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Sierra Madre Principal mountain system, Mexico. It includes the ranges of the Sierra Madre Occidental (to the west), the Sierra Madre Ori¬ ental (to the east), and the Sierra Madre del Sur (to the south)—all run¬ ning roughly northwest-southeast. The Sierra Madre Occidental extends for about 700 mi (1,100 km) parallel with the Gulf of California and the Pacific Ocean; summits reach elevations above 6,000 ft (1,800 m), with some exceeding 10,000 ft (3,000 m). The Sierra Madre Oriental origi¬ nates near the Rio Grande to the north and extends roughly parallel with the Gulf of Mexico for about 700 mi; it has an average elevation of about 7,000 ft (2,150 m), but some peaks rise above 10,000 ft (Mount Pena Nevada). The Sierra Madre del Sur stretches through the southern Mexi¬ can states of Guerrero and Oaxaca, reaching elevations of about 6,500 ft (2,000 m), with a few peaks above 10,000 ft.

Sierra Nevada Mountain range, eastern California, U.S. The Sierra Nevada range extends more than 250 mi (400 km) from the Mojave Desert to the Cascade Range, and it averages about 50 mi (80 km) in width. The peaks of the range are 11,000-14,000 ft (3,350-4,270 m) high; Mount Whitney is the highest mountain. It is a year-round recreation centre and is easily accessed from the state’s large urban areas.

Sierra redwood See big tree

Sieyes \sya-'yes\, Emmanuel-Joseph (b. May 3, 1748, Frejus, France—d. June 20, 1836, Paris) French political theorist. A Catholic priest, he rose to become chancellor of the diocese of Chartres in 1788. In sympathy with the reform movement before the French Revolution, he won great popularity with his pamphlet What Is the Third Estate? (1789) and was elected to represent the Third Estate in the Estates-General. He led the movement to establish the National Assembly, then served in the National Convention until the radical Jacobins seized control (1793). Dur¬ ing the Directory, he served on the Council of Five Hundred (1795-99) and on the Directory itself (1799). He helped organize the military Coup of 18-19 Brumaire, which overthrew the Directory and brought Napoleon to power. After the monarchy’s restoration (1815), he lived in exile in Belgium until 1830.

Sigebert \sezh-'ber\ I (b. 535—d. November? 575, Vitry, near Arras) Frankish king of the Merovingian dynasty. On the death of his father, Chlotar I, he became king of Austrasia, and he gained further territory on the death of his brother Charibert I (c. 567). He repelled attacks by the Avars (562, c. 568) and married Brunhild, the daughter of the Visigothic king. Brunhild’s sister had married Sigebert’s brother Chilperic I and was murdered by him. To avenge his sister-in-law’s murder, Sigebert waged civil war against Chilperic, defeating him and taking most of his land. Acclaimed king by his brother’s subjects, he was immediately killed by assassins in the service of Fredegund, Chilperic’ s second wife.

Siger de Brabant \se-'zha...bra-'ba n \ (b. 1240, duchy of Brabant—d. between 1281 and 1284, Orvieto, Tuscany) French philosopher. He taught at the University of Paris and was a leader of the school of radical Aris- totelianism. From c. 1260 he and others gave lectures on the works of Greek, Arabic, and medieval philosophers without regard for church teaching, which had blended Aristotelianism with the Christian faith. Some of his teachings were condemned in 1270 by the bishop of Paris,

1750 I Sigismund > Sikh Wars

and in 1277 many more were condemned by the bishop. When summoned by the Inquisition (1276), he fled to Italy. Dante, in The Divine Comedy , put Siger in the Heaven of Light.

Sigismund Vsi-jos-mondV (b. Feb. 15, 1368, probably Niimberg—d. Dec. 9, 1437, Znojmo, Bohemia) Holy Roman emperor (1433-37), king of Hungary (from 1387), German king (from 1411), king of Bohemia (from 1419), and Lombard king (from 1431). He became king of Hun¬ gary by marriage and pawned his German lands to raise funds for defense (1388). He pursued an expansionist policy that brought him into conflict with his brother Wencesias, whom he imprisoned (1402-03) in an abor¬ tive effort to seize Bohemia. As German king, Sigismund helped to end the Western Schism. He was twice defeated by the Turks (1396, 1428). Although he inherited the Bohemian crown in 1419, wars against the Hussites delayed his coronation until 1436. He gained the imperial crown in 1433, becoming the last emperor of the house of Luxembourg.

Sigismund I Polish Zygmunt Stary ("Sigismund the Old")

(b. Jan. 1, 1467—d. April 1, 1548, Krakow, Pol.) King of Poland (1506- 48). Son of Casimir IV, he became grand prince of Lithuania and king of Poland in 1506. After his army subdued the Teutonic Order in East Prus¬ sia, he established Polish suzerainty over the area, known as Ducal Prus¬ sia (1525). He added the duchy of Mazovia (now the province of Warsaw) to the Polish state in 1529. He established judicial and administrative reforms and encouraged a reform of the currency. A lover of the fine arts, he brought Italian artists to Poland and promoted the development of the Renaissance.

Sigismund II Augustus Polish Zygmunt August (b. Aug. 1, 1520, Krakow, Pol.—d. July 7, 1572, Knyszyn) King of Poland (1548- 72). Son of Sigismund I, he was crowned coruler with his father in 1530 and ruled the duchy of Lithuania from 1544. After becoming king of Poland (1548), he supported the Teutonic Order in Livonia against Russia (1559) and by treaty incorporated Livonia into Lithuania (1561). Contin¬ ued threats by Russia compelled Sigismund to unite the lands attached to the Polish crown, and by the Union of Lublin (1569) he united Poland and Lithuania and their respective dependencies. He died childless, which brought the end of the direct Jagiellon dynasty.

Sigismund III Vasa Polish Zygmunt Waza (b. June 20, 1566, Gripsholm, Swed.—d. April 30,

1632, Warsaw, Pol.) King of Poland (1587-1632) and of Sweden (1592- 99). Son of King John III of Sweden (1537-1592) and Catherine, daugh¬ ter of Sigismund I of Poland, he was elected king of Poland in 1587. On his father’s death (1592), he accepted the Swedish throne and was crowned in 1594. He left his paternal uncle Charles (later Charles IX) as regent in Sweden and returned to Poland, but Charles later rose in rebellion, defeated Sigismund’s army (1598), and deposed Sigismund (1599).

Poland and Sweden fought intermit¬ tently from 1600 as Sigismund tried to regain the Swedish throne. He invaded Russia in the Time of Troubles and held Moscow (1610—

12). In a renewal of the Polish- Swedish conflict in 1621, King Gustav II Adolf seized most of Polish Livonia, which Sweden retained under the terms of a 1629 truce.

sign In marketing and advertising, a device placed on or before a premises to identify its occupant and the nature of the business done there or, placed at a distance, to advertise a business or its products. The ancient Egyptians and Greeks used signs for advertising purposes, as did the Romans, who also, in effect, created sign¬ boards by whitewashing convenient sections of walls for suitable inscrip¬ tions. Early shop signs were developed when tradesmen, dealing with a largely illiterate public, devised certain easily recognizable emblems to represent their trades. Modem sign designers use various forms of ani¬ mation and light.

