions (often called maps in this context) to represent continuous transforma� tions (see topology). Taken together, a set of maps and objects may form an algebraic group, which can be analyzed by group-theory methods. A well-known topic in algebraic topology is the four-colour map problem.

Algeciras \,al-j9-'sir-9s\ Conference (Jan. 16-April 7, 1906) Confer� ence held at Algeciras, Spain, that resolved the first of the Moroccan crises. In 1905 William II objected to France�s efforts to exert influence in Morocco, prompting a conference of the European powers and the U.S. Superficially, the Act of Algeciras (1906) seemed to limit French penetration, but the con� ference�s real significance was the diplomatic support that Britain and the U.S. gave France, foreshadowing their roles in World War I.

Alger Val-jor\, Horatio, Jr. (b. Jan. 13, 1832, Chelsea, Mass., U.S.�d. July 18, 1899, Natick, Mass.) U.S. writer. The son of a Unitarian minis� ter, Alger graduated from Harvard with honours and then earned a degree from its divinity school. Forced to leave his pulpit after two years because of allegations of improper activities with youths, he took up writing. Beginning with Ragged Dick (1868), he wrote more than 100 books that were almost alike in preaching that through honesty, cheerful persever� ance, and hard work a poor but virtuous lad would have his just reward (though it was almost always precipitated by good luck). His books sold more than 20 million copies, despite consistently weak plots and dialogue, and Alger was one of the most popular and socially influential writers of the late 19th century.

Algeria officially People's Democratic Republic of Algeria

Country, North Africa. Area: 919,595 sq mi (2,381,741 sq km). Popula� tion (2005 est.): 32,854,000. Capital: Algiers. Most of the population is ethnically and linguistically Arab, with a large Berber (Amazigh) minor� ity. Languages: Arabic, Berber (both official), French. Religion: Islam (official; predominantly Sunni). Currency: Algerian dinar. Algeria has the second largest land area (after The Sudan) on the continent. The coast� line has numerous bays, and the country�s rivers are small and generally seasonal. Northern Algeria is mountainous and is crossed from east to west by the Atlas Mountains; its highest point, elevation 7,638 ft (2,328 m), is Mount Chelia. In central and southern Algeria is much of the north� ern Sahara. Algeria has a developing economy based primarily on the production and export of petroleum and natural gas. After achieving inde� pendence, the country nationalized much of its economy but since the 1980s has privatized parts of the economy. Algeria is a republic with two legislative bodies; its chief of state is the president, and its head of gov� ernment is the prime minister. Phoenician traders settled there early in the 1st millennium bc; several centuries later the Romans invaded, and by ad 40 they had control of the Mediterranean coast. The fall of Rome in the 5th century led to an invasion by the Vandals and later to a reoccupation by the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire. The Islamic invasion began in the 7th century; by 711 all of northern Africa was under the control of the caliphs of the Umayyad dynasty. Several Islamic Berber empires fol-

"Meeting of Attila and Pope Leo," colossal marble relief by Alessandro Algardi, 1646-53; in St. Peter's, Rome

AUNARI�ANDERSON FROM ART RESOURCE/EB INC.

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Algerian Reformist �Ulama� ► 'AIT I 47

lowed, most prominently the Almoravid (c. 1054-1130), which extended its domain to Spain, and the Almohad (c. 1130-1269). The Barbary Coast pirates menaced Medi� terranean trade for centuries; their raids served as a pretext for France to enter Algeria in 1830. By 1847 France had established military control over most of the region and by the late 19th century had instituted civil rule. Popular protest against French rule resulted in the bloody Algerian War (1954�61); independence was achieved following a referendum in 1962. Beginning in the early 1990s, Islamic fundamentalist opposition to secular rule led to an outbreak in civil violence between the army and various Islamic extremist groups.

Algerian Reformist 'Ulama� \u-la-'ma\, Association of Group of Muslim religious scholars founded in 1931 that worked to create an Algerian Muslim identity. The 'Ulama 5 opened schools and promoted the teaching of Arabic. It was opposed by the French-educated elite and the traditional Muslim establishment, which felt threatened by its religious purist tendencies. It joined the National Liberation Front during the war of independence (1954-62) and later had a seat in Algeria�s provisional government. See also Young Algerians.

Algerian War or Algerian War of Independence (1954-62) War for Algerian independence from France. The movement for indepen� dence began during World War I (1914-18) and gained momentum after French promises of greater self-rule in Algeria went unfulfilled after World War II (1939-45). In 1954 the National Liberation Front (FLN) began a guerrilla war against France and sought diplomatic recognition at the UN to establish a sovereign Algerian state. Although Algerian fighters operated in the countryside�particularly along the country�s borders� the most serious fighting took place in and around Algiers, where FLN fighters launched a series of violent urban attacks that came to be known as the Battle of Algiers (1956-57). French forces (that increased to 500,000 troops) managed to regain control but only through brutal mea� sures, and the ferocity of the fighting sapped the political will of the French to continue the conflict. In 1959 Charles de Gaulle declared that the Algerians had the right to determine their own future. Despite terrorist acts by French Algerians opposed to independence and an attempted coup in France by elements of the French army, an agreement was signed in 1962, and Algeria became independent. See also Raoul Salan.

Algiers Arabic Al-Jaza�ir French Alger \al-'zha\ City (pop., 1998: 1,519,570), chief seaport and capital of Algeria. Located along the Bay of Algiers and first settled by Phoenicians, it was later ruled by the Romans. It was destroyed by the Vandals in the 5th century ad but revived under a Berber dynasty in the 10th century. When the Spanish threatened it in the early 16th century, the local emir appealed to the Ottoman corsair Bar-

barossa, who expelled the Spanish and placed Algiers under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. Algiers became the major base for the Barbary Coast pirates for 300 years; their activities were finally curtailed in 1818 by an American force led by Stephen Decatur. The French took the city in 1830 and made it headquarters for their African colonial empire. In World War II (1939-45), it became the Allied headquarters in northern Africa and for a time the provisional capital of France. In the 1950s it was the focal point in the drive for Algeria�s independence; after independence, Algiers grew as the country�s political, economic, and cultural centre.

ALGOL Val-,g61\ High-level algebraic computer programming language developed in the late 1950s as an international language for the expres� sion of algorithms (its name is derived from ALGOrithmic Language) between humans as well as between humans and machines. Used espe� cially in mathematical and scientific applications, ALGOL was more popular in Europe than in the U.S., but it was an important precursor of Pascal and it influenced the development of C language.

Algonquian \al-'gan-kwe-on\ languages or Algonkian

\al-'gaq-ke-3n\ languages Family of 25-30 North American Indian languages spoken or formerly spoken across a broad area of eastern and central North America. They are divided conventionally into three geo� graphic groups. Eastern Algonquian languages, spoken from the Gulf of St. Lawrence south to coastal North Carolina, include Micmac, East and West Abenaki, Delaware, Massachusett, and Powhatan (or Virginia Algonquian)�the latter two now long extinct. Central Algonquian lan� guages include Shawnee, Miami-lllinois, Sauk, Kickapoo, Potawatomi, Menominee (all spoken around the Great Lakes), Ojibwa (around the upper Great Lakes and north from eastern Quebec through Manitoba), and Cree-Montagnais-Naskapi (spoken from Labrador west to Hudson Bay and Alberta). Plains Algonquian includes the languages of the Cheyenne, Arapaho, Atsina (Gros Ventres), and Blackfoot (spoken in the central and northern Great Plains).

algorithm \ , al-g9- l ri-th3m\ Procedure that produces the answer to a question or the solution to a problem in a finite number of steps. An algo� rithm that produces a yes or no answer is called a decision procedure; one that leads to a solution is a computation procedure. A mathematical for� mula and the instructions in a computer program are examples of algo� rithms. Euclid�s Elements (c. 300 bc) contained an algorithm for finding the greatest common divisor of two integers. Manipulation of lists (search� ing for, inserting, and removing items) can be done efficiently by using algorithms.

algorithms, analysis of Basic computer-science discipline that aids in the development of effective programs. Analysis of algorithms provides proof of the correctness of algorithms, allows for the accurate prediction of program performance, and can be used as a measure of computational complexity. See also Donald Knuth.

Algren \'ol-gron. Nelson orig. Nelson Ahlgren Abraham (b.

March 28, 1909, Detroit, Mich., U.S.�d. May 9, 1981, Sag Harbor, N.Y.) U.S. writer. The son of a machinist, Algren grew up in Chicago and worked his way through the University of Illinois during the Great Depression. His novels of the poor skillfully capture the mood of the city�s underside and are lifted from routine naturalism by his vision of his char� acters� pride, humour, and unquenchable yearnings. Among his popular successes were The Man with the Golden Arm (1949; film, 1956) and A Walk on the Wild Side (1956; film, 1962). He also published an admired short-story collection, The Neon Wilderness (1947).

Alhambra \al-'am-br3\ Palace of the Moorish monarchs of Granada, Spain, built (1238-1358) on a plateau above the city. Its name (Arabic: �the red�) may refer to the colour of the sun-dried bricks used in its outer walls. The Alhambra, only three parts of which remain intact, is made up of a series of rooms and gardens clustered around three principal courts, with extensive use of fountains and water basins. Its surfaces are astound- ingly ornate and varied, with outstanding examples of stalactite work.

'All (ibn Abl Talib) (b. c. 600, Mecca�d. January 661, Al-Kufah, Iraq) Cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad and fourth caliph (656- 661). 'All was a ward of Muhammad, just as Muhammad himself had been a ward of 'All�s father, Abu Talib. An early convert to Islam, he helped foil an assassination plot against Muhammad and, following the Hijrah to Medina (622), fought beside him against his enemies, gaining renown as a soldier. Since some in the early Muslim community claimed that Muhammad did not name any successor and others claimed that he

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48 I Ali ► alkali metal

named 'All, the controversy over 'All�s claim to the caliphate resulted in the fundamental schism in Islam that eventually led to the creation of the Shl'ite (from shfat 'All, �party of 'All�) and Sunnite branches of the reli� gion. His willingness to compromise with his adversaries during the first fitnah led some of his troops to desert and form the Kharijite sect, one of whose members later assassinated 'All. In later Islamic hagiography, 'All was held up as the paradigm of youthful chivalry and virtue by both Shl'ites and Sunnites. See also al-HusAYN ibn 'Ali; Battle of Karbala�; Mu'awiyah.

Ali, Muhammad orig. Cassius (Marcellus) Clay (b. Jan. 17, 1942, Louisville, Ken., U.S.) U.S. boxer. Cassius Clay took up boxing at the age of 12 and rose through the amateur ranks to win the Olympic light heavyweight crown in 1960.

His first professional heavyweight title win was against Sonny Liston in 1964. After defending the title nine times between 1965 and 1967, he was stripped of it for refusing induc� tion into the armed forces following his acceptance of the teachings of the Nation of Islam. It was then that he changed his name to Muhammad Ali. In 1974 Ali regained his title after defeating the former champion Joe Frazier and the then-current champion George Foreman. He lost to Leon Spinks in 1978 but later that year regained the title a third time, becoming the first heavyweight champion ever to do so. He retired in 1979, having lost only three of 59 fights. Attempted comebacks in 1980 and 1981 failed. Throughout his career Ali was known for his aggressive charm, invincible attitude, and colourful boasts, often expressed in doggerel verse. �I am the greatest� was his personal credo. Ali�s later years have been marked by physical decline. Damage to his brain, caused by blows to the head, has resulted in slurred speech, slowed movement, and other symptoms of Parkinson disease.

Alia lemon \al-'yak-mon\ River River, north-central Greece. Rising in the Grammos Mountains and flowing southeast then northeast for 185 mi (297 km) into the upper Gulf of Thermai, it is the longest river in Greek Macedonia. Throughout history it has served as a natural line of defense against invaders from the north.

Alicante \,a-le-'kan-ta\ City (pop., 2001: 284,580), southeastern Spain, located on Alicante Bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It was founded as a Greek colony in 325 bc and was captured in 201 bc by the Romans, who called it Lucentum. After being ruled by the Moors (718-1249), it was later incorporated into the kingdom of Aragon in 1265. The city was besieged by the French in 1709 and by the Federalists of Cartagena in 1873. Its economy is based on tourism and the export of wine and pro� duce.

Alice Springs Town (pop., 2001 prelim.: 26,990), Northern Territory, Australia. It lies between Darwin and Adelaide, virtually in the centre of the continent. It originated in the 1870s as a station on the Overland Tele� graph Line. Because of its location, it has become a major shipping point. Its mild winter climate makes it a popular tourist destination.

alien In law, one who resides in a country without becoming natural� ized, retaining instead the citizenship of another country. The laws of most nations have long afforded aliens certain minimum standards of civilized treatment but have also restricted their employment and ownership of property. Under U.S. law, all aliens have had to register since 1940. Reg� istration cards (�green cards�) entitle them to obtain employment. Like citizens, aliens are protected by the U.S. Constitution, including the Bill of Rights and the due-process clause of the 14th Amendment. They remain subject to limitations under local laws, and residence in the U.S. is not a right but a privilege granted by Congress.

Alien and Sedition Acts Four laws passed by the U.S. Congress in 1798, in anticipation of war with France. The acts, precipitated by the XYZ Affair, restricted aliens and curtailed press criticism of the govern� ment. Aimed at French and Irish immigrants (who were mostly pro-

France), they increased the waiting period for naturalization and authorized expulsion of aliens considered dangerous. The Alien and Sedi� tion Acts were opposed by Thomas Jefferson and helped propel him to the presidency. They were repealed or had expired by 1802.

alienation In the social sciences context, the state of feeling estranged or separated from one�s milieu, work, products of work, or self. The con� cept appears implicitly or explicitly in the works of Emile Durkheim, Fer� dinand Tonnies, Max Weber, and Georg Simmel but is most famously associated with Karl Marx, who spoke of workers being alienated from their work and its products under capitalism. In other contexts the term alienation, like anomie, can suggest a sense of powerlessness, meaning� lessness, normlessness, social isolation, or cultural- or self-estrangement brought on by the lack of fit between individual needs or expectations and the social order.

alimentary canal or digestive tract Pathway along which food travels when it is eaten and from which solid wastes are expelled. It includes the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intes� tine, and anal canal. See also digestion.

alimony See marriage law

Alitalia Italian international airline with headquarters in Rome. Although the airline no longer commands monopoly status in its country, as of 2002 the Italian government still owned a majority share of the company.

Alito, Samuel A., Jr. in full Samuel Anthony Alito, Jr. (b. April 1, 1950, Trenton, N.J., U.S.) U.S. jurist. He earned a bachelor�s degree (1972) from Princeton University and law degree (1975) from Yale Uni� versity. He served as an assistant to the U.S. solicitor general (1981-85), deputy assistant to the U.S. attorney general (1985-87), and U.S. attor� ney for the district of New Jersey (1987-90). In 1990 he was appointed by U.S. Pres. George Bush to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, establishing a conservative judicial record. In 2005 he was appointed associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court by Pres. George W. Bush to fill the seat of retiring justice Sandra Day O'Connor; he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate the following year.

aliyah \a-�le-ya\ Hebrew "ascending" In Judaism, the honour, accorded to a worshiper, of being called up to read an assigned passage from the Torah at Sabbath morning services; or Jewish immigration to Israel. Because the passage assigned for each Sabbath morning service is subdivided into a minimum of seven sections, at least seven different per� sons are called up for these readings. Aliyah in the sense of immigration to Israel is ongoing but also occurs in waves. The first two waves of immigration occurred in 1882-1914, the next three in 1919-39. The sixth aliyah (1945-48) brought many Holocaust survivors. Later waves of immigration included Falasha from Ethiopia, emigres from the former Soviet Union, and others. See also Zionism.

Alkaios See Alcaeus

alkali Val-ko-.lA Inorganic compound, any soluble hydroxide (�OH) of the alkali metals: lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, and cesium. More broadly, ammonium hydroxide (see ammonia) and soluble hydroxides of the alkaline earth metals are also called alkalies. Strong bases that turn lit� mus paper blue, they react with acids to yield salts, are caustic, and in con� centrated form corrode tissues. Sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) and potassium hydroxide (caustic potash) are very important industrial chemi� cals, used in the manufacture of soaps, glass, and many other products. The mineral trona, a compound of sodium carbonate and bicarbonate, is one naturally occurring alkali. It may be mined or recovered from dry lake beds.

alkali feldspar Any of several common silicate minerals that often occur as whitish to variously coloured, glassy crystals. The alkali feld� spars may be regarded as mixtures of sodium aluminosilicate (NaAlSi 3 0 8 ) and potassium aluminosilicate (KAlSi 3 0 8 ). Both the sodium and potas� sium aluminosilicates have several distinct forms, each with a different structure. Alkali feldspars are used in the manufacture of glass and ceram� ics; transparent, highly coloured, or iridescent varieties are sometimes used as gemstones. They are primarily important, however, as constitu� ents of rocks (see plagioclase).

alkali metal Any of the six chemical elements in the leftmost group of the periodic table (lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium, and francium). They form alkalies when they combine with other elements. Because their

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alkaline earth metal ► Allen I 49

atoms have only one electron in the outermost shell, they are very reac� tive chemically (they react rapidly, even violently, with water), form numerous compounds, and are never found free in nature.

alkaline earth metal Any of the six chemical elements in the second leftmost group of the periodic table (beryllium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, barium, and radium). Their name harks back to medieval alchemy. Their atoms have two electrons in the outermost shell, so they react readily, form numerous compounds, and are never found free in nature.

alkaloid Basic (see base) organic compounds of plant origin, contain� ing combined nitrogen. Alkaloids are amines, so their names usually end in �ine� (e.g., caffeine, nicotine, morphine, quinine). Most have complex chemical structures of multiple ring systems. They have diverse, impor� tant physiological effects on humans and other animals, but their func� tions in the plants that produce them are poorly understood. Some plants (e.g., opium poppy, ergot fungus) produce many different alkaloids, but most produce only one or a few. Certain plant families, including the poppy fam� ily (Papaveraceae) and the nightshade family (Solanaceae), are particularly rich in them. Alkaloids are extracted by dissolving the plant in dilute acid.

Alkamenes See Alcamenes

alkane or paraffin Any of a class of hydrocarbons whose molecules consist only of carbon and hydrogen atoms joined by single covalent bonds (general formula C�H (2n + 2 ))- The simplest is methane (CH 4 ). Alkanes with more than three carbon atoms may have straight and branched isomers. Cycloalkanes have ring structures (but are not aromatic compounds) with two fewer hydrogen atoms per molecule than the cor� responding alkane; many have more than one ring. Commercial sources include petroleum and natural gas. Uses, often as mixtures, include fuels, solvents, and raw materials. See also paraffin.

alkene See olefin

All Saints' Day In Christianity, a day commemorating all the saints of the church, known and unknown. It is celebrated on November 1 in the Western churches and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Eastern churches. The first general observance of All Saints� Day was ordered by Pope Gregory IV in 837. In medieval England the festival was called All Hallows, and its eve is still known as Halloween.

All Souls' Day In the Roman Catholic church, a day commemorating all the Christians believed to be in purgatory. Celebrated on November 2, it was first established by Odilo (d. 1049), abbot of Cluny, in the 11th century, and it was widely celebrated by the 13th century. The date fol� lows All Saints' Day, with the idea that remembering the saints in heaven should be followed by remembering the souls awaiting release from pur� gatory. Roman Catholic doctrine holds that the prayers of the faithful on earth will help cleanse these souls in order to prepare them for heaven.

Allah Arabic "God" Standard Arabic word for God, used by Arab Christians as well as by Muslims. According to the Qur�an, Allah is the creator and judge of humankind, omnipotent, compassionate, and merci� ful. The Muslim profession of faith affirms that there is no deity but God and emphasizes that he is inherently one: �nothing is like unto him.� Everything that happens occurs by his commandment; submission to God is the basis of Isiam. The Qur�an and the Hadith contain the 99 �most beau� tiful names� of God, including the One and Only, the Living One, the Real Truth, the Hearer, the Seer, the Benefactor, and the Constant For� given

Allahabad Va-la-ha-,bad\ ancient Prayag City (pop., 2001: metro, area, 1,042,229), south-central Uttar Pradesh state, northern India, on the Ganges (Ganga) and Yamuna rivers. An ancient holy city sacred to Hindu pilgrims, it is the site of the Pillar of Ashoka (erected c. 240 bc). The Mughal emperor Akbar founded the present-day city in 1583; it was ceded to the British in 1801. Allahabad was the scene of a serious outbreak in the 1857 Indian Mutiny. As the home of the Nehru family, it was later a centre of the Indian independence movement. It is the site of the Jami Masjid (Great Mosque) and the University of Allahabad.

Allbutt, Sir Thomas Clifford (b. July 20, 1836, Dewsbury, York� shire, Eng.�d. Feb. 22, 1925, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire) English phy� sician. He introduced the modern clinical thermometer (the thermometer had previously been a foot-long instrument that required 20 minutes to register temperature) and outlined the use of the ophthalmoscope to inspect the interior of the eye. He demonstrated the aortic origin of angina pectoris. His investigations improved treatment of arterial diseases and

resulted in, among other works, Diseases of the Arteries (1915). His chief publication was Systems of Medicine (8 vol., 1896-99).

Alleghenian orogeny V.al-o-'ga-ne-on-o-'ra-jo-n e\ formerly Appa� lachian Revolution Mountain-building event that affected the Appa� lachian Geosyncline in the late Permian period (c. 286-248 million years ago). The Alleghenian orogeny is most pronounced in the central and southern Appalachian Mountains and produced the different effects in various subregions: compressional folding and faulting of the Valley and Ridge Province, westward thrusting of the Blue Ridge, and folding and minor metamorphism and igneous intrusion in the Piedmont Province. It may have resulted from the collision (see plate tectonics) of the central and southern Appalachian continental margin with that of North Africa in the Permian period.

Allegheny \,al-3-'ga-ne\ Mountains Ranges of the Appalachian sys� tem in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia, U.S., west of and generally parallel to the Blue Ridge Mountains. Part of the Allegh� eny Plateau that spans the entire upland area from the Cumberland Pla� teau to the Mohawk Valley in New York, the Allegheny Mountains extend some 500 mi (800 km) south-southwestward, with heights of more than 4,800 ft (1,460 m). The eastern slope is sometimes called the Allegheny Front.

Allegheny River River in Pennsylvania and New York, U.S. It rises in Potter county. Pa., loops northwest into New York, turns back into Pennsylvania, and unites with the Monongahela to form the Ohio River at Pittsburgh, Pa. It is 325 mi (523 km) long; its chief tributaries are the Clarion, the Kiskiminetas, and French Creek. Several dams make the river navigable from Pittsburgh to East Brady, Pa.

allegory Work of written, oral, or visual expression that uses symbolic figures, objects, and actions to convey truths or generalizations about human conduct or experience. It encompasses such forms as the fable and parable. Characters often personify abstract concepts or types, and the action of the narrative usually stands for something not explicitly stated. Symbolic allegories, in which characters may also have an identity apart from the message they convey, have frequently been used to represent political and historical situations and have long been popular as vehicles for satire. Edmund Spenser�s long poem The Faerie Queen is a famous example of a symbolic allegory.

allele \3-'lel\ Any one of two or more alternative forms of a gene that may occur alternatively at a given site on a chromosome. Alleles may occur in pairs, or there may be multiple alleles affecting the expression of a par� ticular trait. If paired alleles are the same, the organism is said to be homozygous for that trait; if they are different, the organism is heterozy� gous. A dominant allele will override the traits of a recessive allele in a heterozygous pairing (see dominance and recessiveness). In some traits, alleles may be codominant (i.e., neither acts as dominant or recessive). An individual cannot possess more than two alleles for a given trait. All genetic traits are the result of the interactions of alleles.

allemande Val-o-.mandX Processional couple dance with stately flow� ing steps, fashionable in the 16th century, especially in France. A line of couples extended their paired hands forward and paraded back and forth the length of the ballroom. It was revived in the 18th century as a figure dance for four couples, in which each pair performed intricate turns under each other�s arms, a figure that partly survives in the �allemand� of the U.S. square dance. In the late 17th century a stylized version of the dance in 14 time began to be used by composers as the first movement of the SUITE.

Allen, Ethan (b. Jan. 21, 1738, Litchfield, Conn.�d. Feb. 12, 1789, Burlington, Vt., U.S.) American soldier and frontiersman. After fighting in the French and Indian War (1754-63), he settled in what is now Ver� mont. At the outbreak of the American Revolution, his force of Green Mountain Boys (organized in 1770) helped defeat the British in the Battle of Ticonderoga (1775). As a volunteer with troops commanded by Gen. Philip Schuyler, he attempted to take Montreal but was captured by the British and held prisoner until 1778. He returned to Vermont, where he worked for statehood. Failing to achieve this, he attempted to negotiate the annexation of Vermont to Canada.

Allen, Mel orig. Melvin Allen Israel (b. Feb. 14, 1913, Birming� ham, Ala., U.S.�d. June 16, 1996, Greenwich, Conn.) U.S. sports broad� caster. As lead announcer for the New York Yankees baseball team (1940- 64), he was known for his congeniality and his catchphrase �How about

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50 I Allen ► alligator

that!� He hosted the television program This Week in Baseball (1977-95). In 1978 Allen and Red Barber became the first broadcasters elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Allen, Richard (b. Feb. 14, 1760, Philadelphia, Pa.�d. March 26, 1831, Philadelphia) U.S. religious leader. He was born to slave parents, and his family was sold to a Delaware farmer. A Methodist convert at 17, he was licensed to preach five years later. By 1786 he had purchased his freedom and settled in Philadelphia, where he joined St. George�s Meth� odist Episcopal Church. Racial discrimination prompted him to withdraw in 1787, and he turned an old blacksmith shop into the first black church in the U.S. Allen and his followers built the Bethel African Methodist Church, and in 1799 he was ordained as its minister. In 1816 he organized a conference of black leaders to form the African Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he was named the first bishop.

Allen, Steve orig. Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen

(b. Dec. 26, 1921, New York, N.Y., U.S.�d. Oct. 30, 2000, Encino, Calif.) U.S. entertainer and songwriter. He appeared as a comedian on radio in the 1940s before moving to late-night television, where he created and hosted The Tonight Show (1954-57) and The Steve Allen Show (1956� 60). He hosted several other television shows, including Meeting of Minds (1977-81). He composed over 3,000 songs, including �Picnic� and �Impossible,� and appeared in films such as The Benny Goodman Story

(1955).

Allen, Woody orig. Allen Stewart Konigsberg (b. Dec. 1,1935, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. film director, screenwriter, and actor. After writing routines for comedians and performing as a nightclub comic, he wrote the Broadway play Don�t Drink the Water (1966). His early films, such as Bananas (1971) and Sleeper (1973), combined highbrow comedy and slapstick. Later romantic comedies such as Annie Hall (1977), which won him two Academy Awards, and Manhattan (1979) offered a bitter� sweet view of New York life. He continued making films into the 21st century, most notably Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), Crimes and Mis� demeanors (1989), and Bullets over Broadway (1994).

Allenby (of Megiddo and of Felixstowe), Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount (b. April 23, 1861, Brackenhurst, near Southwell, Nottinghamshire, Eng.�d. May 14, 1936, London) Brit� ish field marshal. He fought in the South African War and served as inspector general of cavalry (1910-14). In World War I, he commanded with distinction in the Middle East. His victory over the Turks at Gaza (1917) led to the capture of Jerusalem, and his victory at Megiddo, along with his capture of Damascus and Aleppo, ended Ottoman power in Syria. His success was partly due to his innovative use of cavalry and other mobile forces, and he is remembered as the last great British leader of mounted cavalry. As high commissioner for Egypt (1919-25), he steered that country to recognition as a sovereign state (1922).

Allende \a-'yen-da\ (Gossens), Salvador (b. July 26, 1908, Val� paraiso, Chile�d. Sept. 11, 1973, Santiago) Socialist president of Chile (1970-73). Of upper-middle-class background, Allende took a degree in medicine and in 1933 helped found Chile�s Socialist Party. He ran for president unsuccessfully three times before winning narrowly in 1970. He attempted to restructure Chilean society along socialist lines while retain� ing democracy, civil liberties, and due process of law, but his efforts to redistribute wealth resulted in stagnant production, food shortages, rising inflation, and widespread strikes. His inability to control his radical sup� porters further alienated the middle class. His policies dried up foreign credit and led to a covert campaign by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency to destabilize the government. He was overthrown in a violent military coup, during which he died by gunshot, reportedly self-inflicted. He was replaced by Gen. Augusto Pinochet. See also Eduardo Frei.

Allentown City (pop., 2000: 106,632), eastern Pennsylvania, U.S. It was laid out along the Lehigh River in 1762 and named Northampton by William Allen, later the state�s chief justice; its name was changed in 1838 to honour Allen. During the American Revolution, the Liberty Bell was moved there for safekeeping. It is a major iron and mining centre.

allergy Exaggerated reaction by the body to foreign substances that are harmless to most people. Those substances, called allergens or antigens, may include pollens, drugs, dusts, foods, and other items. Immediate aller� gic reactions result from genetic predisposition or sensitization by previ� ous exposure. Blood vessels dilate and bronchial air passages constrict. A severe reaction (anaphylaxis) can obstruct breathing and may be fatal.

Delayed allergic responses (e.g., contact dermatitis) appear 12 hours or more after exposure. Avoiding allergens and taking antihistamines can pre� vent or treat allergies. When avoidance is not feasible and antihistamines do not relieve symptoms, desensitization can be attempted.

alliance In international politics, a union for joint action of various powers or states. Examples include the alliance of the European powers and the U.S. against Germany and its allies during World War II and the alliance of the NATO states against the Soviet Union and its allies dur� ing the Cold War. Many alliances rest on the principle of collective secu� rity, through which an attack on one member is considered an attack on all members. Major alliances formed after World War II include the ANZUS Pact, the Arab League, ASEAN, the Organization of American States, the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, and the Warsaw Pact.

Alliance for Progress International development program. Initiated by the U.S. and joined by 22 Latin American countries in 1961, it aimed to strengthen democratic government and promote social and economic reforms in Latin America. The program, which provided loans and aid from the U.S. and the international financial community, built some schools and hospitals, but by the early 1970s it was widely viewed as a failure. Significant land reform was not achieved, population growth out� stripped gains in health and welfare, and the U.S. willingness to support military dictators to prevent communism from gaining a foothold sowed distrust and undermined the reforms the Alliance was intended to pro� mote.

Alliance Israelite Universelle Xal-'yaVis-ra-el-'et-il-ne-ver-'seL Political organization founded in France in 1860 for the purpose of pro� viding assistance to Jews. Its founders were a group of French Jews who had the resources to help those who were poor, offering political support, helping individuals emigrate, and eventually setting up Jewish education programs in eastern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. In 1945 it expressed support for political Zionism (the establishment of a Jewish state), and in 1946 its diplomatic activities were taken over by the Con� sultative Council of Jewish Organizations in New York City.

Allied Powers or Allies Nations allied in opposition to the Central Powers in World War I or to the Axis Powers in World War II. The origi� nal Allies in World War I�the British Empire, France, and the Russian Empire�were later joined by many other countries, including Portugal, Japan, and Italy. Other nations joining the Allies, including the U.S. after 1917, were called Associated Powers, a term emphasized by Pres. Woo� drow Wilson to preserve the U.S.�s free hand in the war. In World War II the major Allied Powers were Britain, France, the Soviet Union, the U.S., and China. More generally, the Allies included all the wartime members of the United Nations, the 1942 signatories to the Declaration of the UN.

alligator Either of two species of long-snouted reptiles constituting the genus Alligator (family Alligatoridae, order Crocodilia). Alligators differ from crocodiles in snout shape and tooth placement. Living in large bod� ies of water such as lakes, swamps, and rivers, these lizardlike carnivores use their powerful tail for defense and swimming. The eyes, ears, and nostrils, located on top of the long head, project above the water�s sur� face. Alligators dig burrows in which they shelter from danger and hiber� nate in cold weather. The once-endangered American alligator of the southeastern U.S. may grow to 19 ft (5.7 m) long but usually ranges from 6 to 12 ft (1.8 to 3.7 m) long. The Chinese alligator of the Chang (Yangtze) River region, which grows to 5 ft (1.5 m), is critically endangered.

Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)

P. MORRIS/WDODFIN CAMP AND ASSOCIATES

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Allingham ► Almaty I 51

Allingham Val-iq-snA, Margery (Louise) (b. May 20, 1904, Lon� don, Eng.�d. June 30, 1966, Colchester, Essex) British detective-story writer. She published her first story at age 8, her first novel at 19, and her first detective story in her early 20s. Her stories about the fictional detec� tive Albert Campion became very popular, and such novels as Tiger in the Smoke (1952) and The China Governess (1962), with their intellectual style and psychological insight, helped win detective fiction consideration as a serious literary genre. The BBC produced adaptations of eight of her novels in the late 1980s.

alliteration or head rhyme Repetition of consonant sounds in two or more neighbouring words or syllables. A frequently used poetic device, it is often discussed with assonance (the repetition of stressed vowel sounds within two or more words with different end consonants) and con� sonance (the repetition of end or medial consonants).

allium Any plant of a large genus ( Allium ) of bulbous, onion- or garlic- scented herbs of the lily family, including the onion, garlic, chive, leek, and shallot. Allium species are found in most regions of the world except the tropics and New Zealand and Australia. Some are cultivated as ornamen� tal border plants.

allocation of resources Apportionment of productive assets among different uses. The issue of resource allocation arises as societies seek to balance limited resources (capital, labour, land) against the various and often unlimited wants of their members. Mechanisms of resource alloca� tion include the price system in free-market economies and government planning, either in state-run economies or in the public sectors of mixed economies. The aim is always to allocate resources in such a way as to obtain the maximum possible output from a given combination of resources.

Allosaurus X.al-o-'sor-osV Large carnivorous dinosaur of a group simi� lar to the tyrannosaurs, found as fossils primarily in Late Jurassic rocks of North America. It weighed 2 tons (1,800 kg) and grew to 35 ft (10.5 m) long. Its well-developed tail, half of its total body length, probably functioned as a counterbalance for the body. Allosaurus walked on its two hind limbs and probably used the much smaller forelimbs for grasping. Equipped with powerful, flexible jaws, allosaurs likely preyed on medium-sized dinosaurs; they were possibly scavengers that hunted in groups. Some related allosaurs ( Giganotosaurus, Carcharodonotosaurus) may have been larger than Tyrannosaurus rex.

allosteric control \,a-lo-'ster-ik\ Inhibition or activation of an enzyme by a small regulatory molecule that interacts with the enzyme at a site (allosteric site) other than the active site (at which catalytic activity occurs). The interaction changes the shape of the enzyme, thus affecting the active site of the usual complex between the enzyme and its substrate (the substance on which the enzyme acts). As a result, the enzyme�s abil� ity to catalyze a reaction (see catalysis) is either inhibited or enhanced. If the regulatory molecule inhibits an enzyme in the pathway of its own synthesis, the control is said to be feedback inhibition. Allosteric control enables the cell to regulate needed substances rapidly.

allotrope Va-lo-.tropX Any of two or more forms of the same chemical element. They may have different arrangements of atoms in crystals of the solid�for example, graphite and diamond for carbon �or different num� bers of atoms in their molecules �for example, ordinary oxygen (0 2 ) and ozone (0 3 ). Other elements that have allotropes include tin, sulfur, anti� mony, ARSENIC, SELENIUM, and PHOSPHORUS.

alloy Metallic substance composed of two or more elements, as either a mixture, compound, or solid solution. The components of alloys are ordi� narily themselves metals, though carbon is an essential nonmetal compo� nent of steel. Alloys are usually produced by melting the mixture of ingredients. The value of alloys was discovered in very ancient times; brass (copper and zinc) and bronze (copper and tin) were especially impor� tant. Today the most important are the alloy steels, which have a wide range of special properties, including hardness, toughness, corrosion resis� tance, magnetizability, and workability.

Allport, Gordon W(illard) (b. Nov. 11, 1897, Montezuma, Ind., U.S.�d. Oct. 9, 1967, Cambridge, Mass.) U.S. psychologist. He taught at Harvard University (1930-67), becoming noted for his theory of per� sonality, which focused on the adult self rather than on childhood or infantile emotions and experiences, set forth in books such as Personal� ity (1937). In The Nature of Prejudice (1954) he made important contri� butions to the analysis of prejudice.

allspice Tropical evergreen tree ( Pimento dioica) of the myrtle family, native to the West Indies and Central America and valued for its berries, the source of a highly aromatic spice.

Allspice was so named because the flavour of the dried berry resembles a combination of cloves, cinnamon, and nutmeg. It is widely used in bak� ing. The name is applied to several other aromatic shrubs as well, including Carolina allspice ( Caly - canthus floridus ), Japanese allspice (Chimonanthus praecox), and wild allspice, or spicebush.

Allston, Washington (b. Nov. 5, 1779, Allston plantation. Brook Green Domain on Waccamaw River, S.C., U.S.�d. July 9, 1843, Cam- bridgeport, Mass.) U.S. painter and writer. He studied at Harvard Uni� versity and at London�s Royal Academy (with Benjamin West). He settled in Massachusetts in 1830 and became the most important first-generation U.S. Romantic painter. His large landscapes depict the mysterious and dramatic aspects of nature. He later relied on mood and reverie in smaller, more dreamlike images. He also wrote poetry and fiction, and his theo� ries on art were published posthumously as Lectures on Art (1850).

alluvial deposit Material deposited by rivers. It consists of silt, sand, clay, and gravel, as well as much organic matter. Alluvial deposits are usually most extensive in the lower part of a river�s course, forming floodplains and deltas, but they may form at any point where the river overflows its banks or where the flow of a river is checked. They yield very fertile soils, such as those of the deltas of the Mississippi, Nile, Ganges and Brahmaputra, and Huang (Yellow) rivers. They contain most of the world�s supply of tin ore, as well as, in some regions, gold, plati� num, and gemstones.

Almagest Val-mo-jestN Astronomical and mathematical encyclopedia compiled c. ad 140 by Ptolemy. It served as the basic guide for Arab and European astronomers until the 17th century. The name derives from the Arabic for �the greatest.� Its 13 books cover such topics as the geocen� tric (Earth-centred), or Ptolemaic, model of the solar system; eclipses; the coordinates and sizes of certain fixed stars; and the distances to the Sun and the Moon.

Almagro \al-'ma-gro\, Diego de (b. 1475, Almagro, Castile�d. 1538, Cuzco, Peru) Spanish soldier who played a leading role in the Spanish conquest of Peru. Following service in the Spanish navy, he arrived in South America in 1524 and, with Francisco Pizarro, led the expedition that conquered the Inca empire in what is now Peru. Bitter enmity arose between the two men, and Almagro imprisoned Pizarro�s two brothers for insubordination during an Indian rebellion. Pizarro then defeated Almagro�s army and had his former friend put to death.

almanac Book or table containing a calendar of a given year, with a record of various astronomical phenomena, often with weather prognos� tications, seasonal suggestions for farmers, and other information. The first printed almanac appeared in the mid 15th century. Benjamin Franklin began his famous Poor Richard�s almanacs in 1732. A form of folk lit� erature, 18th-century almanacs furnished useful and entertaining infor� mation where reading matter was scarce; a surviving example is the Old Farmer�s Almanac. Modern almanacs are often annual publications con� taining statistical, tabular, and general information.

Alma-Tadema Val-mo-'ta-do-moV, Sir Lawrence (b. Jan. 8, 1836, Dronrijp, Neth.�d. June 25, 1912, Wiesbaden, Ger.) Dutch-British painter. After studies at the Antwerp Academy, he visited Italy (1863) and became enamoured of Greco-Roman antiquity and Egyptian archaeology; the ancient world was to provide his primary themes. After settling in London in 1870, he excelled at the accurate re-creation of ancient scenes, exotic costumes, and the sensuous depiction of beautiful women against backgrounds of marble, bronze, and silk. Such figurative images com� bined sentimentality and anecdote. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1879 and knighted in 1899. Alma-Tadema�s work was immensely popular in his day, but it went out of favour after his death.

Almaty Xol-'ma-t e\formerly Alma-Ata W-'ma-o-'taV City (pop., 1999: 1,129,400), southeastern Kazakhstan. Formerly the capital of Kazakhstan, it lost its capital status in 1995 to Aqmola (now Astana). The modern city

Allspice (Pimento diocia)

J.E. CRUISE

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52 I Almendros ► Alsace-Lorraine

was founded in 1854, when the Russians established a military fortifica� tion on the site of the ancient city of Almaty, destroyed by the Mongols in the 13th century. With the coming of the railroad in 1930, its popula� tion grew rapidly. In World War II (1939-45), heavy industry expanded widely as factories were evacuated to the site from European Russia. The city remains a major industrial centre.

Almendros \al-'men-dros\ / Nestor (b. Oct. 30, 1930, Barcelona, Spain�d. March 4, 1992, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Spanish cinematogra� pher. In 1948 he emigrated from Spain to Cuba, where he worked with documentary filmmakers. After moving to France in 1961, he collaborated with Eric Rohmer on My Night at Maud�s (1969) and Claire�s Knee (1970), and with Francois Truffaut on The Wild Child (1970). His work in the U.S. includes Sophie�s Choice (1982), and Billy Bathgate (1991).

Almohad \'al-mo- I had\ dynasty Arabic al-Muwahhidun ("Uni� tarians") (1130-1269) Berber confederation born out of religious oppo� sition to the Islamic doctrines of the Almoravid dynasty. The Almohad leader Ibn Tumart began his rebellion in the 1120s. Marrakech was cap� tured in 1147 under the leadership of his successor �Abd al-Mu�min. By the 1170s all of the Maghrib was under unified control for the only time in its history, and the Almohads also controlled Muslim Spain. Their rule was marked by, on the one hand, the cultivation of science and philoso� phy and, on the other, efforts at religious unification by compelling Jews and Christians to convert or emigrate. They lost control of Spain to the Christians in 1212 and of their North African provinces to the Hafsid dynasty in Tunis (1236) and the Marinids in Marrakech (1269).

almond Tree ( Prunus dulcis) in the rose family, native to South Asia; also its edible seed, or nut. The tree, growing somewhat larger and living longer than the peach, is strikingly beautiful when in flower. The nuts are either sweet or bitter. Sweet almonds are the edible type consumed as nuts and used in cooking. The extracted oil of bitter almonds is used to make flavouring extracts for foods and liqueurs. Almonds provide small amounts of protein, iron, calcium, phosphorus, and B vitamins and are high in fat. They are commonly used in confectionery baking and in marzipan, a traditional European candy.

Almoravid V.al-mo-'ra-vodX dynasty Arabic al-Murabitun (1056- 1147) Berber confederation that succeeded the Fajimid dynasty in the Magh� rib. It flourished in the 11th and early 12th centuries. Its founder, c Abd Allah ibn Yasln, was a Muslim scholar of the Malik! school who used religious reform as a means of gaining followers in the mid-11th century. The Almoravids took over Morocco and then the rest of the Maghrib fol� lowing the decline of the Zlrid dynasty. By 1082 they ruled Algiers. By 1110 they also controlled Muslim Spain, but the Christians began to win back territory in 1118. In the 1120s another Berber coalition, the Almo� hads, started a rebellion, eventually displacing the Almoravids.

aloe Any shrubby succulent plant of the genus Aloe, in the lily family. Native to Africa, most of the 200 or so species have a rosette of leaves at the base but no stem. Several are cultivated as ornamentals. The juice of some species, especially the popular potted plant known as true aloe {Aloe vera), is used as an ingredient in cosmetics, as a purgative, and as a treat� ment for bums.

aloe, American See century plant

Alonso, Alicia orig. Alicia Martinez Hoyo (b. Dec. 21, 1921, Havana, Cuba) Cuban ballerina, choreographer, and director. She studied in Havana and New York, where she danced with Ballet Theatre (later American Ballet Theatre; 1940-41, 1943^18, 1950-55, 1958-59). In 1948 she formed her own company, Ballet Alicia Alonso (renamed Ballet Nacional de Cuba in 1959), with which she performed frequently on tour in Latin America. Despite failing eyesight, she continued for many years to dance leading roles as a guest artist with American Ballet Theatre and other companies.

alpaca \al-'pa-k3\ South American species {Lama pacos ) in the camel family (Camelidae). The alpaca, guanaco, llama, and vicuna are closely related and are known collectively as lamoids. Domesticated several thou� sand years ago by Indians of the Andes Mountains, the alpaca has a slen� der body, a long neck and legs, a small head, a short tail, and large, pointed ears. Alpacas stand about 35 in. (90 cm) at the shoulder and weigh 120- 145 lbs (54-65 kg). They are found in central and southern Peru and western Bolivia, on marshy ground at high altitudes. They are the most important of the lamoids for wool production.

Alp-Arslan Valp-ar-'slan\ (b. c. 1030�d. November? 1072/January 1073) Second sultan of the Seljuq dynasty, who added Georgia, Armenia, and much of Anatolia to his domains of Khorasan and western Iran. He preferred conquest to governing and left the administration of his empire to his famous vizier, Nizam al-Mulk. In 1071 his victory over the Byzan� tine Empire at the Battle of Manzikert opened the door for the eventual Turkish conquest of Anatolia. He died a year later when mortally wounded by a prisoner during a quarrel.

Alpha Centauri Triple star in the constellation Centaurus, the faintest component of which, Proxima Centauri, is currently the closest star to the Sun (about 4.2 light-years away). The two brighter components are about 0.2 light-year farther from the Sun. As seen from Earth, the system is the third brightest star (after Sirius and Canopus); Proxima is indistinguish� able as a separate star to the unaided eye. Alpha Centauri can be seen from Earth�s surface only from points south of about 40� N.

alpha decay Type of radioactive disintegration (see radioactivity) in which some unstable atomic nuclei dissipate excess energy by spontane� ously ejecting an alpha particle. Alpha particles have two positive charges and a mass of four atomic mass units; they are identical to helium nuclei. Though they are emitted at speeds about one-tenth that of light, they are not very penetrating and have ranges in air of about 1-4 in. (2.5-10 cm). Alpha decay commonly occurs in elements with atomic numbers greater than 83 (bismuth), but can occur in some rare-earth elements in the atomic-number range of 60 (neodymium) to 71 (lutetium). Alpha decay half-lives range from about a microsecond (10 -6 second) to billions of years (10 17 seconds).

alphabet Set of symbols or characters that represent language�s sounds in writing. Each character usually represents a simple vowel, a diphthong (two vowels), or one or two consonants. A writing system in which one character represents a whole syllable is called a syllabary. The first alpha� bet is believed to have been the North Semitic, which originated in the eastern Mediterranean region between 1700 and 1500 bc. Alphabets that arose in the next 500 years included the Canaanite and Aramaic, from which the modern Hebrew and Arabic alphabets descended, and the Greek (ancestor of the Latin alphabet), considered the first true alphabet because it includes both consonants and vowels. Scholars have attempted to estab� lish an exact correspondence between each sound and its symbol in new alphabets such as the International Phonetic Alphabet.

Alpheus \al-'fe-3s\ River River, southern Greece. About 75 mi (120 km) long, it is the longest river in the Peloponnese. It rises in Arcadia and flows northwest through southern Elias into the Ionian Sea. Olympia is on its northern bank. It shares its name with the ancient river god, and it figures in Greek legend, including Hercules� cleaning of the Augean stables, and in Samuel Taylor Coleridge�s poem �Kubla Khan.�

Alpine orogeny \o-'ra-j3-ne\ Mountain-building event that affected a broad segment of southern Europe and the Mediterranean region during the middle Tertiary period. It produced intense metamorphism, crumpling of rock strata, and uplift accompanied by faulting. It was responsible for the elevation of the present Alps, from which the name derives, the uplifting of plateaus in the Balkan Peninsula and in Corsica and Sardinia, and vol� canic activity in England, France, Iceland, and parts of Italy.

Alpine skiing Class of competitive ski events consisting of speed events (the downhill and the supergiant slalom) and technical events (the slalom and giant slalom). Speed events are contested in single runs down longer, steeper, faster courses, with fewer turns than those featured in the technical events. Alpine skiing was first included in the Olympic Games in 1936. See also cross-country skiing; Nordic skiing.

Alps Mountain system, south-central Europe. The Alps extend in a cres� cent about 750 mi (1,200 km) from the Mediterranean coast between France and Italy to Vienna and cover more than 80,000 sq mi (207,000 sq km). Several peaks rise above 10,000 ft (3,000 m); the highest is Mont Banc. The Alps form a divide between the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediter� ranean Sea, and the Black Sea and give rise to several major European rivers, including the Rhone, Danube, and Po. Glaciers cover about 1,500 sq mi (3,900 sq km), mostly at elevations above 10,000 ft (3,000 m). The Saint Gotthard Pass is one of the Alps�s notable tunnels. Grenoble, Inns� bruck, and Bolzano are major Alpine cities.

Alsace-Lorraine \al-'sas-l6-Tan\ Area, eastern France. It is now usu� ally considered to include the present-day French departments of Haut- Rhin, Bas-Rhin, and Moselle. The area was ceded by France to Germany

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Alsatian ► alternator I 53

in 1871 after the Franco-Prussian War. It was returned to France after World War I, occupied by the Germans in World War II, then again restored to France. French prewar governmental policies that had clashed with the region�s particularism have since been modified. The German dialect known as Alsatian remains the lingua franca, and both French and German are taught in the schools.

Alsatian See German shepherd

Altai Mountains Russian Altay \al-'t!\ Chinese Altay Shan

\al-'tl-'shan\ Mongol Altayn Nuruu Mountain system, Central Asia. The range extends about 1,200 mi (2,000 km) in a southeast-northwest direction from the Gobi Desert to the West Siberian Plain, through parts of China, Mongolia, Russia, and Kazakhstan. The highest point is the Russian peak Belukha, 14,783 ft (4,506 m) in elevation. The mountains are the source of the Irtysh and Ob rivers and are notable for their mining and hydroelectrical potential.

Altaic \al-'ta-ik\ languages Group of more than 50 languages, com� prising the Turkic, Mongolian, and Manchu-Tungus subfamilies. Altaic lan� guages are spoken across Eurasia by more than 140 million people (the overwhelming majority of whom speak Turkic languages). Most scholars consider Altaic itself to be a family, of proven genetic relationship, though a minority attribute similarities in the languages to borrowings and areal convergence. The Uralic and Altaic language families were once believed to form a superfamily, but reliable sound correspondences have not been demonstrated, and the numerous similarities between the two are now attributed to areal influences.

Altamira \,al-t3-'mir-3\ Cave near Santander, northern Spain, famous for its magnificent prehistoric paintings and engravings. The paintings, dating to 14,000-12,000 bc, were first described in 1880. Altamira cave is 890 ft (270 m) long. The roof of the main chamber is covered with paintings, chiefly of bison, in vivid red, black, and violet. Other figures, in a simpler style, include wild boars, horses, and a hind, as well as eight engraved anthropomorphic figures and various handprints and hand out� lines. Engraved artifacts and other material remains suggest that the site may have been a centre for seasonal gatherings. See also Magdalenian culture; rock art.

Alton \'al-tan\ or Anda \'an-da\ (d. 1583, Mongolia) Mongol khan who terrorized China in the 16th century. He established a Chinese-style gov� ernment in his homeland and concluded a peace treaty with Ming-dynasty China in 1571. He converted the Mongols to the reformed, or Dge-lugs- pa, sect of Tibetan Buddhism. In 1578 Altan granted the head of the sect the title of Dalai Lama. With Mongol military aid, later Dalai Lamas crushed the more established Karma-pa (Red Hat) sect in Tibet to become Tibet�s spiritual and temporal rulers. See also Gtsang dynasty.

altar Raised structure or place used for sacrifice, worship, or prayer. Altars probably originated with the belief that objects or places (e.g., a tree or spring) were inhabited by spirits or deities worthy of prayers or gifts. Sacrifice to deities required a structure on which the victim could be killed and blood channeled off or flesh burned. In ancient Israel, the altar was a rectangular stone with a hollo wed-out basin on top. The ancient Greeks placed altars (see baetylus) in homes, marketplaces, public build� ings, and sacred groves. Roman altars were similarly ubiquitous and were often decorated with relief sculptures. Christians at first did not use altars, but by the 3rd century the table on which the Eucharist was celebrated was regarded as an altar. It became the focus of the mass in Christian churches and in Western churches was often adorned by a baldachin and an ALTARPIECE.

altarpiece Painting, relief, sculpture, screen, or decorated wall stand� ing on or behind an altar in a Christian church. The images depict holy personages, saints, and biblical subjects. There are two types of altar- pieces: the reredos, which rises from the floor behind the altar, and the retable, which stands on the altar itself or on a pedestal behind it. The diptych is an altarpiece consisting of two panels; a triptych, three panels; and a polyptych, four or more panels. Altarpieces vary in size; some are small and portable, some are huge and stationary, and some have mov� able wings that can be opened and closed. The practice of erecting sculp� tural altarpieces dates from the 11th century; altar paintings became common in the 14th century.

Altdorfer Valt-.dor-farV, Albrecht (b. c. 1480�d. Feb. 12, 1538, Regensburg) German painter and printmaker. He was the leading artist of the Danube school. Most of his works depict religious subjects, but he was

one of the first artists to develop landscape painting as an independent genre, specializing in sunset lighting and ruins in twilight. His drawings demonstrate these skills in black with white highlights on dark paper. The influence of Albrecht DOrer is evident in his miniature engravings and woodcuts. From 1526 until his death he was town architect of Regens� burg; no architectural work of his is known to have survived.

Alte Pinakothek Val-to-.pe-na-ko-'tekX German "Old Museum of

Painting" Art museum, one of several collections within the Bavarian State Picture Galleries in Munich, Germany, and one of the great muse� ums of the world. It specializes in European painting from the Middle Ages through the late 18th century; its core collections once belonged to several early Bavarian electors palatine. The building is a 1957 recon� struction of the original 19th-century gallery, destroyed in World War II. Other state museums include the Neue (�New�) Pinakothek, which is based on the private collections of Bavarian kings and features 18th� 20th-century European paintings and sculpture; the Schack Gallery col� lection of late Romantic German painting; and the State Gallery of Modem Art.

alternating current (AC) Flow of electric charge that reverses peri� odically, unlike direct current. It starts from zero, grows to a maximum, decreases to zero, reverses, reaches a maximum in the opposite direction, returns again to zero, and repeats the cycle indefinitely. The time taken to complete one cycle is called the period (see periodic motion), and the number of cycles per second is the frequency; the maximum value in either direction is the current�s amplitude. Low frequencies (50-60 cycles per second) are used for domestic and commercial power, but frequencies of around 100 million cycles per second (100 megahertz) are used in tele� vision and of several thousand megahertz in radar and microwave com� munication. A major advantage of alternating current is that the voltage can be increased and decreased by a transformer for more efficient trans� mission over long distances. Direct current cannot use transformers to change voltage. See also electric current.

alternation of generations In biology, alternation of a sexual phase (gametophyte) and a nonsexual phase (sporophyte) in the life cycle of an organism. The two phases, or generations, are often distinct in structure and sometimes in chromosome makeup. Alternation of generations is com� mon in algae, fungi (see fungus), Mosses, ferns, and seed plants. The char� acter and extent of the two phases vary greatly among different groups of plants and algae. During the course of evolution, the gametophyte stage has been progressively reduced. Thus in higher (vascular) plants, the sporophyte is the dominant phase; in more primitive, nonvascular plants the gametophyte is dominant. Among animals, many invertebrates (e.g., protozoans, jellyfish, flatworms) have an alternation of sexual and asexual generations.

alternative energy Any of various renewable power sources to use in place of fossil fuels and uranium. Fusion devices (see nuclear fusion) are believed by some to be the best long-term option, because their primary energy source would be deuterium, abundant in ordinary water. Other tech� nologies include solar energy, wind power, tidal power, wave power, hydro� electric power, and geothermal energy. The amount of energy in such renewable and virtually pollution-free sources is large in relation to world energy needs, yet at present only a small portion of it can be converted to electric power at reasonable cost.

alternative medicine or complementary medicine Any of a

broad range of healing approaches not used in conventional Western medi� cine. Many are holistic (see holistic medicine); many also emphasize pre� vention and education. Alternative therapies include acupuncture, aromatherapy, Ayurveda medicine, Chinese medicine, chiropractic, herbal medicine, homeopathy, massage, meditation, naturopathy, therapeutic touch, and Yoga. Though considered alternative in the West, such medicine is the main source of health care for up to 80% of people in less-developed countries. Some alternative-medicine practices are useless or harmful; others are effective and may offer treatments in areas where conventional approaches have not succeeded (e.g., chronic disorders).

alternator Source of direct electric current in modern vehicles for igni� tion, lights, fans, and other uses. The electric power is generated by an alternator mechanically coupled to the engine, with a rotor field coil sup� plied with current through slip rings, and a stator with a three-phase winding. A rectifier converts the power from alternating to direct form. A regulator ensures that the output voltage is properly matched to the bat-

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54 I Altgeld ► Alvarado

tery voltage as engine speed varies. An inductor alternator is a special kind of synchronous generator in which both the field and the output winding are on the stator.

bearing assembly

Exploded view of an automotive alternator. The engine's turning crankshaft, con� nected to the alternator's pulley by a belt, turns the magnetic rotor inside the sta� tionary stator assembly, generating an alternating current. The diode assembly rectifies the alternating current, producing direct current, which is used to meet the demands of the vehicle's electrical system, including recharging the battery.

� MERRIAM-WEBSTER INC.

Altgeld, John Peter (b. Dec. 30, 1847, Niederselters, Prussia�d. March 12, 1902, Joliet, Ill., U.S.) German-bom U.S. politician, governor of Illinois (1893-97). He emigrated from Germany as a child. In the 1870s he moved to Chicago, where he accumulated a small fortune in real estate and became active in Democratic Party politics. In 1892 he won the gov� ernorship as a reformist candidate. In 1893, at the urging of Clarence Dar- row and labour leaders, he granted clemency to three men convicted of complicity in the Haymarket Riot. The controversial pardon provoked an outcry from conservatives and contributed to his defeat for reelection in 1896, though Altgeld�s decision later gained wide approval in judicial circles.

altimeter \al-'tim-3t-3r\ Instrument that measures the altitude of the land surface or of any object, such as an airplane. The mechanical pres� sure altimeter measures atmospheric pressure relative to sea level through a series of bellows, gears, and springs, which move pointers on a dial. Radio altimeters measure the distance of an aircraft above the ground rather than above sea level by indicating the time a pulse of radio energy takes to travel from the aircraft to the ground and back; they are used in automatic navigation and blind-landing systems.

Altiplano \,al-ti-'pla-n6\ Spanish "High Plateau" Region, south� eastern Peru and western Bolivia. Comprising a series of intermontane basins, it originates northwest of Lake Titicaca in southern Peru and extends southeast to southwestern Bolivia. The region�s wildlife originally included alpacas and llamas, both now bred for wool. The cities of Puno and Juliaca (Peru) and La Paz (Bolivia) are located in the Lake Titicaca basin, an area that has been populated since ancient times.

altitude and azimuth Vaz-motLA Two coordinates describing the position of an object above Earth in a coordinate system called the altaz� imuth, or horizon, system, and used in astronomy, gunnery, navigation, surveying, and other fields. Altitude in this sense is expressed as angle of elevation (up to 90�) above the horizon. Azimuth, in astronomical mea� surement, is the number of degrees clockwise from due north to the point on the horizon directly below the object.

altitude sickness or mountain sickness Acute reaction to a change from low altitudes to altitudes above 8,000 ft (2,400 m). Most people gradually adapt, but some have a severe reaction that can be fatal unless they return to low altitude. Normal adaptations to the reduced oxy� gen at high altitude (e.g., breathlessness, racing heartbeat) are exagger� ated; other manifestations include headache, gastrointestinal upsets, and weakness. Pulmonary edema is quickly reversed with oxygen and evacu� ation to a lower area.

Altman Volt-monV Robert (B.) (b. Feb. 20, 1925, Kansas City, Mo., U.S.) U.S. film director. He learned filmmaking by directing industrial films, then directed several television series before making his first fea� ture film, Countdown (1967). The successful antiwar comedy MAS*/7 (1970) established his reputation as an independent director whose work emphasizes character and atmosphere over plot. His most acclaimed films

include McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971), Nashville (1976), The Player (1992), and Short Cuts (1993).

Altman, Sidney (b. May 7, 1939, Montreal, Que., Can.) Canadian- born U.S. molecular biologist. He studied at MIT and the University of Colorado and has taught at Yale University since 1971. Working inde� pendently, Altman and Thomas Cech discovered that RNA, previously believed to be simply a passive carrier of genetic codes between differ� ent parts of the living cell, could also initiate and carry out (i.e., catalyze) some reactions, opening up new fields of research and biotechnology. The two shared a 1989 Nobel Prize.

alto or contralto Voice or register that extends approximately from the F below middle C to the second D above it. The second-highest part in four-part music, it is normally sung by women. The name derives from contratenor altus , the part above the tenor part. It is used for some instru� ments that play principally in the alto range (alto saxophone, alto flute, etc.). See also countertenor.

Altria Group, Inc. U.S. holding company with interests in tobacco, foods, and financial services. Formerly called Philip Morris Cos., Inc., the group changed its name to Altria in January 2003. Its holdings include Kraft Foods, Inc. (including Nabisco), Philip Morris International Inc., and Philip Morris USA Inc. (see Philip Morris tobacco companies), and an interest in SABMiller PLC, which was created in 2002 from the merger of South African Breweries PLC and Miller Brewing Co. Philip Morris had acquired the Miller Brewing Co. in 1969. It continued to reduce its dependence on tobacco by acquiring General Foods (1985), Kraft Foods (1988), and Nabisco (2000), among others. In 1998, as part of the settle� ment of a suit brought against it and other cigarette manufacturers by 46 U.S. states, the company agreed to participate in paying more than $200 billion to the states for smoking-related health-care costs.

altruism Ethical theory that regards the good of others as the end of moral action; by extension, the disposition to take the good of others as an end in itself. The term (French, altruisme, derived from Latin alter: �other�) was coined in the 19th century by Auguste Comte and adopted generally as a convenient antithesis to egoism. Most altruists have held that each person has an obligation to further the pleasures and alleviate the pains of other people. The same argument holds if happiness, rather than pleasure, is taken as the end of life.

alum \'a-lom\ Inorganic compound, any of a class of hydrated double salts, usually consisting of aluminum sulfate, water of hydration (an essen� tial part of the crystal makeup), and the sulfate of another element. The most important alums are those of potassium sulfate (potassium alum, or potash alum, ^SO^Al^SO^^T^O), ammonium sulfate, and sodium sulfate. Alums occur naturally in various minerals and can be prepared and purified by crystallization from their solutions. Most are white crys� tals with an astringent, acid taste. They are used as paper-sizing agents, flocculating agents in water treatment, mordants in dyeing, and in pick� les, baking powder, fire extinguishers, and medicines.

aluminum Metallic chemical element, chemical symbol Al, atomic num� ber 13. A lightweight, silvery white metal, it is so reactive chemically that it always occurs in compounds. It is the most abundant metallic element in Earth�s crust, chiefly in bauxite (its principal ore), feldspars, micas, clay minerals, and laterite. It also occurs in gemstones, such as topaz, garnet, and chrysoberyl; emery, corundum, ruby, and sapphire are crystalline alumi� num oxide. Aluminum was first isolated in 1825, became commercially available in the late 19th century, and is now the most widely used metal after iron. Its surface oxidizes at once to a hard, tough film, deterring fur� ther corrosion. Uses include building and construction, corrosion-resistant chemical equipment, auto and aircraft parts, power transmission lines, photoengraving plates, cookware and other consumer goods, and tubes for ointments and pastes. Important compounds include alums; alumina (aluminum oxide), useful as corundum and as a carrier for many cata� lysts; aluminum chloride, a widely used catalyst for organic syntheses; and aluminum hydroxide, used to waterproof fabrics.

Alvarado \,al-va-'ra-tho\, Pedro de (b. c. 1485, Badajoz, Castile�d. 1541, in or near Guadalajara, New Spain) Spanish soldier and colonial administrator. In 1519 he accompanied the army led by HernAn Cortes that conquered Mexico. In 1522 he became the first mayor of Tenochti- tlan (Mexico City). In 1523 he conquered the native peoples of Guate� mala and founded the city (modern Antigua) that became the first capital of the Guatemala region, which later included much of Central America.

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Alvarez ► Amar Das I 55

He was governor of Guatemala in 1527-31. In 1539 he began an explo� ration of central Mexico, but died while quelling an Indian uprising.

Alvarez Val-v3- l rez\, Luis W(alter) (b. June 13, 1911, San Francisco, Calif., U.S.�d. Sept. 1,1988, Berke� ley, Calif.) U.S. experimental physi� cist. He joined the faculty of the University of California at Berkeley in 1936, where he would remain until 1978. In 1938 he discovered that some radioactive elements decay when an orbital electron merges with the atom�s nucleus, producing an ele� ment with an atomic number smaller by one, a form of beta decay. In 1939 he and Felix Bloch (1905-83) made the first measurement of the magnetic moment of the neutron. During World War II he developed a radar guidance system for landing aircraft and participated in the Manhattan Project to develop the atomic bomb.

He later helped construct the first proton linear accelerator and constructed the liquid hydrogen bubble cham� ber. With his son, the geologist Walter Alvarez (b. 1940), he helped develop the theory that links the dinosaurs� extinction with a giant asteroid or comet impact. For work that included the discovery of many subatomic particles, he received the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1968.

alveolus See pulmonary alveolus

Alzheimer Valts-.hl-morN disease Degenerative brain disorder. It occurs in middle to late adult life, destroying neurons and connections in the cerebral cortex and resulting in significant loss of brain mass. The most common form of dementia, Alzheimer disease progresses from short-term memory impairment to further memory loss; deterioration of language, perceptual, and motor skills; mood instability; and, in advanced stages, unresponsiveness, with loss of mobility and control of body functions; death typically ensues in 5-10 years. Originally described in 1906 by the German neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer (1864-1915) with reference to a 55-year-old person and regarded as a presenile dementia, Alzheimer disease is now recognized as accounting for much of the senile dementia once thought normal with aging. The 10% of cases that begin before age 60 result from an inherited mutation. Neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain on autopsy are the primary features used for diagno� sis. No cure has been found. Most treatment targets the depression, behav� ioral problems, and sleeplessness that often accompany the disease.

AM in full amplitude modulation Variation of the amplitude of a carrier wave (commonly a radio wave) in correspondence to fluctuations in the audio or video signal being transmitted. AM is the oldest method of broadcasting radio programs. Commercial AM stations operate in the frequency range of 535 to 1605 kHz. Because radio waves of these fre� quencies are reflected back to the Earth�s surface by the ionosphere, they can be detected by receivers hundreds of miles away. In addition to com� mercial radio broadcasting, AM is also employed in short-wave radio broadcasts, and in transmitting the video portion of television programs. See also FM.

AMA See American Medical Association

Amadeus V.am-o-'da-osX VI known as Amadeus the Green Count

(b. 1334, Chambery, Savoy [France]�d. March 1, 1383, Castropignano [Italy]) Count of Savoy (1343-83). Ruler of Savoy from age 9, he sig� nificantly extended his kingdom�s territory and power. By the 1350s, after adding lands on the Italian side, he held nearly the entire western Alps. He joined a Crusade against the Turks (1366) and restored John V Palae- ologus to the Byzantine throne. A mediator of quarrels among Italian powers, he set out to rescue Queen Joan I of Naples from her enemies (1382) but died of plague during the expedition.

Amado \a-'ma-du\, Jorge (b. Aug. 10, 1912, Ferradas, near Ilheus, Braz.�d. Aug. 6, 2001, Salvador, Bahia) Brazilian novelist. Amado was born and reared on a cacao plantation. He published his first novel at age 20. His early works, including The Violent Land (1942), explore the exploitation and suffering of plantation workers. Despite imprisonment and exile for leftist activities, he continued to produce novels, many of

which have been banned in Brazil and Portugal. Later works such as Gabriela, Clove and Cinnamon (1958), Dona Flor and Her Two Hus� bands (1966), and The War of the Saints (1993) preserve Amado�s politi� cal attitude in their more subtle satire; many of his books were adapted for film and television.

Amalfi \a-'mal-fe\ Town (pop., 2000: commune, 5,527), southern Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno. It was of little importance until the mid-6th cen� tury, when it fell under Byzantine control. It grew into one of the first Italian maritime republics in the 9th century, becoming a rival of Venice and Genoa. Annexed by Roger II of Sicily in 1131, it was sacked by Pisa in 1135 and 1137 and rapidly declined in importance, though its maritime code, the Tavola Amalfitana, was recognized in the Mediterranean until 1570. Amalfi is now a notable tourist resort.

amalgam \3-'mal-g3m\ Alloy of mercury and one or more other metals. Those of silver, gold, and palladium occur naturally. Those with a very high mercury content are liquid; others are crystalline. Amalgams of sil� ver and tin, with minor amounts of copper and zinc, are used in dentistry to fill teeth. Sodium amalgam is used in manufacturing chlorine and sodium hydroxide by electrolysis of brine. Amalgams are used to recover silver and gold from their ores: The ore is shaken with mercury, the amal� gam is separated and heated until the mercury distills off (see distillation), and the precious metal is the residue. Amalgams are also used to silver mirrors and apply other metal coatings.

Amalric Va-'mal-rik, 'am-3l-rik\ I (b. 1136�d. July 11, 1174) King of Jerusalem (1163-74). Amalric was a strong ruler who helped break the unity of Muslims surrounding the Holy Land. He passed a law giving vas� sals the right to appeal to the High Court against unjust treatment by their lords. His invasion of Egypt (1163) led to a war with Nureddin of Syria, which Amalric lost despite help from Manuel I Comnenus. Though the effort to conquer Egypt failed, the Palestinian-Byzantine alliance continued.

Amalric II (b. c. 1155�d. April 1, 1205) King of Cyprus (1194-1205) and of Jerusalem (1197-1205). Amalric inherited the kingdom of Cyprus on the death of his brother, Guy of Lusignan, and formed a close alliance with the ruler of Palestine. He also became the vassal of Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI. When the ruler of Palestine died, Amalric married his widow and became king of Jerusalem. He administered Jerusalem sepa� rately from his other lands and made peace with his Muslim neighbours after Saladin�s death (1193).

amanita \,am-3- , ne-t3\ Any mushroom of the genus Amanita, contain� ing about 100 species, some of which are poisonous to humans.

Among the deadliest of all mush� rooms are the large, white destroying angels (A. bispongera, A. ocreata, A. verna, and A. virosa ), which are found in forests during wet periods in summer and autumn. The green or brown death cap (A. phalloides), also deadly, is found in woods in summer or early autumn. The poisonous fly agaric (A. muscaria ), found in pas� tures and fields in summer, was once used as a fly poison. Common edible species include A. caesarea, A. rube- scens, and A. vaginata.

Amar Das Vom-ar-'dasV (b. 1479,

Khadur?, India�d. 1574, Goindwal)

Third Sikh Guru. Much revered for his wisdom and piety, he became Guru at age 73. He was noted for his missionary efforts to spread Sikhism and for the division of the Punjab into 22 dioceses. To strengthen the faith, he ordered three great Sikh festivals each year, and he made the city of Goindwal a centre of Sikh learning. He extended the casteless langar (�free kitchen�) and required that any� one wanting to see him must first eat there. Advocating a middle way between the extremes of asceticism and sensuous pleasure, he purified Sikhism of Hindu practices, encouraged intercaste marriages, allowed widows to remarry, and prohibited suttee (self-immolation of a widow on her husband�s funeral pyre).

Luis Alvarez

BY COURTESY OF THE LAWRENCE RADIATION LABORATORY, THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY

Fly agaric (Amanita muscaria)

LARRY C. MOON-TOM STACK & ASSOCIATES

� 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

56 I amaranth ► amberjack

amaranth Va-m3- l ranth\ family Family Amaranthaceae, which con� tains about 60 genera and more than 800 species of herbaceous plants and a few shrubs, trees, and vines, native to tropical America and Africa. Globe amaranth ( Gomphrena ) and cockscomb ( Celosia ) are cultivated as ornamentals. The large genus Amaranthus contains the ornamentals love- lies-bleeding (A. caudatus) and Joseph�s-coat (A. tricolor ), as well as many weedy plants known as pigweed, especially A. retroflexus. Some Amaranthus species are tumbleweeds, and some are potential high-protein grain crops.

Amaravati \,a-m9-'ra-v9-te\ sculpture Style of sculpture found in the Andhra region of southeastern India. It flourished there from about the 2nd century bc to the end of the 3rd century ad, during the rule of the Satavahana dynasty. Carved in relief on greenish-white limestone, these sculptures depict events in the life of the Buddha. The compositions are dynamic, sensuous, and dramatic, with overlapping figures and diagonals suggesting depth. The style spread from the Amaravati ruins west to Maharashtra Pradesh, to Sri Lanka (Ceylon), and to much of South Asia. The Amaravati stupa was one of the largest in Buddhist India; it was largely destroyed in the 19th century by building contractors to make lime mortar.

Amarillo City (pop., 2000: 173,627), northern Texas, U.S. The chief city of the Texas Panhandle, it originated in 1887 with the coming of the railroad. After it grew to become one of the world�s busiest cattle-shipping sites in the 1890s, agriculture became important in the region. The dis� covery of petroleum and natural gas in the 1920s further promoted Ama� rillo�s development.

Amarna, Tell el- Ancient city, Egypt. Located midway between Thebes and Memphis on the Nile River, it was built in the 14th century bc by the Egyptian king (pharaoh) Akhenaton, who moved his subjects there in order to found a new monotheistic religion. Artifacts discovered there in the 19th century included hundreds of cuneiform tablets. Archaeological finds of the late 20th century included sculptures and paintings.

amaryllis V.am-o-'ril-osN family Family Amaryllidaceae of the order Liliales, containing about 65 genera and at least 835 species of perennial herbaceous plants, found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions and prized for their showy flowers, which are borne on smooth, hollow stalks with few or no leaves. Many species are cultivated as garden ornamen� tals. Many tropical lily like plants also belong to the family, including the genera Haemanthus (Cape tulip, or blood lily), Alstroemeria (Peruvian lily), and Hippeastrum. Some are grown as houseplants.

Amaterasu V.am-a-'ter-o-siA (Omikami) In Shinto, the sun goddess from whom the Japanese royal family traditionally claims descent. She was given domain over heaven while her brother, the storm god Susanoo, was set to rule over the sea. The two produced children together, but Sus� anoo began to behave rudely and destructively, and Amaterasu withdrew in protest into a cave, plunging the world into darkness. She was lured out by the other gods and goddesses, and a rope was placed over its entrance to prevent her return. Her chief place of worship is the Grand Shrine of Ise, Shinto�s most important shrine.

Amati family Family of Italian violin makers in Cremona in the 16th and 17th centuries. Andrea (c. 1520-c. 1578) set the form of the modem violin. His two sons Antonio (c. 1550-1638) and Girolamo (1561-1630) worked together and were known as the brothers Amati. Girolamo�s son Nicolo (1596-1684), who like his forebears worked in Cremona, is regarded as the family�s finest craftsman. Among his famous pupils were Andrea Guarneri and Antonio Stradivari; Nicolo was succeeded by his son Girolamo (1649-1740). The great contribution of the Amatis to the devel� opment of the violin was their evolution of the flat, shallow model, which, as improved by Stradivari, is capable of producing a brilliant soprano tone.

Amazon In Greek mythology, a member of a race of women warriors. One of the labours of Heracles was to obtain the girdle of the Amazon queen Hippolyte. In another tale, Theseus attacked the Amazons, and they responded by invading Attica, where they were defeated; Theseus mar� ried the Amazon Antiope. In ancient Greek art, Amazons resembled Ath� ena (with weapons and helmet) and later Artemis (in a thin dress girded high for speed).

Amazon River Portuguese Rio Amazonas River, northern South America. It is the largest river in the world in volume and area of drain� age basin; only the Nile River of eastern and northeastern Africa exceeds it in length. It originates within 100 mi (160 km) of the Pacific Ocean in

the Peruvian Andes Mountains and flows some 4,000 mi (6,400 km) across northern Brazil into the Atlantic Ocean. Its Peruvian length is called the Maranon River; the stretch of river from the Brazilian border to the mouth of the Negro River is the Solimoes River. Its more than 1,000 known tributaries rise in the Guiana Highlands, the Brazilian Highlands, and (principally) the Andes; 7 of these are longer than 1,000 mi (1,600 km), and the Madeira River exceeds 2,000 mi (3,200 km). The Amazon can accommodate large freighters as far upriver as the city of Manaus, Braz., 1,000 mi (1,600 km) from the Atlantic. The first European descent was made by Francisco de Orellana in 1541-42; he is said to have given the river its name after reporting battles with tribes of women, whom he lik� ened to the Amazons of Greek legend. Pedro Teixeira achieved the first ascent in 1637-38, but the river remained little explored until the mid- 19th century. Many indigenous peoples originally lived along the river, but they moved inland as exploring parties and raiders (see bandeira ) sought to enslave them. The river was opened to world shipping in the mid-19th century; traffic increased exponentially with the coming of the rubber trade, which reached its height c. 1910 but soon declined. Its basin encompasses the world�s most extensive rainforest and is home to an extraordinary diversity of birds, mammals, and other wildlife. Since the 1960s the effects of economic exploitation on the region�s ecology and the destruction of the rainforest have generated worldwide concern.

Amazonia National Park Park, north-central Brazil, about halfway between the cities of Manaus and Belem, along the Tapajos River. Estab� lished in 1974, it has gradually expanded to cover about 3,300 sq mi (8,600 sq km) and contains an immense diversity of flora and fauna.

amban Manchu "minister" Representative of China�s Qing emperor who lived in the territory of a tributary state or dependency. In 1793 the Qing emperor Qianlong changed the procedure for selecting the Dalai Lama, and the Tibetans had to persuade the amban that they had complied. In 1904, when the British were trying to force Tibet to sign a trade treaty, the amban said he was powerless to negotiate for the Tibetans, an admis� sion that called into question the degree of control China exercised over Tibet. The ambans � role and authority continues to be debated by the Chi� nese government and advocates of Tibetan independence in the attempt to support their conflicting claims for Tibet�s status.

ambassador Highest-ranking diplomatic representative of one gov� ernment to another or to an international organization. As formally defined and recognized at the Congress of Vienna (1815), ambassadors were origi� nally regarded as personal representatives of their country�s chief execu� tive rather than of the whole country, and their rank entitled them to meet personally with the head of state of the host country. Originally, only the principal monarchies exchanged ambassadors; the U.S. did not appoint ambassadors until 1893. Since 1945 all nations have been recognized as equals, and ambassadors or their equivalents are sent to all countries with which diplomatic relations are maintained. Before the development of modern communications, ambassadors were entrusted with extensive powers; they have since been reduced to spokespeople for their foreign offices.

amber Fossil tree resin that occurs as irregular nodules, rods, or drop� like shapes in all shades of yellow with nuances of orange, brown, and, rarely, red. Milky-white opaque varieties are called bone amber. Hundreds of species of insects and plants are found as fossils in amber. Deeply coloured translucent to transparent amber is prized as gem material, and numerous ornamental carved objects and beads are made from amber. Amber has been found throughout the world, but the largest deposits occur along the shores of the Baltic Sea.

ambergris Vam-bor-.gris, , am-b3r-,gre\ Waxy substance (about 80% cholesterol) formed in the intestine of sperm whales, used chiefly as a spice in the East and for fixing the scent of fine perfumes in the West. It is thought to form as a collection of feces around indigestible parts of squid and other prey of the whale. Fresh ambergris is soft, black, and smelly; exposed to sunlight, air, and seawater, it hardens, fades, and develops a pleasant scent. It may wash ashore or be found floating or in the bodies of slaughtered whales. Pieces are usually small, but the largest have weighed almost 1,000 lb (450 kg).

amberjack Any of various popular marine game fishes (genus Seri- ola ), members of the jack family (Carangidae). Amberjacks are found worldwide. The greater amberjack of the tropical Atlantic is one of the largest jack species, often attaining a length of 6 ft (1.8 m).

� 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Ambler ► American Anti-Slavery Society I 57

Ambler, Eric (b. June 28, 1909, London, Eng.�d. Oct. 22, 1998, Lon� don) British author of espionage and crime novels. Among his works are The Dark Frontier (1936), Epitaph for a Spy (1938), A Coffin for Dimi- trios (1939), Journey into Fear (1940; film, 1942), and The Light of Day (1962). In contrast to earlier British spy stories, in which xenophobic, romantic heroes defeated vast conspiracies to dominate the world, Ambler�s tales were of ordinary, educated Englishmen thrust by chance or curiosity into danger. Notable for its gritty realism, Ambler�s fiction was a major influence on writers such as Graham Greene and John Le Carre.

Ambon \am-'bon\ Island of the Moluccas, Indonesia. Located in the Malay Archipelago, it is 31 mi (50 km) long and 10 mi (16 km) wide, with an area of 294 sq mi (761 sq km). Its chief port is also called Ambon (pop., 2000: 205,664). The island is subject to earthquakes and volcanic activity; Mount Salhatu (3,405 ft [1,038 m]) is its highest point. The clove trade first attracted the Portuguese, who founded a settlement in 1521. The Dutch ousted the Portuguese in 1605, took over the spice trade, and in 1623 killed English settlers in the Amboina Massacre. The British cap� tured Ambon in 1796 and 1810, but it was restored to the Dutch in 1814. The Japanese occupied it during World War II. Retaken by the Dutch in 1945, it became part of Indonesia in 1949. A short-lived independence movement there in 1950 was soon suppressed.

Ambrose, Saint (b. 339, Augusta Treverorum, Belgica, Gaul�d. 397, Milan; feast day December 7)

Bishop of Milan. Raised in Rome, he became a Roman provincial gover� nor. As a compromise candidate, he was unexpectedly elevated from unbaptized layman to bishop of Milan in 374. He established the medieval concept of the Christian emperor as subject to episcopal advice and censure when he forced the emperor Theodosius to seek for� giveness from the bishop, and he opposed tolerance for adherents of Arianism. He wrote theological trea� tises influenced by Greek philoso� phy, including On the Holy Spirit and On the Duties of Ministers, as well as a series of hymns. His bril� liant sermons and personal example converted St. Augustine.

AMC See American Motors Corp.

AME Church See African Method� ist Episcopal Church

Amelung Vam-9-taq\ glass U.S. glass produced between 1784 and c.

1795 by John Frederick Amelung.

Born in Bremen, Ger., he founded the New Bremen Glass Manufactory near Frederick, Md., U.S., with financial support from German and U.S. promoters. He attempted to set up a crafts community, importing glass- workers and other craftsmen from Germany, but the industry failed when Congress defeated Amelung�s petition for a loan in 1790. Few authentic pieces of Amelung glass survive, most of them presentation pieces deco� rated with restrained engraving.

amen Expression of agreement or confirmation used in worship by Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The word derives from a Semitic root meaning �fixed� or �sure.� The Greek Old Testament usually translates it as �so be it�; in the English Bible it is often translated as �verily� or �truly.� By the 4th century bc, it was a common response to a doxology or other prayer in the Jewish temple liturgy. By the 2nd century ad, Christians had adopted it in the liturgy of the Eucharist, and in Christian worship a final amen now often sums up and confirms a prayer or hymn. Though less common in Islam, it is used after reading of the first sura.

Amen See Amon

Amenemhet Va-mo-nom-'heA I (fl. 20th century bc) Egyptian pharaoh (r. 1938-08 bc) who founded the 12th dynasty (1938-1756) and, with provincial governors, restored unity to Egypt after the civil war that fol� lowed the death of his predecessor, Montuhotep IV. He moved the capi�

tal from Thebes to near modern-day Al-Lisht, south of Memphis. He extended Egyptian control up the Nile and fortified the delta. Reaffirm� ing the Egyptian monarchy�s claim to divinity, he also enlarged the Temple of Amon at Thebes. In 1918 bc he made his son, Sesostris I, his coruler. He was assassinated 10 years later.

Amenhotep Va-mon-'ho-.tepV II (fl. 15th century bc) Egyptian pharaoh (r. 1514-1493 bc), son and successor of Ahmose I. Amenhotep extended Egyptian rule southward to the Third Cataract of the Nile while also main� taining rule in the northeast. He pio� neered the transition away from pyramidal tombs to rock-cut tombs in the Valley of the Kings in western Thebes. The royal mortuary temples were erected at the edge of the desert during his reign, though the location of his own tomb is unknown.

Amenhotep III (fl. 14th century bc) Egyptian pharaoh (r. 1390-53 bc) during a time of prosperity. Early in his reign he led a military campaign south of Egypt, but otherwise his rule was peaceful. His reign is noted for the expansion of diplomacy with Syria, Cyprus, Babylon, and Assyria, and the construction of public build� ings in Memphis, Thebes, and Nubia, including portions of the temples at Luxor and Karnak. He broke with tradition by marrying Tiy, a commoner, with whom he shared his rule. He was succeeded by his son Akhenaton.

Amenhotep IV See Akhenaton

amenorrhea \,a- 1 men-3- , re-9\

Lack of menstruation. Signs of pri� mary amenorrhea (failure to start menstruating by age 16) include infantile reproductive organs, lack of breasts and pubic hair, dwarfism, and deficient muscle development. In secondary amenorrhea (abnormal cessation of cycles once started), the genitals atrophy and pubic hair diminishes. Not itself a disease, amenorrhea reflects a failure in the balance among the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, ovaries, and uterus; tumours, injuries, or diseases of these can lead to amenorrhea. Other causes include systemic diseases, emotional shock, stress, hormone over- or underproduction, anorexia nervosa, absence of ovaries or uterus, pregnancy, lactation, and menopause. Infrequent menstruation or amenorrhea not resulting from organic disease is not harmful.

America See Central America, North America, South America America Online See AOL Time Warner Inc.

American Airlines Major U.S. airline. American was created through a merger of several smaller U.S. airlines and incorporated in 1934. It con� tinued to buy the routes of other airlines, becoming an international car� rier in the 1970s; its routes include South America, the Caribbean, Europe, and the western Pacific. Its parent company, AMR Corp., also has hold� ings in food services, hotels, and airport ground services. The company acquired Trans World Airlines in 2001.

American aloe See century plant

American Anti-Slavery Society Main activist arm of the U.S. abo� lition movement, which sought an immediate end to slavery in the coun-

St. Ambrose, detail from a stained- glass window; in St. Michael's Church, Kirby-le-Soken, Essex, Eng.

E & E IMAGE LIBRARY/HERITAGE-IMAGES

Amenhotep II offering sacrifices, statue, 15th century bc; in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo

BY COURTESY OF THE EGYPTIAN MUSEUM; PHOTOGRAPH, HIRMER FOTOARCHIV, MUNCHEN

Amenhotep III, head of a statue from western Thebes, c. 1390 bc

REPRODUCED BY COURTESY OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM

� 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

58 I American Association ► American Indian Movement

try (see abolitionism). Cofounded in 1833 by William Lloyd Garrison and Arthur Tappan, it promoted the formation of state and local auxiliaries to agitate for abolition. Despite violent opposition, by 1840 the group had 2,000 auxiliaries and more than 150,000 members, including Theodore Weld and Wendell Phillips. Its most effective public meetings featured tes� timony by former slaves, including Frederick Douglass and William Wells Brown. In 1839 it split into two factions: a radical group led by Garrison that denounced the Constitution as supportive of slavery and a moderate faction led by Tappan that led to the birth of the Liberty Party.

American Association of Retired Persons See AARP

American Ballet Theatre Prominent ballet company based in New York City. It was founded in 1939 as the Ballet Theatre (the name was changed in 1958) by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant to promote works �American in character.� Oliver Smith replaced Pleasant as codirector in 1945; Mikhail Baryshnikov served as artistic director from 1980 to 1989 after dancing with the company in the 1970s. New ballets were created for the company by Agnes de Mille, Jerome Robbins, Twyla Tharp, and Ant� ony Tudor; Michel Fokine revived many of his earlier works for them as well. Principal dancers have included Alicia Alonso, Erik Bruhn, Anton Doun, and Natalia Makarova.

American Bar Association (ABA) Voluntary association (founded 1878) of U.S. lawyers, judges, and other legal professionals. The largest bar association in die U.S., it seeks to improve the legal profession, ensure the availability of legal services to all citizens, and improve the admin� istration of justice. It conducts educational and research projects, spon� sors professional meetings, and publishes a monthly journal. At the beginning of the 21st century its membership exceeded 400,000.

American Broadcasting Co. See ABC

American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Organization founded by Roger Baldwin and others in New York City in 1920 to champion consti� tutional liberties in the U.S. It works for three basic concepts: freedom of expression, conscience, and association; due process of law; and equal protection under the law. From its founding it has initiated test cases and intervened in cases already in the courts. It may provide legal counsel, or it may file an amicus curiae brief. The Scopes trial was one of its test cases; it provided counsel for the Sacco-Vanzetti case. In the 1950s and �60s it opposed the blacklisting of supposed left-wing subversives and worked to guarantee freedom of worship and the rights of the accused. Its work is performed by volunteers and full-time staff, including lawyers who provide free legal counsel. See also civil liberty.

American Civil War or Civil War or War Between the States

(1861-65) Conflict between the U.S. federal government and 11 South� ern states that fought to secede from the Union. It arose out of disputes over the issues of slavery, trade and tariffs, and the doctrine of states� rights. In the 1840s and �50s, Northern opposition to slavery in the West� ern territories caused the Southern states to fear that existing slavehold- ings, which formed the economic base of the South, were also in danger. By the 1850s abolitionism was growing in the North, and when the anti� slavery Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860, the Southern states seceded to protect what they saw as their right to keep slaves. They were organized as the Confederate States of America under Jefferson Davis. The Northern states of the federal Union, under Lincoln, commanded more than twice the population of the Confederacy and held greater advantages in manufacturing and transportation capac� ity. The war began in Charleston, S.C., when Confederate artillery fired on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. Both sides quickly raised armies. In July 1861, 30,000 Union troops marched toward the Confederate capital at Richmond, Va., but were stopped by Confederate forces in the Battle of Bull Run and forced to retreat to Washington, D.C. The defeat shocked the Union, which called for 500,000 more recruits. The war�s first major campaign began in February 1862, when Union troops under Ulysses S. Grant captured Confederate forts in western Tennessee. Union victories at the battles of Shiloh and New Orleans followed. In the East, Robert E. Lee won several Confederate victories in the Seven Days' Battles and, after defeat at the Battle of Antietam, in the Battle of Fredericksburg (December 1862). After the Confederate victory at the Battle of Chancellorsville, Lee invaded the North and engaged Union forces under George Meade at the momentous Battle of Gettysburg. The war�s turning point in the West occurred in July 1863 with Grant�s success in the Vicksburg Campaign, which brought the entire Mississippi River under Union control. Grant�s command was expanded after the Union defeat at the Battle of Chicka-

mauga, and in March 1864 Lincoln gave him supreme command of the Union armies. He began a strategy of attrition and, despite heavy Union casualties at the battles of the Wilderness and Spotsylvania, began to sur� round Lee�s troops in Petersburg, Va. (see Petersburg Campaign). Mean� while William T. Sherman captured Atlanta in September (see Atlanta Campaign), set out on a destructive march through Georgia, and soon cap� tured Savannah. Grant captured Richmond on April 3, 1865, and accepted Lee�s surrender on April 9 at Appomattox Court House. On April 26 Sher� man received the surrender of Joseph Johnston, thereby ending the war. The mortality rates of the war were staggering�there were about 620,000 deaths out of a total of 2.4 million soldiers. The South was devastated. But the Union was preserved, and slavery was abolished.

American Express Co, U.S. credit card and travel services company. Founded in 1850 as an express-transportation company, American Express originally provided rapid transport of goods across New York and the Midwest. The company introduced traveler�s checks in 1891 and opened its first European office in Paris in 1895. Its contemporary busi� nesses include credit cards and payment-processing systems, international banking, and services for travelers (including trip planning, tour packages, and business travel management).

American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations See AFL-CIO

American Fur Co. Enterprise formed by John Jacob Astor in 1808 that dominated the U.S. fur trade early in the 19th century. The company, con� sidered the first U.S. business monopoly, absorbed or drove out rivals throughout the central and western U.S. Exploration by its trappers and traders helped open the frontier to settlement. By 1834, when Astor sold his company, it had become the largest commercial organization in the U.S.

American Indian or Native American or Amerindian Any

member of the various aboriginal peoples of the Western Hemisphere, with the exception of the Eskimos (Inuit) and the Aleuts. Though the term Native American is today often preferred over American Indian, particu� larly in the U.S., many Native American peoples continue to prefer Ameri� can Indian (or Indian). In Canada the name First Nation is preferred. The ancestors of the American Indians were nomadic hunters of northeast Asia who migrated over the Bering Strait land bridge into North America prob� ably during the last glacial period (20,000-30,000 years ago). By c. 10,000 bc they had occupied much of North, Central, and South America. See also Anasazi culture; Andean civilization; Clovis complex; Eastern Woodlands Indian; Folsom complex; Hohokam culture; Hopewell culture; Mesoamerican civilization; Mississippian culture; Mogollon culture; North� west Coast Indian; Plains Indian; Pueblo Indian; Southeastern Indian; South� west Indian; Woodland culture.

American Indian languages Languages spoken by the original inhabitants of the Americas and the West Indies and by their modem descendants. They display an extraordinary structural range, and no attempt to unite them into a small number of genetic groupings has won general acceptance. Before the arrival of Columbus, more than 300 dis� tinct languages were spoken in North America north of Mexico by an estimated population of two to seven million. Today fewer than 170 lan� guages are spoken, of which the great majority are spoken fluently only by older adults. A few widespread language families (Algonquian, Iro- quoian, Siouan, Muskogean, Athabaskan, Uto-Aztecan, Salishan) account for many of the languages of eastern and interior North America, though the far west was an area of extreme diversity (see Hokan; Penutian). It is estimated that in Mexico and northern Central America (Mesoamerica), an estimated 15-20 million people spoke more than 300 languages before Columbus. The large Otomanguean and Maya families and a single lan� guage, Nahuatl, shared Mesoamerica with many smaller families and lan� guage isolates. More than 10 of these languages and language complexes still have more than 100,000 speakers. South America and the West Indies had an estimated pre-Columbian population of 10-20 million, speaking more than 500 languages. Important language families include Chibchan in Colombia and southern Central America, Quechuan and Aymaran in the Andean region, and Arawakan, Cariban, and Tupian in northern and central lowland South America. Aside from Quechuan and Aymaran, with about 10 million speakers, and the Tupian language Guarani, most remain� ing South American Indian languages have very few speakers, and some face certain extinction.

American Indian Movement (AIM) Civil rights organization founded in 1968, originally to help urban American Indians displaced by

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American Indian religions ► American Revolution I 59

government programs. It later broadened its efforts to include demands for economic independence, autonomy over tribal areas, restoration of illegally seized lands, and protection of Indian legal rights and traditional culture. Some of its protest activities involved violence and were highly publicized (see Wounded Knee). Internal strife and the imprisonment of some leaders led to the disbanding of its national leadership in 1978, though local groups have continued to function.

American Indian religions. North Religious beliefs and practices of the indigenous peoples of North America. They are characterized by a conviction that spirit moves through all things, animate and inanimate, and that the living are intimately connected with the souls of the dead. They discover recognizable beings in the natural world of animals, plants, and trees, as well as in natural features such as mountains, lakes, and clouds. Because North American religions were so highly localized, it is impossible to determine how many have existed, and their beliefs have varied widely. Whereas Iroquois elders speak of a perfectly wise and good Creator who planned the universe, the Koyukon envision the creator as Raven, a trickster god who is only one of many powerful spirits. Whereas nearly all Navajo ceremonies are performed on behalf of individuals in response to specific needs, most Pueblo ceremonies are performed com� munally and scheduled according to the cycles of nature. However, all native North American religions share certain features: ancestral lands and locally sacred spots are important; access to some knowledge is restricted, and initiation is required to acquire it; kinship obligations are central; the oral tradition includes narratives that record human interaction with non� human powers; and generosity is a religious act. Contact with Europeans led to development of new religious movements, including the Ghost Dance tradition and the Native American Church. See also Mesoamerican religions.

American Indian religions. South Religious beliefs and practices of the indigenous peoples of South America. The ancient Andean civiliza� tions of the Chimu and the Inca had highly developed religions. The Inca religion combined complex ceremonies, animistic beliefs, belief in objects having magical powers, nature worship, and sun worship. The Incas built monumental temples, occupied by priests and Chosen Women. Priests conducted divination, and sacrifices were offered on every important occa� sion. Human sacrifice was offered when the need was extreme. In present- day South America, as many as 1,500 distinct native cultures have been described, and religious beliefs vary greatly. Creation mythologies are of major importance, often describing the origin of the first world and its fate as well as the creation and destruction of subsequent worlds. Cer� emonial initiation into adulthood is widely practiced, both for males and females, with the initiation ceremony often acting out events from the dawn of creation. Initiations are also used to mark the ascent of individu� als into positions of religious authority, with priests, diviners, and spirit mediums playing special roles. The shaman specializes in inducing states of ecstasy, controlling the passage of the soul out of and back into the body. Ritual fires, musical instruments (especially the rattle), esoteric lan� guages, and sacred songs may be used in a theatrical performance designed to demonstrate the shaman�s command of invisible powers. Christianity has come to be a strong component of folk belief among many native peoples, but it continues to be interpreted in the light of local tra� dition, and elements of traditional religion continue to survive. See also Mesoamerican religions.

American Labor Party Minor political party organized in New York state in 1936. It was founded by the labour leaders Sidney Hillman and David Dubinsky and by liberal Democrats and old-line socialists. The party supported Franklin D. Roosevelt�s New Deal programs and backed candi� dates who endorsed liberal social legislation. Though influential in New York City elections, after 1940 it was plagued by divisions between pro- and anti-communist factions. It was dissolved in 1956.

American League (AL) One of the two associations of professional baseball teams in the U.S. and Canada designated as major leagues; the other is the National League (NL). The AL was founded in 1900, and, beginning in 1903, the champions of the AL and NL have engaged in an annual World Series competition. There are now three divisions in the AL: Eastern (comprising the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and Toronto Blue Jays), Central (Chi� cago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, and Minnesota Twins), and Western (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, and Texas Rangers).

American Legion Organization of U.S. war veterans. Founded in 1919, it works for the care of disabled and sick veterans and promotes compensation and pensions for the disabled, widows, and orphans. Non� political and nonsectarian, its membership requirement is honourable ser� vice and an honourable discharge. It was instrumental in establishing veterans� hospitals, and it sponsored the creation of the U.S. Veterans Administration in 1930. In 1944 it played an important role in the pas� sage of the Gl Bill. The American Legion claims about three million mem� bers in some 15,000 local posts, or groups.

American Medical Association (AMA) Organization of U.S. phy� sicians. It was founded in 1847 �to promote the science and art of medi� cine and the betterment of public health.� It has about 250,000 members, about half of all practicing U.S. physicians. It disseminates information to its members and the public, operates as a lobbying group, and helps set medical education standards. Its publications include Journal of the American Medical Association, American Medical News, and journals on medical specialties.

American Motors Corp. (AMC) Former U.S. automobile manufac� turer. AMC was formed in 1954 from the merger of two pioneering auto manufacturers, Nash-Kelvinator Corp. (successor to Nash Motor Co., founded 1916) and Hudson Motor Car Co. (founded 1909). AMC pro� duced AMC compact cars, AM General trucks and buses, and, until 1968, Kelvinator appliances. Jeeps joined the product line after AMC purchased the Kaiser-Jeep Corp. (dating to 1903) in 1970. AMC became a subsid� iary of Chrysler Corp. in 1987, which in turn merged with Daimler-Benz in 1998 to form DaimlerChrysler AG.

American Museum of Natural History Major centre of research and education on the natural sciences, established in New York City in 1869. It pioneered in staging field expeditions and creating dioramas and other lifelike exhibits showing natural habitats and their plant and animal life. Its research collections contain tens of millions of specimens, and its fossil and insect collections are among the largest in the world. It con� ducts research in anthropology, astronomy, entomology, herpetology, ich� thyology, invertebrate biology, mammalogy, mineralogy, ornithology, and vertebrate paleontology, and it maintains permanent research stations in The Bahamas and the U.S. states of New York, Florida, and Arizona. It also contains one of the world�s largest planetariums.

American Parly See Know-Nothing Party

American Protective Association (APA) Secret anti-Catholic, anti-immigrant society formed in Iowa in 1887. Its membership, consist� ing mainly of farmers who feared the growth and political power of immigrant-populated cities, rose to more than two million in the 1890s. Membership dwindled after the election of 1896 and the return of agri� cultural prosperity in the Midwest. By 1911 the society had disappeared.

American Renaissance or New England Renaissance Period from the 1830s roughly until the end of the American Civil War in which U.S. literature came of age as an expression of a national spirit. The lit� erary scene was dominated by New England Brahmin writers, notably Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and James Russell Lowell. Also influential were the Transcendentalists (see Transcendental� ism), including Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, as well as the great imaginative writers Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, and Edgar Allan Poe.

American Revolution or United States War of Indepen� dence (1775 -83) War that won political independence for 13 of Brit� ain�s North American colonies, which formed the United States of America. After the end of the costly French and Indian War (1763), Brit� ain imposed new taxes (see Stamp Act; Sugar Act) and trade restrictions on the colonies, fueling growing resentment and strengthening the colo� nists� objection to their lack of representation in the British Parliament. Determined to achieve independence, the colonies formed the Continen� tal Army, composed chiefly of minutemen, to challenge Britain�s large, organized militia. The war began when Britain sent a force to destroy rebel military stores at Concord, Mass. After fighting broke out on April 19, 1775 (see Battles of Lexington and Concord), rebel forces began a siege of Boston that ended when American forces under Henry Knox forced out the British troops under William Howe on March 17, 1776 (see Battle of Bunker Hill). Britain�s offer of pardon in exchange for surrender was refused by the Americans, who declared themselves independent on July 4, 1776 (see Declaration of Independence). British forces retaliated by driv-

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60 I American Saddlebred ► Amhara

ing the army of George Washington from New York to New Jersey. On December 25, Washington crossed the Delaware River and won the battles of Trenton and Princeton. The British army split to cover more territory, a fatal error. In engaging the Americans in Pennsylvania, notably in the Battle of the Brandywine, they left the troops in the north vulnerable. Despite a victory in the Battle of Ticonderoga, British troops under John Burgoyne were defeated by Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold in the Battle of Saratoga (Oct. 17, 1777). Washington quartered his 11,000 troops through a bleak winter at Valley Forge, where they received training from Frederick Steuben that gave them victory in Monmouth, N.J., on June 28, 1778. British forces in the north thenceforth chiefly concentrated near New York. France, which had been secretly furnishing aid to the Ameri� cans since 1776, finally declared war on Britain in June 1778. French troops assisted American troops in the south, culminating in the success� ful Siege of Yorktown, where Charles Cornwallis surrendered his forces on Oct. 19, 1781, bringing an end to the war on land. War continued at sea, fought chiefly between Britain and the U.S.�s European allies. The navies of Spain and the Netherlands contained most of Britain�s navy near Europe and away from the fighting in America. The last battle of the war was won by the American navy under John Barry in March 1783 in the Straits of Florida. With the Treaty of Paris (Sept. 3, 1783), Britain rec� ognized the independence of the U.S. east of the Mississippi River and ceded Florida to Spain.

American Saddlebred or American Saddle Horse Breed of light horse that originated in the U.S. The breed was developed by cross� ing Thoroughbreds, Morgans, and Standardbreds on native mares having an easy gait. It stands 15-16 hands (5-5.3 ft [1.5-1.6 m]) high, and its colours are bay, brown, black, gray, and chestnut. Two show categories are for three-gaited and five-gaited horses. The three natural gaits are walk, trot, and canter; the five-gaited horse also has two trained gaits, the rack and the slow gait, or running walk. The American Saddlebred is also well known as a fine harness horse for show.

American Samoa officially Territory of American Samoa

Unincorporated U.S. territory (pop., 2000: 57,291), southwest-central Pacific Ocean. It includes the islands of Tutuila (the largest, with over two-thirds of the territory�s land area and almost all of the population), Aunuu, Rose, Swains, and the Manua group. Area: 77 sq mi (199 sq km). Capital: Fagatogo (Pago Pago; on Tutuila). Languages: Samoan, English (both official). Religion: Christianity (mostly Protestant; also Roman Catholic, other Christians). Currency: U.S. dollar. Most of the islands are rocky, formed from extinct volcanoes, and are surrounded by coral reefs. Tutuila and the islands of Manua are dominated by central mountain ranges. Fishing and tourism are major industries, but the U.S. adminis� tration is the main employer. The majority of the population is of Samoan ancestry. The islands were probably inhabited by Polynesians 3,000 years ago. Dutch explorers became the first Europeans to visit the islands in 1722. Missionaries began arriving in the islands in the 1830s. The U.S. gained the right to establish a naval station at Pago Pago in 1878, and the U.S., Britain, and Germany administered a tripartite protectorate in 1889� 99. The high chiefs ceded the eastern islands to the U.S. in 1904. Ameri� can Samoa was administered by the U.S. Department of the Navy until 1951 and afterward by the Department of the Interior. Its current consti� tution was approved in 1967, and in 1978 the territory�s first elected gov� ernor took office.

American Stock Exchange (AMEX) Stock exchange in the U.S. Originally known as �the Curb,� it began as an outdoor marketplace in New York City c. 1850. It moved indoors to its present location in the Wall Street area in 1921. Once a marketplace for securities not reputable enough for the New York Stock Exchange, it became equally respectable, with its own listing admissions requirements. In 1998 it merged with the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), then-owner of the NASDAQ exchange, to form the Nasdaq-Amex Market Group. After NASD sold its interest in the NASDAQ in 2000, AMEX remained a NASD subsidiary.

American System of manufacture Production of many identical parts and their assembly into finished products. Though Eli Whitney has been credited with this development, the ideas had appeared earlier in Europe and were being practiced in arms factories in the U.S. (see armoury practice). Marc Brunel, while working for the British Admiralty (1802-08), devised a process for producing wooden pulley blocks by sequential machine operations, whereby 10 men (rather than the 110 needed previ� ously) could make 160,000 pulley blocks per year. Not until London�s

Crystal Palace exhibition (1851) did British engineers, viewing exhibits of machines used in the U.S. to produce interchangeable parts, begin to apply the system. Within 25 years, the American System was being widely used in making a host of industrial products. See also assembly line; factory.

American Telephone and Telegraph Co. See AT&T

America's Cup Most prestigious trophy in international yachting com� petition. First offered under another name in Britain in 1851, the cup was won easily by the America from New York and subsequently became known as the America�s Cup. The America�s Cup race, held about every four years, is between one defending vessel and one challenging vessel; each must be designed and built in the country it represents. The 22.6-mi (36.4-km) racecourse is divided into eight legs. The U.S. completely dominated the competition until 1983, when it was defeated by Austra� lia. New Zealand won the Cup in 1995 and retained it in 2000 by defeat� ing a challenger from Italy in the first competition without a U.S. participant.

americium V.am-o-'ri-she-omN Synthetic radioactive chemical element, chemical symbol Am, atomic number 95. The fourth transuranium element discovered, it was first produced in 1944 from plutonium-239 in a nuclear reactor. The isotope americium-241 has been prepared in kilogram quan� tities and is used in a variety of measuring applications that utilize its gamma radiation. Its most familiar use is in household smoke detectors.

Amerindian See American Indian

Ames, Fisher (b. April 9, 1758, Dedham, Mass.�d. July 4, 1808, Dedham, Mass., U.S.) U.S. essayist and Federalist politician. He gradu� ated from Harvard College in 1774 and taught school for five years before turning to the law; he was admitted to the bar in 1781. Supporting the creation of a strong central government, Ames argued for ratification of the new U.S. Constitution at the Massachusetts constitutional convention. He became known for his uncompromising advocacy of the rights of property and his protective attitude toward commercial interests, which he defended in trenchant writing and commanding speech. In 1788 he defeated Samuel Adams for a seat in the first session of the U.S. House of Representatives; he was reelected three times. His eloquent support of the treaty negotiated by John Jay to preserve peace with England (1794) con� vinced the House to pass an enabling appropriation.

Ames, Winthrop (b. Nov. 25, 1870, North Easton, Mass., U.S.�d. Nov. 3, 1937, Boston, Mass.) U.S. theatrical producer and manager. Born into a wealthy New England family, he traveled to Europe in 1904 to study the management of 60 opera and theatre companies. After comanaging a Boston theatre, he became managing director of New York City�s New Theatre (1908-11). He founded the Little Theatre and the Booth Theatre, where he produced and directed such successful plays as The Philanderer (1913), Beggar on Horseback (1924), and a series of Gilbert and Sulli� van revivals (1926-29). His Snow White (1913) was the first play pro� duced in the U.S. especially for children.

amesha spenta \a-'mesh-9-'spen-t9\ In Zoroastrianism, any of the six divine beings (three male, three female) created by Ahura Mazda to help govern creation. They are worshiped separately, and each has a special month, festival, and flower. The most important are Asha Vahishta (�Truth�), who presides over the sacred fire and holds out the path of jus� tice and spiritual knowledge, and Vohu Manah (�Good Mind�), who wel� comes the blessed into paradise. Khshathra Vairya (�Desirable Dominion�) presides over metal, Spenta Armaiti (�Beneficent Devotion�) over earth, and Haurvatat (�Wholeness�) and Ameretat (�Immortality�) over water and plants. In later Zoroastrianism, each is opposed by a spe� cific archfiend.

amethyst Transparent, coarse-grained variety of quartz that is valued as a semiprecious gem for its violet colour. It contains a little more iron oxide (Fe 2 0 3 ) than any other variety of quartz, and its colour probably arises from this iron content. Heating removes the colour or changes it to the yellow of citrine; most commercial citrine is made in this manner. Notable deposits are found in Brazil, Uruguay, Ontario, and North Caro� lina. The birthstone for February, amethyst is usually faceted with step cuts or emerald cuts but also has been used since ancient times for carved intaglios. See photograph on opposite page.

AMEX See American Stock Exchange

Amhara Vam-'ha-raX People of the Ethiopian central highlands. The Amhara number some 18 million and compose almost three-tenths of

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Amharic ► Amis I 61

Ethiopia�s population. Their language is Amharic, a Semitic language of the Afro-Asiatic family, and their religion is Ethiopian Orthodox. The Amhara, who have dominated the history of their country, descend from ancient Semitic conquerors who mingled with indigenous Cushitic peoples. They are agriculturalists and place great value on land owner� ship.

Amharic \am-'ha-rik\ language Semitic language of Ethiopia. Amharic is spoken by more than 18 million people as a first language and is used as a ungua franca throughout much of central highland Ethiopia. Its status as a de facto national language is largely due to the long domi� nance of the Ethiopian monarchy by Amhara sovereigns. Amharic is writ� ten in a modified form of the partly syllabic, partly alphabetic script used to write Ge'ez, the classical language of Christian Ethiopian civilization (see Ethiopic languages). Though manuscripts in Amharic are known from the 14th century, the language has only recently been used as a general medium for literature, journalism, and education.

Amherst, Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron (b. Jan. 29, 1717, Sev- enoaks, Kent, Eng.�d. Aug. 3, 1797, Sevenoaks) British army com� mander. In the French and Indian War, he took the French fort at Louisbourg, Cape Breton Island, in 1758 and was promoted to chief of command in America. In 1760 he directed the campaign that captured Quebec and Montreal, and in 1761 he quelled the Indian uprising under Pontiac. Having secured Canada for Britain, he remained there as governor-general until 1763. Returning to England, he served as com� mander in chief of the British army (1772-95), but his tenure was marred by failure in the war with the American colonies and by serious abuses in the army. He was created a baron in 1776 and a field marshal in 1796. Several U.S. towns and Amherst College are named for him.

Amherst Vam-orstV College Private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts, U.S., chartered in 1825. Noah Webster was one of its founders. Consistently ranked as one of the finest colleges in the U.S., it offers a wide range of courses in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Originally a men�s college, it became coeducational in 1975. It participates in an exchange program with nearby Hampshire, Mount Holyoke, and Smith colleges and the University of Massachusetts.

amicus curiae Vo-'me-kos-'kyiir-e-I, o-'ml-kos-'kyur-e-eV (Latin: �friend of the court�) One who assists a court by furnishing information or advice regarding questions of law or fact. A person (or other entity, such as a state government) who is not a party to a particular lawsuit but nevertheless has a strong interest in it may be allowed, by leave of the court, to file an amicus curiae brief, a statement of particular views on the subject matter of the lawsuit. Such briefs are often filed in cases involv� ing public-interest matters (e.g., entitlement programs, consumer protec� tion, civil rights).

Amida See Amitabha

amide \'a-,mld\ Any member of either of two classes of nitrogen- containing organic compounds related to ammonia and amines and contain� ing a carbonyl group (�C=0; see functional group). The first class, covalent amides are formed by replacing the hydroxyl group (�OH) of an acid with an amino group (�NR 2 , in which R may represent a hydro� gen atom or an organic combining group, such as methyl). Amides formed from carboxylic acids, called carboxamides, are solids except for the sim� plest, formamide, a liquid. They do not conduct electricity, have high boiling points, and (when liquid) are good solvents. There are no practical natural sources of simple covalent amides, but the peptides and proteins in living systems are long chains (poly� mers) with peptide bonds (see cova� lent bond), which are amide linkages. Urea is an amide with two amino groups. Commercially important covalent amides include several used as solvents; others are the sulfa drugs and nylon. The second class, ionic (salt-like) amides (see ionic bond), are made by treating a covalent amide, an amine, or ammonia with a reactive metal (e.g., sodium) and are strongly alkaline.

Amiens \am-'ye n \ ancient Samarobriva later Ambianum City (pop., 1999: 135,801), northern France. Located on the Somme River, it became a Roman stronghold. The chief city of a medieval county, it passed to Burgundy in 1435 and was captured by the Spanish in 1597. Recovered by Henry IV, it served as the capital of Picardy until 1790. The Prussians captured the city in 1870, and the Germans held it briefly in 1914; it gave its name to a successful Allied counteroffensive against Germany in 1918. The Germans occupied it during World War II. It has been a major cen� tre of the French textile industry since the 16th century and is the site of the Gothic cathedral of Notre-Dame, the largest church in France.

Amiens \am-'ya n . Treaty of (March 27, 1802) Agreement signed at Amiens, France, by Britain, France, Spain, and the Batavian Republic (The Netherlands). By the treaty, France and its allies recovered most of their colonies, despite their military reverses overseas. The treaty ignored continuing trade differences between Britain and France, but it achieved a peace in Europe for 14 months during the Napoleonic Wars.

Amin \a-'men\ (Dada Oumee), Idi (b. 1924/25, Koboko, Ugan.�d. Aug. 16, 2003, Jiddah, Saud.Ar.)

Military officer and president (1971�

79) of Uganda. A member of the small Kakwa ethnic group and a Muslim, he was closely associated during his military career with Mil- ton Obote, Uganda�s first prime min� ister and president. In 1971 he staged a coup against Obote. He expelled all Asians from Uganda in 1972, reversed Uganda�s amicable rela� tions with Israel, was personally involved in the Palestinian hijacking of a French airliner to Entebbe (see Entebbe raid), and ordered the torture and murder of 100,000-300,000 Ugandans. In 1978 he ordered an attack on Tanzania, but Tanzanian troops, aided by Ugandan nationalists, were able to overpower the invaders. As the Tanzanian-led forces neared Kampala, Uganda�s capital, Amin fled to Libya and eventually settled in Saudi Arabia.

amine \o-'men\ Any of a class of NiTROGEN-containing organic com� pounds derived, either in principle or in practice, from ammonia (NH 3 ). Almost all their chemical names end in -ine. Replacement of one, two, or all three of the hydrogen atoms in ammonia with organic groups yields primary, secondary, or tertiary amines, respectively. Addition of a fourth hydrogen with an accompanying positive charge on the nitrogen atom results in a quaternary amine. Naturally occurring amines include alka� loids, present in certain plants; some neurotransmitters, including dopam� ine and epinephrine; and histamine. Industrially important amines include aniline, ethanolamine, and others, used in making rubber, dyes, pharma� ceuticals, and synthetic resins and fibres and in a host of other applica� tions. A nitrogen atom with one or two hydrogens is often referred to as an amino group.

amino acid \3-'me-no\ Any of a class of organic compounds in which a carbon atom has bonds to an amino group (�NH 2 ), a carboxyl group (�COOH), a hydrogen atom (�H), and an organic side group (called �R). They are therefore both carboxylic acids and amines. The physical and chemical properties unique to each result from the properties of the R group, particularly its tendency to interact with water and its charge (if any). Amino acids joined linearly by peptide bonds (see covalent bond) in a particular order make up peptides and proteins. Of over 100 natural amino acids, each with a different R group, only 20 make up the proteins of all living organisms. Humans can synthesize 10 of them (by intercon� versions) from each other or from other molecules of intermediary metabo� lism, but the other 10 (essential amino acids: arginine, histidine, isoleucine,

LEUCINE, LYSINE, METHIONINE, PHENYLALANINE, THREONINE, TRYPTOPHAN, and VALINE) must be consumed in the diet.

Amis \'a-mis\, Martin (b. Aug. 25, 1949, Oxford, Oxfordshire, Eng.) British writer and critic. The son of writer Kingsley Amis, he graduated from Oxford University in 1971. He worked for the Times Literary Supplement and the New Statesman before becoming a full-time writer. His works�including the novels Money (1984), London Fields (1989), and Night Train (1998) as well as the short-story collection Heavy Water

White-tipped amethyst from Guerrero, Mexico

LEE BOLTIN

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62 I Amis ► amniocentesis

(1999)� feature inventive word play and often scabrous humour as they satirize the horrors of modem urban life. Amis also published an acclaimed autobiography. Experience (2000), and an idiosyncratic volume centred on Joseph Stalin, Koba the Dread (2002).

Amis, Sir Kingsley (William) (b. April 16, 1922, London, Eng.�d. Oct. 22, 1995, London) British novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. His first novel, Lucky Jim (1954; film, 1957), was a hugely successful comic mas� terpiece. He was often characterized as an Angry Young Man, a label he rejected. Notable among his more than 40 books (including four volumes of poetry) are the mordantly humorous novels That Uncertain Feeling (1955; film. Only Two Can Play , 1962), The Green Man (1959; film, 1957), Jake�s Thing (1978), and The Old Devils (1986, Booker Prize). He was the father of Martin Amis.

Amish Ya-mish\ Member of a conservative Christian group in North America known as the Old Order Amish Mennonite Church. The Amish originated in 1693-97 as followers of the Mennonite elder Jakob Ammann (1644?-c. 1730) in Switzerland, Alsace, and Germany. He taught that lying was grounds for excommunication (which meant being shunned by all other Mennonites), that clothing should be uniform and beards untrimmed, and that the state church should be avoided. Migration to North America and assimilation eliminated the Amish in Europe. They settled in Pennsylvania in the 18th century. After 1850 they split into �Old Order� (traditional) and �New Order� (now the Mennonite churches). Old Order Amish now live in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, and Kansas. Adults are baptized and admitted to formal church membership at age 17 to 20. Services are in Pennsylvania Dutch (a German dialect) and some English. Though similar in theology to Mennonites, Amish wear modest, old-fashioned clothing and generally reject modern technology, including automobiles and telephones.

Amistad mutiny (July 2, 1839) Slave rebellion aboard the schooner Amistad. The revolt took place off the coast of Cuba when 53 Africans who had been abducted from Sierra Leone for the slave trade, seized con� trol of the ship, killed the captain and cook, and ordered the navigator to sail for Africa. Pretending to do so, he sailed generally northward instead, and the ship was intercepted two months later off New York. Despite attempts by Pres. Martin Van Buren to send the Africans to Cuba, aboli� tionists demanded a trial, contending the men were free under interna� tional law. A federal judge agreed, and the government appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, where in 1841 defending counsel John Quincy Adams successfully argued that the men should be freed. Donations helped the 35 survivors to return to Sierra Leone in 1842.

Amitabha \,am-i-'ta-b9\ Japanese Amida Saviour deity worshiped by followers of Pure Land Buddhism in Japan. According to the Sukhavati- vyuha-sutra (Pure Land SUTRA), the monk Dharmakara vowed many ages ago that once he attained buddha- hood, all who believed in him and called upon his name would be born into his paradise (the Pure Land) and reside there until achieving nirvana.

The cult of Amitabha came to the forefront in China c. 650 and then spread to Japan, where it led to the formation of the Pure Land and True Pure Land sects. In Tibet and Nepal,

Amitabha is regarded as one of the five eternal buddhas (rather than as a saviour), who manifested himself as the earthly Buddha Gautama and as the BODHISATTVA AVALOKITESVARA.

Amman \a-'man\ City (pop., 2000 est.: 1,147,447), capital of Jordan. It lies 25 mi (40 km) northeast of the Dead Sea. Amman is by far the largest city of Jordan. Fortified settlements have existed in the area from remote antiquity; the earliest date from the Chalcolithic Period (c. 4000-3000 bc). As Rabbah, it became the capital of the Ammonites. It was conquered by Egypt�s Ptolemy II (Ptolemy Phil- adelphus), who renamed it Philadelphia, a name it retained through Roman times. Taken by the Arabs in ad 635, it later went into decline and subsequently disappeared. In 1878 the Ottoman Empire resettled it. When the British established the country of Transjordan in 1921, Amman

became its capital. Its modem development was furthered by the inde� pendence of Transjordan in 1946. Along with the rest of Jordan (the country�s name from 1949), Amman has had to absorb a large number of Arab refugees that fled Palestine during the Arab-Israeli wars.

Ammannati \,am-an-'na-te\ / Bartolommeo or Bartolommeo Ammanati (b. June 18, 1511, Settignano, near Florence�d. April 22, 1592, Florence ) Italian sculptor and architect active chiefly in Florence. He trained under Baccio Bandinelli in Florence and Jacopo Sansovino in Venice. In 1550 he went to Rome, where he collaborated with Giorgio Vasari and Giacomo da Vignola on the Villa Giulia. In 1555 he returned to Florence, where he spent the rest of his career working for the Medicis. He finished the Laurentian Library, begun by Michelangelo, but is best known for the Bridge of Santa Trinita and his additions to Filippo Brunelle� schi�s Pitti Palace, including the courtyard. His buildings mark the tran� sition from the Classicizing Renaissance to the more exuberant Baroque style.

ammonia Vo-'mo-nysX Colourless, pungent gas composed of nitrogen and hydrogen, chemical formula NH 3 . Easily liquefied by compression or cooling for use in refrigerating and air-conditioning equipment, it is manu� factured in huge quantities. Ammonia is made by the Haber-Bosch process (see Fritz Haber). Its major use is as a fertilizer, applied directly to soil from tanks of the liquefied gas. Also employed as fertilizers are salts of ammo� nia, including ammonium phosphate and ammonium nitrate (the latter used in high explosives as well). Ammonia has many other industrial uses as a raw material, catalyst, and alkali. It dissolves readily in water to form ammonium hydroxide, an alkaline solution (see base) familiar as a house� hold cleaner.

ammonia-soda process See Solvay process

ammonoid Vam-o-.nokL Any of a group of extinct shelled cephalopods, related to the modern pearly nautilus, that are commonly found as fossils in marine rocks of the Devonian through Cretaceous periods (410-65 mil� lion years ago). Most ammonoids were predators. The shells, either straight or coiled, served as protective and supportive structures and enabled the animals to compensate for varying water depths. Ammonoids are important index fossils because of their wide geographic distribution in shallow marine waters, rapid evolution, and easily recognizable fea� tures. See also belemnoid.

amnesia \am-'ne-zh9\ Loss of memory as a result of brain injury or deterioration, shock, fatigue, senility, drug use, alcoholism, anesthesia, illness, or neurotic reaction. Amnesia may be anterograde (in which events following the causative trauma or disease are forgotten) or retrograde (in which events preceding the trauma or disease are forgotten). It can often be traced to a severe emotional shock, in which case personal memories (in effect, identity) rather than such abilities as language skills are affected. Such amnesia seems to represent an escape from disturbing memories and is thus an example of repression; these memories can generally be recov� ered through psychotherapy or after the amnesic state has ended. Amnesia may occasionally last for weeks, months, or even years, a condition known as fugue.

amnesty In criminal law, a sovereign act of oblivion or forgetfulness (from Greek amnestia, �forgetfulness�) granted by a government, espe� cially to a group of persons who are guilty of (usually political) crimes in the past. It is often conditional upon the group�s return to obedience and duty within a prescribed period. See also pardon.

Amnesty International (Al) International human-rights organiza� tion. It was founded in 1961 by Peter Benenson, a London lawyer who organized a letter-writing campaign calling for amnesty for �prisoners of conscience.� AI seeks to inform the public about violations of human rights, especially abridgments of freedom of speech and religion and the imprisonment and torture of political dissidents. It actively seeks the release of political prisoners and support of their families when neces� sary. Its members and supporters are said to number one million people in some 140 countries. Its first director, Sean MacBride, won the 1974 Nobel Prize for Peace; AI itself won the award in 1977.

amniocentesis V.am-ne-o-sen-'te-sosN Surgical insertion of a hollow needle through the abdominal wall into the uterus of a pregnant female to extract fluid from the amniotic sac for analysis of fluid and fetal cells. This can reveal the fetus�s sex (important when sex-linked genetic dis� ease is possible), chromosomal disorders, and other problems. First per-

Great bronze Amida (Daibutsu) at Kamakura, Japan, 1252.

GAVIN HELUER�ROBERT HARDING PICTURE UBRARY/GETTY IMAGES

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amoeba ► Amphion and Zethus I 63

formed in the 1930s, amniocentesis is generally done under local anesthesia in the 15th�17th week of gestation.

amoeba Vo-'me-boN One-celled protozoan that can form temporary extensions of cytoplasm (pseudopo� dia) in order to move about. Some amoebas are found on the bottom of freshwater streams and ponds. Oth� ers live in the human digestive sys� tem; one type causes amebic dysentery in humans. Each amoeba contains a small mass of jellylike cytoplasm with vacuoles and a nucleus. Food is taken in and mate� rial is excreted at any point on the cell surface. Amoebas are used extensively in cell research for deter� mining the relative functions and interactions of the nucleus and the cyto� plasm.

Amon \'a-,man\ or Amen Egyptian deity revered as king of the gods. Amon may have originated as a local deity at Khmun in Middle Egypt. His cult spread to Thebes, where he became patron of the pharaohs by Mentuhotep I�s reign (2008-1957 bc) and was identified with the sun god Re. Represented as a human, a ram, or both, Amon-Re was worshiped with the goddess Mut and the youthful god Khons. Akhenaton directed his reforms against the cult of Amon, but with little success, and Amon�s status was restored in the 14th�13th century bc. In the New Kingdom, Amon came to be seen as one of a triad with Ptah and Re, and in the 11th-10th century bc as a universal god who intervened in affairs of state by speaking through oracles.

amortization V.am-or-ti-'za-shonV In finance, the systematic repayment of a debt; in accounting, the systematic writing off of some account over a period of years. An example of the first meaning is a home mortgage, which may be repaid in monthly installments that include interest and a gradual reduction of the principal. Such systematic reduction is safer for the lender, since it is easier for the borrower to repay a series of small amounts than a single lump sum. In the second sense, a firm may gradu� ally reduce the balance-sheet valuation of a depreciable asset such as a building, machine, or mine. The U.S. government has sometimes permit� ted accelerated amortization of assets, which encourages industrial devel� opment by decreasing a company�s tax burden in the years immediately after a purchase.

Amos (fl. 8th century bc) Earliest Hebrew prophet (one of the 12 Minor Prophets) to have a biblical book named for him. Born in Tekoa in Judah, he was a shepherd. According to the book of Amos, he traveled to the richer and more powerful northern kingdom of Israel to preach his visions of divine destruction and the message that God�s absolute sovereignty required justice for rich and poor alike and that God�s chosen people were not exempt from the moral order. He foretold the destruction of the north� ern kingdom and Judah and anticipated the predictions of doom by later biblical prophets.

Amos ' n ' Andy See Freeman and Charles Correll Gosden

a mo site Va-ms-.sfiA Variety of the silicate mineral cummingtonite, which is a source of asbestos. Cummingtonite is an amphibole mineral, an iron and magnesium silicate that occurs in metamorphic rocks in the form of long needlelike, fibrous crystals.

Ampere \a n -'per\, Andre Marie (b. Jan. 22, 1775, Lyon, France�d. June 10, 1836, Marseille) French physicist, founder of the science of electromagnetism. A prodigy who mastered the entire known field of mathematics by age 12, he became a professor of physics, chemistry, and mathematics. He formulated a law of electromagnetism, called Ampere's law, that describes the magnetic force between two electric currents. An instrument he devised to measure the flow of electricity was later refined as the galvanometer. His chief published work was Memoir on the Math� ematical Theory of Electrodynamic Phenomena (1827). The ampere (A) unit of electric current was named for him.

Ampere's law Law of electromagnetism that describes mathematically the magnetic force between two electric currents. It was named after A.-M. Ampere, who discovered that such forces exist. If two currents flow in the same direction, the force between the two wires is attractive; if they flow

in opposite directions, the force is repulsive. In each case, the force is directly proportional to the currents.

amphetamine Vam-'fe-to-.menX Organic compound, prototype of a class of synthetic amphetamine drugs (e.g., Benzedrine, Dexedrine, meth- amphetamine), that stimulates the central nervous system. It was first syn� thesized in 1887. Amphetamines cause wakefulness, euphoria, decreased fatigue, and increased ability to concentrate. Since they dull the appetite, they have been used for weight reduction. Often called �speed,� they are used (often illicitly) to stay awake. In children with attention deficit (hyperactivity) disorder, they have a calming effect, helping them con� centrate. Undesirable effects include overstimulation, with paranoia, rest� lessness, insomnia, tremor, and irritability, and a deep depression when the drug wears off. This, along with rapid development of tolerance requir� ing increased doses, can lead to drug addiction.

amphibian Any member of a class (Amphibia) of cold-blooded verte� brate animals that includes more than 4,400 species in three groups: frogs and toads (order Anura), salamanders (order Caudata), and caecilians (order Apoda). Probably evolved from certain fish species of the Early Devonian period (417-391 million years ago), amphibians were the first vertebrates to move from an aquatic environment to land. Most species have an aquatic larval, or tadpole, stage that metamorphoses into a terrestrial adult, but a few species spend their entire life in water. Amphibians are found worldwide, the majority in the tropics.

amphibious warfare Military operations directed against hostile shores and characterized by attacks launched from the sea by naval and landing forces. It has been conducted since ancient times. The Greeks attacking Troy (1200 bc) had to make a shore landing, as did the Persian invaders of Greece prior to the Battle of Marathon (490 bc). The British- led landings at Gallipoli (1915) were the main amphibious assault in World War I. The Allies of World War II found amphibious tactics essential in the island-hopping Pacific campaign and in the famous D-Day of the Normandy campaign, which still ranks as the greatest amphibious assault in history. Amphibious warfare�s greatest advantage is its mobility and flexibility; its greatest limitation is that the attacker must start from noth� ing to build up strength ashore. Modern amphibious forces attempt to overcome this by fielding larger and more efficient landing vessels and also by using helicopters and short-takeoff and -landing airplanes to deploy troops beyond the hostile shore.

amphibole Vam-fs-.boL Any of a group of common rock-forming hydrous silicate minerals. Amphiboles occur in many igneous rocks as minor and major constituents and form the major component in many gneisses and schists. Some highly fibrous forms are collectively called ASBESTOS.

amphibole asbestos Collective term for three highly fibrous (asbestiform) varieties of amphibole: crocidolite, amosite, and actinolite. All have long, silky to splintery fibres with appreciable tensile strength and are of economic importance as asbestos.

amphibolite Vam-'fi-bo-.llA Igneous or metamorphic rock composed largely or dominantly of amphibole minerals. For igneous rocks, the term homblendite is usually used and is more restrictive; hornblende is the most common amphibole. Metamorphic amphibolites are more widespread and variable than igneous ones. Typically, they are medium- to coarse-grained and are composed of hornblende and plagioclase. Basic igneous rocks such as basalts and gabbros (see acid and basic rocks) can be the parent rocks of amphibolite.

amphibolite facies \'fa-shez\ One of the major divisions of the min� eral facies classification of metamorphic rocks, encompassing rocks that formed under conditions of moderate to high temperatures (950�F, or 500�C, maximum) and pressures. Less-intense temperatures and pressures form rocks of the epidote-amphiboute facies, and more-intense temperatures and pressures form rocks of the granulite facies. Amphibole, diopside, epi- dote, plagioclase, certain types of garnet, and wollastonite are minerals typically found in amphibolite facies rocks. They are widely distributed in Precambrian gneisses and probably formed in the deeper parts of folded mountain belts.

Amphion and Zethus \'am-fe-9n... , ze-th3s\ In Greek mythology, twin sons of Zeus by the mortal Antiope. As infants the two were left to die on Mount Cithaeron, but were found and raised by a shepherd. Amphion grew up to become a great musician and singer, while Zethus became a hunter and herdsman. According to legend, they built the city of Thebes

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64 I amphioxus ► amygdule

after the stone blocks arranged themselves into walls at the sound of Amphion�s lyre. Amphion became king of Thebes, and he married Niobe, with whom he had six sons and six daughters. When their children were killed by the gods, he committed suicide.

amphioxus \,am-fe-'ak-s3s\ or lancelet Vlan-sldtX Any of certain small marine chordates (invertebrate subphylum Cephalochordata) found widely on tropical and subtropical coasts and less commonly in temper� ate waters. Seldom more than 3 in. (8 cm) long, they resemble small, slender fishes without eyes or a definite head. They are grouped in sev� eral species in two genera (Branchiostoma or Amphioxus, and Epigon- ichthyes or Asymmetron). They spend much of their time buried in gravel or mud on the ocean bottom, though they are able to swim, and feed by filtering food particles from water passing through their gill slits. They have no brain or distinct heart.

Amphipolis \am-'fi-p3-l3s\ Ancient city, eastern Macedonia, near the mouth of the Struma River. Amphipolis was a strategic transportation cen� tre, controlling the bridge over the river and the route from northern Greece to the Dardanelles. Colonized by Athens in 437 bc, it was taken by Sparta in 424 bc. It soon received its independence, only to be taken by Philip II of Macedon in 358 bc. Later, under Roman rule, it was the headquarters of the Roman governor of Macedonia.

amphitheater Freestanding, open-air round or oval structure with a central arena and tiers of concentric seats. The amphitheater originated in ancient Italy (Etruria and Campania) and reflects the entertainment forms popular there, including gladiatorial games and contests of animals with one another or of men with animals. The earliest extant amphitheater is one built at Pompeii (c. 80 bc). Examples survive throughout the former prov� inces of the Roman empire, the most famous being Rome�s Colosseum.

amplifier Device that responds to a small input signal (voltage, current, or power) and delivers a larger output signal with the same waveform features. Amplifiers are used in radio and television receivers, high- fidelity audio equipment, and computers. Amplification can be provided by electromechanical devices (e.g., transformers and generators) and vacuum tubes, but most electronic systems now employ solid-state micro- circuits. One amplifier is usually insufficient, so its output is fed into a second, whose output is fed to a third, and so on, until the output level is satisfactory.

amplitude modulation See AM

amputation Removal of any part of the body, usually surgical removal of part or all of a limb. Congenital amputation means lack of a limb at birth (see agenesis). Surgical amputation may be a lifesaving measure to prevent excessive blood loss from injury or to check the spread of infection, gan� grene, or malignant soft-tissue or bone tumours. Reconstructive surgery, prompt treatment with blood and plasma, and rehabilitation have made amputation rarer than in the past. Prostheses reduce handicaps for ampu� tees, whose surgery may have been designed with a prosthesis in mind.

�Amr ibn al-'As Vam-or-.ib-on-ol-'asV (d. 663, Al-Fustat, Egypt) Arab conqueror of Egypt. After accepting Islam (c. 630), he led a force to Oman, where he converted the region�s rulers. He was a leader in the Muslim force that conquered southwestern Palestine in the 630s but gained fame when, on his own initiative, he set out to conquer Egypt, succeeding (642) after a two-year campaign. A good administrator and politician, late in his career he aided the governor of Syria, Mu'awiyah I, against c Al 1, Islam�s fourth caliph. He was rewarded with the governor� ship of Egypt at the beginning of the Umayyad dynasty (661).

Amritsar X.om-'rit-sorV Massacre of (1919) Incident in which Brit� ish troops fired on a crowd of Indian protesters. In 1919 the British gov� ernment of India enacted the Rowlatt Acts, extending its World War I emergency powers to combat subversive activities. On April 13 a large crowd gathered at Amritsar in the Punjab to protest the measures; troops opened fire, killing about 379 and wounding some 1,200. The massacre permanently scarred relations between India and Britain and was the pre� lude to Mohandas K. Gandhi�s noncooperation movement of 1920-22.

Amsterdam City (pop., 2005 est.: city, 739,295; metro, area, 1,017,332), western Netherlands. It lies at the head of the IJsselmeer. It is the nominal capital of The Netherlands, whose seat of government is at The Hague. Originally a fishing village, it received its charter as a town in 1306. It joined the Hanseatic League in 1369 and grew steadily in the 14th and 15th centuries. After the decline of Antwerp at the end of the 16th

century, Amsterdam became the source of growing Dutch commercial and naval power. It was the centre for the Dutch East India and West India companies and became the leading trade metropolis of Europe. It became part of the Kingdom of Holland, which entered the Kingdom of the Neth� erlands in 1815. After suffering a partial decline in the 18th century, its prosperity increased when it became connected by canal to the North Sea in the late 19th century. It was occupied by Germany in World War II. After the war Amsterdam became known as a place of tolerance and lib� eralism. The city is now a major European port and a hub for interna� tional finance and trade.

Amtrak formally National Railroad Passenger Corp. Feder� ally supported corporation that operates nearly all intercity passenger trains in the U.S. It was established by Congress in 1970 in the face of private railroads� heavy financial losses. Routes were cut back severely, with service maintained only in highly populated areas and between the largest cities. Amtrak pays the railroads to run passenger trains and com� pensates them for the use of tracks and terminals. Amtrak bears all admin� istrative costs and manages scheduling, route planning, and ticket sales. Despite income from tickets and mail-carrying services, Amtrak requires federal support to cover its operating costs. See also Conrail; Railway Express Agency.

Amu Darya Va-mii-'dar-yoN ancient Oxus River River, Central Asia. It is one of the longest rivers in Central Asia, 1,578 mi (2,540 km) long measured from the remotest sources of the Panj River; its other head- stream is the Vakhsh. It flows west-northwest to its mouth on the Aral Sea. It forms part of Afghanistan�s borders with Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan and part of Uzbekistan�s border with Turkmenistan.

Amundsen Va-mun-sonV, Roald (Engelbregt Gravning) (b. July 16, 1872, Borge, near Oslo, Nor.� disappeared June 18, 1928?, Arctic Ocean) Norwegian explorer, leader of the first group to reach the South Pole. In 1897 he took part in a Bel� gian expedition that was the first to winter in the Antarctic. In 1903-05 he was the first to navigate the Northwest Passage. He planned an expedition to the North Pole, but, after learning that Robert E. Peary had reached that goal, he set off for the South Pole in 1910. He prepared his trip carefully and in October 1911 set out with four men, 52 dogs, and four sledges. He reached the South Pole in December 1911, one month before Robert Falcon Scon�s ill-fated attempt. He returned to Norway and established a successful shipping business. In 1926 he and Umberto Nobile (1885-1978) passed over the North Pole in a dirigible. Amundsen disappeared in 1928 while flying to rescue Nobile from a dirigible crash.

Amundsen Va-mon-sonV Gulf Southeastern extension of the Beaufort Sea of the Arctic Ocean. Extending about 250 mi (400 km), the gulf is bordered by Victoria Island on the east and separates Banks Island (north) from the Canadian mainland (south). In 1850 the gulf was entered from the west by the British explorer Robert McClure. It is named for Roald Amundsen.

Amur \a-'mur\ River Chinese Heilong Vha-Tung\ Jiang or Hei-

lung Chiang River, northeastern Asia. The Amur proper begins at the confluence of the Shilka and Argun rivers and is 1,755 mi (2,824 km) long. It flows east-southeast along the Russian-Chinese border to Kha� barovsk, Siberia, then northeast across Russian territory to empty into the Tatar Strait. Among its tributaries are the Zeya, Bureya, and Ussuri rivers. From the 18th century, Russians have settled to the north of the river and Chinese to the south, a situation which at times has provoked border clashes.

amygdule \9- , mig- l dyiil\ Secondary deposit of minerals found in a rounded, elongated, or almond-shaped cavity in volcanic rock. The cavi� ties (vesicles) were created by the expansion of gas bubbles or steam within lava. Because gas bubbles tend to rise through the lava, amyg-

Roald Amundsen, 1923.

UPI/BETTMANN

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amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ► analog computer I 65

dules are most common near the tops of flows. Many minerals have been found as amygdules, including some spectacular museum specimens of ZEOLITES.

amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) \ 1 a- I mI-3-'tr6-fik...skb- , ro- sos\ or Lou Gehrig disease Degenerative nervous-system disorder causing muscle wasting and paralysis. The disease usually occurs after age 40, more often in men. Most victims die within two to five years from respiratory muscle atrophy. ALS affects motor neurons; the muscles they control become weak and atrophied, with debility usually beginning in the hands and creeping slowly up to the shoulders. The lower limbs become weak and spastic. Variants include progressive muscular atrophy and progressive bulbar palsy. In 1993 the defective gene that accounts for 5-10% of cases was discovered; it produces an ineffective version of an enzyme that neutralizes free radicals, which destroy motor neurons.

An Hyang See An Yu

An Lushan Van-'lii-'shanV Rebellion Rebellion beginning in 755 in China led by An Lushan (703-757), a general of non-Chinese origin. An Lushan rose through the ranks of the Tang-dynasty army in the 740s, becoming a military governor and a favourite of the emperor, Xuanzong. In 755 he turned his troops on the eastern capital city, Luoyang, and after taking it he proclaimed himself emperor. Six months later his forces took Chang 7 an, the western capital. He was murdered in 757, and the rebel� lion was put down in 763. The Tang government was much weakened, however, and the second half of the Tang dynasty and the subsequent Five Dynasties period were troubled by chronic warlordism.

An Yu \'an-'yu\ or An Hyang \'an-'hyaq\ (b. 1243�d. 1306) Korean Neo-Confucian scholar and educator. In 1287 he accompanied King Chungnyol to the Mongol court in Beijing (Peking), where he encoun� tered the texts of Zhu Xi. Returning to Korea, An Yu used Neo-Confucian thought as the basis for promoting education. He helped reconstitute the National Academy and established a state treasury for national education. Eventually he became director of the Munmyo, the Korean national shrine to culture. Known as an opponent of Son (Zen) Buddhism in Korea, he was the most famous Confucian scholar of his era. See also Neo- Confucianism.

Anabaena \ l an-3- , be-no\ Genus of blue-green algae (cyanobacteria). Found as piankton in shallow water and on moist soil, they occur in both solitary and colonial forms and are capable of nitrogen fixation. In north� ern latitudes in summer, extensive growth of Anabaena may form water blooms that remain suspended instead of forming a surface scum. A toxic substance produced is fatal to cattle and other animals if present in drink� ing water in sufficient concentration.

Anabaptist Member of a movement of the Protestant Reformation char� acterized by adult baptism. Anabaptists held that infants were not punish� able for sin because they had no awareness of good and evil and thus could not yet exercise free will, repent, and accept baptism. Denying the valid� ity of infant baptism, they accepted adult baptism, which was regarded as a second baptism by those outside the group who identified them as Anabaptists (from the Greek for rebaptizers). Confident of living at the end of time, early Anabaptists sought to restore the institutions and spirit of the primitive church. The first adult baptisms took place outside Zurich in early 1525. Most Anabaptists were pacifists and refused to swear civil oaths. Thomas MOntzer advocated a more violent eschatology that called for the overthrow of the rich by the poor and was executed after leading the Thuringian peasant revolt (1525). Another group of Anabaptists, led by John of Leiden, took control of the city of Munster and sought to establish the millennial kingdom. Their excesses led to their violent sup� pression in 1535 and further persecution and martyrdom of the Anabap� tists. Many Anabaptists settled in Moravia, where they stressed the community of goods modeled on the primitive church at Jerusalem. This branch continues as the Hutterite movement, primarily in the western U.S. and Canada. Increasingly persecuted throughout Europe, Anabaptists in the Netherlands and northern Germany rallied under the leadership of Menno Simonsz. and survive as the Mennonites.

anabolic \,a-n9-'ba-lik\ steroid Steroid hormone that increases tissue growth. Anabolic steriods are given to elderly or postoperative patients to promote muscle growth and tissue regeneration. Unsupervised use by athletes to build muscle and improve strength can have serious harmful effects, including coronary heart disease, sexual and reproductive disor�

ders, immunodeficiencies, liver damage, stunted growth, aggressive behaviour, susceptibility to connective-tissue injury, and (in females) irre� versible masculinization.

Anacletus \,an-3-'klet-9s\ II orig. Pietro Pierleoni (b. Rome�d. Jan. 25, 1138, Rome) Antipope (1130-38). Named a cardinal at Rome in 1116, he was elected pope by a majority of cardinals in 1130, while a minority created a schism by choosing Innocent II. Anacletus forced the rival pope to flee to France, where Innocent was supported by a church council and, especially, by Bernard of Clairvaux. Innocent�s supporters, including the Holy Roman and Byzantine emperors, invaded Italy in an unsuccessful effort to restore him. A second expedition in 1136 eroded support for Anacletus, who died before the issue was resolved by the sub� mission of his successor to Innocent.

anaconda Either of two South American snake species in the genus Eunectes (family Boidae) that con� strict their prey. The heavily built giant anaconda, or great water boa, is usually not more than 16 ft (5 m) long but can be longer than 24 ft (7.5 m), rivaling the largest pythons in length. The yellow anaconda is much smaller. Typically dark green with alternating oval black spots, the giant anaconda lives along tropical rivers east of the Andes and in Trinidad. It kills at night by lying in wait in water; it constricts prey as large as young pigs or caimans and occasionally forages in trees for birds. It may bear 75 live young at a time.

Anacreon or Anakreon \3-'nak-re-3n\ (b. c. 582 bc, Teos, Ionia�d. c. 485) Last great lyric poet of Asian Greece. Only fragments of his poetry have survived. Though he may have written serious poems, the poems quoted by later writers are chiefly in praise of love, wine, and revelry. His sentiments and style were widely imitated, and the anacreontic metre in poetry was named for him.

Anadolu See Anatolia

Anaheim City (pop., 2000: 328,014), southwestern California, U.S. Lying on the plain of the Santa Ana River 25 mi (40 km) southeast of Los Angeles, it was founded by German immigrants in 1857 as a cooperative agricultural community. After 1950 its citrus groves and vineyards had all but disappeared in the Los Angeles-Orange Co. urban-industrial expan� sion. Walt Disney�s first amusement park, Disneyland, opened there in 1955. Today it is a prominent convention site.

anal canal End portion of the alimentary canal, distinguished from the rectum by the transition from an internal mucous membrane layer to one of skinlike tissue and by its narrower diameter. Waste products move from the rectum to the anal canal. The human anal canal is 1-1.5 in. (2.5^4 cm) long and has three parts: upper, with longitudinal folds (rectal columns); lower, with involuntary and voluntary constrictive muscles (sphincters) to control discharge of feces; and the anal opening itself. Enlargements of the ends of rectal and anal veins are called hemorrhoids.

Analects See Lunyu

analgesic \,an-9l-'je-zik\ Drug that relieves pain without blocking nerve impulse conduction or markedly altering sensory function (see nervous system). Two classes are defined by the type of pain-relieving action. Opi� oids (opiates and synthetic narcotics; see opium) act on brain receptors to inhibit pain impulses. They may be used for short- or long-term pain relief, usually by prescription, but carry a risk of drug addiction. Non� opioids, used mostly for short-term relief and modest pain, are available without prescription. They include NSAIDs (including aspirin and ibupro- fen) and acetaminophen; all act by inhibiting synthesis of prostaglandins, molecules involved in the peripheral perception of pain.

analog computer Computer in which continuously variable physical quantities, such as electrical potential, fluid pressure, or mechanical motion, are used to represent (analogously) the quantities in the problem to be solved. The analog system is set up according to initial conditions and then allowed to change freely. Answers to the problem are obtained by measuring the variables in the analog model. Analog computers are especially well suited to simulating dynamic systems; such simulations

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66 I analysis ► Anasazi

may be conducted in real time or at greatly accelerated rates, allowing experimentation by performing many runs with different variables. They have been widely used in simulating the operation of aircraft, nuclear power plants, and industrial chemical processes. See also digital computer.

analysis In chemistry, the determination of the properties and compo� sition of samples of materials; qualitative analysis establishes what is there, and quantitative analysis measures how much. A large body of sys� tematic procedures (analytical chemistry) has evolved in close associa� tion with other branches of the physical sciences since their beginnings. A sample of a single compound may be analyzed to establish its elemen� tal composition (see element, molecular weight) or molecular structure; many measurements use spectroscopy and spectrophotometry. A mixed sample is usually analyzed by separating, detecting, and identifying its components by methods that depend on differences in their properties (e.g., volatility, mobility in an electric or gravitational field, distribution between liquids that do not mix). The many types of chromatography are increasingly useful, particularly with biological and biochemical samples.

analysis Field of mathematics that incorporates the methods of algebra and calculus �specifically of limits, continuity, and infinite series �to ana� lyze classes of functions and equations having general properties (e.g., differentiability). Analysis builds on the work of G.W. Leibniz and Isaac Newton by exploring the applications of the derivative and the integral. Several distinct but related subfields have developed, including the cal� culus of variations, differential equations, Fourier analysis (see Fourier transform), complex analysis, vector and tensor analysis, real analysis, and FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS. See also NUMERICAL ANALYSIS.

analytic geometry Investigation of geometric objects using coordi� nate systems. Because Rene Descartes was the first to apply algebra to geometry, it is also known as Cartesian geometry. It springs from the idea that any point in two-dimensional space can be represented by two num� bers and any point in three-dimensional space by three. Because lines, circles, spheres, and other figures can be thought of as collections of points in space that satisfy certain equations, they can be explored via equations and formulas rather than graphs. Most of analytic geometry deals with the conic sections. Because these are defined using the notion of fixed dis� tance, each section can be represented by a general equation derived from the DISTANCE FORMULA.

analytic philosophy Philosophical tradition that emphasizes the logi� cal analysis of concepts and the study of the language in which they are expressed. It has been the dominant approach in philosophy in the English-speaking world from the early 20th century. With respect to its problems, methods, and style, it is often contrasted with Continental phi� losophy, though the significance of the opposition has been widely chal� lenged. Analytic philosophers have differed regarding the nature of so-called �ordinary� language and the methodological value of appeals to ordinary usage in the logical analysis of concepts. Those known as for� malists hold that, because ordinary language is potentially a source of conceptual confusion, philosophy and science should be conducted in a logically transparent formal language based on modern mathematical, or symbolic, logic. Those known as informalists reject this view, arguing that attempts to �improve� ordinary language in this way inevitably oversim� plify or falsify it, thereby creating conceptual confusion of just the sort that the formalists are concerned to avoid. Three figures conventionally recognized as founders of the tradition are Gottlob Frege, G.E. Moore, and Bertrand Russell. Other major figures include Ludwig Wittgenstein, A.J. Ayer, Rudolf Carnap, J.L. Austin, W.V.O. Quine, and David Lewis (1941� 2001). See also logical positivism; Vienna Circle.

analytic psychology Psychoanalytic method of Carl Jung as he dis� tinguished it from that of Sigmund Freud. Jung attached less importance than did Freud to the role of childhood sexual conflicts in the develop� ment of neurosis. Moreover, he defined the unconscious to include both the individual�s own unconscious and that inherited, partly in the form of archetypes, from his or her ancestors (the �collective unconscious�). He classified people into introvert and extravert types and further distin� guished them according to four primary functions of the mind�thinking, feeling, sensation, and intuition�one or more of which predominated in any given person.

analytic-synthetic distinction In both logic and epistemology, the distinction (derived from Immanuel Kant) between statements whose predi� cate is included in the subject (analytic statements) and statements whose predicate is not included in the subject (synthetic statements). Some phi�

losophers prefer to define as analytic all statements whose denial would be self-contradictory, and to define the term synthetic as meaning �not analytic.� The distinction, introduced by Kant in The Critique of Pure Reason , aroused extensive debate in the mid-20th century, particularly in view of objections raised by W.V.O. Quine.

anamorphosis \ l an-9-mor- , fo-sis\ Drawing or painting technique that gives a distorted image of the subject when seen from the usual view� point, but when viewed from a particular angle or reflected in a curved mirror shows it in true proportion. Its purpose is to amuse or mystify. It was a curious by-product of the discovery of perspective in the 14th-15th century and was regarded as a display of technical virtuosity. The first examples appear in Leonardo da Vinci�s notebooks.

Ananda Va-non-doV (fl. 6th century bc, India) First cousin and disciple of the Buddha. A monk who served as the Buddha�s personal attendant, he became known as the �beloved disciple.� It was Ananda who persuaded the Buddha to allow women to become nuns. By tradition, he was the only intimate disciple of the Buddha who had not attained enlightenment before his master�s death; he attained that state just before the first Bud� dhist Council (c. 544 or 480 bc), when he recited from memory the Sutta Pitaka. He is represented as the author of several Buddhist discourses.

anaphylaxis \,an-9-fi-'lak-sis\ Severe, immediate, potentially fatal bodily reaction to contact with a substance (antigen) to which the indi� vidual has previously been exposed. Often triggered by antiserum, anti� biotics, or insect stings, the reaction�s symptoms include skin flushing, bronchial swelling (with difficulty breathing), and loss of consciousness. Shock may follow. Milder cases may involve hives and severe headache. Treatment, consisting of injection of epinephrine, followed by antihistamines, cortisone, or similar drugs, must begin within minutes. Anaphylaxis may be caused by extremely small amounts of antigen.

anarchism Van-or-.kiz-omV Political theory holding all forms of govern� ment authority to be unnecessary and undesirable and advocating a society based on voluntary cooperation and free association of individuals and groups. The word was used only pejoratively until Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, now regarded as the founder of anarchism, adopted it in What is Property? (1840). The anarchist Mikhail Bakunin clashed with Karl Marx at the First International; when it was dissolved in 1872, Bakunin�s followers retained control of workers� organizations in Latin countries such as Spain and Italy. Even anarchists who believed that the transition to a government-free soci� ety required violent revolution disagreed on the nature of the transition. Anarcho-SYNDICAUSM, which developed in the late 1880s, emphasized labour unions ( syndicats ) and called for general strikes to paralyze the state. In the 19th and 20th centuries, anarchism also inspired experimental communities, including New Lanark in Britain and Brook Farm in the U.S. During the early months of the Spanish Civil War, anarchist militias were in virtual control of much of eastern Spain, where they established hundreds of anarchist collectives. Suppressed as an organized movement by fascism in the 1930s, anarchism reemerged in the 1950s and �60s through its influ� ence on the civil rights movement and the student movements in the U.S. and Europe. The radical ECOLOGY movement in the 1970s also was inspired by anarchist ideas. Beginning in 1999, anarchist-led street demonstrations against the World Bank and International Monetary Fund received unprec� edented publicity and inspired new anarchist groups, periodicals, and Inter� net sites. Anarchist themes are reflected in the work of many 20th-century artists, writers, and musicians, including Pablo Picasso, the American poets of the Beat movement, the Spanish Surrealist filmmaker Luis Bunuel, and the American composer John Cage.

Anasazi \,a-n3-'sa-ze\ culture North American Indian civilization that developed from c. ad 100 to historic times, centring on the area where the present-day boundaries of the U.S. states of Arizona, New Mexico, Colo� rado, and Utah intersect. Anasazi is the Navajo word for �Ancient Enemy�; the Hopi prefer the term Hisatsinom, meaning �Ancient People.� Anasazi is the term most commonly used to refer to the ancestors of con� temporary Pueblo Indian peoples. Anasazi civilization is customarily divided into several periods: Basket Maker (ad 100-500), Modified Bas� ket Maker (500-700), Developmental Pueblo (700-1050), Classic Pueblo (1050-1300), Regressive Pueblo (1300-1700), and Modern Pueblo (1700-the present). As among present-day Pueblo peoples, religion in the Anasazi culture was highly developed and centred on rites partly con� ducted in underground circular chambers called kivas. The best-known Anasazi ruins are the cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde (Colo.) and Chaco Canyon (N.M.).

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Anastasia ► anchovy I 67

Anastasia Russian Anastasiya Nikolayevna (b. June 18, 1901, Peterhof, Russia�d. July 16/17, 1918, Yekaterinburg) Grand duchess of Russia and youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II. She was executed at age 17 with the other members of her immediate family by the Bolshe� viks in the Russian Revolution of 1917. After the executions several women outside Russia claimed her identity, making her the subject of periodic popular conjecture and publicity. Some also claimed to be heir to the Romanov fortune held in Swiss banks. The most famous was Anna Anderson (d. 1984), a Pole married to a U.S. history professor; her claim was finally rejected in 1970, and later genetic tests proved there was no connection between Anderson and the Romanovs.

Anastasius \,an-3-'sta-zh3s\ I (b. 430?, Dyrrhachium, Epirus Vetus�d. July 9, 518, Constantinople) Byzantine emperor (491-518). Originally a bodyguard to Zeno, he succeeded Zeno as emperor and married his widow. Anastasius reformed the monetary and taxation systems and expelled rebel tribes from Constantinople, building a wall to protect the capital against raiders. He recognized Theodoric�s rule in Italy (497) but later sent a fleet to ravage the Italian coast. War with Persia (502-5) ended when he agreed to pay tribute to the Persian king. Anastasius accepted the Monophysite doctrine, a stand that caused unrest in Byzantium but fos� tered peace with Egypt and Syria.

Anath \'an-ath\ Chief western Semitic goddess of love and war, sister and helpmate to Baal, whom she retrieved from the land of the dead. One of the best-known of Canaanite deities, she was famous for her youthful vigour and ferocity in battle. In Egypt she was depicted nude, holding flowers and standing on a lion. During the Hellenistic Age, Anath and Astarte were merged into Atargatis.

Anatolia or Asia Minor Turkish Anadolu X.a-na-'do-liiN Peninsula forming the western extremity of Asia. It is bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Aegean Sea to the west. Its eastern boundary is generally marked by the Anti-Taurus Moun� tains. Anatolia is roughly contiguous with the Asian portion of the mod� ern Republic of Turkey. Because of its location at the point where Asia and Europe meet, it has long been the scene of numerous migrations and con� quests. It was the original location of the kingdom of Hittites (c. 1700- 1180 bc). Later, Indo-European peoples, possibly Thracian, established the Phrygian kingdom. In the 6th century bc the Persian Achaemenian dynasty came to rule the area; it was conquered by Alexander the Great in 334 bc. Beginning in the 1st century bc, the area was absorbed into the Roman Republic and Empire. When the empire split in ad 395, Anatolia became part of the Byzantine Empire. The area endured invasions by Arabs, Turks, Crusaders, Mongols, and the Turkic army of Timur before the Otto� man Empire established full control in the 15th century. From 1923 its his� tory was that of modern Turkey.

Anatolian languages Branch of the Indo-European language family spoken in Anatolia in the 2nd-lst millennia bc. The attested Anatolian languages are Hittite, Palaic, Luwian (Luvian), Hieroglyphic Luwian, Lycian, and Lydian. Hittite, by far the most copiously attested of the group, is known chiefly from a vast archive of cuneiform tablets found in 1905 at Hattusas (now Bogazkoy, in north-central Turkey), the capital of the Hittite empire; Hittite texts date from the 16th to 13th century bc. By the late Roman or early Byzantine period at the latest, Anatolian languages had all become extinct. Several non-Indo-European languages of ancient Anatolia, all known from cuneiform texts, are also sometimes considered Anatolian languages: Hattie, spoken in central Anatolia before the com� ing of the Hittites and known solely from words and texts preserved by Hittite scribes; Hurrian, spoken in the 2nd millennium bc in northern Mesopotamia and southeastern Anatolia; and Urartian (Urartean), known from northwestern Anatolian texts of the 9th-7th centuries bc.

anatomy Biological field that deals with bodily structures as revealed by dissection. Herophilus first laid the factual groundwork for gross anatomy, the study of structures large enough to see without a microscope. Galen�s ideas were the authority for anatomy in Europe until Andreas Vesauus�s methods placed it on a firm foundation of observed fact. The microscope permitted the discovery of tiny structures (e.g., capillaries and cells), the subject of microscopic anatomy. Crucial advances in this area� including the microtome, which slices specimens into extremely thin sec� tions, and staining�led to the new fields of cytology and histology. Electron microscopy opened up the study of subcellular structures, and X-ray diffraction gave rise to the new subspecialty of molecular anatomy.

Comparative anatomy compares similar structures in different animals to see how they have changed with evolution.

Anaxagoras \,an-ak-'sag-3-r3s\ (b. c. 500, Clazomenae, Anatolia�d. c. 428 bc, Lampsacus) Greek philosopher. Though only a few fragments of his writings have survived, he is remembered for his cosmology and for his discovery of the true cause of eclipses. His cosmology grew out of the efforts of earlier pre-Socratics to explain the physical universe in terms of a single element. The most original aspect of his system was his doctrine of nous (�mind,� or �reason�), according to which the cosmos, including all living things, was created by mind in a process of attraction of �like to like�; mind also accounts for the power of living things to extract nourishment from surrounding substances.

Anaximander Xo-'nak-so-.man-doA (b. 610 bc, Miletus�d. 546/545 bc) Greek philosopher, often called the founder of astronomy. He appar� ently wrote treatises on geography, astronomy, and cosmology that sur� vived for several centuries and made a map of the known world. He was the first thinker to develop a cosmol� ogy. A rationalist, he prized symme� try and used geometry and mathematical proportions to help map the heavens; his theories thus departed from earlier, more mystical conceptions and foreshadowed the achievements of later astronomers.

Whereas earlier theories had sug� gested Earth was suspended or sup� ported from elsewhere in the heavens, Anaximander asserted that Earth remained unsupported at the centre of the universe because it had no reason to move in any direction.

Anaximenes X.an-ak-'sim-o-.nezX (fl. c. 545 bc) Greek philosopher of nature. With Thales and Anaximander, he is one of three Milesian thinkers (see Miletus) traditionally considered the first philosophers of the West� ern world. He defined the essence of matter as aer (�air�) and explained the densities of various types of matter in terms of varying degrees of condensation of moisture. His writings no longer exist except as quoted by later authors.

ANC See African National Congress

ancestor worship Religious beliefs or practices that involve address� ing prayers or offerings to the spirits of dead relatives. It existed among the ancient Greeks, other Mediterranean peoples, and the ancient Euro� peans; it also plays a major role in traditional African religions. The dead are related to the family, clan, tribe, or village; mythical ancestors may be included. They may be friendly, or they may be displeased and require propitiation. Commemorative ceremonies are sometimes held at graves or monuments and may include prayers, offerings, sacrifices, and festi� vals of honor. Worship of individual ancestors is common; it may be combined with communal forms of worship, as in the case of the Roman emperor cult. An ancestor whose deeds are heroic may attain the status of a god. In China and Japan, ancestor worship (more accurately, ances� tor reverence) has declined with the decline in the size and importance of kinship groups.

Anchorage Seaport, largest city (pop., 2000: 260,283), and chief com� mercial centre of Alaska, U.S. It lies at the head of Cook Inlet near the base of the Kenai Peninsula. It was founded in 1914 as a construction camp for the building of a railroad to Fairbanks. It became a key aviation and defense centre in World War II and is now a regular stop on air routes from the U.S. to East Asia. Anchorage experienced rapid population growth in the late 20th century. In 1964 a severe earthquake caused a number of deaths and extensive property damage.

anchovy Any of more than 100 species of schooling saltwater fishes (family Engraulidae) related to the herring. Anchovies are distinguished by a large mouth, almost always extending behind the eye, and by a pointed snout. Most species live in shallow tropical or warm temperate seas, where they often enter brackish water around river mouths. Adults are 4-10 in. (10-25 cm) long. Temperate species such as the northern and

Anaximander, represented with a sun� dial, mosaic, 3rd century ad; in the Rhineland Museum, Trier, Ger.

BY COURTESY OF THE LANDESMUSEUM, TRIER, GER.

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68 I ancien regime ► Anderson

European anchovies are important food fishes; tropical species such as the tropical anchovy, or anchoveta, are important bait fishes. See also SCHOOLING BEHAVIOUR.

ancien regime \a n s-ya n -ra-'zhem\

(French: �old order�) Political and social system of France prior to the French Revolution. Under the regime, everyone was a subject of the king of France as well as a member of an estate and province. All rights and status flowed from the social institu� tions, divided into three orders: clergy, nobility, and others (the Third Estate). There was no national citizenship.

Ancona Seaport (pop., 2001: 100,402), capital of the Marche region, central Italy. Founded by colonists from Syracuse c. 390 bc, it was taken by Rome in the 2nd century bc. It became a flourishing port particularly favoured by Trajan, who enlarged the harbour. It was attached to the Holy Roman Empire in the 12th century; in the 16th century it came under papal protection, which was largely maintained until Ancona became part of Italy in 1861. It underwent severe bombing in World War II, but many notable Roman and medieval landmarks survive.

Anda See Altan

Andalusia X.an-do-lii-'se-oV Spanish Andalucia Autonomous com� munity (pop., 2001: 7,357,558) and historic region, southern Spain. It occupies an area of 33,821 sq mi (87,597 sq km); the capital is Sevilla. It is traversed by mountain ranges, including the Sierra Morena and Sierra Nevada; its main river is the Guadalquivir. Andalusia has a long history of inhabitation: by the Phoenicians (9th century bc), the Carthaginians (5th century bc), and the Romans (3rd century bc). The Arabic name Al-Andalus was originally applied by the Moors to the whole Iberian Peninsula. When the Umayyad dynasty established its court at Cordoba, this area became the peninsula�s intellectual and political centre. It returned to Spanish Christian rule in 1492 and remained a province until divided in 1833 into the eight modern provinces. A mining and agricul� tural region, Andalusia also features beaches along the Costa del Sol that attract the tourist trade.

Andaman and Nicobar \'an-d3-m3n... , nik-6- 1 bar\ Islands Union territory (pop., 2001: 356,152), India. It consists of two groups of islands in the Bay of Bengal about 800 mi (1,300 km) east of the Indian subcon� tinent and Sri Lanka; the total area is 3,185 sq mi (8,249 sq km). The chief islands are North Andaman, Middle Andaman, and South Andaman (known collectively as Great Andaman), and Little Andaman. The Nico� bar group includes Car Nicobar, Camorta (Kamorta) and Nancowry, and Great Nicobar. Most of the population lives in the Andaman group. Port Blair on South Andaman, established by the British in 1858, is the terri� torial capital.

Andaman Sea Sea, eastern extension of the Bay of Bengal. Bounded by the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Myanmar, the Malay Peninsula, and the Strait of Malacca and Sumatra, it covers some 308,000 sq mi (798,000 sq km). Trading vessels have plied the sea since ancient times. Part of the early coastal trade route between India and China, from the 8th century it formed a route between India (and Sri Lanka) and Myanmar. Its larg� est modem ports are George Town (Malaysia) and Yangon (Myanmar). A large earthquake-generated tsunami in 2004 inundated many of the sea�s coastal areas.

Andania mysteries Ancient Greek mystery cult, held in honor of the goddess Demeter and her daughter Kore (Persephone) at Andania in Mes- senia. It was performed by �holy ones� of both sexes from various tribes. Initiation was open to all. Costumes were plain and inexpensive, except for those costumed as deities. There was a procession, and a pageant or drama may have been performed; sacrifices were made to several deities before the main ceremony.

Andean bear See spectacled bear

Andean civilization Complex of aboriginal cultures that evolved in the Andean region (see Andes Mountains) of western South America before the arrival of the Spanish coNQUiSTADORes in the 16th century. Unlike the peoples of the Mesoamerican civilization to the north, none of the aboriginal Andean peoples developed a system of writing, though the

Inca devised a sophisticated system of recording numbers. In its level of cultural development and technical expertise in the arts and crafts, how� ever, this civilization constitutes a New World counterpart to those of ancient Egypt, China, and Mesopotamia. See also Chibcha; Chimu; Moche; Tiahuanaco.

Andean Geosyncline Linear trough in the Earth�s crust in which rocks were deposited in South America in the Mesozoic Era (248-65 mil� lion years ago) and Cenozoic Era (65 million years ago to the present). A complex history of volcanism, uplift, block faulting, and erosion led even� tually to the present configuration of the Andes Mountains.

Andersen, Hans Christian (b. April 2, 1805, Odense, near Copen� hagen, Den.�d. Aug. 4, 1875, Copenhagen) Danish writer of fairy tales. Though reared in poverty, he received a university education. In his many collections of tales, published 1835-72, he broke with literary tradition and employed the idioms and constructions of spoken language. His sto� ries are imaginative combinations of universal elements from folk legend and include such favourites as �The Ugly Duckling� and �The Emperor�s New Clothes.� While some reveal an optimistic belief in the ultimate tri� umph of goodness and beauty (e.g., �The Snow Queen�), others are deeply pessimistic. Part of what makes his tales compelling is the way they iden� tify with the unfortunate and outcast. He also wrote plays, novels, poems, travel books, and several autobiographies.

Anderson, Dame Judith orig. Frances Margaret Anderson

(b. Feb. 10, 1898, Adelaide, S.Aus., Australia�d. Jan. 3, 1992, Santa Barbara, Calif., U.S.) Australian-born U.S. actress. She made her stage debut in Sydney in 1915 and first appeared in New York City in 1918. She was noted for roles such as Lavinia in Mourning Becomes Electra (1932), Gertrude in Hamlet (1936), Lady Macbeth in Macbeth (1937, 1941), and the title role in Medea (1947). She appeared in over 25 films, usually playing an evil or sinister figure, including Mrs. Danvers in Rebecca (1940) and Ann Treadwell in Laura (1944).

Anderson, Elizabeth Garrett (b. June 9, 1836, Aldeburgh, Suffolk, Eng.�d. Dec. 17, 1917, Aldeburgh) British physician. Denied admission to medical schools, she studied privately with physicians and in London hospitals and was the first woman licensed as a physician in Britain (1865). Appointed general medical attendant to St. Mary�s Dispensary (1866), later the New Hospital for Women, she created a medical school for women, and in 1918 the hospital was named for her.

Anderson, Laurie (b. June 5, 1947, Wayne, Ill., U.S.) U.S. perfor� mance artist. After studying at Barnard College and Columbia University, she began giving performances in New York City in 1973 while teaching art history at the City University of New York. Combining elements of music, theatre (dance, mime), film, technology, and speech, she satirized media and mass culture, using the tools they themselves provide. The pop-music success of her song �O Superman� (1980) led her to record two albums, Big Science (1982) and Mister Heartbreak (1984). Her major 1980s piece was the multimedia extravaganza United States. Other works include Stories from the Nerve Bible (1993) and a multimedia work (1999) based on Moby Dick.

Anderson, Leroy (b. June 29, 1908, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.�d. May 18, 1975, Woodbury, Conn.) U.S. composer of light orchestral music. He studied composition and German and Scandinavian languages at Harvard; fluent in nine languages, he was an army interpreter in two wars. In 1936 he began a long association with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra, and pieces such as �Syncopated Clock,� �Sleigh Ride,� �Bugler�s Holiday,� and the Irish Suite became standards.

Anderson, Lindsay (b. April 17, 1923, Bangalore, India�d. Aug. 30, 1994, near Angouleme, Fr.) English critic and director. He was a found� ing editor of the film magazine Sequence , and from 1948 he directed a series of documentaries, including Thursday�s Children (1955, Academy Award). He coined the term �Free Cinema� for the British cinematic movement inspired by John Osborne�s play Look Back in Anger. His first feature film, This Sporting Life (1963), is a classic of the British social realist cinema. He directed several theatrical productions before making his next film, If... (1968). After directing the premieres of David Storey�s plays, he went on to make such films as O Lucky Man! (1973) and The Whales of August (1987).

Anderson, Marian (b. Feb. 27, 1897, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.�d. April 8, 1993, Portland, Ore.) U.S. singer. She was immediately recog� nized for the beauty of her voice and her artistry at her New York City

Anchovies (Engraulis mordax)

TOM MCHUGH-PHOTO RESEARCHERS

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Anderson ► Andorra I 69

debut in 1924, but the fact that she was black made a concert or opera career in the U.S. impossible. Her London debut in 1930 and tours of Scandinavia established her in Europe, where she worked exclu� sively until 1935. When she was denied use of Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., by the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1939,

Eleanor Roosevelt arranged for her to sing at the Lincoln Memorial, and the concert was broadcast to great acclaim. Her debut at the Metropoli� tan Opera, the first performance there by a black singer, took place in 1955, when she was in her late 50s.

. . _ ... Marian Anderson.

Anderson, (James) Maxwell courtesy of rca records (b. Dec. 15, 1888, Atlantic, Pa.,

U.S.�d. Feb. 28, 1959, Stamford, Conn.) U.S. playwright. He worked as a journalist before cowriting his first successful play. What Price Glory? (1924), which was followed by Saturday�s Children (1927). His verse dra� mas Elizabeth the Queen (1930) and Mary of Scotland (1933) were later adapted for film. He returned to prose for the satire Both Your Houses (1933, Pulitzer Prize) and the tragedy Winterset (1935), then turned to verse again for High Tor ( 1936), a romantic comedy. He collaborated with Kurt Weill on the musicals Knickerbocker Holiday (1938) and Lost in the Stars (1949). His last play. The Bad Seed (1954), became a successful film.

Anderson, Sherwood (b. Sept. 13, 1876, Camden, Ohio, U.S.�d. March 8, 1941, Colon, Pan.) U.S. author. Anderson was irregularly schooled. Having married, he abruptly left his family and business career to become a writer in Chicago. Winesburg, Ohio (1919), a collection of interrelated sketches and tales about the obscure lives of the citizens of a small town, was his first mature book and made his reputation. His short stories were collected in The Triumph of the Egg (1921), Horses and Men (1923), and Death in the Woods (1933). His prose style, based on every� day speech and influenced by the experimental writing of Gertrude Stein, in turn influenced such writers as Ernest Hemingway and William Faulkner.

Andersonville Village, southwest-central Georgia, U.S. It was the site of a Confederate military prison in 1 864-65 during the American Civil War. Notorious for its dreadful conditions, it provided only makeshift shelter for the Union prisoners, more than one-fourth of whom died. The Anderson� ville National Cemetery, which includes the prison site, contains the graves of 12,920 Union prisoners who perished there. In 1865 Capt. Henry Wirz, commander of the prison, was tried by a military commission and hanged. Andersonville is also the site of the National Prisoner of War Museum.

Andes Mountains Mountain system, western South America. One of the great natural features of the globe, the Andes extend north-south about 5,500 mi (8,900 km). They run parallel to the Caribbean Sea coast in Ven� ezuela before turning southwest and entering Colombia. There they form three distinct massifs: the Cordilleras Oriental, Central, and Occidental. In Ecuador they form two parallel cordilleras, one facing the Pacific and the other descending toward the Amazon River basin. These ranges con� tinue southward into Peru; the highest Peruvian peak is Mount Huascaran (22,205 ft [6,768 m]) in the Cordillera Blanca. In Bolivia the Andes again form two distinct regions; between them lies the Altiplano. Along the bor� der of Chile and Argentina, they form a complex chain that includes their highest peak, Mount Aconcagua, which reaches an elevation of 22,834 ft (6,960 m). In southern Chile part of the cordillera descends beneath the sea and forms numerous islands. The Andes are studded with a number of volcanoes that form part of the Circum-Pacific chain known as the Ring of Fire. The Andes mountain system is the source of many rivers, includ� ing the Amazon and Pilcomayo.

andesite Van-do-.ziA Any member of a large family of rocks that occur in most of the world�s volcanic areas, mainly as surface deposits and to a lesser extent as dikes and small plugs. The Andes, where the name was first applied, and most of the cordillera (parallel mountain chains) of Cen� tral and North America consist largely of andesites. They also occur in abundance in volcanoes along practically the entire margin of the Pacific basin. Andesites are most often porphyritic (having distinct crystals in a fine-grained base) rocks.

Andhra Pradesh X.an-dro-pro-'deshX State (pop., 2001: 76,210,007), southeastern India. Located on the Bay of Bengal, it is bordered by Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, and Orissa states. Covering 106,204 sq mi (275,068 sq km), it was created in 1953 and achieved its present-day form in 1960; its capital is Hyderabad. Its name derives from the Telugu-speaking Andhra people, who have long inhabited the area. Many dynasties have flourished here, dating to the 3rd century bc. The area came under British influence in the 17th century; in the 19th century the Andhras played a decisive role in the rise of Indian nationalism. The state�s economy, once primarily agricultural, has become one of the most industrialized in India.

Andijon \,an-di-'jan\ or Andizhan \,an-di-'zhan\ City (pop., 1998 est.: 288,000), eastern Uzbekistan. Dating to at least the 9th century ad, it was an important trading centre in the 15th century because of its location on the Silk Road. Part of the khanate of Kokand (see Qo'qon) in the 18th century, it was captured by the Russians in 1876. The surrounding area is the most densely populated part of Uzbekistan and the country�s main petroleum-producing region.

Andocides \an-'da-si-,dez\ (b. c. 440�d. c. 390 bc) Athenian orator and politician. He went into exile (415-403 bc) after being implicated in and having informed on those responsible for the mutilation of the sacred busts of Hermes just before the Athenian expedition to Sicily. He returned after the restoration of Athenian democracy. He helped arrange a treaty with Sparta in the Corinthian War (392), but Athens rejected it and exiled him and the other ambassadors.

Andorra officially Principality of Andorra Independent coprinci� pality, southwestern Europe. Area: 179 sq mi (464 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 74,800. Capital: Andorra la Vella. Lying on the southern

is Spanish or Andorran. Language: Cata� lan (official). Religion: Christianity (predominantly Roman Catholic; also other Christians). Currency: euro. Andorra�s independence is traditionally ascribed to Charlemagne, who recovered the region from the Muslims in ad 803. It was placed under the joint suzerainty of the French counts of Foix and the Spanish bishops of Urgel in 1278, and it was subsequently governed jointly by the Spanish bishop of Urgel and the French head of state. This feudal system of government, the last in Europe, continued until 1993, when a constitution was adopted that transferred most of the coprinces� powers to the Andorran General Council, which is elected by universal suffrage. Andorra has long had a strong affinity with Catalonia;

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70 I Andorra la Vella ► Andric

its institutions are based in Catalonian law, and it is part of the diocese of Urgel (Spain). The traditional economy was based on sheep raising, but tourism grew in importance since the 1950s and became central to Andorra�s economy by the early 21st century.

Andorra la Vella \an-'d6r-3-la-'vel-ya\ Town (pop., 2001 est.: 20,800), capital of Andorra. It lies near the confluence of the Valira and Valira del Norte rivers. The town long remained relatively isolated from the outside world, but its population began to grow after World War II as tourists began arriving at the nearby sports areas. Because of its country�s duty-free status, the town has become a retail shopping centre for other Europeans.

Andrada e Silva \a n -'dra-tha-e-'sil-va\, Jose Bonifacio de known as Jose Bonifacio \zhu-'ze- l bo-ni- , fa-se-o\ (b. c. 1763, Santos, Braz.�d. April 6, 1838, Niteroi) Chief architect of Brazil�s independence from Portugal. Andrada was bom in Brazil but educated in Portugal, where he became a distinguished scholar. On returning to Brazil in 1819, he functioned as chief minister of the Portuguese prince regent (later the emperor Pedro I), who had fled Portugal with the rest of the royal family to escape Napoleon. Andrada was the leading intellectual advocate of independence. After Pedro I declared Brazil independent in 1822, he served as prime minister and as tutor to the child emperor Pedro II, who became an effective and enlightened monarch.

Andrassy \'an-,dra-se\ Gyula, Count (b. March 3, 1823, Kassa, Hung., Austrian Empire�d. Feb. 18, 1890, Volosco, Istria, Austria- Hungary) Hungarian politician. A follower of Kossuth Lajos, Andrassy helped lead the unsuccessful revolt of 1848�49, then fled into exile until 1857. He supported the creation of the Dual Monarchy of Austria- Hungary and played a major role in negotiating the Compromise of 1867. He served as Hungary�s first prime minister (1867-71) and later as for� eign minister (1871-79), in which he helped strengthen Austria- Hungary�s international position. Just before resigning, he signed the fateful Austro-German Alliance (1879) that linked those two powers until the end of World War I.

Andre, Carl (b. Sept. 16, 1935, Quincy, Mass., U.S.) U.S. sculptor. The son of a draftsman for a shipbuilding firm, he attended Phillips Andover Academy and Northeastern University. He moved to New York City in 1957 and soon was producing large-scale horizontal sculptures out of steel plates, slabs of granite, styrofoam planks, bricks, and cement blocks, using a grid system based on simple mathematical principles. His work from this period was often intended to be placed directly on the gallery or museum floor; its monumental austerity was central to the Minimalist movement. Beginning in the 1970s he also experimented with large-scale wood sculpture.

Andre \'an-dre\, John (b. May 2, 1750, London, Eng.�d. Oct. 2, 1780, Tappan, N.Y., U.S.) British army officer and spy. From 1774 he was the chief intelligence officer of the British commander Henry Clinton at New York. In 1779 Andre began corresponding with Gen. Benedict Arnold, who had become disillusioned with the American cause. In 1780 he obtained Arnold�s agreement to surrender the West Point fort. Andre was captured while returning to New York, and incriminating papers were found in his boot; he was found guilty of espionage and hanged.

Andrea del Sarto \an-'dra-3-del-'sar-to\ orig. Andrea d'Agnolo

(b. July 16, 1486, Florence�d. Sept. 28, 1530, Florence) Italian painter active in Florence. After an apprenticeship with Piero di Cosimo, he became established as one of the outstanding painters of Florence, most notably as a fresco decorator and painter of altarpieces in the style of the High Renaissance. His feeling for colour and atmosphere was unrivaled among Florentine painters. One of his most striking achievements was the series of grisaille frescoes on the life of St. John the Baptist (1511-26) in the Chiostro dello Scalzo. His work is noted particularly for its technical per� fection. See photograph above.

Andreanof \,an-dre-'a-n6f\ Islands Group of the Aleutian Islands, southwestern Alaska, U.S. Lying between the Pacific Ocean and the Ber� ing Sea, the islands extend east to west about 270 mi (430 km) between the Fox and Rat island groups. They were strategically important in World War II, when U.S. military bases were developed, especially on Adak Island. Other islands in the group include Atka, Tanaga, and Kanaga.

Andreini \,an-dra-'e-ne\ family Italian actors. After their marriage, Francesco Andreini (1548-1624) and Isabella Canali Andreini (1562� 1604) founded the Compagnia dei Gelosi, one of the earliest and most

famous of the commedia dell'arte troupes. Their son Giovambattista Andreini (15797-1654) acted in his parents� company until c. 1601, when he formed his own troupe, the Compagnia dei Fedeli. This troupe was invited to the French court in Paris, where Giovambattista Andreini wrote the play Adamo (1613), supposedly the inspiration for English poet John Milton�s Para� dise Lost.

Andretti, Mario (Gabriel) (b.

Feb. 28, 1940, Montona, Italy) Italian-born U.S. automobile-racing driver. He became interested in rac� ing in Italy before moving to the U.S. in 1955. His notable wins include the United States Automobile Club (USAC) championship (1965-66, 1969), the Daytona Beach 500 stock- car race (1967), the Sebring Grand Prix (1967, 1970), the Indianapolis 500 (1969), and the Formula I world driving championship (1978). He retired from competition in 1994.

Andrew, Saint (d. ad 60/70, Patras, Achaia; feast day November 30) One of the Twelve Apostles, brother of St. Peter, and patron saint of Scot� land and Russia. According to the Gospels, he was a fisherman and a dis� ciple of John the Baptist. Early Byzantine tradition calls Andrew protokletos, �first called.� He and Peter were called from their fishing by Jesus, who promised to make them fishers of men. Early church legends tell of Andrew�s missionary work around the Black Sea. A 4th-century tradition says he was crucified; 13th-century tradition states that the cross was X-shaped. His relics were moved several times after his death; his head was kept in St. Peter�s in Rome from the 15th century until 1964, when the pope returned it to Greece as a gesture of goodwill.

Andrew II Hungarian Endre (b. 1175�d. Oct. 26, 1235) King of Hungary (1205-35). His reign was marked by controversy with the landed nobility, who drained royal funds and reduced Hungary to a state of near anarchy. Rebellious nobles murdered his first wife, Gertrude of Meran, in 1213. Andrew led a Crusade to the Holy Land in 1217. On his return he agreed to the Golden Bull of 1222, limiting royal rights, guaranteeing jus� tice, promising improved coinage, and giving nobles the right to resist royal decrees. His daughter was St. Elizabeth of Hungary.

Andrews, Dame Julie orig. Julia Elizabeth Wells (b. Oct. 1, 1935, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, Eng.) British-U.S. actress and singer. She made her London debut at 12 in a revue and her New York City stage debut in The Boy Friend (1954). A major star of the Broadway musical, she originated the roles of Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady (1956) and Guinevere in Camelot (1960). She also starred in films such as Mary Poppins (1964, Academy Award), and VictorAdctoria (1982), one of sev� eral films she made with her husband, director Blake Edwards. In 2000 she was made a Dame of the British Empire.

Andrews, Roy Chapman (b. Jan. 26, 1884, Beloit, Wis., U.S.�d. March 11, 1960, Carmel, Calif.) U.S. naturalist, explorer, and author. In 1906 he joined the staff of the American Museum of Natural History, where he would spend much of his working life. There he assembled one of the best collections of cetaceans in the world before turning his atten� tion to Asiatic exploration. He led expeditions to Tibet, southwestern China, and Burma (1916�17); northern China and Outer Mongolia (1919); and Central Asia. Important discoveries included the first known dinosaur eggs, skeleton parts of Baluchitherium (the largest known land mammal), and evidence of prehistoric human life. His many books for the general public include Across Mongolian Plains (1921) and This Amazing Planet

(1940).

Andric Van-drich\, Ivo (b. Oct. 10, 1892, Dolac, near Travnik, Bosnia�d. March 13, 1975, Belgrade, Yugos.) Bosnian writer. He estab� lished his reputation with Ex Ponto (1918), which he wrote while interned for nationalist political activities in World War I. He later served as a Yugoslavian diplomat. Collections of his short stories were published from 1920 onward. Of his three novels, written during World War II,

Marriage of St. Catherine, oil on panel by Andrea del Sarto, 1512-13; in the Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden, Ger.

SACHSISCHE LANDESBIBLIOTHEK/ABTEILUNG DEUTSCHE FOTOTHEK/A. ROUS

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androgen ► aneurysm I 71

two �The Bridge on the Drina (1945) and Bosnian Story (1945)�are about the history of Bosnia. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Litera� ture in 1961.

androgen Van-dro-joM Any of a group of hormones that mainly influ� ence the development of the male reproductive system. The main and most active androgen is testosterone, produced by cells in the testes. Androgens produced in smaller quantities, mainly by the adrenal gland but also by the testes, support the functions of testosterone. Androgens cause the nor� mal changes of puberty in boys� bodies and then influence sperm-cell for� mation, sexual interest and behaviour, and male pattern baldness. Females produce trace quantities of androgens, mostly in the adrenal glands, as well as in the ovaries.

Andromeda \an-'dra-m3-do\ In Greek mythology, the wife of Perseus. She was the daughter of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiope of Joppa in Palestine (called Ethiopia). Her mother boasted that Andromeda was more beautiful than the Nereids, and Poseidon punished her by sending a sea monster to devastate Joppa. To appease the gods, Andromeda was chained to a rock and left to be devoured by the monster. Perseus flew by on Pegasus, fell in love with Andromeda, and slew the monster. She married him and bore him six sons and a daughter. After her death she became a constellation.

Andromeda \an-'dro-m3-d3\ Galaxy or M31 Great spiral galaxy in the constellation Andromeda. It is the nearest spiral galaxy outside the Milky Way Galaxy and one of the few visible to the unaided eye, appear� ing as a milky blur. About 2 million light-years from Earth, it has a diam� eter of about 200,000 light-years, which makes it the largest galaxy in the Local Group. For centuries astronomers considered it part of the Milky Way; only in the 1920s did Edwin Hubble determine conclusively that it was a separate galaxy.

Andronicus I Comnenus \ I an-dr3- , nI-k9s...kam-'ne-n3s\ (b. 1118, Constantinople�d. Sept. 1185, Constantinople) Byzantine emperor (1183-85), the last of the Comnenus dynasty. A cousin of Manuel I Com� nenus, he raised an army and seized power in 1182, causing a massacre of Westerners in Constantinople. He was crowned coemperor with Alexius II in 1183; two months later he had Alexius strangled and married his 13-year-old widow. Andronicus reformed the Byzantine government and asserted the independence of the Eastern church, provoking a Sicilian Nor� man invasion. News of the Normans� approach led to a revolt, in which Andronicus was killed by a mob and Isaac II Angelus was declared emperor.

Andronicus II Palaeologus \,pa-le-'al-3-g3s\ (b. c. 1260, Constantinople�d. Feb. 13, 1332, Constantinople) Byzantine emperor (1282-1328). The son of Michael VIII Palaeologus, he was an intellectual and theologian rather than a soldier and statesman, and during his reign the Byzantine Empire declined to the status of a minor state. Ottoman Turks controlled Anatolia by 1300, and Serbs dominated the Balkans. By sid� ing with Genoa in the war between Genoa and Venice, Andronicus pro� voked an attack by the Venetian navy. Despite the rising political disorder, he promoted Byzantine art and the independence of the Eastern Ortho� dox church. Deposed by his grandson Andronicus III Palaeologus, he entered a monastery.

Andronicus III Palaeologus (b. March 25, 1297, Constanti� nople�d. June 15, 1341, Constantinople) Byzantine emperor (1328-41). He forced his grandfather Andronicus II Palaeologus to make him coem� peror (1325) and then to abdicate (1328). He relied on John VI Cantacuze- nus to reform the courts and rebuild the imperial navy. He ceded control of Macedonia to Serbia (1334) and lost land to the Ottoman Turks in Ana� tolia, but he regained some Aegean islands from the Genoese and reas� serted control of Epirus and Thessaly.

Andropov Van-'dro-.pofV Yury (Vladimirovich) (b. June 15, 1914, Nagutskoye, Russia�d. Feb 9, 1984, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.) Soviet leader. He joined the Communist Party in 1939 and rose rapidly in the party hierarchy. His tenure as head of the KGB (1967-82) was noted for its suppression of political dissidents. In 1982 he succeeded Leonid Brezh� nev as general secretary of the party�s Central Committee, but ill health quickly overtook him, and he accomplished little else before his death 15 months later.

Andros \,an-dr3s\ Island (pop., 2000: 7,686), The Bahamas. The Baha� mas� largest island, it extends about 100 mi (160 km) north to south and about 45 mi (72 km) east to west; its area is 2,300 sq mi (6,000 sq km). Just off its eastern coast is the third largest barrier reef in the world.

Andros Van-drssV, Sir Edmund (b. Dec. 6, 1637, London, Eng.�d. Feb. 24, 1714, London) English colonial administrator in North America. Appointed governor of New York and New Jersey in 1674, he was recalled in 1681 following complaints from colonists. He returned in 1686 as gov� ernor of the Dominion of New England, a kind of supercolony imposed by Britain. His interference in local government aroused sharp resentment among the colonists, and in 1688 they revolted and imprisoned him. Andros was recalled to England but returned as governor of Virginia (1692) and Maryland (1693-94).

anemia Condition in which erythrocytes are reduced in number or vol� ume or are deficient in hemoglobin. The patient is usually noticeably pale. Close to 100 varieties exist (including aplastic anemia, pernicious anemia, and sickle-cell anemia), distinguished by cause; erythrocyte size, shape, and hemoglobin content; and symptoms. Anemia may result from blood loss; increased destruction, reduced production, or inhibited formation of red cells; or hormone deficiency. Treatment may involve nutrition, toxin removal, drugs, surgery, or transfusion. See also folic-acid-deficiency ane� mia, IRON-DEFICIENCY ANEMIA.

anemometer V.an-s-'ma-ms-tsiA Instrument for measuring the speed of airflow. The most familiar instruments for measuring wind speeds are the revolving cups that drive an electric generator (useful range approxi� mately 5-100 knots). For very low airspeeds, a unit in which revolving vanes operate a counter measures the airspeed. For strong, steady wind speeds (in wind tunnels and aboard aircraft in flight), a pitot-tube anemom� eter is often used; the pressure difference between the interior of the tube and the surrounding air can be measured and converted to airspeed.

anemone \3-'ne-m3-ne\ Any of about 120 species of perennial plants that make up the genus Anemone , in the buttercup family, many of which are cultivated for their colourful flowers. Though found throughout the world, anemones are most common in woodlands and meadows of the northern temperate zone. Many varieties of the tuberous poppylike anemone A. coronaria are grown for the garden and florist trade. Popular spring-flowering species include A. apennina, A. blanda, and A. pavon- ina. Other species, such as the Japanese anemone (A. hupehensis), are favourite border plants for autumn flowering. The European wood anemone, A. nemorosa , causes blistering of the skin and was once used as an ingredient in medicines. Anemones are also known colloquially as pasqueflowers or windflowers.

anesthesiology X.a-nss-.the-ze-'al-s-jeN Medical specialty dealing with anesthesia and related matters, including resuscitation and pain. Originally concerned only with general anesthesia in the operating room, anesthesiology now includes epidural anesthesia (injection of local anes� thetics into the spinal fluid, cutting off feeling below the point of injec� tion); artificial respiratory support during operations requiring paralyzing drugs that render patients unable to breathe; clinical management of all unconscious patients; management of pain relief and cardiac and respi� ratory resuscitation problems; respiratory therapy; and treatment of fluid, electrolyte, and metabolic disturbances. Progress in anesthesiology has made possible more complex operations and surgery for more critically ill patients. The anesthesiologist�s role has become increasingly impor� tant and complex.

anesthetic \,an-es-'thet-ik\ Agent that produces a local or general loss of sensation, including pain, and therefore is useful in surgery and den� tistry. General anesthesia induces loss of consciousness, most often using hydrocarbons (e.g., cyclopropane, ethylene); halogenated (see halogen) hydrocarbons (e.g., chloroform, ethyl chloride, trichloroethylene); ethers (e.g., ethyl ether or vinyl ether); or other compounds, such as tribromo- ethanol, nitrous oxide, or barbiturates. Local anesthesia induces loss of sen� sation in one area of the body by blocking nerve conduction (see nervous system, neuron), usually with alkaloids such as cocaine or synthetic sub� stitutes (e.g., lidocaine). See also anesthesiology.

aneuploidy See ploidy

aneurysm Van-ys-.riz-smV Blood-filled protrusion in the wall of a blood vessel (usually an artery, and particularly the aorta). Disease or injury weakens the wall so that normal blood pressure makes it balloon out. Typically, the two inner layers rupture and the outer layer bulges. In a false aneurysm, all three layers rupture and surrounding tissues hold the blood in place. Symptoms vary with size and location. Aneurysms tend to enlarge over time, and blood-vessel walls weaken with age. Many aneurysms eventually burst, causing serious, even massive, internal bleed-

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72 I Angora ► Angkor

ing; aortic aneurysm rupture causes severe pain and immediate collapse. Rupture of an aneurysm in the brain is a major cause of strokes. Treat� ment can consist of simply tying off a small vessel; more serious aneu� rysms require surgery to replace the diseased section of artery with a plastic graft.