Sigismund Ilf detail of a painting, school of Rubens; in the Bayerische Staatsgemdldesammlungen, Munich

COURTESY OF THE BAYERISCHE STAATSGEMALDESAMMLUNGEN, MUNICH

sign language Any means of communication through bodily move¬ ments, especially of the hands and arms, rather than through speech. It has long been used by speakers of mutually unintelligible languages—for example, various Plains Indian tribes in 19th-century North America com¬ municated via a sign language—and is widely used for communication by the deaf. Charles-Michel, abbe de l’Epee (1712-89), developed the first sign language for the deaf in the mid-18th century; his system devel¬ oped into French Sign Language (FSL), still used in France. Transported to the U.S. in 1816 by Thomas Gallaudet (1787-1851), it evolved into American Sign Language (ASL, or Ameslan), now used by more than half a million people. These and other national sign languages generally express concepts rather than elements of words and thus have more in common with each other than with their countries’ spoken languages.

H fp &

K L M N O P Q

9 10

The alphabet and the numbers 0-10 in Amer. Sign Language.

Signac \se-'nyak\, Paul (b. Nov. 11, 1863, Paris, Fr.—d. Aug. 15, 1935, Paris) French painter. At 18 he gave up architecture to pursue painting in the Impressionist manner. In 1884 he became a founder of the Salon des Independants. With Georges Seurat he developed an exact mathematical system of applying dots of colour, which they called Pointillism (see Neo-Impressionism). He traveled extensively along the European coast painting landscapes and seascapes; in his later years he painted street scenes of Paris and other cities. He was a master of watercolour, in which he achieved great brilliance of colour and a free, spontaneous style. His work had a great influence on Henri Matisse.

Signorelli \,sen-yo-'rel-le\, Luca (d'Egidio di Ventura de') or Luca da Cortona (b. 1445/50, Cortona, Republic of Florence—d. Oct. 16, 1523, Cortona) Italian painter. Highly influenced by the Florentine artists, he was probably a student of Piero della Francesca. He went to Rome c. 1483, where he produced the Testament of Moses fresco in the Sistine Chapel. The dramatic action and depiction of great muscular effort in this and similar Renaissance works mark him as essentially a Floren¬ tine naturalist. His masterpiece, the End of the World and Last Judgment frescoes in Orvieto Cathedral, with their many muscular nudes, greatly influenced Michelangelo.

Sigurd See Siegfried

Sihanouk, Norodom See Norodom Sihanouk

Sikh Wars Vsek\ (1845-46, 1848—49) Two wars fought between the Sikhs and the British. In the first war Sikhs invaded British India under the pretext of forestalling a British attack on the Sikh state in the Punjab (see Ranjit Singh). They were defeated, the British annexed some of their lands, and British troops and a British resident were stationed in Lahore. The second war was a Sikh national revolt that ended in a British victory and annexation of the Punjab.

sikhara ► silica mineral I 1751

sikhara or shikhara Yshi-kd-raV Tower characteristic of Hindu temples of northern India. The sikhara over the sanctuary of a temple is usually tapered convexly, consisting of piled-up roof slabs of diminishing size. The surface is cov¬ ered with vinelike candrashala (ogee arch) tracery; at the top is a cushion-shaped grooved disk (i amalaka ), and above that a pot with a crowning finial. The sikhara devel¬ oped during the Gupta period (4th- 6th century ad) and steadily grew taller and more elaborate, as in the soaring tower of the 11th-century Lingaraja Temple in Bhubaneswar. In a variation of the basic form, half spires are added on either side of the sikhara ; excellent examples are the 10th-century Laksmana and 11th- century Kandarya Mahadeva temples at Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh. In addition to the curved sikhara, there is a smaller, rectilinear type frequently used above the temple mandapas (halls).

Sikhism \ , se- l kiz-om\ Indian reli¬ gion founded in the late 15 th century by Nanak, the first of the Sikh leaders titled Guru. Most of the religion’s 25 million members, called Sikhs, live in the Punjab —the site of their holiest shrine, the Golden Temple, and the principal seat of Sikh religious authority, the Akal Takht. The Adi Granth is the canonical scripture of Sikhism. Its theology is based on a supreme God who governs with jus¬ tice and grace. Every human being, irrespective of caste or gender, has the opportunity to become one with God. The basic human flaw of self¬ centredness can be overcome through proper reverence for God, commit¬ ment to hard work, service to humanity, and sharing the fruits of one’s labour. Sikhs consider themselves disciples of the 10 human Gurus; the Adi Granth assumed the position of Guru after the death of the last human Guru, Gobind Singh (1666-1708). Sikhs accept the Hindu ideas of sam- sara and karma. The dominant order of Sikhism, into which most Sikh boys and girls are initiated at puberty, is the Khalsa. The emblems of the Khalsa, called the five Ks, are kes (uncut hair), kangha (a comb), kachha (long shorts), kirpan (a sword), and karka (a steel bracelet).

Sikkim Ysi-ksnA State (pop., 2001 prelim.: 540,773), northeastern India. In the eastern Himalayas, Mount Kanchenjunga, third highest peak in the world, forms its western border with Nepal. It is also bordered by Bhutan and West Bengal state and has an area of 2,740 sq mi (7,096 sq km); the capital, Gangtok, is the only urban centre. As an independent country, it fought prolonged wars in the 18th and 19th centuries with Bhutan and Nepal. It first came under British influence in 1817, though it remained an independent buffer between British India and Tibet. In 1950 it became an Indian protectorate and, in 1975, a state of India. One of India’s small¬ est states, it exports agricultural products and is one of the world’s main producers of cardamom. Its mineral resources include copper, lead, zinc, coal, iron ore, and garnets.

Sikorski, Wtadystaw (Eugeniusz) (b. May 20, 1881, Tuszow Narodowy, Pol., Austria-Hungary—d. July 4, 1943, Gibraltar) Polish gen¬ eral and politician. He served in the Austrian army and in World War I was head of the Polish Legion, which joined with Austria against Russia. He served as prime minister of Poland (1923—24) and as minister of mili¬ tary affairs (1924-25). From 1928 he joined the opposition to the gov¬ ernment controlled by J6zef Pilsudski. After the German invasion of Poland (1939), he became prime minister of the Polish government-in-exile. When he asked Joseph Stalin to allow the Red Cross to investigate the Katyn Massacre, Stalin broke off Soviet-Polish diplomatic contact. Sikor¬ ski died in an airplane crash several months later.