Angara \3n-,g3-'ra\ River River, southeast-central Russia. The outlet for Lake Baikal, it is a major tributary of the Yenisey River, which it joins near Yeniseysk. It is about 1,105 mi (1,779 km) long, and with its many rapids, it provides great potential for hydroelectric power. Some existing dams and power stations provide power in the Irkutsk industrial area.

angel Primarily in Western religions, any of numerous benevolent spiri� tual beings who mediate between heaven and earth. They often serve as messengers or servants of God or as guardians of an individual or nation. In Zoroastrianism the amesha spenta are arranged in a hierarchy of seven. Judaism and Christianity base their notion of angels on references in the Hebrew scriptures to divine servants and to the heavenly hosts. Two arch� angels (Michael and Gabriel) are mentioned in the Old Testament and two others (Raphael and Uriel) in the Apocrypha. Angels are mentioned throughout the Christian scriptures, and Christian tradition identifies nine orders of angels. Islam�s hierarchy of angels descends from the four throne bearers of God to the cherubim who praise God, the four archangels, and lesser angels such as the hafazah (guardian angels). See also cherub; ser� aph.

Angel Falls Waterfall, southeastern Venezuela. It lies on the Churun River, a tributary of the Carom, southeast of Ciudad Bolivar. The highest waterfall in the world, the cataract drops 3,212 ft (979 m) and is 500 ft (150 m) wide at its base. It was named for James Angel, an American who crash-landed his plane nearby in 1937.

angelfish Any of various fishes of the order Perciformes. The best- known angelfishes are freshwater cichlids (genus Pterophyllum ) popu� lar in home aquariums. These are thin and deep-bodied fishes that usu� ally are silver with vertical dark markings but may be solid or par� tially black; they may grow to 6 in.

(15 cm) in length. Brightly coloured marine angelfishes are in the family Pomacanthidae. They are found among tropical reefs in the Atlantic and the Indo-Pacific, where they eat algae and marine invertebrates and reach a maximum length of 18 in.

(46 cm).

Angelico Xan-'jel-i-koV Fra orig.

Guido di Pietro (b. c. 1400, Vic- chio, Florence [Italy]�d. Feb. 18,

1455, Rome) Italian painter and Dominican friar active in Florence.

He entered the convent of San Domenico at Fiesole sometime between 1417 and 1425 and began his artistic career by painting illumi� nated manuscripts and altarpieces.

He was influenced by Masaccio�s use of architectural perspective.

Among his earliest masterpieces is a large triptych, the Linaiuoli Altar- piece (1433-36), executed for the linen merchants� guild; it is enclosed in a marble shrine designed by Lorenzo Ghiberti. His most notable works are frescoes at the convent of San Marco, Florence (c. 1440-45), and in the chapel of Pope Nicholas V in the Vatican (c. 1448-49). One of the outstanding fresco painters of the 15th century, he influenced such mas� ters as Fra Filippo Lippi; Benozzo Gozzou was among his students.

Angelou Van-ja-JoN, Maya orig. Marguerite Johnson (b. April 4, 1928, St. Louis, Mo., U.S.) U.S. poet. She was raped at age eight and

went through a period of muteness. Her autobiographical works, which explore themes of economic, racial, and sexual oppression, include I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1970), The Heart of a Woman (1981), and All God�s Children Need Traveling Shoes (1986). Her poetry collec� tions include Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water fore I Diiie (1971), And Still I Rise (1978), and I Shall Not Be Moved (1990). Her recitation of a poem she wrote for Bill Clinton�s first inauguration (1993) brought her widespread fame. In 2002 she published her sixth volume of mem� oirs, A Song Flung Up to Heaven.

Angevin \'an-ja-van\ dynasty Descendants of a 10th-century count of Anjou (the source of the adjective Angevin). The Angevin dynasty over� laps with the house of Plantagenet but is usually said to consist of only the English kings Henry II, Richard I, and John. Henry established the Angevin empire in the 1150s when he took control of Normandy, Anjou, Maine, and, through his marriage to Eleanor, Aquitaine. When he became the king of England in 1154, Henry extended the Angevin holdings from Scotland to the Pyrenees. English claims to French territory led to the Hundred Years' War; by 1558 the English had lost all their former French lands.

Angilbert Vaq-gsl-.bsrtV Saint (b. c. 740, Aachen, kingdom of the Franks�d. Feb. 18, 814, Centula, Picardy) Frankish poet and prelate at the court of Charlemagne. Of a noble family, he was educated at the pal� ace school at Aachen and was a student of Alcuin. In 800 he accompa� nied Charlemagne to Rome. He was made lay abbot of Centula (St.- Riquier), Picardy, in 794. His graceful and sophisticated Latin poems offer a picture of life in the imperial circle. Charlemagne�s daughter Bertha and Angilbert were the parents of the historian Nithard.

angina pectoris Van-'jl-ns-'pek-ts-rssV Spasm of chest pain, caused when the heart�s oxygen demand temporarily outpaces its blood supply, usually because of coronary heart disease. A deep, viselike pain in the heart and stomach area commonly spreads to the left arm. Exertion or emo� tional stress can bring on angina, obliging the victim to rest until the pain subsides. If rest does not help, drugs can dilate the blood vessels. As heart disease worsens, angina recurs with less exertion.

angiocardiography \ 1 an-je-o- 1 kar-de- , ag-r3-fe\ Method of diagnostic imaging that shows the flow of blood through the heart and great vessels. It is used to evaluate patients for surgery on the cardiovascular system. A contrast medium is introduced through a catheter into a heart chamber. A series of X-ray images shows where the flow narrows, signaling block� age of a blood vessel by atherosclerosis.

angiography \,an-je-'ag-r3-fe\ or arteriography \ar-,tir-e-'ag-ra- fe\ X-ray examination of arteries and veins with a contrast medium to dif� ferentiate them from surrounding organs. The contrast medium is intro� duced through a catheter to show the blood vessels and the structures they supply, including organs. Angiography of diseased leg, brain, or heart arteries is necessary before corrective surgery. See also angiocardiography.

Angiolini V.an-ja-'le-neV, Gasparo or Angelo Gasparini (b. Feb. 9, 1731, Florence�d. Feb. 6, 1803, Milan) Italian choreographer. In 1757 he became ballet master of the Vienna court opera house; in 1761 he col� laborated with the composer Christoph Willibald Gluck to produce Don Juan, and he later choreographed other ballets to Gluck�s music. In 1765 Angiolini became ballet master of the Imperial Theatre in St. Petersburg. He was among the first to integrate dance, music, and plot in dramatic ballets, developing the form known as ballet d�action. He maintained a rivalry with Jean-Georges Noverre and disagreed with his interpretation of the ballet d�action.

angioplasty \'an-je-3-,plas-te\ Therapeutic opening of a blocked blood vessel. Usually a balloon is inflated near the end of a catheter (see cath� eterization) to flatten plaques (see atherosclerosis) against an artery�s wall. Performed on a coronary artery, angioplasty is a less invasive alternative to coronary bypass surgery in the treatment of coronary heart disease. Com� plications, including embolisms and tearing, are rare and results are excel� lent, but plaques tend to build up again after the procedure. Angioplasty is also used to expand a severely obstructed heart valve.

angiosperm See flowering plant

Angkor Archaeological site, northwestern Cambodia. Located 4 mi (6 km) north of the modem town of Siem Reap, it was the capital of the Khmer (Cambodian) empire from the 9th to the 15th century. Its most imposing monuments are Angkor Wat, a temple complex built in the 12th century by King Suryavarman II, and Angkor Thom, a temple complex

Angel Falls (Salto Angel), La Gran Sabana region of Bolivar state, Ven� ezuela.

G. DE STEINHEIL/SHOSTAL ASSOCIATES

An aquarium angelfish ( Pterophyllum )

JANE BURTON-BRUCE COLEMAN LTD.

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Angkor Wat ► Angola I 73

built c. 1200 by King Jayavarman VII. During the period of great construc� tion that lasted more than 300 years, there were many changes in archi� tecture as the religious focus changed from Hindu to Buddhist cults. After the Siamese conquest of the Khmer in the 15th century, the ruined city and its temples were buried in the jungle. When the French colonial regime was established in 1863, the entire site became the focus of schol� arly interest. During Cambodia�s political upheavals of the late 20th cen� tury there was some war damage, but the major problem was one of neglect. Angkor was added to the World Heritage site list in 1992.

Angkor Wat Vaq-kor-'watX Temple complex in Angkor (now in north� western Cambodia), the crowning work of Khmer architecture. About 1,700 yards (1,550 m) long by 1,500 yards (1,400 m) wide, it is the world�s largest religious structure. Dedicated to Vishnu, it was built in the 12th cen� tury by Suryavarman II. The Wat, an artificial mountain originally sur� rounded by a vast external wall and moat, rises in three enclosures toward a flat summit. The five remaining towers (shrines) at the summit are com� posed of the repetitive diminishing tiers typical of Asian architecture.

Angle Any member of a Germanic people who, with the Jutes and Sax� ons, invaded England in the 5th century ad. According to Bede, their homeland was Angulus, traditionally identified as the Angeln district in Schleswig. They abandoned this area when they invaded Britain, where they settled in the kingdoms of Mercia, Northumbria, East Anglia, and Middle Anglia. Their language was known, even then, as Englisc, and they gave their name to England.

angle In geometry, a pair of rays (see line) sharing a common endpoint (the vertex). An angle may be thought of as the rotation of a single ray from an initial to a terminal position. Clockwise rotation is considered negative and counterclockwise rotation positive. Either may be measured in degrees (one full rotation = 360�) or radians (one full rotation = 2k rad). A 90� angle is called a right angle. Any angle less than 90� is an acute angle. Any angle more than 90� but less than 180� is an obtuse angle.

anglerfish Any of about 210 species of marine fishes (order Lophii- formes) named for their method of �fishing� for prey. The foremost spine of the dorsal fin is located on the head and is modified into a �fishing rod� tipped with a fleshy �bait.� Prey fishes attracted to this lure stray close enough for the anglerfish to swallow them. Often bizarre in form, angler� fishes are also characterized by small gill openings and by limblike pec� toral and (in some species) pelvic fins. Most species inhabit the sea bottom. In some species the small male bites into the larger female�s body, his mouth fuses with the skin, and the bloodstreams of the two become permanently connected.

Anglesey Vaq-gal-seV Isle of ancient Mona County (pop., 2001: 66,828), Wales. It encompasses Anglesey island, the largest island in England and Wales (276 sq mi [715 sq kmj), and Holy Island. Anglesey island is known for its ancient history and its prehistoric and Celtic remains. By 100 bc the Celts had colonized the island, which became a famous Druid centre and later a stronghold of resistance to the Romans. It finally fell to Agricola in ad 78. It was ruled by the princes of Wales in the 7th-13th centuries, until it was taken by Edward I. Tourism is now an important part of the county�s economy.

Anglia See England

Anglican Communion See Church of England

Anglo-Afghan Wars See Afghan wars

Anglo-Burmese Wars (1824-26, 1852, 1885) Conflicts between the British and the Burmans (Burmese) in present-day Myanmar. King Bodawpaya�s conquest of Arakan, which bordered on British-controlled territory in India, led to border conflicts between Arakan freedom fight� ers and the Burmans. When the Burmans crossed the border into Bengal, the British responded in force, taking Rangoon (now Yangon). The result� ing two-year conflict ended with a treaty that gave Britain Arakan and Assam and required the Burmans to pay an indemnity. Another war erupted 25 years later when a British naval officer seized a ship that belonged to the Burman king; the British advanced into and soon occu� pied all of Lower Burma. A third war was sparked by threats to the Brit� ish teak monopolies in Lower Burma and Burman overtures to the French; as a result, the British annexed Upper Burma (formalized in 1886), thus ending Burman independence.

Anglo-Dutch Wars or Dutch Wars Four naval conflicts between England and the Dutch Republic in the 17th�18th century. The First

(1652-54), Second (1665-67), and Third (1672-74) Anglo-Dutch Wars all arose from commercial rivalry between the two nations, and victories by England established its naval might. The two countries had been allied for a century when the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War (1780-84) broke out over Dutch interference in the American Revolution. By 1784 the Dutch Repub� lic had declined dramatically in power and prestige.

Anglo-French Entente See Entente Cordiale Anglo-French War See Opium Wars

Anglo-German Naval Agreement (1935) Bilateral concord between Britain and Germany countenancing a German navy but limit� ing it to 35% of the size of the British navy. Part of the process of appease� ment before World War II, the agreement allowed Germany to violate restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles, prompting international criticism and driving a wedge between the French and the British.

Anglo-Japanese Alliance (1902-23) Alliance between Britain and Japan to protect their respective interests in China and Korea. Directed against Russian expansionism, the alliance helped Japan in the Russo- Japanese War by discouraging France from entering the war on the Rus� sian side. The alliance later prompted Japan to enter World War I on the side of the Allies. Britain allowed the alliance to lapse after the war, when it no longer feared Russian encroachment in China.

Anglo-Russian Entente \an-'tant\ (1907) Pact in which Britain and Russia settled their colonial disputes in Persia, Afghanistan, and Tibet. It delineated spheres of influence in Persia, stipulated that neither country would interfere in Tibet�s internal affairs, and recognized Britain�s influ� ence over Afghanistan. The agreement led to the formation of the Triple Entente.

Anglo-Saxon See Old English

Anglo-Saxon art Painting, sculpture, and architecture produced in Britain from the late 5th century to the Norman Conquest. Before the 9th century, manuscript illumination was the predominant art form, with two schools: Canterbury produced works in the Classical tradition brought by Roman missionaries; a more influential school in Northumbria produced works inspired by the revival of learning encouraged by Irish missionar� ies. The curvilinear forms, spirals, and interlaced patterns of the Celtic tradition brought by Irish monks were integrated with the abstract orna� mentation and bright colors of the Anglo-Saxon metalwork tradition. After the destructive effects of the 9th-century Danish invasions, the monaster� ies were revived and interest in architecture developed. Building activity consisted of small churches influenced by continental types, notably from Norman France (e.g., the original Westminster Abbey, c. 1045-50, rebuilt 1245). The monastic revival resulted in the production of many books and the formation of the Winchester school of illumination (late 10th cen� tury). See also Hiberno-Saxon style.

Anglo-Saxon law Body of legal principles that prevailed in England from the 6th century until the Norman Conquest (1066). It was directly influenced by early Scandinavian law as a result of the Viking invasions of the 8th and 9th centuries and indirectly influenced (primarily through the church) by Roman law. Anglo-Saxon law had three components: laws promulgated by the king, customary practices such as those regulating kinship relations, and private compilations. The primary emphasis was on criminal law, though certain material dealt with problems of public admin� istration, public order, and ecclesiastical matters.

Anglo-Saxon literature Literature written in Old English c. 650-c. 1100. Anglo-Saxon poetry survives almost entirely in four manuscripts. Beowulf is the oldest surviving Germanic epic and the longest Old English poem; other great works include The Wanderer, The Seafarer, The Battle of Maldon, and the Dream of the Rood. The poetry is alliterative; one of its features is the kenning, a metaphorical phrase used in place of a com� mon noun (e.g., �swan road� for �sea�). Notable prose includes the Anglo- Saxon Chronicle, a historical record begun about the time of King Alfred�s reign (871-899) and continuing for more than three centuries. See also Caedmon; Cynewulf.

Angola officially Republic of Angola formerly Portuguese West Africa Country, southern Africa. Its northernmost section of coastland, the Cabinda exclave, is separated from Angola proper by a nar� row corridor of Congo territory. Area: 481,354 sq mi (1,246,700 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 11,827,000. Capital: Luanda. The population is made up of mostly BANTU-speaking peoples; the main ethnic groups are

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74 I Angora ► Anheuser

the Ovimbundu and the Mbundu, while the Khoisan-speaking San (Bushmen) inhabit southeastern Angola. Languages: Portu� guese (official), indigenous languages.

Religions: Christianity (mostly Roman Catholic; also Protestant); also traditional beliefs. Currency: kwanza. The country contains several plateau regions, which separate it into three dis� tinct drainage systems. One in the northeast drains into the Congo River basin, and another in the southeastern sector drains into the Zambezi sys� tem; the remaining drainage, westward into the Atlantic, provides most of Angola�s hydroelectric power. About half of the land area is forest; less than 10% is arable. Despite substantial petroleum reserves, Angola�s economy has been unable to take advantage of its resources, because of the devastation caused by protracted civil war. Angola is nominally a republic with one legislative house; its head of state and government is the president. An influx of Bantu-speaking peoples in the 1st millennium ad led to their dominance in the area by c. 1500. The most important Bantu kingdom was the Kongo; south of the Kongo was the Ndongo kingdom of the Mbundu people. Portuguese explorers arrived in the early 1480s and over time gradually extended their rule. Angola�s frontiers were largely determined by other European powers in the 19th century but not without strong resistance by the indigenous peoples. Resistance to colo� nial rule led to the outbreak of fighting in 1961, which led ultimately to independence in 1975. Rival factions continued fighting after indepen� dence. Although a peace accord was reached in 1994, forces led by Jonas M. Savimbi continued to resist government control until his death in 2002, after which a peace accord was signed.

Angora See Ankara

Angora cat See Turkish Angora cat

Angora goat Breed of domestic goat that originated in ancient times in the district of Angora in Asia Minor. Its silky coat yields commer� cial mohair. Angora goats are gener� ally smaller than other domestic goats and sheep and have long, drooping ears. Both sexes are homed. The Western mohair indus� try developed after the animal was established in South Africa in the mid-19th century. Importation to the U.S. followed shortly, and breeding there has centred in the Southwest.

The coat, with its strong elastic fibres, differs from wool primarily in its smoothness and lustre.

Angouleme \,a n -gu-'lam\ City (pop., 1999: 43,171), southwestern France, on the Charente River. Clovis captured the town from the Visigoths in 507, and from the 9th century it was the centre of a countship. Fought over by the French and English in the Hundred Years' War, it was ceded to England in 1360 but restored to France in 1373. It passed to the house of Orleans in 1394. The city is noted for papermaking and is the site of the 12th-century cathedral of Saint-Pierre.

Angry Young Men Group of mid-20th-century young British writers. Their works express the bitterness of the lower classes toward the estab� lished sociopolitical system and the mediocrity and hypocrisy of the middle and upper classes. The label came from a press agent�s description of John Osborne, whose play Look Back in Anger (1956) is the move� ment�s representative work. The group includes John Wain (1925-1994), Kingsley Amis, Alan Sillitoe, and Bernard Kops (b. 1926). A dominant lit� erary force in the 1950s, the movement had faded by the early 1960s.

Angstrom Vaq-strcemX, Anders Jonas (b. Aug. 13, 1814, Logdo, Swed.�d. June 21, 1874, Uppsala) Swedish physicist. From 1839 he taught at the University of Uppsala. He devised a method of measuring thermal conductivity, showing it to be proportional to electrical conduc� tivity, and deduced that an incandescent gas emits rays of the same refran- gibility as those it can absorb. A founder of spectroscopy, he discovered that hydrogen is present in the Sun�s atmosphere, published a map of the normal solar spectrum, and was the first to examine the spectrum of the aurora borealis and to detect and measure the characteristic bright line in its yellow-green region. The angstrom (1CT 10 m), a unit of length, was named in his honour.

Anguilla \aq-'gwi-b\ Island (pop., 2001: 11,300), Leeward Islands, West Indies. A dependent territory of the United Kingdom, it is the most north� erly of the Leeward Islands and covers about 35 sq mi (90 sq km). Its territory includes nearby Scrub, Seal, Dog, and Sombrero islands and Prickly Pear Cays. Most of its people are descendants of African slaves. The official language is English, and most of the population is Protestant. First colonized in 1650 by settlers from Saint Kitts, it was administered by the British. From 1825 it was closely associated with Saint Kitts, a situation Anguilla protested. It was united with Saint Kitts and Nevis in 1882. When a nation consisting of the three was formed in 1967, Anguilla proclaimed its independence. The British intervened, and Anguilla was separated in 1980; while retaining some autonomy, it consented to remain under British rule.

angular momentum Property that describes the rotary inertia of a system in motion about an axis. It is a VECTOR quantity, having both mag� nitude and direction. The magnitude of the angular momentum of an object is the product of its linear momentum (mass m x velocity v) and the perpendicular distance r from the centre of rotation, or mvr. The direc� tion is that of the axis of rotation. The angular momentum of an isolated system is constant. This means that a rigid spinning object continues to spin at a constant rate unless acted upon by an external torque. A spin� ning gyroscope in an airplane remains fixed in its orientation, independent of the airplane�s motion, because of the conservation of direction as well as magnitude.

Angus Breed of black, hornless beef cattle. Formerly known as Aber� deen Angus, it originated in northeastern Scotland, but its ancestry is obscure. Angus have a compact and low-set body. The fine quality of the flesh and the high dressing percentage make it a beef breed of the high� est rank. Introduced into the U.S. in 1873, its influence there and in other countries spread widely thereafter.

Anhalt \'an-,halt\ Former German state in what is now central Germany. The area around the upper Elbe River from which Anhalt was constituted was, in the 11th century, still part of the duchy of Saxony. It achieved separate territorial status in 1212. Subdivided and reunited frequently, it was finally reconstituted as the duchy of Anhalt by Leopold IV in 1863. It became part of the German Empire in 1871. Reconstituted after World War II as Saxony-Anhalt, it subsequently became part of East Germany and, in 1990, part of reunified Germany.

Anheuser Van-hoi-zorV -Busch Co., Inc. One of the largest produc� ers of beer in the world. Headquarters are in St. Louis, Mo., U.S. Its ori� gins can be traced to a small brewery founded in 1852 and bought in 1860 by soap manufacturer Eberhard Anheuser. In 1861 his daughter married

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anhinga ► animals I 75

Adolphus Busch, a brewery supplier. Busch pioneered the use of refrig� erated railcars and of pasteurization in the brewing industry. In 1876 the company introduced a light-coloured beer called Budweiser; under August Anheuser Busch, Jr. (president 1946-75), and August A. Busch III (1975� 2002), it became the best-selling U.S. beer brand. The company also pro� duces the Michelob brand. Among its other holdings are beverage- container manufacturing and recycling plants, media and advertising groups, and amusement parks, including the SeaWorld theme parks and Busch Gardens (Tampa, Fla.).

anhinga or snakebird Any fish-eating bird of the family Anhingidae (order Pelecaniformes), sometimes considered a single species (Anhinga anhinga) with geographical variants. Anhingas are about 35 in. (90 cm) long, slender, and long-necked. They are mostly black, with silvery wing markings. Males, glossed with green, develop pale head plumes and a dark �mane� in breeding season. Anhingas live in small colonies along lakes and rivers in tropical to warm temperate regions except in Europe. They swim nearly submerged; the head and neck show above water, darting snakelike from side to side.

Anhui or An-hui conventional Anhwei \'an-'hwa\ Province (pop., 2002 est.: 63,380,000), east-central China. It is bounded by Jiangsu, Zhe� jiang, Jiangxi, Hubei, Shandong, and Henan provinces. With an area of 54,000 sq mi (139,900 sq km), it is one of China�s smallest provinces; its capital is Hefei. Anhui was the first part of southern China to be settled by the Han dynasty, from c. 205 bc. Well-watered by the Huai and Yangtze (Chang) rivers, it was the empire�s major agricultural area for several centuries. Anhui was ruled by the Ming dynasty in the 14th-17th centu� ries. It was occupied by the Japanese in World War II; after the war the Nationalists held it briefly before the communists took over. It remains a notable agricultural producer.

anhydride \,an- , hl- l drid\ Any chemical compound obtained, either in practice or in principle, by eliminating water (H 2 0) from another com� pound. Examples of inorganic anhydrides are sulfur trioxide, S0 3 , which is derived from sulfuric acid, H 2 S0 4 , and calcium oxide, CaO, which is derived from calcium hydroxide Ca(OH) 2 . The most important organic anhydride is acetic anhydride, (CH 3 C0) 2 0, a raw material for making cellulose acetate (used for films, fibres, and plastic goods) and aspirin. It can be thought of as acetic acid minus water. Organic anhydrides are very important starting materials for organic synthesis, as they can give rise to carboxylic acids, esters, or amides under the proper conditions.

anhydrite Rock-forming mineral, anhydrous calcium sulfate (CaS0 4 ), which differs chemically from gypsum (to which it changes in humid conditions) by having no water of crystallization. Anhydrite occurs most often with salt deposits in association with gypsum, as in the cap rock of the Texas-Louisiana salt domes. Anhydrite is one of the major minerals in evaporite deposits; it is also present in dolomites and limestones, and in ore veins. It is used in plasters and cement as a drying agent.

Aniakchak \,an-e-'ak-chak\ National Monument and Pre� serve Park, southern shore of the Alaska Peninsula, U.S. Situated in the volcanically active Aleutian Range, it consists primarily of a great dry caldera, which last erupted in 1931. The crater has an average diameter of 6 mi (10 km). Declared a national monument in 1978, it covers 942 sq mi (2,440 sq km).

Aniene River \an-'ya-na\ River, central Italy. It rises in the Simbruini Mountains southeast of Rome and meanders 67 mi (108 km) to join the Tiber River north of Rome. Nero created a group of artificial lakes in its upper course and built a villa there, the remains of which survive.

aniline Va-no-.lInN One of the most important organic bases, parent sub� stance for many dyes and drugs. Pure aniline is a highly poisonous, oily, colourless liquid with a distinctive odour. First obtained (1826) from indigo, it is now prepared synthetically. It is a weakly basic primary aro� matic amine and participates in many reactions with other compounds. It is used to make chemicals used in producing rubber, dyes and interme� diates, photographic chemicals, urethane foams, pharmaceuticals, explo� sives, herbicides, and fungicides as well as to make chemicals used in petroleum refining.

animal Any member of the kingdom Animalia (see taxonomy), a group of many-celled organisms that differ from members of the two other many-celled kingdoms, the plants and the fungi (see fungus), in several ways. Animals have developed muscles, making them capable of spon� taneous movement (see locomotion), more elaborate sensory and nervous

systems, and greater levels of general complexity. Unlike plants, animals cannot manufacture their own food, and thus are adapted for securing and digesting food. In animals, the cell wall is either absent or composed of material different from that of the plant cell wall. Animals account for about three-quarters of living species. Some one-celled organisms display both plant and animal characteristics. See also algae, arthropod, bacteria, CHORDATE, INVERTEBRATE, PROTIST, PROTOZOAN, VERTEBRATE.

animal communication Transmission of information from one ani� mal to another by means of sound, visible sign or behaviour, taste or odour, electrical impulse, touch, or a combination of these. Most animal communication uses sound (e.g., birds calling, crickets chirping). Visual communication usually indicates an animal�s identity (species, sex, age, etc.) or other information through specific characteristics (e.g., horns, patches of colour) or behaviour (e.g., the bee�s �dance� describing a source of food). Chemical communication involves pheromones (chemi� cal signals) produced by the animal�s endocrine system. Eels and some other fishes use electrical impulses to communicate.

animal husbandry Controlled cultivation, management, and produc� tion of domestic animals, including improvement of the qualities consid� ered desirable by humans by means of breeding. Animals are bred and raised for utility (e.g., food, fur), sport, pleasure, and research. See also BEEKEEPING, DAIRY FARMING.

animal rights rights, primarily against being killed and being treated cruelly, that are thought to be possessed by higher nonhuman animals (e.g., chimpanzees) and many lower ones by virtue of their sentience. Respect for the welfare of animals is a precept of some ancient Eastern religions, including Jainism, which enjoins ahimsa (�noninjury�) toward all living things, and Buddhism, which forbids the needless killing of ani� mals, especially (in India) of cows. In the West, traditional Judaism and Christianity taught that animals were created by God for human use, including as food, and many Christian thinkers argued that humans had no moral duties of any kind to animals, even the duty not to treat them cruelly, because they lacked rationality or because they were not, like Man, made in the image of God. This view prevailed until the late 18th century, when ethical philosophers such as Jeremy Bentham applied the principles of utilitarianism to infer a moral duty not to inflict needless suf� fering on animals. In the latter half of the 20th century, the ethical phi� losopher Peter Singer and others attempted to show that a duty not to harm animals follows straightforwardly from simple and widely accepted moral principles, such as �It is wrong to cause unnecessary suffering.� They also argued that there is no �morally relevant difference� between humans and animals that would justify raising animals, but not humans, for food on �factory farms� or using them in scientific experiments or for product testing (e.g., of cosmetics). An opposing view held that humans have no moral duties to animals because animals are incapable of entering into a hypothetical �moral contract� to respect the interests of other rational beings. The modern animal-rights movement was inspired in part by Sing� er�s work. At the end of the 20th century, it had spawned a large number of groups dedicated to a variety of related causes, including protecting endangered species, protesting against painful or brutal methods of trap� ping and killing animals (e.g., for furs), preventing the use of animals in laboratory research, and promoting what adherents considered the health benefits and moral virtues of vegetarianism.

animals, cruelty to Willful or wanton infliction of pain, suffering, or death upon an animal or the intentional or malicious neglect of an ani� mal. Perhaps the world�s first anticruelty law, which addressed the treat� ment of domesticated animals, was included in the legal code of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (1641); similar legislation was passed in Brit� ain in 1822. The world�s first animal welfare society, the Society for the Protection of Animals, was established in England in 1824; the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was chartered in 1866. In varying degrees, cruelty to animals is illegal in most countries, and interest in endangered species gave further impetus to the anticruelty move� ment in the late 20th century. Reflecting such interest, many laws have been passed, though they are seldom enforced unless public pressure is brought to bear. Acts targeted by the movement have ranged from the mistreatment of domesticated animals to bullfighting and vivisection. Fac� tory farming, which involves various evidently cruel practices, has remained largely exempt from legal scrutiny. See also animal rights.

animals, master of the Supernatural figure regarded as the protec� tor of game animals in the traditions of hunting peoples. In some tradi-

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76 I animation ► Annam

tions he is the ruler of the forest and guardian of all species; in others, he is the guardian of a single species�usually a large and valuable animal� and may have both human and animal characteristics. He requires that hunters treat slain animals with respect; if they fail to do so, he may with� hold game until he is placated through a ceremony or by a shaman.

animation Process of giving the illusion of movement to drawings, models, or inanimate objects. From the mid-1850s, such optical devices as the zoetrope produced the illusion of animation. Stop-action photog� raphy enabled the production of cartoon films. The innovative design and assembly techniques of Walt Disney soon moved him to the forefront of the animation industry, and he produced a series of classic animated films, beginning with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). The Fleischer brothers and the animators at Warner Brothers offered more irreverent cartoons that often appealed to adult audiences. In Europe new animation alternatives to line drawing were developed, including animation using puppets (sometimes made from clay). In the late 20th century computer animation, as seen in the first fully computer-generated animated feature, Toy Story (1995), moved the art to a new level.

anime Style of animation popular in Japanese films. Anime films are meant primarily for the Japanese market and, as such, employ many cul� tural references unique to Japan. For example, the large eyes of anime characters are commonly perceived in Japan as multifaceted �windows to the soul.� Much of the genre is aimed at the children�s market, but anime films are sometimes marked by adult themes and subject matter. Modern anime began in 1956 and found lasting success in 1961 with the estab� lishment of Mushi Productions by Osamu Tezuka, a leading figure in modern manga (Japanese comics). Such anime as Akira (1988), Princess Mononoke (1997), and the Pokemon series of films have attained inter� national popularity.

animism Belief in the existence of spirits separable from bodies. Such beliefs are traditionally identified with small-scale (�primitive�) societies, though they also occur in major world religions. They were first compe� tently surveyed by Edward Burnett Tylor in Primitive Culture (1871). Clas� sic animism, according to Tylor, consists of attributing conscious life to natural objects or phenomena, a practice that eventually gave rise to the notion of a soul. See also shaman.

anion \ , a-,nl-9n\ Atom or group of atoms carrying a negative electric charge, indicated by a superscript minus sign after the chemical symbol. Anions in a liquid subjected to an electric field migrate toward the posi� tive electrode (anode). Examples include hydroxyl (�OH - ; see hydrox� ide), carbonate (�C0 3 2- ), and phosphate (�P0 4 3- ). See also ion; compare

CATION.

anise Annual herb ( Pimpinella anisum) of the parsley family, cultivated chiefly for its fruit, called aniseed, which tastes like licorice. Native to Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean region, anise is cultivated through� out the world. Aniseed is used as a flavouring and as a soothing herbal tea. Star anise is the dried fruit of the evergreen tree Illicium verum (mag� nolia family), native to southeastern China and Vietnam. Its flavour and uses are similar to those of anise.

Anjou \'an-jii\ Historical region, lower Loire valley, northwestern France. Organized in the Gallo-Roman period as the Civitas Andegavensis, it later became the countship, and from 1360 the duchy, of Anjou. Its capital was Angers. Under the Carolingian dynasty, it was nominally administered by a count representing the French king. The area came under the English king Henry II when he married Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1152, thus found� ing the Anglo-Angevin empire of the Plantagenet dynasty. The French recovered Anjou in 1259, and it was united with France in 1487. It ceased to exist as a department in 1790.

Anjou, House of See House of Plantagenet

Ankara Vaq-ko-roV formerly Angora City (pop., 1997: 2,984,099), capital of Turkey. Located about 125 mi (200 km) south of the Black Sea, it has been inhabited at least since the Stone Age. Conquered by Alex� ander the Great in 334 bc, it was incorporated into the Roman Empire by Augustus. As a city of the Byzantine Empire, Ankara fell to the Turks in 1073, but the Crusader Raymond IV of Toulouse drove them out in 1101. In 1403 it came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. After World War I (1914-18) Mustafa Kemal AtatOrk made Ankara the centre of resistance to both the Ottomans and the invading Greeks, and it became the capital of the Republic of Turkey in 1923. The modern city is the country�s chief

industrial centre after Istanbul. Its history is displayed in its Roman,

Byzantine, and Ottoman architecture and ruins and in its important histori� cal museums.

ankh \'aqk\ Ancient Egyptian hieroglyph signifying life, consisting of a cross surmounted by a loop. In tomb inscriptions, gods and pha� raohs are often pictured holding the ankh, which forms part of the hiero� glyph for concepts such as health and happiness. It is used as a cross in the Coptic Orthodox Church.

Ankobra River River, southern Ghana. It rises northeast of Wiawso and flows about 130 mi (209 km) south to the Gulf of Guinea, just west of Axim. Its chief tributaries are the Mansi and Bonsa rivers; much of its basin is shared with the Tano River to the west.

Ann, Cape Cape northeast of Boston, Mass., U.S. Sheltering Ipswich Bay, it includes Annisquam Harbor on the north and Gloucester Harbor on the south. The rocky, picturesque promontory, named for Queen Anne (wife of James I), is noted for its old fishing villages and artists� colonies. Gloucester and Rockport are its main towns.

Ann Arbor City (pop., 2000: 114,024), southeastern Michigan, U.S. Founded in 1824, it became an agricultural centre with the coming of the railroad in 1839. The University of Michigan, which moved there from Detroit in 1837, has played a major role in Ann Arbor�s growth. Private industrial research and the university�s institutes of science and technol� ogy make the city a major Midwest centre for space and nuclear research.

Anna (Ivanovna) (b. Jan. 28, 1693, Moscow, Russia�d. Oct. 17, 1740, St. Petersburg) Empress of Russia (1730^40). After the death of Peter II, the Supreme Privy Council, Russia�s actual ruling body, offered Anna the throne (as the daughter of Ivan V) if she agreed to conditions placing the real power in the council�s hands. She initially agreed but later tore up the conditions, abolished the council, and reestablished the autoc� racy, countenancing a severely repressive regime. She occupied herself primarily with extravagant amusements and relied on her lover, Ernst Johann Biron (1690-1772), and a group of German advisers to manage the state. Shortly before her death, Anna named as her successor her grand-nephew Ivan (later Ivan VI).

Anna Comnena \kam-'ne-n9\ (b. Dec. 2, 1083�d. c. 1153) Byzan� tine historian. Daughter of the emperor Alexius I Comnenus, she conspired with her mother against her brother John II Comnenus; when the plot was discovered, she was forced to enter a convent. There she wrote the Alex- iad, a biography of her father and a pro-Byzantine account of the early Crusades.

Annaba \a-'na-bs\ formerly Bone \'bon\ Seaport (pop., 2004 est.: 410,700), northeastern Algeria. Identified with the port of ancient Hippo (or Hippo Regius), it was a rich city of Roman Africa. It was home to St. Augustine 396-430. Severely damaged by the Vandals in 431, it passed to the Byzantine Empire in 533 before being overrun by the Arabs in the 7th century and named Bona. It was occupied by the French in 1832 when they conquered Algeria. Modern Annaba is Algeria�s chief exporter of minerals; it also serves as a trading port and port of call.

Annales \a-'nal\ school School of history. Established by Lucien Feb- vre (1878-1956) and Marc Bloch (1886-1944), its roots were in the jour� nal Annales: economies, societes, civilisations, Febvre�s reconstituted version of a journal he had earlier formed with Marc Bloch. Under Fernand Braudel�s direction the Annales school promoted a new form of history, replacing the study of leaders with the lives of ordinary people and replacing examination of politics, diplomacy, and wars with inquir� ies into climate, demography, agriculture, commerce, technology, trans� portation, and communication, as well as social groups and mentalities. While aiming at a �total history,� it also yielded dazzling microstudies of villages and regions. Its international influence on historiography has been enormous.

Annam \a-'nam\ Historic kingdom, central Vietnam. The area was con� quered c. 200 bc by the Chinese, who gave it its name (which has never

The Ataturk Mausoleum, Ankara, Tur� key.

ROBERT HARDING PICTURE LIBRARY

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been used by the indigenous inhabitants). It became independent in the 15th century ad, opening the way for steady Vietnamese movement toward the Mekong River delta. When Vietnam was united in 1802, the city of Hue became the capital, and the area was ruled by the emperor of Annam. Central Vietnam gradually came under French control in the 19th century; it became a protectorate in 1883-85, leaving the court at Hue with only nominal power. The area was partitioned between North and South Vietnam in 1954; Annam�s last emperor had abdicated in 1945 but served as Vietnam�s chief of state from 1949 until shortly after partition.

Annan \a-'nan\, Kofi (Atta) (b. April 8, 1938, Kumasi, Gold Coast) Seventh secretary-general of the United Nations (from 1997), who shared, with the UN, the 2001 Nobel Prize for Peace. He was the son of a pro� vincial governor and hereditary paramount chief of the Fante people. He did graduate work at Geneva�s Institute for Advanced International Stud� ies and at MIT. He has spent almost his entire career within the UN, beginning at the World Health Organization (1962). As undersecretary- general for peacekeeping (from 1993), he transferred peacekeeping opera� tions in Bosnia from the UN to NATO. Elected in Decemberl996, he became the first UN secretary-general from sub-Saharan Africa, and he enjoyed a mandate to reform the UN bureaucracy. He criticized the UN�s failure to prevent or minimize genocide in Rwanda (1994) and unsettled many by declaring that the UN should address human-rights violations perpetrated by governments against their own people. His priorities included reforming the UN, restoring public confidence in the organiza� tion, and strengthening the UN�s activities for peace and development. Annan was appointed to a second term in 2001.

Annapolis \3-'na-p3-l9s\ City (pop., 2000: 35,838), capital of Mary� land, U.S. It lies along the Severn River on Chesapeake Bay. Settled in 1649 as Providence by Virginia Puritans, it was later known as Town Land at Proctor�s and Ann Arundel Town. It became the colonial capital in 1694 and was later renamed to honour Princess (later Queen) Anne. Its economy is tied to government services, and it is home to the U.S. Naval Academy.

Annapolis Convention (September 1786) Meeting in Annapolis, Md., U.S., that caused the convening of the Constitutional Convention. Delegates from five states gathered to discuss problems in maritime com� merce but found they could not solve them without making changes to the Articles of Confederation. They issued a call to all states to meet in Philadelphia in 1787 to resolve the difficulties.

Annapurna Mountain range, Nepal. It forms a ridge 30 mi (48 km) long and contains four main summits. Annapurna I (26,545 ft, or 8,091 m) was first scaled in 1950 by a French expedition; it was the first peak of more than 26,000 ft (8,000 m) to be ascended to the summit. In 1970 an all-woman Japanese team climbed Annapurna III (24,786 ft, or 7,555 m).

Anne (b. Feb. 6, 1665, London, Eng.�d. Aug. 1, 1714, London) Queen of Great Britain (1702-14) and the last Stuart monarch. Second daughter of James II, who was overthrown by William III in 1688, Anne became queen on William�s death (1702). Though she wished to rule independently, her intellectual limitations and poor health led her to rely on advisers, includ� ing the duke of Marlborough. Her reign was marked by the Act of Union with Scotland (1707) and by bitter rivalries between Whigs and Tories. Because she never gave birth to a successor, the regency passed to the Hanoverian descendants of James I.

Anne Boleyn \bu-'lin\ (b. 1507?�d. May 19, 1536, London, Eng.) British royal consort. After spending part of her childhood in France, Anne lived at the court of Henry VIII, who soon fell in love with her and began secret proceedings to rid himself of his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. For six years Pope Clement VII refused to grant an annulment. In 1533 Henry and Anne were secretly married, and Henry had the archbishop of Canter� bury, Thomas Cranmer, annul his previous marriage. Anne gave birth to the future Elizabeth I but failed to produce the male heir Henry wanted. He lost interest in her, and in 1536 he had her imprisoned on questionable charges of adultery and incest. She was convicted and beheaded.

Anne of Austria (b. Sept. 22, 1601, Valladolid, Spain�d. Jan. 20, 1666, Paris, France) Queen consort (1615-43) of Louis XIII of France and regent (1643-51) for her son Louis XIV. Daughter of Philip III of Spain and Margaret of Austria, Anne married the 14-year-old Louis XIII in 1615. He treated her coolly, and the powerful cardinal de Richelieu attempted to limit her influence over her husband. After Louis XIII died and she was declared sole regent, she strove to ensure that her son would succeed to

the absolute power Richelieu had won for Louis XIII. Together with her first minister, Cardinal Mazarin, she faced the series of revolts known as the Fronde. Her regency ended in 1651, when Louis XIV was pro� claimed of age to rule.

Anne of Brittany (b. Jan. 25,

1477, Nantes, France�d. Jan. 9,

1514, Blois) Duchess of Brittany and twice queen consort of France. After succeeding to her father�s duchy in 1488, Anne allied herself with Max� imilian I of Austria. She was then forced to break with him and in 1491 marry Charles VIII of France, thus beginning the process of the union of Brittany with the French crown.

After Charles�s death (1498), she married his successor, Louis XII.

Throughout her life Anne devoted herself to safeguarding Brittany�s autonomy within the kingdom.

Anne of Cleves (b. Sept. 22, 1515�d. July 16, 1557, London, Eng.) Fourth wife of Henry VIII of England. Henry married Anne, whom he found homely, to form an alliance with her brother William, duke of Cleves, a leader of the Protestants of western Germany. The alliance, arranged by Thomas Cromwell, seemed necessary because it appeared that the major Roman Catholic powers, France and the Holy Roman Empire, intended to attack Protestant England. When that threat dissipated, the marriage became a political embarrassment and was annulled by an Angli� can convocation in 1540.

annealing Treatment of a metal, alloy, or other material by heating to a predetermined temperature, holding for a certain time, and then cool� ing to room temperature, done to improve ductility and reduce brittleness. Process annealing is carried out intermittently during the working of a piece of metal to restore ductility lost through repeated hammering or other working, if several cold-forming operations are required but the metal is so hardened after the first operation that further cold working would cause cracking (see hardening). Full annealing is done to give workability to such parts as forged blanks destined for use in the machine- tool industry. Annealing is also done for relief of internal stresses in metal and glass. Annealing temperatures and times differ for different materials and with properties desired; steel is usually held for several hours at about 1,260�F (680�C) and then cooled for several hours. See also heat treat� ing, SOLID SOLUTION.

annelid Va-no-.lidX Any member of a phylum (Annelida) of invertebrate animals that possess a body cavity (coelom), movable bristles (setae), and a body divided into segments by crosswise rings. Known as segmented worms, annelids are divided into three classes: marine worms (Polycha- eta; see polychaete), earthworms (Oligochaeta), and leeches (Hirudinea). See illustration on following page.

Anne's War, Queen See Queen Anne's War

annihilation In physics, a reaction in which a particle and its antipar� ticle (see antimatter) collide and disappear. The annihilation releases energy equal to the original mass m multiplied by the square of the speed of light c, or E = me 2 , in accordance with Albert Einstein�s special theory of relativity. The energy can appear directly as gamma rays or can convert back to particles and antiparticles (see pair production).

annual Any plant that completes its life cycle in a single growing sea� son. The dormant seed is the only part of an annual that survives from one growing season to the next. Annuals include many weeds, wildflowers, garden flowers, and vegetables. See also biennial, perennial.

annual ring See growth ring

annuity Payment made at a fixed interval. A common example is the payment received by retirees from their pension plan. There are two main classes of annuities: annuities certain and contingent annuities. Under an annuity certain, a specified number of payments are made, after which the annuity stops. With a contingent annuity, each payment depends on the continuance of a given status; for example, a life annuity continues only

Anne of Austria, detail of a portrait by Peter Paul Rubens; in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.

ART MEDIA/HERITAGE-IMAGES

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78 I annulment ► Ansgar

hearts esophagus

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\ circular muscle longitudinal muscle

Body plan of an earthworm. Partitions (septa) divide the body cavity (coelom) into more than 100 segments. The circular and longitudinal muscles work with the setae to move the worm forward. Soil is pulled into the mouth by the sucking action of the pharynx; the crop releases food slowly into the gizzard, where the soil is ground to release and break up any organic matter. The cerebral ganglion, or "brain," con� trols all body functions and movement via a ventral nerve cord. Contraction of the hearts (aortic arches) and ventral blood vessel forces blood through the body; blood returns via the dorsal blood vessel. Nitrogenous waste is eliminated through the tubules of the nephridia, while digested soil is pushed through the intestine and out the anus. The clitellum secretes mucus for mating and a cocoon in which eggs are deposited.

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as long as the recipient survives. Contingent annuities such as pension plans or life insurance depend on shared risk. Everyone pays in a fixed amount until the annuity begins; some will not live long enough to receive back all the money they have paid, while others will live long enough to collect more than they have paid.

annulment Legal invalidation of a marriage. It announces the invalid� ity of a marriage that was void from its inception. It is to be distinguished from dissolution or divorce. To justify annulment, the marriage contract must have a defect (e.g., incompetence of one party because of age, insan� ity, or a preexisting marriage). Continued absence of one party may also justify annulment. Generally, annulment is easier if the marriage is uncon� summated. Both secular law and Christian canon law have annulment procedures.

anode Terminal or electrode from which electrons leave a system. In a battery or other source of direct current, the anode is the negative termi� nal. In a passive load it is the positive terminal. In an electron tube, elec� trons from the cathode travel across the tube toward the anode; in an electroplating cell, negative ions are deposited at the anode.

anodizing Method of coating metal for corrosion resistance, electrical insulation, thermal control, abrasion resistance, sealing, improving paint adhesion, and decorative finishing. Anodizing consists of electrically depositing an oxide film from aqueous solution onto the surface of a metal, often aluminum, which serves as the anode in an electrolytic cell. In the most common type of anodizing, which uses a 15% sulfuric acid bath, dyes can be introduced into the oxidation process to achieve a coloured surface. Aluminum thus anodized and coloured is used widely in giftware, home appliances, and architectural decoration.

anomie Va-no-meX In the social sciences, a condition of social instabil� ity or personal unrest resulting from a breakdown of standards and val� ues or from a lack of purpose or ideals. The term was introduced in 1897

by Emile Durkheim, who believed that one type of suicide (anomic) resulted from the breakdown of social standards that people need and use to regu� late their behavior. Robert K. Merton studied the causes of anomie in the U.S., finding it severest in persons who lack acceptable means of achiev� ing their cultural goals. Delinquency, crime, and suicide are often reac� tions to anomie. See also alienation.

anorexia nervosa \ l a-n3- , rek-se-o-n3r- , vo-s3\ Eating disorder, mostly in young women, characterized by a failure to maintain body weight at a normal level because of an intense desire to be thin, a fear of gaining weight, or a disturbance in body image. Anorexia nervosa typi� cally begins in late adolescence. In women a usual symptom is amenor� rhea. A person with anorexia nervosa will often go to great lengths to resist eating in order to lose weight, and medical complications can be life- threatening. Treatment can include psychological and social therapy.

anorthite Feldspar mineral, calcium aluminosilicate (CaAl 2 Si 2 0 8 ), that occurs as white or grayish, brittle, glassy crystals. Primarily a rock� forming mineral, it is used in the manufacture of glass and ceramics. Anorthite occurs in basic igneous rocks (see acid and basic rocks).

anorthosite Type of igneous rock composed predominantly of calcium- rich feldspar. It is considerably less abundant than either basalt or granite, but the complexes in which it occurs are often immense. All anorthosites found on the earth consist of coarse crystals, but some from the moon are finely crystalline.

Anouilh \a-'nuy\, Jean (-Marie-Lucien-Pierre) (b. June 23, 1910, Bordeaux, France�d. Oct. 3, 1987, Lausanne, Switz.) French playwright. After studying law, he wrote his first play. The Ermine (1932), followed by the successful Traveler Without Luggage (1937). He is best remembered for Antigone (1944), The Lark{ 1953), and Becket (1959), in which he used techniques such as the play within the play, flashbacks and flash-forwards, and the exchange of roles. A skillful exponent of the well-made play, he rejected naturalism and realism in favour of a return to theatricausm.

Ansar Arabic "Helper" Term originally applied to some of the Com� panions of the Prophet. When Muhammad left Mecca for Medina, the Ansar were the Medinese who aided him and who became his devoted follow� ers, serving in his army. The term was revived in the 19th century to refer to the followers of the Sudanese al-MAHDi, al-Mahdi�s successor, or his descendants.

Anschluss \'an-,shlus\ (German: �union�) Political union of Austria with Germany, which occurred when Adolf Hitler annexed Austria. In 1938 the Austrian chancellor Kurt von Schuschnigg was bullied into can� celing a plebiscite on union with Germany, which he expected Austrians to oppose. He resigned his office and ordered the Austrian army not to resist the Germans. The Germans invaded on March 12, and the enthu� siasm shown by Austrians persuaded Hitler to annex Austria outright the next day. Though France and Britain protested Hitler�s methods, they and other countries accepted the fait accompli.

Anselm of Canterbury, Saint (b. 1033/34, Aosta, Lombardy�d. April 21, 1109, possibly at Canterbury, Kent, Eng.; feast day April 21) Founder of Scholasticism. Anselm entered the Benedictine monastery at Bee (in Normandy) in 1057 and became abbot in 1078. In 1077 he wrote the Monologium to demonstrate God�s existence and attributes by reason alone. He then wrote Proslogium, which established the ontological argu� ment for the existence of God. In 1093, he became archbishop of Canter� bury and soon became involved in disputes with William II over the independence of the church and the right to appeal to the pope, arguments that led to Anselm�s exile. Although invited back by Henry I, Anselm again argued with the king over lay investiture (see Investiture Controversy). In 1099 he completed Cur Deus homo? (�Why Did God Become Man?�), which provided a new understanding of Jesus� redemption of humankind and revealed the increasing focus on the humanity of Jesus. Anselm was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1720.

Ansgar \'ans-,gar. Saint (b. probably 801, near Corbie, Austrasia�d. Feb. 3, 865, Bremen, Saxony; feast day February 3) Missionary, first archbishop of Hamburg, and patron saint of Scandinavia. He was sent by Louis I (the Pious) to help King Harald Christianize Denmark and King Bjorn Christianize Sweden. He initiated a mission to all Scandinavians and Slavs and was appointed archbishop of Hamburg (832). But Sweden and Denmark returned to paganism by 845, and Ansgar had to repeat all his work. He thwarted another pagan rebellion and was recognized as a saint soon after his death.

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Anshan ► Antarctica I 79

Anshan \'an-,shan\ City and territory of ancient Elam, north of modern Shiraz, Iran. Anshan came to prominence c. 2350 bc, but its greatest period was in the 13th- 12th centuries bc, when, as kings of Anshan and Susa, Elamite rulers periodically raided the cities of Babylonia. The area appar� ently came under the control of the Persians c. 675 bc. Its ruins have yielded major finds, including examples of early Elamite writing.

Anshan Van-'shan\ or An-shan City (pop., 1999 est.: 1,285,849), Liao� ning province, northeastern China. Established as a post station in 1387, it was fortified in 1587 as part of the defenses set up by the Ming dynasty against the rising power of the Manchus. It was destroyed by fire during the Boxer Rebellion and badly damaged during the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05). In the 1930s the Japanese occupied Anshan and made it a steel� making centre. The city was bombed by U.S. aircraft in 1944 and looted by the Soviets following World War II. The Chinese later redeveloped it into an industrial centre that produces steel, cement, and chemicals.

ant Any member of approximately 8,000 species of the social insect family Formicidae. Ants are found worldwide but are especially com� mon in hot climates. They range from 0.1 to 1 in. (2-25 mm) long and are usually yellow, brown, red, or black. Ants eat both plant and animal substances; some even �farm� fungi for food, cultivating them in their nests, or �milk� aphids. Ant colonies consist of three castes (queens, males, and workers, including sol� diers) interacting in a highly com� plex society paralleling that of the honeybees. Well-known ant species America, the voracious army ants of tropical America, and the stinging FIRE ANT.

antacid Any substance, such as sodium bicarbonate, magnesium hydrox� ide, or aluminum hydroxide, used to relieve the discomfort caused by indi� gestion, gastritis, and several forms of ulcers. Antacids counteract or neutralize gastric acidity for up to three hours after a single dose. Antacids should be taken when gastric acidity is most likely to be increasing� namely, between one and three hours after each meal and at bedtime.

Antakya See Antioch

Antananarivo X.an-ta-.na-na-'re-voV formerly Tananarive \ta-,na-na-'rev\ City (pop., 2001 est.: 1,403,449), capital of Madagascar. Located in central Madagascar Island, and rising to an elevation of 4,694 ft (1,431 m), the city was founded in the 17th century and was controlled by the Merina from the early 1790s until the end of the 19th century. The French made it the capital of their colony when they took control of the region at the end of the 19th century and renamed it Tananarive. The name became Antananarivo after the 1972 revolution. The University of Mada� gascar (1961) is located there, as are tobacco- and food-processing plants. A railway connects it with Toamasina, the island�s chief port.

Antarctic Circle Parallel of latitude approximately 66.5� south of the Equator that circumscribes the southern frigid zone. It marks the northern limit of the area within which, for one day or more each year, the sun does not set or rise. The length of continuous day or night increases southward from the Antarctic Circle, mounting to six months at the South Pole.

Antarctic regions Antarctica and the southern portions of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans. The waters around Antarctica are sometimes called the Southern Ocean; however, the term �Antarctic Ocean� is some� times also used, inappropriately. Much of the area is characterized by subpolar conditions, and ice shelves and sea ice extend well beyond the borders of the continent. Water cooled by the coastal ice masses of the Antarctic continent sinks and flows northward along the ocean bottom and is replaced at the surface by warmer water flowing south from the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. The meeting point of these currents is the Antarctic Convergence, an area rich in phytoplankton and krill, which are important to various species of fish as well as to penguins and seabirds.

Antarctica Fifth largest continent on Earth. Antarctica lies concentri� cally about the South Pole, its landmass almost wholly covered by a vast ice sheet averaging 6,500 ft (2,000 m) thick. It is divided into two sub� continents: East Antarctica, consisting mainly of a high, ice-covered pla� teau, and West Antarctica, consisting largely of an archipelago of

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2002 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

mountainous islands covered with ice. Its land area is about 5.5 million sq mi (14.2 million sq km). The southern portions of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans surround it (see Antarctic regions). Antarc� tica would be circular except for the outflaring Antarctic Peninsula and two principal bays, the Ross Sea and the Weddell Sea. East and West Ant� arctica are separated by the long chain (1,900 mi [3,000 km]) of the Tran- santarctic Mountains. The ice sheet overlaying the continent represents about 90% of the world�s glacial ice. By far the coldest continent, it has the world�s lowest recorded temperature, -128.6 �F (-89.2 �C), measured in 1983. The climate supports only a small community of land plants, but the rich offshore food supply sustains penguins and immense seabird rookeries. There are no permanent human inhabitants. The Russian F.G. von Bellingshausen (b. 1778�d. 1852), the Englishman Edward Brans- field (b. 1795?�d. 1852), and the American Nathaniel Palmer (b. 1799�d. 1877) all claimed first sightings of the continent in 1820. The period to c. 1900 was dominated by the exploration of Antarctic and sub- Antarctic seas. The early 20th century, the �heroic era� of Antarctic explo� ration, produced expeditions deep into the interior by Robert Falcon Scott and later Ernest Shackleton. The South Pole was reached by Roald Amund� sen in December 1911 and by Scott in January 1912. The first half of the 20th century was also Antarctica�s colonial period. Seven nations claimed sectors of the continent, while many other nations carried out explora� tions. In the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58, 12 nations estab� lished over 50 stations on the continent for cooperative study. In 1961 the Antarctic Treaty, reserving Antarctica for free and nonpolitical scientific study, entered into full force. A 1991 agreement imposed a ban on min� eral exploitation for 50 years.

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80 I anteater ► anthracite

anteater Any of four species of toothless, insect-eating placental mam� mals. Found in tropical savannas and forests from Mexico to northern Argentina and Uruguay, anteaters have a long tail, dense fur, a long skull, and a tubular muzzle. Their mouth opening is small, and the tongue is long and wormlike. They live alone or in pairs and feed mainly on ants and termites, which they obtain by inserting their sticky tongue into a nest torn open by the long, sharp, curved claws of their forefeet. The species range in length from 15 in. (37 cm) to 6 ft (1.8 m). Once grouped together, anteaters are now considered as separate from echidnas and pangolins.

Antelami X.an-te-'la-meX, Benedetto (b. c. 1150, probably Lombardy�d. c. 1230, Parma) Italian sculptor and architect. He prob� ably belonged to the Magistri Antelami, a civic builders� guild in the Lake Como region. An early signed marble relief by him, The Descent from the Cross (1178), is in Parma Cathedral; his extensive cycle of sculpture on the baptistery at Parma was begun in 1196. He is credited with the sculp� tural decorations of Fidenza Cathedral and Ferrara Cathedral. His last work is believed to have been the decoration and (at least in part) the construction of the church of Sant�Andrea at Vercelli, the architecture of which successfully combined Tuscan Romesque with Gothic characteris� tics (such as flying buttresses, rose windows, and ribbed vaulting) and won him lasting renown.

antelope Any of numerous species of Old World grazing or browsing bovids that typically are swift, slender, and graceful plains dwellers. The North American pronghorn is also sometimes referred to as an antelope. Most antelope are African; the others, except for the pronghorn, are Eur� asian. They range in shoulder height from 10 to 70 in. (25-175 cm). The male, and sometimes the female, bears distinctive, backwardly curved horns. See also bongo, dik-dik, duiker, eland, gazelle, gnu, hartebeest, impala,

KUDU, NYALA, ORYX, SPRINGBOK, WATERBUCK.

antenna or aerial Component of radio, television, and radar systems that directs incoming and outgoing radio waves. Usually of metal, anten� nas range in shape and size from the mastlike devices used for radio and television broadcasting to the large parabolic reflectors used to focus sat� ellite signals and the radio waves generated by distant astronomical objects and reflect them toward the centrally located receiver. Antennas were invented in the 1880s by Heinrich Hertz; Guglielmo Marconi made many improvements.

antenna In zoology, one of a pair of slender, segmented sensory organs on the head of insects, myriapods (e.g, centipedes, millipedes), and crusta� ceans. Antennae of insects, which are movable, are believed to serve as both tactual and smell receptors; in some species, the development of elaborate antennal plumes and brushlike terminations has led to the sug� gestion that they also serve for hearing. Evidence supports this idea only for the mosquito, whose antennae are attached to specialized structures stimulated by vibrations of the antennal shaft. In social insects (e.g., ants), antennae movements may serve as communication.

Antenor \an-'te-nor\ (fl. c. 530-510 bc) Greek sculptor active in Athens. In antiquity he was famous for his bronze group of the Tyrannicides (c. 510 bc) made for the Athenian agora; the statues no longer exist. There were elements of motion and accurate anatomical detail in the work that mark the transition between the Archaic and Classical eras. A large marble kore (c. 520 bc) from the Acropolis, found in 1886, is also attributed to him and is considered one of the finest examples of late Archaic sculpture.

anthem Choral composition with English words used in church ser� vices. It developed in the mid-16th century as the Anglican version of the Catholic Latin motet. The full anthem is for unaccompanied chorus throughout; the verse anthem employs one or more soloists and, gener� ally, instrumental accompaniment. Both types often employ antiphonal singing, the alternation of two half-choirs (anthem derives from antiphon). William Byrd, Thomas Talus, Henry Purcell, and George Frideric Handel wrote well-known anthems.

Anthesteria V.an-tho-'stir-e-oV Athenian festival in honor of Dionysus, held during the month of Anthesterion (Feb.-Mar.) to celebrate the begin� ning of spring and the maturing of the wine stored at the previous vin� tage. It lasted three days and included libations to the god from newly opened casks, popular merrymaking, a secret ceremony of marriage between Dionysus and the wife of the king, and underworld rites.

Anthony, Susan B(rownell) (b. Feb. 15, 1820, Adams, Mass., U.S.�d. March 13, 1906, Rochester, N.Y.) U.S. pioneer in the women's suffrage movement. A precocious child, she learned to read and write at the

age of three. After attending a board� ing school in Philadelphia, she took a teaching position in a Quaker semi� nary in upstate New York. She taught at a female academy (1846-49) and then settled in her family home near Rochester, N.Y. There she met many leading abolitionists, including Fred� erick Douglass and William Lloyd Gar� rison. The rebuff of her attempt to speak at a temperance meeting in Albany in 1852 prompted her to join Elizabeth Cady Stanton in organizing the Woman�s State Temperance Society of New York. From this time she was a tireless campaigner for abolition and women�s rights. Dur� ing the early phase of the Civil War she helped organize the Women�s National Loyal League, which urged the case for emancipation. After the war, she campaigned unsuccessfully to have the language of the Four� teenth Amendment altered to allow for woman as well as �Negro� suf� frage. In 1868 she represented the Working Women�s Association of New York, which she had recently organized, at the National Labor Union convention. In January 1869 she organized a woman suffrage convention in Washington, D.C., and in May she and Stanton formed the National Woman Suffrage Association (NWSA). As a test of the legality of the suf� frage provision of the Fourteenth Amendment, she cast a vote in the 1872 presidential election in Rochester. She was arrested, convicted (the judge�s directed verdict of guilty had been written before the trial began), and fined; though she refused to pay the fine, the case was carried no further. She served as president of the National American Woman Suf� frage Association (1892-1900) and lectured throughout the country for a federal women�s-suffrage amendment.

Anthony of Egypt, Saint (b. 251, Koma, near al-Minya, Heptano- mis, Egypt�d. Jan. 17?, 356, Dayr Mari Antonios hermitage, near the Red Sea; feast day January 17) Egyptian hermit considered the founder of organized Christian monasticism. He began his practice of asceticism at age 20 and lived in solitude on Mount Pispir from 286 to 305. He emerged from his retreat to organize the monastic life of the hermits who had settled nearby. When the Edict of Milan (313) ended the persecution of Christians, Anthony moved to the desert between the Nile and the Red Sea. His monastic rule was compiled from writings and discourses attrib� uted to him in Athanasius�s Life of St. Anthony and the Apophthegmata patrum and was still observed in the 20th century by Coptic and Arme� nian monks. The hellish temptations he endured as a hermit became a popular subject for artists.

Anthony of Padua, Saint (b. 1195, Lisbon, Port.�d. June 13, 1231, Arcella, Verona; canonized 1232; feast day June 13) Franciscan friar, Doctor of the Church, and patron saint of Portugal. He joined the Augus- tinian order in 1210 and was probably ordained a priest. He joined the Franciscans in 1220 with the goal of seeking martyrdom among the Mus� lims but instead became a teacher of theology in Bologna, Italy, and in southern France. The most beloved of the followers of St. Francis, he was known as a great preacher and miracle worker. He was buried in Padua, Italy, and he is the patron of that city. He is also invoked for the return of lost property.

anthophyllite ^an-ths-'fi-llri Amphibole mineral, a magnesium and iron silicate that occurs in altered rocks, such as the crystalline schists of Kongsberg, Norway; southern Greenland; and Pennsylvania. Anthophyl� lite is commonly produced by regional metamorphism of ultrabasic rocks (see ACID AND BASIC ROCKS).

anthracite or hard coal Coal containing more fixed carbon than any other form of coal and the lowest amount of volatile (quickly evaporat� ing) material, giving it the greatest heat value. The most valuable of the coals, it is also the least plentiful, making up less than 2% of all coal reserves in the U.S., with most of the known deposits occurring in the East. Anthracites are black and have a brilliant, almost metallic lustre. Hard and brittle, they can be polished and used for decorative purposes. They are difficult to ignite but burn with a pale-blue flame and require little attention to sustain combustion. In the past they were used for

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anthracnose ► antiaircraft gun I 81

domestic heating, but today they have given way to other sources of energy (e.g., natural gas and electricity).

anthracnose \an-'thrak-,nos\ Plant disease of warm humid areas, caused by a fungus (usually Colletotrichum or Gloeosporium). It infects various plants, from trees to grasses. Symptoms include sunken spots of various colours in leaves, stems, fruits, or flowers, often leading to wilt� ing and dying of tissues. Dogwood anthracnose, caused by the fungus Discula destructivei, thrives in cool climates; in the U.S. it has caused severe losses to natural stands of dogwoods in mountainous regions. It is controlled by destroying diseased tree tissue, using disease-free seed and disease-resistant varieties, applying fungicides, and controlling insects and mites that spread anthracnose fungi from plant to plant.

anthrax \'an-,thraks\ Infectious disease of warm-blooded animals, caused by Bacillus anthracis , a bacterium that, in spore form, can retain its virulence in contaminated soil or other material for many years. A dis� ease chiefly of herbivores, the infection may be acquired by persons han� dling the wool, hair, hides, bones, or carcasses of affected animals. Infection may lead to death from respiratory or cardiac complications (within 1-2 days if acute), or the animal may recover. In humans, anthrax occurs as a cutaneous, pulmonary, or intestinal infection. The most com� mon type, which occurs as an infection of the skin, may lead to fatal sep� ticemia (blood poisoning). The pulmonary form of the disease is usually fatal. Sanitary working environments for susceptible workers are critical to preventing anthrax; early diagnosis and treatment are also of great importance. In recent decades, various countries have attempted to develop anthrax as a weapon of biological warfare; many factors, includ� ing its extreme potency (vastly greater than any chemical-warfare agent), make it the preferred biological-warfare agent. Concerns about anthrax mounted in 2001 after it was found in letters mailed to members of the U.S. government and news agencies.

anthropology The �study of humanity.� Anthropologists study human beings in aspects ranging from the biology and evolutionary history of Homo sapiens to the features of society and culture that decisively dis� tinguish humans from other animal species. Because of the diverse sub� ject matter it encompasses, anthropology has become, especially since the middle of the 20th century, a collection of more specialized fields. Physi� cal anthropology is the branch that concentrates on the biology and evo� lution of humanity. The branches that study the social and cultural constructions of human groups are variously recognized as belonging to cultural anthropology (or ethnology), social anthropology, linguistic anthropology, and psychological anthropology. Archaeology, as the method of investigation of prehistoric cultures, has been an integral part of anthropology since it became a self-conscious discipline in the latter half of the 19th century.

anthroposophy V.an-thro-'pa-so-foV Philosophy based on the view that the human intellect has the ability to contact spiritual worlds. It was for� mulated in the early 20th century by Rudolf Steiner and was influenced by theosophy. Steiner wanted to develop a faculty for spiritual perception independent of the senses, which he believed was latent in all human beings, and to this end he founded the Anthroposophical Society in 1912. Now based in Dornach, Switzerland, the society has branches worldwide.

anthurium \an-'thur-e-3m\ Any plant of the genus Anthurium, com� prising about 600 tropical herbaceous species in the arum family, many of which are popular foliage plants. A few species are widely grown for the florist trade for their showy, long-lasting blossoms; these include the fla� mingo lily {A. andraeanum ), which boasts a salmon-red flower, and the flamingo flower, or pigtail plant (A. scherzeranum), which has a scarlet flower.

Anti-Comintern Pact Agreement concluded first between Germany and Japan (Nov. 25, 1936) and later between Italy, Germany, and Japan (Nov. 6, 1937). The pact, sought by Adolf Hitler, was ostensibly directed against the Comintern but was specifically directed against the Soviet Union. It was one of a series of agreements leading to the formation of the Axis Powers. Japan renounced the pact in 1939 but later acceded to the Tripartite Pact of 1940, which pledged Germany, Japan, and Italy to mutual assistance.

Anti-Corn Law League British organization founded in 1839, devoted to fighting England�s Corn Laws, regulations governing the import and export of grain. It was led by Richard Cobden, who saw the laws as both morally wrong and economically damaging. The league

mobilized the industrial middle classes against the landlords, and Cobden won over the prime minister, Sir Robert Peel. The Corn Laws were repealed in 1846.

Anti-Federalists U.S. leaders who opposed the strong central govern� ment envisioned in the Constitution of the United States of 1787. Their agitation led to the creation of the Bill of Rights. While admitting the need for changes in the Articles of Confederation, they feared that a strong fed� eral government would infringe on states' rights. The group�s adherents, including George Mason, Patrick Henry, Thomas Paine, Samuel Adams, and George Clinton, were as numerous as the members of the Federalist Party, but their influence was weak in urban areas, and only Rhode Island and North Carolina voted against ratification of the Constitution. Anti- Federalists were powerful during the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, when they formed the nucleus of what later became the Democratic Party.

Anti-Lebanon Mountains Mountain range along the border of Syria and Lebanon. Running parallel to the Lebanon Mountains, the range aver� ages 6,500 ft (2,000 m) in elevation. Because of its poor soil and steep slopes, it is sparsely populated.

Anti-Masonic Movement Popular movement in the U.S. in the 1830s opposed to Freemasonry. The movement was ignited in 1826 by the disappearance and presumed murder of a New York bricklayer and former Mason, who had supposedly intended to reveal the order�s secrets. Reac� tion against the Masons swept through the northeastern U.S. In 1831 the Anti-Masonic Party became the first U.S. third party and the first party to hold a national convention. It condemned Freemasonry for its secrecy and undemocratic character. Its candidate won Vermont in the 1832 elec� tion. By the late 1830s the Anti-Masonic movement had been absorbed into the Whig Party.

anti-Semitism Hostility toward or discrimination against Jews as a religious group or �race.� Although the term anti-Semitism has wide cur� rency, it is regarded by some as a misnomer, implying discrimination against all Semites, including Arabs and other peoples who are not the targets of anti-Semitism as it is usually understood. In antiquity, hostility to the Jews emerged because of religious differences, a situation wors� ened as a result of the competition with Christianity. By the 4th century, Christians tended to see Jews as an alien people whose repudiation of Christ had condemned them to perpetual migration. Jews were denied citizenship and its rights in much of Europe in the Middle Ages (though some societies were more tolerant) or were forced to wear distinctive clothing, and there were forced expulsions of Jews from several regions in that period. Developed during the Middle Ages were many of the ste� reotypes of Jews (e.g., the blood libel, alleged greed, conspiracy against humankind) that have persisted into the modem era. The Enlightenment and the French Revolution brought a new religious freedom to Europe in the 18th century but did not reduce anti-Semitism, because Jews contin� ued to be regarded as outsiders. In the 19th century violent discrimina� tion intensified (see pogrom), and so-called �scientific racism� emerged, which based hostility to the Jews on their supposed biological character� istics and replaced religion as the primary basis for anti-Semitism. In the 20th century the economic and political dislocations caused by World War I intensified anti-Semitism, and racist anti-Semitism flourished in Nazi Germany. Nazi persecution of the Jews led to the Holocaust, in which an estimated six million Jews were exterminated. Despite the defeat of the Nazis in World War II, anti-Semitism remained a problem in many parts of the world into the 21st century.

Anti-Slavery Society, American See American Anti-Slavery Society

antiaircraft gun Artillery piece fired from the ground or shipboard in defense against aerial attack. They were first used in combat in World War I, when field artillery were converted to antiaircraft use by mount� ings that enabled them to fire nearly vertically. Range finders and search� lights, developed in the 1920s and �30s, increased their effectiveness. Advances in World War II included rapid-firing and automatic weapons, radar for target tracking, and radio-operated fuses. British and U.S. forces used a 40-mm gun that fired ammunition to a height of 2 mi (3.2 km). Heavier guns, up to 120 mm, were used against high-flying bombers. For most of the war, the most effective was the German 88-mm Fliegerabwe- hrkanone\ its abbreviated name, flak, became a universal term for anti� aircraft fire. With the introduction of guided missiles in the 1950s and �60s, heavy antiaircraft guns were phased out, though lighter radar-guided auto� matic guns remained effective against low-flying aircraft and helicopters.

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82 I antiballistic missile ► Antigone

antiballistic missile (ABM) Weapon designed to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles. Effective ABM systems have been sought since the Cold War, when the nuclear arms race raised the spectre of complete destruction by unstoppable ballistic missiles. In the late 1960s both the U.S. and the Soviet Union developed nuclear-armed ABM systems that combined a high-altitude interceptor missile (the U.S. Spartan and Soviet Galosh) with a terminal-phase interceptor (the U.S. Sprint and Soviet Gazelle). Both sides were limited by the 1972 Treaty on Antiballistic Missile Systems to one ABM location each; the U.S. dismantled its sys� tem, while the Soviet Union deployed one around Moscow. During the 1980s the U.S. began research on an ambitious Strategic Defense Initiative against an all-out Soviet attack, but this effort proved expensive and tech� nically difficult, and it lost urgency with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Attention shifted to �theatre� systems such as the U.S. Patriot missile, which was used with limited effect against conventionally armed Iraqi Scud missiles during the Persian Gulf War (1990-91). In 2002 the U.S. formally withdrew from the ABM treaty in order to develop a defense against limited missile attack by smaller powers or �rogue� states.

Antibes \a n -'teb\ ancient Antipolis Seaport (pop., 1999: 72,412), southeastern France. Located on the Mediterranean coast southwest of Nice, it was a Greek trading post established by Phocaeans c. 340 bc. It became a Roman town and eventually a fief of the Grimaldi family (see Monaco) from 1384 to 1608. It is noted as a winter resort and for its Roman ruins.

antibiotic Chemical substance that in dilute solutions can inhibit the growth of microorganisms or destroy them with little or no harm to the infected host. Early antibiotics were natural microbial products, but chem� ists have modified the structures of many to produce semisynthetic and even wholly synthetic ones. Since the discovery of penicillin (1928), anti� biotics have revolutionized the treatment of bacterial, fungal, and some other diseases. They are produced by many actinomycetes (e.g., streptomy� cin, tetracycline) and other bacteria (e.g., polypeptides such as bacitracin) and by fungi (e.g., penicillin). Antibiotics may be broad-spectrum (active against a wide range of pathogens) or specific (active against one, or one class). Drawbacks include activity against beneficial microorganisms, often causing diarrhea; allergies; and development of drug-resistant strains of the targeted microorganisms.

antibody Molecule in the immune system that circulates in blood and lymph in response to invasion by an antigen. Antibodies are globulins formed in lymphoid tissues by B cells, whose receptors are specialized to bind to a specific antigen. These receptors are copied as antibodies that attack the target antigens by binding to them, either neutralizing them or triggering a complement reaction. Antibodies have widely varying binding sites, providing protection from a wide range of infectious agents and toxic substances. Antibodies derived from the blood serum of infected people or animals are often given in an antiserum for quick immuniza� tion against fast-acting toxins or microbes. In 1975 Cesar Milstein and col� leagues developed a process for producing specific antibodies in virtually limitless amounts; these monoclonal antibodies can deliver radiation or drugs directly to specific antigens. See also antitoxin; reticuloendothelial SYSTEM.

Antichrist Chief enemy of Christ who would reign at the end of time, first mentioned in the epistles of St. John. The idea of a mighty ruler who will appear at the end of time to fight against the forces of good was adapted from Judaism; the Jewish concept in turn had been influenced by Iranian and Babylonian myths of the battle of God and the devil at the end of time. In the Book of Daniel the evil one is a military leader modeled on Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who persecuted the Jews. In several books of the New Testament, the Antichrist is a tempter who works by signs and wonders and seeks divine honors. It was a potent concept in medieval Christianity that received the attention of many commentators including Adso of Montier-en-Der, whose work became the basic medieval treatise on the Antichrist. During the Middle Ages, popes and emperors strug� gling for power often denounced each other as the Antichrist, and during the Reformation, Martin Luther and other Protestant leaders identified the papacy itself as the Antichrist.

anticoagulant Substance that prevents blood from clotting by sup� pressing the synthesis or function of various clotting factors (see coagu� lation). Anticoagulants are given to prevent thrombosis and used in drawing and storing blood. There are two main types of anticoagulants: heparin and vitamin K antagonists (e.g., warfarin). The latter have longer-

lasting effects, interfering in the liver�s metabolism of vitamin K to cause production of defective clotting factors. Anticoagulant therapy carries a high risk of uncontrollable hemorrhage.

Anticosti Island Island, Gulf of St. Lawrence. Lying at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River in southeastern Quebec, it is 140 mi (225 km) long; its greatest width is 35 mi (56 km). Visited by Jacques Cartier in 1534, it became part of Quebec province in 1774. Port-Menier is its present-day� and only�settlement. It is now primarily a recreation area.

antidepressant Any drug used to treat depression. The three main types inhibit the metabolism of serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain. The aim is to keep these monoamine neurotransmitters from dropping to levels associated with depression. The drugs may take a few weeks to show any effect. Tricyclic antidepressants, which inhibit inactivation of norepinephrine and serotonin, help more than 70% of patients. Monoam� ine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors apparently block the action of MAO, an enzyme that helps break down norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine in neurons. They have unpredictable side effects and are usually given only when tricyclic drugs do not help. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) apparently block reabsorption only of serotonin, allowing its lev� els to build up in the brain. SSRIs, which include fluoxetine (trade name Prozac), often help with depression unrelieved by tricyclics or MAO inhibitors and have milder side effects.

antidote Remedy to counteract the effects of a poison or toxin. Admin� istered by mouth, intravenously, or sometimes on the skin, it may work by directly neutralizing the poison; causing an opposite effect in the body; binding to the poison to prevent its absorption, inactivate it, or keep it from fitting a receptor at its site of action; or binding to a receptor to pre� vent the poison�s binding there, blocking its action. Some poisons are not active until converted to a different form in the body; their antidotes inter� rupt that conversion.

Antietam \an-'te-t3m. Battle of (Sept. 17, 1862) Decisive and bloody battle of the American Civil War that halted the Confederate advance on Maryland. Following victory in the Second Battle of Bull Run, Gen. Rob� ert E. Lee moved his troops into Maryland with an eye to capturing Wash� ington, D.C. They were stopped by Union troops under George B. McClellan at Antietam Creek, Md. Confederate casualties numbered some 13,700, and Union losses were about 12,400. McClellan was criticized for allowing Lee�s forces to retreat to Virginia, but the victory encour� aged Pres. Abraham Lincoln to issue a preliminary Emancipation Procla� mation.

antifreeze Any substance that lowers the freezing point of water, pro� tecting a system from the ill effects of ice formation. Antifreezes such as ethylene glycol or propylene glycol commonly added to water in automo� bile cooling systems prevent damage to radiators. Additives to prevent freezing of water in gasoline (e.g., Drygas) usually contain methanol or isopropanol. Organisms that must survive freezing temperatures use vari� ous chemicals to inhibit ice crystal formation in their cells and tissues: glycerol or dimethyl sulfoxide in insects, glycerol or trehalose in other inver� tebrates (nematodes, rotifers), and proteins in Antarctic fishes.

antigen Van-ti-jsnN Foreign substance in the body that induces an immune response. The antigen stimulates lymphocytes to produce antibod� ies or to attack the antigen directly (see antibody;immunity). Virtually any large foreign molecule can act as an antigen, including those of bacteria, viruses, parasites, foods, venoms, blood components, and cells and tis� sues of various species, including other humans. Sites on the antigen�s surface fit and bind to receptor molecules on the lymphocytes� surface, stimulating the latter to multiply and initiate an immune response that neutralizes or destroys the antigen.

Antigone \an-'ti-g9-ne\ In Greek legend, the daughter born of the inces� tuous relationship between Oedipus and his mother, Jocasta. After Oedi� pus had blinded himself in self-punishment, Antigone and her sister Ismene served as his guides, following him into exile. When he died, Antigone returned to Thebes, where her brothers Eteocles and Polyneices were at war. Both were killed, and Creon, the new king, declared that because Polyneices was a traitor, his corpse should remain unburied. Unwilling to let the body be defiled, Antigone buried him; when Creon condemned her to death, she hanged herself. Her story was dramatized by Sophocles and Euripides (in Euripides� version she escapes and joins her beloved, Haemon).

� 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Antigonid dynasty ► antinovel I 83

Antigonid dynasty (306-168) Ruling house of ancient Macedonia. Antigonus I was proclaimed king in 306 bc after his son Demetrius con� quered Cyprus, thus giving his father control of the Aegean, the eastern Mediterranean, and most of the Middle East. Under Demetrius II (r. 239- 229 bc), Macedonia was weakened by war with the Greek Achaean and Aetolian leagues. Antigonus III (d. 221) reestablished the Hellenic Alli� ance, restoring Macedonia to a strong position in Greece. Under Philip V, Macedonia first clashed with Rome, in 215. Philip�s defeat upset the old balance of power, and Rome became the decisive force in the eastern Mediterranean. The defeat of his successor, Perseus, at Pydna in 168 bc marked the end of the dynasty.

Antigonus I Monophthalmus \an- , tig-3-n9s...- I man-3f- , thal-m9s\ or Antigonus I Cyclops Latin "One-Eyed" (b. 382�d. 301 bc,

Phrygia, Asia Minor) Founder of the Macedonian dynasty of the Anti- gonids. He served as a general under Alexander the Great. From the plots, alliances, and wars among Alexander�s successors, he emerged in control of Asia Minor and Syria, though he soon relinquished the lands east of the Euphrates to Seleucus I Nicator. In 307 his son Demetrius I ousted the governor of Athens and conquered Cyprus, giving Antigonus control of the eastern Mediterranean, the Aegean, and Asia Minor. In 306 he was proclaimed king of the empire by the assembled army. In 302 he and his son renewed the Panhellenic League (consisting of all the Hellenic states except Sparta, Messenia, and Thessaly), in order to ensure peace in Hel� las and protect Antigonus. His dreams of taking Macedonia itself and Alexander�s entire former empire died with him at the Battle of Ipsus (301), the only battle he ever lost.

Antigonus II Gonatas \'gan-ot-3s\ (b. c. 320�d. 239 bc) King of Macedonia (276-239 bc). The son of Demetrius I Poliorcetes, he defeated the Gauls in Greece (279) and in Asia Minor (277), occupied key cities, and made alliances. He defeated Pyrrhus of Epirus in Greece (272) to solidify his control in Macedonia. In the Chremonidean War (267-261), he achieved lasting victory over Egypt, Sparta, and Athens. He allied with the Aetolian League and local tyrants to stave off incursions of the Achaean League. His defeat of the Egyptian fleet at Andros (244?) assured Mace� donian hegemony in the Aegean.

Antigua and Barbuda \an- , t9-g3...bar- , byu-do\ Island country, Lesser Antilles, Caribbean Sea. It consists of three islands: Antigua, Bar� buda, and Redonda. Area: 171 sq mi (442 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 77,800. Capital: St. John's (on Antigua). The majority of the population are descendants of African slaves brought in during colonial times. Lan� guage: English (official). Religion: Christianity (mostly Protestant; also Roman Catholic). Currency: Eastern Caribbean dollar. The largest of the islands is Antigua (108 sq mi [280 sq km]), which lacks forests, moun� tains, and rivers and is subject to droughts. The main anchorage is the deepwater harbour of St. John�s. Barbuda�25 mi (40 km) north of Anti� gua, 62 sq mi (161 sq km) in area, and mostly uninhabited�is home to a large bird sanctuary; its only human settlement is Codrington, on the western coast. Redonda, an uninhabited rock (0.5 sq mi [1.3 sq km]), lies southwest of Antigua. Tourism is the mainstay of the country�s economy; offshore banking is growing. Christopher Columbus visited Antigua in 1493 and named it after a church in Sevilla, Spain. It was colonized by English settlers in 1632, who imported African slaves to grow tobacco and sug� arcane. Barbuda was colonized by the English in 1678. In 1834 the islands� slaves were emancipated. Antigua (with Barbuda) was part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1871 until that colony was defederated in 1956. The islands achieved full independence in 1981. See map opposite.

antihistamine V.an-ti-'his-to-.men, .an-ti-'his-to-monV Synthetic drug that counteracts the effects of released histamine in the body. Antihista� mines compete with histamine at one of the three types of histamine receptors, preventing allergic attacks (see allergy) or inflammation. Some antihistamines also prevent motion sickness and vertigo. Drowsiness is a frequent side effect. H 2 antihistamines, which bind to the second recep� tor type, are used to control gastric-acid secretion (see stomach) and treat PEPTIC ULCERS.

Antilles \an-'til-ez. Greater and Lesser Two groups of islands in the West Indies, bounding the Caribbean Sea on the north and east, respec� tively. The Greater Antilles include the largest islands (Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico), the Lesser Antilles all being much smaller. The name Antilia originally referred to semimythical lands located some� where west of Europe across the Atlantic. After Christopher Columbus�s

discoveries, the Spanish name Antillas was commonly assigned to the new lands; �Sea of the Antilles� in various European languages is used as an alternative name for the Caribbean Sea.

antimatter Substance composed of elementary particles having the mass and electric charge of ordinary matter (such as electrons and protons) but for which the charge and related magnetic properties are opposite in sign. The existence of antimatter was posited by the electron theory of P.A.M. Dirac. In 1932 the positron (antielectron) was detected in cosmic rays, followed by the antiproton and the antineutron detected through the use of particle accelerators. Positrons, antiprotons, and antineutrons, col� lectively called antiparticles, are the antiparticles of electrons, protons, and neutrons, respectively. When matter and antimatter are in close prox� imity, annihilation occurs within a fraction of a second, releasing large amounts of energy.

antimetabolite N.an-ti-mo-'ta-bo-.lhA Substance that competes with, replaces, or inhibits a specific compound within a CELL, whose function� ing is thereby disrupted. Because its structure resembles the compound�s, it is taken up by the cell, but it does not react in the same way with the enzyme that acts on the usual compound. It may inhibit the enzyme or be converted into an aberrant chemical. Many antimetabolites are useful in treating disease, including sulfa drugs, which disrupt bacterial but not human metabolism for bacterial diseases, and others (e.g., methotrexate, 5-fluorouracil) for various cancers.

antimony Van-to-.mo-neX Semimetallic to metallic chemical element (see metal), chemical symbol Sb, atomic number 51. Of its various allo- tropes, the most common is a lustrous, bluish, brittle, flaky solid. In nature

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antimony occurs chiefly as the gray sulfide mineral stibnite, Sb 2 S 3 . Pure antimony metal has no important uses, but its alloys and compounds are extremely useful. Some antimony alloys have the rare quality of expanding on solidifying; these are used for castings and for type metal. Alloys with lead are used in car batteries, bullets, and cable sheaths. Anti� friction alloys with tin and lead (babbitt metals) are used as components of machine bearings. Antimony compounds (valences 3, 4, and 5) are widely used as flame retardants in paints, plastics, rubber, and textiles; others are used as paint pigments.

anti novel Type of avant-garde novel that departs from traditional nov- elistic conventions by ignoring such elements as plot, dialogue, and human interest. Seeking to overcome readers� habits and challenge their expectations, antinovelists deliberately avoid any intrusion of authorial personality, preferences, or values. Though the term was coined by Jean- Paul Sartre in 1948, the approach is at least as old as the works of the

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84 I Antioch ► antitrust law

18th-century writer Laurence Sterne. Writers of such works include Nath� alie Sarraute, Claude Simon, Alain Robbe-Grillet, Uwe Johnson, and Rayner Heppenstall.

Antioch Van-te-,ak\ Turkish Antakya \,an-ta-'kya\ City (pop., 1997: 139,046), southern Turkey. Founded in 300 bc by the Seleucid dynasty, Antioch was the centre of the Seleucid power until 64 bc, when it became the capital of the province of Syria under the Roman Republic and Empire. An early centre of Christianity, the city was the headquarters of St. Paul c. ad 47-55. Despite being briefly occupied by the Persians in the 6th century, it remained part of the Byzantine Empire until the Arab invasion of the 7th century. Thereafter it returned to Byzantine rule (969) and was seized by the Turkish Seljuq dynasty (1084) before being captured by the Crusaders in 1098. (See Crusades.) From 1268 it was ruled by the Mam- lOk dynasty, and it was absorbed by the Ottoman Empire in 1517. The city remained under their control until World War I (1914-18), when it was transferred to Syria. It was made part of the Republic of Turkey in 1939. The economy of the modem town is based on agriculture and light manu� facturing.

Antiochus I Soter \an-'tI-3-k3s... , so-ter\ (b. c. 324�d. 261 bc) King of Seleucid Syria in the east (2927-281 bc) and later overall (281-261). Son of Seleucus I, he consolidated the Seleucid kingdom, founded numer� ous cities, and expanded trade routes. In 281 he contended with revolts in Syria and northern Anatolia and fought a war with Antigonus II Gona- tas. With the defeat of the Gauls in Greece (279), he and Antigonus signed a pact of nonintervention. The Gauls in Asia Minor were not defeated until 275, after which he was hailed as Soter (�Saviour�) by appreciative Ionians. He settled Greeks in Asia Minor and Persia to counter invasions, and he worked to revive Babylonian culture. Though he won Phoenicia and the coast of Asia Minor from Egypt, he soon lost them, and in 261 he lost much of northern Asia Minor to Pergamum.

Antiochus III known as Antiochus the Great (b. 242�d. 187 bc,

near Susa, Iran) Seleucid king of the Syrian empire (223-187 bc). After quelling a rebellion by Achaeus, his governor in Asia Minor (213), Anti� ochus marched east to India (212�

205). He forged a peaceful alliance with Armenia and forcible ones with Parthia and Bactria, stilling resis� tance to his campaign. After the death of Ptolemy IV, Antiochus and Philip V of Macedonia divided most of his empire, Antiochus taking the southern and eastern lands, including Palestine (c. 202). He then marched against Egypt, concluding a peace in 195, through which he acquired southern Syria and Ptolemy�s terri� tories in Asia Minor. Rome grew angry with Antiochus after he admitted Hannibal of Carthage to his court; when Antiochus took a force to defend the Aetolians against Rome, Rome struck against him, eventually defeating him at Magnesia (189). He gave up lands in Europe and western Asia Minor but kept Syria, Mesopotamia, and western Iran. He was murdered while exacting much-needed tribute near Susa.

Antiochus IV Epiphanes \i-'pif-3-,nez\ (b. c. 215�d. 164 bc, Tabae, Iran) Seleucid king of the Hellenistic Syrian kingdom (175-164 bc). Son of Antiochus III, he was taken hostage in Rome (189-175), where he learned about Roman institutions. On his release, he ousted a usurper to take over Syria. He conquered Egypt except Alexandria (169) and ruled Egypt as regent for his nephew Ptolemy VI. The Roman defeat of his Macedonian allies neutralized his victories in Cyprus and Egypt (168), and he was forced to leave both, though he kept southern Syria. He took Jerusalem (167) and enforced its Hellenization; Jewish rites were forbid� den on pain of death. In 164 Judas Maccabaeus and the anti-Greek Jews conquered Judaea except for the Acra in Jerusalem (164), tore down the altar of Zeus, and reconsecrated the Temple. Antiochus then turned to defending his empire against the Parthians in the east, regained Armenia, and went on to the Arabian coast before dying in Persis.

antioxidant' Any of various compounds added to certain foods, natural and synthetic rubbers, gasolines, and other products to retard autoxidation

(combination with oxygen in the air at room temperature) and its effects. Aromatic compounds such as aromatic amines, phenols, and aminophenols delay loss of elasticity in rubber and gummy deposits in gasoline. Pre� servatives such as tocopherol (vitamin E), propyl gallate, butylated hydrox- ytoluene (BHT), and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) prevent rancidity in fats, oils, and fatty foods. In the body, antioxidants such as vitamins C and E and selenium may reduce oxidation caused by free radicals.

Antipater \an-'tip-9-t3r\ (d. 43 bc) Founder of the Herodian dynasty in Palestine. Bom in Idumaea, a region of southern Judaea, he gained power by helping the Romans, and in return, Julius Caesar appointed him procu� rator of Judaea in 47 bc. He was assassinated by a rival four years later, but his son, Herod the Great, was made king of Judaea.

Antiphon \'an-ti-,fan\ (fl. c. 480-411 bc) Orator and statesman. The first Athenian known to practice rhetoric professionally, he wrote speeches for others to give in court but was reluctant to appear in public debate. He may have instigated the revolution of the oligarchic Council of the Four Hundred, an attempt to seize the Athenian government in the midst of war. When the oligarchy fell, he defended his role in the overthrow in a speech called by Thucydides the greatest defense ever made, but he was nonethe� less executed for treason.

anti pope In Roman Catholicism, a person who tries to take the place of the legitimately elected pope. Some antipopes were elected by factions in doctrinal disagreements, and others were chosen in double elections arbi� trated by secular authorities or picked as third candidates in an effort to resolve such disputes. The earliest of the antipopes appeared in the 3rd century. During the Investiture Controversy, Henry IV appointed an anti� pope, and several more antipopes claimed the papal office over the next 200 years as a result of disputed elections or further struggles with secu� lar rulers. The principal age of the antipope came after the papal court was moved from Rome to Avignon in the 14th century (see Avignon papacy), an event that led to the Western Schism of 1378-1417. During this era, the popes now considered canonical were elected in Rome, and the antipopes were elected in Avignon.

Antirent War (1839-46) Civil protest by leaseholding farmers in upper New York state. Protesting outdated laws based on semifeudal leasehold� ing practices of the early Dutch estate owners, the leaseholders of Albany county in 1839 refused to pay back rent. The governor called out the mili� tia to quell the violence. Sporadic acts of resistance against rent and tax collection spread across the state, and in 1845 the governor declared mar� tial law. In 1846 a new state constitution abolished the leasehold system.

antiseptic Any of a variety of agents applied to living tissue to destroy or inhibit growth of infectious microorganisms. An antiseptic�s efficiency depends on concentration, time, and temperature. It is most valuable in the disinfection of contaminated wounds or skin surfaces when a wide margin exists between the concentration at which it is germicidal and that at which it is toxic to the body�s cells. Many antiseptics destroy specific types or forms of microorganisms (e.g., bacteria but not spores). Among the major families of antiseptics are alcohols, phenols, chlorine and iodine compounds, MERCURY-based tinctures, certain acridine dyes, and some essen� tial oils. Antiseptics are distinguished from disinfectants, which are ger� micidal agents used to destroy microorganisms on inanimate surfaces. See also ANTIBIOTIC.

antitank weapon Any of several guns, missiles, and mines intended for use against tanks. Land mines, ordinary artillery, and other projectiles were used to destroy tanks in World War I. By World War II antitank guns had been developed; they frequently fired special ammunition such as the hollow charge shell, which exploded on impact with great penetrating force. Various antitank missiles and launching devices, including the bazooka, were also used in the war.

antitoxin Antibody formed in the body in reaction to a bacterial toxin, which it can neutralize. People who have recovered from bacterial dis� eases often develop specific antitoxins that give them immunity against recurrence. Injecting an animal (usually a horse) with increasing doses of toxin produces a high concentration of antitoxin in the blood. The result� ing highly concentrated preparation of antitoxins is called an antiserum. The first antitoxin developed (1890) was specific to diphtheria; today, anti� toxins are also used to treat botulism, dysentery, gas gangrene, and tetanus.

antitrust law Any law restricting business practices that are consid� ered unfair or monopolistic. Among U.S. laws, the best known is the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, which declared illegal �every contract,

Antiochus III, coin, late 3rd-early 2nd century bc; in the British Museum.

COURTESY OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM; PHOTOGRAPH, J.R. FREEMAN & CO. LTD.

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antiion ► Antwerp I 85

combination.. .or conspiracy in restraint of trade or commerce.� The Clay� ton Antitrust Act of 1914, as amended in 1936 by the Robinson-Patman Act, prohibits discrimination among customers through prices or other means; it also prohibits mergers or acquisitions whenever the effect may be �to substantially lessen competition.� Labour unions are also subject to antitrust laws.

antiion Insect (family Myrmeleontidae) known in its larval stage for its aggressive capture of prey. The ant- lion larva digs a funnel-shaped sandy pit by using its oval, bristled abdomen, then buries itself in the pit with only its powerful jaws uncov� ered. Any small insect that ventures over the pit�s edge slips to the bot� tom and is seized by the antiion, which sucks the contents of its vic� tim and throws out the empty skin.

The adult antiion does not feed. The best known of the 65 described spe� cies occurs in North America and Europe.

Antofagasta \,an-t6-fa-'gas-ta\ Seaport (pop., 1999: est.: 243,038), capital of Antofagasta region, northern Chile. Located on Moreno Bay, it was a Bolivian city until it was taken by Chile in 1879 (see War of the Pacific). Its early growth resulted from the nitrate boom that began in 1866 and from the Caracoles silver discovery in 1870. The largest city of north� ern Chile, it remains a supply source for the mines and is a communica� tions centre on the Pan-American Highway.

Antonello da Messina X.an-to-'nel-o-da-ma-'se-noV (b. c. 1430, Mes� sina, Sicily�d. c. Feb. 19, 1479,

Messina) Italian painter. Trained in Naples, then a cosmopolitan art cen� tre, he studied the Flemish artists, notably Jan van Eyck. Based on these experiences, when he returned to Venice he introduced oil painting and Flemish pictorial techniques into mid-15th-century Venetian art. His major works were altarpieces and portraits. In Venice he executed the San Cassiano altarpiece, of which three fragments remain. His portrait busts in three-quarter view, combin� ing Flemish detail with Italian gran� deur, became fashionable.

Antonello�s practice of building form with colour rather than line and shade greatly influenced the subse� quent development of Venetian painting. See also Venetian school.

Antonescu V.an-to-'nes-kiA, Ion (b. June 15, 1882, Pitesti, Rom.�d.

June 1, 1946, near Jilava) Romanian marshal. He served in World War I and later became chief of staff (1934) and minister of defense (1937). Appointed prime minister in 1940, he established a fascist dictatorship and openly supported the Axis Powers. Initially he won broad support for his domestic reforms and declaration of war against the Soviet Union (1941), but that support eroded. His regime was overthrown in 1944, and he was later executed as a war criminal.

Antonine Wall Roman frontier barrier in Britain. It ran 37 mi (59 km) across Scotland between the River Clyde and the Firth of Forth. Ordered by Antoninus Pius and built in ad 142 by the governor of Britain, it was about 15 ft (5 m) wide and 10 ft (3 m) high; a ditch 40 ft (12 m) wide and 12 ft (4 m) deep ran in front of it and a road behind. It was controlled by 19 forts spaced at intervals of 2 mi (3 km). Its construction moved the northern boundary of Roman Britain into Scotland, providing defense against the northern tribes beyond Hadrian's Wall, which lay to the south. The wall was abandoned by 196, but traces remain.

Antoninus Pius X.an-to-'nI-nos-'pI-osX in full Caesar Titus Aelius Hadrianus Antoninus Augustus Pius (b. Sept. 19, 86, Lanuvium, Latium� d. March 7, 161, Lorium, Etruria) Roman emperor (ad 138�

161). Of Gallic origins, he served as consul (120) before being assigned judicial administrative duties in Italy.

He later governed the province of Asia (c. 134). He became an adviser to Hadrian and in 138 was made Hadrian�s heir. On accession he had the deceased emperor declared a god; for such dutiful acts he was named Pius (�Pious�). He quelled rebellions in Britain and other prov� inces and built the Antonine Wall.

Antonioni X.an-.to-ne-'o-neV Michelangelo (b. Sept. 29, 1912,

Ferrara, Italy) Italian film director and producer. He wrote film reviews and studied filmmaking before directing his short film The People of the Po Valley (1947). His first majoi Antoninus Pius, marble bust; in the Brit- film, The Girl Friends (1955), was j s h Museum, followed by the international sue- reproduced by courtesy of the trustees of the

cesses L�avventura (1960), Eclipse BRmSHMUSEUM _

(1962), and Blow-up (1966). His

other films include The Red Desert (1964), Zabriskie Point (1970), and The Passenger (1974). In Antonioni�s films, plot and dialogue are sub� ordinated to the visual image, which becomes a metaphor of human exist� ence rather than a record of it.

Antony, Mark Latin Marcus Antonius (b. c. 83�d. August, 30 bc) Roman general. After military service (57-54), he joined the staff of his relative Julius Caesar. He helped Caesar drive Pompey from Italy in 49 and in 44 was made co-consul. After Caesar�s assassination, Octavian (later Caesar Augustus) initially opposed Antony but later formed the Second Triumvirate with Antony and Lepidus. Antony helped defeat republican forces at Philippi and took control of Rome�s eastern provinces.

On a mission to Egypt to question Cleopatra about her loyalty, he became her lover (41-40). He returned to Italy in 40 to settle dif� ferences with Octavian, whereupon he received command of the eastern provinces. To strengthen his posi� tion, he agreed to marry Octavian�s sister Octavia. When relations with Octavian again collapsed, he headed for Syria and sent for Cleopatra for aid. Octavian sent Octavia to him, and, when Antony ordered her back to Rome, a fatal breach opened. The Triumvirate ended in 32, leaving Antony little support in Rome. He divorced Octavia, and Octavian declared war on Cleopatra. Antony lost the Battle of Actium, and he and Cleopatra fled to Egypt, pursued by Octa� vian. When resistance became futile, they committed suicide.

Antrim Town and district (pop., 2001: 48,366), Northern Ireland. It is also the name of a former Northern Irish county. The town borders Lough Neagh. In 1798 it was the scene of a battle in which several thousand nationalist insurgents led by Henry J. McCracken were defeated by the British. A busy market centre, Antrim town was formerly an important locale for the linen industry. The area has evidence of human inhabita� tion dating to c. 6000 bc. Anglo-Norman adventurers arrived in the 12th century ad, and the area became part of the earldom of Ulster. The inva� sion by Edward Bruce from Scotland in 1315 caused the decline of Brit� ish power. In the 1973 administrative reorganization of Northern Ireland, the county was divided into several districts.

Antwerp French Anvers \a n -'ver\ Flemish Antwerpen \'ant-,ver-p9n\ City (pop., 2000 est.: 446,500), capital of Antwerp prov� ince, Belgium. One of the world�s major seaports, it is located 55 mi (88 km) southeast of the North Sea. Because it lies in the Flemish-speaking part of Belgium, it plays the role of unofficial capital of Flanders. It

Antiion

WILLIAM E. FERGUSON

"Portrait of a Man," panel painting by Antonello da Messina, c. 1472; in the National Gallery, London.

COURTESY OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE NATIONAL GALLERY, LONDON

Mark Antony, detail of a marble bust; in the Vatican Museum.

AUNARI/ART RESOURCE

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86 I antyesti ► Apache

received municipal rights in 1291 and became a member of the Hanseatic League by 1315. As a distribution centre for Spanish and Portuguese trade, it became the commercial and financial capital of Europe in the 16th cen� tury. Following destructive invasions it went into decline but began to revive after Napoleon�s improvement of the harbour c. 1803. It was part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (1815-30), then was ceded to Belgian nationalists. Its current economic life centres around shipping, port-related activities, and major manufacturing.

antyesti \ant-'yes-te\ Hindu funeral rites. They generally involve cre� mation followed by disposal of the ashes in a sacred river. As soon as possible after death, the body is removed to the cremation grounds, usu� ally on the riverbank. The eldest son of the deceased and a priest perform the final rites. For 10 days, the mourners are considered impure as they perform rites intended to provide the soul of the deceased with a new spiritual body for the next life. At a prescribed date, the bones are col� lected and buried or immersed in a river.

Anu Va-.niA Mesopotamian sky god. He belonged to a triad that included Bel and Ea. Though he was the highest god, his role in mythology, hymns, and cult was small. The father of all gods, evil spirits, and demons, and the god of kings and the calendar, he was depicted with headdress and horns signifying strength. His Sumerian counterpart, An, was originally envisaged as a great bull; he probably began as a god of herders.

Anu Va-.nuV, Chao (b. 1767�d. 1835, Bangkok, Siam) Ruler of the central Lao kingdom of Vientiane (r. 1804-29). In his youth Anu fought with the Siamese against the Burmans (Burmese) and won Siamese respect for his military prowess. Chosen by them to be king of Vientiane, he undertook major public works and cultivated good relations with Viet� nam. He had the Siamese appoint his son ruler of the southern Lao prin� cipality of Champassak and began to plot a rebellion for Lao independence. His armies nearly reached Bangkok, but the revolt was quelled and Vientiane was sacked and later razed. Anu fled to the forests but was captured, punished, and killed.

Anubis Xo-'nii-bosX Ancient Egyptian god of the dead, represented as a jackal or as a man with the head of a jackal. In the Early Dynastic period and the Old Kingdom he was preeminent as lord of the dead, but he was later overshadowed by Osiris. Anubis was associated with the care of the dead and was credited with the invention of embalming, an art he first practiced on the corpse of Osiris. Later assigned the role of conducting souls into the underworld, he was sometimes identified in the Greco- Roman world with Hermes.

Anuradhapura Xo-'nur-o-do-.pur-oV (c. 3rd century Bc-10th century ad) Sinhalese kingdom centred at Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka. Though plagued by invasions from southern India (which took actual control of the kingdom several times) and internal strife among warring clans, the kingdom of Anuradhapura developed a high degree of culture. Its com� plex irrigation system is often considered its major achievement. The modern city of Anuradhapura (pop. 2001 prelim.: 56,632) contains vast Buddhist ruins and a bo tree grown from a slip of the tree under which the historical Buddha is said to have reached Enlightenment.

Anvers See Antwerp

anvil Iron block on which metal is placed for shaping, originally by hand with a hammer. The blacksmith�s anvil is usually of wrought iron (some� times of cast iron), with a smooth working surface of hardened steel. A projecting conical beak, or horn, at one end is used for hammering curved pieces of metal. When power hammers are used, the anvil is supported on a heavy block, which in turn rests on a strong foundation of timber and masonry or concrete. See also smithing.

anxiety In psychology, a feeling of dread, fear, or apprehension, often with no clear justification. Anxiety differs from true fear in that it is typi� cally the product of subjective, internal emotional states rather than a response to a clear and actual danger. It is marked by physiological signs such as sweating, tension, and increased pulse, by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the perceived threat, and by self-doubt about one�s capacity to cope with it. Some anxiety inevitably arises in the course of daily life and is normal; but persistent, intense, chronic, or recurring anxi� ety not justified by real-life stresses is usually regarded as a sign of an emotional disorder. See also stress.

Anzio \'ant-se-,6\ Seaport and resort town (pop., 2001 prelim.: 36,468) southeast of Rome, Italy. It was founded, according to legend, by Ante-

ias, son of Odysseus and Circe. It was a stronghold of the Volsci in the 5th century bc. Conquered by Rome in 338 bc, Antium (as it was then known) became a resort for wealthy Romans. Nero and Caligula were born there. Destroyed by the Saracens in the 9th-10th centuries, it remained virtu� ally deserted until 1698, when Pope Innocent XII built a new port nearby. In 1944 it was the scene of a bloody but successful amphibious landing by Allied forces during World War II.

ANZUS Pact officially Pacific Security Treaty Security pact for the South Pacific, signed in 1951 by Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. (hence its acronym). The U.S. first suggested a pact to Australia in the wake of the U.S.-Japan Security Treaty and fears of Japanese rearmament. The signatories agreed to maintain a consultative relationship for their collective security. In the 1980s New Zealand refused to let ships carry� ing nuclear weapons dock at its ports; the U.S., refusing to identify its nuclear-armed ships, suspended its treaty obligations to New Zealand in 1986, and the treaty has since been nonoperative with reference to New Zealand.

aorta Artery that carries blood from the heart to all the organs and struc� tures of the body. Where the left ventricle opens into the aorta, a valve prevents backflow of blood into the heart. The aorta ascends from the heart, arches over it to the left, then descends into the trunk. Arteries branch off along its length until it divides at hip level into arteries that go to the legs.

aorta, coarctation of the Congenital disorder involving narrowing of a short section of the aorta�s arch over the heart. It causes a charac� teristic murmur, abnormally high blood pressure in the arms, and reduced blood flow to the abdomen, pelvis, and legs. It increases the workload of the left ventricle, which usually becomes enlarged. Surgical reconstruc� tion or replacement (depending on the person�s age) of the narrowed area is most effective in the young.

Aosta \a-'os-ta\ City (pop., 2001: 33,926), capital of Valle d' Aosta region, northwestern Italy. Located at the juncture of the Great and Little St. Bernard Pass roads through the Alps, it was a stronghold of the Salassi, a Celtic tribe subdued by the Romans in 25 bc. A Roman town was founded there by Augustus in 24 bc, and many Roman structures survive, including the walls, two gates, and a triumphal arch in honour of Augus� tus. Aosta was the birthplace of St. Anselm.

AP See Associated Press

Apache North American Indians of the southwestern U.S. Their name is a Zuni word meaning �enemy.� Most Apaches live on five reservations in Arizona and New Mexico, U.S. Culturally, the Apache are divided into Eastern Apache, which include the Mescalero, Jicarilla, Chiricahua, and

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Apamea Cibotus ► aphorism I 87

Lipan, and Western Apache, which include the Cibecue. The Eastern Apache were predominantly hunting and gathering societies, while their Western counterparts relied more on farming. Their ancestors had come down from the north, as is evident from their languages; Apachean lan� guages are distantly related to other Athabascan languages spoken in Canada. They settled the Plains, but with the introduction of the horse they were pressed south and west by the Comanche and Ute. They attempted to befriend the Spanish, the Mexicans, and later the U.S. In 1861, however, there began a quarter-century confrontation between U.S. military forces and the Apache and Navajo. The Apache wars were among the fiercest fought on the frontier. The last ended in 1886 with the sur� render of Geronimo. The Chiricahua Apache were evacuated from the West and held successively in Florida, Alabama, and Oklahoma. In the 2000 U.S. census some 57,000 people claimed sole Apache descent. See also Cochise.

Apamea Cibotus V.a-po-'me-o-si-'bo-tosX City of Hellenistic Phrygia, near modern Dinar, Turkey. The city was built by Antiochus I (Antiochus Soter) in the 3rd century bc on the Maeander (Menderes) River. Super� seding the fortress city of Celaenae, it was placed in a commanding posi� tion on the great east-west trade route of the Seleucid dynasty. In the 2nd century bc Apamea passed to the rule of the Roman Republic and Empire and became an important centre for Italian and Jewish traders. Declining after the 3rd century ad, it was captured by Turkish invaders in 1070 and there� after was destroyed by an earthquake.

apartheid \o-'par-,tat\ (Afrikaans: �apartness� or �separateness�) Policy of racial segregation and political and economic discrimination against non-European groups in South Africa. The term was first used as the name of the official policy of the National Party in 1948, though racial segregation, sanctioned by law, was already widely practiced. The Group Areas Act of 1950 established residential and business sectors in urban areas for each �race� and strengthened the existing �pass� laws, which required non whites to carry identification papers. Other laws forbade most social contacts between those of European descent and others, authorized segregated public facilities, established separate educational standards, restricted each group to certain types of jobs, curtailed nonwhite labour unions, denied nonwhite participation in the national government, and established various black African �homelands,� partly self-governing units that were nevertheless politically and economically dependent on South Africa. These so-called homelands were not recognized by inter� national governments. Apartheid was always subject to internal criticism and led to many violent protests, strikes, and acts of sabotage; it also received international censure. In 1990-91 most apartheid legislation was repealed, but segregation continued on a de facto basis. In 1993 a new constitution enfranchised blacks and other racial groups, and all-race national elections in 1994 produced a coalition government with a black majority. These developments marked the end of legislated apartheid, though not of its entrenched social and economic effects. See also Afri� can National Congress; racism.

apatite A member of the phosphate group of minerals, the world�s major source of phosphorus, found as variously coloured, glassy crystals, masses, or nodules. Much of it has a chemical composition approximat� ing Ca 5 (P0 4 ) 3 (F,Cl,OH). If not for its softness, apatite would be a popu� lar gemstone; some of the material found is clear, but it is fragile and difficult to cut and polish.

Apatosaurus Vo-.pa-to-'sor-osX Genus of giant herbivorous dinosaur, one of the largest land animals of all time. Apatosaurus lived between 147 million and 137 million years ago during the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous Periods in North America and Europe. It weighed as much as 30 tons and was as long as 70 ft (21 m), including the very long neck and tail. Formerly known as Brontosaurus because of incomplete fossil evi� dence, its head was depicted until 1978 as massive and snub-nosed, with spoonlike teeth; scientists now know the animal had a slender, elongated skull and long, peglike teeth. Skeletal evidence indicates that, despite their great bulk, apatosaurs were primarily land animals.

ape Any of the tailless primates known as the lesser apes (gibbons and siamangs; family Hylobatidae) or the great apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, and gorillas; family Hominidae). Apes are found in the tropi� cal forests of western and central Africa and South Asia. They are distin� guished from monkeys by having no tail, having an appendix, and having a more complex brain. Apes typically move about by swinging or knuckle- walking, though they are capable of standing erect and occasionally walk

on two feet. Highly intelligent animals, apes are very closely related to humans, who are also categorized by zoologists as members of Homi� nidae. As a result of habitat destruction and hunting, all the apes are now regarded as endangered.

APEC in full Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Trade group established in 1989 in response to the growing interdependence of Asia- Pacific economies and the advent of regional economic blocs (such as the European Union and the North American Free Trade Area) in other parts of the world. APEC works to raise living standards and education levels through sustainable economic growth and to foster a sense of community and an appreciation of shared interests among Asia-Pacific countries. At the end of the 1990s APEC�s membership included its 12 founding members�Australia, Brunei, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and the United States�as well as Chile, China, Hong Kong, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Russia, Taiwan, and Vietnam. The Pacific Economic Coop� eration Council, the South Pacific Forum, and the secretariat of the Asso� ciation of Southeast Asian Nations maintain observer status. The APEC group represents about 40% of the world�s population, 40% of global trade, and 50% of the world�s gross national product. See also NAFTA; trade agreement; World Trade Organization.

a pel la \3-'pe-b\ Ancient Spartan assembly, similar to the Ecclesia of other Greek states. The apella, whose monthly meetings were open to citizens over age 30, did not initiate proposals. It could only consider matters submitted by the ephors or the gerousia. Voting was by shouts. Its business included treaties, wars, and succession; it named commanders, elected elders and ephors, and voted on changes in the laws.

Apelles \3-'pe-,lez\ (fl. late 4th century-early 3rd century bc) Greek painter. He studied under Pamphilus and was court painter to Philip II of Macedonia and his son, Alexander the Great. Notable works included a portrait of Alexander, an allegorical picture of Calumny, and a painting of Aphrodite rising from the sea. A master of composition and chiaroscuro, he was noted for his technical improvements; he used a dark glaze to pre� serve his paintings and soften their colour. Though no copies of his works survive, in antiquity he was considered the greatest of Greek painters.

Apennines Va-p9- l nlnz\ Mountain range, central Italy. It stretches some 840 mi (1,350 km) from near Savona in the northwest to Reggio di Cal� abria in the south, its width varying from 25 to 80 mi (40-130 km). Monte Corno is its highest peak, at 9,560 ft (2,915 m). The range is the source of most of Italy�s rivers, including the Arno, Tiber, Voltumo, and Gari- gliano. It is famous for its hill towns, including Florence, Arezzo, L'Aquila, and Benevento.

Apgar Score System Rating procedure to identify newborns need� ing life-sustaining medical assistance. It was developed in 1952 by Vir� ginia Apgar (1909-1974). Five signs, keyed to Apgar�s name� Appearance (color), Pulse, Grimace (reflex irritability), Activity (muscle tone), and Respiration�measure adaptation to leaving the uterus. The maximum score is 10. If the total score at one and then five minutes after birth is less than 7, the infant is reevaluated every five minutes for 20 minutes or until two consecutive scores of 7 or more are obtained.

aphasia \9-'fa-zh9\ or dysphasia \dis-'fa-zho\ Defect in the expres� sion and comprehension of words, caused by damage to the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain. It can result from head trauma, tumour, stroke, or infection. Symptoms vary with the brain area involved, and the ability to put words in a meaningful order may be lost. Speech therapy may be useful. In some cases, improvement may be due to assumption of some language functions by other areas of the brain.

aphid Va-fod', a-fod\ Any of several species of sapsucking, soft-bodied insects (order Homoptera) that are about the size of a pinhead, with tube� like projections on the abdomen. Serious plant pests, they stunt plant growth, produce plant galls, transmit plant viral diseases, and deform leaves, buds, and flowers. Ants may take care of aphids, protecting them from weather and natural enemies and transferring them from wilted to healthy plants. The ants in turn obtain honeydew, a sweet product excreted by aphids, which the ants retrieve by �milking� the aphids (stroking their abdomens).

aphorism Terse formulation of any generally accepted truth or senti� ment conveyed in a pithy, memorable statement. The term was first used in the Aphorisms of Hippocrates, a long series of propositions concerning disease and the art of healing. Aphorisms were used especially in dealing

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88 I aphrodisiac ► Apollo

with subjects for which principles and methodology developed relatively late, including art, agriculture, medicine, jurisprudence, and politics, but in the modern era they have usually been vehicles of wit and pithy wis� dom. Celebrated modern aphorists include Friedrich Nietzsche and Oscar Wilde.

aphrodisiac X.a-fro-'de-ze-.akA Any of various forms of stimulation thought to arouse sexual excitement. They may be psychophysiological (arousing the senses of sight, touch, smell, or hearing) or internal (e.g., foods, alcoholic drinks, drugs, love potions, medicinal preparations). Most foods traditionally believed to be aphrodisiacs have no chemical compo� nents that would have such an effect. In some cases, their reputation may be based on a supposed resemblance to genitalia (e.g., ginseng root, rhi� noceros horn). Drugs such as alcohol or marijuana may lead to sexual excitation by lessening the user�s inhibitions. Few medical studies have been conducted; the only substances medically recognized as aphrodisi� acs are extremely hazardous to the health.

Aphrodite \,a-fr3-'dl-te\ Greek goddess of sexual love and beauty. She is also associated with the sea and, according to legend, was born of sea foam arising from the genitals of Uranus. Sparta, Thebes, and Cyprus honored her as a goddess of war. Many scholars believe that her cult is Semitic rather than Greek in origin. According to Homer, she was the daughter of Zeus and his consort Dione, and she married Hephaestus but betrayed him with Ares. She had many mortal lovers. Her main centres of worship were on the islands of Cyprus and Cythera and at Corinth. As a fertility goddess, she is associated with Eros, the Graces, and the Horae (seasons). Venus is her Roman counterpart.

Apia \a-'pe-a\ Seaport town (pop., 2001: 38,836) and capital, Samoa. It lies on the northern coast of Upolu Island. Its economy centres on the export of goods to American Samoa. Robert Louis Stevenson is buried at nearby Mount Vaea; Vailima, his former home, is now the residence of the head of state.

apiculture See beekeeping

Apis \'a-p3s\ In ancient Egyptian religion, a sacred bull deity worshiped at Memphis. The cult originated at least as early as the 1st dynasty (c.

2925-c. 2775 bc). Apis was probably at first a fertility god but became associated with Ptah and also with Osiris and Sokaris, gods of the dead.

When an Apis bull died, it was bur� ied with great pomp, and the calf that was to be its successor was installed at Memphis. Apis�s priests drew omens from the bull�s behaviour, and his oracle had a wide reputation. The worship of Serapis (a combination of Osiris and Apis) probably arose at Memphis in the 3rd century bc and became one of the most widespread Oriental cults in the Roman Empire.

aplastic \a-'plas-tik\ anemia or anemia of bone-marrow failure Inadequate blood-cell for� mation by bone marrow. Pancytope� nia is the lack of all blood-cell types (ERYTHROCYTES, LEUKOCYTES, and PLATE� LETS), but any combination may be missing. Drug, chemical, or radiation exposure most often causes the dis� ease, but about half of all cases have no known cause. It may occur at any age. Acute disease may be quickly severe, even fatal; chronic disease has symptoms including weakness, shortness of breath, headache, fever, and pounding heart. There is usually a waxy pallor. Hemorrhages occur in mucous membranes, skin, and other organs. Lack of white blood cells lowers resistance to infection and becomes the major cause of death. Very low platelet count may lead to severe bleeding. The treatment of choice is bone-marrow transplantation. Otherwise treatment involves avoiding any known toxic agent and giving fluids, glucose, and proteins (often intravenously) as well as blood components and antibiotics.

aplite or haplite Any igneous rock of simple composition, such as granite composed only of alkali feldspar, muscovite mica, and quartz; in

a more restricted sense, uniformly fine-grained (less than 0.08 in., or 2 mm), light-coloured igneous rocks that have a characteristic granular tex� ture. Unlike pegmatite, which is similar but much coarser-grained, aplite occurs in small bodies that rarely contain zones of different minerals. The two rocks may occur together and are assumed to have formed at the same time from similar magmas.

Apo \'a-po\, Mt. Active volcano, Mindanao, Philippines. Located west of Davao City, it is the highest point in the Philippines, at 9,690 ft (2,954 m). In 1939 its slopes and immediate vicinity were incorporated into Mount Apo National Park, which includes numerous peaks and valleys as well as Malasita Falls and Sibulao Lake.

apocalypse Vs-'pa-ko-.lipsV In many Western religious traditions, the period of catastrophic upheaval expected to occur just before the end of the world, when God will come to sit in judgment on humankind. The belief that the world will come to a violent and cataclysmic end exists in Judaism and Christianity as well as in Zoroastrianism. Several of the pro� phetic works of the Hebrew Scriptures, notably the book of Daniel, include visions of the apocalypse. The book of Revelation (or Apocalypse) gives a dark and dramatic picture of the end of time, when the wicked will be punished and the good will triumph through God�s intervention. The approach of the Last Days is expected to be marked by famines, wars, earthquakes, plagues, and other natural disasters, along with signs in the heavens. Today apocalyptic themes are emphasized by various religious groups (e.g., fundamentalist Christians) and have also been taken up by science-fiction writers. See also eschatology; millennialism.

Apocrypha \3-'pa-kr3-fo\ In biblical literature, works outside an accepted canon of scripture. In modern usage the Apocrypha refers to ancient Jewish books that are not part of the Hebrew Bible but are con� sidered canonical in Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. Among the various books included are Tobit, Judith, Baruch, and the Maccabees as well as Ecclesiasticus and the Wisdom of Solomon. Protestant churches follow Jewish tradition in judging these works apocryphal or noncanon- ical. The term deuterocanonical is used to refer to works accepted in one canon but not all. Pseudepigrapha are spurious works for which biblical authorship is claimed.

Apollinaire \a-p6-le-'ner\, Guillaume orig. Guillelmus (or Wil� helm) Apollinaris de Kos- trowitzky (b. Aug. 26, 1880,

Rome?, Italy�d. Nov. 9, 1918,

Paris, Fr.) French poet of Polish- Italian birth. Arriving in Paris at age 20, Apollinaire always kept his early years obscure. In his short life he took part in all the avant-garde movements that flourished at the beginning of the 20th century. His poetry was characterized by daring, even outrageous, technical experi� ments. Because of his efforts to cre� ate an effect of surprise by means of unusual verbal associations and word patterns, he is often considered the herald of Surrealism. His poetic masterpiece was Alcools (1913). His death resulted from a head wound received in World War I.

Apollo Most widely revered of the Greek gods. He communicated the will of his father Zeus, made humans aware of their guilt and purified them of it, presided over religious and civil law, and foretold the future. His bow symbolized distance, death, terror, and awe; his lyre symbolized music, poetry, and dance. As a patron of the arts, he was often associated with the Muses. He was also a god of crops and herds. He became associated with the sun, and was even identified with Helios, the sun god. Also associated with healing, he was the father of Asclepius. By tradition, Apollo and his twin, Artemis, were born at Delos to Leto. Apollo�s oracle was established at Delphi; the Pythian Games commemorated his killing (while still an infant) of the serpent Python to take the shrine. His many lovers fared poorly: the fleeing Daphne became a laurel tree; the unfaithful Coronis was shot by Artemis, and Cassandra, who rejected him, was doomed to utter true prophecies no one would believe. See photograph opposite page.

Apis, bull deity, painted on the bottom of a wooden coffin, c. 700 bc; in the Roemer und Pelizaeus Museum, Hildesheim, Ger.

BAVARIA VERLAG

Apollinaire, drawing by Pablo Picasso from the frontispiece to Calligrammes,

1918

H. ROGER-VIOLLET

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Apollo ► Appalachian Geosyncline I 89

Apollo NASA manned Moon-landing project of the 1960s and �70s. The Apollo spacecraft, supplied with their own low-powered rockets, could brake on approach to the Moon and go into lunar orbit. They also could release part of the spacecraft, the lunar module, with its own rocket power, to land astronauts on the Moon and bring them back to the lunar orbiter. In July 1969 Apollo 11 made the first lunar landing (see Edwin Aldrin; Neil Armstrong). In 1970 Apollo 13 was damaged by an explosion in an oxygen tank but returned safely to Earth. Later Apollo missions explored the lunar surface extensively, collecting samples of Moon rocks and installing instruments for research. Apollo 17, the program�s final lunar flight, took place in 1972. In total, 12 American astronauts walked on the Moon during six successful lunar-landing missions.

Apollo asteroid See Earth-crossing asteroid

Apollo Theatre During and after the Harlem Renaissance, a centre of African-American popular music on 125th Street in New York City�s Harlem district. Built in 1914, it hosted musical performers such as Bill Robinson, Billie Holiday, Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters, Duke Ellington, and oth� ers in the 1930s and �40s; stars such as Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, and James Brown were discovered on Wednesday amateur nights. In the 1960s the Apollo featured soul artists such as the Supremes, Stevie Won� der, and Marvin Gaye. Converted into a movie theatre in 1975, it was reopened as a performance venue in 1983.

Apollonius Dyscolos V.ap-o-'lo-ne-os-'dis-ko-losV (fl. 2nd century ad) Greek grammarian. Apollonius is considered the founder of the system� atic study of grammar. Priscian based his work on the writings of Apol� lonius. Four of Apollonius�s works survive: On Syntax and the shorter treatises On Pronouns , On Conjunctions, and On Adverbs.

Apollonius of Perga (b. c. 240 bc, Perga, Anatolia�d. c. 190 bc, Alexandria, Egypt) Mathematician known as �The Great Geometer.� His Conics was one of the greatest scientific treatises of the ancient world. In it he introduced the terms parabola, ellipse, and hyperbola. Because Con� ics was fundamental to later advances in optics and astronomy in the Islamic world, a 9th-century Arabic translation survived to fill in for some of the missing Greek original. Generally, his other writings survive only as titles.

Apollonius of Rhodes (b. c. 295 bc) Greek poet and grammarian. He served as librarian of the famous Library of Alexandria. His Argonautica, a romantic epic in four books about the Argonauts, is derived from Homer and is noted for its suggestive similes, vivid descriptions of nature, and fresh handling of old episodes.

apologetics Branch of Christian theology devoted to the intellectual defense of faith. In Protestantism, apologetics is distinguished from polem� ics, the defense of a particular sect. In Roman Catholicism, apologetics

refers to the defense of the whole of Catholic teaching. Apologetics has traditionally argued positively to quell believers� doubts and nega� tively against opposing beliefs to remove obstacles to conversion. It attempts to take objections to Chris� tianity seriously without giving ground to skepticism. Biblical apol� ogetics defended Christianity as the culmination of Judaism, with Jesus as the Messiah. In the 2nd and 3rd cen� turies a number of Christian writers defended the faith against the criti� cisms of Greco-Roman culture, and in the 5th century St. Augustine wrote his monumental City of God as a response to further criticisms of Christianity following the sack of Rome in 410. John Calvin�s �natural theology� attempted to establish reli� gious truths by rational argument. The late 18th-century argument that a universe exhibiting design must have a designer continues to be used; apologists have also dealt with the challenges of Darwinism, Marxism, and psychoanalysis. See also Apologist.

Apologist Any of the Christian writers, primarily in the 2nd century, who attempted to provide a defense of Christianity against Greco-Roman culture. Many of their writings were addressed to Roman emperors and were submitted to government secretaries in order to defend Christian beliefs and practices. The Apologists tried to prove the antiquity of Chris� tianity as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy, and they argued that the worshipers of the mythological gods were truly godless. They also insisted on the philosophical nature of their faith and its high ethical stan� dards. Greek Apologists include Justin Martyr and Clement of Alexandria. Latin Apologists of the 2nd century include Tertullian. See also apologetics.

apology In literature, an autobiographical form in which a defense is the framework for discussion of the author�s personal beliefs. Examples include Plato�s Apology (4th century bc), in which Socrates answers his accusers by giving a history of his life and moral commitment, and John Henry Newman�s Apologia pro Vita Sua (1864), an examination of the principles that inspired his conversion to Roman Catholicism.

apomixis X.a-po-'mik-sosV Reproduction by special tissues without fer� tilization. Examples include parthenogenesis in animals (in which a new individual develops from an unfertilized egg) and apogamy in plants (in which the generating tissue may be either the gametophyte or the sporo- phyte). Apomixis provides for the preservation of traits favourable to indi� vidual survival, but it eliminates the longer-term evolutionary advantage of genetic contribution from two parents.

apoptosis X.a-pop-'to-sosV or programmed cell death Mechanism that allows cells to self-destruct when stimulated by the appropriate trig� ger. It may be initiated when a cell is no longer needed, when a cell becomes a threat to the organism�s health, or for other reasons. The aber� rant inhibition or initiation of apoptosis contributes to many disease pro� cesses, including cancer. Though embryologists had long been familiar with the process of programmed cell death, not until 1972 was the mecha� nism�s broader significance recognized. Apoptosis is distinguished from necrosis, a form of cell death that results from injury.

Apostle Any of the 12 disciples chosen by Jesus. They were Peter, James and John (sons of Zebedee), Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Tho� mas, James (son of Alphaeus), Thaddaeus or Judas (son of James), Simon the Cananaean or Zealot, and Judas Iscariot. The 12 were privileged to attend Jesus continually and receive his teaching. Peter, James, and John formed an inner circle and were allowed to witness such events as the Transfiguration and the agony of Jesus at Gethsemane. After the defec� tion and death of Judas Iscariot, Matthias was elected an Apostle. Paul also claimed the title on the ground that he had seen the Lord and been commissioned by him.

Apostolic succession V.a-po-'sta-likN In Christianity, the doctrine that bishops represent an uninterrupted line of descent from the Apostles of Jesus. This succession gives bishops special powers, including the right to confirm church members, ordain priests, consecrate bishops, and rule over the clergy and church members of a diocese. Clement, bishop of Rome, stated the doctrine as early as ad 95, and it is accepted by Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Old Catholic, and several other churches. Some Protestant churches maintain that succession is spiritual and doc� trinal rather than ritual and historical.

apotheosis Vo-.pa-the-'o-sosX Elevation to the status of a god. The term recognizes that some individuals cross the dividing line between human and divine. Ancient Greek religion was disposed to belief in heroes and demigods, and historical figures were sometimes worshiped as gods. Until the end of the republic the Romans accepted only one apotheosis, iden� tifying the god Quirinus with Romulus. The emperor Augustus ordered Julius Caesar recognized as a god and thus began a tradition of deifying emperors.

apotropaic eye V.a-po-tro-'pa-ikN Painting of a large eye or eyes used to ward off evil. The symbol appears most commonly on Greek drinking vessels from the 6th century bc and was perhaps thought to keep danger� ous spirits from entering the mouth with the wine. It is also used in Turk� ish and Egyptian art.

Appalachian Geosyncline Great downbuckle in the Earth�s crust in the region of the present Appalachian Mountains. It was in the Appa� lachians that James Hall first worked out the geosynclinal theory of moun� tain building (see geosyncune).

Apollo Belvedere, restored Roman copy of the Greek original attributed to Leochares, 4th century bc; in the Vati� can Museum, Rome

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90 I Appalachian Mountains ► Appleseed

Appalachian Mountains Mountain system, eastern North America. The Appalachians, among the oldest mountains on Earth, extend almost 2,000 mi (3,200 km) from the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador in the northeast southwestward to Alabama in the U.S. They include the White Mountains in New Hampshire, the Green Mountains in Vermont, the Catskill Mountains in New York, the Allegheny Mountains primarily in Pennsylvania, the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia and North Carolina, the Great Smoky Mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee, and the Cumberland Plateau extending from West Virginia to Alabama. Their highest peak is Mount Mitchell in North Carolina. See also Appa� lachian Geosyncune; Appalachian National Scenic Trail.

Appalachian National Scenic Trail Footpath, Appalachian Moun� tains, U.S. Extending over 2,000 mi (3,200 km) from Mount Katahdin, Maine, to Springer Mountain, Georgia, along the crest of the mountains, the trail passes through 14 states, 8 national forests, and 2 national parks. Hikers and volunteers maintain the shelters and campsites. The trail�s highest point is Clingmans Dome (6,643 ft [2,025 m]) in the Great Smoky Mountains. With its first section opened in 1923, the trail was completed in 1937 and became part of the National Trail System established by the U.S. Congress in 1968.

Appalachian orogenic \,6r-3-'je-nik\ belt Mountain range that extends more than 1,860 mi (3,000 km) along the eastern margin of North America, from Alabama to Newfoundland. It was formed by the progres� sive eastward addition of material to the continental margin of North America. The earliest Appalachian sediments were deposited near the start of the Cambrian Period.

Appalachian Revolution See Alleghenian orogeny

Appaloosa Colour breed of horse popular in the U.S. It is said to have descended in the Nez Perce Indian territory of North America from wild mustangs, which in turn descended from the horses of Spanish explorers.

Appaloosas have several distinctive colour patterns and all the regular coat colours of horses. They stand 14-16 hands (about 56-64 in. [142- 163 cm]) tall and weigh 1,000-1,100 lbs (450-500 kg). Though light, they are also sturdy.

appanage Va-po-nij\ In France, primarily from the 13th to the 16th century, the giving of lands or pen� sions to children of the royal family.

Established to provide for the younger brothers and sisters of the king, appanages also helped develop royal administration within the lands con� cerned. The Ordinance of Moulins (1566) made royal lands inalienable, so all appanages would eventually revert to the crown. They were abol� ished during the French Revolution but were briefly reestablished between 1810 and 1832.

appeal Resort to a higher court to review the decision of a lower court, or to any court to review the order of an administrative agency. Its scope is usually limited. In the U.S., the higher court reviews only matters in the record of the original trial; no new evidence can be presented. The Supreme Court of the United States hears appellate cases that it regards as having important implications; otherwise, appeals generally stop with the United States Courts of Appeals. See also certiorari.

appeasement Foreign policy of pacifying an aggrieved nation through negotiation in order to prevent war. The prime example is Britain�s policy toward Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Neville Chamberlain sought to accommodate Italy�s invasion of Ethiopia in 1935 and took no action when Germany absorbed Austria in 1938. When Adolf Hitler pre� pared to annex ethnically German portions of Czechoslovakia, Chamber- lain negotiated the notorious Munich Agreement.

Appel \'a-pel\, Karel (b. April 25, 1921, Amsterdam, Neth.) Dutch painter, sculptor, and graphic artist. He attended Amsterdam�s Royal Academy of Fine Arts (1940-43) and was cofounder of the COBRA group of northern European Expressionists. In 1950 he moved to Paris; by the 1960s he had settled in New York City. An exponent of expressive abstrac� tion, he developed a painting style characterized by thick layering of pig� ment, violent colour and brushwork, and crude, reductive figures. His

figurative sculptures are executed in metal and wood. He painted portraits of jazz musicians and a number of public works, including a mural in the Paris UNESCO building.

appendix in full vermiform appendix Vestigial hollow tube attached to the cecum of the large intestine. The human appendix, usually 3-4 in. (8-10 cm) long and less than 0.5 in. (1.3 cm) wide, has no diges� tive function. Its muscular walls expel their own mucous secretions or any intestinal contents that enter it. Blockage of the opening may prevent expulsion and cause appendicitis: fluids collect, bacteria propagate, and the appendix becomes distended and inflamed; tissue in the appendix begins to die, and the organ may burst, causing peritonitis. Its symptoms may begin with moderate pain in the upper abdomen, about the navel, or all over the abdomen. Nausea and vomiting may then develop. The pain may shift to the right lower abdomen. Fever is usually present but is sel� dom high in the early phases. Differentiating acute appendicitis from other causes of abdominal pain requires careful examination. Treatment is removal of the appendix (appendectomy).

Appian Way Va-pe-3n\ Latin Via Appia. First and most famous of the ancient Roman roads, running from Rome to Campania and southern Italy. Begun in 312 bc by the censor Appius Claudius Caecus, the road originally ran 132 mi (212 km) to ancient Capua; by 244 bc it extended 230 mi (370 km) to the port of Brundisium (Brindisi) in Italy�s heel. Built of smoothly fitted blocks of lava on a heavy stone foundation, the road provided a long-lasting surface for transporting merchandise to these sea� ports (and thence by ship to Greece and the eastern Mediterranean). Remains can be seen today outside Rome.

apple Fruit of the genus Malus, in the rose family, the most widely cul� tivated tree fruit. Malus species are native to the temperate zones of both hemispheres. They require a considerable period of dormancy, well- drained soil, careful pruning in early years of growth, and a rigorous pest- management program for mature trees. The apple is one of the pome (fleshy) fruits. Apples at harvest vary widely in size, shape, colour, and acidity, but most are fairly round and some shade of red or yellow. The thousands of varieties fall into three broad classes: cider, cooking, and dessert varieties. Varieties that ripen in late summer generally do not store well, but those that ripen in late autumn may be stored for as long as a year. The largest producers of apples are the U.S., China, France, Italy, and Turkey. Eaten fresh or cooked in various ways, apples provide vita� mins A and C, carbohydrates, and fibre.

Apple Computer, Inc. Microcomputer design and manufacturing company, the first successful personal-computer company. It was founded in 1976 by Steven P. Jobs and Stephen G. Wozniak, whose first computer was manufactured in the Jobs family�s garage. The Apple II (1977), with its plastic case and colour graphics, launched the company to success, earning Apple over $100 million by 1980, the year the company first offered stock to the public. The 1981 introduction of IBM�s PC, running a Microsoft Corp. operating system, marked the beginning of long-term competition for Apple in the personal-computer market. The Macintosh, introduced in 1984, was the first personal computer to use a graphical user interface and a mouse. The �Mac� initially sold poorly, and Jobs left the company in 1985, but eventually it found its niche in the desktop pub� lishing market. Meanwhile, Microsoft�s Windows operating system eroded Apple�s market share. Apple recalled Jobs in 1997. He returned the company to profitability by introducing more innovative products, such as the iMac. Apple introduced iTunes, software for playing music that has been converted to the MP3 format, and the iPod portable MP3 music player in 2001; in 2003 the company began selling downloadable copies of major record company songs in MP3 format over the Internet.

apple scab Disease of apple trees caused by the fungus Venturia inaequalis , producing dark blotches or lesions on the leaves, fruit, and sometimes young twigs. Affected plants may drop their fruit prematurely, resulting in potentially high crop losses. Apple scab is found wherever apples are grown but is most severe where spring and summer are cool and moist. All apple species are affected. Regular spraying with fungicides is the most effective method of controlling the disease.

Appleseed, Johnny orig. John Chapman (b. Sept. 26, 1774, Leominster, Mass.�d. March 18?, 1845, near Ft. Wayne, Ind., U.S.) U.S. pioneer and folk hero. He was trained as a nurseryman and began c. 1800 collecting apple seeds from cider presses in Pennsylvania. He then trav� eled west to the Ohio River valley, planting apple seeds along the way. He tended 1,200 acres of his own orchards and was responsible for hun-

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applied psychology ► aquaculture I 91

dreds of square miles of others, having sold or given away thousands of apple seedlings to pioneers. His kind and generous nature, devout spiri� tuality, affinity for the Indians and the wilderness, and eccentric appear� ance (including bare feet, a coffee-sack shirt, and a mush pan for a hat) helped make him a figure of legend.

applied psychology Branch of psychology concerned with solving practical problems of human behaviour by using the findings and meth� ods of psychological science. Intelligence testing, legal problems, indus� trial efficiency, motivation, and delinquency were among the first areas of application in the early 20th century. World Wars I and II fostered work on vocational testing, teaching methods, evaluation of attitudes and morale, performance under stress, propaganda and psychological warfare, and rehabilitation. The aviation and aerospace industries were important for the development of engineering psychology, the study of human- machine relationships. Other areas include consumer psychology, school psychology, and community psychology. See also industrial-organizational psychology; psychometrics.

applique See quilting

Appomattox \,a-p3-'ma-t3ks\ Court House Former town, southern central Virginia, U.S., site of the surrender of Robert E. Lee to Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865, effectively ending the American Civil War. It was virtually deserted after the removal of the county seat to the new town of Appomattox in 1892. It became a national historical monument in 1940 and a national historical park in 1954.

apprenticeship Training in an art, trade, or craft under a legal agree� ment defining the relationship between master and learner and the dura� tion and conditions of their relationship. Known from antiquity, apprenticeship became prominent in medieval Europe with the emergence of the craft guilds. The standard apprenticeship lasted seven years. Dur� ing the Industrial Revolution a new kind of apprenticeship developed in which the employer was the factory owner and the apprentice, after a period of training, became a factory worker. The increasing need for semiskilled workers led to the development of vocational and technical schools in Europe and the U.S., especially after World War II. Some industries in the U.S., such as construction, continue to employ workers in an apprenticeship arrangement.

approximation, linear See linear approximation

APRA Va-pra\ in full Alianza Popular Revolucionaria Ameri� cana Party founded by Victor Raul Haya de ia Torre (1924), which domi� nated Peruvian politics for decades. Largely synonymous with the so-called Aprista movement, it was dedicated to Latin American unity, the nationalization of foreign-owned enterprises, and an end to the exploi� tation of Indians. Supported by workers and middle-class liberals, the party wielded significant power, but conservative forces took extraordi� nary measures to prevent Haya de la Torre from ever gaining the presi� dency. An APRA candidate, Alan Garcia, finally became president in 1985. See also indigenismo.

apraxia \a-'prak-se-o\ Disturbance in carrying out skilled acts, caused by a lesion in the cerebral cortex; motor power and mental capacity remain intact. Motor apraxia is the inability to perform fine motor acts. Ideational apraxia is loss of the ability to plan even a simple action. In ideokinetic apraxia, there is no coordination between formation of ideas and motor activity; affected persons can do certain things automatically but not delib� erately. Constructional apraxia is the inability to put together elements to form a meaningful whole.

apricot Fruit of the tree Prunus armeniaca, in the rose family, culti� vated generally throughout the temperate regions of the world and used fresh, cooked in pastries, or preserved by canning or drying. Apricot trees are large and spreading, with heart-shaped, dark green leaves. Flowers are white. The fruit is nearly smooth and generally similar to the peach in shape but with little to no hairiness when ripe. Apricots are a good source of vitamin A and are high in natural sugars. Dried apricots are an excel� lent source of iron.

April Fools' Day or All Fools' Day First day of April, named for the custom of playing practical jokes on that date. Though it has been observed for centuries in several countries, including France and Britain, its origin is unknown. It resembles the Hilaria festival of ancient Rome (March 25) and the Hou festival of India (ending March 31). The custom of playing April Fools� jokes was brought to America by the British.

April Theses Program developed by Vladimir Ilich Lenin during the Rus� sian Revolution of 1917, calling for Soviet control of state power. In the theses, published in April 1917, Lenin advocated seizing power from the Provisional Government, withdrawing from World War I, and distribut� ing land among the peasantry. The theses contributed to the July Days uprising and the Bolshevik coup d�etat in October.

apse Semicircular or polygonal termination to the choir, chancel (see cathedral), or aisle of a public build� ing, first used in pre-Christian Roman architecture. Originally a large niche to hold the statue of a deity in a temple, the apse also appeared in ancient baths and basili� cas. The domed apse became a stan� dard part of the Christian church plan.

Apuleius \,a-p3-la-3s\, Lucius (b.

c. ad 124, Madauros, Numidia�d. after 170?) Roman Platonic philoso� pher, rhetorician, and author. His The Golden Ass, a prose narrative of the ribald adventures of a young man who is changed into an ass, was long influential. This novel, considered a revelation of ancient manners, is valuable for its description of the ancient religious mysteries.

Apuleius�s philosophical treatises include three books on Piato, two of which survive.

Apulia See Puglia

Apure \a-'pii-ra\ River River, western Venezuela. The major navi� gable tributary of the Orinoco River, the Apure rises in the Cordillera de Merida and flows about 510 mi (820 km) northeast and east through the heart of Venezuela�s Llanos (plains), the country�s principal cattle-raising area.

Apurimac \,a-pur- , e-,mak\ River River, southern Peru. Arising in the Andes Mountains in Peru, it is the most distant source of the Amazon River. It flows northwest to join the Urubamba River and form the Ucayali River. For most of its 430-mi (700-km) length, it flows through narrow canyons, and its course is interrupted by falls and rapids. Short stretches of its lower course are also called the Ene River and the Tambo River.

Aqa Khan See Aga Khan

Aqaba Va-ko-boV Gulf of Northeastern arm of the Red Sea, between Saudi Arabia and the Sinai Peninsula. It varies in width from 12 to 17 miles (19 to 27 km) and is 100 miles (160 km) long. Its head touches Egypt, Israel, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. Its only sheltered harbour is Dhahab (Dahab), Egypt; Jordan and Israel created the ports of Al-'Aqabah and Elat, respectively, as outlets to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Aqhat Epic Va-kat\ Ancient West Semitic legend explaining the earth�s barrenness during the dry summer months, known only in fragmentary form from three tablets excavated in northern Syria and dating to about the 14th century bc. It records the birth of a prince, Aqhat, in response to prayers. As a youth, Aqhat comes into possession of a bow intended for the goddess Anath and is killed by her when he refuses to part with it. His death brings famine, and his father and sister set out to avenge him, but there the text ends.

Aqmola See Astana

aquaculture or fish farming or mariculture Vmar-s-.kol-choA Rearing of fish, shellfish, and some aquatic plants to supplement the natu� ral supply. Fish are reared in controlled conditions worldwide. Though most aquaculture supplies the commercial food market, many govern� mental agencies engage in it to stock lakes and rivers for sport fishing. It also supplies goldfish and other decorative fish for home aquariums and bait fish for sport and commercial fishing. Carp, trout, catfish, tilapia, scal� lops, mussels, lobsters, and oysters are well-known species raised through aquaculture.

Apse, basilica of S. Vitale, Ravenna,

526-547

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92 I aquamarine ► Arab-lsraeli wars

aquamarine Pale greenish blue or bluish green variety of beryl that is valued as a gemstone. The most common variety of gem beryl, it occurs in pegmatites, in which it forms much larger and clearer crystals than emer� ald, the dark green variety of beryl. Aquamarine occurs in Brazil, which is the chief source, and in such other sites as the Ural Mountains, Mada� gascar, Sri Lanka, India, and Maine, New Hampshire, Connecticut, North Carolina, and Colorado in the U.S. Heat treatment is commonly used to improve the colour of gem beryls.

aquarium Receptacle for maintaining aquatic organisms, either fresh� water or marine, or a facility in which a collection of aquatic organisms is displayed or studied. The first display aquarium opened in Regent�s Park, England, in 1853. Many of the world�s principal cities now have public aquariums as well as commercial ones; other aquarium facilities serve chiefly as research institutions. Regardless of size�whether a small one-gallon jar or a huge million-gallon tank�aquariums must be con� structed with care; many substances, especially plastics and adhesives, that are nontoxic to humans are toxic to water-breathing animals. The pri� mary requirement for maintaining aquatic organisms is water quality.

Aquarius (Latin: �Water carrier�) In astronomy, the constellation lying between Capricorn and Pisces; in astrology, the 11th sign of the zodiac, governing approximately the period January 20-February 18. It is usually represented as a man pouring a stream of water out of a jug, probably because in ancient times the rising of Aquarius coincided in the Middle East with the annual arrival of floods or rainfall. In the astrological con� cept called the Great Year�the 25,000-year period it takes the earth to pass through the influence of the entire zodiac�the early 19th century was the beginning of the Age of Aquarius.

aquatint Method of etching that produces finely granulated tonal areas rather than lines, so that finished prints often resemble watercolour or wash drawings. A copper plate is exposed to acid through a layer of granulated resin or sugar, which yields a finely speckled gray tone when the plate is inked and printed. The texture and depth of tone are controlled by the strength of the acid baths and the length of time the plate is exposed to them. Aquatint became the most popular method of producing toned prints in the late 18th century; its most notable practitioner was Francisco Goya. In the 19th century Edgar Degas and Camille Pissarro experimented with it, and in the 20th century the sugar aquatint was employed by Pablo Picasso, Georges Rouault, and Andre Masson.

aquavit \'a-kw9-,vet\ (from Latin aqua vitae , �water of life�) Scandi� navian clear distilled liquor flavoured with caraway seeds. Distilled from a fermented potato or grain mash, filtered with charcoal, and usually bottled without aging, aquavit has an alcohol content of 42^45% by vol� ume. Most aquavits are sweet and spicy. It is usually served chilled and unmixed, in small glasses.

aqueduct Conduit built to carry water from its source to a main distri� bution point. Ancient Rome�s aqueduct system, an extraordinary feat of engineering, brought water to the city from as far as 57 mi (92 km) away. Only a portion of the Roman aqueducts utilized the familiar stone arch; most were underground conduits made of stone or terra-cotta pipe. Modern aqueduct systems employ cast iron or steel. See also water-supply system.

aquifer \'a-kwa-far\ In hydrology, a rock layer or sequence that con� tains water and releases it in appreciable amounts. The rocks contain water-filled pores that, when connected, allow water to flow through their matrix. A confined aquifer is overlain by a rock layer that does not trans� mit water in any appreciable amount or that is impermeable. There prob� ably are few truly confined aquifers. In an unconfined aquifer the upper surface (water table) is open to the atmosphere through permeable over- lying material. An aquifer also may be called a water-bearing stratum, lens, or zone.

Aquinas Vs-'kwI-nosV Saint Thomas (b. 1224/25, Roccasecca, near Aquino, Terra di Lavoro, Kingdom of Sicily�d. March 7, 1274, Fos- sanova, near Terracina, Latium, Papal States; canonized July 18, 1323; feast day January 28, formerly March 7) Foremost philosopher and theo� logian of the Roman Catholic church. Born of noble parents, he studied at the University of Naples, joined the Dominicans, and taught at a Domini� can school at the University of Paris. His time in Paris coincided with the arrival of Aristotelian science, newly discovered in Arabic translation; his great achievement was to integrate into Christian thought the rigours of Aristotle�s philosophy, just as the early Church Fathers had integrated Pla� to�s thought in the early Christian era. He held that reason is capable of

operating within faith; while the philosopher relies solely on reason, the theologian accepts faith as his starting point and then proceeds to conclu� sion through the use of reason. This point of view was controversial, as was his belief in the religious value of nature, for which he argued that to detract from the perfection of creation was to detract from the creator. He was opposed by St. Bonaventure. In 1277, after his death, the masters of Paris condemned 219 propositions, 12 of them Thomas�s. He was never� theless named a Doctor of the Church in 1567 and declared the champion of orthodoxy during the modernist crisis at the end of the 19th century. A prolific writer, he produced more than 80 works, including Summa contra Gentiles (1261�64) and Summa theologica (1265-73). See also Thomism.

Aquino \9-'ke-no\, (Maria) Corazon orig. Maria Corazon Cojuangco (b. Jan. 25, 1933, Manila, Phil.) President of the Philippines (1986-92). Born into a politically prominent family, she married Benigno Simeon Aquino, Jr. (1932-83), who became the most prominent oppo� nent of Pres. Ferdinand Marcos. Benigno was assassinated in 1983 on his return from exile, and Corazon became the opposition candidate for presi� dent in 1986. Though Marcos was officially reported the winner, there were widespread allegations of voting fraud; high officials in the military supported Aquino, and Marcos fled. As president, Aquino introduced a hugely popular constitution. Over time her popularity declined amid charges of corruption and economic injustice.

Aquitaine Historical region, southwestern France. It was roughly equivalent to Aquitania, the Roman division of southwestern Gaul, which consisted of the area between the Pyrenees Mountains and the Garonne River. Conquered by Clovis in ad 507, it was later made a subkingdom by Charlemagne in the 8th century. After the Carolingian decline, it became a powerful duchy, which by the 10th century controlled much of France south of the Loire. It passed to the Capetian line when Eleanor of Aquita� ine married Louis VII (1137); on her second marriage, to Henry II of England (1152), it passed to the English Plantagenets. The name Guyenne, a cor� ruption of Aquitaine, came into use in the 10th century, and the subse� quent history of Aquitaine is merged with that of Gascony and Guyenne.

AR-15 See Ml 6 rifle

Ara Pads Va-ra-'pa-sis\ (Augustae) Latin "Augustan Altar of Peace" State monument built by Caesar Augustus in Rome�s Campus Martius (13-9 bc) to commemorate his victorious return from Spain and Gaul. It consists of an altar on a podium enclosed by walls. Its lavish sculptural decoration is among the finest examples of Roman art; reliefs representing the ceremonial procession at the altar�s dedication are the first in Western art that can strictly be called documentary, showing iden� tifiable individuals in a contemporary event.

Arab Any member of the ARABic-speaking peoples native to the Middle East and North Africa. Before the spread of Islam in the 630s, the term referred to the largely nomadic Semitic peoples of the Arabian Peninsula; it came to apply to Arabic-speaking peoples from Africa�s Mauritanian and Moroccan coasts east to Iraq and the Arabian Peninsula and south to The Sudan after their acceptance of Islam. Traditionally, some Arabs are desert-dwelling pastoral nomads (see Bedouin), whereas others live by oases and in small, isolated farming villages. While most Arabs are Mus� lims, some are Christian. The term has also been used in a political sense by Arab nationalists to describe a greater sociolinguistic or ethnic ideal (�the Arab nation�). See also Pan-Arabism.

Arab-lsraeli wars Series of military conflicts fought between various Arab countries and Israel (1948�49, 1956, 1967, 1969-70, 1973, and 1982). The first war (1948-49) began when Israel declared itself an inde� pendent state following the United Nations� partition of Palestine. Protest� ing this move, five Arab countries�Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria�attacked Israel. The conflict ended with Israel gaining consider� able territory. The 1956 Suez Crisis began after Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal. A French, British, and Israeli coalition attacked Egypt and occu� pied the canal zone but soon withdrew under international pressure. In the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel attacked Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. The war ended with the Israel occupying substantial amounts of Arab territory. An undeclared war of attrition (1969-70) was fought between Egypt and Israel along the Suez Canal and ended with the help of international diplomacy. Egypt and Syria attacked Israel in 1973 (the Yom Kippur War), but, despite early Arab success, the conflict ended inconclusively. In 1979 Egypt made peace with Israel. In 1982 Israel invaded Lebanon in order to expel Palestinian guerrillas based there. Israel withdrew from most of Lebanon by 1985 but maintained a narrow buffer zone inside that coun-

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Arab League ► Arabic philosophy I 93

try until 2000. See also Yasir �Arafat; Hafiz al-Assad; Menachem Begin; David Ben-Gurion; Camp David Accords; Moshe Dayan; Hezbollah; Gamal Abdel Nasser; Yitzhak Rabin; Sabra and Shatila massacres; Anwar el-Sadat.

Arab League or League of Arab States Regional organization formed in 1945 and based in Cairo. It initially comprised Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Transjordan (now Jordan), Saudi Arabia, and Yemen; join� ing later were Libya, Sudan, Tunisia, Morocco, Kuwait, Algeria, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Mauritania, Somalia, the Pales� tine Liberation Organization, Djibouti, and Comoros. The league�s original aims were to strengthen and coordinate political, cultural, economic, and social programs and to mediate disputes; a later aim was to coordinate military defense. Members have often split on political issues; Egypt was suspended for 10 years (1979-89) following its peace with Israel, and the Persian Gulf War (1990-91) also caused deep rifts. See also Pan-Arabism.

arabesque Style of decoration characterized by interlacing plant forms and abstract curvilinear motifs. It is typical of Islamic ornamentation from c. 1000. The word was first used in the 15th or 16th century when Europeans became interested in the Islamic arts, but the motif itself was derived from Hellenistic crafts� men in Asia Minor. Arabesques were also applied to the decoration of illu� minated manuscripts, walls, furni� ture, metalwork, pottery, stonework, majolica, and tapestry from the Renaissance to the 19th century.

Arabia See Arabian Peninsula

Arabian Desert Desert region,

Arabian Peninsula. It covers about 900,000 sq mi (2,330,000 sq km), occupying nearly the entire penin� sula. It lies largely within Saudi Ara� bia but large portions extend into Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Yemen. Its relief is broken by a num� ber of mountain ranges, with eleva� tions reaching as high as 12,000 ft (3,700 m), and it is bounded on three sides by high escarpments. At least one-third of the desert is covered by sand, including the Rub' al-Khali, considered to have one of the most inhospitable climates on Earth. There are no perennial bodies of water, though the Tigris-Euphrates river system lies to the northeast and the Wadi Hajr is located to the south, in Yemen. Humans have inhabited the area since Pleistocene times.

Arabian horse Earliest improved breed of horse, valued for its speed, stamina, beauty, intelligence, and gentleness. Its long history has been obscured by legend, but it was developed in Arabia by the 7th century ad. It has contributed its qualities to most modern breeds of light horses. It is compact and relatively small, with a small head, protruding eyes, wide nostrils, marked withers, and a short back. Its average height is about 15 hands (60 in. [152 cm]), its average weight 800-1,000 lbs (360-450 kg). Though many colours are possible, gray is the most common.

Arabian Nights' Entertainment See The Thousand and One Nights

Arabian Peninsula or Arabia Peninsular region, southwest Asia. With its offshore islands, it covers about 1 million sq mi (2.6 million sq km). Constituent countries are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, and, the largest, Saudi Arabia. It is generally arid and is covered almost entirely by the Arabian Desert. The modem economy is dominated by the production of petroleum and natural gas. The world�s largest proven reserves of those minerals are in the Arabian Peninsula. Its political consolidation was begun by the Prophet Muhammad, and it was the centre of the orthodox caliphate until 661, when that office passed to the Umayyad dynasty in Damascus. After 1517 much of the region was dominated by the Ottoman Empire, though the peninsula�s people, who had remained largely tribal and nomadic, revolted repeatedly until the World War I (1914-18), when the Ottoman Empire dissolved. Thereafter, indi� vidual nation-states followed their own histories, though many maintained close ties with European powers such as the United Kingdom.

Arabian religions, ancient Polytheistic religions of Arabia prior to the rise of Islam. Most of the deities of the Arab tribes were sky gods, associated with heavenly bodies such as the Sun and Moon, and they had the power to ensure fecundity, protection, or revenge. At the head of the southern Arabian pantheon was 'Athtar, a god of thunderstorms and rain. Each kingdom also had a national deity, of whom the nation called itself the progeny. Sanctuaries were carved in rock on high places and held a baetyl (�raised stone�) or statue of the god in an open-air enclosure, accessible only to ritually clean persons. In northern Arabia they included a walled enclosure with a covered or enclosed altar, similar to the Mus� lim Ka'bah. Libations, animal sacrifices, and other offerings were made to the gods, and priests interpreted oracles and performed divination. Wor� shipers made yearly pilgrimages to important shrines, participating in rites that included purification, the wearing of ritual clothing, sexual absti� nence, abstention from shedding blood, and circuits performed around the sacred object.

Arabian Sea Northwestern part of the Indian Ocean, lying between India and the Arabian Peninsula. It has an area of about 1,491,000 sq miles (3,862,000 sq km) and an average depth of 8,970 feet (2,734 m). The Gulf of Oman connects it with the Persian Gulf via the Strait of Hormuz, while the Gulf of Aden connects it with the Red Sea via the Strait of Mandeb. The Indus is the principal river draining into the Arabian Sea. Socotra, Lakshadweep, and other islands lie within it. Chief ports are Mumbai (Bom� bay), India; Karachi, Pak.; and Aden, Yemen. The sea has been part of the principal trade route between Europe and India for centuries.

Arabic alphabet Script used to write Arabic and a number of other languages whose speakers have been influenced by Arab and Islamic cul� ture. The 28-character Arabic alphabet developed from a script used to write Nabataean Aramaic. Because Arabic had different consonants than Aramaic, diacritical dots came to be used to eliminate ambiguous read� ings of some letters, and these remain a feature of the script. Arabic is written from right to left. The letters denote only consonants, though the symbols for w, y, and (historically) the glottal stop do double duty as vowel letters for long u, i, and a. Additional diacritics, representing short vowels (or the lack thereof), case endings, and geminate (duplicate) con� sonants, are normally employed only for the text of the Qur�an, for prim� ers, or in instances where the reading might otherwise be ambiguous. Because Arabic script is fundamentally cursive, most letters have slightly different forms depending on whether they occur in the beginning, middle, or end of a word. Non-Semitic languages for which some version of the Arabic alphabet has been or is used include Persian, Kurdish, Pashto, Urdu, some Turkic languages, Malay, Swahili, and Hausa. The Maltese language is the only form of Arabic to be written in the Latin alphabet.

Arabic language Ancient Semitic language whose dialects are spoken throughout the Middle East and North Africa. Though Arabic words and proper names are found in Aramaic inscriptions, abundant documentation of the language begins only with the rise of Islam, whose main texts are written in Arabic. Grammarians from the 8th century on codified it into the form known as Classical Arabic, a literary and scribal argot that dif� fered markedly from the spoken vernacular. In the 19th-20th centuries, expansion of Classical Arabic�s stylistic range and vocabulary led to the creation of Modern Standard Arabic, which serves as a lingua franca among contemporary Arabs. However, Arabic speakers, who number roughly 200 million, use an enormous range of dialects, which at their furthest extremes are mutually unintelligible. Classical Arabic remains an important cultural and religious artifact among the non-Arab Islamic com� munity. See also Arabic alphabet.

Arabic literary renaissance (19th-century) Movement to develop a modern Arabic literature. Inspired by contacts with the West and a renewed interest in classical Arabic literature, it began in Egypt with Syr� ian and Lebanese writers who sought the freer environment there, and it spread to other Arab countries as a result of the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire after World War I and the coming of independence after World War II. Its success in altering the direction of Arabic literature is related to the spread and modernization of education and the emergence of an Arabic press.

Arabic philosophy or Islamic philosophy Doctrines of the Ara� bic philosophers of the 9th-12th century who influenced medieval Scho� lasticism in Europe. The Arabic tradition combines Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism with other ideas introduced through Islam. Influential think� ers include the Persians al-KiNDi, al-FARABi, and Avicenna, as well as the

Arabesque decoration on the dome of the Madar-i-Shah madrasah ("school") built by Husayn I, early 18th century, at Esfahan, Iran

RAY MANLEY-SHOSTAL ASSOC./EB INC.

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94 I Arachne ► Aramaic

Spaniard Averroes, whose interpretations of Aristotle were taken up by both Jewish and Christian thinkers. Muslims, Christians, and Jews par� ticipated in the Arabic tradition and separated themselves according to philosophic rather than religious doctrines. When the Arabs dominated Spain, the Arabic philosophic literature was translated into Hebrew and Latin; this contributed to the development of modern European philoso� phy. In Egypt around the same time, the Arabic tradition was developed by Moses Maimonides and Ibn Khaldun.

Arachne \o-'rak-ne\ In Greek mythology, the daughter of the dyer Idmon of Colophon. She was a weaver who acquired such skill that she ventured to challenge Athena to a contest. Athena wove a tapestry showing the gods in majesty, while Arachne depicted them in their amorous adventures. Enraged at the perfection of her rival�s work, Athena tore it to shreds, whereupon Arachne hanged herself. Out of pity Athena loosened the rope, which became a cobweb, and Arachne was changed into a spider.

arachnid \o-'rak-nid\ Any member of the class Arachnida, primarily carnivorous arthropods having a well-developed head, a hard external skeleton, and four pairs of walking legs. Spiders and scorpions have a seg� mented body, but daddy longlegs, ticks, and mites do not. Arachnids range in size from tiny mites (0.003 in. [0.08 mm] long) to the 8-in. (21-cm) black scorpion of Africa. As arachnids grow, they molt several times (see molting). Most are unable to digest food internally; instead, they inject their prey with digestive fluids and suck the liquefied remains. Arachnids are found worldwide in nearly every habitat. Most groups are free-living, but some mites and ticks are parasitic and can carry serious diseases of animals and humans. Venomous spiders and scorpions also may pose a danger to humans. However, most arachnids are harmless and prey on insect pests.

Arachosia X.ar-o-'ko-zhoV Ancient province, eastern Persian empire. The province encompassed much of what is now southern Afghanistan in the area of the city of Kandahar. It was conquered by Alexander the Great c. 330 bc.

�Arafat \,ar-9-'fat\, Yasir orig. Muhammad �Abd al-Ra�uf al-Qudwah al-Husaynl (b. August 1*929�d. Nov. 11, 2004, Paris, France) Palestinian leader. The date and place of his birth are disputed. A birth certificate registered in Cairo, Egypt, gives Aug. 24, 1929, but some sources support his claim to have been born in Jerusalem on Aug. 4, 1929. He graduated from the University of Cairo as a civil engineer and served in the Egyptian army during the 1956 Suez Crisis. That year, working as an engineer in Kuwait, he cofounded the guerrilla organiza� tion Fatah, which became the leading military component of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), which he led from 1969. In 1974 the PLO was formally recognized by the UN, and 'Arafat became the first leader of a nongovernmental organization to address the UN. In 1988 he acknowledged Israel�s right to exist, and in 1993 he formally recognized Israel during direct talks regarding land controlled by Israel since the Six- Day War. In 1994 he shared the Nobel Prize for Peace with Israelis Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres. In 1996 he became president of the new Pales� tinian Authority.

Aragon Var-9-,gan\ Spanish Aragon Autonomous community (pop., 2001: 1,204,215), northeastern Spain. Roughly coextensive with the his� torical kingdom of Aragon, it occupies an area of 18,425 sq mi (47,720 sq km). Its capital is Zaragoza (Saragossa). Mountains, including the Pyrenees, dominate the relief north and south of the Ebro River, which bisects Aragon. Established in 1035 by Ramiro I, the historical kingdom grew as land was retaken from the Moors: Zaragoza, the capital of the Almoravid kingdom, fell to Alfonso I of Aragon in 1118, and the recon� quest of present-day Aragon was completed by the late 12th century. In the 13th�15th centuries it came to rule Sicily, Sardinia, Naples, and Navarra. In the 15th century Ferdinand married Isabella of Castile, uniting the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile and forming the nucleus of modern Spain. The old kingdom of Aragon survived as an administrative unit until 1833, when it was divided into provinces. Agriculture, mining, and indus� try, the latter concentrated at Zaragoza, are economically important.

Aragon \a-ra-'go n \, Louis orig. Louis Andrieux (b. Oct. 3, 1897, Paris, Fr.�d. Dec. 24, 1982, Paris) French poet, novelist, and essayist. He was introduced by Andre Breton into avant-garde circles, and the two cofounded the Surrealist review Litterature in 1919. From 1927 he was increasingly a political activist and spokesman for communism, which resulted in a break with the Surrealists. Among his works are the novel tetralogy Le Monde reel, 4 vol. (1933-44), describing the class struggle

of the proletariat; the huge novel Les Communistes, 6 vol. (1949-51); novels of veiled autobiography; and volumes of poems expressing patrio� tism and love for his wife. He was editor of the communist weekly of arts and literature, Les Lettres frangaises, 1953-72.

aragonite Vs-'rag-o-.nlA A carbonate mineral, the stable form of calcium carbonate (CaC0 3 ) at high pressures. It is somewhat harder and has a slightly higher specific gravity than calcite. Aragonite is found in recent deposits formed at low temperatures near the surface of the earth, as in caves as stalactites, with ore minerals, in serpentine and other basic (see acid and basic rocks) rocks, and in sediments. Aragonite is the mineral nor� mally found in pearls, and it occurs in some animal shells. It is polymor� phous (same chemical formula but different crystal structure) with calcite and vaterite, and, with geologic time, changes to calcite even under nor� mal conditions.

Araguaia \,ar-9-'gwI-9\ River River, central Brazil. Rising in the Bra� zilian highlands, it flows north some 1,600 mi (2,600 km) to join the Tocantins River at Sao Joao do Araguaia. In midcourse it divides into channels on either side of Bananal Island, which is about 200 mi (320 km) long and the site of the National Park of Araguaia. Though the river drains a vast area of interior Brazil, it offers poor transportation because of its many falls.

arahant See arhat

Arai Hakuseki \a-r!-ha-ku-'sa-ke\ (b. March 24, 1657, Edo [Tokyo], Japan�d. June 29, 1725, Edo) Japanese scholar of Confucianism and gov� ernment official of the mid-ToKUGAWA period. Arai was tutor and later adviser to Tokugawa Ienobu, the sixth Tokugawa shogun. He wrote on such subjects as Japanese geography, philosophy, and legal institutions and is considered one of Japan�s greatest historians. Among his best- known works are Tokushi yoron, a history of Japan, and Koshitsu, a study of early document sources. See also Genroku period; Edo culture.

Arakcheyev \a-r9k-'cha-yif\, Aleksey (Andreyevich), Count

(b. Oct. 4, 1769, Novgorod province, Russia�d. May 3, 1834, Gruzino, Novgorod province) Russian soldier and statesman. Appointed inspector general of artillery in 1803, he reorganized that branch of the army, then served as minister of war (1808-10). In the Russo-Swedish War of 1808� 09, he personally compelled the reluctant Russian forces to cross the fro� zen Gulf of Finland to attack the Aland Islands, which ultimately resulted in Sweden�s cession of Finland to Russia. He was Alexander I�s chief military adviser in the Napoleonic Wars. After the wars, he supervised the management of Russia�s domestic matters with brutal and ruthless effi� ciency, which caused the period (1815-25) to be known as Arakcheyevsh- china, but also took part in the emancipation of serfs in the Baltic provinces and created a system of military-agricultural colonies.

Araks River See Aras River

Aral Sea Large salt lake between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. It once covered some 26,300 sq mi (68,000 sq km) and was the fourth largest inland body of water in the world, but diversion of the waters of the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers for irrigation has led to an overall reduction of its surface area by more than half since 1960. Its volume has been reduced drastically, which has led to an increase in salinity. The soil of the dried-up lake bed has been found to contain salts and other toxic sub� stances.

Aram \'ar-9m\ Ancient country, Middle East, southwestern Asia. It extended eastward from the Anti-Lebanon Mountains to beyond the Euph� rates River. It was named for the Aramaeans, who emerged from the Syr� ian desert to invade Syria and Upper Mesopotamia (c. 11th century bc) and who built numerous city-kingdoms, including Damascus. It lends its name to the Aramaic language.

Aramaean \,ar-9-'me-9n\ A member of any people belonging to a con� federacy of tribes that migrated from the Arabian Peninsula to the Fertile Crescent c. 1500-1200 bc. Among them were the biblical matriarchs Leah and Rachel, wives of Jacob. The Aramaic language and culture spread through international trade. They reached a cultural peak during the 9th- 8th centuries bc. By 500 bc, Aramaic had become the universal language of commerce, culture, and government throughout the Fertile Crescent and remained so through the time of Jesus and into the 7th century in some areas.

Aramaic \,ar-9-'ma-ik\ language Semitic language originally spoken by the ancient Aramaeans. The earliest Aramaic texts are inscriptions in

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Aramco ► arbitrage I 95

an alphabet of Phoenician origin found in the northern Levant dating from c. 850 to 600 bc. The period 600-200 bc saw a dramatic expansion of Aramaic, leading to the development of a standard form known as Impe� rial Aramaic. In later centuries, as �Standard Literary Aramaic,� it became a linguistic model. Late (or Classical) Aramaic (c. ad 200-1200) has an abundant literature, both in Syriac and in Mandaic (see Mandaeanism). With the rise of Islam, Arabic rapidly supplanted Aramaic as a vernacu� lar in South Asia. Modern Aramaic (Neo-Aramaic) comprises West Neo- Aramaic, spoken in three villages northeast of Damascus, Syria, and East Neo-Aramaic, a group of languages spoken in scattered settlements of Jews and Christians in southeastern Turkey, northern Iraq, and northwest� ern Iran, and by modern Mandaeans in the Shatt Al-'Arab. Since c. 1900 persecution has forced most contemporary East Neo-Aramaic-speakers, who number several hundred thousand, into diaspora communities around the world.

Aramco \3-'ram-ko\ in full Arabian American Oil Company Oil

company founded by the Standard Oil Co. of California (Chevron) in 1933, when the government of Saudi Arabia granted it a concession. Other U.S. companies joined after oil was found near Dhahran in 1938. In 1950 Aramco opened a pipeline from Saudi Arabia to the Mediterranean Sea port of Sidon, Leb. It was closed in 1983 except to supply a refinery in Jordan. A more successful pipeline, with a destination on the Persian Gulf, was finished in 1981. In 1951 Aramco found the first offshore oil field in the Middle East. In the 1970s and �80s, control gradually passed to the Saudi Arabian government, which eventually took over Aramco and renamed it Saudi Aramco in 1988.

Aran Islands \'ar-an\ Islands (pop., 2001: 543), Galway Bay, western Ireland. The group of small islands, totaling about 18 sq mi (47 sq km), includes Inishmore (or Aranmore), Inishmaan, and Inisheer. Their main town is Kilronan on Inishmore. The islands contain impressive prehis� toric and early Christian forts. Novelist Liam O' Flaherty was born on Inish� more.

Arany \6r-'on y \ Janos (b. March 2, 1817, Nagyszalonta, Hung.�d. Oct. 22, 1882, Budapest) Hungarian epic poet. His main work is the tril� ogy of Toldi (1847), Toldi szerelme (1848-79), and Toldi esteje (1854). Recounting the adventures of a 14th-century youth of great physical strength, it was received with enthusiasm by a public craving a national literature of quality in a language all could grasp. Other notable works include a fragment of an epic poem, Bolond Istok (1850), and The Death of King Buda (1864), the first part of a projected Hun trilogy. The Osz- ikek, written just before his death, poignantly reflects his sense of unful� fillment and isolation. He is considered Hungary�s greatest epic poet.

arap Moi, Daniel See Daniel arap Moi

Arapaho \3-'ra-p9-,ho\ North American Plains Indian peoples living mostly in Oklahoma and Wyoming, U.S. They are believed to have once lived in permanent villages in the eastern woodlands. Their language is of Algonquian stock. Like other Plains groups, the Arapaho were nomadic, living in tepees and depending on the buffalo for subsistence. They split into northern and southern groups after 1830. They were highly religious and practiced the sun dance. Their social organization included age-graded military societies as well as men�s shamanistic societies. They traded with the Mandan and Arikara and were often at war with the Shos� hone, Ute, and Pawnee. A southern branch was long allied with the Chey� enne and fought with them against Col. George Custer at Little Bighorn in 1876. In the 2000 U.S. census some 7,000 people claimed sole Arapahoe descent.

Ararat \'ar-3-,rat\, Mount Turkish Agri Dagi Extinct volcanic mas� sif, eastern Turkey. Located in Ago province, near the Iranian border, Ararat has two peaks, Great Ararat, at 16,853 ft (5,137 m) the highest point of elevation in Turkey, and Little Ararat, almost 13,000 ft (4,000 m). Ararat is traditionally associated with the mountain where Noah�s ark came to rest at the end of the biblical Deluge. A village on its slopes at the site where Noah is said to have built an altar was destroyed in an earthquake in 1840.

Aras \a-'ras\ River or Araks \a-'raks\ River River in Turkey, Arme� nia, Azerbaijan, and Iran. It rises in the mountains south of Erzurum, Tur� key, and flows east to join the Kura River in Azerbaijan about 75 mi (120 km) from its mouth. Since a flood in 1897, a separate distributary of the Aras has also emptied into the Caspian Sea. Some 665 mi (1,070 km) long,

it forms the boundary between Armenia and Azerbaijan (north) and Tur� key and Iran (south). Located on an island from 180 bc to ad 50 was Armenia�s capital, Artaxata.

Aratus of Sicyon \3-'ra-t9s...'sis-e- 1 an\ (b. 271�d. 213 bc) Hellenis� tic Greek statesman, diplomat, and soldier. He democratized Sicyon (251) and, as leader of the Achaean League (in alternate years from 245), set up democracies in league cities and helped free Athens from Macedonia (229). Under him, the league opposed Sparta; with Macedonian help, it defeated Aetolia (217). Aratus nevertheless defied the anti-Roman policy of Philip V of Macedonia; his death, popularly linked to Philip, was more likely caused by tuberculosis.

Araucanian Va-.raii-'ka-ne-onzV South American Indian people who are now concentrated in the valleys and basins between the Bio Bio and Tolten rivers in south-central Chile. When the Spanish cONQUiSTADORes arrived in Chile, they encountered three Araucanian populations: the Picunche, who were accustomed to Inca control; the Huilliche, who were too few and scattered to resist the conquistadores; and the Mapuche, successful farm� ers and artisans. The first two were soon assimilated, but the Mapuche managed to resist Spanish and Chilean control for some 350 years. They were subdued in the late 19th century and were settled on reservations; they now live independently.

araucaria \ l ar-o- , kar-e-9\ Any pinelike coniferous plant (see conifer) of the genus Araucaria (family Araucariaceae). Found in South America, the Phoenix Islands, and Australia, araucaria trees are magnificent ever� greens, with whorled branches and stiff, flattened, pointed leaves. Com� mon species are the monkey puzzle tree and the Norfolk Island pine, often grown as a houseplant. Several species are cultivated on the Pacific coast of the U.S. and in southern Florida. See also pine.

Arawak \'ar-3-,wak\ American Indians of the Greater Antilles and South America. The Taino, an Arawak subgroup, were the first native peoples encountered by Christopher Columbus on Hispaniola. The island Arawak were wiped out by disease, but some mainland South American Arawak, who inhabited northern and western areas of the Amazon River basin, sur� vived conquest. At the turn of the 21st century, the Arawak lived mainly in Guyana, where they represented about one-third of the Indian population. Smaller numbers live in Suriname, French Guiana, and Venezuela.

Arawakan \,ar-3-'wa-k3n\ languages or Maipuran \ml-'pu-r9n\ languages Largest family of American Indian languages. The family comprises an estimated 65 known languages, of which at least 30 are now extinct. They stretch from the Caribbean coast of Central America to the Gran Chaco and southern Brazil, and from western Peru to the Guianas and central Brazil. Taino, a now-extinct Arawakan language of the Antil� les, was the first American Indian language encountered by Europeans. Arawakan languages that are still viable include Goajiro in Colombia and Venezuela; Amuesha, Machiguenga, and the Campa languages in Peru; and Terena in Brazil.

Arbenz \'ar-bans\ (Guzman), Jacobo (b. Sept. 14, 1913, Quezalt- enango, Guat.�d. Jan. 27, 1971, Mexico City, Mex.) Soldier and presi� dent of Guatemala (1951-54). The son of a Swiss emigre, Arbenz joined the leftist army officers who overthrew the dictator Jorge Ubico (1878� 1946) in 1944. Elected president in 1951, he made land reform his cen� tral project. His efforts to expropriate idle land owned by the United Fruit Co. and his alleged communist links led to an invasion sponsored by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. When the army refused to defend Arbenz against what appeared to be a superior force, he resigned and went into exile, and the CIA installed the leader of the proxy army. Col. Carlos Castillo Armas (1914-57), as president.

Arber, Werner (b. June 3, 1929, Granichen, Switz.) Swiss microbi� ologist. He has taught chiefly at the University of Basel. He shared a 1978 Nobel Prize with Daniel Nathans and Hamilton O. Smith for the discovery and use of restriction enzymes that break the giant molecules of DNA into pieces small enough to be separated for individual study but large enough to retain meaningful amounts of the genetic information of the original substance. He also observed that bacteriophages cause mutation in their bacterial hosts and undergo hereditary mutations themselves.

Arbiter, Gaius Petronius See Gaius Petronius Arbiter

arbitrage Var-bo-.trazhX Business operation involving the purchase of foreign currency, gold, financial securities, or commodities in one market and their almost simultaneous sale in another market, in order to profit

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96 I arbitration ► Arcaro

from price differentials existing between the markets. In the 1980s a form of speculation called risk arbitrage arose, in which speculators tried to identify companies targeted for takeover and buy blocks of their stock, to be resold at a profit when the takeover was announced and the compa� ny�s stock rose in value. See also insider trading; security.

arbitration Process of resolving a dispute or a grievance outside a court system by presenting it for decision to an impartial third party. Both sides in the dispute usually must agree in advance to the choice of arbitrator and certify that they will abide by the arbitrator�s decision. In medieval Europe arbitration was used to settle disputes between merchants; it is now commonly used in commercial, labour-management, and interna� tional disputes. The procedures differ from those used in the courts, espe� cially regarding burden of proof and presentation of evidence. Arbitration avoids costly litigation and offers a relatively speedy resolution as well as privacy for the disputants. The main disadvantage is that setting guide� lines is difficult; therefore the outcome is often less predictable than a court decision. See also mediation.

arbor Garden shelter providing privacy and partial protection from the weather, most commonly a lightweight, latticed framework (trellis) of wood or metal with interlaced branches of vines or climbing shrubs trained over it. If there is a distinction between an arbor and a bower, it is that the bower is an entirely natural recess whereas an arbor is only partially natural.

arboretum X.ar-bo-'re-tomV Place where trees, shrubs, and sometimes herbaceous plants are cultivated for scientific and educational purposes. An arboretum may be a collection in its own right or a part of a botanical garden. Important U.S. arboretums include the Arnold Arboretum of Har� vard University (Jamaica Plain, Mass.) and the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C.

arboriculture Var-bor-o-.kol-choA Cultivation of trees, shrubs, and woody plants for shading and decorating. Arboriculture includes all aspects of growing, maintaining, and identifying plants, arranging plant� ings for their ornamental values, and removing trees. The well-being of individual plants is the major concern of arboriculture, in contrast to such related fields as forestry and agriculture, in which the major concern is the welfare of a large group of plants as a whole.

arborvitae \,ar-b9r-'vl-te\ (Latin: �tree of life�) Any of six species (genus Thuja) of resinous, evergreen ornamental and timber conifers of the cypress family, native to North America and eastern Asia. Arborvitae trees or shrubs have thin, scaling outer bark and fibrous inner bark; hori� zontal or ascending branches; and flattened, spraylike branchlets with scalelike leaves. The Oriental, or Chinese, arborvitae ( T. orientalis ), a popular ornamental native to Asia, is a gracefully symmetrical shrub. Arborvitae wood is soft and lightweight but very durable, fragrant, and easily worked. The giant arborvitae ( T. plicata) is the most important timber-producing species, but the wood of the American arborvitae ( T. occidentalis) is also frequently used. False arborvitae ( Thujopsis dola- brata) is closely related.

arbovirus X.ar-bo-'vI-rosX Any of a large group of viruses that develop in arthropods (chiefly mosquitoes and ticks). The name derives from �arthropod-borne virus.� The spheroidal virus particle is encased in a fatty membrane and contains RNA; it causes no apparent harm to the arthro� pod host. Arboviruses are transmitted by bites to vertebrate hosts, in which they establish infections and complete their growth cycle; they include the agents responsible for yellow fever and equine encephalitis. See also TOGAVIRUS.

Arbus, Diane orig. Diane Nemerov (b. March 14, 1923, New York, N.Y., U.S.�d. July 26, 1971, New York City) U.S. photographer. The sister of the poet and critic Howard Nemerov, she worked as a fash� ion photographer in the 1950s. From about 1955 to 1957 she studied with documentary photographer Lisette Model. She published her first photo� essay, for Esquire, in 1960. In the 1960s she began to explore the sub� jects that would occupy her for much of her career: individuals living on the outskirts of society and �normalcy,� such as nudists, transvestites, dwarfs, and the mentally or physically handicapped. Her own evident intimacy with the subjects of her photos resulted in images that engage the sympathy and collusion of the viewer and elicit a strong response. During this period she mastered her technique of using a square format and flash lighting, which gives her work a sense of theatricality and sur� realism. In 1971 Arbus committed suicide.

Arbuthnot Var-'both-notV John (b. April 1667, Inverbervie, Scot.�d. Feb. 27, 1735, London, Eng.) Scot� tish mathematician, physician, and satirist. His satirical writings include a political allegory, The History of John Bull (1712), that established John Bull as a personification of England. He was a founding member of the famous Scriblerus Club, which aimed to ridicule bad literature and false learning. He was also chief contributor to and guiding spirit of the Memoirs of Martinus Scriblerus (written 1713-14), a mocking expo� sure of pedantry that was written by club members.

arbutus \ar-'byu-t3s\ Any of about 14 species (genus Arbutus) of broad� leaved evergreen shrubs or trees, in the heath family. Native to southern Europe and western North America, they are characterized by loosely clustered white or pink flowers and red or orange berries. A. menziesii (variously known as the madrona, Pacific madrona, laurelwood, and Oregon laurel) and A. unedo (the strawberry tree) are cultivated as orna� mentals. The trailing arbutus belongs to the genus Epigaea.

Arc de Triomphe \ , ark-do-tri- , o n f\ Largest triumphal arch in the world. A masterpiece of Romantic Classicism, it is one of the best-known monu� ments of Paris. It stands at the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, at the western terminus of the Champs-Elysees. Initiated by Napoleon, designed by Jean-Francois-Therese Chalgrin, and constructed in 1806-36, the monument is 164 ft (50 m) high and 148 ft (45 m) wide. Decorative relief sculptures celebrating Napoleon�s victorious military campaigns were executed on the arch by Francois Rude, Jean-Pierre Cortot, and An� toine Etex.

arc furnace Type of electric furnace in which heat is generated by an arc between carbon electrodes above the surface of the material (com� monly a metal) being heated. William Siemens first demonstrated the arc furnace in 1879 at the Paris Exposition by melting iron in crucibles; hori� zontally placed carbon electrodes produced an electric arc above the con� tainer of metal. The first commercial arc furnace in the U.S. (1906) had a capacity of four tons (3.6 metric tons) and was equipped with two elec� trodes. Modern furnaces range in heat size from a few tons up to 400 tons (360 metric tons), and the arcs strike directly into the metal bath from vertically positioned, graphite electrodes to remelt scrap steel or refine briquettes of direct-reduced iron ore.

arcade Series of arches, supported by columns or piers, joined together end to end in a row. When supporting a roof, an arcade may function as a passageway adjacent to a solid wall, a covered walkway that provides access to adjacent shops, or a transitional element surrounding an open internal court. See also colonnade.

Arcadia Ancient country, central Peloponnese, Greece. Mountainous and landlocked, it was not overrun by the Dorians during their occupation of Greece (1100-1000 bc). Its isolation and its pastoral character partly explain why it was represented as a paradise in Greek and Roman bucolic poetry. It was the scene of conflict during the War of Greek Independence (1821-29). The modem Greek department of Arkadhfa is nearly coex� tensive with the ancient country.

Arcadian League Confederation of ancient Greek city-states of Arca� dia. Arcadian towns had been forced to ally with Sparta by 550 bc, and most Arcadians remained faithful to Sparta during the Peloponnesian War (431^-04 bc). In an effort to contain Sparta, Epaminondas of Thebes founded the city-state of Megalopolis in 371-368 bc as the seat of the Arcadian League. The League united the Arcadians for a few decades until internal discord crippled their confederation.

Arcaro, Eddie orig. George Edward Arcaro (b. Feb. 19, 1916, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.�d. Nov. 14, 1997, Miami, Fla.) U.S. jockey. He became the first jockey to ride five Kentucky Derby winners (1938, 1941, 1945, 1948,1952) and the first to ride two Triple Crown champions (Whirl-

Arbuthnot, detail of an oil painting by W. Robinson; in the Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh.

COURTESY OF THE SCOTTISH NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, EDINBURGH

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arch ► archer fish I 97

away, 1941; Citation, 1948). In 31 years of riding Thoroughbreds (1931� 61), he won 549 stakes events, a total of 4,779 races, and more than $30 million in purses.

arch Curved structure that spans the opening between two piers or col� umns and supports loads from above. The masonry arch provides the stepping stone from the post-and-beam system to the evolution of the vault, and was first widely used by the Romans. Its construction depends on a series of wedge-shaped blocks (voussoirs) set side by side in a semicir� cular curve or along two intersecting arcs (as in a pointed arch). The cen� tral voussoir is called the keystone, and the two points where the arch rests on its supports are known as the spring points. An arch can carry a much greater load than a horizontal beam of the same size and material, because downward pressure forces the voussoirs together instead of apart. The resulting outward thrust must be resisted by the arch�s supports. Present-day lightweight monolithic (one-piece) arches of steel, concrete, or laminated wood are highly rigid, and thereby minimize horizontal thrust. See illustration opposite.

archaebacteria \,ar-ke-,bak-'tir-e-3\ Group of bacteria whose mem� bers differ from the eubacteria in certain physical, physiological, and genetic features (e.g., cell-wall components). Archaebacteria are aquatic or terrestrial microorganisms that exhibit a diversity of shapes, including spherical, rod-shaped, and spiral forms. They survive in various extreme environments, including very hot or salty ones. Some require oxygen; some do not. Some produce methane as an end product; others depend on sulfur for their metabolism.

archaeology Scientific study of material remains of past human life and activities. These include human artifacts from the very earliest stone tools to the man-made objects that are buried or thrown away in the present day. Archaeological investigations are a principal source of mod� ern knowledge of prehistoric, ancient, and extinct cultures. The field emerged as an academic discipline in the late 19th century, following centuries of haphazard antiquarian collecting. Among the archaeologist�s principal activities are the location, surveying, and mapping of sites and the excavation, classification, dating, and interpretation of materials to place them in historical context. Major subfields include classical archae� ology, the study of ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern civiliza� tions; prehistoric archaeology, or general archaeology; and historical archaeology, the study of historic-period remains to augment the written record. See also anthropology; coin collecting; stone-tool industry.

archaeopteryx \ar-ke-'ap-t9-riks\ Oldest known fossil animal that is generally accepted as a bird (classified as genus Archaeopteryx). It flour� ished during the Late Jurassic period (159-144 million years ago). Fossil specimens indicate that archaeopteryx ranged in size from as small as a blue jay to as large as a chicken. Archaeopteryx shared anatomical char� acteristics with both birds (well-developed wings and birdlike skull) and theropod dinosaurs (well-developed teeth and a long tail).

Archangel See Arkhangelsk

archbishop In Christianity, a bishop who has jurisdiction, but not supe� riority, over the other bishops in a province as well as episcopal author� ity in his own diocese. Introduced as an honorary title in the Eastern churches in the 4th century, the office did not become common in West� ern churches until the 9th century. It is now most widely used in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. It is more rarely used in Protestant denominations, though the Church of England has archbish� ops of Canterbury and York, and the Lutheran churches of both Sweden and Finland have an archbishop.

Archean \ar-'ke-on\ Eon or Archaean Eon or Archeozoic Eon

Older of the two divisions of Precambrian time. The Archean begins with the formation of the Earth�s crust c. 3.8 billion years ago and extends to c. 2.5 billion years ago, up to the start of the Proterozoic Eon, the second division of the Precambrian Period. The earliest and most primitive forms of life (bacteria and cyanobacteria) originated c. 3.5 billion years ago in the middle of the Archean Eon (the Archean�s alternative name, Archeo� zoic, means �ancient life�).

archer fish Any of five species (family Toxotidae) of Indo-Pacific fishes noted for their ability to knock their insect prey off overhanging vegetation by shooting it with drops of water expelled from their mouth. Archer fishes are elongated and have a relatively deep body that is almost flat from the dorsal fin forward. The head is pointed, the mouth is large, and the dorsal

crown

trefoil arch ogee arch

The arch supports a vertical load primarily by axial compression of its wedge- shaped voussoirs. As shown on the Roman arch, the first voussoir, or springer, rests on the impost, at the top of the abutment or pier. The haunch, rising from the impost to the crown (highest point), is defined by the inner curve, or intrados, and outer curve, or extrados. The Roman arch, with its semicircular intrados, has a rise exactly half the width of the span. Below it are shown examples of the curved arch (left) and the pointed arch (right). The stilted arch has vertical sides. A Moorish arch widens above the spring points. The trefoil arch's intrados has three indentations, or foils. A Gothic arch is a pointed arch usually having two haunches of equal radii of curvature. A Tudor arch has greater curvature near the springers than near the point. Each haunch of the ogee arch consists of a double curve.

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98 I archery ► Arctic Circle

and anal fins are placed toward the back of the body. Different species are spotted or vertically banded with black. Archer fishes live in both fresh and salt water, usually remaining near the surface. One well-known spe� cies (Toxotes jaculator, or jaculatrix ) grows to about 7 in. (18 cm) long.

archery Sport of shooting with bow and arrow. As the bow began to be replaced by the gun as the principal weapon of warfare and the hunt beginning in the 16th century, it increasingly became a sporting device. By the mid-19th century, many archery clubs had sprung up in England and the U.S. Competitions including target-shooting were held at the Olympic Games in the early 20th century, but were then suspended until 1972. Other varieties of archery include field archery, or roving (a simu� lation of hunting), and flight shooting (a distance event).

Arches National Park Preserve, eastern Utah, U.S. Located on the Colorado River north of Moab, the preserve was established as a national monument in 1929 and as a national park in 1971. Its area is about 120 sq mi (310 sq km). The park�s sandstone has been eroded into unusual shapes, including Courthouse Towers, Fiery Furnace, and Devils Garden, the site of Landscape Arch, at 306 ft (93 m) the longest freestanding natu� ral rock bridge in the world.

archetype \'ar-ki-,tlp\ Primordial image, character, or pattern of cir� cumstances that recurs throughout literature and thought consistently enough to be considered universal. Literary critics adopted the term from Carl Gustav Jung�s theory of the collective unconscious. Because arche� types originate in pre-logical thought, they are held to evoke startlingly similar feelings in reader and author. Examples of archetypal symbols include the snake, whale, eagle, and vulture. An archetypal theme is the passage from innocence to experience; archetypal characters include the blood brother, rebel, wise grandparent, and prostitute with a heart of gold.

Archimedean screw N.ar-ko-'med-e-sM or Archimedes' screw

Machine for raising water, said to have been invented by Archimedes for removing water from the hold of a large ship. One form consists of a cir� cular pipe enclosing a helix and inclined at an angle of about 45�, with its lower end dipped in the water; rotation of the device lifts the water in the pipe. Other forms consist of a helix revolving in a fixed cylinder or a helical tube wound around a shaft.

Archimedes V.ar-ko-'me-.dezX (b. c. 290-280 bc, Syracuse, Sicily�d. 212/211 bc, Syracuse) Legendary Greek inventor and mathematician. His principal discoveries were the Archimedes screw, an ingenious device for raising water, and the hydrostatic principle, or Archimedes' principle. His main interests were optics, mechanics, pure mathematics, and astronomy. Archimedes� mathematical proofs show both boldly original thought and a rigour meeting the highest standards of contemporary geometry. His approximation of n was not improved on until after the Middle Ages, and translations of his works were important influences on 9th-century Arab and 16th- and 17th-century European mathematicians. In his native city, Syracuse, he was known as a genius at devising siege and countersiege weapons. He was killed by a Roman soldier during the storming of the city.

Archimedes' principle Law of buoyancy, discovered by Archimedes, which states that any object that is completely or partially submerged in a fluid at rest is acted on by an upward, or buoyant, force. The magni� tude of this force is equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object. The volume of fluid displaced is equal to the volume of the portion of the object submerged.

Archipenko X.ar-ko-'peq-koV Alexander (b. May 30, 1887, Kiev, Ukr.�d. Feb. 25, 1964, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Ukrainian-U.S. sculptor. In 1908 he moved to Paris to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, and he soon became active in radical circles such as the Cubist movement. He began to explore the interplay between interlocking voids and solids and between convex and concave surfaces, forming a sculptural equivalent to Cubist paintings� overlapping planes and, in the process, revolutionizing modern sculpture. About 1912 he introduced the concept of collage in sculpture, and he went on to further defy tradition in his �sculpto- paintings,� works in which he introduced painted colour to the intersect� ing planes of his sculpture. In 1923 he moved to New York City, where he worked and taught for most of his life.

architecture Art and technique of designing and building, as distin� guished from the skills associated with construction. The practice of archi� tecture emphasizes spatial relationships, orientation, the support of activities to be carried out within a designed environment, and the arrangement and visual rhythm of structural elements, as opposed to the

design of structural systems themselves (see civil engineering). Appropri� ateness, uniqueness, a sensitive and innovative response to functional requirements, and a sense of place within its surrounding physical and social context distinguish a built environment as representative of a cul� ture�s architecture. See also building construction.

archives Repository for an organized body of records. Archives are produced or received by a public, semipublic, institutional, or business entity in the transaction of its affairs and are preserved by it or its suc� cessors. The modern institution of archives and archival administration dates from the late 18th century, when national and departmental archives were established in France. In the U.S. the National Archives was estab� lished in 1934 to house the retired records of the national government; the Federal Records Act of 1950 authorized regional records repositories. Each U.S. state has its own archival agency. Archivists in the 20th cen� tury increasingly handled records involving new technologies, such as computer-kept records and motion pictures, as well as the records of busi� nesses, institutions, and individuals.

arch on In ancient Greece, the chief magistrate or magistrates in a city- state, from the Archaic period onward. In Athens, nine archons divided state duties: the archon eponymous headed the boule and Ecclesia, the polemarch commanded troops and presided over legal cases involving foreigners, the archon basileus headed state religion and the Areopagus, and the six remaining archons handled various judicial matters. At first only elected aristocrats could serve, and their term was for life; later, terms were limited to a year. Archons were chosen by a combination of elec� tion and lot. In the 5th century bc the authority of the archons declined as elected generals assumed most of their powers.

Archon \'ar-,kan\ In Gnosticism, any of various world-governing pow� ers created with the material world by the Demiurge. Because the Gnos� tics regarded the material world as evil or as the product of error, Archons were considered forces of evil. Seven or 12 in number, they were iden� tified with the seven planets of antiquity or the 12 signs of the ZODIAC. They were thought to have imprisoned the divine spark of human souls in material creation. The gnosis sent from the realms of divine light through Jesus enabled Gnostic initiates to pass through the spheres of the Archons into the realms of light.

archosaur Var-k3-,s6r\ Any of the various advanced reptiles in the sub� class Archosauria (�ruling reptiles�), including all thecodonts, pterosaurs, dinosaurs, birds, and crocodilians. The first known archosaurs appeared 242-227 million years ago during the Triassic Period. All early archosaurs possessed an ankle specialization that aided in upright posture, and most had long hindlegs and short forelimbs. Unlike the teeth of earlier reptiles, which were set in a shallow groove, the teeth of archosaurs were (and are) set in sockets.

Archytas \ar-'ki-tas\ (fl. 400-350 bc, Tarentum, Magna Graecia) Greek scientist, philosopher, and Pythagorean mathematician. Archytas is some� times called the founder of mathematical mechanics. Plato, a close friend, made use of his work in mathematics, and there is evidence that Euclid borrowed from Archytas for Book VIII of the Elements. An influential public figure, he served seven years as commander in chief of his city, Tarentum (now Taranto, Italy).

Arcimboldo V.ar-chem-'bol-doV Giuseppe (b. c. 1527, Milan�d. 1593, Milan) Italian painter. He began his career as a painter and designer of stained-glass windows for Milan Cathedral. In 1562 he moved to Pra� gue and became court painter to the emperors Ferdinand I and Rudolf II. He also painted scenery for the court theatre and became skillful at illu- sionistic imagery containing allegorical meanings, puns, and jokes. He is known for his eccentric and grotesque Mannerist compositions of fruits, vegetables, animals, landscapes, and implements arranged to resemble human forms. The style was regarded as being in poor taste until the Sur� realists revived the art of visual punning in the 1920s. See photograph on opposite page.

Arctic Archipelago Group of Canadian islands, Arctic Ocean. They lie north of the Canadian mainland and have an area of about 550,000 sq mi (1,424,500 sq km). The southeastern islands are an extension of the Canadian Shield; the balance consists of the Arctic lowlands to the south and the Innuitian Mountains to the north. The archipelago includes the large islands of Baffin, Ellesmere, Victoria, Banks, and Prince of Wales.

Arctic Circle Parallel of latitude approximately 66.5� north of the Equa� tor that circumscribes the northern frigid zone. It marks the southern limit

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Arctic fox ► Arendt I 99

of the area within which, for one day or more each year, the sun does not set or rise. The length of continuous day or night increases northward from the Arctic Circle, mounting to six months at the North Pole.

Arctic fox Northern fox ( Alopex lagopus ) found throughout the Arctic, usually on tundra or mountains near the sea. Its short, rounded ears and short muzzle reduce its body area exposed to heat loss, and it has fur- covered soles. It is 20-24 in. (50-60 cm) long (excluding the 12-in., or 30-cm, tail) and weighs 7-17 lbs (3-8 kg). It has two colour phases. Indi� viduals in the white phase are grayish brown in summer and white in win� ter; those in the blue phase (blue foxes of the fur trade) are grayish in summer and gray-blue in winter. The Arctic fox dwells in burrows and feeds on any available animal or vegetable material.

Arctic National Park, Gates of the See Gates of the Arctic National Park

Arctic Ocean Ocean centring approximately on the North Pole. Small� est of the world�s oceans, it is almost completely surrounded by the land- masses of Eurasia and North America, and it is distinguished by a cover of ice. Lands in it and adjacent to it include Point Barrow in Alaska, the Arctic Archipelago, Greenland, Svalbard, Franz Josef Land, and northern Siberia. The ocean covers about 5,440,000 sq mi (14,090,000 sq km) and reaches a maximum depth of about 18,000 ft (5,500 m). Its marginal seas include the Barents, Beaufort, Chukchi, East Siberian, Greenland, Kara, Laptev, and White seas. Areas within the Arctic Circle were first explored beginning in the 9th century by the Norse. In the 16th� 17th centuries explorers searching for the Northwest Passage reached the area; Martin Frobisher discovered the southern part of Baffin Island (1576-78), and Henry Hudson navigated the eastern coast of Hudson Bay (1610-11). Later explorers included Roald Amundsen, Fridtjof Nansen, Robert E. Peary, and Richard E. Byrd. Development of the area�s natural resources was spurred by the discovery of oil in Alaska in the 1960s. Virtually all of the Arctic has now been mapped. See map opposite.

Arctic tern Tern species {Sterna paradisaea ) that makes the longest annual migration of any bird. It breeds in the southerly reaches of the Arctic and winters in the Antarctic, making its migration a round-trip of nearly 22,000 mi (over 35,000 km). Its appearance�white with a black cap and grayish wings�is similar to that of the common tern (S. hirundo), its frequent companion.

Ardea \'ar-de-o\ Ancient town, Italy. Located south of Rome, Ardea was ruled by the Rutuli people and was an important center for the cult of Juno. In 444 bc the town signed a treaty with the Romans, who colonized it as a barrier against the Volsci. It declined in the Roman civil wars of the 1st century bc.

Arden, Elizabeth orig. Florence Nightingale Graham (b. Dec. 31, 1884, Woodbridge, Ont., Can.�d. Oct. 18, 1966, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Canadian-U.S. businesswoman who founded a chain of women�s salons. Graham moved to New York c. 1908, where she opened a beauty salon under the name Elizabeth Arden. She was instrumental in making cosmetics acceptable for respectable women. In 1915 she began to mar-

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ket her cosmetics products interna� tionally. At her death there were over 100 Elizabeth Arden salons through� out the world.

Arden, John (b. Oct. 26, 1930, Barnsley, Yorkshire, Eng.) British playwright. He studied architecture at Cambridge and the Edinburgh College of Art. His plays mix poetry and songs with colloquial speech in a boldly theatrical manner and involve strong conflicts purposely left unre� solved. Arden�s works include All Fall Down (1955), Serjeant Mus- grave�s Dance (1959), The Work- house Donkey (1963), Vandaleur�s Folly (1978), and the radio series Whose Is the Kingdom? (1988).

"Summer," painting on canvas by Giuseppe Arcimboldo, 1563; in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

BY COURTESY OF THE KUNSTHISTORISCHES MUSEUM, VIENNA; PHOTOGRAPH, ERWIN MEYER

Ardennes \ar-'den\ or Forest of Ardennes Wooded plateau region, northwestern Europe. It covers over 3,860 sq mi (10,000 sq km) and

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includes parts of Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Meuse River valley of France; its average height is about 1,600 ft (488 m). Though half of it is covered with forests, the soil is generally unfertile and supports only heath. It is located in the middle of the heavily populated triangle of Paris, Brussels, and Cologne. During World Wars I and II, the area was the scene of severe fighting in 1914, 1918, and 1944 (see Battle of the Bulge).

Ardhanarisvara V.ar-do-na-'resh-vo-roX Composite male-female fig� ure of the Hindu god Shiva and his consort Parvati. In many Indian and S.East Asian sculptures, the right half is male and the left female. The figure symbolizes the inseparability of male and female principles.

Ards District (pop., 2001: 73,244), Northern Ireland. Formerly part of County Down, Ards was established as a district in 1973. Much of its land is devoted to crops and pasture. Newtownards, settled c. 1608 by Scots, is its administrative seat and manufacturing centre. Donaghadee is a popular resort town.

area See length, area, and volume

Arecibo \,ar-3-'se-bo\ Observatory Astronomical observatory near Arecibo, P.R., site of the world�s largest single-unit radio telescope (as opposed to multiple telescope interferometers such as the Very Large Array). The telescope dish, 1,000 ft (300 m) across, is built into a valley; celestial sources are tracked across the sky by moving secondary struc� tures suspended about 500 ft (150 m) above the dish. The observatory has produced detailed radar maps of the surface of Venus and near-Earth aster� oids (see Earth-crossing asteroid), made detailed studies of Earth�s iono� sphere, and made major contributions to studies of pulsars and hydrogen gas in GALAXIES.

arena stage See theater-in-the-round

Arendt \a-'rent\, Hannah (b. Oct. 14, 1906, Hannover, Ger.�d. Dec. 4, 1975, New York, N.Y., U.S.) German-bom U.S. political philosopher.

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100 I Areopagus ► Argentina

She studied philosophy at the Universities of Marburg, Freiburg, and Heidelberg, receiving a doctorate from the latter in 1928. While at Mar� burg she began a romantic relationship with her teacher Martin Heidegger. Following the Nazi takeover of Germany in 1933, Arendt, who was Jew� ish, fled to Paris, where she became a social worker, and then to New York City in 1941. Her major work, Origins of Totalitarianism (1951), traced totalitarianism to 19th-century anti-Semitism, imperialism, and the dis� integration of the traditional nation-state. Her highly controversial book Eichmann in Jerusalem (1963) argued that the Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann was not inwardly wicked or depraved but merely �thoughtless�; his role in the extermination of the Jews thus epitomized the fearsome �banality of evil� that had swept across Europe at the time. Resuming contact with Heidegger in 1950, she claimed that his involvement with the Nazis had been the �mistake� of a great philosopher. She taught at the University of Chicago (1963-67) and thereafter at the New School for Social Research in New York City.

Areopagus \,ar-e-'a-p9-g3s\ Supreme tribunal of ancient Athens. It was named for the Areopagus (�Ares� Hill�), where it met. It began as the king�s council; by Draco�s code of law (c. 621 bc) it consisted of former archons, but Solon (594) opened candidacy to any citizen. It had broad judicial powers. Its prestige fluctuated from the mid 6th to the mid 4th century bc, after which its power revived and continued under Roman domination, when it reacquired extensive administrative duties.

Arequipa \,a-ra-'ke-pa\ City (pop., 1998 est.: 710,103), southern Peru. Located in the Andes Mountains at an elevation of 7,557 ft (2,303 m) at the foot of Misti Volcano (19,098 ft [5,821 m]), it has been subject to earthquakes, usually associated with volcanic activity, and was largely destroyed by an earthquake in 1868. In the Inca empire, Arequipa was an important point on the route from Cuzco to the seacoast. Modern Are� quipa is the commercial centre of southern Peru.

Ares \'ar-ez\ Greek god of war. Unlike his Roman counterpart, Mars, his worship was not extensive. From the time of Homer, he was one of the Olympian deities, the son of Zeus and Hera, but disliked by the other gods.

His worship occurred largely in northern Greece. He was associated from early times with Aphrodite, occasionally portrayed as his legiti� mate wife and at other times his lover. He was accompanied in battle by his sister Eris (strife) and by two of his children by Aphrodite, Phobos and Deimos (Panic and Rout).

Aretino \,a-ra-'te-no\, Pietro (b.

April 20, 1492, Arezzo, Republic of Florence [Italy]�d. Oct. 21, 1556,

Venice) Italian poet, prose writer, and dramatist. He was celebrated throughout Europe in his time for his bold and insolent literary attacks on the powerful. His fiery letters and dialogues are of great biographical and topical interest. His dramas, which are relatively free of venom� ous assaults, include five comedies and a tragedy, Orazia (1546), per� haps the best Italian tragedy of the 16th century.

Arevalo \,a-ra-'ba-lo\ (Berme- jo), Juan Jose (b. Sept. 10, 1904, Taxisco, Guat.�d. Oct. 6, 1990, Guatemala City) President of Guatemala (1945-51). Soon after earning his doctorate, he went to Argentina, where he held various academic posi� tions. After the overthrow of the Guatemalan dictator Jorge Ubico, he was elected president, receiving 85 percent of the vote. He established free� dom of speech and of the press, and his administration inaugurated a social security system, a labour code, and important education and health pro� grams. His policies favoured urban and agricultural workers and the indig� enous population. He stepped down voluntarily at the end of his term. A military coup prevented him from running again in 1963.

Argentina officially Argentine Republic Country, southern South America. Area: 1,073,400 sq mi (2,780,092 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 38,592,000. Capital: Buenos Aires. The people are mostly of Euro-

Catholic [official]; also Protestant); also Islam, Judaism. Currency: Argen� tine peso. Argentina can be divided into four general regions: the North, the Pampas, Patagonia, and the Andes Mountains. The subtropical plains in the northeast are divided by the Parana River into Mesopotamia to the east and Gran Chaco to the west and north. The Pampas, south and west of the Parana, is one of the world�s most productive agricultural areas and the country�s most populous region. Patagonia lies south of the Colorado River. The Argentine Andes include the continent�s highest peak, Mount Aconcagua. Argentina�s hydrology is dominated by rivers that include the Parana, Uruguay, and Pilcomayo, which drain into the Rio de la Plata. Argentina has a developing economy based largely on manufacturing and agriculture; it is Latin America�s largest exporter of beef and beef prod� ucts. It is a republic with two legislative houses; the head of state and government is the president. Little is known of the indigenous population before the Europeans� arrival. The area was explored for Spain by Sebas� tian Cabot beginning in 1526; by 1580 Asuncion, Santa Fe, and Buenos Aires had been settled. Early in the 17th century it was attached to the Viceroyalty of Peru, but in 1776 it was included with regions of modem Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia in the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata, whose capital was Buenos Aires. With the establishment of the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata in 1816, Argentina achieved its indepen� dence from Spain, but its boundaries were not set until the early 20th cen� tury. In 1943 the government was overthrown by the military; Col. Juan Peron took control in 1946. He in turn was overthrown in 1955. He returned in 1973 after two decades of turmoil. His third wife, Isabel,

Ares, classical sculpture; in the National Roman Museum, Rome

ANDERSON-AUNARI FROM ART RESOURCE

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Argerich ► Aries I 101

became president on his death in 1974 but lost power after another mili� tary coup in 1976. The military government tried to take the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) in 1982 but was defeated by the British in the Falkland Islands War, with the result that the government returned to civilian rule in 1983. The government of Raul Alfonsin worked to end the human rights abuses that had characterized the former regimes. Hyperin� flation, however, led to public riots and Alfonsin�s party�s electoral defeat in 1989; his Peronist successor, Carlos Menem, instituted laissez-faire eco� nomic policies. In 1999 Fernando de la Rua of the Alliance coalition was elected president, and his administration struggled with rising unemploy� ment, heavy foreign debt, and government corruption.

Argerich \'ar-ger-ich\, Martha (b. June 5, 1941, Buenos Aires, Arg.) Argentine pianist. A prodigy, she began concertizing before she was 10. In 1955 she went to Europe, where her teachers included Arturo Bene- detti Michelangeli (1920-95). She won two prestigious competitions at age 16 and the Chopin competition in 1965. Her exceptionally brilliant technique, emotional depth, and elan won her an enthusiastic international following.

arginine \'ar-ja- l nen\ One of the essential amino acids, particularly abun� dant in histones and other proteins associated with nucleic acids. It plays an important metabolic role in the synthesis of UREA, the principal form in which mammals excrete nitrogen compounds. Arginine is used in medi� cine and biochemical research, in pharmaceuticals, and as a dietary supplement.

argon Chemical element, chemical symbol Ar, atomic number 18. Colourless, odourless, and tasteless, it is the most abundant of the noble GASes on Earth and the one most used in industry. It constitutes about 1 % of air and is obtained by distillation of liquid air. Argon provides an inert gas shield in welding and brazing, in lightbulbs and lasers, in Geiger counters, and in the production and fabrication of certain metals. Because a radioactive form of argon is produced by decay of a naturally occurring radioactive potassium isotope, it can be used to date rocks and samples more than 100,000 years old.

argon-argon dating See potassium-argon dating

Argonauts In Greek legend, a band of 50 heroes who went with Jason in the ship Argo to retrieve the Golden Fleece from the grove of Ares at Colchis. They had many adventures before arriving at Colchis, from which they were even� tually forced to flee, pursued by Medea�s father, Aeetes. The Argo eventually returned to Jason�s home kingdom (Iolcus) and was placed in a grove sacred to Poseidon; Jason died when its prow toppled as he was resting in its shadow.

Argos Ancient city-state, north� eastern Peloponnese, Greece. Under the Argive king Pheidon, it was the dominant city-state in the Peloponnese in the 7th century bc until the rise of Sparta. After suffer� ing incursions from Macedonia,

Argos joined the Achaean League in 229 bc. Later it came under Roman rule. The city flourished in Byzantine times but ultimately fell to the Otto� man Empire in the 16th century. During the War of Greek Independence (1821-29), the first free Greek Parliament was convened at Argos. The modern town (pop., 1991: 22,429) is an agricultural centre.

argument from design or teleological argument Argument for the existence of God. According to one version, the universe as a whole is like a machine; machines have intelligent designers; like effects have like causes; therefore, the universe as a whole has an intelligent designer, which is God. The argument was propounded by medieval Christian thinkers, especially St. Thomas Aquinas, and was developed in great detail in the 17th and 18th centuries by writers such as Samuel Clarke (1675� 1729) and William Paley. It was powerfully criticized by David Hume in his Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. Immanuel Kant also rejected the

argument. In the late 20th century the argument was revived as the doc� trine of INTELLIGENT DESIGN. See also CREATIONISM.

Argun Var-'gun\ River Chinese Ergun He or O-erh-ku-na

Vo-'ar-'gii-'naV Ho River, northeastern Asia. Rising in the Da Hinggan (Greater Khingan) Range, it runs about 1,000 mi (1,600 km), forming part of the boundary between northeastern China and Russia and uniting with the Shilka River to form the Amur River. In its upper course it is called the Hailar.

arhat \'ar-hot\ or arahant Va-ro-hantX In Buddhism, one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence, has achieved nirvana, and will not be reborn. Theravada Buddhism regards becoming an arhat as the goal of spiritual progress. It holds that a seeker must pass through three ear� lier stages before being reborn in a heaven as an arhat. Mahayana Bud� dhism criticizes the goal of becoming an arhat as selfish and considers the bodhisattva to be a higher goal because the bodhisattva remains in the cycle of rebirths to work for the good of others. This divergence of opin� ion is one of the fundamental differences between Theravada and Maha� yana Buddhism.

Arhus or Aarhus Vor-.husX Seaport (pop., 2001: 286,688), eastern Jut� land, Denmark. It lies along Arhus Bay and has an extensive harbour. Its origins are unknown, but it became a bishopric in ad 948 and, with its many religious institutions, prospered during the Middle Ages. In mod� ern times, industrialization and harbour expansion have made it Den� mark�s second largest city.

aria Solo song with instrumental accompaniment in opera, cantata, or oratorio. The strophic or stanzaic aria, in which each new stanza might represent a melodic variation on the first, appeared in opera in Claudio Monteverdi�s Orfeo (1607) and was widely used for decades. The stan� dard aria form c. 1650-1775 was the da capo aria, in which the opening melody and text are repeated after an intervening melody-text section (often in a different key, tempo, and metre); the return of the first section was often virtuosically embellished by the singer. Comic operas never limited themselves to da capo form. Even in serious opera, from c. 1750 a variety of forms were used; Gioacchino Rossini and others often expanded the aria into a complete musical scene in which two or more conflicting emotions were expressed. Richard Wagner�s operas largely abandoned the aria in favour of a continuous musical texture, but arias have never ceased to be written.

Ariadne \,ar-e-'ad-ne\ In Greek mythology, the daughter of Pasiphae and King Minos of Crete. She fell in love with Theseus, who had promised to slay the Minotaur confined in Minos�s Labyrinth. She gave Theseus a ball of thread or glittering jewels that enabled him to mark his path and thus to escape the Labyrinth after killing the monster. Endings to the legend vary. In one, Theseus abandons Ariadne and she hangs herself; in others, he carries her to Naxos, where she either dies or marries the god Dionysus. See also Phaedra.

Arianism Christian heresy that declared that Christ is not truly divine but a created being. According to the Alexandrian presbyter Arius (4th century), God alone is immutable and self-existent, and the Son is not God but a creature with a beginning. The Council of Nicaea (ad 325) con� demned Arius and declared the Son to be �of one substance with the father.� Arianism had numerous defenders for the next 50 years but even� tually collapsed when the Christian emperors of Rome Gratian and The� odosius assumed power. The First Council of Constantinople (381) approved the Nicene Creed and proscribed Arianism. The heresy contin� ued among the Germanic tribes through the 7th century, and similar beliefs are held in the present day by the Jehovah's WiTNESSes and by some adherents of Unitarianism.

Arias Sanchez Var-e-as-'san-chas\, Oscar (b. Sept. 13, 1941, Heredia, Costa Rica) President of Costa Rica (1986-90). A moderate socialist born to wealth, Arias worked for the National Liberation Party from the 1960s. He became president at a time when much of Central America was torn by civil war. His 1987 Central American peace plan, signed by the leaders of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicara� gua, included provisions for cease-fires, free elections, and amnesty for political prisoners. He was awarded the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize.

Aries (Latin: �Ram�) In astronomy, the constellation lying between Pisces and Taurus; in astrology, the first sign of the zodiac, governing approximately the period March 21-April 19. It is represented by a ram, which is sometimes identified with the Egyptian god Amon. In Greek

The Argonauts, detail of a painting by Lorenzo Costa in the Civic Museum, Padua, Italy

SCALA/ART RESOURCE, NEW YORK

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102 I Ariha > Arius

mythology Aries was identified with the ram that carried the prince Phrixus out of Thessaly to Colchis. Phrixus sacrificed the ram to Zeus, who placed it in the heavens as a constellation. Its golden fleece was later recovered by Jason.

Ariha See Jericho

aril \'ar-il\ Special covering of certain seeds that commonly develops from the seed stalk. It is often a bright-coloured fleshy envelope, as in such woody plants as the yews and nutmeg and in members of the arrow- root family, oxalis, and the castor-oil plant. Animals are attracted to arils and eat the seeds, dispersing them in their wastes. The aril of nutmeg is the source of the spice known as mace.

Arion \3-'ri-3n\ Semilegendary Greek poet and musician. He lived at Methymna on the island of Lesbos and is identified as the inventor of the dithyramb. He was sailing homeward after a performing tour when the sailors decided to kill him and steal his wealth. After singing a dirge for himself, he jumped overboard, but a dolphin charmed by his music car� ried him to shore. He reached Corinth before the ship; when the sailors arrived, the ruler Periander forced them to confess and punished them. Arion�s lyre and the dolphin were placed in the heavens as the constel� lations Lyra and Delphinus.

Ariosto V.ar-e-'o-stoV Ludovico (b. Sept. 8, 1474, Reggio Emilia, duchy of Modena [Italy]�d. July 6,

1533, Ferrara) Italian poet. His epic poem Orlando Furioso (1516) is regarded as the finest literary expres� sion of the Italian Renaissance. It enjoyed immediate popularity throughout Europe and was highly influential. He also wrote five com� edies based on Latin classics but inspired by contemporary life; though minor in themselves, they are among the first of the imitations of Latin comedy in the vernacular that would long characterize European comedy. He also composed seven satires (1517-25) modeled after those of Horace .

Aristagoras \,ar-9-'stag-9-r9s\ (d.

497) Tyrant of Miletus. He assumed his regency from his father-in-law,

Histiaeus (d. 494 bc), who had lost the trust of the Persian emperor, Dar� ius I. Possibly incited by Histiaeus, and with support from Athens and Eretria, Aristagoras raised the Ionian revolt against Persia. Defeated, he left Miletus to found a colony in Thrace, where he was killed by Thracians.

Aristarchus \,ar-3-'star-k3s\ of Samos (b. c. 310 bc �d. c. 230 bc) Greek astronomer. His advanced ideas on the movement of the Earth (which he asserted revolved around the Sun) are known from Archimedes and Plutarch. His only surviving work is the short treatise �On the Sizes and Distances of the Sun and Moon�; though the values he obtained are inaccurate, he showed that the Sun and stars are at immense distances. A peak in the centre of a lunar crater named for him is the brightest forma� tion on the Moon.

Aristide \,ar-i-'sted\, Jean-Bertrand (b. July 15, 1953, Port Salut, Haiti) First president of Haiti (1991, 1994-96, 2001-04) to be elected in free democratic elections. A priest in the Roman Catholic Salesian order, he aligned himself with the poor and opposed the harsh regime of Jean- Claude Duvalier, son of Francois Duvalier, often putting himself at odds with the church hierarchy and the military. Expelled by the Salesians in 1988, he formally requested that he be relieved of his priestly duties in 1994. In 1990 progressive-centre forces united behind Aristide and swept him into power. He initiated dramatic reforms but was ousted in a mili� tary coup after only seven months in office. Though restored to office in 1994 with the help of U.S. occupying troops, he received little aid with which to address his country�s endemic ills. Constitutionally prohibited from seeking a consecutive term, he stepped down in 1996 but remained Haiti�s most potent political figure. In 2000 he was reelected president

amid charges of electoral fraud. A coup against Aristide failed in 2001, but unrest with his rule increased until a full-scale rebellion in 2004 forced him to flee the country.

Aristides \,ar-3-'stI-dez\ (2nd century ad) Athenian philosopher, one of the earliest Christian Apologists. His Apology for the Christian Faith dis� cussed the harmony in creation and the nature of the divine being and stated that barbarians, Greeks, and Jews were all inadequate in their con� ception of the deity and their religious practices. Long considered lost, the Apology was reconstructed in the late 19th century.

Aristides the Just (fl. 5th century bc) Athenian statesman and general. He was ostracized in 482 bc, probably for opposing Themistocles but was recalled in 480 and helped defeat the Persians at the battles of Salamis and Plataea. In 478 he helped Sparta�s eastern allies form the Delian League; allied with Athens and based on Athenian naval power and the trust Aris� tides inspired, the league effectively became the Athenian empire.

aristocracy \,ar-3-'sta-kr9-se\ Originally, leadership by a small privi� leged class or a minority thought to be best qualified to lead. Plato and Aristotle considered aristocrats to be those who are morally and intellec� tually superior, and therefore fit to govern in the interests of the people. The term has come to mean the upper layer of a stratified group. Most aristocracies have been hereditary, and many European societies stratified their aristocratic classes by formally titling their members, thereby mak� ing the term roughly synonymous with nobility. See also oligarchy.

Aristophanes \ l ar-o- , sta-f3- l nez\ (b. c. 450� d. c. 388 bc) Greek play� wright. An Athenian, he began his career as a comic dramatist in 427. He wrote approximately 40 plays, of which 11 survive, including The Clouds (423), The Wasps (422), The Birds (414), Lysistrata (411), and The Frogs (405). Most of the plays typify the Old Comedy (of which they are the only extant representatives), in which mime, chorus, and burlesque were important features. His satire, wit, and merciless topical commentary made him the greatest comic dramatist of ancient Greece.

Aristotle (b. 384, Stagira�d. 322 bc, Chalcis) Greek philosopher and scientist whose thought determined the course of Western intellectual his� tory for two millenia. He was the son of the court physician to Amyntas III, grandfather of Alexander the Great. In 367 he became a student at the Academy of Plato in Athens; he remained there for 20 years. After Pla� to�s death in 348/347, he returned to Macedonia, where he became tutor to the young Alexander. In 335 he founded his own school in Athens, the Lyceum. His intellectual range was vast, covering most of the sciences and many of the arts. He worked in physics, chemistry, biology, zoology, and botany; in psychology, political theory, and ethics; in logic and meta� physics; and in history, literary theory, and rhetoric. He invented the study of formal logic, devising for it a finished system, known as syllogistic, that was considered the sum of the discipline until the 19th century; his work in zoology, both observational and theoretical, also was not surpassed until the 19th century. His ethical and political theory, especially his con� ception of the ethical virtues and of human flourishing (�happiness�), continue to exert great influence in philosophical debate. He wrote pro- lifically; his major surviving works include the Organon, De Anima (�On the Soul�), Physics, Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics, Eudemian Ethics, Magna Moralia, Politics, Rhetoric, and Poetics, as well as other works on natural history and science. See also teleology.

arithmetic Branch of mathematics that deals with the properties of numbers and ways of combining them through addition, subtraction, mul� tiplication, and division. Initially it dealt only with the counting numbers, but its definition has broadened to include all real numbers. The most important arithmetic properties (where a and b are real numbers) are the commutative laws of addition and multiplication, a + b = b + a and ab = ba; the associative laws of addition and multiplication, a + (b + c) = (a + b) + c and a{bc) = {ab)c\ and the distributive law, which connects addition and multiplication, a(b + c) = ab + ac. These properties include subtrac� tion (addition of a negative number) and division (multiplication by a FRACTION).

Arius \'ar-e-os\ (b. c. 250, Libya�d. 336, Constantinople, Byzantine Empire) Christian priest and heretic whose teachings gave rise to the doc� trine of Arianism. He was leader of a Christian community near Alexan� dria, Egypt, where he preached doctrines that combined Neoplatonism with a literal, rationalist interpretation of biblical texts. By asserting the abso� lute oneness and immutability of God, he called into question the divin� ity of Christ. His views were publicized through his major work, Thalia

Ariosto, woodcut after a drawing by Titian from the third edition of Orlando furioso , 1532.

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Arizona ► Arlington I 103

(c. 323). In 325 the Council of Nicaea declared him a heretic. He was striving to compromise his views and win readmission to the church when he died suddenly in Constantinople. The Arian heresy posed a threat to Christian orthodoxy for several centuries.

Arizona State (pop., 2000: 5,130,632), southwestern U.S. Bordered by Mexico and the U.S. states of Utah, New Mexico, California, and Nevada, it covers 113,999 sq mi (295,256 sq km). Its capital is Phoenix. Its high� est point is Humphreys Peak, at 12,633 ft (3,850 m). The site of Grand Canyon and Petrified Forest national parks, Arizona also contains much of America�s Indian tribal lands. Humans settled the area more than 25,000 years ago. Nomadic Apache and Navajo Indians arrived after the collapse of the Anasazi and Hohokam civilizations. They were followed in the 16th century by Spanish treasure seekers from Mexico, including Francisco Vazquez de Coronado, establishing Mexico�s claim to the area. In 1776 the Mexican army built a presidio at Tucson. After the Mexican War, Ari� zona was ceded to the U.S. as part of New Mexico in 1848; the Gadsden Purchase added to it in 1853. Organized as a territory in 1863, Arizona became the 48th state in 1912. Though still lightly populated, it has grown rapidly in population in recent decades, largely because of its climate. About one-fifth of the population is Spanish-speaking, while about 5% is American Indian, including Navajo, Hopi, Apache, Papago, and Pima. Its diverse economy includes agriculture, mining, aerospace, electronics, and tourism.

Arjan Vor-j9n\ (b. 1581�d. 1606) Fifth Guru of the Sikhs (1581-1606) and jts first martyr. He compiled the volume of Sikh scripture on which the Adi Granth is based, and he completed the Golden Temple at Amritsar, India. The first Guru to serve as both temporal and spiritual head of Sikhism, he built up Amritsar as a commercial centre and enlarged mis� sionary efforts. He was also a prolific poet and writer of hymns. He pros� pered under the tolerant Mughal emperor Akbar but was tortured to death by Akbar�s successor for not altering the Adi Granth to remove passages that gave offense to Hinduism or Islam.

Arjuna \'3r-ju-n9\ One of the five brothers who are the heroes of the Mahabharata. His reluctance to go into battle prompts Krishna, manifested as his friend and charioteer, to deliver the discourse on duty that consti� tutes the Bhagavadgita. An exemplar of skill, duty, and compassion as well as a seeker of true knowledge, Arjuna is a central figure in Hindu myth and theology.

Ark of the Covenant In Judaism and Christianity, the ornate, gold- plated wooden chest that in biblical times housed the two tablets of the Law given to Moses by God. The Levites carried the Ark during the Hebrews� wandering in the wilderness. Following the conquest of Canaan, it was kept at Shiloh but was sometimes carried into battle by the Israelites. David took it to Jerusalem, and Solomon placed it in the Temple of Jerusalem, where it rested in the Holy of Holies and was seen only by the high priest on Yom Kippur. It is believed to have been captured when Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians in 586 bc, and its subsequent fate is unknown.

Arkansas State (pop., 2000: 2,673,400), south-central U.S. Bordered by Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma, it covers 53,178 sq mi (137,730 sq km). Its capital is Little Rock, and its highest point is Mount Magazine, at 2,753 ft (839 m). The earliest inhab� itants were Indian bluff dwellers along the Mississippi River c. ad 500. Mound-building cultures later left burial mounds along the river. Spanish and French explorers traversed the region in the 16th- 17th centuries; the first permanent European settlement was founded at Arkansas Post in 1686. Acquired by the U.S. as part of the Louisiana Purchase, Arkansas Territory was established in 1819; the state�s current boundaries were fixed in 1828. Arkansas became the 25th state in 1836. It seceded in 1861 to join the Confederacy in the American Civil War; it was readmitted to the Union in 1868. Following Reconstruction, a rigid policy of segrega� tion lasted until 1957, when court-ordered desegregation of the schools was implemented. Once dominated by agriculture, the state�s economy now also includes mining and manufacturing. Tourism is promoted, espe� cially by the mineral springs at Hot Springs National Park and resorts in the Ozark Mountains.

Arkansas River River, rising in central Colorado, U.S. At 1,450 mi (2,333 km) long, it flows east through southern Kansas and southeast across northeastern Oklahoma and bisects Arkansas, where it empties into the Mississippi River. Navigable for 650 mi (1,046 km), its largest tributar� ies are the Canadian and Cimarron rivers. It is believed to have been

crossed by Francisco Vazquez de Coronado in 1541 near the site of Dodge City, Kan., and by Zebulon Pike in 1806.

Arkhangelsk \,3r-'kan-gilsk\ or Archangel City (pop., 2002: 355,500), northwestern Russia. Located near the mouth of Northern Dvina River, it has a large harbour kept open in winter by icebreakers. The area was settled by Norsemen in the 10th century ad. In 1553 it was visited by the English who were looking for the Northeast Passage. Founded in 1584 as a monastery of Michael the archangel, it became a trading station of the Muscovy Co. It was opened to European trade by Tsar Boris Godunov and flourished as the sole Russian seaport until St. Petersburg was built in 1703. Arkhangelsk was the scene of British, French, and U.S. support of the northern Russian government against the Bolsheviks in 1918-20. During World War II it received convoys of lend-lease goods from Britain and the U.S. (1941-45). It is a major timber-exporting port and has extensive shipbuilding facilities.

Arkona W. Slavic citadel-temple of the war-god Svantovit, built in the 9th-10th century ad and destroyed in 1168/69 by Christian Danes when they stormed the island of Riigen in the southwestern Baltic. According to Saxo Grammaticus, it was a log structure with red roof, surrounded by a yard and fence, carved and painted with symbols. The inner sanctum con� tained a statue of Svantovit with four heads and throats facing in opposite directions. Excavations in 1921 proved the temple�s actual existence.

arkose Yar-,kos, 'ar-,koz\ Coarse sandstone that has formed by the dis� integration of granite without appreciable decomposition. It thus consists primarily of quartz and feldspar grains. In the absence of stratification, arkose may bear superficial resemblance to granite, and it sometimes has been described as reconstituted granite, or granite wash. Like the granite from which it was formed, arkose is pink or gray.

Arkwright, Sir Richard (b. Dec. 23, 1732, Preston, Lancashire, Eng.�d. Aug. 3, 1792, Cromford, Derbyshire) British textile industrialist and inventor. His first spinning machine was patented in 1769 (see Lewis Paul). His water frame (so-called because it operated by waterpower) pro� duced a cotton yarn suitable for warp (see weaving), stronger than thread made on the spinning jenny, which proved suitable only for weft. He intro� duced all-cotton calico in 1773. He opened several factories equipped with machinery for carrying out the phases of textile manufacturing from card� ing through spinning (see drawing).

Arledge, Roone (b. July 8, 1931, Forest Hills, N.Y., U.S.�d. Dec. 5, 2002, New York City) U.S. television executive. He began work at ABC-TV in 1960 as a sports producer. He later became president of ABC Sports and group president of ABC News and Sports (1985-90). He cre� ated sports programs such as Wide World of Sports (from 1961) and Mon� day Night Football (from 1968) and produced television coverage of 10 Olympic games, making many technical and editorial innovations in sports coverage. As president of ABC News he developed several suc� cessful news shows such as Nightline (from 1980) and PrimeTime Live (from 1989).

Arlen, Harold orig. Hyman Arluck (b. Feb. 15, 1905, Buffalo, N.Y., U.S.�d. April 23, 1986, New York, N.Y.) U.S. songwriter. After working as a performer and arranger, in 1929 he began a collaboration with lyricist Ted Koehler (1894-1973) with the song �Get Happy�; until the mid-1930s they wrote many songs that were featured in shows at Har� lem�s Cotton Club. Arlen� s scores for Broadway musicals include Bloomer Girl (1944) and St. Louis Woman (1946). For Hollywood films Arlen wrote the songs �It�s Only a Paper Moon,� �Let�s Fall in Love,� and �That Old Black Magic.� His most famous song is perhaps �Over the Rainbow� (lyrics by E.Y. Harburg) from The Wizard of Oz (1939).

Arles Varl, 'arlz\ City (pop., 1999: 50,453), southeastern France. Occu� pied and built up by the Romans in the 1st century bc, Arles became, through commerce, a leading city of the Roman Empire. In the 10th cen� tury ad it became the capital of Burgundy, known also as the kingdom of Arles. Portions of the Roman wall around the old town remain, and a Roman arena of the 1st century bc is still used for bullfights and plays. The city was home to Vincent van Gogh during one of his most produc� tive periods. Arles is still a river port, but its economy is based largely on tourism and agriculture.

Arlington Unincorporated settlement (pop., 2000: 189,453), northern Virginia, U.S. Lying across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., it is the capital of Arlington county, which was part of Washington, D.C., from 1801 to 1847, when it was returned to Virginia. It is the site of

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104 I arm ► Armenia

Arlington National Cemetery (located on the former estate of Robert E. Lee), Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, and numerous federal buildings, including the Pentagon.

arm Upper limb of a biped, particularly a primate. Primate arms have one long bone, the humerus, in the upper arm above the elbow, and two thinner bones, the radius and ulna, in the forearm. The triceps muscle straightens the forearm at the elbow joint; the brachialis and biceps muscles bend it. Forearm and small muscles in the hand move the hand and fingers. The term may also denote the limb or the locomotive or pre� hensile organ of an invertebrate (e.g., the ray of a starfish or the tentacle of an octopus).

Armada, Spanish Great fleet sent by Philip II of Spain in 1588 to invade England in conjunction with a Spanish army from Flanders. Philip was motivated by a desire to restore the Roman Catholic faith in England and by English piracies against Spanish trade and possessions. The Armada, commanded by the duke of Medina-Sidonia, consisted of about 130 ships. In the weeklong battle, the Spanish suffered defeat after the English launched fire ships into the Spanish fleet, breaking the ships� for� mation and making them susceptible to the English ships� heavy guns. Many Spanish ships were also lost during the long voyage home, and a total of perhaps 15,000 Spaniards died. The defeat of the Armada, in which Francis Drake played a principal role, saved England and the Neth� erlands from possible absorption into the Spanish empire.

armadillo Any of 20 species of armoured mammals (family Dasypo- didae) related to sloths and anteaters.

Armadillos are stout and short� legged, with strong, curved claws and a protective covering of pinkish to brown armour composed of bony plates covered with tough scales.

The plates are separated by flexible bands of tissue. One species lives in the U.S., the others in tropical and subtropical regions to the south, pri� marily in South America. Most inhabit open areas, but some can be found in forests. Species range in size from about 6 in. (16 cm) to 5 ft (1.5 m) long. They live alone, in pairs, or in small groups and feed on termites or other insects, vegetation, small animals, and carrion.

Armageddon \,ar-m9-'ged-3n\ In the New Testament, the place where the kings of the earth under demonic leadership will wage war on the forces of God at the end of history. Armageddon is mentioned only in the Revelation to John. The name may mean �Mountain of Megiddo,� a ref� erence to the city of Megiddo, which held strategic importance in Pales� tine. Other biblical references suggest Jerusalem as the battle site.

Armagh \'ar-,ma\ District (pop., 2001: 54,263), Northern Ireland. For� merly part of County Armagh, the district was established in 1973. It lies south of Lough Neagh. The northern part of the district is the island�s main fruit-growing region; the southern part, along the Irish border, was a hotbed of sectarian violence through the late 20th century. The district seat is Armagh town. According to tradition, St. Patrick established his principal Irish church here in the 5th century. The area was the leading intellectual centre of the Western world in the 5th-9th centuries. Taken by English Protestant forces in the 16th century, Armagh became a pros� perous centre for Protestant clergy and gentry, a circumstance reflected in its many Georgian monuments and buildings.

Armagnac \,ar-ma-'nyak\ Small territory in historical Gascony, south� western France. A portion was part of the Roman province of Aquitania (see Aquitaine). From c. 960 it was the separate countship of Armagnac, and it grew to occupy a buffer zone between lands controlled by the French kings (Toulouse) and those controlled by the English (Guyenne). It led the resistance to the English king Henry V�s invasion of France but suffered a setback at the Battle of Agincourt. It was first annexed to France in 1497, became a countship again, but finally, by descent through the rulers of Navarra, returned to the French crown in 1607. Again a count- ship from 1645, it was dissolved in 1789. The region produces the famous Armagnac brandy.

Armani \ar-'ma-ne\, Giorgio (b. July 11, 1934, Piacenza, Italy) Ital� ian fashion designer. He abandoned medical school and worked as a buyer

for a department store (1957-64) before training as a fashion designer. In 1974-75 he introduced his own label of ready-to-wear apparel for men and women. In 1980-81 he founded Giorgio Armani USA, Emporio Armani, and Armani Jeans, and in 1989 he opened shops in London. He was a leader in the move toward a pared-down, unstructured silhouette in menswear and was responsible for the wide-shouldered look for execu� tive women. His designs, often characterized by understated glamour and luxurious fabrics, introduced ease and streamlined modernity into late 20th-century dressing.

Armed Islamic Group French Groupe Islamique Armee (GIA) Algerian militant group. It was formed in 1992 after the govern� ment nullified the likely victory of the Islamic Salvation Front in 1991 leg� islative elections and was fueled by the repatriation of numerous Algerian Islamists who had fought in the Afghan War (1978-92). The GIA began a series of violent, armed attacks against the government and against for� eigners in Algeria and has been accused of civilian massacres�although it has been alleged that many such atrocities were committed by security- service infiltrators and special military units. It has also engaged in attacks abroad (particularly in France) and purportedly maintained links with militant Islamic groups throughout the world. Estimates of GIA strength have varied from hundreds to several thousand guerrillas.

Armenia officially Republic of Armenia Country, Transcaucasia, western Asia. Area: 11,484 sq mi (29,743 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 2,983,000. Capital: Yerevan. Armenians constitute nine-tenths of the popu-

dominantly Armenian Apostolic; also Roman Catholic); also Islam. Currency: dram. Armenia is a mountainous country with an average elevation of 5,900 ft (1,800 m). The Lesser Cau� casus ranges stretch across its northern portion, and Lake Sevan lies in the east-central part. Armenia has a dry and continental climate that changes dramatically with elevation. Though the country has become highly industrialized (as a result of the development of hydroelectric power during Soviet rule) and increasingly urbanized, agriculture is still important. The Republic of Armenia is a successor state to a historical region in Caucasia. Historical Armenia�s boundaries have varied consid� erably, but old Armenia extended over what are now northeastern Turkey and the Republic of Armenia. The area was equivalent to the ancient kingdom of Urartu, which ruled c. 1270-850 bc. It was later conquered by the Medes (see Media) and Macedonia and still later allied with Rome. Armenia adopted Christianity as its national religion c. ad 300. For cen-

Nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus).

APPEL COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY

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Armenia ► Armour I 105

turies the scene of strife among Arabs, Seljuqs, Byzantines, and Mongols, it came under the rule of the Ottoman Empire in 1514-16. Over the next centuries, as parts were ceded to other rulers, nationalism arose among the scattered Armenians; by the late 19th century it had caused widespread disruption. Fighting between Ottomans and Russians escalated when part of Armenia was ceded to Russia in 1828, and it continued through World War 1 (1914-18), leading to genocide against Armenians (see Armenian massacres). With the Ottoman defeat, the Russian portion became part of a Soviet republic in 1922. Armenia was established as a constituent repub� lic of the U.S.S.R. in 1936. The U.S.S.R. began to dissolve in the late 1980s, and Armenia declared its independence in 1991. In the years that followed, it fought Azerbaijan for control of Nagorno-Karabakh, a con� flict that continued despite attempts to settle it. Large numbers of Arme� nians left the country in the 1990s following an economic downturn, and many stayed away even after the economy began to improve.

Armenia, Little See Little Armenia

Armenian Armenian Hay plural Hayk or Hayq Member of an Indo-European people first recognized in the early 7th century bc when they moved into areas of Transcaucasia, Anatolia, and the Middle East that came to be known as Armenia. Armenian history has been one of nearly constant struggles for independence from foreign domination, first from the Medes and Persians, the Seleucid dynasty, and the Roman Republic and Empire and later from the Byzantine Empire, the SeuGq dynasty, the Otto� man Empire, the Safavid dynasty, and tsarist Russia. At the beginning of the 20th century most Armenians were driven from Anatolia or killed by Ottoman forces during the Armenian massacres. The Republic of Armenia was declared in 1990 after being part of the Soviet Union since 1922. More than 3.5 million Armenians live there, and there is an appreciable diaspora in other countries of Transcaucasia, in parts of the Middle East, and in the West. Armenian culture reached an apex in the 14th century, producing highly regarded sculpture, architecture, and fine art. Until the 20th century, Armenians were primarily agricultural; now they are highly urbanized. Traditionally they are either Orthodox or Roman Catholic Christians; Armenia was considered the first Christian state.

Armenian language Indo-European language of the Armenians. It is spoken by perhaps five to six million people worldwide. Armenian has undergone phonetic and grammatical changes that make it completely dis� tinct from other branches of Indo-European; its closest affinity may be with Greek, though this hypothesis has been vigorously disputed. Its long his� tory of contact with Iranian languages has resulted in the adoption of many Persian loanwords. According to tradition, the unique Armenian alphabet was created by the cleric Mesrop Mashtots in ad 406 or 407. Armenian of the 5th-9th centuries (Grabar, or Classical Armenian) was employed as the literary language into modern times. A 19th-century cultural revival led to the formation of two new literary languages: West Armenian, based on the speech of Istanbul Armenians, and East Armenian, based on the speech of Transcaucasian Armenians. Because of a long tradition of emigration and the massacres and expulsions during the last decades of Ottoman rule, most speakers of West Armenian live outside Anatolia. East Armenian is the lan� guage of the present-day Republic of Armenia.

Armenian massacres Murder and expulsion of Turkish Armenians by the Ottoman Empire under Abdulhamid II in 1894-96 and by the Young Turk government in 1915-16. In 1894, when the Armenians began agitat� ing for territorial autonomy and protesting against high taxes, Ottoman troops and Kurdish tribesmen killed thousands. In 1896, hoping to call attention to their plight, Armenian revolutionaries seized the Ottoman Bank in Istanbul. Mobs of Muslim Turks, abetted by elements of the gov� ernment, killed more than 50,000 Armenians in response. Sporadic kill� ings occurred over the next two decades. In response to Russia�s use of Armenian troops against the Ottomans in World War I (1914-18), the government deported 1.75 million Armenians south to Syria and Meso� potamia, in the course of which some 600,000 Armenians were killed or died of starvation.

Armenian Secret Army to Liberate Armenia See ASALA

Armistice (Nov. 11, 1918) Agreement between Germany and the Allies ending World War I. Allied representatives met with a German delega� tion in a railway carriage at Rethondes, France, to discuss terms. The agreement was signed on Nov. 11, 1918, and the war ended at 11:00 am that day (�the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month�). The prin� cipal term was that Germany would evacuate Belgium, France, and Alsace-Lorraine. Negotiations formalizing the armistice were conducted

at the Paris Peace Conference. Later a �stab in the back� legend developed in Germany, asserting that the German military situation had not been hopeless and that traitorous politicians had done the Allies� bidding by signing the Armistice.

Armory Show formally International Exhibition of Modern

Art Exhibition of painting and sculpture held in 1913 at the 69th Regi� ment Armory in New York City. Conceived by its organizers, the Asso� ciation of American Painters and Sculptors, as a selection of works exclusively by U.S. artists, it evolved into a comprehensive look at cur� rent European art movements, due in part to the advanced vision of asso� ciation president Arthur B. Davies. Of the 1,300 works assembled, one- third were European, tracing the evolution of modern art from Francisco de Goya to Marcel Duchamp and Vasily Kandinsky, with works representa� tive of Impressionism, Symbolism, Post-Impressionism, Fauvism, and Cubism. Perhaps the most controversial work was Duchamp�s nearly abstract Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 (1912). The U.S. artists featured were mainly members of the Ash Can school and The Eight. The show exposed the American public for the first time to advanced European art; Ameri� can art suffered by contrast. The exhibition traveled to Chicago and Bos� ton, establishing itself as a decisive event in the development of U.S. art and art collecting.

armour or body armour Protective clothing that can shield the wearer from weapons and projectiles. By extension, armour is also pro� tective covering for animals, vehicles, and so on. Prehistoric warriors used leather hides and helmets. Chinese warriors used rhinoceros skin in the 11th century bc, and Greek infantry wore thick, multilayered metal-and- linen cuirasses (armour covering the body from neck to waist) in the 5th century bc. Shirts of chain mail were worn throughout the Roman Empire, and mail was the chief armour of western Europe until the 14th century. Ancient Greeks and Romans used armour made of rigid metal plates, which reappeared in Europe around the 13th century. Plate armour domi� nated European design until the 17th century, when firearms began to make it obsolete. It began to disappear in the 18th century, but the hel� met reappeared in World War I and became standard equipment. Modern body armour (the bulletproof vest) covers the chest and sometimes the groin; it is a flexible garment reinforced with steel plates, fibreglass, boron carbide, or multiple layers of synthetic fabric such as Kevlar.

helmet

MERRIAM-WEBSTER INC.

Armour, Philip Danforth (b. May 16, 1832, Stockbridge, N.Y., U.S.�d. Jan. 6, 1901, Chicago, Ill.) U.S. entrepreneur and innovator. Armour�s first entrepreneurial success was in California mining endeav� ours. He vastly expanded his family�s Midwestern grain and meatpack-

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106 I armoured vehicle ► Arne

ing business in 1875, originating the use of byproducts and the sale of canned meat. When railcar refrigeration was introduced in the 1880s (see Gustavus Franklin Swift), he established distributing plants in eastern states and began exporting Armour meat products to Europe. His Armour & Co. enterprises helped make Chicago the meatpacking capital of the world.

armoured vehicle Motor vehicle with plating for protection against bullets, shells, or other projectiles that moves on wheels or tracks. The tank is the chief armoured vehicle for larger military forces. Other mili� tary types include infantry fighting vehicles, amphibious landing vehicles, and mobile weapons platforms such as self-propelled artillery and anti� aircraft guns. Infantry fighting vehicles, descended from the armoured personnel carriers of World War II and the Vietnam War, are armoured, tracked vehicles that transport infantry into battle but also serve as plat� forms from which soldiers can fight without dismounting. Armoured cars are wheeled civilian vehicles, ranging from commercial trucks to luxury sedans, that generally are equipped with armour and other amenities for securely transporting valuables and individuals over paved roads.

armoury practice Production system for the assembly of finished products, in this case arms. With the adoption of the Model 1842 mus� ket, the U.S. military achieved the large-scale assembly of weapons from uniform, interchangeable parts. By the mid-1850s arms makers around the world were beginning to copy this American System of manufacture, which contributed to the creation of the modern military small arm, especially after the introduction of percussion ignition and rifled barrels.

arms control Limitation of the development, testing, production, deployment, proliferation, or use of weapons through international agree� ments. Arms control did not arise in international diplomacy until the first Hague Convention (1899). The Washington Conference (1921-22) and the Kellogg-Briand Pact (1928) were broken without much fear of sanction. U.S.-Soviet treaties to control nuclear weapons during the Cold War were taken more seriously. In 1968 the two superpowers and Britain sponsored the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (signed also by 59 other countries), which committed signatory countries not to promote the spread, or pro� liferation, of nuclear weapons to countries that did not already possess them. See also Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty; Strategic Arms Limitation Talks; Stra� tegic Arms Reduction Talks.

Armstrong, Edwin H(oward) (b. Dec. 18, 1890, New York, N.Y., U.S.�d. Jan. 31/Feb. 1, 1954, New York City) U.S. inventor. He studied at Columbia University, where he devised a feedback circuit that brought in signals with a thousandfold amplification (1912). At its highest ampli� fication, the circuit shifted from being a receiver to being a primary gen� erator of radio waves, and as such it is at the heart of all radio and television broadcasting. It earned him the Franklin Medal, the highest U.S. scientific honour. His 1933 invention of circuits that produced the carrier waves for frequency modulation (FM) made high-fidelity broadcasting possible.

Armstrong, Gillian (b. Dec. 18, 1950, Melbourne, Austl.) Australian film director. She first garnered international acclaim as the director of My Brilliant Career (1979), a feminist film about a young woman aspir� ing to be a writer in Victorian-era Australia. Her subsequent works include Australian films such as The Last Days of Chez Nous (1993) and Oscar and Lucinda (1997), as well as U.S. films such as Mrs. Soffel (1984), Little Women (1994), and Charlotte Gray (2001).

Armstrong, Lance (b. Sept. 18, 1971, Plano, Texas, U.S.) American cyclist and the first rider to win seven Tour de France titles (1999-2005). Armstrong began his professional cycling career in 1992 when he joined the Motorola team. He won stages of the Tour de France in 1993 and 1995 but withdrew from three of four Tours he attempted from 1993 to 1996. After the 1996 Tour, Armstrong fell ill, suffering from testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain. Months of treatments fol� lowed before he could attempt his comeback. In 1998 he won the Tour of Luxembourg, and on July 25, 1999, he became the second American to win the Tour de France and the first to win it for an American team (three-time winner Greg LeMond had raced with European teams). In 2003 Armstrong won his fifth consecutive Tour de France, tying a record set by Miguel Indurain, and the following year he broke the record with his sixth consecutive win. After winning his seventh Tour in 2005, Arm� strong announced his retirement.

Armstrong, Louis (b. Aug. 4, 1901, New Orleans, La., U.S.�d. July 6, 1971, New York, N.Y.) U.S. jazz trumpeter and singer. As a youth in New

Orleans, he participated in marching, riverboat, and cabaret bands. A child� hood nickname, Satchelmouth, was shortened to Satchmo and used throughout his life. In 1922 he moved to Chicago to join King Oliver�s Cre� ole Jazz Band (see Dixieland). In 1924 he joined the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra in New York City; the fol� lowing year he switched from cornet to trumpet and began recording under his own name with his Hot Five and Hot Seven ensembles. In these recordings the prevailing emphasis on collective improvisation gives way to his developing strength as soloist and vocalist. By the time of his �West End Blues� (1928), Armstrong had established the preeminence of the virtuoso soloist in jazz. His vibrant melodic phrasing, inventive harmonic improvisation, and swinging rhyth� mic conception established the vernacular of jazz music. His powerful tone, great range, and dazzling velocity set a new technical standard. He also was one of the first scat singers, improvising nonsense syllables in the manner of a horn. He became something more than a jazz musician: solo attraction, bandleader, film actor, and international star.

Arndt, Ernst Moritz (b. Dec. 26, 1769, Schoritz bei Gartz, Swed.�d. Jan. 29, 1860, Bonn, Ger.) Swedish-born German prose writer, poet, and patriot. He rejected the Lutheran ministry at age 28 and eventually became a professor of history at Greifswald and Bonn. Among his important works is the huge Spirit of the Times, 4 vol. (1806-18), a bold call for political reforms that expressed German national awakening during the Napoleonic era. Not all of Arndt�s poems were inspired by political ideas; Gedichte (1804-18) contains many religious poems of great beauty.

Arne, Thomas Augustine (b. March 12, 1710, London, Eng.�d. March 5, 1778, London) British composer. Son of a London upholsterer, he secretly taught himself instrumental skills and composition with the help of an opera musician. Smitten by the opera, he had an early success with his own first opera, Rosamond (1733), and thereafter concentrated almost exclusively on the theatre. As composer to Drury Lane Theatre and London�s great pleasure gardens, he became Britain�s leading theat� rical composer and, after George Frideric Handel, possibly the finest Brit� ish composer of the century. Of his approximately 90 theatrical works, the best known are Comus (1738), The Judgment of Paris (1740), and Artaxerxes (1762). His song �Rule, Britannia� became an unofficial national anthem. His sister Susannah (1714-66) was the famous singer and actress known as Mrs. Cibber.

Louis Armstrong.

AP/WIDE WORLD PHOTOS

Armstrong, Neil (Alden) (b. Aug. 5, 1930, Wapakoneta, Ohio, U.S.) U.S. astronaut. He became a pilot at 16, studied aeronautical engineering, and won three Air Medals in the Korean War. In 1955 he became a civilian research pilot for the fore� runner of NASA. He joined the space program in 1962 with the sec� ond group of astronauts. In 1966, as command pilot of Gemini 8, he and David Scott completed the first manual space docking maneuver, with an unmanned Agena rocket. On July 20, 1969, as part of the Apollo 11 mission, he became the first per� son to step onto the Moon, proclaim� ing �That�s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind.�

army Large, organized force armed and trained for war, especially on land. The term may be applied to a large unit organized for independent action or to a nation�s or ruler�s over� all military organization for land warfare. The character and organization of armies have varied through history. At various times armies have been built around infantry soldiers or mounted warriors (e.g., cavalry) or men in machines, and have been made up of professionals or amateurs, of merce� naries fighting for pay or for plunder, or of patriots fighting for a cause. See also AIR FORCE, CONSCRIPTION, GUERRILLA, MILITARY UNIT, MILITIA, U.S. ARMY.

Neil Armstrong, 1969.

NASA

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Arnhem ► aromatic compound I 107

Arnhem Var-narrA Land Region, northeastern Northern Territory, Aus� tralia. It extends south from Van Diemen Gulf to the Gulf of Carpentaria and Groote Eylandt. Never fully explored, it has a total area of about 37,000 sq mi (96,000 sq km) and contains important bauxite and uranium mines. Occupied by Australian Aboriginals since the late Pleistocene, it was visited in 1623 by the Dutch explorer Jan Carstensz, who named it for his ship. The name now primarily refers to its large Aboriginal reserve.

Arnim, Bettina von orig. Elisabeth Katharina Ludovica Magdalena Brentano (b. April 4, 1785, Frankfurt am Main

[Germany]�d. Jan. 20, 1859, Ber� lin) German writer. Her best-known works are reworked records of her correspondence with Johann Wolf� gang von Goethe, Karoline von Gtin- derode, and her brother Clemens Brentano, much of it fictitious but written in a brilliantly vivid, unin� hibited style.

Arno River River, central Italy. It is 150 mi (240 km) long, flowing west from the Apennines through Flo� rence and into the Ligurian Sea below Pisa. Near Arezzo it is con� nected with the Tiber River by its cana� lized tributary, the Chiani. Subject to disastrous floods, in 1966 it inun� dated Florence and caused extensive damage.

Arnold, Benedict (b. Jan. 14,

1741, Norwich, Conn.�d. June 14,

1801, London, Eng.) American army officer and traitor. He joined the American Revolutionary army in 1775 and contributed to American victories at the Battle of Ticon- deroga, at Fort Stanwix, N.Y., and at the Battle of Saratoga, where he was seriously wounded. He was made a major general and placed in com� mand of Philadelphia, where he lived extravagantly and socialized with wealthy loyalist sympathizers, one of whom he married in 1779. Repri� manded for fiscal irregularities in his command, he began secret overtures to the British. After receiving com� mand of the fort at West Point, N.Y.

(1780), he offered to surrender it to the British for �20,000. The plot was uncovered after his British contact,

John Andre, was captured. Arnold escaped on a British ship to England, where he died penniless.

Arnold, Henry (Harley) known as Hap Arnold (b. June 25, 1886, Gladwyne, Pa., U.S.�d. Jan. 15, 1950, Sonoma, Calif.) U.S. air force officer. He attended West Point and initially served in the infantry. Vol� unteering as a flyer, he received instruction from Orville Wright. After World War I, with Billy Mitchell he became an eloquent advocate of an expanded air force. He rose through the ranks of the U.S. Army Air Corps to become its commander in 1938, and he commanded the Army Air Forces worldwide during World War II, overseeing a massive buildup and greatly influencing air bombardment strategy. He was named general of the army in 1944 and, after the National Defense Act of 1947 created an independent Air Force, general of the Air Force.

Arnold, Matthew (b. Dec. 24, 1822, Laleham, Middlesex, Eng.�d. April 15, 1888, Liverpool) English poet and literary and social critic. Son of the educator Thomas Arnold, he attended Oxford and then worked as an inspector of schools for the rest of his life. His verse includes �Dover Beach,� his most celebrated work; �Sohrab and Rustum,� a romantic epic; and �The Scholar Gipsy� and �Thyrsis.� Culture and Anarchy (1869), his central work of criticism, is a masterpiece of ridicule as well as a search�

ing analysis of Victorian society. In a later essay, �The Study of Poetry,� he argued that, in an age of crumbling creeds, poetry would replace reli� gion and that therefore readers would have to understand how to distin� guish the best poetry from the inferior.

Arnold, Thomas known as Doctor Arnold (b. June 13, 1795, East Cowes, Isle of Wight, Eng.�d. June 12, 1842, Rugby, Warwickshire)

British educator. A classical scholar, he became headmaster in 1828 of Rugby School, which was in a state of decline. He revived Rugby by reforming its curriculum, athletics program, and social structure (in the prefect system he introduced, older boys served as house monitors to keep discipline among younger boys), becoming in the process the preeminent figure in British educa� tion. In 1841 he was named Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford. In addition to several vol� umes of sermons, he wrote a three- volume History of Rome (1838�43).

He was the father of Matthew Arnold and grandfather of the novelist Mrs.

Humphry Ward (1851-1920).

Arnolfo di Cambio (b. c. 1245,

Colie di Val d�Elsa�d. 1301/10,

Florence) Italian sculptor and architect active in Florence. He studied under Nicola Pisano and assisted him on the pulpit for Siena Cathedral (1265-68). In 1277 he went to Rome, where he worked for Charles of Anjou, king of Sicily. He also designed and constructed monuments, including the tomb of Cardinal de Braye in San Domenico, Orvieto. In 1296 Arnolfo returned to Florence to undertake his most important com� mission, the design of the Duomo (the cathedral of Florence) and the carving of statues for its facade. Other buildings in Florence attributed to him include the Palazzo Vecchio and the church of Santa Croce. The structural and decorative elements of Santa Croce and the Duomo have a unity, balance, and a lightness of movement that demonstrate Arnolfo�s complete mastery of the late 13th-century Gothic architectural vocabu� lary. His works embody the transition between the late Gothic and Renais� sance architectural sensibilities.

Arnulf (d. Dec. 8, 899) King of Germany. Originally duke of Carinthia, he was elected king of the eastern Franks in 887, deposing his uncle, Charles the Fat. The western Franks, Burgundy, and Italy refused to rec� ognize Arnulf, thus dividing the Carolingian empire. He defeated the Vikings (891), ending their raids up the Rhine River, and maintained con� trol of Lotharingia (now Lorraine). He invaded Italy at the urging of Pope Formosus, captured Rome (895), and was crowned emperor in 896. Ill� ness forced him to return to Germany, however, and the previous emperor continued to rule. Arnulf s last years saw invasions by Magyars and Slavs and the collapse of his power.

aromatherapy Therapy using essential oils and water-based colloids extracted from plant materials to promote physical, emotional, and spiri� tual health and balance. Single or combined extracts may be diffused into inhaled air, used in massage oil, or added to bathwater. Inhaled molecules of these extracts stimulate the olfactory nerve, sending messages to the brain�s limbic system (the seat of memory, learning, and emotion) that are said to trigger physiological responses (e.g., eucalyptus relieves con� gestion, lavender promotes relaxation). Mainstream medical practitioners question the claim of independent physiological effects; they consider many of the benefits more likely due to the conditioned responses that odors can reinforce or help create. The oils and solutions used have been shown to have certain effects but are not standardized. The few risks involved include allergic reactions.

aromatic compound Any of a large class of organic compounds whose molecular structure includes one or more planar rings of atoms, usually but not always six carbon atoms. The ring�s carbon-carbon bonds (see bonding) are neither single nor double but a type characteristic of these compounds, in which electrons are shared equally with all the atoms around the ring in an electron cloud. The term was first applied c. 1860

Bettina von Arnim, engraving after Armgass von Arnim's copy of a minia� ture by an unknown artist.

COURTESY OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM; PHOTOGRAPH, J.R. FREEMAN & CO. LTD.

Benedict Arnold, engraving by H.B. Hall, 1865.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON, D.C.

Thomas Arnold, detail of an engraving by H. Cousins, 1840, after an oil painting by Thomas Philips.

COURTESY OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM; PHOTOGRAPH, J.R. FREEMAN & CO. LTD.

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108 I Aron ► Arsacid

to a class of hydrocarbons isolated from coal tar and distinguished by odours much stronger than those of other classes of hydrocarbons. In modern chemistry, aromaticity denotes the chemical behaviour, especially the low reactivity, of this class of molecules related to their bonding. The parent compound of this class is benzene (C 6 H 6 ). See also hydrogenation.

Aron \ar-'o n \, Raymond (-Claude-Ferdinand) (b. 1905�d. 1983) French sociologist and historian. After receiving his doctorate from the Ecole Normale Superieure (1930), he taught at the University of Tou� louse until 1939. During World War II he joined the Free French and edited their newspaper (1940^44). He later taught at the Ecole Nationale d�Administration, the Sorbonne, and the College de France. He was also a columnist for Le Figaro (1947-77) and L�Express (1977-83). Aron upheld a rationalist humanism that was often contrasted with the Marxist existentialism of his great contemporary and former classmate Jean-Paul Sartre. A continuing theme in his writings was the subject of violence and war.

Aroostook \3-'ru-stuk\ War (1838-39) Bloodless conflict over the disputed boundary between the U.S. state of Maine and the British Cana� dian province of New Brunswick. As settlers from both countries moved into the disputed Aroostook area, officials and bands of men from both sides made arrests and took prisoners of �trespassers.� In 1839 U.S. and Canadian troops were ordered to the area. A truce allowed joint occupancy of the territory until 1842, when a satisfactory settlement was reached.

Arp, Jean known as Hans Arp (b. Sept. 16, 1887, Strassburg, Ger.�d. June 7, 1966, Basel, Switz.) French painter, sculptor, and poet. After studying in Weimar, Ger., and at the Academie Julian in Paris, he became involved in the most important movements of early 20th-century art: Der Blaue Reiter in Munich (1912), Cubism in Paris (1914), Dada in Zurich during World War I, Surrealism (1925), and Abstraction-Creation (1931). During these years he produced polychrome relief carvings in wood, cut-paper compositions, and, in the 1930s, his most distinctive sculptural works: abstract forms that suggest animals and plants. He also wrote poetry.

Arrabal \,ar-ra-'bal\, Fernando (b. Aug. 11, 1932, Melilla, Spanish Morocco) Spanish French Absurdist playwright, novelist, and filmmaker. He turned to writing in the 1950s, and in 1955 he began studying drama in Paris, where he remained. His early plays, in particular Picnic on the Battlefield , brought him to the attention of the French avant-garde. After the mid 1960s his plays evolved into what he termed Theatre Panique (�Panic Theater�); typical of this period is And They Put Handcuffs on the Flowers. His dramatic and fictional world is often violent, cruel, and por� nographic.

arrastra Vo-'ras-troX Drag-stone mill for pulverizing ores to isolate silver by the patio process, apparently used in pre-Columbian America. The silver ore was crushed and ground by mule power in the arrastras (shallow cir� cular pits paved with stone). Large blocks of stone attached by beams to a central rotating post were dragged around the arrastra, reducing the ore to a fine mud. Further steps resulted in the isolating of the silver.

arrest Restraint and seizure of a person by someone (e.g., a police officer) acting under legal authority. An officer may arrest a person who is committing or attempting to commit a crime in the officer�s presence. Arrest is also permitted if the officer reasonably believes that a crime has been committed and that the person arrested is the guilty party. A court or judicial officer may issue an arrest warrant on a showing of probable cause. Most states restrict or prohibit arrest in civil (noncriminal) cases; an example of occasionally permitted civil arrest is the taking into cus� tody of a debtor who might otherwise abscond. In the U.S., suspects must be warned of their rights when they are arrested (see Miranda v. Arizona ). An unlawful arrest is regarded as false imprisonment and usually invali� dates any evidence collected in connection with it. See also rights of the accused; grand jury; indictment.

Arrhenius \ar-'a-ne-9s\, Svante (August) (b. Feb. 19, 1859, Vik, Swed.�d. Oct. 2, 1927, Stockholm) Swedish physical chemist. His theo� ries on dissociation of substances in solution into electrolytes or ions, first published in 1884 as his Ph.D. thesis, were initially met with skepticism, but increasing recognition abroad gradually won over the opposition in Sweden. He also did important work on reaction rates; the equation describing the dependence of reaction rates on temperature is often called the Arrhenius law, and he was the first to recognize the greenhouse effect. After receiving the Royal Society of London�s Davy Medal (1902), he

became in 1903 the third recipient of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. He is regarded as one of the founders of the field of physical chemistry.

arrhythmia \a-'rith-me-3\ Varia� tion from the heartbeat�s normal rate or rhythm, caused by problems in the heart�s pacemaker or in nerves con� ducting its signals. Occasional arrhythmias are normal. Tachycardia is a fast regular rhythm; bradycardia is a slow rhythm. Premature atrial or ventricular beats are extra contrac� tions in normal rhythm. Ongoing arrhythmia in some heart diseases can reduce the heart�s ability to sup� ply the body with blood and can lead to heart failure. Severe arrhythmias can trigger atrial fibrillation or ven� tricular fibrillation. Arrhythmias are detected by electrocardiography and treated by electric shock (often with an implanted pacemaker) or by drugs such as quinidine and digitalis.

arrow See bow and arrow

Arrow, Kenneth J(oseph) (b. Aug. 23, 1921, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. economist. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University and taught principally at Stanford and Harvard. Arrow�s books include Social Choices and Individual Values (1951). His most striking claim was that, under certain conditions of rationality and equality, a ranking of societal preferences will not necessarily correspond to the rankings of individual preferences, given more than two individuals and alternative choices. In 1972 he shared the Nobel Prize with John R. Hicks.

Arrow War See Opium Wars

arrowroot Any of several plant species of the genus Maranta (family Marantaceae), whose rhizomes yield an edible starch. Chief among these is the herbaceous perennial M. arundinacea, the source of genuine, or West Indies, arrowroot. The powder obtained from the harvested roots is almost pure starch; it is used in cookery as a thickener. Arrowroot is eas� ily digested and is used in diets requiring bland, low-salt, and low-protein foods. Its name is sometimes applied to starches obtained from other plants and used as substitutes for true arrowroot. Brazilian arrowroot, from the cassava plant, is the source of tapioca.

Ars Antiqua Vars-an-'te-kw3\ Latin "Ancient Art" Musical style of 13th-century France. The term was derived retrospectively to distinguish 13th-century music from that of the 14th century (Ars Nova). It is partly characterized by use of the six rhythmic modes, each being a rhythmic pat� tern that would recur throughout a piece, such as long-short (first mode) or short-long (second). Akin to the �feet� of poetry (see prosody), the relative lengths of long and short depended on the mode. The system broke down as composers began to use subdivisions of the short note. The musical genres of the Ars Antiqua included organum and the early motet.

Ars Nova \'ars-'no-v9\ Latin "New Art" Musical style of 14th- century Europe, particularly France. As composers began to use ever shorter notes in their music, the old system of rhythmic modes (see Ars Antiqua) ceased to be adequate to describe it. In his treatise Ars nova (1323), Philippe de Vitry (1291-1361) proposed a way of relating longer and shorter notes by a metrical scheme�the ancestor of time signatures� whereby each note value could be subdivided into either two or three of the next-shorter note. Though seemingly abstract, this innovation had a marked effect on the sound of music because composers were better able to control the relative motion of several voices, and 14th-century music consequently sounds much less �medieval� to modern ears. De Vitry and Guillaume de Machaut are the principal composers of the Ars Nova. The term is sometimes extended to describe all 14th-century music, including that of Italy. See also formes fixes.

Arsacid \ar-'sas-id\ dynasty (247 bc-ad 224) Persian dynasty. It was founded by Arsaces (r. c. 250-211? bc) of the Parni tribe, which origi� nally dwelt east of the Caspian Sea and entered Parthia after the death of Alexander the Great (323 bc), gradually extending control southward. Arsacid power reached its peak under Mithradates I (r. 171-138 bc). The

Svante Arrhenius, 1918.

BY COURTESY OF THE KUNGLIGA BIBLIOTEKET, STOCKHOLM

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arsenic ► Art Ensemble I 109

government was influenced by that of the Seleucid dynasty and tolerated the formation of vassal kingdoms. The dynasty legitimized its rule over former Achaemenian territories by claiming descent from the Achaeme- nian king Artaxerxes II. It controlled trade routes between Asia and the Greco-Roman world and used its resultant wealth to erect many build� ings. The dynasty was overthrown in 224 by the Sasanian dynasty.

arsenic poisoning Harmful

effects of arsenic compounds (in pesticides, chemotherapy drugs, paints, etc.), most often from insecticide exposure. Susceptibility varies. Arsenic is believed to combine with certain enzymes, interfering with cellular metabolism. Symptoms of acute arsenic poisoning include nausea and abdominal pain followed by circulatory collapse. Acute exposure to the gas arsine causes destruction of red blood cells and kidney damage; chronic exposure causes weakness, skin disorders, anemia, and nervous- system disorders. Arsenic in urine and hair or nails is the key to diagno� sis. Treatment involves washing out the stomach and promptly administering the antidote dimercaprol.

arson Crime commonly defined by statute as the unlawful damage or destruction of property by means of fire or explosion. In nearly all coun� tries (except Great Britain) an arsonist is guilty of murder if someone dies as a result of his action, even if he did not intend to kill. Germany and some U.S. states also impose serious penalties for arson when it is com� mitted to conceal or destroy evidence of another crime. Although fire caused by accident or ordinary carelessness is not arson, a person may be guilty of arson if he causes a fire in reckless disregard of the consequences of his actions.

art also called visual art A visual object or experience consciously created through an expression of skill or imagination. The term art encom� passes diverse media such as painting, sculpture, printmaking, drawing, decorative arts, photography, and installation. The various visual arts exist within a continuum that ranges from purely aesthetic purposes at one end to purely utilitarian purposes at the other. This should by no means be

taken as a rigid scheme, however, particularly in cultures in which every� day objects are painstakingly constructed and imbued with meaning. Par� ticularly in the 20th century, debates arose over the definition of art. Figures such as Dada artist Marcel Duchamp implied that it is enough for an artist to deem something �art� and put it in a publicly accepted venue. Such intellectual experimentation continued throughout the 20th century in movements such as conceptual art and Minimalism. By the turn of the 21st century, a variety of new media (e.g., video art) further challenged traditional definitions of art. See aesthetics; art conservation and restora� tion; drawing; painting; printmaking; sculpture; photography; decorative arts.

art brut V.art-'briit, ar-'brCet\ French "raw art" Art produced by people outside the established art world, particularly crude, inexperienced, or obscene works created by the untrained or the mentally ill. The term was coined by Jean Dubuffet, who regarded such works as the purest form of expression. See also naive art.

art collection Works of art accumulated by an individual or institution. Such collections were made in the earliest civilizations; precious objects were stored in temples, tombs, sanctuaries, and palaces. A taste for col� lecting per se developed in Greece (4th� 1 st century bc). The great art col� lections of the world grew out of private collections formed by royalty, aristocracy, and the wealthy. By the 18th century, collectors were donat� ing their holdings to the public and constructing buildings to house them (e.g., the Louvre Museum, Uffizi Gallery). Wealthy industrialists in the U.S. played a prominent role in the 19th-20th century, and an unprecedented flow of masterpieces from Europe soon filled U.S. museums.

art conservation and restoration Maintenance and preservation of works of art, their protection from future damage, deterioration, or neglect, and the repair or renovation of works that have deteriorated or been damaged. Research in art history has relied heavily on 20th- and 21st-century technical and scientific advances in art restoration. Modern conservation practice adheres to the principle of reversibility, which dic� tates that treatments should not cause permanent alteration to the object.

art criticism Description, interpretation, and evaluation of works of art, manifested in journal reviews, books, and patronage. Art criticism encom� passes a wide variety of approaches, from critical commentary to more subjective emotional reactions inspired by viewing works of art. Art criti� cism as a distinct discipline developed parallel to Western aesthetic theory, beginning with antecedents in ancient Greece and fully taking form in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the 20th century perceptive critics became champions of new artistic movements. Beginning in the 20th and con� tinuing into the 21st century, many critics used social and linguistic, rather than aesthetic, theoretical models. Prominent art critics include Roger Fry, Clive Bell, Clement Greenberg, Harold Rosenblum, Lawrence Alloway, Rosalind Krauss, and Donald Kuspit. See also aesthetics.

Art Deco \,M-'de-ko, ,ar-da-'ko\ or Style Moderne Vstel-mo-'dernN Movement in design, interior decoration, and architecture in the 1920s and �30s in Europe and the U.S. The name derives from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris in 1925. Its products included both individually crafted luxury items and mass-produced wares, but, in either case, the intention was to create a sleek and antitraditional elegance that symbolized wealth and sophistica� tion. Influenced by Art Nouveau, Bauhaus, Cubist, Native American, and Egyptian sources, the distinguishing features of the style are simple, clean shapes, often with a �streamlined� look; ornament that is geometric or stylized from representational forms; and unusually varied, often expen� sive materials, which frequently include man-made substances (plastics, especially bakelite; vita-glass; and ferroconcrete) in addition to natural ones (jade, silver, ivory, obsidian, chrome, and rock crystal). Typical motifs included stylized animals, foliage, nude female figures, and sun rays. New York City�s Rockefeller Center (especially its interiors super� vised by Donald Deskey), the Chrysler Building by William Van Alen, and the Empire State Building by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon are the most monu� mental embodiments of Art Deco.

Art Ensemble of Chicago U.S. jazz ensemble. The group evolved from the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), an experimental collective. Saxophonists Roscoe Mitchell and Joseph Jarman, trumpeter Lester Bowie, bassist Malachi Favors, and drummer Don Moye formed the group in 1969, combining freely chang� ing tempos, dynamics, and textures with an often comic theatricality of presentation. Their diversity of inspiration is expressed by their motto, �Great Black Music: Ancient to the Future.�

arsenic Nonmetallic to semimetallic chemical element, chemical symbol

As, atomic number 33. It exists uncombined in two stable (and sev� eral unstable) allotropes, one gray and one yellow, but is more often found in nature as the sulfide or oxide. The elemental form is used to form alloys of metals (especially lead), and certain semiconductors are made from crystals of gallium arsenide (GaAs). Arsenious oxide (arsenic trioxide or white arsenic, As 2 0 3 ) is used in pes� ticides, as a pigment, and as a preser� vative of hides and wood; this is the poisonous �arsenic� (see arsenic poi� soning) in detective stories. Arsenic pentoxide (As 2 0 5 ) is also used in insecticides, herbicides, metal adhe� sives, and pigments.

Arsenic (gray) with realgar (red) and orpiment (yellow)

BY COURTESY OF THE JOSEPH AND HELEN GUETTERMAN COLLECTION; PHOTOGRAPH, JOHN H. GERARD

Arsinoe \ar-'sin-o-e\ II (b. c. 316�d. July 270 bc) Queen of Thrace (300-281) and Egypt (277-270).

Daughter of Ptolemy I Soter, she mar� ried the king of Thrace (300) and tried to have her son made heir instead of Agathocles, the king�s son by an earlier marriage. Agathocles sought help from Seleucids, causing a war in which Arsinoe�s husband was killed in battle. Her half brother, who took power in Thrace and Mace� donia, cajoled her into marrying him and then promptly killed her two younger sons. She fled to Alexan� dria, ousted the wife of her brother Ptolemy II, and married him (c. 277); like the pharaohs, the two were called �Philadelphoi� (�Sibling- BY courtesy OF THE trustees OF THE BRITISH museum

Loving�). She wielded great power

and shared many honours with Ptolemy, including deification while alive.

Arsinoe II, coin, 270-250 bc; in the British Museum

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110 I art history ► artery

art history Historical study of the visual arts for the purpose of iden� tifying, describing, evaluating, interpreting, and understanding art objects and artistic traditions. Art-historical research involves discovering and collecting biographical data on artists to establish attribution; determin� ing at what stage in a culture�s or artist�s development an object was made; weighing the influence the object or artist had on the historical past; and documenting an object�s previous whereabouts or ownership (prov� enance). The analysis of symbols, themes, and subject matter is often of primary concern. In the 20th and 21st centuries art historians became increasingly concerned with the social and cultural context of artists and their work.

Art Institute of Chicago Museum in Chicago that houses European, American, Asian, African, and pre-Columbian art. It was established in 1866 as the Chicago Academy of Design and took its current name in 1882. In 1893 it moved to its present building, designed by the architec� tural firm of Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge for the World�s Columbian Exposition, on Michigan Avenue. The Art Institute, which comprises both a museum and a school, is noted for its extensive collections of 19th- century French painting (Impressionist works and the work of Claude Monet in particular) and 20th-century European and American painting. Among its best-known works are Georges Seurat�s A Sunday Afternoon on La Grand Jatte�1884 (1884-86), Grant Wood�s American Gothic (1930), and Edward Hopper�s Nighthawks (1942).

Art Nouveau V.art-nii-'vo, .ar-nii-'voX Decorative style that flourished in western Europe and the U.S. c.

1890-1910. The term was derived in 1895 from a gallery in Paris called L�Art Nouveau. Characterized by sinuous, asymmetrical lines based on plant forms, the style was used in architecture, interior design, graphic art and design, jewelry, and glass. It was international in scope, with cel� ebrated exponents in England (Aubrey Beardsley), Paris (Alphonse Mucha), the U.S. (Louis Comfort Tif� fany), Scotland (Charles Rennie Mackintosh), Spain (Antonio Gaudi), and Belgium (Victor Horta). The style did not significantly survive the outbreak of World War I. See also Arts and Crafts Movement; Jugendstil.

Arta, Gulf of Inlet of the Ionian Sea, western Greece. It is 25 mi (40 km) long and 4-10 mi (6-16 km) wide. On its shores are the ruins of several cities important in ancient Greece. The seaport of Preveza, founded 290 bc, is to the north; the Battle of Actium took place near the gulf�s entrance.

Apollo. Accompanied by nymphs, she danced in mountains and forests. She both killed game and, as Mistress of Animals (see Master of the Animals), protected it. Stories of her nymphs� love affairs may originally have been told of the goddess herself, but poets after Homer stressed her chastity. She was known for her unpitying wrath when offended. Artemis may have developed out of Ishtar in the East. Her Roman counterpart was Diana.

Artemisia \,art-9-'miz-e-3\ I (fl. 5th century bc) Queen of Halicarnas� sus and of the island of Cos c. 480 bc. She ruled under the Persian king Xerxes and helped him invade Greece (480^179). She commanded five ships in the Battle of Salamis; according to Herodotus, she advised Xerxes to retreat from Greece rather than risk another engagement.

Artemisia II (d. c. 350 bc) Sister and wife of King Mausolus (r. 377-353 bc) of Caria, southwestern Anatolia, and sole ruler for about three years after his death. She built his tomb, the Mausoleum, considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

arteriography See angiography

arteritis N.ar-ts-'rl-tosV Inflamma� tion of the arteries. It occurs in dis� eases including syphilis, tuberculosis, and lupus erythematosus. Varieties not closely associated with systemic dis� ease or disease of an organ outside the cardiovascular system have been described as temporal arteritis, poly� myalgia rheumatica, and polyarteri� tis nodosa.

artery Vessel that carries blood from the heart to other parts of the body (see cardiovascular system).

Arterial blood carries oxygen and nourishment to tissues; the one exception is the pulmonary artery, which conveys oxygen-depleted blood from the heart to the lungs for oxygenation and removal of excess carbon dioxide. Arteries are muscu� lar, elastic tubes that transport blood under the pressure of the heart�s pumping action, which can be felt as the pulse. Large arteries branch off from the aorta and give rise to smaller arteries, down to the threadlike arterioles, which branch into cap� illaries. An artery wall�s inner layer (tunica intima) consists of an endo� thelial (cellular) lining, a fine connective tissue network, and a layer of elastic fibres. The middle layer (tunica media) is mostly smooth muscle cells. The outer layer (tunica externa) contains supportive collagen fibres. See also capillary; vein.

"The Whiplash," Art Nouveau tapestry by Hermann Obrist, silk embroidered on wool, 1895; in the Munchner Stadt- museum, Munich.

COURTESY OF THE MUNCHNER STADTMUSEUM, MUNICH

Artemisia II, statue by an unknown art� ist; in the National Archeological Museum, Naples.

ANDERSON�AUNARI FROM ART RESOURCE

Artaud \ar-'to\, Antonin (b. Sept. 4, 1896, Marseille, France�d. March 4, 1948, Ivry-sur-Seine)

French poet, actor, and drama theo� rist. He wrote Surrealist poetry from 1925 and made his acting debut in Surrealist productions in Paris. He described his theory of drama in the Manifesto of the Theatre of Cruelty (1932; see Theatre of Cruelty) and The Theatre and Its Double (1938).

His own plays (including Les Cenci,

1935) were failures, but his theories exerted great influence on play� wrights of the Theatre of the Absurd.

Lifelong mental illness confined him periodically to asylums from 1936.

Artemis Var-to-mosV In Greek reli� gion, the goddess of wild animals, the hunt, vegetation, chastity, and child� birth. Artemis was the daughter of Artaud 1948.

Zeus and Leto and the twin sister of denise colomb-j.p. ziolo

artemisia V.ar-to-'mi-zhoV Any of a genus ( Artemisia ) of aromatic herbs and shrubs in the composite family. Examples include worm� wood, SAGEBRUSH, and TARRAGON.

Many species are valued as orna� mentals for their attractive silvery gray foliage, which is frequently used in horticultural plantings to cre� ate contrast or to smooth the transi� tion between intense colors. The leaves of common wormwood (A. absinthium ) have been used in medi� cines and beverages such as absinthe and vermouth. An extract from the Eurasian A. annua is used to treat quinine-resistant malaria.

Artemis as a huntress, classical sculp� ture; in the Louvre.

AUNARI/ART RESOURCE

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arthritis ► Arthur's Pass I 111

centipede class Chilopoda

subphylum Uniramia

subphylum Chelicerata

barnacle class Cirripeda

eye

telson

uropod

shrimp class Malacostraca

subphylum Crustacea

carapace

antennule

tail

(pygidium)

trilobite

subphylum Trilobita

eye

thorax

antenna

head

(cephalon)

Representative arthropods. Uniramia, the largest of the arthropod subphyla, contains mostly terrestrial insects and myriapods (including centipedes and millipedes). The insects, the largest arthropod class, differ from other arthropods in that they are usually winged and have only three pairs of legs. Members of the Crustacea subphylum are mostly marine-dwelling and include the shrimps, lobsters, crabs, and barnacles. The microscopic water fleas are chiefly found in fresh water and, along with other minute members of this subphylum, are part of the zooplankton. Most members of the Chelicerata subphylum are arachnids, including the spiders, scorpions, ticks, and mites. The trilobites (members of the Trilobita subphylum) are extinct marine arthropods that flourished during the Cambrian Period. Fossilized remains show a body having three lon� gitudinal lobes divided into three regions�head, thorax, and tail.

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arthritis \ar-'thri-t9s\ Inflammation of the joints and its effects. Acute arthritis is marked by pain, redness, and swelling. The principal forms are osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and septic arthritis. Several forms of arthritis are part of the symptom complexes of autoimmune diseases.

arthropod Any member of the largest phylum, Arthropoda, in the ani� mal kingdom. Arthropoda consists of more than one million known inver� tebrate species in four subphyla: Uniramia (five classes, including insects), Chelicerata (three classes, including arachnids and horseshoe crabs), Crus� tacea (crustaceans), and Trilobita (trilobites). All arthropods are bilaterally symmetrical and possess a segmented body covered by an exoskeleton containing chitin, which serves as both armour and a surface for muscle attachment. Each body segment may bear a pair of jointed appendages. The phylum includes carnivores, herbivores, omnivores, detritus feeders, filter feeders, and parasites (see parasitism) in nearly all environments, both aquatic and terrestrial. See illustration above.

Arthur, Chester A(lan) (b. Oct. 5,1829, North Fairfield, Vt., U.S.�d. Nov. 18, 1886, New York, N.Y) 21st president of the U.S. (1881-85). He practiced law in New York City from 1854, later becoming a close asso� ciate of Sen. Roscoe Conkling, the Republican boss of New York. With Conkling�s backing, he was appointed customs collector for the port of New York (1871-78), an office long known for its use of the spoils sys� tem. He conducted the business of the office with integrity but continued to pad its payroll with Conkling loyalists. At the Republican national con� vention in 1880, Arthur was the compromise choice for vice president on

a ticket with James Garfield; he became president on Garfield�s assassina� tion. As president, Arthur displayed unexpected independence by vetoing measures that rewarded political patronage. He also signed the Pendleton Civil Service Act, which created a civil-service system based on merit. He and his navy secretary recommended appropriations that later helped transform the U.S. Navy into one of the world�s great fleets. He failed to win his party�s nomination for a second term.

Arthurian legend Body of stories and medieval romances centring on the legendary English king Arthur. The stories chronicle Arthur�s life, the adventures of his knights, and the adulterous love between his knight Sir Lancelot and his queen, Guinevere. The legend was popular in Wales before the 11th century, was brought into literature by Geoffrey of Mon� mouth, and was adapted by other medieval writers, including Chretien de Troyes, Wace, Layamon, and Sir Thomas Malory, becoming entwined with legends of the Holy Grail. From Victorian times, when interest in the leg� end revived, it has figured in major works by Alfred Tennyson (Idylls of the King) and T.H. White (The Once and Future King). It is uncertain whether Arthur was a historical figure. Medieval sources say he was a 6th-century warrior and champion of Christianity who united the British tribes against the Saxon invaders, died in battle at Camlann c. 539, and was buried at Glastonbury. See also Galahad; Merlin; Tristan and Isolde.

Arthur's Pass or Arthur Pass Mountain pass. Southern Alps, New Zealand. It lies at an elevation of 3,020 ft (920 m) at the northern end of the mountain range and provides the main railway and highway passage.

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112 I Artibonite River ► Aruba

with the rail line passing through the Otira Tunnel (5.3 mi [8.6 km]). Arthur�s Pass National Park was created in 1929.

Artibonite River \,ar-te-b6-'net\ River, Hispaniola Island. Rising in the Cordillera Central of the Dominican Republic, it flows along the Haitian border and then west and northwest into and through Haiti�s Artibonite Plain to enter the Gulf of Gonaives after a course of some 150 mi (240 km). It is the island�s longest river.

artichoke Large, coarse, herbaceous, thistlelike perennial plant {Cynara scolymus) of the composite family. The thick edible scales and bottom part (heart) of the immature flower heads are a culinary delicacy. The artichoke is native to the Mediterranean and is cultivated extensively in other regions with rich soil and a mild, humid climate. The Jerusalem artichoke is a tuber and does not resemble the artichoke.

Articles of Confederation Early U.S. constitution (1781-89) under the government by the Continental Congress, replaced in 1787 by the U.S. Constitution. It provided for a confederation of sovereign states and gave the Congress power to regulate foreign affairs, war, and the postal ser� vice, to control Indian affairs, and to borrow money. Under the Articles, Congress settled state claims to western lands and established the North� west Ordinances. But Congress had no power to enforce its requests to the states for money or troops, and by late 1786 the government had ceased to be effective, as was demonstrated by Shays's Rebellion (1786-87) against courts that had been enforcing seizures of property for debt. Delegates to the Annapolis Convention called a meeting of all the states to amend the Articles.

articulation In phonetics, the shaping of the vocal tract (larynx, phar� ynx, and oral and nasal cavities) by positioning mobile organs (such as the tongue) relative to other parts that may be rigid (such as the hard palate) and thus modifying the airstream to produce speech sounds. Articulators include the tongue, lips, teeth and upper gum ridge, hard and soft palate, uvula, pharyngeal wall, and glottis. Primary articulation refers either to where or how the vocal tract is narrowed or blocked to produce a con� sonant, or to the tongue contour, lip shape, and larynx height that deter� mine the sound of a vowel. Other articulators may be used to produce a secondary articulation such as palatalization (the front of the tongue approaching the hard palate), glottalization (complete or partial closure of the vocal cords), or nasalization (simultaneous passage of air through the nasal and oral tracts).

artificial heart Machine or mechanical pump that maintains blood cir� culation in the human body. The heart-lung machine, a mechanical pump, can maintain circulation for a few hours while the heart is stopped for surgery. It shunts blood away from the heart, oxygenates it, and returns it to the body. No device has yet been developed for total, long-term replace� ment of the heart; existing artificial hearts reduce the heart�s workload by pumping between beats or acting as an auxiliary ventricle and are suit� able only as temporary replacements in patients awaiting transplant. See also PACEMAKER.

artificial insemination Introduction of semen into a female�s vagina or cervix by means other than sexual intercourse. First developed for ani� mal breeding in the early 20th century in Russia, it is now also used to induce pregnancy in women whose partners cannot impregnate them. The partner�s (or other donor�s) semen is inserted with a syringe. Though rea� sonably successful, artificial insemination in humans raises moral issues that are not yet fully resolved. In livestock, deep-frozen semen from a male animal can be stored for long periods without losing its fertility, thus allowing a single bull to sire as many as 10,000 calves a year.

artificial intelligence (Al) Ability of a machine to perform tasks thought to require human intelligence. Typical applications include game playing, language translation, expert systems, and robotics. Although pseudo-intelligent machinery dates back to antiquity, the first glimmer� ings of true intelligence awaited the development of digital computers in the 1940s. AI, or at least the semblance of intelligence, has developed in parallel with computer processing power, which appears to be the main limiting factor. Early AI projects, such as playing chess and solving math� ematical problems, are now seen as trivial compared to visual pattern rec� ognition, complex decision making, and the use of natural language. See also Turing test.

artificial respiration Breathing induced by any of several techniques in a person who has stopped or is having difficulty breathing. It consists chiefly of keeping the air passage open and inducing inhalation and exha�

lation. It does not include chest compressions to maintain circulation (see cardiopulmonary resuscitation). The primary method is mouth-to-mouth breathing, in which the rescuer breathes into the victim�s mouth, with pauses to allow exhalation.

Artigas \ar-'te-gas\, Jose Gervasio (b. June 19, 1764, probably Montevideo [Uru.]�d. Sept. 23, 1850, Ibiray, near Asuncion, Para.) Sol� dier and revolutionary leader regarded as the father of Uruguayan inde� pendence. In his youth Artigas was a gaucho in what is now Uruguay. Allied with the Buenos Aires junta, he fought for independence from Spain and won a brilliant victory at Las Piedras. His insistence on fed� eralism against the efforts of Buenos Aires to assert control over the entire region led to civil war. He ruled over a portion of what is now Uruguay and central Argentina until a Portuguese invasion forced him into exile in 1820. Uruguay achieved independence in 1828.

artillery In modern military science, big guns such as cannons, howit� zers, or mortars operated by crews and of a calibre greater than 15 mm. The earliest artillery, introduced in the 14th century, were cannons and mortars of bronze, brass, or iron mounted on two-wheeled carriages. Mod� ern artillery dates from the second half of the 19th century, when advances included steel gun barrels, more powerful gunpowders, and piston mount� ings that held artillery carriages steady during recoil. Both powder and projectile were encased in a shell, which allowed for faster loading. Since World War II, artillery has been ranked as light (up to 105 mm, for support of ground troops), medium (106-155 mm, for bombardment), and heavy (over 155 mm, for attacking rear installations). See also antiaircraft gun.

Arts and Crafts movement English social and aesthetic movement of the second half of the 19th century, dedicated to reestablishing the importance of craftsmanship in an era of mechanization and mass pro� duction. The name derives from the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society (1888). Inspired by John Ruskin and other writers who deplored the effects of industrialization, William Morris founded a firm of interior designers and manufacturers to produce handcrafted textiles, printed books, wall� paper, furniture, jewelry, and metalwork. The movement was criticized as elitist and impractical in an industrial society, but in the 1890s its appeal widened and spread to other countries, including the U.S. See also Art Nouveau.

An English room decorated by William Morris in the Arts and Crafts style.

COURTESY OF THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON, PHOTOGRAPH, JOHN WEBB

Aru Va-.rtA Islands Island group, eastern Indonesia. The easternmost island group of the Moluccas, located off southwestern New Guinea, it stretches north-south about 110 mi (180 km) and extends some 50 mi (80 km) east-west. The group consists of six main islands (Warilau, Kola, Wokam, Kobroor, Maikoor, and Trangan), which are separated by narrow channels, and dozens of smaller islands. Dobo, on Wamar Island, is the principal harbour. The islands became part of Indonesia in 1949.

Aruba Island (pop., 2005 est.: 97,400), Lesser Antilles, off northwest� ern Venezuela. Aruba is an internally self-governing part of The Nether� lands. It has an area of 75 sq mi (193 sq km). Its capital is Oranjestad.

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arugula ► asbestosis I 113

The majority of the present-day population is a combination of mostly American Indian, Spanish, and Dutch ancestry. Dutch is the official lan� guage; Papiamento, a Creole language, is used for daily affairs. The prin� cipal religion is Roman Catholicism. The currency is the Aruban florin. Aruba�s lack of water severely limits agriculture. The large petroleum� refining complex there, once the island�s main employer, reopened after closing in the mid-1980s, but tourism has become the island�s economic mainstay. The earliest inhabitants were Arawak Indians, whose cave draw� ings can still be seen. Though the Dutch took possession of Aruba in 1636, they did not begin to develop it aggressively until 1816. The Netherlands controls Aruba�s defense and foreign affairs, but internal affairs are handled by an island government directing its own judiciary and currency. In 1986 Aruba seceded from the Federation of the Netherlands Antilles in an initial step toward independence.

arugula \3-'ru-g3-l3\ or rocket Yellowish-flowered European herba� ceous plant ( Eruca vesicaria sativa), of the mustard family, cultivated for its foliage, which is used especially in salads. The leaves taste sharp and peppery when young and succulent but become bitter with age. A medici� nal oil is extracted from the seeds.

arum \'ar-3m\ family Family Araceae, containing about 2,000 species, many of which are popular ornamentals and foliage plants. Native pri� marily to the tropics and subtropics, a few species grow in temperate zones. The genera Philodendron and Monstera are grown for their vine� like habit and large green leaves. Other arums grown ornamentally include the florist�s calla lily and the water arum ( Calla palustris). Jack-in-the- pulpit ( Arisaema triphyllum) is well known in woodlands, and the foul� smelling eastern skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) in marshes. The genus Arum contains about 15 perennial species noted for funnel-shaped bracts and glossy, arrow-shaped leaves. Sap in Arum species can be poi� sonous.

Arunachal Pradesh Var-u-.na-chol-pro-'deshX State (pop., 2001: 1,097,968), extreme northeastern India. Bordered by Bhutan, Tibet (China), and Myanmar and Nagaland and Assam states, it occupies 32,333 sq mi (83,743 sq km); its capital is Itanagar. A portion of the region was annexed by the Ahom rulers of Assam in the 16th century. By 1826 the British had made Assam part of British India. Later called the North East Frontier Agency, the region became Arunachal Pradesh union territory in 1972 and was granted statehood in 1987. It incorporates major ranges of the Hima� laya foothills and has a rugged terrain. The population consists of many ethnic groups who speak dialects of the Tibeto-Burman linguistic family.

arupa-loka Va-.rti-po-To-koV In Buddhism, the �world of immaterial form,� the highest of the three spheres of existence in which rebirth takes place. The others are the �fine-material world� ( rupa-loka ) and the �world of feeling� ( kama-loka ). In the arupa-loka, existence depends on the stage of concentration attained in the previous life, of which there are four lev� els: the infinity of space, the infinity of thought, the infinity of nonbeing, and the infinity of neither consciousness nor nonconsciousness. Beings in the arupa-loka do not have a material body.

Arusha National Park Preserve, northern Tanzania. Established in 1960, the park contains a rich variety of flora and fauna. It is the site of Mount Meru (14,978 ft [4,565 m]) and Ngurdoto Crater, an extinct vol� cano. Nearby are Mount Kilimanjaro, Olduvai Gorge, and Ngorongoro Crater, whose surrounding area teems with wildlife.

Arya Samaj Var-yo-sa-'majX Reform sect of Hinduism, founded in 1875 by Dayananda Sarasvati, in order to reestablish the Vedas as revealed and infallible truth. The Arya Samaj opposes idolatry, ancestor worship, ani� mal sacrifice, a caste system based on birth rather than merit, untouch- ability (see untouchable), child marriage, pilgrimages, and temple offerings. It upholds the sanctity of the cow, samskaras, oblations to fire, and social reform, including the education of women. Strongest in western and northern India, it is governed by representatives elected to samajas (�soci� eties�) at the local, provincial, and national levels, and it played an impor� tant role in the growth of Indian nationalism.

Aryabhata I (b. 476, possibly Ashmaka or Kusumapura, India) Astronomer and the earliest Indian mathematician whose work survives. He composed at least two works, Aryabhatiya (c. 499) and the now lost Aryabhatasiddhanta, which circulated mainly in the northwest of India and influenced the development of Islamic astronomy. Written in verse couplets, Aryabhatiya deals with mathematics and astronomy. Topics include prediction of solar and lunar eclipses and an explicit statement

that the apparent westward motion of the stars is due to the spherical Earth�s rotation about its axis. Aryabhata also correctly ascribed the lumi� nosity of the Moon and planets to reflected sunlight. The Indian govern� ment named its first satellite Aryabhata (launched 1975) in his honour.

Aryan \'ar-e-an\ Prehistoric people who settled in Iran and northern India. From their language, also called Aryan, the Indo-European lan� guages of South Asia are descended. In the 19th century there arose a notion, propagated by the count de Gobineau and later by his disciple Houston Stewart Chamberlain, of an �Aryan race�: people who spoke Indo- European, especially Germanic, languages and lived in northern Europe. The �Aryan race� was considered to be superior to all other peoples. Although this notion was repudiated by numerous scholars, including Franz Boas, the notion was seized on by Adolf Hitler and made the basis of the Nazi policy of exterminating Jews, Gypsies (Roma), and other �non-Aryans.� See also racism.

Asad, Hafiz al- See Hafiz al-AssAD

ASALA acronym for Armenian Secret Army to Liberate Arme� nia Marxist-Leninist group formed in 1975 to force the Turkish govern� ment to acknowledge the Armenian massacres of 1915 and pay reparations. Its activities, which have included acts of terrorism, have been directed against Turkish government officials and institutions. Its founder, Hagop Hagopian, was killed in 1988; thereafter the group�s activities diminished.

Asam Vaz-am\, Cosmos Damian and Egid Quirin (respectively b. Sept. 29, 1686, Benediktbeuren, Bavaria�d. May 10, 1739, Munich; b. Sept. 1, 1692, Tegemsee, Bavaria�d. April 29, 1750, Mannheim, Palatinate) Bavarian architects and decorators. After studying in Rome (1711-13), Cosmas Damian became a prolific fresco painter, and his brother, Egid Quirin, became a sculptor and stuccoist. They developed the effects of dramatic lighting and illusionism originated by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Andrea Pozzo. Working as a team, they produced magnificent illusionistic decoration in ecclesiastical buildings, combining dramatic lighting and colour. Their works are notable for their profound and dra� matic intensity of religious feeling. The brothers became the principal late Baroque exponents of illusionist decoration in religious architecture. Their most notable collaboration is the church of St. John Nepomuk in Munich (1733-46)�known as the Asamkirche in honour of the brothers.

Asante or Ashanti People of southern Ghana and adjacent areas of Togo and Cote d�Ivoire. The largest segment of the Akan peoples, they speak Twi, a language of the Kwa group of Niger-Congo languages; all together the Akan peoples make up about half the population of Ghana. Though some Asante now live and work in urban centres, most live in villages and engage in agriculture. The symbol of Asante unity is the Golden Stool, held to be so sacred that not even kings were allowed to sit on it. The Asante supplied slaves to British and Dutch traders in exchange for firearms, which they used to build up a large empire in the 18th and 19th centuries. They fought several wars against the British (1824, 1863, 1869, 1874), finally losing their capital, Kumasi, in 1896. Thereafter what remained of the empire went into decline. Asante gold- work and kente cloth remain prominent items of trade. See also Fante.

asbestos Any of several minerals that separate readily into long, flex� ible fibres. Chrysotile accounts for about 95% of all asbestos still in com� mercial use. The other types all belong to the amphibole group and include the highly fibrous forms of anthophyllite, amosite, crocidolite, tremolite, and actinoute. Asbestos fibre was used in brake linings, insulation, roofing shingles, floor and ceiling tiles, cement pipes, and other building mate� rials. Asbestos fabrics were used for safety apparel and theatre curtains. In the 1970s it was found that prolonged inhalation of the tiny asbestos fibres can cause asbestosis, lung cancer, and/or mesothelioma, all serious lung diseases. The incidence of mesothelioma is most commonly associ� ated with extensive inhalation of amphibole asbestos. In 1989 the U.S. gov� ernment instituted a gradual ban on the manufacture, use, and export of most products made with asbestos.

asbestos, amphibole See amphibole asbestos

asbestosis X.as-.bes-'to-sosV Lung disease caused by long-term inhala� tion of asbestos fibres. A pneumoconiosis found primarily in asbestos work� ers, asbestosis is also seen in people living near asbestos industries. Fibres remain in the lungs and many years later cause extensive scarring and fibrosis. Shortness of breath and inadequate oxygenation result; advanced cases include a dry cough. There is no effective treatment. The associated increased cardiac effort may induce heart disease. Cigarette smoking

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114 I Ascalon ► Ash'ariyyah

greatly exacerbates its symptoms. Lung cancer and malignant mesothe� lioma are more common with asbestos inhalation and asbestosis.

Ascalon See Ashqelon

Ascanius \as-'ka-ne-os\ In Roman legend, the son of Aeneas and founder of Alba Longa (probably the site of modern Castel Gandolfo) near Rome. In Livy�s account, his mother was Lavinia, and he was born after Aeneas founded Lavinium. Ascanius was also called lulus, and he was considered the founder of the line that included Julius Caesar.

Ascension In Christian belief, the ascent of Jesus into heaven 40 days after the Resurrection. The Book of Acts relates that, after several appear� ances to the Apostles over a period of 40 days, Jesus was taken up in their presence and hidden behind a cloud, a symbol of God�s presence. The event is thought to indicate a new relationship between Jesus and God and between Jesus and his followers. The feast of the Ascension is uni� versally observed by Christians, and its celebration emphasizes the king- ship of Christ. Since the 4th century, it has been celebrated 40 days after Easter and 10 days before Pentecost.

asceticism Vo-'set-o-.siz-omX Practice of the denial of physical or psy� chological desires in order to attain a spiritual ideal or goal. Most reli� gions have some features of asceticism. The desire for ritual purity in order to come in contact with the divine, the need for atonement, and the wish to earn merit or gain access to supernatural powers all are reasons for ascetic practice. Christian hermits and monks, wandering Hindu ascet� ics, and Buddhist monks all reject worldly goods and practice various forms of self-denial, including celibacy, abstinence, and fasting. Mem� bers of the Digambara sect of Jainism practice an extreme form of asceti� cism that includes the rejection of wearing clothes. Though monasticism is rejected in the Qur�an, ascetic movements such as zuhd have arisen in Islam. Zoroastrianism forbids fasting and mortification.

Asch \'ash\, Sholem (b. Nov. 1, 1880, Kutno, Pol., Russian Empire�d. July 10, 1957, London, Eng.) Polish-born U.S. novelist and playwright. Much of his writing concerns the experience of Jews in eastern European villages or as immigrants in the U.S. (to which he himself immigrated in 1914). It includes the play The God of Vengeance (1907) and the novels Mottke the Thief (1916), Uncle Moses (1918), Judge Not (1926), and Chaim Lederer�s Return (1927). In later, more controversial works, he explored the common heritage of Judaism and Christianity. His career was outstanding for both output and impact, and he is one of the best-known writers in modern Yiddish literature.

Ascham Vas-komV Roger (b. 1515, Kirby Wiske, near York, Eng.�d. Dec. 30, 1568, London) English humanist, scholar, and writer. He entered Cambridge University at age 14 and studied Greek. He became the future Queen Elizabeth I�s tutor in Greek and Latin (1548-50) and continued to serve her after she took the throne. His best-known book is the posthu� mous The Scholemaster (1570), which deals with the psychology of learn� ing, the education of the whole person, and the ideal moral and intellectual personality that education should mold. He is notable also for his lucid prose style and his promotion of the vernacular.

ASCII Vas-,ke\ in full American Standard Code for Informa� tion Interchange. Data-transmission code used to represent both text (letters, numbers, punctuation marks) and noninput device commands (control characters) for electronic exchange and storage. Standard ASCII uses a string of 7 bits (binary digits) for each symbol and can thus rep� resent 2 7 = 128 characters. Extended ASCII uses an 8-bit encoding sys� tem and can thus represent 2 8 = 256 characters. While ASCII is still found in legacy data, Unicode, with 8-, 16-, and 32-bit versions, has become standard for modem operating systems and browsers. In particular, the 32-bit version now supports all of the characters in every major language.

Asclepius \as-'kle-pe-9s\ Latin Aesculapius \,es-ky9-'la-pe-9s\ Greco-Roman god of medicine. He was the son of Apollo and the nymph Coronis. He learned the ait of healing from the Centaur Chiron. Fearful that Asclepius would make humans immortal, Zeus slew him with a thun� derbolt. His cult originated in Thessaly and spread throughout Greece. Because he was said to cure the sick in dreams, the practice of sleeping in his temples became common. Asclepius was often represented holding a staff with a serpent coiled around it. See photograph opposite.

ascorbic acid See vitamin C

ASEAN in full Association of Southeast Asian Nations Inter� national organization established by the governments of Indonesia,

Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand in 1967 to accelerate regional economic growth, social progress, and cultural development and to promote peace and security in the region. Brunei became a member in 1984, Vietnam in 1995, Laos and Myanmar (Burma) in 1997, and Cam� bodia in 1999. ASEAN became a leading voice on regional trade and security issues in the 1990s; in 1992 member nations created the ASEAN Free Trade Area.

Asgard \'as-,gard\ In Norse mythology, the dwelling place of the gods. It consisted of 12 or more realms, including Valhalla, home of Odin; Thrudheim, home of Thor; and Breidablick, home of Balder. Each Norse god had his own palace in Asgard. This heavenly region could only be reached from earth via the rainbow bridge called Bifrost.

ash Any tree of the genus Fraxinus, in the olive family. The genus includes about 70 species of trees and shrubs found mostly in the North� ern Hemisphere. The U.S. boasts 18 species of ash, 5 of which furnish most of the ash cut as lumber. Most important are the white ash ( F. amer- icana) and the green ash ( F. pennsylvanica ), which yield wood that is stiff, strong, and resilient, yet lightweight. This �white ash� is used for base� ball bats, hockey sticks, paddles and oars, tennis and other racket frames, and the handles of agricultural tools. Black ash ( F. nigra), blue ash ( F. quadrangulata), and Oregon ash (F. latifolia) produce wood of compa� rable quality that is used for many more purposes, including furniture, interior paneling, and barrels.

Ash Can school Group of U.S. realist painters, active in New York City c. 1908-18, who specialized in scenes of everyday urban life. Inspired by Robert Henri, the core group included William Glackens, George Luks (1867-1933), Everett Shinn (1876-1953), and John Sloan. As artist-reporters on the Philadelphia Press before moving to New York, they had developed a quick eye and a memory for detail. Though they often depicted slums and outcasts of the city, they were more interested in the picturesque aspects of these subjects than in the social issues they raised. George Wesley Bellows and Edward Hopper were also associated with the group. See also The Eight.

ash cone See cinder cone

Ash Wednesday See Lent Ashanti See Asante

Ashari Va-sha-re\, Abu al-Hasan al- (b. 873/874, Basra, Iraq�d. 935/936, Baghdad) Muslim Arab theologian. He probably belonged to the family of Abu Musa al-Ash c arI, one of the Companions of the Prophet. He joined the Mu'tazilah school and compiled scholarly opin� ions in his Maqdlat al-Islamlyin (�Theological Opinions of the Mus� lims�). At about age 40 he concluded that his method had led to sterile concepts of God and humanity, and he turned to more orthodox theology. He expanded his Maqalat and authored Kitdb al-Luma ( (�The Luminous Book�). Reflecting on the ideas of al-MuHASiBi and others, he created his own school, which became known as the Khorasan, or Ash'arite, school. See also Ash'ariyyah.

Ash'ariyyah School of Muslim theology founded by Abu al-Hasan al-AsH l ARi in the 10th century. It sup� ported the use of reason and specu� lative theology (kalam) to defend the faith but was not as extreme in its rationalism as the Mu'tazilah school. Followers attempted to demonstrate the existence and nature of God through rational argument, while affirming the eternal, uncreated nature of the Qur�an. They were

Asclepius, from an ivory diptych, 5th century ad; in the Liverpool City Museum, England

THE BRIDGEMAN ART LIBRARY/ART RESOURCE

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Ashbery ► Ashur I 115

accused by the Mu'tazilah of believing in predestination because they claimed the human capacity for action was only acquired at the very moment of action.

Ashbery, John (Lawrence) (b. July 28, 1927, Rochester, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. poet. He earned degrees from Harvard and Columbia universities and subsequently became known as an art critic. His poems, noted for their elegance, originality, and obscurity, are characterized by arresting images, exquisite rhythms, intricate form, and sudden shifts in tone and subject. His collections include The Double Dream of Spring (1970), Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror (1975, Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award), A Wave (1984), Flow Chart (1991), and Wakefulness (1998).

Ashcroft, Dame Peggy orig. Edith Margaret Emily Ashcroft

(b. Dec. 22, 1907, Croydon, London, Eng.�d. June 14, 1991, London) British actress. She made her debut in 1927 and appeared from 1932 with the Old Vic company, winning acclaim in Romeo and Juliet (1935). She starred in more than 100 stage productions, playing comedy and tragedy with equal success. One of the great actresses of the British stage, she was a founding member of the Royal Shakespeare Co. (1961) and later a director. She acted in films such as The Thirty-nine Steps (1935) and A Passage to India (1984, Academy Award) and in the television series The Jewel in the Crown (1984).

Ashe, Arthur (Robert), Jr. (b. July 10, 1943, Richmond, Va., U.S.�-d. Feb. 6, 1993, New York, N.Y.) U.S. tennis player. He won his first grand-slam singles title (the 1968 U.S. Open) as an amateur. The first African American member of the U.S. Davis Cup team, he helped win five championships (1963, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1978). In 1975 he won the Wim� bledon singles title and received World Championship Tennis top ranking. He retired in 1980 and became captain of the U.S. Davis Cup team (to 1985). Off the court he was a critic of racial injustice, including South Africa�s apartheid policy. In 1992 he revealed that he had been infected with HIV by a transfusion following surgery, and he thereafter devoted time to increasing public awareness of AIDS. The U.S. Open is now played at Arthur Ashe Stadium, which opened at the National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., in 1997.

Ashford, Evelyn (b. April 15, 1957, Shreveport, La., U.S.) U.S. sprinter. She attended UCLA, where she won four national collegiate championships and competed in the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. She went on to win world championships (100- and 200-m sprints) in 1979 and 1981 and was named Woman Athlete of the Year both years. She won two gold medals in the 1984 Olympics (100-m dash, 4 x 100-m relay) and a silver and a gold medal in the 1988 Olympics (in the same events). At the 1992 games, her fifth Olympics, she became the oldest woman (at 35) to win a gold medal in track and field (4 x 100-m relay).

Ashgabat Vash-ga-,bat\ formerly Ashkhabad Vash-ko-.badX City (pop., 1999 est.: 605,000), capital of Turkmenistan. It lies in an oasis at the northern foot of the Kopet-Dag Range near the Iranian border. Founded in 1881 as a Russian military fort, it was the capital of Turk� menistan S.S.R. (1924-90). A violent earthquake destroyed the city in 1948; it was rebuilt on the same plan. It is now an industrial, transpor� tation, and cultural centre.

Ashikaga \,a-she-'ka-ga\ family Japanese warrior family that estab� lished the Ashikaga shogunate in 1338. The founder, Ashikaga Takauji (1305-58), supported the emperor Go-Daigo�s attempt to wrest control of the country from the Hojo family, but then turned on him and set up an emperor from another branch of the imperial family, who granted Takauji the title of shogun. Takauji� s grandson Yoshimitsu (1358-1408), the third Ashikaga shogun, ended the dual imperial courts that had resulted from his grandfather�s actions, took an active role in the court bureaucracy, and reorganized civil government. Yoshimitsu reopened formal trade with China and is remembered as a sponsor of the arts; he commissioned the famous Golden Pavilion (Kinkaku-ji) in Kyoto. Ashikaga Yoshimasa (1436-90), the eighth Ashikaga shogun, was also a great patron of the arts and a devotee of the tea ceremony. He commissioned the Silver Pavil� ion (Ginkaku-ji), whose understated elegance contrasts with the opulence of the Golden Pavilion. Politically, Yoshimasa�s tenure as shogun coin� cided with increasing loss of control over the countryside as Japan headed toward a century of civil war. See also Muromachi period; daimyo; Onin War; samurai.

Ashkenazi \,ash-k3-'na-ze\ Any of the historically Yiddish-speaking European Jews who settled in central and northern Europe, or their

descendants. They lived originally in the Rhineland valley, and their name is derived from the Hebrew word Ashkenaz (�Germany�). After the start of the Crusades in the late 11th century, many migrated east to Poland, Lithuania, and Russia to escape persecution. In later centuries Jews who adopted the German-rite synagogue ritual were called Ashkenazim to dif� ferentiate them from the Sephardic, or Spanish-rite, Jews (see Sephardi), from whom they differ in cultural traditions, pronunciation of Hebrew, and synagogue chanting as well as in the use of the Yiddish language (until the 20th century). Today they constitute more than 80% of the world�s Jews.

Ashley, William Henry (b. c. 1778, Powhatan, Va., U.S.�d. March 26, 1838, Cooper county, Mo.) U.S. fur trader. Arriving in Missouri about 1802, he prospered in mining and land speculation. In 1820 he became the state�s first lieutenant governor. With Andrew Henry (1771-1833), he organized the Rocky Mountain Fur Co. in 1822 and established a trading post at the mouth of the Yellowstone River. Forced to abandon the post by Indians, he instituted the annual rendezvous (1825), where trappers would trade their furs to him for supplies for the next year. By 1827 he had made a fortune and retired. Elected to the U.S. House of Represen� tatives (1831-37), he championed Western interests.

Ashoka \3-'sho-k3\ or Asoka \3-'so-ko\ (b. c. 304�d. c. 232 bc) Last major emperor (c. 269-232 bc) of the Mauryan empire in India and a patron of Buddhism. After his bloody conquest of Kalinga in the eighth year of his reign, Ashoka renounced military aggression and resolved to live according to the dharma. He spoke of Buddhism only to fellow Buddhists and adopted a policy of toleration for other religions. He spread Buddhist teachings through inscriptions known as the Rock Edicts and Pillar Edicts. He enjoined officials to be aware of the needs of common people and to dispense justice impartially; dharma ministers were appointed to relieve suffering and look to the special needs of other religions, women, outly� ing regions, and neighbouring peoples. He erected stupas and monaster� ies, developed a course of study for adherents, and sent missionaries to Sri Lanka. He is remembered as the ideal Buddhist ruler.

Ashqelon \'ash-k9-,lan\ formerly Ascalon Town (pop., 2000 est.: 98,937) and archaeological site, Israel. The historic coastal city-state of Ascalon was traditionally the key to the conquest of southwestern Pales� tine. Its name appears in Egyptian texts as early as c. 1800 bc. It was con� quered by several ancient empires, including that of Alexander the Great (332 bc). Conquered by the Arabs in ad 636, it was taken by Crusaders in 1153 and became one of their principal ports (see Crusades). It was retaken by the Ayyubid sultan Saladin in 1187 and destroyed by the Mamluk sultan Baybars I in 1270. Modern Ashqelon, originally an Arab town, was resettled by Israelis after 1949 and is now a resort and industrial centre.

ashram Yash-rem, 'ash-,ram\ or ashrama Vash-ro-moV In Hinduism, any of the four stages of life through which a �twice-born� (see upanay- ana) Hindu ideally will pass. These stages are: the student, who is devoted and obedient to his teacher; the householder, who supports his family and the priests and fulfills duties to the gods and ancestors; the hermit, who withdraws from society to pursue ascetic and yogic practices; and the homeless mendicant, who renounces all possessions and wanders from place to place begging for food. In English the word has come to mean a place for the pursuit of spiritual or religious disciplines, often under a GURU.

Ash tart See Astarte

Ashton, Sir Frederick (William Mallandaine) (b. Sept. 17, 1904, Guayaquil, Ecua.�d. Aug. 18, 1988, Sussex, Eng.) Principal cho� reographer and director of England�s Royal Ballet. After creating ballets from 1925 for the Ballet Club (later Ballet Rambert), he joined the Vic- Wells Ballet (later Royal Ballet) in 1933, becoming principal choreogra� pher, assistant director (1953-63), and director (1963-70). At least 30 of his works remain in its repertoire, including Fagade (1931), Symphonic Variations (1946), and Birthday Offering (1956). He also choreographed for companies such as the Royal Danish Ballet ( Romeo and Juliet, 1955) and the New York City Ballet ( Illuminations , 1950).

Ashur Ancient religious capital of Assyria. It is located on the Tigris River, 60 mi (97 km) south of Mosul, Iraq. The name Ashur was applied to the city, to Assyria itself, and to Assyria�s principal god. The capital�s site was originally occupied c. 2500 bc and later became part of Akkad. By the late 12th century bc it was under Assyrian control. Its religious sanc-

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116 I Ashurbanipal ► asparagus

Ashurbanipal carrying a basket in the rebuilding of the temple, stone bas- relief from the Esagila, Babylon, 650 bc; in the British Museum

tity ensured its continuous upkeep until 614 bc, when it was destroyed by Babylonia. The archaeological site has yielded fortifications, temples, and palaces.

Ashurbanipal V.a-sor-'ba-ni-.paL (fl. 7th century bc) Last great Assyr� ian king (r. 668-627 bc). He was appointed crown prince of Assyria in 672 bc; his half-brother was appointed crown prince of Babylo� nia. On his father�s death, Ashurba� nipal assumed full power without incident. He quelled a rebellion in Egypt and successfully besieged Tyre. His half brother, who served him in Babylonia peacefully for 16 years, joined a coalition of peoples from outlying areas of the Assyrian empire and plotted rebellion, but Ashurbanipal discovered the plots and, after a three-year siege, took Babylon. By 639 bc he had the whole known world under his control. A person of religious zeal, he rebuilt or adorned most of the major shrines of Assyria and Babylonia. His principal intellectual accomplishment was the creation in Nineveh of the first sys� tematically organized library in the Middle East; the clay tablets col� lected there preserved omen texts,

Mesopotamian epics, prayers and incantations, scientific texts, lexico� graphical texts, and folktales.

Asia Largest continent on Earth. It is bounded by the Arctic, Pacific, and

Indian oceans. The western boundary, with Europe, runs roughly north- south along the eastern Ural Mountains; the Caspian, Black, Aegean, and Mediterranean seas; the Suez Canal; and the Red Sea. The islands of Sri Lanka and Taiwan and the archipelagoes of Indonesia (excluding New Guinea), the Philippines, and Japan also form part of Asia. Area: 17,226,000 sq mi (44,614,000 sq km). Population (2004 est.): 3,879,659,000. Mountains and plateaus predominate on the continent, with the highest mountains located in Central Asia and north of the Indian subcontinent. Terrain features include Earth�s highest peak, Mount Ever� est, at 29,035 ft (8,850 m), and the lowest natural point, the Dead Sea, at 1,312 ft (400 m) below sea level. The largest of Asia�s many arid regions are the Thar and Gobi deserts. It has some of the longest rivers in the world, including the Euphrates, Tigris, Indus, Ganges (Ganga), Yangtze (Chang; the longest river in Asia), Huang He (Yellow), Ob, Yenisey, and Lena. The Caspian, Aral, and Dead seas are major saltwater lakes. About one-fifth of Asia�s landmass is arable. Its principal language groups include Sino- Tibetan, Indo-Aryan, Austronesian, Austroasiatic, and Semitic; important singular languages include Japanese and Korean. East Asia contains three main ethnic groups: Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. The Indian subcon� tinent is home to a vast diversity of peoples, most of whom speak lan� guages from the Indo-Aryan subgroup of the Indo-European family. Because of the influence of China and the former Soviet Union, the Man� darin Chinese dialect and the Russian language are used widely. Asia is the birthplace of all the world�s major religions and hundreds of minor ones. Hinduism is the oldest major religion to have originated in southern Asia; Jainism and Buddhism emerged in the 6th and 5th centuries bc, respec� tively. Southwest Asia was the cradle of the so-called Abrahamic reli� gions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Daoism and Confucianism, both of which originated in the 6th or 5th century bc, have profoundly influenced Chinese culture and the cultures of surrounding peoples. Asia is marked by great disparities in wealth. A few countries, notably Japan, Singapore, and the oil-rich countries of the Arabian Peninsula, have attained high standards of living; others, such as Bangladesh and Myanmar, are among the poorest. Between these two extremes lie Russia, China, and India. Asia is a land of great cultural diversity, but there are five main cultural influ� ences: Chinese, Indian, Islamic, European, and Central Asian. China has had great influence in East Asia as the source of Confucianism, artistic styles, and the Chinese writing system. Indian influence has been expressed through Hinduism and Buddhism, affecting Tibet, Indonesia,

Cambodia, and Central Asia. Islam spread from its original Arabian home to become important in the Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia, and elsewhere. Members of the earlier human species Homo erectus migrated from Africa to East Asia at least one million years ago. One of the ear� liest civilizations to use writing developed in the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys c. 3000 bc (see Mesopotamia). Civilization in the Indus River valley and in northern Syria followed c. mid-3rd millennium bc. Chinese urban civilization began with the Shang dynasty (c. 1600-1046 bc) and continued under the Zhou dynasty (1046-256 bc). Indo-European� speaking peoples (Aryans) began to invade India from the west c. 2000- 1500 bc and developed the Vedic religion. A succession of empires and charismatic rulers, including the Macedonian Alexander the Great, spread their political control as far as military power could carry them. In the 13th century ad Genghis Khan and his Mongol successors united much of Asia under their rule. In the 14th century the Turkic warlord Timur con� quered much of Central Asia. Muslim Turks destroyed the remnants of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century. In the 19th century European imperialism began to replace Asian imperialism. Tsarist Russia pushed its political control across Asia to the Pacific Ocean, the British gained con� trol of India and Burma (Myanmar), the French dominated eastern South� east Asia (see French Indochina), the Dutch occupied the East Indies (Indonesia), and the Spanish and later the U.S. ruled the Philippines. After World War II (1939-45), European imperialism steadily disappeared as former colonies gained independence in the second half of the 20th cen� tury. See map on opposite page.

Asia Minor See Anatolia

Asimov Va-zi-.moA, Isaac (b. Jan. 2, 1920, Petrovichi, Russia�d. April 6, 1992, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Russian-born U.S. author and bio� chemist. He arrived in the U.S. at age 3, earned a doctorate from Colum� bia University, and subsequently taught for many years at Boston University. Before embarking on graduate study, he had already begun publishing his stories. �Nightfall� (1941) is often called the finest science- fiction short story ever written. His I, Robot (1950) greatly influenced how later writers treated intelligent machines. A trilogy of novels� Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation (1951� 53)�is widely considered a classic. Asimov�s nonfiction science books for lay readers are noted for their lucidity and humour. Immensely pro� lific, he published more than 300 volumes in all.

Askja \'as-kya\ Caldera, Iceland. The largest crater in the Dyngjufjbl volcanic massif, Askja lies 20 mi (32 km) north of Vatnajokull, Iceland�s largest ice field. Its rugged peaks, up to 4,954 ft (1,510 m), encircle a lake of 4.25 sq mi (11 sq km) that occupies the caldera. The volcano erupted in 1875 and again in 1961.

Asmara Vas-ma-ra\ City (pop., 2002 est.: 500,600), capital of Eritrea. It lies on the northern tip of the Ethiopian Plateau at an elevation of 7,628 ft (2,325 m). Its Red Sea port, Massawa, is 40 mi (65 km) northeast. For� merly a hamlet of the Tigre people, Asmara became the capital of the Ital� ian colony of Eritrea in 1900. It was under British control from 1941 until Eritrea�s federation with Ethiopia in 1952 and became the capital of inde� pendent Eritrea in 1993. It is an agricultural marketplace.

Aso \'a-so. Mount Japanese Aso-san Volcanic mountain, central Kyushu island, Japan. The highest of its five peaks is about 5,223 ft (1,592 m) tall. It has one of the largest active craters in the world, measuring 71 mi (114 km) in circumference; its caldera marks the original crater and contains an active volcano and hot springs. The crater is inhabited; its pastures are used for cattle raising and dairy farming. The volcano is at the centre of Aso-Kuju National Park.

Asoka See Ashoka

asp Anglicized form of aspis, the name used in classical antiquity for a venomous snake, probably the Egyptian cobra (Naja haje ). The asp was the symbol of royalty in Egypt, and its bite was used for the execution of criminals in Greco-Roman times. Cleopatra is said to have killed herself with an asp.

asparagine \3-'spar-3-jen\ One of the nonessential amino acids, widely distributed in plant proteins and closely related to aspartic acid. First iso� lated in 1806 from asparagus, it is used in medicine and biochemical research.

asparagus Any plant of the genus Asparagus (lily family), which con� tains about 300 species native from Siberia to southern Africa. The best-

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118 I aspartame ► Assam

known and economically most important species is the garden asparagus (A. officinalis ), cultivated as a green vegetable for its succulent spring stalks. Several African species are grown as ornamental plants. The poi� sonous species prized for their delicate and graceful foliage are A. plu- mosus (the feathery asparagus fern, or florists� fern�not a true fern), A. sprengeri, and A. asparagoides.

aspartame Vas-por-.tamX Synthetic organic compound (a dipeptide) of phenylalanine and aspartic acid. It is 150-200 times as sweet as cane sugar and is used as a nonnutritive tabletop sweetener and in low-calorie pre� pared foods (brand names NutraSweet, Equal) but is not suitable for bak� ing. Because of its phenylalanine content, persons with phenylketonuria must avoid it. Though it is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Admin� istration and other regulatory authorities around the world, its safety even for those without the disease remains controversial. See also saccharin.

aspartic acid One of the nonessential amino acids, found in many pro� teins and closely related to asparagine. It is used in medical and biochemi� cal research, as an organic intermediate, and in various industrial applications. It is one of the two components of aspartame.

Aspasia Vas-'pa-shoX (fl. 5th century bc) Mistress of Pericles and a vivid figure in Athenian society. Originally from Miletus, she lived with Peri� cles from c. 445 bc until his death in 429. Because she was not a citizen, their son was initially denied civic rights. Though an intellectual admired by Socrates, she endured public attacks, especially in comic theatre, for her private life and her supposed influence on Pericles� foreign policy.

Aspen City (pop., 2000: 5,914), western central Colorado, U.S. It is located on the Roaring Fork River at the edge of the White River National Forest, at an altitude of 7,907 ft (2,410 m). Founded by prospectors c. 1878, it was a booming silver-mining town by 1887 but declined rapidly after silver prices collapsed in the early 1890s. Its revival as a ski resort began in the late 1930s, and it is now a popular tourist town; it is also known for its cultural festivals, notably the Aspen Music Festival.

aspen Any of three tree species of the genus Populus, of the willow family: P. tremula (the common European aspen), P. tremuloides (the American quaking, or trembling, aspen), and P. grandidentata (the Ameri� can big-tooth aspen). Native to the Northern Hemisphere, aspens are known for the fluttering of their leaves in the slightest breeze. Aspens grow farther north and higher up the mountains than other Populus spe� cies. All aspens have a smooth, gray-green bark, random branching, rich green leaves that turn brilliant yellow in fall, and catkins that appear before the leaves in spring.

Aspendus \as-'pen-d9s\ Ancient city, Pamphylia (now southwestern Turkey). It was a wealthy city by the 5th century bc. Occupied by Alex� ander the Great in 333 bc, it was taken by the Romans in 133 bc. It is noted for its Roman ruins, including a huge theatre designed by the archi� tect Zeno in honour of the emperor Marcus Aurelius.

Aspergillus \ l as-por-'jil-3s\ Any fungus of the genus Aspergillus of the Fungi Imperfecti (form-class Deuteromycetes). Species for which the sexual phase is known are placed in the order Eurotiales. A. niger causes black mold on some foods; A. niger, A. flavus, and A. fumigatus cause aspergillosis in humans. A. oryzae is used to ferment SAKE, and A. wentii to process soybeans.

asphalt Black or brown petroleum-like material that has a consistency varying from viscous liquid to glassy solid. It is obtained either as a resi� due from the distillation of petroleum or from natural deposits. Asphalt consists of compounds of hydrogen and carbon with minor proportions of nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen. It softens when heated and is elastic under certain conditions. Used principally in road surfacing, asphalt is also used for roofs, coatings, floor tilings, and waterproofing, and in industrial prod� ucts.

asphodel Vas-f9-,del\ Any of several flowering plants belonging to the lily family. This common name is variously applied and thus much misun� derstood. The asphodel of the poets is often a narcissus; that of the ancients is either of two genera, Asphodeline or Asphodelus. Asphodels are hardy herbaceous perennials with narrow leaves and an elongated stem bearing a handsome spike of white, pink, or yellow flowers. Bog asphodel ( Narth- ecium ossifragum ) is a small herbaceous plant that grows in boggy places in Britain.

asphyxia \as-'fik-se-o\ Lack of exchange of oxygen and carbon diox� ide due to respiratory failure or disturbance, resulting in insufficient brain

oxygen, which leads to unconsciousness or death. Causes include stran� gulation, drowning, and carbon monoxide poisoning. Breathing in food or fluid can cause obstruction of the airway and pulmonary collapse. Emergency resuscitation usually includes cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

aspidistra \ 1 as-po- , dis-tr9\ Any plant of the genus Aspidistra (lily fam� ily), native to eastern Asia and known for ornamental foliage. The only cultivated species is a houseplant commonly known as cast-iron plant (A. elatior, or A. lurida ), which has long, stiff, pointed evergreen leaves that are capable of withstanding temperature extremes, dust, smoke, and other harsh conditions. The solitary, bell-shaped flowers, which are usually lilac in colour but sometimes brown or green, are borne at the base of the plant. The fruits are small berries.

aspirin Common name of acetylsalicylic acid, an organic compound introduced in 1899. The ester of salicylic acid and acetic acid, it inhibits production of prostaglandins in the body. Its analgesic, fever-reducing, and anti-inflammatory effects make it useful in treating headaches, muscle and joint aches, arthritis pain, and the symptoms of mild fevers and infections. It also has anticoagulant activity and is taken in low doses by coronary heart disease patients to prevent heart attack. Prolonged use may cause stomach bleeding and peptic ulcer, and its use in children with fever has been linked to Reye syndrome. See also acetaminophen; ibuprofen; NSAID.

Aspiring, Mt. See Mount Aspiring National Park

Asplund, (Erik) Gunnar (b. Sept. 22, 1885, Stockholm, Swed.�d. Oct. 20, 1940, Stockholm) Swedish architect. His work shows the his� torically important transition from Neoclassical architecture to Modern� ism. By 1928, influenced by Le Corbusier, he had turned from a retrospective style to a new vision for architecture. He planned the Stock� holm Exposition of 1930, a place of futuristic, glassy pavilions that had a significant influence on subsequent exhibition architecture. His Wood� land Crematorium, Stockholm (1935-40), with its spare Neoclassical col� onnade surrounded by meadows, is admired by Classicists and Modernists alike.

Asquith, H(erbert) H(enry), 1 st earl of Oxford and Asquith

(b. Sept. 12, 1852, Morley, Yorkshire, Eng.�d. Feb. 15, 1928, Sutton Courtenay, Berkshire) British politician and prime minister (1908-16). Elected to the House of Commons in 1886, he served as home secretary (1892-95). A leader of the Liberal Party, he became prime minister in 1908. His plan to limit the powers of the House of Lords was enacted by the Parliament Act of 1911. He led Britain in the early years of World War I, but domestic crises combined with British losses in the war led to widespread dissatisfaction. He resigned in 1916 but remained leader of his party until 1926.

ass or wild ass Either of two species of small, sturdy equines. Asses are 3-5 ft (90-150 cm) high at the shoulder. The African wild ass, or true ass ( Equus asinus) is bluish gray to fawn; the Asiatic wild ass, or half� ass ( E . hemionus) is reddish to yellow-gray. The half-ass differs from the true ass in that it has extremely long, slender legs, shorter ears, and larger hooves. The true ass has the alternating �hee-haw� bray. Desert dwellers, wild asses often inhabit regions that cannot support other large mammals. They are very swift runners. See also donkey.

Assad \'a-sad\, Hafiz al- (b. Oct. 6, 1930, Qardaha, Syria�d. June 10, 2000, Damascus) President of Syria (1971-2000). He joined the Ba'th Party in 1946 and in 1955 became an air force pilot. He became air force commander (1963) after helping the Ba'thists gain power. After partici� pating in a military coup in 1966, he became minister of defense. He led a coup in 1970 to replace his political mentor, Salah al-Jadld, as Syria�s leader. He joined Egypt in a surprise attack on Israel (1973) but nearly 20 years later (1991) participated in peace negotiations with Israel in an effort to regain the Golan Heights, taken by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967. A longtime foe of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, he supported the Western alliance against Iraq in the Persian Gulf War (1990�91). He was succeeded by his son Bashshar.

As sal \a-'sal. Lake Saline lake, central Djibouti. Situated at 515 ft (157 m) below sea level, it is the lowest point in Africa. It has been used for quarrying salt.

Assam \a-'sam\ State (pop., 2001 prelim.: 26,638,407), northeastern India. With an area of 30,285 sq mi (78,438 sq km), Assam borders Bhu� tan and Bangladesh and Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, and West Bengal states; its capital is Dispur. A strong inde-

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Assassin ► Assiniboin I 119

pendent kingdom was founded there in the 13th century by invaders from Myanmar (Burma) and China; it reached its zenith in the early 18th cen� tury. The British took control in the early 19th century. In the division of India (1947), Assam lost some territory to Pakistan. Beginning in the 1960s, four new states�Nagaland, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh�were created from land within Assam. The Brahmaputra River valley is its dominant physical feature. The population consists of Indo- Iranian and Asian peoples; the most widely spoken language is Assamese.

Assassin properly Nizariyyah Byname for any member of a sub� sect of Ismafill Shl'ite Muslims who operated in parts of Iran and Syria from the 11th to the 13th century. The order takes its name from the pur� ported use of hashish to induce ecstatic visions of paradise among its devotees (hashshashun, �hashish smokers��whence is derived the English term) before they set out to face martyrdom. The Assassins oper� ated out of series of mountain fortresses and, seeing assassination as a religious duty, engaged in a long campaign of murder against members of the Sunnite community, including numerous officials of the 'Abbasid and Seljuq dynasties, and others. The Assassins� power was finally bro� ken by the Mongols, who captured the great Assassin stronghold of 'Ala- mut in Iran in 1256. The Syrian branch was destroyed by the Mamluk Baybars I in 1271-73. Leadership of the Nizari order continued until mod� em times in the line of the Aga Khans, a family prominent worldwide as philanthropists and public servants.

assassin bug Any of about 4,000 insect species (family Reduviidae) characterized by a thin, necklike structure connecting the narrow head to the body. Many species are common to North and South America. Rang� ing in size from 0.5 to 1 in. (13-25 mm), assassin bugs use their short, three-segmented beak to suck body fluids from their victims. Most assas� sin bugs prey on other insects; some, however, suck blood from verte� brates, including humans, and transmit diseases. One species, the large assassin bug, defends itself by accurately �spitting� saliva toxic enough to blind a human.

assassin fly See robber fly

assault and battery Related but distinct crimes. Battery is the unlaw� ful application of physical force to another; assault is an attempt to com� mit battery or an act that may reasonably cause fear of imminent battery. With manslaughter and murder (see homicide), these concepts are articu� lated to protect against rude and undesired physical contact or the threat of it. Battery requires no minimum degree of force, nor does it need to be applied directly; administering poison and transmitting a disease may both be battery. Accidents and ordinary negligence are not, nor is reason� able force used in the performance of duty (e.g., by a police officer). See also RAPE.

assault rifle Military firearm that is chambered for ammunition of reduced size or propellant charge and has the capacity to switch between semiautomatic and fully automatic fire. Light and portable, yet able to deliver a high volume of fire with reasonable accuracy at modern combat ranges of 1,000-1,600 ft (300-500 m), assault rifles have become the standard infantry weapon of modern armies. Their ease of handling makes them ideal for mobile assault troops crowded into personnel carriers or helicopters, as well as for guerrilla fighters engaged in jungle or urban warfare. Widely used assault rifles are the U.S. Ml 6, the Soviet Kalash� nikov (the AK-47 and modernized versions), the Belgian LAL and LNC, and the German G3.

assaying Va-sa-iqX In chemical analysis, the process of determining proportions of metal, particularly precious metal, in ores and metallurgi� cal products. The most important assaying technique grew largely out of the experiments of the ancient alchemists and goldsmiths. Precious met� als tend to occur as scattered particles randomly distributed, so a large sample of ore is required. Such large samples (typically containing gold, silver, and lead) are still most economically assayed by this ancient method, which involves several steps of heating and cooling. More sophisticated recent methods, such as spectrochemical analysis, are not suited to assaying precious metal ores because the samples of the inho� mogeneous ore that must be used are larger than the instruments can handle. See also parting.

assemblage \,a-sam-'blazh\ Three-dimensional construction made from household materials such as rope and newspapers or from any found materials. The term, coined by Jean Dubuffet in the 1950s, has been applied to collage, photomontage, and sculptural assemblage. The Dadaists and

Surrealists produced ready-made assemblages and elevated them to art by simply exhibiting them. Later artists who have worked with the technique include Louise Nevelson and Robert Rauschenberg.

Assemblies of God Largest Pentecostal denomination in the U.S. It was formed in 1914 in Hot Springs, Ark., by the union of several small Pentecostal groups. The Assemblies of God emphasize the centrality of the Bible in Christian faith and worship. Instead of sacraments, the Assem� blies have two ordinances, baptism by total immersion and the Lord�s Sup� per. Personal sanctification is believed to happen gradually rather than instantaneously, and millennial doctrines dealing with Christ�s Second Coming and the establishment of the Kingdom of God are of great impor� tance. The Assemblies of God have been very active in mission work in the U.S. and overseas. See also millennialism, Pentecostalism.

assembly language Type of low-level computer programming lan� guage consisting mostly of symbolic equivalents of a particular comput� er�s machine language. Computers produced by different manufacturers have different machine languages and require different assemblers and assembly languages. Some assembly languages can be used to convert the code that programmers write (source code) into machine language (readable by the computer), and have functions to facilitate programming (e.g., by combining a sequence of several instructions into one entity). Programming in assembly languages requires extensive knowledge of COMPUTER ARCHITECTURE.

assembly line Industrial arrangement of machines, equipment, and workers for continuous flow of workpieces in mass-production operations. An assembly line is designed by determining the sequences of operations for manufacture of each component as well as the final product. Each movement of material is made as simple and short as possible, with no cross flow or backtracking. Work assignments, numbers of machines, and production rates are programmed so that all operations performed along the line are compatible. Automated assembly lines (see automation) con� sist entirely of machines run by other machines and are used in such continuous-process industries as petroleum refining and chemical manu� facture and in many modern automobile-engine plants. See also Henry Ford, interchangeable parts, Taylorism.

assessment Process of setting a value on real or personal property, usually for the purpose of taxation. It is carried out either by central gov� ernment agencies or by local officials. Property may be assessed on the basis of its annual rental value, as in Britain, or its capital value, as in the U.S. Various methods are used to determine capital value, including analy� sis of market data to estimate the property�s current market price, esti� mation of the cost of reproducing the property minus accrued depreciation, and capitalization of the property�s earnings.

assessor One with special knowledge of a subject who is appointed or elected to assist a judge or magistrate in deciding a legal matter. In the U.S., the term also designates an official who evaluates property for the purposes of taxation. Assessors were appointed in the late 19th century throughout Europe to try to limit the influence of the jury system, which had been introduced in the wake of the French Revolution. Assessors thus represented a return to the civil-law traditions of Europe. In Britain and the U.S., assessors came to be used in labour and maritime courts as well as in some other civil jurisdictions.

assimilation See culture contact

Assiniboia No-.sin-s-'boi-oV Early region, western Canada. Named for the Assiniboin Indians, it was an area with indefinite boundaries, controlled by the Hudson's Bay Co. c. 1811-70. It included present-day southern Manitoba and, until 1818, the Red River Valley in present-day North Dakota and Minnesota. It was incorporated into Manitoba in 1870. In 1882 the Canadian government created another district of Assiniboia as part of the old Northwest Territories. In 1905 this district was divided between Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Assiniboin Xo-.sin-o-'boi-onN or Nakota North American Plains Indian people living mostly on reservations in Montana, U.S., and Saskatchewan and Alberta, Can. They speak a Siouan language. Their name is an Ojibwa word meaning �those who cook with stones.� They were divided into bands, each with its own chief and council, and were generally friendly with whites. The bands moved their camps frequently in pursuit of migrat� ing buffalo. Prowess in war consisted of taking scalps and horses and of touching the enemy (�counting coups�) during battle. Their numbers were severely reduced by smallpox in the 1820s and �30s, after which most

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120 I Assiniboine ► Astarte

were placed on reservations. Some 3,900 people claimed sole Assini- boin descent in the 2000 U.S. census.

There are somewhat fewer in Canada.

Assiniboine Vo-'sin-o-.bohA River River, southern Canada. Ris� ing in Saskatchewan, it flows south� east across Manitoba into the Red River of the North at Winnipeg. It is about 665 mi (1,070 km) long and has two tributaries, the Qu'Appelle and the Souris. Explored by Pierre La Verendrye in 1736, it later served as a route to the plains by colonists from Red River Settlement.

Assis, Joaquim Maria Machado de See Joaquim M.

Machado de Assis

assistance, writ of General search warrant used by the British in the American colonies. The warrants authorized customhouse officers, with the assistance of a sheriff, to search any house or ship for smuggled goods, without requiring them to specify the place or the goods. The legality of the writs was challenged by the colonists in the 1760s, and they became a major grievance in the years leading up to the American Revolution. See also James Otis.

assize \9-'siz\ In law, a session, or sitting, of a court. It originally referred to a judicial inquest in which a panel of men conducted an inves� tigation. It was later applied to special sessions of high courts in England and France. Assize courts were abolished in most countries in the 20th century, but in France they are still the courts of first instance in the han� dling of serious crimes.

Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and larg� est in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. Its beginnings trace to 1848, when six New York City newspapers pooled their efforts to finance a telegraphic relay of foreign news brought by ships to Boston. In 1892 the modern AP was set up under the laws of Illinois; several years later it moved to New York. Its restrictive controls on new memberships were ended with federal antitrust prosecution in the 1940s. AP was the first agency to devote a news wire to sports coverage (1946), and it distrib� utes business news through a partnership with Dow Jones & Co., Inc. More than 15,000 organizations worldwide obtain news, photographs, and illustrations from the agency. The AP Stylebook has become a standard in many journalistic organizations.

association In psychology, the process of forming mental connections or bonds between sensations, ideas, or memories. Though discussed by the ancient Greeks (in terms of similarities, contrasts, and contiguities), the �association of ideas� was first proposed by John Locke and subse� quently examined by David Hume, John Stuart Mill, Herbert Spencer, and William James. Ivan Pavlov used objective methods to study the phenom� enon, resulting in his identification of the conditioned reflex (see condi� tioning). Within psychoanalysis, the therapist encourages �free association� in order to help identify latent conflicts. Practitioners of Gestalt psychol� ogy and others have criticized associationist theories as too all-embracing, while some theorists of cognitive psychology have made it central to their theory of memory.

association football See football

Association of Caribbean States (ACS) Trading bloc composed of 25 countries of the Caribbean basin. Responding to a proposal by Pres. Bill Clinton for a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), existing Caribbean-area trading blocs joined forces in 1995 to strengthen their economic position and ease future integration into the FTAA. Prominent in the ACS are the Caricom countries (13 English-speaking countries and Suriname), which have been struggling toward a single market and economy along the lines of the European Union. The ACS has addressed such issues as unifying responses to natural disasters, ending the U.S. embargo of Cuba, and ending shipments of nuclear materials through the Panama Canal.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations See ASEAN

associative law Two closely related laws of number operations. In symbols, they are stated: a + (b + c) = (a + b) + c, and a(bc ) = ( ab)c . Stated in words: The terms or factors may be associated in any way desired and the result will be the same. This holds for the numbers generally encoun� tered: positive and negative, integral and fractional, rational and irrational, real and imaginary. Exceptions occur (e.g., in nonassociative algebras and divergent infinite series). See also commutative law, distributive law.

Assos See Assus

assumpsit \3-'s9mp-sit\ (Latin: �he has undertaken�) In common law, an action to recover damages for breach of contract, especially an implied or quasi contract. It developed in early English law as a form of recovery for the negligent performance of an undertaking (e.g., failing to protect from damage another�s goods in one�s care). Eventually, it came to cover broader claims regarding failure to keep a promise. It remains available as a contractual remedy in some U.S. jurisdictions.

Assus or Assos Ancient Greek city, southern Troas (now northwestern Turkey). It was founded in the 1st millennium bc on the Gulf of Edremit, opposite the island of Lesbos. It was long an important city and port. Aris� totle taught there 348-345 bc, and it was the birthplace of the philoso� pher Cleanthes (3317-232? bc).

Assyria Ancient empire, southwestern Asia. It grew from a small region around Ashur (in modem northern Iraq) to encompass an area stretching from Egypt to Anatolia. Assyria may have originated in the 2nd millen� nium bc, but it came to power gradually. Its greatest period began in the 9th century bc, when its conquests reached the Mediterranean Sea under Ashurnasirpal II (883-859), and again c. 746-609 bc, during the Neo- Assyrian empire, when it conquered much of the Middle East. Its great� est rulers during the latter period were Tiglath-pileser III, Sargon II, Sennacherib, and Ashurbanipal. Famous for their cruelty and fighting prow� ess, the Assyrians were also monumental builders, as shown by archaeo� logical finds at Nineveh, Ashur, and Calah. The opulence of Ashurbanipal�s court at Nineveh became legendary. Artistically, the Assyrians were par� ticularly noted for their stone bas-reliefs. The kingdom was finally van� quished in 612-609 bc by a coalition of Media and Babylonia (Chaldea).

Assyro-Babylonian language See Akkadian language

Astaire, Fred orig. Frederick Austerlitz (b. May 10, 1899, Omaha, Neb., U.S.�d. June 22,

1987, Los Angeles, Calif.) U.S. dancer and singer of stage and mov� ies. At age seven he began his popu� lar vaudeville dance act with his sister Adele, and they made their Broadway debut in 1917; they con� tinued dancing in stage hits until Adele retired in 1932. Astaire�s suc� cessful film appearances with Ginger Rogers began with Flying Down to Rio (1933) and continued until 1939.

In the 1940s and 1950s he danced on-screen with Eleanor Powell, Cyd Charisse, and Judy Garland. His singing, though untrained, was admired by the finest songwriters of his time. He retired in 1971 but occa� sionally appeared in films and on television. His combination of sophis� ticated, seemingly effortless grace and technical virtuosity revolutionized popular-dance performance.

Astana formerly (1992-98) Aqmola or Akmola \ak-'mo-b\ or(1961-92) Tselinograd Vtsi-'le-no-.graA City (pop., 1999: 319,318), capital of Kazakhstan. Situated on the banks of the Ishim River in north- central Kazakhstan, it was founded in 1824 as a Russian military outpost. The city�s importance was enhanced by its location at the junction of the Trans-Kazakhstan and South Siberian railways. It is in the centre of a mineral-rich steppe region. In 1994 the Kazakh government began to transfer the national capital from Almaty to Astana, changing the city�s name in 1998.

Astarte \a-'star-te\ or Ashtart \'ash-,tart\ Goddess of the ancient Middle East and chief deity of the Mediterranean seaports of Tyre, Sidon,

Assiniboin, placating the spirit of a slain eagle, photograph by Edward S. Curtis, 1908; from The North Ameri� can Indian

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Astaire in Top Hat, 1935

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and Elath. Astarte shared many qualities, and perhaps a common origin, with her sister Anath. The goddess of love and war, Astarte was worshiped in Egypt and in Canaan, as well as among the Hittites. Her Akkadian counterpart was Ishtar. She is often mentioned in the Bible under the name Ashtaroth; Solomon is said to have worshipped the goddess, and Josiah destroyed the shrines dedicated to her. In Egypt she was assimilated with Isis and Hathor; in the Greco-Roman world she was assimilated with Aph� rodite, Artemis, and Juno.

aster Any of various chiefly fall-blooming, leafy-stemmed herbaceous plants (Aster and closely related genera) in the composite family, often with showy flowers. Included among the asters are many perennial wildflow- ers and hundreds of garden varieties.

asteroid Any of the many small rocky objects found mainly in a flat ring, or belt, between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. It is thought that the gravitational influence of what became Jupiter kept the asteroids from aggregating into a single planet while the solar system was forming. Also called minor planets, asteroids are smaller than any of the nine major planets; only about 30 are more than 125 mi (200 km) across. Ceres is the largest known asteroid. Millions of boulder-sized asteroidal fragments are thought to exist in the solar system. Asteroids or their fragments regularly strike Earth, plunging through the atmosphere as meteors to reach its sur� face (see meteorite). Asteroids appear to be composed of carbonaceous, stony, and metallic (mainly iron) materials. See also Earth-crossing aster� oid; Trojan asteroids.

asthenosphere \as-'the-n3-,sfir\ Zone of the Earth�s mantle lying beneath the lithosphere, believed to be much hotter and more fluid than the lithosphere. The asthenosphere is thought to extend from about 60 mi (100 km) to about 450 mi (700 km) below the Earth�s surface.

asthma Vaz-mo\ Chronic disease with attacks of shortness of breath, wheezing, and coughing from constriction and mucous-membrane swell� ing in the bronchi (air passageways in the lungs). It is caused primarily by allergy or respiratory infection. Secondhand smoke can cause asthma in children. Asthma is common and runs in families; predisposition may be hereditary. In established asthmatics, exercise, stress, and sudden changes in temperature or humidity can bring on attacks. Attacks usually last from a half hour to several hours; severe attacks can be fatal. Corti� costeroids can control asthma; injections of epinephrine can relieve acute attacks. Prevention involves avoiding exposure to allergens.

astigmatism No-'stig-mo-.ti-zonA Lack of symmetry in the curvature of the cornea or, rarely, the lens of the eye. The unequal curvatures spread light rays, preventing them from being sharply focused at a point on the retina, causing blurring of part of the image. The effect of astigmatism can also be produced by misalignment of the lens. Astigmatic vision is corrected by means of lenses (see contact lens, eyeglasses) that refract the light rays to the proper degree in the opposite direction of that produced by the defects in curvature.

Astor, John Jacob orig. Johann Jakob Astor (b. July 17, 1763, Waldorf, Ger.�d. March 29, 1848,

New York, N.Y., U.S.) German-born U.S. fur magnate and financier. After emigrating from Germany at age 17, he opened a fur-goods shop in New York c. 1786. By 1800 he was a leader in the fur trade, and he estab� lished the American Fur Co. He con� trolled the fur trade with China (1800-17) and in the Mississippi and Missouri valleys (in the 1820s) before selling his interests in 1834.

His investment in New York City real estate became the foundation of the family fortune. At his death, Astor was the wealthiest person in the U.S.; he willed $400,000 to found what became the New York Public Library.

His son, William B. Astor (1792- 1875), greatly expanded the family real-estate holdings, building more than 700 stores and dwellings in the city.

Astrakhan Vas-tr3-,kan\ City (pop., 2002: 506,400), southwestern Rus� sia. It is situated on several islands in the delta of the Volga River. It was the capital of a Tatar khanate that became independent of the Golden Horde in the 13th century, and its location on caravan and water routes made it a trading centre. Ivan IV (the Terrible) conquered Astrakhan in 1556, giving Russia control of the Volga. The Turks burned the city in 1569. It served as the base for the campaign of Peter I (the Great) against Persia and later was given special trade privileges. Sites of interest include a fortress and a cathedral.

astrolabe Type of early scientific instrument used for reckoning time and for observational purposes.

Astrolabes can be traced to the 6th century ad; they came into wide use in Europe and the Islamic world in the early Middle Ages and were adopted by mariners by the mid-15 th century. One widely used variety, the planispheric astrolabe, can be regarded as a rudimentary analog computer. It enabled astronomers to calculate the positions of the Sun and prominent stars with respect to both the horizon and the meridian.

astrology Divination that consists of interpreting the influence of stars and planets on earthly affairs and human destinies. In ancient times it was inseparable from astronomy. It originated in Mesopotamia (c. 3rd millennium bc) and spread to India, but it developed its Western form in Greek civilization during the Hellenistic period. Astrology entered Islamic culture as part of the Greek tradition and was returned to European cul� ture through Arabic learning during the Middle Ages. According to the Greek tradition, the heavens are divided according to the 12 constella� tions of the zodiac, and the bright stars that rise at intervals cast a spiri� tual influence over human affairs. Astrology was also important in ancient China, and in imperial times it became standard practice to have a horo� scope cast for each newborn child and at all decisive junctures of life. Though the Copernican system shattered the geocentric worldview that astrology requires, interest in astrology has continued into modem times and astrological signs are still widely believed to influence personality.

astronaut Person trained to pilot a spacecraft, operate any of its sys� tems, or conduct research aboard it during spaceflights. The term com� monly refers to those participating in U.S. space missions; cosmonaut is the Russian equivalent. Extensive training, including classroom study of technical subjects as well as practice in computer-controlled simulators and full-sized mock-ups of spacecraft to experience free fall, prepares astronauts physically and psychologically for space missions. Astronauts also learn to use the control, communication, and life-support systems of any given spacecraft and conduct difficult flight operations. See also Edwin Aldrin; Neil Armstrong; Guion S. Bluford, Jr.; Yury A. Gagarin; John H. Glenn, Jr.; Mae Jemison; Sally Ride; Alan B. Shepard, Jr.; Valentina Teresh� kova.

astronomical unit (AU) Length of the semimajor axis of Earth�s orbit around the Sun, 92,955,808 mi (149,597,870 km), often defined simply as the average distance from Earth to the Sun. Direct measurement through the parallax method cannot be used for accurate determinations, because the Sun�s glare blots out the light of the background stars nec� essary to make the measurement. The most precise values have been obtained by measuring the distance from Earth to other objects orbiting the Sun. This indirect method requires an accurate proportional math� ematical model of the solar system; once the distance to one planet or other object is determined, then the distance to the Sun can be calculated.

astronomy Science dealing with the origin, evolution, composition, distance, and motion of all bodies and scattered matter in the universe. The most ancient of the sciences, it has existed since the dawn of recorded civilization. Much of the earliest knowledge of celestial bodies is often credited to the Babylonians. The ancient Greeks introduced influential cosmological ideas, including theories about the Earth in relation to the rest of the universe. Ptolemy�s model of an Earth-centred universe (2nd

John Jacob Astor, detail of an oil paint� ing by Gilbert Stuart, 1794; in the Brook Club, New York.

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Astrolabe, 11 th century.

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122 I astrophysics ► AT&T Inc.

century ad) influenced astronomical thought for over 1,300 years. In the 16th century, Nicolaus Copernicus assigned the central position to the Sun (see Copernican system), ushering in the age of modern astronomy. The 17th century saw several momentous developments: Johannes Kepler�s discovery of the principles of planetary motion, Galileo�s application of the telescope to astronomical observation, and Isaac Newton�s formulation of the laws of motion and gravitation. In the 19th century, spectroscopy and photography made it possible to study the physical properties of planets, stars, and nebulae, leading to the development of astrophysics. In 1927 Edwin Hubble discovered that the universe, hitherto thought static, was expanding (see expanding universe). In 1937 the first radio telescope was built. The first artificial satellite, Sputnik, was launched in 1957, inau� gurating the age of space exploration; spacecraft that could escape Earth�s gravitational pull and return data about the solar system were launched beginning in 1959 (see Luna; Pioneer). See also big bang; cosmology;

GAMMA-RAY ASTRONOMY; INFRARED ASTRONOMY; RADIO AND RADAR ASTRONOMY; ULTRAVIOLET ASTRONOMY; X-RAY ASTRONOMY.

astrophysics Branch of astronomy concerned mainly with the proper� ties and structures of cosmic objects, including the universe as a whole. Starting in the 19th century, spectroscopy and photography were applied to astronomical research, making it possible to study the brightness, tem� perature, and chemical composition of cosmic objects. It was soon real� ized that the properties of these bodies could be fully understood only in terms of the physics of their atmospheres and interiors. X-ray astronomy, GAMMA-RAY ASTRONOMY, INFRARED ASTRONOMY, ULTRAVIOLET ASTRONOMY, and RADIO and radar astronomy are all basically concerned with extending electro� magnetic coverage beyond the visible spectrum to constrain the physical characteristics of astronomical objects.

Astruc \as-trIEk\ of Lunel orig. Abba Mari ben Moses ben Joseph (b. 1250?, Lunel, near Montpellier, France�d. after 1306) French Jewish scholar. He revered Maimonides but argued that Mai- monides� followers undermined faith by reading the Bible allegorically. Through letters he persuaded the powerful rabbi Solomon ben Abraham Adret (1235-1310) of Barcelona, Spain, to forbid the study or teaching of science and philosophy by those under 25 (1305). The resulting con� troversy almost split the Jewish communities of France and Spain. A schism was prevented when Philip IV of France expelled the Jews from France in 1306, and Astruc settled in Majorca.

Asturias \as-'tur-e-os\ Autonomous community (pop., 2001: 1,062,998) and province, on the Bay of Biscay, northwestern Spain. It occupies an area of 4,094 sq mi (10,604 sq km); its capital is Oviedo. Coextensive with the historical principality of Asturias, it is largely covered by moun� tains that isolate it from other Spanish provinces. Its population and indus� tries are concentrated in the Nalon River valley, whose extensive coalfields make the province Spain�s mining centre. Conquered by the Romans under Augustus in 25 bc, it was later ruled by the Visigoths. It became part of the kingdom of Leon on the accession of Alfonso III in 866. It was made a principality in 1388, a province in 1838, and an autonomous community in 1981.

Asturias \as-'tur-e-9s\, Miguel Angel (b. Oct. 19, 1899, Guatemala City, Guat.�d. June 9, 1974,

Madrid, Spain) Guatemalan poet, novelist, and diplomat. He moved to Paris in 1923 and became a Surreal� ist under the influence of Andre Bre� ton. His first major works appeared in the 1930s. He began his diplo� matic career in 1946; it culminated in his serving as ambassador to France 1966-70. Asturias�s writings combine a Mayan mysticism with an epic impulse toward social protest, especially against U.S. and oligar� chic power. In Men of Maize (1949), often considered his masterpiece, he depicts the seemingly irreversible wretchedness of the Indian peasant.

Other major novels, some of which employ the style of magic realism, are El Sehor Presidente (1946), a fictional denunciation of Guatemala�s dictator; The Cyclone (1950); The Green Pope (1954); and The Eyes of the Interred (1960). He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1967.

Asuncion Xa-.sun-'syonN in full Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion

City (pop., 2002 prelim.: 513,339), capital of Paraguay. It lies on the Paraguay River near its confluence with the Pilcomayo River. Founded in 1537 by Spanish coNQUiSTADORes, it replaced Buenos Aires as the head� quarters of Spanish colonial activities in eastern South America during the period of the latter�s depopulation (1541-80). In 1731 Asuncion was the site of one of the first major rebellions against Spanish rule. The city declared independence from both Spain and Argentina in 1811. Today it dominates social, cultural, and economic trends in Paraguay.

Asvaghosa V.ash-vo'-go-shoN (b. ad 80?, Ayodhya, India�d. 150?, Peshawar) Indian philosopher and poet considered the father of Sanskrit drama. Born a Brahman, he opposed Buddhism until a debate with a Bud� dhist scholar led to his conversion. Asvaghosa became known as a bril� liant orator, and he spoke on Mahayana at the fourth Buddhist council. He is considered India�s greatest poet before Kalidasa. Works attributed to him include the Buddhacarita (�Life of the Buddha�) and the Mahalan- kara (�Book of Glory�).

asvamedha V.ash-vo-'ma-doV Rite of the Vedic religion in ancient India, performed by a king to celebrate his supremacy. A stallion was selected and allowed to roam freely for a year under the protection of a royal guard. It was said to symbolize the progress of the sun and the power of the king. If it was not captured during the year, it was brought back to the capital along with the rulers of lands it had entered. It was then sacrificed at a public ceremony, and the king assumed the title of universal mon� arch. The Buddha condemned the practice, but it was revived in the 2nd century bc and may have continued as late as the 11th century ad.

Aswan City (pop., 1996 est.: 219,017), southeastern Egypt. It lies on the Nile River just north of Lake Nasser. In ancient times it was the south� ern frontier of pharaonic Egypt. Later known as Syene, it served as a frontier garrison post for the Romans, Ottomans, and British. Modem Aswan is located near the old Aswan Dam (completed 1902) and the Aswan High Dam.

Aswan High Dam Dam across the Nile River, north of Aswan, Egypt. Built 4 mi (6 km) upstream from the earlier Aswan Dam (1902), it is 364 ft (111 m) high and 12,562 ft (3,830 m) long. Differences with Gamal Abdel Nasser led the U.S. and Britain to withdraw their financial support of the project in 1956, whereupon Nasser turned to the Soviet Union for assistance. The dam, completed in 1970, impounds the reservoir Lake Nasser and controls the annual Nile flood, releasing flood waters when needed for irrigation; it also enables the production of great amounts of electric power. Its construction necessitated the relocation of the ancient Abu Simbel ruins.

asylum Protection from arrest and extradition given to political refu� gees by a country or by an embassy that has diplomatic immunity. No one has a legal right to asylum, and the sheltering state, which has the legal right to grant asylum, is under no obligation to give it. It is thus a right of the state, not the individual. Its traditional use has been to protect those accused of political offenses such as treason, desertion, sedition, and espio� nage. Beginning in the 20th century, asylum also was granted to those who could demonstrate a significant risk of politically motivated perse� cution if they returned to their home countries.

asymmetric synthesis Chemical reaction by which unequal amounts of two product isomers are formed. It is normally not possible to synthe� size from materials that do not have optical activity (i.e., are not chiral) one stereoisomer of a chiral compound without the other, but use of a chiral auxiliary, such as an enzyme or other catalyst, a solvent, or an intermedi� ate, can force the reaction to produce predominantly or only one isomer. Asymmetric syntheses are often called stereoselective; if one product forms exclusively, it is stereospecific.

asymptote Va-som-.toA In mathematics, a line or curve that acts as the limit of another line or curve. For example, a descending curve that approaches but does not reach the horizontal axis is said to be asymptotic to that axis, which is the asymptote of the curve.

AT&T Inc. formerly American Telephone and Telegraph Co.

U.S. telecommunications corporation. It was established as a subsidiary of Bell Telephone Co. (founded by Alexander Graham Bell in 1877) to build long-distance telephone lines and later became the parent company of the Bell System. In the early 20th century it gained a virtual monopoly over the U.S. telecommunications industry, and by 1970 it was the world�s largest corporation. It developed transoceanic radiotelephone links and

Miguel Angel Asturias.

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telephone cable systems and created the Telstar satellite communications system. Years of federal antitrust litigation resulted in 1984 in the divest� ment by AT&T (nicknamed �Ma Bell�) of its 22 regional telephone com� panies, which were combined to form seven �Baby Bells�: Nynex, Bell Atlantic, Ameritech, BellSouth, Southwestern Bell Corp. (renamed SBC Corp. in 1995), US West, and Pacific Telesis Group. Although several Baby Bells merged following the Telecommunications Act of 1996, AT&T proceeded to divide its operations into three separate companies: AT&T Corp., Lucent Technologies Inc. (composed of the former operations of Western Electric and Bell Laboratories), and the NCR Corp. In 2005 AT&T was acquired by SBC Corp., which then changed its name to AT&T Inc. Its diversified telecommunications businesses included local and long� distance telephone service, wireless voice and data networks, broadband DSL (Digital Subscriber Line), and Internet communication and Web man� agement services.

Atacama \,a-ta-'ka-ma\ Desert Cool, arid area, north-central Chile. Extending north from the city of Copiapo, the area runs from north to south for a distance of some 600 to 700 mi (1,000 to 1,100 km) and cov� ers most of the Antofagasta region and the northern part of the Atacama region. Because of its location between low coastal mountains and a higher inland range, the region is meteorologically anomalous. Despite its low latitude, summer temperatures average only about 65 �F (18 �C), and, though heavy fogs are common, the desert is one of the driest regions in the world. Some areas receive heavy rain only two to four times a cen� tury. For much of the 19th century, the desert was the object of conflicts between Chile, Bolivia, and Peru; after the War of the Pacific (1879-83), Chile emerged with permanent ownership of sectors previously controlled by Peru and Bolivia. For years before the development of synthetic meth� ods of fixing nitrogen, the desert was a chief source of the world�s nitrates.

Atahuallpa \,a-ta-'wal-pa\ (b. c. 1502�d. Aug. 29, 1533, Cajamarca, Inca empire) Last free-reigning emperor of the Incas. He became ruler after defeating his half brother in what may have been the greatest mili� tary engagement in Inca history. The conquistador Francisco Pizarro met Atahuallpa just before the emperor�s triumphal entry into Cuzco and invited him to a feast in his honour. When Atahuallpa and his unarmed retainers arrived, Pizarro ambushed them on horseback with cannons and guns, slaughtered thousands, and took Atahuallpa prisoner. Pizarro accepted Atahuallpa�s offer of a ransom of a roomful of gold; then, hav� ing received 24 tons of gold and silver, he ordered Atahuallpa burned at the stake. The sentence was changed to death by garrote when Atahuall� pa agreed to convert to Christianity.

Atalanta \,a-t 3 l-'an-t9\ In Greek mythology, a swift-footed huntress. Born in Boeotia or Arcadia, she was left to die at birth but was suckled by a bear.

As an adult she took part in the famous Calydonian boar hunt and drew first blood. She offered to marry any man who could outrun her in a race, but the losers were required to pay with their lives. One contes� tant, Hippomenes (or Milanion), obtained three golden apples from Aphrodite to carry in the race. As he dropped them, Atalanta stooped to pick them up, and thus lost the race.

The two were later turned into lions after they desecrated a shrine to Cybele or Zeus.

Atanasoff Vo-'tan-o-.soA, John V(incent) (b. Oct. 4, 1903, Hamil� ton, N.Y., U.S.�d. June 15, 1995,

Frederick, Md.) U.S. physicist. He received his Ph.D. from the Univer� sity of Wisconsin. With Clifford Berry, he developed the Atanasoff-Berry Computer (1937-42), a machine capable of solving differential equations using binary arithmetic. In 1941 he joined the Naval Ordnance Labora� tory; he participated in the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll (1946). In 1952 he established the Ordnance Engineering Co., which he later sold to Aerojet Engineering Corp. In 1973, after a judge voided a patent owned by Sperry Rand Corp. on ENIAC, the Atanasoff-Berry Computer was credited as the first electronic digital computer.

Atargatis \3-'tar-go-tis\ Goddess of northern Syria who was worshiped at Hierapolis, northeast of Aleppo, along with her consort, Hadad. Pri� marily a goddess of fertility, she was also mistress of the city and its people. She was often depicted wearing a crown and carrying a sheaf of grain, and her throne was supported by lions, suggesting her power over nature. Considered a combination of Anath and Astarte, she also showed kinship with the Anatolian Cybele (Great Mother of the Gods). Merchants and mercenaries carried her cult throughout the Greek world, where she was considered a form of Aphrodite.

Ataturk Yat-s-.torkV Mustafa Kemal orig. Mustafa Kemal (b.

1881, Salonika, Greece, Ottoman Empire�d. Nov. 10, 1938, Istanbul, Tur.) Founder of modem Turkey. Dedicated by his father to military ser� vice, he graduated near the top of his class in military school. As a young officer, he was critical of the government of the Ottoman Empire and became involved with the Turkish nationalist Committee of Union and Progress. He nevertheless fought for the government during World War I (1914-18), achieving great success against Allied forces during the Dardanelles Cam� paign. The eventual Allied victory brought British, French, and Italian troops to Anatolia; appointed to restore order there, he used the opportunity to incite the people against the Allied occupation. Greece and Armenia, ter� ritorial beneficiaries of the Ottoman defeat, opposed the Turkish national� ists, but Mustafa Kemal overcame all opposition, and the Republic of Turkey was established in 1923. He was given the name Ataturk (�Father of the Turks�) in 1934. He pursued a policy of Westernization and secu� larization, in which Western styles of dress and appellation were made mandatory, seclusion of women was abolished, and the legal and educa� tional system was overhauled. See also Enver Pasha; Young Turks.

ataxia \a-'tak-se-9\ Inability to coordinate voluntary muscular move� ments. In common usage, the term describes an unsteady gait. Hereditary ataxias are usually caused by degeneration of the spinal cord, cerebellum, or other parts of the nervous system. The most common is Friedreich ataxia, which begins at ages 3-5, progressing slowly to almost complete inca� pacity by age 20. There is no specific therapy. Metabolic disorders, brain injuries, and toxins can cause ataxia.

Atbara \'at-ba-ra\ River River, North Africa. Rising in the Ethiopian highlands, it flows about 500 mi (800 km) northwest through eastern Sudan to join the Nile River at Atbara in The Sudan. It is the Nile�s north� ernmost tributary.

Atchafalaya Na-.cha-fs-'lI-sX Bay Inlet of the Gulf of Mexico on the Louisiana coast, U.S. Together with Four League Bay, it extends about 21 mi (34 km). The Atchafalaya River links the bay with Morgan City on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The area includes many natural gas and oil fields.

Atchafalaya River River, southern Louisiana, U.S. A distributary of the Red and Mississippi rivers, it branches southwest from the Red River in east-central Louisiana and flows south about 140 mi (225 km) to Atcha� falaya Bay. Its name is Choctaw for �Long River.�

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad Co. Former railway. Chartered in Kansas in 1860 by Cyrus K. Holliday, the founder of Topeka, as the Atchison and Topeka Railroad Co., it was built along the Santa Fe Trail and became known as the Santa Fe Railway. Its main line, completed in 1872, extended to the Colorado state border. Further expansion west in the 1880s and early 1890s reached about 9,000 mi (14,500 km) of track. It reached its greatest extent in 1941, with more than 13,000 mi (21,000 km) of track, but gradually shrank thereafter. In 1971 its famously luxu� rious passenger service was sold to Amtrak. In the 1990s it merged with Burlington Northern to become Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway.

atelectasis X.at-T-'ek-ts-sssV or lung collapse Lack of expansion of pulmonary alveoli (see pulmonary alveolus). With a large-enough collapsed area, the victim stops breathing. In adhesive atelectasis, obstruction or lack of surface tension keeps a newborn�s alveoli from expanding. Com� pression atelectasis is caused by external pressure. Obstructive atelecta� sis may be caused by blockage of a major airway or when pain from abdominal surgery keeps breathing too shallow to clear bronchial secre� tions; treatment involves removal of obstruction or fluids, control of infec� tion, and lung reinflation.

Aten See Aton

Atget \at-'zhe\, (Jean-) Eugene (-Auguste) (b. Feb. 12, 1857, Liboume, near Bordeaux, France�d. Aug. 4, 1927, Paris) French pho-

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124 I Athabasca > Athos

tographer. He began his adult life as an itinerant actor. Around age 30 he settled in Paris and became a photographer. The rest of Atget�s life was spent recording everything he could that he considered picturesque or artistic in and around Paris. With an eye for strange and unsettling images, he made several series of photographs of iron grillwork, fountains, stat� ues, and trees. He also photographed shop fronts, store windows, and poor tradespeople. His main clients were museums and historical societies that bought his photographs of historic buildings and monuments. After World War I he received a commission to document the brothels of Paris. Man Ray published four of Atget�s photographs in La revolution surrealiste (1926), the only recognition he received in his lifetime. After his death, Ray, Berenice Abbott, and the art dealer Julien Levy bought his remaining collection, which is now in the Museum of Modem Art.

Athabasca, Lake Lake, western central Canada. It extends 208 mi (335 km), crossing the Alberta-Saskatchewan boundary. On the southwest it receives the Athabasca River, and on the northwest it discharges into the Slave River. It is important for its commercial fishing.

Athabasca River River, west-central Canada. A tributary of the Mac� kenzie River in Alberta, it rises in the Rocky Mountains in Jasper National Park and flows northeast and north 765 mi (1,231 km) into Lake Atha� basca. Its chief tributaries are the Pembina, Lesser Slave, McLeod, and Clearwater rivers. Extensive petroleum deposits lie in oil-impregnated sands (Athabasca Tar Sands) along a 70-mi (113-km) stretch of the river.

Athabaskan languages or Athapaskan languages Family of North American Indian languages. There are perhaps 200,000 speak� ers of Athabaskan. Northern Athabaskan includes more than 20 languages scattered across an immense region of subarctic North America from western Alaska to Hudson Bay and south to southern Alberta and British Columbia. Pacific Coast Athabaskan consisted of four to eight languages, all now extinct or nearing extinction. Apachean consists of eight closely related languages spoken in the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico, including Navajo and the various subdivisions of Apache. In 1990 Navajo had some 150,000 speakers, far more than any other indigenous language of the U.S. or Canada. In 1915 Edward Sapir placed the Athabaskan fam� ily together with Tlingit and Haida (languages of Alaska and British Columbia, respectively) in a larger grouping called Na-Dene; this hypo� thetical relationship continues to be controversial.

Athanasius V.a-tho-'na-zhosN, Saint (b. 293, Alexandria, Egypt�d. May 2, 373, Alexandria; feast day May 2) Early Christian theologian and staunch opponent of Arianism. He studied philosophy and theology at Alexandria, Egypt, and in 325 he attended the Council of Nicaea, which condemned the Arian heresy. He welcomed the council�s teaching that the Son is �consubstantial with the Father� and defended that teaching throughout his career. In 328 he was appointed patriarch of Alexandria, but theological disputes led to the first of several banishments in 336. He returned from exile repeatedly and resumed his office, but Arian opposi� tion continued. After being banished by Constantius II in 356, Athanasius lived in a remote desert in Upper Egypt and wrote theological treatises, including his Four Orations Against the Arians. The emperor�s death in 361 gave Athanasius a brief respite under the toleration proclaimed by Julian, but a controversy with Julian�s heathen subjects forced him to flee into the Theban desert. At the time of his death he again possessed the see at Alexandria.

atheism Va-the-.iz-onA Critique and denial of metaphysical beliefs in God or divine beings. Unlike agnosticism, which leaves open the question of whether there is a God, atheism is a positive denial. It is rooted in an array of philosophical systems. Ancient Greek philosophers such as Dem� ocritus and Epicurus argued for it in the context of materialism. In the 18th century David Hume and Immanuel Kant, though not atheists, argued against traditional proofs for God�s existence, making belief a matter of faith alone. Atheists such as Ludwig Feuerbach held that God was a projection of human ideals and that recognizing this fiction made self-realization possible. Marxism exemplified modem materialism. Beginning with Friedrich Nietzsche, existentialist atheism proclaimed the death of God and the human freedom to determine value and meaning. Logical positivism holds that propositions concerning the existence or nonexistence of God are nonsensical or meaningless.

Athena \3-'the-n3\ or Athene \o-'the-ne\ In ancient Greek religion, the goddess of war, handicraft, and wisdom and the patroness of Athens. Her Roman counterpart was Minerva. Hesiod told how Athena sprang in full armour from Zeus�s forehead. In the Iliad she fought alongside the Greek

heroes, and she represented the vir� tues of justice and skill in warfare as opposed to the blood lust of Ares. She was associated with birds (especially the owl) and the snake, and she was usually represented as a virgin god� dess. Her birth and contest with Posei� don for suzerainty of Athens were depicted on the Parthenon. Her birth� day festival was the Panathenaea.

Athens Greek Athinai \a-'the-ne\

City (pop., 2001: 745,514), capital of Greece. It is located inland near its port, Piraeus, on the Saronic Gulf in eastern Greece. The source of many of the West�s intellectual and artistic conceptions, including that of democracy, Athens is generally con� sidered the birthplace of Western civilization. An ancient city-state, it had by the 6th century bc begun to assert its influence. It was destroyed by Xerxes in 480 bc, but rebuilding began immediately. By 450 bc, led by Pericles, it was at the height of its commercial prosperity and cultural and political dominance, and over the next 40 years many major build� ing projects, including the Acropolis and Parthenon, were completed.

Athens�s �Golden Age� saw the works of the philosophers Socrates,

Plato, and Aristotle; the dramatists Sophocles, Aristophanes, and Eurip-

ides; the historians Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon; and the sculptors Praxiteles and Phidias. The Peloponnesian Wars with Sparta ended in Ath� ens�s defeat in 404, but it quickly recovered its independence and pros� perity. After 338 bc Athens came under Macedonia�s hegemony, which was lifted with the aid of Rome in 197 bc in a battle at Cynoscephalae. It became subject to Rome in 146 bc. In the 13th century Athens was taken by the Crusaders. It was conquered in 1456 by the Ottoman Turks, who held it until 1833, when it was declared the capital of independent Greece. Athens is Greece�s principal centre for business and foreign trade. The city�s ruins and many museums make it a major tourist destination. It was selected to host the 2004 Olympic Games.

The Varvakeion, a Roman marble copy (c. ad 130) of the colossal gold and ivory statue of the Athena Parthenos by Phidias (438 bc); in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens.

AUNARI/ART RESOURCE, NEW >ORK

atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries Chronic disease characterized by abnormal thickening of the walls of the arteries due to fatty deposits (atheromas) of cholesterol on the arterial inner walls (see- artery). These thicken, forming plaques that narrow the vessel channel (lumen) and impede blood flow. Scarring and calcification make the walls less elastic, raising blood pressure. Eventually plaques may completely block a lumen, or a blood clot (thrombus) may obstruct a narrowed chan� nel. Atherosclerosis of one or more coronary arteries (also called coro� nary heart disease) can decrease the heart muscle�s blood supply, causing angina pectoris. Complete blockage causes heart attack. In the brain, ath� erosclerosis may result in stroke. Treatments include drugs that reduce the level of cholesterol and fat in the blood, anticoagulants and other drugs that prevent the formation of blood clots, coronary bypass, and balloon ANGIOPLASTY.

athlete's foot Form of ringworm that affects the feet. In the inflam� matory type, the infection may lie inactive much of the time, with occa� sional acute episodes in which blisters develop, mostly between the toes. The dry type is a chronic condition marked by slight redness of the skin and dry scaling that may involve the sole and sides of the foot and the toenails, which become thick and brittle.

athletics See track and field

Athos Va- ,thos. Mount Mountain, northern Greece. Reaching a height of 6,670 ft (2,033 m), it occupies Aktf, a promontory of the Chalcidice Peninsula. It is the site of a semiautonomous republic of 20 monasteries and dependencies (skftes). Organized monastic life began there in 963, when St. Athanasius the Athonite founded the first monastery. By 1400

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Athyr ► atlas I 125

there were 40 monasteries. Long regarded as the holy mountain of the Greek Orthodox Church, it was declared a theocratic republic in 1927. Its churches and libraries house a rich collection of Byzantine art and ancient and medieval manuscripts.

Athyr See Hathor

Atitlan \,a-te-'tlan\, Lake Lake, southwestern Guatemala. It lies at an elevation of about 5,100 ft (1,560 m) in the central highlands. Occupy� ing a crater some 1,000 ft (300 m) deep, the lake is 12 mi (19 km) long and 6 mi (10 km) wide. On its borders are three volcanoes: Atitlan, Toliman, and San Pedro. Many of the towns along the lake, including Ati� tlan and San Lucas, are popular tourist destinations.

Atkins, Chet orig. Chester Burton Atkins (b. June 20, 1924, Lut- trell, Tenn., U.S.�d. June 30, 2001, Nashville, Tenn.) U.S. guitarist and record company executive. Atkins began his musical career as a fiddler in the early 1940s, but it was his signature style of playing guitar (bass rhythm played with thumb, melody picked with three fingers) that brought him worldwide acclaim. In the early 1950s he began playing electric guitar, pio� neering its use in country music. As an RCA Records executive, he pro� duced hit recordings for Elvis Presley, Jim Reeves, and Waylon Jennings.

Atlanta City (pop., 2000: 416,474; metro, area pop.: 4,112,198), capi� tal of Georgia, U.S. Lying in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Atlanta is Georgia�s largest city. In 1837 a spot was selected there for a railroad terminus that would serve the southeastern U.S. First named Ter� minus and later Marthasville, it was given the name Atlanta in 1845. An important supply depot during the American Civil War, it was burned by Union forces under William T. Sherman. Atlanta became the state capital in 1868. As it recovered from the war�s destruction, it began to epitomize the spirit of the �New South� in seeking reconciliation with the North. It was the home of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the first major Southern city to elect a black mayor (1970). It is the principal trade and transportation centre of the southeastern U.S.

Atlanta Campaign Important series of battles in the American Civil War in Georgia (May-September 1864). Though most of the battles ended in draws, they eventually cut off the main Confederate supply centre, Atlanta. Union troops under William T. Sherman forced the evacuation of the city (August 31-September 1) and then burned it. His victory assured the reelection of Pres. Abraham Lincoln later that year.

Atlanta Compromise Classic statement on race relations by Booker T. Washington, made in a speech at the Atlanta Exposition (1895). He asserted that vocational education, which gave blacks a chance for eco� nomic security, was more valuable than social equality or political office. Many African Americans feared that such a limited goal would doom them to indefinite subservience to whites; that fear led to the Niagara Move� ment and later to the founding of the NAACP.

Atlanta Journal-Constitution Daily morning newspaper published in Atlanta, Ga., based largely on the former Atlanta Constitution. Gener� ally regarded as the �voice of the New South,� the Constitution counted among the great newspapers of the U.S. It became a leader among South� ern papers soon after its founding in 1868, and a succession of outstand� ing editors contributed to its distinction: Henry W. Grady (1850-89), in the late 1870s and 1880s; Clark Howell (1897-1938); and Ralph McGill, who served as both editor (1942-60) and publisher (1960-69). In 1950 it was bought by James M. Cox, who already owned the evening Atlanta Journal (founded 1883); for many years a merged paper, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, was published on weekends until the two papers were fully merged in 2001.

Atlantic Charter Joint declaration issued on Aug. 14, 1941, during World War II, by Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Among the statements made in this propaganda manifesto, signed when the U.S. had not yet entered the war, were that neither the U.S. nor Britain sought aggrandizement and that both advocated the restoration of self- government to peoples forcibly deprived of it. The charter was incorpo� rated by reference in the Declaration of the UN (1942).

Atlantic City City (pop., 2000: 40,517) and resort, southeastern New Jersey, U.S. Lying on narrow Absecon Island, the resort began to be developed in the mid-19th century. Amusement piers were constructed, and the first beachfront boardwalk was built there in 1870. The Miss America Pageant was established in Atlantic City in 1921. After World War II the city began to decline. In 1976 the state approved legalized

gambling, and extensive development in Atlantic City provided a huge influx of money to the resort, but much of the surrounding area remained impoverished.

Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Navigable route, coastal eastern U.S. Authorized by Congress in 1919 to provide sheltered passage for both commercial shipping and pleasure craft, and constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers, it was originally planned to form a continuous chan� nel from New York City to Brownsville, Texas. Because the link through Florida was never completed, it remains in two separate sections (see Gulf Intracoastal Waterway). The Atlantic portion consists of rivers, bays, and canals from Cape Cod to Florida Bay, including the Cape Cod Canal and the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal.

Atlantic languages formerly West Atlantic languages Branch of the Niger-Congo language family. Atlantic comprises some 45 lan� guages spoken by some 30 million people living mainly in Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. About half of these people speak Fula, the language of the Fulani. The languages of the Wolof of Senegal and The Gambia and the Temne of northwest Sierra Leone are spoken by more than 1 million people.

Atlantic Monthly, The Monthly journal of literature and opinion, one of the oldest and most respected of U.S. reviews. Published in Boston, it was founded in 1857 by Moses Dresser Phillips. It soon became noted for the quality of its fiction and general articles, contributed by distinguished editors and authors such as James Russell Lowell, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry W. Longfellow, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. In the early 1920s it expanded its scope to political affairs, featuring articles by figures such as Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Booker T. Washington. In the 1970s increasing costs nearly shut down the magazine; it was pur� chased in 1980 by Mortimer B. Zuckerman and was sold to the National Journal Group in 1999.

Atlantic Ocean Ocean separating North and South America from Europe and Africa. The second largest of the world�s oceans, the Atlan� tic has an area of 31,830,000 sq mi (82,440,000 sq km). With its marginal seas, including the Baltic, North, Black, and Mediterranean to the east, and Baffin Bay, Hudson Bay, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea to the west, it covers some 41,100,000 sq mi (106,450,000 sq km). Including these latter bodies of water, its average depth is 10,925 ft (3,330 m); its maximum depth is 27,493 feet (8,380 m) in the Puerto Rico Trench. Its most powerful current is the Gulf Stream.

Atlantic salmon Oceanic trout species ( Salmo salar ), a highly prized game fish. It averages about 12 lbs (5.5 kg) and is marked with round or cross-shaped spots. Found on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, it enters streams in the fall to spawn. The young enter the sea in about two years and mature in about four. Adults may return to the sea and, after a year or two, spawn again. The ouananiche of rivers and the sebago, or lake, salmon are landlocked subspecies that are also prized for sport. The Atlan� tic salmon has been successfully introduced into the U.S. Great Lakes.

Atlantic, Battle of the Contest in World War II between Britain (and later the U.S.) and Germany for the control of Atlantic sea routes. Ini� tially the Anglo-French coalition drove German merchant shipping from the Atlantic, but with the fall of France in 1940, Britain was deprived of French naval support. The U.S. then assisted Britain with the lend-lease program. Early in 1942, the Axis began a large-scale submarine offensive against coastal shipping in U.S. waters, and German U-boats also oper� ated in force along the South Atlantic ship lanes to India and the Middle East. Allied shipping losses were severe, but the Allies succeeded in tight� ening their blockade of Axis Europe and combating the Axis war on ship� ping. By mid-1943 the Allies had recovered control of the sea routes.