Sikorsky, Igor (Ivan) (b. May 25, 1889, Kiev, Russian Empire—d. Oct. 26, 1972, Easton, Conn., U.S.) Russian-U.S. pioneer in aircraft design. After studying engineering in Kiev, he set up his own shop to develop the helicopter. In 1910, after failing to build a workable model, he turned to fixed-wing airplane design, and in 1913 he built the first

four-engine airplane, with an inno¬ vative enclosed cabin. He immi¬ grated to the U.S. in 1919. In 1931 he produced the twin-engine amphibian aircraft that became the model for Pan American World Air¬ ways' “Clipper.” In 1939 Sikorsky finally realized a viable helicopter design. He directed his company, a division of United Aircraft Corpora¬ tion, from 1929 to 1957.

silage Ysl-lij\ or ensilage

Ven-s3-lij\ Forage plants such as com, legumes, and grasses that have been harvested at early maturity, finely chopped, packed tightly to exclude air, and stored in tower silos, pits, or trenches. Properly stored silage ferments slightly and keeps for several months. It is used as animal feed.

silane Vsi-.lan, 'sl-,lan\ or silicon hydride Any of a series of inor¬ ganic compounds of silicon and hydrogen with covalent bonds and the general chemical formula Si„H (2 „ + 2 y Silanes are structural analogs of saturated hydrocarbons (see saturation; alkane) but are much less stable. All burn or explode when exposed to air and react readily with halogens or hydrogen halides to form halogenated silanes and with olefins to form alkylsilanes, products used as water repellents and as starting materials for silicones.

silenus See satyr and silenus

Silesia \si-Te-zho\ Polish Slqsk \'shlask\ German Schlesien \'shla-ze-on\ Historic region, east-central Europe. It now lies mainly in southwestern Poland, with parts in Germany and the Czech Republic. It was originally a Polish province that became a possession of the Bohemian crown, and thus part of the Holy Roman Empire, in 1335. Because of suc¬ cession disputes and the region’s prosperity, there were at least 16 Silesian principalities by the end of the 15th century. It passed to the Austrian Habs- burgs in 1526; it was taken by Prussia in 1742. After World War I it was divided between Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Germany. During World War II Polish Silesia was occupied by Germany and was the site of atroci¬ ties against the population by Nazi and, later, Soviet forces. In 1945 the Allied powers assigned virtually all of Silesia to Poland; today its nine Pol¬ ish provinces contain almost one-fourth of Poland’s population.

Silhak See Practical Learning School

silhouette \,si-lu-'et\ Outline image or design in a single solid, flat colour, giving the appearance of a shadow cast by a solid figure. The term is usually applied to profile por¬ traits in black against white (or vice versa), either painted or cut from paper, especially popular c. 1750- 1850 as the least expensive method of portraiture. The name derives from Etienne de Silhouette, Louis XV’s finance minister, notorious for his frugality and his hobby of mak¬ ing cut-paper shadow portraits. In 17th-century Europe, shadow por¬ traits and scenes were produced by drawing the outline cast by candle¬ light or lamplight; when paper became widely available, they were often cut out freehand directly from life. Photography rendered silhou¬ ettes nearly obsolete, and they became a type of folk art practiced by itinerant artists and caricaturists.

silica mineral Vsi-li-koN Any of the forms of silicon dioxide (Si0 2 ),

Silhouette portrait by Charles Willson Peale; in the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

COURTESY OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON, D.C.

1752 I silicate mineral ► Silla

including quartz, tridymite, cristobalite, coesite, stishovite, melanophlog- ite, lechatelierite, and chalcedony. Various kinds of silica minerals have been produced synthetically.

silicate mineral Any of a large group of silicon-oxygen compounds that are widely distributed throughout much of the solar system. The sili¬ cates make up about 95% of the Earth’s crust and upper mantle, occur¬ ring as the major constituents of most igneous rocks and in appreciable quantities in sedimentary and metamorphic rocks. They also are important constituents of lunar samples, meteorites, and most asteroids. In addition, planetary probes have detected them on the surfaces of Mercury, Venus, and Mars. Of the approximately 600 known silicate minerals, only the FELDSPARS, AMPHIBOLES, PYROXENES, MICAS, OLIVINES, FELDSPATHOIDS, and ZEOLITES are significant in rock formation.

siliceous rock \s9-Ti-shos\ Any of a group of sedimentary rocks that consist largely or almost entirely of silicon dioxide (Si0 2 ), either as quartz or as chert, the most common siliceous rock. It occurs in beds and in nod¬ ules. Bedded cherts may be an original organic or inorganic precipitate. Nodular cherts appear to be produced by the alteration of preexisting sedimentary rock. In this process silica distributed throughout the rock dissolves and reprecipitates to form nodules.

silicon Nonmetallic to semimetallic chemical element, chemical symbol Si, atomic number 14. Second only to oxygen in abundance in Earth’s crust, it never occurs free but is found in almost all rocks and in sand, clay, and soils, combined with oxygen as silica (silicon dioxide, Si0 2 ) or with oxygen and metals as silicate minerals. It occurs in many plants and some animals. Pure silicon is a hard, dark gray solid with a metallic lus¬ tre and the same crystal structure as diamond. It is an extremely impor¬ tant semiconductor; doped (see dopant) with boron, phosphorus, or arsenic, it is used in various electronic circuit and switching devices, including computer chips, transistors, and diodes. Silicon is also used in metallurgy as a reducing (see reduction) agent and in steel, brass, and bronze. Its usual valence in compounds is 4. Silica is used in the form of sand and clay for many purposes; as quartz, it may be heated to form special GLASSes. Sili¬ cates are used in making glass, enamels, and ceramics; sodium silicates (water glass) are used in soaps, wood treatment, cements, and dyeing. See also silane; silicone.

silicon hydride See silane

Silicon Valley Industrial region, west-central California. Roughly bounded by San Francisco Bay on the north, the Santa Cruz Mountains on the west, and the Diablo Range on the east, it takes its (unofficial) name from the extensive use of silicon in the region’s electronics indus¬ tries. The U.S. government invested heavily in the region’s industry fol¬ lowing World War II. A second economic surge occurred with the proliferation of personal computers in the 1980s, and a third surge followed the growth of the Internet in the 1990s.

silicone or polysiloxane Any of a diverse class of polymers manu¬ factured as fluids, resins, or elastomers. They are partially organic com¬ pounds, but, unlike most polymers, they have a backbone containing no carbon, composed instead of alternating silicon and oxygen atoms. In most silicones, two organic groups (see functional group), usually methyl or phenyl, are attached to each silicon atom. Silicones in general are excep¬ tionally stable and inert. Silicone fluids are used in hydraulic fluids, emulsion-breaking compositions, and breast implants and as adhesives, lubricants, water repellents, and protective coatings. Silicone rubbers are used as electrical insulators in encapsulations, coatings, and varnishes; as gaskets and caulking material; in specialized tubing; as automobile engine components; as flexible windows in face masks and air locks; for lami¬ nating glass cloth; and as surgical membranes and implants.

silicosis \,si-b-'ko-s9s\ Common pneumoconiosis caused by long-term inhalation of silica mineral dust. Known since the 18th century, it usually occurs after 10-20 years of exposure in jobs such as mining, stonecutting, grinding, or polishing. The smallest particles do the most damage, kill¬ ing macrophages (see reticuloendothelial system) that engulf them in the pulmonary alveoli. Dead cells accumulate, forming fibrous masses that reduce lung elasticity. Decreased lung volume and poor gas exchange lead to shortness of breath and then to coughing, difficulty in breathing, and weakness. Patients are vulnerable to tuberculosis, emphysema, and pneumo¬ nia. In the absence of effective treatment, control of silicosis depends on prevention with face masks, proper ventilation, and X-ray monitoring of workers’ lungs.

Siljan Vsil-,yan\, Lake Lake, central Sweden. Covering 112 sq mi (290 sq km), it is Sweden’s third largest lake. It is fed by the Osterdal River and extends into two bays. Its wooded shores are interspersed with mead¬ ows and quaint villages, making it an attractive tourist destination.

silk Animal fibre produced by certain insects as building material for cocoons and webs. In commercial use it refers almost entirely to filament from cocoons produced by the caterpillars of several moth species of the genus Bombyx, commonly called silkworms. Silk is a continuous filament around each cocoon. It is freed by softening the cocoon in water and then locating the filament end; the filaments from several cocoons are unwound at the same time, sometimes with a slight twist, to form a single strand. In the process called throwing, several very thin strands are twisted together to make thicker, stronger yarn. Silk was discovered in China sometime before 2700 bc, and the secret of its production was closely guarded for millennia. Along with jade and spices, silk was the primary commodity traded along the Silk Road beginning about 100 bc. Since World War II, nylon and other synthetic fibres have replaced silk in many applications (e.g., parachutes, hosiery, dental floss), but silk remains an important luxury material for clothing and home furnishings. More than 50% of the world’s silk is still produced in China.

Silk Road Ancient trade route that linked China with Europe. Origi¬ nally a caravan route and used from c. 100 bc, the 4,000-mi (6,400-km) road started in Xi'an, China, followed the Great Wall to the northwest, climbed the Pamir Mtns., crossed Afghanistan, and went on to the east¬ ern Mediterranean Sea, where goods were taken by boat to Rome. Silk was carried westward, while wool, gold, and silver were carried eastward. With the fall of Rome, the route became unsafe; it was revived under the Mongols, and Marco Polo used it in the 13th century.

silkscreen or serigraphy \s3-'ri-gr3-fe\ Sophisticated stenciling technique for surface printing, in which a design is cut out of paper or another thin, strong material and then printed by rubbing, rolling, or spray¬ ing paint or ink through the cutout areas. It was developed c. 1900 and originally used in advertising and display work. In the 1950s fine artists began to use the process. It got its name from the fine-mesh silk that, when tacked to a wooden frame, serves as a support for the cut-paper stencil, which is glued to it. To make a silkscreen print, the wooden frame holding the screen is hinged to a slightly larger wooden board, the print¬ ing paper is placed on the board under the screen, and the paint is pressed through the screen with a squeegee (rubber blade) the same width as the screen. Many colours can be used, with a separate screen for each colour.

silkworm moth Any moth in the genus Bombyx (family Bombycidae). The Chinese silkworm ( B. mori ) has been used in commercial silk produc¬ tion for centuries. The adult, which has a wingspan of about 2 in. (50 mm) and a thick, hairy body, lives only two or three days. The female lays 300-500 eggs. The pale, naked larvae are fed mulberry leaves until pupation begins, when they are about 3 in. (75 mm) long. They spin a cocoon of one continuous white or yellow silken thread, about 1,000 yards (900 m) long. The pupa is killed with hot air or steam to pre¬ serve the thread intact. See also sat- URNIID MOTH.

Sill or sheet In geology, a tabular igneous intrusion emplaced parallel to the bedding of the enclosing rock. Although they may have inclined orientations, nearly horizontal sills are most common. Sills may range from a few inches to hundreds of feet thick and up to hundreds of miles long. They include rock compositions of all types.

Silla Kingdom of ancient Korea that in ad 668 consolidated other polities on the Korean peninsula under the Unified Silla dynasty (668-935). Tra¬ ditionally believed to have been founded by Hyokkose in 57 bc, Silla emerged as a full-fledged kingdom in the 6th century. In the reign of King Chinhung (540-576), a unique military corps, the hwarang (see Hwarangdo), was organized; allied with Tang-dynasty China, it defeated the Korean state of Paekche in 660 and Koguryo in 668, then expelled the Tang forces to create a unified and independent Korean state. It adopted a Chinese bureaucratic structure, but its aristocracy was never replaced by a

Sillanpda ► silver salmon I 1753

bureaucratic class based on merit. Silla art before unification shows a ten¬ dency toward abstraction; postunification art reflects Tang naturalism.

Sillanpda Vsel-lan-.paV Frans Eemil (b. Sept. 16, 1888, Hameen- kyro, Fin., Russian Empire—d. June 3, 1964, Helsinki, Fin.) Finnish nov¬ elist. The son of a farmer, he studied natural science but returned to the country to write. Shocked by the Finnish civil war of 1918, he produced his most substantial novel, Meek Heritage (1919), relating how a humble cottager becomes involved with the Red Guards. After several collections of short stories in the late 1920s, he published his best-known work, The Maid Silja (1931), about an old peasant family. People in the Summer Night (1934) is his most polished and poetic novel. In 1939 he became the first Finnish writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature.

sillimanite Vsi-b-mo-.nhA or fibrolite Vfi-bro-JlA Brown, pale green, or white glassy silicate mineral that often occurs in long, slender, needle¬ like crystals frequently found in fibrous aggregates. An aluminum sili¬ cate, Al 2 0Si0 4 , it occurs in high-temperature regionally metamorphosed clay-rich rocks (e.g., schists and gneisses). Sillimanite is found at many localities in France, Madagascar, and the eastern U.S.; a pale sapphire- blue gem variety occurs in the gravels of Sri Lanka.

Sillitoe Ysi-li-.toV Alan (b. March 4, 1928, Nottingham, Nottingham¬ shire, Eng.) English writer. The son of a tannery worker, he worked in factories from age 14. Many of his later novels and stories are brash and angry accounts of working-class life, beginning with his successful first novel, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1958; film, 1960). Perhaps his best-known work is the title story in the collection The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner (1959; film, 1962). His other works include the novels The Death of William Posters (1965), The Widower’s Son (1976), and The Open Door (1989) and the story collections The Rag¬ man’s Daughter (1963; film, 1974) and Second Chance (1981).

Sills, Beverly orig. Belle Silverman (b. May 25, 1929, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. soprano. She sang on radio as a child and made her oper¬ atic debut in 1946. From 1955 she sang with the New York City Opera. After gaining attention for her coloratura performance in Julius Caesar (1966), she became one of the most celebrated opera stars in the world. After 25 years of singing with the company, she served as its director (1979-89). She sang with the Metropolitan Opera as well (1975-80), though after her prime. An effervescent personality, she hosted broadcast concerts and opera performances, becoming popular among a wide public.