Atlantis Legendary sunken island in the Atlantic Ocean west of Gibral� tar. The main sources for the legend are two of Plato�s dialogues, Timaeus and Critias. According to Plato, Atlantis had a rich civilization, and its princes made many conquests in the Mediterranean before earthquakes destroyed the island and it was swallowed up by the sea. Plato also sup� plied a history of its ideal commonwealth, and Atlantis is sometimes imagined as a utopia. The legend may have originated with the eruption c. 1500 bc of a volcano on ThIra, which was so powerful that it gave rise to earthquakes and tidal waves.

atlas Collection of maps or charts, usually bound together. The name derives from a custom�initiated by Gerardus Mercator in the 16th century�of using the figure of the Titan Atlas, holding the globe on his

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126 I atlas ► atomic bomb

shoulders, as a frontispiece for books of maps. Abraham Ortelius�s Epitome of the Theater of the World (1570) is generally thought to be the first modern atlas. Atlases often contain pictures, tabular data, facts about areas, and indexes of place-names keyed to coordinates of latitude and longitude or to a locational grid with numbers and letters along the sides of maps.

atlas Male figure used as a column to support an entablature, balcony, or other projection, originating in Classical architecture. Such figures are posed as if supporting great weights, like Atlas bearing the world. The related telamon of Roman architecture, the male counterpart of the cary� atid, is also a weight-bearing figure but does not usually appeal - in an atlas pose.

Atlas In Greek mythology, the strong man who supported the weight of the heavens on his shoulders. He was the son of the Titan Iapetus and the nymph Clymene (or Asia) and the brother of Prometheus. According to Hesiod, Atlas was one of the Titans who waged war against Zeus, and as punishment he was condemned to hold aloft the heavens.

Atlas, Charles orig. Angelo Siciliano (b. Oct. 30, 1893, Acri, Italy�d. Dec. 24, 1972, Long Beach, N.Y., U.S.) Italian-born U.S. body� builder. Atlas immigrated to the U.S. at age 10. In 1929 he and the adver� tiser Charles P. Roman launched a course involving isotonic exercises and nutritional maintenance. Their mail-order bodybuilding course became legendary through advertisements in three generations of pulp comic books, the standard ad depicting scenes in which a skinny boy loses his girlfriend to a well-built lifeguard (who kicks sand in his face) and regains her after taking the Atlas course.

Atlas Mountains Mountain system, northwestern Africa. It extends some 1,200 mi (2,000 km) from the Moroccan port of Agadir in the southwest to the Tunisian capital of Tunis in the northeast. It comprises several ranges, rising to various elevations, including the High Atlas in Morocco; the Tell, or Maritime, Atlas, which runs along the coast from Morocco to Tunisia; and the Saharan Atlas in Algeria, located farther inland and running adjacent to the Sahara. Among these ranges are situ� ated numerous plateaus and plains that support diverse ecologies. The system�s highest peak is Morocco�s Mount Toubkal, elevation 13,665 ft (4,165 m).

Atlas rocket Any of a series of U.S. expendable space launch vehicles. The Atlas was originally designed as a liquid-fueled ICBM and first tested in an operational version in 1959. Early versions launched most of the Mercury manned missions and, coupled with upper-stage rockets, a num� ber of Ranger, Surveyor, Mariner, and Pioneer probes on lunar and plan� etary missions. Later generations have become workhorses of the U.S. space program and carry a wide variety of scientific, military, and com� mercial spacecraft.

atman Vat-msnX (Sanskrit: �breath� or �self�) Basic concept in Hindu philosophy, describing that eternal core of the personality that survives death and transmigrates to a new life or is released from the bonds of existence. Atman became a central philosophical concept in the Upan- ishads. It underlies all aspects of personality, as Brahman underlies the working of the universe. The schools of Samkhya, Yoga, and Vedanta are particularly concerned with atman. See also soul.

atmosphere Gaseous envelope that surrounds the Earth. Near the sur� face it has a well-defined chemical composition (see air). In addition to gases, the atmosphere contains solid and liquid particles in suspension. Scientists divide the atmosphere into five main layers: in ascending order, the troposphere (surface to 6-8 mi, or 10-13 km); the stratosphere (4-11 mi, or 6-17 km, to about 30 mi, or 50 km); the mesosphere (31-50 mi, or 50-80 km); the thermosphere (50-300 mi, or 80-480 km); and the exosphere (from 300 mi and gradually dissipating). Most of the atmo� sphere consists of neutral atoms and molecules, but in the ionosphere a significant fraction is electrically charged. The ionosphere begins near the top of the stratosphere but is most distinct in the thermosphere. See also ozone layer. See illustration opposite.

atmospheric pressure or barometric pressure Force per unit area exerted by the air above the surface of the Earth. Standard sea-level pressure, by definition, equals 1 atmosphere (atm), or 29.92 in. (760 mm) of mercury, 14.70 lbs per square in., or 101.35 kilopascals, but pressure varies with elevation and temperature. It is usually measured with a mer� cury barometer (hence the term barometric pressure), which indicates the height of a column of mercury that exactly balances the weight of the

column of atmosphere above it. It may also be measured using an aner� oid barometer, in which the action of atmospheric pressure in bending a metallic surface is made to move a pointer.

atoll \'a- ,tol\ Coral reef enclosing a lagoon. Atolls consist of ribbons of reef that may not be circular but that are closed shapes, sometimes miles across, around a lagoon that may be 160 ft (50 m) deep or more. Most of the reef itself is usually below the water surface; around the rim along the top are usually low, flat islands or more continuous strips of low, flat land.

atom Smallest unit into which matter can be divided and still retain the characteristic properties of an element. The word derives from the Greek atomos (�indivisible�), and the atom was believed to be indivisible until the early 20th century, when electrons and the nucleus were discovered. It is now known that an atom has a positively charged nucleus that makes up more than 99.9% of the atom�s mass but only about 1/100,000 of its volume. The nucleus is composed of positively charged protons and elec� trically neutral neutrons, each about 2,000 times as massive as an elec� tron. Most of the atom�s volume consists of a cloud of electrons that have very small mass and negative charge. The electron cloud is bound to the nucleus by the attraction of opposite charges. In a neutral atom, the pro� tons in the nucleus are balanced by the electrons. An atom that has gained or lost electrons becomes negatively or positively charged and is called an ion. See illustration on opposite page.

atomic bomb Weapon whose great explosive power results from the sudden release of energy upon the splitting, or fission, of the nuclei of heavy elements such as plutonium or uranium (see nuclear fission). With

(�C)

-100 -80 -60 -40 -20 0 20

pressure (atm)

In Earth's atmosphere, the limits of the atmospheric layers are approximate and variable, especially with latitude. Most weather occurs within the troposphere. The ozone layer, which absorbs most incoming ultraviolet radiation, forms part of the stratosphere. The thermosphere extends hundreds of miles above Earth's surface and is bounded by outer space. Atmospheric pressure drops off steadily with alti� tude, but temperature rises and falls through successive layers in a more complex manner.

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atomic number ► atonement I 127

nucleus �

neutron

-S

J proton

e electron

The classical "planetary" model of an atom. The protons and neutrons in the nucleus are circled by electrons in "orbit" around the nucleus. The number of pro� tons determines which element is represented, the number of electrons determines its charge, and the number of neutrons determines which isotope of the element is represented.

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only 11-33 lb (5-15 kg) of highly enriched uranium, a modern atomic bomb could generate a 15-kiloton explosion, creating a huge fireball, a large shock wave, and lethal radioac� tive fallout. The first atomic bomb, developed by the Manhattan Project during World War II, was set off on July 16, 1945, in the New Mexico desert. The only atomic bombs used in war were dropped by the U.S. on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, and on Nagasaki three days later. In 1949 the Soviet Union tested its first atomic bomb, followed by Britain (1952),

France (1960), China (1964), India (1974), and Pakistan (1998). Israel and South Africa were suspected of testing atomic weapons in 1979. See also HYDROGEN BOMB; NUCLEAR NON� PROLIFERATION Treaty; nuclear weapon.

atomic number Number of a chemical element in the systematic, ordered sequence shown in the periodic table. The elements are arranged in order of increasing number of protons in the nucleus of the atom (the same as the number of electrons in the neutral atom), and that number for each element is its atomic number.

atomic physics Scientific study of the structure of the atom, its energy states, and its interaction with other particles and fields. The modem understanding of the atom is that it consists of a heavy nucleus of posi� tive charge surrounded by a cloud of light, negatively charged electrons. The physical properties of atoms are largely determined by the laws of quantum mechanics and quantum electrodynamics. The primary tools for the study of these properties are spectroscopy, particle collisions (see particle accelerator), and statistical models that simulate complex, many-body interactions (such as gas dynamics). A broad field, atomic physics has applications in the study of condensed matter, gases, chemical-reaction

First atomic bomb test, near Alamo� gordo, New Mexico, July 16, 1945.

COURTESY OF LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY, NEW MEXICO

mechanisms, atmospheric science, lasers, nuclear physics, and the arrange� ment of elements in the periodic table.

atomic weapon See nuclear weapon

atomic weight Ratio of the average mass of a chemical element�s atoms to Vn the mass of an atom of the carbon-12 isotope. The original standard of atomic weight, established in the 19th century, was hydrogen, with a value of 1. From c. 1900 until 1961, the reference standard was oxygen, with a value of 16, and the unit of atomic mass was defined as Vie the mass of an oxygen atom. Oxygen, however, contains small amounts of two isotopes that are heavier than the most abundant one, and 16 is actu� ally a weighted average of the masses of the three isotopes of oxygen. Therefore, the standard was changed to one based on carbon-12. The new scale required only minimal changes to the values that had been used for chemical atomic weights.

atomism Philosophical doctrine that material objects are aggregates of simpler parts known as atoms. Atomism in the strict sense is character� ized by three points: the atoms are absolutely indivisible, qualitatively identical apart from shape, size, and motion, and combinable with each other only by juxtaposition. Atomism is usually associated with realism and mechanism; it is mechanistic because it maintains that all observable changes can be reduced to changes in the configuration of the atoms that constitute matter. It is opposed to holism because it holds that the prop� erties of any whole can be explained in terms of those of its parts.

Aton or Aten Va-ton, 'a-ton\ In ancient Egyptian religion, a sun god, depicted as the solar disk emitting rays terminating in human hands. The pharaoh Akhenaton (r. 1353-36 bc) declared Aton to be the only god, and in opposition to the Amon-Re priesthood of Thebes, built the city of Akhetaton as the center for Aton�s worship, but Aton�s religion is poorly understood. After Akhenaton�s death, the old religion was restored.

under the rays of the sun god Aton, altar relief, mid-14th century bc; in the State Museums at Berlin

FOTO MARBURG-ART RESOURCE

atonality \,a-to-'na-l3-te\ In music, the absence of functional harmony as a primary structural element. Probably originally a pejorative term applied to music of extreme chromaticism, it has become the most widely used descriptive term for 20th-century music whose connection with tonality is difficult to hear. Arnold Schoenberg and his students Alban Berg and Anton Webern are regarded as the seminal atonal composers; the serialism of their later work is often distinguished from their earlier �free atonality.�

atonement Religious concept in which obstacles to reconciliation with God are removed, usually through sacrifice. Most religions have rituals of purification and expiation by which the relation of the individual to the divine is strengthened. In Christianity, atonement is achieved through the death and resurrection of Jesus. In Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and some Protestant churches, penance is a sacrament that allows for per-

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128 I Atonement ► attic

sonal atonement (see confession). In Judaism the annual Day of Atone� ment, Yom Kippur, is the culmination of 10 days centered on repentance.

Atonement, Day of See Yom Kippur

ATP in full adenosine triphosphate \9-'de-n3- 1 sen-tri- , fas- 1 fat\ Organic compound, substrate in many enzyme-catalyzed reactions (see catalysis) in the cells of animals, plants, and microorganisms. ATP�s chemical bonds (see bonding) store a large amount of chemical energy. ATP therefore functions as the carrier of chemical energy from energy- yielding oxidation (see oxidation-reduction) of food to energy-demanding cellular processes. Three such processes of metabolism are sources of ATP and stored energy: fermentation, the tricarboxylic acid cycle, and cellular respiration (also called oxidative phosphorylation). All form ATP from adenosine monophosphate (AMP) or adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and inorganic phosphate. When the reaction goes in the other direction, ATP is broken down to ADP or AMP and phosphate, and the released energy is used to perform chemical, electrical, or osmotic work for the cell.

atresia and stenosis \3- , tre-zh3...ste-'no-s3s\ Absence (atresia), usu� ally congenital, or narrowing (stenosis) of almost any normal body cav� ity or passage. The more important include atresia of the anus, esophagus, aortic arch, heart valves, and urinary passages; and stenosis of the intes� tine, urinary passages, pyloric valve (stomach outlet), and heart valves. Most must be surgically corrected soon after birth.

Atreus \'a-tre-os\ In Greek legend, the son of Pelops. Atreus became king of Mycenae and drove out his brother Thyestes. Plagued by a curse on the house of Pelops, Atreus murdered his own son Pleisthenes and was eventually killed by the nephew he had raised as a son. Two more sons, Agamemnon and Menelaus, fought in the Trojan War.

atrial Va-tre-oP fibrillation Irregular rhythm (arrhythmia) of contrac� tion of the atria (upper heart chambers). The most common major arrhyth� mia, it may result as a consequence of increased fibrous tissue in the aging heart, of heart disease, or in association with severe infection. If it con� tinues, it can permit formation of blood clots, which can block blood flow to essential organs. Emergency treatment consists of drugs such as beta- blockers or digitalis, which slow the heart�s action, and anticoagulants. In addition, atrial fibrillation can be interrupted by administering electric shocks (defibrillation). See also ventricuiar fibrillation.

atrium Va-tre-onP In an ancient Roman house, an open central court that contained the impluvium, a basin where rainwater collected. It originally contained the health and functioned as the center of family life. The term later came to be used for the open front courtyard of a Christian basilica, where congregants collected before services. The atrium was revived in the 20th century in the form of glass-covered, greenery- filled multistory spaces sometimes found in shopping centers, office buildings, and large hotels.

atrophy Va-tr9-fe\ Decrease from previous normal size of the body or a part, cell, organ, or tissue. An organ or body part�s cells may be reduced in number, size or both. Atrophy of some cells and organs is normal at certain points in the life cycle. Other causes include malnutrition, disease, disuse, injury, and hormone over- or underproduction.

atropine \'a-tra-,pen\ Anticholinergic drug. A poisonous, crystalline alkaloid derived from certain nightshade plants, especially Egyptian hen� bane, atropine is used chiefly to dry up bodily secretions, to dilate the bronchi, to prevent excessive cardiac slowing during anesthesia, and in ophthalmology to dilate the pupil of the eye. It works by suppressing the parasympathetic nervous system. Atropine is also used as an antidote for nerve gas poisoning.

Atsumi Kiyoshi (b. March 10, 1928, Tokyo, Japan�d. Aug. 4, 1996, Tokyo) Japanese comic actor. Atsumi grew up in an impoverished section of Tokyo and took odd jobs in the theatre before first portraying the role of Tora-san for a television film in 1968. He went on to play the char�

acter until 1996 in the 48-film series Otoko wa tsurai yo (�It�s Tough Being a Man�), the longest-running series in which the same actor por� trayed the central character. Tora-san, a middle-aged peddler, is a charm� ingly irresponsible rogue who sells trinkets to passersby and unsuccessfully courts pretty women. Atsumi infused the role with witty wordplay and a folksy sincerity.

attainder In English law, the extinction of civil and political rights after a sentence of death or outlawry, usually after a conviction of treason. A legislative act attainting a person without trial was known as a bill of attainder. The most important consequences of attainder were forfeiture of property and �corruption of blood,� meaning that the attainted person was disqualified from inheriting or transmitting property, thus disinheriting his descendants. All forms of attainder except forfeiture following indictment for treason were abolished in the 19th century. As a result of the English experience, the U.S. Constitution provided that �no Attainder of Treason shall work Corruption of Blood, or Forfeiture except during the Life of the Person attainted.� The U.S. Supreme Court has also struck down as bills of attainder such things as the test oaths passed after the Civil War to dis� qualify Confederate sympathizers from certain professions.

Attalus I Soter \ , at-3-bs... , s6t-3r\ (b. 269�d. 197 bc) Ruler of Perga- mum (241-197). He crushed an attack by the Galatians (c. 230) and won most of Anatolia (228) through victory over the SELEUCID king, though by 222 the Seleucids had won most of it back. With Rome Attalus fought the First and Second Macedonian Wars, but he died shortly before Philip V�s defeat. He was celebrated as a patron of the arts.

Attenborough, Sir David (Frederick) (b. May 8, 1926, London, Eng.) British television writer. For the BBC, which he joined in 1952, he originated the series Zoo Quest (1954-64). As controller of BBC-2 (1965� 68) and director of programs (1968-72), he helped produce The Forsyte Saga, The Ascent of Man, and Civilisation. As an independent producer, he made innovative educational programs such as Life on Earth (1979) and The Living Planet (1984). He was knighted in 1985.

attention In psychology, the act or state of applying the mind to an object of sense or thought. Wilhelm Wundt was perhaps the first psycholo� gist to study attention, distinguishing between broad and restricted fields of awareness. He was followed by William James, who emphasized active selection of stimuli, and Ivan Pavlov, who noted the role attention plays in activating conditioned reflexes. John B. Watson sought to define atten� tion not as an �inner� process but rather as a behavioral response to spe� cific stimuli. Psychologists today consider attention against a background of �orienting reflexes� or �preattentive processes,� whose physical corre� lates include changes in the voltage potential of the cerebral cortex and in the electrical activity of the skin, increased cerebral blood flow, pupil dilation, and muscular tightening. See also attention deficit disorder.

attention deficit (hyperactivity) disorder (ADD or ADHD) formerly hyperactivity Behavioral syndrome in children, whose major symptoms are inattention and distracAbility, restlessness, inability to sit still, and difficulty concentrating on one thing for any period of time. It occurs in about 5% of all schoolchildren, and it is three times more com� mon in boys than in girls. It can adversely affect learning, though many children with ADD can learn to control their behaviour sufficiently to per� form satisfactorily in school. It appears to be caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Certain aspects of the syndrome may persist into adulthood. Treatment usually entails counseling and close parental supervision, and it may also include prescription medication.

atthakatha \,a-t3-'ka-t3\ Commentaries on the Pali Buddhist canon from ancient India and Ceylon. Pali commentaries had reached Ceylon by the 3rd century bc and been translated into Sinhalese by the 1st century ad. The scholar Buddhaghosa (5th century) reworked in Pali much of the early material plus Dravidian commentaries and Sinhalese traditions. The earlier atthakatha have disappeared, but the works of Buddhaghosa and his successors provide information on the development of life and thought in the Theravada Buddhist community and contain much secular and leg� endary material as well.

attic Floor of a dwelling contained within the eaves of the roof structure. The word originally denoted any portion of a wall above the main cornice (see entablature). Used by the ancient Romans principally for decorative purposes and inscriptions, as in triumphal arches, it became an important part of the Renaissance facade, often enclosing an additional story. See photograph on opposite page.

Atrium of the basilica of S. Ambrogio, Milan, 1088-1128

AUNARI�ART RESOURCE

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Attica ► Auden I 129

Attica Greek Attiki \,a-te-'ke\ Ancient district, eastern central Greece. It was bordered by the Aegean Sea on the south and east and included the island of Salamis; its chief cities were Athens, Piraeus, and Eleusis. Its coastal settlements were enriched by maritime trade. Origi� nally inhabited by Pelasgians, it was a center of Mycenaean culture in the 2nd millennium bc; the Ionian Greeks invaded it c. 1300 bc. The territory was unified under Athens by 700 bc, traditionally through the efforts of King Theseus.

Attila Va-Ul-o, a-'ti-b\ (d. 453) King of the Huns (434-53, ruling jointly with his elder brother until c. 445). He was one of the greatest of the barbarian rulers who assailed the Roman Empire. He and his brother Bleda inherited an empire that stretched from the Alps and the Baltic nearly to the Caspian Sea. The failure of the Romans to pay promised tributes prompted Attila to launch assaults along the Danube in 441 and 443. He murdered his brother in 445 and two years later invaded the Balkan provinces and Greece, a campaign later ended by another peace treaty that exacted heavy damages from the Eastern Romans. He invaded Gaul (451) but was defeated by an alliance of the Roman gen� eral Aetius and the Visigoths. His invasion of Italy (452) was ended by fam� ine and plague. His depredations, which seemed to some like divine punishment, earned him the epithet Flagellum Dei (�Scourge of God�). Attila died on his wedding night, possibly murdered by his bride. His sons took control of his empire, which collapsed shortly after Attila�s death.

Attis Mythical consort of the Great Mother of the Gods and vegetation god worshiped in Phrygia and Asia Minor. His worship later spread to the Roman empire, where he became a solar deity in the 2nd century ad. The worship of Attis and the Great Mother included the celebration of mys� teries at the beginning of spring.

attitude In psychology, a mental position with regard to a fact or state. Attitudes reflect a tendency to classify objects and events and to react to them with some consistency. Attitudes are not directly observable but rather are inferred from the objective, evaluative responses a person makes. Thus, investigators depend heavily on behavioral indicators of attitudes�what people say, how they respond to questionnaires, or such physiological signs as changes in heart rate. Attitude research is employed by social psychologists, advertising professionals, and political scientists, among others. Public-opinion researchers often attempt to distinguish atti� tudes from related concepts such as values, opinions, and knowledge.

Attlee, Clement (Richard), 1 st Earl Attlee of Walthamstow

(b. Jan. 3, 1883, Putney, London,

Eng.�d. Oct. 8, 1967, Westminster,

London) British Labour Party leader (1935-55) and prime minister (1945�51). Committed to social reform, he lived for much of the years (1907-22) in a settlement house in London�s impoverished East End. Elected to Parliament in 1922, he served in several Labour governments and in the wartime coa� lition government of Winston Churchill, whom he succeeded as prime minister in 1945. Attlee pre� sided over the establishment of the WELFARE STATE in Britain, the national� ization of major British industries, and the granting of independence to India, an important step in the con� version of the British Empire into the Commonwealth of Nations. He resigned when the Conservatives narrowly won the election in 1951.

attorney See lawyer

attorney, power of Authorization to act as agent or attorney for another. Many of the general powers of attorney important in civil-law countries come under the powers of trust in common-law countries (see civil law, common law). Durable power of attorney becomes effective when the principal becomes unable to manage his or her affairs; general power of attorney authorizes the agent to carry on business for the principal; special power of attorney authorizes the agent to carry out a particular business transaction.

attorney general Chief law-enforcement officer of a state and legal adviser to the chief executive. The office dates to the Middle Ages but did not assume its modem form until the 16th century. In the U.S., the posi� tion dates to the Judiciary Act of 1789. Head of the Department of Jus� tice and a member of the cabinet, the attorney general oversees all the government�s law business and acts as the president�s legal adviser. Every U.S. state also has an attorney general.

Attucks \'at-oks\, Crispus (b. 1723?�d. March 5, 1770, Boston, Mass.) American patriot and martyr of the Boston Massacre. His early life is unclear, but he was probably a runaway slave of African and Natick Indian ancestry, and he may have served on whaling ships. He is the only one of the massacre�s five victims who is widely remembered. In 1888 the Crispus Attucks monument was unveiled in the Boston Common.

Atwood, Margaret (Eleanor) (b. Nov. 18, 1939, Ottawa, Ont., Can.) Canadian poet, novelist, and critic. Atwood attended the University of Toronto and Harvard University. In the poetry collection The Circle Game (1964; Governor General�s Award), she celebrates the natural world and condemns materialism. Her novels, several of which have become best-sellers, include Lady Oracle (1976), Bodily Harm (1981), The Hand� maid�s Tale (1985; Governor General�s Award), The Robber Bride (1993), Alias Grace (1996), and The Blind Assassin (2000). She is noted for her feminism and Canadian nationalism.

Aubusson \,o-b3-'so n \ carpet Floor covering produced at the village of Aubusson in central France. A centre for the production of tapestries and furniture coverings since the 16th century, Aubusson was granted the title of Royal Manufactory in 1665. In 1743 workshops were established to manufacture pile carpets for the nobility, and soon thereafter carpets were being produced in the flat-woven tapestry technique in floral and chinoiserie patterns. In the 19th-20th centuries the name Aubusson became synonymous with a flat-woven French carpet.

Auckland City (pop., 2001: 377,382; metro, area pop.: 1,158,891), North Island, New Zealand. Located on Waitemata and Manukau har� bours, it is the country�s principal port and largest city. Founded in 1840 as New Zealand�s capital and named for George Eden, earl of Auckland, it remained the capital until superseded by Wellington in 1865. It is a major manufacturing and shipping centre. A bridge links it with the grow� ing northern shore suburbs and with Devonport, New Zealand�s chief naval base.

auction Buying and selling of property through open public bidding. Typically, potential purchasers make a succession of increasing bids or offers until the highest (and final) bid is accepted by the auctioneer. At a so-called Dutch auction, by contrast, the seller offers property at succes� sively lower prices until one of his offers is accepted or until the price drops so low as to force the withdrawal of the offered property. Prospec� tive buyers are usually allowed to examine auction items beforehand, and sellers may set a minimum price below which the property will not be sold. Auctions are important in the agricultural markets of many coun� tries, permitting the rapid sale of perishable goods. Other items often sold at auction include artwork and antiques, secondhand goods, and farms and buildings repossessed by banks or the government. Auctions can be struc� tured in many ways (e.g., bids submitted in person, via telephone, or over the Internet). Auction selling is also employed on stock and commodity exchanges.

Auden, W(ystan) H(ugh) (b. Feb. 21, 1907, York, Yorkshire, Eng.�d. Sept. 29, 1973, Vienna, Austria) British-born U.S. poet and man of letters. He attended Oxford University, where he exerted a strong influ� ence on C. Day-Lewis, Louis MacNeice, and Stephen Spender. Auden�s var� ied works throughout his life dealt with intellectual and moral issues of public concern as well as with the inner world of fantasy and dream. In the 1930s he became a hero of the left, pointing up the evils of capital� ism while also warning against those of totalitarianism. He collaborated with Christopher Isherwood on three verse dramas. Auden�s later writing

Inscribed attic surmounting the main cornice of the Arch of Titus, Rome, ad

81

A.F. KERSTING

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130 I audio card ► Augustan Age

reflects changes in his life (he became a U.S. citizen) and in his religious and intellectual perspective (he embraced Christianity and became disillusioned with the left) and occasionally his homosexuality.

His poetic works include The Age of Anxiety (1947, Pulitzer Prize) and the collections Another Time (1940) and Homage to Clio (1960). With his longtime companion Chester Kail- man, he wrote opera librettos, nota� bly The Rake�s Progress (1951) for Igor Stravinsky.

audio card See sound card

Audion Elementary radio tube developed by Lee De Forest (patented 1907). It was the first triode vacuum tube, incorporating a control grid as well as a cathode and an anode. It was capable of more sensitive recep� tion of wireless signals than were the electrolytic and Carborundum detec� tors then in use. The Audion made possible live radio broadcasting and became the key component of all radio, telephone, radar, television, and computer systems before the invention of the transistor.

audit Examination of the records and reports of an enterprise by account� ing specialists other than those responsible for their preparation. Public auditing by independent accountants is common in large firms. The audi� tor performs tests to determine whether the firm�s statements were pre� pared in accordance with acceptable accounting principles and that they fairly present its financial position and operating results. Personal tax audits are carried out to determine whether people have accurately reported their financial circumstances when filing their taxes. Failing such an audit may result in a fine, or, in cases of extensive and deliberate deception, criminal prosecution. See also Internal Revenue Service.

auditorium Portion of a theater or hall where an audience sits, as dis� tinct from the stage. The auditorium originated in the theaters of ancient Greece, as a semicircular seating area cut into a hillside. Floor levels in a large auditorium may include stalls, private boxes, dress circle, balcony or upper circle, and gallery. A sloping floor and converging walls allow for a clear view of the stage and improve acoustics. The walls and ceil� ings of contemporary auditoriums usually conceal light, sound, and air- conditioning equipment.

Audubon, John James orig. Fouaere Rabin or Jean Rabin later Jean-Jacques Fougere Audubon (b. April 26, 1785, Les Cayes, Saint-Domingue, West Indies �d. Jan. 27, 1851, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. ornithologist, artist, and naturalist known for his drawings and paintings of North American birds. Bom to a French merchant in Haiti, he returned with his father to France, where he briefly studied painting with Jacques-Louis David before moving to the U.S. at age 18. From his father�s Pennsylvania estate, he made the first American bird-banding experiments. After failing in business ventures, he concentrated on draw� ing and studying birds, which took him from Florida to Labrador. His extraordinary four-volume Birds of America was published in London in 1827-38. He simultaneously published the extensive accompanying text Ornithological Biography (5 vol., 1831-39). His multivolume Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (1842-54) was completed by his sons. Though his bird poses are sometimes unrealistic (the result of painting dead birds wired into position) and some details are inaccurate, few argue with the excellence of his illustrations as art, and his studies were fun� damental to New World ornithology.

Audubon Society, National U.S. organization dedicated to con� serving and restoring natural ecosystems. Founded in 1905 and named for John James Audubon, the society has 600,000 members and maintains more than 100 wildlife sanctuaries and nature centres throughout the U.S. Its high-priority campaigns include preserving wetlands and endangered forests, protecting corridors for migratory birds, and conserving marine wildlife. Its 300-member staff includes scientists, educators, sanctuary managers, and government-affairs specialists.

Auerstedt, Battle of See Battles of Jena and Auerstedt

auger Tool (or bit) used with a carpenter�s brace for drilling holes, usu� ally in wood. It looks like a corkscrew and produces extremely clean holes, almost regardless of how large the bit is. Expansive auger bits have adjustable blades with cutting edges and spurs that can be extended radi� ally to cut large holes. Large augers are used to bore holes in soil for fence posts and telephone poles, or in ice for ice fishing. Horizontal augers as much as 8 ft (2.5 m) in diameter are used in coal mining.

augite \'o-j!t\ Most common pyroxene mineral, occurring chiefly as blocky crystals in basalts, gabbros, andesites, and various other dark igne� ous rocks. It also is a common constituent of lunar basalts and meteor� ites and may be found in certain metamorphic rocks, such as pyroxenites. Because the diopside-hedenbergite series and augite are nearly indistin� guishable, the term augite is sometimes used to designate any dark green to black pyroxene with monoclinic symmetry (three unequal crystallo� graphic axes with one oblique intersection).

Augsburg \'auks-,burk\ City (pop., 2002 est.: 257,800), Bavaria, south� ern Germany. Founded as a Roman colony by Augustus c. 14 bc, it was the seat of a bishopric by ad 739. It became an imperial free city in 1276 and joined the Swabian League in 1331. The Fugger and Welser families made the city a major banking and commercial centre in the 15th-16th centuries. The Augsburg Confession was read at the Diet of 1530; the Peace of Augsburg was concluded in 1555; and the League of Augsburg was formed in 1686. The city became part of Bavaria in 1806. It was heavily bombed during World War II. Sites of interest include the Fug- gerei (1519), the world�s oldest housing settlement for the poor.

Augsburg Vogz-borgV League of Coalition formed in 1686 by Emperor Leopold I, the kings of Sweden and Spain, and the electors of Bavaria, Saxony, and the Palatinate. The league was formed to oppose the expansionist plans of Louis XIV of France prior to the War of the Grand Alliance. It proved ineffective because of the reluctance of some princes to oppose France and the absence of provisions for combined military action.

Augsburg, Peace of Convention promulgated in 1555 by the Diet of the Holy Roman Empire, which provided the first permanent legal basis for the existence of Lutheranism in addition to Catholicism in Germany. The Diet determined that no member of the empire would make war against another on religious grounds. It recognized just two denomina� tions, the Roman Catholics and the Lutherans, and it stipulated that in each territory of the empire, only one denomination was allowed. How� ever, people were allowed to move to states where their faith was adopted. Despite numerous shortcomings, the accord saved the empire from seri� ous internal conflicts for over 50 years. See also Reformation.

Augsburg \'auks-,burk\ Confession Basic doctrinal statement of Lutheranism. Its principal author was Philipp Melanchthon, and it was pre� sented to Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Augsburg on June 25, 1530. Its purpose was to defend the Lutherans against misrepresentations of their teachings and to provide a statement of theology that Roman Catho� lics might accept. It consisted of 28 articles that outlined Lutheran doc� trine and listed abuses that had crept into Western Christendom over the centuries. The unaltered document has remained authoritative for Luth� erans, and a heavily revised version by Melanchthon is accepted by some Reformed churches. Translated into English in 1536, it had a major influ� ence on the Anglican Church�s Thirty-nine Articles and the Methodists� Twenty-five Articles of Religion.

Augusta City (pop., 2000: 18,560), capital of Maine, U.S. It was estab� lished in 1628 by traders from Plymouth colony as a post at the head of navigation on the Kennebec River. Fort Western was built there in 1754 (restored 1922), attracting settlers. Incorporated in 1797, the town was renamed the next year for the daughter of an American Revolutionary general. It became the state capital in 1832. It is one of Maine�s leading vacation centres.

Augustan Age ( c. 43 bc-ad 18) Illustrious period in Latin literary history. Along with the preceding period, which was dominated by Cicero, it forms the Golden Age of Latin literature. Marked by civil peace and prosperity, the age reached its highest expression in poetry, with polished, sophisticated verse on themes of patriotism, love, and nature, generally addressed to a patron or to the emperor Augustus. Writers active in the period include Virgil, Horace, Livy, and Ovid. The term is also applied to �classical� periods in the literature of other nations, especially to late 17th- and 18th-century England.

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Augustine ► Aurangzeb I 131

Augustine (of Hippo), Saint (b. Nov. 13,354, Tagaste, Numidia�d. Aug. 28, 430, Hippo Regius; feast day August 28) Christian theologian and one of the Latin Fathers of the Church. Born in Roman North Africa, he adopted Manichaeism, taught rhetoric in Carthage, and fathered a son. After moving to Milan he converted to Christianity under the influence of St. Ambrose, who baptized him in 387. He returned to Africa to pursue a contemplative life, and in 396 he became bishop of Hippo (now Annaba, Alg.), a post he held until his death while the city was under siege by a Vandal army. His best-known works include the Confessions, an autobio� graphical meditation on God�s grace, and The City of God, on the nature of human society and the place of Christianity in history. His theological works On Christian Doctrine and On the Trinity are also widely read. His sermons and letters show the influence of Neoplatonism and carry on debates with the proponents of Manichaeism, Donatism, and Pelagianism. His views on predestination influenced later theologians, notably John Calvin. He was declared a Doctor of the Church in the early Middle Ages.

Augustine \o-'g9s-t9n\ of Canterbury, Saint (b. Rome?�d. May 26, 604/605, Canterbury, Kent, Eng.; feast day May 26 in England and Wales, May 28 elsewhere) First archbishop of Canterbury. A Benedictine prior in Rome, he was chosen by Pope Gregory I to lead 40 monks as missionaries to England. They arrived in 597 and were welcomed by King Ethelbert of Kent, at the behest of his queen, and he gave them a church in Canterbury. Augustine converted the king and thousands of his sub� jects and was made bishop of the English. On the pope�s instructions he purified pagan temples and consecrated 12 other bishops. He founded Christ Church, Canterbury, as his cathedral and made Canterbury the pri� mary see in England. He tried unsuccessfully to unify his churches with the Celtic churches of northern Wales.

Augustinian In the Roman Catholic church, a member of any of the religious orders and congregations whose constitutions are based on the Rule of St. Augustine, including the Hospitallers (Knights of Malta) and the Dominicans. The two main branches of the Augustinians, however, are the Augustinian Hermits and the Augustinian Canons. The former was one of the four great mendicant orders of the Middle Ages, and its mem� bers (including Martin Luther) were active in European university life and ecclesiastical affairs. The latter became in the 11th century the first Roman Catholic order to combine clerical status with full common life. The order declined after the Reformation, but it continues missionary, educational, and hospital work. Other notable orders are the Augustinian Recollects (founded in the 16th century) and the Second Order of St. Augustine (1264) for nuns, both still active today.

Augustus., Caesar or Octavian orig. Gaius Octavius later Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (b. Sept. 23, 63 bc �d. Aug. 19, ad 14, Nola, near Naples) First Roman emperor. Bom to a wealthy fam� ily, at age 18 he was named adoptive son and heir of his great-uncle Julius Caesar. After Caesar�s assassination (44 bc) a power struggle ensued, and several battles later Octavian formed the Second Triumvirate with his chief rivals, Lepidus and Mark Antony. Octavian disposed of Lepidus in 32 and Antony (then allied with Cleopatra) at the Battle of Actium in 31 to become sole ruler. He was anointed princeps; the Roman Empire is said to begin with his accession. At first he ruled as consul, maintaining republican administration, but in 27 he accepted the title Augustus and in 23 he received imperial power. His rule (31 bc-ad 14) brought changes to every aspect of Roman life and lasting peace and prosperity to the Greco-Roman world. He secured outlying imperial provinces, built roads and public works, established the Pax Romana, and fostered the arts. He took steps to rectify Roman morality, even exiling his daughter Julia for adultery. When he died, the empire stretched from Iberia to Cappadocia and from Gaul to Egypt. He was deified after his death.

Augustus II Polish August Fryderyk (b. May 12, 1670, Dresden, Saxony�d. Feb. 1, 1733, Warsaw) King of Poland and elector of Sax� ony (as Frederick Augustus I). He ascended to the Polish throne in 1697, having converted to Catholicism to better his chances. Also called Augus� tus the Strong, he invaded Livonia in 1700, beginning the Second North� ern War. Charles XII of Sweden defeated Augustus�s army and forced him to abdicate in 1706, but he was restored as king in 1710. Poland declined during Augustus�s reign from a major European power to a pro� tectorate of Russia.

Augustus III Polish August Fryderyk (b. Oct. 17, 1696, Dresden, Saxony�d. Oct. 5, 1763, Dresden) King of Poland and elector of Sax� ony (as Frederick Augustus II), whose reign (1733-63) marked a great

period of disorder within Poland. He cared more for pleasure than affairs of state and left the administration of Saxony and Poland to his chief adviser, Heinrich von Bruhl (1700-1763), and the powerful Czartoryski family. He gave Saxon support to Austria in the War of the Austrian Suc� cession and the Seven Years' War.

auk In general, any of 22 species of diving birds (family Alcidae), espe� cially the little auk and the razorbill, or razor-billed auk. Auks are 6-16 in. (15�40 cm) long, with short wings and legs and webbed feet. They occur only in Arctic, subarctic, and temperate regions (with a few species south to Baja California). Auks nest colonially on cliff ledges or in rock crevices or burrows near the sea; many spend the winter far from land. They feed on fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and plankton. True auks are black and white and stand erect on land. See also great auk.

aulos Vo-los\ Single- or double-reed pipe usually played in pairs, par� ticularly in ancient Greece. During the Classical period the pipes were of equal length, each with three or four finger holes. The principal wind instrument of most ancient Middle Eastern peoples, it existed in Europe up to the early Middle Ages, often as a single pipe with more finger holes.

Its quavering sound, described by Plato, was classically associated with the rites of Dionysus.

AUM Shinrikyo Vaum-shin-'rik- yo\ Japanese "AUM Supreme Truth" Japanese new religious movement founded by Asahara Shoko (b. 1955 as Matsumoto Chi- zuo) in 1987. It contained elements of Hinduism and Buddhism and was founded on the millenarian expecta� tion of a series of disasters that would bring an end to this world and inaugurate a new cosmic cycle. In 1995 its members released nerve gas into the Tokyo subway system, killing 12 people and injuring some 5,500. The group has been linked with other nerve-gas incidents and violent crimes. It claimed some 50,000 members, mostly in Russia, at the time of the gas attack. Membership collapsed in the wake of the attack, but it had grown to more than 1,500 members by the early 21st century. The group changed its name to Aleph in 2000. More than 10 AUM members were sentenced to death for their involvement in the gassing incident, including Asahara, who in 2004 was found guilty of masterminding the attack.

Aung San V6q-'san\ (b. 1914?, Natmauk, Burma�d. July 19, 1947, Rangoon) Nationalist leader of Burma (Myanmar). He led a student strike in 1936 and became secretary-general of a nationalist group in 1939. He accepted Japanese aid in raising a military force in Burma that helped the Japanese in their 1942 invasion. However, he came to doubt that the Japa� nese would ever allow Burma to become independent and grew displeased with their treatment of Burmese forces, and in 1945 he switched to the Allied cause. After the war, he effectively became prime minister and negotiated Burma�s independence, which was agreed on in 1947; he was assassinated before independence was achieved in 1948.

Aung San Suu Kyi Vorj-'san-'sii-'cheX (b. June 19, 1945, Rangoon, Burma) Opposition leader in Burma (Myanmar). Daughter of nationalist leader Aung San, she studied in Burma and India and at the University of Oxford. She lived quietly in Britain until, returning to Myanmar in 1988, she was moved by the brutality of U Ne Win�s military regime to begin a nonviolent struggle for democracy and human rights. The 1990 electoral victory of her National League for Democracy was ignored by Ne Win�s government, and she was held under house arrest from 1989 to 1995. She subsequently continued her opposition activities and was sub� ject to varying degrees of government harrassment, including another period of house arrest in 2000-02. She was awarded the 1991 Nobel Prize for Peace.

Aurangzeb \ 1 au-r3q-'zeb\ orig. Muhi al-DTn Muhammad (b. Nov. 3, 1618, Dhod, Malwa, India�d. March 3, 1707) Last of the great Mughal emperors of India (r. 1658-1707). He was the third son of the emperor Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal, for whom the Taj Mahal was built. After distin-

Auloi player with phorbeia and dancer with krotala, detail from a kylix found at Vulci, Italy, signed by Epictetus, c. 520-510 bc; in the British Museum, London.

COURTESY OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM, LONDON

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132 I Aurelian ► Austen

guishing himself early in life with his military and administrative ability, he fought his eldest brother for the right of succession and had several other rival relatives (including a son) executed. During the first half of his reign, he proved to be a capable Mus� lim monarch of a mixed Hindu- Muslim empire; he was disliked for his ruthlessness but respected. From c. 1680 his devout religious side came to dominate; he excluded Hin� dus from public office and destroyed their temples and schools, became embroiled in fruitless warfare with the Marathas in South India, and executed the Sikh Guru Tegh Baha� dur (r. 1664-75), starting a Sikh- Muslim feud that has continued to the present.

Aurelian \o-'ra-le-3n\ Latin Lucius Domitius Aurelianus

(b. c. 215�d. 275, near Byzantium)

Roman emperor ad 270-75. Prob� ably from the Balkans, he became emperor after Claudius II�s death and the brief reign of Claudius�s brother. He reunited the empire and restored Roman power in Europe, turning back invaders and quelling revolts, securing provinces in the east and defeating the Germans to the north, for which he took the title restitutor orbis (�restorer of the world�). He built a new wall around Rome and increased food distribu� tion to the poor, but his monetary and religious reforms failed. While marching to Persia, he was slain by a group of officers who mistakenly believed they had been marked for execution.

Aurelius, Marcus See Marcus Aurelius

Aurgelmir Vaur-gsl-.mhA or Ymir Vi-mir\ In Norse mythology, the first being, a giant created from the drops of water that formed when the ice of Niflheim met the heat of Muspelheim. He was the father of all giants; a male and female grew under his arm and his legs produced a six-headed son, whom the cow Audumla nursed. Audumla licked salty frost from stones, which she shaped into the man Buri, grandfather of Odin and his brothers. The gods killed Aurgelmir and put his body into the void, where his flesh became the earth, his blood the seas, his bones mountains, his teeth stones, his skull the sky, and his brains the clouds. His eyelashes (or eyebrows) became the fence around Midgard, home of mankind.

Aurignacian culture \,6r-en-'ya-sh9n\ Stone-tool industry and artis� tic tradition of Upper Paleolithic Europe, named after the village of Aurignac in southern France where the tradition was first identified. The Aurignacian period dates to 35,GOO- 15,000 bc. Its tools included scrap� ers, burins (which made the engraving possible), and blades.

Points and awls were fashioned from bones and antlers. Aurignacian art represents the first complete artistic tradition, moving from simple engravings of animal forms on small rocks to finer pieces of carved bone and ivory to highly stylized clay figurines of pregnant women (the so-called �Venus figures,� presumably fertility figures). By the end of the Aurignacian, hundreds of engravings, reliefs, and paintings had been executed on the walls and ceilings of limestone caves in western Europe, most famously Lascaux Grotto.

aurochs \'aur-,aks\ or auroch Extinct wild ox ( Bos primigenius) of Europe, the species from which cattle are probably descended. The

aurochs survived in central Poland until 1627. It was black, stood 6 ft (1.8 m) high at the shoulder, and had spreading, forward-curving horns. Some German breeders claim to have re-created this race since 1945, but their animals are smaller and probably lack the aurochs�s genetic constitution. The name has sometimes been wrongly applied to the European bison.

Aurora Roman goddess of dawn. Her Greek counterpart was Eos. Hesiod described her as the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia. She was the sister of Helios, the sun, and Selene, the moon. By the Titan Astraeus, she became the mother of the winds and of the evening star. In Greek mythology she was also represented as the lover of the hunters Cephalus and Orion.

aurora Luminous phenomenon of the upper atmosphere that occurs pri� marily at high latitudes. Auroras in the Northern Hemisphere are called aurora borealis, or northern lights; in the Southern Hemisphere they are called aurora australis, or southern lights. Auroras are caused by the inter� action of energetic particles (electrons and protons) from outside the atmo� sphere with atoms of the upper atmosphere. Such interaction occurs in zones surrounding the Earth�s magnetic poles. During periods of intense solar activity, auroras occasionally extend to the middle latitudes.

Aurora City (pop., 2000: 276,393), north-central Colorado, U.S. It was founded near Denver as Fletcher during the silver boom of 1891 and renamed in 1907. Though mainly residential, it is also the site of Buck- ley Air National Guard Base.

Auschwitz \'aush-,vits\ or Auschwitz-Birkenau Nazi Germany�s largest concentration camp and extermination camp, located in southern Poland (modern Oswi^cim). It consisted of three camps (prison, extermi� nation, and forced labour), established in 1940, 1941 (Birkenau), and 1942. Able-bodied Jewish prisoners were sent to a slave-labour camp, while the aged, the weak, and children and their mothers were killed. Some prisoners were also subjected to medical experiments, conducted by Josef Mengele. The camp was gradually abandoned in 1944^45 as Soviet troops advanced. The total number who died at Auschwitz is esti� mated at between 1.1 million and 1.5 million, 90% of which were Jews; also among the dead were some 19,000 Roma (Gypsies), who were killed in July 1944, and some 83,000 Poles. Much of the camp was later con� verted into a museum and memorial. It was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979. See also Holocaust.

auscultation V.o-skol-'ta-shonV Procedure for detecting certain defects or conditions by listening for normal and abnormal heart, breath, bowel, fetal, and other sounds in the body. The invention of the stethoscope in 1819 improved and expanded this practice, still very useful despite the great technological advances in other means of diagnosis.

Ausgleich See Compromise of 1867

Austen, Jane (b. Dec. 16, 1775, Steventon, Hampshire, Eng.�d. July 18, 1817, Winchester, Hampshire)

English novelist. The daughter of a rector, she lived in the circumscribed world of minor landed gentry and country clergy that she was to use in her writing; her closest companion was her sister, Cassandra. Her earli� est known writings are mainly paro� dies, notably of sentimental fiction.

In her six full-length novels� Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1815), Persuasion (1817), and Northanger Abbey (pub� lished 1817 but written before the others)�she created the comedy of manners of middle-class English life in her time. Her writing is noted for its wit, realism, shrewd sympathy, and brilliant prose style. Through her treatment of ordinary people in everyday life, she was the first to give the novel its distinctly modem character. She published her novels anonymously; two appeared only after her death, which probably resulted from Addison disease.

Aurangzeb, Mughal miniature, 17th century; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

BY COURTESY OF THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK, BEQUEST OF GEORGE D. PRATT, 1945

Cave painting of a bull and horse; in Lascaux Grotto, near Montignac, France.

HANS HINZ, BASEL

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Jane Austen, pencil and watercolour by Cassandra Austen, c. 1810; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

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Austerlitz ► Australian Alps I 133

Austerlitz, Battle of (Dec. 2, 1805) First engagement of the War of the Third Coalition and one of Napoleon�s greatest victories. In the battle, fought near Austerlitz in Moravia (now Slavkov u Brna, Czech Rep.), Napoleon�s 68,000 troops defeated almost 90,000 Russians and Austrians under Russia�s Alexander I and Mikhail Kutuzov. Also called the Battle of the Three Emperors, Napoleon�s resounding victory forced Austria�s Francis I to conclude the Treaty of Pressburg, ceding Venetia to the French kingdom in Italy and temporarily ending the anti-French alliance. See also Napoleonic Wars.

Austin City (pop., 2000: 656,600), capital of Texas, U.S. It was founded in 1835 as the village of Waterloo on the Colorado River in south-central Texas. In 1839 it was made capital of the Republic of Texas and renamed to honour Stephen Austin; when Texas became a state in 1845, Austin was its capital. As the home of the University of Texas, it has expanded as a research and development centre for defense, high-technology, and con� sumer industries. The Lyndon B. Johnson Library is on the university campus.

Austin, J(ohn) L(angshaw) (b. March 28, 1911, Lancaster, Lancash� ire, Eng.�d. Feb. 8, 1960, Oxford) British philosopher. He taught at Oxford from 1945 until his death. He was a leading member of the �ordi� nary language,� or �Oxford,� movement of analytic philosophy, which was characterized by its belief that philosophical problems frequently arise through inattention to or misunderstandings of ordinary uses of language; accordingly, such problems can be resolved through consideration of the ordinary uses of the terms by which the relevant philosophical concepts are expressed. Ordinary-language analyses by Austin and his followers fre� quently took the form of asking �what one would say� in various concrete situations. Austin was also the inventor of speech act theory, through which he attempted to account for the various �performative� aspects of conveyed linguistic meaning. Several of his essays and lectures were published post� humously in Philosophical Papers (1961), Sense and Sensibilia (1962), and How to Do Things with Words (1962). See also analytic philosophy.

Austin, John (b. March 3, 1790, Creeting Mill, Suffolk, Eng.�d. Dec. 1859, Weybridge, Surrey) British jurist. Although initially unsuccessful in his law practice (1818-25), his analytical mind and intellectual hon� esty impressed colleagues, and he was named the first professor of juris� prudence at University College, London (1826). Distinguished men attended his lectures, but he failed to attract students, and he resigned his chair in 1832. His writings, especially The Province of Jurisprudence Determined (1832), sought to distinguish law from morality. He also helped to define jurisprudence as the analysis of fundamental legal con� cepts, as distinct from the criticism of legal institutions, which he called the �science of legislation.� His work, largely unrecognized in his life� time, influenced later jurists, including Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Austin, Stephen (Fuller) (b. Nov. 3, 1793, Austinville, Va., U.S.�d. Dec. 27, 1836, Austin, Texas) U.S. founder of the first legal colony of English-speaking people in Texas when it was still part of Mexico. He was raised in the Missouri Territory and served in its legislature (1814� 19). The economic panic in 1819 led his father to conceive a plan to colo� nize Texas on land obtained from the Mexican government. Austin continued the project after his father died (1821) and founded a colony of several hundred families on the Brazos River in 1822. He maintained good relations with the Mexican government. He tried to induce the Mexi� can government to make Texas a separate state in the Mexican confed� eration; when this attempt failed, he recommended in 1833 the organization of a state without waiting for the consent of the Mexican congress, and he was imprisoned. Released in 1835, he traveled to the U.S. to secure help when the Texas revolution broke out in October of that year. He is considered one of the state�s founders. The city of Austin is named for him.

Austral Islands Group of islands (pop., 2002: 6,386), southern French Polynesia. The southernmost part of French Polynesia ( austral is Latin for �south�), the islands form a chain about 800 mi (1,300 km) long. They were sighted by Capt. James Cook in 1769 and 1777. They were taken over by the French in the late 19th century. The inhabited islands are Rimatara, Rurutu, Tubuai, Raevavae, and Rapa.

Australia officially Commonwealth of Australia Smallest con� tinent and sixth largest country (in area) on Earth, lying between the Pacific and Indian oceans. Area: 2,969,978 sq mi (7,692,208 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 20,345,000. Capital: Canberra. Most Australians are descendants of Europeans. The largest nonwhite minority is the Aus�

tralian Aborigine population. The Asian portion of the population has grown as a result of relaxed immigration policy. Language: English (offi� cial). Religions: Christianity (mostly Protestant; also Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, other Christians), Buddhism, Islam. Currency: Austra� lian dollar. Australia has three major physiographic regions. More than half of its land area is on the Western Australian plateau, which includes the outcrops of Arnhem Land and the Kimberleys in the northwest and the Macdonnell Ranges in the east. A second region, the Interior Lowlands, lies east of the plateau. The Eastern Uplands, which include the Great Dividing Range, are a series of high ridges, plateaus, and basins. The coun� try�s highest point is Mount Kosciusko in the Australian Alps, and the low� est is Lake Eyre. Major rivers include the Murray-Darling system, the Funders and Swan rivers, and Cooper Creek. There are many islands and reefs along the coast, including the Great Barrier Reef, Melville Island, Kan� garoo Island, and Tasmania. Australia is rich in mineral resources, includ� ing coal, petroleum, and uranium. A vast diamond deposit was found in Western Austraua in 1979. The country�s economy is basically free enter� prise; its largest components include finance, manufacturing, and trade. Formally a constitutional monarchy, its chief of state is the British mon� arch, represented by the governor-general. In reality it is a parliamentary state with two legislative houses; its head of government is the prime min� ister. Australia has long been inhabited by Aborigines, who began arriving at least 50,000 years ago. Estimates of the population at the time of Euro� pean settlement in 1788 range from 300,000 to 1,000,000. Widespread European knowledge of Australia began with 17th-century explorations. The Dutch landed in 1616 and the British in 1688, but the first large-scale expedition was that of James Cook in 1770, which established Britain�s claim to Australia. The first British settlement, at Port Jackson (1788), consisted mainly of convicts and seamen; convicts were to make up a large proportion of the incoming settlers. By 1859 the colonial nuclei of all Aus� tralia�s states had been formed, but with devastating effects on the indig� enous peoples, whose populations declined sharply with the introduction of European diseases. Britain granted its colonies limited self-government in the mid-19th century, and an act federating the colonies into a common� wealth went into effect in 1901. Australia fought alongside the British in World War I, notably at Gallipoli, and again in World War II, preventing Australia�s occupation by the Japanese. It joined the U.S. in the Korean and Vietnam wars. Since the 1960s the government has sought to deal more fairly with the Aborigines, and a loosening of immigration restrictions has led to a more heterogeneous population. Constitutional links allowing British interference in government were formally abolished in 1968, and Australia has assumed a major role in Asian and Pacific affairs. During the 1990s there were several debates about giving up its British ties and becoming a republic. See map on following page.

Australian Aboriginal languages Group of perhaps as many as 500 languages spoken by the 300,000 to 1,000,000 native inhabitants of Australia before the beginning of European conquest in 1788. More than half are now extinct; of the remainder, only about 20, mostly in the North Territory and northern Western Australia, remain in active use by both adults and children. Most Australian languages belong to a single super� family, Pama-Nyungan, and the remainder, a very diverse group of lan� guages spoken in the Kimberley region of Western Australia and parts of the North Territory, may be remotely akin to Pama-Nyungan.

Australian Aborigine \a-b3- , ri-jo- l ne\ Any of the indigenous peoples of Australia. The first Australians are estimated to have reached the con� tinent at least 50,000 years ago. At one time there may have been as many as 500 language-named, territorially anchored groups of indigenous Aus� tralians. They subsisted as hunters and gatherers. Groups (bands) were formed along the male line (patrilineal descent) and consisted of two or more families. Their lives were centred around a specific site settled by the group�s ancestors. The men were custodians of the mythology, ritual, sites, and symbols evoked in the Dreaming. Australian Aborigines are believed to have numbered 300,000-1,000,000 when European coloniza� tion began in the late 18th century, but they were devastated by intro� duced diseases and by the bloody 19th-century policy of �pacification by force.� In the early 21st century they were estimated to number more than 400,000. Most aspects of their traditional culture have been severely modified. All Aboriginal peoples have had some contact with modern Australian society, and all are now Australian citizens. At the turn of the 21st century Aboriginal interest in cultural revival was strong.

Australian Alps Mountain range, southeastern Australia. The moun� tains form the southern end of the Great Dividing Range and the watershed

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between the headstreams of the Murrum- bidgee River and the rivers flowing south to the Pacific Ocean. The highest peak is Mount Kosciusko. The valleys of the Aus� tralian Alps have been used for grazing, while the highlands have seen scattered mining ventures.

Australian Ballet Leading ballet company of Australia. It was spon� sored in 1962 by art patrons interested in promoting a national ballet. Peggy van Praagh was the first artistic director (1962-74). Since 1965 the company has toured Europe and North America.

Australian Capital Territory Political entity (pop., 2001: 321,680), southeastern Australia. A capital territory was mandated by the 1901 Aus� tralian constitution; the site was chosen in 1908. It lies within New South Wales and consists of Canberra and the area around Jervis Bay. Parliament moved there from Melbourne in 1927. In 1989 the Territory received responsibility for self-government similar to that held by Australian states.

Australian National University Public university in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. Founded in 1946, it originally offered only graduate programs. Undergraduates were first admitted in 1960, and today the university offers a wide range of graduate and undergraduate pro� grams. Affiliated with the university are research schools of medicine, physical and biological sciences, social sciences, and Pacific studies.

Australian religion Religion of Australia�s Aborigines, based in the Dreaming. Religion involved living in agreement with the way of life ordained in the Dreaming, through the performance of rituals and obedi� ence to the law. Through dreams and other states of altered conscious�

ness, the living could come into contact with the spiritual realm and gain strength from it; myths, dances, and other rituals bound the human, spiri� tual, and physical worlds together in a single cosmic order. A child�s spirit was held to come from the dreaming to animate a fetus, and a person�s spiritual heritage was more important than the bond between a physical parent and child. Sacred art included tjurunga, sand and cave paintings, and paintings on bark.

Australian Rules football Variety of football played between two teams of 18 players. The field is oval, 148-202 yd (135-185 m) long, with four goalposts at each end. A six-point goal is scored when the oval ball is kicked through the two central goalposts. A one-point �behind� is scored when the ball is kicked over the behind line extending between the central and outer goalposts. The game�s finest spectacle is the �mark� in which competing players leap, sometimes riding on the back of an oppo� nent, in order to catch the ball directly from the kick of another player. The player making such a catch is awarded a mark, an unhindered kick from behind the spot of the catch. The sport, Australia�s foremost, was developed in Melbourne. The Victorian Football League was established in 1896 as the first professional league. It was renamed the Australian Football League in 1990 to reflect the addition of franchises outside of Victoria state.

Australopithecus Vo-.stra-lo-'pi-tha-kssV Latin "southern ape"

Genus of extinct hominins that may be ancestral to human beings ( Homo sapiens). The name Australopithecus refers to the first fossils, which were discovered in South Africa. Australopithecus lived in much of Africa dur� ing the Pliocene Epoch (c. 5.3-1.8 million years ago [mya]). These hom� inins were distinguished from apes by their upright posture and bipedal

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Austrasia ► Austro-German Alliance I 135

gait, and their teeth were more humanlike than apelike, but their brains were small and not very dif� ferent from those of living apes. Five species are recognized: A. anamen- sis (4.2-3.9 mya), A. afarensis (3.8- 2.9 mya), A. bahrelghazali (3.5-3.0 mya), A. africanus (3-2.4 mya), and A. garhi (2.5 mya). Three �robust� species are now instead classified as Paranthropus (2.7-1.3 mya): P. aethiopicus, P. robustus, and P. boi- sei. Paranthropus eventually became extinct, leaving no evolutionary suc� cessors. See also Hadar remains; human evolution; Laetoli footprints;

Lucy; Olduvai Gorge; Sterkfontein.

Austrasia \o-'stra-zh3\ or Ostrasia \a-'stra-zho\ Early medieval European kingdom. During the Merovingian dynasty (6th-8th centuries ad), it was the eastern Frankish kingdom and Neustria was the western kingdom. Austrasia covered present-day northeastern France and areas of western and central Germany; its capital was at Metz. The region was the power base of the early Carolingian mayors of the palace, one of whom, Pippin III, deposed the last Merovingian king in 751 and founded the Car� olingian dynasty. The dynasty�s heartland, Austrasia, was an important region in the empire established by Charlemagne.

Austria officially Republic of Austria Country, south-central Europe. Area: 32,383 sq mi (83,871 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 8,168,000. Capital: Vienna. The population is predominantly Austrian.

Lateral view of an Australopithecus africanus skull found at Sterkfontein, S.Af.

COURTESY OF THE TRANSVAAL MUSEUM, PRETORIA, S.AF.

Language: German (official). Religions:

Christianity (predominantly Roman Cath� olic; also Protestant); also Islam. Cur� rency: euro. Much of Austria is covered by Alpine regions, including the eastern Alps,

where the country�s highest point, the Grossglockner, is found. The Bohe� mian Forest, a highland region, extends north into the Czech Republic. The lowland region, including the Vienna Basin, lies in the east; it sup� ports mainly agricultural activities. The Danube River and its tributaries drain nearly the entire country. Austria has a developed mixed free-market and government-operated economy based on manufacture and commerce; tourism is also important. Austria is a republic with two legislative houses. The chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the chancellor. Austria�s greatest cultural contribution has been in music (see Joseph Haydn; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; Franz Schubert; Alban Berg;

Anton Webern). Major cultural figures in other fields include Oskar Koko� schka in art, Sigmund Freud in psychoanalysis, and Ludwig Wittgenstein in philosophy. Settlement in Austria goes back some 3,000 years, when Illyr� ians were probably the main inhabitants. The Celts invaded c. 400 bc and established the kingdom of Noricum. The Romans arrived after 200 bc and established the provinces of Raetia, Noricum, and Pannonia; prosper� ity followed, and the population became Romanized. With the fall of Rome in the 5th century ad, many tribes invaded, including the Slavs; they were eventually subdued by Charlemagne, and the area became eth� nically Germanic. The distinct political entity that would become Austria emerged in 976 with Leopold I of Babenberg as margrave. In 1278 Rudolf IV of Habsburg (later Rudolf I as the king of Germany) conquered the area; Habsburg rule lasted until 1918. While in power, the Habsburgs created a kingdom centred on Austria, Bohemia, and Hungary. The Napoleonic Wars brought about the end of the Holy Roman Empire (1806) and the emergence of the Austrian Empire. The prince von Metternich tried to assure Austrian supremacy among Germanic states, but war with Prussia led Austria to divide the empire into the Dual Monarchy of Austria- Hungary. Nationalist sentiment plagued the kingdom, and the assassina� tion of Francis Ferdinand by a Bosnian Serb nationalist in 1914 triggered World War I, which destroyed the Austro-Hungarian Empire. In the post� war carving up of Austria-Hungary, Austria became an independent repub� lic. It was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938 (see Anschluss) and joined the Axis powers in World War II. The republic was restored in 1955 after 10 years of Allied occupation. Austria became a full member of the Euro� pean Union (EU) in 1995. After a half-century of military neutrality, Aus� tria was one of the few members of the EU that was not a member of NATO at the outset of the 21st century.

Austria-Hungary or Austro-Hungarian Empire Former mon� archy, central Europe. Austria-Hungary at one time included Austria and Hungary, Bohemia, Moravia, Bukovina, Transylvania, Camiola, Ktisten- land, Dalmatia, Croatia, Fiume, and Galicia. The so-called Dual Monar� chy, formed by the Compromise of 1867, created a king of Hungary in addition to the existing Austrian emperor; though these were the same person, Hungary was granted its own parliament and considerable autonomy. Francis Joseph held both titles from Austria-Hungary�s incep� tion until his death in 1916. Up to 1914, the monarchy maintained a pre� carious balance among its many minorities; that year saw the balance toppled with the assassination of the Austro-Hungarian Francis Ferdinand by a Serbian nationalist that precipitated World War I. With its defeat in that war and revolutions by the Czechs, Yugoslavs, and Hungarians, the monarchy collapsed in 1918.

Austrian Netherlands (1713-95) Provinces located in the southern part of the Low Countries, roughly comprising modern Belgium and Lux� embourg. In 1713, the Peace of Utrecht gave Emperor Charles VI control of what had been called the Spanish Netherlands. Administration of the region continued under the Habsburg rulers Maria Theresa and later Joseph II. until the Austrian Netherlands was annexed to France in 1795.

Austrian school of economics Body of economic theory developed by several late 19th-century Austrian economists. Carl Menger (1840- 1921) published a paper on their new theory of value in 1871. The con� cept of value was subjective, the source of a product�s value being its ability to satisfy human wants. The actual value depended on the utility derived by the consumer from the product in its least important use (mar� ginal utility). The theory was also applied to production and pricing. Other founders of the school included Friedrich von Wieser (1851-1926) and Eugen von Bohm-Bawerk (1851-1914). See also opportunity cost; pro� ductivity.

Austrian Succession, War of the (1740^-8) Group of related wars that took place after the death (1740) of Emperor Charles VI. At issue was the right of Charles�s daughter Maria Theresa to inherit the Habsburg lands. The war began when Frederick II of Prussia invaded Silesia in 1740. His victory suggested that the Habsburg dominions were incapable of defend� ing themselves, prompting other countries to enter the fray. The conflict was ended by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.

Austro-German Alliance or Dual Alliance (1879) Pact between Austria-Hungary and the German Reich in which the two powers prom� ised each other support in case of attack by Russia, and neutrality in case of aggression by any other power. Germany�s Otto von Bismarck saw the alliance as a way to prevent the isolation of Germany and to preserve peace, as Russia would not wage war against both empires. The addition

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136 I Austro-Hungarian Empire ► automaton

of Italy in 1882 made it the Triple Alliance. The agreement remained an important element of both German and Austro-Hungarian foreign policy until 1918.

Austro-Hungarian Empire See Austria-Hungary Austro-Prussian War See Seven Weeks' War

Austroasiatic languages Superfamily of about 150 languages spo� ken by close to 90 million physically and culturally very diverse people in South and Southeast Asia. Today most scholars believe that it is sub� divided into two families, Munda and Mon-Khmer. The present fragmented distribution of Austroasiatic languages is most likely the result of rela� tively recent incursions by Indo-Aryan, Sino-Tibetan, Tai, and AusTRONESiAN-speaking peoples. In prehistoric times Austroasiatic lan� guages most likely extended over a much broader and more continuous area, including much of what is now southeastern China. Other than Viet� namese and Khmer, no Austroasiatic language is an official national lan� guage.

Austronesian languages formerly Malayo-Polynesian lan� guages Family of about 1,200 languages spoken by more than 200 mil� lion people in Indonesia, the Philippines, Madagascar, the central and southern Pacific island groups (except most of New Guinea; see Papuan languages), and parts of mainland Southeast Asia and Taiwan. Before European colonial expansion, it had the widest territorial extent of any lan� guage family. A primary genetic division in the family separates the Aus� tronesian languages of Taiwan from the remaining languages, which are divided into Western and Central-Eastern Malayo-Polynesian. Western Malayo-Polynesian includes Javanese, which is spoken by about 76 mil� lion people�more than a third of all Austronesian-speakers. Eastern Malayo-Polynesian includes Oceanic, the best-defined subgroup of Aus� tronesian, comprising nearly all the languages of Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. Typological generalizations about Austronesian languages are difficult because of their enormous number and diversity, though content words tend to be disyllabic, and vowel and consonant inventories tend to be limited, especially in Polynesian. Written records in scripts of Southeast Asian provenance (see Indic writing system) survive for several languages, including Old Javanese and Cham, the language of the kingdom of Champa.

auteur \o-'toer\ theory Theory that holds that a film�s director is its �author� (French, auteur). It originated in France in the 1950s and was promoted by Francois Truffaut and Jean- Luc Godard and the journal Cah- iers du Cinema. The director oversees and �writes� the film�s audio and visual scenario and therefore is considered more responsible for its con� tent than the screenwriter. Supporters maintain that the most successful films bear the distinctive imprint of their director.

authoritarianism Principle of unqualified submission to authority, as opposed to individual freedom of thought and action. As a political sys� tem, authoritarianism is antidemocratic in that political power is concen� trated in a leader or small elite not constitutionally responsible to those governed. It differs from totalitarianism in that authoritarian governments usually lack a guiding ideology, tolerate some pluralism in social orga� nization, lack the power to mobilize the whole population in pursuit of national goals, and exercise their power within relatively predictable lim� its. See also absolutism, dictatorship.

autism Neurobiological disorder that affects physical, social, and lan� guage skills. First described by Leo Kanner and Hans Asperger in the 1940s, the syndrome usually appears before IVi years of age. Autistic infants appear indifferent or averse to affection and physical contact. They may be slow in learning to speak and suffer episodes of rage or panic; they may also appear deaf and display an almost hypnotized fascination with certain objects. Autism is often characterized by rhythmic body movements such as rocking or hand-clapping and by an obsessive desire to prevent change in daily routines. Autistic individuals may be hyper� sensitive to some stimuli (e.g., high-pitched sounds) and abnormally slow to react to others (e.g., physical pain). The disorder is three to four times more common in males. Though postnatal factors such as lack of paren� tal attention were once blamed, it is now known that autism is the result of abnormalities in the brain structure. About 15-20% of autistic adults live and work independently; �high-functioning� autistic people may have special abilities based on their unusual ability for visual thinking. See also SAVANT SYNDROME.

auto sacramental Vau-to-.sa-kra-men-'taL Spanish "sacramental act" Spanish dramatic genre of short plays on sacred or biblical subjects.

Performed outdoors as part of Corpus Christi feast-day celebrations, they were verse allegories dealing with some aspect of the mystery of the Holy Eucharist. The form first appeared in the 16th century and reached its height in plays by Pedro Calderon de la Barca, who covered a wide range of nonsacramental subjects. Their performance was prohibited by royal decree in 1765 on the ground of irreverence.

autobiography Biography of oneself narrated by oneself. Little auto� biographical literature exists from antiquity and the Middle Ages; with a handful of exceptions, the form begins to appear only in the 15th century. Autobiographical works take many forms, from intimate writings made during life that are not necessarily intended for publication (including let� ters, diaries, journals, memoirs, and reminiscences) to the formal autobi� ography. Outstanding examples of the genre extend from St. Augustine�s Confessions (c. ad 400) to Vladimir Nabokov�s Speak, Memory (1951).

autoclave Vessel, usually of steel, able to withstand high temperatures and pressures. The chemical industry uses various types of autoclaves in manufacturing dyes and in other chemical reactions requiring high pres� sures. In bacteriology and medicine, instruments, equipment, supplies, and culture media are sterilized by superheated steam in an autoclave. In 1679 Denis Papin (1647-c. 1712) invented a prototype known as a steam digester; still used in cooking, it is now called a pressure cooker.

autograph Any manuscript handwritten by its author; in common usage, a handwritten signature. Aside from its value as a collector�s item, an early or corrected draft of a work may show its stages of composition or �correct� final version. The earliest autograph signature of a famous person is probably the Cid�s, dated 1096. There exist autographs of most of the great Renaissance figures, including Leonardo da Vinci, Michelan� gelo, and Ludovico Ariosto. Since the 1 8th century, autograph material of notable people in the arts, sciences, or public life has been more abundant.

autoimmune disease Any disease caused by an immune response (see immunity) against antigens in the tissues of one�s own body. The immune system has two known ways to prevent such a response: destruction of lymphocytes in the thymus before they leave to attack one�s own tissues and loss of ability to react to their target antigens by any such cells that do leave the thymus. Autoimmune diseases arise when these mechanisms fail and lymphocytes destroy host tissues; examples include type 1 diabetes mellitus, systemic lupus erythematosus, pernicious anemia, and rheumatoid arthritis. Treatment may replace the function of the affected tissue (e.g., insulin therapy for diabetes) or suppress the immune system (see immun� osuppression). Allergy is another type of autoimmune reaction.

automata fo-'ta-mo-toX theory Body of physical and logical prin� ciples underlying the operation of any electromechanical device (an automaton) that converts information input in one form into another, or into some action, according to an algorithm. Norbert Wiener and Alan M. Turing are regarded as pioneers in the field. In computer science, automata theory is concerned with the construction of robots (see robotics) from basic building blocks of automatons. The best example of a general automaton is an electronic digital computer. Networks of automata may be designed to mimic human behaviour. See also artificial intelligence; Turing MACHINE.

automation Term coined about 1946 by a Ford Motor Co. engineer, used to describe a wide variety of systems in which there is a significant substitution of mechanical, electrical, or computerized action for human effort and intelligence. In general usage, automation can be defined as a technology concerned with performing a process by means of pro� grammed commands combined with automatic feedback control (see con� trol system) to ensure proper execution of the instructions. The resulting system is capable of operating without human intervention.

automatism Xo-'ta-mo-.tiz-omX Method of painting or drawing in which conscious control over the movement of the hand is suppressed so that the subconscious mind may take over. For some Abstract Expression� ists, such as Jackson Pollock, the automatic process encompassed the entire process of composition. The Surrealists, having once achieved an interesting image or form by automatic or chance means, exploited the technique with fully conscious purpose. See also Abstract Expressionism, ACTION PAINTING, SURREALISM.

automaton Xo-'ta-mo-tonX Mechanical object, either functional (such as a clock) or decorative (such as a miniature singing bird), that is self- operating. Devices set in motion by water, falling weights, and steam were in use in the 1st century. Decorative mechanical objects were made for

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ecclesiastical use and table ornaments in the Middle Ages and Renais� sance. Spectacular fountains and waterworks can be seen in 16th-century Italian gardens; elaborate mechanical devices (such as the chess-playing Turk) were popular in the 18th-19th century. Except for some works by Carl Faberge, the production of expensive automatons virtually ceased by the 20th century.

automobile Four-wheeled automotive vehicle designed for passenger transportation, commonly propelled by an internal combustion engine using a volatile fuel. The modem automobile consists of about 14,000 parts, divided into several structural and mechanical systems. These include the steel body, containing the passenger and storage space, which sits on the chassis or steel frame; the internal combustion gasoline engine, which powers the car by means of a transmission; the steering and braking sys� tems, which control the car�s motion; and the electrical system, which includes a battery, alternator, and other devices. Subsystems involve fuel, exhaust, lubrication, cooling, suspension, and tires. Though experimental vehicles were built in the 18th and mid-19th century, not until the 1880s did Gottlieb Daimler and Karl Benz in Germany begin separately to manu� facture cars commercially. In the U.S., James and William Packard and Ransom Olds were among the first auto manufacturers, and by 1898 there were 50 U.S. manufacturers. Some early cars operated by steam engine, such as those made from c. 1902 by Francis E. and Freelan O. Stanley. The internal combustion engine was used by Henry Ford when he introduced the Model T in 1908; Ford would soon revolutionize the industry with his use of the assembly line. In the 1930s European manufacturers began to make small, affordable cars such as the Volkswagen. In the 1950s and �60s, U.S. automakers produced larger, more luxurious cars with more automatic features. In the 1970s and �80s Japanese manufacturers exported their small, reliable, fuel-efficient cars worldwide, and their increasing popularity spurred U.S. automakers to produce similar models. See also axle, brake, bus, carburetor, electric automobile, fuel injection, motor� cycle, TRUCK.

automobile racing Sport practiced in a variety of forms on roads, tracks, or closed circuits. It includes Grand Prix racing, speedway racing (including the Indianapolis 500), stock-car racing, sports-car racing, drag racing, midget-car racing, and karting, as well as hill climbs and rally driv� ing. The International Motor Sports Hall of Fame is located in Talladega, Ala., U.S. There is no central governing body for automobile racing in the U.S. as there is in most other countries.

autonomic \,6t-9-'nam-ik\ nervous system Part of the nervous sys� tem that is not under conscious control and that regulates the internal organs. It includes the sympathetic, parasympathetic, and enteric nervous systems. The first, which connects the internal organs to the brain via spi� nal nerves, responds to stress by increasing heart rate and blood flow to the muscles and decreasing blood flow to the skin. The second comprises the cranial nerves and the lower spinal nerves, which increase digestive secretions and slow the heartbeat. Both have sensory fibres that send feedback on the condition of internal organs to the central nervous sys� tem, information that helps maintain homeostasis. The third division, embedded in the walls of the stomach and intestines, controls digestive movement and secretions. See illustration opposite.

autopsy \'6-,tap-se\ or necropsy or postmortem Dissection and examination of a dead body to determine cause of death and learn about disease processes in ways that are not possible with the living. Autopsies have contributed to the development of medicine since at least the Middle Ages. Beyond revealing causes of individual deaths, autopsy is crucial to the accuracy of disease and death statistics, the education of medical stu� dents, the understanding of new and changing diseases, and the advance� ment of medical science.

Autry, (Orvon) Gene (b. Sept. 29, 1907, Tioga, Texas, U.S.�d. Oct. 2, 1998, North Hollywood, Calif.) U.S. actor and singer. He made his debut on a local radio show in 1928, hosting his own radio program from 1931. His first film. In Old Santa Fe (1934), launched his career as a cow� boy actor. Known as �the Singing Cowboy,� he starred in 18 movies, end� ing with Alias Jesse James (1959). His recordings, including �Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer� (1949), sold millions of copies. The televised Gene Autry Show ran from 1950 to 1954.

autumn crocus Any plant of the genus Colchicum (lily family), some� times called meadow saffron, comprising about 30 species of herbaceous plants native to Eurasia. The stemless, crocuslike flowers bloom in autumn. Several species are cultivated as ornamentals for their pink,

white, or bluish-purple tubelike flowers, especially C. autumnale, C. born- muelleri, and C. speciosum. The swollen underground stem of C. autum� nale contains colchicine, a substance used to relieve the pain of gout.

Auvergne \o-'vern y \ Region (pop., 1999: 1,308,878), south-central France. It was once inhabited by the Arverni, a Gallic people led by Ver- cingetorix and defeated by Julius Caesar. It was yielded to the Visigoths in ad 475 and conquered by the Franks under Clovis I in 507. It became part of Aquitaine, and in the 8th century it was made a countship. It passed to the Bourbons in 1416 and to France c. 1530.

auxiliary In grammar, a verb that is subordinate to the main lexical verb in a clause. Auxiliaries can convey distinctions of tense, aspect, mood, person, and number. In Germanic languages such as English and Romance languages such as French, an auxiliary verb occurs with the main verb in the form of an infinitive or participle.

auxin Any of a group of hormones that regulate plant growth, particu� larly by stimulating cell elongation in stems and inhibiting it in roots. Auxins influence the growth of stems toward light (phototropism) and against the force of gravity (geotropism). Auxins also play a role in cell division and differentiation, fruit development, the formation of roots from cuttings, the inhibition of lateral branching, and leaf fall. The most important naturally occurring auxin is beta-indolylacetic acid.

Ava \'a-va\ Ruined city, Myanmar. The city, located on the Irrawaddy River southwest of Mandalay, was founded in the 14th century by the Shans, who made it their capital. It was destroyed in 1527, but again became the capital in 1634 under the Toungoo dynasty. When Alaung-

Pathways of the autonomic nervous system. Nerve impulses begin in motor neurons in the brain or spinal cord. Each motor neuron connects with a second motor neu� ron outside the central nervous system to carry the impulse to the glands and smooth muscles. In the sympathetic nervous system, these second motor neurons are found in ganglia (masses of neurons) along either side of the spinal cord. In the parasympathetic nervous system, ganglia are located closer to, or sometimes within, the target organs. Some ganglia form large clusters called plexuses. Pregan� glionic fibres of the sympathetic system emerge along the thoracic (T) and first three lumbar (L) segments of the spinal cord. Fibres of the parasympathetic system origi� nating in the brainstem arise from the third, seventh, ninth, and tenth cranial nerves; other parasympathetic fibres emerge from the second, third, and fourth sac� ral (S) segments of the spinal cord.

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138 I avalanche ► Avesta

paya founded the Konbaung dynasty in the 18th century, Ava served as its capital for a time, and even after the dynasty built Amarapura and Mandalay, its seat was often referred to as the �Court of Ava.�

avalanche Large mass of material, such as snow or rock debris, that moves rapidly down a mountain slope, sweeping everything in its path. Avalanches begin when a mass of material overcomes the frictional resis� tance of the sloping surface, often after the material�s foundation has been weakened by rains or the snow has been partially melted by a warm, dry wind. Other weather conditions that can lead to avalanches are heavy snowfall and high winds. A common method of avalanche control con� sists of detonating explosives in the upper reaches of avalanche zones, which intentionally causes the snow to slide before accumulations have become very great.

Avalokitesvara \ 1 3-v9- 1 lo-ki-'tash-v9-r9\ Chinese Guanyin \'gwan-'yin\ Japanese Kannon Vkan-'n6n\ Bodhisattva of infinite compassion and mercy, the most popular of Mahayana Buddhist dei� ties. He is the earthly manifestation of Amitabha, guarding the world between the departure of the histori� cal Buddha, Gautama, and the appearance of the future Buddha,

Maitreya. He is the creator of the fourth world, the actual living uni� verse. In China and Japan his gender became ambiguous; he is sometimes called a goddess. For Pure Land Bud� dhists, he forms a ruling triad with Amitabha and the bodhisattva Mahasthamaprapta. In Tibetan Bud� dhism, he is thought to be reincar� nated in each Dalai Iama in order to preserve buddha-teaching.

Avalon Island to which Britain�s legendary King Arthur was taken after he was mortally wounded in his last battle. First described by Geof� frey of Monmouth, it was said to be ruled by Morgan le Fay and her eight sisters, all of whom were skilled in the healing arts. Legend held that when Arthur was healed he would return to rule Britain. The tale may have originated in Celtic myths of an elysium for fallen heros. Avalon has sometimes been identified with Glas� tonbury in Somerset.

Avanti Historic kingdom, north-central India. Located on the overland trade routes between northern and southern India, it lay within present- day Madhya Pradesh. Its capital was at Ujjayini (near present-day Ujjain). It flourished in the 6th^lth centuries bc as one of the great powers of northern India. In the 4th century bc it was conquered and annexed by Candra Gupta Maury a of Magadha. Ujjayini, one of the seven holy cities of Hinduism, was renowned for its beauty and wealth; it also became a centre of early Buddhism and Jainism.

Avar \'a-var\ Any member of a people of undetermined origin who built an empire in eastern Europe between the Adriatic and Baltic seas and the Elbe and Dnieper rivers in the 6th-9th centuries. Mounted nomads, pos� sibly from Central Asia, they made the Hungarian plain the centre of their empire, from which they intervened in Germanic tribal wars, helped the Lombards overthrow allies of Byzantium, and nearly succeeded in occu� pying Constantinople in 626. They also fought the Merovingians and helped push the Serbs and Croats southward. Avar decline began in the late 7th century and culminated in the destruction of their capital by Charlemagne in 796. In the early 9th century the Avars were fully incor� porated in the Carolingian empire.

Avatamsaka-sutra V.o-vo-'tom-so-ko-'su-troN or Garland Sutra

Mahayana Buddhist sutra that explores the teachings of the Buddha Gautama. It speaks of the deeds of the Buddha and the resulting merits that blossom like a garland of flowers. It begins with the Buddha�s Enlighten�

ment attended by a chorus of bodhisattvas and divine beings. It describes an assembly in the palace of Indra, where the Buddha teaches that all beings have the Buddha nature. Around ad 400 a Chinese translation appeared, Huayan jing, which gave rise in the 6th century to the Huayan sect, which became in Japan the Kegon school. See also Vairocana.

avatar Ya-v9-,tar\ In Hinduism, the incarnation of a deity in human or animal form to counteract an evil in the world. It usually refers to 10 appearances of Vishnu, including an incarnation as the Buddha Gautama and Kalkin (the incarnation yet to come). The doctrine appears in the Bhagavadgita in the words of Lord Krishna to Arjuna: �Whenever there is a decline of righteousness and rise of unrighteousness then I send forth Myself.�

Avebury \'av-bo-re\ Village, Wiltshire, England, lying partly within one of the largest prehistoric sites in Europe. The site occupies 28.5 acres (11.5 hectares) and contains vast megalithic remains, including chalk blocks and sandstone pillars placed in circles. Its date and origin are uncertain. Kennet Avenue, a route into the interior of the great circle, linked Ave� bury with a temple 1 mi (1.6 km) away.

Avedon Va-va-.danX, Richard (b. May 15, 1923, New York, N.Y., U.S.�d. Oct. 1, 2004, San Antonio, Texas) U.S. photographer. He began studying photography in the U.S. merchant marine. In 1945 he became a regular contributor to Harper's Bazaar, he later was closely associated with Vogue. Avedon�s fashion photographs are characterized by a strong black-and-white contrast that creates an effect of austere sophistication. In his portraits of celebrities and other sitters, he created a sense of drama by often using a stark, white background and eliciting a frontal, confron� tational pose. Many collections of his photographs have been published.

averts \'a-venz\ Any of the low-growing, perennial flowering plants (approximately 50 species) of the genus Geum, in the rose family. Most occur in the northern or southern temperate zones or in the Arctic. Several species are cultivated for their solitary or clustered white, red, orange, or yellow flowers. The plants grow no more than 2 ft (60 cm) tall. Most of the compound, deeply lobed or cut leaves arise from the base of the stem.

average See mean, median, and mode

Avernus \3- , v3r-n3s\ / Lake ancient Lacus Avernus. Lake, southern Italy. It lies west of Naples in the crater of an extinct volcano. Because of its sulfurous vapors, it was considered an entrance to the underworld by the ancient Romans, including Virgil. According to legend, the grove of Hecate and the grotto of the Cumaean Sibyl lay nearby. In the 1st century bc it was transformed into a naval base, Portus Iulius, by Agrippa and linked to the sea. Its impressive Roman ruins include baths, temples, and villas.

Averroes \9-'ver-9-,wez \ Arabic Ibn Rushd \,ib-9n-'rusht\ in full Abu al-Walld Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Rushd (b. 1126, Cordoba�d. 1198, Marrakech, Almohad empire) Span� ish Arabic philosopher. Trained in law, medicine, and philosophy, he rose to be chief judge of Cordoba, an office also once held by his grandfather. His series of commentaries on most of the works of Aristotle, written between 1169 and 1195, exerted considerable influence on both Jewish and Christian scholars in later centuries. While mostly faithful to Aristo� tle�s thought, he endowed the Aristotelian �prime mover� with the char� acteristics of the Plotinian (see Plotinus) and Islamic transcendent God, the universal First Cause. In his Commentary on Plato's Republic he attempted to apply Platonic doctrines to the contemporary Almoravid and Almohad states. See also Arabic philosophy.

Avery, Oswald (Theodore) (b. Oct. 21, 1877, Halifax, N.S., Can.�d. Feb. 20, 1955, Nashville, Tenn., U.S.) Canadian-born U.S. bac� teriologist. He studied at Colgate University before taking a post at New York�s Rockefeller Institute Hospital. There he discovered transformation, a process by which a change could be introduced into bacteria and passed on to later generations of transformed cells. He and his coworkers reported in 1944 that the substance that caused the transformation was DNA, the cell�s genetic material. The discovery thus opened the door to decipher� ing the GENETIC CODE.

Avesta \o-'ves-t3\ or Zend-Avesta Sacred book of Zoroastrianism. It contains hymns, prayers, and appeals to righteousness ascribed to Zoro� aster. The present text was assembled in the 3rd-7th century ad from the remains of a larger body of scripture that was destroyed when Alexander the Great conquered Persia. It has five parts: the Gathas, hymns in what are thought to be Zoroaster�s own words; Visp-rat, containing homages

Avalokitesvara, bronze figure from Kurkihar, Bihar, 9th century; in Patna Museum, Patna, Bihar

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Avestan ► Avon I 139

to spiritual leaders; Vendidad, the main source for Zoroastrian law; the Yashts, 21 hymns to angels and ancient heroes; and the Khurda avesta, composed of minor texts.

Avestan \3-'ves-t3n\ language Eastern Iranian language of the Avesta, the sacred book of Zoroastrianism. The oldest portion of the Avesta, the Gathas, are now commonly thought to date from around the end of the 2nd millennium bc and are thus contemporary with Vedic San� skrit. Not until the mid-SASANiAN period (5 th�6th century ad) was the Avesta committed to writing, in an alphabetic script invented for the pur� pose on the basis of existing Middle Persian scripts. The oldest manu� scripts date only from the 13th century.

aviary Structure for keeping captive birds, usually spacious enough for the aviculturist to enter. Aviaries range from small enclosures to large flight cages 100 ft (30 m) or more long and up to 50 ft (15 m) high. Enclosures for birds that fly only little or weakly (e.g., rails, pheasants) may be only about 3 ft (1 m) high. In cold climates the aviary is usually enclosed and heated. Most aviculturists prefer to place birds in natural, planted surroundings. Many aviaries are maintained for pleasure by pri� vate aviculturists; others, especially large ones, are found in zoos or research institutions.

aviation Development and operation of aircraft. In 1783 the balloon became the first aircraft to carry humans. Production of a successful glider in 1891 and refinement of the internal-combustion engine led to the first successful engine-powered airplane flight by Wilbur and Orville Wright in 1903. World War I accelerated the expansion of aviation, and in the 1920s the first small airlines began carrying mail and passengers. World War II was another period of innovation in aircraft size, speed, and range. In the late 1940s the jet engine made possible the subsequent development of commercial airlines throughout the world. See also airship; helicopter; sea� plane.

Avicenna V.a-vo-'se-noV Arabic Ibn Sina \'ib-3n-'se-na\ in full Abu �All al-Husayn ibn *Abd Allah ibn STna (b. 980, Bukhara, Iran�d. 1037, Hamadan) Islamic philosopher and scientist. He became physician to several sultans and also twice served as vizier. His Canon of Medicine was long a standard work in the field. He is known for his great encyclopaedia of philosophy, The Book of Healing. His other writings include The Book of Salvation and The Book of Directives and Remarks. His interpretations of Aristotle influenced European Scholasticism. His sys� tem rests on a conception of God as the necessary existent: only in God do essence (what God is) and existence (that God is) coincide.

Avignon \,a-ve-'ny6 n \ ancient Avennio City (pop., 2004 prelim.: 89,400), southeastern France. Founded by the Gallic tribe of Cavares, it later fell under Roman rule and was a much-fought-over prize in its early days. Its status grew tremendously as the capital of the papacy (1309-77) and seat of the Avignonese popes during the Western Schism. France annexed the city in 1791. Landmarks include a Romanesque cathedral, the papal palace, and Saint-Benezet bridge, made famous by the song �Sur le pont d�Avignon.� The city�s historic centre was designated a World Heritage site in 1995.

Avignon papacy Roman Catholic papacy during the period 1309-77, when the popes resided at Avignon, France. Elected pope through the machinations of Philip IV of France, Clement V moved the papal capital to Avignon four years later primarily for political reasons. All seven popes of this period were French, as were most of the cardinals, which aroused English and German animosity. During the Avignon papacy the cardinals began to play a stronger role in church government, church and clergy were reformed, missionary efforts were expanded, and popes tried to settle royal rivalries and establish peace. The heavy French influence damaged the prestige of the papacy, however, and in 1377 Gregory XI returned to Rome. The cardinals elected a new pope who took the Avignon seat, becoming the first of a line of antipopes and beginning the Western Schism.

Avignon school School of late Gothic painting associated with the city of Avignon, Fr., during the Avignon papacy, when many Italian artists worked there. This �school� represents a body of late Gothic painting and not necessarily a single stylistic evolution. Under the direction of Simone Martini, the papal palace of Avignon and secular buildings in nearby towns were decorated with frescoes. The city was one of the channels by which Italian 14th-century art reached France. By the early 15th century Flem� ish influences had reached the city, consolidating the Italian and northern styles. The Avignon Pieta (c. 1460), attributed to Enguerrand Charonton,

is the masterpiece of the school. The artistic activity at Avignon greatly influenced French painting in the late 15th and 16th centuries. See also Gothic art.

Aviles, Pedro Menendez de See Pedro Menendez de Aviles

Avogadro's number Number of units in one mole of any substance (defined as its molecular weight in grams), equal to 6.0221367 x 10 23 . The units may be electrons, atoms, ions, or molecules, depending on the nature of the substance and the character of the reaction (if any). See also Avogadro's law; law of mass action; stoichiometry.

avoidance, zone of Region of apparent absence of galaxies near the plane of the Milky Way Galaxy. Millions of external galaxies are in this region of the sky but are obscured by interstellar dust within the Milky Way. The zone�s obscuration can be penetrated at the infrared portion of the ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM. See also INFRARED ASTRONOMY.

avoidance behaviour Type of activity, exhibited by animals exposed to adverse stimuli, in which the tendency to flee or to act defen� sively is stronger than the tendency to attack. Vision is the sense that most often produces avoidance behaviour (e.g., small birds react to the sight of an owl), but sound (e.g., a warning cry) may do so as well.

Avon, River or Lower Avon River, southwestern England. Rising in Gloucestershire, it flows 75 mi (121 km) southwest through Bristol and into the Bristol Channel at Avonmouth, Bristol�s port. Below Bristol it has cut through a limestone ridge to form Clifton Gorge, noted for its sus� pension bridge.

Avon, River or Upper Avon River, central England. Rising in Northamptonshire, it flows 96 mi (154 km) southwest into the River Sev� ern at Tewkesbury. It is known for its scenic beauty, notably in the Vale of Evesham. Important towns along it include Stratford, where William Shakespeare was born.

of the laurel family, a tree native

avocado Fruit of Persea americana, to the Western Hemisphere from Mexico south to the Andean regions.

Avocados are extremely variable in shape, size, and colour (green to dark purple). The outer skin may be thin, or coarse and woody. The greenish or yellowish flesh has a buttery consis� tency and a rich, nutty flavour. In some varieties the flesh contains as much as 25% unsaturated oil. Avo� cados are the principal ingredient of the Mexican sauce guacamole. They provide thiamine, riboflavin, and vitamin A.

avocet Va-v9-,set\ Any of several large shorebirds (genus Recurviros- tra ) with boldly contrasting plum� age, long bluish legs, and a long black bill upturned at the tip. Avocets inhabit fresh and salt marshes that have areas of open shallow water and mudflats, and feed by sweeping the partly open bill in the shallows. They often wade together to corral min� nows and crustaceans. Four avocet species are found in temperate and tropical regions worldwide. The American avocet is about 18 in. (45 cm) long, including the bill.

Avogadro's law ^a-vo-'ga-drozX Statement that, under the same con� ditions of TEMPERATURE and PRESSURE, equal volumes of different GASes

contain an equal number of molecules (see Avogadro's number). First pro� posed by the Italian scientist Amedeo Avogadro (1776-1856) in 1811, it became accepted c. 1860. From the law, it follows that the volume occu� pied by one mole of gas (at standard conditions of 32 �F [0 �C] and 1 atmosphere of pressure) is the same for all gases (0.791 cubic feet [22.4 litres]).

Avocado (Persea americana).

S.A. SCIBOR-SHOSTAL

American avocet (Recurvirostra ameri� cana)

MILDRED GLUECK FROM ROOT RESOURCES-EB INC.

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140 I AWAC5 ► Ayers

AWACS Va-waks\ (Airborne Warning and Control System)

Mobile, long-range radar surveillance-and-control centre for air defense. Used by the U.S. Air Force since 1977, AWACS is mounted in a specially modified Boeing 707 aircraft, with its main radar antenna affixed to a rotat� ing dome. It can detect, track, and identify low-flying aircraft at a distance of 200 nautical mi (370 km) and high-level targets at much greater dis� tances. It can also track maritime traffic and operate in any weather. The computer system can assess enemy action and track the location and avail� ability of any aircraft within range. Operators of its secure communications system can guide friendly aircraft against enemy planes.

Awakening, Great See Great Awakening

Awolowo Va-'wii-lo-.woV Obafemi (b. March 6, 1909, Ikenne, Colony and Protectorate of Southern Nigeria�d. May 9, 1987, Ikenne) Nigerian nationalist politician and leader of the Yoruba ethnic group. While studying law in London, he wrote the influential Path to Nigerian Freedom (1947) and laid the basis for the first Yoruba political party, the Action Group. As premier of Nigeria�s Western Region (1954-59), he worked to improve education, social services, and agriculture. He remained a major figure in national politics but never won high elective office.

ax Hand tool used for chopping, splitting, chipping, and piercing. Stone Age hand axes originated in simple stone implements that acquired wooden hafts, or handles, about 30,000 bc. Copper-bladed axes appeared in Egypt about 4000 bc and were followed by axes with blades of bronze and eventually iron. The development of the iron-bladed felling ax in the Middle Ages made possible the vast forest clearances of Europe, North and South America, and elsewhere. Though the ax has lost much of its historic role to powered saws and other machinery, it remains a widely used tool with many uses.

axiology or value theory Philosophical theory of value. Axiology is the study of value, or goodness, in its widest sense. The distinction is commonly made between intrinsic and extrinsic value�i.e., between that which is valuable for its own sake and that which is valuable only as a means to something else, which itself may be extrinsically or intrinsically valuable. Many different answers have been given to the question �What is intrinsically valuable?� For hedonists, it is pleasure; for pragmatists, it is satisfaction, growth, or adjustment; for Kantians, it is a good will. Plu- ralists such as G.E. Moore and William David Ross assert that there are any number of intrinsically valuable things. According to subjective theories of value, things are valuable only insofar as they are desired; objective theories hold that there are at least some things that are valuable inde� pendently of people�s interest in or desire for them. Cognitive theories of value assert that ascriptions of value function logically as statements of fact, whereas noncognitive theories assert that they are merely expres� sions of feeling (see emotivism) or prescriptions or commendations (see prescriptivism). According to naturalists, expressions such as �intrinsically good� can be analyzed as referring to natural, or non-ethical, properties, such as being pleasant. Moore famously denied this, holding that �good� refers to a simple (unanalyzable) non-natural property. See also fact-value distinction; naturalistic fallacy.

axiom In mathematics or logic, an unprovable rule or first principle accepted as true because it is self-evident or particularly useful (e.g., �Nothing can both be and not be at the same time and in the same respect�). The term is often used interchangeably with postulate, though the latter term is sometimes reserved for mathematical applications (such as the postulates of Euclidean geometry). It should be contrasted with a theorem, which requires a rigorous proof.

axiomatic method In logic, the procedure by which an entire science or system of theorems is deduced in accordance with specified rules by logical deduction from certain basic propositions (axioms), which in turn are constructed from a few terms taken as primitive. These terms may be either arbitrarily defined or conceived according to a model in which some intuitive warrant for their truth is felt to exist. The oldest examples of axiomatized systems are Aristotle�s syllogistic and Euclidean geometry. Early in the 20th century, Bertrand Russell and Alfred North Whitehead attempted to formalize all of mathematics in an axiomatic manner. Schol� ars have even subjected the empirical sciences to this method, as in J. H. Woodger�s The Axiomatic Method in Biology (1937) and Clark Hull�s Principles of Behavior (1943).

Axis Powers Coalition headed by Germany, Italy, and Japan that opposed the Allied Powers in World War II. The alliance originated in a

series of agreements between Germany and Italy, followed in 1936 by the Rome-Berlin Axis declaration and the German-Japanese Anti-Comintern Pact. The connection was strengthened by the formal Pact of Steel (1939) between Germany and Italy and by the Tripartite Pact signed by all three powers in 1940. Several other countries, including Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Slovakia, later allied themselves with the original Axis Powers.

axle Pin or shaft on or with which wheels revolve; with fixed wheels, one of the basic simple machines for amplifying force. Combined with the wheel, in its earliest form it was probably used for raising weights or water buckets from wells. Its principle of operation can be illustrated in the attachment of large and small gears to the same shaft; the tendency of a force applied at the radius on the large gear to turn the shaft is sufficient to overcome a larger force at the radius on the small gear. The mechanical advantage is equal to the ratio of the two forces and also equal to the ratio of the radii of the two gears.

Axminster carpet Floor covering produced in a factory founded at Axminster, England, in 1755 by the cloth weaver Thomas Whitty. The carpets were knotted in wool on woolen warps, with wefts of flax or hemp, and featured Renaissance architectural or floral patterns. The factory closed in 1835 with the advent of industrial weaving machines. The name survives as a generic term for all machine-made carpets with pile similar to velvet or chenille.

Axum See Aksum

ayatollah V.I-o-'to-loV In the Shiite branch of Islam, a high-ranking reli� gious authority regarded by his followers as the most learned person of his age. The ayatollah�s authority rests on the infallible imam. His legal decisions are accepted as binding by his personal followers and (in the present day) by the wider community.

Ayckbourn Vak-.bonA, Sir Alan (b. April 12, 1939, London, Eng.) British playwright. He began acting with the Stephen Joseph Co. in Scar� borough, Yorkshire, where he also wrote his earliest plays under the pseudonym Roland Allen (1959-61). Most of his plays premiered at the company�s theatre, where he was artistic director beginning in 1970. He has written over 50 plays, mostly farces and comedies that deal with marital and class conflicts, including Relatively Speaking (1967), Absurd Person Singular (1972), the trilogy The Norman Conquests (1973), Inti� mate Exchanges (1982), and Communicating Doors (1995).

Aydid \l-'ded\, Muhammad Farah orig. Muhammad Farah Hassan (b. c. 1930, Beledweyne, Italian Somaliland�d. Aug. 1, 1996, Mogadishu, Somalia) Somali faction leader. He received military training in Italy and the U.S.S.R. and served in posts under Mohamed Siad Barre (1978-89) before overthrowing him in 1991. He became the dominant clan leader at the centre of the Somalian civil war. Losing the interim presidency to another factional leader, Aydid continued warring on rival clans. When UN and U.S. troops arrived in Somalia (1992), Aydid ambushed a UN contingent and was declared an outlaw. The attempt to capture him led to many deaths, and foreign troops were withdrawn. He then intensified his campaign against his rivals, but he reportedly died of a heart attack after being wounded in battle.

Ayer \'a(o)r, 'e(o)r\, Sir A(lfred) J(ules) (b. Oct. 29, 1910, London, Eng.�d. June 27, 1989, London) British philosopher. He taught at Uni� versity College London (1946-59) and later at Oxford (1959-78). He gained international notice in 1936 with the publication of his first book, Language, Truth and Logic, a manifesto of logical positivism that drew on the ideas of the Vienna Circle and the tradition of British empiricism as rep� resented by David Hume and Bertrand Russell. He is also remembered for his contributions to epistemology and his writings on the history of Anglo- American philosophy (see also analytic philosophy). His other works include The Foundations of Empirical Knowledge (1940), The Problem of Knowledge (1956), The Origins of Pragmatism (1968), Russell and Moore (1971), The Central Questions of Philosophy (1973), and Wittgen� stein (1985).

Ayers \'arz\ Rock Rock outcrop, southwestern Northern Territory, Aus� tralia. Called Uluru by the Australian Aborigines and located in Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park, it is 1,100 ft (335 m) high and may be the world�s largest monolith. Its arkosic sandstone changes colour according to the height of the sun. Shallow caves at the base of the rock are sacred to sev� eral Aboriginal tribes and contain carvings and paintings. In 1985 own� ership of Ayers Rock was officially returned to the Aborigines.

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Aying ► Azerbaijan I 141

Aying or A Ying Va-'yigX orig. Qian Xingcun (b. Feb. 6, 1900�d. June 17, 1977) Chinese critic and historian of modem Chinese literature. A member of the Communist Party and of the standing committee of the League of Left-Wing Writers, he began c. 1930 to gather and study mate� rials on the literature of modern times and of the Ming and Qing dynas� ties. His published works, including Women Writers in Modern China (1933) and Two Talks on the Novel (1958), contributed greatly to the record of modern culture in China.

Aylesbury Valz-b9-re\ Town (pop., 1995 est.: 61,000), south-central England. The county seat of Buckinghamshire, it lies northwest of London in the Thames valley known as the Vale of Aylesbury, noted for its rich clay. Once an important market town, it is now an industrial centre. Its historic buildings include an 18th-century county hall and a 15th-century inn.

Aymara \,I-m3- , ra\ Large South American Indian group living on the Titicaca plateau of the central Andes Mountains in present-day Peru and Bolivia. The Aymara were conquered by the Inca and the Spanish, though they rebelled against both. Traditional Aymara now live in an area of poor soil and harsh climate, where they herd llamas and alpacas, grow crops, and fish using boats made of large reeds. Poverty rates within the group are among the highest in the hemisphere.

Ayme Ve-'maV Marcel (b. March 29, 1902, Joigny, Fr.�d. Oct. 14, 1967, Paris) French novelist, essayist, and playwright. His novels include The Hollow Field (1929), The Fable and the Flesh (1943), and The Tran� sient Hour (1946). He delighted a vast public with witty tales of talking farm animals (reflecting his own farm upbringing), some of which were published in English as The Wonderful Farm (1951). Though his extrava� gant creations mingling fantasy and reality were long dismissed as minor, he was belatedly recognized as a master of light irony and storytelling.

Ayodhya \9-'yod-y9\ or Oudh Town (pop., 2001: 49,417), Uttar Pradesh state, northern India. Lying on the banks of the Ghaghara River just east of Faizabad, of which it is now a suburb, Ayodhya in ancient times was one of India�s greatest cities; today, it is one of the seven holy cities of Hinduism. It was the capital of Kosala, as described in the Ramay- ana. It became an important Buddhist centre in Buddhism�s early years (6th-4th century bc), and the Buddha is said to have lived there. In the 16th century the Mughal emperor Babur built a mosque on a site tradi� tionally associated with an ancient Hindu temple marking the birthplace of the god Rama. The storming of the mosque by Hindus in 1990, amid religious tensions, was followed by riots, and the ensuing crisis brought down the government. In 1992 the mosque was demolished by Hindu fundamentalists, and hundreds of people died in the rioting that subse� quently swept through India.

Ayrshire \'er-,shir\ Breed of hardy dairy cattle (see dairy farming) that originated in the county of Ayr, Scotland, in the late 18th century. It is considered the only special dairy breed to have originated in the British Isles. Its body colour varies from almost pure white to nearly all cherry red or brown. Exported widely to other countries, it is especially common in Great Britain, the U.S., and Canada.

Ayub Khan \a-'ub-'kan\, Mohammad (b. May 14, 1907, Hazara, India�d. April 19, 1974, near Islamabad, Pak.) President of Pakistan (1958-69). After studies at Aligarh Muslim University and at the British Royal Military College, he became an officer in the Indian army (1928). He fought in Burma (Myanmar) in World War II, and afterward he rose through the ranks in the military in newly independent Pakistan. In 1958 Pakistan�s Pres. Iskander Mirza abrogated the country�s constitution, and Ayub became chief martial-law administrator. He declared himself presi� dent the same year, exiling Mirza. He established close ties with China and in 1965 went to war with India over control of the Kashmir region. The failure to take Kashmir, combined with unrest over suffrage restric� tions, led to riots, and Ayub resigned in 1969.

Ayurveda Va-yor-.va-doV or Ayurvedic medicine Traditional sys� tem of Indian medicine. It is attributed to Dhanvantari, the physician to the gods in Hindu mythology, who received it from Brahma. Its earliest concepts were set out in the portion of the Vedas known as the Athar- vaveda (c. 2nd millennium bc). The most important Ayurvedic texts are the Caraka samhita and Susruta samhita (1st�4th century ad). These texts analyze the human body in terms of earth, water, fire, air, and ether as well as the three bodily humours (wind, bile, and phlegm). To prevent illness, Ayurvedic medicine emphasizes hygiene, exercise, herbal prepa� rations, and yoga. To cure ailments, it relies on herbal medicines, phys�

iotherapy, and diet. Ayurvedic medicine is still a popular form of health care in India, where it is taught in roughly 100 colleges, and it has gained currency in the West as a form of alternative medicine.

Ayutthaya \,a-yu-'tI-9\ in full Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya. Town (pop., 2000 prelim.: 75,898), former capital city of the Thai kingdom of Ayutthaya. It is located northeast of present-day Bangkok. Modern-day Thailand (then called Siam) is said to date from its founding (between 1347 and 1351). The kingdom of Ayutthaya was once one of the most powerful in Southeast Asia, and its capital city flourished for more than 400 years. Much of the ancient city�s architecture, art, and literature was destroyed in 1767 when it was sacked by Hsinbyushin of the Alaungpaya dynasty. The modern town of Ayutthaya is set among the ruins of the ancient city. There is some manufacturing, and tourism is important. The area was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1991.

Ayyubid \a-'yu-bid\ dynasty (1173-1250) Kurdish dynasty founded by Saladin that ruled over Egypt, most of Syria, upper Iraq, and Yemen. After overthrowing the Fajimid dynasty, Saladin defended Palestine during the Crusades and made Egypt the most powerful Muslim state in the world. After Saladin�s death the Ayyubid regime became decentralized. In 1250 a group of mamluks (military slaves) exploited a lapse in Ayyubid suc� cession to take over the government in Egypt and to found the MamlOk dynasty. Minor Ayyubid princes continued to rule in parts of the Syria for some years afterward.

azalea Any plant of certain species of the genus Rhododendron (heath family), formerly given the generic name Azalea. Though some gardeners consider azaleas distinct from rhododendrons, distinguishing characteris� tics of the two groups are not consistent enough to separate them into two genera. Azaleas typically are deciduous (see deciduous tree), with flowers that are funnel-shaped, somewhat two-lipped, and often fragrant. Culti� vated varieties have been bred from species native to the hilly regions of Asia and North America. Well-known North American kinds include the smooth, or sweet, azalea ( R. arborescensf, the flame azalea (R. calen- dulaceum ); and the pinxter flower (R. periclymenoides ).

Azall \a-za-'le\ Any member of the Bab! movement who remained faith� ful to the teachings of the Bab and his chosen successor, Mirza Yahya, known as Sobh-e Azal, after the movement split in 1863. For 13 years after the Bab�s execution, followers recognized Sobh-e Azal as their leader. Then Sobh-e Azal�s half-brother, Baha� Ullah, privately declared himself to be the prophet whose coming the Bab had foretold. The Aza- lls rejected him, but most Babls followed him, establishing the BahaI faith in 1867. Now located almost exclusively in Iran, the Azalls probably number no more than a few thousand.

Azana \3-'than-yo\ (y Diaz), Manuel (b. Jan. 10, 1880, Alcala de Henares, Spain�<1. Nov. 4, 1940, Montauban, France) Spanish prime minister and president. As prime minister from 1931 to 1933, he attempted to fashion a moderately liberal government. Elected president in May 1936, he was able to accomplish little before the Spanish Civil War broke out in July. He lost control of policy and remained in office as only a fig� urehead until 1939, when he went into exile following the victory of the Nationalist forces of Francisco Franco.

Azande See Zande

Azerbaijan \,a-z9r-bl-'jan\ officially Republic of Azerbaijan

Country, Transcaucasia, western Asia. Area: 33,400 sq mi (86,600 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 8,381,000. Capital: Baku. Most residents are of Turkic origin, dating from the 11th century ad. Later migrations during the SeuOq period brought further groups, including some speaking Per� sian; Russians are a decreasing minority. Languages: Azerbaijanian (offi� cial), Russian. Religion: Islam (mostly Shl'ite). Currency: manat. Azerbaijan is characterized by a variety of landscapes. More than two- fifths of its territory is lowlands, while areas above 5,000 ft (1,500 m) occupy some one-tenth of the total area. The central part of the country is a plain through which flows the Kura River and its tributaries, includ� ing the Aras, whose upper course forms part of the boundary with Iran. The Caspian Sea serves Baku as a trade outlet. Agriculture, petroleum refining, and light manufacturing are economically important. Azerbaijan is a republic with one legislative body; its head of state and government is the president, assisted by the prime minister. Azerbaijan adjoins the Ira� nian region of the same name, and the origin of their respective inhabit� ants is the same. By the 9th century ad it had come under Turkish influence, and in ensuing centuries it was fought over by Arabs, Mongols,

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142 I Azhar ► azulejo

Turks, and Iranians. Russia acquired what is now independent Azerbaijan in the early 19th century. After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Azerbaijan declared its indepen� dence; it was subdued by the Red Army in 1920 and was incorporated into the Soviet Union. It declared indepen� dence from the collapsing Soviet Union in 1991. Azerbaijan has two geo� graphic peculiarities. The exclave Naxgivan (Nakhichevan) is separated from the rest of Azerbaijan by Armenian territory. Nagorno-Karabakh, which lies within Azerbaijan and is administered by it, has a Christian Armenian majority. Azerbaijan and Armenia went to war over both ter� ritories in the 1990s, causing many deaths and great economic disruption. Though attempts at mediation were made, the political situation remained unresolved.

Azhar \'az-,har\ University, al- Chief school of Islamic and Arabic learning in the world, centred on the al-Azhar Mosque in the medieval quarter of Cairo. It was founded by the Fatimid dynasty in 970. The basic program has always focused on Islamic law, theology, and the Arabic lan� guage. Philosophy and medical studies were added during the Middle Ages but were eventually dropped from the curriculum. Philosophy was restored at the end of the 19th century, and social sciences were added at a branch campus in the early 1960s. Women were first admitted in 1962.

Azikiwe \o-'zik-wa\, Nnamdi (b. Nov. 16, 1904, Zungeru, Nigeria�d. May 11, 1996, Enugu) First president (1963-66) of indepen� dent Nigeria. Azikiwe�s National Council party won the important 1959 federal elections and helped stimulate Nigerian independence. In the con� flict over Biafra (1967-70), Azikiwe first backed his fellow Igbo but then threw his support to the federal government. Thereafter he was a leading opponent of the ruling party.

azimuth See altitude and azimuth

azo \'a-zo\ dye Any of a large class of synthetic organic compounds, dyes containing two nitrogen atoms joined by a double bond (see bond� ing, covalent bond) in the form �N=N� as part of their molecular structure. More than half the dyes in commercial use are azo dyes. They are usually classed according to the fibres for which they are useful or the methods by which they are applied; direct dyes are absorbed from solu� tion by the fibres, but others require a second solution (a mordant) or a second step before the colour is fast.

Azores \o-'zorz\ Portuguese Acores \9-'so-rish\ Archipelago (pop., 2001: 242,073), northern Atlantic Ocean, constituting an autonomous region of Portugal. Its islands are Flores, Corvo, Terceira, Sao Jorge, Pico,

Faial, Graciosa, Sao Miguel, and Santa Maria; the capital is Ponta Del- gada (on Sao Miguel). It covers an area of 901 sq mi (2,333 sq km). Sub� ject to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, the islands lie some 1,000 mi (1,600 km) west of mainland Europe. The uninhabited Azores were reput� edly discovered c. 1427 by Portuguese pilot Diogo de Sevilha. Settlement began c. 1432; by the end of the 15th century, all the islands were inhab� ited and trade with Portugal was well established. They were subject to Spain in 1580-1640, and a famous sea battle between the British and Spanish occurred off Flores in 1591. The Portuguese installed a governor and captain general for the whole group in 1766; the islands were given limited autonomy in 1895. Important air and naval bases were set up there during World War II; in 1951 the U.S. established a NATO base on Lajes.

Azov \3-'zof, 'a-.zoA, Sea of Inland sea in Europe between Ukraine and Russia. It is connected to the Black Sea by Kerch Strait. About 210 mi (340 km) long and 85 mi (135 km) wide, it occupies an area of 14,500 sq mi (37,600 sq km). With a maximum depth of only about 46 ft (14 m), it is the world�s shallowest sea. It is fed by the Don and Kuban rivers, and at their entrance in the Taganrog Gulf, its depth is 3 ft (1 m) or less. In the west lies the Arabat Spit, a 70-mi- (113-km-) long sandbar that sepa� rates the Sea of Azov from the Sy vash, a system of marshy inlets divid� ing the Crimean Peninsula from the Ukrainian mainland.

AZT in full azidothymidine also known as zidovudine Drug that has had success in delaying the development of AIDS in patients with HIV. Since its introduction in the mid 1980s, it has prolonged the lives of mil� lions of patients. It is particularly effective in preventing transmission of HIV from infected pregnant women to their fetuses. Since it has a greater effect on the replication of viRUSes than of body cells, it has fewer side effects than most other AIDS drugs, though many patients nevertheless cannot tolerate it. Because HIV rapidly becomes resistant to any single antiretroviral drug, AZT is usually given in combination with other drugs.

Aztec NAHUATL-speaking people who in the 15th and early 16th centu� ries ruled a large empire in what is now central and southern Mexico. They may have originated on the northern Mexican plateau before migrat� ing to their later location. Their migration may have been linked to the collapse of the Toltec civilization. The Aztec empire, which at its height comprised roughly five to six million people spread over some 80,000 sq mi (200,000 sq km), was made possible by their successful agricultural methods, including intensive cultivation, irrigation, and reclamation of wetlands. The Aztec state was despotic, militaristic, and sharply stratified according to class and caste. Aztec religion was syncretic, drawing espe� cially on the beliefs of the Maya. The Aztec practiced human sacrifice, an activity that sometimes reached mass proportions. The empire came to an end when the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes took the emperor Mon� tezuma II prisoner and conquered the great city Tenochtitlan (modem Mexico City). See also Nahua.

Aztec Ruins National Monument Archaeological site, northwest� ern New Mexico, U.S. Located on the Animas River just north of the town of Aztec, it was established in 1923 and has an area of 0.5 sq mi (1.3 sq km). Mistakenly named by early settlers, the site actually contains the excavated ruins of a 12th-century Pueblo town. It was designated a World Heritage site in 1987.

azulejo \,a-zu-'la-ho\ Spanish and Portuguese glazed, polychromed tile produced from the 14th century.

Introduced into Spain by the Arabs during the Moorish occupation, azu- lejos were used in Islamic architec� ture for facing walls and paving floors. Early designs were geometric and 5-6 in. (13-15 cm) square. In the 15 th�16 th centuries Portugal imported the tiles from Spain for use in religious and private buildings.

The Portuguese exported them in the 17th century to the Azores, Madeira, and Brazil, and the Spaniards intro� duced them to their American colo� nies. In the 18th century, interiors and exteriors in Puebla, Mex., were covered with azulejos in brilliant colours on a scale unequaled elsewhere.

Azulejos from Seville, late 16th cen� tury; in the Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam

BY COURTESY OF MUSEUM BOYMANS-VAN BEUNINGEN, ROTTERDAM

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B-17 ► Babbitt I 143

B-17 or Flying Fortress U.S. heavy bomber used in World War II. Designed by the Boeing Aircraft Co. in 1934, it cruised at 35,000 ft (10,700 m) at a maximum speed of 287 mph (462 kph). It was called the Flying Fortress because of the .50-caliber machine guns, 13 in all, at every comer. It could carry 3 tons (2.7 metric tons) of bombs in its bays and more on racks under its wings. More than 12,000 B-17s were produced during World War II, and most were used for high-level bombing over Europe.

B-52 or Stratofortress U.S. long-range heavy bomber, designed in 1948 by the Boeing Company and first flown in 1952. Originally intended as an atomic-bomb carrier capable of reaching the Soviet Union, it has proved highly adaptable and has remained in service as a conventional bomber, cruise-missile carrier, and maritime reconnaissance platform. It has a wingspan of 185 ft (56 m) and a length of more than 160 ft (49 m).

Powered by eight jet engines, its maximum speed at 55,000 ft (17,000 m) is 595 mph (960 kph).

B cell One of the two types of lymphocytes (the others being T cells). All lymphocytes begin their development in the bone marrow. B cells are involved in so-called humoral immunity; on encountering a foreign substance (antigen), the B lymphocyte differentiates into a plasma cell, which secretes immunoglobulin (see antibody).

Baader-Meinhof Gang Vba-dor-'min-.hoA or Red Army Faction West German leftist terrorist group formed in 1968 and popularly named after two of its early leaders, Andreas Baader (1943-1977) and Ulrike Meinhof (1934-1976). The members initially sup� ported themselves by bank robberies and engaged in terrorist bombings and arson, especially of West German and U.S. targets in West Germany. Baader, Meinhof, and 18 others were arrested in 1972; Meinhof eventually hanged herself, and Baader apparently also died a suicide. By the mid-1970s the group had turned to international terrorism; two members took part in the 1976 Palestinian airplane hijacking in the Entebbe incident. After the collapse of communism in East Germany (1989� 90), it was discovered that East Germany�s secret police had provided training and supplies to the gang. The group announced an end to its ter� rorist campaign in 1992.

Baal \'bal\ God worshiped in many ancient Middle Eastern communi� ties, especially among Canaanites, for whom he was a fertility deity. In the mythology of Canaan, he was locked in combat with Mot, the god of death and sterility; depending on the outcome of their struggles, seven- year cycles of fertility or famine would ensue. Baal was also king of gods, having seized the kingship from the sea god, Yamm. Baal worship was popular in Egypt from the later New Kingdom to its end (1400-1075 bc). The Aramaeans used the Babylonian pronunciation Bel; Bel became the Greek Belos, identified with Zeus. The Old Testament often refers to a spe� cific local Baal or multiple Baalim.

ba'al shem \bal-'sham\ In Judaism, a title bestowed on men who worked wonders and cures through secret knowledge of the names of God. The practice dates to the 11th century, long before the term was applied to certain rabbis and Kabbalists. They were numerous in 17th- and 18th- century eastern Europe, where they exorcised demons, inscribed amulets, and performed cures using herbs, folk remedies, and the Tetragrammaton. Because they combined faith healing with use of the Kabbala, they clashed with physicians, rabbis, and followers of the Haskala. See also Ba'al Shem Tov.

Ba'al Shem Tov Vbal-'shem-'tovV orig. Israel ben Eliezer (b. c.

1700, probably Tluste, Podolia, Pol.�d. 1760, Medzhibozh) Charismatic founder of Hasidism (c. 1750). An orphan, he worked in synagogues and yeshivas, and when he retired to the Carpathian Mountains to engage in mystical speculation he gained a reputation as a ba'al shem, or healer. From c. 1736 he lived in the village of Medzhibozh and devoted himself to spiritual pursuits. He was widely known as the Besht, an acronym of Ba'al Shem Tov. He rejected the asceticism of older rabbis and focused on communion with God, service of God in everyday tasks, and rescue of the sparks of divinity that, according to the Kabbala, are trapped in the material world. His discourses during Sabbath meals have been preserved; he left no writings of his own. He made a point of conversing with simple

working people. Hasidism brought about a social and religious upheaval in Judaism, establishing a mode of worship marked by new rituals and religious ecstasy.

Baalbeck Vba-ol-.bek, 'bal-,bek\ or Baalbek Arabic Ba'labakk Large archaeological complex, eastern Lebanon. In ancient times it was a great city built on the lower western slope of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains. Its identification with the worship of Baal, a Semitic sun-god, gave rise to its Greek name, Heliopolis. It was made a Roman colony by the emperor Augustus Caesar. In ad 637 it came under Arab control and was administered by Muslim rulers from Syria until the 20th century. After World War I (1914-18) the French mandatory authorities made it part of Lebanon. The area in and around the city is noted for its exten� sive ruins, including temples of Jupiter, Bacchus, and Venus, town walls, Roman mosaics, a mosque, and Arab fortifications. The complex was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1984. The modern town (pop. 2002 est.: 29,200) is a regional urban centre.

Baath Party See Ba'th Party

Bab Vbab\, the orig. MIrza �All Muhammad of Shiraz (b. Oct. 20, 1819, or Oct. 8, 1820, Shiraz, Iran�d. July 9, 1850, Tabriz) Iranian religious leader who founded the BabI religion and was one of the central figures of Baha�i. The son of a merchant, he was influenced by the ShaykhI school of ShTite Islam. In 1844 he wrote a commentary on the surah of Joseph in the Qur�an and declared himself the Bab (Arabic: �Gateway�) to the hidden imam. Later he would claim to be the imam himself, and finally a divine manifestation. The same year he assembled 18 disciples, who spread the new faith in the various Persian provinces. He had popular support but was opposed by members of the religious class, and he was arrested near Tehran in 1847 and imprisoned. Meeting at Badasht in 1848, his follow� ers, the AzalI, formally broke with Islam. The Bab was executed by a fir� ing squad at Tabriz in 1850.

Bab el-Mandeb See Mandeb, Strait of

Babbage Vbab-ij\, Charles (b. Dec. 26, 1791, London, Eng.�d. Oct. 18, 1871, London) British mathema� tician and inventor. Educated at Cambridge University, he devoted himself from about 1812 to devising machines capable of calculating mathematical tables. His first small calculator could perform certain computations to eight decimals. In 1823 he obtained government sup� port for the design of a projected machine with a 20-decimal capacity.

In the 1830s he developed plans for the so-called Analytical Engine, capable of performing any arithmeti� cal operation on the basis of instruc� tions from punched cards, a memory unit in which to store numbers, sequential control, and most of the other basic elements of the present- day computer. The forerunner of the modern digital computer, the Analyti� cal Engine was never completed. In 1991 British scientists built Differ� ence Engine No. 2 (accurate to 31 digits) to Babbage�s specifications. His other contributions included establishing the modem postal system in England, compiling the first reliable actuarial tables, and inventing the locomotive cowcatcher.

Babbitt, Milton (Byron) (b. May 10, 1916, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.) U.S. composer. At Princeton University he studied with composer Roger Sessions and later joined the faculty. He became one of the first U.S. 12-tone composers, and he was (with his Three Compositions for Piano, 1947) perhaps the first composer to write totally serialized music based on ordered structures not only of pitch but of elements such as rhythm and dynamics. The first composer to work with RCA�s Mark II synthesizer, he

Charles Babbage, detail of an oil painting by Samuel Lawrence, 1845; in the National Portrait Gallery, Lon� don.

COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, LONDON

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144 I Babel ► BabyYar

became one of the first Americans to write electronically synthesized music. He wrote various pieces combining live performers and tape.

Babel \'ba-b y il\, Isaak (Emmanuilovich) (b. July 13,1894, Odessa, Ukraine, Russian Empire�d. March 17, 1941, Siberia, Russia, U.S.S.R.) Russian short-story writer. Born Jewish in Ukraine, Babel grew up in an atmosphere of persecution that is reflected in his stories. Maksim Gorky encouraged him to travel abroad to expand his horizons. Out of his expe� rience as a soldier in the war with Poland came the stories in Red Cavalry (1926). His Odessa Tales (1931) include realistic and humorous sketches of the Jewish ghetto outside Odessa. Initially well regarded in the Soviet Union, in the late 1930s Babel�s writing was found incompatible with offi� cial literary doctrine. He was arrested in 1939 and died in a Siberian prison camp. He is one of Russia�s greatest writers of short stories.

Babel Vba-bol, 'ba-baA, Tower of In the Hebrew scriptures, a high tower built in Shinar (Babylonia). According to Genesis 11:1-9, the Baby� lonians wanted to build a tower �with its top in the heavens.� Angry at their presumption, God disrupted the enterprise by confusing the lan� guages of the workers so that they could no longer understand each other. The tower was left unfinished and the people dispersed over the face of the earth. The myth may have been inspired by a tower temple located north of the Marduk temple and known as Bab-ilu (�Gate of God�).

"The Tower of Babel," oil painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1563; in the Kun- sthistorisches Museum, Vienna

COURTESY OF THE KUNSTHISTORISCHES MUSEUM, VIENNA

Babenberg Vba-bon-.berkV House of Austrian ruling house in the 10th�13th century. Leopold I of Babenberg became margrave of Austria in 976. The Babenbergs� power was modest until the 12th century, when they came to dominate the Austrian nobility. With the death of Duke Fre� derick II in 1246, the male line ended, and the family�s power declined rapidly.

Babeuf \ba-'b3f\, Francois- Noel (b. Nov. 23, 1760, Saint- Quentin, France�d. May 27, 1797,

Vendome) French political journalist and agitator. During the era of the French Revolution he advocated an equal distribution of land and income. For his part in a conspiracy to overthrow the Directory and insti� tute a return to the Constitution of 1793, he was guillotined. His tacti� cal strategies provided a model for left-wing movements of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Babington, Anthony (b. Octo� ber 1561, Dethick, Derbyshire,

Eng.�d. Sept. 20, 1586, London)

English conspirator. Raised secretly as a Catholic, Babington was joined by the priest John Ballard in the

unsuccessful �Babington Plot� to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I and install her prisoner, Mary, Queen of Scots, on the English throne. The conspiracy included many Roman Catholics, and Philip II of Spain promised to provide immediate assistance after the assassination. Babington was imprisoned and executed after the interception of an exchange of letters with Mary explaining his plans. The letters were also used as evidence supporting the execution of Mary the following year.

Babism Vbab-.iz-omX Religion that developed in Iran around Mlrza 'All Muhammad�s claim (1844) to be the Bab. Its beliefs are set forth in the Bay an, a holy book written by the Bab, which proclaims a universal law in place of all existing religious legal codes. Babism originated as a messianic movement in Shi'ite Islam. In 1867 the movement split, with the AzalTs remaining faithful to the original teachings of the Bab and those of his suc� cessor Sobh-e Azal. Most Babis accepted the leadership of Sobh-e Azal�s half-brother Baha 5 Ullah, and under him the BahaI faith was developed.

baboon Any of five species of robust monkeys (genus Papio) of Arabia and sub-Saharan Africa. Baboons have a large head, cheek pouches, and a long, doglike muzzle. They walk on all fours, carrying the tail in a characteristic arch. They weigh 30-90 lbs (14-40 kg) and are about 20^15 in. (50-115 cm) long, exclud� ing the tail (18-28 in., or 45-70 cm, long). Found mainly in drier savanna and rocky areas, they feed on a vari� ety of plants and animals. Highly social and intelligent, they travel in large noisy troops, communicating by calls. They may destroy crops, and their enormous canine teeth and powerful limbs make them danger� ous opponents.

Babur Vba-borV orig. Zahlr al-DTn Muhammad (b. Feb. 15, 1483, principality of Fergana�d. Dec. 26, 1530, Agra, India) Emperor (1526� 30) and founder of the Mughal dynasty of India. A descendant of Genghis Khan and Timur, he came from a tribe of Mongol origin but was Turkish in language and upbringing. In his youth he tried for 10 years (1494- 1504) to gain control of Samarkand, Timur�s old capital. Those efforts ended in his losing his own principality in Fergana (modem Uzbekistan), but he consoled himself by seizing and holding Kabul (1504). After four failed attempts, he successfully occupied Delhi (1525). Surrounded by enemy states, Babur (the name means �Tiger�) persuaded his homesick troops to stand their ground, and over the next four years he defeated his foes. His grandson Akbar consolidated the new empire. Babur was also a gifted poet and a lover of nature who constructed gardens wherever he went. The Babur-ndmeh, his prose memoirs, has become a world classic of autobiography.

Babuyan \,ba-bu-'yan\ Islands Island group, northern Philippines. Lying north of Luzon, it consists of about 24 islands with a total area of 225 sq mi (583 sq km). The chief islands are Babuyan, Camiguin, Calayan, Fuga, and Dalupiri. Calayan is the largest town and only port.

baby boom In the U.S., increase in the birth rate between 1946 and 1964; also, the generation born in the U.S. during that period. The hard� ships and uncertainties of the Great Depression and World War II led many unmarried couples to delay marriage and many married couples to delay having children. The war�s end, followed by a sustained period of eco� nomic prosperity (the 1950s and early 1960s), was accompanied by a surge in population. The sheer size of the baby-boom generation (some 75 million) magnified its impact on society: the growth of families led to a migration from cities to suburbs in the postwar years, prompting a building boom in housing, schools, and shopping malls. As the �boomers� reached young adulthood in the 1960s and �70s, their tastes in music and their hair and dress styles strongly influenced the national culture, and the political activism of some contributed to the unpopularity of the Vietnam War. As they aged and prospered in the 1980s and �90s, their buying hab� its determined the course of many consumer industries, including auto� mobiles. The needs of baby boomers during their retirement years were expected to strain public resources.

Baby Yar \,ba-be-'yar\ Large ravine near Kiev, Ukraine, the site of a mass grave of some 100,000 people killed by German Nazi SS squads between 1941 and 1943. Most of the victims were Jews, but some were

Babeuf, engraving by an unknown art� ist, 18th century

COURTESY OF THE BIBUOTHEQUE NATIONALE, PARIS

Anubis, or olive, baboon (Papio anubis).

NORMAN MYERS/PHOTO RESEARCHERS

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Babylon ► Bach I 145

communist officials and Russian prisoners of war. After the initial mas� sacre of Jews, Baby Yar remained in use as an execution site for Soviet prisoners of war and for Roma (Gypsies) as well as for Jews. It became the symbol of the first stage of killing during the Holocaust and of the massacres by the Einsatzgruppen (German: �deployment groups�)�the mobile killing units. The site came to world attention after the 1961 pub� lication of Yevgeny Yevtushenko�s poem Baby Yar. Though a small obelisk and memorial were erected in the 1960s and �70s, not until 1991 was the identity of the Jewish victims recorded on the monument by the newly independent Ukrainian government.

Babylon Ancient Middle Eastern city. The city�s ruins are located about 55 mi (89 km) south of Baghdad, near the modern city of Al-Hillah, Iraq. Babylon was one of the most famous cities in antiquity. Probably first settled in the 3rd millennium bc, it came under the rule of the Amorite kings around 2000 bc. It became the capital of Babylonia and was the chief commercial city of the Tigris and Euphrates river system. Destroyed by Sennacherib in 689 bc, it was later rebuilt. It attained its greatest glory as capital of the Neo-Babylonian empire under Nebuchadrezzar II (r. 605-c. 561 bc). Alexander the Great, who took the city in 331 bc, died there. Evi� dence of its topography comes from excavations, cuneiform texts, and descriptions by the Greek historian Herodotus. Most of the ruins are from the city built by Nebuchadrezzar. The largest city in the world at the time, it contained many temples, including the great temple of Marduk with its associated ziggurat, which was apparently the basis for the story of the Tower of Babel. The Hanging Gardens, a simulated hill of vegetation-clad terracing, was one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

Babylonia Ancient cultural region of the Tigris and Euphrates river sys� tem. The area was divided into Sumer (southeast) and Akkad (northwest) when the first Babylonian line of Amorite kings took power after 2000 bc. Largely because of the efforts of Hammurabi (r. c. 1792-50 bc), Baby� lonia gained regional hegemony but declined after his death; the Kassites from the east eventually assumed power (c. 1595) and established a dynasty that lasted some four centuries. After Elam conquered Babylonia (c. 1157 bc), a series of wars established a new Babylonian dynasty whose outstanding member was Nebuchadrezzar I (r. c. 1124-1103 bc). Follow� ing his rule, a three-way struggle developed for control of Babylonia among Assyria, Aram (see Aramaeans), and Chaldea, in which the Assyr� ians ruled the area most frequently (9th-7th century bc). In the 7th-6th centuries bc the Chaldean Nebuchadrezzar II (605-562 bc) instituted the last and greatest period of Babylonian supremacy, conquering Syria and Palestine and rebuilding Babylon, the capital city. It was conquered in 539 bc by the Persian Achaemenian dynasty under Cyrus II and in 331 bc by Alexander the Great, after which the capital city was gradually abandoned.

Babylonian Exile or Babylonian Captivity Forced detention of Jews in Babylonia following Babylonian conquest of Judah in 598/597 and 587/586 bc. The first deportation may have occurred after King Jehoi- achin was deposed in 597 bc or after Nebuchadrezzar destroyed Jerusalem in 586. In 538 bc the Persian Cyrus II conquered Babylonia and allowed the Jews to return to Palestine. Some Jews chose to remain in Babylonia, initiating the Jewish Diaspora. During the Babylonian Exile the Jews maintained their national spirit and religious identity despite cultural pres� sures in a foreign land, with Ezekiel and other prophets keeping hope alive. Petrarch and other writers designated the Avignon papacy as the Babylo� nian Captivity in the 14th century, and Martin Luther used the term in the title of one of his works attacking the papacy and the Roman Catholic church in the 16th century.

baby's breath Either of two species of herbaceous plants of the genus Gypsophila (pink family), having profuse small blossoms. Both G. elegans, an annual, and G. paniculata, a perennial, are cultivated for their fine misty effect in rock gardens and flower borders and in floral arrangements. They are native to Eurasia.

Bacall, Lauren orig. Betty Joan Perske (b. Sept. 6, 1924, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. actress. She worked as a model while seeking Broadway roles; her photograph on a magazine cover led to her casting in the film To Have and Have Not (1944) with Humphrey Bogart, whom she soon married. An instant success, she made three more films with Bogart: The Big Sleep (1946), Dark Passage (1947), and Key Largo (1948). She also appeared in such memorable films as How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) and Murder on the Orient Express (1974). On Broad� way she won Tony Awards for her performances in Applause (1970), and Woman of the Year (1981).

baccarat Casino card game that resembles a simpler version of black� jack. In basic baccarat the house is the bank. In chemin de fer (a more advanced baccarat) the bank passes from player to player. In punto banco, it appears to pass from player to player but is actually held by the house. Casino play involves three or six 52-card decks shuffled together and dealt from a shoe (a box designed to hold several decks of playing cards). Counting spot-cards at face value and face-cards and 10s as 0, the bet� tor�s aim is to receive cards that are closer to totaling 9 than those of the banker. For the purpose of totaling these cards, 10 or more counts only as its last digit (for instance, 17 is counted as 7). The banker deals two cards to the bettor and to himself.

Baccarat glass Glassware manufactured since 1765 in Baccarat, France. The firm originally produced soda glass for windows and indus� trial use. In 1816 it was acquired by a Belgian manufacturer of lead crys� tal; since then it has specialized in this type of glass, especially paperweights. Baccarat exhibited works in the important 1925 Exposition des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modemes in Paris. Today the company produces tableware in both historical and modern designs.

Bacchanalia \,ba-k3-'nal-y3\ or Dionysia In Greco-Roman religion, any of the festivals of the wine god Bacchus (Dionysus), which probably originated as fertility rites. The most famous Greek festivals included the Greater Dionysia, with its dramatic performances; the Anthesteria; and the Lesser Dionysia, characterized by simple rites. Bacchanalia were intro� duced from lower Italy into Rome, where they were at first secret, open only to women, and held three times a year. They later admitted men and became as frequent as five times a month. In 186 bc their reputation as orgies led the Senate to prohibit them throughout Italy, except in special cases.

bacchantes See maenads and bacchantes Bacchus See Dionysus

Bach, Alexander, baron von (b. Jan. 4, 1813�d. 1893) Austrian politician noted for instituting a system of centralized control. He served as minister of the interior (1849-59); after the death of Felix, prince zu Schwarzenberg in 1852, he largely dictated policy in the regime. Bach centralized administrative authority for the Austrian Empire, but he also endorsed reactionary policies that reduced freedom of the press and aban� doned public trials.

March 8, 1714, Weimar, Saxe-

Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel (b.

Weimar�d. Dec. 14, 1788, Ham� burg) German composer. Second son of Johann Sebastian Bach, he received a superb musical education from his father. In 1740 he became harpsichordist at the court of Freder� ick II the Great, where he remained for 28 years, after which he moved to Hamburg to take the city�s lead� ing musical position. He was a leader of the Empfindsamkeit (�sensitivity�) movement, which emphasized rhap� sodic freedom and sentiment. A founder of the Classical style, he is one of the first composers in whose works sonata form becomes clearly evident. He wrote some 200 works for harpsichord, clavichord, and piano (including dozens of sonatas),

some 50 keyboard concertos, many symphonies, and several oratorios and Passions. His Essay on the True Manner of Playing Keyboard Instruments (1753) was a highly important practical music treatise.

C.P.E. Bach, engraving by A. Stottrup

COURTESY OF HAAGS GEMENTEMUSEUM, THE HAGUE

Bach, Johann Christian (b. Sept. 5, 1735, Leipzig�d. Jan. 1, 1782, London, Eng.) German-born British composer. Youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach, he studied with his brother Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach in Berlin before moving to Italy. In 1762 he became composer to the King�s Theatre in London, where he would remain the rest of his life, becoming music teacher to the queen, and later the impresario (with Karl Friedrich Abel) of an important series of concerts (1765-81). He wrote some 50 symphonies, some 35 keyboard concertos, and much chamber music. His music, melodious and well formed but far from profound and with no

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146 I Bach ► Bacon

trace of his father�s influence, became an important prototype of the Clas� sical style and influenced Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Bach, Johann Sebastian (b. March 21, 1685, Eisenach, Thuringia, Ernestine Saxon Duchies�d. July 28, 1750, Leipzig) German composer. Born to a musical family, he became a superbly well-rounded musician; from 1700 he held positions as singer, violinist, and organist. His first major appointment, in 1708, was as organist at the ducal court at Weimar. This was followed by a six-year stay (1717-23) as kapellmeister at the princely court of Kothen, which was in turn followed by his appointment as cantor at the great church of St. Thomas in Leipzig, where he would remain for the rest of his life. Imbued with the northern German contra� puntal style (see counterpoint) from early childhood, he encountered the lively Italian style, especially in the works of Antonio Vivaldi, about 1710, and much of his music embodies an immensely convincing melding of the two styles. At St. Thomas he wrote more than 200 church cantatas. His orchestral works include the six Brandenburg Concertos, four orches� tral suites, and many harpsichord concertos, a genre he invented. His solo keyboard works include the great didactic set The Well-Tempered Clavier (1722 and 1742), the superb Goldberg Variations (1742), the massive but unfinished Art of the Fugue (1749), numerous suites, and many organ preludes and fugues. His surviving choral works include (in addition to the sacred cantatas) more than 30 secular cantatas, two monumental Pas� sions, and the Mass in B Minor. His works, never widely known in his lifetime, went into near-total eclipse after his death, and only in the early 19th century were they revived, to enormous acclaim. He was perhaps the most accomplished organist and harpsichordist of his time. Today Bach is regarded as the greatest composer of the Baroque era, and, by many, as the greatest composer of all time.

Bach, Wilhelm Friedemann (b. Nov. 22, 1710, Weimar, Saxe- Weimar�d. July 1, 1784, Berlin) German composer and organist. Eldest son of Johann Sebastian Bach, he was trained by his father. One of the finest organists of his time, he held important organist posts in Dresden (1723-46) and Halle (1746-64) but thereafter lived an unsettled life and drifted into drinking and poverty. Though he was a highly gifted com� poser, his compositions veered confusingly between the old contrapuntal style and the new pre-Classical styles. He wrote more than 30 church can� tatas, several keyboard concertos, and many solo keyboard works.

Bacharach Vbak-o-.rakN, Burt (b. May 12, 1928, Kansas City, Mo., U.S.) U.S. songwriter and pianist. He studied under Darius Milhaud, Bohuslav Martinu, and Henry Cowell. In the 1950s he wrote arrangements for Steve Lawrence and Vic Damone and later toured with Marlene Dietrich. In the late 1950s he began his long association with lyricist Hal David (b. 1921), which would produce many hits especially for singer Dionne Warwick (b. 1940), including �Walk On By,� �I Say a Little Prayer,� and �Do You Know the Way to San Jose?� He and David wrote the successful musical Promises, Promises (1968) and the score for the film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969, Academy Award). Bacharach collaborated with singer-songwriter Elvis Costello (b. 1954) on the album Painted from Memory (1998).

Bachchan, Amitabh (b. Oct. 11, 1942, Allahabad, India) Indian film actor. Bachchan�s first film success was Zanjeer (1973); by the end of the 1970s he was something of a cultural phenonemon in India and was regarded as the most popular star in the history of Indian films. He is often compared to such American action stars as Clint Eastwood, although Bachchan�s talents also extend to singing, dancing, and comedy. After a brief stint in politics in the mid 1980s, Bachchan gained a new genera� tion of fans in the next decade as host of the television game show Kaun banega crorepati, the Indian version of the U.S. and U.K. hit Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

bachelor's button or cornflower Herbaceous, hardy annual plant (Centaurea cyanus) of the composite family, having flower heads with blue, pink, or white rays. It is native to the Mediterranean region and widely cultivated in North America. A common garden plant, it often also appears as a weed.

bacillus \b3-'si-l3s\ Any of the rod-shaped, gram-positive bacteria (see gram stain) that make up the genus Bacillus, widely found in soil and water. The term is sometimes applied to all rodlike bacteria. Bacilli fre� quently occur in chains and can form spores under unfavourable environ� mental conditions. Resistant to heat, chemicals, and sunlight, these spores may remain capable of growing and developing for long periods of time. One type sometimes causes spoilage in canned foods. Another, wide�

spread bacillus contaminates laboratory cultures and is often found on human skin. Most strains do not cause disease in humans, infecting them only incidentally in their role as soil organisms; a notable exception is B. anthracis, which causes anthrax. Some bacilli produce antibiotics.

backbone See vertebral column

backgammon Two-person game played by moving counters (called stones) on a board or table, the movement of the counters being controlled by the throw of two dice. The board has four sections (called tables), each marked with six narrow wedges (points) in two alternating colors. Rep� resenting the two opposing sides are 15 white and 15 black stones. Stones are moved from point to point in opposite directions according to the number of points shown on the dice. On getting all 15 of his stones into his own home (inner) table, a player may begin �bearing off��moving his stones to an imaginary point beyond the edge of the board. The player who first bears off all 15 stones wins the game. Backgammon is one of the most ancient board games, dating from 3000 bc.

backpacking Sport of hiking while carrying clothing, food, and camp� ing equipment in a pack on the back. In the early 20th century backpack� ing was primarily a means of getting to wilderness areas inaccessible by car or by day hike. It subsequently became associated with general tour� ing by foot in urban as well as wilderness settings. Types of packs range from the frameless rucksack to the contour frame pack, with a frame of aluminum tubing and often a waistband that transfers most of the pack�s weight to the hips.

Backus, John W(arner) (b. Dec. 3, 1924, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.) U.S. mathematician. He received his bachelor�s and master�s degrees from Columbia University. He was head of a small group that in 1957 devel� oped the computer language FORTRAN for numerical analysis. He con� tributed to the development of ALGOL and developed a notation known as the Backus Normal, or Backus-Naur, Form for defining the syntax of a programmable language (1959). He received the Turing Award in 1977.

Bacolod \bo- , ko- l l6d\ City (pop., 2000: 429,076), south-central Philip� pines. It lies on the Guimaras Strait in the north of the island of Negros, opposite Guimaras Island. It is regarded as the Philippine sugar capital. Its port, to the south, is important for fishing.

Bacon, Francis (b. Oct. 28, 1909, Dublin, Ire.�d. April 28, 1992, Madrid, Spain) Irish-British painter. He lived in Berlin and Paris before settling in London (1929) to begin a career as an interior decorator. With no formal art training, he started painting, drawing, and participating in gallery exhibitions, with little success. In 1944 he achieved instant noto� riety with a series of controversial paintings, Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion. His mature style emerged completely with the series of works known as �The Screaming Popes� (1949-mid- 1950s), in which he converted Diego Velazquez�s famous Portrait of Pope Innocent X into a nightmarish icon of hysterical terror. Most of Bacon�s paintings depict isolated figures, often framed by geometric constructions, and ren� dered in smeared, violent colours. His imagery typically suggests anger, horror, and degradation.

Bacon, Francis, Viscount St. Albans (b. Jan. 22, 1561, London, Eng.�d. April 9, 1626, London) British statesman and philosopher, father of modem scientific method. He studied at Cambridge and at Gray�s Inn. A supporter of the Earl of Essex, Bacon turned against him when Essex was tried for treason. Under James I he rose steadily, becoming succes� sively solicitor general (1607), attorney general (1613), and lord chan� cellor (1618). Convicted of accepting bribes from those being tried in his court, he was briefly imprisoned and permanently lost his public offices; he died deeply in debt. He attempted to put natural science on a firm empirical foundation in the Novum Organum (1620), which sets forth his scientific method. His elaborate classification of the sciences inspired the 18th-century French Encyclopedists (see Encyclopedie), and his empiricism inspired 19th-century British philosophers of science. His other works include The Advancement of Learning (1605), History of Henry VII (1622), and several important legal and constitutional works.

Bacon, Nathaniel (b. Jan. 2, 1647, Suffolk, Eng.�d. October 1676, Virginia Colony) British-born American colonial planter, leader of Bacon�s Rebellion. He emigrated from England in 1673 and acquired land in Virginia, where he was appointed to the council of William Berkeley, the British governor. After a dispute over Indian policy, he defied Berkeley�s orders and organized an expedition against the Indians in 1676. He then

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Bacon ► Badlands I 147

turned his forces against Berkeley, captured Jamestown, and briefly controlled most of Virginia. His death at age 29 of influenza, at the height of his power, ended the rebel� lion.

Bacon, Roger (b. c. 1220, Ilches- ter, Somerset, or Bisley, Gloucester?,

Eng.�d. 1292, Oxford) English sci� entist and philosopher. He was edu� cated at Oxford and the University of Paris and joined the Franciscan order in 1247. He displayed a prodigious energy and zeal in the pursuit of experimental science; his studies eventually won him a place in popu� lar literature as a worker of wonders.

He was the first European to describe in detail the process of making gun� powder, and he proposed flying machines and motorized ships and carriages. He therefore represents a historically precocious expression of the empirical spirit of experimental science, even though his actual prac� tice of it seems to have been exaggerated. His philosophical thought was essentially Aristotelian, though he was critical of the methods of theolo� gians such as Albertus AAagnus and Thomas Aquinas, arguing that a more accurate experimental knowledge of nature would be of great value in confirming the Christian faith. He also wrote on mathematics and logic. He was condemned to prison c. 1277 by his fellow Franciscans because of �suspected novelties� in his teaching.

bacteremia V.bak-te-'re-me-oN Presence of bacteria in the blood. Short� term bacteremia follows dental or surgical procedures, especially if local infection or very high-risk surgery releases bacteria from isolated sites. In some cases, prior antibiotic therapy can prevent this. It causes little problem to a healthy immune system but can be serious for those with prostheses (where infection can center) or high susceptibility to bacterial invasion. Extensive bacteremia can release toxins into the blood (septice� mia), leading to shock and vascular collapse. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria have increased the rate of severe bacteremia.

bacteria Group of microscopic, single-celled organisms that are prokaryotes. They may have spherical, rodlike, or spiral shapes. They inhabit virtually all environments, including soil, water, organic matter, and the bodies of multicellular animals. Different types are distinguished in part by the structure of their cell walls, which is determined by gram stain. Many bacteria swim by means of flagella (see flagellum). The DNA of most bacteria is found in a single circular chromosome and is distrib� uted throughout the cytoplasm rather than contained within a membrane- enclosed nucleus. Though some bacteria can cause food poisoning and infectious diseases in humans, most are harmless and many are benefi� cial. They are used in various industrial processes, especially in the food industry (e.g., the production of yogurt, cheeses, and pickles). Bacteria are divided into eubacteria and archaebacteria. See also budding bacteria,

COLIFORM BACTERIA, CYANOBACTERIA, DENITRIFYING BACTERIA, NITRIFYING BACTERIA, SHEATHED BACTERIA, SULFUR BACTERIA.

bacterial diseases Diseases caused by bacteria. The most common infectious diseases, they range from minor skin infections to bubonic plague and tuberculosis. Until the mid-20th century, bacterial pneumonia was probably the leading cause of death among the elderly. Improved sanitation, vaccines, and antibiotics have all decreased the mortality rates from bacterial infections, though antibiotic-resistant strains have caused a resurgence in some illnesses. Bacteria cause disease by secreting or excreting toxins (as in botulism), by producing toxins internally, which are released when the bacteria disintegrate (as in typhoid), or by inducing sen� sitivity to their antigenic properties (as in tuberculosis). Other serious bac� terial diseases include cholera, diphtheria, bacterial meningitis, and syphilis.

bacteriology Study of bacteria. Modern understanding of bacterial forms dates from Ferdinand Cohn�s classifications. Other researchers, such as Louis Pasteur, established the connection between bacteria and fermen� tation and disease. The modern methods of bacteriological technique began in the late 19th century with the use of stains and the development of methods of cultivating organisms on plates of nutrients. Important dis�

coveries came when Pasteur succeeded in immunizing animals against two bacterial diseases, which led to the development of immunology. See also microbiology.

bacteriophage \bak-'tir-e-3-,faj\ or phage Any of a group of usu� ally complex viRUSes that infect bacteria. Discovered in the early 20th cen� tury, bacteriophages were used to treat human bacterial diseases such as bubonic plague and cholera but were not successful; they were abandoned with the advent of antibiotics in the 1940s. The rise of drug-resistant bac� teria in the 1990s focused renewed attention on the therapeutic potential of bacteriophages. Thousands of varieties exist, each of which may infect only one or a few types of bacteria. The core of a bacteriophage�s genetic material may be either DNA or RNA. On infecting a host cell, bacterioph� ages known as lytic or virulent phages release replicated viral particles by lysing (bursting) the host cell. Other types, known as lysogenic or temperate, integrate their nucleic acid into the host�s chromosome to be replicated during cell division. During this time they are not virulent. The viral genome may later become active, initiating production of viral par� ticles and destruction of the host cell. A.D. Hershey and Martha Chase used a bacteriophage in a famous 1952 experiment that supported the theory that DNA is the genetic material. Because bacteriophage genomes are small and because large quantities can be prepared in the laboratory, they are a favourite research tool of molecular biologists. Studies of phages have helped illuminate genetic recombination, nucleic acid repli� cation, and protein synthesis.

Bactria Ancient country, Central Asia. It was situated between the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya in parts of modern Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. Its capital was the city of Bactra. From the 6th century bc it was controlled by the Achaemenian dynasty; conquered by Alexander the Great, the area was ruled after his death (323 bc) by the Seleucid dynasty and for a time (c. 250 bc) formed an independent kingdom. It was long important as a crossroads for overland trade and as a meeting place for various religious and artistic traditions. The area ultimately came under Muslim control in the 7th century ad.

Baden \�bad- 3 n\ Former German state, southern Germany. The name (meaning �baths�) refers to the warm mineral springs, particularly in the town of Baden-Baden, valued since Roman times. Baden first became a political unit in 1112. Split up many times, the territory was finally reunited under Charles Frederick in 1771. A centre of 19th-century lib� eralism, it was active in the revolutions of 1848-50. It joined the German Empire in 1871 and became part of the Weimar Republic in 1919. After World War II, Baden was incorporated into West Germany as part of Baden-Wiirttemberg state.

Baden and Rastatt, Treaties of See Treaties of Rastatt and Baden

Baden-Powell Vba-d 3 n-'p6-3l\ (of Gilwell), Robert Stephen� son Smyth, 1st Baron (b. Feb. 22, 1857, London, Eng.�d. Jan. 8, 1941, Nyeri, Kenya) British army officer and founder of the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides (later Girl Scouts; see scouting). He was noted for his use of observation balloons in warfare in Africa (1884-85). In the South African War, he became a national hero in the Siege of Mafikeng. Hav� ing learned that his military textbook Aids to Scouting (1899) was being used to train boys in woodcraft, he wrote Scouting for Boys (1908) and that same year established the Boy Scout movement. In 1910, with his sister Agnes and his wife, Olave, he founded the Girl Guides.

badger Any of eight species of stout-bodied carnivores (family Mus- telidae) that possess an anal scent gland, powerful jaws, and large, heavy claws on their forefeet. Most species are brown, black, or gray, with markings on the face or body, and are found in South Asia. Badgers dig to find food and to construct burrows and escape routes. The American badger (Taxidea taxus ), the only New World species, lives in the open, dry country of western North America. Badgers feed mostly on small ani� mals, especially rodents. Species may be 9-12 in. (23-30 cm) high and 13-32 in. (33-81 cm) long, excluding the 2- to 10-in. (5- to 23-cm) tail, and may weigh 2^18 lbs (1-22 kg). Badgers can be savage fighters.

Badlands Barren region covering some 2,000 sq mi (5,200 sq km) of southwestern South Dakota, U.S. It has an extremely rugged landscape almost devoid of vegetation. It was created by cloudbursts that cut deep gullies in poorly cemented bedrock; its extensive fossil deposits have yielded the remains of such animals as the three-toed horse, camel, saber- toothed tiger, and rhinoceros. Badlands National Park (379 sq mi [982 sq

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148 I badminton ► Baffin Island

km]), lying mostly between the Cheyenne and White rivers, was estab� lished as a national monument in 1939 and a national park in 1978.

badminton Court or lawn game played with light long-handled rack� ets and a shuttlecock volleyed over a net. The game is named after the residence of Britain�s duke of Beaufort, where it supposedly originated c. 1873. Officially sanctioned badminton matches are played indoors to protect the shuttlecock from winds. Play consists entirely of hitting the shuttlecock back and forth without letting it touch the floor or ground. The best-known match is the All-England Championships. Badminton became a full-medal sport at the 1992 Olympics. The world governing body is the International Federation of Badminton in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, Eng.

Badoglio \b3-'dol-yo\, Pietro (b. Sept. 28, 1871, Grazzano Monfer- rato, Italy�d. Nov. 1, 1956, Grazzano Badoglio) Italian general and poli� tician. An army officer, he served as chief of the general staff in 1919-21 and again in 1925-28 and was made a field marshal in 1926. He governed Libya (1928-34) and commanded the Italian forces in Ethiopia (1935� 36). In 1940 he resigned as chief of staff in disagreement with Benito Mussolini, and in 1943 he helped organize Mussolini�s downfall. As prime minister (1943^44), Badoglio extricated Italy from World War II by arranging for an armistice with the Allies.

BAE Systems British manufacturer of aircraft, missiles, avionics, naval vessels, and other aerospace and defense products. BAE Systems was formed (1999) from the merger of British Aerospace (BAe) with Marconi Electronic Systems. BAe, in turn, dates to the merger (1977, with two other firms) of British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) and Hawker Siddeley Aviation, both having been nationalized a year earlier owing to unprof� itable financial situations. Through its BAe antecedents, BAE Systems carries the legacy of some 20 British aircraft firms (e.g., Bristol, Avro, Gloster, De Havilland, Supermarine), several dating to the first decades of flight. In the 1960s and early �70s, BAC and Hawker Siddeley each produced significant aircraft. BAC built the Vickers-Armstrongs VC 10 and BAC One-Eleven jetliners and, in partnership with Aerospatiale of France, the Concorde supersonic transport. Hawker Siddeley developed the HS 121 Trident jetliner, Vulcan bomber, and Harrier vertical/short- takeoff-and-landing (V/STOL) fighter. In 1979 British Aerospace joined the Airbus Industrie jetliner-manufacturing consortium, and during the early 1980s it became privatized. In the 1990s it became a partner with firms in Germany, Italy, and Spain in the Eurofighter Typhoon program. It also joined a venture led by Lockheed Martin to develop the Joint Strike Fighter.

Baeck VbekV Leo (b. May 23, 1873, Lissa, Posen, Prussia�d. Nov. 2, 1956, London, Eng.) Prussian-Polish rabbi, spiritual leader of German Jewry during the Nazi period. After earning his Ph.D. in philosophy at the University of Berlin, he served as a rabbi in Silesia, Diisseldorf, and Ber� lin, becoming the leading liberal Jewish religious thinker of his time. He synthesized Neo-Kantianism and rabbinic ethics in The Essence of Juda� ism (1905) and considered the Christian gospels as rabbinic literature in The Gospel as a Document of Jewish Religious History (1938). He nego� tiated with the Nazis to buy time for the German Jews; finally arrested, he was sent to the Theresienstadt concentration camp, where he wrote and lectured on Plato and Immanuel Kant. Liberated in 1945 on the day before he was to be executed, he settled in England.

Baedeker Vbed-o-korV, Karl (b.

Nov. 3, 1801, Essen, Duchy of Oldenburg�d. Oct. 4, 1859,

Koblenz, Prussia) German publisher.

The son of a printer and bookseller,

Baedeker started a firm at Koblenz in 1827 that became known for its guidebooks. His aim was to give travelers the practical information necessary to enable them to dispense with paid guides. A notable feature of the books was the use of �stars� to indicate objects and views of spe� cial interest and to designate reliable Karl Baedeker, oil painting by an hotels. By the time of his death much unknown artist of Europe had been covered by his popperfoto _

guidebooks. Under the ownership of his sons the firm expanded to include French and English editions.

Baekeland Vba-k3-,lant,\ English Vbak-bnd\, Leo (Hendrik) (b. Nov. 14, 1863, Ghent, Belg.�d. Feb. 23, 1944, Beacon, N.Y., U.S.) Belgian-born U.S. industrial chemist. A teacher of chemistry in Belgium, he immigrated to the U.S. in 1889. He invented Velox, the first commer� cially successful photographic paper, which could be developed under artificial light, and sold the rights to George Eastman for $1 million in 1899. His search for a substitute for shellac led to the discovery in 1909 of a method of forming a hard thermosetting plastic, which he named Bakelite, produced from formaldehyde and phenol. His discovery helped found the modern plastics industry.

Baer \'ber\, Karl Ernst, knight von (b. Feb. 29, 1792, Piep, Est., Russian Empire�d. Nov. 28, 1876, Dorpat, Est.) Prussian-bom Estonian embryologist. Studying chick development with Christian Pander (1794- 1865), Baer expanded Pander�s concept of germ layer formation to all vertebrates, thereby laying the foundation for comparative embryology. He emphasized that embryos of one species could resemble embryos (but not adults) of another and that the younger the embryo, the greater the resemblance, a concept in line with his belief that development proceeds from simple to complex, from like to different. He also discovered the mammalian ovum. His On the Development of Animals (2 vol., 1828-37) surveyed all existing knowledge on vertebrate development and estab� lished embryology as a distinct subject of research.

baetylus or baetulus Vbe-to-bs, 'be-tyo-bsV In Greek reugion, a sacred stone or pillar. In antiquity there were numerous holy stones, most associated with a deity. The most famous example is the holy stone known as the Omphalos in the temple of Apollo at Delphi. Sometimes the stones were formed into pillars or into groups of three pillars.

Baeyer \'ba-9r\, (Johann Friedrich Wilhelm) Adolf von (b. Oct. 31, 1835, Berlin, Prussia�d. Aug.

20, 1917, Stamberg, near Munich,

Ger.) German research chemist. He synthesized indigo and formulated its structure, discovered the phthalein dyes, and investigated such chemical families as the polyacetylenes, oxo- nium salts, and uric-acid derivatives (discovering barbituric acid, parent compound of the barbiturates). He also made contributions to theoreti� cal chemistry. He received the Nobel Prize in 1905.

Baez Vbl-ez\, Joan (Chandos)

(b. Jan. 9, 1941, Staten Island, New York, N.Y., U.S.)U.S. folksinger and activist. She moved often as a child, receiving little musical training, but she became influential in the 1960s folk-song revival. Singing in a soprano voice, usually accompanied by her own guitar arrangements, she popularized traditional songs through her performances and best-selling record albums. An active participant in the protest movements of the 1960s and �70s, Baez made free concert appearances at civil-rights and anti-Vietnam War rallies. Her recordings include Diamonds and Rust (1975) and Gone from Danger (1997).

Baffin Bay Large inlet, Atlantic Ocean, between western Greenland and eastern Baffin Island. With an area of 266,000 sq mi (689,000 sq km), it extends 900 mi (1,450 km) southward from the Arctic and is connected to the Atlantic by Davis Strait. It was visited by the English captain Rob� ert Bylot in 1615 and named for his lieutenant, William Baffin. Its climate is severe, and icebergs are dense even in August.

Baffin Island Largest island in Canada and fifth largest island in the world (183,810 sq mi [476,068 sq km]), lying between Greenland and the Canadian mainland. Located west of Baffin Bay and the Davis Strait, it is administered as part of Nunavut territory. It was probably visited by Norse explorers in the 11th century. It was sighted by Martin Frobisher during his search for a Northwest Passage (1576-78). It is uninhabited except for a few coastal settlements. The world�s northernmost mines are at Nanis- vik. In 1972 Auyuittuq National Park was created on the eastern coast.

Baeyer, 1905

HISTORIA-PHOTO

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Baganda ► Bahamas I 149

Baganda See Ganda

bagasse \bo-'gas\ Fibre remaining after the extraction of the sugar� bearing juice from sugarcane. The term was once applied more generally to various waste residues from processing plant materials. Bagasse may be used as fuel in the sugarcane mill or as a source of cellulose for manu� facturing animal feeds. Paper is produced from bagasse in several Latin American countries, in the Middle East, and in all sugar-producing coun� tries that are deficient in forest resources. It is the essential ingredient for the production of pressed building board, acoustic tile, and other con� struction materials.

Bagehot \'baj-ot\, Walter (b. Feb. 3, 1826, Langport, Somerset, Eng.�d. March 24, 1877, Langport)

English economist, political analyst, and journalist. While working in his uncle�s bank, Bagehot wrote literary essays and economic articles that led to his involvement with The Econo� mist. As its editor from 1860, he helped make it one of the leading business and political journals in the world. His classic The English Con� stitution (1867) describes how the British system of government really operates behind its facade. His other works include Physics and Politics (1872), one of the earliest attempts to apply the concept of evolution to societies, and Lombard Street (1873), a study of banking methods.

His literary essays have been con� tinually republished.

Baggara \ba-'gar-o\ or Baqqarah \ba-'kar-o\ Nomadic Arab people. They number about 600,000 and are probably descended from the Arabs who migrated west out of Egypt in the Middle Ages. Today they live in a region of The Sudan extending from Lake Chad east to the Nile, migrating with their cattle herds south to the river lands in the dry season and north to the grasslands during the rains. They also raise sorghum and millet. Association with the Fulani and others have given them a distinct dialect of Arabic.

Baghdad or Bagdad City (pop., 2003 est.: metro, area, 5,750,000), capital of Iraq. Located on the Tigris River, the site has been settled from ancient times. It rose to importance after being chosen in ad 762 by Caliph al-Mansur (r. 754-775) as the capital of the �Abbasid dynasty. Under HarOn al-Rashid it achieved its greatest glory�reflected in the many tales from The Thousand and One Nights that were set there�as one of the world�s largest and wealthiest cities. A centre of Islamic civilization, it was sec� ond only to the Byzantine capital, Constantinople (modem Istanbul), in trade and culture. The capital was moved briefly to Samarra� in 836, after which the city was prone to bouts of political instability. It was sacked by the Mongols under Hiilegu in 1258, taken by Timur in 1401, and cap� tured by the Persian Safavid dynasty in 1508. Under the sultan SOleyman I, the city became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1534 and remained so�save for a brief period (1623-38) when it returned to Safavid rule�until the end of World War I (1914�18). It became capital of the kingdom (1920) and then the republic (1958) of Iraq. During the 20th century the city grew greatly in size and population. It was severely damaged during the First and Second Persian Gulf wars (1990-91 and 2003, respectively), and from 2003 it was occupied by a U.S.-led coalition force.

bagpipe Wind instrument consisting of two or more single- or double� reed pipes, the reeds being vibrated by wind fed by arm pressure on a skin or cloth bag. The pipes are held in wooden sockets tied into the bag, which is inflated either by the mouth or by bellows strapped to the body. Melodies are played on the fingerholes of the melody pipe, or chanter, while the remaining pipes, or drones, sound single notes. Bagpipes existed by about ad 100. The early bag was an animal bladder or a nearly whole sheepskin or goatskin. Bagpipes have always been folk instruments, but after the 15th century some were used for court music, and others have survived as military instruments. An important related instrument is the Irish union (or uilleann) pipe.

Baguirmi or Bagirmi \ba-ger-'me\ Former sultanate, now part of southwestern Chad. Located southeast of Lake Chad, it was probably

established in the 16th century. The king ruled from the capital city of Massenya. Though the 17th century brought prosperity as a result of the slave trade, Baguirmi became a pawn in conflicts between rival empires to the east and west. It was repeatedly sacked in the 19th century and ultimately came under French control in the late 19th century.

bagworm moth Any insect of the moth family Psychidae, found worldwide, named for the baglike cases the larvae (see larva) carry with them. The bag, which ranges in size from 0.25 to 6 in. (6-150 mm), is constructed from silk and bits of leaves, twigs, and other debris. The strong-bodied male has broad, fringed wings with a wingspread averag� ing 1 in. (25 mm). The wormlike female lacks wings. Bagworm larvae often damage trees, especially evergreens.

Bagyidaw Vbag-yi-,dau\ (d. October 1846) Seventh monarch of the Alaungpaya dynasty (r. 1819-37) of Myanmar. Bagyidaw was an ineffec� tual king, but his general, Maha Bandula, convinced him to pursue a policy of expansion in northeastern India. His conquest of Assam and Manipur angered the British, who launched the first of the Anglo-Burmese Wars. Bagyidaw spent the rest of his reign trying to mitigate the harsh terms of the Treaty of Yandabo (1826), which concluded that conflict.

Baha� Ullah \ba-'ha-ul-Ta\ orig. MTrzd Hoseyn c Ali Nurl (b. Nov. 12, 1817, Tehran, Iran�d. May 29, 1872, Acre, Palestine) Iranian reli� gious leader, founder of the BahaI faith. A ShTite Muslim who allied him� self with the Bab, he joined his half brother Mlrza Yahya (known as Sobh-e Azal) in leading the Bab! movement after the Bab�s execution. Sunnite Muslims exiled him to Baghdad, Kurdistan, and finally Constantinople, where in 1867 he declared himself the imam-mahdi foretold by the Bab and sent by God. This pronouncement split Babism into two factions, with a small group (the Azau) adhering to its original beliefs and a larger group following him into what became the Baha�i faith. The Ottoman govern� ment banished him to Acre where, as Baha� Ullah, he developed Baha�i into a teaching that advocated the unity of all religions and universal human brotherhood.

Baha�i \ba-'ha-e\ Religion founded in Iran in the mid-19th century by Baha� Ullah. It emerged from Babism when in 1863 Baha� Ullah asserted that he was the messenger of God predicted by the Bab. Before his death in 1892, he appointed his son c Abd ol-Baha to lead the community. The writings of the Bab, Baha� Ullah, and �Abd ol-Baha form the sacred lit� erature. Worship consists of readings from scriptures of all religions. Baha�i faith proclaims the essential unity of all religions and the unity of humanity. It is concerned with social ethics and has no priesthood or sac� raments. Because of its 19 initial disciples, it considers the number 19 sacred, and the calendar consists of 19 months of 19 days (with four addi� tional days). Adherents are expected to pray daily, fast 19 days a year, and keep to a strict ethical code. Baha�i has experienced major growth since the 1960s but has been persecuted in Iran since the fundamentalist revo� lution of 1979.

Bahamas, The officially Commonwealth of The Bahamas

Archipelago and state, northwestern edge of the West Indies, lying south� east of Florida and north of Cuba. It consists of about 700 islands and numerous cays. Area: 5,382 sq mi (13,939 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 323,000. Capital: Nassau (on New Providence Island). The people are of African and European ancestry, a legacy of the slave trade. Language: English (official). Religion: Christianity (mostly Protestant; also Roman Catholic, other Christians). Currency: Bahamian dollar. Chief among the islands, from north to south, are Grand Bahama, Abaco, Eleuthera, New Providence, Andros, Cat, and Inagua; New Providence has most of the population. All are composed of coralline limestone and lie mostly only a few feet above sea level; the highest point is Mount Alvernia (206 ft [63 m]) on Cat Island. There are no rivers. The country�s market economy is heavily dependent on tourism, for which gambling is a particular attrac� tion, and on international financial services. Most foodstuffs are imported from the U.S.; fish and rum are significant exports. The Bahamas is a con� stitutional monarchy with two legislative houses; its chief of state is the British monarch, represented by a governor-general, and the head of gov� ernment is the prime minister. The islands were inhabited by Arawak Indians when Christopher Columbus sighted them on Oct. 12, 1492. Many scholars believe Columbus landed on San Salvador (Watling) Island, though others contend his first landfall was on Samana Cay (Cat Island). The Spaniards made no attempt to settle but carried out slave raids that depopulated the islands; when English settlers arrived in 1648 from Ber� muda, the islands were uninhabited. They became a haunt of pirates and

Walter Bagehot, mezzotint by Norman Hirst, after a photograph.

COURTESY OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM; PHOTOGRAPH, J.R. FREEMAN & CO. LTD.

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buccaneers, and few of the ensuing settle� ments prospered. The islands enjoyed some prosperity following the American Revolution, when loyalists fled the U.S. and established cotton plantations there.

The islands were a centre for blockade runners during the American Civil War. Not until the development of tourism after World War II did perma� nent economic prosperity arrive. The Bahamas was granted internal self- government in 1964 and became independent in 1973.

Bahia \ba-�e-a\ State (pop., 2003 est.: 13,435,612), eastern Brazil. It covers an area of 218,029 sq mi (564,693 sq km), and its capital is Sal� vador. The major river is the Sao Francisco. The Portuguese first entered the region in 1501, through the bay where Salvador is now located. Colo� nization began in the coastal region; the discovery of gold and gems in the Diamantina Upland attracted more settlers in the 18th century. A state since 1889, Bahia is rich in mineral resources, including petroleum, natu� ral gas, lead, copper, chromium, and tin. Its heavy industries include petroleum refining and ironworks. It is also an important agricultural pro� ducer.

Bahia See Salvador

Bahr al-Ghazal See Ghazal River

Bahr al-Jabal See Jabal River

Bahrain \ba-�ran\ officially Kingdom of Bahrain Country, Middle East, southwestern Asia. Area: 278 sq mi (720 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 715,000. It occupies an archipelago consisting of Bahrain Island and about 30 smaller islands lying along the Arabian Peninsula in the Persian Gulf. Saudi Arabia lies to the west across the Gulf of Bahrain, and the Qatar peninsula lies to the east. The capital is Manama. Most of the popu� lation is Arab. Language: Arabic (official). Religion: Islam (official). Cur� rency: Bahraini dinar. Bahrain Island, which is about 30 mi (50 km) long and 10 mi (16 km) wide, accounts for seven-eighths of the country�s total area and, with the islands of Al-Muharraq and Sitrah off its northeastern coast, constitutes the population and economic centre of the country. Since 1986 the main island has been connected to Saudi Arabia by a 15-mi (24- km) causeway. The highest point of elevation is Al-Dukhan Hill (440 ft [134 m]). Bahrain has a developing mixed (state and private enterprise) economy based largely on natural gas and petroleum production and refin� ing. Bahrain is a constitutional monarchy. The chief of state is the king, and the head of government is the prime minister. The area has long been an important trading centre and is mentioned in Persian, Greek, and Roman references. It was ruled by various Arab groups from the 7th cen� tury ad but was then occupied by the Portuguese (1521-1602). Since 1783 it has been ruled by a family group known as the A1 Khallfah, though

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(through a series of treaties) its defense long remained a British responsibility (1820-1971). After Britain withdrew its forces from the Persian Gulf (1968), Bah� rain declared its independence (1971). It served as a centre for the allies in the First Persian Gulf War (1990-91). Since 1994 it has experienced periods of political unrest, mainly among its large ShTite population. Constitutional revisions, ratified in 2002, made Bahrain a constitutional monarchy and enfranchised women; parliamen� tary elections (the first since 1975) were held in October 2002.

Bai River See Yongding River

Baibars I See Baybars I

Baikal, Lake Russian Ozero Baykal \bl-'kal\ Lake, southern Sibe� ria, Russia, in Asia. With a length of 395 mi (636 km) long and an area of some 12,200 sq mi (31,500 sq km), it is the largest freshwater basin in Eurasia. It is also the deepest continental body of water on Earth (5,315 ft [1,620 m]), containing one-fifth of the fresh water on Earth�s surface. More than 330 rivers and streams flow into it; on its east it receives the Barguzin and Selenga rivers, and most of its outflow is through the Angara at the northern end. The island of Olkhon is in its centre. Plant and ani� mal life are rich and various; at least 1,500 species are unique to the lake. Growing industrialization along its shores has produced threatening pol� lution. In 1996 the Lake Baikal Coastal Protection Zone was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site.

bail Temporary release of a prisoner in exchange for security given to guarantee the prisoner�s appearance at a later hearing. It also refers to the actual security given (e.g., cash). Its main use today is to secure the free� dom, pending trial, of someone arrested and charged with a criminal offense. Its use in civil (noncriminal) cases is far less common, as most do not involve imprisonment. The amount of bail is generally set in rela� tion to the gravity of the offense, though other factors, such as the strength of the evidence, the character of the accused, and the accused�s ability to secure bail may also be considered. See also bond, recognizance.

Bailey, Pearl (Mae) (b. March 29, 1918, Newport News, Va., U.S.�d. Aug. 17, 1990, Philadelphia, Pa.) U.S. singer and entertainer. She began her career at age 15, appearing in nightclubs and theatres and with jazz bands, including the Count Basie band. Her first Broadway musi� cal was St. Louis Woman in 1946; her first film was Variety Girl in 1947. She became known for her lively and earthy style. In 1952 she married the drummer and bandleader Louis Bellson, with whom she later often appeared. The most memorable of her Broadway roles, which included Carmen Jones (1954), was as Dolly Levi in an all-black production of Hello, Dolly! (1967-69).

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bailiff ► Baker v. Carr I 151

bailiff Officer of some U.S. courts whose duties include keeping order in the courtroom and guarding prisoners or jurors in deliberation. In medi� eval Europe, it was a title of some dignity and power, denoting a mano� rial superintendent or royal agent who collected fines and rent, served writs, assembled juries, made arrests, and executed the monarch�s orders. The bailiff�s authority was gradually eroded by the increasing need to use administrators with legal or other specialized training.

Bailly \ba-'ye\, Jean-Sylvain (b. Sept. 15, 1736, Paris, France�d. Nov. 12, 1793, Paris) French astronomer and politician. Noted for his computation of an orbit for Halley's Comet in 1759, he turned to politics with the outbreak of the French Revolution. He was chosen president of the Third Estate in May 1789 and was proclaimed the first mayor of Paris in July. He later lost popularity, particularly after his order to disperse a riotous crowd led to the massacre of the Champ de Mars (1791). He retired but was subsequently arrested, taken before the revolutionary tribunal, and guillotined.

Baily's beads Arc of bright spots seen during a total eclipse of the Sun, named for Francis Baily (1774-1844), the English astronomer who first called attention to them. Just before the Moon�s disk completely covers the Sun, the narrow crescent of sunlight may be broken in several places by mountains and valleys on the edge of the Moon�s disk; the resulting spots resemble a string of beads. The �diamond-ring effect� occurs when the very last rays of the Sun to be obscured look like a bright diamond on the solar corona.

Baird, Bil and Cora (respectively b. Aug. 15, 1904, Grand Island, Neb., U.S.�d. March 18, 1987, New York, N.Y.; b. Jan. 26, 1912, New York City�d. Dec. 6, 1967, New York City) U.S. puppeteers. Bil Baird (originally William Britton Baird) worked under the puppeteer Tony Sarg for five years then produced his own puppet shows from the mid 1930s. He and Cora Eisenberg married in 1937 and began to create original pup� pets, scenery, and music for their shows. They produced a series of tele� vision shows in the 1950s and opened their own marionette theatre in New York in 1966. Bil wrote The Art of the Puppet (1965) and trained pup� peteers such as Jim Henson.

Baird, John L(ogie) (b. Aug. 13, 1888, Helensburgh, Dunbarton, Scot.�d. June 14, 1946, Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex, Eng.) Scottish engineer. Plagued by ill health, he gave up his job as an electric-power engineer in 1922 and devoted himself to television research. He produced televised objects in outline in 1924 and recognizable human faces in 1925, and in 1926 became the first person to televise pictures of objects in motion. He demonstrated colour television in 1928. The German post office gave him facilities to develop a television service in 1929. When the BBC televi� sion service began (1936), his system competed with that of Marconi Electric and Musical Industries; the BBC adopted the latter exclusively in 1937. Baird was reported to have completed research on stereoscopic television at the time of his death.

Bairiki Vbl-,re-ke\ Islet (pop., 2000: urban agglomeration, 36,717) and administrative centre, Kiribati. It is located on Tarawa Atoll, northern Gil� bert Islands. It has port facilities as well as an extension centre of the Uni� versity of the South Pacific.

Baja Vba-,ha\ California Spanish "Lower California" Peninsula, northwestern Mexico. Bounded by the U.S. to the north, the Pacific Ocean to the west, and the Gulf of California to the east, it is about 760 mi (1,220 km) long and has an area of 55,366 sq mi (143,396 sq km). Politically, it is divided into the states of Baja California and Baja California Sur. It has more than 2,000 mi (3,200 km) of coastline, with sheltered harbours on both the western and gulf coasts. The area had been inhabited for some 9,000 years when the Spanish arrived in 1533. Jesuit missionaries estab� lished permanent settlements in the late 17th century, but the native Indi� ans were practically exterminated in epidemics introduced by the Spanish. The area was separated from what is now the U.S. state of California by treaty in 1848 following the Mexican War.

Baja California formerly Baja California Norte State (pop., 2000: 2,487,367), northern Baja California peninsula, northwestern Mexico. It covers an area of 27,071 sq mi (70,114 sq km), and its capital is Mexicali. Although long inhabited, it remained sparsely populated until the 1950s, when it experienced phenomenal growth. This was partly because of its proximity to the U.S. border; numerous foreign companies have established assembly oriented factories (maquiladoras) in the region, a trend accelerated by the establishment of NAFTA in 1994.

Baja California Sur State (pop., 2000: 423,516), southern Baja Cali� fornia peninsula, northwestern Mexico. It occupies an area of 28,369 sq mi (73, 475 sq km), and its capital is La Paz. It became a state in 1974. It is sparsely populated and remains relatively underdeveloped. Much new acreage of cotton has been planted near La Paz, but subsistence agricul� ture is most common. An increase in tourism and improved communica� tions have begun to alleviate the state�s isolation.

Baker, Chet orig. Chesney Henry Baker (b. Dec. 23, 1929, Yale, Okla., U.S.�d. May 13, 1988, Amsterdam, Neth.) U.S. trumpeter and singer. After playing in army bands he attracted attention during engage� ments with Charlie Parker and Gerry Mulligan in 1952 and 1953. His sub� dued tone and gentle phrasing made him the epitome of the cool jazz (see bebop) of the 1950s. With recordings such as �My Funny Valentine� he established his plaintive, fragile approach as a vocalist, which mirrored his trumpet style. Much of his later career, interrupted several times by legal problems stemming from drug addiction, was spent in Europe.

Baker, Josephine orig. Freda Josephine McDonald (b. June 3, 1906, St. Louis, Mo., U.S.�d. April 12, 1975, Paris, France) U.S.-born French entertainer. She joined a dance troupe at age 16 and soon moved to New York City, where she performed in Harlem nightclubs and on Broadway in Chocolate Dandies (1924). She went to Paris in 1925 to dance in La Revue negre. To French audiences she personified the exoti� cism and vitality of African Ameri� can culture, and she became Paris�s most popular music-hall entertainer, receiving star billing at the Foues Bergere. In World War II she worked with the Red Cross and entertained Free French troops. From 1950 she adopted numerous orphans of all nationalities as �an experiment in broth� erhood.� She returned periodically to the U.S. to advance the cause of civil rights.

Baker, Newton D(iehl) (b. Dec. 3, 1871, Martinsburg, W.Va., U.S.�d. Dec. 25, 1937, Cleveland, Ohio) U.S. secretary of war. He prac� ticed law in Martinsburg from 1897. After moving to Cleveland, he was elected mayor (1912-16). He helped obtain the 1912 Democratic presi� dential nomination for Woodrow Wilson, who appointed him secretary of war (1916-21). Although he was a pacifist, Baker developed a plan for the military draft and oversaw the mobilization of more than four million men during World War I. In 1928 he was appointed to the International Court of Arbitration at The Hague.

Baker, Philip John Noel- See Philip Noel-Baker

Baker, Russell (Wayne) (b. Aug. 14, 1925, Loudoun county, Va., U.S.) U.S. newspaper columnist. Baker joined the Baltimore Sun in 1947. In 1954 he moved to the Washington bureau of the New York Times, and in the early 1960s he began his syndicated �Observer� column. Initially concentrating on political satire, he later found other subjects to skewer as well. In 1979 he won the Pulitzer Prize for commentary. His books include the autobiographies Growing Up (1982, Pulitzer Prize) and The Good Times (1989). In 1993 he became host of the television program Masterpiece Theatre.

Baker, Sara Josephine (b. Nov. 15, 1873, Poughkeepsie, N.Y., U.S.�d. Feb. 22, 1945, New York, N.Y.) U.S. physician. She became the first American woman to receive a doctorate in public health. As the first director of New York City�s Division of Child Hygiene (the first public agency devoted to child health), she helped make New York�s infant- mortality rates the lowest of any major American city. She helped found the American Child Hygiene Association and organized what became the Children�s Welfare Federation of New York. She published five books on child hygiene.

Baker v. Carr (1962) U.S. Supreme Court case that forced the Ten� nessee legislature to reapportion itself on the basis of population. The case ended the traditional overrepresentation of rural areas in the legislature and established that the court may intervene in apportionment cases. The court ruled that every citizen�s vote should carry equal weight, regardless

Josephine Baker.

H. ROGER-VIOLLET

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152 I Bakersfield ► Balaklava

of the voter�s place of residence. Its ruling in Reynolds v. Sims (1964) built on Baker by requiring virtually every state legislature to be reap� portioned, ultimately causing political power in most states to shift from rural to urban areas.

Bakersfield City (pop., 2000: city, 247,057; metro, area, 661,645), southern California, U.S. Situated on the Kern River in the San Joaquin Valley, it was founded in 1869 by Thomas Baker. It was an agricultural area when the discovery of the Kern River oil fields in 1899 sparked a petroleum boom. The city was quickly rebuilt after a major earthquake in 1952. Nearby vineyards produce about a quarter of the wine made in California.

Bakewell, Robert (b. 1725, Dishley, Leicestershire, Eng.�d. Oct. 1, 1795, Dishley) English agriculturist.

He revolutionized English sheep and cattle breeding by methodical selec� tion, inbreeding, and culling. He was one of the first to breed sheep and cattle for meat and the first to estab� lish on a large scale the practice of letting animals for stud. His farm became famous as a model of scien� tific management.

Bakhtin \b9k-'ten\, Mikhail (Mikhailovich) (b. Nov. 17, 1895,

Orel, Russia�d. March 7, 1975,

Moscow, U.S.S.R.) Russian literary theorist and philosopher of language.

His works frequently offended the Soviet authorities, and in 1929 he was exiled from Vitsyebsk to Kazakh� stan. He is especially known for Problems of Dostoevsky�s Poetics (1929), which advanced theories that he further developed in The Dialogic Imagination (1975). His wide-ranging ideas significantly influenced West� ern thinking in cultural history, linguistics, literary theory, and aesthetics.

Bakhtyarl or Bakhtiyari or Bakhtiari \bak-'te-3-re\ Any member of a community of nomadic pastoral tent dwellers of western Iran. They speak a dialect of Luri (a language related to Modern Persian) and are mostly Shi'ite Muslims. Their two tribal groups are the Chahar Lang and Haft Lang; the position of leader of all the Bakhtyarl alternates every two years between the chiefs of the two tribal groups. Many chiefs have been influential in national public affairs and have held office. Bakhtyarl women are normally better-educated and freer than other Muslim women in Iran.

baking Process of cooking by dry heat, especially in an oven. Baked products include bread, cookies, pies, and pastries. Ingredients used in baking include flour, water, leavening agents (baker�s yeast, baking soda, baking powder), shortening (fats, oils), eggs, milk, and sugars. These are mixed together to create dough or batter, which is then transferred to a pan or sheet and heated. Leavening agents produce gas that becomes trapped in the dough, causing it to rise. Shortening makes doughs more easily workable and the final product more tender. Egg whites are used to produce a light, airy texture, and yolks contribute colour, flavour, and texture. Milk is used for moistening and flavouring and sugars for sweet� ening and aiding fermentation.

baking soda See bicarbonate of soda

Bakke \'ba-ke\ decision formally Regents of the University of California v. Bakke (1978) Decision of the Supreme Court of the United States that ruled unconstitutional the use of fixed quotas for minor� ity applicants at professional schools. At issue was a state medical school� s affirmative action program that, because it required a certain num� ber of minority admissions, twice denied entrance to an otherwise quali� fied white candidate (Allan Bakke). Though the court outlawed quota programs on the grounds that they violated the equal-protection clause of the Constitution of the United States, it allowed colleges to use race as a factor in making college admissions decisions.

Bakongo See Kongo

Bakst Vbakst\, Leon orig. Lev Samuilovich Rosenberg (b. Jan. 27, 1866, St. Petersburg, Russia�d. Dec. 28, 1924, Paris, France) Rus�

sian painter and stage designer. He attended the Imperial Academy of Arts at St. Petersburg and studied in Paris. In 1898 he cofounded the journal Mir Iskusstva (�World of Art�) with Sergey Diaghilev. He began designing scenery for the imperial theatres in 1900. In Paris he designed sets and costumes for Diaghilev�s new Ballets Russes. His bold designs and sump� tuous colours, conveying an exotic �Orientalism,� won him international fame. His designs for a London production of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky�s Sleeping Beauty in 1921 are regarded as his greatest work.

Baku \ba-'kii\ City (pop., 2003 est.: 1,828,800), capital of Azerbaijan. Located on the western shore of the Caspian Sea at the sea�s best harbour, Baku has long been inhabited. By the 11th century ad it was in the pos� session of the Shirvan shahs, who made it their capital in the 12th cen� tury. In 1723 Peter I (the Great) took Baku, but it was returned to Persia in 1735; Russia recaptured it in 1806. It was the capital of the short-lived independent state of Azerbaijan (1918-20) and in 1920 became the capi� tal of the new Soviet republic of Azerbaijan. The basis of Baku�s economy is petroleum. The city�s historic centre was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000.

bakufu \ba-'ku-fu\ Japanese "tent government" Military rule of the country by a hereditary SHOGUN, as opposed to rule by the imperial court and the emperor. There have been three periods of bakufu govern� ment in Japanese history: Minamoto Yoritomo established the Kamakura bakufu (see Kamakura period) at the end of the 12th century, Ashikaga Takauji established the Muromachi bakufu (see Muromachi period) in the early 14th century, and Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Edo bakufu (see Tokugawa period) at the beginning of the 17th century. The Edo bakufu was the most successful, a time of peace and prosperity that lasted over 250 years. See also daimyo; Hojo family; jito.

Bakunin Vbo-'kim-yonN, Mikhail (Aleksandrovich) (b. May 30,

1814, Premukhino, Russia�d. July 1, 1876, Bern, Switz.) Russian anar� chist and political writer. He traveled in western Europe and was active in the Revolutions of 1848. After attending the Slav congress in Prague, he wrote the manifesto �An Appeal to Slavs� (1848). Arrested for revo� lutionary intrigues in Germany (1849), he was sent to Russia and exiled to Siberia. He escaped in 1861 and returned to western Europe, where he continued his militant anarchist teachings. At the First International (1872) he engaged in a famous quarrel with Karl Marx, which split the European revolutionary movement.

Ba'labakk See Baalbek

Balaguer \,ba-la-'ger\ (y Ricardo), Joaquin (Vidella) (b. Sept. 1, 1907, Villa Bisono, Dom. Rep.�d. July 14, 2002, Santo Domingo) Presi� dent of the Dominican Republic (1960-62, 1966-78, 1986-96). He held numerous government posts during Gen. Rafael Trujillo�s 30-year dicta� torship. Balaguer was vice president under Trujillo�s brother Hector and became president when Hector resigned, but Trujillo continued to wield actual power until assassinated in 1961. Balaguer�s subsequent attempts at liberalization caused his overthrow by the military. Elected president in 1966 after the U.S. military intervention in 1965, he achieved steady economic growth and modest social reforms. He was reelected repeat� edly, but his last term was shortened by two years amid political violence and charges of electoral fraud and corruption.

Balakirev \bo Ta-kyi-ryif\, Mily (Alekseyevich) (b. Jan. 2, 1837, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia�d. May 29, 1910, St. Petersburg) Russian composer. As a youth he met and was influenced by the nationalist com� poser Mikhail Glinka. Balakirev himself later became the mentor of Cesar Cui (1835-1918) and Modest Mussorgsky; in 1861-62 their group expanded to become The Five. In 1862 Balakirev cofounded the Free School of Music. His works include two symphonies, the piano fantasy Islamey (1869), music for King Lear (1858-61), and a piano concerto. With his colourful imagination and use of folk themes, he was perhaps the most influential proponent of Russian nationalism. After a nervous breakdown in 1871, he adopted a fervent and bigoted form of Orthodoxy and was thereafter involved in musical life only sporadically.

Balaklava \b9-l3-'kla-v9\, Battle of (Oct. 25, 1854) Indecisive mili� tary engagement of the Crimean War. The Russians sought to capture the Black Sea supply port of Balaklava, which was controlled by the British, French, and Turks. The Russians occupied positions on the heights above a nearby valley. To disrupt the Russian troop movements, Baron Raglan gave an ambiguous order for Lord Cardigan�s Light Brigade to attack. Instead of leading his cavalry against the Russian guns on the heights.

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balalaika ► Balch I 153

Cardigan swept down the valley after the retreating Russian cavalry. The battle ended with the loss of 40% of the Light Brigade and inspired the 1855 poem �Charge of the Light Brigade� by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

balalaika X.ba-ls-'lI-koV Russian stringed instrument with a triangular body, three strings, and movable frets on its fingerboard. It comes in six sizes, from piccolo to double bass. It developed in the 18th century from the dombra. It has been prima� rily a solo folk instrument for accom� panying song and dance, but is also played in large balalaika orchestras.

balance Instrument for comparing the weights of two bodies, usually for scientific purposes, to determine the difference in mass. The equal-arm balance dates back to the ancient Egyptians, possibly as early as 5000 bc. By the early 20th century, it had been developed into an exquisitely precise measuring device. Electronic balances today depend on electrical compensation rather than mechani� cal deflection. The ultramicrobal� ance is any weighing device that serves to determine the weight of even smaller samples than can be weighed with the microbalance (which can weigh samples as small as a few milligrams), that is, total amounts as small as a few micro� grams.

balance of payments System� atic record of all economic transac� tions during a given period between

residents (including the government) of one country and residents (includ� ing the governments) of other countries. The transactions are presented in the form of double-entry bookkeeping. The U.S. balance of payments, for example, records the various ways in which dollars are made avail� able to foreigners through U.S. imports, U.S. tourist spending abroad, for� eign lending, and so on. These expenditures are shown on the debit side of the balance. The credit side shows the various uses to which foreign� ers put their dollars, including paying for U.S. exports, servicing debts to the U.S., and the like. Foreign countries may acquire more dollars than they need to spend on U.S. goods and services and may hold the surplus or purchase gold or securities; or they may have fewer dollars than they need to purchase U.S. goods and services, and may acquire additional dollars by transferring gold, selling holdings in the U.S., and so on. Cer� tain forms of transferring funds (e.g., large outflows of gold) are less desirable as a way of settling foreign debts than others (e.g., transfers of currency acquired through international trade). The International Mon� etary Fund helps address problems relating to balance of payments. See also BALANCE OF TRADE.