Siloe\se-lo-'a\, Diego de (b. c. 1495, Burgos, Spain—d. Oct. 22,1563, Granada) Spanish sculptor and architect. Son of the sculptor Gil de Siloe (d. 1501?), he probably studied sculpture in Italy. His works are consid¬ ered among the finest of the Spanish Renaissance. His sculptural style is Plateresque, a mixture of Italian Renaissance, Gothic, and Mudejar styles. His principal architectural work, the Granada Cathedral (begun 1528), combines the best features of those styles.

Silone \se-'lo-na\, Ignazio orig. Secondo Tranquilli (b. May 1,

1900, Pescina dei Marsi, Italy—d. Aug. 22, 1978, Geneva, Switz.) Ital¬ ian novelist, short-story writer, and political leader. A founder of the Ital¬ ian Communist party in 1921, he was active in the party until the fascists drove him into exile. In 1930 he settled in Switzerland, became disillu¬ sioned with communism, and began to write antifascist works. He became internationally famous with his first novel, Fontamara (1930), which was followed by the novels Bread and Wine (1937) and The Seed Beneath the Snow (1940) and the satire The School for Dictators (1938). After World War II he returned to Italian politics before retiring to write such works as A Handful of Blackberries (1952).

silt Sediment particles 0.00016-0.0024 in. (0.004-0.06 mm) in diameter, regardless of mineral type. Silt is easily transported by moving currents but settles in still water. An unconsolidated aggregate of silt particles is also called silt, whereas a consolidated aggregate is called siltstone. Silt deposits formed by wind are known as loess. Sediments are seldom com¬ posed entirely of silt but rather are a mixture of clay, silt, and sand. Clay- rich silt, upon consolidation, frequently develops parting along bedding surfaces and is then called shale. If parting does not develop, the massive rock is called mudstone.

siltstone Hardened sedimentary rock that is composed primarily of angular silt-sized particles (see silt) and that is not laminated or easily split into thin layers. Siltstones, which are hard and durable, occur in thin lay¬ ers rarely thick enough to be classified as formations. They are interme¬ diate between sandstones and shales but are not as common as either.

Silurian \sl-'lur-e-3n\ Period Interval of geologic time, 443^-17 mil¬ lion years ago. The third period of the Paleozoic Era, the Silurian follows the Ordovician Period and precedes the Devonian. It marks the first appear¬ ance of land plants and jawed fishes. The continents were distributed as follows: Arctic Canada, Scandinavia, and Australia were probably in the tropics; Japan and the Philippines may have been inside the Arctic Circle; South America and Africa were likely near the South Pole, with either present-day Brazil or western Africa as the locus of the pole. The land surface was buried by an ice sheet, possibly as deep as that covering Ant¬ arctica today.

Silvassa \,sil-va-'sa\ Town (pop., 2001 prelim.: 21,890), capital of Dadra and Nagar Haveli union territory, western India. Located on the Daman Ganga River some 15 mi (25 km) from the Arabian Sea, it is the economic centre of the territory, which produces rice, pulses, and fruit crops.

silver Metallic chemical element, one of the transition elements, chemical symbol Ag, atomic number 47. It is a white, lustrous precious metal, val¬ ued for its beauty. It is also valued for its electrical conductivity, which is the highest of any metal. Between copper and gold in their common group of the periodic table, it is inter¬ mediate between them in many prop¬ erties. Widely distributed in nature in small amounts, as the native metal and in ores, it is usually recovered as a by-product of copper and lead pro¬ duction. Its use in bullion and coins was overtaken in the 1960s by demand for industrial purposes, especially photography. It is also used in printed electrical circuits, electronic conductors, and contacts.

It is the catalyst for converting eth¬ ylene to ethylene oxide, the precur¬ sor of many organic chemicals. Its use in alloys in sterling (92.5% sil¬ ver, 7.5% copper) and plated silver¬ ware, ornaments, and jewelry remains important; yellow gold used in jewelry is typically 25% silver, and gold dental alloys are about 10% silver. Silver dental fillings are an amalgam of silver and mercury. Silver in compounds, the most important of which is silver nitrate, has valence 1 . Its chloride, bromide, and iodide are used in photography and its iodide in cloud seeding.

Silver, Horace (b. Sept. 2, 1928, Norwalk, Conn., U.S.) U.S. jazz pia¬ nist, composer, and bandleader. Silver performed with Stan Getz in 1950-51 before leading his own trio in 1952. With Art Blakey he led the Jazz Messengers from 1954, then formed his own quintet in 1956, per¬ forming his own compositions in arrangements that provided the template for much of the hard bop (see bebop) of the 1950s and ’60s. Influenced by Bud Powell and Thelonious Monk, Silver combined the sophistication of bebop with the earthiness of the blues in compositions such as “The Preacher,” “Opus de Funk,” and “Sister Sadie.”

Silver Age In Latin literature, the period from c. ad 18 to 133, second only to the preceding Golden Age in literary achievement. Satire was the most vigorous literary form, exemplified by Juvenal, AAartial, and Petro- nius. Other figures included Tacitus and Suetonius in history, Puny the Elder and Puny the Younger in letter writing, and Quintilian in literary criticism. Prose was characteristically elaborate and poetical in style, and many of the best works of the period were psychologically perceptive and human¬ ist in tone. See also Augustan Age.

silver nitrate Inorganic compound (AgN0 3 ), colourless, transparent crystals with a bitter, caustic, metallic taste. The most important silver compound, it is used to prepare other silver salts, to silver mirrors, and as a reagent in analysis. It is very soluble in water; dilute solutions are effective against gonococcal bacteria and may be applied to newborns’ eyes to prevent blindness from gonorrhea. Ingesting silver nitrate causes violent abdominal pain and gastroenteritis.

silver salmon See coho

Dendritic (branching) silver from Ontario

COURTESY OF JOSEPH AND HELEN GUETTERMAN COLLECTION; PHOTOGRAPH, JOHN H. GERARD

1754 I silver standard ► Simon

silver standard Monetary standard under which the basic unit of cur¬ rency is defined as a stated quantity of silver. It is usually characterized by the coinage and circulation of silver, unrestricted convertibility of other money into silver, and the free import and export of silver for the settle¬ ment of international obligations. No country now operates under a sil¬ ver standard. In the 1870s most European countries adopted the gold standard, and by the early 1900s only China, Mexico, and a few small countries still used the silver standard. In 1873 the U.S. Treasury stopped coining silver, which led to the Free Silver Movement, but the defeat of William Jennings Bryan ended agitation for free silver in the U.S. See also BIMETALLISM.

silverfish Species ( Lepisma saccharina ) of quick-moving, slender, flat, wingless insect having three tail bristles and silvery scales. Silverfish are found worldwide. Females deposit fertilized eggs in cracks and hidden places. The hatched young are scaleless and have short appendages. Sil¬ verfish normally live indoors and, because they eat starchy materials (e.g., paste, bookbindings, and wallpaper), can cause much damage. They live two to three years and molt throughout life.

silverpoint See metal point

Silvers, Phil orig. Philip Silversmith (b. May 11, 1912, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.—d. Nov. 1, 1985, Los Angeles, Calif.) U.S. actor and come¬ dian. He began his career as a boy singer in vaudeville and a comedian in burlesque. After making his film debut in 1940, he appeared as comic relief in many feature films. He acted on Broadway in High Button Shoes (1947-50) and starred in Top Banana (1951-52, Tony Award; film, 1954). He is best remembered for his role as Sgt. Bilko in the television series The Phil Silvers Show (1955-59; originally known as You’ll Never Get Rich), for which he won several Emmy Awards. He appeared in the film version of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1966) and its Broadway revival (1972, Tony Award). His popularity stemmed in part from his highly recognizable grin, horn-rimmed glasses, and catchphrases.

Silverstein, Shel(by) (b. Sept. 25, 1932, Chicago, Ill., U.S.—d. May 10, 1999, Key West, Fla.) U.S. cartoonist, children’s author, poet, song¬ writer, and playwright. Often compared to Dr. Seuss (see Theodor Geisel), Silverstein is best known for his children’s stories and poems. Among his memorable characters are the protagonist in Uncle Shelby’s Story of Lafcadio, the Lion Who Shot Back (1963), the boy-man and tree in The Giving Tree (1964), and the partial circle in The Missing Piece. Silver¬ stein was credited with helping young readers develop an appreciation of poetry, and his serious verse reveals an understanding of common child¬ hood anxieties and wishes.

Simcoe, John Graves (b. Feb. 25, 1752, Cotterstock, Northampton¬ shire, Eng.—d. Oct. 26, 1806, Exeter, Devonshire) British soldier and colonial administrator in Canada. He served in the American Revolution as commander of the Queen’s Rangers (1777-79). He was taken prisoner (1779) but later released (1781) and invalided back to England. After the Constitutional Act was passed, he served as the first lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada (now Ontario) from 1792 to 1796. He encouraged immi¬ gration and agriculture and sup¬ ported defense and road building.

Simcoe, Lake Lake, southeastern Ontario, Canada. Located between Georgian Bay and Lake Ontario north of Toronto, Lake Simcoe is 287 sq mi (743 sq km) in area.

Numerous small streams and the Trent Canal feed the lake, which is 30 mi (48 km) long and contains sev¬ eral islands; the largest, Georgina, is an Indian reserve. The lake is a popu¬ lar summer vacation area.

Simenon Vse-ms-'noA, Georges (-Joseph-Christian) (b. Feb. 13,

1903, Liege, Belg.—d. Sept. 4, 1989,

Lausanne, Switz.) Belgian-born French novelist. During 1923-33 he wrote more than 200 pseudonymous books of pulp fiction. His first novel under his own name was The Case of Peter the Lett (1931), in which he

introduced one of the best-known characters in detective fiction, the Pari¬ sian police official Inspector Maigret. He wrote some 80 more Maigret novels, as well as about 130 psychological novels, numerous short sto¬ ries, and autobiographical works, and was one of the most prolific and widely published authors of the 20th century. Simenon’s central theme is the essential humanity of even the isolated, abnormal individual and the sorrow at the root of the human condition. Employing a style of rigorous simplicity, he evokes a prevailing atmosphere of neurotic tensions with sharp economy.

Simeon \'si-me-9n\ I known as Simeon the Great (b. 864/865 —d. May 27, 927) Tsar of the first Bulgarian empire (925-927). The son of Boris I, he succeeded his father in 893 after the short intervening reign (889-893) of his dissolute elder brother, Vladimir. Hoping to gain the imperial throne, he fought five wars with the Byzantine Empire between 894 and 923. He adopted the title “Tsar of All the Bulgarians” in 925. He extended his power over southern Macedonia, southern Albania, and Ser¬ bia but probably lost Bulgaria’s dominion north of the Danube.

Simeon Stylites \stl- , llt-,ez. Saint or Simeon the Elder (b. c.

390, Sisan, Cilicia—d. 459, Telanissus, Syria) Syrian ascetic. A shepherd, he entered a monastic community but was expelled for excessive auster¬ ity and became a hermit. His reputed miracle working drew such crowds that he took to living atop a 6-ft (2-m) pillar (Greek stylos) c. 420, becom¬ ing the first of the stylites (pillar hermits). He remained atop a second, 50-ft (15-m) pillar until his death; a railing prevented his falling, and food was brought by disciples. He inspired other ascetics and is called Sim¬ eon the Elder to distinguish him from a 6th-century stylite of the same name. Stylites were documented as late as the 19th century in Russia.

Simic \'sim-ik\, Charles (b. May 9, 1938, Belgrade, Yugos.) Yugoslavian-born U.S. poet. When he was 15 years old, he and his mother moved to Paris; a year later they joined his father in the U.S. After gradu¬ ating from New York University, he translated Yugoslavian poetry into English. His first volume of poetry. What the Grass Says (1967) was rec¬ ognized for its lively, surrealistic imagery; the collection The World Doesn ’t End (1989) won a Pulitzer Prize. He held a MacArthur Fellowship 1984-89. Since 1973 he has taught at the University of New Hampshire.

simile Vsi-mo-leX Figure of speech involving a comparison between two unlike entities. In a simile, unlike a metaphor, the resemblance is indicated by the words “like” or “as.” Similes in everyday speech reflect simple comparisons, as in “He eats like a bird” or “She is slow as molasses.” Similes in literature may be specific and direct or more lengthy and com¬ plex. The Homeric, or epic, simile, which is typically used in epic poetry, often extends to several lines.

Simla See Shimla

Simmel Vzim-oL, Georg (b. March 1, 1858, Berlin, Ger.—d. Sept. 26, 1918, Strassburg) German sociologist and philosopher. From teaching posts at the universities of Berlin (1885-1914) and Strassburg (1914-18), Simmel did much to establish sociology as a basic social science in Ger¬ many. He sought to isolate the general forms or recurrent regularities of social interaction from the specific content of definite kinds of activity, such as political, economic, or aesthetic. He gave special attention to the problem of authority and obedience. His ideas became influential in the U.S. through the works of Robert E. Park, Albion Small, and Ernest Bur¬ gess. See also interactionism.

Simms, Willie (b. Jan. 16, 1870, near Augusta, Ga., U.S.—d. Feb. 26, 1927, Asbury, N.J.) U.S. jockey. Simms began racing in 1887 and was one of the most successful early adopters of the short stirrup. In 1895 Simms became the first American jockey to win in England, where English sportswriters soon referred to the short stirrup and crouching pos¬ ture as the “American seat.” Simms won the Belmont Stakes in 1893 and 1894, the Kentucky Derby in 1896 and 1898, and the Preakness Stakes in 1898; he is the only African American to win all of the Triple Crown classics. He was one of the first jockeys to be elected to the National Museum of Racing’s Hall of Fame.