Russian tenor balalaika, 20th century; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

COURTESY OF THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK CITY, THE CROSBY BROWN COLLECTION OF MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, 1889

balance of power In international relations, an equilibrium of power sufficient to discourage or prevent one nation or party from imposing its will on or interfering with the interests of another. The term came into use at the end of the Napoleonic Wars to denote the power relationships in the European state system. Until World War I, Britain played the role of balancer in a number of shifting alliances. After World War II, a North� ern Hemisphere balance of power pitted the U.S. and its allies (see NATO) against the Soviet Union and its satellites (see Warsaw Pact) in a bipolar balance of power backed by the threat of nuclear war. China�s defection from the Soviet camp to a nonaligned but covertly anti-Soviet stance pro� duced a third node of power. With the Soviet Union�s collapse (1991), the U.S. and its NATO allies were recognized universally as the world�s para� mount military power.

balance of trade Difference in value over a period of time between a nation�s imports and exports of goods and services. The balance of trade is part of a larger economic unit, the balance of payments, which includes all economic transactions between residents of one country and those of other countries. If a nation�s exports exceed its imports, the nation has a

favourable balance of trade, or a trade surplus. If imports exceed exports, an unfavourable balance of trade, or a trade deficit, exists. Under mercan� tilism a favourable balance of trade was an absolute necessity, but in clas� sical economics it was more important for a nation to utilize its economic resources fully than to build a trade surplus. The idea of the undesirabil� ity of trade deficits persisted, however, and arguments against deficits are often advanced by advocates of protectionism.

balance sheet Financial statement that describes the resources under a company�s control on a specified date and indicates where they have come from. It consists of three major sections: assets (valuable rights owned by the company), liabilities (funds provided by outside lenders and other creditors), and the owners� equity. On the balance sheet, total assets must always equal total liabilities plus total owners� equity.

Balanchine Vba-la^'sheM, George orig. Georgy Melitonovich Balanchivadze (b. Jan. 22, 1904,

St. Petersburg, Russia�d. April 30,

1983, New York, N.Y., U.S.)

Russian-born U.S. choreographer.

After studying at the Imperial Ballet School, he left the Soviet Union in 1925 to join the Ballets Russes, where his choreography of Apollo (1928) exemplified the spare neoclassical style that became his trademark. His work impressed the impresario Lin� coln Kirstein, who in 1933 invited �Mr. B.� to form the School of American Ballet and its performing group, the American Ballet. The group became the Metropolitan Opera�s resident company (1935�

38) but disbanded in 1941. In 1946 Kirstein and Balanchine founded the Ballet Society, from which emerged the New York City Ballet in 1948. Bal� anchine created more than 150 works for the company, including The Nutcracker (1954), Don Quixote (1965), and Jewels (1967), and he also choreographed musicals and operas. He collaborated closely with the composer Igor Stravinsky, setting more than 30 works to his music. Balanchine�s work remains in the rep� ertoires of many companies worldwide, and he is widely considered the greatest choreographer of the 20th century.

Balaton Vbo-lo-.tonX, Lake Lake, Hungary. Southwest of Budapest, it is the largest lake in central Europe, covering 231 sq mi (598 sq km), with a maximum depth of about 37 ft (11 m). It contains two wildlife reserves. While agriculture remains important in the area, the tourist industry has become significant, and resorts, including Siofok and Balatonfiired, have been developed.

Balbo, Italo (b. June 6, 1896, near Ferrara, Italy�d. June 28, 1940, Tobruk, Libya) Italian aviator and politician. He led the fascist Blackshirts in the March on Rome (1922) and served under Benito Mussolini as gen� eral of militia (1923) and air minister (1929-33). Balbo developed Ital� ian military and commercial aviation and became famous for promoting mass international flights to demonstrate Italy�s air power. He was appointed governor of Libya in 1933 and died when his plane was acci� dentally shot down by Italian guns over Tobruk.

Balboa, Vasco Nunez de (b. 1475, Badajoz, Extremadura province, Castile�d. Jan. 12, 1519, Acla, near Darien, Pan.) Spanish conquistador and explorer. In 1500 he explored the coast of modern Colombia, then settled in Hispaniola. Forced to flee creditors, he joined an expedition to assist a colony in Colombia. He persuaded the settlers to move across the Gulf of Uraba to Darien, where in 1511 they founded the first stable settlement on the South American continent. In 1513 he became the first European to see the Pacific Ocean and took possession of the Mar del Sur (South Sea) and adjacent lands for Spain. He became governor of the Mar del Sur and of the provinces of Panama and Coiba but remained subject to a rival, Pedro Arias Davila, or Pedrarias (14407-1531). Fearing Bal� boa�s influence, Pedrarias had him seized and charged with rebellion, treason, and other misdeeds. After a farcical trial, Balboa was beheaded.

Balch Vbolch\, Emily Greene (b. Jan. 8, 1867, Jamaica Plain, Mass., U.S.�d. Jan. 9, 1961, Cambridge, Mass.) U.S. sociologist and peace

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154 I bald cypress ► Baldwin II Porphyrogenitus

activist. She studied at Bryn Mawr College and taught at Wellesley Col� lege from 1896. She founded a settlement house in Boston and served on state commissions on industrial relations (1908-09) and immigration (1913-14). She lost her professorship in 1918 because of her opposition to U.S. entry into World War I. In 1919 she helped found, with Jane Add- ams, the Women�s International League for Peace and Freedom. In 1946 she shared the Nobel Prize for Peace with John R. Mott (1865-1955).

bald cypress Either of two large swamp trees ( Taxodium distichum and T. ascendens\ family Taxodiaceae) of the southern U.S. that are related to the sequoias. The hard red wood of cypress is often used for roofing shingles. The so-called deciduous cypress family (see deciduous tree) com� prises 10 genera with 15 species of ornamental and timber evergreen trees, native to eastern Asia, Tasmania, and North America. The leaves on a single tree may be scalelike, needlelike, or a mixture of both. Both male and female cones are borne on the same tree. The Tasmanian cedar ( Ath- rotaxis), Japanese cedar ( Cryptomeria japonica), China fir (Cunning- hamia lanceolata ), umbrella pine ( Sciadopitys verticillata), big tree, redwood, dawn redwood, and bald cypress are economically important timber trees in this family.

bald eagle Species of sea eagle (. Haliaeetus leucocephalus) that occurs inland along rivers and large lakes.

Strikingly handsome, it is the only eagle native solely to North America, and it has been the U.S. national bird since 1782. The adult, about 40 in.

(1 m) long with a wingspan of 6.5 ft (2 m), is dark brown with white head and tail and yellow beak, eyes, and feet. Bald eagles snatch fish at the water surface, rob osprey of fish, and eat carrion. They nest in lone trees, often on river islands. Though still protected in the U.S., the bald eagle is no longer considered an endan� gered species.

baldachin Vbol-do-konV Free� standing canopy of stone, wood, or metal over an altar or tomb. The Ital� ian term baldacchino originally referred to brocaded material from Baghdad hung as a canopy over an altar or throne. The characteristic architectural form consists of four columns supporting entablatures, which carry miniature colonnades topped by a pyramidal or gabled roof. Gian Lorenzo Bernini�s famous bronze baldachin (1624-33) stands at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

Balder Vbol-dor, �bal-dorV In Norse mythology, the just and beautiful son of Odin and Frigg. He could be harmed by nothing except mistletoe.

Knowing he was invulnerable, the gods amused themselves by throw� ing things at him. Deceived by Loki, the blind god Hod hurled mistletoe at Balder and killed him. The giant� ess Thokk, probably Loki in disguise, refused to weep the tears that would have released Balder from the underworld.

baldness or alopecia X.al-o-'pe-shoX Lack or loss of hair, either per� manent (from destruction of hair follicles) or temporary (from short-term follicle damage). Male pattern baldness is inherited and affects up to 40% of men; treatments are transplanting of follicles from areas where hair still grows and application of drugs (e.g., minoxidil) to the scalp. Other causes of permanent baldness are skin diseases and injuries, inborn lack of hair development, and severe follicle injury. Temporary hair loss may follow high fever or come from X rays, drugs, malnutrition, or endocrine disorders. Alopecia areata, with sharply outlined patches of sudden com� plete baldness, is also usually temporary.

Baldovinetti X.bal-do-ve-'nat-teV, Alesso (b. Oct. 14, 1425?, Florence�d. Aug. 29, 1499, Flo� rence ) Italian artist active in Flo� rence. Little is known of his early training, but his style shows the influence of Fra Angelico and Domenico Veneziano. Both his mas� terpiece, The Nativity (1460-62), a fresco in the church of the Santis- sima Annunziata, Florence, and his Madonna and Child (1460s) in the Louvre depict views of the Arno River valley in the background; they are among the earliest European paintings of landscapes. His work, though seldom innovative, exempli� fied the careful modeling of form and the accurate depiction of light char� acteristic of the most progressive style of Florentine painting during the last half of the 15 th century. He also designed the mosaic decoration over Lorenzo Ghiberti�s doors on the Baptistery in Florence (1453-55) and produced designs for stained glass and intarsia.

Baldung Vbal-duqV Hans or Hans Baldung Grien \'gren\ (b. c. 1484, Schwabisch Gmtind, Wiirttemberg�d. 1545, Imperial Free City of Strasbourg) German painter and graphic artist. He was assistant to Albre� cht Durer in Ntimberg and was active in Strasbourg as official painter to the episcopate. He is best known for the high altar of the cathedral at Freiburg, where he lived in 1512-17. His output was varied and exten� sive, encompassing religious paintings, allegories, mythologies, portraits, designs for stained glass, tapestry, and book illustration. His paintings are equaled in importance by his drawings, engravings, and woodcuts, fre� quently depicting the themes of the �dance of death� and �death and the maiden.� In his taste for the gruesome, Baldung is close in style and spirit to Matthias GrOnewald.

Baldwin I (b. 1172, Valenciennes�d. 1205) First Latin emperor of Constantinople (1204-05). Count of Flanders and Hainaut, he was a leader of the Fourth Crusade, which was directed against the Byzantine Empire. He helped install a pro-Latin emperor (1203). When the Crusad� ers in Constantinople seized power, he was elected emperor (1204) and recognized by the pope. He created a government on the western Euro� pean model, granting Greek lands to his knights, but was defeated, taken prisoner, and executed by invading Bulgars.

Baldwin I known as Baldwin of Boulogne \bu-'lon-y9\ (b. 1058?�d. April 2, 1118, Al-Arish, Egypt) King of Jerusalem (1100-18). The son of a French count, he joined the First Crusade and created the first Crusader state when he gained control of Edessa (now in Turkey) in 1098. In 1100 his brother Godfrey died in Jerusalem, and Baldwin was summoned by the nobles to succeed him as king of the Crusader state and defender of the Holy Sepulchre. He expanded the kingdom by conquer� ing coastal cities such as Arsuf and Caesarea, built the important castle Krak de Montreal, and established an administration that served for 200 years as the basis for Frankish rule in Syria and Palestine.

Baldwin II known as Baldwin of Bourg \'biirk\ (d. August 1131, Jerusalem) King of Jerusalem (1118-31). A French nobleman, he joined the First Crusade and was made count of Edessa by his cousin Baldwin I in 1100. Captured by Seljuq Turks in 1104, he was ransomed four years later and reclaimed Edessa from the regent by force. He became king of Jerusalem in 1118 on the death of Baldwin I. He was held hostage by the Turks 1123-24. He later expanded his kingdom and attacked Damascus with the aid of the Knights of Malta and the Templars. He arranged the marriage of his daughter Melisend to Fulk V of Anjou and made them his successors.

Baldwin II Porphyrogenitus \,por-f3-ro-'jen-9t-9s\ (b. 1217, Constantinople�d. Oct. 1273, Foggia, Kingdom of Sicily) Fifth and last Latin emperor of Constantinople (1228-61). The son of the third Latin emperor (Porphyrogenitus means �born to the purple,� thus �of royal birth�), Baldwin inherited the throne on the death of his brother. Inva-

Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus).

ALEXANDER SPRUNT, IV

Baldachin, St. Peter's, Vatican City, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1624-33

SCALA-ART RESOURCE/EB INC.

"Madonna and Child," oil on canvas by Alesso Baldovinetti, c. 1465; in the Louvre, Paris

GIRAUDON-ART RESOURCE/EB INC.

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Baldwin IV ► Balfour Declaration I 155

sions by Greeks and Bulgars reduced the empire to the area around Con� stantinople, and Baldwin�s empty treasury obliged him to travel twice to western Europe to ask for aid. He sold sacred relics to Louis IX of France and broke up parts of the imperial palace for firewood. He lost the throne in 1261 when Michael VIII Palaeologus captured Constantinople and restored Greek rule. Baldwin fled to Europe and later died in Sicily.

Baldwin IV known as Baldwin the Leper (b. 1161�d. March 1185, Jerusalem) King of Jerusalem (1174-85). He was crowned at age 13 on the death of his father, but the kingdom was ruled by a series of regents. Baldwin was afflicted with leprosy throughout his short life, which con� tributed to power struggles among the nobility. His defeat of Saladin in 1177 led to a two-year truce, but in 1183 Saladin captured Aleppo and completed the encirclement of Jerusalem. Baldwin crowned his nephew king in 1183.

Baldwin, James (Arthur) (b.

U.S.�d. Dec. 1, 1987, Saint-Paul,

France) U.S. essayist, novelist, and playwright. He grew up in poverty in the New York City district of Harlem and became a preacher while in his teens. After 1948 he lived alternately in France and the U.S. His semiau- tobiographical first novel, Go Tell It on the Mountain (1953), regarded as his finest, was followed by the essay collections Notes of a Native Son (1955) and Nobody Knows My Name (1961); the novels Giovanni�s Room (1956), a story of homosexual life, and Another Country (1962); the long polemical essay The Fire Next Time (1963), prophesying wide� spread racial violence; and the play Blues for Mister Charlie (produced 1964). His eloquence and passion on the subject of race made him for years perhaps the country�s most prominent black writer.

Baldwin, Robert (b. May 12, 1804, York, Upper Canada�d. Dec. 9, 1858, Toronto) Canadian politician. Called to the bar in 1825, Baldwin began his political career as a member of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada for York (1829-30). In 1 842�43 he and Louis Hippolyte LaFontaine formed the first Liberal Party administration; when the Liber� als returned to power in 1848, they were able to establish responsible, or cabinet, government. He resigned in 1851.

Baldwin, Roger (Nash) (b. Jan. 21, 1884, Wellesley, Mass., U.S.�d. Aug. 26, 1981, Ridgewood, N.J.) U.S. civil-rights leader. Born into an aristocratic Massachusetts family, Baldwin attended Harvard University and taught sociology at Washington University (1906-09) in St. Louis, where he also was chief probation officer of the city�s juvenile court and secretary of its Civic League. When the U.S. entered World War I, he became director of the pacifist American Union Against Militarism, the predecessor of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). As the ACLU�s director (1920-50) and national chairman (1950-55), he made civil rights, once a predomi� nantly leftist cause, a universal one.

Baldwin (of Bewdley), Stan� ley Baldwin, 1st Earl (b. Aug.

3, 1867, Bewdley, Worcestershire,

Eng.�d. Dec. 14, 1947, Astley Hall, near Stourport-on-Severn, Worces� tershire) British politician. After managing his family�s large indus� trial holdings, he became a Conser� vative member of the House of Commons (1908-37). He served as financial secretary of the treasury

(1917-21) and president of the Board of Trade (1921-22), then was appointed prime minister (1923-24, 1924-29, 1935-37). He proclaimed a state of emergency in the general strike of 1926 and later secured pas� sage of the antiunion Trade Disputes Act. As prime minister after 1935, he began to strengthen the British military while showing little public concern about the aggressive policies of Germany and Italy. He was criti� cized for not protesting the Italian conquest of Ethiopia. In 1936 he sat� isfied public opinion by procuring the abdication of Edward VIII, whose desire to marry divorcee Wallis Simpson, Baldwin believed, threatened the prestige of the monarchy.

Balearic Vba-le-'ar-ik\ Islands Spanish Islas Baleares Archipelago (pop., 2001: 841,669), western Mediterranean Sea, constituting an autono� mous community and province of Spain. It occupies an area of 1,927 sq mi (4,992 sq km); its capital is Palma. The most important islands are Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza, Formentera, and Cabrera. Long inhabited, the islands were ruled by Carthage in the 6th century bc, by Rome from c. 120 bc, and by the Byzantine Empire from ad 534. Raided by the Arabs, the area was conquered in the 10th century by the Umayyad dynasty at Cordoba. It was reconquered by the Spanish and united with the kingdom of Aragon in 1349. After territorial challenges in the 18th century by the British, the islands came under Spanish rule in 1802. The present-day economy is fueled by tourism.

baleen whale \bo-'len, 'ba-,len\ Any of about 13 species of cetaceans in the suborder Mysticeti. They are distinguished by a specialized feed� ing structure, the baleen, which strains plankton and small crustaceans from the water. It consists of two horny plates attached to the roof of the mouth. Each plate (as long as 12 ft, or 3.6 m, in the right whale) is com� posed of parallel slats with fringes that mat together to form a sieve. Other baleen whales are the blue, fin, gray, humpback, and sei whales and the rorqual. Baleen was once used for corset stays and is still used in some industrial brushes.

Balenciaga \bal-en-'thyag-3\, Cristobal (b. Jan. 21, 1895, Guetaria, Spain�d. March 23, 1972, Valencia) Spanish-French fashion designer. He studied dressmaking as a child and was inspired to become a coutu� rier by a visit to Paris. By age 20 he had his own firm in San Sebastian. Over the next 15 years Balenciaga became the leading couturier of Spain. In 1937, when the Spanish Civil War disrupted his business, he moved to Paris. For the next 30 years his collections featured sumptuously elegant dresses and suits. Balenciaga helped popularize the trend toward capes and flowing clothes without waistlines in the late 1950s as well as the use of plastic for rainwear in the mid 1960s. He retired in 1968.

Balfour (of Whittingehame), Arthur James, 1 st Earl (b. July 25, 1848, Whittinghame, East

Lothian, Scot.�d. March 19, 1930,

Woking, Surrey, Eng.) British states� man. The nephew of the marquess of Salisbury, Balfour served in Parlia� ment (1874-1911) and in his uncle�s government as secretary for Ireland (1887-91). From 1891 he was the Conservative Party�s leader in Par� liament and succeeded his uncle as prime minister (1902-05). He helped form the Entente Cordiale (1904). His most famous action came in 1917 when, as foreign secretary (19lb- 19), he wrote the so-called Balfour Declaration, which expressed official British approval of Zionism. He served as lord president of the coun� cil (1919-22, 1925-29) and drafted the Balfour Report (1926), which defined relations between Britain and the dominions expressed in the Statute of Westminster.

Balfour Declaration (Nov. 2, 1917) Statement issued by the British foreign secretary, Arthur James Balfour, in a letter to Lionel Walter Roth� schild, a leader of British Jewry, as urged by the Russian Jewish Zionist leaders Chaim Weizmann and Nahum Sokolow. The declaration promised the establishment of a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine that would not disturb the non-Jewish groups already residing there. The Brit-

2, 1924, New York, N.Y.,

Baldwin

Stanley Baldwin, 1st Earl Baldwin of Bewdley, 1932.

BASSANO AND VANDYK

Arthur James Balfour, c. 1900.

BASSANO AND VANDYK

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156 I Bali ► Ballesteros

ish anticipated gaining a mandate over Palestine after World War I (1914- 18) and hoped to win over Jewish public opinion to the side of the Allies. They also hoped that pro-British settlers would help protect the approaches to the Suez Canal, a vital link to Britain�s South Asian pos� sessions.

Bali Vba-le, 'ba-le\ Island (pop., 2000 prelim.: 3,151,162), Indonesia. Located in the Lesser Sunda Islands, off the eastern coast of Java, it con� stitutes, with minor adjacent islands, a province of Indonesia. The main towns are Singaraja and Denpasar, the provincial capital. The island is mountainous; its highest peak is Mount Agung (10,308 ft [3,142 m]). Colonized by India in early times and supplemented by emigres from Java in the 16th century, Bali is the remaining stronghold of Hinduism in the Indonesian archipelago. Visited by the Dutch in the late 16th century, it came under Dutch rule only in the late 19th century. It was occupied by the Japanese in World War II and became part of Indonesia in 1950. Tour� ism is now one of the mainstays of its economy.

Balinese People of the island of Bali, Indon. They differ from other Indonesians in adhering to Hinduism, though their culture has been heavily influenced by the Javanese. In Balinese villages each family lives in its own compound, surrounded by earthen or stone walls; all villages have temples and an assembly hall. Balinese religion fuses Hindu Shaivism with Buddhism, ancestor cults (see ancestor worship), and belief in spirits and magic. Marriage is often limited to members of the same kinship organi� zation, and family relationships are reckoned through the male line.

Balkan League Vbol-konX (1912-13) Alliance of Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, and Montenegro, which fought the first Balkan War against the Ottoman empire. Ostensibly created to limit Austrian power in the Bal� kans, the league was actually formed at the instigation of Russia to expel the Turks from the Balkans. The league disintegrated when its members quarreled over the division of territorial spoils after their victory in the first Balkan War.

Balkan Mountains Bulgarian Stara Planina Vsta-ra-.pla-ne-'naV Mountain range, southeastern Europe. It extends east to west across cen� tral Bulgaria from the Black Sea to the Serbian border; the highest point is Botev Peak, at 7,795 ft (2,376 m). The range forms the major divide between the Danube River in the north and the Maritsa River in the south. It is crossed by about 20 passes (notably Shipka Pass), several railway lines, and the Iskur River.

Balkan Wars (1912- 13) Two military conflicts that deprived the Otto� man Empire of almost all its remaining territory in Europe. In the First Bal� kan War, the Balkan League defeated the Ottoman Empire, which, under the terms of the peace treaty (1913), lost Macedonia and Albania. The Second Balkan War broke out after Serbia, Greece, and Romania quar� reled with Bulgaria over the division of their joint conquests in Mace� donia. Bulgaria was defeated, and Greece and Serbia divided up most of Macedonia between themselves. The wars heightened tensions in the Bal� kans and helped spark World War I.

Balkans or Balkan Peninsula Peninsula, southeastern Europe. Located between the Adriatic Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Aegean and Black seas, it contains many countries, including Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, Moldova, Romania, and Bulgaria. From 168 bc to ad 107, part of the area was incorporated into Roman provinces, including Epirus, Moesia, Pannonia, Thrace, and Dacia. It was subsequently settled by Slavic invaders, Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, and Slavonized Bulgars, the last of whom were pushed into the Balkan region in the 6th century. It was gradually organized into kingdoms, many of which were overrun by the Ottoman Empire in the 14th-15th century. The factional strife that occurred there from the early 20th century, provoking the continual breakups and regroupings of dif� ferent states, introduced the word balkanize into English.

Balkhash, Lake or Lake Balqash Vbal-'kash\ Lake, southeastern Kazakhstan. It is about 375 mi (600 km) long, with a maximum depth of roughly 85 ft (25 m). Its chief feeder is the Ili River, which enters at the west in a wide delta. Harsh climate affects its size greatly; its area has varied from about 6,000 sq mi (15,500 sq km) to 7,300 sq mi (19,000 sq km), depending on seasonal precipitation. It is frozen from November to early April. Since the mid-20th century, industrial pollution has caused severe ecological damage.

Ball, Lucille (Desiree) (b. Aug. 6, 1911, Celoron, near Jamestown, N.Y., U.S.�d. April 26, 1989, Los Angeles, Calif.) U.S. actress and tele�

vision star. She performed in films from 1933 and starred in a comedy radio series from 1947. With her bandleader husband, Desi Arnaz, she created the very successful television comedy series I Love Lucy (1951�

57) and later the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour (1957-60). After their divorce in 1960, Ball appeared in The Lucy Show (1962-68) and Here�s Lucy (1968-74). With her red hair and rasping voice and a comic persona alternately brassy and feminine, she was the preeminent female star of the early decades of television.

ball bearing One of the two types of rolling, or antifriction, bearings (the other is the roller bearing). Its function is to connect two machine members that move relative to one another so that the frictional resistance to motion is minimal. In many applications, one of the members is a rotating shaft and the other a fixed housing. Each ball bearing has three main parts: two grooved, ringlike races and a number of balls. The balls fill the space between the two races and roll with negligible friction in the grooves. The balls may be loosely restrained and separated by means of a retainer or cage.

ballad Form of short narrative folk song. Its distinctive style crystal� lized in Europe in the late Middle Ages as part of the oral tradition, and it has been preserved as a musical and literary form. The oral form has persisted as the folk ballad, and the written, literary ballad evolved from the oral tradition. The folk ballad typically tells a compact tale with delib� erate starkness, using devices such as repetition to heighten effects. The modern literary ballad (e.g., those by W.H. Auden, Bertolt Brecht, and Elizabeth Bishop) recalls in its rhythmic and narrative elements the tradi� tions of folk balladry.

ballad opera English 18th-century comic opera in which songs and musical interludes, usually consisting of existing popular tunes or opera melodies with new words, are interspersed with spoken dialogue. The first ballad opera, The Beggar�s Opera (1728), by John Gay and J.C. Pepusch (1667-1752), was a sharply satirical work that became wildly popular and led to numerous similar works. Ballad opera led directly to the German singspiel and can be seen as the source of the modern musical.

ballade \ba-'lad\ One of several formes fixes in French lyric poetry and song, cultivated particularly in the 14th�15th centuries. It consists of three main stanzas having the same rhyme scheme plus a shortened final dedi� catory stanza; all four stanzas have identical final refrain lines. The texts were often solemn and formal, containing elaborate symbolism and clas� sical references. Though present in the poetry of many ages and regions, the ballade in its purest form was found only in France and England. Its precursors can be found in the songs of the troubadours and trouveres.

Ballard \'bal-ord\, J(ames) G(raham) (b. Nov. 15, 1930, Shanghai, China) British writer. Ballard spent four years of his childhood in a Japa� nese prison camp, an experience he described in Empire of the Sun (1984; film, 1987). His science fiction is often set in ecologically unbalanced landscapes caused by decadent technological excess. His apocalyptic nov� els, often shockingly violent, include Crash (1973; film, 1996), Concrete Island (1974), and High Rise (1975). His later works include the short- story collection War Fever (1990) and the novels The Kindness of Women (1991) and Cocaine Nights (1998).

Ballard Vba-brd\, Robert D(uane) (b. 1942, Wichita, Kan., U.S.) U.S. oceanographer and marine geologist. He grew up near San Diego, Calif. As a marine scientist at the Woods Hole (Mass.) Oceanographic Research Institution, he pioneered the use of deep-diving submersibles, participated in the first manned exploration of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and discovered warm water springs and their unusual animal communities in the Galapagos Rift. He is best known for his dramatic discovery of the wreck of the Titanic in 1985. Since then he has gone on to discover ships lost in battle during World War II.

Ballesteros \,bal-9s- , ter-os\ / Seve(riano) (b. April 9, 1957, Pedrena, Spain) Spanish golfer. One of four professional golfing brothers, he fre-

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ballet ► ballot initiative I 157

quently won the British Open (1979, 1984, 1988) and the Masters (1980, 1983) and captained the 1997 European Ryder Cup team to victory. Known for his flamboyant and imaginative style of play, by the late 1990s he had accumulated more than 70 wins in international tournaments.

ballet Theatrical dance in which a formal academic technique (the danse d�ecole) is combined with music, costume, and stage scenery. Developed from court productions of the Renaissance, ballet was renewed under Louis XIV, who in 1661 established France�s Academie Royale de Danse, where Pierre Beauchamp developed the five ballet positions. Early ballets were often accompanied by singing and incorporated into opera-ballets by composers such as Jean-Baptiste Lully. In the 18th century Jean-Georges Noverre and Gasparo Angiolini separately developed the dramatic ballet (;ballet d�action) to tell a story through dance steps and mime, a reform echoed in Christoph Willibald Gluck�s music. Significant developments in the early 19th century included pointe work (balance on the extreme tip of the toe) and the emergence of the prima ballerina, exemplified by Marie Taglioni and Fanny Elssler. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Rus� sia became the centre of ballet production and performance, through the work of innovators such as Sergey Diaghilev, Anna Pavlova, Vaslav Nijin� sky, Marius Petipa, and Michel Fokine; great ballets were composed by Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Igor Stravinsky. Since then, ballet schools in Great Brit� ain and the U.S. have elevated ballet in those countries to Russia�s level and greatly increased its audience. See also American Ballet Theatre; Bal� let Russe de Monte Carlo; Ballets Russes; Bolshoi Ballet; New York City Bal� let; Royal Ballet.

ballet position Any of the five positions of the feet fundamental to all classical ballet. First codified by Pierre Beauchamp (1636-1705) in 1680, the positions form the base from which a dancer achieves stability or aplomb, the basic law of ballet. Fundamental to all the positions is the turnout, or rotation of the dancer�s legs out from the hips, which creates a firm basis for movement in any direction. Various positions of the arms and hands (port de bras ) complete the figures.

Arabesque executed by Natalya Bessmertnova, with Nikolay Fadeychev, of the Bolshoi Ballet; Swan Lake

NOVOSTI�SOVFOTO

Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo \ba-la-'rils-d3-mo n -ta- , kar-lo\ Ballet company formed in Monte Carlo in 1932. The name derived from Sergey Diaghilev� s Ballets Russes, which dissolved after his death in 1929. Under Rene Blum and Col. W. de Basil, the company presented works by Leonide Massine and George Balanchine and featured Alexandra Danilova, Andre Eglevsky, and David Lichine. In 1938 clashes split the company into two groups: the Original Ballet Russe (led by de Basil), which toured inter� nationally before dissolving in 1948; and the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo

(led by Massine), which toured mainly in the U.S. with Danilova, Alicia Markova, and Maria Tallchief until 1963.

Ballets Russes \ba-la-'riEs\ Ballet company founded in Paris in 1909 by Sergey Diaghilev. Considered the source of modern ballet, the company employed the most outstanding creative talent of the period. Its choreog� raphers included Michel Fokine, Leonide AAassine, Bronislava Nijinska, and George Balanchine, and among its dancers were Yekaterina Geltzer, Tamara Karsavina, and Vaslav Nijinsky. Music was commissioned from compos� ers such as Igor Stravinsky, Maurice Ravel, Darius Milhaud, Sergey Prokofiev, and Claude Debussy, and ballets featured stage designs by artists Alexan� dre Benois, Pablo Picasso, Georges Rouault, Henri Matisse, and Andre Derain.

Ballinger Vbal-in-jorV Richard A(chilles) (b. July 9, 1858, Boones- boro, Iowa, U.S.�d. June 6, 1922, Seattle, Wash.) U.S. secretary of the interior (1909-11). As the reform mayor of Seattle, Wash. (1904-06), he attracted national attention. In 1907 he was appointed commissioner of the General Land Office, and in 1909 he became secretary of the interior. During his two years in that post he sought to make public resources more available for private exploitation. Implicated in a fraudulent Alaskan land- claims scheme, he was cleared after a congressional investigation but resigned in 1911. The episode split the Republicans between conserva� tives led by Pres. William H. Tar and progressives loyal to Theodore Roosevelt.

Balliol, John de See John (Scotland)

ballista Xbo-'lis-toV Ancient missile launcher designed to hurl long arrows or heavy balls. The Greek version was basically a huge crossbow fastened to a mount. The Roman ballista was powered by torsion derived from two thick skeins of twisted cords through which were thrust two separate arms joined at their ends by the cord that propelled the missile. The largest could accurately hurl 60-lb (27-kg) weights up to about 500 yards (450 m).

ballistics Science of propulsion, flight, and impact of projectiles. Inter� nal ballistics deals with propulsion of projectiles, such as within the bar� rel of a gun or at a rocket launch. Guns and rocket engines convert chemical energy of propellants into kinetic energy of projectiles. External ballistics deals with projectile flight. The trajectory, or path, of a projectile is sub� ject to the forces of gravity (see gravitation), drag, and lift. Terminal bal� listics deals with the impact of projectiles on a target. Wound ballistics deals with the mechanisms and medical implications of trauma caused by bullets and explosively driven fragments, such as shrapnel.

balloon Large airtight bag filled with hot air or a lighter-than-air gas such as helium or hydrogen that can rise and float in the atmosphere. Experi� mental attempts may have begun by 1709, but not until 1783 did J.-M. and J.-E. Montgolfier develop a fabric-bag balloon that would rise when filled with hot air. Balloons provided military aerial observation sites in the 19th century and were used in the 20th century by scientists such as Auguste Piccard to gather high-altitude data. The first round-the-world balloon flight was achieved in 1999 by Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones. See also airship.

ballooning Flying in a balloon in competition or for recreation. Sport ballooning began in the early 20th century and became popular in the 1960s. The balloons used are of lightweight synthetic materials (e.g., polyester coated in aluminized mylar) and are filled with hot air or lighter- than-air gas. Balloon races often involve tasks such as changing eleva� tions or landing on or near a target. Competitions are regulated by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale. The first transatlantic, transcon� tinental, and transpacific balloon flights were achieved in 1978, 1980, and 1981, respectively. In 1997-98 international teams began competing to become the first to balloon nonstop around the world. This feat was finally accomplished in 1999 by the Swiss psychiatrist Bertrand Piccard (grand� son of famed physicist and balloonist Auguste Piccard) and his British copilot Brian Jones, who spent 19 days in the air.

Ballot Act (1872) British law that introduced the secret ballot for all parliamentary and municipal elections. The secret ballot was also called the Australian ballot, because it was first used in Australian elections (1856). The British law, which was designed to protect voters from brib� ery and coercion, was one of the important achievements of William E. Gladstone�s first administration.

ballot initiative See referendum and initiative

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158 I ballroom dance ► Baltic States

ballroom dance European and American social dancing performed by couples. It includes standard dances such as the fox-trot, waltz, polka, tango, Charleston, jitterbug, and merengue. Ballroom dance was popular� ized by Vernon and Irene Castle and Fred Astaire and, later, by Arthur Mur� ray (1895-1991), who established ballroom dance studios throughout the U.S. Ballroom dance contests, especially popular in Europe, feature both amateur and professional dancers.

Ballycastle Town (pop., 1991: 4,005), district seat of Moyle, Northern Ireland. It is situated along Ballycastle Bay, opposite an island where Scotland�s King Robert I is said to have hidden from enemies in a cave. It is a market centre, fishing harbour, and resort.

Ballymena V.ba-le-'me-noV District (pop., 2001: 58,610), Northern Ire� land. Established in 1973, it is an agricultural area. The Antrim Moun� tains, which reach a height of 1,430 ft (435 m), traverse the eastern part of the district, sloping toward the valley of the River Main. Ballymena town, the district seat, is a marketing centre for the surrounding area; it has long been known for its linen and woolen production.

Ballymoney V.ba-le-'mo-neX District (pop., 2001: 26,894), Northern Ireland. Established in 1973, it is an agricultural area intersected by the Antrim Mountains. The town of Ballymoney is the district seat.

balm Any of several fragrant herbs of the mint family, particularly Mel� issa officinalis (balm gentle, or lemon balm), cultivated in temperate cli� mates for its fragrant leaves, which are used as a scent in perfumes and as a flavouring. The name is also applied to Melittis melissophyllum (bas� tard balm), Monarda didyma (bergamot, or bee balm), Collinsonia canaden� sis (horse balm), Glecoma hederacea and Satureja (Calamintha) nepeta (field balm), and Molucella laevis (Molucca balm, or bells of Ireland), as well as to aromatic substances from species of Commiphora (trees and shrubs of the incense-tree family).

Balmain \bal-'ma n \, Pierre (-Alexandre-Claudius) (b. May 18,

1914, Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, Fr.�d. June 29, 1982, Paris) French fashion designer. He gave up architectural studies to become a designer in 1934. He worked briefly with Christian Dior, who became his rival after World War II. Balmain�s designs, particularly for evening wear, were characterized by superb quality and a combination of femininity and imposing elegance; his clients included film stars and royalty. He later opened branches in New York City and Caracas and expanded into per� fume and accessories.

Balochi \b3-'lo-che\ or Baluchi \b3-'lu-che\ Any member of a group of tribes speaking the Balochi language and inhabiting the province of Balochistan in Pakistan and neighbouring areas of Iran, Afghanistan, Bahr� ain, and the Punjab (India). Some 70% of the total Balochi population live in Pakistan, where they are divided into two groups, the Sulaimani and the Makrani. Mentioned in 10th-century Arabic chronicles, they prob� ably came originally from the Iranian plateau. Traditional Balochis are nomads, but settled agricultural existence is becoming more common. They raise camels and other livestock and engage in carpet making and embroidery.

Balochistan Xbo-.lo-chi-'stanN or Baluchistan Xbo-.lii-chi-'stanN Prov� ince (pop., 1998: 6,511,000), southwestern Pakistan. Its capital is Quetta (pop., 1998: 560,307). Its landscape includes mountains, notably the Sulaiman and Kithar ranges; barren, flat plains; arid desert; and marshy swamps. In ancient times, it was part of Gedrosia. Alexander the Great traversed it in 325 bc. It was included in the Bactrian kingdom, then was ruled by Arabs from the 7th to the 10th century ad. It was ruled by Per� sia for centuries, with the exception of a period when it belonged to the Mughal Empire (1594-1638). It became a British dependency in 1876 and a British province of India in 1887. It was made part of Pakistan in 1947^-8 and was designated a separate province in 1970. Wheat, sor� ghum, and rice are staple crops; manufactures include cotton and woolen goods.

Balqash, Lake See Lake Balkhash

balsa Tree ( Ochroma pyramidale, or O. lagopus) of the bombax family (Bombacaceae), native to tropical South America and noted for its extremely light wood, which resembles clear white pine or basswood. Because of its buoyancy (about twice that of cork), balsa has long been used for making floats for lifelines and life preservers. Its resilience makes it an excellent shock-absorbing packing material. Its insulating properties make it a good lining material for incubators, refrigerators, and cold-

storage rooms. Because it combines lightness and high insulating power, it is a valuable construction material for transportation containers for dry ice (solidified carbon dioxide). It is also used in the construction of air� plane passenger compartments and in model airplanes and boats.

balsam Aromatic resinous substance that flows from a plant, either spontaneously or from an incision, and is used chiefly in medicinal prepa� rations. Some of the more aromatic varieties are used in incense. Balsam of Peru, a fragrant, thick, deep brown or black fluid used in perfumes, is a true balsam, from a lofty leguminous tree, Myroxylon pereirae, native to and introduced into Sri Lanka. Balsam of Tolu (Colombia) is used in perfumes and in cough syrups and lozenges; it hardens with age. Canada balsam and Mecca balsam are not true balsams.

balsam poplar North American poplar ( Populus balsamifera), native from Labrador to Alaska and across the extreme northern U.S. Often cul� tivated as a shade tree, it has buds thickly coated with an aromatic resin that is used to make cough syrups. It grows best in northwestern Canada.

Balthus \bal-'tiEs\ orig. Balthazar Klossowski (b. Feb. 29, 1908, Paris, Fr.�d. Feb. 18, 2001, La Rossiniere, Switz.) French painter. Born in Paris to Polish parents, he was considered a child prodigy and was encouraged by family friends including Pierre Bonnard, Andre Derain, and Rainer Maria Rilke. Without formal training, he supported himself through commissions for stage sets and portraits. He had his first one-man show in 1934. In the midst of 20th-century avant-gardism, he explored the tra� ditional categories of European painting: the landscape, the still life, the subject painting, and the portrait. He presented ordinary moments of con� temporary life on a grand scale and utilized traditional, Old Master paint� ing techniques. Balthus is best known for his controversial depictions of adolescent girls. His disturbing and erotic images and his carefully cul� tivated persona made him an international cult figure. From 1961 to 1977 he served as director of the French Academy in Rome.

Baltic languages Branch of the Indo-European language family that includes three attested languages, Lithuanian, Latvian, and Old Prussian. They were or are spoken along the eastern and southeastern shore and hinterlands of the Baltic Sea. Medieval chronicles report four other Baltic� speaking peoples in the region, though by the 16th century these peoples had been completely assimilated. Baltic has certain striking features in common with Savic languages, though the deep divisions within Baltic itself, among other factors, make the hypothesis of a common Balto- Slavic protolanguage difficult to defend.

Baltic religion Ancient beliefs and practices of the Balts of Eastern Europe. They are believed to give evidence of a common source with Vedic and Iranian religion. The most important Baltic divinities were sky gods: Dievs (the sky), Perkons (the thunderer), Saule (sun goddess), and Meness (moon god). A forest divinity, the Mother of the Forest, was common to all Baltic peoples and was differentiated into goddesses that personified various aspects of nature. Destiny or luck was personified as the goddess Laima, who determined a person�s fate at the moment of birth. The dead were thought to revisit the world as good or evil spirits; evil was also done by the devil. Veins, and by a werewolf-like creature known as Vilka- cis or Vilkatas. The structure of the world, with the world tree at its cen� ter, and the enmity between Saule and Meness are important themes. Festivals marked the summer solstice, the harvest, marriages, and funer� als. Worship was conducted at holy groves and small hills; excavations have also revealed circular wooden temples.

Baltic Sea Sea, northern Europe. An arm of the Atlantic Ocean, con� necting with the North Sea, it is about 1,000 mi (1,600 km) long, covers an area of about 149,000 sq mi (386,000 sq km), and has a maximum depth of about 1,500 ft (450 m). It receives the Vistula and Oder rivers and many other rivers. It is enclosed by Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Esto� nia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, and Russia. It has two large arms, the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland. The modifying effect of the North Atlantic Current is scarcely felt; its waters contain only about one-fourth as much salt as the oceans, and it freezes readily.

Baltic States Republics of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, situated on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. The name has sometimes been used to include Finland and Poland. They were created as independent states in 1917 from the Baltic provinces of Russia, the city of Kovno, and part of the Polish department of Wilno (later Lithuania). With the aid of German and Allied forces, the Baltic states repelled a Bolshevik invasion in 1919. In 1940 they were forcibly occupied by the Soviet Union and incorpo-

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Baltimore ► Banbridge I 159

rated as constituent republics. In 1944 Soviet troops recovered the terri� tory overrun by German forces in 1941. The Baltic states gained independence on the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Baltimore, David (b. March 7, 1938, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. virologist. He received his doctorate from the Rockefeller Institute. He and Howard Temin (1934-94), working independently, discovered an enzyme that synthesizes DNA from RNA, the reverse of the usual pro� cess. This enzyme, reverse transcriptase, has become an invaluable tool in recombinant DNA technology. The research of Baltimore, Temin, and Renato Dulbecco helped illuminate the role of viruses in cancer; the three men shared a Nobel Prize in 1975. In 1990 Baltimore became president of Rockefeller University; in 1997 he became president of the California Institute of Technology.

Baltimore (of Baltimore), George Calvert, 1st Baron (b.

1578/79, Kipling, Yorkshire, Eng.�d. April 15, 1632) English colonial� ist. He served in the House of Commons from 1621; charged with com� municating the policy of James I, he was distrusted by Parliament. After declaring himself a Roman Catholic (1625), he gave up his office and was created Baron Baltimore, receiving land grants in Ireland. To assure the prosperity of his New World holdings, he took his family to his New� foundland colony in 1628. Because of conflict over his Catholicism and the severe climate, he petitioned Charles I for a land grant in the Chesa� peake Bay area. He died before the charter was granted, and his son Cecil became proprietor of the colony of Maryland.

Baltimore City (pop., 2000: 651,154), north-central Maryland, U.S. Located at the head of the Patapsco River estuary, 15 mi (24 km) above Chesapeake Bay, it is Maryland�s largest city and economic hub. Estab� lished in 1729, it was named after the Irish barony of Baltimore (seat of the Calvert family, proprietors of the colony of Maryland). It became the first U.S. Roman Catholic diocese in 1789. In 1827 the nation�s first rail� road began operations there. In World War I, Baltimore began to develop industrially, and it has since become a major seaport.

Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) First steam-operated rail� way in the U.S. to be chartered as a common carrier of freight and pas� sengers (1827). The B&O was established by Baltimore merchants to foster trade with the West. By 1852 the railroad extended to Wheeling, Va. (now W.V.), and in the next two decades it reached Chicago, Ill., and St. Louis, Mo. The B&O�s long-distance passenger trains were discon� tinued in 1971 after Amtrak was established. Many of B&O�s operations were assumed by the CSX Corp. in 1980.

Baltimore Sun Daily newspaper published in Baltimore, Md., U.S. It was begun as a four-page penny tabloid in 1837 by Arunah Shepherdson Abell, a journeyman printer from Rhode Island. Known through much of its history for its coverage of national and international news, the paper was run by Abell�s family until 1910, when control passed to a group of Baltimore businessmen, including H. Crawford Black. Members of Black�s family were chairmen of the board until 1984. In 1986 the Sun was acquired by the Times Mirror Company, which in turn was acquired by the Tribune Company in 2000. Author H.L. Mencken was for years prominently associated with the Sun.

Baluba See Luba Baluchistan See Balochistan

Balzac \bal-'zak\, Honore de orig. Honore Balssa (b. May 20,

1799, Tours, France�d. Aug. 18, 1850, Paris) French writer. Balzac began working as a clerk in Paris at about age 16. An early attempt at a business career left him with huge debts, and for decades he toiled inces� santly to improve his worsening financial condition. In 1829 his novels and stories began to achieve some success, and his early masterpieces soon followed. In a vast series he collectively called The Human Com� edy , eventually numbering some 90 novels and novellas, he sought to produce a comprehensive picture of contemporary society by presenting all the varieties of human nature. Among his masterpieces are Eugenie Grandet (1833), Pere Goriot (1835), Lost Illusions (1837-43), A Harlot High and Low (1843-47), and Cousin Bette (1846). His novels are notable for their great narrative drive, their large casts of vital and diverse char� acters, and their obsessive interest in and examination of virtually all spheres of life. His best-known story collection is his Droll Stories, 3 vol. (1832-37). His tumultuous life was one of mounting debts and almost incessant toil, with frequent bouts of writing feverishly for 15 hours at a stretch (his death has been attributed to overwork and excessive coffee

consumption). He is generally con� sidered the major early influence on realism, or naturalism, in the novel and one of the greatest fiction writ� ers of all time.

Bamako Vba-ma-.koX City pop.,

1996: metro area, 809,552), capital of Mali. Located in southwestern Mali on the Niger River, it was a settlement of a few hundred inhabitants when it was occupied by the French in 1880.

It became the capital of the former colony of French Sudan in 1908.

Now spanning both sides of the river, it has several colleges and most of Mali�s industrial enterprises. The city more than tripled in size in the 1960s, largely because of rural migration from drought-stricken areas of the countryside.

Bambara \bam-'bar-3\ People of the upper Niger region of Mali who speak a Mande language of the Niger-Congo family. Numbering 3.4 mil� lion, the Bambara use the distinctive N�ko alphabet, which reads from right to left, and they are noted for their wood and metal sculptures. In the 17th�18th centuries the Bambara developed two separate empires, one based in Segou (and including Timbuktu) and the other in Kaarta.

bambocciati V.bam-bo-'chat-eV (Italian: �childishnesses�) Small, anec� dotal paintings of everyday life made in Rome in the mid-17th century. The genre�s originator and most noteworthy exponent was the Dutch painter Pieter van Laer (1599-1642); the word derives from his nickname, II Bam- boccio (�Little Clumsy One,� reflecting his physical deformity). Van Laer arrived in Rome from Haarlem c. 1625 and influenced various other north� ern European painters active in Rome. Their images depicting the lower classes in humorous or grotesque ways were condemned by the leading critics and painters. The bamboccianti (painters of bambocciati) influenced the Dutch genre painters Adriaen Brouwer and Adriaen van Ostade.

bamboo Any of the tall, treelike GRASSes, found in tropical and subtropi� cal to mild temperate regions, that make up the subfamily Bambusoideae, family Poaceae (or Gramineae). Bamboos are giant, fast-growing grasses with woody stems. A few species of the genus Arundinaria are native to the southern U.S., where they form dense canebrakes along riverbanks and in marshy areas. The woody, hollow aerial stems grow in branching clus� ters from a thick rhizome, often forming a dense undergrowth that excludes other plants. All parts of the bamboo are used, for purposes including food, livestock fodder, fine-quality paper, construction materials, and medi� cines. Bamboos also have ornamental use in landscape gardens.

Bambuti \ba-em-'bu-te\ or Mbuti A number of Pygmy peoples of the Ituri Forest of eastern Congo (Kinshasa). Bambuti is a collective name for four populations of Ituri Pygmies�the Sua (Asua), Aka, Efe, and Mbuti� each of which has formed a loose economic and cultural interdependency with an agricultural group. They average under 4 ft 6 in. (137 cm) in height. Probably the earliest inhabitants of the region, they are nomadic hunters and gatherers living in small groups of from 10 to 100. They have no chiefs or formal councils of elders and believe in a benevolent forest deity. Their music, complex in rhythm and harmony, is often accompanied by dance or mime. Today they number in the tens of thousands.

banana Fruit of the genus Musa (family Musaceae), a gigantic herba� ceous plant spread by rhizomes, and one of the most important food crops of the world. The banana is consumed extensively throughout the trop� ics, where it is grown, and is also valued in the temperate zone for its flavour, nutritional value, and constant availability. Hundreds of varieties are cultivated. Perhaps the most important species is the common banana, M. sapientum. The ripe fruit is high in carbohydrates (mainly sugar), potassium, and vitamins C and A, and it is low in protein and fat. Though usually eaten fresh, bananas may also be cooked. The U.S. imports more bananas than does any other country. See also plantain.

Banbridge District (pop., 2001: 41,392), Northern Ireland, established in 1973. The area includes the Legananny Hills, which reach an altitude of 1,745 ft (532 m) in eastern Banbridge district and slope southwestward to lowlands that are bisected by the River Bann. Located on the Bann is

Honore de Balzac, daguerreotype,

Styles and imagery vary by location,

Bark beetle (Dendroctonus valens)

WILLIAM E. FERGUSON

Tapa wall drapery painted with animal clan emblems, from the Teluk Jos Sudarso (Humboldt Bay) area, Irian Jaya (West New Guinea), Indonesia, in the Rijksmuseum voor Volkenkunde Justinus van Nassau, Breda, Neth.

HOLLE BILDARCHIV, BADEN-BADEN, GER.

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168 I Barker ► Barnard

from naturalistic and stylized representations of human and animal forms to mythical beings, spirals, circles, and abstract motifs.

Barker, Harley Granville- See Harley Granville-Barker

barking deer See muntjac

Barkley, Alben W(illiam) (b. Nov. 24, 1877, Graves county, Ky., U.S.�d. April 30, 1956, Lexington, Va.) U.S. politician. After graduat� ing from college, he studied law and was admitted to the Kentucky bar in 1901. He was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. House of Represen� tatives (1913-27) and the Senate (1927-49), where he served as majority leader (1937-47). He was a prominent spokesman for the domestic and international policies of Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt. He served as vice president under Pres. Harry S. Truman (1949-53). He later returned to the Senate (1954-56).

Barkley, Charles (Wade) (b. Feb. 20, 1963, Leeds, Ala., U.S.) U.S. basketball player. He spent his collegiate career as a forward at Auburn University. He played for the Philadelphia 76ers (1984-91), the Phoenix Suns (1992-95), and the Houston Rockets (1996-99). He is known for his bruising play on the court and for his outspokenness off it.

Barlach Vbar-lak\, Ernst (b. Jan. 2, 1870, Wedel, Ger.�d. Oct. 24, 1938, Giistrow) German sculptor, graphic artist, and writer. After study� ing in Hamburg, Dresden, and Paris, he became the outstanding sculptor of the Expressionist movement, achieving a rough-hewn quality by pre� ferring wood, the material used in late Gothic sculpture. Even when he worked with other, more contemporary materials, he often emulated the raw quality of wood sculpture to achieve a more brutal effect. He achieved fame in the 1920s and �30s with the execution of several war memorials for the Weimar Republic. Barlach also wrote Expressionist plays, which he illustrated with woodcuts and lithographs. His studio at Giistrow was opened posthumously as a museum.

barley Cereal plant of the genus Hordeum, in the family Poaceae (or Gramineae), and its edible grain. The three cultivated species are H. vul- gare, H. distichum, and H. irregulare. Barley is adaptable to a greater range of climate than any other cereal. About half of the world�s crop is used as livestock feed, the rest for human food and for malting. Most beer is made from malted barley, which is also used in distilled beverages (see malt). Barley has a nutlike flavour and is high in carbohydrates, with moderate quantities of protein, calcium, and phosphorus. Barley flour is used to make unleavened bread and porridge. Pearl barley, the most popu� lar form in many parts of the world, is often added to soups.

Barlow, Joel (b. March 24, 1754, Redding, Connecticut Colony [U.S.]�d. Dec. 24, 1812, Zarnowiec, Pol.) U.S. writer and poet. He was a member of the group of young writers known as the Hartford (or Con� necticut) Wits, whose patriotism led them to attempt to create a national literature. He became famous for his Vision of Columbus (1787), a poetic paean to America, but is remembered primarily for The Hasty Pudding (1796), a mock-heroic epic poem inspired by homesickness for New England.

Barmakid Vbar-mo-.kidV or Barmecide Vbar-ms-.skB Any member of the priestly family of Persian origin that achieved prominence in the 8th century as scribes and viziers to the caliphs of the �Abbasid dynasty. They supported the arts and sciences, tolerated explorations of religion and philosophy, and promoted public works. The first notable Barmakid, Khalid ibn Barmak (d. 781/782), helped establish the 'Abbasid caliphate; he became governor of Tabaristan and later Fars. His son Yahya (d. 805) and grandsons al-Fadl (d. 808) and Ja'far (d. 803) held power as viziers but died in prison or were executed in a reversal of fortune, largely because their excessive power, wealth, and liberalism led the caliphs to see them as threats.

Barmen, Synod of Meeting of German Protestant leaders at Barmen in May 1934 to organize Protestant resistance to Nazism. Representatives came from Lutheran, Reformed, and United churches. Some church lead� ers had already chosen to limit their efforts to passive resistance, and oth� ers had been co-opted by the Nazi regime. The Pastors� Emergency League, headed by Martin Niemoller, was the backbone of active resis� tance. The Synod was of major importance in the founding of the Con� fessing Church by Karl Barth and others.

barn Farm building used for sheltering animals, their feed and other supplies, farm machinery, and farm products. Bams are named according to their purpose (e.g., hog barns, dairy barns, tobacco bams, and tractor

bams). The principal type in the U.S. is the general-purpose barn, used for housing livestock and for storing hay and grain. Most North American and European farms have one or more barns. They usually consist of two stories, though one-story bams gained in popularity in the late 20th cen� tury.

barn owl Any of several species of sometimes called monkey-faced owls because of their heart-shaped facial disk and absence of ear tufts.

Barn owls are about 12-16 in.

(30^-0 cm) long, white to gray or yellowish to brownish orange. Their dark eyes are smaller than those of other owls. They hunt mainly small rodents, often on cultivated land, and nest in hollow trees, buildings, tow� ers, and old hawk nests. The com� mon bam owl is found worldwide except in Antarctica and Micronesia.

Other species occur only in the Old World.

Barnabas \'bar-no-bos \, Saint orig. Joseph the Levite (fi. 1st cen� tury; feast day June 11) Apostolic Father and early Christian missionary. Born in Cyprus, he was a Hellenized Jew who joined the church in Jerus� alem shortly after its founding. According to the Acts of the Apostles, he helped found the church in Antioch, calling on St. Paul to assist him. A conflict eventually separated them, and Barnabas returned to the island of his birth. One legend holds that he was martyred in Cyprus. His reputed tomb is near the Monastery of St. Barnabas at Salamis, whose Christian community Paul and Barnabas founded.

barnacle Any of a majority of the 1,000 species of the subclass Cir- ripedia of marine crustaceans that, as adults, are covered with a shell made of hai�d calcium-containing plates and are permanently cemented, head down, to rocks, pilings, ships� hulls, driftwood, or seaweed or to the bod� ies of larger sea creatures, from clams to whales. Barnacles trap tiny particles of food with their cirri, feathery retractable organs that emerge from openings between the shell plates. Adult barnacles com� monly are hermaphrodites.

barnacle goose Species (. Branta leucopsis) of waterbird that resembles a small Canada goose, with dark back, white face, and black neck and bib. It winters in the north� ern British Isles and on the coasts of Denmark, Germany, and the Nether� lands. In the Middle Ages, it was thought to hatch from barnacles, and thus was considered �fish� and could be eaten on Fridays.

Barnard \'bar-nord\, Christiaan (Neethling) (b. Nov. 8, 1922, Beaufort West, S.Af.�d. Sept. 2, 2001, Paphos, Cyprus) South African surgeon. He showed that intestinal atresia is caused by deficient fetal blood supply, which led to development of a surgical procedure to cor� rect the formerly fatal defect. He introduced open-heart surgery to South Africa, designed a new artificial heart valve, and did animal heart trans� plant experiments. In 1967 Barnard�s team performed the first human heart transplant, replacing the heart of Louis Washkansky with one from an accident victim. The transplant was successful, but Washkansky, given immunosuppressant drugs to prevent rejection of the heart, died 18 days later from pneumonia.

Barnard, Henry (b. Jan. 24, 1811, Hartford, Conn., U.S.�d. July 5, 1900, Hartford) U.S. educator. He studied law and entered the state leg� islature, where he helped create a state board of education and the first teachers� institute (1839). With Horace Mann, he undertook to reform the country�s common schools; he was an innovator in instituting school

nocturnal birds of prey (genus Tyto),

Common barn owl (Tyto alba).

KARL MASLOWSKI/PHOTO RESEARCHERS

Barnacle

ANTHONY MERCIECA, FROM ROOT RESOURCES-EB INC.

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Barnard's ► Baroque I 169

inspections, textbook reviews, and parent-teacher organizations. As Rhode Island�s first commissioner of education (from 1845) he worked to raise teachers� wages, repair build� ings, and obtain higher-education appropriations. In 1855 he helped found the American Journal of Edu� cation. He was chancellor of the University of Wisconsin (1858-61).

In 1867 he became the first U.S. commissioner of education, in which post he established a federal agency to collect national educational data.

Barnard's Vbar-nsrdzV star Star about six light-years away from the Sun, next nearest the Sun after the Alpha Centauri system, in the constel� lation Ophiuchus. Named for Edward Emerson Barnard (b.

1857�d. 1923), who discovered it in 1916, it has the largest proper motion of any known star. It is gradu� ally nearing the solar system. The star attracted astronomers� attention in the 1960s when its proper motion was claimed to show periodic deviations attributed to the gravitational pull of two planets (see planets of other stars). The deviations were later proved to be artifacts of measurement.

Barnburners See Hunkers and Barnburners

Barnes, Albert C(oombs) (b. Jan. 2, 1872, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.�d. July 24, 1951, Chester county. Pa.) Pharmaceutical manufacturer and art collector. He obtained a medical degree and later studied in Ger� many. In 1902 he made a fortune with his invention of the antiseptic Argyrol. After building a mansion in Merion, Pa., in 1905, he began to collect art seriously, amassing some 180 paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 66 by Paul Cezanne, 35 by Pablo Picasso, and an extraordinary col� lection of 65 works by Henri Matisse. The Barnes Foundation, housed in quarters next to his Merion home, was chartered on Dec. 4, 1922, and opened in 1925. The 22-room structure displayed his collection in a highly personal manner that eschewed standard museum practice. The founda� tion also was intended to promote art education by providing art classes and by establishing a publishing program. (Barnes himself wrote and coauthored a number of books on art.) In 1961, after extensive litigation, his galleries were opened to the public.

Barnes, Djuna (b. June 12, 1892, Cornwall-on-Hudson, N.Y., U.S.�d. June 18?, 1982, New York, N.Y.) U.S. writer. Barnes worked as an artist and journalist in her youth. She went to Paris in 1920, where she became a well-known figure in the literary scene. She wrote plays, short stories, and poems; her masterpiece, the novel Nightwood (1936), tells of the homosexual and heterosexual loves of five extraordinary people. After returning to New York in 1940, she wrote little and lived reclusively.

Barnet \bar-'net\, Charlie orig. Charles Daly Barnet (b. Oct. 26, 1913, New York, N.Y., U.S.�d. Sept., 4, 1991, San Diego, Calif.) U.S. saxophonist and big-band leader of the swing era. Born to a wealthy fam� ily, Barnet took up the saxophone as a child and eventually performed on tenor, alto, and soprano. His was among the first of the big bands to be racially integrated, and his unabashed admiration for Duke Ellington and Count Basie resulted in an effective synthesis of their styles. His best- known recording was �Cherokee� (1939).

Barnett, Ida B. Wells- See Ida B. Wells

Barnsley Town and metropolitan borough (pop., 2001: 218,062), north� ern England. Located on the River Dearne, the town lies in the ceremo� nial county of South Yorkshire. Its major growth came in the 19th century as a coal-mining town in the heart of the Yorkshire coalfield. Local coal production has declined since the early 20th century, and light industries have been promoted.

Barnum, P(hineas) T(aylor) (b. July 5, 1810, Bethel, Conn., U.S.�d. April 7, 1891, Bridgeport, Conn.) U.S. showman. In 1841 he bought the American Museum, a collection of conventional exhibits in New York City, and transformed it into a carnival of live freaks and dra�

matic curiosities, which he promoted with sensational publicity. He exhib� ited the midget Tom Thumb with great international success and brought Jenny Lind (billed as the �Swedish Nightingale�) to the U.S. for a profit� able concert tour in 1850. By the time his museum closed in 1868 after several fires, he had enticed 82 million visitors there. In 1871 he started a circus and in 1881 joined a rival, James A. Bailey (1847-1906), to form the three-ring Barnum and Bailey�s Circus, which featured the elephant Jumbo as part of the �Greatest Show on Earth.�

Barocci \ba-'rot-che\, Federico (b. c.1526, Urbino, Duchy of Urbino, Papal States�d. 1612, Urbino) Italian painter. Except for two visits to Rome (mid 1550s, 1560-63), where he painted frescoes for Pope Pius IV�s casino in the Vatican Gardens, he seems to have spent his whole life in and near Urbino. He executed altarpieces and devotional paintings in a style characterized by subtle colour harmonies and warmth of feeling. His patrons included the duke of Urbino and Emperor Rudolf II (1552� 1612), and he received commissions from the cathedrals of Genoa and Perugia. His famous works include the Deposition (1567-69) and the Madonna del Popolo (1579). A prolific draftsman, he was one of the first artists to use coloured chalks. He enjoyed a long and productive career, becoming one of the leading painters in central Italy.

Baroda See Vadodara

Baroja \ba-'ro-ha\ (y Nessi), Pio (b. Dec. 28, 1872, San Sebastian, Spain�d. Oct. 30, 1956, Madrid) Basque writer. He wrote 11 trilogies dealing with contemporary social problems, the best known of which is The Struggle for Life (1904). His most ambitious project was a long cycle of works about a 19th-century insurgent and his era. He wrote almost 100 novels, including Zalacain el aventurero (1909). Because of his anti- Christian views, stubborn insistence on nonconformity, and somewhat pessimistic tone, he never achieved great popularity. He is considered the foremost Spanish novelist of his time.

barometer Device used to measure atmospheric pressure. Because atmo� spheric pressure changes with distance above or below sea level, a barom� eter can also be used to measure altitude. In the mercury barometer, atmospheric pressure balances a column of mercury, the height of which can be precisely measured. Normal atmospheric pressure is about 14.7 lb per square inch, equivalent to 30 in. (760 mm) of mercury. Other liquids can be used in barometers, but mercury is the most common because of its great density. An aneroid barometer indicates pressure on a dial using a needle that is mechanically linked to a partially evacuated chamber, which responds to pressure changes.

barometric pressure See atmospheric pressure

baron Title of nobility, ranking in modern times immediately below a viscount or a count (in countries without viscounts). The wife of a baron is a baroness. Originally, in the early Middle Ages, the term designated a tenant of whatever rank who held a tenure of barony direct from the king. Gradually, it came to mean a powerful personage, and therefore a mag� nate. The rights and title may be conferred for military or other honor� able service.

baronet British hereditary rank of honor, first created by James I in 1611 to raise money, ostensibly for support of troops in Ulster. The baronetage is not part of the peerage, nor is it an order of knighthood. A baronet ranks below a baron but above all knights except a Knight of the Garter (see Order of the Garter). The baronetcy is inherited by the male heirs of a baronet.

Baroque, Late See Rococo style

Baroque \b3-'rok\ architecture Architectural style originating in late 16th-century Italy and lasting in some regions, notably Germany and colonial South America, until the 18th century. It had its origins in the Counter-Reformation, when the Catholic Church launched an overtly emo� tional and sensory appeal to the faithful through art and architecture. Complex architectural plan shapes, often based on the oval, and the dynamic opposition and interpenetration of spaces were favoured to heighten the feeling of motion and sensuality. Other characteristic quali� ties include grandeur, drama and contrast (especially in lighting), curva� ceousness, and an often dizzying array of rich surface treatments, twisting elements, and gilded statuary. Architects unabashedly applied bright colours and illusory, vividly painted ceilings. Outstanding practitioners in Italy included Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Carlo Maderno (1556-1629), Francesco Borromini, and Guarino Guarini (1624-83). Classical elements

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170 I Baroque period ► Barry

subdued Baroque architecture in France. In central Europe, the Baroque arrived late but flourished in the works of such architects as the Austrian Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach (1656-1723). Its impact in Britain can be seen in the works of Christopher Wren. The late Baroque style is often referred to as Rococo or, in Spain and Spanish America, as Chur- RIGUERESQUE.

Baroque period (17th�18th century) Era in the arts that originated in Italy in the 17th century and flourished elsewhere well into the 18th cen� tury. It embraced painting, sculpture, architecture, decorative arts, and music. The word, derived from a Portuguese term for an irregularly shaped pearl and originally used derogatorily, has long been employed to describe a variety of characteristics, from dramatic to bizarre to over� decorated. The style was embraced by countries absorbed in the Counter- Reformation; artworks commissioned by the Roman Catholic church were overtly emotional and sensory. The period�s most notable practitioners were Annibale Carracci (see Carracci family), Caravaggio, and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. A spectacular example of the Baroque arts is the Palace of Versailles. In music, the Baroque era is usually considered to extend from c. 1600 to c. 1750, when such significant new vocal and instrumen� tal genres as opera, oratorio, cantata, sonata, and concerto were intro� duced and such towering composers as Claudio Monteverdi, J.S. Bach, and George Frideric Handel flourished.

Barotse See Lozi

Barquisimeto V.bar-ke-se-'ma-toN City (pop., 2000 est.: 875,790), northwestern Venezuela. The capital of Lara state, it is located at the northern end of the Cordillera Merida, at an elevation of 1,800 ft (500 m). Founded in 1552 as Nueva Segovia, it is one of the country�s oldest cit� ies. It was almost destroyed by an earthquake in 1812 and was further damaged in 19th-century civil wars. It is a hub of transport and commerce and the centre of an agricultural region.

barracuda Any of about 20 species of predaceous marine fishes (fam� ily Sphyraenidae) found in all warm and tropical regions and in some more temperate areas. Swift and powerful, barracudas are slender and have small scales, a jutting lower jaw, and a large mouth with many large, sharp teeth. They vary in size from relatively small to 4-6 ft (1.2-1.8 m) long. They are primarily fish eaters. They are popular sport fishes and are caught for food, though in certain seas they may become contaminated with a toxic substance. Bold and inquisitive, they are potentially danger� ous to humans when large.

Barracuda (Sphyraena)

C. LEROY FRENCH/TOM STACK & ASSOCIATES

Barranquilla \,ba-ran-'ke-ya\ City (pop., 1999: 1,226,292), northern Colombia. Founded in 1629 about 10 mi (16 km) from the mouth of the Magdalena River, it remained unimportant until the 1930s, when the clear� ing of sandbars made it an important port on the Caribbean Sea. It has since been rivaled by the Pacific Ocean port of Buenaventura, but it still handles goods from the interior and is the terminus of natural-gas pipe� lines from northern Colombia.

Barraque \ba-ra-'ka\, Jean (b. Jan. 17, 1928, Puteaux, France�d. Aug. 17, 1973, Paris) French composer. He studied at the Paris Conser� vatoire with Jean Langlais (1907-91) and Olivier Messiaen. His major work, employing a radically nonrepetitive style, was a planned five-part reflection on Hermann Broch�s novel The Death of Virgil, of which he completed three parts�... au-dela du hasard (1959), Chant apres chant

(1966), and Le Temps restitue (1968)�before his early death. He also composed a long piano sonata (1952) and a clarinet concerto (1968).

Barras \ba-'ras\, Paul-Francois-Jean-Nicolas, viscount de (b.

June 30, 1755, Fox-Amphoux, France�d. Jan. 29, 1829, Chaillot) French revolutionary. A Provencal nobleman, Barras became disenchanted with the royal regime and welcomed the French Revolution. Elected to the National Convention (1792), he played a key role in the overthrow of Maximiuen Robespierre and emerged as the commander of the army of the interior and the police. In 1795 he and Napoleon defended the regime against a royalist insurrection and established the Directory, with Barras as chief among the five directors. The Coup of 18 Fructidor brought him greater power, but he was overthrown in 1799 and exiled from Paris on suspicion of conspiracy to restore the monarchy.

Barrault \ba-'ro\, Jean-Louis (b. Sept. 8, 1910, Le Vesinet, France�d. Jan. 22, 1994, Paris) French actor and director. He made his acting debut in Paris (1931) and joined the Comedie-Francaise (1940-46) as an actor and director. He and his wife, Madeleine Renaud, formed their own company (1946-58) at the Theatre Marigny. There they performed a mixture of French and foreign classics and modern plays that helped revive French theatre after World War II. He was appointed director of the Theatre de France (1959-68) and later directed at several other Paris theatres (1972-81). He appeared in more than 20 films and was best known for his role in The Children of Paradise (1945).

Barre, Mohamed Siad See Mohamed Siad Barre

Bar res \ba-'res\, (Auguste-) Maurice (b. Aug. 19, 1862, Charmes- sur-Moselle, France�d. Dec. 5,

1923, Paris) French writer and poli� tician. He served in the Chamber of Deputies (1889-93) and became a strong nationalist. With Charles Mau- rras, he expounded the doctrines of the French Nationalist Party in two newspapers, and in his novels he expressed an individualism that included a deep-rooted attachment to one�s native region. His series of novels titled Les Bastions de TEst earned success as French propa� ganda during World War I.

Barrie, Sir James (Matthew)

(b. May 9, 1860, Kirriemuir, Angus,

Scot.�d. June 19, 1937, London,

Eng.) Scottish playwright and novel� ist. After moving to London, he wrote Auld Licht Idylls (1888), a book about his native Scotland. His best-selling novel The Little Minis� ter (1891) was made into a play in 1897. His plays Quality Street (1901) and The Admirable Crichton (1902) ran successfully in London. After creating the stories of Peter Pan for a friend�s sons, he won great success with his classic children�s play Peter Pan, the Boy Who Wouldn�t Grow Up (1904). His other plays include The Twelve-Pound Look (1910) and Dear Brutus (1917).

barrier penetration See tunneling

barrister Vbar-o-storX One of two types of practicing lawyers in Brit� ain (the other is the solicitor). Barristers engage in advocacy (trial work), and only they may argue cases before a high court. A barrister must be a member of one of the four Inns of Court. In Canada, all lawyers are both barristers and solicitors, though individual lawyers may describe them� selves as one or the other. In Scotland trial lawyers are called advocates.

Barrow, Clyde See Bonnie and Clyde

Barry \dm-ba-'re\, (Marie-) Jeanne Becu, countess du known as Madame du Barry (b. Aug. 19, 1743, Vaucouleurs, France�d. Dec. 8, 1793, Paris) French mistress of Louis XV. A Paris shop assistant, she became the mistress of Jean du Barry, who introduced her into Pari� sian high society. Admired for her beauty, she joined Louis XV�s court in 1769 after a nominal marriage to Jean�s brother, a nobleman, qualified her as Louis�s official royal mistress. Though she exercised little politi� cal influence, her unpopularity contributed to the decline of the prestige of the crown in the early 1770s. After Louis�s death (1774), she was ban-

Barres, 1906.

H. ROGER-VIOLLET

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Barry ► Bartlett I 171

ished from court. In the French Revolution she was condemned as a counterrevolutionary and guillotined.

Barry, John (b. 1745, County Wexford, Ire.�d. Sept. 13, 1803, Phila� delphia, Pa., U.S.) Irish-born American naval officer. He immigrated to America in 1760 and was a merchant shipmaster out of Philadelphia at age 21. He outfitted the first American fleet in 1776, and as captain of a frigate he captured several British ships. He fought the last battle of the American Revolution in March 1783 in the Straits of Florida, where he defeated three British ships. After the war he was recalled to active ser� vice as senior captain of the new U.S. Navy. He was often called the �Father of the Navy� because he trained many future naval officers.

Barrymore family U.S. theatrical family. Maurice Barrymore (orig. Herbert Blythe; 1847-1905) made his stage debut in London before mov� ing to New York City (1875), where he adopted Barrymore as his stage name. He joined Augustin Daly�s company and in 1876 married Georgi- ana Drew, of the theatrical Drew family. Their eldest child, Lionel Barry� more (orig. Lionel Blythe; 1878-1954), became a leading Broadway actor in plays such as Peter Ibbetson (1917) and The Copperhead (1918), then moved to Hollywood in 1926, where he appeared in films such as A Free Soul (1931, Academy Award) and Grand Hotel (1932). Famous as a char� acter actor, he made some 200 films, including 15 Dr. Kildare pictures. His sister Ethel Barrymore (orig. Ethel Blythe; 1879-1959) appeared in London in Peter the Great (1898) and on Broadway in Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines (1901). She opened the New York theatre named for her in 1928 in The Kingdom of God and later starred in The Corn Is Green (1940). She appeared in more than 30 films, including None but the Lonely Heart (1944, Academy Award) and The Spiral Staircase (1946). Their brother John Barrymore (orig. John Blythe; 1882-1942) was acclaimed in plays such as Justice (1916), Richard III (1920), and especially Ham� let (1922). His films include Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920) and Dinner at Eight (1933). An alcoholic, he was known for his flamboyant behav� iour. John�s granddaughter Drew Barrymore (b. 1975) first won notice at age seven in the film E.T. (1982).

barter Direct exchange of goods or services without the use of money or any other intervening medium of exchange. Barter is conducted either according to established rates of exchange or by bargaining. Barter is common among preliterate societies, particularly in those communities with some developed form of market. Goods may be bartered within a group as well as between groups, although gif exchange probably accounts for most intragroup trade, particularly in small and relatively simple soci� eties. See also currency.

Barth, John orig. John Simmons Barth, Jr. (b. May 27, 1930, Cambridge, Md., U.S.) U.S. writer. Barth grew up on Maryland�s eastern shore, the locale of much of his writing, and from 1953 he taught prin� cipally at Johns Hopkins University. Apart from the experimental pieces in Lost in the Funhouse (1968), his best-known works are the novels The Floating Opera (1956), The End of the Road (1958), The Sot-Weed Fac� tor (1960), Giles Goat-Boy (1966), and The Tidewater Tales (1987), most of which play with and parody traditional narrative forms, combining philosophical depth with biting satire and boisterous, often bawdy humour. In 2001 he published the experimental novel Coming Soon!!!: A Narrative, which was not well received.

Barth \'bart\, Karl (b. May 10, 1886, Basel, Switz.�d. Dec. 9/10, 1968, Basel) Swiss theologian. He studied at the Universities of Berlin, Tubin� gen, and Marburg, and in 1911-21 he was a pastor at Safenwil, Switz. The tragedy of World War I made him question the liberal theology of his teachers, rooted in post-Enlightenment ideas. With The Epistle to the Romans (1919) he inaugurated a radical turnaround in Protestant thought, initiating a trend toward neoorthodoxy. The work led to his appointment as professor at Gottingen (1921), Munster (1925), and Bonn (1930). He was a founder of the Confessing Church, which opposed the Nazi regime; when his refusal to take the oath of allegiance to Adolf Hitler cost him his chair at Bonn, he returned to Basel. He spoke at the opening of the World Council of Churches in 1948 and visited Rome following the Second Vat� ican Council.

Barthelme Vbart-ol-meV, Donald (b. April 7, 1931, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.�d. July 23, 1989, Houston, Texas) U.S. writer. Barthelme worked as a journalist, journal editor, and museum director before his fiction began to be published. He is known for modernist �collages� marked by technical experimentation and melancholy gaiety. His story collections include Come Back, Dr. Caligari (1964), City Life (1970), Sixty Stories

(1981), and Overnight to Many Distant Cities (1983); his novels include Snow White (1967), The Dead Father (1975), Paradise (1986), and The King (1990). His brother Frederick (b. 1943) is also a novelist ( Second Marriage, 1984) and short-story writer {Moon Deluxe, 1983).

Barthes \'bart\, Roland (Gerard) (b. Nov. 12, 1915, Cherbourg, France�d. March 25, 1980, Paris) French social and literary critic. His early books examined the arbitrariness of the constructs of language and applied similar analyses to popular-culture phenomena. He analyzed mass culture in Mythologies (1957). On Racine (1963) set off a literary furor, pitting him against more traditional French literary scholars. His later contributions to SEMIOTICS included the even more radical S/Z (1970); The Empire of Signs (1970), his study of Japan; and other significant works that brought his theories wide (if belated) attention in the 1970s and helped establish structuralism as one of the leading intellectual movements of the 20th century. In 1976 he became the first person to hold the chair of literary semiology at the College de France.

Bartholdi \bar-'tol-de\, Frederic-Auguste (b. April 2, 1834, Col� mar, Alsace, Fr.�d. Oct. 4, 1904, Paris) French sculptor. He studied sculpture and painting in Paris. In 1865 he and several others conceived the idea for a monument to the Franco-American alliance of 1778. Begin� ning work in 1870, Bartholdi designed the huge statue that would come to be known as the �Statue of Liberty� (1875-86) and was able to see its construction through using funds he raised in both France and the U.S. While not as famous, his masterpiece is the Lion of Belfort (1871-80), carved out of the red sandstone of a hill overlooking Belfort in eastern France.

Bartholomaeus Vbar-.tol-o-'ma-osX (Anglicus) or Bartholomew the Englishman (fl. c. 1220^40) Franciscan encyclopedist. Though primarily interested in scripture and theology, in his 19-volume encyclo� pedia On the Properties of Things he covered all customary knowledge of his time and was the first to make readily available the views of Greek, Jewish, and Arabic scholars on medical and scientific subjects. The ency� clopedia was printed in English translation c. 1495.

Bartholomew, Saint (fl. 1st century ad �d. traditionally Albanopo- lis, Armenia; Western feast day August 24; date varies in Eastern churches) One of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is mentioned only briefly in the Gospels, and his Hebrew name may have been Nathanael bar Tolmai. By tradition he was a missionary to Ethiopia, Mesopotamia, Parthia (in modern Iran), Lycaonia (in modem Turkey), and Armenia. He was supposedly martyred at the command of the Armenian king Asty- ages, who had him flayed and beheaded.

Barthou \bar-'tii\, (Jean-) Louis (b. Aug. 25, 1862, Oloron-Sainte- Marie, France�d. Oct. 9, 1934, Marseille) French politician. Elected to the Chamber of Deputies in 1889, he served in various conservative gov� ernments. He was appointed premier (1913) and secured the passage of a bill requiring three years� compulsive military service. He represented France at the Conference of Genoa, entered the Senate, and became chair� man of the reparations commission. Named foreign minister in 1934, he was assassinated with King Alexander of Yugoslavia during the latter�s visit to France.

Bartlett, Sir Frederic C(harles) (b. Oct. 20, 1886, Stow-on-the- Wold, Gloucestershire, Eng.�d. Sept. 30, 1969, Cambridge, Cam� bridgeshire) British psychologist best known for his studies of memory. The first professor of experimental psychology at the Uni� versity of Cambridge (1931-52), he also directed the university�s psy� chological laboratory. His major work, Remembering (1932), described memories not as direct recollections but rather as mental reconstructions coloured by cultural attitudes and personal habits.

Bartlett, John (b. June 14, 1820,

Plymouth, Mass., U.S.�d. Dec. 3,

1905, Cambridge, Mass.) U.S. book� seller and editor. Bartlett was an

employee and then owner of the Har- j Q ^ n B ar f| ett

vard University Bookstore. In 1855 courtesy of little, brown and co.

� 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

172 I Bartok ► base

he published the work for which he is best known, Familiar Quotations, based largely on a notebook he kept for his customers. It was greatly expanded in later editions; the 17th edition appeared in 2002. He also wrote a complete concordance to Shakespeare�s dramatic works and poems (1894), outstanding for the number and fullness of its citations.

Bartok Vbar-t6k\, Bela (b. March 25, 1881, Nagyszentmiklos, Hung., Austria-Hungary�d. Sept. 26, 1945, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He developed a superb piano technique at an early age. In 1904 he set about researching Hungarian folk music, having discovered that the folk-music repertory generally accepted as Hungarian was in fact largely urban Roma (Gypsy) music (see Rom). His fieldwork with the composer Zoltan KodAly formed the basis for all later research in the field, and he published major studies of Hungarian, Romanian, and Slovakian folk music. He worked folk themes and rhythms into his own music, achieving a style that was at once nation� alistic and deeply personal. He also toured widely as a virtuoso pianist. In 1940 he immigrated to the U.S., where he was inadequately recognized. His works include the opera Bluebeard�s Castle (1911), six celebrated string quartets (1908-39), the didactic piano set Mikrokosmos (1926-39), Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion (1937), Concerto for Orchestra (1943), and three piano concertos (1926, 1931, 1945).

Bartolome de Cardenas See Bartolome Bermejo

Bartolomeo V.bar-to-lo-'ma-oV, Fra orig. Baccio della Porta (b.

March 28, 1472, Florence�d. Oct. 31, 1517, Florence) Italian painter active in Florence. His early works, such as the Annunciation (1497) in Volterra Cathedral, were influenced by Perugino and Leonardo da Vinci. In 1500 he joined the Dominican order. He painted religious subjects, pri� marily the Madonna and Child in various settings, with monumental fig� ures grouped in balanced compositions. He became a prominent exponent of the High Renaissance style and was the leading painter in Florence, rivaled only by Andrea del Sarto.

Barton, Clara orig. Clarissa Harlowe (b. Dec. 25, 1821, Oxford, Mass., U.S.�d. April 12, 1912, Glen Echo, Md.) U.S. nurse, founder of the American Red Cross. She attended the Liberal Institute at Clinton, N.Y. (1850-51). In 1852 she established a free school in Bordentown, N.J., that soon became so large that the townsmen would no longer allow a woman to run it. After resigning her post, she was employed by the U.S. Patent Office in Washington, D.C. (1854-57, 1860). During the Ameri� can Civil War she organized the distribution of medicine and supplies for soldiers wounded in the first Battle of Bull Run. She gained permission to pass through battle lines to distribute supplies, search for the missing, and nurse the wounded, becoming known as the �angel of the battlefield.� In 1865, at the request of Pres. Abraham Lincoln, she set up a bureau of records to aid in the search for missing men. While in Europe for a rest, she helped with relief work for victims of the Franco-Prussian War (1870- 71) and became associated with the International Red Cross. In 1881 she founded the American Red Cross. She lobbied Congress to sign the Geneva Convention (see Geneva Conventions), which provided for the treatment of the sick and wounded in battle and the proper handling of prisoners of war. She wrote the U.S. amendment to the constitution of the Red Cross, which provides for the distribution of relief not only in war but also during natural disasters. She served as president of the Ameri� can Red Cross until 1904.

Barton, Sir Derek H(arold) R(ichard) (b. Sept. 8, 1918, Grave� send, Kent, Eng.�d. March 16, 1998, College Station, Texas, U.S.) Brit� ish chemist. Unsatisfied in his father�s carpentry business, he entered London�s Imperial College and received his doctorate in 1942. His stud� ies revealed that organic molecules have a preferred three-dimensional form from which their chemical properties can be inferred. This research earned him the 1969 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, shared with Odd Hassel of Norway.

Bartram Vbar-troirA, John (b. March 23, 1699, Marple, Pa., U.S.�d. Sept. 22, 1777, Kingsessing, Pa.) naturalist and explorer, considered the �father of American botany.� Largely self-educated, he was a friend of Benjamin Franklin and the botanist for the American colonies to George III. He was the first North American experimenter to hybridize flowering plants, and he established near Philadelphia a botanical garden that became internationally famous. He explored the Alleghenies and the Carolinas and in 1743 was commissioned by the British crown to explore the wilderness north to Lake Ontario in Canada. In 1765-66 he explored extensively in Florida with his son William Bartram.

Bartram, William (b. April 9, 1739, Kingsessing, Pa., U.S.�d. July 22, 1823, Kingsessing) U.S. naturalist, botanist, and artist, the son of John Bartram, he described the abundant river swamps of the southeastern U.S. in their primeval condition in his Travels through North and South Caro� lina, Georgia, East and West Florida (1791). The book was influential among the English and French Romantics (see Romanticism). Bartram was also noted for his renderings of plants and animals.

Baruch \b3-'riik\, Bernard (Mannes) (b. Aug. 19, 1870, Camden, S.C., U.S.�d. June 20, 1965, New York, N.Y.) U.S. financier and adviser to presidents. After graduating from the College of the City of New York in 1889, he went to work in Wall Street brokerage houses, where he amassed a fortune as a speculator. During World War I he was appointed chairman of the War Industries Board by Pres. Woodrow Wilson. In 1919 he was a member of the Supreme Economic Council at the Paris Peace Conference at Versailles and one of Wilson�s advisers on the terms of peace. During World War II he served as an unofficial adviser on eco� nomic mobilization to Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt. Later he was instru� mental in setting UN policy on the international control of atomic energy.

Barye \ba-'re\, Antoine-Lou is (b. Sept. 24, 1796, Paris, Fr.�d. June 29, 1875, Paris) French sculptor. The son of a goldsmith, he was appren� ticed at 13 to an engraver. He studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts (1818� 23) and began to sculpt animal forms c. 1819. Influenced by Theodore Gericault, he had a unique talent for rendering dynamic tension and exact anatomical detail. His most famous works depict wild animals devouring their prey; he also rendered groups of domestic animals. His notable bronzes include Lion Devouring a Gavial Crocodile (1831) and an eques� trian statue of Napoleon at Ajaccio, Corsica (1860-65).

baryon \'bar-e-,an\ Any member of one of two classes of hadrons. Baryons are heavy subatomic particles made up of three quarks. They are characterized by a baryon number, B, of 1, and have half-integer spin val� ues. Their antiparticles (see antimatter), called antibaryons, have a baryon number of -1. Both protons and neutrons are baryons.

Baryshnikov Vbo-'rish-no-.kofV Mikhail (Nikolayevich) (b. Jan. 28, 1948, Riga, Latvia, U.S.S.R.) Latvian-born U.S. dancer. After enter� ing the Kirov Ballet�s training school in St. Petersburg in 1963, he joined the company as a soloist in 1966. There he quickly became popular with Soviet audiences, dancing leading roles created for him in ballets such as Gorianka (1968) and Vestris (1969). He defected while on tour in Canada in 1974. He danced with American Ballet Theatre until 1978, winning enor� mous acclaim, and he served as its artistic director from 1980 to 1989. He danced and acted in several movies and on television.

barytes See barite

barzakh Vbar-,zak\, al- Arabic "obstacle" or "barrier" Term that appears in the Qur�an on three separate occasions and has been inter� preted in various ways by Muslim commentators. In one surah (chapter), it refers to the barrier that prevents the dead from returning to earth to accomplish the good they left undone in life. It has been understood as a physical barrier between heaven and hell and as a moral prohibition by God. The term is used elsewhere in the Qur�an to describe a barrier between two seas, one saltier than the other, whose waters meet but do not mix. In Sufism, barzakh is understood as the barrier between the mate� rial world and the world of God and the angels.

basalt \b3-'solt\ Dark igneous rock that is low in silica content and com� paratively rich in iron and magnesium. Some basalts are glassy (have no visible crystals), and many are very fine-grained and compact. Basaltic lavas may be spongy or pumice-like. Olivine and augite are the most common minerals in basalts; plagioclase is also present. Basalts may be broadly classified into two main groups. Calc-alkali basalts predominate among the lavas of mountain belts; the active volcanoes of Mauna Loa and Kilauea in Hawaii erupt calc-alkali lavas. Alkali basalts predominate among the lavas of the ocean basins and are also common in mountain belts.

base In chemistry, any substance that in water solution is slippery to the touch, tastes bitter, changes the colour of acid-base indicators (e.g., litmus paper), reacts with acids to form salts, and promotes certain chemical reactions (e.g., base catalysis). Examples of bases are the hydroxides of the alkali metals and alkaline earth metals (sodium, calcium, etc.; see caustic soda) and the water solutions of ammonia or its derivatives (amines). Such substances produce hydroxide ions (OH - ) in water solutions. Broader

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baseball ► Basho I 173

pitcher�s mound

(60.5 ft [18.4 m] from home plate)

A typical college or professional baseball field. The batter stands at home plate, the pitcher at the pitcher's mound. When a hit falls outside the foul lines, the batter may not run. Any ball over the fence represents a home run for the batter. Coaches at first and third base tell runners when to run. In the dugout, players wait to bat. Home-run fence distances and configurations vary from field to field. Softball is played on a similar field, but with bases closer together (typically 60 ft apart) and the pitcher's mound closer to the plate (40 ft for women, 46 ft for men), and the home-run fence may be as close as 200 ft.

� MERRIAM-WEBSTER INC.

definitions of bases cover situations in which water is not present. See also ACID-BASE THEORY; ALKALI; NUCLEO� PHILE.

baseball Game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players (or 10, if a designated hitter bats and runs for the pitcher). Base� ball is played on a large field that has four bases laid out in a square, posi� tioned like a diamond, whose out� lines mark the course a runner must take to score. Teams alternate posi� tions as batters and fielders, exchanging places when three mem� bers of the batting team are put out.

Batters try to hit a pitched ball out of reach of the fielding team and com� plete a circuit around the bases in order to score a �run.� The team that scores the most runs in nine innings (times at bat) wins the game. If a game is tied, extra innings are played until the tie is broken. Base� ball is traditionally considered the national pastime of the United States. It was once thought to have been invented in 1839 by Abner Doubleday in Coopers town, N.Y., but it is more likely that baseball developed from an 18th-century English game called rounders that was modified by Alexander Cart� wright. The first professional asso� ciation was formed in 1871; in 1876 it became the National League. Its rival, the American League, was founded in 1900, and since 1903 (except in 1904 and 1994) the winning teams of each league have played a post� season championship known as the World Series. The Baseball Hall of Fame is located in Cooperstown. Professional baseball leagues also exist in several Latin American countries. The champions of leagues in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela compete in the Caribbean Series each February. In Asia there are professional baseball leagues in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. Japan has two major leagues, the Central and the Pacific, that face off in the Japan Series every October.

Basel Vba-zolX or Basle \'bal\ French Bale Ybal\ City (2000: city, 166,558; metro, area, 402,387), northwestern Switzerland. It straddles the Rhine at the point where France, Germany, and Switzerland meet. It was originally a settlement of the Celtic Rauraci tribe. Its university, the first in Switzerland, was founded by Pope Pius II while attending the Council of Basel (1431�49). In 1501 Basel was admitted into the Swiss Confed� eration. When Desiderius Erasmus taught at the university (1521-29), the city became a centre of humanism and of the Reformation. Primarily German-speaking and Protestant, it is an important trading and industrial city and river port.

Basel, Council of (1431^-9) Council of the Roman Catholic church held in Basel, Switz. It addressed the question of ultimate authority in the church and the problem of the Hussite heresy. Its members renewed the decree Sacrosancta (issued by the Council of Constance), which declared the council�s authority to be greater than the pope�s, and voted to receive most Hussites back into the church on terms opposed by the pope. In 1437 Pope Eugenius IV transferred the council to Ferrara to negotiate reunion with the Orthodox church more effectively, but several members remained in Basel as a rump council and declared Eugenius deposed. They then elected a new pope, Felix V, and the renewed schism cost the council its prestige and popular support. On the death of Eugenius, his successor, Nicholas V, obliged the antipope Felix to abdicate, ended the rump coun� cil, and brought the conciliar movement to a close.

basenji \bo-'sen-je\ Ancient breed of hound native to central Africa, where it is used to point and retrieve and to drive quarry into a net. Known as the barkless dog, it produces a variety of sounds other than barks. Its finely wrinkled forehead, erect ears, and tightly curled tail give it a char�

acteristic alert expression. It has a short, silky reddish brown, black, or black-and-tan coat and white feet, chest, and tail tip. It stands 16-17 in.

(41^43 cm) high and weighs 22-24 lbs (10-11 kg). It is clean and gentle.

BASF AG German chemical and plastics manufacturing company.

Founded in 1865, BASF (the full German name means �Baden Aniline and Soda Factory�) was part of the chemical cartel IG Farben from 1925 until 1945, when the latter was dis� solved by the Allies. Refounded in 1952, BASF expanded operations globally to become one of the world�s largest chemical companies. Its products have included oil and natural gas, fertilizers, synthetic fibers, dyes and pigments, inks and print� ing accessories. BASF sold its pharmaceutical company, Knoll, in 2001 to focus on its chemical businesses. Its headquarters are in Ludwigshafen am Rhein.

Bashan Vba-shsnX Ancient polity, eastern Palestine. Frequently cited in the Old Testament and later important in the Roman Republic and Empire, it was located in what is now Syria. In New Testament times, Bashan ranked as one of the great granaries of Rome. One of its towns, Bostra (Busra al-Sham), was important to both Nabataea and Rome. Augustus made Herod the Great ruler of Bashan, and in ad 106 Trajan brought the whole Nabataean kingdom under the empire in creating the province of Arabia, with Bostra as its capital. The country went into decline in the 7th cen� tury.

Basho \,bash-'6\ or Matsuo \ma-'tsii-o\ Basho orig. Matsuo Munefusa (b. 1644, Ueno, Iga province, Japan�d. Nov. 28, 1694, Osaka) Japanese haiku poet, the greatest practitioner of the form. Follow� ing the Zen philosophy he studied, he attempted to compress the mean� ing of the world into the simple pattern of his poetry, disclosing hidden hopes in small things and showing the interdependence of all objects. His

Basenji

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174 I BASIC ► Basilicata

The Narrow Road to the Deep North (1694), a poetic prose travelogue, is one of the loveliest works of Japanese literature.

BASIC in full Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code Computer programming language developed by John G. Kemeny and Thomas E. Kurtz (b. 1928) at Dartmouth College in the mid 1960s. One of the simplest high-level languages, with commands similar to English, it can be learned with relative ease even by schoolchildren and novice programmers. Since c. 1980, BASIC has been popular for use on personal COMPUTERS.

basic Bessemer process Modification of the Bessemer process for converting pig iron into steel. The original Bessemer converter was not effective in removing the phosphorus from iron made from the high- phosphorus ores common in Britain and Europe. The invention of the basic process in England by Sidney G. Thomas (1850-1885) and Percy Gilchrist overcame this problem; the Thomas-Gilchrist converter was lined with a basic material such as burned limestone rather than an acid siliceous material. The introduction of the basic Bessemer process in 1879 made it possible for the first time for such high-phosphorus ore to be used for making steel.

Basic Input/Output System See BIOS

basic oxygen process Steelmaking method in which pure oxygen is blown through a long, movable lance into a bath of molten blast-furnace iron and scrap, in a steel furnace with a refractory lining called a con� verter. The oxygen initiates a series of heat-releasing reactions, including the oxidation of such impurities as silicon, carbon, phosphorus, and man� ganese; carbon dioxide is released, and the oxidation products of the other impurities form molten slag that floats on the molten steel. The advan� tages of using pure oxygen instead of air in refining iron into steel were recognized as early as the 1850s (see Bessemer process), but the process could not be commercialized until the late 1940s, when cheap, high-purity oxygen became available. Within 40 years it had replaced the open-hearth process and was producing more than half of all steel worldwide. Com� mercial advantages include high production rates, less labour, and steel with a low nitrogen content.

basic rocks See acid and basic rocks

basidiomycete Nbo-.si-de-o-'mI-.setX Any of a large and diverse class of fungi (division Mycota), including jelly and shelf, or bracket, fungi; mushrooms, puffballs, and stinkhorns; and the rusts and smuts. The club- shaped, SPORE-bearing organ (basidium) is borne on a usually large and conspicuous fruiting body. Basidiomycetes include bird�s-nest fungi, whose hollow fruiting bodies resemble nests containing eggs. The 15 spe� cies of the order Exobasidiales are parasitic on higher plants, particularly azaleas and rhododendrons. Jelly fungi are so called because they have jellylike, often colourful fruiting bodies. See also fungus.

Basie \'ba-se\, Count orig. William Allen Basie (b. Aug. 21, 1904, Red Bank, N.J., U.S.�d. April 26,

1984, Hollywood, Fla.) U.S. jazz pianist and bandleader. Basie was influenced by the Harlem pianists James P. Johnson and Fats Waller. In Kansas City in 1936 he formed his own band, which became known as the most refined exponent of swing.

Its rhythm section was noted for its lightness, precision, and relaxation; on this foundation, the brass and reed sections developed a vocabulary of riffs and motifs. Their hit recordings included �One O�Clock Jump� and �Jumpin� at the Woodside.� Basie�s piano style became increasingly spare and economical. His soloists included singer Jimmy Rushing, trum� peters Buck Clayton and Harry (�Sweets�) Edison, and saxophonist Lester Young. Basie�s reorganized band of the 1950s placed greater emphasis on ensemble work and developed a more powerful style Count Basie, 1969. built from the riffs and buoyant ^jov/globe photos

rhythm of the earlier group. The band achieved renewed popularity for recordings featuring vocalist Joe Williams.

basil Herb consisting of the dried leaves of Ocimum basilicum, an annual herb of the mint family, native to India and Iran. The dried large-leaf vari� eties have a fragrant aroma faintly reminiscent of anise, with a warm, sweet, aromatic, mildly pungent flavour. The dried leaves of common basil are less fragrant and more pungent. Basil is widely grown as a kitchen herb. Tea made from basil leaves is a stimulant. The heart-shaped basil leaf is a symbol of love in Italy.

Basil Vba-z3l\ I known as Basil the Macedonian (b. 826/835, Thrace�d. Aug. 29, 886) Byzantine emperor (867-86) and founder of the Macedonian dynasty. Born into a peasant family in Macedonia, he won employment in official circles in Constantinople and was made cham� berlain by the reigning emperor, Michael III. He became coemperor with Michael in 866 and murdered him the next year. Basil won victories against Muslim forces along the eastern borders of Asia Minor and asserted control over Slavs in the Balkans. He gained ground in southern Italy but lost Syracuse (878) and other key cities in Sicily to the Muslims. He also formulated the Greek legal code known as the Basilica. In later life Basil showed signs of madness.

Basil II known as Basil Bulgaroctonus \,bul-g3-'rak-t9-n3s\ ("Slayer of the Bulgars") (b. 957/958�d. Dec. 15, 1025) Byzantine emperor (976-1025). Crowned coemperor with his brother in 960, he had to exile the grand chamberlain (985) and defeat rival generals (989) in order to gain the authority to rule. Basil became one of the strongest Byz� antine emperors, winning territory in the Balkans, Mesopotamia, Armenia, and Georgia. He was noted for his victory (1014) in the war with Bulgaria, which ended with his blinding all the soldiers in the defeated Bulgarian army. He increased his domestic authority by attacking the landed inter� ests of the military aristocracy and of the church. Because Basil left no able successor, the gains of his rule were soon undone.

Basil the Great, Saint (b. ad 329, Caesarea Mazaca, Cappadocia� d. Jan. 1, 379, Caesarea; Western feast day January 2; Eastern feast day January 1) Early church father. Born into a Christian family in Cappado� cia, he studied at Caesarea, Constan� tinople, and Athens and later established a monastic settlement on the family estate at Annesi. He opposed Arianism, which was sup� ported by the emperor Valens and his own bishop Dianius, and organized resistance to it after 365. He suc� ceeded Eusebius as bishop of Cae� sarea in 370. He died shortly after Valens, whose death in battle opened the way for the victory of Basil�s cause. More than 300 of his letters survive; several of his Canonical Epistles have become part of canon law in Eastern Orthodoxy.

basilica Originally a secular pub� lic building in ancient Rome, typically a large rectangular structure with an open hall and a raised platform at one or both ends. In one type, the central hall was flanked by side aisles set off by colonnades, and the raised platform was enclosed by an apse. The early Christians adopted this type for their churches. In the typical early Christian basilica, the columns separating the nave from the lower side aisles carried either arches or entablatures, above which rose clerestory walls that supported the roof. The long nave came to be crossed just before the apse by a shorter tran� sept, creating the cross-shaped plan that remains a standard church form to the present. �Basilica� is also a title of honor given to a Roman Catho� lic or Greek Orthodox church distinguished by its antiquity or its role as an international center of worship. See also cathedral.

Basilicata \ba-,ze-le-'ka-ta\ Autonomous region (pop., 2001 prelim.: 595,727), southern Italy. Roughly divided into a western mountainous region and an eastern section of low hills and wide valleys, its capital is Potenza. Known in ancient times as Lucania, the area was under Lombard League rule in the early Middle Ages. Until the fall of the Swabian Hohen- staufens (1254), it played a significant part in the affairs of southern Italy;

St. Basil, detail of a mosaic, 12th cen� tury; in the Palatine Chapel, Palermo, Sicily, Italy.

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Basilides ► Basque Country I 175

later it followed the variable fortunes of the Kingdom of Naples until united with the Kingdom of Italy in 1861. The region suffered severe damage in a disastrous earthquake in 1980. Agriculture is an economic mainstay.

Basilides V.ba-so-'lI-dezV (fl. 2nd century ad, Alexandria) Founder of the Basilidian school of Gnosticism. According to Clement of Alexandria, Basil� ides claimed to base his teaching on a secret tradition of Peter the Apostle. He wrote psalms, odes, commentaries on the Gospels, and his own gos� pel. Fragments of these writings and varying accounts by Clement, St. Irenaeus, and others suggest that his system of belief included elements from Neoplatonism as well as the New Testament. The school survived in Egypt until the 4th century.

Baskerville, John (b. Jan. 28,

Eng.�d. Jan. 8, 1775, Birmingham,

Warwickshire) British typographer.

In 1757 he set up a printing house and published his first work, an edi� tion of Virgil. His editions of the Latin classics, John Milton�s poems (1758), and a folio Bible (1763) are characterized by clear and careful presswork rather than ornament; they are among the finest examples of the art of printing. He served as printer to Cambridge University (1758-68), and he created the widely used Baskerville typeface, which is still used and prized for its clarity and balance.

basketball Court game between two teams of five players. They score by tossing, or �shooting,� an inflated ball through a raised hoop, or �bas� ket,� located in their opponent�s end of the court. A goal is worth two points, three if shot from outside a specified limit. A player who is fouled (through unwarranted physi� cal contact) by another is awarded one to three free-throw attempts (depending on the circumstances of the foul). A successful free throw is worth one point. Invented in 1891 by James A. Naismith at the YMCA Training School in Springfield, Mass., basketball quickly became popular throughout the U.S., with games orga� nized at the high school and collegiate level for both sexes. (For the first game, Naismith used as goals two half-bushel peach baskets, which gave

the sport its name.) Women first played the game under a markedly dif� ferent set of rules. The game developed internationally at a slower pace. The first Olympic basketball contest was held in 1936, and the Federa� tion Internationale de Basketball Amateur (FIB A) introduced world cham� pionships for men and women in 1950 and 1953, respectively. In the U.S., high school and collegiate championship tournaments are traditionally held in March and generate considerable excitement. A men�s professional league was organized in 1898 but did not gain much of a following until 1949, when it was reconstituted as the National Basketball Association (NBA). The first women�s professional leagues in the U.S. emerged dur� ing the 1970s but failed after a year or two. The current Women�s National Basketball Association (WNBA), owned by the NBA, was organized in 1997. Club and professional basketball outside the U.S. developed rap� idly in the latter part of the 20th century. The Basketball Hall of Fame is located in Springfield.

basketry Art and craft of making containers and other objects from interwoven flexible fibres such as grasses, twigs, bamboo, and rushes. It is primarily a functional rather than a decorative art. The type of basketry in a given geographic region is determined by the type of vegetation available there. Numerous Asian, African, Oceanic, and Native American cultures have excelled in basketry.

Baskin, Leonard (b. Aug. 15, 1922, New Brunswick, N.J., U.S.�d. June 3, 2000, Northampton, Mass.) U.S. sculptor and graphic artist. After studying in Europe and the U.S., in 1939 he had his first one-man exhi� bition in New York City, and he later taught for many years at Smith Col� lege. He is known for his bleak portrayals of the human figure. His sculptures in bronze, limestone, and wood are dominated by themes of death, vulnerability, and spiritual decay. In his woodcuts he developed a distinctive linear style, depicting figures resembling those in anatomical charts. Baskin was particularly noted for his memorials, including the Holocaust Memorial (dedicated 1994) in Ann Arbor, Mich.

basking shark Huge, sluggish shark (family Cetorhinidae) named for its habit of floating or slowly swimming at the surface. Possibly com� prising more than one distinct species, it inhabits northern and temperate regions of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. It may grow as large as 46 ft (14 m); among fishes, only the whale shark grows larger. Despite its size, the basking shark feeds on plankton. It is gray-brown or black� ish, with tiny teeth and very long gill slits. It is generally harmless and is hunted sporadically for fish meal and liver oil.

Basle See Basel

Basque \'bask\ Spanish Vasco Member of a people of unknown ori� gin living in Spain and France along the Bay of Biscay and in the west� ern Pyrenees mountains in the region of the Basque Country. About

850,000 true Basques live in Spain and another 130,000 in France. Physically the Basques are similar to other Western European peoples; the Basque language, however, is not Indo-European. The Basques have sought autonomy from Spain since the 19th century. A national govern� ment was proclaimed in the Spanish Civil War, which saw the brutal bombing of Guernica (1937). After the war, the government and many Basques went into exile as Francisco Franco abolished their special privi� leges. The Basque separatist move� ment was rekindled after Franco�s death and the establishment of a lib� eral Spanish monarchy in 1975. Despite the granting of limited autonomy in 1978, the more militant separatists, including the terrorist ETA (Basque Homeland and Lib� erty), continued a campaign for complete independence.

Basque Country Spanish Pais Vasco VpIs-'bas-koN Euskera Euskadi Autonomous community (pop., 2005 est.: 2,124,846) and his-

basket

The U.S. professional court is shown. The U.S. college court has similar dimensions but has a shallower (19-ft 9-in) three-point line. International courts are slightly smaller and have 20-ft 6-in three-point lines and trapezoidal free-throw lanes that are wider at the boundary line than at the free-throw line. The basket height is 10 ft on all courts.

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Baskerville, detail of a portrait after James Millar, 1774; in the National Portrait Gallery, London

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176 I Basque Country ► bat

torical region, northern Spain. Bounded by the Bay of Biscay, it consists of the modem provinces of Vizcaya (Biscay), Alava, and Guipuzcoa and has an area of 2,793 sq mi (7,234 sq km); its capital is Vitoria-Gasteiz. The Pyrenees Mountains separate it from the Basque Country of France. The Basques who inhabit the region have long sought autonomy. A sepa� ratist movement succeeded in regaining Basque autonomy in 1936 under the short-lived Republican government, but autonomy was withdrawn by Francisco Franco in 1937. Though limited autonomy was granted in 1979, a campaign of terrorism against the Spanish government continued. Alava is an agricultural region, while metallurgical industry is concentrated around Bilbao.

Basque Country French Pays Basque \pe-'e-'bask\ Cultural region, extreme southwestern France. It extends from the Anie Peak of the Pyrenees to the coast around Biarritz on the Bay of Biscay. The region has been largely spared the problems associated with Basque separatism in Spain�s Basque Country. Fishing and tourism are economic mainstays.

Basque language Language spoken by an estimated 1,000,000 Basque people living in the Basque Country of north-central Spain and southwestern France. About 200,000 Basques live in other parts of the world. The only remnant of the languages spoken in western Europe before incursions by iNDO-EuROPEAN-speaking peoples, Basque has no known linguistic relatives; linguists call it a language isolate. Its gram� mar is markedly distinct from that of all other western European lan� guages. Basque is sparsely attested before the 16th century, when the first book in the language was printed (1545), though it has maintained a con� tinuous literary tradition since then.

Basrah, Al- or Basra Port and city (pop., 2003 est.: 1,400,000), south� eastern Iraq. It lies at the head of the Shatt al-Arab, about 70 mi (110 km) upstream from the Persian Gulf. Founded in ad 638, it became famous under the �Abbasid dynasty; in The Thousand and One Nights it was the city from which Sindbad the Sailor set sail. In the 17th�18th centuries it became a trading centre. Occupied by the British in World War I (1914� 18), the town and port underwent many improvements and grew in impor� tance. After World War II (1939-45), the growth of Iraq�s petroleum industry turned Al-Basrah into a major refining centre. It suffered heavy damage in the Iran-Iraq War (1980-90) and the First Persian Gulf War (1990-91) and was the scene of fighting between Iraqi and coalition forces in the Second Persian Gulf War (2003).

bas-relief \,ba-ri-Tef\ or low relief Sculptural form in which figures are carved in a flat surface and project only slightly from the background rather than standing freely. Depending on the degree of projection, reliefs may also be classified as high or medium relief.

bass \'bas\ In zoology, any of numerous fish species, many valued for food or sport. Most are placed in three families (all in the order Perci- formes): 400 species of sea bass and grouper; the family Moronidae, which contains about 12 species, including striped and European basses; and sunfishes, including the black and largemouth basses, prized by fishermen. Many other species are also known as bass, including the channel bass (a drum) and the calico bass (a crappie).

sons continued the Bassano workshop tradition: Francesco (1549-92) and Leandro (1557-1622), both of whom were part of the workshop�s Vene� tian branch, Giovanni Battista (1553-1613), and Gerolamo (1566-1621). Many products of the workshop were collaborative efforts.

basset hound Centuries-old breed of dog developed in France and

maintained, chiefly in France and Belgium, as a hunting dog of the aristocracy. Originally used to trail hares, rabbits, and deer, it has also been used for hunting birds, foxes, and other game. It is a slow, deliber� ate hunter, with a deep voice and a nose exceeded in keenness only by the bloodhound�s. Short-legged and heavy-boned, the basset hound has long, dangling ears and a short coat in any combination of black, tan, and white. It stands 12-15 in. (30-38 cm) high and weighs 40-60 lbs (18-27 1

Basset hound

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Basseterre \bas-'ter\ Seaport (pop., 1994 est.: 12,605), Saint Kitts Island. Chief town of Saint Kitts and capital of the federated state of Saint Kitts and Nevis, it lies on the southwestern coast, west of St. John�s, Anti� gua. Founded in 1627, it serves as a depot distributing merchandise to neighbouring islands.

Bassi Vbas-eV Agostino (b. Sept. 25, 1773, near Lodi, Lombardy, Habsburg crown land�d. Feb. 8, 1856, Lodi) Italian bacteriologist. He attended Pavia University. In 1807 he began an investigation of the silk� worm disease muscardine, which was causing serious economic losses in Italy and France. After 25 years of research, he demonstrated that the dis� ease was contagious and was caused by a microscopic parasitic fungus spread among the silkworms by contact and infected food. He announced his discoveries in 1835 and theorized that many plant, animal, and human diseases are caused by animal or vegetable parasites, thus preceding both Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch in formulating a germ theory of disease.

basso continuo See continuo

bassoon Principal tenor and bass instrument of the orchestral wood� wind family. Its mouthpiece has a double reed attached to a curved metal crook, which leads to a narrow conical bore that doubles back on itself (to keep its length manageable). It developed from the older curtal (or dulzian) in the 17th century. An agile instrument with a mild tone, it has a range of 3Vi octaves, starting at B-flat two octaves below middle C. The contrabassoon, a large metal instrument whose tubing doubles back four times, has a range an octave lower.

basswood Any of certain species of linden common to North America. The name refers especially to Tilia americana, found in a vast area of eastern North America but centred in the Great Lakes region, and to T. caroliniana and T georgiana, found in the southeastern U.S.

bast See phloem

bass \'bas\ Lowest musical voice or register. In vocal music, its range is approximately from the second E below middle C to middle C itself. A basso profundo emphasizes a lower register, a basso cantante a some� what higher one. Outside of Russia, the solo bass voice has generally been relegated to certain standard operatic character roles. The lowest-pitched member of most instrumental families is usually called the bass (bass clarinet, double bass, etc.). In Western tonal music, the bass part is usually second in importance only to the melody, being the chief determiner of harmonic movement, a tendency that became particularly notable after the appearance of the basso continuo c. 1600.

Bass Strait \'bas\ Strait separating Australia from Tasmania. It is 150 mi (240 km) wide at its widest point and 185 mi (298 km) long. It was named in 1798 for the British surgeon-explorer George Bass. Development of its offshore petroleum resources began in the 1960s.

Bassano \ba-'sa-no\, Jacopo orig. Jacopo da Ponte (b. c. 1517, Bassano, republic of Venice�d. Feb. 13, 1592, Bassano) Italian painter. He was the most celebrated member of a family of artists from the small town of Bassano, near Venice, where he worked for most of his life. He trained with Bonifacio de� Pitati in Venice and was influenced by other Venetian painters. He became known for his late Renaissance-style works depicting biblical themes, lush landscapes, and rustic scenes. Four painter

Bastet \'bas-,tet\ or Bast or Ubasti In Egyptian religion, a goddess worshiped first as a lioness and later as a cat. Her nature changed after the domestication of the cat c. 1500 bc. She had cults at Bubastis in the Nile delta and at Memphis. In the Late and Ptolemaic periods, large cem� eteries of mummified cats were created at both sites, and thousands of bronze statuettes of the goddess were deposited as votive offerings. Bastet is represented as a lioness or a woman with a cat�s head, usually holding a bag, a breastplate, and a sistrum (wire rattle). The Romans carried her cult to Italy.

Bastille \bas-'tel\ Medieval fortress in Paris that became a symbol of despotism. In the 17th�18th centuries, the Bastille was used as a French state prison and a place of detention for important persons. On July 14, 1789, at the beginning of the French Revolution, an armed mob of Pari� sians captured the fortress and released its prisoners, a dramatic action that came to symbolize the end of the ancien regime. The Bastille was sub� sequently demolished by the Revolutionary government. Bastille Day (July 14) has been a French national holiday since 1880.

Basutoland See Lesotho

bat Any member of about 900 species (order Chiroptera) of the only mammals to have evolved true flight. Their wings are evolutionary modi-

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Bat Mitzvah ► Bathurst Island I 177

fication of the forelimbs, with greatly elongated fingers joined by a mem� brane that extends down the side of the body. Most bats use echolocation to orient themselves and find prey. Found worldwide, they are particu� larly abundant in the tropics. Wingspreads vary among species from 6 in. (15 cm) to 5 ft (1.5 m). Nearly all species roost during the day (in caves, crevices, burrows, building, or trees) and feed at night. Most are insecti- vores, consuming enough insects to affect the balance of insect popula� tions. Others feed on fruit, pollen, nectar, or blood (vampire bats). Some may live more than 20 years. The guano of bats has long been used for agricultural fertilizer. See also free-tailed bat, fruit bat.

Bat Mitzvah See Bar Mitzvah

Bataan Death March \bo-'tan\ (April 1942) Forced march of 70,000 U.S. and Filipino prisoners of war (World War II) captured by the Japa� nese in the Philippines. From the southern end of the Bataan Peninsula, the starving and ill-treated prisoners were force-marched 63 mi (101 km) to a prison camp. Only 54,000 prisoners lived to reach the c& up to 10,000 died on the way and others escaped in the jungle. In 1946 the Japanese commander of the march was convicted by a U.S. military com� mission and executed.

Bataille \ba-'tay\, Georges (b. Sept. 10, 1897, Billom, France�d. July 9, 1962, Paris) French librarian and writer. He trained as an archi� vist and worked at the Bibliotheque Nationale and at the Orleans library. He wrote a number of novels under pseudonyms before publishing Le Coupable (1944; Guilty) under his own name. His novels, essays, and poetry show a fascination with eroticism, mysticism, violence, and an ideal of excess and waste. In 1946 he founded the influential literary review Critique , which he edited until his death.

Batak \ba-'tak\ Any member of any of several closely related ethnic groups of central Sumatra, Indon. The Batak are descendants of a pow� erful Proto-Malayan people who until 1825 lived in relative isolation in the highlands surrounding Lake Toba in Sumatra. They have their own written language. In their traditional religion, ancestors, plants, animals, and inanimate objects are considered to possess souls or spirits; today about a third of the 3.1 million Batak adhere to traditional beliefs, while the rest profess Christianity or Islam.

Batavian Republic Republic of the Netherlands after it was con� quered by France in 1795. Its government, set up in 1798, was bound to France by alliance. In 1805 Napoleon renamed it the Batavian Common� wealth and placed executive power in the hands of a dictator. In 1806 it was replaced by the Kingdom of Holland under the rule of Louis Bonaparte; it was incorporated into the French empire in 1810.

bat-eared fox Species ( Otocyon megalotis) of large-eared fox found in open, arid areas of eastern and southern Africa. It has 48 teeth (six more than any other canine) and, except for its unusually large ears, looks like the red fox. It grows to a length of about 32 in. (80 cm), including a 12-in. (30-cm) tail, and weighs 7-10 lbs (3-4.5 kg). It lives alone or in small groups and feeds primarily on insects, especially ter� mites.

Bateman, Hester orig. Hester Needham (b. 1709, London,

Eng.�d. 1794, London) British sil� versmith. In 1760, after the death of her husband, John Bateman, she took over the family business. Until 1774 she generally executed designs com� missioned by other silversmiths. After that time her shop became well known for its tableware, such as spoons, sugar bowls, saltcellars, and tea� pots. Bateman�s designs were restrained and graceful, characterized by beaded edges. In addition to domestic silver, she produced large presen� tation pieces. See photograph opposite.

Bateson, Gregory (b. May 9, 1904, Grantchester, Eng.�d. July 4, 1980, San Francisco, Calif., U.S.) British-born U.S. anthropologist. Son of British biologist William Bateson, he studied anthropology at Cam� bridge University but soon thereafter moved to the U.S. His most impor� tant book, Naven (1936), was a groundbreaking study of cultural symbolism and ritual based on fieldwork in New Guinea. From 1936 to

Bat-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis)

MARK BOULTON FROM THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY COLLECTION/PHOTO RESEARCHERS-EB INC.

1950 he was married to Margaret Mead, with whom he studied the con� nection between culture and personality, publishing Balinese Character in 1942. His interests broadened to include problems of learning and communication among schizophrenics. His last book, Mind and Nature (1978), synthesized many of his ideas.

Bateson, William (b. Aug. 8, 1861, Whitby, Yorkshire, Eng.�d. Feb. 8, 1926, London) British biologist.

In 1900, while studying inheritance of traits, he was drawn to the research of Gregor Mendel, which explained perfectly the results of his own plant experiments. He was the first to translate Mendel�s major work into English. With Reginald Crundall Punnett, he published the results of a series of breeding experi� ments that not only extended Men� del�s principles to animals but also showed that, contrary to Mendel, certain features were consistently inherited together, a phenomenon that came to be termed linkage (see linkage group). In 1908 he became Britain�s first professor of genetics, and in 1909 he introduced the term genetics. He opposed Thomas Hunt Morgan�s theory of chromosomes.

Gregory Bateson was his son. See also Carl Erich Correns; Hugo de Vries; Erich Tschermak von Seysenegg.

Bath City (pop., 1995 est.: 84,000), southwestern England. Situated on the River Avon, it was founded as Aquae Sulis by the Romans, who were attracted to its hot mineral springs. The Anglo-Saxons arrived in the 6th century ad, followed by the Normans c. 1100. In the Middle Ages it was a prosperous centre for the cloth trade. When the Roman baths were rediscovered in 1755, Bath had already revived as a spa; its popularity is reflected in the works of Jane Austen, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, and Tobias Smollett. It was rebuilt and extended in the Palladian style during the 1 8th century. Bath today retains many of its 18th-century structures.

Ba'th \'bath\ Party or Baath Party Arab political party that advo� cates formation of a single Arab socialist state. It was founded in Dam� ascus, Syria, by Michel 'Aflaq and Salah al-Dln al-Bltar in 1943 and in 1953 merged with the Syrian Socialist Party to form the Arab Socialist Ba'th Party. It espoused nonalignment and opposition to imperialism and colonialism. It gained control of Syria in 1963 after the failure of a short� lived union with Egypt and of Iraq in 1968 after a series of coups there; the Iraqi branch of the party was toppled as a result of the Second Per� sian Gulf War (2003). The party also has branches in other Middle East� ern countries. See also Pan-Arabism; Hafiz al-Assad; Saddam Hussein.

William Bateson, drawing by Sir Will� iam Rothenstein, 191 7; in the National Portrait Gallery, London

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Silver coffee pot by Hester Bateman, 1773-74; in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

COURTESY OF THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON

batholith Large body of igneous ROCK formed beneath the Earth�s sur� face by the intrusion and solidifica� tion of magma. Batholiths are usually composed of coarse-grained rocks (e.g., granite or quartz diorite) and often have an irregular shape, with side walls that incline steeply. They may have a surface exposure of 40 sq mi (100 sq km) or more and may be 6-9 mi (10�15 km) thick. A well- known batholith is located in the Sierra Nevada range of California.

Bathory, Stephen See Stephen Bathory

Bathurst See Banjul

Bathurst Island Island, Nunavut, Canada. Located in the Arctic Ocean between Cornwallis and Melville islands, it is 160 mi (260 km) long and 50-100 mi (80-160 km) wide.

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178 I bathypelagic zone ► battlement

The coastline is fringed with islets, and several islands stretch from its western tip. Discovered in 1819 by Sir William Parry, it was named for Henry Bathurst, 3rd Earl Bathurst.

bathypelagic zone \,bath-i-p9-'la-jik\ Worldwide zone of deep ocean waters, about 3,000-13,000 ft (1,000-4,000 m) below the surface. It is inhabited by a wide variety of marine forms, including eels, fishes, mol- lusks, and others.

bathyscaphe Vba-thi-,skaf\ Navigable diving vessel developed by Auguste Piccard (assisted by his son Jacques), designed to reach great depths in the ocean. The first bathyscaphe, the FNRS 2, was built in 1946^18 in Belgium. A later version, the Trieste, was acquired by the U.S. Navy; in 1960 it dived to a record 35,810 ft (10,916 m) in the Mariana Trench. The bathyscaphe consists of two main components: a steel cabin, heavier than water and resistant to sea pressure, to accommodate the observers; and a light container called a float, filled with gasoline, which, being lighter than water, provides the necessary lifting power (replacing cables, which had previously been used to support descending chambers but had proven unreliable at great depths).

batik \b9-'tek\ Method of dyeing textiles, principally cottons, in which patterned areas are covered with wax so that they will not receive colour. Multicoloured effects are achieved by repeating the dyeing process sev� eral times, the initial pattern of wax being boiled off and another design applied before redyeing. Wax was applied with bamboo strips in Indone� sia, where the technique originated. A small copper pot with a handle and narrow applicator spout for applying the wax came into use in Java by the mid 18th century; a wood-block wax applicator was developed in the 19th century. Dutch traders imported the cloth and the technique to Europe. Today machines for applying wax in traditional Javanese patterns reproduce the same effects as the hand-dyeing process.

Batiniyyah V.ba-ti-'ne-yoV School of Islamic thought that interpreted religious texts exclusively on the basis of hidden rather than literal mean� ings. Such interpretation gained currency around the 8th century among esoteric Shiite sects, especially the schismatic Isma'njyyah, who believed that beneath every obvious meaning lay a hidden, true meaning, which the imam was empowered to interpret. While influenced by speculative philosophy and theology, the Batiniyyah remained proponents of esoteric knowledge. Sunnite Muslims condemned the Batiniyyah as enemies of Islam for rejecting literal truth and producing confusion and controversy through their multiple textual readings.

Batista \ba-'tes-ta\ (y Zaldivar), Fulgencio (b. Jan. 16, 1901, Banes, Cuba�d. Aug. 6,1973, Guadalmina, near Marbella, Spain) Soldier, president, and dictator who twice ruled Cuba (1933-44, 1952-59). Batista worked his way up through the army and came to power as a strongman, ruling first through associates, then as president himself from 1940. During his first term he cultivated the support of the U.S., the army, organized labour, and the civil service, and he achieved gains in the educational sys� tem, public works, and the economy as a whole while enriching himself and his associates. He lost the 1944 election but returned by way of an army revolt in 1952. His second rule was a corrupt and brutal dictatorship that set the stage for his overthrow by Fidel Castro on Jan. 1, 1959.

Batlle y Ordonez Vbat-ya-e-or-'thon-yasV Jose (b. May 21, 1856, Montevideo, Uru.�d. Oct. 20, 1929, Montevideo) President of Uruguay (1903-07, 1911-15). The son of a former president of Uruguay, he was involved in politics from the 1880s. His narrow victory in the 1903 presi� dential election led to a brief civil war, but when he held new elections in 1905 he won again. He stepped down at the end of his term and was reelected in 1911. He inaugurated labour reforms, limited the profits of foreign-owned businesses, encouraged migration, nationalized and devel� oped public works, ended the death penalty, and protected children born out of wedlock. He is credited with transforming Uruguay into a stable, democratic welfare state.

Baton Rouge Vbat^n-TiizhV City (pop., 2000: 227,818), capital of Louisiana, U.S. Located on the Mississippi River, it is the state�s second- largest city. Settled by the French in 1719, it was named for a red cypress pole that marked a boundary between Indian tribes. The area was ceded to Britain in 1763, then taken by the Spanish in the American Revolution. Spain ceded Louisiana to France in 1800 but tried to retain Baton Rouge at the time of the Louisiana Purchase (1803). In 1810 the city was annexed to the U.S., and it became the state capital in 1849. The capital was trans� ferred to other towns when Baton Rouge was occupied by Federal troops

during the American Civil War; in 1882 it regained its capital status. It has deepwater port facilities and is an important petroleum refining centre.

battalion Tactical military organization composed of a headquarters and two or more companies, batteries, or similar units and usually com� manded by a field-grade officer such as a lieutenant colonel. The term has been used in nearly every Western army for centuries and has had many meanings. In the 16th-17th century, it denoted a unit of infantry used in a line of battle and was loosely applied to any large body of men. During the Napoleonic Wars, battalions were fighting units of the French army under the administrative unit of the regiment. In the armies of the British Commonwealth nations, infantry battalions are tactical units within regi� ments. The typical U.S. Army battalion is a unit of 800-900 soldiers, divided into a headquarters company and three rifle companies; two to five battalions form the combat elements of a tactical brigade. See also MILITARY UNIT.

Battenberg family or Mountbatten family Family that rose to international prominence in the 19th-20th centuries. The first Battenbergs were a family of German counts that died out c. 1314; the title was revived in 1851. In 1917 the family members who lived in England renounced the German title of prince of Battenberg and adopted Mountbatten as a sur� name (�mount� being a translation of �Berg�). Prominent members of the family included Philip, duke of Edinburgh, and Louis Mountbatten.

battered woman syndrome Psychological and behavioral pattern displayed by female victims of domestic violence. Explanations that have evolved since the late 1970s include learned helplessness, a �cycle of vio� lence� theory, and a form of post-traumatic stress disorder. The term is a legal concept rather than a psychiatric diagnosis and lacks clearly defined criteria. It has been used to support legal arguments of self-defense, dimin� ished responsibility, or insanity when a woman is accused of murdering or assaulting her batterer, committing a crime under his coercion, or pro� voking the behaviour the batterer is on trial for. Critics say the term cre� ates a stereotyped image inadequate to describe individual experiences.

battering ram Medieval weapon consisting of a heavy timber with a metal knob or point at the front. Rams were used to beat down the gates or walls of a besieged city or castle. Usually suspended by ropes from the roof of a movable shed, the timber was swung back and forth by its operators so that it banged against the structure under siege. The shed�s roof was covered with animal skins to protect the operators inside it from bombardment with stones or fiery materials.

Battersea enamelware Painted enamelware made by Stephen The� odore Janssen at York House in London�s Battersea district from 1753 to 1756. The ware is composed of soft white enamel over a copper ground. The designs were applied by hand painting or by transfer printing: an impression from an engraved metal plate brushed with enamel colours was made on paper, and the design was then transferred to the object to be decorated. Most of the objects (e.g., snuffboxes, watch cases) were decorated with mottoes, portraits, landscapes, or flowers. The transfer printing technique was first used for large-scale production at Battersea.

battery Any of a class of devices, consisting of a group of electro� chemical cells (see electrochemistry), that convert chemical energy into electrical energy; the term is also commonly applied to a single cell of this kind. A wet cell (e.g., a car battery) contains free liquid electrolyte; in a dry cell (e.g., a flashlight battery) the electrolyte is held in an absor� bent material. Chemicals are arranged so that electrons released from the battery�s negative electrode flow (see electric current) through a circuit outside the battery (in the device powered by it) to the battery�s positive electrode. The battery�s voltage depends on the chemicals used and the number of cells (in series); the current depends on the resistance in the total circuit (including the battery�and thus on electrode size). Multiple batteries may be connected in series (the positive electrode of one to the negative electrode of the next), which increases total voltage, or in par� allel (positive to positive and negative to negative), which increases total current. Batteries that are not rechargeable include standard dry cells used in flashlights and certain wet cells for marine, mine, highway, and mili� tary use. Car batteries, many kinds of dry cells used in cordless appli� ances, and batteries for certain military and aerospace uses may be recharged repeatedly. See illustration on opposite page.

battery See assault and battery

battlement Parapet (portion above the roof) of the exterior wall of a fortification, consisting of alternating low portions (crenels) and high por-

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battleship ► Baudrillard I 179

tions (merlons). Rooftop defenders would shoot from behind the merlons during times of siege. Medieval battlements were often bracketed out (see corbel) to form a machicolation (overhang) with holes in its floor through which objects could be dropped on encroachers below.

battleship Capital ship of the world�s navies from c. 1860, when it began to replace the wooden-hulled ship of the line, until World War II, when it was superseded by the aircraft carrier. It combined large size, powerful guns, and heavy armour with fairly high speed and great cruis� ing radius. The most powerful could hit targets at a range of more than 20 mi (30 km) and absorb heavy damage while remaining afloat and con� tinuing to fight. It originated in early ironclad vessels with mixed sail and steam propulsion, such as the French armoured frigate Gloire (1859). In 1906 HMS Dreadnought revolutionized battleship design by introducing steam-turbine propulsion and an array of ten 12-in. (305-mm) guns. In World War II (1939^15) battleships were used mainly for specialized tasks such as bombarding enemy coastal defenses in amphibious warfare. After the Persian Gulf War (1990�91), the U.S. decommissioned its last two active battleships.

Batu \'ba-tu\ (d. c. 1255, Russia) Grandson of Genghis Khan and founder of the Golden Horde. In 1235 Batu was elected commander in chief of

carbon - anode

metal � cathode

sodium -

sulfur�

alumina

anode

sodium alumina sulfur

The sodium-sulfur (NaS) battery, patented in 1965 by the Ford Motor Company, has been used in some electric cars. During discharge, the sodium reacts with the ceramic alumina electrolyte, losing electrons, which travel out the anode to the cir� cuit the battery is powering. The ionic sodium then combines with sulfur, which has acquired electrons from the cathode. The reaction is reversible, so the battery can be recharged. The advantage of this battery over other rechargeables (e.g., lead- acid, nickel-cadmium, or nickel-metal hydride batteries) is that it can provide the same amount of power with a smaller, lighter battery. However, since the chemicals must be heated to a molten state (about 325 �C, or 617 �F) and pure sodium is very reactive, failure of the battery casing or ceramic electrolyte is potentially dan� gerous.

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the western part of the Mongol empire and given responsibility for the invasion of Europe. His troops burned and sacked Kiev in 1240, and by the end of 1241 he had conquered Russia, Poland, Bohemia, Hungary, and the Danube valley. Only the death of Ogodei prevented him from invading western Europe. Batu established the state of the Golden Horde in southern Russia, which was ruled by his successors for the next 200 years.

Baudelaire \bod-'ler\, Charles (-Pierre) (b. April 9, 1821, Paris, France�d. Aug. 31, 1867, Paris)

French poet. While a law student he became addicted to opium and hash� ish and contracted syphilis. His early reckless spending on fine clothes and furnishings led to a life dogged by debt. In 1844 he formed an associa� tion with Jeanne Duval, a woman of mixed black and white ancestry who inspired some of his finest poetry. He published a single novel, La fan- farlo, in 1847. His discovery of the works of Edgar Allan Poe in 1852 led to years of work on Poe, which pro� duced many masterly translations and critical articles. His reputation rests primarily on the extraordinary poetry collection Les fleurs du mal (1857; The Flowers of Evil), which dealt with erotic, aesthetic, and social themes in ways that appalled many of his middle-class readers, and he was accused of obscenity and blasphemy. Though the title became a byword for depravity, the book became perhaps the most influential collection of lyrics published in Europe in the 19th century. His Petits poemes en prose (1868) was an important and innovative experiment in prose poetry. He also wrote pro� vocative essays in art criticism. Baudelaire�s later years were darkened by disillusionment, despair, and mounting debt; his death at 46 resulted from syphilis. He is regarded as the earliest and finest poet of modernism in French.

Baudot \bo-'do\, (Jean Maurice) Emile (b. 1845, Magneux, France�d. March 28, 1903, Sceaux) French engineer. In 1874 he pat� ented a telegraph code that by the mid 20th century had supplanted Morse code as the standard telegraphic alphabet. In Baudot�s code, each letter is represented by a five-unit combination of current-on or current-off sig� nals of equal duration, providing 32 permutations (sufficient for the Roman alphabet, punctuation, and control of the machine�s mechanical functions). Baudot also invented (1894) a distributor system for multiplex (simultaneous) transmission of several messages on the same telegraphic circuit or channel. The baud, a unit of data transmission speed, is named for him.

Baudouin \bod-'waii\ I (b. Sept. 7, 1930, Stuyvenberg Castle, near Brussels, Belg.�d. July 31, 1993, Motril, Spain) King of the Belgians (1951-93). The son of King Leopold III, Baudouin lived with his family under house arrest in German-occupied Belgium during World War II. After postwar exile in Switzerland, Baudouin became king on his father�s abdication (1951). He helped restore confidence in the monarchy after the stormy reign of his father and became a unifying force in a country divided between Flemish- (Dutch- ) and French-speaking factions. Because Bau� douin and his wife, Fabiola, were childless, he was succeeded by his brother, Albert II.

Baudrillard \bo-dre-'yar\, Jean (b. 1929, Riems, France) French soci� ologist, philosopher, and social critic. He taught sociology at the Univer� sity of Paiis from 1966 to 1987. He is known for his theories of consumer culture and of the influence of contemporary electronic media, especially television. In a series of works in the 1970s, he applied ideas from semi� otics to argue that consumer culture and especially advertising constitute a �code� of images and ideals in terms of which individuals construct their social identities. In works published during the 1980s and �90s, he argued that the exchange of words, images, and other symbols through increasingly pervasive electronic media created a new kind of reality, the �hyper-real,� in which symbols become partly constitutive of the reality they serve to represent. An example, according to Baudrillard, is the tele-

Baudelaire, photograph by Etienne Carjat, 1863.

COURTESY OF THE BIBLIOTHEQUE NATIONALE, PARIS

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180 I Baugh ► bayberry

vision news, which reports about important events in the world but at the same time makes events important by reporting about them. In The Gulf War Did Not Take Place (1991), he contended that the mass-media por� trayal of the 1991 war in the Persian Gulf had made that event �unreal.� See also postmodernism.

Baugh Vbo\, Sammy in full Samuel Adrian Baugh (b. March 17, 1914, Temple, Texas, U.S.) First outstanding quarterback of U.S. pro� fessional football. He led the NFL in forward passing in 6 of 16 seasons (1937-52) with the Washington Redskins. He also excelled as a punter and as a defensive halfback.

Bauhaus Vbau-,haus\ German "House of Building" (1919-33) Influential, forward-looking German school of architecture and applied arts. It was founded by Walter Gropius with the ideal of integrating art, craftsmanship, and technology. Realizing that mass production had to be the precondition of successful design in the machine age, its members rejected the Arts and Crafts Movement�s emphasis on individually executed luxury objects. The Bauhaus is often associated with a severe but elegant geometric style carried out with great economy of means, though in fact the works produced by its members were richly diverse. Its faculty included Josef Albers, Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, Lyonel Feininger, Paul Klee, Vasily Kandinsky, and Marcel Breuer. The school was based in Weimar until 1925, Dessau through 1932, and Berlin in its final months, when its last director, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, closed the school in anticipation of the Nazis� doing so. See also International Style.

Baum \'bam\, L(yman) Frank (b. May 15, 1856, Chittenango, N.Y., U.S.�d. May 6, 1919, Hollywood, Calif.) U.S. writer of children�s books. Baum achieved commercial success with his first book, Father Goose (1899), and followed it the next year with the even more popular Won� derful Wizard of Oz. He wrote 13 more Oz books, which acquired a huge readership. The series was continued by Ruth Plumly Thompson after his death.

bauxite Most important aluminum ore, of varying compositions in which aluminum hydroxide or aluminum oxide predominate (named for Les Baux in southern France, where the ore was identified in 1821). The other constituents are largely iron oxide, silica, and titania. Bauxite has been found in all the continents except Antarctica. Known deposits can supply the world with aluminum for hundreds of years at present production levels.

Bavaria German Bayern Vbl-onA State (pop., 2002 est.: 12,330,000), southern Germany. Conquered by the Romans in the 1st century bc (see Noricum; Raetia), the area was taken by Charlemagne and incorporated into his empire in 788. It became one of the great duchies of the Holy Roman Empire. Under Maximilian I, Bavaria led the Catholic League in the Thirty Years' War. It was overrun repeatedly in the context of larger wars in the 18th century. It joined the German Empire in 1871, while remaining a kingdom. The king was overthrown in 1918; after a brief period of insta� bility, Bavaria joined the Weimar Republic in 1919. Adolf Hitler had his first power base in Bavaria in the 1920s. It adopted a new constitution in 1946 and became a state of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949. It has long been Germany�s most Roman Catholic area. Its largest cities are Munich (its capital), Augsburg, and Nurnberg. Notable regions include the Bavarian Alps, the Black Forest, and the Bohemian Forest. Bavaria is famous for the beauty of its rolling landscape and the charm of its villages.

Bavarian Succession, War of the (1778-79) Conflict in which Frederick II of Prussia prevented Joseph II of Austria from acquiring Bavaria. After the death of the Bavarian elector Maximilian Joseph (1727-77), his successor, Charles Theodore (1724-99), ceded Lower Bavaria to Austria. Frederick II responded by declaring war (1778). There was little fighting because each force was concerned with cutting its opponent�s communi� cations and denying it supplies. Short on supplies, soldiers foraged for potatoes; hence, the conflict was nicknamed the �potato war.� In 1779 Austria and Prussia signed a treaty giving Austria a fraction of the terri� tory originally occupied.

Bax, Sir Arnold (Edward Trevor) (b. Nov. 8, 1883, London, Eng.�d. Oct. 3, 1953, Cork, County Cork, Ire.) British composer. Bom into a wealthy family, he was free to compose throughout his life and consequently wrote prolifically. His early works, influenced by the poetry of William Butler Yeats, frequently evoke Celtic legend. His compositions include seven symphonies, the orchestral works Spring Fire (1913), November Woods (1917), and Tintagel (1919), piano sonatas, string quar� tets, and numerous vocal works.

bay In architecture, any division of a building between vertical lines or planes, especially the entire space included between the centerlines of two adjacent vertical supports. The space between two columns or pilasters, or from pier to pier in a church, including that part of the vaulting (see vault) or ceiling between them, is thus called a bay.

bay Any of several small trees with aromatic leaves, especially the sweet bay, or bay laurel ( Laurus nobilis ), source of the bay leaf used in cook� ing. The California laurel ( Umbellularia californica) is an ornamental tree also called the bay tree. The bay rum tree, or simply bay ( Pimenta race- mosa ), has leaves and twigs that yield, when distilled, oil of bay, which is used in perfumery and in the preparation of bay rum, a fragrant cos� metic and medicinal liquid.

bay Semicircular or nearly circular concavity, similar to a gulf but usu� ally smaller. Bays may range from a few hundred yards to several hun� dred miles from side to side. They are usually located where easily eroded rocks, such as clays and sandstones, are bounded by harder, more erosion- resistant formations of igneous rocks, such as granite, or hard calcareous rocks, such as massive limestones. Some bays form excellent harbours.

Bay Vbl\, Laguna de Lake, central Luzon, Philippine Islands. Located southeast of Manila, the lake, about 32 mi (52 km) long, is the largest in the Philippines. Its outlet is the Pasig River. It is dotted with islands, the largest being densely settled Talim.

Bay of Pigs invasion (April 17, 1961) Abortive invasion of Cuba directed by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and carried out by Cuban exiles. The invasion was intended to spark a rebellion that would topple Fidel Castro, whose communist regime was considered a threat to U.S. interests in the region. The invasion began with the bombing of Cuban military bases; two days later a force of about 1,500 landed at several sites along the coast, including the Bay of Pigs. The rebellion never mate� rialized, the invasion force was quickly defeated, and more than 1,100 men were imprisoned. The result was a huge propaganda victory for Cas� tro and a severe embarrassment for the administration of U.S. president John F. Kennedy.

Bayamon \,bI-a- , mon\ Municipality (pop., 2000: 224,044), northeast� ern Puerto Rico, part of the metropolitan area of San Juan. Puerto Rico�s first settlement, Caparra, was founded nearby in 1508 by Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon. Established as a town in 1772, it is now a manufac� turing centre for clothing, furniture, automotive parts, and metal products. Educational institutions include Bayamon Central University.

Bayard \'ba-3rd\, Thomas Francis (b. Oct. 29, 1828, Wilmington, Del., U.S.�d. Sept. 28, 1898, Dedham, Mass.) U.S. statesman, diplomat, and lawyer. Born into a prominent political family, he succeeded his father as U.S. senator from Delaware (1869-85). He served as secretary of state (1885-89) and as ambassador to Britain (1893-97), the first U.S. repre� sentative to Great Britain to hold that rank. A champion of arbitration, he was critical of the aggressive position of Pres. Grover Cleveland in the dispute with Britain over the Venezuelan boundary (1895).

Baybars I or Baibars \'bl-bars\ (b. c. 1223, north of the Black Sea�d. July 1, 1277, Damascus, Syria) Most eminent sultan of the MamlGk dynasty. A Kipchak Turk, he was sold as a slave ( mamluk ) after a Mon� gol invasion in the 1240s. He ended up in the service of the sultan of Egypt�s AyyObid dynasty, who gave him military training. In 1250 his army captured the Crusader king Louis IX, and he and other mamluk officers murdered the last Ayyubid sultan, establishing the Mamluk dynasty. He distinguished himself against an invading Mongol force at the Battle of �Ayn Jalut (1260) and soon thereafter took the throne, when he murdered the third Mamluk sultan. As sultan, he rebuilt the Syrian fortresses that had been destroyed by the Mongols and built up the sultanate�s arma� ments. He seized territory from the Crusaders that they were never to recover. He harried the Mongols in Persia, attacking their allies (the Chris� tian Armenians) and forging an alliance with the Mongols of the Golden Horde against them. He sent military expeditions into Nubia and Libya. He had diplomatic relations with James I of Aragon, Alfonso X of Leon and Castile, and Charles of Anjou, as well as with the Byzantine emperor. At home he built canals and the great mosque in Cairo that bears his name and established efficient postal service between Cairo and Damascus. The Sirat Baybars, a folk account purporting to be his life story, is still popu� lar in the Arabic-speaking world.

bayberry Any of several aromatic shrubs and small trees of the genus Myrica in the bayberry family (Myricaceae), but especially M. pennsyl-

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Bayer AG ► bazooka I 181

vanica, also called candleberry, which has grayish waxy berries that, upon boiling, yield the wax used in bayberry candles. The California bayberry, or California wax myrtle (M. californica), is used as an ornamental on sandy soils in warm climates.

Bayer AG German chemical and pharmaceutical company. Founded in 1863 by Friedrich Bayer (1825-1880), it now operates plants in more than 30 countries. Bayer has originated scores of pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and synthetic materials; it was the first developer and marketer of aspirin (1899); of Prontosil, the first sulfa drug (1935); and of polyurethane (1937). Bayer was part of the chemical cartel IG Farben from 1925 to 1945, when the latter was dissolved by the Allies; it was reestablished as an independent company in 1951. Its most noteworthy drug of the 1990s was the antibiotic Cipro. Its headquarters are in Leverkusen.

Bayeux \ba-'yce\ Tapestry Medieval embroidered tapestry depicting the Norman Conquest. Woven in woolen threads of eight colours on coarse linen, it is about 231 ft (70 m) long by about 20 in. (50 cm) wide. It consists of 79 consecutive scenes, with Latin inscriptions and decora� tive borders. Stylistically it resembles English illuminated manuscripts. It was probably woven c. 1066, within a few years of the conquest, and was possibly commissioned by Odo, bishop of Bayeux, brother of William I (the Conqueror). The most famous of all pieces of needlework, it hung for centuries in the cathedral in Bayeux (Normandy) and now hangs in the tapestry museum there.

English axman in combat with Norman cavalry during the Battle of Hastings, detail from the 11 th-century Bayeux Tapestry, Bayeux, France.

GIRAUDON/ART RESOURCE, NEW YORK

Bayezid \bI-3-'zed\ I (b. c. 1360�d. March 1403?, Ak�ehir, Anatolia) Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1389-1402). After succeeding his father, Murad II (d. 1389), Bayezid expanded Ottoman control of the shrinking Byzantine Empire by conquering vast tracts of territory in the Balkans, thus securing his rule south of the Danube. From 1391 to 1398 he blockaded Constantinople (modern Istanbul), and he crushed the Hungarian Crusad� ers at the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396. He then sought to widen Ottoman control over Anatolia. Defeated by Timur at the Battle of Ankara in 1402, Bayezid died in captivity. He was succeeded by his son, Mehmed I, after an interregnum of some 10 years.

Bayezid \,bI-3-'zed\ II (b. December 1447/January 1448?, Demotika, Thrace, Ottoman Empire�d. May 26, 1512, Demotika) Sultan who con� solidated control of the Ottoman Empire begun by his father, Mehmed II. After taking the throne in 1481, he reversed his father�s policies of expro� priating Muslim religious properties and rejected his pro-European ori� entation but continued the policy of territorial conquest. Under him, Herzegovina came under direct Ottoman control, and the Ottoman hold over the Crimea and Anatolia was strengthened. He fought the Safavid dynasty in the east, the MamlOk dynasty in the south, and the Venetians in the west. At home he built mosques, colleges, hospitals, and bridges and supported jurists, scholars, and poets. He abdicated in favour of his son, Selim I, a month before his death.

Baykal, Lake See Lake Baikal

Bayle \'bel\, Pierre (b. Nov. 18, 1647, Carla-le-Comte, France�d. Dec. 28, 1706, Rotterdam, Neth.) French philosopher. Educated at a Jesuit school, he converted to Roman Catholicism but later reverted to his origi� nal Calvinist faith. His religious views led to his losing professorships first at Sedan and later at Rotterdam. He was convinced that philosophi� cal reasoning led to universal skepticism, but that nature compelled man� kind to adopt beliefs on the basis of blind faith. The bulk of his Historical and Critical Dictionary (1697) consists of quotations, anecdotes, com� mentaries, and erudite annotations that cleverly undo whatever orthodox Christian beliefs the articles express; and it was condemned by religious authorities. Bayle�s oblique method of subversive criticism was later adopted by the contributors to the Encyclopedie of Denis Diderot.

Baylis, Lilian (Mary) (b. May 9, 1874, London, Eng.�d. Nov. 25, 1937, London) British theatrical manager and founder of the Old Vic. She assisted her aunt, Emma Cons, in the operation of the Royal Victoria Hall and Coffee Tavern, and on Cons�s death in 1912 she converted the hall into the Old Vic, which became famous for its Shakespearean productions. Between 1914 and 1923 the theatre staged all of William Shakespeare�s plays, a feat no other playhouse had attempted. In 1931 she took over the derelict Sadler�s Wells Theatre and made it a centre of opera and ballet.

Bayliss, Sir William Maddock (b. May 2, 1860, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, Eng.�d. Aug. 27, 1924, London) British physiologist. He and Ernest H. Starling studied nerve-controlled blood-vessel contraction and dilation and discovered the peristaltic wave. In 1902 they showed that dilute hydrochloric acid mixed with partly digested food activates a chemical in the duodenum that they called secretin, because it stimulates secretion of pancreatic juice. This marked the discovery of hormones, a term the men coined. Bayliss also showed how the enzyme trypsin was formed from inactive trypsinogen and measured precisely the time it took to digest protein. His recommendation of gum-saline injections for wound shock saved many lives in World War I.

Baylor, Elgin (b. Sept. 16, 1934, Washington, D.C., U.S.) U.S. basket� ball player. At 6 ft 5 in. (1.96 m) Baylor played for the Minneapolis (later Los Angeles) Lakers of the NBA from 1958 to 1971. A high-scoring and acrobatic forward, Baylor averaged 27.4 points for his career, placing him in the top five of all time.

bayonet Short, sharp-edged, sometimes pointed weapon, designed for attachment to the muzzle of a firearm. According to tradition, it was developed in Bayonne, France, early in the 17th century and soon spread throughout Europe. The earliest design, the plug bayonet, was inserted into the muzzle of a musket, thus preventing the musket from being fired until the bayonet was removed. Later designs, including the socket bayo� net invented by Sebastien Le Prestre de Vauban (1688), slipped it over the muzzle. Repeating firearms greatly reduced its combat value. By World War I it had become an all-purpose knife.

bayou \'bl-ii\ Still or slow-moving section of marshy water, usually a creek, secondary watercourse, or minor river that is a tributary of another river or channel. It may occur in the form of an oxbow lake. Bayous are typical of Louisiana�s Mississippi River delta.

Bayreuth \bI-'roit\ City (pop., 2001 est.: 74,500), east-central Germany. It is situated northeast of Nurnberg. Founded in 1194 under Bishop Otto II of Bamberg, it came under the burgrave of Niirnberg in 1248-1398 and the margraves of Brandenburg-Kulmbach in 1603-1769. The margraves patronized the arts and commissioned many Baroque buildings that still exist. It was ceded to Prussia in 1791, captured by Napoleon in 1806, and passed to Bavaria in 1810. Composer Richard Wagner settled there in 1872 and designed the Festspielhaus, where Wagner festivals have been held since its opening in 1876. Manufactures include machinery, textiles, chemicals, pianos, porcelain, and glassware.

Bazin \ba-'za n \, Henri-Emile (b. Jan. 10, 1829, Nancy, France�d. Feb. 7, 1917, Dijon) French engineer. As an assistant to H.-P.-G. Darcy (1803-1858), he completed his program of tests on resistance to water flow in channels after Darcy�s death, producing the classic study of the subject. He later studied the problem of wave propagation (see wave) and the contraction of fluid flowing through an orifice. In 1854 he enlarged the Canal de Bourgogne and made it profitable for commercial naviga� tion. In 1867 he suggested the use of pumps for dredging rivers, leading to the construction of the first suction dredgers.

bazooka Shoulder-type rocket launcher adopted by the U.S. Army in World War II. It consisted of a smoothbore steel tube, originally about 5

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ft (1.5 m) long, open at both ends and equipped with a hand grip, shoul� der rest, trigger mechanism, and sights. Officially named the M9A1 Rocket Launcher, it was called bazooka after the crude horn of that name used by a popular radio comedian. It was developed chiefly for attacking tanks and fortified positions at short range. The U.S. Army abandoned it during the Vietnam War in favour of lighter-weight antitank weapons.

BBC in full British Broadcasting Corp. Publicly financed broad� casting system in Britain. A private company at its founding in 1922, it was replaced by a public corporation under royal charter in 1927. The BBC World Service began in 1932, and by the 1990s was broadcasting programs in 38 languages to 120 million people worldwide. BBC televi� sion service, which kept its monopoly on television service until a com� mercial channel began broadcasting in 1954, introduced regular color broadcasts in Europe in 1967. The BBC radio monopoly ended in 1972. The BBC today offers five radio networks and two national television channels.

BBS See bulletin-board system

BCS theory Comprehensive theory that explains the behaviour of super� conducting materials. It was developed in 1957 by John Bardeen, Leon Cooper, and J. Robert Schrieffer (b. 1931), whose surname initials pro� vide its name. Cooper discovered that electrons in a superconductor are grouped in pairs (Cooper pairs) and that the motions of all the pairs within a single superconductor constitute a system that functions as a single entity. An electric voltage applied to the superconductor causes all Coo� per pairs to move, forming an electric current. When the voltage is removed, the current continues to flow because the pairs encounter no opposition. See also superconductivity.

beach Sediments that accumulate along sea or lake shores. One type of beach occurs as a sediment strip bordering a rocky or cliffy coast. A sec� ond type is the outer margin of a marine plain. The third type consists of naiTOw sediment barriers stretching for dozens or even hundreds of miles parallel to the general direction of the coast. These barriers separate lagoons from the open sea and generally are dissected by tidal inlets. Certain sediment forelands, such as spits, points, and tombolos (which connect an island with a mainland), occasionally are called beaches.

Beach, Amy Marcy orig. Amy Marcy Cheney known as Mrs. H.H.A. Beach (b. Sept. 5, 1867, Henniker, N.H., U.S.�d. Dec. 27, 1944, New York, N.Y.) U.S. composer and pianist. A precociously bril� liant musician, she performed as soloist with major orchestras in the U.S. and Europe. As a composer she was devoted to German Romanticism rather than American themes or sources. Her best-loved works were her songs. Her Gaelic Symphony (1894) was the first symphony by an Ameri� can woman. Other works include a piano concerto (1899), the choral pieces The Chambered Nautilus (1907) and Canticle of the Sun (1928), the opera Cabildo (1932), and a piano quintet (1907).

Beach Boys U.S. rock group. The band was formed in California in 1961 by brothers Brian Wilson (b. 1942) on keyboards and bass, Dennis Wilson (1944-83) on drums, and Carl Wilson (1946-98) on guitar; their cousin Mike Love (b. 1941) on drums; and Alan Jardine (b. 1942) on gui� tar. Within a year they launched a string of surfing-oriented hits marked by close vocal harmony, including �Surfin� Safari� and �California Girls.� By 1966 they had released more than 10 albums, including Pet Sounds (1966), considered their best. Despite Brian Wilson�s reclusiveness due to stress- and drug-related breakdowns, the band continued to make recordings into the 1980s and toured into the 1990s.

beach flea See sand flea

bead Small object, usually pierced for stringing. It may be made of vir� tually any material�wood, shell, bone, seed, nut, metal, stone, glass, or plastic�and is worn or affixed to another object for decorative or, in some cultures, magical purposes. The earliest Egyptian beads (c. 4000 bc) were made of stone, feldspar, lapis lazuli, carnelian, turquoise, hematite, or amethyst and were variously shaped (sphere, cone, shell, animal head). By 3000-2000 bc, gold beads in tubular shapes were in use. From the Middle Ages to the 18th century, trade in beads was enormous. Today the richness of beadwork varies with fashion.

Beadle, George Wells (b. Oct. 22, 1903, Wahoo, Neb., U.S.�d. June 9, 1989, Pomona, Calif.) U.S. geneticist. He earned his Ph.D. from Cornell University. While studying Drosophila, he realized that genes must influence heredity chemically and designed a complex technique to

determine the nature of those effects, showing that something as appar� ently simple as eye colour results from a long series of chemical reac� tions, which are affected by genes. With Edward L. Tatum, he found that the total environment of a bread mold could be varied so that researchers could locate and identify mutations relatively easily, concluding that each gene determines the structure of a specific enzyme, which in turn allows a single chemical reaction to proceed. For the �one gene, one enzyme� concept, they shared a 1958 Nobel Prize with Joshua Lederberg. Beadle later served as president of the University of Chicago (1960-68).

beadwork Ornamental work in beads. In the Middle Ages beads were used to embellish embroidery work. In Renaissance and Elizabethan England, clothing, purses, fancy boxes, and small pictures were adorned with beads. In the 19th-20th century beadwork proliferated in dress deco� ration. Beads are used as ornamentation on a variety of objects (clothing, masks, weapons, dolls) in many cultures, including the Native American, African, and Oceanic.

beagle Breed of small hound, popular as both a pet and a hunter. It looks like a small foxhound, with large brown eyes, hanging ears, and a short coat that is usually a combina� tion of black, tan, and white. Beagles are solidly built and heavy for their height. Two sizes are recognized: those standing less than 13 in. (33 cm) and weighing about 18 lbs (8 kg), and those standing about 15 in.

(38 cm) and weighing about 30 lbs (13.5 kg). Beagles generally excel as rabbit hunters and are typically alert and affectionate.

Beagle Channel Channel, extreme southern South America. Separating the main islands of Tierra del Fuego from smaller islands in the archipelago, it is about 150 mi (240 km) long and 3-8 mi (5-13 km) wide. The eastern portion forms part of the Chile-Argentina border, while the western portion lies entirely within Chile. It was named for the British ship HMS Beagle, in which Charles Darwin explored the area.

beak or bin Stiff, projecting oral structure of birds and turtles (both of which lack teeth) and certain other animals (e.g., cephalopods and some insects, fishes, and mammals). The term bill is preferred for the beak of a bird, which is composed of upper and lower jaws covered by a horny sheath of skin, with the nostrils on top, usually at the base. The shapes and sizes of bills are adapted for obtaining food, preening, building nests, and other functions; they range from the long, slim bills of nectar-sipping hummingbirds to the sturdy, curved, nut-cracking bills of parrots.

Beaker culture Late Neolithic and early Bronze Age culture of north� ern and western Europe. The people are known for a group of distinctive bell-shaped earthenware beakers decorated with toothed stamps, probably used in rituals of consumption. The Beaker people buried their dead in simple graves but also in megalithic tombs in western Europe. They used the bow and arrow as well as copper daggers and spearheads. As they searched for gold and copper, they spread metallurgy into other parts of Europe. They eventually mixed with the Battle-Ax culture and spread from central Europe to eastern England.

beam In building construction, a horizontal member spanning an open� ing and carrying a load. The load may be a wall above the opening (see post-and-beam system) or it may be a floor or roof. Beams may be of wood, steel or other metals, reinforced or prestressed concrete, plastic, or even brick with steel reinforcement. For weight reduction, metal beams are I-shaped, having a thin vertical web and thicker horizontal flanges where greater stress occurs. A joist is any of a series of small parallel beams supporting a floor or roof. See also girder, spandrel.

bean Seed or pod of certain leguminous plants (see legume). The mature seeds of the principal food beans, except soybeans, are similar in compo� sition, though they differ widely in eating quality. Rich in protein and providing moderate amounts of iron and vitamins B 1 and B 2 , fresh or dried beans are used worldwide for cooking. Varieties differ greatly in size, shape, colour, and tenderness of the immature pods. The common string, snap, or green bean ( Phaseolus vulgaris ) of Central and South American origin is the dominant edible-podded bean in the U.S., second to the soy-

Beagle

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Bean ► Beat movement I 183

bean in importance. Third in importance is the broad, or fava, bean ( Vicia faba ), the principal bean of Europe. The lima bean ( P. limensis ), of Cen� tral American origin, is commercially important in few countries outside the Americas. The scarlet runner bean (P. coccineus) is native to the New World tropics and is grown in Europe for its attractive flowers and fleshy immature pods. The mung bean, or green gram (P. aureus ), is native to India and grown extensively in the Orient for food.

Bean, Roy (b. 1825?, Mason county, Ky., U.S.�d. March 16, 1903, Langtry, Texas) U.S. justice of the peace and saloonkeeper. He left Ken� tucky in 1847 and moved from town to town, killing at least two men in duels, before settling in Texas. During the American Civil War he first served with Confederate regulars and then was a blockade runner in Texas, becoming so prosperous that he was able to live at ease in San Antonio for some 16 years. In 1882 he moved to a site on the lower Pecos River that he named for Lillie Langtry, opened a saloon, and dispensed hard, commonsensical, and prankish rulings as an unofficial magistrate, styling himself the �law west of the Pecos.�

bear Generally massive, short-legged mammals constituting the family Ursidae. Bears are the most recently evolved carnivore, found in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Closely related to the dog and the raccoon, most bears climb with ease and are strong swimmers. As a family, they are omnivores, but dietary preferences vary among species (the polar bear feeds mainly on seals, the spectacled bear on vegetation, etc.). Though they do not truly hibernate, bears often sleep fitfully through much of the win� ter. They live 15-30 years in the wild but much longer in captivity. They have been hunted as trophies, for hides, and for food. See also black bear; brown bear; sun bear.

bear cat See lesser panda

Bear Flag Revolt Short-lived rebellion in 1846 by American settlers in California against Mexican authorities. In June a small group captured Sonoma, a settlement north of San Francisco, and declared independence, raising a flag that featured a grizzly bear. Capt. John C. Fremont soon arrived to give his support and was elected to head the �republic.� In July U.S. forces occupied San Francisco and Sonoma and claimed California for the U.S. The bear flag later became the state flag.

bear grass Either of two species of North American plants that make up the genus Xerophyllum, in the lily family. The western species, X. tenax, also known as elk grass, squaw grass, and fire lily, is a smooth, light- green mountain perennial with a stout, unbranched stem and grasslike, rough-edged leaves at the bottom. It flowers at five to seven years, bear� ing a large cluster of small, creamy white flowers at the top of the stem. The turkey beard (X. asphodeloides ) of southern North America is a simi� lar plant that grows in dry pine barrens. In the southern and southwest� ern U.S., the name bear grass is given to various kinds of yucca and to the camas ( Camassia scilloides ) and the aloelike Dasylirion texanum.

bear market In securities and commodities trading, a declining mar� ket. A bear is an investor who expects prices to decline and, on this assumption, sells a borrowed security or commodity in the hope of buy� ing it back later at a lower price, a speculative transaction called short- selling. See also bull market.

bearberry Flowering, prostrate, evergreen shrub {Arctostaphylos uva- ursi) of the heath family, growing widely throughout North America in rocky and sandy woods and open areas. It has woody stems that are often 5-6 ft (1.5-1.8 m) long. Roots develop from stem joints, and the plant spreads, forming a broad, massive ground cover. The foliage turns bronzy in winter. The white, pink, or pink-tipped flowers are shaped like a narrow-mouthed bell. The berries are red.

Beard, Charles A(ustin) (b. Nov. 27, 1874, near Knightstown, Ind., U.S.�d. Sept. 1, 1948, New Haven, Conn.) U.S. historian. Beard taught at Columbia University (1904-17) and cofounded New York�s New School for Social Research (1919). He is best known for iconoclastic studies of the development of U.S. political institutions, emphasizing the dynamics of socioeconomic conflict and change and analyzing motiva� tional factors in the founding of institutions. His works include An Eco� nomic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States (1913), claiming that the Constitution was formulated to serve the economic inter� ests of the founders; The Economic Origins of Jeffersonian Democracy (1915); and, with his wife, Mary R. Beard (1876-1958), The Rise of American Civilization (1927).

Beard, James (b. May 5, 1903, Portland, Ore., U.S.�d. Jan. 23, 1985, New York, N.Y.) U.S. culinary expert and cookbook author. In 1945 he became the first chef to demonstrate cooking on network television. Through his Greenwich Village cooking school he influenced such future chefs as Julia Child and Craig Claiborne (b. 1920�d. 2000). He champi� oned simple American and English dishes and wrote one of the first seri� ous books on outdoor cooking. His more than 20 cookbooks include James Beard�s American Cookery (1972) and Beard on Bread (1973).

Bearden, Roma re (Howard) (b. Sept. 2, 1914, Charlotte, N.C., U.S.�d. March 11, 1988, New York, N.Y.) U.S. painter. He studied with George Grosz at the Art Students League and Columbia University. After military service in World War II, he attended the Sorbonne and traveled in Europe. During this time he achieved recognition for his complex, semiabstract collages of photographs and painted paper on canvas. The narrative structure of his work is clear; aspects of African American cul� ture, including ritual, music, and family, were his predominant themes. By the 1960s Bearden was recognized as the preeminent collagist in the U.S. He is regarded as one of the most important African American art� ists of the 20th century.

Beardsley, Aubrey (Vincent) (b. Aug. 21, 1872, Brighton, Sussex, Eng.�d. March 16, 1898, Menton, Fr.) British illustrator. His only for� mal training was a few months of evening classes at the Westminster School of Art. His style was based on the work of Edward Burne-Jones and Japanese woodcuts, and he quickly became a master of the curvilin� ear black-and-white ornamental illustration popularized by the Art Nou� veau movement. In 1893 he illustrated an edition of Sir Thomas Malory�s Le Morte Darthur, and in 1894 he achieved notoriety with his erotic illus� trations for the English version of Oscar Wilde�s Salome. He became art editor and illustrator of the new quarterly The Yellow Book that same year. He died at age 25 of tuberculosis.

bearing In machine construction, a connector (usually a support) that permits the connected members to rotate or to move in a straight line rela� tive to one another. Often one of the members is fixed, and the bearing acts as a support for the moving member. Most bearings support rotating shafts against either transverse (radial) or thrust (axial) loads. To mini� mize friction, the contacting surfaces in a bearing may be separated by a film of oil or gas; these are sliding bearings (see oil seal). In ball bearings and roller bearings, the surfaces are separated by balls or rollers.

bearing wall or load-bearing wall Wall that carries the load of floors and roof above in addition to its own weight. The traditional masonry bearing wall is thickened in proportion to the forces it has to resist: its own weight, the dead load of floors and roof, the live load of people, as well as the lateral forces of arches, vaults, and wind. Such walls may be much thicker toward the base, where maximum loads accumu� late. Bearing walls may also be framed and sheathed or constructed of reinforced concrete.

Bearn \ba-'am\ Historical region and former province, southwestern France. It was bounded by Gascony and the Pyrenees; its capital was Pau. It formed part of Aquitania under the Romans; it was later devastated by the Vandals and Visigoths. Held as the countship of Bearn by the future Henry IV, it became a holding of the French crown when he became king in 1589. In the 16th century Pau was an important cultural centre under the patronage of Margaret of Angouleme.

Beas River \'be-,as\ ancient Hyphasis River, northwestern India. One of the �five rivers� that give the Punjab its name, it rises in the Himalayas in central Himachal Pradesh state and flows south and southwest for some 290 mi (470 km) to the Sutlej River in western Punjab state. It was the approximate limit of Alexander the Great�s invasion of India in 326 bc.

beat In physics, the pulsation resulting from a combination of two waves of slightly different frequency. Beat frequency is the difference between the frequencies of the combining waves. When the interfering frequen� cies are in the audible range, the beats are heard as alternating soft and loud pulses. The human ear can detect beats with frequencies up to 10 hertz, or 10 beats per second. Piano tuners listen for beats when compar� ing the pitch of a tuning fork to that of a vibrating string; when no beats are heard, the fork and string are at the same frequency. Ultrasonic or inaudible frequencies can be superimposed to produce audible beats, allowing the detection of vocal sounds produced by bats or dolphins.

Beat movement American social and literary movement of the 1950s and �60s. It is associated with artists� communities in San Francisco, Los

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184 I Beatles ► Beaumarchais

Angeles, and New York. Its adherents expressed alienation from conven� tional society and advocated personal release and illumination through heightened sensory awareness and altered states of consciousness. Beat poets, including Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso (1930-2001), and Gary Snyder, sought to liberate poetry from academic refinement, creating verse that was vernacular, sometimes sprinkled with obscenities, but often powerful and moving. Jack Kerouac and William S. Burroughs developed an unstructured, spontaneous, sometimes hallucina� tory approach to prose writing that was designed to convey the imme� diacy of experience. The Beat movement had faded by c. 1970, though its influence continued to be felt decades later.

Beatles British rock group that came to personify the counterculture of the 1960s. Its principal members, all born in Liverpool, Eng., were Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr. The group began with the pairing of McCartney and Lennon in 1956; Harrison joined in 1957, and Stu Sutcliffe and Pete Best later. In 1960 they adopted the name the Beatles. In 1962 they signed a recording contract and replaced Best with Starr (Sutcliffe had left the group in 1961). The release in 1962-63 of such songs as �Please Please Me� and �I Want to Hold Your Hand� made them England�s most popular rock group, and in 1964 �Bea- tlemania� struck the U.S. Originally inspired by Chuck Berry, Elvis Pres� ley, Little Richard, and Buddy Holly, among others, their direct, energetic songs kept them at the top of the pop charts. Their long hair and tastes in dress were influential throughout the world, as were their experimenta� tion with hallucinogenic drugs and Indian mysticism and their involve� ment with the politics of peace. From 1965 to 1967 the Beatles� music rapidly evolved, becoming increasingly subtle, sophisticated, and varied�ranging from ballads such as �Yesterday� to the psychedelic hard rock of �Tomorrow Never Knows.� Their public performances ended in 1966. Albums such as Rubber Soul (1965), Revolver (1966), and The Beatles (�White Album,� 1968) set new trends in rock. In 1967 they pro� duced Sgt. Pepper�s Lonely Hearts Club Band , an album novel for its conception as a dramatic whole, use of electronic music, and character as a studio work not reproducible onstage. They appeared in the films A Hard Day�s Night (1964) and Help! (1965). The group dissolved in 1970. In 1988 the Beatles were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and Lennon (1994), McCartney (1999), and Harrison (2004) were also inducted as solo performers.

Beaton, Sir Cecil (Walter Hardy) (b. Jan. 14, 1904, London, Eng.�d. Jan. 18, 1980, Broadchalke, Salisbury, Wiltshire) British pho� tographer and designer. When he received his first camera at age 11, he began making portraits of his sisters. In the 1920s he became staff pho� tographer at Vanity Fair and Vogue. In Beaton�s exotic and bizarre por� traits, the sitter is only one element of an overall decorative composition dominated by flamboyant backgrounds. His photographs of the siege of Britain were published in Winged Squadrons (1942). After the war he designed costumes and stage sets, including those for the movies Gigi (1958) and My Fair Lady (1964).

Beatrix \ba-a-'treks\ (Wilhelmina Armgard) (b. Jan. 31, 1938, Soestdijk, Neth.) Queen of The Netherlands. Beatrix went into exile with her family when the Germans invaded The Netherlands in World War II, and she spent the war years in Britain and Canada. In 1965 her betrothal to a German diplomat sparked controversy because of his past membership in the Hitler Youth and the German army. They were married in 1966, and the hostility waned with the births of the first male heirs in the house of Orange since 1890. Beatrix became queen in 1980 after the abdication of her mother, Juliana.

Beatty Vbat-e\, (Henry) War� ren orig. Henry Warren Beaty

(b. March 30, 1937, Richmond, Va.,

U.S.) U.S. film actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. He stud� ied acting with famed coach Stella Adler in New York and made his film

debut in Splendor in the Grass (1961). He later starred in and produced the influential film Bonnie and Clyde (1967). Often cowriting, directing, or producing his own films, he later starred in Shampoo (1975), Heaven Can Wait (1978), Reds (1981, Academy Award for direction), and Bul- worth (1998).

Beaubourg Center See Pompidou Center

Beaufort Sea \'bo-fort \ Part of the Arctic Ocean northeast of Alaska, northwest of Canada, and west of Banks Island in the Arctic Archipelago. Its surface area is about 184,000 sq mi (476,000 sq km), its average depth is 3,239 ft (1,004 m), and its greatest depth is 15,360 ft (4,680 m). It is frozen over almost year-round; only in August and September does the ice break up. The Mackenzie River flows into the sea; the chief settlement is Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.

Beauharnais \bo-ar-'ne\, Alexandre, viscount de (b. May 28,

1760, Martinique�d. June 23, 1794, Paris, France) French politician and general, first husband of Josephine. A liberal noble, he became a promi� nent figure during the French Revolution. He presided over the Constitu� ent Assembly in 1791, served with gallantry in the army, and was named general in chief of the Army of the Rhine in 1793. He was guillotined during the Reign of Terror, largely because he was a noble. He was the father of Eugene and Hortense de Beauharnais and the grandfather of Napo� leon III.

Beauharnais, Eugene de (b. Sept. 3, 1781, Paris, France�d. Feb. 21, 1824, Munich, Bavaria) French administrator and general. Son of Josephine and Alexandre, viscount de Beauharnais, he became a useful mili� tary aide to his stepfather, Napoleon. In 1804 he received the title of prince and was appointed archchancellor of state. He was named Napoleon�s viceroy in Italy (1805), where he reorganized public finances, built roads, and introduced the French legal system. As commander of the Italian army, he fought admirably in various conflicts. In 1814 he held out in Italy against the Austrians and the Neapolitans but was forced to con� clude an armistice. He retired to the Bavarian court of his wife�s family.

Beauharnais, (Eugenie-) Hortense de (b. April 10, 1783, Paris, France�d. Oct. 5, 1837, Arenenberg, Switz.) French-bom queen of Hol� land (1806-10). Daughter of Josephine and Alexandre, viscount de Beauhar� nais, and stepdaughter of Napoleon, Hortense married Napoleon�s brother, Louis Bonaparte. When he became king of Holland, she was named queen. The marriage was unhappy but produced three children, including the future Napoleon III. When Napoleon was exiled in 1814, Hortense became the centre of Bonapartist intrigue, and her support of Napoleon during his return led to her banishment from France in 1815, after which she settled in Switzerland.

Beaujolais X.bo-zho-'laX Region in northern Rhone and northeastern Loire departments, east-central France. It is located east of the Massif Central and west of the Saone River. The region is wooded and supports local forestry; its highest point is Mount Saint-Rigaud, elevation 3,310 ft (1,009 m). East of the mountain are the limestone escarpments of the Cote Beaujolaise, which support a world-famous red wine industry.

Beaujoyeulx \bozh-wa-'yce\, Balthazar de orig. Baltazarini di Belgioioso (b. 16th century, Piedmont region�d. 1587, Paris, Fr.) Italian-born French composer and choreographer. In 1555 he left Italy for Paris and joined the court of Catherine de Medicis as a violinist. There he organized unofficial court fetes and became valet de chambre to the royal family. In 1581 he staged the lavish Ballet comique de la reine\ consid� ered the first ballet, it was emulated by other European courts and was the precursor of developments in ballet for the next century.

Beaumarchais X.bo-mar-'shaX, Pierre-Augustin Caron de (b.

Jan. 24, 1732, Paris, France�d. May 18, 1799, Paris) French playwright. Son of a watchmaker, he invented a clockwork mechanism and became embroiled in lawsuits over its patent; a series of witty pamphlets he wrote in his defense established his reputation as a writer. His comedy The Bar� ber of Seville (1772) was kept off the stage for three years because it criti� cized the aristocracy. His Marriage of Figaro (1784) similarly censured the nobility and it, too, was initially banned. The plays became famous operas by Gioacchino Rossini and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, respec� tively. He founded the Societe des Auteurs (1777) to enable playwrights to obtain royalty payments. His wealth led, ironically, to his temporary imprisonment during the French Revolution, an event his plays were sometimes said to have sparked.

Beatrix of The Netherlands.

COURTESY OF THE ROYAL NETHERLANDS EMBASSY; PHOTOGRAPH, MAX KOOT

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Beaumont ► Beccafumi I 185

Beaumont Vbo-.mantA City (pop., 2000: 113,866), southeastern Texas, U.S. Lying at the head of navigation on the Neches River, it is connected to the Gulf of Mexico by the Sabine-Neches Canal and is a major port of entry. It was founded in 1835. When Spindletop, the first major oil field in Texas, was discovered in 1901, the city grew rapidly. With Port Arthur and Orange, it forms the �Golden Triangle� petrochemical and industrial complex.

Beaumont \'bo- 1 mant\, Francis (b. c. 1585, Grace-Dieu, Leicester� shire, Eng.�d. March 6, 1616, London) British playwright. He is known chiefly for the 10 very popular plays on which he collaborated with John Fletcher (1579-1625) c. 1606�13. These included the tragicomedies The Maides Tragedy, Phylaster, and A King and No King. Forty other plays attributed to them were later found to have been written by others. Their independent work includes Beaumont�s poetry and his parody The Knight of the Burning Pestle (1607) and Fletcher�s pastoral The Faithful Shep� herdess (1608). After Beaumont retired in 1613, Fletcher collaborated with other playwrights, possibly including William Shakespeare, with whom he may have written King Henry the Eighth and The Two Noble Kinsmen.

Beaumont, William (b. Nov. 21, 1785, Lebanon, Conn., U.S.�d. April 25, 1853, St. Louis, Mo.) U.S. surgeon. He served many years as an army surgeon. When treating a trapper whose abdomen had been perfo� rated by a shotgun blast, Beaumont collected gastric juice for analysis and showed that it contained hydrochloric acid, which supported his belief that digestion was a chemical process. He also reported on the effects of dif� ferent foods on the stomach and established alcohol as a cause of gastritis.

Beauregard Vbo-r9-,gard\, P(ierre) G(ustave) T(outant) (b. May

28, 1818, near New Orleans, La., U.S.�d. Feb. 20, 1893, New Orleans) U.S. military leader. He graduated from West Point in 1838 and served in the Mexican War. After Louisiana seceded in 1861, he resigned his commission and became a general in the Confederate army. He com� manded the forces that bombarded Fort Sumter, S.C., was on the field at the First Battle of Bull Run (1861), and assumed command at the Battle of Shiloh after the death of Gen. Albert Sidney Johnston (1862). He con� ducted the defenses of Charleston, S.C., and Richmond, Va. Though a capable commander, his penchant for questioning orders sometimes bor� dered on insubordination. After the war he quarreled with other generals� accounts of his role.

Beauvoir Vbo-.vwarV, Simone (Lucie-Ernestine-Marie- Bertrand) de (b. Jan. 9, 1908, Paris, France�d. April 14, 1986, Paris) French writer and feminist. As a student at the Sorbonne, she met Jean- Paul Sartre, with whom she formed a lifelong intellectual and romantic bond. She is known primarily for her treatise The Second Sex (1949), a scholarly and passionate plea for the abolition of what she called the myth of the �eternal feminine�; the book became a classic of feminist literature. She also wrote four admired volumes of autobiography (1958-72), philo� sophical works that explore themes of existentialism, and fiction, notably The Mandarins (1954, Prix Goncourt). The Coming of Age (1970) is a bitter reflection on society�s indifference to the elderly.

Beaux-Arts \bo-'zar\ style or Second Empire style or Second Empire Baroque Architectural style developed at the Ecole des Beaux- Arts in Paris. It enjoyed international dominance in the late 19th century (see Second Empire) and rapidly became an official style for many of the new public buildings demanded by expanding cities and their national governments. Beaux-Arts buildings are typically massive and have a sym� metrical plan with rooms arranged axially, profuse Classicist detail, and pavilions that extend forward at the ends and centre. Among the most admired Beaux-Arts structures is the Paris Opera.

beaver Either species of the aquatic rodent family Castoridae (genus Castor ), both of which are well known for building dams. Bea� vers are heavyset and have short legs and large, webbed hind feet. They grow as large as 4 ft (1.3 m) long, including the 1-ft (30-cm) tail, and as heavy as 66 lb (30 kg). Beavers build their dams of sticks, stones, and mud in small rivers, streams, and lakes, often producing sizable ponds. With their powerful jaws and large teeth, they can fell medium-size trees,

whose branches they use in their dams and whose tender bark and buds they eat. One or more family groups share a dome-shaped stick-and-mud lodge built in the water, with tunnel entrances below water level. Ameri� can beavers (C. canadensis) range from northern Mexico to the Arctic. Their prized pelts stimulated the exploration of western North America, and by 1900 beavers were trapped to near extinction. Eurasian beavers (C. fiber) are now found in only a few locations, including the Elbe and Rhone drainages of Europe. The mountain beaver of the Pacific North� west is unrelated.

Beaverbrook (of Beaverbrook and of Cherkley), Maxwell Aitken, 1st Baron orig. William Maxwell Aitken known as Lord Beaverbrook (b. May 25, 1879, Maple, Ont., Can.�d. June 9, 1964, near Leatherhead, Surrey, Eng.) Canadian-British politician and newspaper proprietor. After making a fortune in Montreal as a financier, he moved to England and became active in politics as a Conservative. Beginning in 1916, he took over or founded newspapers, including the London Daily Express, Sunday Express, and Evening Standard. Idiosyn� cratic and very successful, he became a �press lord� and a champion of individual enterprise and British imperial interests. He held various high government appointments, including positions in the British Cabinet dur� ing both World Wars, but he never fully achieved the political power he sought.

Bebel \'ba-bol\, August (b. Feb. 22, 1840, Deutz, near Cologne, Ger.�d. Aug. 13, 1913, Passugg, Switz.) German socialist and writer. A turner by trade, Bebel joined the Leipzig Workers� Educational Associa� tion (1861) and became its chairman (1865). Influenced by the ideas of Wilhelm Liebknecht, in 1869 he helped found the Social Democratic Labour Party (later the Social Democratic Party) and became its most influential and popular leader for more than 40 years. He served in the Reichstag in 1867, 1871�81, and 1883-1913. He spent a total of nearly five years in prison on such charges as �libel of Bismarck.� He wrote a number of works, including Woman and Socialism (1883), a powerful piece of Social Democratic propaganda.

Bebey, Francis (b. July 15, 1929, Douala, Camer.�d. May 28, 2001, Paris, France) Cameroonian-born French writer and singer-songwriter. After studying in Paris and New York City, he settled in Paris in 1960. He worked for radio stations and then for UNESCO, researching and documenting traditional African music. Meanwhile, he also composed and recorded his own highly experimental music that often incorporated Latin American, Western, and African elements. Because of this, he is some� times considered �the father of world music.� He also wrote two books about African music and several works of fiction.

bebop or bop Jazz characterized by harmonic complexity, convoluted melodic lines, and frequent shifting of rhythmic accent. In the mid-1940s, a group of musicians, including Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, and Char� lie Parker, rejected the conventions of swing to pioneer a self-consciously artistic extension of improvised jazz, which set new technical standards of velocity and harmonic subtlety. Two genres grew out of bebop in the 1950s: the delicate, dry, understated approach that came to be known as cool jazz, and the aggressive, blues- tinged earthiness of hard bop.

Beccafumi N.bek-o-'fii-meV Domenico orig. Domenico di Giacomo di Pace known as Mecherino \,mak-ka-'re-no\ (b. c.

1484, Cortina, Republic of Venice�d. May 1551, Siena,

Republic of Siena) Italian painter and sculptor active in Siena. He adopted the name of his patron,

Lorenzo Beccafumi. In 1510 he went to Rome to study the work of Raphael and Michelangelo. In 1512 he returned to Siena, where most of his best work can be found. He is noted for his sense of fantasy and creation of striking light effects, as in The Birth of the Virgin (c. 1543). He

.T:

The Birth of the Virgin, panel painting by Domenico Beccafumi, c. 1543; in the Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena, Italy.

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186 I Beccaria ► Beckmann

painted decorations for the Siena town hall (1529-35) and executed designs for the marble pavement of Siena Cathedral. He is considered the outstanding Sienese painter of the Mannerist style.

Beccaria X.bak-ka-'re-oV, Cesare (b. March 15, 1738, Milan�d. Nov. 28, 1794, Milan) Italian criminologist and economist. He became an inter� national celebrity in 1764 with the publication of Crime and Punishment, the first systematic statement of principles governing criminal punish� ment, in which he argued that the effectiveness of criminal justice depended more on the certainty of punishment than on its severity. The book greatly influenced criminal-law reform in western Europe. In later years, Beccaria lectured at Milan�s Palatine School and served as a pub� lic official, dealing with such issues as monetary reform, labour relations, and public education.

Bechet \b3-'sha\, Sidney (b. May 14, 1897, New Orleans, La., U.S.�d. May 14, 1959, Paris, France) U.S. saxophonist. He took up the clarinet at age six, later switching to the more powerful soprano saxo� phone. His emergence as a soloist from the New Orleans tradition of col� lective improvisation (see Dixieland) established his reputation in the mid- 1920s. He produced a large, warm tone with a wide and rapid vibrato. His mastery of drama and his use of critically timed deviations in pitch (�note bending�) had a long-lasting influence, because they were absorbed by his disciple Johnny Hodges. From the late 1940s he was based in Paris.

Bechtel Vbek-LL, Stephen D(avison) (b. Sept. 24, 1900, Aurora, Ind., U.S.�d. March 14, 1989, San Francisco, Calif.) U.S. construction engineer and president (1936-60) of W.A. Bechtel Co. and its successor, Bechtel Corp. He became a vice president in the San Francisco-based family firm of W.A. Bechtel Co. in 1925. In 1937 he and John McCone formed Bechtel-McCone Corp., a builder of refineries and chemical plants. The companies built ships and made aircraft parts during World War II. After the war, the newly formed Bechtel Corp. became one of the world�s largest construction and engineering firms, building pipelines in Canada, the Middle East, and elsewhere and constructing power plants all over the world. The Bechtel companies helped construct the Hoover Dam, the Alaska oil pipeline, and the city of Al-Jubayl in Saudi Arabia. Bechtel retired as its president in 1960 but remained senior director of what became known as the Bechtel Group.

Bechuanaland See Botswana

Beck, Ludwig (b. June 29, 1880, Biebrich, Ger.�d. July 20, 1944, Berlin) German general. After serving with the army general staff in World War I, he was later chief of the general staff (1935�38). He opposed Adolf Hitler�s occupation of the Rhineland and resigned to protest the decision to conquer Czechoslovakia. He helped plan the unsuccessful July Plot to assassinate Hitler; when it failed, Beck committed suicide.

Beckenbauer, Franz (b. Sept. 11, 1945, Munich, Ger.) German foot� ball (soccer) player. He is credited with inventing the modern attacking sweeper position. Nicknamed �Der Kaiser,� Beckenbauer is the only man to both captain and manage World Cup-winning teams (1974 and 1990, respectively). He spent most of his career with Bayern Munich (1958� 77), leading the team to three European Cup championships (1974-76) and four national titles. He was named European Footballer of the Year in 1972 and 1976. After brief stints in New York and Hamburg, he retired in 1984 and turned to managing.

Becker, Boris (Franz) (b. Nov. 22, 1967, Leimen, W.Ger.) German tennis player. He left school in the 10th grade to concentrate on tennis. In 1985 he became the youngest winner (at 17) of the Wimbledon�s men�s singles title and the youngest ever to win a men�s grand-slam tournament, as well as the only unseeded player and the first German ever to win the title. He was victorious at Wimbledon again in 1986 and 1989 and also won singles titles at the 1989 U.S. Open and the 1991 and 1996 Austra� lian Open.

Becker, Gary S(tanley) (b. Dec. 2, 1930, Pottsville, Pa., U.S.) U.S. economist. He studied at Princeton University and the University of Chi� cago. As a professor at Columbia University and the University of Chi� cago, he applied the methods of economics to aspects of human behaviour previously considered the domain of sociology and demography. In Human Capital (1964) and A Treatise on the Family (1981), he advanced the theory that rational economic choices, based on self-interest, govern most human activities, even apparently noneconomic activities such as the formation of families. He won the Nobel Prize in 1992.

Becket, Saint Thomas or Thomas a Becket (b. c. 1118, Cheap- side, London, Eng.�d. Dec. 29,

1170, Canterbury, Kent; canonized 1173; feast day December 29) Arch� bishop of Canterbury (1162-70).

The son of a Norman merchant, he served as chancellor of England (1155-62) under Henry II. whose entire trust he won. A brilliant administrator, diplomat, and military strategist, he aided the king in increasing the royal power. Resistant to the Gregorian reform movement that asserted the autonomy of the church, Henry hoped to reinforce royal control of the church by appointing Becket archbishop of Canterbury in 1162. Becket, how� ever, embraced his new duties devoutly and opposed royal power in the church, especially proclaiming the right of offending clerics to be tried in ecclesiastical courts. The king issued the Constitutions of Clarendon (1164) listing royal rights over the church, and he summoned the archbishop to trial. Becket fled to France and remained in exile until 1170, when he returned to Canterbury and was murdered in the cathedral by four of Henry�s knights, traditionally said to be acting in response to the king�s angry words. Becket�s tomb, which was visited by Henry in an act of penance, became a site of pilgrimage.

Beckett, Samuel (Barclay) (b. April 13?, 1906, Foxrock, Co. Dub� lin, Ire.�d. Dec. 22, 1989, Paris,

France) Irish playwright. After studying in Ireland and traveling, he settled in Paris in 1937. During World War II he supported himself as a farmworker and joined the under� ground resistance. In the postwar years he wrote, in French, the narra� tive trilogy Molloy (1951), Malone Dies (1951), and The Unnamable (1953). His play Waiting for Godot (1952) was an immediate success in Paris and gained worldwide acclaim when he translated it into English.

Marked by minimal plot and action, existentialist ideas, and humour, it typifies the Theatre of the Absurd. His later plays, also sparsely staged, abstract works that deal with the mystery and despair of human exist� ence, include Endgame (1957),

Krapp�s Last Tape (1958), and Happy Days (1961). In 1969 he was awarded the Nobel Prize.

Beckford, William (b. Sept. 29,1760, London, Eng.�d. May 2,1844, Bath, Somerset) English dilettante, novelist, and eccentric. He is remem� bered for his gothic novel Vathek (1786), about an impious voluptuary who builds a tower so high that he challenges Muhammad in heaven and so brings about his own fall to the kingdom of the prince of darkness; though unevenly written, the story is full of invention and bizarre detail. Beckford and his family were forced to leave England for 10 years by a scandal involving a youth. On his return he built Fonthill Abbey, the most sensational building of the English Gothic Revival, whose own 270-ft (82-m) tower collapsed several times.

Beckmann Vbek-.manV Max (b. Feb. 12, 1884, Leipzig, Ger.�d. Dec. 27, 1950, New York, N.Y., U.S.) German Expressionist painter and graphic artist. After training at the conservative Weimar Academy, in 1903 he moved to Berlin and joined the Berlin Sezession. His experience as a medical orderly in World War I changed his outlook, and his work became full of horrifying imagery, with deliberately repulsive colours and erratic forms. He considered his work to be a combination of brutal realism and

Martyrdom of Thomas Becket, illustra� tion from an English psalter, c. 1220; in the British Library.

�THE BRITISH LIBRARY/HERITAGE-IMAGES

Samuel Beckett, 1965.

� GISELE FREUND

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Becknell ► bedstraw I 187

social commentary. In 1933 the Nazis declared his art �degenerate� and forced him to resign his professorship at the Stadel School of Art in Frankfurt. In 1937 he fled to Amsterdam, and in 1947 he moved to the U.S., where he taught in St. Louis, Mo., and New York City.

Becknell \'bek-n 3 l\, William (b. 1796?, Amherst county, Va., U.S.�d. April 30, 1865, Texas) U.S. trader. After settling in Missouri, he became involved in trade with the Southwest. When the Spanish prohibition on trade with New Mexico was lifted in 1821, he followed the customary route through the Colorado Rocky Mountains south to Santa Fe, where he sold his goods at great profit. The next year he pioneered a new route through the mountains of northeastern New Mexico that became known as the Santa Fe Trail. In the mid-1830s he moved to Texas, where he fought for Texas�s independence.

Beckwourth, Jim orig. James Pierson Beckwith (b. April 26, 1798, Virginia, U.S.�d. 1867?, Denver, Colo.) U.S. mountain man. Bom a slave, the son of a white man and a slave woman, he was taken by his father to St. Louis and set free. In 1823-24 he was hired by trading expe� ditions in the Rocky Mountains. He married a series of Indian women and lived among the Crow for about six years. During the California gold rush (1848) he established a route through the Sierra Nevada. In Califor� nia he met Thomas D. Bonner, who in 1856 published many of Beck- wourth�s stories and recollections.

Becquerel \be-'krel\, (Antoine-) Henri (b. Dec. 15, 1852, Paris, France�d. Aug. 25, 1908, Le Croisic) French physicist. His grandfather, Antoine-Cesar (1788-1878), was one of the founders of the field of elec� trochemistry, and his father, Alexandre-Edmond (1820-91), made impor� tant studies of light phenomena. Henri likewise studied phosphorescent materials as well as uranium compounds and employed photography in his experiments. He is remembered for his discovery of radioactivity, which occurred when he found that the element uranium (in a sample of pitchblende) emitted invisible rays that could darken a photographic plate. His 1901 report of a burn caused by a sample of Marie Curie�s radium that he carried in his vest pocket led to investigations by physicians and ulti� mately the medical use of radioactive substances. In 1903 he shared a Nobel Prize for Physics with the Curies. The unit of radioactivity, the becquerel (Bq), is named for him.

bed Piece of furniture on which a person may recline or sleep. Beds of simple construction appear in medi� eval manuscripts, as do more deco� rative beds with carving and inlay, embroidered coverlets, and elaborate hangings. The canopy, or tester, was introduced in the 15th century. In the 1820s the development of coiled springs fitted into mattresses revolu� tionized the bed. In the Middle East beds consisted of rugs piled up on the floor. In China raised and cano� pied beds were used 2,000 years ago.

The traditional Japanese bed (futon) consists of quilted padding and a coverlet arranged on the floor.

bedbug Any member of approxi� mately 75 species of nocturnal insects (family Cimicidae) that feed by sucking the blood of humans and other warm-blooded animals. The reddish brown adult is broad and flat and less than 0.2 in. (4-5 mm) long.

Among the most cosmopolitan of human parasites, they are found in every kind of dwelling. They digest meals slowly; adults have lived for at least a year without food. Though the bite is irritating, it is not known to transmit diseases to humans.

bedding plant Plant that is grown, usually in quantity, in pots or flats in a greenhouse or similar struc� ture, and that is intended to be trans� planted to a flower garden, hanging

basket, window box, or other outdoor planter. Most bedding plants are annuals. They are transplanted outdoors after all danger of frost has passed. Some important bedding plants are impatiens, marigolds, and petunias.

Bede, Saint' known as the Venerable Bede (b. 672/673, tradition� ally Monkton in Jarrow, Northumbria [Eng.]�d. May 25, 735, Jarrow; feast day May 25) Anglo-Saxon theologian, historian, and chronologist. Raised in a monastery, he was ordained a priest at age 30. He is best known for his Ecclesiastical History of the English People (732?), trac� ing Britain�s history from 55 bc to ad 597, a source vital to the history of the conversion to Christianity of the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain. His method of dating events from the time of Christ�s birth (ad) came into general use through the popularity of the Historia ecclesiastica and two works on chronology.

Bedford City (pop., 1995 est.: 81,000), southeast-central England. The administrative seat of Bedfordshire, it lies on the River Ouse northwest of London. It was a Roman fording station and a Saxon town. It was recap� tured by the Anglo-Saxons from the Danes in 914. John Bunyan is thought to have written A Pilgrim�s Progress while imprisoned there in the 17th century.

Bedfordshire Vbed-ford-.shhA Administrative (pop., 2001: 381,571), geographic, and historic county, southeast-central England. Much of the county is occupied by the River Ouse valley; its capital is Bedford. Settled c. 1800 bc by the Beaker culture, the valley was resettled by the Romans in the 1 st�5th centuries ad. First mentioned as a political unit in 1010, the county has survived virtually unchanged within its present boundaries. Its architectural masterpiece is Woburn Abbey, seat of the dukes of Bedford.

Bedlington terrier Breed of dog. It was developed in the 19th cen� tury in Northumberland, Eng., and named for Bedlingtonshire, a mining district in the area. Initially estab� lished as a fighting dog and hunter of vermin, the breed later became a popular pet. Lamblike in appearance, it has an arched back, a topknot, and a thick, curly coat that is blue-gray, deep reddish brown, or pale sandy, often with tan markings. The breed stands 15-16 in. (38-40 cm) tall and weighs 22-24 lbs. (10-11 kg).

Bedouin \'bed-win\ Any member of a community of Arabic-speaking desert nomads of the Middle East.