Simon Vse-'mo'A, Claude (Eugene Henri) (b. Oct. 10, 1913, Tanan¬ arive [now Antananarivo], Madag.—d. July 6, 2005, Paris, France) French writer. Captured by the Nazis while fighting in World War II, he escaped to join the French Resistance. He completed his first novel during the war. His works, mixing narration and stream of consciousness in densely constructed prose, are representative of the nouveau roman (“new novel”), or French antinovel, that emerged in the 1950s. Perhaps most important is the cycle

Simon ► Sims

1755

comprising The Grass (1958), The Flanders Road (1960), The Palace (1962), and History (1967), with its recurring characters and events. His other novels include The Wind (1957), Triptych (1973), The Acacia ( 1989), and The Trolley (2001). He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1985.

Simon Vsi-msnV Herbert (Alexander) (b. June 15, 1916, Milwau¬ kee, Wis., U.S.—d. Feb. 9, 2001, Pittsburgh, Pa.) U.S. social scientist. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1943. At Camegie- Mellon University (from 1949), he taught psychology and later computer science. In Administrative Behavior (1947) Simon argued for recogniz¬ ing a multiplicity of factors (including psychological ones) in corporate decision making rather than emphasizing the achievement of maximum profits as the primary motivation. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1978. He subsequently worked in the field of artificial intel¬ ligence using computer technology.

Simon (of Stackpole Elidor), John Allsebrook Simon, 1st Viscount (b. Feb. 28, 1873, Manchester, Eng.—d. Jan. 11, 1954, Lon¬ don) British politician. A successful lawyer, he served in the House of Commons (1906-18, 1922—40). In the 1930s he led the Liberal National Party and served successively as foreign secretary (1931-35), home sec¬ retary (1935-37), and chancellor of the Exchequer (1937-40). Favouring rapprochement with Germany, he supported the appeasement policy of Neville Chamberlain and the Munich agreement. In 1940 Simon was appointed lord chancellor in Winston Churchill’s wartime coalition min¬ istry and was created a viscount.

Simon, (Marvin) Neil (b. July 4, 1927, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. playwright. After studying at New York University, he worked as a com¬ edy writer for Sid Caesar in the 1950s. His autobiographical play Come Blow Your Horn (1961) was the first of a long series of hit comedies that includes Barefoot in the Park (1963; film, 1967), The Odd Couple (1965; film, 1968), and Plaza Suite (1968; film, 1971). His later plays include the autobiographical trilogy of Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983), Biloxi Blues (1985, Tony Award), and Broadway Bound (1986). His plays deal humorously with the everyday conflicts of ordinary middle-class people, often in New York City. For Lost in Yonkers (1991), he received a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize.

Simon, Paul (Frederic) (b. Oct. 13, 1941, Newark, N.J., U.S.) U.S. pop singer and songwriter. Simon began performing with Art Garfunkel (b. 1941) in the 1950s, using the name Tom and Jerry. After a break, the two reunited in 1964 as Simon and Garfunkel. Their first hit single was “Sounds of Silence” (1966); others over the next six years included “Mrs. Robin¬ son” (for the film The Graduate ) and “Bridge over Troubled Water.” After the two parted company, Simon released several hit albums, including Still Crazy After All These Years (1975). His Graceland (1986) album, recorded with African musicians, became the most successful and influential of the new genre of world music. Both African music and Brazilian music informed his album The Rhythm of the Saints (1990). With the West Indian poet Derek Walcott he wrote the Broadway musical The Capeman (1998).

Simon & Schuster Vshii-storX U.S. publishing company. It was founded in 1924 by Richard L. Simon (1899-1960) and M. Lincoln Schuster (1897-1970), whose initial project, the original crossword- puzzle book, was a best-seller. Among their other innovations was Pocket Books, the first U.S. paperback line, launched in 1939. The company came to publish a wide variety of books, including many best-sellers and prize¬ winners. In 1975 it was sold to Gulf & Western Inc., which, renamed Paramount Communications in 1989, was acquired by Viacom Inc. in 1994. With the 1998 sale of its educational, professional, international, and reference divisions, Simon & Schuster concentrated again on fiction and nonfiction for the general reader.

Simon de Montfort See Simon de Montfort

Simon Fraser University Privately endowed university in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, with a branch campus in Vancouver. It was established in 1963 and named after the explorer Simon Fraser. It has fac¬ ulties of arts, science, applied sciences, graduate studies, business admin¬ istration, education, and continuing studies and a school for the contemporary arts.

Simonde de Sismondi, J.-C.-L. See J.-C.-L. Simonde de Sismondi

simony Vsi-mo-ne, 'sl-mo-neV Buying or selling of church offices or pow¬ ers. The name is taken from Simon Magus (Acts 8:18), who tried to buy the power of conferring the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Simony was said to have

become widespread in Europe in the 10th-11th century, as promotions to the priesthood or episcopate were bestowed by monarchs and nobles, often in exchange for oaths of loyalty. Changes in the understanding of the nature of simony and the relationship between lay and religious orders contributed to the perception of the growth of simony, even though corrupt practices did exist. Rigorously attacked by Pope Gregory VII and the reform move¬ ment associated with him, the practice recurred in the 15th century, but after the 16th century its more flagrant forms disappeared.

simple harmonic motion Repetitive back-and-forth movement through a central, or equilibrium, position in which the maximum displace¬ ment on one side is equal to the maximum displacement on the other. Each complete vibration takes the same time, the period; the reciprocal of the period is the frequency of vibration. The force that causes the motion is always directed toward the equilibrium position and is directly propor¬ tional to the distance from it. A pendulum displays simple harmonic motion; other examples include the electrons in a wire carrying alternating cur¬ rent and the vibrating particles of a medium carrying sound waves.

simplex method Standard technique in linear programming for solv¬ ing an optimization problem, typically one involving a function and sev¬ eral constraints expressed as inequalities. The inequalities define a polygonal region (see polygon), and the solution is typically at one of the vertices. The simplex method is a systematic procedure for testing the vertices as possible solutions.

Simplon \'sim-,plan\ Pass Alpine pass and tunnel, southern Switzer¬ land. It is situated between the Pennine and Lepontine Alps at 6,581 ft (2,006 m). An important Alpine route since the mid-13th century, the pass became a major link between central and southern Europe when Napo¬ leon had a road built there (1800-07). A hospice, occupied by the Augus- tinians and dating from 1235, is near the summit. When the pass is closed to road traffic in the winter, cars are transported by train through a 12.5-mi (20-km) tunnel below the pass that connects Brig, Switz., with Iselle, Italy.

Simpson, George Gaylord (b. June 16, 1902, Chicago, Ill., U.S.—d. Oct. 6, 1984, Tucson, Ariz.) U.S. paleontologist. He earned a doctorate at Yale University. His contributions to evolutionary theory include a detailed classification of mammals, based on his studies of mammalian evolution, which is still the standard. He also is known for his studies of intercontinental migrations of animal species, especially South American mammals, in past geologic times. His books include Tempo and Mode in Evolution (1944; 1984), The Meaning of Evolution (1949), The Major Features of Evolution (1953), and The Principles of Animal Taxonomy (1961).