Ethnically, the Bedouin are identical to other Arabs. Bedouin traditionally have made their living by animal husbandry, and social rank among them is determined by the animals that they herd: camel nomads enjoy the greatest status, followed by sheep and goat herders and, finally, cattle nomads. Traditionally, Bedouin would migrate into the desert during the rainy season and return to culti� vated areas during the dry season, but since World War II (1939�45) the governments of many countries have nationalized their range lands, and conflicts over land use have arisen.

Many Bedouin have since adopted sedentary ways of life; most, how� ever, retain pride in their nomadic heritage.

bedstraw Any low perennial her� baceous plant of the genus Galium, in the madder family, found in damp woods and swamps and along stream banks and shores. Bedstraws bear finely toothed, often needle-shaped leaves in whorls of four to eight; clus� ters of small green, yellow, or white flowers; and fruit composed of two rounded nuts joined together. Northern bedstraw (G. boreale ), marsh bed- straw (G. palustre), and goosegrass (G. aparine) are common throughout Europe and have become naturalized in parts of North America. Sweet

Great Bed of Ware, carved, inlaid, and painted wood, English, late 16th century; in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

COURTESY OF THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON, CROWN COPYRIGHT RESERVED

Bedbug (Cimex lectularius) magnified 5 x

WILLIAM E. FERGUSON

Bedlington terrier

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Bedouin with a young goat in central Qatar

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188 I bee ► Beer Hall Putsch

woodruff (G. odoratum ) smells like freshly mown HAY; its dried shoots are used in perfumes, sachets, and beverages. The roots of several spe� cies yield a red dye.

bee Any of some 20,000 insect species belonging to the superfamily Apoidea (order Hymenoptera), including the familiar bumblebee.

Adults range in size from about 0.08 to 1.6 in. (2 mm-4 cm). Bees are related to wasps, but, unlike wasps, which can eat other insects, most bees are entirely dependent on flow� ers for their food. Male bees are usu� ally short-lived and never collect pollen; female bees make and provi� sion the nest and usually have spe� cial anatomical structures for carrying pollen. Most species are solitary. The so-called killer bee, an Africanized subspecies of Apis mel- lifera (see honeybee), reached the U.S. from Mexico c. 1990; killer bees react quickly and attack in number. See also Karl von Frisch.

bee balm Any of 12 North American annual or perennial plants in the genus Monarda, variously known as bergamot, horsemint, and bee balm. They belong to the mint family and have showy flowers. Wild bergamot (M fistulosa ) has a minty aroma. The more sharply scented Oswego tea (M didyma ; a bergamot variety) is native to eastern North America but is widely cultivated elsewhere.

beech Any of several different types of trees, especially about 10 spe� cies of deciduous ornamental and timber trees constituting the genus Fagus (family Fagaceae), native to temperate and subtropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere. About 40 species of superficially similar trees, known as false beech (genus Nothofagus), are native to cooler regions of the Southern Hemisphere. A beech of the family Fagaceae is tall, round- headed, and wide-spreading, with smooth, steel-gray bark and toothed, shiny green leaves. The American beech {F. grandifolia), native to east� ern North America, and the European beech {F. sylvatica ), found through� out England and Eurasia, are the most widely known species. Both are economically important timber trees, often planted as ornamentals. Beech wood is durable under water and is valued for indoor use, tool handles, and shipping containers. The nuts provide forage for game animals, are used in fattening poultry, and yield an edible oil. Beeches are slow- growing and may live 400 years or more.

Beecham, Sir Thomas (b. April 29, 1879, St. Helens, Lancashire, Eng.�d. March 8, 1961, London) British conductor. He was born to an aristocratic family and was self-taught as a conductor. Devoted to broad� ening British musical tastes, he created the Beecham Symphony Orches� tra in 1909. In 1932 he founded the London Philharmonic Orchestra and in 1947 the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; he also founded opera com� panies. Though he had significant gaps in his technique, he was an incom� parable interpreter of the music he loved, especially that of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; of his contemporaries, he particularly championed Rich� ard Strauss and Frederick Delius.

Beecher, Catharine (Esther) (b. Sept. 6, 1800, East Hampton, N.Y., U.S.�d. May 12, 1878, Elmira, N.Y.) U.S. educator who popularized and shaped a conservative movement to both elevate and entrench woman�s role in the domestic sphere. Daughter of the minister and temperance activist Lyman Beecher and sister of Harriet Beecher Stowe and Henry Ward Beecher, she helped found the Hartford Female Seminary (1823) and other organizations devoted to women�s education. Her popular Treatise on Domestic Economy (1841) helped standardize domestic practices while reinforcing the belief that a woman�s proper place was in the home.

Beecher, Henry Ward (b. June 24, 1813, Litchfield, Conn., U.S.�d. March 8, 1887, Brooklyn, N.Y.) U.S. Congregational clergyman. The son of a minister, he was the brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe and Catharine Esther Beecher. After graduating from Amherst College and later studying at Lane Theological Seminary, he served as pastor to congregations in Indi� ana. In 1847 he was called to Plymouth Church in Brooklyn. A famous ora� tor and one of the most influential preachers of his time, he opposed slavery and supported women�s suffrage, Charles Darwin�s theory of evolution,

and scientific biblical criticism. He gained unfavourable publicity in 1874 when he was put on trial for adultery, but he was acquitted and returned to his church.

bee-eater Any of about 25 species of brightly coloured birds (family Meropidae) that feed on bees, wasps, and other insects. They are found throughout tropical and subtropical Eurasia, Africa, and Australasia (one species occasionally reaches the British Isles). Bee-eaters range in length from 6 to 14 in. (15-35 cm).

Their bill is moderately long, slightly downcurved, and pointed. Their bril� liant plumage is usually predomi� nantly green, but many species are partially coloured with red, yellow, blue, or purple.

beef Flesh of mature cattle, as dis� tinguished from veal, the flesh of calves. The best beef is obtained from steers (castrated males) and heifers (female cows that have not calved). Tenderness and flavour are improved by aging; in one common method, the carcass is hung for about two weeks at approximately 36 �F (2 �C). The world�s primary beef pro� ducers and consumers are the U.S., the European Union, Brazil, China,

Argentina, and Australia. Grading standards are relatively uniform; in the U.S., grades range from prime and choice to utility and canner. Beef provides protein and B vitamins; it also contains saturated fat, an excess of which can contribute to heart disease and other health problems. Beef is not eaten by Hindus because of the sacred status of the cow.

beehive tomb or tholos \'tho-,las\ Large, beehive-shaped ceremo� nial tomb, sometimes built into the side of a hill. The Treasury of Atreus, a surviving tholos (c. 1300-1250 bc) of the Mycenaean civilization, is a pointed dome built up of stepped blocks of conglomerate masonry cut and polished to give the impression of a true vault. A small side chamber contained the burials, while the main chamber was probably reserved for ritual use.

beekeeping or apiculture Va-po-.kol-chorX Care and manipulation of honeybees to enable them to produce and store more honey than they need so that the excess can be collected. Beekeeping is one of the oldest forms of animal husbandry. Early efforts at collecting the honey required destroying the hive; modern beekeepers use an extractor that empties the cells of the honeycomb without damaging them. To collect honey, bee� keepers need a veiled helmet for protection, a tool for cutting comb, and a smoker for tranquilizing the bees. Maintaining the hive includes pro� tecting the colony against diseases, parasites, and predators.

beer Alcoholic beverage made usually from malted barley, flavoured with hops, and brewed by slow fermentation. Known from ancient times, beer was especially common in northern climates not conducive to grape cul� tivation for wine. It is produced by employing either a bottom-fermenting yeast, which falls to the bottom of the container when fermentation is completed, or a top-fermenting yeast, which rises to the surface. Lager beers (from lagern, �to store�), of German origin, are bottom-fermented and stored at a low temperature for several months; most are light in colour, with high carbonation, medium hop flavor, and alcohol content of 3-5% by volume. Top-fermented beers, popular in Britain, include ale, stout, and porter; they are characterized by a prominent head of released carbon dioxide, a sharper and more strongly hopped flavour than lagers, and an alcohol content of 4-6.5% by volume. See also malt.

Beer Hall Putsch or Munich Putsch \'puch\ (Nov. 8-9, 1923) Unsuccessful attempt by Adolf Hitler to start an insurrection in Germany against the Weimar Republic. On Nov. 8, 1923, Hitler and his men pushed

Leaf-cutting bee ( Anthidium)

M.W.F. TWEEDIE FROM THE NATURAL HISTORY PHOTOGRAPHIC AGENCY-EB INC.

Henry Beecher, photographed by Napoleon Sarony

THE GRANGER COLLECTION

Bee-eater (Merops api aster).

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Beerbohm ► behaviour genetics I 189

their way into a right-wing political meeting in a Munich beer hall and obtained agreement that the leaders there should join in carrying the �revolution� to Berlin. The next day, some 3,000 Nazis marched toward the Marienplatz but were met by police gunfire. Hitler was subsequently sentenced to five years in prison for treason; he served only eight months, time he spent writing Mein Kampf.

Beerbohm, Sir (Henry) Max(imilian) (b. Aug. 24, 1872, London, Eng.�d. May 20, 1956, Rapallo, Italy) English caricaturist, writer, and dandy. His sophisticated drawings and parodies were unique in capturing, usually without malice, whatever was pretentious, affected, or absurd in his famous and fashionable contemporaries. His first literary collection, The Works of Max Beerbohm (1896), and his first book of drawings. Cari� catures of Twenty-five Gentlemen (1896), were followed by the charming fable The Happy Hypocrite (1897) and his only novel, Zuleika Dobson (1911), a burlesque of Oxford life. His story collection Seven Men (1919) is considered a masterpiece.

Beersheba City (pop., 1999 est.: 163,700), southern Israel. Historically it marked the extreme southern limit of Palestine, hence the biblical phrase �from Dan to Beersheba� (Dan is in far northern Israel). It fell to the Arabs in the 7th century and to the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. It was long a watering place for the nomadic Bedouin tribes of the Negev desert. Held by the British from 1917, it became part of Israel in 1948. It has since developed as the administrative, cultural, and industrial centre of the Negev.

Beery, Wallace (Fitzgerald) (b. April 1, 1885, Kansas City, Mo., U.S.�d. April 15, 1949, Los Angeles, Calif.) U.S. film and stage actor. He initially worked in the circus and later in the choruses of New York City theatrical productions. After playing the lead in The Yankee Tourist, he spent several years as a dramatic actor in touring and stock companies. He started his film career in 1913, first as a comedian in Mack Sennett�s Keystone comedies. He is best known for his performances as dim-witted, but endearing, toughs in such films as The Champ (1931, Academy Award), Min and Bill (1931), and Tugboat Annie (1933).

beeswax Commercially useful wax secreted by worker honeybees to make the cell walls of the honeycomb. A bee consumes an estimated 6-10 lbs (3-4.5 kg) of honey for each pound of the wax it secretes in small flakes from glands on the underside of its abdomen. After honey removal, the comb is melted to produce the beeswax, which ranges from yellow to almost black. It is used for candles (often for churches), artificial fruit and flowers, modeling wax, and as an ingredient of furniture and floor waxes, leather dressings, waxed paper, lithographic inks, cosmetics, and ointments.

beet Cultivated form of the plant Beta vulgaris of the goosefoot family (Chenopodiaceae), one of the most important vegetables. Four distinct types are cultivated: the garden beet, as a garden vegetable; the sugar beet, a major source of sugar and commer� cially the most important type; the mangel-wurzel, a succulent feed for livestock; and the leaf beet, or Swiss chard, for its edible leaves. Beet greens are a source of riboflavin, iron, and vitamins A and C. Beets are grown most extensively in temperate to cool regions or during the cooler seasons.

Beethoven Vba-.to-vonX, Lud� wig van (baptized Dec. 17, 1770,

Bonn, archbishopric of Cologne�d.

March 26, 1827, Vienna, Austria)

German composer. Born to a musi� cal family, he was a precociously gifted pianist and violist. After nine years as a court musician in Bonn, he moved to Vienna to study with Joseph Haydn and remained there for the rest of his life. He was soon well known as both a virtuoso and a composer, and he became the first important composer to earn a success� ful living while forsaking employment in the church or court. He uniquely straddled the Classical and Romantic eras. Rooted in the traditions of Haydn and Mozart, his art also encompassed the new spirit of humanism expressed in the works of German Romantic writers as well as in the ide�

als of the French Revolution, with its passionate concern for the freedom and dignity of the individual. His astonishing Third ( Eroica ) Symphony (1803) was the thunderclap that announced the Romantic century, and it embodies the titanic but rigorously controlled energy that was the hall� mark of his style. He began to lose his hearing from c. 1795; by c. 1819 he was totally deaf. For his last 15 years he was unrivaled as the world�s most famous composer. In musical form he was a considerable innova� tor, widening the scope of sonata, symphony, concerto, and string quar� tet. His greatest achievement was to raise instrumental music, hitherto considered inferior to vocal, to the highest plane of art. His works include the celebrated 9 symphonies; 16 string quartets; 32 piano sonatas; the opera Fidelio (1805, rev. 1814);2 masses, including the Missa Solemnis (1823); 5 piano concertos; a violin concerto (1806); 6 piano trios; 10 vio� lin sonatas; 5 cello sonatas; and several concert overtures.

beetle Any of at least 250,000 species of insects constituting the order Coleoptera (the largest order in the animal kingdom), characterized by special forewings, called elytra, which are modified into hardened covers over a second pair of functional wings. Beetles occur in almost all envi� ronments except Antarctica and the peaks of the highest mountains. Tem� perate zones have fewer beetle species than the tropics but in greater numbers. The smallest species are less than 0.04 in. (1 mm) long; the largest can exceed 8 in. (20 cm). Most beetles eat either other animals or plants; some eat decaying matter. Some species destroy crops, timber, and textiles and spread parasitic worms and diseases. Others are valuable predators of insect pests. Some beetles are known by other common names (e.g., borer, chafer, curculio, firefly, weevil). Beetles are preyed on by other insects and by bats, swifts, and frogs.

Begin \be-'gen,\ English \'ba-gin\, Menachem (Wolfovitch) (b.

Aug. 16, 1913, Brest-Litovsk,

Russia�d. March 9, 1992, Tel Aviv,

Israel) Prime minister of Israel (1977-83). He earned a law degree from the University of Warsaw, Pol.

During World War II (1939�45) the Soviet authorities sent him to Sibe� ria, but he was soon released to join the Polish army in exile. He escaped to Palestine, where he became leader in 1943 of the Irgun Zvai Leumi (a right-wing underground movement in favour of a Jewish state). From 1948 to 1977 he led the opposition in the Israeli Knesset, except for three years when he sat in the Gov� ernment of National Unity (1967- 70). As head of the Likud party coalition, he became prime minister in 1977. He shared the 1978 Nobel Prize for Peace with Anwar el-Sadat for negotiations that resulted in the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace treaty. His 1982 invasion of Lebanon turned world opinion against Israel, and he resigned in 1983. See also Arab-Israeli wars; Vladimir Jabotinsky.

begonia \bi-'gon-y3\ Any of about 1,000 species (genus Begonia) of mostly succulent, tropical or subtropical plants, many with colourful flow� ers or leaves and used as potted plants indoors or as garden plants. Bego� nias come in a bewildering array of cultivated varieties. The wax begonia ( B. semperfiorens) is the most popular for use as a summer bedding plant; angelwing begonias are characterized by their tall stems; hairy begonias have feltlike leaves. Most begonias are tender and intolerant of dry con� ditions; they require protection from strong sunlight.

Behan \'be-9n\, Brendan (Francis) (b. Feb. 9,1923, Dublin, Ire.�d. March 20, 1964, Dublin) Irish author. An alcoholic from age eight and an anti-English rebel, he was repeatedly arrested. Borstal Boy (1958) is an account of his detention in an English reform school, which combines earthy satire and powerful political commentary. His first play. The Quare Fellow { 1954), is an explosive statement on capital punishment and prison life. His second, The Hostage (produced 1958), is considered his master- work. He also wrote poetry, short stories, radio scripts, anecdotes, mem� oirs, and a novel.

behaviour genetics Study of the influence of an organism�s genetic composition on its behaviour and of the interaction of heredity and envi-

Beet (Beta).

GRANT HEILMAN

Menachem Begin, 1987.

RALPH CRANE/CAMERA PRESS FROM GLOBE PHOTOS

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190 I behaviour therapy ► Beirut

ronment (�nature� and �nurture�) in determining behaviour. The first sci� entist to explore the area was Sir Francis Galton, who sought to show that mental powers run in families. His work was followed by huge numbers of studies seeking to establish a link between IQ and genetics, none of them conclusive. Other human characteristics or behaviours studied for their possible hereditary nature include schizophrenia, alcoholism, depres� sion, introvert and extravert behaviour, and general activity level (includ� ing sleep disorders). Many such studies are based on long-term observation of identical (monozygotic) twins raised in different environ� ments. In animal studies, which examine topics such as learning, sexual activity, and aggressive behaviour, selective breeding is used to produce groups of genetically similar individuals that may be compared with other, dissimilar individuals or groups. See also human nature.

behaviour therapy or behaviour modification Application of experimentally derived principles of learning to the treatment of psycho� logical disorders and the control of behaviour. The concept, which has its roots in the work of Edward L. Thorndike, was popularized in the U.S. by theorists of behaviourism, including B.F. Skinner. Behaviour-therapy tech� niques are based on the principle of operant conditioning, in which desired behaviours are rewarded. There is little or no concern for conscious expe� rience or unconscious processes. Such techniques have been applied with some success to disturbances such as enuresis, tics, phobias, stuttering, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and various neuroses. Behaviour modification more generally refers to the application of reinforcement techniques for shaping individual behaviour toward some desired end or for controlling behaviour in classrooms or institutional situations. See also psychotherapy.

behaviourism Highly influential academic school of psychology that dominated psychological theory in the U.S. between World War I and World War 11. Classical behaviourism concerned itself exclusively with the objective evidence of behaviour (measured responses to stimuli) and excluded ideas, emotions, and inner mental experience (see conditioning). It emerged in the 1920s from the work of John B. Watson (who borrowed from Ivan Pavlov) and was developed in subsequent decades by Clark L. Hull and B.F. Skinner. Through the work of Edward C. Tolman, strict behav� iourist doctrines began to be supplemented or replaced by those admit� ting such variables as reported mental states and differences in perception. A natural outgrowth of behaviourist theory was behaviour therapy.

Behn Vban\, Aphra (b. July 1640, Harbledown?, Kent, Eng.�d. April 16, 1689, London) English dramatist, novelist, and poet, the first English� woman known to earn her living by writing. Her early life is obscure (as is her original surname), but she spent most of it in South America. She mar� ried a merchant named Behn in 1658; he died in the mid 1660s. Her novel Oroonoko (1688), the story of an enslaved African prince whom Behn knew in South America, influenced the development of the English novel. Her first play. The Fore �d Marriage, was produced in 1671; her later witty comedies, such as the two-part The Rover (1677, 1681), were highly suc� cessful, and toward the end of her life she wrote many popular novels.

Behrens \'ba-rens\, Peter (b. April 14, 1868, Hamburg�d. Feb. 27, 1940, Berlin, Ger.) German architect and designer. He became director of Diisseldorf�s arts and crafts school in 1903. The large electrical company AEG hired him in 1907 as its artis� tic adviser, a comprehensive job that led him to design the hexagonal trademark of the AEG, its catalogs, its office stationery, products such as electric fans and street lamps, and retail shops and factories. His AEG Works turbine factory in Berlin (1909-12), with its sweeping glass curtain wall, became the most sig� nificant building in Germany at that time. He was an influential pioneer of Modernism; Walter Gropius, Le Corbusier, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe all worked in his office.

Behrman Vber-monX, S(amuel)

N(athaniel) (b. June 9, 1893,

Worcester, Mass., U.S.�d. Sept. 9, 1973, New York, N.Y.) U.S. play� wright. He contributed to New York newspapers and magazines and stud�

ied drama at Harvard University. His successful first play, the light comedy The Second Man (1927), was followed by the popular Meteor (1929), Brief Moment (1931), and Biography (1932). His more serious plays include Rain from Heaven (1934) and No Time for Comedy (1939). Noted for addressing complex social and moral issues, he wrote over 25 comedies in his 40-year career, and nearly every one was a hit.

Beiderbecke Vbl-dsr-.bekV (Leon) Bix (b. March 10, 1903, Daven� port, Iowa, U.S.�d. Aug. 6, 1931,

Long Island, N.Y.) U.S. jazz comet- ist and composer. Beiderbecke developed a style independent of the influence of Louis Armstrong and became the leading player of the Chicago style of jazz in the 1920s.

He was noted for his gentle, clear tone and introspective approach. His interest in the harmonies of compos� ers such as Claude Debussy was reflected in both his playing and his compositions. With saxophonist Frankie Trumbauer, Beiderbecke worked in the bands of Jean Gold- kette and Paul Whiteman. His alco� holism and early death contributed to his status as one of the early roman� tic legends of jazz.

Beijing \'ba-'jiq\ or Pei-ching

conventional Peking Vpe-'kiqV/or- merly (1928-49) Beiping Vba-'piqV City, municipality with provincial status (pop., 2003 est.: city, 7,699,300; 2002 est.: municipality, 14,230,000), and capital of China. The munici� pality is bordered by Hebei province and Tianjin municipality and has an area of 6,500 sq mi (16,800 sq km). Lying on a broad plain in northeast� ern China, the city has been settled since ancient times and has been known by various names. It became the royal residence of Kublai Khan, who in 1272 named it Dadu. It was chosen as the capital of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) in 1421, which it remained during the Qing dynasty (1644�1911/12). It suffered heavy damage when it was occupied by Euro� pean forces in 1860 and 1900 (see Boxer Rebellion). In 1928 the capital was moved to Nanjing, and the name Beiping (Pei-p�ing) was given to the former capital. Nearby, in 1937, the Marco Polo Bridge Incident took place. Beijing�s capital status and its former name were restored follow� ing the communist victory in 1949. It is China�s cultural and educational centre. The old Forbidden City contains the former imperial palace, desig� nated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. Abutting it is Tiananmen Square, one of the world�s largest public squares. Beijing�s 15th-century walls were partly demolished in the Cultural Revolution. In 2001 the city was selected as the site for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games.

Beijing University See Peking University

Beilstein Vbll-.shtlnV, Friedrich Konrad (b. Feb. 17, 1838, St. Petersburg, Russia�d. Oct. 18, 1906, St. Petersburg) Russian chemist. From 1866 to his retirement he taught at St. Petersburg�s Technical Insti� tute. His Handbuch der organischen Chemie (�Handbook of Organic Chemistry�; 1st ed., 1880-83) fully described 15,000 organic compounds. The fourth edition (27 vol., 1937) is periodically supplemented, and remains indispensable for workers in organic chemistry.

Beira Vba-rg\ Coastal city (pop., 1997: 412,588), central Mozambique. Situated on the Mozambique Channel at the mouths of the Pungoe and Buzi rivers, it is the chief port for central Mozambique and for landlocked Zimbabwe and Malawi. Founded in 1891 as a trading company�s head� quarters, it passed to Portuguese administration in 1942 and then to inde� pendent Mozambique in 1975. It is the terminus of railways from South Africa, Zimbabwe, Congo (Kinshasa), Zambia, and Malawi.

Beirut \ba-'rut\ City (pop., 1998 est.: metro, area, 1,500,000), capital of Lebanon. The country�s chief port and largest city, it lies at the foot of the Lebanon Mountains. Initially settled by the Phoenicians, it gained promi� nence under Roman rule in the 1st century bc. It was captured by the Arabs in ad 635. Christian Crusaders held Beirut (1110-1291), after which it was dominated by the Mamluk dynasty. In 1517 it fell under the control of the Ottoman Empire. Under a French mandate, it became the capital of the new state of Lebanon in 1920 and capital of an independent Lebanon

Behrens, painting by Max Liebermann.

ARCHIV FUR KUNST UND GESCHICHTE, BERUN

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Bejart ► Belasco I 191

in 1943. It went on to flourish as the chief banking hub and a major cul� tural centre of the Middle East. It was severely damaged during the Leba� nese Civil War (1975-91) and during fighting between Israeli forces and those of the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1982. The city slowly began to rebuild after the end of the civil war.

Bejart \ba-'zhar\, Maurice orig. Maurice Jean Berger (b. Jan. 1, 1927, Marseille, Fr.) French-bom Belgian dancer, choreographer, and opera director. He studied in Paris, then toured with various companies before founding his own, Les Ballets de l�Etoile (later Ballet Theatre de Maurice Bejart), in Paris in 1954. In 1959 it moved to Brussels; renamed the Ballet of the 20th Century, it became one of the world�s foremost troupes. His productions have been noted for reworking tradition in unusual and often controversial ways. Since 1961 he has also worked in opera, staging Tales of Hoffmann and Berlioz�s Damnation of Faust , among other works. In 1987 the company moved to Switzerland and took the new name Bejart Ballet Lausanne.

Bejart \ba-'zhar\ family Seventeenth-century French theatrical family. Brothers Joseph (c. 1617-59) and Louis (1630-78) and their sisters Madeleine (1618-72) and Genevieve (c. 1622-75) were members of a traveling company directed by Madeleine. They joined Moliere�s first company, the Illustre Theatre, in 1643 and created many parts in his plays. Madeleine�s sister, or possibly daughter, Armande Bejart (1642-1700), joined the company in 1653. She married Moliere in 1662 and played most of his heroines. After his death, she led the company until it merged with another troupe to become the Comedie-Francaise in 1680.

Bekesy \'ba-,ka-she\, Georg von (b. June 3, 1899, Budapest, Hung.�d. June 13, 1972, Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.) Hungarian-born U.S. physicist and physiologist. He immigrated to the U.S. in 1947 and taught at Harvard University in 1947-66. He discovered that sound vibrations travel along a membrane in the cochlea in waves, peaking at different places, where nerve receptors determine pitch and loudness. His research resulted in greatly expanded understanding of the hearing process, partly through instrumentation Bekesy had helped design, and the differentia� tion of forms of deafness, which permitted the selection of proper treat� ment. He received a 1961 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine.

Bekhterev Vbyak-tir-yif\, Vladimir (Mikhaylovich) (b. Feb. 1, 1857, Sorali, Vyatka, Russia�d. Dec. 24, 1927, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.) Russian neurophysiologist and psychiatrist. A competitor of Ivan Pavlov, Bekhterev independently developed a theory of conditioned reflexes. His most lasting work was in brain structure research and descriptions of nervous symptoms and illnesses. He discovered the supe� rior vestibular nucleus (Bekhterev nucleus) and other brain formations and described spinal numbness (spondylitis deformans, or Bekhterev disease) and other diseases. He founded the first Russian journal on nervous dis� eases. His approach to the study of behaviour influenced the growing movement toward behaviourism in the U.S.

Bel Akkadian god of the atmosphere and member of a triad including Anu (An) and Ea (Enki). His Sumerian counterpart was Enlil. His breath brought both severe storms and gentle spring winds. He was the god of agriculture and as such was more important than the high god Anu. As Bel he was known as the god of order and destiny. As Enlil, he was ban� ished to the underworld for raping his consort Ninlil (Belit), in a myth that explains the cycle of the seasons.

Bel See Marduk

Belafonte V.bel-o-'fan-taV Harry orig. Harold George Belafonte, Jr, (b. March 1, 1927, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. singer, actor, and producer. He was born to immigrants from Martinique and Jamaica, and he lived with his mother in Jamaica from 1935 to 1940. In the early 1950s he initiated a fad for calypso music with songs such as �Day-O (Banana Boat Song)� and �Jamaica Farewell.� He starred in the films Carmen Jones (1954) and Island in the Sun (1957) and later became the first black television producer. In the 1960s and �70s he was a promi� nent civil-rights activist. From the 1970s onward his singing career was a secondary occupation, and he acted in films such as Uptown Saturday Night (1974) and Kansas City (1996).

Belarus Country, eastern Europe. Area: 80,200 sq mi (207,600 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 9,776,000. Capital: Minsk. The population is mainly Belarusian, with Russian and Ukrainian minorities. Languages: Belarusian, Russian (both official). Religion: Christianity (predominantly Eastern Orthodox; also Roman Catholic). Currency: rubel. The northern

part of the country is crossed by the West� ern Dvina (Dzvina) River; the Dnieper (Dnyapro) flows through eastern Belarus; the south has extensive marshy areas along the Pripet (Prypyats�) River; the upper course of the Neman (Nyoman) flows in the west; and the Bug (Buh) forms part of the boundary with Poland in the southwest. The chief cities, in addition to Minsk, are Homyel, Mahilyow, and Vitsyebsk. Agriculture, once the linchpin of the Belarusian economy, has diminished in importance, while manufacturing and the service sector have grown. Belarus is a republic with two legislative houses; its president is head of state and government. Although Belarusians share a distinct identity and language, they never previously enjoyed political sovereignty. The territory that is now Belarus underwent partition and changed hands often; as a result, its history is entwined with its neighbours�. In medieval times the region was ruled by Lithuanians and Poles. Following the Third Partition of Poland, Belarus was ruled by Russia. After World War I the western part was assigned to Poland, and the eastern part became Soviet territory. After World War II the Soviets expanded what had been the Belorussian S.S.R. by annexing more of Poland. Much of the area suffered radioactive con� tamination from the Chernobyl accident in 1986, which forced many to evacuate. Belarus declared its independence in 1991 and later joined the Commonwealth of Independent States. Amid increasing political turmoil in the 1990s, it moved toward closer union with Russia but continued to struggle economically and politically at the start of the 21st century.

Belarusian X.bya-b-'rU-se-onV language or Belarusan

\ l bya-b- , riis-3n\ language East Slavic language of Belarus, spoken by some 10.2 million people worldwide. Belarusian features begin to appear in Church Slavonic manuscripts from the 14th century (see Old Church Slavonic language). The chancery language of the grand duchy of Lithua� nia, used in the 15th�16th centuries, contains a substantial Belarusian ele� ment, mixed with Church Slavonic, Ukrainian, and Polish. Belarusian was not fully elaborated as a modern literary language until the early 20th century, when orthographic norms for writing it in Cyrillic were estab� lished. It has long struggled to maintain itself against Russian, particularly in Belarusian urban centres, where there is a high degree of Russification and Belarusian-Russian bilingualism.

Belasco \b9-'las-ko\, David (b. July 25, 1853, San Francisco, Calif., U.S.�d. May 14, 1931, New York, N.Y.) U.S. theatrical producer and playwright. He acted with traveling companies before becoming a theatre manager, first in San Francisco and later in New York City (from 1880). An independent producer from 1890, he built his own theatre in 1906; there he introduced changes in stage lighting, used realistic scenery, and demanded high production standards. He successfully fought against the

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192 I Belau ► Belgrade

monopolistic Theatrical Syndicate. He wrote or collaborated on numer� ous plays, including Madame Butterfly (1900) and The Girl of the Golden West (1905), which were made into operas by the Italian composer Gia� como Puccini.

Belau See Palau

Belem \be-'lem\ City (pop., 2000 prelim.: metro, area , 1,271,615), northern Brazil. The capital of Para state, the port of Belem lies on the Para River in the vast Amazon River delta 90 mi (145 km) from the Atlan� tic Ocean. It began in 1616 as a fortified settlement; as it gradually became established, it helped consolidate Portuguese supremacy in northern Bra� zil. It was made the state capital in 1772. It enjoyed prosperity in the late 19th century as the main exporting centre of the Amazon rubber indus� try. After the rubber era ended in 1912, it continued to be northern Bra� zil�s commercial centre and a main port for Amazon River craft.

belemnoid Vbel-om-.noidX or belemnite Member of an extinct group of cephalopods, possessing a large internal shell, that first appeared c.

345 million years ago, in the Early Carboniferous Period, and became extinct during the Eocene Epoch, which ended c. 36.6 million years ago. The internal shell of most spe� cies is straight, but that of some spe� cies is loosely coiled. The shell served for support and muscle attachment and enabled the animal to compensate for depth and its own body weight. See also ammonoid.

Belfast District, seaport, and capi� tal (pop., 1999 est.: 297,200) of Northern Ireland. On the River Lagan, the site was occupied in the Stone and Bronze ages, and the remains of Iron Age forts can still be seen. Bel� fast�s modern history began in the early 17th century when Sir Arthur Chichester developed a plan for colonizing the area with English and Scottish settlers. Having survived the Irish insurrection of 1641, the town grew in economic importance, especially after a large immigration of French Huguenots arrived after the rescinding of the Edict of Nantes (1685) and strengthened the linen trade. It became a centre of Irish Prot� estantism, setting the stage for sectarian conflict in the 19th-20th centu� ries. Fighting was renewed in the 1960s and did not subside until a peace agreement was reached in 1998. The city is Northern Ireland�s educational and commercial hub.

belfry Bell tower, either freestanding or attached to another structure. More particularly it refers to the room, usually at the top of such a tower, where the bells and their supporting timberwork are hung. The belfry is a prominent feature of Belgian Gothic architecture, especially in Flanders. The Halles (Market Hall) and belfry in Brugge (late 13th century) is a typical example. The term derives from the medieval siege tower ( ber- frei), a tall wooden structure that could be rolled up to a fortification wall so that the warriors hidden inside could storm the battlements.

Belgae \'bel-,gi\ Inhabitants of Gaul north of the Sequana (Seine) and Matrona (Marne) rivers. The term was apparently first applied by Julius Caesar, whose Gallic victories (54-51 bc) sent many Belgae into Britain, where they formed kingdoms, the most important of which were at Cam- ulodunum (Colchester), Verulamium (St. Albans), and Calleva Atrebatum (Silchester).

Belgian Congo See Democratic Republic of the Congo

Belgica Vbel-ji-koX Ancient country, northeastern Gallia (Gaul). One of the administrative areas into which Augustus divided Gaul, it stretched from the Seine River to the Rhine and included the Low Countries. Its capi� tal was Durocortorum Remorum (now Reims). Part of the area became Germania Inferior and Germania Superior under Domitian, and later, under Diocletian, the remainder was divided into Belgica Prima and Belgica Secunda. In the 5th century ad, Belgica was absorbed by the Franks. See also Belgium.

Belgium officially Kingdom of Belgium Country, northwestern Europe. Area: 11,787 sq mi (30,528 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 10,432,000. Capital: Brussels. The population consists mostly of Flemings and Walloons. The Flemings, more than half of the population, speak

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� 2002 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

BELGIUM

Flemish (Dutch) and live in the northern half of the country; the Walloons, about one-third of the population, speak French and inhabit the southern half. Languages: Dutch, French, German (all official). Reli� gions: Christianity (predominantly Roman Catholic); also Islam. Cur� rency: euro. Belgium can be divided into several geographic regions. The southeast consists of the forested Ardennes highland, which extends south of the Meuse River valley and includes Belgium�s highest point, Mount Botrange (2,277 ft [694 m]). Middle Belgium is a fertile region crossed by tributaries of the Schelde River. Lower Belgium comprises the flat plains of Flanders in the northwest with their many canals. Maritime Flanders borders the North Sea and is agriculturally prosperous; the chief North Sea port is Ostende, but Antwerp, near the mouth of the Schelde, handles more trade. Belgium has minimal natural resources, so the manufacture of goods from imported raw materials plays a major role in the economy, and the country is highly industrialized. It is a monarchy with a parlia� ment composed of two legislative houses; the chief of state is the mon� arch, and the head of government is the prime minister. Inhabited in ancient times by the Belgae, a Celtic people, the area was conquered by Julius Caesar in 57 bc; under Augustus it became the Roman province of Belgica. Conquered by the Franks, it later broke up into semi-independent territories, including Brabant and Luxembourg. By the late 15th century the territories of the Netherlands, of which the future Belgium was a part, gradually united and passed to the Habsburgs. In the 16th century it was a centre for European commerce. The basis of modern Belgium was laid in the southern Catholic provinces that split from the northern provinces after the Union of Utrecht in 1579 (see The Netherlands). Overrun by the French and incorporated into France in 1801, the area was reunited with Holland and with it became the independent Kingdom of The Netherlands in 1815. After the revolt of its citizens in 1830, it became the indepen� dent Kingdom of Belgium. Under Leopold II it acquired vast lands in Africa. Overrun by the Germans in World Wars I and II, it was the scene of the Battle of the Bulge (1944-45). Internal discord led to legislation in the 1970s and �80s that created three nearly autonomous regions in accor� dance with language distribution: Flemish Flanders, French Wallonia, and bilingual Brussels. In 1993 Belgium became a federation comprising the three regions, which gained greater autonomy at the outset of the 21st century. It is a member of the European Union.

Belgrade Serbian Beograd \ba-'6-,grad\ City (pop., 2002: 1,120,092), capital of the republic of Serbia and administrative centre of Serbia and Montenegro. Lying at the juncture of the Danube and Sava riv� ers, it is one of the Balkans� most important commercial and transporta� tion centres. Inhabited by Celts in the 4th century bc, it was later taken by the Romans and named Singidunum. It was destroyed by Huns in the

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Belgrade ► bell I 193

5th century. In the 11th century it became a frontier town of Byzantium and in the 13th century came under the rule of Serbia. The Ottoman Empire besieged the city in the 15th century, and the forces of SOleyman I finally took it in 1521; it was held almost continuously by the Turks into the 19th century. It became the capital of the kingdom of Serbia in 1867 and, after World War I, of the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (renamed Yugoslavia in 1929). It suffered severely under Nazi occupation (1941�44). It was damaged by NATO bombers in the Kosovo conflict (1999). Yugoslavia underwent many border changes in the 20th century and was renamed Serbia and Montenegro in 2003.

Belgrade, Peace of (1739) Either of two peace settlements that ended the Ottoman empire�s four-year war with Russia and its two-year war with Austria. In 1735 Russia had attempted to establish itself on the northern Black Sea. Austria entered the war as Russia�s ally in 1737, but military failures prompted it to make a separate peace in September 1739, ceding northern Serbia (including Belgrade) and Little Walachia to the Ottomans. With Austria�s defection, the Russians had to make a disappointing peace that same month. Under its terms, Russia could not have warships on the Black Sea and had to depend on Ottoman shipping for its Black Sea com� merce.

Belhadj \bel-'haj\, Ali also spelled �All Bel Hajj (b. c. 1956, Tunisia) Deputy leader of the Islamic Salvation Front (FIS), an Algerian political party. Bom to Algerian parents, he became a high-school teacher and an imam. He and the more moderate Abbasi al-Madani registered FIS as a political party in 1989. In 1990 FIS won a majority of votes in local elec� tions; in 1991 the Algerian government announced martial law and impris� oned Belhadj and al-Madani. In 1994 Belhadj was transferred to house arrest.

Belidor \ba-le-'dor\, Bernard Forest de (b. 1698, Catalonia, Spain�d. Sept. 8, 1761, Paris, France) French military and civil engi� neer. After serving in the French army, he worked on measuring an arc of the Earth. As professor of artillery at a French military school, he wrote notable books on engineering, artillery, ballistics, and fortifications, but his fame rests primarily on his classic Architecture hydraulique (4 vol., 1737-53), covering engineering mechanics, mills and waterwheels, pumps, harbours, and sea works.

Belinsky \by9l-'yen-ske\, Vissarion (Grigoryevich) (b. May 30,

1811, Sveaborg, Fin., Russian Empire�d. May 26, 1848, St. Petersburg, Russia) Russian literary critic. Expelled from the University of Moscow in 1832, he worked as a journalist, making his reputation with critical articles that expounded nationalist doctrine. His argument that literature should express political and social ideas had a major impact on Soviet literary criticism, and he was often called the father of the Russian radi� cal intelligentsia.

Belisarius (b. c. 505, Germania, Illyria?�d. March 565) Byzantine general. While serving in the bodyguard of Emperor Justinian I, he was appointed (c. 525) to command in the eastern armies, and he defeated the Persians in the Battle of Dara (530). In 532 Belisarius further gained Jus� tinian�s confidence by commanding the troops that ended the Nika Insur� rection that nearly toppled the emperor. He led expeditions to overthrow the Vandals in North Africa (533) and regain Sicily and southern Italy from the Ostrogoths (535-537), defending Rome (537-538). He was offered a kingship by the Goths, which caused Justinian to recall him in disfavour. He was sent again to Rome (544-548) but with inadequate forces, and he was replaced by Narses in 548. Still loyal to Justinian, he was recalled in 559 to repel Hun invaders.

Belit \'ba-lit\ Akkadian goddess of destiny, consort of Bel, and mother of the moon god. Sin. Her Sumerian counterpart was Ninlil. Assyrians some� times identified her with Ishtar. Ninlil was a grain goddess, and the story of her rape by Enlil, the Lord of the Wind, reflects the seasonal cycle of pollination, ripening, and withering.

Belitung See Billiton

Beliveau \'bel-i-vo\, Jean (Marc A.) (b. Aug. 31, 1931, Trois- Rivieres, Que., Can.) Canadian ice-hockey centre. He played for the Mon� treal Canadiens from 1953 to 1971. His career record of 79 goals and 176 points made during play-off games, including 17 Stanley Cup champion� ships, stood until 1987.

Belize \bo-Tez \ formerly (1840-1973) British Honduras Country, Central America. Area: 8,867 sq mi (22,965 sq km). Population (2005

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est.): 291,000. Capital: Belmopan. Most Belizeans are of mixed ancestry (Indian- European, African-European), with smaller groups of Maya Indians and Gari- funa. Languages: English (official), Cre� ole, Spanish. Religion: Christianity (Roman Catholic, Protestant). Currency: Belize dollar. The country is bounded to the north by Mexico, to the east by the Caribbean Sea, and to the west and south by Guatemala. Belize is a land of mountains, swamps, and tropical jungles. The north� ern half consists of swampy lowlands drained by the Belize and Hondo rivers; the latter forms the boundary with Mexico. The southern half is more mountainous and contains the country�s highest point, Victoria Peak (3,681 ft [1,122 m]). Off the coast lies Belize Barrier Reef, the world�s second largest barrier reef. Belize is relatively prosperous and has a devel� oping free-market economy with some government participation. It is a constitutional monarchy with two legislative houses; its head of state is the British monarch represented by a governor-general, and the head of government is the prime minister. The area was inhabited by the Maya (c. 300 bc-ad 900); the ruins of their ceremonial centres, including Car- acol and Xunantunich, can still be seen. The Spanish claimed sovereignty from the 16th century but never tried to settle Belize, though they regarded the British who did as interlopers. British loggers arrived in the mid-17th century; Spanish opposition was finally overcome in 1798. When settlers began to penetrate the interior, they met with Indian resistance. In 1871 British Honduras became a crown colony, but an unfulfilled provision of an 1859 British-Guatemalan treaty led Guatemala to claim the territory. The situation had not been resolved when Belize was granted its inde� pendence in 1981. Although Guatemala officially recognized the territo� ry�s independence in 1991, a British force, stationed there to ensure the new country�s security, was not withdrawn until 1994.

Belize City City (pop., 2000: 49,050), Belize. The chief seaport and former capital of Belize, it lies at the mouth of the Belize River, which was until the 10th century a heavily populated trade artery of the Maya empire. The British settled the area in the 17th century. The city, built on ground only slightly above sea level, has been ravaged by hurricanes, so the capital was moved inland to Belmopan in 1970.

bell Hollow vessel, usually of metal, that produces a ringing sound when struck by an interior clapper or a mallet. In the West, open bells have acquired a standard �tulip� shape. Though the vibrational patterns of such open bells are basically nonharmonic, they can be tuned so that the lower overtones produce a recognizable chord. Forged bells have existed for many thousands of years. Bells were first cast, or founded, in the Bronze Age; the Chinese were the first master founders. Bells have carried a wide range of cultural meanings. They are particularly important in religious

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194 I Bell ► Belle Isle

ritual in East and South Asia. In Christianity, especially Russian Ortho� doxy, bells have also been used ritually. They have tolled the hours from monastery and church steeples, originally to govern monastic routine and later also to fill a similar role for the secular world.

Bell, Alexander Graham (b. March 3, 1847, Edinburgh, Scot.�d. Aug. 2, 1922, Beinn Bhreagh, Nova Scotia, Can.) Scottish-born U.S. audiologist and inventor. He moved to the U.S. in 1871 to teach the visible-speech system developed by his father, Alexander Melville Bell (1819-1905). He opened his own school in Boston for training teach� ers of the deaf (1872) and was influ� ential in disseminating these methods. In 1876 he became the first person to transmit intelligible words through electric wire (�Watson, come here, I want you,� spoken to his assistant Thomas Watson). He patented the telephone the same year, and in 1877 he cofounded Bell Tele� phone Co. With the proceeds from France�s Volta Prize, he founded Volta Laboratory in Washington,

D.C., in 1880. His experiments there led to the invention of the photo� phone (which transmitted speech by light rays), the audiometer (which measured acuteness of hearing), the Graphophone (an early practical sound recorder), and working wax recording media, both flat and cylindrical, for the Graphophone. He was chiefly responsible for founding the journal Science, founded the Ameri� can Association to Promote Teaching of Speech to the Deaf (1890), and continued his significant research on deafness throughout his life.

Bell, (Arthur) Clive (Heward) (b. Sept. 16, 1881, East Shefford, Berkshire, Eng.�d. Sept. 17, 1964, London) British art critic. He stud� ied at Cambridge University and in Paris. In 1907 he married Vanessa Stephen, sister of Virginia Woolf; with Virginia�s husband, Leonard Woolf, and Roger Fry, they formed the core of the Bloomsbury group. Bell�s most important aesthetic ideas were published in Art (1914) and Since Cezanne (1922), in which he promoted his theory of �significant form� (the quality that distinguishes works of art from all other objects). His assertion that art appreciation involves an emotional response to purely formal qualities, independent of subject matter, was influential for several decades.

Bell, Cool Papa orig. James Thomas Bell (b. May 17, 1903, Starkville, Miss., U.S.�d. March 7, 1991, St. Louis, Mo.) U.S. baseball player. Bell was a switch-hitting outfielder for most of his career. Play� ing primarily in the Negro leagues, he is said to have stolen 175 bases in a 200-game season and is reputed to have been the fastest base runner of all time. Also a fine hitter, he once batted .391 over a five-year period. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.

Bell, Gertrude (b. July 14, 1868, Washington Hall, Durham, Eng.�d. July 12, 1926, Baghdad, Iraq) British traveler, writer, and colonial admin� istrator. After graduating from Oxford, she journeyed throughout the Middle East. After World War I she wrote a well-received report on the administration of Mesopotamia between the end of the war (1918) and the Iraqi rebellion of 1920 and later helped determine postwar boundaries. In 1921 she helped place a son of the sharif of Mecca, Faysal I, on the Iraqi throne. In helping create the National Museum of Iraq, she promoted the idea that excavated antiquities should stay in their country of origin.

Bell, John (b. Feb. 15, 1797, near Nashville, Tenn., U.S.�d. Sept. 10, 1869, Dover, Tenn.) U.S. politician. He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives (1827-41) and Senate (1847-59). Although a large slaveholder, he opposed efforts to expand slavery to U.S. territories and voted against admitting Kansas as a slave state. His defense of the Union brought him the 1860 nomination for president on the Constitu� tional Union ticket, but he carried only three states. He later supported the South in the American Civil War.

Bell Burnell, (Susan) Jocelyn orig. Susan Jocelyn Bell (b. July 15, 1943, Belfast, N.Ire.) British astronomer. As a research assistant at the

University of Cambridge, she assisted in constructing a large radio tele� scope and discovered pulsars, cosmic sources of peculiar radio pulses, providing the first direct evidence for the existence of rapidly spinning neutron stars. The 1974 Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded for the dis� covery of pulsars to Antony Hewish (her adviser) and Martin Ryle, spark� ing a controversy over the omission of Bell Burnell. She subsequently became a professor at Open University and vice president of the Royal Astronomical Society.

bell curve See normal distribution

Bell Laboratories U.S. research and development company (founded 1925) that develops telecommunications equipment and carries out defense-related research. Formerly part of AT&T, it now belongs to Lucent Technologies, Inc., which spun off from AT&T in 1996. Bell Labs has produced thousands of inventions, including the first synchronous- sound motion-picture system, the electrical-relay digital computer, the laser, the solar cell, UNIX, and the C and C++ programming languages. Several Bell researchers have won Nobel Prizes: Clinton Davisson, for demon� strating the wave nature of matter; John Bardeen, Walter H. Brattain, and William B. Shockley, for inventing the transistor; and Arno Penzias and Robert W. Wilson, for discovering cosmic microwave background radia� tion. It operates today in some 20 countries.

Bell palsy See paralysis

bell ringing See change ringing

Bella, Ahmed Ben See Ahmed Ben Bella

belladonna Tall, bushy, herbaceous plant, the deadly nightshade {Atropa belladonna), of the nightshade family; also, the crude drug con� sisting of its dried leaves or roots. The plant is a native of wooded or waste areas in central and southern Eurasia. It has dull green leaves, vio� let or greenish flowers, shiny black berries about the size of cherries, and a large, tapering root. Belladonna is highly poisonous and is cultivated for medicinal substances (alkaloids) that are derived from the crude drug and used in sedatives, stimulants, and antispasmodics. Because of toxic� ity and undesirable side effects, however, these substances are being replaced by synthetic drugs.

Bellamy Vbel-o-meX, Edward (b. March 26, 1850, Chicopee Falls, Mass., U.S.�d. May 22, 1898, Chi� copee Falls) U.S. writer. Bellamy first became aware of the plight of the urban poor at age 18 while study� ing in Germany. He engaged throughout his life in progressive causes and wrote several books reflecting his concerns, but he is known chiefly for his utopian novel Looking Backward (1888), which describes the U.S. in the year 2000 as an ideal socialist state featuring cooperation, brotherhood, and indus� try geared to human need. It sold more than a million copies; a sequel,

Equality (1897), was less successful.

Bellarmine Vbel-.ar-monX, Saint Robert Italian Roberto Fran� cesco Romolo Bellarmino (b.

Oct. 4, 1542, Monrepulciano,

Tuscany�d. Sept. 17, 1621, Rome; canonized 1930; feast day September 17) Italian cardinal and theologian. He joined the Jesuits in 1560, and after ordination in the Spanish Neth� erlands (1570) he began to teach theology. He was made a cardinal in 1599 and an archbishop in 1602. He took a prominent part in the first examination of Galileo�s writings; though somewhat sympathetic to Gali� leo, he thought it best to have the Copernican system declared �false and erroneous,� which was done in 1616. He gave impartial attention to Prot� estant works and was regarded as an enlightened theologian. He died a pauper, having given all his funds to the poor. In 1931 he was named a Doctor of the Church.

Belle Isle, Strait of Channel, eastern Canada. The northern entrance from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, it is 90 mi (145 km) long and 10-20 mi (16-32 km) wide. It flows between the northern tip

Alexander Graham Bell.

CULVER PICTURES

March 26, 1850, Chicopee Falls,

Bellamy

COURTESY OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON, D.C.

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Bellerophon ► Belmondo I 195

of Newfoundland and southeastern Labrador and is the most direct route from the Saint Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes ports to Europe. The cold Labrador Current flows through the strait, extending the period of ice cover and limiting shipping to between June and late November.

Bellerophon \b3-'ler-3-f3n\ Legendary Greek hero. The son of Glau- cus and grandson of Sisyphus, as a youth in Corinth he tamed and rode the winged horse Pegasus. The wife of King Proteus of Argos fell in love with him, and when he rejected her, she falsely accused him of attempted rape. Proteus sent him to the king of Lycia with a message asking that he be killed. The king instead ordered him to kill the monster Chimera, and with the aid of Pegasus he succeeded. He married the king�s daughter but later lost the favour of the gods and became an unhappy wanderer. Another version of the legend holds that he tried to fly up to heaven and was thrown from Pegasus and lamed.

bellflower Any of about 300 annual, perennial, and biennial herba� ceous plants of the genus Campan� ula (family Campanulaceae) that bear bell-shaped, usually blue flow� ers. They are native mainly to north� ern temperate regions in both hemispheres, Mediterranean areas, and tropical mountains. Distribution and habitat may be quite diverse.

Species native to northern Eurasia and eastern North America but also grown in gardens are the bluebell (C. rotundifolia) and the tall bellflower (C. americana). The creeping bell� flower (C. rapunculoides) is a noto� rious garden weed. Among the few food plants in the bellflower family, which includes a total of 40 genera and 700 species, are the rampion (C. rapunculus), eaten as a vegetable in parts of Europe, and some robust members�especially Canarina, Clermontia, and Centropogon �that pro� duce edible berries.

Bellini, Vincenzo (b. Nov. 3, 1801, Catania, Sicily�d. Sept. 23, 1835, Puteaux, France) Italian composer. Born into a musical family, he was educated at the Naples Conservatory. He wrote his first opera at age 24 and went on to complete nine more before his death at age 33. The most famous are The Pirate (1827), The Capulets and the Montagues (1830), The Sleepwalker (1831), Norma (1831), and The Puritans (1835). His works, which rely strongly on beautiful vocal melody ( hel canto), rivaled those of his contemporaries Gioacchino Rossini and Gaetano Donizetti in popularity.

Bellini \bal-'le-ne\ family Family of Italian artists. Jacopo Bellini (c. 1400-70/71) was trained under Gentile da Fabriano, and by c. 1440 he had a thriving studio in Venice. More important than his paintings are his two surviving sketchbooks, which contain nearly 300 drawings. He was the father-in-law of Andrea Mantegna. His son Gentile Bellini (c. 1429-1507) inherited his father�s sketchbooks and took over as head of the studio. His most important extant works are two huge canvases. Procession of the Relic of the True Cross (1496) and Miracle at the Bridge of San Lorenzo (1500), depicting scenes of contemporary Venetian life. Gentile�s brother Giovanni Bellini (called Giambellino, c. 1430-1516) was the greatest and most prolific artist of the family. He transformed Venice into a Renais� sance centre rivaling Florence and Rome. Giovanni was an early master of oil painting. Primarily a religious painter, he also excelled at portraits, of which Doge Leonardo Loredan (c. 1501) is his best known. Titian and Giorgione were probably trained in his workshop. See also Venetian school.

Belloc \'bel-,ak\, (Joseph-Pierre) Hilaire (b. July 27, 1870, La Celle-Saint-Cloud, France�d. July 16, 1953, Guildford, Surrey, Eng.) French-born British poet, historian, Catholic apologist, and essayist. A highly versatile writer, he is best remembered for his light verse, particu� larly for children, and for his lucid and graceful essays. His works include Verses and Sonnets (1895), The Bad Child�s Book of Beasts (1896), The Modern Traveller (1898), Mr. Burden (1904), and Cautionary Tales (1907). He also wrote several historical works, including a four-volume History of England (1925-31).

Bellotto \bel-'lot-to\, Bernardo known as Canaletto (b. Jan. 30, 1720, Venice�d. Oct. 17, 1780, Warsaw, Pol.) Italian painter of topo� graphical views, known as vedute (�view paintings�). He was the nephew

of Canaletto and was himself known by that name when painting outside Italy. In 1747 he left Italy to spend the rest of his life working at various European courts, most notably at Dresden for Frederick Augustus II (1747-66) and at Warsaw for Stanislaw II (1767-80). His detailed views of the Polish capital were used as guides to reconstruct the historic sec� tions of the city after their destruction in World War II. Bellotto�s style is distinguishable from his uncle�s by its Dutch characteristics (e.g., cast shadows, massed clouds, sombre tone and colour).

Bellow, Saul (b. June 10, 1915, Lachine, near Montreal, Que., Can.�d. April 5, 2005, Brookline, Mass., U.S.) Canadian-born U.S. novelist. Bom to an immigrant Russian Jewish family, he was fluent in Yiddish from childhood. His family moved to Chicago when he was nine; he grew up and attended college there and, after some years in New York, returned to teach in Chicago. His works, which make him representative of the Jewish American writers whose works became central to American lit� erature after World War II, deal with the modern urban dweller, disaf� fected by society but not destroyed in spirit; his originality lay partly in his combination of cultural sophistication and street wisdom. His works include The Adventures of Augie March (1953, National Book Award), Seize the Day (1956), Henderson the Rain King (1959), Herzog (1964, National Book Award), Mr. Sammler�s Planet (1970, National Book Award), Humboldt�s Gift (1975, Pulitzer Prize), The Dean�s December (1982), and Ravelstein (2000). He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in

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COURTESY OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM; PHOTOGRAPH, J.R. FREEMAN & CO. LTD.

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Bhaskara I ► Bhutto I 213

Bhaskara I (fl. c. 629, possibly Valabhi, India) Indian astronomer and mathematician. His fame rests on three treatises he composed on the works of Aryabhata I (b. 476). Two of these, known today as Mahab- haskariya (�Great Book of Bhaskara�) and Laghubhaskariya (�Small Book of Bhaskara�), are astronomical works in verse, while Aryabhatiy- abhashya (629) is a prose commentary on the Aryabhatiya of Aryabhata. Bhaskara stressed the importance of proving mathematical rules rather than just relying on tradition or expediency.

Bhaskara II (b. 1114, Biddur, India�d. c. 1185, probably Ujjain) The leading mathematician of the 12th century. He was the lineal successor of Brahmagupta as head of an astronomical observatory at Ujjain, the leading mathematical centre of ancient India. His mathematical works were the first to make full and systematic use of the decimal system. He evidently was the first to gain some understanding of the meaning of divi� sion by zero. He used letters to represent unknown quantities, much as in modern algebra, and solved indeterminate equations of 1st and 2nd degrees. He wrote on his astronomical observations of planetary positions, conjunctions, eclipses, cosmography, geography, and the mathematical techniques and astronomical equipment used in these studies. He was also a noted astrologer.

bhiksu Vbik-shu\ Pali bhikku \'bik-ii\ In Buddhism, a member of the sangha, the ordained order of men established by the Buddha. (Female orders exist in some Mahayana Buddhist traditions). Originally they were mendicant followers of the Buddha who taught Buddhist ways in return for food. Today children may enter monastic life as novices, but candi� dates for ordination must be 21 years old. There are some 200 rules; sexual relations, taking of life, stealing, or boasting of spiritual attainment will lead to expulsion. A bhiksu shaves his head and face, owns a few essen� tial items, and begs daily for his food. Theravada Buddhism forbids monks to handle money and perform labour. Chan (Zen) Buddhism requires monks to work. See also Vinaya Pitaka.

Bhima River Vbe-msX River, southwestern India. Rising in Maharash� tra state in the Western Ghats east of Mumbai (Bombay), it flows south� east 450 mi (725 km) through southern Maharashtra, northern Karnataka, and central Andhra Pradesh to join the Krishna River. The Bhima�s banks are heavily populated. Its water level rises sharply during the monsoons, and receding floodwaters form fertile farming belts.

Bhopal \bo-'pal\ City (pop., 2001: 1,437,354), capital of Madhya Pradesh state, India. Situated northwest of Nagpur, it is primarily an industrial city and a major rail junction. It is the site of India�s largest mosque and home to several colleges. In 1984 Bhopal became the site of one of the worst industrial accidents in history when tons of toxic gas escaped from a Union Carbide insecticide plant and spread over a densely populated area; the final death toll was estimated to be between 15,000 and 20,000, with some half-million survivors suffering various ailments.

Bhopal Former princely state, central India. It is crossed by the Vindhya Mountains; the Narmada River is its southern boundary. It was founded in 1723 by an Afghan adventurer. In its struggles with the Marathas, Bho� pal was itself friendly to the British and concluded a treaty with them in 1817. It was a major component of the Bhopal Agency and the second largest Muslim principality of the British Empire. At India�s indepen� dence, Bhopal remained a separate Indian province. When it was incor� porated into Madhya Pradesh in 1956, Bhopal city became the state�s capital.

Bhubaneshwar N.bu-bo-'nesh-woA City (pop., 2001 prelim.: 647,302), capital of Orissa, eastern India. Its history from the 3rd century bc is represented in nearby archaeological remains. From the 5th to the 10th century ad it was the provincial capital of many Hindu dynasties. Its many temples, displaying every phase of Orissan architecture, were built from the 7th to the 16th century. It became the state capital in 1950.

Bhumibol Adulyadej or Phumiphon Adunlayadet

Vpu-me-.pon-a-'dun-lo-.datV or Rama IX (b. Dec. 5, 1927, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.) Ninth king of the Chakri dynasty and Thailand�s longest- ruling monarch. A grandson of King Chulalongkorn, he succeeded to the throne in 1946 after the death of his older brother, King Ananda Mahidol (r. 1935-46). His role as head of state is largely ceremonial, but he mod� erates between extreme parties in Thai politics and serves as a focus of national unity.

Bhurtpore See Bharatpur

Bhutan \bii-'tan\ officially Kingdom of Bhutan Kingdom, Himala� yas, south-central Asia. Area: 14,824 sq mi (38,394 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 776,000. Capital: Thimphu. There are three main ethnic groups:

Nepalese in the southwest. Languages:

Dzongkha (official), Tibetan dialects. Religions: Mahayana Buddhism (official); also Hinduism. Currency: ngultrum. The northern part of the country lies in the Great Himalayas, with peaks surpassing 24,000 ft (7,300 m) and high valleys lying at 12,000-18,000 ft (3,700-5,500 m). Spurs radiate southward, forming the Lesser Himalayan ranges. Several fertile valleys there, at elevations of 5,000-9,000 ft (1,500-2,700 m), are fairly well populated and cultivated. South of these mountains lies the Duars Plain, controlling access to the strategic mountain passes; much of it is hot and steamy and covered with dense forest. The Bhutanese economy is mainly agricultural; nearly all exports go to India. Bhutan is a monarchy with one legislative house; the head of state is the monarch, and the head of government is the prime minister. Bhutan�s mountains and forests long made it inaccessible to the outside world, and its feudal rulers banned foreigners until well into the 20th century. It nevertheless became the object of foreign invasions; in 1865 it came under British influence, and in 1910 it agreed to be guided by Britain in its foreign affairs. It later became oriented toward British-ruled India, though much of its trade continued to be with Tibet. India took over Britain�s role in 1949, and the Chinese army�s presence in neighbouring Tibet since 1950 further strengthened Bhutan�s ties with India. The apparent Chinese threat made its rulers aware of the need to modernize, and it has embarked on a program to build roads and hospitals and to create a system of secular education.

Bhutto Vbu-to\, Benazir (b. June 21, 1953, Karachi, Pak.) Pakistani politician, the first woman leader of a Muslim nation in modem history. After receiving an education at Harvard and Oxford, she led the political opposition to Pres. Zia-ul-Haq after the execution of her father, Zulfikar An Bhutto in 1979. She subsequently endured frequent house arrest (1979- 84) and was exiled (1984-86). When Zia died in a plane crash in 1988, she became prime minister of a coalition government. She was unable to do much to combat Pakistan�s widespread poverty, governmental corrup� tion, and increasing crime, and her government was dismissed in 1990 on charges of corruption and other malfeasance. A second stint as prime minister (1993-96) ended similarly. In 1999 she was convicted of taking kickbacks from a Swiss company and sentenced in absentia to five years in prison.

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214 I Bhutto ► biblical translation

Bhutto, Zulfikar Ali (b. Jan. 5, 1928, near Larkana, Sindh, India�d. April 4, 1979, Rawalpindi, Pak.) President (1971-73) and prime minister (1973-77) of Pakistan. Son of a prominent politician, he was educated in India, the U.S., and Britain. He served eight years in the government of Mohammad Ayub Khan (1907-74) then resigned to form the Pakistan People�s Party (1967). After the overthrow of the Ayub Khan regime and the Pakistani civil war, Bhutto became president (1971). He nationalized several key industries and taxed landed families. He became prime min� ister in 1973, and his government, retaining martial law, began a process of Islamization. Bhutto�s party won elections in 1977, but the opposition accused him of electoral fraud. Gen. Zia-ul-Haq seized power and had Bhutto imprisoned and later executed. Benazir Bhutto is his daughter.

Biafra \be-'af-r3\ Former secessionist state, West Africa. It constituted the former Eastern Region of Nigeria, inhabited principally by the Igbo. In a period of political and economic instability in the 1960s, the resent� ment of the Hausa in the north toward the more prosperous and educated Igbo exploded in fighting and massacres, which led to the secession of the Eastern Region as the state of Biafra in 1967. A costly civil war and the death by starvation of an estimated one million civilians ended in Biafra�s collapse and reincorporation into Nigeria in 1970.

Biafra, Bight of Inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, West Africa. The inner� most bay of the Gulf of Guinea, it is bounded by Nigeria, Cameroon, Equa� torial Guinea, and Gabon, and receives portions of the Niger and Ogooue rivers. It includes several islands, including Bioko. Its ports include Mal� abo, Calabar, and Douala. In the 16th-19th century the bay was the scene of extensive slave dealing. By the 1830s palm-oil trading had surpassed slave trading. Today petroleum is a major economic resource.

Biafystok \bya-'wi-stok\ City (pop., 2000 est: 285,500), northeastern Poland. Founded in the 14th century, it was annexed to Prussia in 1795� 1807. It passed to Russia, was captured by Germany in 1915, and was restored to Poland in 1919. During World War II it was overrun by Ger� mans in 1941, then retaken by Soviet troops in 1944. Returned to Poland in 1945, it is now an important rail junction; it has been a major textile producer since 1863.

Biarritz \bya-'rets\ Town (pop., 1999: 30,005), southwestern France. It lies on the Gulf of Gascogne (Bay of Biscay) near Bayonne, 11 mi (18 km) from Spain. Once a small fishing village, Biarritz became a fashion� able summer resort after 1854 with the visits of Napoleon III; visited also by British royalty, it grew additionally as a winter residence. Its mild cli� mate and variety of beaches, and the folklore and traditions of the local Basques, continue to draw an international clientele.

biathlon Winter sports event combining cross-country skiing with rifle sharpshooting. It originated in Scandinavian hunting. It was first included in the Winter Olympics program in 1960. Competitors cover a course, carrying a single-shot rifle and ammunition and stopping at four points to fire five shots at small targets. Events are either 10 or 20 km long, and there are a variety of race types, including relay, sprint, and pursuit.

Bibiena family See Galli Bibiena family

Bible Sacred scriptures of Judaism and Christianity. The Jewish scriptures consist of the Torah (or Pentateuch), the Neviim (�Prophets�), and the Ketuvim (�Writings�), which together constitute what Christians call the Old Testament. The Pentateuch and Joshua relate how Israel became a nation and came to possess the Promised Land. The Prophets describe the establishment and development of the monarchy and relate the prophets� messages. The Writings include poetry, speculation on good and evil, and history. The Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bible includes addi� tional Jewish writings called the Apocrypha. The New Testament consists of early Christian literature. The Gospels tell of the life, person, and teach� ings of Jesus. The Acts of the Apostles relates the earliest history of Christianity. The Epistles (Letters) are correspondence of early church leaders (chiefly St. Paul) and address the needs of early congregations. Revelation is the only canonical representative of a large genre of early Christian apocalyptic literature. See also biblical source, biblical translation. See table opposite.

biblical source Any of the original oral or written materials compiled as the Bible. While authorship of many biblical books is anonymous or pseudonymous, scholars have used internal evidence and the tools of bib� lical criticism to identify sources and arrange them in chronological order of composition. There are four sources for the Pentateuch: J (sources in which God is called YHWH, German JHVH), eastern (sources in which

Old Testament: Jewish Scripture

Genesis

Isaiah

Nahum

Song of Songs

Exodus

Jeremiah

Habakkuk

Ruth

Leviticus

Ezekiel

Zephaniah

Lamentations

Numbers

Hosea

Haggai

Ecclesiastes

Deuteronomy

Joel

Zechariah

Esther

Joshua

Amos

Malachi

Daniel

Judges

Obadiah

Psalms

Ezra

1 & 2 Samuel

Jonah

Proverbs

Nehemiah

1 & 2 Kings

Micah

Job

1 & 2 Chronicles

Old Testament: Roman Catholic and Protestant Canons

Catholic

Protestant

Catholic

Protestant

Genesis

Genesis

Wisdom

Exodus

Exodus

Sirach

Leviticus

Leviticus

Isaiah

Isaiah

Numbers

Numbers

Jeremiah

Jeremiah

Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy

Lamentations

Lamentations

Joshua

Joshua

Baruch

Judges

Judges

Ezekiel

Ezekiel

Ruth

Ruth

Daniel

Daniel

1 & 2 Samuel

1 & 2 Samuel

Hosea

Hosea

1 & 2 Kings

1 & 2 Kings

Joel

Joel

1 & 2 Chronicles

1 & 2 Chronicles

Amos

Amos

Ezra

Ezra

Obadiah

Obadiah

Nehemiah

Nehemiah

Jonah

Jonah

Tobit

Micah

Micah

Judith

Nahum

Nahum

Esther

Esther

Habakkuk

Habakkuk

Job

Job

Zephaniah

Zephaniah

Psalms

Psalms

Haggai

Haggai

Proverbs

Proverbs

Zechariah

Zechariah

Ecclesiastes

Ecclesiastes

Malachi

Malachi

Song of Songs

Song of Solomon

1 & 2 Maccabees

Old Testament: Protestant Apocrypha

1 & 2 Esdras

Additions to

Baruch

Bel and the

Tobit

Esther

Prayer of Azariah

Dragon

Judith

Wisdom of

Susanna

Prayer of

Solomon

Manasses

Ecclesiasticus

1 & 2 Maccabees

New Testament

Matthew

Romans

Colossians

Hebrews

Mark

1 & 2

1 & 2 Thessa-

James

Luke

Corinthians

lonians

1 & 2 Peter

John

Galatians

1 & 2 Timothy

1, 2, 3 John

Acts

Ephesians

Titus

Jude

of the Apostles

Philippians

Philemon

Revelation

God is called Elohim), D (sources in the style of Deuteronomy), and P (for sources with priestly style and content). Parts of lost books have also been identified in the Old Testament. New Testament sources include origi� nal writings and oral traditions. The first three (synoptic) Gospels have a common source, Matthew and Luke being based on Mark and a lost source called Q; John conveys an independent tradition. Biblical sources are studied to uncover the history of the scriptures and to restore texts as closely as possible to their original content. Scholars may also analyze biblical sources in an effort to reconstruct the oral tradition behind them.

biblical translation Art and practice of translating the Bible. The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew, with scattered passages of Aramaic. It was first translated in its entirety into Aramaic and then, in the 3rd century ad, into Greek (the Septuagint). Hebrew scholars created the authoritative Masoretic text (6th-10th century) from Aramaic Targums, the original Hebrew scrolls having been lost. The New Testament was originally in Greek or Aramaic. Christians translated both Testaments into Coptic, Ethiopian, Gothic, and Latin. St. Jerome�s Latin Vulgate (405) was the standard Christian translation for 1,000 years. New learning in the 15th�16th century generated new translations. Martin Luther translated the

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entire Bible into German (1522-34). The first complete English transla� tion, credited to John Wycliffe, appeared in 1382, but it was the King James version (1611) that became the standard for more than three cen� turies. By the late 20th century the entire Bible had been translated into 250 languages and portions of it into more than 1,300.

bibliography Broadly, the systematic study and description of books. The word can refer to the listing of books according to some system (called descriptive, or enumerative, bibliography), to the study of books as tangible objects (called critical, or analytical, bibliography), or to the product of those activities. The purpose of bibliography is to organize information about materials on a given subject so that students of the sub� ject may have access to it. A descriptive bibliography may take the form of information about a particular author�s works or about works on a given subject or on a particular nation or period. Critical bibliography, which emerged in the early 20th century, involves meticulous descriptions of the physical features of books, including the paper, binding, printing, typog� raphy, and production processes used, to help establish such facts as print� ing dates and authenticity.

Bibliotheque Nationale de France V.bib-le-o-'tek-.na-se-o-'nal- d3-'fra n s\ Most important library in France and one of the oldest in the world. The nation�s first royal library, the Bibliotheque du Roi (�King�s Library�), was established under Charles V (r. 1364-80) but later dis� persed; another was established under Louis XI (r. 1461-83). From 1537 the library received a copy of every French publication. It was moved from Fontainebleau to Paris in the late 16th century and opened to the public in 1692. It acquired its current name in 1795, and its collection was expanded through Revolutionary appropriations and Napoleon�s acquisitions. In 1995 it moved to a new facility with a controversial design; this facility now houses all its books (more than 12 million), peri� odicals, and magazines.

bicameral system System of government in which the legislature comprises two houses. It originated in Britain (see Parliament), where eventually it served to represent the interests of both the common people and the elite and to ensure deliberation over legislation. In the U.S. the bicameral system is a compromise between the claims for equal repre� sentation among the states (each state is represented by two members of the Senate) and for equal representation among citizens (each member of the House of Representatives represents roughly the same number of people). Each house has powers not held by the other, and measures need the approval of both houses to become law. Many contemporary federal systems of government have bicameral legislatures. All U.S. states except Nebraska have bicameral legislatures. See also Canadian Parliament; Con� gress of the United States; Diet.

bicarbonate of soda or sodium bicarbonate or baking soda Inorganic compound, white, crystalline salt of sodium, chemical formula NaHC0 3 . It is a weak base and dissociates into water and carbon dioxide gas as it dissolves in the presence of hydrogen ions. In addition to household uses as an antacid, cleaner, and deodorizer, it is used in manu� facturing effervescent salts and beverages and baking powder. Industrial uses include production of other sodium salts, treatment of wool and silk, and use in pharmaceuticals, sponge rubber, fire extinguishers, cleaners, lab reagents, mouthwash, and gold and platinum plating.

Bichat \be-'sha\, (Marie-Francois-) Xavier (b. Nov. 11/14, 1771, Thoirette, Fra.�d. July 22, 1802, Lyon) French anatomist and physiolo� gist. In addition to bedside observations of patients, he conducted autop� sies to study the changes disease causes in various organs. With no knowledge of the cell as the functional unit of living things, Bichat was among the first to see the organs of the body as being formed through the specialization of simple, functional units (tissues). Without using a micro� scope, he distinguished 21 kinds of tissues that, in different combinations, form the organs of the body. His systematic study of human tissues helped create the science of histology.

bichon frise \be-,sho n -fre-'za\ Breed of small dog noted for its fluffy coat and cheerful disposition. Descended from the water spaniel, it stands about 9-12 in. (23-30.5 cm) tall and has a short, blunt muzzle; silky, drooping ears; a puffy, silky, curled coat; and an undercoat. It is mostly white, but may have shadings of cream, gray, or apricot on the head. It originated in the Mediterranean region.

Bicol \'be-,kol\ Peninsula Peninsula, southeastern Luzon, Philippines. It has a lengthy coastline with large subpeninsulas. Its area is about 4,660

sq mi (12,070 sq km). It includes the Bicol Plain, a large lowland area important in rice production. It is densely populated though largely rural. It is the homeland of the Bicol, the country�s fifth largest ethnolinguistic group, and it has been a stronghold of Philippine communists.

bicycle Lightweight, two-wheeled, steerable machine that is propelled by the rider. The wheels are mounted in a metal frame, and the front wheel is held in a movable fork. The rider sits on a saddle and steers with handle� bars attached to the fork, propelling the bicycle with two pedals attached to cranks that turn a chainwheel. An endless chain transmits power from the chainwheel to a sprocket on the back wheel. A heavy, pedalless form built in 1818 was propelled simply by the rider paddling his feet against the ground. In the early 1840s Scottish blacksmith Kirkpatrick Macmillan (1813-78) built bicycles propelled by pedals, cranks, and drive rods; he is widely credited with having invented the bicycle. Important innovations were introduced by Pierre and Ernest Michaux in France in the early 1860s, and by 1865 their company was manufacturing 400 velocipedes a year. A lighter version produced in England in 1870 (nicknamed the �penny-farthing�) featured a large front wheel and small back wheel. By the 1890s the standard bicycle design was established, and, with the smooth ride enabled by the new pneumatic tires, its popularity exploded. The so-called mountain bike became the standard design by the early 1990s. The bicycle is used worldwide as a basic means of transportation.

Components of a modern touring bicycle.

� MERRIAM-WEBSTER INC.

Bidault \be-'do\, Georges (-Augustin) (b. Oct. 5, 1899, Moulins, France�d. Jan. 27, 1983, Cambo-les-Bains, near Bayonne) French states� man and Resistance leader in World War II. After being imprisoned in Germany (1940), he returned to France (1941) and worked with the National Council of Resistance, which he headed in 1943. He helped found the Popular Republican Movement (1944) and supported Charles de Gaulle�s wartime government. After the war he briefly served twice as prime minister and three times as minister of foreign affairs. In 1958 he broke with de Gaulle and opposed Algerian independence. He advocated terrorism to prevent independence, went underground, and was forced into exile (1962-68).

Biddle, James (b. Feb. 18, 1783, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.�d. Oct. 1, 1848, Philadelphia) U.S. naval officer. He entered the navy in 1800. Dur� ing the War of 1 81 2, he served on the USS Wasp when it captured the British ship Frolic, and he commanded the USS Hornet in its victory over the Penguin. In 1817 he was sent to the Columbia River to claim the Oregon Territory for the U.S. As commodore of U.S. ships in East Asia, he negotiated the first treaty, a trade agreement, between the U.S. and China.

Biddle, John (b. 1615, Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire, Eng.�d. Sept. 22, 1662, London) Father of English Unitarianism. He studied at the University of Oxford and became master of a free school in Gloucester. In 1644 he wrote Twelve Arguments Drawn Out of Scripture, denying the deity of the Holy Spirit. When the manuscript reached church authorities, he was arrested and imprisoned for two years. After its publication in 1647 he was again detained, and copies of the book were burned. His later writings attacked the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Freed from a third imprisonment in 1652, he began to meet for worship with his adherents, who came to be called Unitarians. After Biddle published his Two-Fold Catechism (1654),

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216 I Biddle ► Big Bertha

Oliver Cromwell prevented his execution by exiling him to the Scilly Isles. He returned in 1658; in 1662 he was again put in prison, where he died.

Biddle, Nicholas (b. Jan. 8, 1786, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.�d. Feb. 27, 1844, Philadelphia) U.S. author, fin� ancier, and lawyer. He served as sec� retary to Pres. James Monroe (1806- 07), then minister to England, and, afterward, while practicing law in the U.S., he wrote History of the Expedition of Captains Lewis and Clark (1814) from the explorers� notes. In 1823 Monroe appointed him president of the Second Bank of the United States. He developed the bank into the first effective U.S. cen� tral bank, sponsoring policies that curbed credit, regulated the money supply, and safeguarded government deposits. In 1832 the bank came under attack from Pres. Andrew Jack- son, who managed to terminate its national charter in 1836. Biddle later became president of the bank under a Pennsylvania state charter. The Federal Reserve System was later established as the country�s central bank.

Bidwell, John (b. Aug. 5, 1819, Chautauqua county, N.Y., U.S.�d. April 4, 1900, near Sacramento, Calif.) U.S. political leader. He was a member of the first group to travel by wagon train to California from Independence, Mo. Reluctant to join the Bear Flag revolt of Americans in California against Mexico, he nonetheless helped draw up the Bear Flag Republic�s resolution of independence in July 1846. He fought under John C. Fremont in the Mexican War and assisted in the recapture of Los Ange� les in 1847. At the end of the war he returned to Sutter�s Fort, where he was the first to find gold on the Feather River. Later he became a leading agriculturalist and played a prominent role in state politics. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1864 and later ran for governor three times, though he was never elected. In 1892 he became the presidential candidate of the Prohibition Party.

Biedermeier Vbe-dor-.ml-orV style Style of German and Austrian art, furniture, and decoration that developed c. 1815 to 1848. Gottlieb (�Papa�) Biedermeier was a fictional cartoon character, the comic sym� bol of middle-class comfort, with an emphasis on family life and the pur� suit of hobbies. The subject matter of Biedermeier paintings, which were either genre or historical, was treated sentimentally; Carl Spitzweg (1808� 85) is the best-known of the Biedermeier painters. The simplicity and functionality of Biedermeier furniture were derived from the Empire and Directoire styles, but the furniture was characterized by more restrained geometric shapes. The style was revived in the 1960s.

Biel VbelV Gabriel (b. c. 1420, Speyer [Germany]�d. Dec. 7, 1495, Tubingen, Wurttemberg) German philosopher, economist, and Scholastic theologian. He became professor at the University of Tubingen (1484). His Collectorium circa IV libros sententiarum presented the teachings of William of Ockham; the work influenced followers known as Gabrielis- tae. His economic theories favoured fair taxation and price control. See also Scholasticism.

Bielefeld Vbe-b-,felt\ City (pop., 2002 est: city, 323,400; metro, area, 579,000), northwestern Germany. Founded in 1214, the town arose from a religious settlement around St. Mary�s Church in the late 13th century. It joined the Hanseatic League in the 14th century and passed to Branden� burg in 1647. The first mechanized textile mills in Germany were estab� lished there in 1851. Heavily damaged in World War II, the city has since been rebuilt. It is the centre of a linen industry; it also has silk and plush weaving mills.

biennial Any plant that completes its life cycle in two growing seasons. During the first growing season biennials produce roots, stems, and leaves; during the second they produce flowers, fruits, and seeds, and then die. Sugar beets and carrots are examples of biennials. See also annual, PERENNIAL.

Bienville \bya n -'vel\, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de (baptized Feb. 23, 1680, Montreal, New France�d. March 7, 1767, Paris, France)

French explorer, colonial governor of Louisiana, and founder of New Orleans. He served with the French navy in King William�s War. He accompanied his brother Pierre Iberville on expeditions to the mouth of the Mississippi River. They founded a settlement in 1699, and he later com� manded the colony of Louisiana (1701-12, 1717-23). He founded New Orleans in 1718 and made it the colony�s capital in 1722. Recalled to France in 1723, he returned to serve as governor of Louisiana (1733-43).

Bierce, Ambrose (Gwinnett) (b. June 24, 1842, Meigs county, Ohio, U.S.�d. 1914, Mexico?) U.S. newspaperman, satirist, and short- story writer. Not long after serving in the Civil War, he became a news� paper columnist and editor in San Francisco, specializing in attacks on frauds of all sorts. Among his books are Tales of Soldiers and Civilians (1891; revised as In the Midst of Life), which includes �An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge�; Can Such Things Be? (1893); and The Devil�s Dictionary (1906), a volume of ironic definitions. Tired of American life, he went in 1913 to Mexico, then in the middle of a revolution, and mys� teriously disappeared, possibly killed in the 1914 siege of Ojinaga.

Bierstadt \'ber-,shtat\, Albert (b. Jan. 7, 1830, near Diisseldorf, Westphalia�d. Feb. 19, 1902, New York, N.Y., U.S.) German-born U.S. painter of the Hudson River school. His parents immigrated to the U.S. when he was an infant. As a young man he traveled and sketched through� out Europe before returning to the U.S. to join a westward-bound expe� dition in 1859. Specializing in grandiose pictures of vast mountain scenery, he achieved great popularity in his lifetime with panoramic and often fanciful scenes of the American West, including The Rocky Moun� tains (1863) and Mount Corcoran (c. 1875-77). His huge paintings were actually executed in his New York City studio.

big bang Model of the origin of the universe, which holds that it emerged from a state of extremely high temperature and density in an explosive expansion 10 billion�15 billion years ago. Its two basic assumptions�that Albert Einstein�s general theory of relativity correctly describes the gravitational interaction of all matter and that an observer�s view of the universe does not depend on direction of observation or on location�make it possible to calculate physical conditions in the universe back to a very early time called the Planck time (after Max Planck). According to the model proposed by George Gamow in the 1940s, the universe expanded rapidly from a highly compressed early state, with a steady decrease in density and temperature. Within seconds, matter pre� dominated over antimatter and certain nuclei formed. It took another mil� lion years before atoms could form and electromagnetic radiation could travel through space unimpeded. The abundances of hydrogen, helium, and lithium and the discovery of cosmic background radiation support the model, which also explains the redshifts of the light from distant galaxies as resulting from the expansion of space.

Big Ben Clock housed in the tower at the eastern end of Britain�s Houses of Parliament. Designed by Sir Edmund Beckett (1816-1905), Big Ben is famous for its accuracy and its 13-ton bell. The name (for Sir Benjamin Hall, commissioner of works at the time of its installation in 1859) originally applied only to the bell but eventually came to include the clock itself.

Big Bend National Park Pre� serve, southwestern Texas, U.S. It lies 250 mi (400 km) southeast of El Paso and occupies 1,252 sq mi (3,243 sq km). It was established in 1944 and named for the wide bend in the Rio Grande that skirts its south� ern edge. The park has magnificent mountain and desert scenery; it is home to more than 1,000 species of plants, and its wildlife includes coy� otes, pumas, and roadrunners.

Big Bertha Either of two different sets of long-range artillery produced by the Krupp works (see Thyssen Krupp Stahl) in Germany during World War I. The first were 420-mm (16.5-in.) howitzers used by German forces advancing through Belgium in 1914. The second were cannons specially built to bombard Paris in 1918. About 112 ft (34 m) long, they weighed

Nicholas Biddle

COURTESY OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON, D.C.

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Big Cypress Swamp ► bile I 217

200 tons (181 metric tons) and were 210 mm (8 in.) or more in calibre. The Paris guns were moved on railway tracks; they bombarded the city for 140 days. Their unprecedented range of 75 mi (121 km) was achieved by sending the shells on a trajectory 12 mi (19 km) into the stratosphere. They were nicknamed for the Krupp matriarch Bertha von Bohlen.

Big Cypress Swamp Swamp region whose eastern half is a national preserve, southern Florida, U.S. Covering 2,400 sq mi (6,200 sq km), the region merges with the swampy Everglades on the east and south. It is dominated by cypress trees, and wildlife is abundant. The Seminole Indi� ans have reservations in the area.

Big Stick Policy Policy named by Pres. Theodore Roosevelt to describe the assertion of U.S. dominance as a moral imperative. It was taken from an African proverb, �Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far.� Roosevelt first used it when he asked Congress for money to increase U.S. naval preparedness to support his diplomatic objectives. The press used the phrase to describe Roosevelt�s Latin America policy and his domes� tic policy of regulating monopolies.

Big Sur Scenic region along the Pacific coast of California, U.S. It com� prises a ruggedly beautiful stretch of seacoast 100 mi (160 km) long. Popular with tourists and naturalists, it extends southward from Carmel to the Hearst Castle at San Simeon. A narrow, mountainous coastal road affords views of the Pacific Ocean and the wilderness areas of the Los Padres National Forest. The Pfeiffer-Big Sur State Park contains the town of Big Sur and borders the Big Sur River. The home of Robinson Jeffers is a local landmark.

big tree or giant sequoia or Sierra redwood Coniferous ever� green ( Sequoiadendron giganteum ; see conifer) found in scattered groves on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada range of California, U.S. The largest of all trees in bulk, the big tree is distinguished from the coastal redwood ( Sequoia sempervirens) by having uniformly scalelike, or awl- shaped, leaves that lie close against the branches, scaleless winter buds, and cones requiring two seasons to mature. The pyramidal tree shape, reddish brown furrowed bark, and drooping branches are common to both genera. The largest specimen (in total bulk) is the General Sherman tree in Sequoia National Park �101.5 ft (31 m) in circumference at its base, 272.4 ft (83 m) tall, and weighing an estimated 6,167 tons (5,593 metric tons). Because big-tree lumber is more brittle than redwood lumber and thus less desirable, the big tree has been easier to preserve; though some groves have been cut, most of the 70 remaining groves are now protected by state or national forests or parks.

Bigfoot or Sasquatch Large, hairy, humanlike creature that report� edly lives in isolated areas of the northwestern U.S. and western Canada. Descriptions of Bigfoot are similar to those of the Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas. It is said to be a primate 6-15 ft (2-4.5 m) in height, walking upright and either moving silently or emitting a high-pitched cry. Supposed footprints (some are hoaxes) have measured up to 24 in. (60 cm) in length. Despite many reported sightings, there is still no solid evi� dence that Bigfoot exists.

bighorn or mountain sheep Stocky, climbing hoofed mammal (Ovis canadensis ) of western North America. Both sexes have horns that in the male may curve in a spiral more than 39 in. (1 m) long. Their fur is usually brown with a whitish rump patch. The related thinhom, or Dali�s sheep ( O. dalli ), of Alaska and Canada is similar to the bighorn.

Both species are about 39 in. (1 m) tall at the shoulder, but the bighorn is heavier, weighing up to 300 lb (136 kg). They live in small groups among remote crags and cliffs of mountainous areas and feed mainly on grasses. Bighorn rams compete for females by launching themselves at each other from a few yards� dis� tance and clashing horns.

Bighorn Mountains Mountain range, southern Montana and northern Wyoming, U.S. It is a range of the northern Rocky Mountains extending 120 mi (193 km), rising abruptly 4,000-5,000 ft (1,200-1,500 m) above

the Great Plains and Bighorn Basin. The highest summit is Wyoming�s Cloud Peak, at 13,165 ft (4,013 m). Bighorn National Forest covers part of the range. On Medicine Mountain is the Medicine Wheel, a prehistoric stone-spoked circle 70 ft (20 m) in diameter.

Bighorn River River, Wyoming and Montana, U.S. Formed by the confluence of the Popo Agie and Wind rivers in west-central Wyoming, it flows north 336 mi (541 km) into the Yellowstone River in southeastern Montana. The Little Bighorn joins the main stream at Hardin, Mont. The Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area stretches along the Montana- Wyoming border. See also Battle of the Little Bighorn.

Bihar \bi-'har\ State (pop., 2001: 82,998,509), northeastern India. Bor� dered by Nepal and West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh states, it occupies 38,301 sq mi (99,200 sq km); its capital is Patna. Its limits are nearly the same as those of the ancient kingdoms of Videha and Magadha. In the 4th century ad the area came under the Gupta empire, whose capi� tal was at Pataliputra (Patna). Overcome by the Muslims c. 1200, Bihar was annexed to Delhi in 1497. Taken by the British in 1765, it was made part of Bengal. The area was the scene of revolts against the British in the mid-19th century and of Mohandas K. Gandhi�s nonviolent movement in the early 20th century. Bihar was made a province of British India in 1936; in 1950 it became a state in independent India. It is one of India�s least urbanized states, and most of its population engages in agriculture. In 2000 the state of Jharkhand was created from Bihar�s southern districts.

Bikini Atoll, western Marshall Islands, central Pacific Ocean. It consists of a ring of 20 small coral islands. Administered by the U.S. from 1947 as part of a UN-sanctioned U.S. Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, it was used for U.S. nuclear-weapons testing in 1946-58. The 166 inhab� itants were removed before the tests began and returned in 1969, but they were evacuated again in 1978 because of high radiation levels. Cleanup there continued, and in the late 1990s Bikini was again deemed safe for habitation. The atoll became part of the Republic of the Marshall Islands in 1979.

Biko Vbe-ko\, Stephen (b. Dec. 18, 1946, King William�s Town, S.Af.�d. Sept. 12, 1977, Pretoria) South African political activist. A former medical student, in 1968 he founded the Black Consciousness movement, designed to raise black awareness of apartheid oppression. He was officially �banned� by the South African government in 1973 and was arrested several times in 1976-77. His death from head injuries suffered in police custody made him an international martyr for South African black nationalism. The initial inquest absolved the police of wrongdoing, but in 1997 five former officers confessed to Biko�s murder.

Bilbao \bil-'ba-,o, bil-'bau\ Port city (pop., 2001: city, 349,972; metro, area, 947,334), northern Spain. It is located 7 mi (11 km) inland from the Bay of Biscay. The largest city in the Basque Country, it originated as a settlement of mariners and ironworkers and was chartered in 1300. In the 18th century it prospered through trade with Spain�s New World colonies. The city was sacked by French troops in the Peninsular War (1808) and besieged during the Carlist Wars (see Carlism). It is a chief port in Spain and a centre of the metallurgical industries, shipbuilding, and banking. Landmarks include the 14th-century Cathedral of Santiago and the 20th- century Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.

bilberry Low-growing deciduous shrub ( Vaccinium myrtillus) of the heath family, found in woods and on heaths, chiefly in hilly districts of Britain, northern Europe, and Asia. The stiff stems bear small egg-shaped leaves and small rosy flowers tinged with green. The dark blue, waxy ber� ries are an important food of the grouse and are used for tarts and pre� serves. They are borne singly, unlike those of the much more productive cultivated blueberries of the U.S. ( V. australe ), which are borne in long clusters.

bildungsroman \'bil- l duqz-ro-,man\ German "novel of character development" Class of novel in Gentian and other literature that deals with the formative years of the main character, whose moral and psycho� logical development is depicted. It ends on a positive note, with the hero�s foolish mistakes and painful disappointments behind him and a life of usefulness ahead. It grew out of folklore tales in which a dunce goes out into the world seeking adventure. The first novelistic development of the theme, Johann W. von Goethe�s Wilhelm Meister�s Apprenticeship (1795� 96), remains a classic example.

bile Greenish-yellow liver secretion passed to the gallbladder for con� centration, storage, or transport into the duodenum for fat digestion. Bile

Canadian bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis)

HARRY ENGELS-THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY COLLECTION/PHOTO RESEARCHERS

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218 I bilingualism ► Biloxi

contains bile acids and salts, cholesterol, and electrolyte chemicals that keep it slightly acidic. In the intestine, products of the acids and salts emulsify fat and reduce its surface tension to prepare it for the action of pancreatic and intestinal fat-splitting enzymes.

bilingualism Ability to speak two languages. It may be acquired early by children in regions where most adults speak two languages (e.g., French and dialectal German in Alsace). Children may also become bilin� gual by learning languages in two different social settings; for example, British children in British India learned an Indian language from their nurses and family servants. A second language can also be acquired in school. Bilingualism can also refer to the use of two languages in teach� ing, especially to foster learning in students trying to learn a new lan� guage. Advocates of bilingual education in the U.S. argue that it speeds learning in all subjects for children who speak a foreign language at home and prevents them from being marginalized in English-language schools. Detractors counter that it hinders such children from mastering the lan� guage of the larger society and limits their opportunities for employment and higher education.

bill See beak

Bill, Max (b. Dec. 22, 1908, Winterthur, Switz.�d. Dec. 9, 1994, Ber� lin, Ger.) Swiss painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and industrial designer. He studied architecture, metalwork, stage design, and painting at the Bau- haus. In 1930 he opened his own studio in Zurich, where he spent most of his life and earned a living designing advertisements. In the 1940s he designed chairs featuring geometric forms. He cofounded and directed the College of Design in Ulm, Ger. (1951-55), and also designed its build� ings. He is best known for his advertising designs.

bill of exchange Short-term negotiable financial instrument consist� ing of a written order addressed by the seller of goods to the buyer requir� ing the latter to pay a certain sum of money on demand or at a future time. Bills of exchange are often used in international transactions, and the holder of such a bill may redeem it in cash immediately by selling it to a bank at a discount. Bills of exchange used in domestic transactions are sometimes called drafts. See also promissory note.

Bill of Rights (1689) British law, one of the basic instruments of the British constitution. It incorporated the provisions of the Declaration of Rights, which William III and Mary II accepted upon taking the throne. Its main purpose was to declare illegal various practices of James II, such as the royal prerogative of dispensing with the law in certain cases. The result of a long struggle between the Stuart kings and the English people and Parliament, it made the monarchy clearly conditional on the will of Par� liament and provided freedom from arbitrary government. It also dealt with the succession to the throne.

Bill of Rights First 10 amendments to the Constitution of the United States, adopted as a group in 1791. They are a collection of guarantees of individual rights and of limitations on federal and state governments that derived from popular dissatisfaction with the limited guarantees of the Constitution. The first Congress submitted 12 amendments (drafted by James Madison) to the states, 10 of which were ratified. The 1st Amend� ment guarantees freedom of religion, speech, and the press and grants the right to petition for redress and to assemble peacefully. The 2nd Amend� ment guarantees the right of the people to keep and bear arms. The 3rd prohibits the quartering of soldiers in private dwellings in peacetime. The 4th protects against unreasonable search and seizure. The 5th establishes grand-jury indictment for serious offenses, protects against double jeopardy in criminal cases, and prohibits compelling testimony by a person against himself. The 6th establishes the rights of the accused to a speedy trial and an impartial jury and guarantees the right to legal counsel and to the obtaining of witnesses in his favour. The 7th preserves the right to trial by jury in serious civil suits and prohibits double jeopardy in civil cases. The 8th prohibits excessive bail and cruel and unusual punishment. The 9th states that enumeration of certain rights in the Constitution does not mean the abrogation of rights not mentioned. The 10th reserves to the states and people any powers not delegated to the federal government.

billfish Any of several long-jawed fishes, especially those in the family Istiophoridae, including marlins, spearfishes, and SAiLFiSHes. The name is also applied to the gar, needlefish, and sauries (family Scomberesocidae), as well as to the swordfish (family Xiphiidae).

billiards Any of various games played on a cloth-topped, cushion-railed rectangular table by driving small, hard balls against one another or into

pockets with a long stick called a cue. Carom, or French billiards, is played with three balls, two white and one red, on a table without pockets. The object is to stroke the white cue ball so that it hits the two object balls in succession, scoring a carom (one point). English billiards is also played with three balls but on a pocketed table; it is scored in various ways. Snooker is another popular British billiards game. The principal billiards game in North America is pocket billiards, or pool. The Billiard Congress of America controls U.S. tournament play, including the U.S. Open Pock� ets Billiard Championship, regarded as the world championship.

Billings City (pop., 2000: 89,847), south-central Montana, U.S. Origi� nally settled on the Yellowstone River in 1877 as Coulson, Billings was renamed in 1882 in honour of Frederick Billings, president of the North� ern Pacific Railway Company. It is now a trading and shipping point for wool, livestock, and agriculture. Nearby Pictograph Cave State Monu� ment has prehistoric artifacts.

Billings, John Shaw (b. April 12, 1838, Switzerland county, Ind., U.S.�d. March 11, 1913, New York, N.Y.) U.S. surgeon and librarian. He worked for the U.S. Army 1861-95. He fostered the growth of the surgeon general�s library in Washington, D.C., developing what would become the National Library of Medicine, the world�s largest medical reference centre. He founded the monthly Index Medicus (1879), still one of the primary U.S. medical bibliographies, and published the first Index Catalogue (1880-95). He also designed Johns Hopkins Hospital and was its medical adviser, ran national vital statistics programs, led the U.S. effort to end yellow fever, and was the first director of the New York Pub� lic Library. His organization of U.S. medical institutions was central to modernization of hospital care and maintenance of public health.

Billings, William (b. Oct. 7, 1746, Boston, Mass.�d. Sept. 26, 1800, Boston, Mass., U.S.) American hymn composer, sometimes called the first American composer. A tanner by trade, he was largely self-taught in music. His robust and primitive style, lacking instrumental parts, has seemed to embody the distinctive virtues of early America. His New England Psalm-Singer {111 0) was the first published collection of Ameri� can music; his other works include The Singing Master�s Assistant (1778) and The Continental Harmony (1794).

Billiton \be-'le-,ton\ or Belitung Xba-'le-.tuqN Island, Bangka-Belitung province, west-central Indonesia. Lying on the Karimata Strait between the islands of Bangka (west) and Borneo (northeast), it is situated between the South China Sea (north) and Java Sea (south). It is some 55 mi (90 km) long and 45 mi (70 km) wide, with an area of about 1,850 sq mi (4,800 sq km). The main town and port is Tanjungpandan. Billiton was ceded to the British in 1812 by the sultan of Palembang, Sumatra, but Britain recognized the Dutch claim in 1824. The island became part of Indonesia after World War II. It is important for its tin mines, discovered in 1851.

Billroth Vbil-rot\, (Christian Albert) Theodor (b. April 26, 1829, Bergen auf Riigen, Prussia�d. Feb. 6, 1894, Abbazia, Austria-Hungary) Austrian surgeon. He pioneered the study of bacterial causes of wound fever and adopted early the antiseptic techniques that eradicated the threat of fatal surgical infections. The founder of modem surgery of the abdomi� nal cavity, he altered and removed organs previously considered inacces� sible. In 1872 he was the first to remove part of an esophagus, joining the ends together; later he performed the first complete larynx removal. In 1881, when he had made intestinal surgery almost commonplace, he suc� cessfully removed a cancerous pylorus (lower end of the stomach).

Billy the Kid orig. William H. Bonney, Jr., or Henry McCarty

(b. Nov. 23, 1859/60, New York, N.Y., U.S.�d. July 14, 1881, Fort Sum� ner, N.M.) U.S. criminal. As a child he migrated with his family to Kan� sas, then lived in New Mexico from c. 1868. His career of lawlessness throughout the Southwest began early; by the time he was captured by Sheriff Pat Garrett in 1880 he had allegedly killed 27 men. Convicted in New Mexico in 1881 and sentenced to hang, he escaped from jail, kill� ing two deputies, and remained at large until Garrett tracked him down and killed him.

Biloxi \bi-'l3k-se, bi-'lak-se\ Coastal city (pop., 2000: 50,644), south� eastern Mississippi, U.S. Located east of Gulfport on the Gulf of Mexico, it was first settled as Fort Louis (established 1719); a nearby earlier fort, Fort Maurepas, was the lower Mississippi valley�s first permanent Euro� pean settlement (1699). Biloxi has been under the flags of France, Spain, Britain, the West Florida Republic, and the Confederacy. By the late 20th

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Bilqis ► Bingham I 219

century, casino gambling had become its chief industry, augmented by fishing and seafood processing. Beauvoir, Jefferson Davis�s last home, is nearby. Biloxi has been subject to periodic devastating tropical cyclones, notably Hurricanes Camille (1969) and Katrina (2005).

Bilqis See Queen of Sheba

bimetallism Monetary standard or system based on the use of two metals, traditionally gold and silver, rather than one (monometallism). In the 19th century, a bimetallic system defined a nation�s monetary unit by law in terms of fixed quantities of gold and silver (thus automatically establishing a rate of exchange between the two metals). The system pro� vided a free and unlimited market for the two metals, imposed no restric� tions on the use and coinage of either metal, and made all other money in circulation redeemable in either gold or silver. Because each nation inde� pendently set its own rate of exchange between the two metals, the result� ing rates of exchange often differed widely from country to country. When the ratio of the official prices proved different from the ratio of prices in the open market, Gresham's law operated in such a way that coins of only one metal remained in circulation. A monometallic system using the gold standard proved more responsive to changes in supply and demand and was widely adopted after 1867. See also exchange rate; silver standard.

bin Laden, Osama (b. 1957, Riyadh, Saud.Ar.) Leader of a broad- based Islamic extremist movement implicated in numerous acts of ter� rorism against the U.S. and other Western countries. The son of a wealthy Saudi family, he joined the Muslim resistance in Afghanistan after the 1979 Soviet invasion of that country. Following his homecoming, he became enraged at the presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia during the Persian Gulf War (1990-91) and, through a network of like-minded Islamic militants known as al-Qaeda, launched a series of terrorist attacks. These acts included the bombings of the World Trade Center in New York City in 1993, the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, and the U.S. warship Cole in Aden, Yemen, in 2000. A self-styled Islamic scholar, bin Laden issued several legal opinions calling on Muslims to take up jihad (holy war) against the U.S., and in 2001 a group of militants under his direction launched the September 11 attacks, which led to the deaths of some 3,000 people. The U.S. thereafter demanded bin Laden�s extra� dition from Afghanistan, where he was sheltered by that country�s Tali� ban militia, and launched attacks on Taliban and al-Qaeda forces when that ultimatum was not met. With the collapse of the Taliban, bin Laden and his associates went into hiding.

binary code Code used in digital computers, based on a binary number system in which there are only two possible states, off and on, usually symbolized by 0 and 1. Whereas in a decimal system, which employs 10 digits, each digit position represents a power of 10 (100, 1,000, etc.), in a binary system each digit position represents a power of 2 (4, 8, 16, etc.). A binary code signal is a series of electrical pulses that represent num� bers, characters, and operations to be performed. A device called a clock sends out regular pulses, and components such as transistors switch on (1) or off (0) to pass or block the pulses. In binary code, each decimal number (0-9) is represented by a set of four binary digits, or bits. The four fundamental arithmetic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division) can all be reduced to combinations of fundamental Bool� ean algebraic operations (see Boolean algebra) on binary numbers.

binary star Pair of stars in orbit around a common centre of gravity. Their relative sizes and brightnesses and the distance between them vary widely. Perhaps half of all stars in the Milky Way Galaxy are binaries or members of more complex multiple systems. Some binaries form a class of variable stars (see eclipsing variable star). Stars can be identified as bina� ries in various ways�visually by telescope, through spectroscopic obser� vation, by changes in apparent brightness (when the dimmer star eclipses its companion), or by changes in the proper motion of the visible member (owing to the gravitational pull of the invisible companion).

binding energy Energy required to separate a particle from a system of particles or to disperse all the particles of a system. Nuclear binding energy is the energy required to separate an atomic nucleus into its con� stituent protons and neutrons. It is also the energy that would be released by combining individual protons and neutrons into a single nucleus. Elec� tron binding energy, or ionization potential, is the energy required to remove an electron from an atom, molecule, or ion, and also the energy released when an electron joins an atom, molecule, or ion. The binding energy of a single proton or neutron in a nucleus is about a million times greater than that of a single electron in an atom.

bindweed Any plant of the closely related genera Convolvulus and Calystegia , mostly twining, often weedy, and producing funnel-shaped flowers. Bellbine, or greater bindweed ( Calystegia sepium), native in Eur� asia and North America, is a twining perennial that grows from creeping, underground stems and is common in hedges and woods and along road� sides. Sea bindweed (C. soldanella ) creeps along European seaside sand and gravel. Several Convolvulus species are widespread or conspicuous. The weedy perennial field bindweed (C. arvensis), European but widely naturalized in North America, twines around crop plants and along road� sides. Scammony, a purgative, is derived from the rhizomes of C. scam- monia, a trailing perennial native to western Asia. Rosewood oil comes from certain species of Convolvulus.

Binet \bi-'na\, Alfred (b. July 8, 1857, Nice, France�d. Oct. 18, 1911, Paris) French psychologist. His interest in Jean-Martin Charcot�s work on hypnosis prompted him to abandon a law career and study medicine at the Salpetriere Hospital in Paris (1878-91). He served as director of a research laboratory at the Sorbonne (1895-1911). A major figure in the development of experimental psychology in France, he founded L 'Annie Psychologique, the first French journal on psychology, in 1895. He devel� oped experimental techniques to measure reasoning ability; between 1905 and 1911 he and Theodore Simon developed influential scales for the measurement of intelligence of children. His works include Experimen� tal Study of Intelligence (1903) and A Method of Measuring the Devel� opment of the Intelligence of Young Children (1915).

Binford, Lewis R(oberts) (b. Nov. 21, 1930, Norfolk, Va� U.S.) U.S. archaeologist. Binford taught principally at the University of New Mexico. In the mid 1960s he initiated what came to be known as the �New Archaeology,� which champions the use of quantitative methods and the practice of archaeology as a rigorous science. He applied the new meth� odology in an influential study of Mousterian artifacts and later extended it to a study of the hunting activities of a living people, the Nunamiut, trying to draw analogies to prehistoric contexts.

Bing, Sir Rudolf (b. Jan. 9, 1902, Vienna, Austria-Hungary�d. Sept. 2, 1997, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Austrian-born British opera impresario. After holding positions in German opera houses, he assumed the position of general manager at the Glyndebourne Opera in England (1935�49). In 1946 he helped found the Edinburgh Festival. From 1950 until 1972 he served as general manager of the Metropolitan Opera, where, wielding autocratic power, he raised the institution�s performance standards, extended its season, encouraged innovations in design and production, ended the exclusion of black singers, and oversaw the company�s move to Lincoln Center in 1966.

Bingham, George Caleb (b. March 20, 1811, Augusta county, Va., U.S.�d. July 7, 1879, Kansas City, Mo.) U.S. painter and frontier poli� tician. He studied briefly at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts,

Fur Traders Descending the Missouri, oil on canvas by George Caleb Bingham, 1845; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.

COURTESY OF THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK, MORRIS K. JESUP FUND, 1933

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220 I bingo ► biological rhythm

but he was largely self-taught. He entered politics in Missouri and worked as an itinerant portrait painter before turning to the lively routines of fron� tier life for inspiration. Bingham is known for his incisive characteriza� tions, clear, golden light, and talent for organizing large, dense compositions. His best-known works include Fur Traders Descending the Missouri (1845) and Jolly Flatboatmen (1846).

bingo Game of chance played with cards having a grid of numbered squares corresponding to numbered balls drawn at random. When a num� ber on the card is drawn, the players cover that number (should they have it); the game is won by covering a certain number of squares in a row (ver� tically, horizontally, or diagonally). Cards are purchased and proceeds are placed into a common �pot�; winning cards are awarded a portion of the pot. Wildly popular in the mid 20th century, bingo has in recent decades suffered a decline in America but has increased in popularity in other parts of the world. The earliest name for bingo�lotto�was recorded in Britain in 1776; the game is sometimes called keno in the U.S.

Binh Dinh Vuong See Le Loi

binoculars Optical instrument for providing a magnified view of dis� tant objects, consisting of two similar telescopes, one for each eye, mounted on a single frame. In most binoculars, each telescope has two prisms, which reinvert the inverted image provided by the eyepiece of each telescope. Light rays travel along a folded path inside the telescopes, so the instrument has a shorter overall length. The prisms also provide bet� ter depth perception at greater distances, by allowing the two objectives (object lenses) to be set farther apart than the eyepieces. Binocular eye� pieces are often fitted to microscopes or other optical instruments.

binomial nomenclature System of naming organisms in which each organism is indicated by two words, the genus (capitalized) and species (lowercase) names, both written in italics. For example, the tea rose is Rosa odorata ; the common horse is Equus caballus. The system was developed by Carolus Linnaeus in the mid 18th century. The number of binomial names proliferated as new species were established and more categories were formed, and by the late 19th century the nomenclature of many groups of organisms was confused. International committees in the fields of zoology, botany, bacteriology, and virology have since estab� lished rules to clarify the situation. See also taxonomy.

binomial theorem In algebra, a formula for expansion of the bino� mial (x + y ) raised to any positive integer power. A simple case is the expansion of ( x + y) 2 , which is x 2 + 2xy + y 2 . In general, the expression (x + y) n expands to the sum of {n + l)terms in which the power of x decreases from n to 0 while the power of y increases from 0 to n in suc� cessive terms. The terms can be represented in factorial notation by the expression [n\/((n - r)!r!)]x� - r y r in which r takes on integer values from 0 to n.

Bio-Bio \,be-6-'be-o\ River River, south-central Chile. Rising in the Andes Mountains, it flows northwestward 240 mi (380 km) to enter the Pacific Ocean near Concepcion. Though it is one of Chile�s longest riv� ers, it is shallow and navigable only by flat-bottomed boats.

biochemistry Field of science concerned with chemical substances and processes that occur in plants, animals, and microorganisms. It involves the quantitative determination and structural analysis of the organic com� pounds that make up cells (proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids) and of those that play key roles in chemical reactions vital to life (e.g., nucleic acids, vitamins, and hormones). Biochemists study cells� many complex and inter� related chemical changes. Examples include the chemical reactions by which proteins and all their precursors are synthesized, food is converted to energy (see metabolism), hereditary characteristics are transmitted (see heredity), energy is stored and released, and all biological chemical reac� tions are catalyzed (see catalysis, enzyme). Biochemistry straddles the bio� logical and physical sciences and uses many techniques common in medicine and physiology as well as those of organic, analytical, and physi� cal chemistry.

biochip Small-scale device, analogous to an integrated circuit, con� structed of or used to analyze organic molecules associated with living organisms. One type of theoretical biochip is a small device constructed of large organic molecules, such as proteins, and capable of performing the functions (data storage, processing) of an electronic computer. The other type of biochip is a small device capable of performing rapid, small-scale biochemical reactions for the purpose of identifying gene sequences, envi� ronmental pollutants, airborne toxins, or other biochemical constituents.

biodegradability Capacity of a material to decompose by biological action. The term usually refers to the environmental breakdown of waste by microorganisms. Generally, plant and animal products are biodegrad� able, whereas mineral substances (e.g., metals, glass, plastics) are not. Local conditions, especially the presence or absence of oxygen, affect biodegradability. Disposal of nonbiodegradable waste is a primary source of pollution. Surgical materials made to be absorbed by the body are also called biodegradable.

biodiversity Quantity of plant and animal species found in a given environment. Sometimes habitat diversity (the variety of places where organisms live) and genetic diversity (the variety of traits expressed within a species) are also considered types of biodiversity. The estimated 3-30 million species on Earth are divided unequally among the world�s habi� tats, with 50-90% of the world�s species living in tropical regions. The more diverse a habitat, the better chance it has of surviving a change or threat to it, because it is more likely to be able to make a balancing adjustment. Habitats with little biodiversity (e.g., Arctic tundra) are more vulnerable to change. The 1992 Earth Summit resulted in a treaty for the preservation of biodiversity.

bioengineering Application of engineering principles and equipment to biology and medicine. It includes the development and fabrication of life-support systems for underwater and space exploration, devices for medical treatment (see dialysis, prosthesis), and instruments for monitoring biological processes. Development has been particularly rapid in the area of artificial organs, which culminated in the implantation of an artificial heart into a human being in 1982. Bioengineers also develop equipment that enables humans to maintain body functions in hostile environments, such as the space suits worn by astronauts during extravehicular maneu� vers.

biofeedback Information supplied instantaneously about an individu� al�s own physiological processes. Data concerning cardiovascular activ� ity (blood pressure and heart rate), temperature, brain waves, or muscle tension is monitored electronically and returned or �fed back� to the indi� vidual through a gauge on a meter, a light, or a sound. The goal is for the patient to use that biological data to learn to voluntarily control the body�s reactions to stressful external events. A type of behaviour therapy, biofeed� back training is sometimes used in combination with psychotherapy to help patients understand and change their habitual reactions to stress. Com� plaints treated through biofeedback include migraine headaches, gas� trointestinal problems, high blood pressure, and epileptic seizures.

biography Form of nonfictional literature whose subject is the life of an individual. The earliest biographical writings probably were funeral speeches and inscriptions. The origins of modern biography lie with Plu� tarch�s moralizing lives of prominent Greeks and Romans and Suetonius�s gossipy lives of the Caesars. Few biographies of common individuals were written until the 16th century. The major developments of English biography came in the 18th century, with such works as James Boswell�s Life of Johnson. In modern times impatience with Victorian reticence and the development of psychoanalysis have sometimes led to a more pen� etrating and comprehensive understanding of biographical subjects. See also AUTOBIOGRAPHY.

Bioko \be-'o-ko\ formerly Fernando Po \fer-'nan-do-'po\ Island (pop., 1987 est.: 67,920), Bight of Biafra, West Africa. It lies 100 mi (160 km) northwest of continental Equatorial Guinea, of which it is a part. Bioko became the official name in 1979. Volcanic in origin, with an area of 779 sq mi (2,018 sq km), it rises sharply from the sea; its highest point is Santa Isabel Peak, at 9,869 ft (3,008 m). Malabo, the country�s capital, is located on Bioko. The island was visited by the Portuguese explorer Fernao Po, probably in 1472. Though the island was claimed by Spain after 1778, the first attempt at firm Spanish control came only in 1858. The original inhabitants, the Bubi, are descendants of Bantu-speaking migrants from the mainland. Many Fang have flocked to the island from the continent.

biological rhythm Periodic biological fluctuation in an organism cor� responding to and in response to periodic environmental change, such as day and night or high and low tide. The internal mechanism that main� tains this rhythm even without the apparent environmental stimulus is a �biological clock.� When the rhythm is interrupted, the clock�s adjust� ment is delayed, accounting for such phenomena as jet lag when travel� ing across time zones. Rhythms may have 24-hour (circadian rhythm), monthly, or annual cycles. See also photoperiodism.

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biological warfare ► biotite I 221

biological warfare or germ warfare Military use of disease- producing or poisonous agents, and the means for defending against such agents. Biological warfare agents include many bacteria, such as those which cause anthrax, brucellosis, and typhus; viruses that cause diseases such as equine encephalitis; fungi such as rice blast, cereal rust, wheat smut, and potato blight; and toxins such as botulinum and ricin that are extracted from living organisms. Biological warfare dates from ancient times when warring groups would try to poison enemy soldiers with rotting or dis� eased corpses, infect cattle and horses, or spread contagion through civil� ian populations. Following the horrors of World War I, a 1925 Geneva Protocol prohibited the use of biological agents in warfare; however, this did not prevent Japan from using them in China during World War II. During the Cold War the Soviet Union as well as the U.S. and its allies built huge stockpiles of biological agents. Both sides signed the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention, which prohibits the production, stock� piling, or development of biological weapons and requires the destruction of existing stockpiles, but the Soviets conducted a clandestine program until the 1990s. Biological weapons programs can be concealed easily, and the 1972 convention contains no provisions for inspection and report� ing. As a result, many states have been suspected of developing biologi� cal warfare agents, and some modern armed forces have prepared defensive measures. These include battlefield sensors, protective garments and masks, sterilizing agents, and vaccines.

biology Study of living things and their vital processes. An extremely broad subject, biology is divided into branches. The current approach is based on the levels of biological organization involved (e.g., molecules, cells, individuals, populations) and on the specific topic under investiga� tion (e.g., structure and function, growth and development). According to this scheme, biology�s main subdivisions include morphology, physiology, taxonomy, embryology, genetics, and ecology, each of which can be further subdivided. Alternatively, biology can be divided into fields especially concerned with one type of living thing; for example, botany (plants), zoology (animals), ornithology (birds), entomology (insects), mycology (fungi), microbiology (microorganisms), and bacteriology (bacteria). See also biochemistry; molecular biology.

biology, philosophy of Philosophical investigation of the concepts, problems, and methods of the biological sciences. Many of the topics considered in contemporary philosophy of biology have arisen from reflection on aspects of the theory of evolution. They include the question of whether evolution is ultimately falsifiable, a conventional requirement of all scientific theories; whether the thesis of natural selection has empiri� cal content or is merely a tautology; whether selection operates at the level of the individual, the species, or the gene; and whether selection is guided by certain constraints controlling development at the molecular level. Other more general issues concern the possible reduction of biological theories to theories of the physical sciences, the role of teleological lan� guage in biology (see teleology), and the nature of species as a biological category. See also creationism; sociobiology.

bioluminescence \ l bI-o- l lii-m3- , ne-s 3 ns\ Emission of light by an organism or biochemical system (e.g., the glow of bacteria on decaying meat or fish, the phosphorescence of protozoans in tropical seas, the flickering signals of fireflies). It occurs in a wide range of protists and animals, including bacteria and fungi, insects, marine invertebrates, and fish. It is not known to exist naturally in true plants or in amphibians, reptiles, birds, or mammals. It results from a chemical reaction that pro� duces radiant energy very efficiently, giving off very little heat. The essen� tial light-emitting components are usually the organic molecule luciferin and the enzyme luciferase, which are specific for different organisms. In higher organisms, light production is used to frighten predators and to help members of a species recognize each other. Its functional role in lower organisms such as bacteria, dinoflagellates, and fungi is uncertain. Luminous species are widely scattered taxonomically, with no clear-cut pattern, though most are marine.

biomass Weight or total quantity of living organisms of one animal or plant species (species biomass) or of all the species in the community (community biomass), commonly referred to as a unit area or volume of the habitat. The biomass in an area at a given moment is the standing crop.

biome Vbi-.omV Largest geographic biotic unit, a major community of plants and animals with similar requirements of environmental conditions. It includes various communities and developmental stages of communi�

ties and is named for the dominant type of vegetation, such as grassland or coniferous forest. Several similar biomes constitute a biome type; for example, the temperate deciduous forest biome type includes the decidu� ous forest biomes of Asia, Europe, and North America. The standard European term for biome is �major life zone.�

Biondi \be-'an-de\, Matt (b. Oct. 15, 1965, Palo Alto, Calif., U.S.) U.S. swimmer. Biondi, 6 ft 7 in. (2 m) tall, won 11 medals, including eight gold medals, in three consecutive Olympic Games (1984, 1988, and 1992). Along with Mark Spitz, he is the most successful U.S. swimmer in Olym� pic history.

biophysics Discipline concerned with applications of the principles and methods of the physical sciences to biological problems. Biophysics deals with biological functions that depend on physical agents such as electric� ity or mechanical force, with the interaction of living organisms with physical agents such as light, sound, or ionizing radiation, and with inter� actions between living things and their environment as in locomotion, navigation, and communication. Its subjects include bone, nerve impulses, muscle, and vision as well as organic molecules, using such tools as paper chromatography and X-ray crystallography.

biopsy \'bl-,ap-se\ Procedure in which cells or tissues are removed from a patient and examined. The sample may be obtained from any organ, by any of several methods, including suction through a needle, swabbing, scraping, endoscopy, and cutting out the entire structure or part of it to be tested. Biopsy is a standard step in distinguishing malignant from benign tumours and can provide other information for diagnosis, particularly concerning such organs as the liver or pancreas. Slides of the tissue are prepared and examined by microscope.

BIOS VbI-,os\ in full Basic Input/Output System Computer pro� gram that is typically stored in EPROM and used by the CPU to perform start-up procedures when the computer is turned on. Its two major pro� cedures are determining what peripheral devices (keyboard, mouse, disk drives, printers, video cards, etc.) are available and loading the operating system (OS) into main memory. After start-up, the BIOS program man� ages data flow between the OS and the peripherals, so neither the OS nor the application programs need to know the details of the peripherals (such as hardware addresses).

biosolids Sewage sludge, the residues remaining from the treatment of sewage. For use as a fertilizer in agricultural applications, biosolids must first be stabilized through processing, such as digestion or the addition of lime, to reduce concentrations of heavy metals and harmful organisms (certain bacteria, viRUSes, and other pathogens). This processing also reduces the volume of material and stabilizes the organic matter in it, thus reducing the potential for odours. Use of biosolids in agriculture has become controversial, critics claiming that even treated sewage may har� bour harmful bacteria, viruses, and heavy metals.

biosphere Relatively thin life-supporting stratum of the earth�s surface, extending from a few miles into the atmosphere to the deep-sea vents of the oceans. The biosphere is a global ecosystem that can be broken down into regional or local ecosystems, or biomes. Organisms in the biosphere are classified into trophic levels (see food chain) and communities.

biotechnology Application to industry of advances made in the bio� logical sciences. The growth of the field is linked to the development in the 1970s of genetic engineering and to the 1980 U.S. Supreme Court deci� sion that �a live human-made microorganism is a patentable matter,� which resulted in the establishment of numerous commercial biotechnol� ogy firms that manufacture genetically engineered substances for a vari� ety of mostly medical, agricultural, and ecological uses.

biotin Vbl-o-tonX Organic compound, part of the vitamin B complex, essen� tial for growth and well-being in animals and some microorganisms. A carboxylic acid with two rings in its structure, it includes nitrogen and sul� fur atoms as well as carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. It functions in the formation and metabolism of fats and carbohydrates. It is widely distrib� uted in nature and is especially abundant in egg yolk, beef liver, and yeast. A biotin deficiency can be induced by consuming large amounts of raw egg white, which contains a protein (avidin) that combines with biotin and makes it unavailable. Biotin is needed to synthesize fatty acids and convert amino acids to glucose in the body.

biotite or black mica Silicate mineral in the common mica group. It is abundant in metamorphic rocks, in pegmatites, and in granites and other

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222 I BioyCasares ► bird-watching

igneous rocks. Biotite is a layer sili� cate structure in which aluminum and silicon occur in infinitely extending Si-Al-0 sheets that alternate with potassium-rich and magnesium- (and iron-) containing sheets.

Bioy Casares Vbe-'oi-ka-'sa-rasV Adolfo (b. Sept. 15, 1914, Buenos Aires, Arg.�d. March 8, 1999, Bue� nos Aires) Argentine writer and edi� tor. He is known for his use of magic realism both in his own works and in collaborations with Jorge Luis Borges.

Among his novels are The Invention of Morel (1940), The Dream of Heroes (1954), and Diary of the War of the Pig (1969). In 1990 he received the Cervantes Prize, the highest honour in Hispanic letters.

bipolar disorder or manic-depressive psychosis Mental ill� ness characterized by the alternation of manic and depressive states. Depression is the more common symptom, and many patients experience only a brief period of overoptimism and mild euphoria during the manic phase. The condition, which seems to be inheritable, probably arises from malregulation of the amines norepinephrine, dopamine, and 5-hydroxytryptamine. It is most commonly treated with lithium carbonate.

Biqa' \be-'ka\, Al- or Bekaa \be-'ka\ Valley ancient Coele-Syria

Broad valley region of central Lebanon. Located between the Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges, it is about 75 mi (120 km) long and 10 mi (15 km) wide. Traversed by the upper Orontes and Litani rivers, the valley is an agricultural area. The ruins of the ancient city of Baalbeck are located there. The majority of the inhabitants are Shl'ite Muslims. The region was the scene of some factional fighting during the Lebanese Civil War (1975-90), and during that time Israel intermittently fought there against forces of the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Syrian army. Since the 1980s the region has been a stronghold of the Shl'ite militant organization Hezbollah.

birch Any of about 40 species of short-lived ornamental and timber trees and shrubs of the genus Betula, the largest genus of the family Betulaceae, which also contains alders, filberts, Carpinus (hornbeam), and the genera Ostrya and Ostryopsis. Birches are found throughout cool regions of the Northern Hemisphere; other members of the family Betulaceae are found in temperate and subarctic areas of the Northern Hemisphere, in tropical mountains, and in South America through the Andes as far south as Argen� tina. Leaves are simple, serrate, and alternate; male and female flowers (catkins) are borne on the same plant. The fruit is a small nut or short� winged samara (dry, winged fruit). Birches produce economically impor� tant timber. Oil obtained from birch twigs smells and tastes like wintergreen and is used in tanning Russian leather (see tanning).

bird Any of the warm-blooded, beaked vertebrates of the class Aves, including more than 9,600 living species. A covering of feathers distin-

co verts

hind toe (hallux)

forehead__

upper

mandible

chin lores throat breast � side abdomen flank tarsus

auricular (ear patch) nape side of neck

bend of wing-

back-

scapulars � wing coverts

secondaries

tail feathers (rectrices)

Principal features of a songbird.

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guishes birds from all other animals. Birds have a four-chambered heart (like mammals), forelimbs modified into wings, and keen vision, and their eggs have calcium-rich eggshells. Their sense of smell is not highly devel� oped. Birds are found almost worldwide in diverse habitats on both land and water. Dietary preferences and nest structure vary widely. Almost all species incubate their eggs. Flying birds have evolved skeletons in which part of the bone is replaced by air spaces, an adaptation for reducing weight. The crop, an enlarged part of the esophagus used for temporary food storage, enables birds to feed while in flight. Humans use wild and domesticated birds and their eggs for food, hunt wild birds for sport, and use feathers for decoration and insulation. More than 1,000 extinct spe� cies of bird have been identified from fossil remains; the earliest fossil bird known is Archaeopteryx.

Bird, Larry (Joe) (b. Dec. 7, 1956, West Baden, Ind., U.S.) U.S. bas� ketball player. Bird spent most of his collegiate career at Indiana State University, before being drafted by the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Playing forward and standing 6 ft 9 in. (2.06 m) tall, he was a great shooter and ball handler and one of the most formidable playmakers in the game. He helped lead Boston to NBA cham� pionships in 1981, 1984, and 1986 and was named the NBA�s most valu� able player for three consecutive years (1984-86). He retired in 1992 and was head coach of the Indiana Pacers for the 1997-98 season.

bird flu or avian influenza viral respiratory disease, mainly of birds including poultry and waterbirds but also transmissible to humans. Symp� toms in humans include fever, sore throat, cough, headache, and muscle aches. Severe infections can result in life-threatening complications such as pneumonia and acute respiratory illness. The first known human cases occurred in Hong Kong in 1997, resulting in six deaths. Deadly outbreaks among poultry in several countries in eastern and central Asia between 2003 and mid-2005 were accompanied by more than 100 human cases, about half of them fatal. The causative agents are virus subtypes related to the human influenza type A viruses, the most virulent and contagious being the H5N1 subtype. A specific protective vaccine for this virus remains to be developed. Studies suggest that some antiviral drugs that work against human influenza may be effective in treating bird flu in humans.

bird-of-paradise Any of about 40 species (family Paradisaeidae) of small to medium-size forest birds that are rivaled by only a few pheas� ants and hummingbirds in colour and in the bizarre shape of the males� plumage. Courting males perform mating rituals for hours on a perch or in a cleared space on the forest floor. Birds-of-paradise are found in the highlands of New Guinea and on nearby islands; some species are also found in Australia. Among the most notable species are the plumebirds, which are 12-18 in. (30^46 cm) long and have central tail feathers elon� gated as wires or twisted ribbons.

bird-of-paradise or crane flower Ornamental plant (Strelitzia reginae ) of the family Strelitziaceae. All five species of the genus Strel� itzia are native to southern Africa. The large, showy Strelitzia flower has two erect, pointed petals and five stamens. One main bract, shaped like a boat, is green with red borders. It holds many long-stemmed orange and bright blue flowers, each resembling the crest and beak of a crane, giv� ing the plant its common names.

bird of prey Any member of the order Falconiformes (eagles, falcons, hawks, and vultures) or Strigiformes (owls). Falconiforms are also called raptors. They are active during the day, whereas owls are nocturnal. Con� dors and eagles are among the largest and strongest of flying birds. All birds of prey have a hook-tipped beak and sharp curved claws called tal� ons. (Nonpredatory vultures have less-developed talons.) Despite the similarities between owls and raptors, many authorities believe they are not closely related but developed similar features because of their simi� lar predatory lives.

bird stone Abstract stone carving by the prehistoric cultures of North America. They resemble birds and are about 6 in. (15 cm) long. Many were carved from black, brown, or dark green slate and polished with sand or other abrasive materials. All feature a pair of conical holes run� ning diagonally through the base. They may have been used as weights or handles on a short rod (known as an atlatl) used to hurl spears or arrows.

bird-watching or birding Observation or identification of wild birds in their natural habitat. Basic equipment includes binoculars, a field guide to aid identification, and a notebook for recording time and place of sight-

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bird's-foot trefoil ► Biscay I 223

ings. The lists of bird observations compiled by members of local bird� watching societies are often useful to scientists in determining dispersal, habitat, and migration patterns of the various species. Bird-watching is primarily a 20th-century phenomenon; before 1900 most students of birds had to shoot them in order to identify them. Its popularity grew through the publication of journals and books, in particular the field guides (begin� ning in 1934) of Roger Tory Peterson.

bird's-foot trefoil Perennial, spreading, herbaceous legume {Lotus cor- niculatus ) native to Europe and Asia but introduced to other regions. The stem grows to about 2 ft (60 cm) long. Its leaves consist of three oval leaflets, broadest near the tip. The yellow flowers (sometimes tinged with red) grow in clusters of 5 to 10. Often used as forage for cattle, it is occa� sionally a troublesome weed.

Birdseye, Clarence (b. Dec. 9, 1886, New York, N.Y., U.S.�d. Oct. 7, 1956, New York) U.S. businessman and inventor. He developed a highly efficient process for freezing foods in small packages suitable for retailing. He achieved rapid freezing by placing packaged food, includ� ing fish, fruits, and vegetables, between two refrigerated metal plates. Though his were not the first frozen foods, his process largely preserved the original taste of the food. In 1929 his company was bought by Pos- tum, Inc., which later became General Foods Corp. Birdseye served as a corporate executive until 1938.

birdsong Certain vocalizations of birds, characteristic of males during the breeding season, for the attraction of a mate and for territorial defense. Birdsong also reinforces pair bonds, and some species have a flight song. Birdsongs are usually more complex and longer than birdcalls, which are used for communication within a species. Birdsong may be hereditary or learned; a newly hatched male chaffinch, for example, can sing a �sub� song� but must learn to sing the true song by listening to and imitating adult males.

birefringence See double refraction

Biringuccio Nbe-req-'giit-choV Vannoccio (b. Oct. 20, 1480, Siena�d. August 1537, Rome) Italian metallurgist and armaments maker. He is chiefly known for the first clear, comprehensive work on metallurgy, De la pirotechnia (published posthumously in 1540). His book, which contrasts strikingly with the obscure alchemical writings of the time, is replete with lavish woodcuts illustrating equipment and processes and includes clear, practical instructions for mining, smelting, and metalwork� ing. It became a standard reference and remains a valuable resource on 15th- and 16th-century technology.

Birkenau See Auschwitz

Birkenhead, Frederick Edwin Smith, 1st earl of (b. July 12, 1872, Birkenhead, Cheshire, Eng.�d. Sept. 30, 1930, London) British politician. Elected to the House of Commons in 1906, he became noted as an orator and soon became a leader of the Conservative Party. As attor� ney general (1915-18), he successfully prosecuted Roger Casement. As lord chancellor (1919-22), he secured passage of the Law of Property Act (1922) and subsequent real-property statutes (1925) that replaced a con� voluted system of land law. He also helped negotiate the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921.

Birmingham Vbor-miq-.hanA City (pop., 2000: 249,459), north-central Alabama, U.S. It is Alabama�s largest city. Founded in 1871 by a land company backed by railroad officials, it was named for the English city. It developed as the South�s iron and steel centre. From nearby Port Bir� mingham a barge canal leads south to Mobile. Birmingham was the scene of civil rights drives by Martin Luther King, Jr., in the early 1960s, and in 1963 four black girls were killed there in a church bombing; this incident gave major impetus to the civil rights movement.

Birmingham Vbar-miq-amV City and metropolitan borough (pop., 2001: 977,091), central England. Birmingham lies 100 mi (160 km) north� west of London. Its first charter was granted in 1166. It was a small manufacturing town until the 18th century, when it became a centre of the Industrial Revolution, counting among its citizens James Watt, Joseph Priest� ley, and John Baskerville. It suffered heavy bombing during World War II but was subsequently rebuilt. It remains the chief centre of Britain�s light and medium industry, and it is also the cultural centre for a wide area. Birmingham is the site of two universities and of a grammar school founded by King Edward VI in 1552.

Birney, (Alfred) Earle (b. May 13, 1904, Calgary, Alta., Northwest Territories [Canada]�d. Sept. 3, 1995, Toronto, Ont.) Canadian poet and educator. Birney received a Ph.D. from the University of Toronto and brought out his first collection of poetry, David (1942, Governor Gener� al�s Award), during his time there. After serving in World War II, he pub� lished Now Is Time (1946, Governor General�s Award) and other collections and held a number of teaching and editorial positions. His love of language led him to experiment with sound poems and to explore con� crete poetry; he also wrote two novels, a drama in verse, and several radio plays.

Birney, James G(illespie) (b. Feb. 4, 1792, Danville, Ky., U.S.�d. Nov. 25, 1857, Eagleswood, N.J.) U.S. politician and antislavery leader. He practiced law in Danville, Ky., before moving to Alabama, where he was elected to the state legislature in 1819. He became active in the abo� lition movement and in 1837 was elected secretary of the American Anti- Slavery Society. After the group split, he helped lead the faction that became the Liberty Party; he was the party�s presidential candidate in 1840 and 1844.

birth See parturition

birth control Voluntary limiting of human reproduction, using such means as contraception, sexual abstinence, surgical sterilization, and induced abortion. The term was coined in 1914-15 by Margaret Sanger. Medically, birth control is often advised when childbirth might endanger the mother�s health or substantial risk exists of bearing a severely dis� abled child. Socially and economically, limitation of reproduction fre� quently reflects a desire to maintain or improve family living standards. Most religious leaders now generally agree that some form of fertility regulation is desirable, though the means are strongly debated. See also FAMILY PLANNING.

birth defect Genetic or trauma-induced abnormality present at birth. A more restrictive term than congenital disorder, it covers abnormalities that arise during the formation of an embryo�s organs and tissues and does not include those caused by diseases (e.g., syphilis) that damage structures after they are formed.

birthmark Unusual mark or blemish on the skin at birth. Most birth� marks are either hemangiomas or moles. They are usually harmless and many fade in childhood; those that do not can sometimes be removed by laser surgery or abrasion.

birthstone Gemstone associated with the month of one�s birth. Wear� ing one was popularly supposed to bring good luck or health. The ancient belief that supernatural powers could be attributed to gemstones is still held by some people today. The list of genuine stones (e.g., diamond, emerald, sapphire, ruby) was supplemented in the 20th century by a series of synthetic stones for use as less costly substitutes.

Birtwistle, Sir Harrison (Paul) (b. July 15, 1934, Accrington, Lan� cashire, Eng.) British composer. He began as a clarinetist, shifting to composition in his 20s. He cofounded the Pierrot Players with Peter Max� well Davies (1967) but felt limited by the group�s size. He concentrated on exploring large-scale time structures; his music�s form is controlled by complex cyclical principles that he declined to discuss. His works include the theatre pieces Punch and Judy (1966-67), The Mask of Orpheus (1973-86), and Gawain (1991), and the orchestral works The Triumph of Time (1972), Silbury Air (1977), and Secret Theatre (1984).

Blrunl \be-'rii-ne\, al- (b. September 973, Khwarezm, Khorasan�d. Dec. 13, 1048, Ghazna, Ghaznavid Afg.) Persian scientist and scholar. Sometime after 1017, he went to India, a land of which he wrote an ency� clopaedic account. Later he settled at Ghazna in Afghanistan, where he enjoyed the support of the renowned MahmGd of Ghazna and other rulers of the Ghaznavid dynasty. Conversant with many languages, he wrote in Arabic, producing works on mathematics, astronomy, astrology, geogra� phy, physics, medicine, history, and chronology. His scientific achieve� ments included accurate calculations of latitude and longitude and explanations of natural springs by the laws of hydrostatics. His best- known works are A History of India and Chronology of Ancient Nations.

Biscay, Bay of or Gulf of Gascony French Golfe de Gascogne

\,g6lf-d9-ga-'sk6n y \ Spanish Golfo de Vizcaya Vgol-fo-.tha-beth- 'ka-ya\ Inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, bounded by southwestern France and northwestern Spain. It has an area of about 86,000 sq mi (223,000 sq km) and a maximum depth of 15,525 ft (4,735 m). It is known for its rough

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224 I Biscayne Bay ► Bismarck Archipelago

seas. Rivers flowing into the bay include the Loire, Adour, and Garonne. Its ports include (in France) Brest, Nantes, and Bordeaux, and (in Spain) Bilbao, Santander, and Aviles; none can accommodate large vessels. French coastal resorts include La Baule, Biarritz, and Saint-Jean-de-Luz.

Biscayne Bay Inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, southeastern U.S. Located along southeastern Florida, it is about 40 mi (64 km) long and 2-10 mi (3-16 km) wide; it forms part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. It is bordered by Miami on the northwest and the Florida Keys on the east. The bay was named for the early explorer El Biscaino, of Viscaya (Biscaya) province, Spain. See also Biscayne National Park.

Biscayne National Park Preserve, southeastern Florida, U.S. Located 20 mi (32 km) south of Miami, with an area of 172,925 acres (70,035 hectares), it consists mostly of coral reef and water containing some 33 keys that form a north-to-south chain separating Biscayne Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. It is noted for a wide variety of sea life. Autho� rized as Biscayne National Monument in 1968, it became a national park in 1980.

Bischof Vbi-shoA, Werner (b. April 26, 1916, Zurich, Switz.�found dead May 16, 1954, Peruvian Andes) Swiss photojoumalist. He studied at the Zurich Arts and Crafts School (1932-36). In 1942 he began work� ing for the picture magazine Du, for which he photographed war-tom France, Germany, and The Netherlands. In 1949 he joined the coopera� tive photographers� agency Magnum Photos. He died in a car accident while working in Peru. Collections of his photographs were published in the books Japan (1954), Incas to Indians (1956), and The World of Werner Bischof { 1959).

Bishkek \bish-'kek\ or Pishpek \pish-'pek\ formerly (1926-91) Frunze \'friin-zi\ City (pop., 1999 est.: 619,000), capital of Kyrgyzstan. It lies on the Chu River near the Kyrgyz Mountains on the Kazakhstan border. In 1825 the Uzbek khanate of Kokand (see Qo'qon) established a fortress on the site, which in 1862 was captured by the Russians. The Russians mistakenly called it Pishpek. When the Kirgiz (Kyrgyz) Autono� mous Soviet Socialist Republic was set up in 1926, the city became its capital and was renamed Frunze for a Red Army leader who was born there. It developed as an industrial city, especially in World War II (1939� 45) when heavy industries from western Russia were moved there.

bishop In some Christian churches, the chief pastor and overseer of a diocese, an area containing several congregations. From the 4th century ad until the Reformation, bishops held broad secular and religious pow� ers, including the settling of disputes, ordination of clergy, and confirma� tion of church members. Some Christian churches (notably the Anglican, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox churches) continue the bishop�s office and the doctrine of Apostolic succession. Others, including some Lutheran and Methodist churches, retain bishops but not the principle of apostolic succession; still others have abolished the office altogether. Popes, cardinals, archbishops, patriarchs, and metropolitans are gradations of bishops. In Roman Catholicism, the pope selects the bishop; in Angli� canism, the dean and chapter of the cathedral of the diocese elect the bishop; in Methodism a synod chooses the bishop. See also episcopacy.

Bishop, Elizabeth (b. Feb. 8, 1911, Worcester, Mass., U.S.�d. Oct. 6, 1979, Boston, Mass.) U.S. poet. Bishop was reared by relatives in Nova Scotia, Can., after her father died and her mother was institutionalized. In the 1950s and �60s she lived principally in Brazil with the Brazilian woman she loved. Her first book of poems (1946) contrasts her New England origins and her love of hot climates; reprinted with additions as North & South: A Cold Spring (1955), it received the Pulitzer Prize. Her works are celebrated for their formal brilliance and their close observa� tions of everyday reality. They have elicited much admiration from other poets. Posthumous publications include The Collected Prose (1984) and One Art (1994), a collection of her letters.

Bishop, J(ohn) Michael (b. Feb. 22, 1936, York, Pa., U.S.) U.S. virologist. He graduated from Harvard Medical School. In 1970 he and Harold Varmus tested the theory that healthy body cells contain oncogenes (cancer-causing genes). Further research showed that such genes can cause cancer even without viral involvement. By 1989, the year Bishop and Varmus shared a Nobel Prize for their research, scientists had iden� tified more than 40 oncogenes in animals.

Bishop, William Avery known as Billy Bishop (b. Feb. 8, 1894, Owen Sound, Ont., Can.�d. Sept. 11, 1956, West Palm Beach, Fla., U.S.) Canadian World War I fighter ace. Educated at the Royal Military Col�

lege, he transferred from the cavalry to the Royal Flying Corps in 1915. While serving in France in 1917, he shot down 72 enemy aircraft, includ� ing 25 in one 10-day period. He was appointed to the staff of the British Air Ministry and helped form the Royal Canadian Air Force as a sepa� rate brigade. After the war he became a businessman and writer.

Bishop's University Privately endowed university in Lennoxville, Quebec, Canada, founded in 1843. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, business, and education.

BIsitun N.be-si-'tunX ancient Behestun Town and historic site, western Iran. On a limestone cliff above the present village is a bas-relief and series of inscriptions purportedly commissioned by the Achaemenian king Darius the Great (r. 522-486 bc); inscriptions in Old Persian, Babylonian, and Elamite record how Darius killed a usurper, defeated rebel forces, and assumed the throne. The inscriptions were first copied (1837-47) by Sir Henry Rawlinson (1810-95), an officer of the East India Company The deciphering of the Old Persian was a major advance in the study of cunei� form WRITING.

bisj Vbis-e\ pole Carved wooden pole used in the religious rites of the South Pacific islands. The poles, 12-26 ft (4-8 m) tall, resemble an upended canoe with an exaggerated prow; they consist of carved figures placed one atop the other (thought to represent deceased ancestors) and terminate in a flat projection of ornate, openwork ornament. They are intended to harbour the souls of the dead, keeping them away from the village, and are also used to transmit magical powers. See also totem pole.

Bismarck Vbiz-.markV City (pop., 2000: 55,532), capital of North Dakota, U.S. It was settled as a Missouri River port in the 1830s. In 1872 a military post was established to protect railway workers, and in 1873 it was named for Otto von Bismarck in the hope of attracting German invest� ment. With the discovery of gold in the nearby Black Hills, it became a prospecting centre. In 1883 it was made the capital of Dakota Territory; when the territory was divided into two states in 1889, Bismarck became the capital of the northern state. Today it is the region�s business, cultural, and financial centre.

Bismarck German battleship of World War II. The formidable 52,600- ton (47,700-metric-ton) vessel was launched in 1939. British reconnais� sance aircraft sighted it off Bergen, Norway, in May 1941, and almost the entire British home fleet was sent to intercept it. Two cruisers engaged it near Iceland, and the Bismarck destroyed the Hood before escaping to the open sea. Sighted 30 hours later, it was torpedoed and then bombarded by battleships throughout the night. The King George V and the Rodney crippled it in an hour-long attack, and it was finally sunk by torpedoes from the cruiser Dorsetshire.

Bismarck, Otto (Eduard Leopold), prince von (b. April 1,1815, Schonhausen, Altmark, Prussia�d. July 30, 1898, Friedrichsruh, near Hamburg) Prussian statesman who founded the German Empire in 1871 and served as its chancellor for 19 years. Born into the Prussian landown� ing elite, Bismarck studied law and was elected to the Prussian Diet in 1849. In 1851 he was appointed Prussian representative to the federal Diet in Frankfurt. After serving as ambassador to Russia (1859-62) and France (1862), he became prime minister and foreign minister of Prussia (1862� 71). When he took office, Prussia was widely considered the weakest of the five European powers, but under his leadership Prussia won a war against Denmark in 1864 (see Schleswig-Holstein Question), the Seven Weeks' War (1866), and the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71). Through these wars he achieved his goal of political unification of a Prussian- dominated German Empire. Once the empire was established, he became its chancellor. The �Iron Chancellor� skillfully preserved the peace in Europe through alliances against France (see Three Emperors' League; Rein� surance Treaty; Triple Alliance). Domestically, he introduced administrative and economic reforms but sought to preserve the status quo, opposing the Social Democratic Party and the Catholic church (see Kulturkampf). When Bismarck left office in 1890, the map of Europe had been changed immea� surably. However, the German Empire, his greatest achievement, survived him by only 20 years because he had failed to create an internally uni� fied people.

Bismarck Archipelago Island group, western Pacific Ocean. Lying northwest of New Guinea, it forms part of Papua New Guinea. It has a total area of 19,173 sq mi (49,658 sq km); its largest components include New Britain, New Ireland, the Admiralty Islands, and New Hanover (Lavongai).

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bismuth ► bivalve I 225

Annexed by Germany in 1884, it was named for Otto von Bismarck. Occu� pied by Australia in 1914, it was made a mandated territory of Australia in 1920. The group became part of the UN Trust Territory of New Guinea after World War 11 and part of Papua New Guinea when it attained inde� pendence in 1975.

bismuth \'biz-math \ Semimetallic to metallic chemical element, chemi� cal symbol Bi, atomic number 83. Hard, brittle, and lustrous, it has a dis� tinctive gray-white colour with a reddish tinge. It is often found free in nature and also occurs in compounds and in mixed ores. Bismuth alloys are used (because of their low melting points) in making metal castings, special solders, automatic sprinkler heads, fuses, and many fire-detection devices. Bismuth phosphomolybdate is a catalyst in the production of acrylonitrile, an important raw material for fibres and plastics. Salts of bismuth are used in making soothing agents for digestive disorders (espe� cially bismuth subsalicylate), in treating skin infections and injuries, and in lipstick, nail polish, and eye shadow, to which they impart a pearles- cent quality.

bison Vbl-s 3 n, 'bl-z 3 n\ Either species (genus Bison ) of oxlike bovid with a convex forehead and a pronounced shoulder hump. Its dark brown, coarse hair is especially long on the head, which is held low, and on the neck and shoulders. Both sexes bear heavy, curved horns. A mature bull stands about 6.5 ft (2 m) at the shoul� der and weighs more than 1,980 lb (900 kg). Bison live in herds. The American bison ( B. bison), com� monly called buffalo, was abundant over most of North America when Europeans arrived. Uncontrolled hunting drove it nearly to extinction by 1900, but it has since recovered. The European bison ( B. bonasus ) is similar and survives only in a few managed herds.

Bissau \bis-'au\ Seaport (pop., 1999 est.: 274,000), capital of Guinea- Bissau. Lying on an estuary of the Geba River where it flows into the Atlantic Ocean, the port originated in 1687 as a Portuguese fortified post. In 1941 it replaced Bolama as the country�s capital and has since devel� oped as an excellent roadstead for large vessels.

bit in full binary digit In communication and information theory, a unit of information equivalent to the result of a choice between only two possible alternatives, such as 1 and 0 in the binary code generally used in digital computers. It is also applied to a unit of memory corresponding to the ability to store the result of a choice between two alternatives. A byte consists of a string of eight consecutive bits and makes up the basic infor� mation processing unit of a computer. Because a byte includes only an amount of information equivalent to one letter or one symbol (e.g., a comma), the processing and storage capacities of computer hardware are usually given in kilobytes (1,024 bytes), megabytes (1,048,576 bytes), and even gigabytes (about 1 billion bytes) and terabytes (1 trillion bytes).

bit-map Method by which a display space (such as a graphics image file) is defined, including the colour of each of its pixels (or bits). In effect, a bit-map is an array of binary data representing the values of pixels in an image or display. A GIF is an example of a graphics image file that has a bit-map. When the GIF is displayed on a computer monitor, the com� puter reads the bit-map to determine which colours to use to �paint� the screen. In a bit-mapped font, each character is defined as a pattern of dots in a bit-map.

Bithynia \ba-'thin-e-a\ Ancient country, northwestern Anatolia. Bounded by the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea, it was settled by Thracians in the late 2nd millennium bc. They never submitted to Alexander the Great, and by the 3rd century bc a powerful Hellenistic kingship had been established in the area. There followed a century of inept leadership and rapid decline. Bithynia�s last king, Nicomedes IV, bequeathed his kingdom to the Romans in 74 bc.

bittern Any of 12 species of solitary marsh birds (family Ardeidae), related to herons but having a shorter neck and a stouter body. Most bit� terns bear a camouflage pattern (streaks of variegated brown and buff) that enables them to hide by standing upright with bill pointed upward, imitating the reeds and grasses of their habitat. They feed on fish, frogs,

(genus Bison ) of oxlike bovid with

American bison, or plains buffalo (Bison bison).

ALAN G. NELSON/ROOT RESOURCES

crayfish, and other small swamp and marsh animals, which they spear with their sharp-pointed bills. Bitterns are found almost worldwide. The largest species grow to 30 in. (75 cm), the smallest to about 12-16 in. (30^10 cm).

Bitterroot Range Segment of the northern Rocky Mountains, U.S. Extending north-south 300 mi (480 km) along the Idaho-Montana border, its peaks average about 9,000 ft (2,700 m); Idaho�s Scott Peak is the high� est, at 11,393 ft (3,473 m). Owing to the mountains� inaccessibility from the east, the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1805) had to travel north more than 100 mi (160 km) to find a route through the range. Bitterroot National Forest extends across the centre of the range.

bittersweet Any of several vines with colourful fruit. The genus Celas- trus (family Celastraceae) includes American bittersweet, or staff vine (C. scandens ), and Oriental bittersweet (C. orbiculatus), woody vines grown as ornamentals. Oriental bittersweet is a more vigorous climber than the American species. Both types climb by twining around supports. Another bittersweet, Solanum dulcamara, belongs to the nightshade family.

bitumen \ba-'tyu-man\ Mixture of tarlike hydrocarbons derived from petroleum. Black or brown, it varies from viscous to solid; the solid form is usually called asphalt. Bitumen occurs in nearly every part of the world and in nearly the whole range of geologic strata. The term may also refer to synthetic hydrocarbon compounds.

bituminous Vba-'tyii-ma-nasN coal or soft coal Most abundant form of coal. It is dark brown to black and has a relatively high heat value. Widely abundant and with the broadest range of commercial uses, it has long been used for steam generation in electric power plants and indus� trial boiler plants. Certain varieties are also used to make coke, a hard substance of almost pure carbon that is important for smelting iron ore. One major problem is that burning large quantities of bituminous coal that has a medium to high sulfur content contributes to air pollution and produces acid rain. See also subbituminous coal.

bituminous sand See tar sand

bivalve Any member of the mollusk class Bivalvia, or Pelecypoda, char� acterized by having a two-halved (valved) shell. Clams, cockles, mussels, oysters, scallops, and shipworms are bivalves. Most are completely enclosed by the shell, the two valves of which are joined by an elastic ligament,

posterior

adductor

muscle

anterior adductor digestive gland muscle

foot

ganglion

intestine

mantle

excurrent

siphon

incurrent

siphon

Internal structure of a clam. A ligament hinges the shell's two halves (valves) open, and the beating motion of cilia on the gills causes water to enter through the incur� rent siphon. As water moves over the gills, oxygen diffuses into the blood, and food particles become trapped in mucus and are moved to the mouth. A pair of adductor muscles can hold the shell tightly closed. A fold of tissue (mantle) encloses the body's organs and releases the material that forms the shell. A large muscular foot allows the clam to creep and burrow. The circulatory system consists of a heart and blood vessels, and kidneys remove wastes from the blood. Deoxygenated blood and wastes are removed in the water that exits through the excurrent siphon.

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226 I Biwa ► black-figure pottery

and by two sheets of tissue called the mantle. Bivalves have no head. They feed on phytoplankton by pumping water across the gills and trapping food particles that are then moved to the mouth. Bivalves are found in most parts of the ocean from the intertidal zone to abyssal depths.

Biwa \'be-wa\, Lake Lake, west-central Honshu, Japan. It is Japan�s largest lake, measuring 40 mi (64 km) long and up to 12 mi (19 km) wide, with an area of 259 sq mi (670 sq km). Its name refers to the musical instrument (see pipa) that the lake resembles in shape. Its sole outlet, the Yodo River, flows from its southern tip to Osaka Bay. Lake Biwa is noted for its pearl culture industry. Its great scenic beauty, long a subject of Japanese poetry, makes it one of Japan�s major tourist attractions.

Bizet \be-'za\, Georges orig. Alexandre-Cesar-Leopold Bizet

(b. Oct. 25, 1838, Paris, France�d. June 3, 1875, Bougival) French com� poser. Son of a music teacher, he gained admission to the Paris Conser� vatoire at age 9, and at age 17 he wrote the precocious Symphony in C Major (1855). Intent on success on the operatic stage, he produced The Pearl Fishers (1863), La Jolie Fille de Perth (1866), and Djamileh (1871). Disgusted with the frivolity of French light opera, he determined to reform the genre of opera comique. In 1875 his masterpiece, Carmen , reached the stage. Though its harsh realism repelled many, Carmen quickly won international enthusiasm and was recognized as the supreme example of opera comique. Bizet�s death soon after its premiere cut short a remark� able career.

Bjorling Vbyoer-liqV Jussi orig. Johan Jonaton Bjorling (b. Feb. 2, 1911, Stora Tuna, Swed.�d. Sept. 9, 1960, Siaro) Swedish tenor. He began to sing in public as a child and toured Europe and the U.S. with his family. Recruited by the Royal Swedish Opera in 1928, he was soon a star performer. He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 1938 as Rodolfo in La Boheme. He remained in Sweden during World War II but returned to the Met for several seasons afterward. He became a favourite on stage and in recordings for the sheer beauty and musicality of his singing.

Bjernson Vbycern-sonX, Bjornstjerne (Martinius) (b. Dec. 8, 1832, Kvikne, Nor.�d. April 26, 1910, Paris, France) Norwegian writer, edi� tor, and theatre director. He worked to stimulate national pride by link� ing Norwegian history and legend to modern ideals. Together with Henrik Ibsen, Alexander Kielland, and Jonas Lie, he is known as one of �the four great ones� of 19th-century Norwegian literature. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1903. His poem �Yes, We Love This Land Forever� is the Norwegian national anthem.

Black, Hugo (La Fayette) (b. Feb. 27, 1886, Clay county, Ala., U.S.�d. Sept. 25, 1971, Bethesda, Md.) U.S. Supreme Court justice (1937-71). After practicing law in Alabama from 1906, he served in the U.S. Senate (1927-37), where he was a strong supporter of the New Deal. Pres. Franklin Roosevelt appointed him to the Supreme Court of the United States, where he helped reverse earlier court decisions against New Deal legislation. In the 1960s he was prominent in the liberal majority that struck down mandatory school prayer and guaranteed the availability of legal counsel to suspected criminals. He became best known for his abso� lutist belief in the Bill of Rights as a guarantee of civil liberties. His last major opinion supported the right of the New York Times to publish the Pentagon Papers (1971).

Black, Sir James (Whyte) (b. June 14, 1924, Uddingston, Scot.) Scottish pharmacologist. Through studying interactions between receptors on cells and chemicals in the bloodstream that attach to them, Black developed the first of the beta-blocking drugs, to relieve angina pectoris. He used a similar approach to develop drugs for stomach and duodenal ulcers. He shared a 1988 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine with George H. Hitchings and Gertrude Elion.

Black Aesthetic movement or Black Arts movement Period of artistic and literary development among black Americans in the 1960s and early �70s. Based on the cultural politics of black nationalism, the movement sought to create art forms capable of expressing the varieties of black experience in the U.S. Leading theorists included Amiri Baraka, Houston Baker (b. 1943), and Henry Louis Gates. Don L. Lee (b. 1942), known as Haki R. Madhubuti after 1973, was one of its most popular writers; other notable writers included Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, and Ntozake Shange (b. 1948). The movement also produced such autobio� graphical works as The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965; with Alex Haley), Eldridge Cleaver�s Soul on Ice (1968), and Angela Davis: An Autobiography (1974).

Black and Tan Member of a British auxiliary force employed in Ire� land against the republicans (1920-21). When Irish nationalist agitation intensified after World War I, many Irish police resigned and were replaced by these temporary English recruits, who dressed in a mixed �black and tan� outfit because of a shortage of uniforms. In their efforts to thwart the terrorism of the Irish Republican Army, the Black and Tans themselves engaged in brutal reprisals.

black bass Any of about six species (genus Micropterus) of slender freshwater fishes of the sunfish family; found in eastern North America. Two, the largemouth and smallmouth black basses, have been introduced into other countries and are prized as hard-fighting game fishes. Black basses are larger and longer-bodied than sunfishes and more predatory. The largemouth bass may grow to 32 in. (80 cm) long and weigh 22 lbs (10 kg); it lives in quiet weedy lakes and streams. The smallmouth bass, which usually grows to 5-6 lbs (2-3 kg), inhabits clear, cool lakes and running streams.

black bear Forest-dwelling bear (Ursus americanus) that, despite reductions in population and range, is still the most common North American bear. The adult ranges from 5 to 6 ft (150-180 cm) in length and weighs 200-600 lbs (90-270 kg). It has various colour morphs but always a brown face and usually a white chest mark. It eats animals and vegetation, including pinecones, ber� ries, and roots. It frequently raids campsites and seizes anything edible. Though it may be tamed and taught tricks, it often becomes dan� gerous when mature.

Black Canyon of the Gunni� son National Park Park, west� ern Colorado, U.S. Comprising a narrow, deep gorge of the Gunnison River, the preserve, established as a national monument in 1933 and elevated to a national park in 1999, occu� pies an area of 51 sq mi (133 sq km). The canyon derives its name from its black-stained, lichen-covered walls, which accentuate the gloom of the chasm.

black codes Laws, enacted in the former Confederate states after the American Civil War, that restricted the freedom of former slaves and were designed to assure white supremacy. They originated in the slave codes, which defined slaves as property. In some states these codes included vagrancy laws that targeted unemployed blacks, apprentice laws that made black orphans and dependents available for hire to whites, and commer� cial laws that excluded blacks from certain trades and businesses and restricted their ownership of property. Northern reaction to the laws helped produce Radical Reconstruction and passage of the 14th and 15th amendments to the Constitution, as well as creation of the Freedmen's Bureau. Many provisions of the black codes were reenacted in the Jim Crow laws and remained in force until the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Black Death Fierce and widespread outbreak of plague, probably bubonic and pneumonic, that ravaged Europe during the 14th century. The epidemic originated in Asia and was transmitted to Europeans in 1347 when a Turkic army besieging a Genoese trading post in the Crimea cata� pulted plague-infested corpses into the town. It spread from the Mediter� ranean ports and ravaged all of Europe between 1347 and 1351. Renewed outbreaks occurred in 1361-63, 1369-71, 1374-75, 1390, and 1400. Towns and cities were more heavily hit than the countryside, and whole communities were sometimes destroyed. Much of Europe�s economy was devastated. About one-third of the European population, or a total of 25 million people, died in the Black Death.

black-eyed pea See cowpea

black-eyed Susan Either of two North American coneflowers ( Rud- beckia hirta and R. serotina ) having flower heads with deep yellow to orange petals and dark conical centers. The stems are rough and hairy; the leaves are large and ovate at the base of the plant and narrow at the top.

black-figure pottery Type of Greek pottery that originated in Corinth c. 700 bc. The figures were painted in black pigment on the natural red clay ground. Finishing details were then incised into the black pigment,

(Ursus americanus) that, despite

American black bear (Ursus america� nus)

LEONARD LEE RUE III

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Black Forest ► black market I 227

revealing the red ground. The great Attic painters (mid 6th century bc), most notably Exekias, developed nar� rative scene decoration and perfected the style. It continued to be popular until the advent of red-figure pottery ( c. 530 bc).

Black Forest German Schwarz- wald Vshfarts-.vahA Mountain region, Baden-Wlirttemberg, south� western Germany. It extends in a fairly narrow strip about 100 mi (160 km) along the eastern bank of the upper Rhine River, from the Neckar River to the Swiss border. Its highest peak is Feldberg, at 4,897 ft (1,493 m). Its name comes from its dark interior, the higher parts being thickly forested with fir and pine. It is the source of the Neckar and Danube rivers. The setting of many of the Grimm brothers� fairy tales, it is famed for the beauty and charm of its villages and rolling hills. Winter sports are prominent in the area, which also has many mineral springs and watering places, including the spa town of Baden-Baden.

Black Friday Day (Sept. 24, 1869) when plunging gold prices precipi� tated a U.S. stock-market panic. An attempt by Jay Gould and James Fisk to corner the market in gold and drive up its price depended on prevent� ing the sale of government gold, an arrangement assured through the two men�s political influence. When Pres. Ulysses S. Grant heard of the scheme, he ordered the government to sell $4 million in gold, which caused the price to drop and produced a panic selling of other stocks.

black gum or sour gum Most widely distributed tupelo, Nyssa syl- vatica, also known as black tupelo or pepperidge tree. It is found in moist areas of the eastern U.S. from Maine south to the Gulf Coast and west� ward to Oklahoma. Its wood is light and soft but tough. The black gum is sometimes grown as an ornamental and is prized for its brilliant scar� let autumnal foliage.

Dionysus and satyrs, amphora painted in the black-figure style by the Amasis Painter, c. 540 bc; in the Antikenmu- seum, Basel, Switz.

COURTESY OF THE ANTIKENMUSEUM, BASEL, SWITZ.; PHOTOGRAPH, COLORPHOTO HANS HINZ

Black Hand Secret Serbian society formed in 1911 primarily by army officers, which used terrorist methods to promote the liberation of Serbs outside Serbia from Habsburg or Ottoman rule. It conducted propaganda campaigns, organized armed bands in Macedonia, and established revo� lutionary cells throughout Bosnia. Within Serbia it dominated the army and wielded tremendous influence over the government. It gained its greatest notoriety with the assassination of Archduke Francis Ferdinand in 1914. After a trial in 1917, three leaders were executed and more than

200 were imprisoned. The name also run by immigrant Sicilian and Italian gangsters in the Italian communities of many large U.S. cities c. 1890- 1920. Local merchants and wealthy individuals would receive threaten� ing notes printed with black hands, daggers, or other menacing symbols that demanded money on pain of death or destruction of property. It declined with the beginning of Pro� hibition and large-scale bootlegging.

Black Hawk (b. 1767, Sauk Sau- tenuk, Va.�d. Oct. 3, 1838, village on the Des Moines River, Iowa, U.S.) Sauk Indian leader. Long antagonistic to whites, Black Hawk was driven into Iowa from Illinois in 1831. Defying the government orders to vacate villages along the Rock River in Illinois, he led a fac� tion of Sauk and Fox Indians back across the Mississippi River the fol� lowing year. This act led to the brief

referred to several extortion rackets

Black Hawk, oil painting by George Catlin, 1832; in the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institu� tion, Washington, D.C.

COURTESY OF NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART, SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, WASHINGTON, D.C.

but tragic Black Hawk War of 1832. He himself survived the final battle, a massacre. The ruthlessness of the war so affected neighbouring Indian groups that by 1837 most had fled far west, leaving most of the North� west Territory to white settlers.

Black Hills Group of mountains in western South Dakota and north� eastern Wyoming, U.S. Occupying about 6,000 sq mi (15,540 sq km), they lie between the Cheyenne and Belle Fourche rivers and rise to a maximum elevation of 7,242 ft (2,207 m) at Harney Peak. Their name refers to the dark appearance that their rounded hilltops and well-forested slopes present at a distance. The Sioux Indians were guaranteed treaty rights to the region in 1868; however, the discovery of gold in 1874 led to an influx of white miners and to the Black Hills War (1876), including the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Tourist attractions include the mining town of Dead- wood, Mount Rushmore and Jewel Cave national monuments, Wind Cave National Park, and Custer State Park, all in South Dakota, and Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming.

black hole Cosmic body with gravity (see gravitation) so intense that nothing, not even light, can escape. It is suspected to form in the death and collapse of a star that has retained at least three times the Sun�s mass. Stars with less mass evolve into white dwarf stars or neutron stars. Details of a black hole�s structure are calculated from Albert Einstein�s general theory of relativity: a �singularity� of zero volume and infinite density pulls in all matter and energy that comes within an event horizon, defined by the Schwarzschild radius, around it. Black holes cannot be observed directly because they are small and emit no light. However, their enor� mous gravitational fields affect nearby matter, which is drawn in and emits X rays as it collides at high speed outside the event horizon. Some black holes may have nonstellar origins. Astronomers speculate that supermas- sive black holes at the centres of quasars and many galaxies are the source of energetic activity that is observed. Stephen W. Hawking theorized the creation of numerous tiny black holes, possibly no more massive than an asteroid, during the big bang. These primordial �mini black holes� lose mass over time and disappear as a result of Hawking radiation. Although black holes remain theoretical, the case for their existence is supported by many observations of phenomena that match their predicted effects.

black humour Humour marked by the use of morbid, ironic, or gro� tesquely comic episodes that ridicule human folly. The term came into common use in the 1960s to describe the work of novelists such as Joseph Heller, whose Catch-22 (1961) is an outstanding example; Kurt Vonnegut, particularly in Slaughterhouse Five (1969); and Thomas Pynchon, in V (1963) and Gravity�s Rainbow (1973). A film exemplar is Stanley Kubrick�s Dr. Strangelove (1963). The term black comedy has been applied to some playwrights in the Theatre of the Absurd, especially Eugene Ionesco.

black lead See graphite

Black Legend Stories from the Spanish colonies in the Americas that led to the general belief, eagerly endorsed by such rivals as Britain and Holland, that Spain exceeded other nations in cruelty to its subject popu� lations. The 16th-century historians Bartolome de Las Casas and Garcilaso de la Vega documented the treatment of the Indians in New Spain (Mexico and Guatemala) and Peru, respectively, and laid the foundation for the legend. Though Spain may not actually have surpassed other colonial powers in cruelty, the Spanish conquest clearly reduced the numbers of indigenous peoples rapidly and caused them great suffering.

black letter or Gothic script or Old English script Style of alpha� bet used in handwriting throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. It features uniform vertical strokes that end on the baseline, angular lines instead of smooth curves and circles, and the overlapping of convex forms. Black letter and roman were the dominant letter shapes of medieval typography. The only extant work known to have been printed by Johannes Gutenberg, the 42-line Bible (1450s), was set in black-letter type. Roman type largely superseded it in the Renaissance, though black letter persisted in Germany well into the 20th century. Today black letter is often used for diplomas, Christmas cards, and liturgical writings.

black market Trading in violation of publicly imposed regulations such as rationing laws, laws against the sale of certain goods, and official rates of exchange among currencies. Black-market activity is common in wartime, when scarce goods and services are often strictly rationed (see rationing). Black-market foreign-exchange transactions flourish in coun� tries where convertible foreign currency is scarce and foreign exchange is tightly controlled.

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228 I Black Muslims ► blackbird

Black Muslims See Nation of Islam

black nationalism U.S. political and social movement aimed at developing economic power and community and ethnic pride among Afri� can Americans. It was proclaimed by Marcus Garvey in the early 20th century, when many U.S. black nationalists hoped for the eventual cre� ation of a separate black nation in Africa. In the 1960s and �70s, Elijah Muhammad and Malcolm X preached the ideal of black nationalism as an alternative to assimilation into the predominantly white culture of the U.S.

Black Panther Party (for Self-Defense) U.S. African American revolutionary party founded in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale (b. 1936) in Oakland, Calif. Its original purpose was to protect African Americans from acts of police brutality. Eventually the Panthers devel� oped into a Marxist revolutionary group that called for the arming of African Americans, their exemption from the draft, the release of all Afri� can American prisoners, and payment of compensation to African Ameri� cans for centuries of exploitation by white Americans. By the late 1960s it had more than 2,000 members, with chapters in several major cities; an early spokesman was Eldridge Cleaver (1935-98). Conflicts with police in the late 1960s and early �70s led to shoot-outs in California, New York, and Chicago, one of which resulted in Newton�s imprisonment for the murder of a police officer. Though some members of the party were guilty of criminal acts, the entire group was subjected to violent attacks by police and harassment by other government agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Police activities in dealing with the Panthers were later the subject of congressional investigations. By the mid-1970s, hav� ing lost many members and having fallen out of favour with African American leaders, the party turned to providing social services in Afri� can American neighbourhoods. By the early 1980s it had effectively dis� banded.

black pepper or pepper Perennial, woody climbing vine ( Piper nigrum ) of the family Piperaceae, native to India; also, the hotly pungent spice made from its berries. One of the earliest spices known, pepper is probably the most widely used spice in the world today. It early became an important article of overland trade between India and Europe. The plant is cultivated throughout Indonesia and has been introduced into tropical areas elsewhere. It has broad, shiny leaves and dense, slender spikes of small flowers. The small berrylike fruits are called peppercorns. See also PEPPER.

black sand Accumulation of fragments of durable, usually dark, heavy minerals (those with a density greater than that of quartz). These accu� mulations are found in streambeds or on beaches where stream flow and wave energy are sufficient to carry away low-density material but not the heavy minerals. Thus, heavy minerals resistant to weathering and abra� sion concentrate in these areas, though they may be only minor constitu� ents of inland rocks. Placer mining of such deposits yields magnetite, cassiterite, and zircon, as well as gold, platinum, and other rare metals.

Black Sea Sea between Europe and Asia. Bordered by Ukraine, Rus� sia, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania, it has a maximum depth of 7,250 ft (2,210 m). The Black Sea proper has an area of 163,000 sq mi (422,000 sq km). It is connected with the Aegean Sea through the Bosporus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles, and with the Sea of Azov by Kerch Strait. It receives many rivers, including the Danube, Dni� ester, Bug, Dnieper, Kuban, Kizil, and Sakarya. The Crimean Peninsula (see Crimea) extends into it from the north. Created when structural upheavals in Asia Minor split off the Caspian basin from the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea gradually became isolated; salinity is now less than half that of the world�s oceans. Though long popular for its resorts, it has suffered severe pollution in recent decades.

black snake Any of several species of all-black or nearly all-black snakes. Australian black snakes are in the elapid genus Pseudeschis. The black snake of Australian wetlands (P. porphyriacus) grows to an aver� age length of 5 ft (1.5 m). If annoyed, it expands its neck, cobra fashion. Its venom is rarely fatal. Other Australian black snakes are the mulga snake (P. australis ) and the spotted black snake (P. guttatus). North Ameri� can black snakes include two species in the family Colubridae: the black racer and the pilot black snake ( Elaphe obsoleta).

Black Sox scandal U.S. baseball scandal, centring on the charge that eight members of the Chicago White Sox had been bribed to lose the 1919 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds. Five of those accused admitted to a grand jury that they had thrown the series, but their signed confessions

later disappeared. Although all eight players were acquitted in 1921, com� missioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis banned them from playing for life.

Black Stone of Mecca Muslim object of veneration, built into the eastern wall of the Kaaba and probably predating Islam. It consists of three large pieces of stone and some fragments, surrounded by a stone ring and held together with a silver band. According to legend, the stone was given to Adam on his fall from paradise and was originally white but has been made black by the sins of the thousands of pilgrims who have touched and kissed it.

black theatre In the U.S., a dramatic movement encompassing plays written by, for, and about blacks. The first known play by an American black was James Brown�s King Shotaway (1823). After the Civil War, blacks began to perform in minstrel shows, and musicals written, produced, and acted entirely by blacks appeared by c. 1900. The first real success of a black dramatist was Angelina W. Grimke�s Rachel (1916). Theatre flourished during the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and �30s, and by 1940 the American Negro Theater and the Negro Playwrights� Co. were firmly established. After World War II black theatre grew more progres� sive and militant, seeking to establish its own mythology, abolish racial stereotypes, and integrate black playwrights into the mainstream. Its stron� gest proponent, Amiri Baraka, established the Black Arts Repertory The� atre in 1965. In the 1980s and �90s the African American playwrights Charles Fuller and August Wilson won Pulitzer Prizes.

Black Warrior River Navigable river, western Alabama, U.S. Formed by the confluence of the Locust and Mulberry forks in Jefferson county, it flows southwest through coalfields to join the Tombigbee River near Demopolis. The river is 178 mi (286 km) long and furnishes waterpower above Tuscaloosa.

black widow Any of several black spiders in the genus Latrodectus with a venomous bite that is rarely fatal to humans. Black widow species are found worldwide, with three living in North America. In Australia it is called the redback. The females are shiny black, usually with a reddish hourglass-shaped design on the underside of the spherical abdomen and with a body about 1 in. (2.5 cm) long. The black widow preys on insects. The male, about one-fourth the female�s size, is often killed and eaten by the female after mating (the source of its name).

Blackbeard orig. Edward Teach (b. Bristol?, Eng.�d. Nov. 22, 1718, Ocracoke Island, North Carolina) English pirate. He was probably a privateer in the West Indies until 1716. With his 40-gun warship, he preyed on shipping off the Virginia and Carolina coasts, sharing his prizes with the governor of the North Carolina colony in return for protection. He was eventually killed by a British naval force, and his head, with its great black beard, was affixed to the end of his bowsprit. According to legend, he left a great buried treasure; it has never been found and prob� ably never existed.

blackberry Usually prickly, fruit-bearing bush of the genus Rubus, in the rose family, native chiefly to northern temperate regions. The blackberry is abundant in eastern North America and on the Pacific coast; in Europe it is common in thickets and hedges. Its usually bien� nial, prickly, and erect, semierect, or trailing stems bear leaves with usu� ally three or five oval, coarsely toothed, stalked leaflets; white, pink, or red flowers in terminal clusters; and black or red-purple aggregate fruits. The several trailing species are commonly called dewberries.

Blackberries are a fairly good source of iron and vitamin C.

blackbird In the New World, any of several species of songbirds in the family Icteridae, collectively called icterids; also, an Old World thrush (Turdus merula, family Turdidae). The best known icterid is the red� winged blackbird ( Agelaius phoeniceus ), which ranges from Canada to the West Indies and Central America. It is 8 in. (20 cm) long, and the male�s black plumage is set off by red shoulder patches. The Old World blackbird, 10 in. (25 cm) long, is common in woods and gardens throughout temperate Eurasia as well as in Australia and New Zealand. See also grackle.

Blackberry (Rubus).

DEREK FELL

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blackbody ► Blackwell I 229

blackbody Theoretical surface that absorbs all radiant energy that falls on it, and radiates electromagnetic energy at all frequencies, from radio waves to gamma RAYS, with an intensity distribution dependent on its tem� perature. Because all visible light falling on such a surface is absorbed without reflection, the surface will appear black as long as its tempera� ture is such that its emission peak is not in the visible portion of the spec� trum. See also absorption.

blackcap Common warbler (Sylvia atricapilla, family Sylviidae) from Europe and North Africa to central Asia. It is about 6 in. (14 cm) long and has brownish upper parts, gray underparts and face, and a black (male) or reddish brown (female) crown. Common in woodland bor� ders and rough hedges, it has a rich song.

Blackett \'blak-ot\ (of Chelsea),

Patrick M(aynard) S(tuart),

Baron (b. Nov. 18, 1897, London,

Eng.�d. July 13, 1974, London)

British physicist. He graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1921 and spent 10 years at the Cavendish Laboratory, where he developed the Wilson cloud chamber into an instru� ment for the study of cosmic radia� tion. He was awarded a 1948 Nobel Prize for his discoveries and was made a life peer in 1969.

blackfly Any member of the insect family Simuliidae, comprising 300 species of small, humpbacked dipter- ans found worldwide. Usually black or dark gray, the blackfly has short mouthparts adapted for sucking blood. The females bite and are sometimes abundant enough to kill chickens and even cattle. Some spe� cies carry worms capable of causing human disease, including river blind� ness. In subarctic regions blackflies may be so numerous that human habitation is impossible.

Blackfoot or Blackfeet Group of ALGONQUiAN-speaking Indian peoples in Alberta, Can., and Montana, U.S., comprising the Piegan (Pikuni or Blackfeet), the North Piegan Pikuni, the Blood (Kainai), and the Blackfoot proper (Siksika). Together they are referred to as Siksika, or Blackfoot, a name thought to have derived from the discoloration of moccasins with ashes. They were among the first Algonquians to move westward from timberland to open grass� land and, later, among the first to acquire horses and firearms. They were known as the strongest and most aggressive military power on the north� western plains. At the height of their power, in the first half of the 19th century, they held a vast territory extending from northern Saskatchewan to southwestern Montana. Each group was subdivided into hunting bands led by one or more chiefs. These bands wintered separately but came together in summer to celebrate the sun dance. For three decades begin� ning in 1806, the Blackfoot prevented white men from settling in their territory. They signed their first treaty with the U.S. in 1855, after which they were forced into farming and cattle raising. Some 10,000 Blackfoot live in Canada, and more than 27,000 claimed sole Blackfoot descent in the 2000 U.S. census, although only 15,000 U.S. Blackfoot are enrolled members. See photograph opposite.

blackjack or twenty-one Card game whose object is to be dealt cards having a higher count than those of the dealer, up to but not exceed� ing 21. The dealer may use a single deck of 52 cards or two or more decks from a holder called a shoe. Aces count as 1 or 11, and face cards as 10. Depending on the rules used, bets may be placed before the deal, after each player has been dealt one card facedown, or after each player has received two cards facedown and the dealer has exposed one of his cards.

blackmail See extortion

Blackmun, Harry (b. Nov. 12, 1908, Nashville, Ill., U.S.�d. March 4, 1999, Arlington, Va.) U.S. jurist. He received his law degree from Har� vard (1932) and taught law at the St. Paul College of Law (1935-41) while advancing to general partner in a Minnesota law firm. After serving as resident counsel to the Mayo Clinic (1950-59), he was appointed to the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. In 1970 Pres. Richard Nixon named him to the Supreme Court of the United States, where he served until 1994. Perceived as a conservative when he began his Supreme Court service, Blackmun became increasingly liberal over the years. He wrote the major� ity decision in Roe v. Wade (1973).

blackpoll warbler Species (Dendroica striata) of wood warbler. Like all wood warblers, it is a small, active bird that feeds on insects and has a short thin bill. A common species, it is less striking than many other wood warblers, which are known for their brightly coloured plumage.

Blackshirts Italian Camicie Nere Armed squads of Italian Fascists under Benito Mussolini who wore black shirts as part of their uniform. The squads, first organized in 1919, targeted socialists, communists, republi� cans, and others. Hundreds of people were killed as the squads grew in number. In 1922 Blackshirts from all over Italy participated in the March on Rome (see Rome, March on). In 1923 the private Blackshirts were offi� cially transformed into a national militia. With Mussolini�s fall in 1943, the Blackshirts fell into disgrace.

Blackstone, Sir William (b. July 10, 1723, London, Eng.�d. Feb. 14, 1780, Wallingford, Oxfordshire) British jurist. Orphaned at age 12, he was educated at public school and later at Pembroke College, Oxford, at the expense of his uncle, a London surgeon. He was elected a fellow of All Souls College in 1744, and in 1746 he became a barrister. Having taken a doctorate in civil law in 1750, he abandoned his legal practice in 1753 to concentrate on teaching and legal work around Oxford. He gave the first university lectures on English common law, publishing a synopsis for students in 1756. He was elected to the first chair in common law, the Vinerian professorship at Oxford, in 1758. His classic Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765�69) is the best-known description of the doc� trines of English law; it became the basis of university legal education in England and North America. He also served as a member of Parliament (1761-70), as solicitor general to the queen (from 1763), and as judge of the Court of Common Pleas (1770-80).

Blackstone River River, central Massachusetts and Rhode Island, U.S. It flows about 50 mi (80 km) past Worcester and across northeastern Rhode Island to Pawtucket, where it becomes the Seekonk River. It fur� nishes power to a highly industrialized area.

Blackwell, Elizabeth (b. Feb. 3, 1821, Counterslip, Bristol, Glouc� estershire, Eng.�d. May 31, 1910, Hastings, Sussex) British-born U.S. physician. Her family immigrated to the U.S. in 1832. She began her medical education by reading medical books and hiring private instruc� tors. Medical schools rejected her applications until she was accepted at

can Indian

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230 I Blackwell's Island ► Blakeslee

the Geneva Medical (later Hobart) College in 1847. Though ostracized, she graduated at the head of her class in 1849, becoming the first woman doctor in modern times and the first to gain her degree from a U.S. medi� cal school. In 1857, despite much opposition, she established the New York Infirmary, staffed entirely by women, and she later added a full course of medical education for women. She was also a founder of the London School of Medicine for Women. Her sister Emily (1826-1910) ran the infirmary for many years and served as dean and professor at the associated medical college.

Blackwell's Island See Roosevelt Island

bladder cancer Malignant tumour of the bladder. The most significant risk factor associated with bladder cancer is smoking. Exposure to chemi� cals called arylamines, which are used in the leather, rubber, printing, and textiles industries, is another risk factor. Most bladder cancers are diag� nosed after the age of 60; men are affected more than women. Symptoms include blood in the urine, difficulty urinating, excessive urination, or, more rarely, painful urination. Bladder cancer can be treated with surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy.

bladderwort Any of about 120 widespread species of terrestrial and aquatic carnivorous plants of the genus Utricularia (family Lentibulari- aceae). They are characterized by small hollow sacs (bladders) that actively capture and digest tiny animals that touch them, including insect larvae, aquatic worms, water fleas, and other small swimmers. Closely related to the bladderworts are the butterworts ( Pinguicula ), 35 species of land plants that capture insects by means of sticky glands on the leaf sur� faces.

Blaine, James G(illespie) (b. Jan. 31, 1830, West Brownsville, Pa., U.S.�d. Jan. 27, 1893, Washington, D.C.) U.S. politician and diplomat. He moved to Maine in 1854 to become editor of the Kennebec Journal , a crusading Republican newspaper. He served in the U.S. House of Rep� resentatives (1863-76), becoming speaker in 1868. An advocate of mod� eration in the Republican Party, he opposed the Radical Republicans led by Roscoe Conkling. Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1876, he resigned his seat in 1881 to become secretary of state. In this office he took the first steps toward securing U.S. control of the eventual route of the Panama Canal. As the Republican presidential candidate in 1884 he narrowly lost to Grover Cleveland. As secretary of state for a second time in 1889-92, he chaired the first Pan-American Conference.

Blair, Henry William (b. Dec. 6, 1834, Campton, N.H., U.S.�d. March 14, 1920, Washington, D.C.) U.S. politician. He practiced law from 1859 and served in the New Hampshire state legislature before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives (1875-79) and Senate (1879-91). In 1876 he sought to give revenues from the sale of public lands to the nation�s schools, and in 1881 he proposed to �vitalize� the schools with a $ 120-million grant to the states; neither effort succeeded. He also advocated women�s rights and racial justice.

Blair, Tony orig. Anthony Charles Lynton (b. May 6, 1953, Edin� burgh, Scot.) British politician who in 1997 became the country�s young� est prime minister since 1812. Blair was a lawyer before winning election to the House of Commons in 1983. Entering the shadow cabinet of the Labour Party in 1988 at age 35, Blair urged the party to move to the politi� cal centre and deemphasize its traditional advocacy of state control and public ownership of certain sectors of the economy. He assumed leader� ship of Labour in 1994 and revamped its platform. He led the party to victories in the 1997, 2001, and 2005 elections. His government brokered a peace agreement between unionists and republicans in Northern Ireland, introduced devolved assemblies in Wales and Scotland, and carried out reforms of Parliament. After the September 11 attacks on the U.S. in 2001, Blair allied the United Kingdom with the U.S. and its president, George W. Bush, in a global war against terrorism. In late 2002 Blair and Bush accused the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein of continuing to possess and develop biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons in violation of UN mandates. Despite deep divisions within his own party and strong public opposition to a war with Iraq, Blair, with Bush, led an attack on Iraq that toppled Hussein�s regime in March-April 2003.

Blais Vble\, Marie-Claire (b. Oct. 5, 1939, Quebec, Que., Can.) French-Canadian novelist and poet. In two early, dreamlike novels, Mad Shadows (1959) and Tete blanche (1960), she staked out her territory, working-class people doomed to unrelieved sorrow and grinding poverty. A Season in the Life of Emmanuel (1965) received the Prix Medicis and

was widely translated and discussed. Later works include The Manu� scripts of Pauline Archange (1968, Governor General�s Award) and Deaf to the City (1979, Governor General�s Award). She received the Gover� nor General�s Award again in 1996 for Soifs (1995). She has also pub� lished poetry collections and several plays.

Blake, Edward (b. Oct. 13, 1833, Adelaide, Upper Canada�d. March 1, 1912, Toronto, Ont., Can.) Canadian politician. Blake was called to the bar in 1856 and created a queen�s counsel in 1864. In 1867 he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons. He served as premier of Ontario (1871-72) and minister of justice (1875-77) in Alexander Mackenzie�s cabinet, helping draft the constitution. He was leader of the Liberal Party (1880-87). In 1890 he withdrew from Canadian politics and moved to Ireland, where he served in the British House of Commons (1892-1907).

Blake, Eubie orig. James Hubert Blake (b. Feb. 7, 1883, Balti� more, Md., U.S.�d. Feb. 12, 1983, Brooklyn, N.Y.) U.S. songwriter and pianist. He played piano in cafes and brothels as a teenager, and in 1899 he composed his first ragtime song, �Sounds of Africa.� He and his part� ner, lyricist and vocalist Noble Sissle (1889-1975), were among the first African American performers to appear onstage without minstrel makeup. Their show Shuffle Along (1921), which introduced Paul Robeson and Josephine Baker, was among the first musicals written, produced, and directed by African Americans. In 1925 Blake cowrote the score to Black� birds of 1930. He achieved his greatest fame when the musical Eubie opened on Broadway (1978). He gave his last concert in 1982.

Blake, William (b. Nov. 28, 1757, London, Eng.�d. Aug. 12, 1827, London) English poet, painter, engraver, and visionary. Though he did not attend school, he was trained as an engraver at the Royal Academy and opened a print shop in London in 1784. He developed an innovative technique for producing coloured engravings and began producing his own illustrated books of poetry with his �illuminated printing,� including Songs of Innocence (1789), The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1793), and Songs of Experience (1794). Jerusalem (1804-20), his third major epic treating the fall and redemption of humanity, is his most richly decorated book. His other major works include The Four Zoas (1795-1804) and Milton (1804-08).

A late series of 22 watercolours inspired by the Book of Job includes some of his best-known pictures. He was called mad because he was single-minded and unworldly; he lived on the edge of poverty and died in neglect. His books form one of the most strikingly original and inde� pendent bodies of work in the Western cultural tradition. Ignored by the public of his day, he is now regarded as one of the earliest and greatest figures of Romanticism.

Blakelock, Ralph (b. Oct. 15, 1847, New York, N.Y., U.S.�d. Aug. 9, 1919, near Elizabethtown, N.Y.) U.S. painter. A self-taught artist, he developed a highly original and subjective style of landscape painting, characterized by luminous impasto images of moonlit scenes with noc� turnal lighting and strangely dappled trees and foliage. Neglected by the public and constantly under the strain of poverty, he suffered a breakdown in 1899, ceased to paint, and spent the rest of his life in an asylum. Dur� ing his confinement he achieved some fame, and forgeries of his work became common as his popularity rose.

Blakeslee, Albert Francis (b. Nov. 9, 1874, Geneseo, N.Y., U.S.�d. Nov. 16, 1954, Northampton, Mass.) U.S. botanist and geneticist. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University. In his dissertation he became the first person to describe sexuality in the lower fungi. His later experi� mental work focused on higher plants. After a long tenure with the Car� negie Institution�s Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (1915�41), he joined the faculty of Smith College, where he published a series of papers on the genetics and cell biology of jimsonweed. He used the alkaloid colchicine

//

William Blake, watercolour portrait by John Linnell; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

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Blakey ► Blasis I 231

to achieve an increase in the number of chromosomes and thus opened up a new field of artificially produced polyploids.

Blakey, Art later Abdullah Ibn Buhaina (b. Oct. 11, 1919, Pitts� burgh, Pa., U.S.�d. Oct. 16, 1990, New York, N.Y.) U.S. jazz drummer and bandleader. He worked with Fletcher Henderson�s big band before joining Billy Eckstine�s forward-looking ensemble (1944-47). Blakey�s prodigious technique and thunderous attack assured his role as one of the principal drum stylists in modern jazz. With Horace Silver, Blakey formed the Jazz Messengers in 1954, and the group, with its aggressive blues- inflected approach, became the archetypal hard-bop unit (see bebop).

Blalock Vbla-JakV Alfred (b. April 5, 1899, Culloden, Ga., U.S.�d. Sept. 15, 1964, Baltimore, Md.) U.S. surgeon. He received an M.D. from Johns Hopkins University. His research, showing that traumatic and hem� orrhagic shock resulted from loss of blood volume, led to volume- replacement treatment, which saved countless lives during World War II. He is remembered for his development, with Helen Brooke Taussig, of a surgical treatment for heart malformations in newborns. In 1944 he per� formed the first subclavian-pulmonary artery anastomosis operation, which corrected the birth defect.

His balloon flights in other European countries and in the U.S. in 1793 spurred an interest in ballooning. He and his wife performed many exhibitions in Europe; they died in separate balloon accidents.

Blanchard Vblan-chordV, Thomas (b. June 24, 1788, Sutton, Mass., U.S.�d. April 16, 1864, Boston, Mass.) U.S. inventor. In 1818 he invented a lathe capable of turning irregular shapes, such as a gunstock. It duplicated the form of a pattern object by transmitting to the cutting tool the motion of a friction wheel rolling over the pattern. His invention was an essential step in the development of mass production techniques. He produced several successful designs of shallow-draft steamboats, and in 1849 he invented machinery for bending wood into complex shapes such as plow handles and ship�s frames.

Blanda, George (Frederick) (b. Sept. 17, 1927, Youngwood, Pa., U.S.) U.S. football player. He played for the University of Kentucky. As a professional quarterback and kicker, he played for the Chicago Bears (1949-58), Houston Oilers (1960-66), and Oakland Raiders (1967-76), setting still-standing records for most seasons played (26), most games played (340), and most points after touchdowns (943). His record for most field goals (335) was broken in 1983.

blank verse Unrhymed verse, specifically unrhymed iambic pentam� eter, the preeminent dramatic and narrative verse form in English. It is also the standard form for dramatic verse in Italian and German. Adapted from Greek and Latin sources, it was introduced in Italy, then in England, where in the 16th century William Shakespeare transformed blank verse into a vehicle for the greatest English dramatic poetry, and its potential for grandeur was confirmed with John Milton�s Paradise Lost (1667).

Blanqui \bla n -'ke\, (Louis-) Auguste (b. Feb. 1, 1805, Puget- Theniers, France�d. Jan. 1, 1881, Paris) French socialist and revolution� ary. A legendary martyr-figure of French radicalism, Blanqui believed that there could be no socialist transformation of society without a temporary dictatorship that would eradicate the old order. His activities, including the formation of various secret societies, caused him to be imprisoned various times for a total of more than 33 years. His disciples, the Blan- quists, played an important role in the history of the workers� movement even after his death.

blanquillo See tilefish

Blanton, Jimmy orig. James Blanton (b. October 1918, Chatta� nooga, Tenn., U.S.�d. July 30, 1942, Monrovia, Calif.) U.S. jazz musi� cian. He joined Duke Ellington�s orchestra as a string bass player in 1939. Blanton�s buoyant rhythmic approach and harmonic subtlety provided a supple, relaxed sense of swing for the band. His unprecedented dexterity, tone, and intonation enabled him to execute a melodic conception of the role of the bass in jazz, demonstrated on recordings made with Ellington such as �Jack the Bear� and �Pitter Panther Patter.� His revolutionary technique changed jazz bass playing and became the major influence on subsequent bassists. He died of tuberculosis.

Blantyre \blan-'tlr\ City (pop., 2003 est.: 646,235), southern Malawi. It is the largest city in Malawi and the seat of the country�s judiciary. Blantyre was founded in 1876 as a Church of Scotland mission station and named after explorer David Livingstone�s Scottish birthplace. It became a British consular post in 1883 and attained municipal status in 1895; it is Malawi�s oldest municipality. Its colonial trade laid the foundation for its present importance as Malawi�s chief commercial centre. In 1956 Blan� tyre was united with nearby Limbe.

Blarney Village (pop., 2002: 2,146), County Cork, Ireland. Situated northwest of the city of Cork, it is famous as the site of Blarney Castle (c. 1446). Below the battlements on the southern castle wall is the Blar� ney Stone, which in local legend is said to confer eloquence on anyone who kisses it.

Blasco Ibanez Vblas-ko-e-'ban-yathX, Vicente (b. Jan. 29, 1867, Valencia, Spain�d. Jan. 28, 1928, Menton, France) Spanish writer and politician. An ardent republican, he was elected to the Cortes (parliament) but later settled on the French Riviera because of his opposition to the military dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera. His early novels are pri� marily intense depictions of life in Valencia. He achieved world renown for his novels dealing with World War I, especially The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1916).

Blasis \'bla-ses. Carlo (b. Nov. 4, 1803, Naples, Kingdom of Naples�d. Jan. 15, 1878, Cernobbio, Italy) Italian ballet teacher and

Blanc \'bla n \, (Jean-Joseph-Charles-) Louis (b. Oct. 29, 1811, Madrid, Spain�d. Dec. 6, 1882,

Cannes, France) French utopian socialist and journalist. In 1839 he founded the socialist newspaper Revue du Progres and serially pub� lished his The Organization of Labour , which described his theory of worker-controlled �social work� shops� that would gradually take over production until a socialist soci� ety came into being. He was a mem� ber of the provisional government of the Second Republic (1848) but was forced to flee to England after work� ers unsuccessfully revolted. In exile (1848-70), he wrote a history of the French Revolution and other politi� cal works.

Louis Blanc.

H. ROGER-VIOLLET

Blanc \'blaqk\, Mel(vin Jer� ome) (b. May 30, 1908, San Fran� cisco, Calif., U.S.�d. July 10, 1989,

Los Angeles, Calif.) U.S. entertainer. He began his career as a musician on NBC radio, and in 1933 he joined a daily radio program, for which he created several voices to augment the cast. In 1937 he joined the car� toon department of Warner Brothers, and he took part in the development of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, providing the voices of Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Woody Woodpecker, and Bugs Bunny. In his 50-year career he supplied the voices for about 3,000 animated cartoons, including 90% of the Warner Brothers cartoons.

Blanc Vbla n \, Mont Italian Monte Bianco Mountain massif, Europe. Located in the Alps on the borders of France, Italy, and Switzer� land, it is Europe�s highest peak, at 15,771 ft (4,807 m). It was first climbed in 1786 by Michel-Gabriel Paccard and Jacques Balmat. Mont Blanc Tunnel, 7.3 mi (11.7 km) long and one of the longest vehicular tun� nels in the world, connects France with Italy. The region has become a major tourist and winter sports cen� tre.

Blanchard VblaVshArN, Jean- Pierre-Francois (b. July 4, 1753, Les Andelys, France�d. March 7, 1809, Paris) French balloonist. In 1785 he made the first aerial cross� ing of the English Channel, accom� panied by John Jeffries, a U.S. doctor. He invented a parachute in

J.-P.-F. Blanchard, engraving by James Newton, 1785, after an oil painting by Richard Livesay.

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232 I Blass ► Bleuler

writer on the technique, history, and theory of dance. He danced briefly at the Paris Opera before being appointed director of the ballet school at Milan�s La Scala in 1837, where he would train many of the most bril� liant dancers of the 19th century. Among his many innovations, Blasis discovered the technique of spotting (focusing on one spot and snapping one�s head around faster than one�s body) to prevent dizziness when turn� ing. Many of his teachings still form the basis of classical ballet.

Blass, Bill (b. June 22, 1922, Ft. Wayne, Ind., U.S.�d. June 12, 2002, New Preston, Conn.) U.S. fashion designer. Blass left home at age 17 to attend the Parsons School of Design in New York City. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War II, he returned to New York, where in 1959 he became the head designer of Maurice Rentner, Ltd. Building upon the innovations of European designers such as Coco Chanel, Blass made clothes that allowed women a chic, modern sense of ease and comfort. His work became popular among New York high-society women. In 1970 Blass became owner of Rentner, which he renamed after himself. He was a pioneer in employing the business strategy of licensing his designs and name to a huge array of fashion accessories. In 1999 he sold his company, which continued as Bill Blass Ltd., and he retired the following year.

blast furnace Vertical shaft furnace that produces liquid metals by the reaction of air introduced under pressure into the bottom of the furnace with a mixture of metallic ore, fuel, and flux fed into the top. Blast fur� naces are used to produce pig iron from iron ore for subsequent process� ing into steel; they are also employed in processing lead, copper, and other metals. The current of pressurized air maintains rapid combustion. Blast furnaces were used in China as early as 200 bc, and appeared in Europe in the 13th century, replacing the bloomery process. Modem blast furnaces are 70-120 ft (20-35 m) high, have 20�45-ft (6-14-m) health diameters, use coke fuel, and can produce 1,000-10,000 tons (900-9,000 metric tons) of pig iron daily. See also metallurgy, smelting.

Blaue Reiter \ I blau-9- , rI-t3r\, Der German "The Blue Rider" Orga� nization of Expressionist artists formed in Munich in 1911 by Vasily Kan� dinsky and Franz Marc. The name derived from a volume of essays and illustrations they published. Other members included Paul Klee and August Macke (1887-1914). Influenced by Jugendstil, Cubism, and Futurism but lacking a specific program or philosophy, they exhibited with an interna� tional group, including Georges Braque, Andre Derain, and Pablo Picasso. The group disintegrated at the outbreak of World War I.

Blavatsky \bb-'vat-ske\, Helena (Petrovna) orig. Helena Petrovna Hahn known as Madame Blavatsky (b. Aug. 12, 1831, Yekaterinoslav, Ukraine, Russian Empire�d. May 8, 1891, London, Eng.) Russian spiritualist and writer. After a brief marriage, she studied occultism and spiritualism and traveled through Europe, Asia, and the U.S. In 1873 in New York City she became a close companion of Henry Olcott (1832-1907); they and others founded the Theosophical Society (1875; see theosophy). In 1879 Blavatsky and Olcott went to India and established headquarters at Adyar. The society thrived, and she edited its journal. The Theosophist. She claimed psychic powers, but the London Society for Psychical Research in 1885 labeled her a fraud. In poor health, she returned to live in Europe. Her most important work, The Secret Doc� trine (1888), was an overview of theosophical teachings.

bleach Solid or liquid chemical compound used to whiten or remove the natural colour of fibres, yarns, paper, and textile fabrics. Sunlight was the chief bleaching agent up to the discovery of chlorine in 1774 by Karl Wilhelm Scheele (b. 1742�d. 1786) and the demonstration of its bleach� ing properties in 1785 by Claude-Louis Berthollet (b. 1748�d. 1822). In textile finishing, the bleaching process is used to produce white cloth, to prepare fabrics for other finishes, or to remove discoloration. Chlorine, sodium hypochlorite, calcium hypo� chlorite, and hydrogen peroxide are commonly used as bleaches.

bleeding heart Any of several species of Dicentra, a genus of her� baceous flowering plants of the fumitory family (Fumariaceae). The old garden favourite is the Japanese D. spectabilis, which has small rosy- red and white, heart-shaped flowers dangling from arching stems. The eastern, or wild, bleeding heart ( D.

eximia ) produces sprays of small pink flowers from April to September in the Allegheny Mountains region of the U.S. The Pacific, or western, bleeding heart ( D . formosa ), ranging from California to British Colum� bia, has several varieties of garden interest.

Bleeding Kansas Term applied to a period of civil unrest (1854-59) between proslavery and antislavery advocates for control of the new Kan� sas Territory. Under the doctrine of popular sovereignty, antislavery emi� grants from the North clashed with armed proslavery groups from Missouri. In 1856 a proslavery raid and burning of a hotel and newspa� per in Lawrence were followed by several murders instigated by antisla� very radicals under John Brown. Sporadic battles continued until Kansas was admitted to the Union as a free state in 1861.

blende See sphalerite

Blenheim \'ble-nim. Battle of (Aug. 13, 1704) Famous victory of the duke of Marlborough and Eugene of Savoy against the French in the War of the Spanish Succession, fought at Blenheim (now Blindheim) on the Danube River in Bavaria. English and Austrian troops led by Marl� borough and Eugene surprised the unprepared French and Bavarian forces, broke through their centre, and captured 13,000 of their troops; another 18,000 were killed, wounded, or drowned. The French army suf� fered its first major defeat in more than50 years, and Bavaria was removed from the war.

Blenheim Vble-nim\ Palace English residence near Woodstock, Oxfordshire, designed by John Vanbrugh and built (1705-24) by the Brit� ish Parliament as a gift to John Churchill, duke of Marlborough. It is regarded as the finest example of Baroque architecture in Britain. In the early 18th century Queen Anne�s gardener, Henry Wise, designed its grounds in the formal style of the Palace of Versailles; Capability Brown later redesigned them in his pastoral style, using natural-looking woods, lawns, and waterways.

blenny Any of numerous and diverse fishes (suborder Blenniodei, order Perciformes) that are mostly small, marine species found from tropical to cold seas. Blennies are slim, rang� ing from moderately elongated to very long and eel-like. Their habitats range from rocky pools to sandy beaches, reefs, and beds of kelp.

Many live in shallow water, but some range to depths of about 1,500 ft (450 m). Some are mainly herbi� vores; others are partial or complete carnivores. They are generally unob� trusive and of little economic impor� tance.

Bleriot, Louis (b. July 1, 1872,

Cambrai, France�d. Aug. 2, 1936,

Paris) French aviator who made the first airplane flight across the English Channel between continental Europe and Great Britain. A successful manufacturer of automotive accessories, Bleriot also built and tested a variety of powered aircraft. On July 25, 1909, he piloted his Bleriot XI, a monoplane with a 28-horsepower engine, from Calais, France, to Dover, Eng., winning a prize of �1,000 and demonstrating the power of airplanes to overcome geographic barriers. Bleriot remained a leader of the avia� tion industry through World War I and in the immediate postwar decade.

Blessing Way Central ritual in the complex system of ceremonies per� formed by the Navajo to restore equilibrium to the cosmos. Of the major categories of Navajo rituals, the largest group is the Chant Ways, which are concerned with curing. The Chant Ways include a subgroup of chants called the Holy Ways, which are further divided into the Blessing Way and the Wind Ways (used to cure illness). Lasting for two days, the Bless� ing Way is a simple chant performed for the well-being of the commu� nity rather than for a specific curative purpose.

Bleuler \'bl6i-br\, Eugen (b. April 30, 1857, Zollikon, Switz.�d. July 15, 1939, Zollikon) Swiss psychiatrist. He is best known for his studies of schizophrenia and for introducing (1908) the term for the disorder pre� viously called dementia praecox. Bleuler argued (against accepted wis� dom) that schizophrenia was more than one disease, was not always incurable, and did not always progress to full dementia. He described the basic symptoms�disordered mental associations and splitting or frag-

Bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis)

GRANT HEILMAN

Shanny (Blennius pholis), a common European blenny

JANE BURTON-BRUCE COLEMAN LTD.

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Bligh ► Bloc National I 233

mentation of the personality�but believed that many cases were not apparent. He insisted that psychosis did not need to result from organic brain damage and could have psychological causes instead. His Textbook of Psychiatry (1916) became a standard text.

Bligh, William (b. Sept. 9, 1754, county of Cornwall, Eng.�d. Dec. 7, 1817, London) English admiral. He went to sea at the age of seven and joined the Royal Navy in 1770. After serving as the sailing master on Capt. James Cook�s final voyage (1776-80), he was named to command the HMS Bounty in 1787. While en route from Tahiti to Jamaica, the ship was seized by Fletcher Christian, the master�s mate, and Bligh and loyal crew members were set adrift; some two months later, they reached Timor. The mutiny made little difference to Bligh�s career, though he had two more encounters with mutineers, including one while he was governor of New South Wales, Australia (1805-08). Described as overbearing, he was unpopular as a commander but was also courageous and a greatly skilled navigator.

blight Any of various plant diseases whose symptoms include sudden and severe yellowing, browning, spotting, withering, or dying of leaves, flow� ers, fruit, stems, or the entire plant. Usually the shoots and other young, rapidly growing tissues of a plant are attacked. Most blights are caused by bacteria or fungi (see fungus); some result from drought. Fungal and bac� terial blights are most likely under cool, moist conditions. Most economi� cally important plants are susceptible to one or more blights. Measures taken to fight blight include destroying the infected plant parts; using disease-free seed or stock and resistant varieties; rotating crops (see crop rotation); pruning and spacing plants for better air circulation; controlling pests that carry the fungus from plant to plant; avoiding overhead watering and working among wet plants; and, where needed, applying fungicides or antibiotics. Maintaining sanitary conditions is the most important measure for stopping the spread of the infestation. See also chestnut blight.

blind fish Any of various species of sightless fishes, among them sev� eral unrelated cave-dwelling species. Blind cave fishes are pale and small, growing to about 4 in. (10 cm) long, and are found in dark limestone caves of the U.S. All have small but nonfunctional eyes and tactile organs that are sensitive to touch, allowing the fish to feel what it cannot see. Other cave-dwelling fishes tending toward blindness are found in Cuba, Mexi� co�s Yucatan, South America, and Africa.

blindness Inability to see with one or both eyes. Transient blindness (blackout) can result from vertical acceleration causing high gravitational forces, glomerulonephritis (a kidney disease), or a clot in a blood vessel of the eye. Continuing blindness may arise from injuries or diseases of the eye (e.g., cataract, glaucoma), including the retina, the optic nerve, or the brain�s visual centres. Many infectious, noninfectious, and parasitic systemic diseases can cause blindness. Sexually transmitted diseases and rubella in pregnant women can cause blindness in their infants. See also MACULAR DEGENERATION; VISUAL-FIELD DEFECT.

Bliss, Sir Arthur (Edward Drummond) (b. Aug. 2, 1891, Lon� don, Eng.�d. March 27, 1975, London) British composer. He studied with Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst. Though he was compo- sitionally adventurous at first, he later adopted a conservative, Romantic style. His works include A Colour Symphony (1922), Pastoral (1928), the choral symphony Morning Heroes (1930), Music for Strings (1936), and the ballets Checkmate (1937) and Miracle in the Gorbals (1944).

Bliss, Tasker (Howard) (b. Dec. 31, 1853, Lewisburg, Pa., U.S.�d. Nov. 9, 1930, Washington, D.C.) U.S. general. After attending West Point (1875), he served in various military assignments, including that of instructor at West Point and military attache at the U.S. legation in Madrid. In the Spanish-American War, he was chief of staff under Gen. James H. Wilson in Puerto Rico; he later served in the Philippines (1905-09). As army chief of staff in 1917, he made the U.S. Army battle-ready for World War I and resisted attempts to divide the force among the various Allied commands. He was a delegate to the Paris Peace Conference and an ardent supporter of U.S. participation in the League of Nations.

Bliss, William D(wight) P(orter) (b. Aug. 20, 1856, Constantino� ple, Tur.�d. Oct. 8, 1926, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. social reformer. The son of U.S. missionaries, he graduated from Hartford Theological Seminary and held Congregationalist and Episcopalian pastorates. An advocate of Christian socialism, he organized the first such group in the U.S. in 1889. He lectured widely on labour and social reform and com� piled many books, including the Encyclopedia of Social Reform (1897).

blister Rounded skin elevation in which fluid fills a separation between layers of epidermis or between the epidermis and the dermis. The fluid is usually clear; yellowish fluid contains pus, and red fluid contains blood. Blisters often occur on the palms or soles when pressure and friction cause an upper skin layer to move back and forth over the one under it. A small gap opens between them and becomes filled with fluid. This type gener� ally heals spontaneously, sometimes leaving a thickened callus. Blisters that occur as symptoms of contact dermatitis, viral infection, or autoimmune disease can appear anywhere on the body and may leave scars.

blister beetle Any of approximately 2,000 species of beetles (family Meloidae) that secrete an irritating substance, cantharidin, which is used medically as a topical skin irritant to remove warts. In the past, canthari� din was often used to induce blisters, a common remedy for many ail� ments, and the dried remains of Spanish fly ( Lytta vesicatoria ) were a major ingredient in so-called love potions. Adult blister beetles, which are often brightly coloured, range between 0.1 and 0.8 in. (3-20 mm) in length. Blister beetles are both helpful and harmful to humans; the lar� vae eat grasshopper eggs, but the adults destroy crops.

blister rust Any of several diseases of pines, caused by rust fungi (see fungus) of the genus Cronartium. Blister rust affects sapwood (see wood) and inner bark and produces external blisters from which additional spores of the fungus are released and resin oozes, forming characteristic hard� ened masses on the trunk. It affects pines of all ages and sizes, retarding growth and weakening stems as it spreads along the trunk, sometimes killing the tree; young trees are killed more quickly than older ones. Mea� sures taken to fight blister rust include growing resistant varieties, destroy� ing nearby alternative host plants, observing strict sanitation measures, and spraying with fungicides.

blitzkrieg Vblits-,kreg\ (German: �lightning war�) Military tactic used by Germany in World War II, designed to create psychological shock and resultant disorganization in enemy forces through the use of surprise, speed, and superiority in materiel or firepower. The Germans tested the blitzkrieg during the Spanish Civil War in 1938 and against Poland in 1939, and used it in the successful invasions of Belgium, the Netherlands, and France in 1940. The German blitzkrieg coordinated land and air attacks� using tanks, dive-bombers, and motorized artillery�to paralyze the enemy principally by disabling its communications and coordination capacities.

Blitzstein Vblit-.stlnV Marc (b. March 2, 1905, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.�d. Jan. 22, 1964, Fort-de-France, Martinique) U.S. composer. He studied at the Curtis Institute, then with the conductor Nadia Boulanger in Paris and the composer Arnold Schoenberg in Berlin. His best-known works were for the theatre: The Cradle Will Rock (1937), the circum� stances of whose production by Orson Welles and John Houseman became legendary; the opera Regina (1949); and his English adaptation of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill�s The Threepenny Opera (1952), which became a Broadway hit. He was working on a Metropolitan Opera commission for an opera about the Sacco-Vanzetti case when he was murdered.

Blobel, Gunter (b. May 21, 1936, Waltersdorf, Silesia, Ger.) U.S. cel� lular and molecular biologist. He earned his M.D. from Eberhard-Karl University and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. Working in collaboration with other research groups, Blobel showed that each pro� tein carries a signal sequence that directs it to the proper location inside the cell. He also concluded that proteins enter organelles through a pore� like channel that opens in the organelle�s outer membrane when the cor� rect protein arrives at the organelle. For his work, Blobel was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1999. His research shed light on such hereditary diseases as cystic fibrosis and provided the basis for bioengineered drugs, includ� ing INSULIN.

Bloc National Vblok-nas-yo-'naU Right-wing coalition that controlled the French government from 1919 to 1924. On a wave of nationalist sen� timent at the end of World War I, the Bloc gained about 75% of the seats in the French Chamber of Deputies in the 1919 elections. The government tried to ensure French security against Germany through a strict enforce� ment of the Treaty of Versailles. Its leaders, including Raymond Poincare,

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234 I Bloch ► bloodhound

supported the Ruhr occupation (1923) to force Germany to pay reparations. It gradually lost public support, and it was defeated in the 1924 elections.

Bloch VblokA, Ernest (b. July 24, 1880, Geneva, Switz.�d. July 15, 1959, Portland, Ore., U.S.) Swiss-born U.S. composer. He conducted and lectured at the Geneva Conservatory before moving in 1916 to the U.S., where he served as director of the San Francisco Conservatory (1925-30) and taught at the University of California, Berkeley (1942-52). He worked in tonal, atonal, and serialist idioms (see also tonality; atonality; serialism); his works, many of them inspired by Jewish themes, include the opera Macbeth (1910), Schelomo for cello and orchestra (1916), the large choral works America (1926) and Avodath hakodesh (1933), and a violin concerto (1938).

Bloch Vblak\, Felix (b. Oct. 23,1905, Zurich, Switz.�d. Sept. 10, 1983, Zurich) Swiss-born U.S. physicist. He emigrated to the U.S. in 1933 and taught at Stanford University (1934-71). He worked on atomic energy at Los Alamos and on radar countermeasures at Harvard University during World War II. In 1954 he became the first director general of CERN. For developing the nuclear magnetic resonance method of measuring the mag� netic fields of atomic nuclei, he shared with Edward Purcell (1912�97) the 1952 Nobel Prize for Physics.

Bloch Vblok\, Marc (Leopold Benjamin) (b. July 6, 1886, Lyon, France�d. June 16, 1944, near Lyon) French historian. He served in the French infantry in World War I. From 1919 he taught medieval history at the University of Strasbourg, where he cofounded the important periodi� cal Annales d�histoire economique et sociale. He taught economic history at the Sorbonne from 1936. During World War II he joined the French Resistance and was captured and killed by the Germans. Among his major works are The Royal Touch (1924), French Rural History (1931), and Feudal Society (1939). As the founder of the Annales school of histori� ography, with its wide-ranging, interdisciplinary approach, Bloch exerted a huge influence on the study of history.

block and tackle Combination of pulleys with a rope or cable, com� monly used to augment pulling force. Two or more of the pulleys are attached to a fixed block, and the remaining pulleys are free to move as well as rotate. A block and tackle can be used to lift heavy weights or to exert large forces in any direction. Higher force ratios may be obtained by the use of more pulleys, but this advantage may be offset by increased friction.

Block Island Island, Rhode Island, U.S. It lies at the eastern entrance to Long Island Sound, 9 mi (15 km) southwest of Point Judith, R.I. It has an area of about 11 sq mi (29 sq km) and is coextensive with the town of New Shoreham (pop., 2000: 1,010). Called Manisses by its original Indian inhabitants. Block Island (named for the Dutch explorer Adriaen Block) received its first European settlers in 1661 and was admitted to the colony of Rhode Island in 1664. Once dependent on fishing and farming, it is now primarily a resort.

block mill Earliest mechanized factory for mass production. It was con� ceived by Samuel Bentham, with machinery designed by Marc Brunel and built by Henry Maudslay, and built at England�s Portsmouth naval dock� yard. By 1805 it was producing 130,000 pulley blocks per year. It remained in production for over 100 years. See also American System of MANUFACTURE.

blockade Act of war whereby one party blocks entry to or departure from an enemy area, often a coast. Blockades are regulated by interna� tional law and custom, which require advance warning to neutral states and impartial application. Penalties for breach of blockade are seizure of ship and cargo and their possible condemnation as lawful prizes. Neutral ships may not be destroyed for blockade running.

Bloemfontein Vblum-.fan-.tanN City (pop., 2005 est.: 379,000), judi� cial capital of the Republic of South Africa. It is also the capital of Free State province. Founded in 1846 as a fort, it became the seat of the British-administered Orange River Sovereignty (1848-54) and later that of Orange Free State, an independent Boer republic formed in 1854. The failure of the Bloemfontein Conference (1899) resulted in the outbreak of the South African War. In the 20th century the city became a geographi� cal transportation hub. Bloemfontein became part of the Mangaung Local Municipality in 2000. See also Pretoria; Cape Town.

Blok, Aleksandr (Aleksandrovich) (b. Nov. 28, 1880, St. Peters� burg, Russia�d. Aug. 7, 1921, Petrograd [St. Petersburg]) Russian poet and dramatist. He was the principal representative of Russian Symbolism

(see Symbolist movement). He later rejected what he termed their sterile bourgeois intellectualism and embraced the Bolshevik movement as essential for the redemption of the Russian people. Influenced by early 19th-century Romantic poetry, he wrote musical verse in which sound was paramount. His preeminent work of impressionistic verse was the enig� matic ballad The Twelve (1918), which united the Russian Revolution and Christianity in an apocalyptic vision. In the era of postrevolutionary hard� ship he declined into mental and physical illness, possibly brought on by venereal disease, and died at 40.

Blondin \blo n -'da n ,\ English \'blan-den\ orig. Jean-Francois Grav- elet (b. Feb. 28, 1824 , Hesdin, Fr.�d. Feb. 22, 1897, Little Ealing, near London, Eng.) French tightrope walker. After training as an acrobat, he achieved fame, first in 1859, with his many crossings of Niagara Falls on a tightrope 1,100 ft (335 m) long, 160 ft (48 m) above the water. Each time he used a different theatrical variation: blindfolded, in a sack, trun� dling a wheelbarrow, on stilts, carrying a man on his back, and sitting down midway to cook an omelette. He gave his last performance in 1896.

blood Circulatory fluid (see circulation) in multicellular animals. In many species it also carries hormones and disease-fighting substances. Blood picks up oxygen from the lungs and nutrients from the gastrointes� tinal tract and carries them to cells throughout the body for metabolism. It picks up carbon dioxide and other wastes from those cells and transports them to the lungs and excretory organs. Blood composition varies among species. Mammalian blood consists of plasma, red and white cells (eryth� rocytes and leukocytes), and platelets (thrombocytes). Blood disorders include polycythemia (abnormal increase in the number of circulating red blood cells), anemia, leukemia, and hemophilia. See also ABO blood-group system; blood analysis; blood bank; blood pressure; blood transfusion; blood typing; Rh blood-group system.

blood analysis Laboratory examination of the physical and chemical properties and components of a sample of blood. Analysis includes num� ber of red and white blood cells (erythrocytes and leukocytes); red cell vol� ume, sedimentation (settling) rate, and hemoglobin concentration; blood typing; cell shape and structure; hemoglobin and other protein structure; enzyme activity; and chemistry. Special tests detect substances character� istic of specific infections.

blood bank Organization that collects, stores, processes, and supplies blood. Most blood donations are separated into components, which can be frozen and stored longer than whole blood and used by multiple patients. In hemapheresis, large amounts of one component can be sepa� rated from a single donor�s blood and the rest returned to the donor. Before World War I, a physician had to find a compatible donor and give an immediate blood transfusion. Safe storage of blood and its components made possible innovations such as heart-lung machines.

blood poisoning See septicemia

blood pressure Force originating when the heart�s pumping pushes the blood against the walls of the blood vessels. Their stretching and con� traction help maintain blood flow. Usually measured over an arm or leg artery in humans, blood pressure is expressed as two numbers; normal adult blood pressure is about 120/80 mm of mercury. The higher number (systolic) is measured when the heart�s ventricles contract and the lower (diastolic) when they relax. See also hypertension, hypotension.

blood transfusion Transfer of blood taken from one person into the circulation of another to restore blood volume, increase hemoglobin lev� els, or combat shock. Once the blood-group antigens and antibodies (see ABO blood-group system, Rh blood-group system) were discovered, BLOOD typing of donors and recipients rendered transfusion safe. In exchange transfusion, all or most of the blood is removed and replaced with anoth� er�s blood. Undesirable reactions to transfusion are not uncommon.

blood typing Classification of blood by inherited antigens associated with erythrocytes (red blood cells). The ABO blood-group system and Rh blood-group system are among those most commonly considered. Without identification of these factors, blood transfusion from an incompatible donor may result in destruction of red cells or coagulation. Blood typing also helps identify disorders such as erythroblastosis fetalis.

bloodhound Breed of dog superior to any other in scenting ability, the foundation breed of most scent-hunting hound breeds. They were known, although not in the present form, in the Mediterranean area in pre- Christian times. Calm and affectionate, they are often used to track ani-

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Bloodless Revolution ► Bliicher I 235

mals and trail persons. A large, strong dog, the bloodhound stands 23-27 in. (58-69 cm) and weighs 80-110 lb (35-50 kg). It has short hair and long ears, with loose skin that falls into folds and wrinkles around the head and neck. The coat is black-and-tan, red-brown and tan, or tawny.

Bloodless Revolution See Glorious Revolution

bloodroot Plant ( Sanguinaria canadensis ) of the poppy family, native throughout eastern and midwestern North America, growing mainly in deciduous woodlands and blooming in early spring. The white, cup� shaped flower with bright yellow sta� mens in the centre is borne on a reddish stalk. Large, veiny, half- opened leaves on red stalks enfold the flower stem and, after the flower has bloomed, open into multilobed, round, blue-green leaves. The orange-red sap, once used by Ameri� can Indians for dye, is found in the rhizomes, as is the medical alkaloid sanguinarine. The species, particu� larly the variety S. canadensis �Mul� tiplex,� which has showy double flowers, is an interesting plant for the wild garden.

Bloody Sunday (1905) Massacre of peaceful demonstrators in Saint Petersburg, marking the beginning of the Russian Revolution of 1905. The priest Georgy Gapon (1870-1906), hoping to present workers� request for reforms directly to Nicholas II, arranged a peaceful march toward the Winter Palace. Police fired on the demonstrators, killing more than 100 and wounding several hundred more. The massacre was followed by strikes in other cities, peasant uprisings, and mutinies in the armed forces. The term �Bloody Sunday� was also used to describe the murder in Dub� lin, Ireland (Nov. 21, 1920), of 11 Englishmen suspected of being intel� ligence agents, by the Irish Republican Army; the Black and Tans took revenge and attacked spectators at a football (soccer) match, killing 12 and wounding 60. The term was used again in Londonderry (Derry) when on Jan. 30, 1972, 3 participants in a civil rights march were killed by British soldiers, who allegedly had been fired on by the marchers.

Bloom, Harold (b. July 11, 1930, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. literary critic. Bloom studied at Cornell and Yale universities and taught at Yale from 1955. In The Anxiety of Influence (1973) and A Map of Misreading (1975) he suggested that poetry results from poets deliberately misread� ing the works that both influence and threaten them. In The Book of J (1990) he speculated that the earliest known biblical texts were written by a woman with principally literary intentions. His best-selling The West� ern Canon (1994) identifies 26 canonical Western writers and argues against the politicization of literary study.

Bloomer, Amelia orig. Amelia Jenks (b. May 27, 1818, Homer, N.Y., U.S.�d. Dec. 30, 1894, Council Bluffs, Iowa) U.S. reformer. In 1840 she married Dexter Bloomer, a Quaker newspaper editor. She wrote articles on education, unjust marriage laws, and women�s suffrage and published the biweekly Lily (1849-54). Among her interests was dress reform, and the full trousers that she wore came to be known as bloomers. Her costume generated considerable publicity and helped to attract large crowds to her lectures in New York City, where she often shared the plat� form with Susan B. Anthony and the Rev. Antoinette L. Brown.

bloomery process Process for iron smelting. In ancient times, smelt� ing involved creating a bed of red-hot charcoal in a furnace to which iron ore mixed with more charcoal was added. The ore was chemically reduced (see oxidation-reduction), but, because primitive furnaces could not reach the melting temperature of iron, the product was a spongy mass of pasty globules of metal intermingled with a semiliquid slag. This hardly usable product, known as a bloom, may have weighed up to 10 lbs (5 kg). Repeated reheating and hot hammering eliminated much of the slag, cre� ating wrought iron, a much better product. By the 15th century, many bloomeries used low shaft furnaces with waterpower to drive the bellows, and the bloom, which might weigh over 200 lbs (100 kg), was extracted through the top of the shaft. The final version of this kind of bloomery hearth survived in Spain until the 19th century. Another design, the high bloomery furnace, had a taller shaft and evolved into the Stiickofen, which produced blooms so large they had to be removed through a front opening.

Bloomfield, Leonard (b. April 1, 1887, Chicago, Ill., U.S.�d. April 18, 1949, New Haven, Conn.) U.S. linguist. He began his career as a phi� lologist trained in Indo-European, especially Germanic languages. He taught Germanic philology at the University of Chicago (1927^10) and linguistics at Yale (1940-49). In Language (1933), one of the clearest 20th-century presentations of linguistics, he advocated the study of lin� guistic phenomena in isolation from their nonlinguistic environment and emphasized the need for empirical description. His thinking was influ� enced by his work on non-Indo-European languages, particularly the Algonquian family; The Menomini Language (1962) is a paragon of lin� guistic description and American Indian linguistic scholarship.

Bloomsbury group A coterie of English writers, philosophers, and artists. The name was a reference to the Bloomsbury district of London, where between about 1907 and 1930 the group frequently met to discuss aesthetic and philosophical questions. Among the group were E.M. For� ster, Lytton Strachey, Clive Bell, the painters Vanessa Bell (1879-1961) and Duncan Grant (1885-1978), John Maynard Keynes, the Fabian writer Leonard Woolf (1880-1969), and Virginia Woolf.

Blount \'bl3nt\, William (b. March 26, 1749, Bertie county, N.C.�d. March 21, 1800, Knoxville, Tenn., U.S.) U.S. politician. He served in the American Revolution before being elected to six terms in the North Caro� lina legislature. He was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. As the first governor of lands ceded to the U.S. by North Carolina, he worked to secure statehood for what would become Tennessee. In 1796 he became one of Tennessee�s first two senators, but he was expelled from the Sen� ate in 1797 on charges of plotting to help the British gain control of Span� ish Florida and Louisiana.

Blow, John (baptized Feb. 23, 1649, Newark-on-Trent, Nottingham� shire, Eng.�d. Oct. 1, 1708, Westminster, London) British composer, organist, and teacher. He was appointed organist at Westminster Abbey in 1668; in 1774 he became master of the children at the Chapel Royal, and he later held various equally prominent posts, in which he influenced many students, including composer Henry Purcell. Of the many religious and secular ceremonial works he wrote in his official capacities, about 12 services and more than 100 anthems survive. His court masque Venus and Adonis { 1685) represents a landmark in the development of English opera.

blowfish See puffer

blowfly Any member of the dipteran family Calliphoridae, including the screwworm and the bluebottle, greenbottle, and cluster flies. Metallic blue, green, or bronze, and noisy in flight, blowflies resemble the housefly in size and habits. The larvae usually feed on decaying flesh and sometimes infest open wounds. They may help prevent infection by cleaning away dead flesh, but may also destroy healthy tissue. Blowflies were once used to treat gangrene and a human bone disease and were used in World War I to clean soldiers� wounds. Some species seriously hurt or kill livestock by massive infestation or by carrying diseases such as anthrax, dysentery, and jaundice.

blowgun Long, narrow pipe through which darts or other projectiles are blown. Primarily a hunting weapon, it is rarely used in warfare. It has been used by aboriginal peoples in Malaysia and elsewhere in South Asia, southern India and Sri Lanka, Madagascar, northwestern South America, and Central America. Blowguns vary in length from 18 in. to more than 23 ft (45 cm to 7 m) and are often made of cane or bamboo. Darts are usually made of palm-leaf midribs or wood or bamboo splinters 1.5-40 in. (4-100 cm). The dart must fit the tube snugly, so that a puff of human breath will cause it to fly from the tube. To be effective against quarry larger than small birds, blowgun darts require poison.

blowing engine Machine for pumping air into a furnace. Bellows driven by a waterwheel were the earliest form of blowing engine, later replaced by reciprocating pumps driven by steam or gas engines and by turbo-blowers. A modem blast furnace requires an enormous blowing engine.

Blucher Vblii-koiA, Gebhard Leberecht von, prince von Wahlstatt \'val-,shtat\ (b. Dec. 16, 1742, Rostock, Mecklenburg�d. Sept. 12, 1819, Krieblowitz, near Kanth, Silesia, Prussia) Prussian mili� tary leader. He joined the Prussian army in 1760 and commanded troops against the French (1793-94) and in the Napoleonic Wars. In 1813 he came out of retirement to command Prussian troops against the French, defeating them at Wahlstatt and assisting in the allied victory at the Battle of Leipzig. In 1815 he again commanded Prussian forces in the Battle of

Bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis)

WALTER CHANDOHA

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236 I blue ► bluebonnet

Waterloo, coordinating his army with the allied forces under the duke of Wellington to bring about Napoleon�s defeat.

blue (butterfly) Any member of the widely occurring lepidopteran fam� ily Lycaenidae. Adults, sometimes known as gossamer-winged butterflies, are small and delicate, with a wingspan of 0.75-1.5 in. (18-38 mm). Blues are rapid fliers, and most species have iridescent wings. Larvae are short, broad, and sluglike. Some species secrete honeydew, a sweet by-product of digestion that attracts ants, which stroke the larvae with their legs to stimulate honeydew secretion.

blue asbestos See crocidolite

blue crab Any member of a genus ( Callinectes ) of decapods, particularly C. sapidus and C. hastatus, common edible crabs of the western Atlantic coast prized as delicacies. Their usual habitats are muddy shores, bays, and estuaries. The blue crab shell, green� ish on top and dingy white below, is about 3 in. (15-18 cm) long. The legs are bluish. The chelae, or pincers, are large and somewhat unequal in size, and the fifth pair of legs is flattened for swimming. Blue crabs are scav� engers.

blue-green algae See cyanobac� teria

blue ground See kimberlite

blue law U.S. statute regulating work, commerce, and amusements on Sundays. The name is said to derive from a list of Sabbath regulations published (on blue paper or in blue wrappers) in New Haven, Conn., in 1781. Throughout colonial New England such laws regulated morals and conduct. Most lapsed after the American Revolution, but some, such as prohibitions against the Sunday sale of alcoholic beverages, remain on the books in some areas.

Blue Mountains Plateau region, part of the Great Dividing Range, southeastern Australia. Located in New South Wales, the region rises to about 3,600 ft (1,100 m). Once used as a retreat by wealthy Sydney resi� dents, it is now accessible by good roads and is a popular tourist area; the Blue Mountains area was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000. The city of Blue Mountains (pop., 2004 est.: 77,011) was incorpo� rated in 1947.

Blue Mountains Mountain range, eastern Jamaica. It extends from north of Kingston eastward 30 mi (50 km) to the Caribbean Sea. Its high� est point is Blue Mountain Peak, at 7,388 ft (2,252 m). It experiences heavy rain and widely divergent temperatures. Blue Mountain coffee is famous for its excellent quality.

Blue Nile See Nile River

Blue Ridge or Blue Ridge Mountains Section of the Appalachian Mountains, eastern U.S. The range extends southward from Carlisle, Pa., through parts of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina to Mt. Oglethorpe in Georgia. The highest peaks are in the Black Moun� tains of North Carolina; the average elevation is 2,000-4,000 ft (600- 1,200 m). The scenic Blue Ridge Parkway, established in 1936 and administered by the National Park Service, runs 469 mi (755 km) along the crest.

blue whale Mottled, blue-gray baleen whale ( Balaenoptera musculus), also called sulfur-bottom whale because of the yellowish diatoms on some individuals. The largest of all animals, the blue whale reaches a maxi� mum length of about 100 ft (30 m) and a maximum weight of 150 tons (136,000 kg). It is found alone or in small groups in all oceans. In sum� mer it feeds on krill in polar waters, and in winter it moves toward the equator to breed. It was once the most important of the commercially hunted baleen whales, and its populations were greatly reduced. Listed as an endangered species, it is now protected.

Bluebeard or Gilles de Rais \zhel-do-'ra\ or Gilles de Retz (b.

Sept./Oct. 1404, Champtoce, Fr.�d. Oct. 26, 1440, Nantes) Baron and marshal of France renowned for his cruelty. His name was later connected with the story �Bluebeard� by Charles Perrault. He fought several battles at the side of St. Joan of Arc and was made marshal of France (1429).

JOHN H. GERARD FROM THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY COLLECTION/PHOTO RESEARCHES-EB INC.

Back in Brittany he led a dissipated life and eventually turned to alchemy and satanism. Accused of abducting and murdering more than 140 chil� dren, he was tried by ecclesiastical and civil courts. Condemned for her� esy, he confessed, repented, and died bravely at the gallows; his body was burned. Skeptics have noted irregu� larities in the trials and the interest of others in his ruin. The fairy-tale Bluebeard takes a wife, who, curious about the one room of the castle to which he denies her the key, discov� ers there the skeletons of her prede� cessors.

bluebell Any plant of the genus Endymion , in the lily family, native to Eurasia. Bluebell, or wild hyacinth (E. nonscriptus ), and Spanish blue� bell ( E. hispanicus ), bearing clusters of bell-shaped blue flowers, are cul� tivated as garden ornamentals; some authorities place them in the related genus Scilla of the same family. Many other plants are commonly known as bluebells, including spe� cies of the genera Campanula, Eus- toma, Polemonium , and Clematis. In the U.S. the name bluebell is usually reserved for Mertensia virginica.

blueberry Any of several shrubs, native to North America, of the genus Vaccinium in the heath family. They are prized for their sweet edible fruits, a source of vitamin C and iron. Blueberries grow only in highly acidic and well-drained but moist soils. The highbush blueberry (V. corymbosum ), economically and ornamentally the most important species, is in the U.S. cultivated pri� marily in Maine, New Jersey, south� western Michigan, and eastern North Carolina.

bluebird Any of three North American bird species (songbird genus Sialia ) of the chat-thrush group. The eastern bluebird ( S. sia- lis), which is 5.5 in. (14 cm) long, and the western bluebird (S. mexi- cana) are red-breasted forms found east and west of the Rockies, respec� tively. The mountain bluebird ( S . currucoides ), also found in the West, is all blue. Bluebirds arrive from the south in earliest spring. They live in open country and woodlands and nest in holes in trees or in fence posts and bird boxes.

Bluebeard, illustration by Gustave Dore

COURTESY OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM; PHOTOGRAPH, J.R. FREEMAN & CO., LTD.

Wild hyacinth (Endymion nonscriptus)

M.T. TANTON-THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY COLLECTION/PHOTO RESEARCHERS

Blueberry.

GRANT HEILMAN�EB INC.

bluebonnet Any of several flow� ering plants, including the Texas bluebonnet ( Lupinus subcarnosus ), a North American annual legume native to the plains of Texas. About 1 ft (0.3 m) tall, it bears silky-haired com� pound leaves and clusters of purplish blue flowers marked in the centre with white or yellow. In the spring it covers immense areas in southern and western Texas like a blue carpet. It is one of the most popular wild- flowers of Texas. In Scotland the name is given to the bluebottle ( Cen- taurea cyanus ) and to the blue scabious, or devil�s bit {Succisapratensis).

Western bluebird (Sialia mexicana)

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bluefish ► Blyton I 237

bluefish Swift-moving food and game fish ( Pomatomus saltatrix ) found throughout warm and tropical regions of the Atlantic and Indian oceans. It lives in schools and is a voracious predator of smaller animals, espe� cially other fishes. It is slender and has a forked tail and a large mouth with strong, pointed teeth. It is blue or greenish and grows to a length of about 4 ft (1.2 m) and a weight of 25 lbs (11.5 kg).

bluegill Popular game fish ( Lepomis macrochirus) and one of the best- known sunfishes throughout its original range, the freshwater habitats of the central and southern U.S. It has been introduced throughout the west� ern U.S. and in other parts of the world. Bluegills are usually bluish or greenish and have a characteristic dark flap at the rear of the gill cover. Among the smallest of the food and game fishes, they normally are only 6-9 in. (15-23 cm) long and weigh less than 0.5 lbs (0.25 kg). Bluegills are known as highly spirited fighters on the end of a fishing line.

bluegrass Any of many slender annual and perennial lawn, pasture, and forage GRASSes of the genus Poa, in the family Poaceae, or Gramineae. About 250 species are found in temperate and cool climates, more than 50 in the U.S. Most have small spikelets lacking bristles and arranged in open clusters. The narrow leaf blades have boat-shaped tips. With its blue-green leaves, Kentucky bluegrass (P. pratensis), the best-known U.S. species, is a popular lawn and pasture grass in the northern states and is common in open areas and along roadsides. Texas bluegrass (P. arach- nifera), mutton grass (P. fendleriana), and plains bluegrass (P arida ) are important western forage grasses. Annual bluegrass (P. annua), a small, light green species, is considered a pest in lawns.

bluegrass In music, a country-music style that emerged after World War II. It is a direct descendant of the string-band music played by groups such as the Carter Family. Bluegrass is distinguished from its predecessors by its more syncopated rhythm, its high-pitched tenor (lead) vocals, its tight harmonies, its driving rhythms, and a strong influence of jazz and blues. A very prominent place is given to the banjo, always played in the unique three-finger style developed by Earl Scruggs (see Lester Flatt). Mandolin and fiddle are generally featured, and traditional square-dance tunes, religious songs, and ballads furnish much of the repertory. Blue� grass was originated by and got its name from Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys. From the late 1940s on, it continued to grow in popularity; from the 1970s an influx of younger musicians brought some influence from rock music.

Bluegrass region Area of central Kentucky, U.S. The region contains Kentucky�s best agricultural land and thus became the first area to be settled. It became known for its abundant bluegrass and became famous for breeding fine horses; the calcium-rich soil imparts its minerals to the grass and thence into the horses� bones.

blues Secular musical form incorporating a repeating harmonic struc� ture with melodic emphasis on the flatted or �blue� third and seventh notes of the scale. The specific origins of the blues are not known, but elements of the music of former slaves include the call-and-response pattern and syncopated rhythms of spirituals and work songs. The codification of the structure of the blues occurred in the early 20th century, most commonly as a 12-bar phrase using the chords of the first, fourth, and fifth degrees of the major scale. Its origins as a primarily vocal form induced instru� mental performers to imitate the human voice with �bent� notes. Lyric stanzas are usually in three lines, the words of the second generally repeat� ing those of the first. The elaboration of the rural blues from Texas and the Mississippi delta established both lyric and instrumental traditions, often featuring speech-like inflection and guitar accompaniment. The bandleader W.C. Handy�s compositions brought blues elements to the popular music of the first decades of the century. The first blues record� ings, in the early 1920s, featured singers such as Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith using jazz accompanists; their style would become known as clas� sic blues. The highly personal interpretations and improvisation of the blues, combined with elements of its structure and inflection, served as the foundation for jazz, rhythm and blues, and rock music.

Bluestocking In mid-18th-century England, any of a group of women who met to discuss literature. Attempting to replace the playing of cards and such social activities with more intellectual pursuits, they held �con� versations� to which they invited men of letters and members of the aris� tocracy with literary interests. The term probably originated when Mrs. Elizabeth Vesey invited the learned Benjamin Stillingfleet to one of her parties; he declined, saying he lacked appropriate dress, until she told him to come �in his blue stockings��the ordinary worsted stockings he was

wearing at the time. The word bluestocking came to be applied derisively to a woman who affects literary or learned interests.

Bluford Vblii-fordX, Guion S(tewart), Jr. (b. Nov. 22, 1942, Phila� delphia, Pa., U.S.) U.S. astronaut. He flew 144 combat missions in the Vietnam War; on his return, he received a Ph.D. in aerospace engineer� ing from the Air Force Institute of Technology. He joined NASA�s astro� naut program in 1978 and flew on numerous space-shuttle missions; his first was Challenger's third flight (1983), the first to be launched and land at night. He was the first African American to fly in space.

Blum \'blum\, Leon (b. April 9, 1872, Paris, France�d. March 30, 1950, Jouy-en-Josas) French politician and writer. He made a name as a brilliant literary and drama critic, then entered politics in the French Socialist Party. As a member of the Chamber of Deputies (1919-28, 1929- 40), he became a leader of the Socialists from 1921. The chief architect of an electoral alliance of the left, he became the first Socialist (and the first Jewish) premier of France as head of the Popular Front government (1936-37). He introduced such reforms as the 40-hour workweek and collective bargaining and nationalized the chief war industries and the Bank of France. Arrested by the Vichy government in 1940, he was imprisoned until 1945. In the postwar years he was one of France�s lead� ing veteran statesmen.

Blumberg Vbbm-borgX, Baruch S(amuel) (b. July 28, 1925, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. research physician. He received his M.D. from Columbia University. His discovery of an antigen that he later proved to be part of the hepatitis B virus, and which causes the body to produce antibodies to the virus, led to blood-donor screening and a vaccine. He shared a 1976 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with D. Carleton Gajdusek.

Blunt, Anthony (Frederick) (b. Sept. 26, 1907, Bournemouth, Hampshire, Eng.�d. March 26, 1983, London) British art historian and spy. He began his espionage for the Soviet Union after meeting Guy Bur� gess at the University of Cambridge in the 1930s. From 1937 Blunt had a brilliant career as an art historian, publishing scores of scholarly works that largely established art history in Britain. In World War II he served in British military intelligence and also gave secret information to the Soviets. In 1945 he was appointed surveyor of the king�s (later queen�s) pictures, and in 1947 he became director of the prestigious Courtauld Institute. He ceased active intelligence work but in 1951 arranged for the escape of Burgess and Donald Maclean (1913-1983) from Britain. In 1964, after the defection of Kim Philby, Blunt was confronted by British authorities and secretly confessed his Soviet connections. When his past as the �fourth man� in the spy ring was made public in 1979, he was stripped of the knighthood awarded him in 1956.

Bly, Nellie orig. Elizabeth Cochrane (b. May 5, 18677, Cochran�s Mills, Pa., U.S.�d. Jan. 27, 1922, New York, N.Y.) U.S. newspaper writer. Bly started writing for The Pittsburgh Dispatch at age 18, pro� ducing feature articles on such subjects as divorce and slum life. After joining the New York World, she feigned insanity to get into an asylum and wrote an expose that brought about needed reforms. Beginning in 1889, in an attempt to beat the fictional record in Jules Verne�s Around the World in Eighty Days, she circled the globe in about 72 days, 6 hours. The much-publicized trip made her byname a celebrated synonym for a female star reporter.

Bly, Robert (Elwood) (b. Dec. 23, 1926, Madison, Minn., U.S.) U.S. poet and translator. Bly attended Harvard University and the University of Iowa. In 1958 he founded the magazine The Fifties (later The Sixties), which published the works of young poets. He helped found American Writers Against the Vietnam War, and he donated his 1968 National Book Award prize money (received for The Light Around the Body) to a draft resisters� organization. His best-selling Iron John (1990) probed the male psyche, and Bly became the best-known leader of the �men�s movement.� In 2001 he published The Night Abraham Called to the Stars, poems uti� lizing the Arabic ghazal form. He is also known for his translations of a wide range of poetry.

Blyton Vbli-t 3 n\, Enid (Mary) (b. Aug. 11, 1897, London, Eng.�d. Nov. 28, 1968, London) English children�s writer. Trained as a school� teacher, she published her first book, Child Whispers, in 1922. She went on to produce more than 600 children�s books and numerous magazine articles. She is probably best known for several book series, including those featuring Noddy, the Famous Five, and the Secret Seven. Though

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238 I BMW ► bobsledding

often criticized for their stereotyped characters, simple writing style, and didactic moralism, her books were widely translated and remained inter� nationally popular long after her death.

BMW in full Bayerische Motoren Werke Vbl-er-ish-o-mo- 'tor-on-'ver-koV AG German automaker. Founded as an aircraft engine manufacturer in 1916, the company assumed the name Bayerische Motoren Werke and became known for its high-speed motorcycles in the 1920s. During World War II, BMW built the world�s first jet airplane engines for the Luftwaffe. It suffered financially in the postwar period but recovered after 1959 with a new line of conventionally designed high- performance cars. The company�s turnaround was also credited to Ger� man entrepreneur Herbert Quandt, who purchased a controlling share of BMW�s stock in 1959. In the 21st century the firm�s brands included BMW cars and motorcycles, MINI automobiles, and Rolls-Royce. Mem� bers of the Quandt family continued to hold a significant stake in the company.

B'nai B'rith Vbo-'na-'brithX (Hebrew: �Sons of the Covenant�) Oldest and largest Jewish service organization. Founded in New York City in 1843, it now has men�s lodges, women�s chapters, and youth organiza� tions around the world. Its goals include defending human rights, aiding Jewish college students (mainly through the Hillel Foundation), sponsor� ing educational programs for adult and youth groups, helping victims of natural disasters, supporting hospitals and philanthropic institutions, and promoting the welfare of Israel. In 1913 it established the Anti- Defamation League to combat anti-Semitism.

Bo Hai Vbo-'hrf or Po Hai conventional Gulf of Chihli Vjo-'leX Arm of the Yellow Sea off the northern China coast. With the Gulf of Liaodong (generally considered part of the Bo Hai), its maximum dimensions are 300 mi (480 km) northeast-southwest and 190 mi (306 km) east-west. The Liao River and Huang He (Yellow River) empty into it.

Bo Juyi Vbwo-'jiE-'eX or Po Chu-i (b. 772, Xinzheng, China�d. 846, Luoyang) Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty. He began composing poetry at age 5, and at age 28 he passed the examinations for the Chinese civil service. He rose steadily in official life and became the informal leader of a group of poets who rejected the courtly style of the time, believing that poetry should have a moral and social purpose. His satirical ballads and poems of social protest often took the form of free verse based on old folk ballads. He was revered in both China and Japan, where his poems, notably the �Song of Everlasting Sorrow,� became material for other literary works.

bo tree See bodhi tree

boa Any of about 60 species of stout-bodied snakes (subfamily Boinae, family Boidae) found in both the Old and New Worlds, mostly in warm regions. Species vary in length from about 8 in. (20 cm) to more than 25 ft (7.5 m). Most are terrestrial or semiaquatic; some live in trees. Most species have blotches and diamonds on their brown, green, or yellowish body. Boas bite their prey, then kill by wrapping their body around the prey and crushing it. Several species have heat-sensitive lip pits for detect� ing warm-blooded prey, and most bear live young. Contrary to folklore, boas are not dangerous to humans.

Boadicea See Boudicca

boar or wild boar or wild pig Any wild member of the pig species Sus scrofa; the ancestor of domestic pigs. It is native to forests ranging from western and northern Europe and North Africa to India, the Andaman Islands, and China and has been introduced to New Zealand and the U.S. It has a bristly, blackish or brown coat and stands up to 35 in. (90 cm) tall at the shoulder. Except for old, solitary males, boars live in groups. They are omnivores and are good swimmers. They have sharp tusks and, though normally not aggressive, can be dangerous. Because of its strength, speed, and ferocity, the boar has long been a prized game animal.

Board of Trade See Board of Trade

Boas Vbo-,az\, Franz (b. July 9, 1858, Minden, Westphalia [Germany]�d. Dec. 22, 1942, New York, N.Y., U.S.) German-bom U.S. anthropologist. Trained in physics and geography (Ph.D., 1881), Boas was part of an early scientific expedition to Baffin Island (1883-84), where he turned to studying Eskimo culture. He later studied native peoples of Brit� ish Columbia, including the Kwakiutl. From 1896 to 1905 he directed the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, which investigated the relationships between the aboriginal peoples of Siberia and North America. Teaching

at Columbia University from 1896 until his death, he was a leading organizer of the profession in the U.S. and the mentor of Ruth Bene� dict, Alfred L. Kroeber, Margaret Mead, and Edward Sapir. He is largely credited with establishing anthropology as an academic disci� pline in the U.S. His achievements in anthropology are virtually unrivaled.

Before Boas, most anthropologists adhered to a relatively crude theory of sociocultural evolution, arguing that some peoples are inherently more civilized or developed than others. Boas argued that such views are ethnocentric and that all human groups have actually evolved equally but in different ways. It is largely because of Boas that anthropologists now attribute human differences to historic �cultural,� rather than genetic, factors. His books include The Mind of Primitive Man (1911), Primitive Art (1927), and Race, Language, and Culture (1940).

boat people Refugees fleeing by boat. The term originally referred to the thousands of Vietnamese who fled their country by sea following the collapse of the South Vietnamese government in 1975. Crowded into small vessels, they were prey to pirates, and many suffered dehydration, starvation, and death by drowning. The term was later applied to waves of refugees who attempted to reach the U.S. by boat from Cuba and Haiti and also to Afghan and other refugees seeking asylum in Australia.

Bob and Ray in full Robert Brackett Elliott and Raymond Walter Goulding (respectively b. March 26, 1923, Boston, Mass., U.S.(b. March 20, 1922, Lowell, Mass.) �d. March 24, 1990, Manhas- set, N.Y.) U.S. comedy team. They met while working at a Boston radio station and soon established their comic style in a program of parodies and satire (1946-51). The Bob and Ray Show was nationally syndicated (1951-53), and their comedy sketches were popular in the 1950s and �60s on several networks. They also performed in the theatre and starred in the Broadway show The Two and Only (1970).

bobbin Elongated spool of thread, used in the textile industry. In mod� em processes, the spun fibres are wound on bobbins; the weft filling in weaving comes off bobbins. Bobbins are essential to the manufacture of bobbin lace (see lacemaking). The first bobbin lace probably originated in Flanders in the early 16th century. Early bobbin lace consisted of rows of deep acute-angled points worked from a narrow band, and the patterns were usually similar to those of the needle laces. It was much used for ruffs and collars in the 16th� 17th centuries. See also tapestry.

bobcat Bobtailed, long-legged North American cat ( Lynx rufus ) found in forests and deserts from southern Canada to southern Mexico. It is a close relative of the lynx and caracal. Bobcats have large paws and tufted ears; are 24-40 in. (60-100 cm) long, excluding the 4-8-in. (10-20-cm) tail; stand 20-24 in. (50-60 cm) at the shoulder; and weigh 15-33 lb (7�15 kg). The fur is pale brown to reddish with black spots. Bobcats are noc� turnal and generally solitary. They feed on small mammals and some birds and are important for controlling rodent and rabbit populations. They are sometimes found in suburban areas. See photograph on opposite page.

bobolink Vbab-o-.liqkX Songbird ( Dolichonyx oryzivorus ) that breeds in northern North America and winters chiefly in central South America. Migrating flocks may raid rice fields, and the fat �ricebirds� were for� merly shot as a table delicacy. In the breeding season the 7-in (18-cm) male bobolink (named for his bubbling song) has a black underside, yel� low hindneck, white back and rump, and white patches on the wings; in winter he resembles the brown female.

bobsledding Sport of sliding down a winding ice-covered run on a large metal sled (bobsled). The sled is equipped with two pairs of run� ners, a long seat for two or more (usually four) people, a steering wheel or steering ropes, and a hand brake. Bobsledding originated in Switzer� land in the 1890s and was included in the first Olympic Winter Games in 1924. Championship competitions are held each year. Bob runs are typi� cally about 4,920 ft (1,500 m) long, with 15-20 banked turns. Four-person sleds attain speeds approaching 100 mph (160 kph).

� 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

bobwhite ► bodhi tree I 239

bobwhite North American quail species ( Colinus virginianus) that exists in about 20 subspecies from southern Canada to Guatemala. It is reddish brown and has a gray tail. Its name is suggestive of its two-note call. A popular game bird of the southern and central U.S., it is found in brush, open pinelands, and abandoned fields.

Boccaccio \bok-'kach-cho\, Giovanni (b. 1313, Paris, France�d. Dec. 21, 1375, Certaldo, Tuscany)

Italian poet and scholar. His life was full of difficulties and occasional bouts of poverty. His early works include The Love Afflicted (c. 1336), a prose work in five books, and The Book of Theseus (c. 1340), an ambi� tious epic of 12 cantos. He is best known for his Decameron, a master� piece of classical Italian prose that had an enormous influence on litera� ture throughout Europe. A group of 100 earthy tales united by a frame story, it was probably composed 1348-53. After this period he turned to humanist scholarship in Latin.

With Petrarch, he laid the founda� tions for Renaissance humanism, and through his writings in Italian he helped raise vernacular literature to the level of the classics of antiquity.

Boccherini \,ba-k3-'re-ne\, Luigi (Rodolfo) (b. Feb. 19, 1743,

Lucca�d. May 28, 1805, Madrid,

Spain) Italian composer. Son of a musician, he received excellent early training and toured widely in Europe as a cellist. He held positions at the courts of Madrid and Prussia. His vast chamber music output includes some 125 string quintets (more than any other composer), some 90 string quartets, and many string trios. He also wrote symphonies and cello concertos. The elegance and charm of his music has ensured its continuing popularity.

boccie or bocci or bocce \'ba-che\ (from Italian bocce, �balls�) Game of Italian origin, similar to bowls. It is played on a long, narrow, packed- clay court enclosed with boarded ends and sides. Each player or team in turn rolls four balls (made of wood, metal, or composition material) toward a smaller target ball. The object is to bring the ball to rest nearest the target ball (for which points are awarded at the end of a round), to protect a well-placed ball, or to knock aside an opponent�s ball. The game usually proceeds until one side has 12 points.

Boccioni Xbot-'cho-neV Umberto (b. Oct. 19, 1882, Reggio di Cala� bria, Italy�d. Aug. 16, 1916, Verona) Italian painter, sculptor, and theo-

Bobcat (Felis rufa)

JOE VAN WORMER/PHOTO RESEARCHERS

rist. He was trained in the studio of Giacomo Balia (1871-1958) in Rome. The most energetic member of the Futurist group (see also Futurism), Boc� cioni helped publish Technical Manifesto of the Futurist Painters (1910), promoting the representation of modem technology, power, time, motion, and speed. These ideas are best shown in his masterpiece of early mod� em sculpture, Unique Forms of Continuity in Space (1913). His painting The City Rises (1910) is a dynamic composition of swirling human fig� ures in a fragmented crowd scene.

Bochco \'bach-ko\, Steven (Ronald) (b. Dec. 16, 1943, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. television writer, director, and producer. He worked as a scriptwriter and producer for Universal Studios (1966-78) and MTM Enterprises (1978-85) before forming his own production company in 1987. He cowrote and produced such successful television dramas as Hill Street Blues (1981-86), L.A. Law (1986-94), and NYPD Blue (from 1993), winning numerous Emmy Awards for his scripts.

B6cklin\'boek-len\, Arnold (b. Oct. 16,1827, Basel, Switz.�d. Jan. 16, 1901, Fiesole, Italy) Swiss-bom Ital� ian painter. After studies and work in northern Europe and Paris, he won the patronage of the king of Bavaria with his mural Pan in the Bulrushes (1856-58). From 1858 to 1861 he taught at the Weimar Art School and executed mythological frescoes for the Public Art Collection in his native Basel. He settled in Italy, painting nymphs, satyrs, tritons, moody land� scapes, and sinister allegories that presaged Symbolism and Surrealism.

His later style was sombre, mystical, and morbid, as in his five versions of The Isle of the Dead (1880-86).

Though most of his time was spent in Italy, he was the most influential art� ist in the German-speaking world in the late 19th century.

Bodawpaya \ 1 b6-do- , pI-9\ (b.

1740/41�d. 1819, Amarapura,

Myanmar) King of Myanmar (Burma) (r. 1782-1819). He was a son of Alaungpaya and the sixth monarch of the Alaungpaya dynasty. Bodaw� paya deposed his grandnephew to become king. In 1784 he invaded the kingdom of Arakan and deported more than 20,000 of its people as slaves; in 1785 he attempted to conquer Siam. His oppressive rule in Arakan led to rebellion; his pursuit of rebel leaders across the border into British- controlled Bengal nearly brought him into open conflict with the British. His campaigns in Assam heightened tensions. A fervent Buddhist, he pro� claimed himself Arimittya, the messianic Buddha destined to conquer the world.

Bodensee See Lake Constance

Bode's law Rule giving the approximate distances of planets from the Sun. First announced in 1766 by the German Johann Daniel Titius (b. 1729�d. 1796), it was popularized, from 1772, by his countryman Johann Elert Bode (b. 1747�d. 1826). It may be given as follows: To each num� ber in the sequence 0, 3, 6, 12, 24, and so on, add 4 and divide the result by 10. The answers closely approximate the distances from the Sun, in astronomical units, of the first seven planets. Bode�s law also suggested that a planet should be found between Mars and Jupiter, where the aster� oid belt was later discovered. Once thought to have some significance regarding the formation of the solar system, it is now regarded as a numerological curiosity.

bodhi Vbo-de\ (Sanskrit and Pali: �awakening� or �enlightenment�) In Buddhism, the final enlightenment that ends the cycle of death and rebirth and leads to nirvana. This awakening transformed Siddhartha Gautama into the historical Buddha. Bodhi is achieved by ridding oneself of false beliefs and the hindrance of passions through the discipline of the Eight� fold Path. Though not supported in canonical texts, commentaries give a threefold classification of bodhi: that of a perfectly enlightened one, or a Buddha; that of an independently enlightened one; and that of an arhat.

bodhi tree or bo tree In Buddhism, the fig tree under which the Bud� dha sat when he attained enlightenment (bodhi) at Bodh Gaya (near Gaya,

Boccaccio, detail of a fresco by Andrea del Castagno; in the Cenacolo di Sant'Apollonia, Florence.

AUNARI/ART RESOURCE

"Self-Portrait with Death as a Fiddler," oil on canvas by Arnold Bocklin, 1872; in the Nationalgalerie, Berlin.

COURTESY OF THE STAATLICHE MUSEEN PREUSSISCHER KULTURBESITZ, NATIONALGALERIE, BERLIN; PHOTOGRAPH, WALTER STEINKOPF

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240 I Bodhidharma > Boethius

India). The tree growing on the site now is believed to be a descendant of the original, planted from a cutting of a tree in Sri Lanka that had been propagated from the original; both trees are sites of pilgrimage for Bud� dhists. The bo tree or a representation of its leaf has often been used as a symbol of the Buddha.

Bodhidharma \ 1 bo-di-'dor-mo\ Chinese Damo Japanese Daruma (fl. 6th century ad) Legendary Indian monk credited with the establish� ment of the Chan (Son, or Zen) school of Buddhism. Considered the 28th Indian successor in a direct line from the Buddha Gautama, he is recog� nized by the Chan school as its first patriarch. Legend states that he trav� eled from India to Guang (now Guangzhou), China, where he was granted an interview with the emperor Wudi, who was famous for his good works. He told the emperor that meditation, not good deeds, led to enlighten� ment. He himself was said to have meditated sitting motionless for nine years.

bodhisattva \,bo-di-'s9t-v9\ Term for the historical Buddha Gautama prior to his enlightenment as well as for other individuals destined to become buddhas. In Mahayana Buddhism the bodhisattva postpones attainment of nirvana in order to alleviate the suffering of others. The ideal supplanted the Theravada Buddhist ideals of the arhat and the self- enlightened buddha, which Mahayana deemed selfish. The number of bodhisattvas is theoretically limitless, and the title has been applied to great scholars, teachers, and Buddhist kings. Celestial bodhisattvas (e.g., Avalokitesvara) are considered manifestations of the eternal Buddha and serve as savior figures and objects of personal devotion, especially in East Asia.

Bodin \b6-'da n \/ Jean (b. 1530, Angers, Fr.�d. June 1596, Laon) French political philosopher. He studied at the University of Toulouse and later taught law there (1551-61). In 1571 he entered the household of the king�s brother, Francois, duke d�Alengon. He favoured negotiation with the Huguenots, with whom the government was engaged in a civil war, and opposed the sale of royal domains. His The Six Bookes of a Com- monweale (1576) won him immediate fame. In it he suggested that the key to securing order and authority lay in recognition of the state�s sov� ereignty, which he believed derived from divine right and not from the consent of the subject. He distinguished three types of government: mon� archy (which he favoured), aristocracy, and democracy.

Bodleian \bod-Te-on\ Library Library of the University of Oxford and one of the oldest and most important nonlending reference libraries in Britain. The Bodleian is particularly rich in Asian manuscripts and col� lections of English literature, local history, and early printing. Though it was established earlier, it was not secured by the university until 1410. After a period of decline, it was restored by Sir Thomas Bodley (1545� 1613), a collector of medieval manuscripts, and reopened in 1602. Under provisions established in 1610 and 1662, it is a legal deposit library entitled to free copies of all books printed in Britain.

Bodmer Vbod-morV Johann Georg (b. Dec. 6, 1786, Zurich, Switz.�d. May 30, 1864, Zurich) Swiss inventor of machine tools and textile-making machinery. In 1824 he established a small factory in England to make textile machinery, and by 1833 he had a shop equipped with his own machine tools. Between 1839 and 1841 he patented more than 40 specialized machine tools that he then set up in an ingenious factory-type arrangement. A gear-making machine that cut teeth of pre� determined pitch, form, and depth in a metal blank was especially note� worthy. Bodmer also patented various steam-engine devices and is credited with inventing the cylinder with opposed pistons.

Bodoni Xbo-'do-neV Giambattista (b. Feb. 16, 1740, Saluzzo, Piedmont�d. Nov. 29, 1813, Parma, French Empire) Italian typographer. Son of a printer, he served an apprenticeship at the press of the Roman Catholic Church in Rome. In 1768 he assumed management of the Royal Press of the duke of Parma. By the 1780s he was designing his own type� faces; the Bodoni typeface appeared in 1790 and is still in use today. He became internationally known and collectors sought his books. His many important works include fine editions of Horace (1791), Virgil (1793), and Homer�s Iliad (1808).

Bodrum See Halicarnassus body louse See human louse

body modification and mutilation Intentional modification of the human body for religious, aesthetic, or social reasons. It is frequently per�

formed for magical or pseudo-medical purposes, but cosmetic motives are equally common. The variability of the results in different cultures reflects varying ideals of beauty or morality. Modifications include head flatten� ing, insertion of a lip plug, tattoos, scarification, and piercing of the ear and other parts of the body. Mutilations include male and female circum� cision, foot binding, and amputation.

bodybuilding Developing of the physique through exercise and diet, often for competitive exhibition. Bodybuilding aims at displaying pro� nounced muscle tone and exaggerated muscle mass and definition for overall aesthetic effect. Weight training is the principal form of exercise used; high-protein foods and vitamin and mineral supplements contribute to the diet. Bodybuilding competition grew largely out of 19th-century European strongman theatrical and circus acts. The first important inter� national competition was the Mr. Universe contest, founded in 1947. It was followed in 1965 by the even more prestigious Mr. Olympia contest. Competition for women began in the 1970s. In 1998 bodybuilding was granted provisional status by the International Olympic Committee. The use of steroids to enhance performance, though generally forbidden, has long been common among bodybuilders.

Boehm Vb6em\, Theobald (b. April 9, 1794, Munich, Bavaria�d. Nov. 25, 1881, Munich, German Empire) German flutist and flute designer. Son of a goldsmith, he was a self-taught virtuoso flutist. Real� izing that the craft he learned from his father could be put to use to improve the instrument, he created a new kind of key mechanism in 1832. He later studied acoustics, and by 1847 he had completely redesigned the flute, giving it a different internal shape, moving the holes, and extending the use of the keys. His work achieved a stronger and more uniform tone than that of earlier instruments and formed the basis for the modern flute.

Boeing Co. Major U.S. firm that is the world�s largest aerospace com� pany and foremost maker of commercial jet transports. It was founded by William E. Boeing (1881-1956) in 1916 (as Aero Products Company). In the late 1920s it became part of United Aircraft and Transport Corp., but it reemerged as an independent entity in 1934 when that company was broken up to comply with antitrust legislation. Boeing pioneered the development of single-wing planes in the 1930s; its B-l 7 Flying Fortress (first flown 1935) and B-29 Superfortress (1942) played prominent roles in World War II. After the war the company developed the B-52 jet bomber, long a mainstay of U.S. strategic forces. It produced the first U.S. jetliner, the Boeing 707 (in service 1958), and went on to develop a highly successful series of commercial jet transports. By the start of the 21st century these formed seven families�the narrow-body 737 and 757; wide-body 747, 767, and 777; 717 (formerly McDonnell Douglas MD-95); and MD-11. In the 1960s Boeing built the Lunar Orbiters, Lunar Roving Vehicles, and the first stage of the Saturn V rockets (see Saturn) for the U.S. Apollo program. Beginning in 1993, it served as NASA�s prime contractor for the International Space Station. In 1996 it purchased the aerospace and defense units of Rockwell International Corp., and a year later it bought McDonnell Douglas Corp. It acquired the satellite business of Hughes Electronics in 2000. See also Lockheed Martin Corp.

Boeotia \be-'o-sh3\ District and ancient republic, eastern central Greece. Bounded by Attica and the Gulf of Corinth, its chief cities were Orchomenus and Thebes. Inhabited by Boeotians, an Aetolian people from Thessaly, it became politically significant after the Boeotian League was formed under Theban leadership c. 600-550 bc. Hostile to Athens, the League revolted against it c. 447 bc. In the Peloponnesian War, Boeotia defeated Athens at Delium in 424 bc. Led by Thebes, it dominated Greece until Thebes was destroyed by Alexander the Great c. 335 bc.

Boer See Afrikaner

Boerhaave Vbiir-.ha-voV Hermann (b. Dec. 31, 1668, Voorhout, Neth.�d. Sept. 23, 1738, Leiden) Dutch physician. As a professor at the University of Leiden, he was renowned as a teacher, and he is often cred� ited with founding the modern system of teaching medical students at the patient�s bedside. His reputation as one of the greatest physicians of the 18th century lay partly in his attempts to organize the mass of medical information known at the time, in a series of major texts and encyclope� dic works.

Boethius \bo-'e-the-3s\ in full Anicius Manlius Severinus Boe� thius (b. ad 470^-75?, Rome�d. 524, Pavia?) Roman scholar, Christian philosopher, and statesman. Born to a patrician family, he became consul in 510 and subsequently chief minister to the Ostrogothic king Theodoric.

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bog body ► Bohemian language I 241

Accused of treason and condemned to death, he wrote his Neoplatonic The Consolation of Philosophy while in prison awaiting execution. The work was extremely popular and influential through the Middle Ages and later. He is also known for his translations of works of Greek logic and mathematics, including those of Porphyry and Aristotle. His translations and commentaries were among the basic texts of medieval Scholasticism.

bog body Any of an informal collection of some 700 variously pre� served human remains found over the past 200 years in natural peat bogs, mostly in western Europe. The bodies, including the soft tissues and the stomach contents, remain preserved because of the anaerobic fluid con� ditions in the bogs. They range chronologically from c. 8000 bc to early medieval times. That they have been variously found with cut throats, severed limbs, ropes around the neck, and so on suggests the possibility of ritual killings, murders, and ignominious burial (since none was found within a proper grave).

bog iron ore Iron ore consisting of hydrated iron oxide minerals such as limonite and goethite formed by precipitation of groundwater flowing into wetlands. Bacterial action contributes to formation of the ore. Eco� nomically useful deposits can regrow within 20 years after harvesting. Bog iron was widely used as a source of iron in the past.

Bogarde \ l bo-,gard\ / Sir Dirk orig. Derek Niven van den Bogaerde (b. March 28, 1921, London, Eng.�d. May 8, 1999, Lon� don) British actor. The son of a Dutch-bom art critic, he made his stage debut in 1939 and won a film contract from the Rank studios after World War II. After appearing for a decade mainly in light comedies such as Doctor in the House (1953), he began demonstrating his acting range in serious films such as The Doctor�s Dilemma (1958), The Servant (1963), Darling (1965), and Providence (1977).

Bogart, Humphrey (DeForest)

U.S.�d. Jan. 14, 1957, Hollywood, Calif.) U.S. actor. He had minor roles on the stage and in Hollywood before winning success on Broad� way as the murderer Duke Mantee in The Petrified Forest (1935), a role he reprised in the film version (1936). He appeared in many low-budget films, usually as a gangster, before achieving stardom in High Sierra (1941) and The Maltese Falcon (1941). Often playing a sardonic loner who proves capable of love, he appeared in films such as Casa� blanca (1942), Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), and The African Queen (1951, Academy Award). He acted in four films with his fourth wife, Lauren Bacall.

(b. Dec. 25, 1899, New York, N.Y.,

Humphrey Bogart in Sahara (1943).

THE BETTMANN ARCHIVE

Bogazkoy \bo-'a-kcei\ or

Bogazkale \bo-'az-ka-le\ Village, north-central Turkey. Located about 90 mi (145 km) east of Ankara, it is on the ruins of the ancient Hittite capital of Hattusas (Hattusha). The site contains archaeological remains, including temples, city gates, and walls, associated with the powerful Hattie dynasty (c. 16th�12th century bc) and was later described by Hero� dotus. Excavations conducted during the 20th century uncovered hundreds of cuneiform tablets attesting to the ancient city�s importance. Hattusas was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1986.

Bogd Gegeen Khan Vbog-sd-go-'genV (fl. 1911-24, Urga [Ulaanbaa- tar]) �Living Buddha� of the Yellow Hat (Dge-lugs-pa) sect. In 1911 he proclaimed Mongolia independent of China, though true independence was not achieved until 1921. He remained head of state until 1924.

Bogomil Vba-go-.miA Any member of a religious sect that flourished in the Balkans during the 10th-15th centuries. Founded by a 10th-century Bulgarian priest traditionally known as Bogomil, the sect�s beliefs arose from the possible fusion of dualistic doctrines imported mainly from the Paulicians (a sect of Armenia and Asia Minor) and a local Slavonic move� ment aimed at reforming the new Bulgarian Orthodox church. Its central teaching was that the visible, material world was created by the Devil. The Bogomils taught a Docetist Christology instead of the traditional doctrine of the Incarnation, rejected the Christian conception of matter as

a vehicle of grace, and repudiated the whole organization of the Ortho� dox church. They were active missionaries who lived rigorously ascetic lives. During the 11 th� 12th centuries Bogomilism spread over many European and Asian provinces of the Byzantine Empire; it also spread into western Europe, where it contributed to the formation of the Cathar heresy. In Bulgaria it remained a powerful force until the late 14th cen� tury. With the Ottoman conquest of southeastern Europe in the 15th cen� tury, its influence declined. See also dualism.

Bogota \,bo-go-'ta\ in full Capital District of Santafe de Bogota

City (pop., 1999: 6,276,428), capital of Colombia. It lies on a plateau east of the Andes Mountains. European settlement began in 1538 when Span� ish conquistadores overran Bacata, the main seat of the Chibcha Indians; the name was soon corrupted to Bogota. It became the capital of the Vice� royalty of New Granada and a centre of Spanish colonial power in South America. It was the scene of revolt against Spanish rule (1810-11), and the revolutionary leader Simon Bolivar took the city in 1819. It became the capital of the confederation of Gran Colombia; when that entity was dis� solved in 1830, it remained the capital but of New Granada and later the Republic of Colombia. Today Bogota is an industrial, commercial, edu� cational, and cultural centre.

Bogustawski \ l b6-gii- , slaf-ske\ / Wojciech (b. April 9, 1757, Glinna, Pol.�d. July 23, 1829, Warsaw) Polish actor, director, and playwright. He joined the Polish National Theatre in Warsaw as an actor in 1778 and later became its director (1783-1814). Considered the father of Polish theatre, he wrote over 80 plays, including numerous comedies adapted from western European writers as well as the popular original play Kra- kovians and Highlanders (1794). He helped develop theatre companies in Vilna (1785) and Lwow (1794) and toured with the Lwow company, per� forming in foreign and Polish plays. In 1787 he played Hamlet in his own translation of Shakespeare�s play.

Bohai See Parhae

Bohemia Former kingdom, central Europe. Settled in the 5th century ad by the Czechs, it became tributary to Charlemagne�s empire. It was part of the kingdom of Moravia in 870; on the dissolution of Moravia, it became a duchy with an important center at Prague. In the 10th century it expanded to include parts of Silesia, Slovakia, and Krakow. From the election of Ferdinand I as king in 1526, it remained under Habsburg rule until 1918. Following World War I, Bohemia declared independence along with Moravia and Slovakia. It was invaded by Germany in 1939 on the pretext that much of the population was German. After World War II it became a province of Czechoslovakia (later the Czech Socialist Repub� lic). On the breakup of the eastern European bloc, it became part of the independent Czech Republic in 1993.

Bohemian Forest German Bohmer Wald Vbce-mor-.valtV Moun� tain range, central Europe. It lies along the boundary between Bavaria (Germany) and Bohemia (Czech Republic), extending northwest- southeast from the Ohre River to the Danube River valley in Austria. Its highest point, the Arber, rises 4,780 ft (1,457 m). It is the source of the Vltava (Moldau) River.

Bohemian glass Decorative glass made in Bohemia from the 13th century. In the early 17th century,

Caspar Lehmann, gem cutter to Rudolf II in Prague, perfected the technique of gem engraving on glass.

By 1700, a heavy, high-lustre, richly ornamented potash-lime glass (Bohemian crystal) had become popular. In the late 18th century, black glass with chinoiserie designs was introduced. Ruby glass and an opaque glass with white overlay, both carved and enameled, were introduced in the 19th century.

Bohemian language See Czech

LANGUAGE

Bohemian glass goblet, relief cut and decorated with intaglio-engraved Baroque flowers, from the workshop of Friedrich Winter in Silesia, about 1710-20; in the Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague

MUSEUM OF DECORATIVE ARTS, PRAGUE

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242 I Bohemian school ► Boise

Bohemian school School of visual arts that flourished in and around Prague in the later 14th century.

Charles IV attracted artists and schol� ars to Prague from all over Europe.

French and Italian manuscripts inspired a local school of book illu� mination. Though most of the paint� ers are anonymous, their achievements in panel painting and fresco had an important influence on German Gothic art. A vital Bohe� mian tradition in architecture pro� vided the impetus for the great German Gothic architecture of the 15 th century.

Bohemond Vbo-o-mondV I orig.

Marc (b. 1050-58�d. March 5 or 7, 1109, probably Bari) Prince of Otranto (1089-1109) and of Antioch (1098-1101, 1103-4). The son of a duke who held sway in southeastern Italy, he was nicknamed after a leg� endary giant. He joined his father�s army and contested with Alexius I Comnenus for territory in the Byzan� tine Empire. In 1095 he joined the First Crusade, reconquering Byzantine lands from the Turks and captur� ing Antioch (1098). Rather than taking part in the battle to gain Jerusa� lem, Bohemond remained in Antioch, which he ruled as a principality. His efforts to muster French and Italian support against Alexius and the Byzantine Empire were ultimately unsuccessful.

B6hm\'bcem\, Karl (b. Aug. 28, 1894, Graz, Austria�d. Aug. 14,1981, Salzburg) Austrian conductor. Having risen from rehearsal pianist to chief conductor at the Graz Opera House, he was invited to conduct at the Munich Opera in 1921. As director of the Dresden State Opera (1934-42), he conducted numerous premieres. He had a long association with the Salzburg Festival (from 1938) and was especially admired for his interpre� tations of the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. His recordings and per� formances elicited admirable qualities of warmth, subtlety, and lyricism.

Bohme Vbce-maV Jakob (b. 1575, Altseidenberg, Saxony�d. Nov. 21, 1624, Gorlitz) German philosophical mystic. Originally a cobbler, Bohme had a religious experience in 1600 that he felt gave him insight into how the tensions of his age could be resolved. He expounded this insight in his work Aurora (1612). The writings of Paracelsus inspired his interest in nature mysticism. In The Great Mystery (1623), he explained the Genesis account of creation in terms of Paracelsian principles. In On the Election of Grace, he expounded the free will problem, made acute at the time by the spread of Calvinism and its doctrine of predestination. He profoundly influenced later intellectual movements such as idealism and Romanticism, and he is regarded as the father of theosophy.

Bohol \b6-'hol\ Island (pop., 2000: 1,137,268), Philippines. Located in the Visayan group north of Mindanao, it has an area of 1,492 sq mi (3,864 sq km). Visited by the Spanish in 1565, it remained under their rule until the late 19th century. Its character is essentially rural and its economy agricultural. The chief settlements, including Loon and Talibon, are on the coast.

Bohr \'bor\, Niels (Henrik David) (b. Oct. 7, 1885, Copenhagen, Den.�d. Nov. 18, 1962, Copenhagen) Danish physicist. He studied the structure of the atom with J J. Thomson and Ernest Rutherford at the uni� versities of Cambridge and Manchester. He was among the first to see the importance of an element�s atomic number and postulated that any atom could exist only in a discrete set of states characterized by definite val� ues of energy. He became the first to apply the quantum theory to atomic and molecular structure, and his concept of the atomic nucleus was a key step in understanding such processes as nuclear fission. From 1920 to 1962 he directed the newly created Institute for Theoretical Physics in Copen� hagen. His work on atomic theory won him a Nobel Prize for Physics in 1922. He was president of the Royal Danish Academy from 1939 until his death. Though he contributed to atomic bomb research in the U.S. during World War II, he later dedicated himself to the cause of arms con� trol. He received the first U.S. Atoms for Peace Award in 1957. Element

107, bohrium, is named in his honour. His son Aage Niels Bohr (b. 1922) shared the 1975 Nobel Prize for Physics with Ben Mottelson (b. 1926) and James Rainwater (1917-86) for their work on atomic nuclei.

Boieldieu \bo-yel-'dyce\, (Francois-) Adrien (b. Dec. 16, 1775, Rouen, France�d. Oct. 8, 1834, Jarsy) French composer. Well known as a concert pianist, he taught piano at the Paris Conservatoire from 1798. His early operas comiques won popularity in Paris, and he wrote several more operas as director of the French Opera in St. Petersburg (1804-10). Of his approximately 40 operas (including many one-act works), the most popular were Le Calife de Bagdad (1800), Le Petit Chaperon rouge (1818), and La Dame blanche (1825). He was France�s leading opera composer of the early 19th century, but his achievements were increas� ingly overshadowed by those of Gioacchino Rossini.

Boigny, Felix Houphouet- See Felix Houphouet-Boigny

boil or furuncle Vfyur-.oq-koL or furunculosis Inflamed pus-filled swelling due to staphylococcus skin infection at a hair follicle. It is pain� ful and feels hard. Boils usually occur in hairy areas exposed to friction and maceration. Scratching an existing skin disorder may introduce sta� phylococci on the skin into hair follicles and cause a boil to arise. A car� buncle occurs when several adjoining boils merge. Healing requires discharging the pus. Treatment involves antibiotics.

Boileau \bwa-'lo\ (-Despreaux), Nicolas (b. Nov. 1, 1636, Paris, France�d. March 13, 1711, Paris) French poet and literary critic. His L�Art poetique (1674), a didactic treatise in verse setting out rules of composition of poetry in the classical tradition, provides valuable insight into the literary controversies of the period. He also translated the clas� sical treatise On the Sublime, attributed to Longinus, which ironically became a key source of the aesthetics of Romanticism. His works upheld classical standards in both French and English literature.

boiler Apparatus for converting a liquid to vapour. A boiler consists of a furnace in which fuel is burned, surfaces to transmit heat from the com� bustion products to the water (or other liquid), and a space where steam (or vapour) can form and collect. A conventional boiler burns a fossil fuel or waste fuel; a nuclear reactor may instead supply the heat. There are two types of conventional steam boiler. In a fire-tube boiler, the water surrounds the steel tubes through which hot gases from the furnace flow; easy to install and operate, fire-tube boilers are widely used to heat build� ings and to provide power for factory processes, as well as in steam loco� motives. In a water-tube boiler, the water is inside tubes, with the hot furnace gases circulating outside the tubes; water-tube boilers, which pro� duce more and hotter steam, are used in ships and factories. The largest are found in the central-station power plants of public utilities; other large units are used in steel mills, paper mills, oil refineries, and chemical plants. See also steam engine.

boiling Cooking of food by immersion in water, stock, or other liquid heated to its boiling point. Boiling is used to cook meats, vegetables, and some grain foods (pasta, for example). Scalding, accomplished by heat� ing to about 185 �F (85 �C), is commonly used to prepare milk to be used as an ingredient in various dishes. At just above the scalding temperature, fish and eggs may be poached. At the simmering point, just below that of boiling, soups, stews, and pot roasts may be prepared. Many foods, espe� cially vegetables, are steamed in a rack placed above boiling water.

boiling point Temperature at which a liquid is converted to vapour when heated. At the boiling point, addition of heat results in the transfor� mation of the liquid into its vapour without an increase in temperature. A liquid�s boiling point varies according to the liquid�s characteristics and the applied pressure. Water at standard atmospheric pressure, or sea level, boils at 212 �F (100 �C), while ethanol boils at about 172 �F (78 �C). At higher altitudes, boiling points are lower and foods can take longer to cook; pressure cookers can be used to increase the pressure so that the boiling point is raised.

Bois, W.E.B. Du See W.E.B. Du Bois

Boise \'boi-ze\ City (pop., 2000: 185,787), capital of Idaho, U.S. The largest city in the state, it lies on the Boise River. Following the 1862 gold rush to the river basin. Fort Boise was established in 1863, and a community developed to provide services for the mines. It became the capital of Idaho Territory in 1864, and of the state in 1890. Agricultural expansion and the growth of the lumber industry contributed to its rapid growth. Boise is the headquarters of the Boise National Forest.

Resurrection, panel painting by the Master of Wittingau, c. 1380-90; in the National Gallery, Prague.

GIRAUDON/ART RESOURCE, NEW YORK

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Boito ► Bolivia I 243

Boito Vbo-e-toV Arrigo orig. Enrico Giuseppe Giovanni Boito

(b. Feb. 24, 1842, Padua, Lombardy-Venetia�d. June 10, 1918, Milan, Italy) Italian composer and librettist. As a composer, he is remembered for his opera Mefistofele (1868). He wrote the text for Giuseppe Verdi�s Inno delle nazioni (1862) and revised the libretto for his Simon Boccanegra (1881), tasks that led to his writing the celebrated texts for Verdi�s mas- terworks Otello (1887) and Falstajf { 1893). He was also the librettist of Amilcare Ponchielli�s La Gioconda (1876). His own opera Nerone was left unfinished at his death.

Bojador V.bo-jo-'dorX, Cape Cape, West Africa. It extends into the Atlantic Ocean off Western Sahara south of the Canary Islands. After 1434 the Portuguese began exploiting the region, particularly for slaves. Later the area was disputed by Spain and Portugal; Spain finally gained con� trol in 1860 and annexed it in 1884. After Spain�s withdrawal from West� ern Sahara in 1976, Morocco claimed the cape, garrisoned troops there, and made the area a province.

BojanglesSee Bill Robinson

Bok, Edward (William) (b. Oct. 9, 1863, Den Helder, Neth.�d. Jan. 9, 1930, Lake Wales, Fla., U.S.)

Dutch-bom U.S. editor. Raised in a poor immigrant family in Brooklyn,

N.Y., Bok pursued a career in book and magazine publishing. As editor of the Ladies� Home Journal (1889�

1919) he devised departments to inform women on diverse subjects and led campaigns for public health and beautification. His decision to stop accepting patent-medicine advertising helped bring about the Pure Food and Drug Act (1906). He also broke the taboo against the printed mention of venereal disease.

His last years were devoted to work� ing for civic improvement and world peace. He wrote a notable autobiog� raphy, The Americanization of Edward Bok (1920, Pulitzer Prize).

bok choy or Chinese mustard

Brassica chinensis, one of two types of Chinese cabbage. It has glossy dark green leaves and thick, crisp white stalks in a loose head. Its yellow� flowering centre is especially prized. See also brassica; mustard family.

Bokassa \bo-'kas-3\, Jean-Bedel or Bokassa I (b. Feb. 22, 1921, Bobangui [Central African Republic]�d. Nov. 3, 1996, Bangui, Central African Republic) President of the Central African Republic (1966-77) and self-proclaimed emperor of the Central African Empire (1977-79). Son of a village chief, Bokassa joined the French army in 1939 and later received the Croix de Guerre for his service in Indochina. In 1961 he returned to head the army of the newly independent Central African Republic; five years later he overthrew the president, his cousin David Dacko. In 1977 he had himself crowned emperor. When he was found to have participated in the massacre of 100 schoolchildren and was accused of cannibalism, French paratroops removed him in a coup and reestab� lished the republic. Bokassa settled in Cote d�Ivoire. He was sentenced to death in absentia in 1980, but his death sentence was later commuted.

Bokhara See Bukhara

Bokn Fjord \ , biik- 3 n- , fyord\ Inlet of the North Sea, southwestern Nor� way. It is about 28 mi (45 km) long and 12 mi (20 km) wide. Its branches include other fjords, and it is dotted by many islands and islets. The major settlement along the fjord is Stavanger, a centre for offshore oil drilling.

Boleyn, Anne See Anne Boleyn

Bolingbroke Vba-liq-.briikV Henry Saint John, 1 st Viscount (b.

Sept. 16,1678, probably Wiltshire, Eng.�d. Dec. 12,1751, Battersea, near London) British politician. After entering Parliament in 1701, he became a prominent Tory in the reign of Queen Anne, serving as secretary of war (1704-08) and of state (1710-15). He was dismissed from office by George I and, fearing impeachment because of his intrigues with the Jacobites, he fled to France in 1715. He returned to England in 1725 and became the centre of a literary circle that included Jonathan Swift, Alexander Pope, and

Edward Bok, photograph by Pirie Mac� Donald, 1909.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON, D.C.

John Gay. He waged an influential propaganda campaign in opposition to the Whigs and their leader, Robert Walpole, and also wrote several historical and philosophical works, including The Idea of a Patriot King (published secretly by Pope in 1744 and as a corrected version in 1749).

The Liberator (b. July 24,

Bolivar \bo-'le-var\, Simon known 1783, Caracas, New Granada�d.

Dec. 17, 1830, near Santa Maria,

Colombia) South American soldier and statesman who led the revolu� tions against Spanish rule in New Granada (now Colombia, Venezu� ela, and Ecuador), Peru, and Upper Peru (now Bolivia). The son of a Venezuelan aristocrat, Bolivar received a European education.

Influenced by European rationalism, he joined Venezuela�s independence movement and became a prominent political and military leader. The revolutionaries expelled Venezuela�s Spanish governor (1810) and declared the nation�s independence in 1811. The young republic was defeated by the Spanish in 1814, and Bolivar went into exile. In 1819 he undertook a daring attack on New Granada, leading some 2,500 men over routes considered impassable. Taking the Spanish by surprise, he defeated them quickly. With the help of Antonio Sucre, he secured the indepen� dence of Ecuador in 1822. He completed Jose de San Martin�s revolution� ary work in Peru, freeing that country in 1824. On Bolivar�s orders, Sucre liberated Upper Peru (1825). As president of both Colombia (1821-30) and Peru (1823-29), Bolivar oversaw the creation in 1826 of a league of Hispanic American states, but the new states soon began warring among themselves. Less successful at ruling countries than at liberating them, Bolivar exiled himself and died on his way to Europe.

Simon Bolivar, detail of an engraving by C.G. Childs.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON, D.C.

Bolivar \bo-'le-var\ Peak or Pico Bolivar or La Columna Moun� tain, Venezuela. It is located in Sierra Nevada National Park. Rising 16,427 ft (5,007 m), it is the highest mountain in the Cordillera de Mer� ida (a northeastern spur of the Andes Mountains) and in Venezuela.

Bolivia officially Republic of Bolivia Country, west-central South America. Area: 424,164 sq mi (1,098,581 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 8,858,000. Capitals: La Paz (administrative), Sucre (judicial). The popu� lation consists of three principal groups: Indians, largely Aymara and Que- chua; mestizos; and descendants of Europeans. Languages: Spanish, Aymara, Quechua (all official). Religions: Christianity (predominantly Roman Catholic [official]; also Protestant); also vestiges of pre- Columbian religion. Currency: boliviano. Bolivia may be divided into three major regions. The southwestern highlands, or Altiplano, where Lake Titicaca is located, extends through southwestern Bolivia. It is enclosed by the second region, the western and eastern branches of the Andes Mountains. Much of the eastern branch is heavily forested terrain, with many deep river valleys; the western branch is a high plateau bordered by volcanoes, including the country�s highest peak, Mount Sajama, which rises to 21,463 ft (6,542 m). The third region is a lowland area that com� prises the northern and eastern two-thirds of the country; its rivers include the Guapore, Mamore, Beni, and upper Pilcomayo. Bolivia has a develop� ing mixed economy based on the production of natural gas and agricul� tural foodstuffs. It is a republic with two legislative houses; its head of state and government is the president. The Bolivian highlands were the location of the advanced Tiwanaku culture in the 7th�11th centuries and, with its passing, became the home of the Aymara, an Indian group con� quered by the Inca in the 15th century. The Inca were overrun by the invading Spanish conquistadorcs under Francisco Pizarro in the 1530s. By 1600 Spain had established the cities of Charcas (now Sucre), La Paz, Santa Cruz, and what would become Cochabamba and had begun to exploit the silver wealth of Potosf. Bolivia flourished in the 17th century, and for a time Potosf was the largest city in the Americas. By the end of the cen� tury, the mineral wealth had been depleted. Talk of independence began as early as 1809, but not until 1825 were Spanish forces finally defeated. Bolivia shrank in size when it lost Atacama province to Chile in 1884 at the end of the War of the Pacific and again when it lost most of Gran Chaco to Paraguay in 1938 as a result of the Chaco War. One of South

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244 I Boll ► Bolshoi Ballet

America�s poorest countries, Bolivia was plagued by governmental instability for much of the 20th century. Social and eco� nomic tension continued in the early 21st century, fueled by resistance to govern� ment efforts to eradicate the growth of coca (from which the narcotic cocaine is derived), by unrest among Bolivia�s Indians, and by disagree� ments over how to exploit the country�s vast natural gas reserves.

Boll VbcelX, Heinrich (Theodor) (b. Dec. 21, 1917, Cologne, Ger.�d. July 16, 1985, near Bonn, W.Ger.) German writer. As a soldier in World War II he fought on several fronts, a central experience in the develop� ment of his antiwar, nonconformist views. His ironic novels on the tra� vails of German life during and after the war captured the changing psychology of the German nation. He became a leading voice of the Ger� man left. Among his works are Acquainted with the Night (1953), Bil� liards at Half-Past Nine (1959), The Clown (1963), Group Portrait with Lady (1971), and The Lost Honor ofKatharina Blum (1974). He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1972.

boll weevil Vbol-'we-volV Small beetle ( Anthonomus grandis) found almost everywhere cotton is culti� vated. It is the most serious cotton pest in North America. Adults vary in size according to how much food they received as larvae, but they average about 0.25 in. (6 mm) long, including the long, curved snout. In the spring adults deposit eggs in cot� ton buds or fruit. After hatching, the larvae live within the cotton boll, destroying the seeds and surrounding fibres. Because the larvae and pupae remain inside the cotton bolls, they cannot be killed with insecticides.

The boll weevil destroys an estimated three to five million bales of cot� ton annually.

bollworm Vbol-.wormX Any larva of various moth species, including the pink bollworm (family Gelechiidae) and some Heliothis species (fam� ily Noctuidae; see corn earworm). Bollworms attack com, tomatoes, cot� ton, peas, alfalfa, beans, soybeans, flax, peanuts, and other commercial crops. They can be controlled by natural parasites, early crop planting, trap crops, and insecticides.

Bollywood Indian moviemaking industry that began in Bombay (now Mumbai) in the 1930s and developed into an enormous film empire. Bom�

Boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis)

HARRY ROGERS

bay Talkies, launched in 1934 by Himansu Rai, spearheaded the growth of Indian cinema. Throughout the years, several classic genres emerged from Bollywood: the historical epic, notably Mughal-e-azam (1960; �The Great Mughal�); the curry western, such as Sholay (1975; �The Embers�); the courtesan film, such as Pakeezah (1972; �Pure Heart�), which high� lights stunning cinematography and sensual dance choreography; and the mythological movie, represented by Jai Santoshi Maa (1975; �Hail San- toshi Maa�). Star actors, rather than the films themselves, have accounted for most box-office success. Standard features of Bollywood films include formulaic story lines, expertly choreographed fight scenes, spectacular song-and-dance routines, emotion-charged melodrama, and larger-than- life heroes. At the beginning of the 21st century, Bollywood produced as many as 1,000 feature films annually, and international audiences began to develop among Asians in the U.K. and the U.S.

Bologna \bo-'lo-ny9\ City (pop., 2004 est.: 373,539), capital of Emilia- Romagna region, northern Italy. Located north of Florence, it lies at the northern foot of the Apennines. Originally the Etruscan town of Felsina, it became a Roman military colony c. 190 bc. It was subject to the Byz� antine exarchate of Ravenna from the 6th century ad. It became a free commune in the 12th century. Incorporated into the Papal States in 1506, it was the scene of the crowning of Charles V in 1530. After a brief period of French occupation, it was restored to the Papal States in 1815, and in 1860 it was united to the Kingdom of Italy. The University of Bologna is among Europe�s oldest. The city is a road and rail centre for traffic between northern and southern Italy. It is the site of excellent medieval and Renaissance architecture and is famous for its cuisine. Locally, it was governed by leftists in the second half of the 20th century.

Bologna, Giovanni da See Giambologna

Bologna, University of Oldest university in Europe, founded in Bologna, Italy, in 1088. It became in the 12th�13th centuries the princi� pal centre for studies in civil and canon law, and it served as a model for the organization of universities throughout Europe. Its faculties of medi� cine and philosophy were formed c. 1200. The faculty of science was developed in the 17th century. In the 18th century women were admitted as students and teachers. The modern university includes faculties of law, political science, economics, letters and philosophy, natural sciences, agri� culture, medicine, and engineering.

Bolognese school V.bo-lo-'nez, .bo-lo-'nyezN Works produced and theories expounded by the Academy of the Progressives, founded in Bolo� gna c. 1582 by Lodovico, Agostino, and Annibale Carracci. In reaction against Mannerism, they advocated drawing directly from life. Among their leading students were Domenichino and Guido Reni. Their clear, simple pictures accorded well with the artistic demands of the Counter- Reformation, which wanted works of art to be immediately comprehen� sible. What began as a regional movement became one of the most influential forces in 17th-century art.

Bolshevik \ , bol-sho- l vik\ (Russian: �member of the majority�) Member of the wing of the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' Party led by Vladimir Ilich Lenin that seized control in the Russian Revolution of 1917. The group arose in 1903 when Lenin�s followers insisted that party membership be restricted to professional or full-time revolutionaries. Though they joined with their rivals, the Mensheviks (�members of the minority�), in the Rus� sian Revolution of 1905, the two groups later split, and in 1912 Lenin formed his own party. Its appeal grew among urban workers and soldiers during World War I. The Bolshevik consolidation of power after 1917 became one prototype of totalitarianism; the other was fascism of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. See also Communist Party, Leninism.

Bolshoi Theatre complex in Moscow where concerts, opera, ballet, and dramatic works are presented. The institution (whose name means �Large�) dates back to 1776, when Catherine II licensed a company to give all theatrical performances in Moscow; its scope soon expanded to include opera and dance as well as drama. The original complex was built in 1825; it was rebuilt after a fire in 1853. The performing companies have changed over time, but the institution and the rebuilt edifice have survived.

Bolshoi Ballet \b6l-'shoi\ Leading ballet company of Russia, noted for elaborate productions of 19th-century classical ballets. The company was formed in 1776 and took the name of its home, Moscow�s Bolshoi The� atre, in 1825. Its influential choreographers included Marius Petipa, Carlo Blasis, and Aleksandr Gorsky. Yuri Grigorovich was artistic director from 1964 to 1995. Its many successful tours have introduced its outstanding

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dancers, including Yekaterina Geltzer, Vasily Tikhomirov, Galina Ulanova, and Maya Plisetskaya, to audiences worldwide.

bolt Mechanical fastener, usually used with a nut, for connecting two or more parts. Bolted joints can be readily disassembled and reassembled; hence bolts or screw fasteners are used more than other types of mechanical fastener. A bolt consists of a head and a cylindrical body with screw threads along a portion of its length. Nuts have internal (or female) threads to match those of the bolt. Washers are often used to prevent loosening and crushing.

bolt action Type of breech mechanism that was key to developing an effective repeating rifle. It combines the firing pin, a spring, and an extrac� tor, all housed in or attached to the bolt. A projecting handle with a round knob moves the bolt back and forth. As the bolt is thrust forward, it pushes a cartridge into the chamber and cocks the piece. The trigger releases the spring-driven firing pin inside the bolt. After firing, the extractor on the head of the bolt removes the spent cartridge and ejects it. The bolt then moves a new cartridge from the magazine.

Bolton, Guy (Reginald) (b. Nov. 23, 1884, Broxboume, Hertford� shire, Eng.�d. Sept. 5, 1979, London) British-born U.S. playwright and librettist. The son of American parents, Bolton studied architecture before he began writing plays. His first play appeared on Broadway in 1911, but it was not until he began contributing to Broadway musicals that his fame spread. In collaboration with P.G. Wodehouse and others, he wrote doz� ens of scripts scored by composers such as Jerome Kern {Oh, Boy!, 1917), George Gershwin {Lady, Be Good!, 1924; Girl Crazy, 1930), and Cole Porter {Anything Goes, 1934).

Boltzmann \'bolts-,man\, Ludwig (Eduard) (b. Feb. 20, 1844, Vienna, Austria�d. Sept. 5, 1906, Duino, Italy) Austrian physicist. He obtained his doctorate from the University of Vienna and thereafter taught at several German and Austrian universities. He was one of the first Euro� pean scientists to recognize the importance of James Clerk Maxwell�s elec� tromagnetic theory. He explained the second law of thermodynamics by applying the laws of mechanics and the theory of probability to the motions of atoms, and he is remembered as the developer of statistical mechanics. His work was widely attacked and misunderstood; subject to depression after 1900, he eventually committed suicide. Shortly after his death, his conclusions were finally supported by discoveries in atomic physics and by recognition that phenomena such as Brownian motion could be explained only by statistical mechanics.

Boltzmann constant Ratio of the universal gas constant (see gas laws) to Avogadro's number. It has a value of 1.380662 x 10 -23 joules per kelvin. Named after Ludwig Boltzmann, it is a fundamental constant of physics, occurring in nearly every statistical formulation of both classi� cal and quantum physics.

bomb In volcanology, any unconsolidated volcanic material that has a diameter greater than 1.25 in. (32 mm). Bombs form from clots of wholly or partly liquid lava ejected during a volcanic explosion; they solidify and become rounded during flight. The final shape is determined by the ini� tial size, viscosity, and flight velocity of the magma.

Bombay See Mumbai

bomber Military aircraft designed to drop bombs on surface targets. Aerial bombardment can be traced to the Italo-Turkish War (1911), in which an Italian pilot dropped grenades on two Turkish targets. In World War I Zeppelins and large two- to four-engined biplanes were used as stra� tegic bombers. In the 1930s small dive bombers were developed; they caused great destruction and panic in the Spanish Civil War and early in World War II. The latter conflict saw further development of heavy stra� tegic bombers, which were used to destroy targets in the enemy�s home territory; meanwhile, smaller fighter-bombers supported ground troops on the battlefield. After the war, jet-propelled long-range bombers carrying nuclear bombs were important to Cold War strategy, and they also dropped conventional bombs during the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, and the Afghan conflicts. Efforts to evade increasingly sophisticated electronic early-warning systems have culminated in the development of U.S. stealth bombers, but cheaper and smaller jet fighter-bombers, equipped with elec� tronic sensors and guided �smart� bombs, have proved effective in con� flicts ranging from the Balkans to the Middle East.

Bombon, Lake See Lake Taal

Bomu River \'bo-mu\ River, central Africa. Flowing west, it forms the boundary between northern Congo and southern Central African Repub�

lic (where it is called the Mbomou). It flows in a wide 500-mi (800-km) curve through savannas to join the Uele River and form the Ubangi.

Bon Vpce n \ Indigenous religion of Tibet. It was originally concerned with magical propitiation of demonic forces, and its practices included blood sacrifices. It later developed a cult of divine kingship (with kings regarded as manifestations of the sky divinity), reformulated in Tibetan Buddhism as the reincarnation of LAMAS. Bon�s order of oracular priests had their coun� terpart in Buddhist soothsayers, and its gods of air, earth, and underworld in the lesser Tibetan Buddhist deities. Though its religious supremacy ended in the 8th century, Bon survives in many aspects of Tibetan Bud� dhism and as a living religion on Tibet�s northern and eastern frontiers.

Bon \'bon\ Popular annual festival in Japan, usually observed July 13-15, in honor of the spirits of deceased family members and of all the dead. As at the New Year festival, the dead are believed to return to their birth� places. Memorial stones are cleaned, dances performed, and paper lan� terns and fires are lit to welcome the dead and to bid them farewell when their visit ends.

Bon, Gustave Le See Gustave Le Bon

Bon Marche \bo n -mar-'sha\ French "Good Buy" Paris department store. It was founded as a small shop in the early 19th century, and by c. 1865 it had become the world�s first true department store. Its 1876 build� ing was designed by Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923). It is unrelated to the Bon Marche chain of department stores in the northwestern U.S.

Bona Dea \,bo-n9-'da-3\ In Roman religion, the deity of fruitfulness, both in the earth and in women. The dedication day of her temple on the Aventine was May 1. Her temple was cared for and attended only by women, though inscriptions show that there was a public side to her wor� ship in which men could participate.

Bonaparte, (Marie-Annonciade-) Caroline (b. March 25, 1782, Ajaccio, Corsica�d. May 18, 1839, Florence) Queen of Naples (1808� 15). The youngest sister of Napoleon, she married Joachim Murat in 1800. Her ambitious nature was partially responsible for her husband�s becom� ing king of Naples, among other achievements. Her relations with Napo� leon became strained as she associated herself with Murat�s shifting allegiances in 1814-15, which led to his execution. Caroline then took refuge in Trieste and became countess de Lipona.

Bonaparte, Jerome (b. Nov. 15, 1784, Ajaccio, Corsica�d. June 24, 1860, Villegenis, France) French nobleman. He was the youngest brother of Napoleon, from whom he became estranged after marrying a U.S. resi� dent (1803) without Napoleon�s consent; he later allowed his marriage to be annulled. Napoleon then married Jerome to Princess Catherine of Wurttemberg and made him king of Westphalia (1807-13). He served in the Russian campaign of 1812 and at the Battle of Waterloo. After Napo� leon�s fall, he lived in Florence; after the rise of his nephew, Napoleon III, he returned to France to become a marshal of France and president of the Senate.

Bonaparte, Joseph (b. Jan. 7, 1768, Corte, Corsica�d. July 28, 1844, Florence, Tuscany, Italy) French lawyer, diplomat, and soldier. Elder brother of Napoleon, he served during Napoleon�s reign as king of Naples (1806-08), where he abolished feudalism, reformed the monastic orders, and reorganized the judicial, financial, and educational systems. He was named king of Spain in 1808, but his attempts at reform there were less successful. In 1813 he abdicated and returned to France. After Napoleon�s defeat at Waterloo, Joseph lived in the U.S. (1815-32) and later settled in Italy.

Bonaparte, Louis (b. Sept. 2, 1778, Ajaccio, Corsica�d. July 25, 1846, Livorno, Italy) French nobleman and soldier. A brother of Napoleon, he accompanied Napoleon on the Italian campaign of 1796-97 and was his aide-de-camp in Egypt (1798-99). At Napoleon�s insistence, he mar� ried Hortense de Beauharnais in 1802, but the union proved unhappy and did not last. Proclaimed king of Holland in 1806, he was criticized by Napoleon for being too easy on his subjects. His unwillingness to join the Continental System led him into conflict with Napoleon, and in 1810 he fled his kingdom and eventually settled in Italy. Napoleon III was his son.

Bonaparte, Lucien (b. May 21, 1775, Ajaccio, Corsica�d. June 29, 1840, Viterbo, Italy) French nobleman and politician. A brother of Napo� leon, he became president of the Council of Five Hundred, and he helped Napoleon seize power in the Coup of 18-19 Brumaire. Lucien� s belief that Napoleon�s ambition jeopardized the cause of democracy led to strained

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relations between the brothers. However, he offered Napoleon help dur� ing the Hundred Days and was the last to defend Napoleon�s prerogatives at the time of his second abdication, after which he lived in Italy.

Bonaparte, (Marie-) Pauline (b. Oct. 20, 1780, Ajaccio, Corsica�d. June 9, 1825, Florence) French noblewoman. A sister of Napoleon, in 1797 she married one of his staff officers, Gen. C.V.E. Leclerc (1772-1802). After Leclerc�s death, she married Prince Camillo F.L. Borghese (1803) and went with him to Rome. She soon tired of him and returned to Paris, where her behaviour caused some scandal. In 1806 she received the title of duchess of Guastalla. She died of cancer in Flo� rence.

Bonaventure N.ba-no-'ven-chsrV Saint (b. 1217, Bagnoregio, Papal States�d. July 15, 1274, Lyon; canonized April 14, 1482; feast day July 15) Italian medieval theologian, cardinal, and minister general of the Fran� ciscans. The son of a physician from near Viterbo, he recovered from a near-fatal childhood illness through the intercession of St. Francis of Assisi. After study at the University of Paris, he entered the Franciscan order in 1244. In 1254 he assumed control of the Franciscan school in Paris. He defended the mendicants against the charge that they defamed the Gos� pels by begging for alms. Elected Franciscan minister-general in 1257, he healed an incipient rift between those who favoured a rigorous approach to poverty and those favouring a looser regimen, and he wrote a new life of St. Francis. His theological works include a commentary on the Sen� tences of Peter Lombard and Journey of the Mind to God (1259). Pope Gregory X appointed him cardinal of Albano (Italy) in 1273, and at the Second Council of Lyon he reconciled parish clergy with the mendicant orders.

bond In construction, the systematic arrangement of bricks or other building units (e.g., concrete blocks, glass blocks, or clay tiles) to ensure stability. Units laid with their ends toward the face of a wall are called headers; units with their lengths parallel to the wall are called stretchers. Common types are the English bond (courses of stretchers and headers alternate), the Flemish or Dutch bond (headers and stretchers are laid alternately within each course, each header being centered over the stretcher below it), and the American bond (every fifth or sixth course consists of headers, the rest being stretchers). See also masonry.

bond In finance, loan contract issued by local, state, and national gov� ernments and by private corporations, specifying an obligation to return borrowed funds. The issuer promises to pay interest on the debt when due (usually semiannually) at a stipulated percentage of the face value and to redeem the face value of the bond at maturity in legal tender. Bonds usu� ally indicate a debt of substantial size and are issued in more formal fash� ion than promissory notes, ordinarily under seal. Government bonds may be backed by taxes, or they may be revenue bonds, backed only by rev� enue from the specific project (toll roads, airports, etc.) to which they are committed. Bonds are rated based on the issuer�s creditworthiness. The ratings, assigned by independent rating agencies, generally run from AAA to D; bonds with ratings from AAA to BBB are regarded as suitable for investment. See also junk bond.

bond In law, a formal written agreement by which a person undertakes to perform a certain act (e.g., appearing in court or fulfilling the obliga� tions of a contract). Failure to perform the act obligates the person to pay a sum of money or to forfeit money on deposit. A bond is an incentive to fulfill an obligation; it also provides reassurance that compensation is available if the duty is not fulfilled. A surety usually is involved, and the bond makes the surety responsible for the consequences of the obligated person�s behaviour. See also bail.

Bond, (Horace) Julian (b. Jan. 14, 1940, Nashville, Tenn., U.S.) U.S. politician and civil-rights leader. The son of prominent educators, Bond graduated from Morehouse College. In 1960 he helped create the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). In 1965 he was elected to the Georgia legislature, but his support of a SNCC statement accusing the U.S. of violating international law in the Vietnam War caused the legis� lature to deny him his seat. He was twice reelected and was twice more refused entry. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled his exclusion unconstitu� tional in December 1966, and he assumed his seat in January 1967. He later served in the state senate (1975-87). In 1998 he became chairman of the NAACP.

bonding Any of the interactions that account for the association of atoms into molecules, ions, crystals, metals, and other stable species. When

atoms� nuclei and electrons interact, they tend to distribute themselves so that the total energy is lowest; if the energy of a group arrangement is lower than the sum of the components� energies, they bond. The physics and mathematics of bonding were developed as part of quantum mechan� ics. The number of bonds an atom can form�its valence �equals the number of electrons it contributes or receives. Covalent bonds form mol� ecules; atoms bond to specific other atoms by sharing an electron pair between them. If the sharing is even, the molecule is not polar; if it is uneven, the molecule is an electric dipole. Ionic bonds are the extreme of uneven sharing; certain atoms give up electrons, becoming cations. Other atoms take up the electrons and become anions. All the ions are held together in a crystal by electrostatic forces. In crystalline metals, a dif� fuse electron sharing bonds the atoms (metallic bonding). Other types include hydrogen bonding; bonds in aromatic compounds; coordinate cova� lent bonds; multicentre bonds, exemplified by boranes (boron hydrides), in which more than two atoms share electron pairs; and the bonds in coor� dination complexes (see transition element), still poorly understood. See also VAN DER WAALS FORCES.

Bonds, Barry in full Barry Lamar Bonds (b. July 24, 1964, Riv� erside, Calif.) U.S. baseball player. Bonds was a college All-American at Arizona State University. A left-handed power hitter and a superb base stealer, he played outfield for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1985-92) and the San Francisco Giants (from 1993). By the early 21st century, he had earned eight Gold Glove awards for fielding and had been named Most Valuable Player six times. In 2001 he hit 73 home runs, breaking Mark McGwire�s single-season record of 70; that year he also had 177 walks to top Babe Ruth�s record (170). His father, Bobby Bonds (1946-2003), was also an outstanding professional baseball player.

bone Rigid connective tissue of vertebrates, consisting of cells embedded in a hard matrix. Bones serve as the body�s supporting framework, pro� vide muscle-attachment points for movement, protect the internal organs, house the blood-cell formation system (red bone marrow), and hold about 99% of the calcium vital to many body processes. Bone consists of a matrix of crystals of calcium, chiefly the phosphate and carbonate, embed� ded among collagen fibres, providing strength and elasticity, and bone cells (less than 5% of its volume). An external layer of compact bone sur� rounds a central area of spongy bone, except at the marrow cavity. Bone does not grow by cell division; instead, different types of bone cells gen� erate bone matrix, break it down, and maintain it. Bone is remodeled by this process, which strengthens it in areas under greatest stress, permits healing of fractures, and helps regulate calcium levels in body fluid (see

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physis (growth plate) epiphysis compact bone

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cancellous (spongy) bone

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medullary containing marrow

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Internal structure of a human long bone, with a magnified cross section of the inte� rior. The central tubular region of the bone, called the diaphysis, flares outward near the end to form the metaphysis, which contains a largely cancellous, or spongy, interior. At the end of the bone is the epiphysis, which in young people is separated from the metaphysis by the physis, or growth plate. The periosteum is a connective sheath covering the outer surface of the bone. The Haversian system, consisting of inorganic substances arranged in concentric rings around the Haver� sian canals, provides compact bone with structural support and allows for metabo� lism of bone cells. Osteocytes (mature bone cells) are found in tiny cavities between the concentric rings. The canals contain capillaries that bring in oxygen and nutri� ents and remove wastes. Transverse branches are known as Volkmann canals.

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calcium deficiency). The process also causes underutilized bone, as in an immobilized limb, to atrophy. Bone disorders include rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, rickets, osteoporosis, and tumours. Bone can fracture sud� denly or over time, as in stress fractures.

Bone See Annaba

bone china Hard-paste porcelain containing bone ash. It was developed by Josiah Spode (1754-1827) in England c. 1800. The addition of bone ash to china stone and china clay (i.e., hard china) made bone china easier to manufacture; it is stronger, does not chip easily, and has an ivory-white colour that lends itself to decoration. Other factories (Minton, Derby, Worcester, Wedg� wood, Rockingham) adopted the for� mula in the early 19th century. Bone china remains popular for tableware in Britain and the U.S. See also STONEWARE.

bone marrow or myeloid tis� sue Soft, gelatinous tissue that fills bone cavities. Red bone marrow con� tains stem cells, progenitor cells, per- cursor cells, and functional blood cells (see reticuloendothelial system). Lymphocytes mature in the lymphoid organs (see lymphoid tissue). All other blood-cell formation occurs in red marrow, which also takes part in destruction of old erythrocytes (red blood cells). Yellow bone marrow mainly stores fats. Because the leukocytes (white blood cells) produced in bone marrow are involved in immune defenses, marrow transplants can treat some types of immunodeficiency. Radiation and some anticancer drugs can damage marrow and impair immunity. Bone-marrow examination helps diagnose diseases related to blood and blood-forming organs.

bonefish Marine game fish ( Albula vulpes) that inhabits coastal and island waters in tropical seas and is admired by anglers for its speed and strength. Its maximum length is about 30 in. (76 cm), and its maximum weight is 14 lbs (6.4 kg). The bonefish has a deeply notched caudal fin (near the tail) and a small mouth beneath a pointed, piglike snout. It grubs on the bottom for worms and other food.

bongo Large, brightly coloured antelope ( Boocercus , or Taurotragus, eurycerus) found in dense forests of central Africa. Shy, swift, and elu� sive, the bongo lives in small groups or in pairs. It stands about 51 in. (1.3 m) at the shoulder and has an erect mane running the length of the back.

Both sexes bear heavy, spirally twisted horns. The male is reddish brown to dark mahogany with black underparts, black-and-white legs, white head markings, and narrow, vertical white stripes on the body.

The female is similarly marked but usually a brighter reddish brown.

Bonheur \ba-'nor\, Rosa (b. March 16, 1822, Bordeaux, France�d. May 25, 1899, Melun) French animal painter. She was trained by her father, an art teacher, and began exhibiting regularly at the Paris Salon in 1841. Her unsentimental paintings of lions, tigers, horses, and other ani� mals became very popular; The Horse Fair (1853) gained her an inter� national reputation. A colourful personality, she dressed as a man to study horses at the actual Horse Fair in Paris, receiving formal permission from the police to do so. In 1865 she became the first woman to receive the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour.

Bonhoeffer Vbon- 1 hoe-f3r\ / Dietrich (b. Feb. 4, 1906, Breslau, Ger.�d. April 9, 1945, Flossenbiirg) German Lutheran pastor and theo� logian. He attended the Universities of Berlin and Tubingen, and from 1931 he lectured in theology at the University of Berlin. He became a leading spokesman for the Confessing Church and was active in the resis� tance movement under the guise of employment in military intelligence. He was arrested and imprisoned in 1943. The discovery of documents

connecting him with the 1944 attempt on Adolf Hitler�s life led to his execution a month before the end of World War II. One of the most insightful theologians of the 20th century, he argued for a new vision of Christianity that would abolish the division between the sacred and pro� fane and abandon the traditional privileges of the church in favour of active involvement in the world�s problems. His best-known works include The Cost of Discipleship (1937), Ethics (1949), and Letters and Papers from Prison (1951).

Boniface Vba-no-fosV Saint (b. 675, Wessex, Eng.�d. June 5, 754, Dokkum, Frisia; feast day June 5) English missionary and reformer. Origi� nally named Wynfrith, he became a Benedictine monk and then a priest. He made two attempts to convert the Frisian Saxons; in 718 he journeyed to Rome, where Pope Gregory II entrusted him with a mission to the pagans east of the Rhine and gave him the name Boniface. In 722 at Hesse he founded the first of many Benedictine monasteries. He was active for 10 years (725-735) in Thuringia. He established four bishoprics in Bavaria, paving the way for its incorporation into the Carolingian empire. He convened five synods (740-745) to reform the Frankish clergy and Irish missionaries and a council (747) to reform the entire Frankish king� dom. He was killed by a band of Frisians while reading the Bible to recent converts.

Boniface of Querfurt, Saint See Saint Bruno of Querfurt

Boniface VIII orig. Benedict Caetani (b. c. 1235, Anagni, Papal States�d. Oct. 11, 1303, Rome) Pope (1294-1303). Bom into an influ� ential Roman family, Caetani studied law in Bologna and rose through the papal government to become cardinal-deacon (1281) and pope. In 1296 his attempt to end hostilities between Edward I of England and Philip IV of France became embroiled in the issue of taxation of clergy without papal consent. When Boniface issued a bull forbidding such taxation, Philip fought back with economic measures. They clashed again in 1301 over control of the clergy when Philip had a French bishop tried and imprisoned. Eventually, hearing that Boniface planned to excommunicate Philip, Philip�s supporters captured the pope; though rescued two days later, he died shortly thereafter.

Bonifacio, Jose See Jose Bonifacio de Andrada e Silva

Bonin \'bo-nin\ Islands Japanese Ogasawara-shoto \o-,ga-sa- 'war-a-'sho-to\ Island group, western Pacific Ocean. Administratively part of Japan and located about 600 mi (950 km) south of Tokyo, the group consists of islands with a total area of about 40 sq mi (100 sq km). The Bonins include some 30 mountainous islands such as Chichi (the largest), Haha, Muko, and Yome. They were colonized in 1830 by a group of Europeans and Hawaiians. The islands were formally annexed by Japan in 1876; they were administered by the U.S. in 1945-68.

Bonington Vba-nirj-tanX, Richard Parkes (b. Oct. 25, 1801, Arnold, Eng.�d. Sept. 23, 1828, London) British painter active in France. In 1818 he went to Paris to study with Antoine-Jean Gros. His skill in waterco� lour, a novelty in Paris, attracted many imitators. He exhibited at the famous �English� Salon of 1824 and won a gold medal. With John Con� stable and J.M.W. Turner, he popularized the oil sketch, a rapidly executed record of the transitory effects of nature. He became influential in England and France as a master of the Romantic movement and a technical inno� vator. His death at age 26 cut short a brilliant career.

bonito \b3-'ne-to\ Swift, predaceous schooling fishes (genus Sarda ) of the mackerel family (Scombridae). Bonitos, found worldwide, have a striped back and silvery belly and grow to about 30 in. (75 cm) long. Like tunas, they are streamlined, with a narrow tail base, a forked tail, and a row of small finlets behind the dorsal and anal fins. Bonitos have both commercial and sporting value. The three generally recognized species are found in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, the Indo-Pacific, and the Pacific.

Bonn City (pop., 2002 est: city, 306,000; metro, area, 878,700), Ger� many. Located on the Rhine River south of Cologne, it was, until 1990, the capital of West Germany. An old settlement that predated the coming of the Romans, its name was continued in Castra Bonnensia, a lst-century Roman fortress. By the 9th century it had become the Frankish town of Bonnburg. It grew from the 13th century, becoming capital of the Elec� torate of Cologne. In 1815 Bonn was awarded to Prussia by the Congress of Vienna, and by the late 19th century it was a fashionable residential town. It was bombed heavily in World War II; its postwar redevelopment was accelerated when in 1949 it was chosen as West Germany�s capital.

Wedgwood bone china plate, Stafford� shire, 1815-20; in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

COURTESY OF THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON: PHOTOGRAPH, EB INC.

Bongo (Boocercus euryceros).

TOM MCHUGH/PHOTO RESEARCHERS

� 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

248 I Bonnard ► booby

With Germany�s reunification in 1990, the national capital was moved to Berlin. Bonn was the birthplace of Ludwig van Beethoven.

Bonnard \bo-'nar\, Pierre (b. Oct. 3, 1867, Fontenay-aux-Roses, Fr.�d. Jan. 23, 1947, Le Cannet) French painter and printmaker. He studied at the Academie Julian and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts (1888-89). In the 1890s he became a leading member of the Nabis group and came under the influence of Art Nouveau and Japanese prints. With his friend Edouard Vuillard, he developed the intimate domestic interior scene, a genre known as Intimism, depicting fashionable Parisian life in the years before World War I. He also produced still lifes, self-portraits, seascapes, and large-scale decorative paintings. In 1910 he discovered the south of France and began a series of luminous landscapes of the Mediterranean region. He was fascinated by perspective, which he employed in paint� ings such as The Dining Room (1913). From the 1920s he specialized in landscapes, interiors, views of gardens, and bathing nudes. He produced illustrations for the celebrated journal Revue blanche and decorative pages for Paul Verlaine�s book of poetry Parallelement (1900). Bonnard was one of the greatest colourists of modem art.

Bonnefoy, Yves (b. June 24, 1923, Tours, France) French poet. A stu� dent of mathematics, Bonnefoy moved to Paris and came under the influ� ence of the Surrealists. His poetry describes a thought universe brought to life by an intuition of the �real world.� Among his poetry collections are In the Shadow�s Light (1987), The Beginning and End of Snow (1991), and New and Selected Poems (1995). Bonnefoy, also a scholar, compiled Mythologies (1981), a dictionary of mythologies and religions. He held the chair in comparative poetics at the College de France from 1981 to 1994.

Bonnet Vbo-'naV Georges-Etienne (b. July 23, 1889, Bassillac, France�d. June 18, 1973, Paris) French politician. Elected to the Cham� ber of Deputies (1924-40), he became a leader of the Radical-Socialist Party. He served as finance minister (1937-38) and foreign minister (1938-39) and was a prominent supporter of appeasement of Nazi Ger� many. He also supported the Vichy regime. After the liberation, proceed� ings against him were started but dropped. He was expelled from the Radical Party in 1944, readmitted in 1952, and again expelled in 1955. He later served in the Chamber of Deputies (1956-68).

bonnet monkey Agile Indian macaque ( Macaca radiata) named for the thatch of long hair forming a cap, or �bonnet,� on the crown. It is gray� ish brown and has a hairless pink face. It is 14-24 in. (35-60 cm) long, excluding its 20-28-in. (50-70-cm) tail, and weighs 7-20 lbs (3-9 kg). It sometimes raids gardens or stores of food.

Bonnie and Clyde in full Bon� nie Parker and Clyde Bar-

row (respectively b. March 24,

1909, Telico, Texas, U.S.�d. May 23, 1934, near Gibsland, La.; b. Oct.

1, 1910, Rowena, Texas, U.S.�d.

May 23, 1934, near Gibsland, La.)

U.S. criminals. After Barrow spent time in prison (1930-32), he and Parker began a 21-month crime spree, robbing gas stations, restau� rants, and small-town banks in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Missouri and murdering a number of people. Their exploits received wide coverage in the press. Betrayed by a friend, they were ambushed by police officers along a highway in Gib� sland, La.; as they attempted to flee, police opened fire, killing them. Their exploits inspired numerous books and films.

Bonnie Prince Charlie See Charles Edward, the Young Pretender

bonobo \b3-'no-bo\ Species (Pan paniscus) of great ape. It was once considered a subspecies of the chimpanzee, which it closely resembles in size, appearance, and way of life. Its range, the lowland rainforests of central Congo (Kinshasa), is more restricted than that of the chimpanzee, and it has longer, more slender arms, a more slender body, and a less pro� truding face. Bonobos eat mainly fruits but also leaves, seeds, grass, and small animals. They form communities of 50-120 individuals. A striking

feature of their social lives is that they engage in sexual activity with great frequency, often as a means of settling quarrels, and with little regard for gender or age. Populations are shrinking, largely because of hunting and habitat destruction, and bonobos are an endangered species.

Bononcini 'v.bo-non-'che-neV Giovanni (b. July 18, 1670, Modena, Duchy of Modena�d. July 9, 1747, Vienna) Italian composer. His father was Giovanni Maria Bononcini (1642-78), maestro di cappella of Modena Cathedral and the composer of numerous church and chamber sonatas. Giovanni himself served as maestro di cappella at San Giovanni in Monte; he later held desirable positions in various European capitals. In London in the 1720s he had a celebrated operatic rivalry with George Frideric Handel. He wrote more than 30 operas, some 20 oratorios, and nearly 300 cantatas (most for solo voice and continuo), but they are rarely heard today. His brother Antonio Maria Bononcini (1677-1726) was also a composer.

bonsai (Japanese: �tray planting�) Living dwarf tree or trees; also, the art of training and growing them in containers. Bonsai specimens are ordinary trees and shrubs, not heredi� tary dwarfs; they are dwarfed by a system of pruning roots and branches and training branches by tying them with wire. The art origi� nated in China but has been pursued and developed primarily by the Japa� nese. The direct inspiration for bon� sai is found in nature, in trees that grow in harsh, rocky places and are dwarfed and gnarled throughout their existence. Prized characteristics are an aged-looking trunk and branches and weathered-looking exposed upper roots. Bonsai may live for a century or more and are handed down from one generation to another as valued family possessions. Bonsai pots, usually earthenware and of variable shape, are carefully chosen to harmonize in colour and propor� tion with the tree. A sizable bonsai industry exists as part of the nursery industry in Japan; California is home to a small-scale bonsai industry.

Bontemps\ban-'tam\, Arna(ud) (Wendell) (b. Oct. 13,1902, Alex� andria, La., U.S.�d. June 4, 1973, Nashville, Tenn.) U.S. writer of the Harlem Renaissance. At age three Bontemps moved with his family to California. His poetry began appearing in the black magazines Crisis and Opportunity in the 1920s. With Countee Cullen he turned his first novel, God Sends Sundays (1931), into the play St. Louis Woman. Two later nov� els dealt with slave revolts. He edited anthologies with Langston Hughes and wrote prolifically for children, mostly nonfiction works on African Americans and African American history. He worked at Fisk University for most of his adult life.

Bonus Army World War I veterans who gathered in Washington, D.C., in summer 1932 to demand payment of their promised bonuses. More than 12,000 veterans and their families camped near the U.S. Capitol, urging support for a bill to force early payment of bonuses already voted by Congress. When the bill was defeated, most of the crowd returned home, but some angry protests caused local authorities to ask Pres. Herbert Hoover for federal assistance. Army troops led by Gen. Douglas Mac- Arthur drove out the protesters and burned their camps. The resulting public outcry was a factor in Hoover�s defeat in the 1932 election. Another group of veterans gathered in 1933, but Congress again rejected bonus legislation. In 1936 Congress finally enacted a bill that paid nearly $2 billion in veterans� benefits.

bony fish Any member of the vertebrate class Osteichthyes, including the great majority of living fishes and all the world�s sport and commer� cial fishes. Also called Pisces, the class excludes jawless fishes (hagfishes and lampreys) and cartilaginous fishes (sharks, skates, and rays). There are more than 20,000 species worldwide, all with a skeleton at least partly composed of true bone. Other features include, in most species, a swim bladder (an air-filled sac to give buoyancy), gill covers over the gill cham� ber, bony platelike scales, a skull with sutures, and external fertilization of eggs. Bony fishes occur in all freshwater and ocean environments.

booby Any of six or seven species of large tropical seabirds (family Sulidae), named for their presumed lack of intelligence. Two common species are wide-ranging in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans;

Bonnet monkey (Macaca radiata).

WARREN GARST/TOM STACK & ASSOCIATES

Bonsai pine.

JUDITH GROFFMAN

� 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

book ► Boolean algebra I 249

another is found in the Pacific from southern California to northern Peru and on the Galapagos Islands. The booby has a long bill, cigar-shaped body, and long, narrow, angular wings. It flies high above the ocean look� ing for schools of fish and squid, which it snatches in a vertical dive. Boo� bies vary in length from 25 to 35 in. (65-85 cm). They nest in colonies but are territorial.

book Written (or printed) message of considerable length, meant for cir� culation and recorded on any of various materials that are durable and light enough to be easily portable. The papyrus roll of ancient Egypt is more nearly the direct ancestor of the modern book than is the clay tab� let; examples of both date to c. 3000 bc. Somewhat later, the Chinese independently created an extensive scholarship based on books, many made of wood or bamboo strips bound with cords. Lampblack ink was introduced in China c. ad 400 and printing from wooden blocks in the 6th century. The Greeks adopted the papyrus roll and passed it on to the Romans. The parchment or vellum codex superseded the papyrus roll by ad 400. Medieval parchment or vellum leaves were prepared from the skins of animals. By the 15th century, paper manuscripts were common. Printing spread rapidly in the late 15th century. Subsequent technical achievements, such as the development of offset printing, improved many aspects of book culture. In the late 1990s, downloadable electronic books became available over the Internet.

book club Marketing service that offers books to subscribers through the mail, often at reduced prices. The first U.S. book club, the Book-of- the-Month Club, was founded in 1926; the rival Literary Guild appeared a year later. By the 1980s nearly 100 book clubs existed in the U.S., most of them specialized (e.g., for history books, mysteries, etc.). A common incentive for attracting new members is the offer of several free or heavily discounted books; long-standing members often receive bonuses.

Book of Common Prayer Liturgical book used by the churches of the Anglican Communion. First authorized for the Church of England in 1549, it went through several versions; the 1662 revision has remained the standard (with minor changes) throughout the Commonwealth of Nations. The Church of England and the Protestant Episcopal Church in the U.S. adopted a liturgy in contemporary language in the 1970s.

Book of Kells Illuminated manuscript version of the four Gospels, c. late 8th-early 9th century. A masterpiece of the ornate Hiberno-Saxon style, it features geometric design (rather than naturalistic representation), flat areas of colour, and complex interlaced patterns. The illumination was probably begun at the Irish monastery on the Scottish island of Iona; the book was apparently taken to the monastery of Kells in County Meath, Ire., after a Viking raid and may have been completed there. See also Lindisfarne Gospels.

Book of the Dead Ancient Egyptian collection of mortuary texts made up of spells and charms and placed in tombs to aid the deceased in the next world. It was probably compiled and reedited during the 16th cen� tury bc. Later compilations included hymns to Re. Scribes produced and sold copies, often colorfully illustrated, for burial use. Of the many extant copies, none contains all of the approximately 200 known chapters.

bookbinding Joining together of leaves of paper, parchment, or vel� lum within covers to form a book or codex. Bookbinding developed when the codex replaced the roll. Early bindings were often splendidly deco� rated, but the typical artistic bookbinding is of decorated leather and was first produced in the monasteries of Egypt�s Coptic Church. Rare books, historical documents, and manuscripts may be bound by hand. The cover (case) of the typical book is now affixed to the leaves by machine.

bookcase Piece of furniture fitted with shelves, formerly often enclosed by doors. In early times the ambry, or wall cupboard, was used to hold books. Bookcases were included in the medieval fittings of college librar� ies in Britain. The earliest dated domestic examples were made of oak in 1666 for the diarist Samuel Pepys.

Booker Prize in full (2002-) Man Booker Prize Prestigious Brit� ish award given annually to a full-length novel. It was established in 1968 by the multinational company Booker McConnell as a counterpart to the French Prix Goncourt. The Booker Prize Foundation administers the prize, aided by an advisory committee. Entries, which are nominated by publish� ers, must be written by an English-language author from the United King� dom, the Commonwealth countries, Ireland, or South Africa. Its winners have included Kingsley Amis, A.S. Byatt, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, and Salman Rushdie. In 1992 a Booker Russian Novel Prize was introduced.

bookkeeping Recording of the money values of business transactions. Bookkeeping provides the information from which accounts are prepared but is distinct from accounting. Bookkeeping offers information on both the current value, or equity, of an enterprise and on its change in value (due to profit or loss) over a given time period. Managers require such information to examine the results of operations and budget for the future; investors need it to make decisions about buying or selling securities; and credit grantors use it to determine whether to grant a loan. Financial records were kept in Babylon and in ancient Greece and Rome. The double-entry method of bookkeeping began with the development of the Italian commercial republics of the 15th century. The Industrial Revolu� tion stimulated the spread of bookkeeping, and 20th-century taxation and government regulations made it a necessity. Two types of records con� tinue to be used in bookkeeping�journals and ledgers. They can be recorded by hand or entered into a computer. The journal contains daily transactions (sales, purchases, etc.), while the ledger contains the record of individual accounts. Each month an income statement and a balance sheet are posted in the ledger.

bookmaking Gambling practice of determining odds and receiving and paying off bets on the outcome of sporting events and other compe� titions. Horse racing is perhaps most closely associated with bookmak� ing, but boxing, baseball, football, basketball, and other sports have also long been of interest to bookmakers (�bookies�) and gamblers. Morning- line odds, established by legal bookmakers, are printed in the sports sec� tions of newspapers throughout the U.S. Illegal bookmaking operations have often been linked to organized crime. See also handicap.

bookplate Label with a printed design pasted inside the front cover of a book to identify its owner. It probably originated in Germany in the mid-15th century; the earliest extant dated bookplate (1516) is Ger� man. The earliest American example is dated 1749. Bookplate designs include portraits, views of libraries, and landscapes, as well as symbols of the owner�s interests or occupa� tion (e.g., military trophies, palettes), and, toward the end of the 19th cen� tury, nude figures.

Boole, George (b. Nov. 2, 1815,

Lincoln, Eng.�d. Dec. 8,1864, Ball- intemple, Ire.) British mathemati� cian. Though basically self-taught and lacking a university degree, in 1849 he was appointed professor of mathematics at Queen�s College in Ireland. His original and remarkable general symbolic method of logical inference is fully stated in Laws of Thought (1854). Boole argued per� suasively that logic should be allied with mathematics rather than with philosophy, and his two-valued alge� bra of logic, now called Boolean alge� bra, is used in telephone switching and by electronic digital computers.

Boolean algebra Symbolic sys� tem used for designing logic circuits and networks for digital computers. Its chief utility is in representing the truth value of statements, rather than the numeric quantities handled by ordinary algebra. It lends itself to use in the binary system employed by digital computers, since the only pos� sible truth values, true and false, can be represented by the binary digits 1 and 0. A circuit in computer memory can be open or closed, depending on the value assigned to it, and it is the integrated work of such circuits that

Jane Patterson's bookplate designed by Robert Anning Bell, English, 1890s

COURTESY OF THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON

George Boole, engraving.

COURTESY OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM; PHOTOGRAPH, J.R. FREEMAN & CO. LTD.

� 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

250 I boomerang ► borage

give computers their computing ability. The fundamental operations of Boolean logic, often called Boolean operators, are �and,� �or,� and �not�; combinations of these make up 13 other Boolean operators.

boomerang Curved throwing stick used chiefly by the aborigines of Australia for hunting and warfare. About 12-30 in. (30-75 cm) in length, the returning boomerang varies in shape from a deep curve to almost straight sides of an angle. The ends are twisted or skewed in opposite directions. It is held at one end, above and behind the thrower�s shoul� der, and swung forward rapidly. Just before release, the thrower adds spin by flicking the wrist so that the stick will loop around and return to him. Returning boomerangs were used only in eastern and western Australia as playthings, in tournament competition, and by hunters to imitate hawks for driving flocks of game birds into nets. The longer, straighter, and heavier nonreturning boomerang can kill animals and even humans.

boomslang Venomous snake (. Dispholidus typus ) of the savannas of sub-Saharan Africa, the only species of its family that is decidedly dan� gerous to humans. When hunting, it lies in wait in a bush or tree for cha� meleons and birds; the forepart of the body often extends motionless into the air. The boomslang�s body and eye colours are extremely variable and provide excellent camouflage. In defense it inflates its neck, showing the dark skin between the scales, and then may strike. Its venom causes hemorrhages and can be fatal to humans in small amounts.

Boone, Daniel (b. c. Nov. 2,

1734, Berks county, Pa.�d. c. Sept.

26, 1820, St. Charles, Mo., U.S.)

U.S. frontiersman and legendary hero. He lived on the North Carolina frontier as a hunter and trapper. He made several trips through the Cumberland Gap into eastern Kentucky (1767, 1769-71) and in 1775 was employed to blaze a permanent trail, called the Wilderness Road. He established the settlements of Boones- boro and Harrodsburg. As a militia captain he defended Boonesboro against the Indians; he was captured by the Shawnee in 1778 but escaped after five months to warn Boonesboro of an impending attack. After los� ing his Kentucky land claims in the late 1780s, he moved to the Missouri Territory. His exploits were featured in a widely read history of Kentucky and in Lord Byron�s epic poem Don Juan.

Boorman, John (b. Jan. 18, 1933, Shepperton, Middlesex, Eng.) Brit� ish film director. As head of the BBC�s documentary film unit in Bristol (1962-64) he produced the acclaimed Citizen 63 series. After directing his first feature film in 1965, Boorman directed Point Blank (1967) and Hell in the Pacific (1968) in the U.S. His successful Deliverance (1972) was a harrowing tale of endurance and survival. Later films include Excal- ibur (1981) and Hope and Glory

(1987).

Booth, Edwin (Thomas) (b.

Nov. 13, 1833, near Belair, Md.,

U.S.�d. June 7, 1893, New York,

N.Y.) U.S. actor. Bom into a noted theatrical family, he played his first starring roles in Boston and New York City in 1857. He became famous as Hamlet, appearing in the role for 100 consecutive nights in 1864-65. When his brother John Wilkes Booth assassinated Pres.

Abraham Lincoln, Edwin withdrew from the stage until 1866. In 1869 he opened his own theatre, but misman� agement forced him to sell it in 1873.

His interpretations of Hamlet, Iago, and King Lear won great acclaim in England and Germany. He founded the Players� Club in New York in

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� MERRIAM-WEBSTER INC.

� 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

266 I Braille ► brake

also exist for other languages, for mathematical and technical material, and for musical notation. Braille may be handwritten�from right to left� using a stylus to press dots into a piece of paper between hinged metal plates; when the sheet is turned over, the dots face up and are read from left to right. Braille typewriters and electric embossing machines are also used.

Braille \'bray\, Louis (b. Jan. 4, 1809, Coupvray, near Paris, France�d. Jan. 6, 1852, Paris) French educator who developed the Braille system of printing and writing for the blind.

Himself blinded at the age of three in an accident, he went to Paris in 1819 to attend the National Institute for Blind Children, and from 1826 he taught there. Braille adapted a method created by Charles Barbier to develop his own simplified system.

brain Concentration of nerve tissue in the front or upper end of an ani� mal�s body. It handles sensory infor� mation, controls motion, is vital to instinctive acts, and in higher verte� brates is the centre of learning. Ver� tebrate brains consist of the

hindbrain (rhombencephalon), mid� brain (mesencephalon), and fore� brain (prosencephalon). The

hindbrain comprises the medulla oblongata and the pons, which con� nects the spinal cord with higher brain levels and transfers information from the cerebral cortex to the cerebellum. The midbrain, a major sensory integration centre in other vertebrates, serves primarily to link the hind� brain and forebrain in mammals. Large nerve bundles connect the cer� ebellum to the medulla, pons, and midbrain. In the forebrain the two cerebral hemispheres are connected by a thick bundle of nerve fibres (cor� pus callosum) and are divided by two deep grooves into four lobes (fron� tal, parietal, temporal, and occipital). The cerebrum, the largest part of the human brain, is involved with its more complex functions. Motor and sensory nerve fibres from each hemisphere cross over in the medulla to control the opposite side of the body.

brain death State of irreversible destruction of the brain. Before the invention of life-support systems, brain death always led quickly to death of the body. Ethical considerations are crucial to defining criteria for brain death, which in most countries must be met before efforts to extend life may be ended. Such criteria include deep coma with a known cause, absence of any brainstem functions (e.g., spontaneous respiration, pupil reactions, gag and cough reflexes), and exclusion of hypothermia, drugs, and poison as causes. Electroencephalography is useful but not essential in determining brain death. Organ donors must be declared brain-dead before their organs may be removed for transplant. The question of when life support can legally be ended has been the subject of numerous court cases.

brain laterality See laterality

Brain Trust Group of advisers to Franklin Roosevelt in his 1932 presi� dential campaign. Its principal members were the Columbia University professors Raymond Moley, Rexford Tugwell, and Adolf A. Berle, Jr. (1895� 1971). They presented Roosevelt with analyses of national social and economic problems and helped him devise public-policy solutions. The group did not meet after Roosevelt became president, but members served in government posts. See also New Deal.

brainwashing Systematic effort to destroy an individual�s former loy� alties and beliefs and to substitute loyalty to a new ideology or power. It has been used by religious cults as well as by radical political groups such as the Chinese Communists in 1949. The techniques of brainwashing usually involve isolation from former associates and sources of informa� tion; an exacting regimen calling for absolute obedience and humility; strong social pressures and rewards for cooperation; physical and psycho� logical punishments for noncooperation, including social ostracism and criticism, deprivation of food, sleep, and social contacts, bondage, and torture; and constant reinforcement. Its effects are sometimes reversed through deprogramming, which combines confrontation and intensive psychotherapy.

brake Device for decreasing the speed of a body or stopping its motion. Most brakes act on rotating mechanical elements and absorb kinetic energy mechanically, hydrodynamically, or electrically. Mechanical brakes are the most common; they dissipate the kinetic energy as heat generated by mechanical friction between a rotating drum or disk and a stationary fric� tion element. A hydrodynamic (fluid) brake has a rotor (rotating element) and a stator (stationary element). Resistance to rotation is created by fluid

Louis Braille, portrait bust by an unknown artist.

ARCHIV FUR KUNST UND GESCHICHTE, BERUN

cerebrum � frontal lobe

� parietal lobe corpus callosum

occipital lobe thalamus midbrain

hypothalamus

pituitary gland

temporal lobe

pons-

medulla oblongata spinal cord-

Side view of the brain showing its major structures. The large cerebrum is divided into two halves, or hemispheres, connected by the corpus callosum, a band of nerve fibres. Two grooves divide the hemispheres into four lobes: frontal, temporal, pari� etal, and occipital. Many nerve cells are found in the convoluted cerebrum's outer surface, or cerebral cortex, which controls sensory and motor activities. The thala� mus relays incoming sensory impulses from the spinal cord to the cortex. The hypo� thalamus's many functions include control of breathing, blood flow, temperature regulation, and emotions. The pituitary gland is attached to and regulated by the hypothalamus. The midbrain relays signals between the forebrain and hindbrain. The cerebellum, along with the cerebrum, plays a role in voluntary movement as well as balance. The pons serves as a relay point linking the medulla oblongata, midbrain, cerebellum, and cerebrum. The medulla, lying between the pons and the spinal cord and continuous with both, plays a role in essential involuntary regula� tory and reflexive responses (including breathing, swallowing, and heartbeat) and relays signals between the spinal cord and other brain regions.

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brake shoe

piston

caliper housing

brake

piston

boot

hub

disc (rotor)

piston seal

A disc brake assembly. Wheel rotation is slowed by friction when the hydraulic pis� tons squeeze the caliper, pressing the brake pads (shoe and lining assemblies) against the spinning disc (rotor), which is bolted to the wheel hub.

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brake ► Brandes I 267

friction and circulation of the liquid (usually water) from a series of pock� ets in the rotor to a series of complementary pockets in the stator. See also AIR BRAKE.

brake See bracken

Bramah, Joseph (b. April 13, 1748, Stainborough, Yorkshire, Eng.�d. Dec. 9, 1814, London) British engineer and inventor. Originally a cabinetmaker, Bramah in 1784 devised a pick-proof lock, which defied all efforts for 67 years. Since the success of his locks depended on their complexity, they could be produced in quantity only after the creation of a set of well-designed and precisely engineered machine tools, for which he hired a brilliant young blacksmith, Henry Maudslay. Their prototype machines were essential to the founding of the machine-tool industry. Bra� mah�s hydraulic press found many industrial uses and led to the devel� opment of hydraulic machinery.

Bramante \bra-'man-ta\, Donato (b. 1444, probably at Monte Asdru- valdo, Duchy of Urbino�d. April 11, 1514, Rome) Italian architect and perspectivist painter. The son of a farmer, he was working as a painter by 1477. His early architectural works included the church of Santa Maria presso San Satiro (c. 1480), in which the choir is painted in perspec� tive to give an illusion of a much larger space. In 1499 he went to Rome, where he spent the rest of his life. His Tempietto was the first mas� terpiece of the High Renaissance.

Under the patronage of Pope Julius II, he drew up plans for the immense Belvedere courtyard in the Vatican (begun c. 1505) and the new St.

Peter's Basilica (begun 1506), his greatest work. These ambitious projects were far from complete at the time of his death. Despite the grandiose scale of the St. Peter�s undertaking, Bramante continued to work on other projects and played an important role in Julius II�s plans for rebuilding Rome.

bramble Any plant of the genus Rubus (rose family), consisting of usu� ally prickly shrubs, including raspberries and blackberries. Brambles grow wild throughout North America, as well as in Europe and Asia, and are widely cultivated for their fruits.

Brampton City (pop., 2001: 325,428), southeastern Ontario, Canada. Located west of Toronto, it was founded c. 1830. It was incorporated as a town in 1873 and as a city in 1976. Its industries include flower grow� ing, tanning, lumbering, and the manufacture of automobiles, shoes, sta� tionery, furniture, and optical equipment.

Bran Vbran\ In Celtic religion, a gigantic deity described in the Mabino- gion as king of Britain. He was so large that he and his court lived in a tent rather than a house. When Bran was mortally wounded, he asked his companions to cut off his head and keep it with them, telling them it would provide entertainment and allow them to forget their sorrows. His com� panions passed 80 joyous years, eventually following his instructions and burying the head on the White Mount in London, where it protected England from invaders until it was finally unearthed.

bran Edible broken seed coat, or protective outer layer, of wheat, rye, or other cereal grain, separated from the kernel. In flour processing, it is normally removed from the ground kernels by sifting them in a rotating, meshed, cylindrical frame; whole-grain flours retain the bran. Wheat bran, the most widely processed, contains 16% protein, 11% natural fibre, and 50% carbohydrate. Most bran is coarsely ground for stock feed. In a more refined form, it is used in breakfast cereal, breads, and muffins for its value to the human digestive system as roughage.

Branch Davidians Religious sect that believes in the imminent return of Jesus Christ. It was founded in 1935 near Waco, Texas, by Victor Houteff as a breakaway group from the Seventh-Day Adventists. Under the leadership of Vernon Howell, a charismatic and apocalyptic preacher who would take the name David Koresh (1959-1993), it stockpiled weap� ons at its compound, where some 130 followers were living by 1993. That

year, after a shoot-out in which four federal agents were killed, federal law-enforcement agencies besieged the compound for 51 days. The stand� off ended, at the orders of Attorney General Janet Reno, in a conflagra� tion in which some 80 members died, including several children and Koresh himself. Intense controversy about the precise circumstances and the necessity of the final assault led to a Congressional investigation, which in 2000 exonerated federal agents.

Brancusi, Constantin (b. Feb. 21, 1876, Hobija, Rom.�d. March 16, 1957, Paris, Fr.) Romanian-born French sculptor. He became adept at carving wooden farm implements as a child and later studied in Bucharest and Munich and at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, having walked most of the way from Munich. He first exhibited in Paris in 1906. In 1908 he executed Sleeping Muse , influenced by Auguste Rodin, and The Kiss, his first truly original work. He developed a geometric style that became his hallmark, reducing natural forms to an abstract simplicity. He exhibited five works, including Mademoiselle Pogany, in the 1913 Armory Show. One of his favourite themes was a bird in flight; his most famous treatment was the celebrated polished-bronze Bird in Space (1919). Through numer� ous exhibitions in the U.S. and Europe, he achieved great fame and suc� cess, and he is regarded as a pioneer of modern abstract sculpture.

Brandeis Vbran-.dlsV, Louis (Dembitz) (b. Nov. 13, 1856, Louisville, Ky., U.S.�d. Oct. 5, 1941, Wash� ington, D.C.) U.S. jurist. The son of Bohemian Jewish immigrants, he attended schools in Kentucky and Germany before obtaining his law degree from Harvard (1877). As a lawyer in Boston (1877-1916), he was known as �the people�s attor� ney� for his defense of the constitu� tionality of several state hours-and- wages laws, his devising of a savings-bank life-insurance plan for working people, and his efforts to strengthen the government�s anti� trust power. His work influenced passage in 1914 of the Clayton Anti- Trust Act and the Federal Trade Commission Act. He also developed what came to be called the �Brandeis brief,� in which economic and socio� logical data, historical material, and expert opinion are marshaled to support a legal argument. Appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States (1916), he was noted for his devo� tion to freedom OF speech. Many of his minority opinions, in which he was often aligned with Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., later were accepted by the court in the New Deal era. His appointment as the first Jewish justice was vigorously opposed by some business interests and anti-Semitic groups. He served until 1939. Brandeis University is named for him.

Brandenburg Historical region and province of Prussia. The earliest Germanic inhabitants were replaced by Slavic Wends, who in turn were overcome in the 12th century by Albert the Bear, margrave of Branden� burg. It became one of the seven electorates of the Holy Roman Empire in 1356. Under the elector Frederick William (1640-88), Brandenburg-Prussia grew to be a leading power. It became a province of Prussia in 1815 and remained such after the unification of Germany (1871) and until the end of World War II. After the war, the eastern portion became part of Poland and the western portion part of East Germany. After Germany�s reunifi� cation in 1990, the western part became a German state. Brandenburg city, or Brandenburg an der Havel (pop., 2002 est.: 76,400), was formerly the residence of Prussia�s reigning family.

Brandenburg Gate The only remaining town gate of Berlin, it is located at the western end of the avenue Unter den Linden. Carl G. Lang- hans (1732-1808), who built the gate (1789-93), modeled it after the pro- pylaeum of the Athenian Acropolis. On top was the �Quadriga of Victory,� a statue of a chariot drawn by four horses. Heavily damaged in World War II, the gate was restored in 1957-58. From 1961 to 1989 the Berlin Wall shut off access to it for both eastern and western Germans; the gate was reopened in 1989 with the reunification of East and West Berlin.

Brandes Vbran-d9s\, Georg (Morris Cohen) (b. Feb. 4, 1842, Copenhagen, Den.�d. Feb. 19, 1927, Copenhagen) Danish critic and

Tempietto, San Pietro in Montorio, Rome, designed by Donato Bramante,

Brooks, Gwendolyn (Elizabeth) (b. June 7, 1917, Topeka, Kan., U.S.�d. Dec. 3, 2000, Chicago, Ill.) U.S. poet. Reared in the Chicago slums, Brooks published her first poem at age 13. With Annie Allen (1949), a loosely connected series of poems about growing up in Chi� cago, she became the first black poet to win the Pulitzer Prize. The Bean Eaters (1960) contains some of her best verse. Among her other books are In the Mecca (1968), the autobiographical Report from Part One (1972), Primer for Blacks (1980), Young Poets� Primer (1981), and Chil� dren Coming Home (1991).

Brooks, James L. (b. May 9, 1940, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. screen� writer, director, and producer. He worked in television from 1964. He cocreated and produced the hit Mary Tyler Moore Show (1970-77) and several other TV programs and series, including The Tracey Ullman Show (1986-90) and The Simpsons (from 1989). As writer, producer, and direc� tor of the film Terms of Endearment (1983), he won three Academy Awards; he also wrote, directed, and produced Broadcast News (1987) and As Good As It Gets (1997).

Brooks, Louise (b. Nov. 14, 1906, Cherryvale, Kan., U.S.�d. Aug. 8, 1985, Rochester, N.Y.) U.S. film actress. She danced in Florenz Ziegfeld�s Follies (1925) and soon gained a Hollywood contract. Noted for her mag�

netic screen presence and dark bobbed hair, she personified the 1920s flapper in the silent films A Girl in Every Port (1928) and Beggars of Life (1928). In Germany she gave legendary performances in G.W. Pabst�s Pandora�s Box (1928) and Diary of a Lost Girl (1929). Back in Holly� wood (1930), however, she was offered only minor roles, and she retired in 1938 with little fame and no fortune. Her films were rediscovered in the 1950s, and her book Lulu in Hollywood (1982) won critical praise.

Brooks, Mel orig. Melvin Kaminsky (b. June 28, 1926, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. director, producer, and actor. He wrote comedy routines for Sid Caesar�s television shows (1949-59) and cocreated the TV series Get Smart (1965). He wrote and directed his first feature film, The Pro� ducers (1968, Academy Award for writing), which was later transformed into a hit Broadway musical. He directed, produced, and cowrote (and sometimes acted in) film comedies such as Blazing Saddles (1974), Young Frankenstein (1974), and Spaceballs (1987).

Brooks, Rodney Allen (b. Dec. 30, 1954, Adelaide, S.Aus., Austl.) Australian computer scientist. By the time he finished his doctorate (1981) at Stanford University, Calif., Brooks was disillusioned by the traditional �model-based� approach to artificial intelligence (AI). After moving to the Mobile Robotics Laboratory at MIT in 1984, he built simple robots that could perform �insectlike� actions on the premise that practical learning comes from interacting with the real world. In 1997 Brooks became direc� tor of the MIT AI Research Laboratory.

Brooks, Romaine Goddard orig. Beatrice Romaine God� dard (b. May 1, 1874, Rome, Italy�d. Dec. 7, 1970, Nice, Fr.) U.S. painter. Born to wealthy American parents, she studied painting in Italy. After a brief marriage, in 1905 she moved to Paris where she established herself in literary, artistic, and homosexual circles. Her reputation reached its height in 1925 with several important exhibitions. Her gray-shaded portraits, touched by occasional colour, distilled their subjects� person� alities to a disturbing degree. The Amazon (c. 1920), Brooks�s portrait of her longtime lover Natalie Clifford Barney (1876-1972), is among her finest works.

Brooks, Van Wyck (b. Feb. 16, 1886, Plainfield, N.J., U.S.�d. May 2, 1963, Bridgewater, Conn.) U.S. critic, biographer, and literary histo� rian. Brooks attended Harvard University. His Finders and Makers series, tracing American literary history in rich biographical detail from 1800 to 1915, includes The Flowering of New England, 1815-1865 (1936, Pulitzer Prize); New England: Indian Summer, 1865-1915 (1940); The World of Washington Irving (1944); The Times of Melville and Whitman (1947); and The Confident Years: 1885-1915 (1952).

broom In botany, any of several leguminous shrubs or small trees of the genus Cytisus, native to temperate regions of Europe and western Asia.

They are cultivated widely, chiefly for their attractive flowers. The com� pound leaves have three leaflets. The solitary or clustered yellow, purple, or white flowers resemble pea flow� ers. The fruit is a flat pod. A com� mon, almost leafless species is C. scoparius, a shrub with bright yellow flowers often grown for erosion con� trol in warm climates. Butcher�s broom ( Ruscus aculeatus ) is a shrub of the lily family with small whitish flowers and red berries.

Brouwer Vbrau-orX, Adriaen (b.

1605/06, Oudenaarde, Flanders�d.

January 1638, Antwerp) Flemish painter. After studying with Frans Hals in Haarlem c. 1623, he returned to Flanders and by 1631 had settled in Antwerp. His pictures, mostly small and painted on panels, typically depict peasants drinking and brawling in taverns. The coarseness of his subjects was in direct contrast to his delicate technique; his virtuoso brush- work and sparkling tonal values were unsurpassed. Brouwer popularized genre painting in Flanders and Holland. Adriaen van Ostade and David Teniers were among his many followers.

Browder, Earl (Russell) (b. May 20, 1891, Wichita, Kan., U.S.�d. June 27, 1973, Princeton, N.J.) U.S. Communist Party leader (1930-44). He was imprisoned in 1919-20 for his opposition to U.S. participation in

Rupert Brooke, posthumous portrait drawing by J.H. Thomas; in the National Portrait Gallery, London

COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, LONDON

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World War I. In 1921 he joined the U.S. Communist Party; he served as the party�s general secretary from 1930 to 1944 and was its presidential candidate in 1936 and 1940. In 1944 he was removed from his position for declaring that capitalism and socialism could coexist, and in 1946 he was expelled from the party.

Brown, Capability orig. Lancelot Brown (b. 1715, Kirkharle, Northumberland, Eng.�d. Feb. 6, 1783, London) British master of natu� ralistic garden design. He worked for years at Stowe, Buckinghamshire, one of the most talked-of gardens of the day, under William Kent (1685� 1748). By 1753 he was the leading �improver of grounds� in England. At Blenheim Palace he created masterly lakes and almost totally erased the earlier formal scheme. His landscapes consisted of expanses of grass, irregularly shaped bodies of water, and trees placed singly and in clumps. His style is often thought of as the antithesis of that of Andre Le Notre, designer of the formal Versailles gardens. Brown�s nickname arose from his habit of saying that a place had �capabilities.�

Brown, Charles Brockden (b. Jan. 17, 1771, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.�d. Feb. 22, 1810, Philadelphia) U.S. writer. Brown left his law studies to devote himself to writing. His gothic novels in American set� tings were the first in a tradition later adapted by Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Wieland (1798), his best-known work, shows the ease with which mental balance is lost when common sense is confronted with the uncanny. His writings reflect a thoughtful liberalism while exploiting horror and terror. He has been called the �father of the Ameri� can novel.�

Brown, Clifford (b. Oct. 30, 1930, Wilmington, Del., U.S.�d. June 26, 1956, Pennsylvania) U.S. jazz trumpeter. He became the most influ� ential trumpeter of his generation, inspired by Fats Navarro to combine technical brilliance with lyrical grace in his playing. He was a principal figure in the hard-bop idiom (see bebop). After touring with Lionel Hamp� ton�s big band in 1953, he worked with Art Blakey; in 1954 he and drum� mer Max Roach formed a quintet that became one of the outstanding groups in modem jazz. He died in a car crash at age 25.

Brown, Ford Madox (b. April 16, 1821, Calais, Fr.�d. Oct. 6, 1893, London, Eng.) British painter. He studied in Bruges, Antwerp, Paris, and Rome. In Italy (1845) he met Peter von Cornelius, a member of the Naz- arenes, who influenced his palette and style. His use of brilliant colour, meticulous handling, and taste for literary subjects had a strong effect on the Pre-Raphaelites, most notably Dante Gabriel Rossetti. His most famous paintings are The Last of England (1852-55), a poignant tribute to emi� gration, and Work (1852-63), a Victorian social commentary. In 1861 he became a founding member of William Morris�s company, for which he designed stained glass and furniture.

Brown, George (b. Nov. 29,1818, Edinburgh, Scot.�d. May. 9,1880, Toronto, Ont., Can.) Canadian journalist and politician. He immigrated to New York in 1837 and in 1843 moved to Toronto, where he founded The Globe (1844), a reformist political newspaper. As a member of the Cana� dian assembly (1857-65), he advocated proportional representation, the confederation of British North America, acquisition of the Northwest Ter� ritories, and separation of church and state. He later became a leader of the Clear Grits movement. In 1873 he was appointed to the Canadian Senate, though he continued to manage his influential and popular news� paper (later The Globe and Mail).

Brown, James (b. May 3, 1933, Barnwell, S.C., U.S.) U.S. singer and songwriter. Growing up in Georgia during the Depression, Brown first sang and danced on street comers for money. He later formed a trio, appearing at small clubs throughout the South. He gradually evolved a highly personal style, combining blues and gospel music elements with his own emotionally charged and highly rhythmic delivery, accented by a strong sense of showmanship. His first hit, �Please, Please, Please� (1956), was followed by other million-selling singles, including �Papa�s Got a Brand New Bag�; his style, marked by strong dance-oriented rhythms and heavy syncopation, became known as funk. His checkered personal life was highlighted in 1988 when he received a three-year jail sentence on a variety of charges.

Brown, Jim orig. James Nathaniel Brown (b. Feb. 17, 1936, St. Simons, Ga., U.S.) U.S. football player, often considered the greatest run� ning back of all time. He was an All-American in football and lacrosse at Syracuse University. In his nine seasons with the Cleveland Browns (1957-65), he set NFL overall rushing and combined yardage records that

stood until 1984. Averaging a record 5.22 yards per carry in his career. Brown led the NFL in rushing in eight of the nine years he played. After retiring from football, he became a movie actor.

Brown, John (b. 1735, Buncle, Berwickshire, Scot.�d. Oct. 17, 1788, London, Eng.) British physician. He propounded the �excitability� theory published in Elementa medicinae (1780), which classified diseases as over- or understimulating and held that internal and external �exciting powers,� or stimuli, operate on living tissues. Brown viewed diseases as states of decreased excitability, requiring stimulants, or increased excit� ability, requiring sedatives. Hermann von Helmholtz discredited the theory.

Brown, John (b. May 9, 1800, Torrington, Conn., U.S.�d. Dec. 2, 1859, Charles Town, Va.) U.S. abolitionist. He grew up in Ohio, where his mother died insane when he was eight. He moved around the country working in various trades and raised a large family of 20 children. Though he was white, he settled in 1849 with his family in a black community founded at North Elba, N.Y. An ardent advocate of overt action to end slavery, he traveled to Kansas in 1855 with five of his sons to retaliate against proslavery actions in Lawrence. He and his group murdered five proslavery settlers (see Bleeding Kansas). In 1858 he proposed to estab� lish a mountain stronghold in Maryland for escaping slaves, to be financed by abolitionists. He hoped that taking the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, W.Va., would inspire slaves to join his �army of emancipation.� In 1859 his small force overpowered the arsenal�s guard; after two days it was in turn overpowered by federal forces led by Col. Robert E. Lee. Brown was tried for treason, convicted, and hanged. His raid made him a martyr to northern abolitionists and increased the sectional animosities that led to the American Civil War.

Brown, Joseph Rogers (b. Jan. 26,1810, Warren, R.I., U.S.�d. July 23, 1876, Isles of Shoals, N.H.) U.S. inventor and manufacturer. He per� fected and produced a highly accurate linear dividing engine in 1850, and then developed a vernier caliper and also applied vernier methods to the protractor. With Lucian Sharpe he founded the Brown and Sharpe Manu� facturing Co. His micrometre caliper appeared in 1867. He invented a pre� cision gear cutter to produce clock gears, a universal milling machine, and (perhaps his finest innovation) a universal grinding machine, in which articles were hardened first and then ground, thereby increasing accuracy and eliminating waste.

Brown, Molly orig. Margaret Tobin (b. July 18, 1867, Hannibal, Mo, U.S.�d. Oct. 26, 1932, New York, N.Y.) U.S. philanthropist, social reformer, and socialite. The daughter of Irish immigrants, she attended a grammar school and later worked at a tobacco factory. She followed her brother c. 1884 to Colorado, where she met and married James Brown, a miner. After he found gold in 1894, they moved to Denver, where they were welcomed into society. She became a founding member of the Den� ver Woman�s Club, part of a national network of women�s clubs dedi� cated to improving the conditions of women and children. After her husband left her, she traveled to New York and Newport, where she enjoyed social success. As a passenger on the disastrous maiden voyage of the Titanic (1912), she helped command a lifeboat and was celebrated by the U.S. press as �the Unsinkable Mrs. Brown.� Her life, in the semi� legendary form she herself recounted it, was popularized in a stage musi� cal and movie.

Brown, Robert (b. Dec. 21, 1773, Montrose, Angus, Scot.�d. June 10, 1858, London, Eng.) Scottish botanist. The son of a clergyman, he studied medicine in Aberdeen and Edinburgh before entering the British army as an ensign and assistant surgeon (1795). He obtained the post of naturalist aboard a ship bound to survey the coasts of Australia (1801), and on the journey he gathered some 3,900 plant species. He published some of the results of his trip in 1810 in his classic Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae..., laying the foundations of Australian botany and refining prevailing plant classification systems. In 1827 he transferred Joseph Banks�s botanical collection to the British Museum and became keeper of the museum�s newly formed botanical department. The follow� ing year he published his observation of the phenomenon that came to be called Brownian motion. In 1831 he noted the existence in plant cells of what he called the nucleus. He was the first to recognize the distinction between gymnosperms and angiosperms (flowering plants).

Brown, William Wells (b. 1814?, near Lexington, Ky.,U.S.�d. Nov. 6, 1884, Chelsea, Mass.) U.S. writer. Born into slavery, Brown escaped and educated himself, settling in the Boston area. He wrote a popular autobiography, Narrative of William W. Brown, A Fugitive Slave (1847),

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and lectured on abolitionism and temperance reform. Clotel (1853), his only novel, concerning the descendants of Thomas Jefferson and a slave, was the first novel ever published by an African American. His only play, The Escape (1858), is about two slaves who secretly marry.

brown bear Shaggy-haired, characteristically brown species ( Ursus arctos) of bear with numerous races native to Eurasia and to northwest� ern North America. North American brown bears are usually called griz� zly bears. Eurasian brown bears are generally solitary animals, able to run and swim well, and usually 48-84 in. (120-210 cm) long and 300-550 lbs (135-250 kg). They feed on mammals, fish, vegetable materials, and honey. The exceptionally large Siberian brown bear is similar in size to the grizzly.

brown dwarf Astronomical object intermediate in mass between a planet and a star. Sometimes described as failed stars, brown dwarfs are believed to form in the same way as stars, from fragments of an inter� stellar cloud that contract into gravitationally bound objects. However, they do not have enough mass to produce the internal heat that in stars ignites hydrogen and establishes nuclear fusion. Though they generate some heat and light, they also cool rapidly and shrink; they may differ from high-mass planets only in how they form.

brown recluse spider Venomous species ( Loxosceles reclusa) of brown spider, most common in the western and southern U.S. The brown recluse is light-coloured, generally with a dark violin-shaped design on its back, for which it is sometimes called the violin spider. About 0.25 in. (7 mm) long, it has a leg span of about 1 in. (2.5 cm). It has extended its range into parts of the northern U.S. and is often found under stones or in dark corners inside buildings. The venom of the brown recluse destroys the walls of blood vessels near the site of the bite, sometimes causing a slow-healing skin ulcer. Bites are occasionally fatal.

brown trout Prized and wary European game fish ( Salmo trutta, fam� ily Salmonidae) that is favoured for food. The species includes several varieties (e.g., the Loch Leven trout of Britain). The brown trout is rec� ognized by the light-ringed black spots on its brown body. It has been transplanted to many areas of the world because it can thrive in warmer waters than most other trout.

It grows to about 8 lbs (3.6 kg).

Oceangoing individuals, called sea trout, are larger than freshwater forms and provide good sport, as do those that enter large lakes.

Brown University Private university in Providence, Rhode Island, U.S., a traditional member of the Ivy League. It was founded in 1764 as Rhode Island College and renamed in 1804 for a benefactor, Nicholas Brown. It became coeducational in 1971 when it merged with Pembroke, a women�s college founded in 1891. Today it offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in all major academic fields; its school of medicine awards the M.D. Research facilities include centres for geological, astro� nomical, and educational research.

Brown v. Board of Education (of Topeka) (1954) U.S. Supreme Court case in which the court ruled unanimously that racial segregation in public schools violated the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The amendment says that no state may deny equal protection of the laws to any person within its jurisdiction. The court declared separate educa� tional facilities to be inherently unequal, thus reversing its 1896 ruling in Plessy v. Ferguson. The Brown ruling was limited to public schools, but it was believed to imply that segregation is not permissible in other public facilities. Guidelines for ending segregation were presented and school boards were advised to proceed �with all deliberate speed.� See also Thur- good Marshall.

Browne, Sir Thomas (b. Oct. 19, 1605, London, Eng.�d. Oct. 19, 1682, Norwich, Norfolk) British physician and author. While practicing medicine, he began a parallel career as a writer. His best-known work, Religio Medici (1642), is a journal of reflections on the mysteries of God, nature, and man. A larger work commonly known as Browne�s Vulgar Errors (1646) attempted to correct popular beliefs and superstitions. He also wrote treatises on antiquarian subjects and the beautiful and subtle A Letter to a Friend (1690).

Brownian motion Any of various physical phenomena in which some quantity is constantly undergoing small, random fluctuations. It was named for Robert Brown, who was investigating the fertilization process of flowers in 1827 when he noticed a �rapid oscillatory motion� of micro� scopic particles within pollen grains suspended in water. He later discov� ered that similar motions could be seen in smoke or dust particles suspended in air and other fluids. The idea that molecules of a fluid are constantly in motion is a key part of the kinetic theory of gases, developed by James Clerk Maxwell, Ludwig Boltzmann, and Rudolf Clausius (1822- 88) to explain heat phenomena.

Browning, Elizabeth Barrett orig. Elizabeth Barrett (b. March 6, 1806, near Durham, Durham,

Eng.�d. June 29, 1861, Florence)

British poet. Though she was an invalid who was afraid to meet strangers, her poetry became well known in literary circles with the publication of volumes of verse in 1838 and 1844. She met Robert Browning in 1845 and, after a court� ship kept secret from her despotic father, they married and settled in Florence. Her reputation rests chiefly on the love poems written during their courtship, Sonnets from the Portuguese (1850). Her most ambi� tious work, the blank-verse novel Aurora Leigh (1857), was a huge popular success.

Browning, Robert (b. May 7,

1812, London, Eng.�d. Dec. 12,

1889, Venice, Italy) British poet. His early works include verse dramas, notably Pippa Passes (1841), and long poems, including Sordello (1840). In the years of his marriage (1846-61) to Elizabeth Barrett Browning, spent in Italy, he produced little other than Men and Women (1855), which contains dramatic lyrics such as �Love Among the Ruins� and the great monologues �Fra Lippo Lippi� and �Bishop Blougram�s Apology.� Dramatis Personae (1864), including �Rabbi Ben Ezra� and �Caliban upon Setebos,� finally won him popular recognition. The Ring and the Book (1868-69), a book-length poem, is based on a 1698 murder trial in Rome. Browning influenced many mod� ern poets through his development of the dramatic monologue (with its emphasis on individual psychology) and through his success in writing about the variety of modern life in language his contemporaries found often difficult as well as original.

Browning, Tod orig. Charles Albert Browning (b. July 12,1880, Louisville, Ky., U.S.�d. Oct. 6, 1962, Malibu, Calif.) U.S. film director. He was a circus performer and vaudeville comic before joining the Bio� graph film studio in 1915. He wrote several screenplays, then directed melodramas and adventure films (1917-25). He directed the macabre film The Unholy Three (1925), starring Lon Chaney, followed by Dracula (1931) and Freaks (1932), which established his reputation for films of horror and the grotesque.

Brownshirts See SA

Brownsville Affair Racial incident in 1906 in Brownsville, Texas, involving white citizens of Brownsville and African American soldiers stationed at nearby Fort Brown. On the evening of August 13-14, rifle shots on a street in Brownsville killed one white man and wounded another. The mayor and other whites accused African American soldiers of the crime. Though their white officers stated that the soldiers were in their barracks, investigators accepted the mayor�s version, and Pres. The� odore Roosevelt ordered dishonourable discharges for 167 African Ameri� can soldiers for their alleged conspiracy of silence. In 1972 a congressional investigation cleared the soldiers of guilt.

browser Software that allows a computer user to find and view infor� mation on the Internet. The first text-based browser for the World Wide Web became available in 1991; Web use expanded rapidly after the release in 1993 of a browser called Mosaic, which used �point-and-click� graphi� cal manipulations. Such Web browsers interpret the HTML tags in down� loaded documents and format the displayed data according to a set of

Brown trout (Salmo trutta)

TREAT DAVIDSON-THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY COLLECTION/PHOTO RESEARCHERS

Elizabeth Barrett Browning, detail of an oil painting by Michele Gordigiani,

1858; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY,

LONDON

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Brubeck ► Bruhn I 283

standard style rules. Netscape Navigator became the dominant Web browser soon after its release in 1994; Microsoft�s Internet Explorer was introduced a year later and has become widespread.

Brubeck, Dave orig. David Warren Brubeck (b. Dec. 6, 1920, Concord, Calif., U.S.) U.S. jazz pianist and composer. Brubeck studied composition with Darius Milhaud before working as a jazz pianist. He formed a quartet with saxophonist Paul Desmond in 1951. His use of unconventional metres contributed to his immense appeal: the recording of Desmond�s �Take Five� became the first jazz instrumental to sell more than a million copies. This exposure brought many new listeners to jazz, particularly on college campuses during the 1950s and �60s.

Bruce, Blanche K(elso) (b. March 1, 1841, Prince Edward county, Va., U.S.�d. March 17, 1898, Washington, D.C.) U.S. senator from Mis� sissippi during Reconstruction. Bom to a slave mother and a white father, he was educated by his father. He moved to Mississippi, where he became a significant figure in state politics and purchased a plantation. In the U.S. Senate (1875-81), he advocated just treatment of African Americans and Indians and opposed the policy of excluding Chinese immigrants. He later served as register of the U.S. treasury (1881-85, 1895-98), District of Columbia recorder of deeds (1889-95), and trustee of Howard Univer� sity.

Bruce, Lenny orig. Leonard Alfred Schneider (b. Oct. 13, 1925, Mineola, N.Y., U.S.�d. Aug. 3, 1966, Hollywood, Calif.) U.S. stand-up comedian. He studied acting and began performing stand-up routines in nightclubs in the 1950s, soon developing a style marked by black humour and punctuated with obscenity. As he gained notoriety, he focused his material on criticisms of the social and legal establishments, organized religion, and other controversial subjects. His reputation acquired iconic status as a daring performer and an activist for free speech after his death from a drug overdose.

brucellosis X.bru-so-'lo-sosV or Malta fever or Mediterranean fever or undulant fever Infectious disease of humans and domestic animals. It is characterized by gradual onset of fever, chills, sweats, weak� ness, and aches, and it usually ends within six months. It is named after the British physician David Bruce (b. 1855�d. 1931), who first identi� fied (1887) the causative bacteria. Three main species in the genus Bru� cella commonly cause the disease in humans, who contract it from infected animals (goats, sheep, pigs, cattle). Brucellosis is rarely trans� mitted between humans but spreads rapidly in animals, causing severe economic losses. Drug therapy is not practical for animal brucellosis, but vaccination of young animals is useful. Infected animals must be removed from herds. Antibiotics are effective against acute disease in humans, in whom it can cause liver and heart problems if untreated.

Bruch VbriikX, Max (Karl August) (b. Jan. 6, 1838, Cologne, Prussia�d. Oct. 2, 1920, Friedensau, near Berlin, Ger.) German com� poser. Bruch held many conducting positions and taught for 20 years at the Berlin Academy. He was known in his lifetime principally for his many sacred and secular choral pieces, including Odysseus (1872) and Das Lied von der Glocke (1879). Today he is remembered especially for his first violin concerto (1868); he also wrote two further violin concer� tos, the cello variations Kol Nidrei (1881), and operas and symphonies.

Brucke VbriE-kaV Die German "The Bridge" Organization of Ger� man Expressionist artists. It was founded in 1905 by four architectural stu� dents at the Dresden Technical School, including Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, who were soon joined by other German and European artists. Its name reflects their hope that their work would be a bridge to the art of the future. Strongly influenced by primitive art, Ger� man Gothic woodcuts, and the prints of Edvard Munch, they produced fig� ure paintings and portraits depicting human suffering and anxiety, as well as still lifes and landscapes characterized by harshly distorted shapes and violent colours. They contributed to the 20th-century revival of the wood- cut. The group disbanded in 1913. See photograph opposite.

Bruckner Vbruk-nsrV (Josef) Anton (b. Sept. 4, 1824, Ansfelden, Austria�d. Oct. 11, 1896, Vienna) Austrian composer. Son of a rural schoolmaster who died in Anton�s youth, he was taken into a monastery as a choirboy and there learned to play the organ. Greatly gifted, he became organist at Linz Cathedral in 1855; throughout his composing career, his orchestrations would be compared to organ sonorities. In 1865 he heai'd Tristan und Isolde in Munich and thereafter idolized Richard Wagner, though his own works remained indebted to Ludwig van

Beethoven. In 1868 he was appointed professor at the Vienna Conserva� tory and settled in Vienna for the rest of his life. He was 60 before he achieved fame with his Symphony No. 7 in E Major (1884). He was socially awkward and eccentric, and he remained a deeply devout Chris� tian to his death. His reputation rests on his nine mature symphonies (1866-96), his three masses, and his Te Deum (1884).

Bruegel Vbroi-golV Jan, the Elder (b. 1568, Brussels�d. Jan. 13, 1625, Antwerp) Flemish painter and draftsman, second son of Pieter Brue� gel. Early in his career he went to Italy, where he painted under the patronage of Cardinal Federigo Borromeo. After returning to Antwerp in 1596, he enjoyed a highly successful and prestigious career. In 1608 he was appointed court painter to the archdukes of Habsburg, regents of the southern Netherlands. He is known for his small-scale landscapes and exquisite flower paintings, all painted in a miniaturistic style on copper or panel. His skill at depicting delicate textures earned him the nickname �Velvet.� He often collaborated with other artists, including his friend Peter Paul Rubens. His sons, Jan the Younger and Ambrosius, were also painters.

Bruegel Vbroi-golV Pieter, the Elder (b. c. 1525, probably Breda, duchy of Brabant�d. Sept. 5/9, 1569, Brussels) Greatest Netherlandish painter of the 16th century. Not much is known of his early life, but in 1551 he set off for Italy, where he produced his earliest signed painting, Landscape with Christ and the Apostles at the Sea of Tiberias (c. 1553). Returning to Flanders in 1555, he achieved some fame with a series of satirical, moralizing prints in the style of Hieronymus Bosch, commissioned by an Antwerp engraver. He is best known for his paintings of Nether� landish proverbs, seasonal landscapes, and realistic views of peasant life and folklore, but he also took a novel approach to religious subject mat� ter, portraying biblical events in panoramic scenes, often viewed from above. He had many important patrons; most of his paintings were com� missioned by collectors. In addition to many drawings and engravings, about 40 authenticated paintings from his enormous output have survived. His sons, Peter Brueghel the Younger and Jan, the Elder Brueghel (both of whom restored to the name the h their father had abandoned), and later imitators carried his style into the 18th century.

Brugge Vbrui-ksA English Vbru-g9\ or Bruges VbruezhV City (pop., 2000 est.: 116,200), northwestern Belgium. First mentioned in 7th-century records, it was the site of a castle built in the 9th century by the first counts of Flanders against Norman invaders. It joined the Hanseatic League and was a major marketplace in the 13th century. As the centre of the Flem� ish cloth industry, it was the commercial hub of northern Europe. In the 15th century it was home to Jan van Eyck and other painters of the Flem� ish school (see Flemish art). It declined as a port and textile centre but later revived with the construc� tion of canals linking it with the North Sea. Shipbuilding, food pro� cessing, chemicals, electronics, and tourism are the main industries.

Brugghen, Hendrik ter See

Hendrik Terbrugghen

Brugmann Vbrug- 1 man\ /

(Friedrich) Karl (b. March 16, 1849, Wiesbaden, Nassau�d. June 29, 1919, Leipzig, Ger.) German lin� guist. A professor of Sanskrit and comparative linguistics, he belonged to the Neogrammarian school, which asserted the inviolability of phonetic laws and adhered to strict research methodology. Among the best known of his 400 publications are the two volumes on sounds and forms that he contributed to the Out� line of the Comparative Grammar of the Indo-Germanic Languages

"Dodo and Her Brother/' oil painting by Die Brucke artist Ernst Ludwig Kirch� ner, c. 1908; in the Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, Mass.

COURTESY OF THE SMITH COLLEGE MUSEUM OF ART, NORTHAMPTON, MASS.

(1886-93).

Bruhn VbriinV, Erik orig. Belton Evers (b. Oct. 3, 1928, Copen� hagen, Den.�d. April 1, 1986, Tor� onto, Ont., Can.) Danish ballet

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284 I bruise ► Brunei

dancer. From 1937 he studied at the Royal Danish Ballet training school, and in 1947 he joined the company. He performed as guest soloist with many other companies, including American Ballet Theatre in the 1950s and �60s, dancing leading roles in such ballets as La Sylphide, Swan Lake , and Carmen. He was admired for his classical technique. He later served as director of the Royal Swedish Opera House (1967- 72) and assistant director (1973�81) and director (1983-86) of Canada�s National Ballet.

bruise or contusion Visible blu� ish or purplish mark beneath the sur� face of unbroken skin, indicating burst blood vessels in deeper tissue layers. Bruises are usually caused by a blow or pressure, but they may occur spontaneously in elderly persons. The yellowish hue that becomes visible as a bruise heals comes from the disintegration and gradual absorption of blood.

Bruhn as Romeo, 1967

FRED FEHL

Brumaire \brm-'mer. Coup of 18-19 (1799) French coup d�etat that overthrew the Directory and substituted the Consulate, making way for the despotism of Napoleon. Planned by Emmanuel Joseph Sieyes and Charles Maurice de Talleyrand with the aid of Napoleon, the coup took place on November 9-10 (18-19 Brumaire in the French republican calendar). It is often considered the effective end of the French Revolution.

Brummell, Beau orig. George Bryan (b. June 7, 1778, London, Eng.�d. March 30, 1840, Caen,

France) English dandy. The son of Lord North�s private secretary, he attended Oxford and became famous for his dress and wit as well as for his friendship with George, prince of Wales (later King George IV). The leader of English fashion of his time, he had by 1816 exhausted his inher� ited fortune on gambling and extravagance, and his sharp tongue had alienated his patron. He fled to Calais, France to avoid his creditors and struggled for 14 years before becoming British consul at Caen (1830-32). In 1835 his friends res� cued him from debtor�s prison, but he soon lost all interest in his per� sonal appearance, and he spent his final years in a charitable asylum.

Brun, Charles Le See Charles Le Brun

Beau Brummell, engraving by John Cooke after a portrait miniature, 1844.

Brundage, Avery (b. Sept. 28, 1887, Detroit, Mich., U.S.�d. May 8, 1975, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, W.Ger.) U.S. sports administrator. He competed in the decathlon at the 1912 Olympic Games. He served as presi� dent of the U.S. Olympic Association and Committee 1929-53 and as vice president (1945-52) and president (1952-72) of the International Olym� pic Committee. Controversial and domineering, he demanded strict adher� ence to the rules of amateur competition, and he often dismissed political events as unrelated to Olympic competition, most notably the 1972 mur� der of Israeli athletes by terrorists.

Brundtland \'brimt-land\, Gro Harlem orig. Gro Harlem (b.

April 20, 1939, Oslo, Nor.) Norwegian politician, first woman prime min� ister of Norway (1981, 1986-89, 1990-96). Trained as a physician, she worked with various government health services, then served as minister of the environment (1974-79). She served in the Norwegian parliament (1977-97). As leader of the Labour Party group, she served as premier three times. In 1987 she chaired the UN World Commission on Environ� ment and Development, and in 1998 she was elected director-general of the World Health Organization.

Brunei \bru-'n!\ officially State of Brunei, Abode of Peace Inde� pendent sultanate, northern Borneo, western Pacific Ocean. The country is divided into two parts, each surrounded by the Malaysian state of

Sarawak; they both have coastlines on the South China Sea and Brunei Bay. Area:

2,226 sq mi (5,765 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 364,000. Capital: Bandar Seri Begawan. Brunei has a mixture of South� east Asian ethnic groups: about two-thirds are Malay, one-tenth Chinese, and the remainder indigenous peoples and Indians. Languages: Malay (official), English (widely understood). Religions: Islam (official; pre� dominantly Sunni); also traditional beliefs, Buddhism, Christianity. Cur� rency: Brunei dollar, ringgit. The narrow northern coastal plain gives way to rugged hills in the south. Brunei�s western enclave consists of the val� leys of the Belait, Tutong, and Brunei rivers and is mainly hilly. The east� ern enclave contains the Pandaruan and Temburong river basins and the country�s highest point, Pagon Peak (6,070 ft [1,850 m]). Much of Bru� nei is covered by dense tropical rainforest; very little land is arable. Its economy is dominated by production from major oil and natural gas fields. It has one of the highest per capita incomes in Asia. Brunei is a monar� chy; the head of state and government is the sultan. Brunei traded with China in the 6th century ad. Through allegiance to the Javanese Majap- AHlT kingdom (13th�15th century), it came under Hindu influence. In the early 15th century, with the decline of the Majapahit kingdom, many con� verted to Islam, and Brunei became an independent sultanate. When Fer� dinand Magellan�s ships visited in 1521, the sultan of Brunei controlled almost all of Borneo and its neighbouring islands. In the late 16th cen� tury Brunei lost power because of the Portuguese and Dutch activities in the region; they were soon joined by the British. By the 19th century the sultanate of Brunei included Sarawak (including present-day Brunei) and part of North Borneo (now part of Sabah). In 1841 a revolt took place against the sultan, and a British soldier, James Brooke, helped put it down; he was later proclaimed governor (see Brooke Raj). In 1847 the sultanate entered into a treaty with Great Britain, and by 1906 it had yielded all administration to a British resident. Brunei rejected membership in the Federation of Malaysia in 1963, negotiated a new treaty with Britain in 1979, and achieved independence in 1984, with membership in the Com� monwealth. Brunei has pursued ways to diversify the economy, notably by encouraging tourism.

Brunei See Bandar Seri Begawan

Brunei \bru-'nel\, Isambard Kingdom (b. April 9, 1806, Ports� mouth, Hampshire, Eng.�d. Sept. 15, 1859, London) British civil and mechanical engineer. He was the son of M arc Brunel. His introduction of the broad-gauge railway, with rails 7 ft (2 m) apart, made possible high

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speeds and provided a great stimulus to railroad progress. He was respon� sible for building more than 1,000 mi (1,600 km) of railway in Britain and also oversaw construction of railway lines in Italy, Australia, and India. His use of a compressed-air caisson to sink bridge pier foundations helped gain acceptance of compressed-air techniques in underwater and underground construction. Brunei made outstanding contributions to marine engineering with three steamships�the Great Western, the Great Britain, and the Great Eastern �each the largest in the world at date of launching. The Great Western instituted the first regular transatlantic ser� vice, and Great Eastern laid the first successful transatlantic cable.

Brunei, Sir Marc (Isambard) (b. April 25, 1769, Hacqueville, France�d. Dec. 12, 1849, London, Eng.) French-born British engineer and inventor. He perfected a method for making ships� blocks (pulleys) by mechanical means rather than by hand; the system of 43 machines, run by 10 men, produced blocks superior in quality and consistency to those previously handmade by more than 100 men. This installation was an early example of completely mechanized production (see mechanization). In 1818 he patented the tunneling shield, a device that made safe tunnel� ing through water-bearing strata possible. In 1825 operations began for building the Brunei-designed tunnel under the River Thames, an unprec� edented feat completed in 1842. He was the father of I.K. Brunel.

Brunelleschi V.bru-mT-'es-keV, Filippo (b. 1377, Florence [Italy]�d. April 15, 1446, Florence) Florentine architect and engineer. Trained as a sculptor and goldsmith, he turned his attention to architecture after failing to win a competition for the bronze doors of the Baptistery of Florence, having tied with Lorenzo Ghiberti. He worked out the laws of linear per� spective (later codified by Leon Bat� tista Alberti). By the early 1420s Brunelleschi was Florence�s most prominent architect. His major work, the octagonal dome of the cathedral (1420-36), was constructed with the aid of machines of his own inven� tion. The Medici family commis� sioned him to design the (old) sacristy and basilica of San Lorenzo (begun 1421), considered keystones of the early Renaissance; he adhered to the conventional format while adding his own interpretation of antique designs for capitals, friezes, pilasters, and columns. His later monumental works foreshadowed the strong profiles and massive grandeur of the work of Alberti and Donato Bramante.

Brunhild Vbrun-.hildX (b. c. 534�d. 613, Reneve, Burgundy) Queen of the Frankish kingdom of Austrasia. Daughter of a king of the Visigoths, she married the Austrasian king Sigebert I in 567. One of the most force� ful monarchs of the Merovingians, she urged Sigebert to reclaim her mur� dered sister�s lands from Chilperic I. When her husband was assassinated in 575, Brunhild was imprisoned at Rouen. She later took refuge at Metz, where her son Childebert II had been proclaimed king, and she struggled to establish her authority over her son and the reluctant Austrasian mag� nates. After Childebert�s death she continued to influence affairs and impose her will on her grandsons. After a long career she fell into the hands of her enemies, including the founders of the Carolingian family; she was tortured and then dragged to death by a horse.

Brunhild or Brunhilda or Brynhild Beautiful Amazon-like heroine of ancient Germanic literature. She is known from Old Norse sources, notably the Edda poems and the Vqlsunga saga, and from the German Nibelungenlied. She also appears in the operas of Richard Wagner�s Ring cycle. She vowed to wed only a man of the most outstanding qualities who could surpass her in strength. She was successfully wooed by King Gunther, who defeated her in a contest in which the deeds were actually performed by Siegfried in cloak of invisibility. When she later discovered that she had been deceived, she exacted vengeance, and Siegfried was killed. Siegfried�s widow in turn sought revenge and brought about the destruction of Gunther�s people, the Burgundians. In some Norse sources, Brunhild has supernatural qualities and is described as a Valkyrie.

Bruning Vbrui-niqV Heinrich (b. Nov. 26, 1885, Munster, Ger.�d. March 30, 1970, Norwich, Vt., U.S.) German politician. Elected to the Reichstag in 1924, he became noted as a financial expert. Leader of the Catholic Centre Party from 1929, he became chancellor of Germany in 1930. In response to the Great Depression, he instituted harsh austerity measures that paralyzed the German economy. He ignored the Reichstag and governed by presidential decree, which hastened the drift toward rightist dictatorship and Adolf Hitler�s rise to power. Forced to resign in 1932, he left Germany in 1934 and eventually moved to the U.S., where he taught at Harvard University (1937-52).

Brunn See Brno

Brunner Vbrun-orV (Heinrich) Emil (b. Dec. 23, 1889, Winterthur, Switz.�d. April 6, 1966, Zurich) Swiss Reformed theologian. After serv� ing as a pastor at Obstalden (1916-24), he taught for many years at the University of Zurich (1924-53); he lectured widely during this time and was a delegate to the founding session of the World Council of Churches in 1948. His theology was influenced by Martin Buber�s view of the rela� tionship between God and man. Like Karl Barth, he rejected 19th-century liberal theology in favour of reaffirming the central tenets of the Refor� mation, but his assertion that God was revealed in creation led to a dis� pute with Barth. His works include The Theology of Crisis (1929), Man in Revolt (1937), and Justice and the Social Order (1945).

Bruno of Querfurt \'kfer- I furt\ / Saint or Saint Boniface of Querfurt (b. c. 974, Querfurt, Saxony�d. March 14, 1009, near Braun- sberg, Prussia; feast day June 19) Missionary and martyr. A member of a noble family, he was attached to the clerical household of the emperor Otto III. After the martyrdom of St. Adalbert (997), Bruno entered a mon� astery, taking the name Boniface, and continued Adalbert�s work in Chris� tianizing the pagan Prussians. The members of a mission he sent to Poland, including Saints Benedict and John, were killed en route; Bruno wrote biographies of both saints, as well as an acclaimed biography of Adalbert. As archbishop, Bruno visited the rulers of Germany, Hungary, and Ukraine, seeking aid. He temporarily converted the pagan Pechenegs. He was killed on his way to his Prussian mission.

Bruno, Giordano orig. Filippo Bruno (b. 1548, Nola, near Naples�d. Feb. 17, 1600, Rome) Italian philosopher, astronomer, math� ematician, and occultist. He entered a Dominican convent in 1565 and was ordained a priest in 1572. He abandoned the order in 1576 after being accused of heresy. He moved to Geneva in 1578 and thereafter traveled Europe as a lecturer and teacher. Rejecting the traditional geocentric astronomy for a theory even more radical than that of Copernicus, he hypothesized an infinite universe and multiple worlds. His cosmological theories, which anticipated fundamental aspects of the modern concep� tion of the universe, led to his excommunication by the Roman Catholic, Calvinist, and Lutheran churches. In 1592 he was arrested and tried by the Venetian Inquisition, which extradited him to the Roman Inquisition in the following year. After a seven-year trial, he was burned at the stake. His ethical ideas have appealed to modem humanists, and his ideal of religious and philosophical tolerance has influenced liberal thinkers. His most important works are On the Infinite Universe and Worlds (1584) and The Expulsion of the Triumphant Beast (1584).

Brusa See Bursa

Brusilov \bru-'sye-lof\, Aleksey (Alekseyevich) (b. Aug. 31, 1853, Tiflis, Russia�d. March 17, 1926, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.) Rus� sian general. He distinguished himself in the Russo-Turkish War (1877� 78) and was promoted to general in 1906. In World War I he led the Russian campaign in Galicia (1914) and was most famous as commander of the �Brusilov breakthrough� on the Eastern Front against Austria- Hungary (1916), inflicting losses that forced Germany to divert troops from the Battle of Verdun against France on the Western Front. He later served in the Bolshevik government as a military consultant (1920-24).

Brussels French Bruxelles \bruj-'sel, briek-'selV Flemish Brussel VbriE-solX City (pop., 2000 est.: 133,900), capital of Belgium. Part of the Brussels Capital Region (pop., 2000 est.: 959,300), one of the three regions into which Belgium is divided, it lies on the Senne River, a tribu� tary of the Schelde. The village began on an island in the Senne and ulti� mately became a holding of the dukes of Brabant. In 1530 it became the capital of the Netherlands, which was then under Habsburg control. Part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands from 1815, it became a centre of Bel-

Interior of Santo Spirito, Florence, designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, begun 1436

AUNARI-ART RESOURCE/EB INC.

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286 I Brussels sprout ► bryozoan

gian rebellion in 1830 and then the capital of Belgium. An important industrial and commercial city, it is the headquarters of both NATO and the European Union.

Brussels sprout Small CABBAGE-related plant (Brassica oleracea, Gem- mifera group). A member of the mustard family, Brussels sprouts are widely grown in Europe and the U.S. In early stages of growth, the plant closely resembles the common cabbage, but the main stem grows to a height of 2-3 ft (60-90 cm) and the axillary buds along the stem develop into small heads (sprouts) similar to heads of cabbage but measuring only 1-1.6 in. (25-40 mm) in diameter. The plant requires a mild, cool climate and is harmed by hot weather. Highly nutritious, Brussels sprouts are a particu� larly good source of vitamins A and C.

Brussels Treaty (1948) Agreement signed by Britain, France, Bel� gium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, creating a collective-defense alliance. It led to the formation of NATO and the Western European Union. A goal of the treaty was to show that Western European states could cooperate, thus encouraging the U.S. to play a role in the security of Western Europe.

Brutalism or New Brutalism Term coined (1953) to describe Le Corbusier�s use of monumental, sculptural shapes and raw, unfinished molded concrete, an approach that represented a departure from Interna� tional Style. New Brutalist architects displayed a willful avoidance of pol� ish and elegance in their buildings, exposing such structural elements as steel beams and precast concrete slabs to convey a stark, austere rectilin- earity. See also Louis Kahn, James Stirling.

Brutus, Marcus Junius or Quintus Caepio Brutus (b. 85�d.

42 bc, near Philippi, Macedonia)

Roman politician, leader of the con� spirators who assassinated Julius Caesar in 44 bc. He joined Pompey�s army against Caesar in the civil war (49) but was pardoned by Caesar after Pompey�s death. He joined the plot to murder Caesar out of his desire to restore the Roman republic.

After Caesar�s death, he and Gaius Cassius formed an army in Mace� donia; Brutus defeated the Caesari� ans under Octavian (Augustus) in the first engagement of the Battle of Phil� ippi, but Mark Antony and Octavian crushed his army in a second encounter. Realizing the republican cause was lost, Brutus committed suicide.

Bruyere, Jean de La See Jean de La Bruyere

Bryan, William Jennings (b.

March 19, 1860, Salem, Ill.,

U.S.�d. July 26, 1925, Dayton, Tenn.) U.S. politician and orator. He practiced law at Jacksonville, Ill. (1883-87), before moving to Lin� coln, Neb., where he was elected to the U.S. Congress in 1890. In the U.S. House of Representatives (1891-95), he became the national leader of the Free Silver Movement; he advocated its aims in his �Cross of Gold� speech, which won him the Democratic Party nomination for president in 1896. He was the party�s nominee again in 1900 and 1908. In 1901 he founded a newspaper, The Commoner, and thereafter lectured widely to admiring audiences; he was called �the Great Commoner.� He helped secure the presidential nomination for Woodrow Wilson in 1912 and served as his secretary of state (1913-15), contributing to

Marcus Brutus, marble bust; in the Capitoline Museum, Rome

AUNARI-ART RESOURCE

William Jennings Bryan, c. 1908.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON, D.C.

world law by espousing arbitration to prevent war. A believer in a literal interpretation of the Bible, he was a prosecuting attorney in the Scopes trial (1925), in which he debated Clarence Darrow on the issue of evolution; the trial took a heavy toll on his health, and he died soon after it ended.

Bryant, Bear orig. Paul William Bryant (b. Sept. 11, 1913, Kingsland, Aik., U.S.�d. Jan. 26, 1983, Tuscaloosa, Ala.) U.S. collegiate football coach. He was an all-state tackle in high school and went on to play blocking end at the University of Alabama (1932-36). As head coach at the University of Kentucky (1946-53), his team won 60 games, lost 23, and tied 5. After coaching at Texas A&M University (1954-57), he returned to Alabama (1957-82). His Alabama coaching record of 323 wins, 85 losses, and 17 ties broke Amos Alonzo Stagg�s long-standing coaching record for games won; in 1985 it was broken by Eddie Robin� son of Grambling State. In all, he took Alabama to 28 bowl games and six national championships.

Bryant, William Cullen (b. Nov. 3, 1794, Cummington, Mass., U.S.�d. June 12, 1878, New York,

N.Y.) U.S. poet. At age 17 Bryant wrote �Thanatopsis,� a meditation on nature and death that remains his best-known poem; influenced by deism, it in turn influenced Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Tho- reau. Admitted to the bar at age 21, he spent nearly 10 years as an attor� ney, a profession he hated. His Poems (1821), including �To a Waterfowl,� secured his reputation.

In 1825 he moved to New York City, where for almost 50 years (1829-78) he was editor in chief of the Evening Post, which he transformed into an organ of progressive thought.

Bryce Canyon National Park

Park, southern Utah, U.S. It is not a true canyon but rather a series of natural amphitheatres below which courtesy of the Brooklyn museum, new vork stands an array of limestone and

sandstone columns. Its geology is related to that of Grand Canyon and Zion national parks, since the stone of all three was formed while the entire region was under a shallow sea. The park, established in 1928, covers 35,835 acres (14,513 hectares).

William Cullen Bryant, detail of an oil painting by Daniel Huntington, 1866; in the Brooklyn Museum collection.

Bryn Mawr Vbrin-'morX College Private women�s liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pa., near Philadelphia. Though founded in 1885 by a group of Quakers, it has long operated on a nondenominational basis. It offers a range of undergraduate and graduate programs in the arts and sciences, social research, and social work. It enjoys an academic exchange with nearby Haverford and Swarthmore colleges and the University of Penn� sylvania.

Brynhild See Brunhild

bryophyte \'brI-3-,fit\ Any of the green, seedless land plants that make up the division Bryophyta, numbering at least 18,000 species and divided into three classes: Mosses, liverworts, and hornworts. They are distin� guished from vascular plants and seed plants by the production of only one SPORE-containing organ in their spore-producing stage. Most bryophytes are 0.8-2 in. (2-5 cm) tall or, if reclining, generally less than 12 in. (30 cm) long. Found throughout the world, from polar regions to the tropics, they are most abundant in humid environments, though none is marine. Bryophytes are extremely tolerant of dry and freezing conditions. Peat moss is economically important to humans in horticulture and as an energy source. Some bryophytes are used ornamentally, as in moss gardens. In nature, bryophytes initiate soil formation on barren terrain and maintain soil moisture, and they recycle nutrients in forest ecosystems. They are found on rocks, logs, and forest litter.

bryozoan V.bri-o-'zo-onV Aquatic invertebrate of the phylum Bryozoa (�moss animals�), members (called zooids) of which form colonies. Each zooid is a complete and fully organized animal. Species range in size from a one-zooid �colony� small enough (less than 0.04 in., or 1 mm, long) to live between sand particles to colonies that hang in clumps or chains as much as a 1.6 ft (0.5 m) across. The texture of colonies varies from soft

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and gelatinous to hard with calcium-containing skeletons. Freshwater bry- ozoans attach primarily to leaves, stems, and tree roots in shallow water. Marine bryozoans have a wide range of habitats, from coastal areas to great ocean depths, but are most common just below the tidemarks. Bry� ozoans feed by capturing plankton with their tentacles.

brytenwalda See bretwalda BSE See mad cow disease

bubble chamber Subatomic-particle detector that uses a superheated liquid which boils into tiny bubbles of vapour along the tracks of the par� ticles. As charged particles move through the liquid, they knock electrons from the atoms of the liquid, creating ions. If the liquid is close to its boiling point, the first bubbles form around these ions. The observable tracks can be photographed and analyzed to measure the behaviour of the charged particles. Developed in 1952 by Donald Glaser, the bubble cham� ber proved very useful in the 1960s and �70s for the study of high-energy nuclear and particle physics.

Buber Vbii-boA, Martin (b. Feb. 8, 1878, Vienna, Austria-Hungary�d. June 13, 1965, Jerusalem) German Jewish religious philosopher and biblical translator. Brought up in Lemberg (now Lviv, Ukraine), he studied in Vienna, Berlin, Leipzig, and Zurich. Friedrich Nietzsche�s heroic nihilism led Buber, a nonob� servant Jew, to Zionism. He advo� cated Jewish-Arab cooperation in Palestine and saw Hasidism as a heal� ing power for the malaise of modern Judaism. Under Nazi pressure, he emigrated to Palestine in 1938, and he taught at Hebrew University until 1951. I and Thou (1923) expresses Buber�s belief that the human (I) encounters God (Thou) as a distinct being, rather than merging in mysti� cal union. The Bible was for Buber derived from the encounter between God and his people, but he rejected many of the Talmud�s laws as emerging from a relationship in which God was objectified rather than truly addressed.

Bubka Vbub-koN, Sergey (b. Dec. 14, 1963, Voroshilovgrad, Ukr., U.S.S.R.) Ukrainian pole-vaulter. He first cleared 6 m (19 ft 8 in.), long considered impossible, in Paris in 1985. In 1991 he cleared 6.1 m (20 ft), and he remains the only pole-vaulter to have done so. He won an Olym� pic gold medal in 1988 but failed to place at the 1992 Olympic Games. In 1994, at Sestriere, Italy, he vaulted a record 6.14 m (20 ft 1.75 in.) for his 17th outdoor record and his 35th overall.

buccaneer Any of the British, French, or Dutch sea adventurers who chiefly haunted the Caribbean and the Pacific seaboard of South America during the latter part of the 17th century, preying on Spanish settlements and shipping. Though inspired by such privateers as Englishman Francis Drake, the buccaneers were not legitimate privateers (the commissions they held were seldom valid), but neither were they the outlawed pirates who flourished in the 18th century. Usually escaped servants, former sol� diers, or loggers, they ran their ships democratically, divided plunder equitably, and even provided a form of accident insurance. They influ� enced the founding of the South Sea Co., and stories of their adventures inspired more serious voyages of exploration as well as the tales of writ� ers Jonathan Swift, Daniel Defoe, and Robert Louis Stevenson.

Buchanan \byu-'ka-n3n\, George (b. February 1506, Killeam, Stirlingshire, Scot.�d. Sept. 29, 1582, Edinburgh) Scottish humanist, scholar, and educator. As a teacher of Latin in Paris, Buchanan wrote bit� ter attacks on the Franciscans that landed him in jail for heresy. He escaped and became a teacher in Bordeaux, where Michel de Montaigne was one of his pupils. There he translated two of Euripides� plays into Latin and wrote original dramas. His paraphrase of the Psalms was long used for Latin instruction. At first a supporter of Mary, Queen of Scots, he later helped prepare the case that led to her execution. In De jure regni apud Scotos (1579), he argued for limited monarchy; Rerum Scotiacarum his- toria (1582) traces Scotland�s history.

Buchanan \byu-'ka-n9n\, James (b. April 23, 1791, near Mercers- burg, Pa., U.S.�d. June 1, 1868, near Lancaster) 15th president of the U.S. (1857-61). He was admitted to the bar in 1812 and soon established a successful law practice. He was elected to the Pennsylvania legisla� ture in 1814 and later served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1821-31), as minister to Russia (1832-34), and in the U.S. Senate (1834-45). He was secretary of state in the cabinet of Pres. James K. Polk (1845-49). As minister to Britain (1853-56), he helped draft the Ostend Manifesto. In 1856 he was elected president as a Democrat, defeating John C. Fremont. Although experienced in government and law, he lacked the courage to deal effec� tively with the slavery crisis, and he equivocated on the question of Kan� sas�s status as a slaveholding state. The ensuing split within his party allowed Abraham Lincoln to win the election of 1860. He denounced the secession of South Carolina following the election and sent reinforce� ments to Fort Sumter but failed to respond further to the mounting crisis. He was the only president never to have married.

Bucharest Vbu-ko-.restV Romanian Bucuresti \,bu-ku-'resht y \ City (pop., 1997: 2,057,512), capital of Romania. Excavations have revealed evidence of prehistoric settlement. The site gained importance when the rulers of Walachia moved there in the 14th century. Vlad III built a for� tress there in the 15th century to ward off invading Turks; they eventu� ally took it and made it their Ottoman Walachian capital in 1659. In the 19th century civic unrest helped force the union of Walachia and Mold� avia, and Bucharest became the capital of the new Romanian state in 1862. Occupied by the Soviet army after World War II, it came under commu� nist control. During the 1980s it was the scene of political demonstrations against the government of Nicolae Ceau$escu that resulted in his overthrow and execution.

Bucharest, Treaty of (May 7, 1918) Settlement forced on Romania after it had been defeated by the Central Powers in World War I. Roma� nia was required to return southern Dobruja to Bulgaria, give Austria- Hungary control of the passes in the Carpathian Mtns., and lease its oil wells to Germany for 90 years. When the Central Powers collapsed in November 1918, the treaty was nullified.

Buchenwald Vbii-kon-.valtX One of the first and biggest of the German Nazi concentration camps, established in 1937 near Weimar. In World War II it held about 20,000 prisoners, most of whom worked as slave laborers in nearby factories. Though there were no gas chambers, many perished through disease, malnutrition, exhaustion, beatings, and executions. Inmates were used to test the effects of viral infections and vaccines. The commandant�s wife was the infamously sadistic lisa Koch (19067-1967), the �Witch of Buchenwald.� See also Holocaust.

Buchner \'bmk-nor\, Georg (b. Oct. 17, 1813, Goddelau, Hesse- Darmstadt�d. Feb. 19, 1837, Zurich, Switz.) German dramatist. As a medical student, he became involved in revolutionary politics and was forced to flee to Zurich. There he wrote plays marked by vivid imagina� tion and unconventional structure, combining extreme naturalism with visionary power; he is regarded as a forerunner of the Expressionist move� ment. His first play, Danton�s Death (1835), a drama of the French Revo� lution, was followed by Leonce and Lena (1836), a satire on the illusions of Romanticism. His last play, Woyzeck (1836), anticipated the social drama of the 1890s with its compassion for the poor and oppressed; it became the basis of a famous opera by Alban Berg.

Buchner Vbiik-narV Hans (b. Dec. 16, 1850, Munich, Bavaria�d. April 5, 1902, Munich, Ger.) German bacteriologist. He served as a phy� sician in the Bavarian army in the 1870s and taught at the University of Munich from 1880 until his death. Buchner was one of the first to note that a substance in blood serum could destroy bacteria. He named the substance alexin; now known as complement, it consists of proteins called gamma globulins and is of great importance in immunology.

James Buchanan, photograph by Mathew Brady.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON, D.C.

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288 I Buchwald ► Buddha

Buchwald Vbuk-.woldX, Art(hur) (b. Oct. 20, 1925, Mt. Vernon, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. humour writer and columnist. Buchwald moved to Paris in 1948. His popular original column�reviews of the city�s nightlife for the International Herald Tribune �increasingly included offbeat spoofs and candid comments from celebrities. After moving in 1961 to Washington, D.C., he began poking fun at issues in the news, soon becoming estab� lished as one of the sharpest satirists of American politics and modem life. His widely syndicated work won a Pulitzer Prize in 1982. His books include numerous collections of columns and the memoir I�ll Always Have Paris (1996).

Buck, Pearl orig. Pearl Sydenstricker (b. June 26, 1892, Hills� boro, W.Va., U.S.�d. March 6, 1973, Danby, Vt.) U.S. author. Buck was reared in China by her missionary parents and later taught in a Chinese university. Her first book to reach a wide audience was The Good Earth (1931, Pulitzer Prize), describing the struggles of a Chinese peasant and his slave wife. Sons (1932) and A House Divided (1935) followed; the trilogy was published as The House of Earth (1935). Among her later works are short stories, novels (including five under the pseudonym John Sedges), and an autobiography. She received the Nobel Prize for Litera� ture in 1938.

buckeye Any of about 13 trees and shrubs of the genus Aesculus (fam� ily Hippocastanaceae), native to North America, southeastern Europe, and eastern Asia. The name refers to the resemblance of the nut, which has a pale patch on a shiny red ground, to the eye of a deer. Buckeyes are val� ued as ornamental trees for their handsome candelabra-like flower clus� ters. Both the young foliage and the nuts are poisonous. Among the most notable is the Ohio buckeye (A. glabra ), also called fetid buckeye and American horse chestnut, with twigs and leaves that yield an unpleasant odour when crushed. The sweet, or yellow, buckeye (A. flava , or A. octan- dra) is the largest buckeye, up to 89 ft (27 m) tall, and is naturally abun� dant in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, U.S.

Buckingham Palace London residence of the British sovereign. It takes its name from the house built there early in the 18th century for the dukes of Buckingham. Victoria was the first sovereign to live there. John Nash began the reconstruction of Buckingham House as a Neoclassical palace in 1821, but was not allowed to finish. His garden front remains virtually unchanged, but the Mall front was redesigned in 1913 by Sir Aston Webb (1849-1930) as a background for the Queen Victoria Memo� rial statue.

Buckingham Vbok-iq-omV, 1 st duke of orig. George Villiers (b.

Aug. 28, 1592, Brooksby, Leicestershire, Eng.�d. Aug. 23, 1628, Ports� mouth, Hampshire) English courtier and politician. Charming and hand� some, he quickly became a royal favourite of James I and the future Charles I. He became lord high admiral in 1619 and was created a duke in 1623, but his arrogance and abuse of power made him highly unpopular. His erratic foreign policy led to a series of disasters, including failed military expeditions to Spain and France. A bill to impeach him was introduced in Parliament in 1626, prompting Charles to dissolve Parliament. When Buckingham was assassinated by a naval lieutenant, Londoners rejoiced.

Buckingham, 2nd duke of orig. George Villiers (b. Jan. 30, 1628, London, Eng.�d. April 16, 1687, Kirkby Moorside, Yorkshire) English politician. Born eight months before the assassination of his father, the 1st duke of Buckingham, he was brought up with the family of Charles I. He fought for Charles II in the English Civil Wars, and after the Restoration in 1660 Buckingham became a leading member of the king�s inner circle of ministers, known as the Cabal. Parliament had him dis� missed from his posts for alleged Catholic sympathies in 1674.

Buckinghamshire Vbo-kiq-om-.shhA Administrative (pop., 2001: 479,028), geographic, and historic county, southern England. It is bor� dered by the River Thames, London, and the River Ouse valley in the north; its county seat is at Aylesbury. It was affected by each phase of English settlement, from the Neolithic to the Saxon. Under Saxon rule, as part of the kingdom of Mercia, it resisted Danish invasion and became prosper� ous. Before the 20th century it was a rural area, but the modem growth of London and the expansion of transportation links with it have brought population growth.

Buckley, William F(rank), Jr. (b. Nov. 24, 1925, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. writer and editor. He attended Yale University, where he was chairman of the Yale Daily News. In 1955 founded the National Review, as editor in chief, he used the journal as a forum for his conservative

views. His column �On the Right� was syndicated in 1962 and eventu� ally appeared in more than 200 newspapers. From 1966 he hosted Firing Line, a weekly television interview program in which he often employed his wit and debating skills against ideological opponents. His books include God and Man at Yale (1951), Rumbles Left and Right (1963), and a series of spy novels.

buckling Mode of failure under compression of a structural component that is thin (see shell structure) or much longer than wide (e.g., post, col� umn, leg bone). Leonhard Euler first worked out in 1757 the theory of why such members buckle. The definition by Thomas Young of the elastic modu� lus significantly propelled building construction science forward. The elastic theory formed the basis of structural analysis until World War II, when the behaviour of bomb-damaged buildings forced the modification of some of the theory�s underlying assumptions. See also post-and-beam SYSTEM.

buckminsterfullerene See fullerene

Buckner, Simon Bolivar (b. April 1, 1823, near Munfordville, Ky., U.S.�d. Jan. 8, 1914, near Munfordville) U.S. and Confederate military leader. He graduated from West Point and served in the Mexican War. In the American Civil War he established the Kentucky militia and became a Confederate general. Ordered to reinforce Fort Donelson, Tenn. (1862), he found the situation hopeless and unconditionally surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant. After his release in a prisoner exchange, he served the Confed� eracy in many capacities. He was later governor of Kentucky (1887-91).

buckwheat Either of two species (. Fagopyrum esculentum, or sagit- tatum, and F. tataricum ) of herbaceous plants and their edible, triangular seeds, used as a cereal grain though the plant is not a cereal grass. It is less productive than other grain crops on good soils but is particularly adapted to arid, hilly land and cool climates. Because it matures quickly, it can be grown as a late-season crop. It improves conditions for the cul� tivation of other crops by smothering weeds and may be planted as a green-manure crop. Buckwheat is often used as a feed for poultry and other livestock. It is high in carbohydrates and is about 11% protein and 2% fat. The hulled kernels, or groats, can be cooked and served much like rice. Buckwheat flour is unsatisfactory for bread but is used to make pan� cakes (�buckwheat cakes�).

buckyball See fullerene

bud Small lateral or terminal protuberance on the stem of a vascular plant that may develop into a flower, leaf, or shoot. Buds arise from meristem tissue. In temperate climates, trees form resting buds that are resistant to frost in preparation for winter. Flower buds are modified leaves.

Budapest Vbii-do-.pesA City (pop., 2001: 1,775,203), capital of Hun� gary. Situated on the Danube River, it acquired its name in 1873 when the towns of Buda and Obuda on the river�s right bank and the town of Pest on its left bank amalgamated. Inhabited from Neolithic times, Buda was the site of a Roman camp in the 2nd century ad. By the 13th century both Buda and Pest had German inhabitants. Buda was fortified by Matthias I Corvinus in the 15th century and became the capital of Hungary. It was taken and held by the Turks (1541-1686), then retaken by Charles V, duke of Lorraine. In 1848-49 both towns experienced nationalistic revolt, and Pest became the capital of Kossuth Lajos�s revolutionary government. It became the centre of revolt for Hungarian independence in 1918. After World War II, it came under communist control. It was the base of an unsuccessful anticommunist uprising in 1956 (see Hungarian Revolution). Anticommunist unrest there in the 1980s led to the declaration of the Hungarian republic in 1989. Budapest is a vital Hungarian transport cen� tre; its economy includes heavy industry and manufactures from telecom� munications and electronics.

Buddha Vbii-doX orig. Siddhartha Gautama (fl. c. 6th-4th cen� tury, b. Kapilavastu, Shakya republic, Kosala kingdom�d. Kusinara, Mafia republic, Magadha kingdom) Indian spiritual leader and founder of Buddhism. The term buddha (Sanskrit: �enlightened one�) is a title rather than a name, and Buddhists believe that there are an infinite number of past and future buddhas. The historical Buddha, referred to as the Bud� dha Gautama or simply as the Buddha, was bom a prince of the Shak- yas, on the India-Nepal border. He is said to have lived a sheltered fife of luxury that was interrupted when he left the palace and encountered an old man, a sick man, and a corpse. Renouncing his princely life, he spent seven years seeking out teachers and trying various ascetic prac� tices, including fasting, to gain enlightenment. Unsatisfied with the

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results, he meditated beneath the bodhi tree, where, after temptations by Mara, he realized the Four Noble Truths and achieved enlightenment. At Sarnath he preached his first sermon to his companions, outlining the Eightfold Path, which offered a middle way between self-indulgence and self-mortification and led to the liberation of nirvana. The five ascetics who heard this sermon became his first disciples and were admitted as bhiksus (monks) into the sangha, or Buddhist order. His mission fulfilled, the Buddha died after eating poisonous mushrooms served him by acci� dent and escaped the cycle of rebirth; his body was cremated, and stupas were built over his relics.

Buddhism Major world religion and philosophy founded in northeast� ern India in the 5th century bce. Based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, called the Buddha, Buddhism takes as its goal the escape from suffering and from the cycle of rebirth: the attainment of nirvana. It emphasizes meditation and the observance of certain moral precepts. The Buddha�s teachings were transmitted orally by his disciples; during his lifetime he established the Buddhist monastic order (sangha). He adopted some ideas from the Hinduism of his time, notably the doctrine of karma, but also rejected many of its doctrines and all of its gods. In India, the emperor Ashoka promoted Buddhism during the 3rd century bc, but it declined in succeeding centuries and was nearly extinct there by the 13th century. It spread south and flourished in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, and it moved through Central Asia and Tibet (see Tibetan Buddhism) to China, Korea, and Japan (see Pure Land Buddhism; Zen). In the 19th cen� tury, Buddhism spread to Europe and the United States, and it became increasingly popular in the West in the second half of the 20th century. Buddhism�s main teachings are summarized in the Four Noble Truths, of which the fourth is the Eightfold Path. Buddhism�s two major branches, Mahayana and Theravada, have developed distinctive practices and unique collections of canonical texts. In the early 21st century, the various tra� ditions of Buddhism together had more than 375 million followers.

Buddhist councils In most Buddhist traditions, two early councils on doctrine and practice. The first, which most modern scholars do not accept as historical, was reputedly held at Rajagrha (modern Rajgir), India, dur� ing the first rainy season after the Buddha�s death, to compile his remem� bered words, including the sutras and monastic rules. The second, which is accepted as historical, met more than a century later at Vaisali, India, to resolve disputes within the monastic community. Theravada Buddhism recognizes subsequent councils: a third, called by Ashoka c. ad 247, at which the doctrinal disputes were resolved in its favor, and others con� tinuing up to the mid-20th century. Other Buddhist traditions recognize other important councils at which their respective canons were established or edited.

budding bacteria Group of bacteria that reproduce by budding. Each bacterium divides following unequal cell growth; the mother cell is retained, and a new daughter cell forms. In budding, the cell wall grows from one point on the cell rather than throughout the cell; this type of growth permits the development of more complex structures and pro� cesses. Most budding bacteria are aquatic and can attach to surfaces by their stalks; some are free-floating.

buddleia Vbod-le-oV or butterfly bush Any of more than 100 spe� cies of plants constituting the genus Buddleia , native to tropical and sub� tropical areas of the world. The genus was formerly included in the family Loganiaceae (order Gentianales) but is now placed in the family Buddle- jaceae (order Scrophulariales), which includes about 10 genera and more than 150 species. Most species of Buddleia have hairy or scaly leaves and clusters of purple, white, yellow, or orange flowers. Several species are cultivated as garden ornamentals.

Budenny \bu-'dy6-ne\, Semyon (Mikhaylovich) (b. April 13, 1883, Kozyurin, near Rostov-na-Donu, Russia�d. Oct. 17, 1973, Mos� cow, Russia, U.S.S.R.) Russian army officer. In 1919 he joined the Com� munist Party and, as commander of the 1st Cavalry Army in the Russian Civil War, he played a crucial role in defeating the White (anti-Bolshevik) generals Anton Denikin and Pyotr Wrangel and in fighting the Poles (1920). He later became a marshal of the Soviet Union and was com� mander of Moscow�s military district.

Budge, (John) Don(ald) (b. June 13, 1915, Oakland, Calif., U.S.�d. Jan. 26, 2000, Scranton, Pa.) U.S. tennis player. He won his very first tournament, the California Boys State Singles title (1930). In 1936 he became the first lawn-tennis player to win the grand-slam (the Australian, French, British, and U.S. singles championships). At Wimbledon in both

1937 and 1938, he won not only the singles but also the men�s doubles and mixed doubles. Representing the U.S. four times in the Davis Cup competition (1935-38), he won 25 of 29 matches. He turned professional in 1939. He is noted for having developed the backhand into an offen� sive stroke.

Buell \'byul\, Don Carlos (b. March 23, 1818, near Marietta, Ohio, U.S.�d. Nov. 19, 1898, Rockport, Ky.) U.S. general. A graduate of West Point, he was appointed general of volunteers at the start of the Ameri� can Civil War, and he helped organize the Union�s Army of the Potomac. He was sent to Kentucky to succeed William T. Sherman and to organize the Army of the Ohio. In 1862 he was Union commander in the Kentucky campaign against Confederate forces under Braxton Bragg. Following the Battle of Perry ville, he was removed from his command for alleged tar� diness in his pursuit of Confederate forces.

Buena Vista \,bwa-na-'ves-ta. Battle of Battle fought in 1847 near Monterrey, Mexico, in the Mexican War. A U.S. force of 5,000 com� manded by Gen. Zachary Taylor and assisted by Jefferson Davis invaded northern Mexico and engaged a Mexican force of 14,000 under Gen. Antonio Santa Anna. The U.S. forces repulsed the Mexican attack, and the Mexicans retreated with 1,500 casualties. Taylor�s victory helped him win the 1848 U.S. presidential election.

Buenos Aires \,bwa-n3s-'ar-ez,\ Spanish \,bwa-nos-'I-ras\ City (pop., 2001: city, 2,776,138; metro, area, 12,046,799), capital of Argentina. Located on an estuary of the Rio de la Plata in east-central Argentina, about 150 mi (240 km) from the Atlantic Ocean, it is nevertheless a major port. First colonized by the Spanish in 1536, it was not permanently settled until 1580. It became the seat of the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata in 1776. In 1853 the city and the surrounding area that made up the prov� ince of Buenos Aires refused to recognize a new constitution approved by the country�s other provinces and began fighting with them intermit� tently over control of the Argentine government. After being made a fed� eral district and Argentina�s capital, it settled its wars with the other provinces (1880) and by World War I (1914-18) had become a thriving port. The country�s largest and most influential city, it is an important industrial and transportation centre.

buffalo Any member of several bovid species, including the massive water buffalo and Cape buffalo. The name is often applied to the Ameri� can bison. The anoa (Anoa depressicornis) is a tiny, dark-brown buffalo of the dense, mature forests of Sulawesi. A shy animal, it stands 2.5-3 ft (0.75-1 m) at the shoulder and has straight, sharp-tipped horns. It is hunted for food, hides, and horns. A slightly larger species, the tamarau (A. mindorensis), inhabits the Philippine island of Mindoro. Exceedingly shy and wild, its numbers have been greatly reduced.

Cape, or African, buffalo (Syncerus caffer).

MARK BOULTON-THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY COLLECTION/PHOTO RESEARCHERS

Buffalo City (pop., 2000: 292,648), western New York, U.S. Located at the northeastern point of Lake Erie on the Niagara River, it is the terminus of the New York State Barge Canal. Settled by American Indians in 1780, the site was laid out as a town at the beginning of the 19th century. It was a military post in the War of 1812 and was burned by the British. Rebuilt

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in 1814-15, it became the western terminus of the Erie Canal, which brought an economic boom to the community. A major port on the St. Lawrence Seaway and the main U.S. gateway to Ontario�s Toronto- Hamilton industrial region, it processes much of U.S.-Canadian trade. It is also an educational and medical research centre.

Buffalo Bill See William F. Cody

buffalo soldier Nickname given to members of African American cavalry regiments of the U.S. Army who served in the western U.S. (1867-96). An 1866 law authorized the army to form cavalry and infan� try regiments of African American men under the command of white officers; the result was the 9th and 10th cavalries and the 38th through 41st infantries. The primary mission of the cavalry regiments was to con� trol Indians on the western frontier (the nickname �buffalo� was given by the Indians). The soldiers took part in almost 200 engagements. Noted for their courage and discipline, they had the army�s lowest desertion and court-martial rates. One of the 10th Cavalry�s officers was John Pershing, whose nickname �Black Jack� reflected his advocacy on behalf of Afri� can American troops.

buffer Solution usually containing a weak acid and its conjugate weak base, or a salt, of such a composition that the pH is held constant within a certain range. An example is a solution containing acetic acid (CH 3 COOH) and the acetate ion (CH 3 COCT). The pH depends on their relative concentration and can be found with a simple formula involving their ratio. Relatively small additions of acid or base will change the con� centration of the two species, but their ratio, and hence the pH, will not change much. Different buffers are useful in different pH ranges; they include phosphoric acid, citric acid, and boric acid, each with their salts. Biological fluids such as blood, tears, and semen have natural buffers to maintain them at the pH required for their proper function. See also law of MASS ACTION.

Buffett, Warren (b. Aug. 30, 1930, Omaha, Neb., U.S.) U.S. busi� nessman and investor. He attended the University of Nebraska (B.S., 1950) and Columbia University (M.S., 1951), where he was influenced by professor Benjamin Graham�s approach toward value investing�that is, purchasing shares of companies whose stocks are priced below their intrinsic value. Returning to his native Omaha, he turned $105,000 of ini� tial investment in his Buffett Partnership (1956-69) into $105 million by the time of its dissolution. He then began investing in businesses, bought under the umbrella of the textile manufacturer Berkshire Hathaway. He is said to be the first person to have made $ 1 billion in the stock market. His financial reports are read eagerly by stock-market novices and experts alike for their pithy wisdom.

Buffon \btB-'f 6 n V G(eorges)-L(ouis) Leclerc, comte de (b. Sept. 7, 1707, Montbard, Fr.�d. April 16, 1788, Paris) French naturalist. He studied mathematics, medicine, and botany until a duel forced him to cut short his studies. He settled on his family�s estate, where he researched the calculus of probability, the physical sciences, and forest management. Appointed keeper of the royal botanical garden (Jardin du Roi) in 1739, he was also assigned the cataloging of the royal natural history collec� tions, an undertaking that grew into his comprehensive work Histoire naturelle, generate et particuliere (1749-1804), an attempt to account for all known flora and fauna, of which he published 36 of the proposed 50 volumes before his death. He was ennobled in 1773.

bug Coding error in a computer program that prevents it from function� ing as designed. Most software companies have a quality-assurance department which is charged with finding program bugs while the pro� gram is in development (debugging); bugs are also often detected by means of beta testing (testing of a product, often by potential consumers, before it is placed on the market). The term originated in a computer con� text in 1945 when a moth flew into and jammed an electrical relay of the Harvard Mark II computer; it was extracted and taped into the log book with the inscription �First actual case of bug being found� (the term hav� ing previously been used for other kinds of mechanical defects).

bug Commonly, any insect; scientifically, any member of the insect order Heteroptera. In scientific usage, when the word �bug� is part of the com� mon name for a member of the order Heteroptera, it is a separate word (e.g., �chinch bug�); when used as part of the common name for an organism that is not a heteropteran, it is not separated (e.g., the ladybug, in the order Coleoptera). In common usage, there are many exceptions to this convention (e.g., bedbugs are heteropterans).

Bug \'bug\ River or Western Bug River River, eastern Europe. Ris� ing in western Ukraine, it flows north along the Poland-Ukraine and Poland-Belarus borders to Brest, and turns west into Poland to the Vistula River north of Warsaw, running a total of 516 mi (830 km). It is navigable below Brest. In World War I several battles were fought along its course in 1915. About 200 mi (322 km) of its central course formed part of the Curzon Line, a demarcation line between Poland and Soviet Russia for much of the 20 th century.

bugaku \bu-'ga-ku\ Repertoire of stylized dances of the Japanese impe� rial court, derived from the traditional dance forms of China, Korea, India, and Southeast Asia. The dances are divided into two basic forms: �dances of the left� ( saho no mai), accompanied by music derived from China, with dancers wearing red costumes; and �dances of the right� ( uho samai no mai), accompanied by music introduced from Korea, with dancers wearing costumes of blue or green. The dancers wear elaborate masks of painted wood to portray fictional characters.

Buganda \bii-'gan-d 3 \ Precolonial kingdom, East Africa. Located along the northern shore of Lake Victoria in present-day Uganda, the kingdom was founded in the late 14th century by the Ganda people. Ruled by the kabaka, or king, by the 19th century Buganda was the most powerful kingdom in the area. In 1900 it became a British protectorate. The Ganda subsequently played a major role in assisting British administration in East Africa. When Uganda became independent in 1962, Buganda was accorded special federal status within the new country. Ensuing tensions with the central government led in 1967 to the kingdom�s abolition and the area�s integration into Uganda. Buganda was restored in 1993.

Bugatti \bu-'gat-te\, Ettore (Arco Isidoro) (b. Sept. 15, 1881, Milan, Italy�d. Aug. 21, 1947, Paris, France) Italian builder of racing and luxury automobiles. His factory at Mosheim, Alsace (founded 1909), produced a highly successful low-powered racer for Le Mans. His luxurious Type 41 (�Golden Bugatti� or �La Roy ale�), produced in the 1920s, was prob� ably the most meticulously built of all cars; no more than eight were con� structed. His firm did not survive long after his death.

Buginese \,b 3 g- 3 -'nez\ Culturally dominant ethnic group of Celebes (Sulawesi), Indonesia. Their trading-port city Macassar (modern Ujung Pandang) fell to the Dutch in 1667, and they emigrated to other parts of the Malay Peninsula, establishing Buginese states in Selangor and Riau. They continued to harry the Dutch and also fought with the Malays. Their conflicts with the latter cost them their supremacy in the region by 1800. Early converts to Buddhism, the Buginese were converted to Islam in the 17th century. Today they number about 3.3 million. Their village economy is based on rice cultivation and some trade between islands.

bugle Soprano brass instrument historically used for hunting and military signaling. It developed from an 18th-century semicircular German hunt� ing horn with widely expanding bore. In the 19th century the semicircle was reshaped into an oblong double loop. Natural bugles use only har� monics 2-6 (producing tones of the C triad) in their calls (�Reveille,� �Taps,� etc.). The keyed bugle, patented in 1810, has six sideholes and keys which give it a complete chromatic scale. In the 1820s valves were added to produce the flugelhorn and, in lower ranges, the baritone, eupho� nium, and saxhorns.

building code Systematic statement of a body of rules that govern and constrain the design, construction, alteration, and repair of buildings. Such codes are based on requirements for the safety, health, and quality of life of building users and neighbors, and vary from city to city. Model codes developed by states, professional societies, and trade associations� including the BOCA (Building Officials and Code Administrators) coda, National Building Code, Uniform Building Code, and Standard Building Code�are typically adopted by local communities, with amendments. New York City�s code is the oldest (1916) and, because of the city�s population density and such concerns as fire prevention, adequate light, and ventilation, the most stringent.

building construction Techniques and industry involved in the assembly and erection of structures. Early humans built primarily for shelter, using simple methods. Building materials came from the land, and fabrication was dictated by the limits of the materials and the builder�s hands. The erection sequence involved, as now, first placing a foundation (or using the ground). The builder erected the structural system; the struc� tural material (masonry, mud, or logs) served as both skeleton and enclo� sure. Traditional bearing-wall and post-and-beam systems eventually gave

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way to framed structures, and builders became adept at sealing and fire� proofing with a variety of claddings (exterior coverings) and finishes. Steel-framed buildings are usually enclosed by curtain walls. In modern- day construction, sheathing the skeleton of the building is only the begin� ning; specialists then begin the bulk of the work inside, installing plumbing, electrical wiring, HVAC (heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning), win� dows, floor coverings, plasterwork, moldings, ceramic tile, cabinets, and other features. See also architecture.

building stone See building stone

Bujumbura V.bii-jam-'bur -d\ formerly Usumbura City (pop., 2001: 346,000), capital of Burundi. Lying on the northern end of Lake Tanga� nyika, it is the country�s chief port and largest urban centre. Known as Usumbura in the 1890s when German troops occupied the area and incor� porated it into German East Africa, it was included in a Tutsi kingdom. When Burundi achieved independence in 1962, the city�s name was changed to Bujumbura. Its industry specializes in textiles and agricultural products; most of Burundi�s foreign trade is shipped between the capital and Kigoma, Tanzania.

Bukhara or Bokhara or Buxoro \bo-'ka-ra, bli-'kar-oX City (pop., 1999 est.: 237,900), west-central Uzbekistan. Lying east of the Amu Darya, it was founded in the 1st century ad and was a major trade centre when the Arabs captured it c. 710. Built up by the Samanid dynasty, it became the capital of their realm, which at its height encompassed much of south� ern Central Asia. After falling to Genghis Khan in 1220 and to Timur in 1370, it was taken by the Uzbeks, who in the 16th century made it the capital of the khanate of Bukhara. In 1868 the khanate was made a Rus� sian protectorate and in 1920 a Soviet republic. Bukhara was the capital until the republic was absorbed into the Uzbek S.S.R. in 1924. It became part of Uzbekistan on that country�s independence in 1991. Historic build� ings in the central city were designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993.

Bukhari \bu-'kar-e\, (Abu �Abd Allah Muhammad ibn IsmaTl)

al- (b. July 19, 810, Bukhara, Central Asia�d. Aug. 31, 870, Khartank, near Samarkand) Muslim compiler and scholar of HadIth. He began his study as a child in Central Asia and traveled as far as Mecca and Cairo to learn about Muhammad and his utterances. Of the 600,000 traditions he collected, he deemed 7,275 authentic and included them in Kitab al-jami 1 al-sahih (�Entirety of the Genuine�). His Kitab al-tdrikh al-kabir (�The Great History�) contains biographies of those who passed on the oral tra� ditions from the days of the Prophet to Bukhari�s own era.

Bukharin \bu-'kar-3n\, Nikolay (Ivanovich) (b. Oct. 9, 1888, Mos� cow, Russia�d. March 14, 1938, Moscow) Russian communist leader and economist. After the Bolsheviks seized power, he became the editor of the party newspaper Pravda (1917-29). A member of the Politburo and a prominent leader of the Comintern, he also wrote several theoretical economic works. In 1938 he was a defendant in the last of the public purge trials. Falsely accused of counterrevolutionary activities and espio� nage, he was found guilty and executed.

Bukovina \,bu-ko-'ve-na\ Region, eastern central Europe. It consists of part of the northeastern Carpathian Mtns. and the adjoining plain. Settled by both Ukrainians and Romanians, it became an integral part of Mold� avia in the 14th century. It acquired its own name in 1775, when it was ceded to Austria by the Turks. Romania occupied it when Austria-Hungary collapsed in 1918, and was granted it through treaty in 1919. In 1944 the Soviet Union took the northern region, which became part of the Ukrai� nian S.S.R. (now Ukraine), while the rest became part of the Romanian People�s Republic (now Romania).

Bukowski, Charles (b. Aug. 16, 1920, Andernach, Ger.�d. March 9, 1994, San Pedro, Calif., U.S.) German-bom U.S. poet, short-story writer, and novelist. His family immigrated to Los Angeles in 1922. He began publishing short stories in the mid 1940s. His first poetry collec� tion, Flower, Fist and Bestial Wail, appeared in 1959, and the poetry vol� umes he published regularly for the next few years earned a devoted cult following. His novels include Post Office (1971) and Factotum (1975); he also wrote the screenplay for the film Barfly (1987), a semiautobiograph- ical comedy about alcoholic lovers. The novel Hollywood (1989) dealt with its filming. His writing, often scurrilous but humorous, frequently reflected his perpetually down-and-out mode of existence.

Bulawayo \,bu-la-'wa-yo\ City (pop., 1998 est.: 790,000), southwest� ern Zimbabwe. One of the country�s largest cities, it lies 4,400 ft (1,340

m) above sea level. Originally the headquarters of the king of the Nde- bele, it was occupied in 1893 by the British. It is Zimbabwe�s principal industrial centre and, as headquarters for the country�s railroads, its main transshipment point for goods to and from South Africa.

bulb In botany, the resting stage of certain seed plants, particularly peren� nial monocotyledons (see cotyledon), consisting of a relatively large, usu� ally globe-shaped, underground bud with membranous or fleshy overlapping leaves arising from a short stem. The fleshy leaves function as food reserves that enable a plant to lie dormant when water is unavail� able (during winter or drought) and to resume active growth when favour� able conditions again prevail. There are two main types of bulbs. One, typified by the onion, has a thin papery covering protecting its fleshy leaves. The other, the scaly bulb, as seen in true lilies, has naked storage leaves, with no papery covering, making the bulb appear to consist of angular scales. Bulbs enable many common ornamentals, such as the nar� cissus, tulip, and hyacinth, to flower rapidly in early spring when growing conditions are favourable. Other bulb-producing plants bloom in the sum� mer (e.g., lilies) or fall (e.g., the autumn crocus). The solid corms of the crocus and gladiolus and the elongated rhizomes of some irises are not bulbs.

Bulfinch, Charles (b. Aug. 8, 1763, Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony�d. April 4, 1844, Boston, Mass., U.S.) First professional U.S. architect. He studied at Harvard University and then toured Europe, visit� ing major architectural sites in France and Italy. Most of his works incor� porate Classical orders and show a mastery of proportion. Chiefly a designer of government buildings, he served as architect of the U.S. Capitol in 1817-30. He used the plans of his immediate predecessor, Benjamin H. Latrobe, for the wings but prepared a new design for the rotunda. His son Thomas Bulfinch (1796-1867) wrote the famous Bulfinch�s Mythology.

Bulgakov \biil-'ga-k3f\, Mikhail (Afanasyevich) (b. May 15,

1891, Kiev, Ukraine, Russian Empire�d. March 10, 1940, Moscow, Rus� sian S.F.S.R., U.S.S.R.) Russian playwright, novelist, and short-story writer. He wrote and staged many popular plays in the years 1925-29, including dramatizations of his own novels, but by 1930 his trenchant criticism of Soviet mores had caused him to be effectively prohibited from publishing. His works, known for their scathing humour, include the novella The Heart of a Dog (written 1925), a satire on pseudoscience that did not appear openly in the Soviet Union until 1987, and the dazzling fantasy The Master and Margarita, not published in unexpurgated form until 1973.

Bulganin \bul-'ga-nyin\, Nikolay (Aleksandrovich) (b. June 11,

1895, Nizhy Novgorod, Russia�d. Feb. 24, 1975, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.) Soviet statesman and industrial and economic administrator. After supporting Nikita Khrushchev in the latter�s power struggle with Georgy Malenkov, Bulganin was made premier of the Soviet Union (1955-58). Though closely identified with Khrushchev, he joined an �anti� party group� that tried to oust Khruschev in 1957, a move that led to his own downfall.

Bulgaria officially Republic of Bulgaria Country, southeastern Europe. Area: 42,858 sq mi (111,002 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 7,740,000. Capital: Sofia. Bulgarians make up the great majority of the population; smaller ethnic groups include Turks, Roma (Gypsies), and Macedonians. Languages: Bulgarian (official), regional dialects. Reli� gions: Christianity (predominantly Eastern Orthodox; also other Chris� tians); also Islam. Currency: lev. Three major regions define the landscape. The northernmost is the Danubian Plain, a fertile area occu� pying one-third of the country. Immediately south lie the Balkan Moun� tains (Stara Planina). In the southwest and south lie the Rhodope Mountains, with the country�s highest point, Musala Peak, rising 9,596 ft (2,925 m). Smaller than the three major regions, Bulgaria�s Black Sea coast is a popular eastern European resort area. Major drainage systems include the Black and Aegean seas. Bulgaria had a planned economy mod� eled on the Soviet system (1946-89). Since 1991 the noncommunist gov� ernment has been moving to privatize some sectors of the economy, including agriculture. Bulgaria is a republic with one legislative body; its chief of state is the president, and its head of government is the prime minister. Evidence of human habitation dates from prehistoric times. Thracians were the first recorded inhabitants, dating from c. 3500 bc, and their first state dates from about the 5th century bc. The area was subdued by the Romans, who divided it into the provinces of Moesia and Thrace. In the 7th century ad the Bulgars took the region south of the Danube

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River. The Byzantine Empire in 681 for� mally recognized Bulgar control over the area between the Balkans and the Danube, though it would again dominate Bulgaria from the early 11th century to the late 12th century. Late in the 14th century Bulgaria fell to the Ottoman Turks and again lost its independence. At the end of the Russo-Turkish War (1877� 78), Bulgaria rebelled. The ensuing Treaty of San Stefano was unaccept� able to the great powers, and the Congress of Berlin (1878) resulted. In 1908 the Bulgarian ruler, Ferdinand, declared Bulgaria�s independence. After its involvement in the Balkan Wars (1912-13), Bulgaria lost terri� tory. It sided with the Central Powers in World War I and with Germany in World War II. A communist coalition seized power in 1944, and in 1946 a people�s republic was declared. With other eastern European countries in the late 1980s, Bulgaria experienced political unrest; its communist leader resigned in 1989. A new constitution that proclaimed a republic was implemented in 1991. Economic turmoil followed Bulgaria into the 21st century as it sought political stability and joined NATO in 2004.

Bulgarian Horrors Atrocities committed by the Ottoman empire in subduing the Bulgarian rebellion of 1876. The name was used by William E. Gladstone in his pamphlet publicizing the incident. About 15,000 per� sons were reportedly massacred at Philippopolis (now Plovdiv), and vil� lages and monasteries were destroyed. Despite widespread public indignation, the European powers did little in response. The crisis ended with the Congress of Berlin, which created a small, autonomous princi� pality of Bulgaria.

Bulgarian language South Slavic language spoken by about nine million people in Bulgaria and enclaves in Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, and Turkey. Closely related is Macedonian, spoken by two to three mil� lion people in Macedonia, adjacent parts of Albania and Greece, and enclaves elsewhere. Both languages differ from other major Slavic lan� guages in several features. Both are direct descendants of Old Church Slavonic. Under Ottoman rule, literary production was solely in Church Slavonic. The Bulgarian vernacular became a literary language only in the mid-19th century; it was codified on the basis of northeastern Bul� garian dialects in 1899. Though efforts to create a literary Macedonian were underway before the Balkan Wars (1912-13), it was not formally recognized as a distinct language until the declaration of a Macedonian Republic within nascent communist Yugoslavia (1944).

Bulge, Battle of the (Dec. 16, 1944-Jan. 16, 1945) In World War II, the last German offensive on the Western Front, an unsuccessful attempt to divide the Allied forces and prevent an invasion of Germany. The �bulge� refers to the wedge that the Germans drove into the Allied lines. In December 1944, Allied forces were caught unprepared by a German

counterthrust in the wooded Ardennes region of southern Belgium. The German drive, led by Gerd von Rundstedt�s panzer army, was initially suc� cessful but was halted by Allied resistance and reinforcements led by George Patton. The Germans withdrew in January 1945, but both sides suffered heavy losses.

Buli style \'bu-le\ African wood sculpture made by the Luba people in the village of Buli, Congo (Zaire). The most typical examples are statues of ancestor figures and stools with seats supported on the heads and fin� gertips of figures. Because the carvings are almost identical and differ from other Luba carvings, they were once thought to be the work of a single artist, known as the Master of Buli, but it was later determined that they were actually produced in a workshop.

bulimia nervosa Nbii-Te-me-o-nor-'vo-soX Eating disorder, mostly in women, in which excessive concern with weight and body shape leads to binge eating followed by compensatory behaviour such as self-induced vomiting or the excessive use of laxatives or diuretics. The disorder typi� cally begins in adolescence or early adulthood and is associated with depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. Bulimia can have serious medi� cal complications such as dental decay and dehydration. Treatment may include psychotherapy. Unlike persons with anorexia nervosa, most bulimics remain close to their proper weight.

bulk modulus Vma-jo-losV Numerical constant that describes the elas� tic properties of a solid or fluid under pressure from all sides. It is the ratio of the tensile strength or compressive force per unit surface area to the change in volume per unit volume of the solid or fluid and thus is a mea� sure of a substance�s ability to resist deformation. Its units are newtons per square metre (N/m 2 ). Matter that is difficult to compress has a large bulk modulus; for example, steel has a bulk modulus of 1.6 x 10 11 N/m 2 , three times that of glass (i.e., glass is three times more compressible than steel).

Bull, John (b. 1562/63, Radnorshire, Wales?�d. March 12/13, 1628, Antwerp, Spanish Netherlands) British composer. He became organist of Hereford Cathedral in 1582, then organist at the Chapel Royal in 1591. In 1613 he departed for the continent to escape punishment for adultery; he held important organist positions in Brussels and Antwerp until his death. He wrote many verse anthems but is remembered for his keyboard works. In an era of remarkable English music for the virginal (a small harpsichord), he produced works that, with their resourceful keyboard figurations, reflect his own brilliant technique.

Bull \'bul. Ole (Bornemann) (b. Feb. 5, 1810, Bergen, Nor.�d. Aug. 17, 1880, Lyspen, near Bergen) Norwegian violinist. After training in his native Bergen, he freelanced in Christiania (now Oslo) in 1828-31. His Paris concerts, which featured Norwegian songs played on a folk violin, won much attention, and he toured Europe and the U.S. for two decades. A longtime nationalist, he was brought back home by the revolution of 1848. He helped found the Norwegian Theatre in Bergen, and in 1852-53 he established the socialist colony Oleona in Pennsylvania; debts from the failed experiment kept him touring the rest of his life. Much of the music he composed is lost.

bull market In securities and commodities trading, a rising market. A bull is an investor who expects prices to rise and, on this assumption, buys a security or commodity in hopes of reselling it later for a profit. A bullish market is one in which prices are expected to rise. See also bear MARKET.

Bull Moose Party U.S. dissident political party that nominated former president Theodore Roosevelt for the presidency in 1912. Formed by Sen. Robert La Follette in 1911 as the National Republican Progressive League, it opposed the conservatism of the Republican Party controlled by Pres. William H. Taft. The party derived its name from the characteristics of strength and vigour that Roosevelt attributed to himself. In 1912 Roosevelt won 25% of the popular vote; thus split, the Republicans lost the election to the Democratic candidate, Woodrow Wilson. The party gradually dissolved, and the Republicans were reunited in 1916. See also Progressive Party.

bull-roarer Flat piece of wood, several inches to a foot in length, fas� tened at one end to a string, by which it is swung around in the air to produce a whirring or howling sound likened to those of animals or spir� its. It has been observed in Australia, the Americas, and other areas where indigenous societies survive. It may symbolize totemic ancestors, or it

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may be believed to cause or cure sickness, warn women and children away from men�s sacred ceremonies, control the weather, or promote fertility in animals and crops.

Bull Run, Battles of Two engagements of the American Civil War fought at a stream near Manassas, Va. The first battle (also called First Manassas) was fought on July 21, 1861, between 37,000 Union troops under Gen. Irvin McDowell (1818-85) and 35,000 Confederate troops under P.G.T. Beauregard and Joseph Johnston. In this first major encoun� ter of the war, the Union assault was beaten back and the army retreated to Washington, D.C. The second battle took place on Aug. 29-30, 1862, between a Confederate force of more than 56,000 under Robert E. Lee and a Union army of more than 70,000 under John Pope. To prevent the Union army from being joined by the Army of the Potomac, Lee sent troops under Stonewall Jackson to march around Pope�s right flank. Lee�s attack forced the Union troops to withdraw as far as Washington, D.C. Casual� ties numbered 15,000 for the North and 9,000 for the South. Both battles strengthened the South�s resolve and caused the North to review its mili� tary leadership and strategy.

bull terrier Breed of dog developed in 19th-century England from the bulldog and the now-extinct white English terrier. The Spanish pointer was later bred into the line to increase its size. The bull terrier was developed as a courageous fighting dog but not an aggressive fight provoker, and it is generally friendly. A muscular dog, it is considered, for its weight, the strongest of all dogs. It has a short coat, tapering tail, erect ears, and deep- set eyes. It stands 19-22 in. (48-56 cm) high and weighs 50-60 lbs (23-27 kg). There are two varieties, coloured and white.

bulldog or English bulldog Centuries-old breed of dog developed in Britain to fight bulls. Powerful and courageous, often vicious, and largely unaware of pain, the bulldog nearly disappeared when dogfight� ing was outlawed in 1835. Fanciers of the breed saved it and bred out its ferocity. It is now considered gentle and reliable. It has a large head, folded ears, a short muzzle, a protruding lower jaw, and loose skin that forms wrinkles on the head and face. Its short, fine coat is tan, white, reddish brown, brindle, or piebald. It stands 13-15 in. (34-38 cm) high and weighs 40-50 lbs (18-23 kg).

Buller River River, South Island, New Zealand. It was named for Charles Buller, founder of the New Zealand Co. It is the major river of the island�s west coast. Rising in the central highlands, it flows west 110 mi (177 km) into the Tasman Sea. Its gorge, which is most scenic at Inan- gahua Junction, is an important tourist attraction.

bulletin-board system (BBS) Computerized system used to exchange public messages or files. A BBS is typically reached by using a dial-up modem. Most are dedicated to a special interest, which may be an extremely narrow topic. Any user may �post� his or her own message (so that they appear on the site for all to read). Bulletin boards produce �conversations� between interested participants, who may download or print out messages they desire to keep or pass on to others. BBS sites today number in the tens of thousands. See also newsgroup.

bullfighting Spanish corrida de toros Spectacle, popular in Spain, Portugal, and Latin America, in which matadors ceremonially taunt, and usually kill, bulls in an arena.

Spectacles with bulls were common in ancient Crete, Thessaly, and Rome. In the modern era, Roman amphitheatres were rebuilt and embellished for use as bullrings. The largest are in Madrid, Barcelona, and Mexico City. The corrida, which usually involves six individual fights, begins with a procession of matadors and their entourages. At the beginning of each fight an assistant (banderillero) performs a prelimi� nary maneuver to allow the matador to assess the animal�s behaviour. The matador then performs his capework, drawing the bull as close to him as possible without being gored. This is followed by the entrance of the pica� dors, horsemen who jab the bull with

lances to weaken its neck and shoulder muscles. The matador then ritu� ally slays the bull using a sword. In the Portuguese version of the ritual, the bull is fought from horseback and is not killed in the arena. Bullfight� ing has been banned in many countries.

bullfinch Any of several species of stocky, stout-billed songbird (fam� ily Fringillidae). Eurasia has six spe� cies of the genus Pyrrhula, all boldly marked. The common bullfinch ( P. pyrrhula), 6 in. (15 cm) long, is black and white; the male has a pink� ish orange underside. It has a soft warbling call and is a popular cage bird. Usually found in evergreen groves and hedgerows, it is notorious for eating the buds of fruit trees. The trumpeter bullfinch {Rhodopechys githaginea), of arid localities from the Canary Islands to India, is a pale bird with a blaring buzzy note.

bullfrog Solitary aquatic frog (Rana catesbeiana) named for its loud call. The largest U.S. frog, native to the eastern states, the bull� frog has been introduced into the western states and into other coun� tries. The bullfrog is green or brown with a white to yellowish belly and dark-barred legs. Its body is about 8 in. (20 cm) long, and its hindlegs may be 10 in. (25 cm) long. Large adults weigh 1 lb (0.5 kg) or more.

Bullfrogs usually live in or near a body of still water. They are used for food and as laboratory animals. The name is sometimes applied to other large frogs.

bullhead Any of several species of North American freshwater catfish in the genus Ictalurus, valued as food and sport fishes. Bullheads are related to the channel catfish (/. punctatus ) and other large North Ameri� can species, but their tail is squared, rather than forked, and they are gen� erally less than 12 in. (30 cm) long. The black bullhead (/. melas) is found in the Mississippi Valley, the yellow and brown bullheads (/. natalis and I. nebulosus) east of the Rocky Mtns., and the flat bullhead (I. platyceph- alus ) in coastal streams between North Carolina and Florida. The name is sometimes applied to sculpins.

bullionism Monetary policy of mercantilism, which called for national regulation of transactions in foreign currency and precious metals (bul� lion) in order to maintain a favourable balance in the home country. Bul� lionism is most closely associated with 16th- and 17th-century Spain, which was thought to owe its prosperity and military might to the gold and silver of its New World colonies. This view gave rise to the theory that a favourable balance of trade would increase the nation�s supply of precious metals. Spain�s abundant treasure led it to buy goods and ser� vices abroad at the neglect of domestic industry, causing it to experience an economic decline.

Bullock, Wynn (b. April 18, 1902, Chicago. Ill., U.S.�d. Nov. 16, 1975, Monterey, Calif.) U.S. photographer. He was strongly influenced in his early work�mainly �solarizations,� in which the image is partly nega� tive and partly positive�by the avant-garde experiments of LAszlo Moholy-Nagy. In 1948 Edward Weston persuaded him to focus on real� ism and tonal beauty, and Bullock followed his advice so closely that his images often resembled Weston�s. He is best known for realistic images that are meant to be viewed as �equivalents,� or visual metaphors (e.g., the passing of time, the inevitability of death).

Bulow VbiE-loV Bernhard (Heinrich Martin Karl), prince von

(b. May 3, 1849, Klein-Flottbek, near Altona, Ger.�d. Oct. 28, 1929, Rome, Italy) German imperial chancellor and Prussian prime minister (1900-09). After holding a number of diplomatic posts, he was appointed state secretary for the foreign department in 1897. He quickly became a potent force and succeeded to the chancellorship in 1900. In cooperation with William II, he pursued a policy of German aggrandizement in the years preceding World War I. He was unable to prevent the formation of the

Manolete executing a natural pass, a close pase with his left hand.

BARNABY CONRAD

Common bullfinch (Pyrrhula pyrrhula)

H.M. BARNFATHER/BRUCE COLEMAN LTD.

Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana)

RICHARD PARKER

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294 I Biilow ► bungee jumping

English-French-Russian alliance against Germany (see Entente Cordiale; Triple Entente) and increased international tension with the first of the Moroccan crises.

Bulow \'biE-lo\, Hans (Guido), baron von (b. Jan. 8, 1830, Dres� den, Saxony�d. Feb. 12, 1894, Cairo, Egypt) German conductor and pianist. He studied piano with Clara Schumann�s father. His meetings with the composers Franz Liszt (1849) and Richard Wagner (1850) led to his decision to give up law for music, and with their help he launched a renowned career as conductor and pianist, studying with Liszt from 1851 and marrying his daughter Cosima in 1857. He was appointed court con� ductor to Louis II and later director of the Munich Conservatory. He con� ducted the premieres of Wagner�s operas Tristan und Isolde (1859) and Die Meistersinger (1868). Cosima abandoned von Biilow for Wagner, whom she married in 1870; nonetheless, von Biilow continued to pro� mote Wagner�s music. He was one of the first conductors to conduct from memory; his interpretations were noted for their integrity and emotional power.

bulrush Any of the annual or perennial grasslike plants constituting the genus Scirpus, especially S. lacustris, in the sedge family, that bear soli� tary or much-clustered spikelets. Bulrushes grow in wet locations, includ� ing ponds, marshes, and lakes. Their stems are often used to weave strong mats, baskets, and chair seats. Bulrushes may act as a filter, absorbing poisonous metals and toxic microorganisms, thus helping to reduce water pollution. In Britain, the term bulrush refers to either of two CATTAILS ( Typha latifolia and T. angustifolia).

Bultmann \'bult- 1 man\ / Rudolf (Karl) (b. Aug. 20, 1884, Wiefelst- ede, Ger.�d. July 30, 1976, Marburg, W.Ger.) German Protestant theo� logian and New Testament scholar. The son of a Lutheran pastor, he studied at the University of Tubingen and later taught many years at Marburg (1921-51). He established his reputation with his analysis of the Gospels in History of the Synoptic Tradition (1921). Influenced by his colleague Martin Heidegger, he held that Christian faith should focus less on the his� torical Jesus and more on the transcendent Christ, and he examined the New Testament in mythical terms. During the Nazi era he supported the anti-Nazi Confessing Church. His postwar books included Kerygma and Myth (1953), History and Eschatology (1957), and Jesus Christ and Mythology (1960).

Bulwer, Sir (William) Henry Lytton (Earle) later Baron Dalling and Bulwer of Dalfing (b. Feb. 13, 1801, London, Eng.�d. May 23, 1872, Naples, Italy) British diplomat. In the diplomatic service from 1829, he negotiated the Ponsonby Treaty (1838), which was advantageous to British trade with the Ottoman Empire. As ambassador to the U.S. (1849-52), he negotiated the controversial Clayton-Bulwer Treaty, which was intended to resolve (but in fact aggravated) Anglo- American disputes in Latin America. In 1856 he played a major part in the negotiations following the Crimean War. His brother was the novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton.

Bulwer-Lytton, Edward (George Earl) later 1st Baron Lyt� ton (of Knebworth) (b. May 25, 1803, London, Eng.�d. Jan. 18, 1873, Torquay, Devonshire) British politician, novelist, and poet. His first novel, Pelham, was published in 1828. He entered Parliament as a Lib� eral in 1831, retired in 1841, and returned in 1852 as a Tory. In the interim he wrote his long historical novels, including The Last Days of Pompeii, 3 vol. (1834), and Harold, the Last of the Saxon Kings (1848). He was created a peer in 1866. The opening to his 1830 novel Paul Clifford (�It was a dark and stormy night...�) led to an annual Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Prize, in which entrants vie to create the most overwritten first sentence to a hypothetical novel.

bumblebee Any member of two genera constituting the insect tribe Bombini (family Apidae, order Hymenoptera), found almost worldwide but most common in temperate climates. Bumblebees are robust and hairy, average about 0.6-1 in. (1.5-2.5 cm) in length, and are usually black with broad yellow or orange bands. Bombus species are nest builders, often nesting in the ground, commonly in deserted bird or mouse nests. They live in organized groups, with a queen, drones, and workers (see caste). Psithyrus species are social parasites (see parasitism); they lay their eggs in Bombus nests, where the eggs and larvae are cared for by Bombus workers.

Bunau-Varilla \bLE-no-va-re-'ya\, Philippe (-Jean) (b. July 26, 1859, Paris, France�d. May 18, 1940, Paris) French engineer. He worked

for the French Panama Canal Co. (1884-89) until the project failed. He helped to instigate the revolution that resulted in Panamanian indepen� dence and was appointed by the provisional government to negotiate a treaty with the U.S. for the construction of a canal. In 1903 he signed a treaty with U.S. Secretary of State John Hay assuring the construction of the Panama Canal under U.S. control.

bunchberry Creeping perennial herbaceous plant ( Cornus canadensis), also called dwarf cornel, of the dogwood family. The small and incon� spicuous yellowish flowers, grouped in heads surrounded by four large and showy white (rarely pink) petal-like bracts, give rise to clusters of red fruits. Bunchberry is found in acid soils, bogs, and upland slopes in Asia and from Greenland to Alaska, and south as far as Maryland, New Mexico, and California.

Bunche VboqchV Ralph (Johnson) (b. Aug. 7, 1904, Detroit, Mich., U.S.�d. Dec. 9, 1971, New York,

N.Y.) U.S. diplomat. He earned graduate degrees at Harvard Univer� sity and taught at Howard University from 1928. After studying colonial policy in Africa, he collaborated with Gunnar Myrdal in An American Dilemma (1944), a study of U.S. race relations. He worked in the U.S. war and state departments during World War II. In 1947 he became director of the trusteeship department of the UN Secretariat. His work in forging a truce between Palestinian Arabs and Jews earned him the 1950 Nobel Prize for Peace. As UN undersecre� tary for political affairs, he oversaw UN peacekeeping forces around the Suez Canal (1956), in the Congo (1960), and in Cyprus (1964). He also served on the board of the NAACP for 22 years.

Bundelkhand Vbun-dsl-.kondV Historic region, central India. Long inhabited by various dynasties, it was finally settled by the Bundela Rajputs in the 14th century. For centuries afterward they engaged in war� fare with the Muslim power of Delhi. After a period of Mughal rule, the Marathas extended their influence, but by 1817 the British government had acquired all territorial rights over the region. After Indian indepen� dence was achieved, Bundelkhand in 1948 merged into Vindhya Pradesh, which in turn merged with Madhya Pradesh in 1956.

Bundestag Vbun-d3s-,tak\ Lower house of the German bicameral leg� islature. It represents the nation as a whole and is elected by universal suffrage under a system of mixed direct and proportional representation. Members serve four-year terms. The Bundestag in turn elects the chan� cellor. The term was formerly used to refer to the federal Diet of the Ger� man Confederation (1815-66), known as the Reichstag under the Weimar Republic (1919-34). Its building burned down in 1933 (see Reichstag fire), and its members were not allowed to meet again for the duration of the Nazi regime (1933-45). The Reichstag was reconstituted as the Bunde� stag in the governmental reorganization of 1949. Its membership was again reorganized after German unification in 1990.

bundle theory Theory advanced by David Hume to the effect that the mind is merely a bundle of perceptions without deeper unity or cohesion, related only by resemblance, succession, and causation. Hume�s well- argued denial of a substantial or unified self precipitated a philosophical crisis from which Immanuel Kant sought to rescue Western philosophy.

Bundy, McGeorge (b. March 30, 1919, Boston, Mass., U.S.�d. Sept. 16, 1996, Boston) U.S. public official and educator. He served in World War II as an intelligence officer. He joined the faculty of Harvard Uni� versity in 1949 and became dean of arts and sciences in 1953. As special assistant for national security to presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, he was a forceful advocate of expanding U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War. He resigned to become president of the Ford Founda� tion (1966-79) and later taught at New York University (1979-89).

bungee jumping Vbon-jeV Sport in which the jumper falls from a high place with a rubber (�bungee�) cord attached both to his or her feet and to the jump site, and, after a period of headfirst free fall, is bounced part-

Bunche.

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way back when the cord rebounds from its maximum stretch. It traces its roots to the �land diving� practiced on Pentecost Island, Vanuatu, in which divers jump off a high tower, their feet connected to it by a vine whose length is calculated to allow the jumper to fall until his hair just brushes the ground below. The Oxford Dangerous Sports Club, inspired by reports of the Pentecost Island divers, made the first Western bungee jumps, and bungee jumping was first offered commercially to the public in New Zealand in 1988.

Bunin Vbu-n y in\, Ivan (Alekseyevich) (b. Oct. 10, 1870, Voronezh, Russia�d. Nov. 8, 1953, Paris, France) Russian poet and novelist. He worked as a journalist and clerk while writing and translating poetry, but he made his name as a short-story writer, with such masterpieces as the title story of The Gentleman from San Francisco (1916). His other works include the novel Mitya�s Love (1925), the story collection Dark Avenues (1943), fictional autobiography, memoirs, and books on Leo Tolstoy and Anton Chekhov. The first Russian awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature (1933), he is among the best stylists in the language.

Bunker Hill, Battle of also known as Battle of Breed's Hill (June 17,1775) First major battle of the American Revolution. Within two months after the Battles of Lexington and Concord, more than 15,000 colonial troops assembled near Boston to prevent the British army from occupy� ing several hills around the city, including Bunker and Breed�s hills. The colonists fortified Breed�s Hill in Charlestown, across the Charles River from Boston. They withstood a cannonade from British ships in Boston Harbor and fought off assaults by 2,300 British troops but were eventu� ally forced to retreat. Although the British won the battle, it was a Pyr� rhic victory that lent considerable encouragement to the revolutionary cause. British casualties (about 1,000) and the colonists� fierce resistance convinced the British that subduing the rebels would be difficult.

bunraku Vbun-ra-ku\ Japanese traditional puppet theatre, in which nearly life-size dolls act out a chanted dramatic narrative, called joruri , to the accompaniment of a small samisen. Puppet theatre reached its height in the 18th century with the plays of Chikamatsu Monzaemon and declined later because of a lack of good joruri writers.

Bunsen, Robert (Wilhelm) (b. March 31, 1811, Gottingen, Westphalia�d. Aug. 16, 1899, Heidelberg, Baden) German chemist. With Gustav Robert Kirchhoff, he observed (c. 1859) that each element emits light of a characteristic wavelength, opening the field of spectrochemical analy� sis. They discovered several new elements (including helium, cesium, and rubidium) by spectroscopy. His only book discussed methods of measur� ing volumes of gases. He invented the carbon-zinc battery, grease-spot photometer (see photometry), filter pump, ice calorimeter, and vapour calo� rimeter. Though often credited with inventing the Bunsen burner, he seems to have made only a minor contribution to its development.

bunting Common name for any of about 37 Old World species (genus Emberiza ) of finch, as well as certain similar species found in the New World. All belong to the family Frin- gillidae, and many are recognizable by strongly patterned heads or bright colours. Emberiza species are seed eaters that commonly breed in tem� perate Eurasia and from northern Africa to India. The snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis ) breeds in the far north, and the lark bunting ( Cala- mospiza melanocorys ) inhabits the U.S. Great Plains. U.S. species include the indigo bunting ( Passe - rina cyanea) and the painted bunting ( P. ciris ). The male painted bunting, with red, green, and blue feathers, is the most colourful bird that breeds in the U.S.

Bunuel X.bun-yu-'weL, Luis (b. Feb. 22, 1900, Calanda, Spain�d. July 29, 1983, Mexico City, Mex.) Spanish film director. As a student at the University of Madrid he met Salvador Dau, with whom he later made the Surrealist film Un chien andalou (1928). Bunuel then directed the anti� clerical L�Age d�or (1930) and the documentary Land Without Bread (1932). After working as a commercial producer in Spain and a technical adviser in Hollywood, he moved to Mexico, where he directed Los olvida- dos (1950) and Nazarin (1958). He returned to Spain to make Viridiana (1961), which was suppressed in Spain as anticlerical but internationally

acclaimed. He attacked conventional morality in such later films as Belle de jour (1967), Tristana (1970), The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), and That Obscure Object of Desire (1977).

Bunyan, John (b. November 1628, Elstow, Bedfordshire,

Eng.�d. Aug. 31, 1688, London)

English minister and author. Bunyan encountered the seething religious life of various left-wing sects while serving in Oliver Cromwell�s army in the English Civil Wars. He under� went a period of spiritual crisis, con� verted to Puritanism, and became a preacher. After the Restoration, he was jailed as a Nonconformist for 12 years, during which he wrote his spiritual autobiography, Grace Abounding (1666). He is best known for The Pilgrim�s Progress (1678- 84), a religious allegory expressing the Puritan religious outlook. A sym� bolic vision of the character Chris� tian�s pilgrimage through life, it was at one time second only to the Bible in popularity among ordinary read� ers. Despite his ministerial responsi� bilities, he published numerous works in his last 10 years.

Bunyan, Paul Legendary giant lumberjack of the U.S. frontier. A symbol of strength and vitality, he is accompanied by a giant blue ox, Babe. He was credited with creating Puget Sound, digging the Grand Canyon, and building the Black Hills, and was known for his prodigious appetite, eating hotcakes off a griddle so large it was greased by men using sides of bacon as skates. Tales of his exploits probably originated in lumber camps, and were first published by James MacGillivray in �The Round River Drive� (1910), which soon led to a national myth.

Bunyoro See Nyoro

Buonarroti, Michelangelo See Michelangelo buoyancy See Archimedes' principle

burakumin \bu- , ra-ku-min\ Japanese "hamlet people" Japanese minority group that suffers discrimination based on its historical outcaste status. In the late 16th century, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi divided the popu� lace into four social classes, one group remained outside and beneath the system: those whose occupation involved the taking of life (such as butch� ers or executioners) or handling flesh or dead bodies (such as leather- workers or gravediggers). Buddhist and Shinto beliefs in the polluting nature of these occupations have long stigmatized those who held them. Though their outcaste status was removed by law in 1871, prejudice remains, and burakumin heritage often stands in the way of marriages and employment opportunities. Burakumin are estimated to number 1-3 mil� lion.

Burbage Vbor-bijV Richard (b. c. 1567, London, Eng.�d. March 9/13, 1619, London) British actor. A popular actor by age 20, he was a member of the Earl of Leicester�s company and the Chamberlain�s (later King�s) Men. Closely associated with William Shakespeare, he was the first to play roles such as Richard III, Romeo, Henry V, Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, and King Lear. He also performed in plays by Thomas Kyd, Ben Jonson, and John Webster. He was a major shareholder of the Globe The� atre and the Blackfriars Theatre.

Burbank, Luther (b. March 7, 1849, Lancaster, Mass., U.S.�d. April 11, 1926, Santa Rosa, Cal.) U.S. plant breeder. He was reared on a farm and never obtained a college education. Influenced by Charles Darwin�s writings on domesticated plants, he began a plant-breeding career at age 21. On the proceeds of his rapid development of the hugely successful Burbank potato, he set up a nursery garden, greenhouse, and experimen-

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tal farms in Santa Rosa, Cal. There he developed more than 800 new and useful strains and varieties of fruits, flowers, vegetables, grains, and grasses, many of which are still com� mercially important. His laboratory became world-famous, and he helped make plant breeding a mod� em science. He published two mul� tivolume works and a series of descriptive catalogs.

Burbidge, (Eleanor) Marga� ret orig. Eleanor Margaret Peachey (b. Aug. 12, 1919, Dav� enport, Cheshire, Eng.) English astronomer. She served as acting director (1950-51) of the Observa� tory of the University of London. In 1955 her husband, Geoffrey Bur� bidge (b. 1925), became a researcher at the Mount Wilson Observatory, and she accepted a research post at Caltech. She later joined the faculty at UC-San Diego, briefly serving as director of the Royal Greenwich Observatory (1972-73). Jointly with her husband, she made notable con� tributions to the theory of quasars and to the understanding of how the elements are formed in the depths of stars through nuclear fusion (nucleo� synthesis).

burbot Vbar-botX Elongated fish ( Lota lota), the only freshwater mem� ber of the cod family. It lives in cold rivers and lakes of Europe, Asia, and North America. A mottled, greenish or brown bottom-dweller, it descends as deep as 700 ft (200 m). It may grow about 3.6 ft (1.1 m) long. It has very small, embedded scales, a long anal fin, and two dorsal fins. The burbot is valued as food in some areas.

Burchfield, Charles (Ephraim) (b. April 9, 1893, Ashtabula Har� bor, Ohio, U.S.�d. Jan. 10, 1967, Gardenville, N.Y.) U.S. painter. He attended the Cleveland School of Art and, after service in World War I, worked as a wallpaper designer in Buffalo, N.Y. In the 1920s and �30s he was one of the leading painters of American life; his work was asso� ciated with Edward Hopper�s in its portrayal of the loneliness and bleak� ness of small-town life (e.g., November Evening , 1934). In the 1940s he abandoned realism for a more personal interpretation of nature, empha� sizing its mystery, movement, and colour from season to season (e.g.. The Sphinx and the Milky Way, 1946).

Burckhardt \'burk- I hart\, Jacob (Christopher) (b. May 25, 1818, Basel, Switz.�d. Aug. 8, 1897, Basel) Swiss historian of art and culture. After abandoning his study of theology, Burckhardt studied art history, then a new field, at the University of Berlin (1839-43). As he matured he became a cultural conservative, alienated from the contemporary world and preoccupied with reclaiming the past. From 1843 he taught primarily at the University of Basel; from 1886 until his retirement in 1893 he taught art history exclusively. He is famous for The Civilization of the Renais� sance in Italy (1860), which examines daily life in the Renaissance in terms of such phenomena as the development of individuality and the modern sense of humour; it became a model for cultural historians. He died while working on a four-volume survey of Greek civilization.

burdock Any plant of the genus Arctium, in the composite family, bear� ing globular flower heads with prickly bracts. Native to Europe and Asia, burdock species have been naturalized throughout North America. Regarded as weeds in the U.S., they are cultivated for their edible root in Asia. Their fruits are round burrs that stick to clothing and fur.

Bureau of Standards since 1988 U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Agency of the U.S. Depart� ment of Commerce responsible for the standardization of weights and measures, timekeeping, and navigation. Active since at least the mid-19th century, the agency works closely with the U.S. Naval Observatory and the Bureau International de l�Heure in Paris to ensure global standardized time.

bureaucracy Professional corps of officials organized in a pyramidal hierarchy and functioning under impersonal, uniform rules and proce�

dures. Its characteristics were first formulated systematically by Max Weber, who saw in the bureaucratic organization a highly developed divi� sion of labour, authority based on administrative rules rather than personal allegiance or social custom, and a �rational� and impersonal institution whose members function more as �offices� than as individuals. For Weber, bureaucracy was a form of legalistic �domination� inevitable under capi� talism. Later writers saw in bureaucracy a tendency to concentrate power at the top and become dictatorial, as occurred in the Soviet Union. Robert K. Merton emphasized its red tape and inefficiency due to blind confor� mity to procedures. More recent theories have stressed the role of mana� gerial cliques, occupational interest groups, or individual power-seekers in creating politicized organizations characterized by internal conflict.

Burgas \bur-'gas\ City (pop., 2001: 802,932), eastern Bulgaria. Located on an inlet of the Black Sea, it is one of Bulgaria�s chief ports. It was founded in the 17th century; its development received impetus with the coming of the railroad in the late 19th century. It claims much of Bulgar� ia�s Black Sea trade and handles most of its fish catch. With several neighbouring towns, Burgas is part of the developing Black Sea Riviera.

Burger Vbmr-gsrV Gottfried August (b. Dec. 31, 1747, Molmers- wende bei Halberstadt, Brandenburg�d. June 8, 1794, Gottingen, Hanover) German poet. He was associated with the Gottinger Hain, a circle of Sturm und Drang poets who reawakened interest in folk and nature themes. His bizarre ballad �Lenore� (1773) had a profound effect on the subsequent development of literary Romanticism throughout Europe, and he is remembered as a founder of German Romantic ballad literature. He is also noted for his Petrarchan sonnets and translations from English, especially Thomas Percy�s Reliques of Ancient English Poetry.

Burger, Warren E(arl) (b. Sept. 17, 1907, St. Paul, Minn., U.S.�d. June 25, 1995, Washington, D.C.) U.S. jurist. He graduated with honours from St. Paul (now William Mitchell) College of Law in 1931, after which he joined a prominent law firm and became active in the Republican Party. He was appointed an assistant U.S. attorney general (1953) and named to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (1955), where his conservative approach commended him to Pres. Richard Nixon, who nominated him for chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1969. Contrary to the expectations of some, he did not try to reverse the liberal decisions on civil-rights issues and criminal law made during the tenure of his predecessor, Earl Warren. Under his leadership, the court upheld the 1966 Miranda v. Arizona decision, permitted busing as a means of ending racial segregation in public schools, and endorsed the use of racial quotas in the awarding of federal grants and contracts. Burger voted with the majority in Roe v. Wade (1973). Keenly interested in judicial administration, he became deeply involved in efforts to improve the judi� ciary�s efficiency. He retired in 1986 and was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1988.

Burgess Vbar-jssV Anthony orig. John Anthony Burgess Wil� son (b. Feb. 25, 1917, Manchester, Eng.�d. Nov. 22, 1993, London) English novelist, critic, and composer. His experiences in Southeast Asia produced the novel trilogy The Long Day Wanes (1956-59). A Clockwork Orange (1962; film, 1971), his most original work, is a satire on extreme political systems. His other novels, which combine mordant wit, moral seriousness, verbal dexterity, and the bizarre, include The Wanting Seed (1962), Inside Mr. Enderby (1963), and Earthly Powers (1980). In addi� tion to his extensive literary criticism, biographies, and works on linguis� tics and music, he composed more than 65 musical works.

Burgess \'bor-j9s\, Guy (Francis de Money) (b. 1911, Devonport, Devon, Eng.�d. Aug. 30, 1963, Moscow, Russia, U.S.S.R.) British dip� lomat and Soviet spy. At the University of Cambridge in the 1930s, he became part of a group of young men, including Donald Maclean (1913� 83), who shared a disdain for capitalist democracy. They were recruited by Soviet intelligence operatives and supplied information from their positions, mainly in the British foreign office (Maclean from 1934, Bur� gess from 1944). Maclean�s post with the British embassy in Washing� ton, D.C., enabled him to pass secret information about NATO to the Soviets; Burgess also served in Washington. In 1951 both men were warned by their colleague Kim Philby that an investigation was closing in on Maclean. With the aid of Anthony Blunt, they fled England and van� ished, then surfaced in Moscow in 1956.

Burgess Vbsr-jasV Thornton W(aldo) (b. Jan. 14, 1874, Sandwich, Mass., U.S.�d. June 5, 1965, Hampden, Mass.) U.S. children�s author and naturalist. He loved nature as a child. His first book, Old Mother West

Burbank

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Wind (1910), introduced the animal characters that were to populate his subsequent stories, which were published in many languages. He pro� moted conservationism through his �Wildlife Protection Program,� his �Radio Nature League,� and other organizations. He wrote more than 170 books and 15,000 stories for newspaper columns.

Burgess Vbor-josX Shale Fossil formation containing remarkably detailed traces of soft-bodied marine organisms of the middle of the Cam� brian Epoch (520-512 million years ago). Collected from a fossil bed in the Burgess Pass of the Canadian Rockies, the Burgess Shale is one of the best preserved and most important fossil formations in the world. Since it was discovered in 1909, over 60,000 specimens have been retrieved from the bed.

Burgesses Vbor-jss-ozV, House of Representative assembly in colo� nial Virginia, the first elective governing body in a British colony. It was one division of the legislature established in 1619 by the colonial gover� nor at Jamestown; the other included the governor himself and a council, all appointed by the colonial proprietor (the Virginia Company). Each Virginia settlement was entitled to elect two delegates, or burgesses (citi� zens of a borough in England). See also London Co.

Burghley, Baron See William Cecil

burglary Crime of breaking into and entering a structure with the intent to commit a felony within (see felony and misdemeanour). It is one of sev� eral crimes in the general category of theft. Some state statutes specify degrees of burglary based on when and where the crime occurs, whether anyone is present in the structure when it is broken into, and whether a deadly weapon is used.

Burgoyne Vbor-'goinV John (b. 1722, Sutton, Bedfordshire, Eng.�d. June 4, 1792, London) British general. After serving in the Seven Years� War he was elected to the British House of Commons in 1761 and 1768. Assigned to Canada in 1776, he began a campaign to join British forces from the north, south, and west to isolate the rebellious New England colonies. In 1777 his army captured Fort Ticonderoga, N.Y., but was stopped at the Hudson River by a larger army of colonists under Horatio Gates and Benedict Arnold. After several months of fighting, he surren� dered to Gates at Saratoga Springs, N.Y.; he returned to England to face criticism for his defeat.

Burgundian school Group of 15th-century French composers, most of whom were associated with courts of various dukes of Burgundy. They are best known for their three-part chansons in rondeau form (see formes fixes), usually with text only in the highest part�perhaps implying a solo voice accompanied by instruments, written in full triadic harmony. The most important Burgundian composers were Guillaume Dufay, Gilles Bin- chois (c. 1400-60), and Antoine Busnois (c. 1430-92).

Burgundy French Bourgogne \biir-'g6n y \ Historical and govern� mental region, France. The name was originally applied to a kingdom in the Rhone valley and western Switzerland founded by the Burgundians, a Germanic people who fled Germany in the 5th century. Conquered by the Merovingians c. 534, it was incorporated into the Frankish empire. By the 843 Treaty of Verdun, which divided the empire of Charlemagne, it was included in the Middle Kingdom of Lothar I. It was later divided into Cis- jurane (Lower) Burgundy, or Provence (founded 879), and Transjurane (Upper) Burgundy (founded 888); they united in 933 to form the king� dom of Burgundy. After the 13th century, it was known as the kingdom of Arles; the name Burgundy was applied to the duchy of Burgundy, formed in the 9th century from lands in the northwestern part of the origi� nal kingdom. On the death of Burgundy�s duke in 1361, the duchy reverted to the French crown. Given to Philip II, by 1477 its lands extended into the Low Countries. It was seized by Louis XI, annexed to the French crown, and was a province until the French Revolution. Roughly coexten� sive with the pre-Revolutionary province, the current administrative region of Burgundy (1999: 1,610,067) covers 12,194 sq mi (31,582 sq km). Its capital is Dijon. Wine making is an important part of the economy.

burial Ritual disposal of human remains. The practice is often intended to facilitate the deceased�s entry into the afterworld. Grave burial dates back at least 125,000 years. Types of graves range from trenches to large burial mounds to great stone tombs such as pyramids. Caves have also long been used for the dead�e.g., in ancient Hebrew burials, the sepulchral caves (rock temples) of western India and Sri Lanka, and the Dogon cliff burial sites. Water burial, such as occurred among the Vikings, has also been common. Cremation and the scattering of ashes on water is widely

practiced, especially in Asia; in India the remains of the deceased are thrown into the sacred Ganges River. Some peoples (American Indian groups, Parsis, etc.) employ exposure to the elements to dispose of their dead. Among many peoples, the first burial is followed by a second, after an interval that often coincides with the duration of bodily decomposi� tion. This reflects a concept of death as slow passage from the society of the living to that of the dead. Jewish custom requires speedy burial; a prayer known as the Kaddish is recited at the graveside, and a gravestone is normally erected a year after burial. Christian burials are often preceded by a wake, a �watch� held over the deceased�s body and sometimes accompanied by festivity. Bodies of Muslims are laid on their right side and facing Mecca.

Buridan \bui-re- , da n ,\ English \'byur-3d- 3 n\, Jean (b. 1300, Bethune?, France�d. 1358) French philosopher, logician, and scientific theorist. He studied under William of Ockham at the University of Paris and later taught there. According to his modified version of determinism, though one must choose what presents itself as the greater good, the will is free to delay reason�s judgment by suggesting a more thorough inquiry into the worth of one�s motives. The dilemma of a particular kind of moral choice, between two evidently identical alternatives, is illustrated by the cel� ebrated allegory of �Buridan�s ass.� Among his achievements in mechan� ics was a revision of Aristotle�s theory of motion; he developed a theory of impetus by which the mover imparts to the moved a power, propor� tional to the former�s speed and mass, which keeps it moving. His stud� ies of optical images prefigured modern developments in cinematics. In logic he explicated the doctrines of Aristotle and Peter of Spain (c. 1210� 77). His works include Summula de dialecta (1487) and Consequents

(1493).

Burke, Edmund (b. January 12?, 1729, Dublin, Ire.�d. July 9, 1797, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, Eng.) British parliamentarian, orator, and political philosopher. The son of a lawyer, he began legal studies but lost interest, became estranged from his father, and spent some time wander� ing about England and France. Essays he published in 1757-58 gained the attention of Denis Diderot, Immanuel Kant, and Gotthold Lessing, and he was hired to edit a yearly survey of world affairs (1758-88). He entered politics (1765) as secretary to a Whig leader and soon became involved in the controversy over whether Parliament or the monarch controlled the executive. He argued (1770) that George Ill�s efforts to reassert a more active role for the crown violated the constitution�s spirit. Elected to Par� liament (1774-80), he contended that its members should exercise judg� ment rather than merely follow their constituents� desires. Although a strong constitutionalist, he was not a supporter of pure democracy; although a conservative, he eloquently championed the cause of the American colonists, whom he regarded as badly governed, and he sup� ported the abolition of the international slave trade. He tried unsuccess� fully to legislate relief for Ireland and to reform the governance of India. He disapproved of the French Revolution for its leaders� precipitous actions and its antiaristocratic bloodshed. He is often regarded as the founder of modern conservatism.

Burkina Faso \bur-'ke-n9-'fa-so\ formerly Upper Volta Country, West Africa. A landlocked country, it lies south of the Sahara Desert. Area: 103,456 sq mi (267,950 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 13,492,000. Capi� tal: Ouagadougou. Ethnic groups are the Mossi, Hausa, Fulani, Mande, Bobo, and Senufo. Languages: French (official), Mossi, Dyula, Fula. Reli� gions: Islam, traditional beliefs, Christianity. Currency: CFA franc. Burkina Faso consists of an extensive plateau characterized by a savanna, grassy in the north and sparsely forested in the south. The plateau is notched by the valleys of the Mouhoun (Black Volta), Nazinon (Red Volta), and Nakanbe rivers, which flow south into Ghana. The economy is largely agricultural. Burkina Faso is a republic with one legislative body; its chief of state is the president and its head of government the prime minister. Probably in the 14th century, the Mossi and Gurma peoples established themselves in eastern and central areas. The Mossi kingdoms of Yatenga and Ouagadougou existed into the early 20th cen� tury. A French protectorate was established over the region (1895-97), and its southern boundary was demarcated through an Anglo-French agreement. It was part of the Upper Senegal-Niger (see Mali) colony, then became a separate colony in 1919. It was constituted an overseas terri� tory within the French Union in 1947, became an autonomous republic within the French Community in 1958, and achieved total independence in 1960. Since then it has been ruled primarily by the military and has expe� rienced several coups; the country received its present name in 1984. A

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298 I Burkitt ► Burne-Jones

ning of the 21st century.

Burkitt, Denis P(arsons) (b. Feb. 28, 1911, Enniskillen, N.Ire.�d. March 23, 1993, England) British surgeon and medical researcher. He discovered Burkitt lymphoma, a lethal cancer of the lymphatic system with a high incidence among children. He showed that it was common in equatorial African regions where malaria and yellow fever are endemic and linked it to Epstein-Barr virus in children with immune systems depressed by chronic malaria. He later helped develop an effective che� motherapy treatment. Burkitt was also known for his theory that a high- fibre diet protects against colon cancer, publicized in his book Don�t Forget Fibre in Your Diet (1979).

burlesque In literature, comic imitation of a serious literary or artistic form that relies on an extravagant incongruity between a subject and its treatment. It is closely related to parody, though burlesque is generally broader and coarser. Early examples include the comedies of Aristophanes. English burlesque is chiefly drama. John Gay�s The Beggar�s Opera (1728), Henry Fielding�s Tom Thumb (1730), and Richard Brinsley Sheridan�s The Critic (1779) are parodies of popular dramatic forms of the period. Victorian burlesque, usually light entertainment with music, was eclipsed by other popular forms by the late 19th century, and burlesque eventu� ally came to incorporate and be identified with striptease acts (see bur� lesque show).

burlesque show Stage entertainment composed of slapstick sketches, bawdy humour, chorus numbers, and solo dances. Introduced in the U.S. in 1868 by a company of English chorus girls, it developed as a version of the minstrel show, divided into three parts: (1) a series of coarse humor� ous songs, slapstick sketches, and comic monologues; (2) the olio, or mixture of variety acts (e.g., acrobats, magicians, singers); and (3) cho� rus numbers and occasionally a takeoff, or burlesque, on politics or a cur� rent play. The show ended with an exotic dancer or a boxing match. In the early 20th century, many performers, including Fanny Brice, Al Jol- son, and W.C. Fields, began their careers in burlesque. The addition of the striptease in the 1920s made a star of Gypsy Rose Lee, but censorship and competition from motion pictures soon led to burlesque�s decline.

Burlingame, Anson (b. Nov. 14, 1820, New Berlin, N.Y., U.S.�d. Feb. 23, 1870, St. Petersburg, Russia) U.S. diplomat. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1855�61) and helped found the Republican Party. As U.S. minister to China (1861-67), he implemented a policy of cooperation between China and the Western powers. He so impressed the

Chinese government that in 1867 he was appointed imperial envoy to conduct China�s international rela� tions. He concluded the Burlingame Treaty, which established reciprocal rights of Chinese and U.S. citizens.

Burlington City (pop., 2000:

38,889), northwestern Vermont, U.S.

Lying on a hillside sloping toward Lake Champlain, it is the largest city in the state and a port of entry. Char� tered by Gov. Benning Wentworth of New Hampshire in 1763, it was named for the Burling family, who were pioneer landowners. Settlement began in 1773. Later it was a mili� tary post; in the War of 1812 it saw several engagements between land batteries and British warships on the lake. It was the home of Ethan Allen.

It is the seat of the University of Vermont. Shelburne Museum, a recon� struction of early American life, is nearby.

Burma See Myanmar

Burma Road Highway, South Asia. It runs 717 mi (1,154 km) from Lashio (in eastern Burma, now Myanmar) northeast to Kunming (in Yun� nan, China). An extension runs east through China from Kunming, then north to Chongqing. Completed in 1939, it functioned as a supply route to the interior of China, carrying war goods. It was seized by the Japa� nese in 1942 and reopened when it was connected to the Stilwell Road from India. Its importance diminished after World War II, but it has remained a link in a 2,100-mi (3,400-km) road system from Yangon, Myanmar, to Chongqing.

Burmese cat Breed of domestic cat, presumably of Asian origin. Com� pactly built, it has a small, rounded head and wide-set, round, yellow eyes. The short, finely textured, glossy coat darkens as it matures from milk- chocolate to a rich sable brown and is paler on the underside; the ears, face, legs, and tail may be darker. The tapered tail may be kinked near the tip.

burn Damage caused to the body by contact with flames, hot substances, some chemicals, radiation (including sunlight), or electricity. Bums are classified by depth of skin damage and by percentage of skin damaged. First-degree burns injure only the epidermis (top layer), with redness, pain, and minimal edema. In a second-degree burn, damage extends into the dermis (inner layer), with redness and blisters. Third-degree burns destroy the entire thickness of the skin. There is no pain, because the skin�s pain receptors are destroyed. Burns deeper than the skin can release toxic materials into the bloodstream and may require amputation. Sec� ondary shock follows severe bums, caused by loss of fluid both in the destroyed tissue and in leaks from the damaged area. Treatment depends on severity; first-degree bums need only first aid; third-degree burns require long-term hospitalization. Depending on the type, extent, and site of the burn, it may be left exposed, covered with a bandage, or excised to remove dead tissue in preparation for skin grafts. Complications of bums include respiratory problems, infection, ulcers in the stomach or duodenum, and, especially in brown skin, thick scarring. Seizures and hypertension after bums occur almost entirely in children. Survivors usu� ally require plastic surgery, long-term physical therapy, and psycho� therapy.

Burnaby District municipality (pop., 2001: 193,954), southwestern British Columbia, Canada. The settlement developed along with Vancou� ver in the late 19th century and is now an eastern suburb of that city. It is one of the province�s chief commercial and industrial centres, with impor� tant trucking, warehousing, and petroleum-distribution facilities.

Burne-Jones Vbom-'jonzV Sir Edward (Coley) (b. Aug. 28, 1833, Birmingham, Eng.�d. June 17, 1898, London) British painter, illustra� tor, and designer. At Oxford he met his future collaborator, William Mor� ris. In 1856 he became apprenticed to Dante Gabriel Rossetti. His paintings portray the romantic medieval imagery favoured by the Pre-Raphaelites, and he drew inspiration from the elongated, melancholy figures of Fra Filippo Lippi and Sandro Botticelli. He first achieved great success in 1877

Burlingame, detail of an engraving by Perine & Giles, late 19th century.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON, D.C.

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with an exhibition of paintings including The Beguiling of Merlin (1873� 77). He was a founding member of Morris & Co. (1861), notably as a designer of stained glass and tapestries, and he executed 87 designs for the Kelmscott Press edition of Geoffrey Chaucer (1896), considered one the world�s finest printed books. His work had great influence on the French Symbolist movement, and his revival of the ideal of the artist- craftsman influenced the development of 20th-century industrial design.

Burnet \bor-'net\, Sir (Frank) Macfarlane (b. Sept. 3, 1899, Tra- ralgon, Vic., Austl.�d. Aug. 31, 1985, Melbourne, Vic.) Australian phy� sician and virologist. Burnet received his medical degree from the University of Melbourne. He later discovered a method for identifying bacteria by the viruses (bacteriophages) that attack them, and he shared a 1960 Nobel Prize with Peter Medawar for the discovery of acquired immu� nological tolerance to tissue transplants. He was knighted in 1951.

Burnett, Carol (b. April 26, 1933, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.) U.S. comedian and actress. She made her Broadway debut in Once upon a Mattress (1959), then appeared regularly on television in The Garry Moore Show (1959-62). Her gift for parody and her knock-kneed comic grace gained her a wide following. The weekly Carol Burnett Show (1966-77) became one of television�s most popular programs and won her five Emmy Awards. She acted in several films, including Pete �n � Tillie (1972) and Annie (1982), and returned to Broadway in Moon over Buf� falo (1995).

Burnett, Frances (Eliza) Hodgson (b. Nov. 24, 1849, Manchester, Eng.�d. Oct. 29, 1924, Plandome, N.Y., U.S.) British-U.S. playwright and author. She is best remembered for the popular children�s novel Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886), about an American boy who inherits an English earldom. The Secret Garden (1911), considered her best work, is a clas� sic of children�s literature. Other works include the novel Through One Administration (1883), about corruption in Washington, D.C., and the play A Lady of Quality (1896).

Burney, Charles (b. April 7, 1726, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, Eng.�d. April 12, 1814, Chelsea, Middlesex) British music historian. After being apprenticed to Thomas Arne, he taught music and played the organ. In 1770 he set off on European travels, undertaken to research his seminal Gen� eral History of Music, 4 vol. (1776-89). His accounts of the many famous musicians and others he met, including Christoph Willibald Gluck and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, provide an entertaining and invaluable account of 18th-century European musical life and of intellectual life in general. The novelist Fanny Burney was his daughter.

Burney (d'Arblay), Fanny orig. Frances Burney (b. June 13, 1752, King�s Lynn, Norfolk,

Eng.�d. Jan. 6, 1840, London)

English novelist. The self-educated daughter of Charles Burney, she wrote lively accounts of his social musical evenings. Her habit of recording observations of society led to Evelina (1778), an epistolary novel about an unsure young girl�s social development; a landmark in the evo� lution of the novel of manners, it pointed the way to Jane Austen�s novels. Her later novels include Cecilia (1782) and the potboiler Camilla (1796).

Burnham, Daniel H(udson)

(b. Sept. 4, 1846, Henderson, N.Y.,

U.S.�d. June 1, 1912, Heidelberg,

Ger.) U.S. architect and city planner.

He pioneered the development of Chicago commercial architecture with his partner, John Wellborn Root (1850-91). Three of the firm�s Chi� cago buildings were designated landmarks in 1962: the Rookery (1886), the Reliance Building (1890), and the Monadnock Building (1891), the last and tallest (16-story) U.S. masonry skyscraper. As chief consulting architect for Chicago�s World�s Columbian Exposition (1893), Burnham chose firms working in academic eclecticism, the antithesis of the Chi� cago School. The exposition�s resulting �White City,� with its boulevards, gardens, and Classical facades, influenced subsequent planning in the U.S.

Burnham�s plan for Chicago (1907-09), which the city used for many years, is a classic example of U.S. city planning.

Burns, George orig. Nathan Birnbaum (b. Jan. 20, 1896, New York, N.Y., U.S.�d. March 9, 1996, Beverly Hills, Calif.) U.S. comedian best known for his collaboration with Grade Allen (1902-64). Bums and Allen formed a comedy team in 1925 and were married in 1926. They performed on radio in The George Burns and Grade Allen Show (1932� 50), with Bums playing the straight man to Allen�s malaprop-prone chat� terbox, before their show moved to television (1950-58). They made 13 films together, including The Big Broadcast films of 1932, 1936, and 1937. Burns returned to the screen in films such as The Sunshine Boys (1975, Academy Award) and Oh, God! (1977) and its sequels. Famous for his wry humour and his cigars, he continued performing into his late 90s.

Bums, Ken(neth Lauren) (b. July 27, 1953, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. documentary filmmaker. He founded his own production company in 1975 and made such documentary films as Brooklyn Bridge (1981), The Shakers (1984), The Statue of Liberty (1985), and The Congress (1988). His acclaimed series The Civil War (1990), televised on PBS, won numerous filmmaking and history awards. His later television documen� taries include Baseball (1994), Lewis and Clark (1997), Frank Lloyd Wright (1998), and Jazz (2001).

Burns, Robert (b. Jan. 25, 1759, Alloway, Ayrshire, Scot.�d. July 21, 1796, Dumfries, Dumfriesshire)

National poet of Scotland. The son of a poor farmer, he early became familiar with orally transmitted folk song and tales. His father�s farm failed, and a farm he started himself quickly went bankrupt. Handsome and high-spirited, he engaged in a series of love affairs, some of which produced children, and celebrated his lovers in his poems. His Poems,

Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect (1786) brought acclaim but no financial security, and he eventually took a job as an exciseman. He later began col� lecting and editing hundreds of tra� ditional airs for James Johnson�s Scots Musical Museum (1787�1803) and George Thomson�s Select Col� lection of Original Scotish Airs (1793-1818); he substantially wrote many of these songs, though he did not claim them or receive payment for them. Among his best-known songs are �Auld Lang Syne,� �Green Grow the Rashes, O,� �John Anderson My Jo,� �A Red, Red Rose,� and �Ye Banks and Braes o� Bonnie Doon.� He freely proclaimed his radical opinions, his sympathies with the common people, and his rebellion against orthodox religion and morality.

Burnside, Ambrose (Everett) (b. May 23, 1824, Liberty, Ind., U.S.�d. Sept. 13, 1881, Bristol, R.I.) Union general in the American Civil War. A graduate of West Point, he was promoted to major general in 1862 and replaced George B. McClellan as commander of the Army of the Potomac; he was himself replaced after the Union loss at the Battle of Fredericksburg. He resigned in 1864 after the �Burnside mine� fiasco in the Petersburg Campaign, when a mine explosion intended to damage Confederate troops resulted in heavy Union losses. He was governor of Rhode Island (1866-69) and a U.S. senator (1875-81). He originated the fashion of side whiskers, later known as �sideburns.�

Burnt Njall See Njals saga

Burr, Aaron (b. Feb. 6, 1756, Newark, N.J.�d. Sept. 14, 1836, Port Richmond, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. politician, third vice president of the U.S. (1801-05). He served in the American Revolution on George Washing� ton�s staff until 1779. He had a successful law practice in New York from 1782 and served as state attorney general (1789-91) and in the U.S. Sen� ate (1791-97). In 1800 he won the vice presidential nomination on the Jeffersonian Republican ticket. In the election, he and Thomas Jefferson received the same number of electoral college votes; under procedures then prevailing, the electors had cast their votes for both Jefferson and Burr without indicating which should be president and which vice presi� dent. The election went to the House of Representatives, which became

Fanny Burney, detail of an oil painting by her brother, E.F. Burney; in the National Portrait Gallery, London

Robert Burns, detail of an oil painting by Alexander Nasmyth; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY,

LONDON

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300 I burro ► Burundi

deadlocked. Jefferson eventually was chosen president after Alexander Hamilton endorsed him; Burr became vice president. Burr resented Hamil� ton�s action and his later effort to block Burr�s nomination for governor of New York in 1804. Following some remarks by Hamilton about Burr�s character, Burr challenged him to a duel, in which Hamilton was mortally wounded. Burr fled to Philadelphia, where with Gen. James Wilkinson he planned an invasion of Mexico. He was tried for treason in 1807 before John Marshall, whose narrow interpretation of the constitutional charge led to acquittal. Under a cloud, Burr left for Europe, where he tried in vain to interest English and French authorities in his scheme to conquer Florida. In 1812 he returned to New York to resume his law practice.

burro See donkey

Burroughs, Edgar Rice (b. Sept. 1, 1875, Chicago, Ill., U.S.�d. March 19, 1950, Encino, Calif.) U.S. novelist. Burroughs worked as an advertising copywriter before trying fiction. His jungle adventure novel Tarzan of the Apes (1914) became the first of 25 books featuring Tarzan, the son of an English nobleman abandoned in Africa and raised by apes. He wrote 43 other novels.

Burroughs, John (b. April 3, 1837, near Roxbury, N.Y., U.S.�d. March 29, 1921, en route from California to New York) U.S. essayist and naturalist. In his early years he worked as a teacher, farmer, and U.S. Trea� sury Department clerk. In 1873 he moved to a farm in the Hudson River valley. Traveling extensively, he hiked and camped with John Muir and Theodore Roosevelt, among other friends, and accompanied an expedition to Alaska. His many books helped establish the genre of the nature essay; they include Wake-Robin (1871), Birds and Poets (1877), Locusts and Wild Honey (1879), Ways of Nature (1905), and Field and Study (1919).

Burroughs, William S(eward) (b. Jan. 28, 1855, Auburn, N.Y., U.S.�d. Sept. 15, 1898, Citronelle, Ala.) U.S. inventor. He was self- supporting from age 15. In 1885 he constructed his first calculating machine; though it proved commercially impractical, he patented a prac� tical model in 1892. This machine was a commercial success, but he died before he could earn much money from it. A year before his death he received the Franklin Institute�s John Scott Medal. In 1905 the Burroughs Adding Machine Co. was organized as successor to the company he had started. William S. Burroughs was his grandson.

Burroughs, William S(eward) (b. Feb. 5, 1914, St. Louis, Mo., U.S.�d. Aug. 2, 1997, Lawrence, Kan.) U.S. novelist. The grandson of the inventor William S. Burroughs, he attended Harvard University and later became a member of the central group of the Beat movement. His experimental novels evoke, in deliberately erratic prose, a nightmarish, sometimes wildly humorous world. His early Junkie (1953) frankly describes his experiences as a heroin addict. The Naked Lunch (1959; film, 1991), his best-known work, is preoccupied with homosexuality and police persecution and vividly satirizes the grotesque world of the addict. (Burroughs accidentally killed his second wife while executing a drunken prank.) In his later novels, including The Soft Machine (1961), Nova Express (1964), The Wild Boys (1971), Cities of the Red Night (1981), and The Western Lands (1987), he further experimented with dystopian visions and radical technical devices.

Bursa formerly Brusa ancient Prusa City (pop., 1997: 1,066,559), northwestern Turkey. It was founded in the 3rd century bc, at the foot of the Mysian Mount Olympus near the southeastern shore of the Sea of Marmara, as the seat of the kings of Bithynia. It flourished under the Romans (see Roman Republic and Empire) and later under the Byzantine Empire. After Crusaders conquered Constantinople (modern Istanbul) in 1204, it was a seat of Byzantine resistance. The Ottoman Empire took it in the early 14th century and made it their first great capital. Conquered by Timur in the early 15th century, it was later recovered by the Ottomans. Though the Ottoman capital was later moved to Constantinople, Bursa continued to prosper. Under the Republic of Turkey, it is a centre for agri� culture and is noted for its carpets and many 15th-century mosques.

Burschenschaft Vbur-shon-.shaftV (German: �youth association�) Ger� man student organization that started as an expression of the nationalism prevalent in post-Napoleonic Europe. First appearing in 1815, the early groups were liberal and egalitarian and favored the political unification of Germany. The groups were suppressed under the Carlsbad Decrees and went underground until 1848, when they participated in the German revo� lution (see Revolutions of 1848). After German unification, they adopted a new and aggressive nationalism.

bursitis \bor-'sI-t9s\ Inflammation of the lubricating sac (bursa) over a joint or extension of a joint, or between tendons and muscles or bones, caused by infection, injury, arthritis or gout, calcium deposits along a ten� don or joint, or repetitive minor irritation. Common types are �house� maid�s knee,� �soldier�s heel,� �tennis elbow,� and �weaver�s bottom.� Bursitis in the shoulder is the most common form. Usually occurring in people unaccustomed to physical labour, it may be so painful that the affected part cannot be used. Treatment includes rest, heat, mild exercise, and medication to relieve inflammation and remove calcium deposits.

Burt, Sir Cyril (Lodowic) (b. March 3, 1883, Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, Eng.�d. Oct. 10, 1971, London) British psychologist. He taught at the University of London (1924-50), becoming known for his pioneering work in educational psychology, especially mental testing and statistical analysis. His studies of human intelligence convinced him that intelligence was primarily inherited. Subsequent examination indicated that he had fabricated some of the data, though some of his earlier work remained unaffected by this revelation. His books, which were very popu� lar in England and went through many editions, include The Factors of the Mind (1940), The Backward Child (1961), The Young Delinquent (1965), and The Gifted Child (1975).

Burton, Richard orig. Richard Walter Jenkins, Jr. (b. Nov. 10, 1925, Pontrhydyfen, Wales�d. Aug. 5, 1984, Geneva, Switz.) British- U.S. actor. He first won success on the stage in The Lady�s Not for Burning in London (1949) and on Broadway (1950). His first Hollywood film role was in My Cousin Rachel (1952). During the filming of Cleopatra (1963) he had a highly publicized love affair with Elizabeth Taylor, whom he later twice married. Known for his resonant voice and his Welsh mournfulness, he starred again on Broadway in Camelot (1960) and an acclaimed Hamlet (1964). Among his other films are The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965), Who�s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), and Equus (1977).

Burton, Robert (1577 -1640) British scholar and writer. He spent most of his life as a vicar at Oxford. His great Anatomy of Melancholy (1621) describes the kinds, causes, symptoms, and cures of melancholy in a lively, elegant, and sometimes humorous style; a mine of classical erudi� tion and curious information, it is an index to the philosophical and psy� chological ideas of its time. His Latin comedy Philosophaster (1606) is a vivacious exposure of charlatanism.

Burton, Sir Richard (Francis) (b. March 19, 1821, Torquay, Devon� shire, Eng.�d. Oct. 20, 1890, Trieste, Austria-Hungary) English scholar- explorer and Orientalist. Expelled from Oxford in 1842, Burton went to India as a subaltern officer. There he disguised himself as a Muslim and wrote detailed reports of merchant bazaars and urban brothels. He then traveled to Arabia, again disguised as a Muslim, and became the first non- Muslim European to penetrate the forbidden holy cities; he recounted his adventures in Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Mecca (1855-56), a classic account of Muslim life. In 1857-58 he led an expedition with John Han� ning Speke in search of the source of the Nile River; stricken with malaria, he turned back after becoming the first European to reach Lake Tanga� nyika. His travels resulted in a total of 43 accounts of such subjects as Mormons, West African peoples, the Brazilian highlands, Iceland, and Etruscan Bologna. He learned 25 languages and numerous dialects; among his 30 volumes of translations were ancient Eastern manuals on the art of love, and he larded his famous Arabian Nights translation with ethnological footnotes and daring essays that won him many enemies in Victorian society. After his death his wife, Isabel, who was a devout Catholic, burned his 40 years of diaries and journals.

Buru Dutch Boeroe \'bii-ru\ Island, Indonesia. Located west of Ceram in the western Moluccas, it measures 90 mi (145 km) long by 50 mi (81 km) wide. Namlea, the chief town, lies on the narrow coastal plain. It was taken by the Dutch in the mid-17th century. It became part of Indonesia after World War II. Indonesia used Buru for a prison camp following the 1965 attempted coup; most of the prisoners had been freed by 1981.

Burundi \bu-'run-de\ officially Republic of Burundi Country, east- central Africa. Area: 10,740 sq mi (27,816 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 7,795,000. Capital: Bujumbura. The population is divided primarily between the approximately four-fifths who are Hutu and the approxi� mately one-fifth who are Tutsi. The first inhabitants, the Twa Pygmies, make up about 1% of the population. Languages: Rundi (Kirundi), French (both official), Swahili. Religions: Christianity (mostly Roman Catholic; also Protestant, other Christians); also traditional beliefs. Currency: Burundi franc. Burundi occupies a high plateau straddling the divide of

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the Nile and Congo watersheds. The divide runs north to south, rising to about 8,500 ft (2,600 m). The plateau contains the Ruvubu River basin, the southernmost extension of the Nile basin. In the west the

Rusizi River connects Lake Kivu in the north with Lake Tanganyika to the south. Burundi has a developing economy based primarily on agriculture. It is governed by a military regime. It has one legislative house, and its head of state and government is the president assisted by a vice president. Original settlement by the Twa was followed by Hutu settlement, which occurred gradually and was completed by the 11th century. The Tutsi arrived 300-400 years later; though a minority, they established the king� dom of Burundi in the 16th century. In the 19th century the area came within the German sphere of influence, but the Tutsi remained in power. Following World War I, the Belgians took control of the area; their admin� istration was replaced by a UN trusteeship after World War II. Colonial conditions had intensified Hutu-Tutsi ethnic animosities, and, as indepen� dence neared, hostilities flared. Independence was granted in 1962 in the form of a kingdom ruled by the Tutsi. In 1965 the Hutu rebelled but were brutally repressed. The two groups clashed violently throughout the rest of the 20th century, although the number of deaths did not approach the nearly one million people killed in Rwanda. The unstable government that existed in these surroundings was overthrown by the military in 1996. In 2001 a transitional government took power, but political instability con� tinued in the region.

bus Device on a computer�s motherboard that provides a data path between the CPU and attached devices (keyboard, mouse, disk drives, video cards, etc.). Like a vehicular bus that stops at designated stations to pick up or drop off riders, a computer bus receives a data signal from the CPU and drops it off at the appropriate device (for example, the con� tents of a file in RAM are sent, via the bus, to a disk drive to be stored permanently). Conversely, data signals from devices are sent back to the CPU. On a network, a bus provides the data path between the various computers and devices. See also USB.

bus Large motor vehicle designed to carry passengers usually along a fixed route according to a schedule. The first gasoline-powered bus was built in Germany in 1895 and carried eight passengers. The first integral- frame bus was constructed in the early 1920s in the U.S. In the 1930s diesel engines were introduced, providing greater power and fuel efficiency to larger buses. With the development of highway systems, transconti� nental bus lines became common in North America. Double-decked buses are used in some European cities; articulated buses pull trailers with flex� ible joints. Trolley buses, whose electric motors draw power from over� head wires, are now used mostly in European cities.

Bush, George (Herbert Walker) (b. June 12, 1924, Milton, Mass., U.S.) 41st president of the U.S. (1989-93). Bush was the son of Prescott Bush, an investment banker and U.S. senator from Connecticut. He served in World War II as a toipedo bomber pilot on aircraft carriers in the Pacific, flying some 58 combat missions; he was shot down by the Japanese in 1944. After graduating from Yale University in 1948, he started an oil business in Texas. He was elected to a Republican seat in the U.S. House of Representatives (1966-70) and later served as ambassador to the UN (1971-72), chief of liaison to China (1974-76), and head of the CIA (1976-77). In 1980 he lost the Republican Party nomination for president to Ronald Reagan. Bush served as vice president under Reagan (1981� 89), whom he succeeded as president, defeating Michael Dukakis. He made no dramatic departures from Reagan�s policies. In 1989 he ordered a brief military invasion of Panama, which toppled that country�s leader, Gen. Manuel Noriega. He helped impose a UN-approved embargo against Iraq in 1990 to force its withdrawal from Kuwait. When Iraq refused, he authorized a U.S.-led air offensive that began the Persian Gulf War. Despite general approval of his foreign policy, an economic recession led to his defeat by Bill Clinton in 1992. His son George W. Bush was elected governor of Texas in 1994 and president of the U.S. in 2000. Another son, Jeb Bush, was elected governor of Florida in 1998.

Bush, George W(alker) (b. July 6, 1946, New Haven, Conn., U.S.) Governor of Texas (1995-2000) and 43rd president of the U.S. (from 2001). The eldest child of George Bush, the 41st president of the U.S.

(1989-93), George W. Bush attended Yale University and Harvard Busi� ness School. After spending a decade in the oil business with mixed suc� cess, he served as managing general partner of the Texas Rangers profes� sional baseball franchise. In 1994 he was elected governor of Texas and won reelection by a landslide in 1998. In 2000 Bush captured the Republican Party presidential nomi� nation. Despite losing the national popular vote to Al Gore by more than 500,000 votes, he gained the presidency when the U.S. Supreme Court reversed a recount order by the Florida Supreme Court, enabling him to secure a narrow majority in the electoral college (271-266). In June 2001 Bush signed into law a $1.35 trillion tax-cut bill. In foreign affairs, his administration refused to abide by the Kyoto Protocol on reducing the emission of gases respon� sible for the greenhouse effect, withdrew from the Treaty on the Limita� tion of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems, and attempted to remove U.S. citizens from the jurisdiction of the new International Criminal Court. Fol� lowing the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon building near Washington, D.C., in September 2001 (see September 11 attacks), the Bush administration�s main priorities shifted to domestic security and counterterrorism. Bush identified Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network as responsible for the attacks. In October he launched a military campaign against Afghanistan�s Taliban government, which harboured bin Laden; the invasion of the country routed al-Qaeda and forced the Taliban from power. In late 2002 Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Bair accused the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein of continuing to possess and develop biological, chemical, and nuclear weap� ons in violation of UN mandates. After failing to persuade France, Rus� sia, and other UN Security Council members that those weapons would not be uncovered by UN weapons inspections, which had resumed in November, Bush and Blair led an attack on Iraq that toppled Saddam�s regime in 2003. Though no such weapons were found, fighting continued and escalated, as the United States helped Iraq pave the way for demo� cratic elections. Bush faced a strong challenge for the presidency in 2004 by Democratic Senator John Kerry but defeated him in a close contest.

Bush, Vannevar (b. March 11, 1890, Everett, Mass., U.S.�d. June 28, 1974, Belmont, Mass.) U.S. electrical engineer and administrator. He taught principally at MIT (1919-38, 1955-71). In the late 1920s and �30s, Bush and his students built several electronic analog computers to solve

6 , 1946, New Haven, Conn., U.S.)

George W. Bush.

ERIC DRAPER/WHITE HOUSE PHOTO

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302 I bushido ► Butler

differential equations. He helped found Raytheon Co., and he served as president of the Carnegie Institute (1939-55). In 1941 he became direc� tor of the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development, in which capacity he helped organize the Manhattan Project. By providing gov� ernment support for university-based scientific research, the agency paved the way for postwar federal support of basic scientific research. As adviser to Pres. Franklin Roosevelt, he laid the groundwork for the establishment of the National Science Foundation (1950). An information retrieval and annotation system he described became the theoretical prototype of hyper� text, the basis of the World Wide Web.

bushido \'bu-shi-do\ Japanese "way of the warrior" Code of conduct of the samurai class of Japan, first formulated in the 17th century. Its precise content varied over time, taking on overtones of Zen Buddhism and Confucianism. Along with self-discipline, honour, and austerity, one constant feature was the samurai�s obligation to his lord, which super� seded even familial ties. This obligation of loyalty and sacrifice was trans� ferred to the emperor with the Meiji Restoration and was a salient feature of the Japanese national mindset until the end of World War II (1945).

bushmaster Species ( Lachesis muta) of pit viper, found in scrublands and forests from Costa Rica south to the Amazon River basin. It is nor� mally about 6 ft (1.8 m) long but reportedly may grow to twice this length. It is pinkish or tan, marked with large, dark, diamond-shaped blotches. Though seldom encountered, the bushmaster is potentially lethal.

Bushmen See San

business cycle Periodic fluctuation in the rate of economic activity, as measured by levels of employment, prices, and production. Economists have long debated why periods of prosperity are eventually followed by economic crises (stock-market crashes, bankruptcies, unemployment, etc.). Some have identified recurring 8-to-10-year cycles in market econo� mies; longer cycles have also been proposed, notably by Nikolay Kon- dratev. Apart from random shocks to the economy, such as wars and technological changes, the main influences on the level of economic activ� ity are investment and consumption. An increase in investment, as when a factory is built, leads to consumption because the workers employed to build the factory have wages to spend. Conversely, increases in consumer demand cause new factories to be built to satisfy the demand. Eventually the economy reaches its full capacity, and, with little free capital and no new demand, the process reverses itself and contraction ensues. Natural fluctuations in agricultural markets, psychological factors such as a band� wagon mentality, and changes in the money supply have all been proposed as explanations for initial changes in investment and consumption. After World War II many governments used monetary policy to moderate the business cycle, aiming to prevent the extremes of inflation and depression by stimulating the national economy in slack times and restraining it dur� ing expansions. See also productivity.

business finance Raising and managing of funds by business orga� nizations. Such activities are usually the concern of senior managers, who must use financial forecasting to develop a long-term plan for the firm. Shorter-term budgets are then devised to meet the plan�s goals. When a company plans to expand, it may rely on cash reserves, expected increases in sales, or bank loans and trade credits extended by suppliers. Managers may also decide to raise long-term capital in the form of either debt (bonds) or equity (stock). The value of the company�s stock is a constant concern, and managers must decide whether to reinvest profits or to pay dividends. Other duties of financial managers include managing accounts receivable and fixing the optimum level of inventories. When deciding how to deploy corporate assets to increase growth, financial managers must also con� sider the benefits of mergers and acquisitions, analyzing economies of scale and the ability of businesses to complement each other. See also corporate finance; inventory.

business law or commercial law or mercantile law Legal rules and principles bearing on business organizations and commercial matters. It regulates various forms of legal business entities, including sole proprietors, partnerships, registered companies with limited liability, agents, and multinational corporations. Nearly all statutory rules govern� ing business organizations are intended to protect creditors or investors. In addition, specific bodies of law regulate commercial transactions, including the sale and carriage of goods (terms and conditions, specific performance, breach of contract, insurance, bills of lading), consumer credit agreements (letters of credit, loans, security, bankruptcy), and rela� tions between employers and employees (wages, conditions of work,

health and safety, fringe benefits, and trade unions). It is a broad and con� tinually evolving field. See also agency; corporation; debtor and creditor;

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY; LABOUR LAW.

Busoni \bu-'so-ne\, Ferruccio (Dante Michelangiolo Benve� nuto) (b. April 1, 1866, Empoli, Tuscany�d. July 27, 1924, Berlin, Ger.) Italian-born German composer and pianist. He first performed in public at age 7, and at 12 he conducted his own Stabat Mater. He taught in Hel� sinki, Moscow, and Boston before settling permanently in Berlin in 1894. He won fame as a virtuoso pianist and gave premieres of the works of major composers. His most celebrated work in his lifetime, the opera Die Brautwahl (1910), was followed by the operas Arlecchino (1916) and Turandot (1917), but the unfinished and posthumously produced Doktor Faust is regarded as his masterpiece. Of his orchestral works, his piano concerto (1904) is most widely performed. His many piano pieces include the Fantasia contrappuntistica (1910), six sonatinas (1910-20), and arrangements of organ works by Johann Sebastian Bach.

bustard Any of about 23 species of medium-sized to large game birds in the family Otididae, related to the cranes and rails in the order Grui- formes. Bustards are found in Africa, southern Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Guinea. A tall running bird, they have long legs, a compact body carried in a horizontal position, and an erect neck placed forward of the legs. The best-known species is the great bustard (Otis tarda), the largest European land bird. Males of this species weigh as much as 31 lbs (14 kg) and reach lengths of 4 ft (1.2 m), with 8-ft (2.4-m) wingspreads.

Bute, John Stuart, 3rd earl of orig. John Stuart (b. May 25,

1713, Edinburgh, Scot.�d. March 10, 1792, London, Eng.) Scottish-born British statesman. He was the tutor and constant companion of the future George III; when the latter ascended to the throne, he named Bute secre� tary of state (1761). As prime minister (1762-63), Bute negotiated the peace ending the Seven Years' War, but, having failed to create a stable administration, he resigned in 1763.

Buthelezi X.biit-Va-zeV Mangosuthu G(atsha) (b. Aug. 27, 1928, Mahlabatini, Natal, S.Af.) Zulu chief and leader of the Inkatha Freedom Party. Descended from Cetshwayo, he assumed leadership of the Buthelezi clan in 1953. He was elected head of the nonindependent black state of KwaZulu in 1972 and revived Inkatha in 1975 after breaking with the African National Congress (ANC). Rejecting full independence for Kwa� Zulu, he worked within the white establishment to end apartheid. In 1990-94 he engaged in a fierce struggle for leadership with the ANC; thousands were killed in Inkatha-ANC clashes. Following the 1994 national elections, he was appointed minister of home affairs by Nelson Mandela; he held the post until 2004.

Butkus Vbot-kosV, Dick in full Richard J. Butkus (b. Dec. 9, 1942, Chicago, Ill., U.S.) U.S. football player. He played for the University of Illinois before joining the Chicago Bears (1965-73). He became known for his aggression and toughness on the field as much as for his play� making ability. His career was shortened by injuries; after retirement he became active in television and sports promotion. Butkus is considered among the best middle linebackers of all time.

Butler, Benjamin F(ranklin) (b. Nov. 5, 1818, Deerfield, N.H., U.S.�d. Jan. 11, 1893, Washington, D.C.) U.S. army officer. A prominent attorney in Lowell, Mass., Butler served two terms in the state legislature (1853, 1859). In the American Civil War he commanded Fort Monroe, Va., where he refused to return fugitive slaves to the Confederacy, calling them �contraband of war,� an interpretation later upheld by the government. He oversaw the occupation of New Orleans in 1862 but was recalled because of his harsh rule. He led the Union army in Virginia, but after several defeats he was relieved of his command in 1865. In the U.S. House of Representatives (1867-75, 1877-79), he was a Radical Republican prominent in the impeachment trial of Pres. Andrew Johnson. He switched parties in 1878 to support the Greenback movement and later served as governor of Massachusetts (1882-84).

Butler, Joseph (b. May 18, 1692, Wantage, Berkshire, Eng.�d. June 16, 1752, Bath, Somerset) British bishop and moral philosopher. He became dean of St. Paul�s Cathedral in 1740 and bishop of Durham in 1750. His works defended revealed religion against the rationalist think� ers of his time. His The Analogy of Religion, Natural and Revealed, to the Constitution and Course of Nature (1736) attacked the doctrine of Deism, according to which knowledge of God is acquired through reason rather than revelation. His Of the Nature of Virtue, appended to the Anal-

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Butler ► button I 303

ogy, presented a refutation of hedonism and of the notion that self-interest is the ultimate principle of good conduct.

Butler, Nicholas M(urray) (b. April 2, 1862, Elizabeth, N.J., U.S.�d. Dec. 7, 1947, New York, N.Y.) U.S. educator. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University. He was the founding president of what is today Columbia�s Teachers College (1886-91). As president of Colum� bia University itself (1901�45), he led the institution to world renown. Early in his career he criticized prevailing pedagogical methods, but later he turned on pedagogical reform itself, decrying vocationalism in educa� tion and behaviorism in psychology. A champion of international under� standing, he helped establish the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in 1910 and served as its president (1925�45). In 1931 he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Jane Addams.

Butler, R(ichard) A(usten), baron of Saffron Walden (b. Dec. 9, 1902, Attock Serai, India�d. March 8, 1982, Great Yeldham, Essex, Eng.) British politician. Known as �Rab� Butler, he was elected to Par� liament in 1929 and served in various Conservative governments in the 1930s. As minister of education, he was responsible for the 1944 Educa� tion Act, which established free secondary education. After the Tories� electoral losses in 1945, he helped remold the Conservative Party, serv� ing as its leader (1955-61). He served as chancellor of the exchequer (1951-55), home secretary (1957-62), and foreign secretary (1963-64).

Butler, Samuel (b. Feb. 8, 1612, Strensham, Worcestershire, Eng.�d. Sept. 25, 1680, London) British poet and satirist. He held several clerical positions, where he could observe cranks and scoundrels like those whose antics he targeted. He is famous for Hudibras (1663-78), a mock-heroic poem skewering the fanaticism, pretentiousness, pedantry, and hypocrisy he saw in militant Puritanism. It is the most memorable burlesque poem in English and the first English satire that successfully attacked ideas rather than personalities.

Butler, Samuel (b. Dec. 4, 1835,

Eng.�d. June 18, 1902, London)

British novelist, essayist, and critic.

Descended from distinguished cler� gymen, he grappled for many years with Christianity and evolution, first embracing, then rejecting, Charles Darwin�s theories in his writings. He is best known for The Way of All Flesh (1903), his autobiographical novel that tells, with ruthless wit and lack of sentiment, the story of his escape from the suffocating moral atmosphere of his home circle. In his lifetime his reputation rested on the utopian satire Erewhon (1872), which foreshadowed the end of the Victorian illusion of eternal progress.

Buto Vbyu-to\ In ancient Egyptian religion, the cobra goddess who was tutelary goddess of Lower Egypt and, with the vulture-goddess Nekh- bet of Upper Egypt, protector of the king. She was nurse to the infant god Horus and helped his mother, Isis, protect him from his uncle Seth. She was later identified with Leto. She is depicted as a cobra twined around a papyrus stem.

Buton \'bu-,t6n\ or Butung \'bu-,tuq\ Island, east-central Indonesia. Lying off the southeast coast of Celebes (Sulawesi), it is about 100 mi (160 km) long and has an area of about 2,000 sq mi (5,200 sq km). Its chief town is Baubau, on the southwestern coast. The coastal people are chiefly trading sailors and fishermen.

butte \'byiit\ (French: �hillock� or �rising ground�) Flat-topped hill sur� rounded by a steep cliff, from the bottom of which a slope descends to the plain. The term is sometimes used for an elevation higher than a hill but not high enough to be a mountain. Buttes topped by horizontal plat� forms of hard rock are characteristic of the arid plateau region of the western U.S. A butte is similar to a mesa but generally smaller; both are created by erosional processes.

butter Solid emulsion of fat globules and water made by churning cream, used as a food. Presumably known since the advent of animal husbandry.

butter has long been used as a cooking fat and as a spread. It was tradi� tionally a farm product, but with the advent of the cream separator in the late 19th century it began to be mass-produced. It is a high-energy food, containing about 715 calories per 100 grams. It is high in butterfat (80- 85%) and low in protein. Colouring is sometimes added to enhance its natural yellow colour (from carotene), and salt is often added.

butter-and-eggs or toadflax Common perennial herbaceous plant (Linaria vulgaris ) of the snapdragon family, native to Eurasia and widely naturalized in North America. The plant bears flaxlike leaves and showy yellow and orange flowers that are two-lipped and spurred like snap� dragons.

buttercup Any of about 250 species of herbaceous flowering plants constituting the genus Ranunculus of the family Ranunculaceae. Butter� cups are especially common in the woods and fields of the northern tem� perate zone. The turban, or Persian buttercup ( R . asiaticus ), is the flo� rist�s ranunculus. Among the many wild species are the tall meadow but� tercup ( R . acris) and common water crowfoot (R. aquatilis). Other mem� bers of the family Ranunculaceae are widely distributed in all temperate and subtropical regions. In the trop� ics they occur mostly at high eleva� tions. Their leaves are usually alternate and stalkless and may be simple or much divided. The flowers may be radially symmetrical or irregular. The family includes such flowers as anemone, larkspur, marsh marigold, clematis, and hepatica (genus Hepatica).

butterfly Any of more than 17,000 lepidopteran species found world� wide. Unlike moths, butterflies are active during the day and are usually brightly coloured or strikingly patterned. Distinctive features are club- tipped antennae and a habit of holding the wings vertically over the back when at rest. With few exceptions the larvae and adults eat plants. But� terflies are classified into five or six families. The metalmarks of the fam� ily Lycaenidae are found chiefly in the New World tropics; some members of the family Nymphalidae are called snout butterflies. Other species (with their families) include the white and sulphur butterflies (Pieridae), the swal� lowtail butterfly (Papilionidae), the blue, copper, and hairstreak butterflies (Lycaenidae), and the admiral, monarch, and painted lady (Nymphalidae).

butterfly bush See buddleia butterfly effect See chaotic behavior

butterfly weed North American plant ( Asclepias tuberosa ) of the milk� weed family, a stout, rough-haired perennial with long horizontal roots. The leafy, erect, somewhat branching stem is about 1-3 ft (0.3-0.9 m) tall. In midsummer it bears numerous clusters of bright orange flowers. Unlike most milkweeds, it has a scanty milky juice. It is native to dry fields and is often planted in wild gardens or grown as a border plant.

butternut Deciduous NUT-producing tree (JugIans cinerea ) of the wal� nut family, native to eastern North America. A mature tree has gray, deeply furrowed bark. Each leaf has 11-17 yellowish green leaflets that are hairy underneath. Chocolate-coloured partitions divide the pith of the twig into many chambers. The egg-shaped fruit has a sticky, greenish brown husk. The hard, woody nut bears many ridges and contains a sweet, oily seed. The tree is economically important for its edible nuts and for a yellow or orange dye obtained from the fruit husks. Some substances in the inner bark of the roots are used in medicines.

button Small disk or knob used as a fastener or ornament. It usually has holes or a shank through which it is sewn to one side of a garment. It is used to fasten or close the garment when it is passed through a loop or hole in the other side. The ancient Greeks fastened their tunics with but� tons and loops. In medieval Europe, garments were laced or fastened together with brooches or clasps until the buttonhole was reinvented in the 13th century. Throughout history, buttons have been made in a range of sizes and materials, some elaborated into miniature works of art.

Langar Rectory, Nottinghamshire,

Samuel Butler, detail of an oil painting by Charles Gogin, 1896; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, LONDON

Aquatic buttercup (Ranunculus flabellaris).

FRANCES V. DAVIS

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304 I buttress ► Byron

buttress Exterior support, usually of masonry, projecting from the face of a wall and serving to strengthen it or resist outward thrust from an arch or roof. Buttresses also have a decorative function. Though used since ancient times (Mesopotamian temples featured decorative buttresses, as did Roman and Byzantine structures), they are especially associated with Gothic architecture. See also flying buttress.

Butung See Buton

Buwayhid dynasty See Buyid dynasty

Buxtehude Vbuk-sto-'hu-doV, Dietrich (b. 1637, probably in Oldes- loe, Holstein�d. May 9, 1707, Ltibeck) Danish organist and composer. He held two organist positions before being appointed organist at the important Marienkirche in Liibeck (now in Germany), where he remained for almost 40 years. There he reinstated the tradition of the Abendmusik, an annual series of church concerts. His reputation was such that in 1705 Johann Sebastian Bach traveled 200 miles there to hear him play and ended up staying three months. Buxtehude�s approximately 130 surviving vocal works, usually called cantatas, can instead be classified as concertos, cho� rale settings, and arias. All are imbued with a devout simplicity that con� trasts strongly with the elaborations of their Bachian successors. He also composed almost 100 works for organ, some 20 keyboard suites, and more than 20 chamber sonatas.

Buyid \'bu-yid\ dynasty or Buwayhid \bii-'wl-hid\ dynasty (945-1055) Muslim ShTite dynasty founded by three sons of Buyeh, a Daylamite (north Persian) fisherman. They captured Baghdad in 945, and each brother took a portion of territory. After they died, one Buyid leader, c Adud al-Dawlah, consolidated control (977) and enlarged the Buyid domain. From 983 the territories were split among family members. The dynasty ended when the Turkic Seljuq dynasty took Baghdad in 1055. Buyid art maintained its influence throughout the Seljuq reign; Buyid sil- verwork is notable.

buzkashi Persian "goat dragging" An equestrian game in which riders compete to gain control of a goat or calf carcass that has been decapitated and dehoofed. Buzkashi likely originated as an entertaining variant of ordinary herding or raiding. It is popular predominantly among Turkic peoples in Afghanistan but can be found in the Muslim republics of Central Asia and in parts of northwestern China. Buzkashi has two main forms. The traditional version, tudabaray, has no formal teams and is not played within clearly defined boundaries. Games often involve hundreds of riders, and the objective is to gain sole possession of the carcass and ride it free and clear of all other riders. The modern government-sponsored qarajay style involves two teams of 10-12 riders that contend on a defined field with goals. Beginning in the early 1950s, the Kabul-based Afghan government hosted national tournaments.

buzz bomb See V-l missile

buzzard Chiefly British term for any of several birds of prey of the hawk genus Buteo (family Accipitridae) and, in North America, various New World vultures, especially the turkey vulture. In Australia, a large hawk of the genus Hamirostra is called a black-breasted buzzard. The buteos, also called buzzard hawks, can usually be distinguished when soaring by their broad wings and expansive rounded tail. The plumage of most species is dark brown above and white or mottled brown below; the tail and under� side of the wings are usually barred. Buteos customarily prey on insects, small mammals, and occasionally birds. They nest in trees or on cliffs. Species range over much of the New World, Eurasia, and Africa. The red� tailed hawk, the most common North American buteo, is about 2 ft (60 cm) long.

Buzzards Bay Inlet of the Atlantic Ocean, southeastern Massachusetts, U.S. Connected to Cape Cod Bay by the Cape Cod Canal on the north� east and bordered on the southeast by the Elizabeth Islands, it is 30 mi (48 km) long and 5-10 mi (8-16 km) wide. Its coastline is dotted with fishing villages and summer resorts. Buzzards Bay town (pop., 2000: 3,549) is the site of Massachusetts Maritime Academy.

Byatt, A(ntonia) S(usan) orig. Antonia Susan Drabble (b.

Aug. 24, 1936, Sheffield, Eng.) British novelist and scholar. Sister of Margaret Drabble, she was educated at Cambridge and taught at Univer� sity College, London. Her third novel. The Virgin in the Garden (1978), won high acclaim; the sequel Still Life (1985) followed. Possession (1990), a virtuoso double narrative, won the 1990 Booker Prize, and both it and Angels and Insects (1991) were adapted for film. Her story collec�

tions include The Djinn in the Nightingale�s Eye (1995) and Elementals (1998). Degrees of Freedom (1965) was the first major study of Iris Mur� doch. In 2002 Byatt published the novel A Whistling Woman, the last of a series of four novels�beginning with The Virgin in the Garden � featuring the character Frederica Potter.

Byblos Vbi-bl3s\ modern Jbail or Jubayl \ju-'bal\ Ancient coastal city, eastern Mediterranean Sea. Located north of Beirut, Leb., the site was occupied by at least the Neolithic Period (New Stone Age); extensive settle� ment developed during the 4th millennium bc. As the chief harbour for the export of cedar to Egypt, it was a great trading centre. Papyrus, an early writing surface produced in Egypt, received its original Greek name, byblos, from its export to the Aegean through the city; the English word Bible means essentially �the (papyrus) book.� Almost all known early Phoenician inscriptions, most from the 10th century bc, come from By� blos. By that time Tyre had become the preeminent city in Phoenicia, and, though Byblos continued to flourish into Roman times, it never recovered its former supremacy.

Bydgoszcz \'bid-,g6shch\ City (pop., 2000 est.: 384,500), northern Poland. Originally a commercial city of the Teutonic Order, it received town rights in 1346. It prospered as a grain and timber centre until it was devastated in the 17th-century Swedish wars. In the 18th century the Bydgoszcz Canal, which linked the basins of the Vistula and Oder rivers, made the city a major inland port. It fell under Prussian rule in 1772- 1919. The Germans held it throughout World War II, but it was noted for its staunch resistance to the Nazi invasion of 1939. It remains important as a water transport route, connecting Upper Silesia with the Baltic ports.

Byelarus See Belarus

Byelorussian language See Belarusian language bypass surgery See coronary bypass

Byrd, Richard E(velyn) (b. Oct. 25, 1888, Winchester, Va., U.S.�d. March 11, 1957, Boston, Mass.) U.S. naval officer, aviator, and polar explorer. After serving in World War I, he worked developing navigational aids for aircraft. In 1926 he and Floyd Bennett claimed to have reached the North Pole by airplane, becoming the first to do so. In 1928 Byrd began his explorations of Antarctica with the first expedition to his �Little America� base, which was followed in 1929 by a flight with three com� panions over the South Pole, again the first such flight. He led subsequent expeditions that discovered and mapped large areas of Antarctica. His several books include Discovery (1935) and Alone (1938), which chronicled his months spent alone in a camp near the South Pole. His brother Harry F. Byrd (1887-1966) served as a U.S. senator from Virginia

(1933-65).

Byrd, William (b. 1543, Lincoln, Lincolnshire?, Eng.�d. July 4, 1623, Stondon Massey, Essex) British composer. He studied under Thomas Tal� us and was appointed organist of Lincoln Cathedral at age 20. In 1572 he became organist of the Chapel Royal, sharing the post with Tallis. In 1575 the two men received from Elizabeth I the exclusive license for the print� ing and selling of music in Britain. Though repeatedly prosecuted as a Roman Catholic, Byrd remained in favour with the queen. He is renowned as Britain�s finest composer of sacred choral works, as well as for his keyboard music and songs. His works include three masses (for three, four, and five voices), some 220 Latin motets, four important Anglican services, and some 60 anthems, as well as some 100 virginal pieces (many preserved in the collections Parthenia and The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book).

Byrne, David (b. May 14, 1952, Dumbarton, Dunbartonshire, Scot.) Scottish-born U.S. singer and songwriter. At the Rhode Island School of Design in the mid-1970s, he cofounded the rock group Talking Heads as singer and guitarist. Identified with the new wave movement (see punk), the band�s debut album Talking Heads �77 (1977) was followed by releases that reflected Byrne�s interest in experimental pop and African rhythms, including Speaking in Tongues (1983), Stop Making Sense (soundtrack for film of the same name; 1984), and solo albums such as Rei Momo (1989). An ethnomusicologist and producer, Byrne also wrote the score for choreographer Twyla Tharp�s The Catherine Wheel (1980) and directed the film True Stories (1986).

Byron, George (Gordon) Byron, 6th Baron known as Lord Byron (b. Jan. 22, 1788, London, Eng.�-d. April 19, 1824, Missolonghi, Greece) British Romantic poet and satirist. Born with a clubfoot and extremely sensitive about it, he was 10 when he unexpectedly inherited

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byssinosis ► Byzantium I 305

his title and estates. Educated at Cambridge, he gained recognition with English Bards and Scotch Reviewers (1809), a satire responding to a criti� cal review of his first published volume, Hours of Idleness (1807). Childe Harold�s Pilgrimage (1812-18), a poetic travelogue expressing melan� choly and disillusionment, brought him fame, while his complex person� ality, dashing good looks, and many scandalous love affairs, with women and with boys, captured the imagination of Europe. Settling near Geneva, he wrote the verse tale The Prisoner of Chillon (1816), a hymn to liberty and an indictment of tyranny, and Manfred (1817), a poetic drama whose hero reflected Byron�s own guilt and frustration. His greatest poem, Don Juan (1819-24), is an unfinished epic picaresque satire in ottava rima. Among his numerous other works are verse tales and poetic dramas. He died of fever in Greece while aiding the struggle for independence, mak� ing him a Greek national hero.

byssinosis \,bi-s3-'no-s3s\ or brown lung disease Respiratory dis� order caused by dust from cotton and other fibres, common among tex� tile workers. In addition, the dust stimulates histamine release; air passages constrict, making breathing difficult. Over time the dust accumulates in the lung, producing a typical brown discoloration. Byssinosis today is seen in most cotton-producing regions of the world. Several years of exposure to cotton dust are needed before byssinosis develops. In advanced stages, it causes chronic, irreversible obstructive lung disease. Though cotton is by far the most common cause, flax, hemp, and other organic fibres can also produce byssinosis. There is evidence that a bac� terial product found in the fibres is the cause of the disease.

byte See bit

Byzantine architecture Vbi-zon-.tenV Building style of Constantino� ple (now Istanbul, formerly ancient Byzantium) after ad 330. Byzantine architects were eclectic, at first drawing heavily on Roman temple fea� tures. Their combination of the basilica and symmetrical central-plan (cir� cular or polygonal) religious structures resulted in the characteristic Byzantine Greek-cross-plan church, with a square central mass and four arms of equal length. The most distinctive feature was the domed roof. To allow a dome to rest above a square base, either of two devices was used: the squinch (an arch in each of the comers of a square base that transforms it into an octagon) or the pendentive. Byzantine structures fea� tured soaring spaces and sumptuous decoration: marble columns and inlay, mosaics on the vaults, inlaid-stone pavements, and sometimes gold coffered ceilings. The architecture of Constantinople extended throughout the Christian East and in some places, notably Russia, remained in use after the fall of Constantinople (1453). See also Hagia Sophia.

Byzantine art Art associated with the Byzantine Empire. Its character� istic styles were first codified in the 6th century and persisted with remark� able homogeneity until the capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453. Concerned almost exclusively with religious expression, it tends to reflect an intensely hierarchical view of the universe. It relies on vigour of line and brilliance of colour; individual features are absent, forms are flattened, and perspective is absent. Walls, vaults, and domes were cov� ered in mosaic and fresco decoration in a total fusion of architectural and pictorial expression. Byzantine sculpture was largely limited to small ivory reliefs. The importance of Byzantine art to European religious art was immense; the style was spread by trade and expansion to the Medi� terranean basin, eastern European centres, and especially Russia. See also Byzantine architecture.

Byzantine chant Unison liturgical chant of the Greek Orthodox church from the era of the Byzantine Empire to the 16th century. It probably derived principally from Hebrew and Syrian Christian liturgies. A system of eight modes, very similar to the eight Greek modes, was used for psalms and hymns, each mode (or echos) consisting primarily of a few melodic for� mulas. The principal hymn genres were the troparion (one or more stan� zas of poetic prose), the kontakion (a metrical sermon), and the kanon (a complexly ordered set of hymn types). See also Gregorian chant.

Byzantine Empire Empire, southeastern and southern Europe and western Asia. It began as the city of Byzantium, which had grown from an ancient Greek colony founded on the European side of the Bosporus. The city was taken in ad 330 by Constantine I, who refounded it as Con� stantinople. The area at this time was generally termed the Eastern Roman Empire. The fall of Rome in 476 ended the western half of the Roman Empire; the eastern half continued as the Byzantine Empire, with Con� stantinople as its capital. The eastern realm differed from the west in many respects: heir to the civilization of the Hellenistic era, it was more com-

Byzantine Emperors

Zeno

474-491

Theodora ( empress)

1055-56

Anastasius 1

491-518

Michael VI Stratioticus

1056-57

Justin 1

518-527

Isaac 1 Comnenus

1057-59

Justinian 1

527-565

Constantine X Ducas

1059-67

Justin II

565-578

Romanus IV Diogenes

1067-71

Tiberius II Constantine

578-582

Michael VII Ducas

1071-78

Maurice Tiberius

582-602

Nicephorus III Botaniates

1078-81

Phocas

602-610

Alexius 1 Comnenus

1081-1118

Heraclius

610-641

John II Comnenus

1118-43

Heraclius Constantine

641

Manuel 1 Comnenus

1143-80

Heraclonas (or Heraclius)

641

Alexius II Comnenus

1180-83

Constans II (Constantine

641-668

Andronicus 1 Comnenus

1183-85

Pogonatus)

Isaac II Angelus

1185-95

Constantine IV

668-685

Alexius III Angelus

1195-1203

Justinian II Rhinotmetus

685-695

Isaac II Angelus ( restored)

1203-4

Leontius

695-698

& Alexius IV Angelus

Tiberius III

698-705

Alexius V Ducas

1204

Justinian II Rhinotmetus

705-711

Murtzuphlus

( restored)

Latin emperors

Philippicus

711-713

Baldwin 1

1204-5

Anastasius II

713-715

Henry

1206-16

Theodosius III

715-717

Peter

1217

Leo III

717-741

Yolande (empress)

1217-19

Constantine V

741-775

Robert

1221-28

Copronymus

Baldwin II

1228-61

Leo IV

775-780

John

1231-37

Constantine VI

780-797

Nicaean emperors

Irene ( empress )

797-802

Constantine (XI)

1204-5?

Nicephorus 1

802-811

Theodore 1 Lascaris

1205?-22

Stauracius

811

John III Ducas Vatatzes

1222-54

Michael 1 Rhangabe

811-813

Theodore II Lascaris

1254-58

Leo V

813-820

John IV Lascaris

1258-61

Michael II Balbus

820-829

Greek emperors restored

Theophilus

829-842

Michael VIII

1261-82

Michael III

842-867

Palaeologus

Basil 1

867-886

Andronicus II

1282-1328

Leo VI

886-912

Palaeologus

Alexander

912-913

Andronicus III

1328-41

Constantine VII

913-959

Palaeologus

Porphyrogenitus

John V Palaeologus

1341-76

Romanus 1 Lecapenus

920-944

John VI Cantacuzenus

1347-54

Romanus II

959-963

Andronicus IV

1376-79

Nicephorus II Phocas

963-969

Palaeologus

John 1 Tzimisces

969-976

John V Palaeologus

1379-90

Basil II Bulgaroctonus

976-1025

( restored)

Constantine VIII

1025-28

John VII Palaeologus

1390

Romanus III Argyrus

1028-34

John V Palaeologus

1390-91

Michael IV

1034-41

( restored)

Michael V Calaphates

1041-42

Manuel II Palaeologus

1391-1425

Zoe ( empress )

1042-50

John VIII Palaeologus

1421-48

Constantine IX

1042-55

Constantine XI

1449-53

Monomachus

Palaeologus

*For emperors of the Eastern Roman Empire (at Constantinople) before the fall of Rome, see Roman republic and empire.

mercial and more urban. Its greatest emperor, Justinian (r. 527-565), reconquered some of western Europe, built the Hagia Sophia, and issued the basic codification of Roman law. After his death the empire weak� ened. Though its rulers continued to style themselves �Roman� long after Justinian�s death, �Byzantine� more accurately describes the medieval empire. The long controversy over iconoclasm within the eastern church prepared it for the break with the Roman church (see Schism of 1054). During the controversy, Arabs and Seljuq Turks increased their power in the area. In the late 11th century, Alexius I Comnenus sought help from Venice and the pope; these allies turned the ensuing Crusades into plun� dering expeditions. In the Fourth Crusade the Venetians took over Con� stantinople and established a line of Latin emperors. Recaptured by Byzantine exiles in 1261, the empire was now little more than a large city-state. In the 14th century the Ottoman Turks began to encroach; their extended siege of Constantinople ended in 1453, when the last emperor died fighting on the city walls and the area came under Ottoman control.

Byzantium See Istanbul

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306 I C ► cable structure

C High-level procedural computer programming language with many low- level features, including the ability to handle memory addresses and bits. It is highly portable among platforms and therefore widely used in indus� try and among computer professionals. C was developed by Dennis M. Ritchie (bom 1941) of Bell Laboratories in 1972. The operating system UNIX was written almost exclusively in C, and C has been standardized as part of POSIX (Portable Operating System Interface for UNIX).

C++ \'se- , pl9s- , pbs\ High-level computer programming language. Devel� oped by Bjarne Stroustrup of Bell Laboratories in the early 1980s, it is traditional C language with added object-oriented programming capabili� ties. C++, along with Java, has become popular for developing commer� cial software packages that incorporate multiple interrelated applications.

C-section See cesarean section Cabala See Kabbala

Caballero, Francisco

Largo Caballero

Largo See Francisco

cabaret \,ka-b3-'ra\ Restaurant that serves liquor and offers light musical entertainment. The cabaret probably originated in France in the 1880s as a small club that presented amateur acts and satiric skits lam� pooning bourgeois conventions. The first German Kabarett was opened in Berlin c. 1900 by Baron Ernst von Wolzogen and accompanied its musical acts with biting political satire. By the 1920s it had become the centre for underground political and literary expression and a showcase for the works of social critics such as Be tolt Brecht and Kurt Weill; this decadent but fertile artistic milieu was later portrayed in the musical Cabaret (1966; film, 1972). The English cabaret derived from concerts given in city taverns in the 18th� 19th centuries and evolved into the music hall. In the U.S. the cabaret developed into the nightclub, where comedians, singers, or musicians performed. Small jazz and folk clubs and, later, comedy clubs evolved from the original cabaret.

cabbage Leafy garden plant ( Brassica oleracea, Capitata group) of European origin, with a short stem and a globular head of usually green leaves. A member of the mustard family, it is a major table vegetable in most countries of the temperate zone. The term cabbage also refers more gen� erally to a vegetable and fodder plant of various horticultural forms devel� oped by long cultivation from the wild, or sea, cabbage ( B. oleracea) found near the seacoast in England and continental Europe. The common forms may be classified by the plant parts used for food: leaves (e.g., KALE, collard, common cabbage, Brussels sprout); flowers and flower stalks (e.g., broccoli, cauliflower); and stems (e.g., kohlrabi). Cabbages grow best in mild to cool climates and tolerate frost. Edible portions are low in caloric value and are an excellent source of vitamin C, minerals, and dietary fibre. See also Chinese cabbage.

cabbage looper Distinctive green, white-lined larva, or caterpillar {Trichoplusia ni), of the owlet MOTH family (Noctuidae). Like other loop- ers, it moves in an �inching� motion. It is an economic pest of cabbages and associated crops, particularly in the U.S. and Europe. The adults, known as Ni moths, migrate considerable distances. They are mottled brown with a pale Y-shaped mark on each forewing. The typical adult wingspan is about 1 in. (25 mm).

cabbage palmetto See palmetto

cabbage white or cabbage butterfly European cabbage butterfly (Pieris rapae). Its larva is a major economic pest, attacking cabbage and related plants. Introduced into North America c. 1860, the cabbage white is today one of the most common North American white butterfly species.

Cabbala See Kabbala

Cabeiri or Cabiri \ko- , bI- l ri\ Important group of deities, probably of Phrygian origin, worshiped in Asia Minor and in Macedonia and north� ern and central Greece. In classical times there were two males, Axiocer- sus and his son Cadmilus, and two females, Axierus and Axiocersa. They were promoters of fertility and protectors of seafarers. The male pair, the more important, was often confused with the Dioscuri. The Cabeiri were also identified with the Great Gods of Samothrace, and their cult reached its height in the 4th century bc.

Cabell Vkab-olV James Branch (b. April 14, 1879, Richmond, Va., U.S.�d. May 5, 1958, Richmond) U.S. writer. Cabell attacked American orthodoxies and institutions in his best-known novel, Jurgen (1919), a story replete with sexual symbolism. His other works, many of them alle� gories set in an imaginary medieval province, include The Cream of the Jest (1917) and The High Place (1923). Though much praised in the 1920s, his mannered style and skeptical view of human experience soon lost favour.

Cabeza de Vaca Vko-'ba-zo-do-'va-koV Alvar Nunez (b. c. 1490, Extremadura, Castile�d. c. 1560, Sevilla, Spain) Spanish explorer. He took part in an expedition that reached what is now Tampa Bay, Fla., U.S., in 1528. One of only four members of the expedition to survive, he spent eight years in the Gulf region of modern Texas. His accounts of the legendary Seven Cities of Cibola probably inspired the extensive explorations of North America by Hernando de Soto and Francisco Vazquez de Coronado.

Cabezon V.ka-ba-'thonV Antonio de (b. c. 1510, Castrillo de Matajudios, near Burgos, Spain�d. March 26, 1566, Madrid) Spanish composer and organist. Of noble birth, he was blind from early childhood. In 1526 he became organist to Isabella, wife of Charles V. He remained a royal favourite, especially to Philip II, whom he accompanied on his travels. His works, which influenced the English vir- ginalists and J.P. Sweelinck, are almost entirely for keyboard; they include numerous tientos (ricercars or fantasias) and diferencias (variations), a genre of which he was one of the first masters.

cabildo Spanish "municipal council" Fundamental unit of local government in colonial Latin America. It was responsible for all ordinary aspects of municipal government, including policing, sanitation, taxation, price and wage regulation, and the administration of justice. Its jurisdiction extended beyond the city to the surrounding hamlets and countryside. By the mid- 16th century appointments to cabildos were usu� ally made by the Spanish crown and could be sold or inherited. Cabildos were often corrupt, but cabildos abiertos (open town meetings) were important to the Latin American independence movement of the early 19th century.

cabinet Body of senior ministers or, in the U.S., advisers to a chief executive, whose members also serve as the heads of government depart� ments. The cabinet has become an integral part of parliamentary govern� ment in many countries, though its form varies. It developed from the British Privy Council, when King Charles II and Queen Anne regularly consulted the council�s leading members to reach decisions before meet� ing with the unwieldy full council. The modern British cabinet consists of departmental ministers, drawn from the members of Parliament and appointed by the prime minister. In the U.S., the cabinet serves as an advisory group to the president without the sanction of law. Members� appointments are subject to Senate approval, and the U.S. Constitution sets cabinet members� order of succession to the presidency. The cabinet includes the secretaries of State, Treasury, Defense, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Education, Energy, and Veterans Affairs and the attorney general.

cable car See streetcar

cable modem Modem used to convert analog data signals to digital form and vise versa, for transmission or receipt over cable television lines, especially for connecting to the Internet. A cable modem modulates and demodulates signals like a telephone modem, but is a much more complex device. Data can be transferred over cable lines much more quickly than over traditional phone lines. Transmission rates are typically around 1.5 megabits per second. Faster transmission is actually possible, but speed is usually restricted by the cable company�s (typically slower) connection to the Internet. Cable Internet access is regarded as a replacement for slower dial-up and ISDN services, and is competitive with other broadband modes of delivery (e.g., DSL connections). See also broadband technology.

Cable News Network See CNN

cable structure Form of long-span structure that is subject to tension and uses suspension cables for support. Highly efficient, cable structures

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cable television ► cactus I 307

include the suspension bridge, the cable-stayed roof, and the bicycle- wheel roof. The graceful curve of the huge main cables of a suspension bridge is almost a catenary, the shape assumed by any string or cable sus� pended freely between two points. The cable-stayed roof is supported from above by steel cables radiating downward from masts that rise above roof level. The bicycle-wheel roof involves two layers of tension cables radiating from an inner tension ring and an outer compression ring, which in turn is supported by columns.

cable television System that distributes television signals by means of coaxial or fibre-optic cables. Cable television systems originated in the U.S. in the early 1950s to improve reception in remote and hilly areas, where broadcast signals were weak. In the 1960s they were introduced in large metropolitan areas where reception is sometimes degraded by reflection of signals from tall buildings. Since the mid-1970s there has been a pro� liferation of cable systems that offer special services and which generally charge a monthly fee. Besides providing high-quality signals, some sys� tems can deliver hundreds of channels. Another feature increasingly offered by cable operators is two-way, interactive communication by which viewers can, for example, participate in public-opinion polls as well as connect to the Internet. Cable operators are also involved in the devel� opment of video compression, digital transmission, and high-definition tele� vision.

Cabot, George (b. Jan. 16, 1752, Salem, Mass.�d. April 18, 1823, Boston, Mass., U.S.) U.S. Federalist Party leader. After studying at Har� vard University, he went to sea; he became a shipowner and successful merchant, retiring from business in 1794. Elected to the U.S. Senate (1791-96), he supported the fiscal policies of Alexander Hamilton. In 1793 he was appointed a director of the Bank of the United States. A member of the Federalist Essex Junto, he presided at the Hartford Convention in 1814.

Cabot, John orig. Giovanni Caboto (b. c. 1450, Genoa?�d. c. 1499) Italian navigator and explorer. In the 1470s he became a skilled navigator in travels to the eastern Mediterranean for a Venetian mercan� tile firm. In the 1490s he moved to Bristol, Eng., and, with support from city merchants, he led an expedition in 1497 to find trade routes to Asia. After landing somewhere in North America, possibly southern Labrador or Cape Breton Island, he took possession of the land for Henry VII and conducted explorations along the coastline. On a second expedition in 1498, he may have reached America but probably was lost at sea. His two voyages for England helped lay the groundwork for the later British claim to Canada. Sebastian Cabot was his son.

Cabot, Sebastian (b. c. 1476, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Eng., or Venice�d. 1557, London) English navigator, explorer, and cartographer. The son of John Cabot, he served at various times both the English and Spanish crowns. In 1525 he took charge of a Spanish expedition, aban� doning the original goal of developing trade with the Orient and instead embarking on a fruitless expedition to South America. Later he served in England as governor of the Merchant Adventurers, organizing an expe� dition to search for a northeast passage from Europe to the Orient.

Cabral \k9-'bral\, Amilcar (b. 1921, Bafata, Portuguese Guinea�d. Jan. 20, 1973, Conakry, Guinea) Guinean nationalist politician. In 1956 he founded the Partido Africano da Independence da Guine e Cabo Verde, which in 1962 began a war of liberation against Portuguese forces. By the late 1960s Cabral controlled much of Portuguese Guinea. He was assas� sinated in 1973. His half-brother, Luis de Almeida Cabral, became the first president of independent Guinea-Bissau in 1974.

Cabral, Pedro Alvares (b. 1467/68, Belmonte, Port.�d. 1520, San- tarem?) Portuguese navigator credited with the discovery of Brazil. A nobleman, Cabral long enjoyed the favour of Manuel I of Portugal, who in 1500 sent him and 13 ships on the second Portuguese voyage to India, following the route taken by Vasco da Gama, to strengthen commercial ties and further Portugal�s conquests. Cabral sailed southwest on a route that took him close to lands that had previously been sighted and claimed by the Portuguese. On April 22, 1500, he landed on the coast of what is now Brazil and formally took possession of the country for Portugal. The rest of his journey to India and back was beset by misfortune; only four ships returned to Portugal.

Cabrillo \k3-'bri-lo\, Juan Rodriguez (d. Jan. 3, 1543?, off the coast of northern California) Explorer in the service of Spain and discoverer of California. Little is known of his early life, though he may have been born in Portugal. In 1520 he accompanied Spanish explorers to Mexico.

He was one of the conquerors of present-day Guatemala, where he may have served as governor. In 1542 he left Mexico and sailed along the California coast, entering San Diego and Monterey bays. He landed on several islands off the coast; he apparently died of complications from a broken leg suffered on one such landing.

Cabrini, Saint Frances Xavier known as Mother Cabrini (b.

July 15, 1850, Sant�Angelo Lodigiano, Lombardy, Austria�d. Dec. 22, 1917, Chicago, Ill., U.S.; canonized July 7, 1946; feast day December 22) Italian-born U.S. missionary, the first U.S. citizen to be canonized by the Roman Catholic church. She was determined from childhood to become a missionary, and she took her vows in 1877. She founded the Mission� ary Sisters of the Sacred Heart in 1880, and in 1889 Pope Leo XIII sent her to the U.S. to work among Italian immigrants. She lived in New York City and Chicago but traveled in the Americas and Europe to found 67 houses of her order.

cacao \k9-'kau\ Tropical New World tree ( Theobroma cacao) of the chocolate family (Sterculiaceae, or Byttneriaceae). Its seeds, after fer� mentation and roasting, yield cocoa and chocolate. Cocoa butter is extracted from the seed. The tree is grown throughout the wet lowland tropics, often in the shade of taller trees. Its thick trunk supports a canopy of large, leathery, oblong leaves. The small, foul-smelling, pinkish flow� ers are borne directly on the branches and trunk; they are followed by the fruit, or pods, each yielding 20^10 seeds, or cocoa beans.

Caccini \kat-'che-ne\, Giulio or Giulio Romano (b. c. 1550, Rome, Papal States�buried Dec. 10, 1618, Florence) Italian composer and singer. He accompanied his patron, Cosimo I, to Florence in the 1570s; there he became associated with the Camerata, an academy that dedicated much attention to producing a revival of ancient Greek drama. His Euridice (1600), embodying the Camerata�s ideals, was the first opera to be published and was one of the first two surviving operas; the other, also titled Euridice, is largely by Jacopo Peri (1561-1633), whose lost Dafne (1598) was the first opera of all. Caccini�s Le nuove musiche (1602), a collection of songs with basso continuo, was of landmark importance in establishing the new monodic style.

cachalot See sperm whale

cache \'kash\ Temporary computer storage used for quick retrieval of data in order to increase processing speed. The cached data can be stored in a reserved area of RAM, a special cache chip (separate from the CPU) that provides faster access than RAM, or on the disk drive. By keeping frequently accessed data in a rapidly accessible place, the computer can respond quickly to requests for those data without having to perform time-consuming searches of RAM or hard drives. Since a �stale� cache will contain data that have been superseded by later information, the cached data must be refreshed periodically.

cachet, lettre de See lettre de cachet

cactus Any of the flowering plants that make up the family Cactaceae, containing about 1,650 species, native through most of North and South America, with the greatest number and variety in Mexico. Cacti are succulent perennials. Most live in and are well adapted to dry regions. Cacti generally have thick herba� ceous or woody stems containing chlorophyll. Leaves usually are absent or greatly reduced, minimiz� ing the surface area from which water can be lost; the stem is the site of photosynthesis. The generally thin, fibrous, shallow root systems range widely in area to absorb super� ficial moisture. Cacti vary greatly in size and appearance, from buttonlike peyote and low clumps of prickly pear and hedgehog cactus ( Echinocereus) to the upright columns of barrel cacti (Ferocactus and Echinocactus) and the imposing saguaro. Cacti can be distinguished from other succulent

Golden rainbow cactus (Echinocereus dasyacanthus ), a hedgehog cactus, growing in the desert of southwestern Texas.

� ROBERT AND LINDA MITCHELL

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308 I Cacus and Caca > Caen

plants by the presence of small cushionlike structures (areoles) from which, in almost all species, spines arise, as do flowers, branches, and leaves (when present). Flowers, often large and colourful, are usually solitary. Cacti are widely cultivated as ornamentals. Various species, nota� bly prickly pears and chollas, are cultivated as food. Barrel cacti are an emergency source of water for people.

Cacus and Caca \'ka-k9s...'ka-k9\ In Roman religion, brother and sis� ter fire deities of the early Roman settlement on the Palatine Hill. Virgil described Cacus as the son of Vulcan and as a fire-breathing brigand who terrorized the countryside. He stole some of the giant Geryon�s cattle from Hercules (see Heracles) and hid them in his lair, but Hercules discovered Cacus�s hiding place and killed him. The story is traditionally connected with the establishment of Hercules�s oldest Roman place of worship, the Ara Maxima, in the Forum Boarium (cattle market).

CAD/CAMVkad-.kam, .kad-'kamX in full computer-aided design/ computer-aided manufacturing. Integration of design and manu� facturing into a system under direct control of digital computers. CAD systems use a computer with terminals featuring video monitors and inter� active graphics-input devices to design such things as machine parts, pat� terns for clothing, or integrated circuits. CAM systems use numerically controlled (see numerical control) machine tools and high-performance programmable industrial robots. Drawings developed during the design process are converted directly into instructions for the production machines, thus optimizing consistency between design and finished prod� uct, and providing flexibility in altering machine operations. These two processes are sometimes grouped as CAE (computer-aided engineering).

Cadbury, George (b. Sept. 19, 1839, Birmingham, Warwickshire, Eng.�d. Oct. 24, 1922, Birmingham) British businessman and social reformer. In 1861 he and his brother Richard took over their father�s fail� ing business and built it into the highly prosperous Cadbury Brothers cocoa- and chocolate-manufacturing firm. They improved working con� ditions and introduced a private social security program for employees. George was also noted for his successful experiments in housing and town planning in Bournville, where he built affordable working-class homes with large gardens.

caddis fly Any member of about 7,000 species of mothlike aquatic insects (order Trichoptera) found worldwide, usually in freshwater habi� tats but sometimes in brackish and tidal waters. Generally dull brownish, caddis flies have long antennae and hairy wings that fold rooflike over the abdomen. They feed primarily on plant juices and flower nectar, though a few are predaceous. Many caddis-fly larvae construct a portable case from grains of sand, bits of shells, and plant debris glued together by a sticky substance they secrete. This case surrounds the larva�s abdomen while it matures. Caddis flies are important to freshwater ecosystems because they clean the water by consuming plant and animal debris and serve, as larvae and adults, as an important food for fish, particularly trout.

Caddo One of a group of North American Indian people living mostly in western Oklahoma, U.S. Their language is of the Caddoan language family. Their name derives from a French truncation of kadohadacho, meaning �real chief� in Caddo. From ancient times they occupied the lower Red River area in Louisiana and Arkansas, and many striking examples of prehistoric pottery and basketry have been found. They were a semisedentary agricultural people who lived in conical pole- and-thatch dwellings. In the 18th century pressures from white settlers pushed many Caddo off their lands, a process that intensified with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. By 1835 the Caddo had ceded all their land to the U.S., and by 1859 most were living on reservations in Oklahoma. Some 2,700 Caddo claimed sole Caddo descent in the 2000 U.S. census.

Cade's Rebellion (1450) Uprising against the government of Henry VI of England. Jack Cade, an Irishman of uncertain occupation living in Kent, organized a rebellion among local small property holders angered by high taxes and prices. He took the name John Mortimer, identifying

himself with the family of Henry�s rival, the duke of York. Cade and his followers defeated a royal army in Kent and entered London, where they executed the lord treasurer. They were soon driven out of the city; Cade�s followers dispersed on being offered a pardon, and Cade was mortally wounded in Sussex. His rebellion contributed to the breakdown of royal authority that led to the Wars of the Roses.

Cadiz \ko-'diz,\ Spanish Vka-thes\ City (pop., 2001: city, 133,363; metro, area, 400,157), southwestern Spain. Located on a peninsula in the Bay of Cadiz northwest of Gibraltar, it is the main seaport of Cadiz province in Andalusia. Founded as Gadir by Phoenicians from Tyre c. 1100 bc, it was later ruled by Carthage, Rome (as Gades), and the Visigoths. It was held by the Moors beginning in ad 711. In 1262 Cadiz was captured by Alfonso X of Castile-Leon. The city enjoyed great prosperity as a centre for Span� ish trade with the American colonies in the 16th�18th centuries (see Sevilla). It now has naval and mercantile shipbuilding yards.

Cadiz, Bay of Inlet of the Gulf of Cadiz, southwestern Spain. An inlet indenting the coast of Cadiz province, it receives the Guadalete River and is partially protected by the Isle of Leon, on which the port of Cadiz is located. The Spanish-U.S. air and naval base at Rota is situated on the bay.

cadmium Metallic chemical element, chemical symbol Cd, atomic num� ber 48. It normally occurs along with other metals, especially zinc, in ores. A silvery white metal capable of taking a high polish, cadmium does not corrode under alkaline (see alkali) conditions; one of its major uses is in electroplating other metals and alloys to protect them. Because it absorbs neutrons effectively, it is used in control rods in some nuclear reactors. Its compounds, in which it has valence 2, are very toxic. They are used as pigments, as phosphors in television and computer monitor screens, as pesticides, and in photographic applications and analytical chemistry.

Cadmus In Greek mythology, the son of the king of Phoenicia, brother of Europa, and founder of Thebes. When Zeus carried off Europa, Cadmus was sent to find her. The Delphic oracle ordered him to end his search, follow a cow, and build a town where it lay down. That town became Thebes. He built the citadel of Thebes with the help of fierce armed men who sprang up where he sowed the teeth of a dragon he had slain. He married Harmonia, daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, and their five children included Semele. Cadmus was said to have brought the alphabet to Greece.

Cadogan \k9-'d9g-9n\, William, 1st Earl (b. 1672, Liscarton, County Meath, Ire.�d. July 17, 1726, Kensington, near London, Eng.) British soldier. He served as a trusted colleague with the duke of Marl� borough in the War of the Spanish Succession. Later he became involved in intrigues to secure the succession for the Hanoverian George I (1714). He crushed a Jacobite rebellion in 1716, was granted an earldom in 1718, and was promoted to commander in chief in 1722.

caduceus \k9-'du-se-9s\ Staff carried by Hermes as a symbol of peace. It served as a badge of protection for ancient Greek and Roman heralds and ambassadors. It was originally depicted as a rod or olive branch ending in two shoots and decorated with garlands or ribbons; in later iconography the garlands became two snakes and a pair of wings was attached to the staff to represent Hermes� speed. The caduceus was adopted as a symbol of physicians because of its similarity to the staff of Asclepius.

caecilian \si-'sil-y9n\ Any of 155 species of wormlike amphibians found in humid regions from Mexico to northern Argentina and in Africa, South� east Asia, and the Seychelles. The elongate, ringed, limbless body is 4-60 in. (10-150 cm) long. Colour ranges from blackish to pinkish tan. The tiny eyes are covered by skin and often by bone. A chemosensory projection lies between the eye and nostril. Some species lay eggs, which are guarded by the female and hatch into free-living larvae; other species bear live young. Caecilians spend their lives underground and eat worms and insects.

Caecus, Appius Claudius See Appius Claudius Caecus

Caedmon Ykad-msnX (fl. 658-680) Earliest known Old English Chris� tian poet. According to Bede, he was a herdsman who received a divine call in a dream to sing of �the beginning of things� and began to utter �verses which he had never heard.� He entered a monastery, where he produced vernacular poetry on sacred themes expounded to him by more learned brethren. Only the nine-line original dream hymn can be confi� dently attributed to him, but it set the pattern for almost all of Anglo- Saxon religious verse.

Caen Vka n \ City (pop., 1999: 113,987), northwestern France. Situated on the Orne River, it was the capital of lower Normandy in the 11th cen-

Incised redware cat effigy bowl, Cad� doan from Louisiana; in the Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation, New York City

COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN, NEW YORK CITY

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tury. The English took it in 1346 and 1417 and held it until 1450. It suf� fered in the Wars of Religion and fell to the Protestants in 1562. During the French Revolution it was a centre for the Girondin movement. The city was severely damaged in the Allied Normandy Campaign (1944), but it was rebuilt. Notable structures include the 11th-century abbey and the university. Caen is a transportation centre and manufactures automobiles and electrical equipment.

Caere \'k!-ra\ Ancient city, Etruria. Located northwest of Rome near the modern city of Ceveteri, it was an important trading centre. Brought under Roman control in 253 bc, it prospered as part of the empire but declined in later centuries. The derived Latin word caeremonium (source of English ceremony) reflects the Etruscan fascination with divina� tion and prophecy. Tomb chambers have yielded gold and silver objects, which show an Orientalizing ten� dency in the Etruscan art of the 7th century bc.

CaernarfonVklr-'nar-vo^kar-'nar- von\ Town (pop., 2001: 9,611), administrative centre of Gwynedd county and county seat of the historic county of Caernarvonshire, Wales.

Located near the west end of the Menai Strait, it was the site of a Roman fort, Segontium, built c. ad 75. After the Roman withdrawal (c.

380-390), it was the seat of local chieftains. The township was completely transformed by Edward I after his conquest of Wales in 1282-83. The imposing castle he built (birthplace of his son Edward II) has been pre� served, and since 1911 it has been the site of the investiture of the prince of Wales.

Caesar, Irving orig. Isidor Caesar (b. July 4, 1895, New York, N.Y., U.S.�d. Dec. 18, 1996, New York City) U.S. lyricist. Caesar worked with Henry Ford during World War I before turning to songwrit� ing. Working with various collaborators, he provided the lyrics for such standards as �Swanee,� �Sometimes I�m Happy,� �Crazy Rhythm,� and �Tea for Two,� one of the most frequently recorded tunes ever written.

Caesar, (Gaius) Julius (b. July 12/13, 100, Rome�d. March 15, 44 bc, Rome) Celebrated Roman general, statesman, and dictator. A patrician by birth, he held the prominent posts of quaestor and praetor before becoming governor of Farther Spain in 61-60. He formed the First Tri� umvirate with Pompey and Marcus Licinius Crassus in 60 and was elected consul in 59 and proconsul in Gaul and Illyria in 58. After conducting the Gallic Wars, during which he invaded Britain (55, 54) and crossed the Rhine (55, 53), he was instructed by the Senate to lay down his com� mand, Senate conservatives having grown wary of his increasing power, as had a suspicious Pompey. When the Senate would not command Pompey to give up his command simultaneously, Caesar, against regula� tions, led his forces across the Rubicon River (49) between Gaul and Italy, precipitating the Roman Civil War. Pompey fled from Italy but was pur� sued and defeated by Caesar in 48; he then fled to Egypt, where he was murdered. Having followed Pompey to Egypt, Caesar became lover to Cleopatra and supported her militarily. He defeated Pompey�s last sup� porters in 46-45. He was named dictator for life by the Romans. He was offered the crown (44) but refused it, knowing the Romans� dislike for kings. He was in the midst of launching a series of political and social reforms when he was assassinated in the Senate House on the ides of March by conspirators led by Cassius and Brutus. His writings on the Gal� lic and Civil wars are considered models of classical historiography.

Caesar, Sid (b. Sept. 8, 1922, Yonkers, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. comedian. He began his career as a band musician but switched to comedy. Noted for his pantomime skills and his ability to mimic foreign languages at high speed, he performed comic routines in live television shows and costarred with Imogene Coca (1908-2001) and Carl Reiner in the popular comedy variety program Your Show of Shows (1950-54). He created his own Cae� sar�s Hour (1954-57) and later appeared in television specials.

Caesar Augustus See Caesar Augustus

Caesarea V.se-zo-'re-oX modern Horbat Qesari Vk6r-bat-'ka-sa-re\ Ancient seaport, Palestine. Located on the coast of present-day Israel south of the city of Haifa, it was originally a Phoenician settlement. Taken by the Romans and rebuilt in the 1st century bc by Herod the Great, it was renamed for his patron Augustus. The capital of the Roman province of Judaea in ad 6, it was the site of an early Christian church and was often visited by St. Paul. It later declined under Byzantine and Arab rule and was destroyed by the Mamluk sultan Baybars I in the 13th century.

caesaropapism X.se-zo-ro-'pa-.pi-zomX Political system in which the head of the state is also the head of the church and supreme judge in reli� gious matters. It is often associated with the Byzantine Empire, where emperors presided over church councils and appointed patriarchs. The term has also been applied to other historical eras, including the rule of Tsar Peter I, who made the Russian Orthodox Church a department of the state, and the reign of Henry VIII in England.

caffeine Heterocyclic comfound that, like other alkaloids, has marked physiological effects. It occurs in coffee beans, tea leaves, kola nuts, cacao, mate, and guarana and in the products made from them. Its stimu� lating effect on the central nervous system, heart, cardiovascular system, and kidneys makes it medically useful in treating respiratory depression caused by overdose of barbiturates, morphine, or heroin. Its positive effects can include improved motor performance, decreased fatigue, increased alert� ness, and enhanced sensory activity. Excessive caffeine can produce irri� tability, anxiety, insomnia, and potentially serious symptoms such as heart irregularities and delirium. Much of the caffeine included in many over- the-counter stimulants, cold remedies, and painkillers has been extracted during production of decaffeinated coffee and tea.

Cagayan de Oro X.ka-ga-'yan-da-'o-roX City (pop., 2000: 461,877), northern Mindanao, Philippines. Located along the Cagayan River near the head of Macajalar Bay, it was established as a mission station in the 17th century and fortified by the Spaniards. Chartered as a city in 1950, it has become northern Mindanao�s transportation and commercial hub.

Cagayan River or Rio Grande de Cagayan River, northeastern Luzon, Philippines. Flowing north 220 mi (354 km) to the port of Aparri on the Babuyan Channel, it is the longest river in Luzon and is navigable for much of its course. Its chief tributary is the Chico. Its valley, 50 mi (80 km) wide, is agriculturally important.

Cage, John in full John Milton Cage, Jr. (b. Sept. 5, 1912, Los Angeles, Calif., U.S.�d. Aug. 12, 1992, New York, N.Y.) U.S. avant- garde composer and writer. The son of an inventor. Cage studied music with Arnold Schoenberg and Henry Cowell. From the early 1940s he was closely associated with the choreographer Merce Cunningham. Though he began as a 12-tone composer (see serialism), by 1943 his sonic experiments had marked him as notably original. He soon turned to Zen Buddhism and concluded that all activities that make up music are part of a single natural process and that all sounds are potentially musical; thenceforth he advocated indeterminism and endeavoured to ensure randomness in his works, using increasingly inventive notation and often relying on the Confucian classic Yijing. By the 1960s he had expanded into the realm of multimedia. His disparate works include Bacchanale for prepared piano (1938), Imaginary Landscape No. 4 for 12 radios (1951), Fontana Mix for tape (1958), HPSCHD for seven harpsichords, 51 tapes, and nonmu� sical media (1969), and Roaratorio (1979). His widely read books include Silence (1961), A Year from Monday (1967), Notations (1969), and M (1973). His international influence was far greater than that of any pre� vious American composer.

Cagliari Vkal-ya-re\ ancient Caralis City (pop., 2001 prelim.: 158,351), capital of Sardinia, Italy. Located on the southern coast of the island of Sardinia, Cagliari was founded by the Phoenicians. Held suc� cessively by Rome, the Saracens, Pisa, Spain, and Austria, it passed with the rest of Sardinia to the house of Savoy in 1718. Long the military head� quarters of the island, Cagliari was bombed heavily in World War II. The rebuilt harbour is Sardinia�s principal port.

Cagney, James (b. July 17, 1899, New York, N.Y., U.S.�d. March 30, 1986, Stanfordville, N.Y.) U.S. actor. He toured in vaudeville as a song-and-dance man before starring in the successful Broadway musical Penny Arcade (1929). He played the first in a series of pugnacious crimi� nal roles in the film Public Enemy (1931), followed by Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) and White Heat (1949). As George M. Cohan in Yankee

Gold fibula from the Regolini-Galassi tomb, Caere, 7th century bc; in the Vat� ican Museum.

SCALA/ART RESOURCE, NEW YORK

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310 I Cahn ► Cajun

Doodle Dandy (1942, Academy Award) he showed off his dance skills and streetwise charm. Later films include Mister Roberts (1955) and Rag� time (1981).

Cahn, Sammy orig. Samuel Cohen (b. June 18, 1913, New York, N.Y., U.S.�d. Jan. 15, 1993, Los Angeles, Calif.) U.S. song lyricist. He became a professional songwriter while still a teenager and later formed a songwriting team with Saul Chaplin; their first hit was �Rhythm Is Our Business� (1935). With Jule Styne he collaborated on songs for many films and musicals, including �Three Coins in the Fountain� (1954, Academy Award). In 1955 Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen formed a partnership and went on to write dozens of songs for Frank Sinatra, whose recordings won them Academy Awards for �All the Way,� �High Hopes,� and �Call Me Irresponsible.�

Caicos Islands See Turks and Caicos Islands

Caillaux \ka-'yo\, Joseph (-Marie-Auguste) (b. March 30, 1863, Le Mans, France�d. Nov. 22, 1944, Mamers) French politician. Serving several times as minister of finance, he was an early but unsuccessful advocate of a national income tax. He was named premier in 1911 but was forced to resign after negotiating a controversial treaty with Germany over the second of the Moroccan crises. Later his opposition to World War I and friendship with German agents led to conviction on charges of corresponding with the enemy. Granted amnesty in 1924, he was later elected to the Senate and became head of the Commission of Finance (1927^10).

Caillebotte \ka-y9-'bot\, Gustave (b. Aug. 19, 1848, Paris, Fr.�d. Feb. 21, 1894, Gennevilliers) French painter and art collector. Born to a wealthy family, he was a naval architect by profession. He pursued his interest in painting at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and became a prolific painter of contemporary subjects, town and country views, still lifes, and boating scenes. In Caillebotte�s masterpiece, Paris Street; Rainy Day (1877), he used bold perspective to create a monumental portrait of a Paris intersection. In addition to his own painting, Caillebotte was the chief organizer, promoter, and financial backer of the Impressionist exhibitions, and he purchased works by Edouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Paul Cezanne, and others. He bequeathed his collection to the state, and in 1897 it formed the basis of the first Impressionist exhibition in a French museum. See Impressionism.

caiman Vka-monV Any member of several species of Central and South American reptiles of the alligator family. Like the rest of the crocodile order, caimans are amphibious, lizardlike carnivores. They live along the edges of rivers and other bodies of water, and reproduce by laying hard- shelled eggs in nests built and guarded by the female. The largest species is the black caiman (Melanosuchus niger ), a potentially dangerous animal with a maximum length of about 15 ft (4.5 m). Average lengths for the other species (genera Caiman and Paleosuchus) are 4-7 ft (1.2-2.1 m).

Cain and Abel In the Hebrew scriptures, the sons of Adam and Eve. According to Genesis, Cain, the firstborn, was a farmer, and his brother Abel was a shepherd. Cain was enraged when God preferred his broth� er�s sacrifice of sheep to his own offering of grain, and he murdered Abel. When God asked where Abel was, Cain pretended ignorance, saying, �Am I my brother�s keeper?� God punished Cain by sending him into exile but marked him with a sign as a warning to others, promising that he would be avenged if he were killed.

cairn terrier Breed of terrier developed in Scotland to rout animals that prey on game. The modern breed�s characteristics are carefully patterned on those of the dog�s ancestor, a 17th-century terrier of the Isle of Skye. This short-legged dog has a short, broad face. Its coarse coat is usually bluish gray, tan, or pale yellowish brown. Generally active, hardy, alert, and spirited, it is valued as a pet and watchdog. It stands 9-10 in. (23- 25.5 cm) high and weighs about 13-14 lbs (6-6.5 kg).

Cairngorm Mountains Vkarn-.gornA Mountain range, northeastern Scotland. It is located in the Highlands between the Spey and Dee river valleys; its highest peak is Ben Macdui, at 4,296 ft (1,309 m) the second- highest (after Ben Nevis) in the British Isles. Since World War II winter sports have developed in the area. It is a chief source of the cairngorm variety of quartz.

Cairo Vkl-ro \ Arabic Al-Qahirah \al-'ka-he-r3\ City (pop., 1996: city, 6,789,479; 1999 est.: metro, area, 10,345,000), capital of Egypt. Located on the banks of the Nile River near the site of a Roman city captured by

the Arabs in 641, Old Cairo (Al-Fustat) was then built by the Arabs as a military camp. Cairo�s newer section (Al-Qahirah) was built by the Fatimid dynasty (c. 968) and was made the capital in 973. From the 13th century, as the capital of the MamlOk dynasty, it reached its greatest prosperity as a trade and cultural centre. Occupied by French forces under Napoleon I in 1798, it was held by the French for three years. In World War II (1939� 45) it was a base of operations for British and U.S. forces and was also the site of two conferences by the Allied Powers (see Cairo conferences). The ancient metropolis is a blend of old and new. East and West. It is the centre of the largest urban agglomeration in the Middle East and Africa, and it is the chief cultural centre of the Arab world. Its most noteworthy landmark is the pyramid complex of Giza, located at the southwestern edge of the city. A manufacturing centre, it is also the site of several important universities and colleges.

Cairo conferences (November-December 1943) Two meetings held in Cairo during World War II. At the first, Winston Churchill and Frank� lin Roosevelt discussed plans for the Normandy Invasion (see Normandy Campaign). With Chiang Kai-shek, they announced their goal of stripping Japan of all the territories it had seized since 1914 and of restoring Korea to independence. At the second conference, Churchill and Roosevelt tried unsuccessfully to persuade Turkey�s Pres. Ismet InonO to bring his coun� try into the war on the side of the Allies.

Caishen or Ts'ai-shen Vtsi-'shonN Chinese god of wealth, believed to bestow on his devotees the riches carried about by his attendants. A Ming- dynasty novel relates that a hermit, Zhao Gongming, employed magic to support the collapsing Shang dynasty. He was killed by Jiang Ziya, a sup� porter of the Zhou dynasty. Rebuked for causing the death of a virtuous man, Jiang apologized in a temple, extolled Zhao�s virtues, and canon� ized him as the god of wealth. During Chinese New Year, incense is burned in Caishen�s temple and the greeting �May you become rich� is exchanged.

caisson \'ka-,san\ In engineering, a type of foundation most commonly used underwater for a bridge, but sometimes used in building construc� tion. It is a large hollow structure that is sunk down through the earth by workers excavating from inside it; ultimately it becomes a permanent part of the pier. There are three types: the open caisson, open at both top and bottom; the box caisson, closed at the bottom; and the pneumatic caisson, with an airtight chamber to accommodate submerged workers. Caisson columns, typically 2 ft (0.6 m) or more in diameter, may be used as an alternative to bearing piles. A round hole is dug or bored to a stable layer of earth and temporarily supported by a steel shell, then filled with con� crete poured around a cage of reinforcing bars.

caisson disease See decompression sickness

Caitanya \kl-'tan-y3\, Sri Krishna orig. Vishvambhara Mishra

(b. 1485, Navadvipa, Bengal, India�d. 1533, Puri, Orissa) Indian Hindu mystic. Born into a Brahman family, he became a teacher. While on a pilgrimage to perform his father�s death-anniversary ceremony, he had a profound religious experience, and he returned home indifferent to worldly matters. Disciples joined him in worship that consisted of choral singing of the name of God, often accompanied by dance movements and ending in trance states. He took his new name on initiation as an ascetic in 1510. In his lifetime his following came to constitute a major sect of Vaishnavism (see Caitanya movement). According to tradition, he died when he walked into the ocean while lost in a devotional trance.

Caitanya movement Emotional form of Hinduism that developed in the 16th century, inspired by the mode of worship originated by Caitanya. Centred in Bengal, the movement was organized by Caitanya�s followers Nityananda and Advaita. Bhakti (devotion) is central and takes the form of singing for hours, with accompaniment, hymns that repeat God�s name. Caitanya himself came to be worshiped as an incarnation of both Krishna and his beloved, Radha. Caitanya, Nityananda, and Advaita are regarded as the movement�s three masters. A group of six of Caitanya�s disciples developed its theology and devotional literature. Its present leaders are mostly lineal descendants of the early disciples. See also Hare Krishna MOVEMENT.

Cajun Any descendant of French Canadians who in the 18th century were driven by the British from the captured French colony of Acadia (now Nova Scotia and adjacent areas) and settled in the fertile bayou lands of southern Louisiana, U.S. Many Cajuns speak a dialect of North Ameri� can French. U.S. census figures for Cajuns are deceptive; although in 2000

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only some 85,000 people reported themselves to be Acadian/Cajun, the census form also included a French Canadian category, which may have confused the issue. Experts suggest that there are some 100,000 Cajuns in Texas and from 500,000 to 700,000 Cajuns in Louisiana. In recent decades Cajun cuisine, noted for its use of spicy seasonings, and zydeco music have become popular among non-Cajuns.

cakravartin See chakravartin

Calabar \'ka-l3-,bar\ City (pop., 1991.: 310,839), southeastern Nigeria. Lying along the Calabar River above its confluence with the Cross River, it was settled in the 17th century by the Efik and became an important trading centre for Europeans arriving on the African coast. After accept� ing British protection in 1884, it served as capital of a British protector� ate until British administrative headquarters were moved to Lagos in 1906. With its natural harbour, it remains an important port.

calabash Tree (Crescentia cujete ) of the trumpet-creeper family (Big- noniaceae) that grows in Central and South America, the West Indies, and extreme southern Florida. It is often grown as an ornamental. It produces large spherical fruits, the hard shells of which are useful as bowls, cups, and other water containers when hollowed out. The fruit�s shell encloses a whitish pulp and thin, dark brown seeds. The tree bears funnel-shaped, light green and purple-streaked flowers and evergreen leaves. Fruits of the unrelated bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria) are also known as calabashes.

Calabria \ka-'la-bre-a\ Region (pop., 2001 prelim.: 1,993,274), south� ern Italy. Forming the �toe� of the Italian �boot,� it is a peninsula that separates the Tyrrhenian and Ionian seas. A mountainous area covering 5,823 sq mi (15,080 sq km), it has been subject to earthquakes. Its capi� tal is Catanzaro. Founded as a Greek colony and known in ancient times as Bruttium, it was taken by the Romans in the 3rd century bc and gradu� ally went into decline. It eventually passed to the Byzantines, who renamed it Calabria. Conquered by the Normans, it was united with the Kingdom of Naples in the 11th century ad. A stronghold of Italian repub� licanism until the Risorgimento, it became part of Italy after the 1860 expedition of Giuseppe de Garibaldi. Long a poor area dependent on farm� ing, it underwent a land-reform system in the mid-20th century that pro� moted more diverse profitable crops.

caladium \ko-Ta-de-3m\ Any of the tropical New World tuberous her� baceous plants that make up the genus Caladium, in the arum family, widely cultivated for their showy, fragile-looking, variably coloured leaves. Cal- adiums are nonhardy bulbs used as potted plants indoors and in summer outdoor plantings. They keep surprisingly well if protected from chills and wintry drafts.