Simpson, Sir James Young (b. June 7, 1811, Bathgate, Linlithgow¬ shire, Scot.—d. May 6, 1870, London, Eng.) Scottish obstetrician. He received his M.D. from the University of Edinburgh, where he became professor of obstetrics. After news of the use of ether in surgery in Bos¬ ton reached Scotland, Simpson employed it in obstetrics to relieve labour pains (1847) and later substituted chloroform, which he continued to use despite opposition from obstetricians and the clergy. He also introduced iron-wire sutures, the use of pressure to stop bleeding, and Simpson for¬ ceps (long obstetrical forceps).

Simpson, O(renthal) J(ames) (b. July 9, 1947, San Francisco, Calif., U.S.) U.S. football player. At the University of Southern California as a running back (1965-68), he set rushing records, was named All- American, and won the Heisman Trophy (1968). He joined the Buffalo Bills in 1969, with whom he continued to set records, and he became a great box-office draw. Knee injuries led to his being traded in 1978 to the San Francisco 49ers; he retired after the 1979 season. Handsome and genial, he became a popular film and television actor. In 1994 he was charged with the murder of his estranged wife and her friend. The resulting trial and acquittal generated unprecedented media coverage and public debate. A separate civil trial in 1997 found Simpson guilty in a wrongful-death suit.

Sims, William Sowden (b. Oct. 15, 1858, Port Hope, Ont., Can.—d. Sept. 28, 1936, Boston, Mass., U.S.) U.S. naval officer. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and later wrote a navigation textbook that became widely used. As naval attache to U.S. embassies in Paris and St. Petersburg, he observed the superiority of foreign navies. As inspector of naval target practice (1902-09), he revolutionized U.S. naval gunnery. In World War I he commanded the U.S. fleet in Europe and helped develop the convoy system to protect Allied ships from German submarine attack. He was president of the Naval War College (1917-18, 1919-22).

1756 I simulation ► Singapore

simulation, computer Use of a computer-generated system to rep¬ resent the dynamic responses and behaviour of a real or proposed system. A mathematical description of a system is developed as a computer pro¬ gram that uses equations to represent the functional relationships within the system. When the program is run, the resulting mathematical dynam¬ ics form an analog, usually represented graphically, of the behaviour of the modeled system. Variables in the program can be adjusted to simu¬ late varying conditions in the system. Computer simulations are used to study the behaviour of objects or systems that cannot be easily or safely tested in real life, such as weather patterns or a nuclear blast. Simpler simulations performed by personal computers are business models and geo¬ metric models. See also scientific visualization.

simultaneous equations See system of equations

Sin \'sen\ Sumerian Nanna In Mesopotamian religion, the god of the moon. He was the father of Shamash and, in some myths, of Ishtar. Sin was thought to confer fertility and prosperity on cowherds by governing the rise of waters and the growth of reeds, particularly in the marshes along the lower Euphrates River, where his worship originated. In the 6th century bc, attempts were made to elevate Sin to a supreme position in the Babylonian pantheon.

sin Wrongdoing, particularly the breaking of moral or religious rules. In the Hebrew scriptures, sin is viewed as a hatred of God or defiance of his commandments. The New Testament regards sinfulness as the inherent state of humanity, which Jesus came into the world to heal. Christian theo¬ logians divide sin into actual and original sin. Actual sin, consisting of evil acts, words, and deeds, is in turn divided into mortal sin, in which the perpetrator deliberately turns away from God, and venial sin, a less serious transgression committed without full awareness of wrongdoing. In Islam, sin is a straying from God’s path; the prophets were sent to guide people back to the true path. In Hinduism and Buddhism, the good and evil deeds one commits in this life affect one’s rebirth in the next.

his flagging career, and he later starred in many acclaimed films, includ¬ ing musicals such as Guys and Dolls (1955) and dramas such as The Manchurian Candidate (1962). After 1953 he performed and recorded using arrangements by Nelson Riddle, Billy May, and Gordon Jenkins, reaching his peak in albums such as Only the Lonely (1958). In 1961 he founded Reprise Records. His masterly performances, alternately swing¬ ing and affectingly melancholic, brought him a success unparalleled in the history of American popular music.

Sinclair, Upton (Beall) (b. Sept. 20, 1878, Baltimore, Md., U.S.—d. Nov. 25, 1968, Bound Brook, N.J.) U.S. novelist. He was supporting him¬ self as a journalist when an assignment led him to write The Jungle (1906), a best-selling muckraking expose of conditions in the Chicago stockyards. A landmark among naturalistic, proletarian novels, it aroused great public indignation and resulted in the passage of the U.S. Pure Food and Drug Act. Many other topical novels followed, as well as the successful Lanny Budd series of 11 contemporary historical novels featuring an antifascist hero, beginning with World’s End (1940) and including Dragon’s Teeth (1942, Pulitzer Prize). In the 1930s Sinclair organized a socialist reform move¬ ment and won the Democratic nomination for governor of California.

Sind or Sindh Province (pop., 1998: 29,991,000), southeastern Paki¬ stan. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the south. The capital is Kara¬ chi. The centre of the ancient Indus civilization, it was annexed to the Persian Achaemenian Empire in the 6th century bc. Conquered by Alex¬ ander the Great in 325 bc, it was part of the Mauryan empire in the 3rd century bc. It fell to the Arabs c. ad 711. In the 16th—17th centuries it was ruled by the Mughals. It came under British control in 1843. After Paki¬ stan’s independence, Sind was integrated into the province of West Paki¬ stan but in 1970 was reestablished as a separate province. It is arid except in the irrigated Indus River valley, where cotton, wheat, and rice are grown and where the population is concentrated.

sine See trigonometric function

Sinai, Mount or Mount Horeb Peak, south-central Sinai Peninsula, Egypt. It rises to 7,497 ft (2,285 m) in elevation and is especially renowned in the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions as the site where Moses received the Ten Commandments. Though not positively identified as the place referred to in biblical texts, it is an important pilgrimage site. St. Catherine’s, founded in 527 and thought to be the world’s oldest con¬ tinuously inhabited Christian monastery, is at its northern base.

Sinai k'sI-.nlN Peninsula Peninsula, northeastern Egypt. Located between the Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba at the northern end of the Red Sea, it covers some 23,500 sq mi (61,000 sq km). Its southern region is moun¬ tainous and includes Mount Sinai, while its northern two-thirds is an arid plateau known as the Sinai Desert. Inhabited since prehistoric times, it is famous as the purported route of the Israelite Exodus from Egypt. For centuries, its northern coast was the main trade route between Egypt and Palestine. From the 1st century ad until the rise of Islam in the 7th cen¬ tury, it was part of the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine Empire. It was ruled by various Islamic dynasties until the 16th century, when it became part of the Ottoman Empire. Turned over to Egypt at the end of World War I in 1918, it was the scene of heavy fighting during the Suez Crisis (1956), the Six-Day War, (1967), and the Yom Kippur War (1973) and was occupied by Israel from 1967 until 1982, when it was then returned to Egypt. See Arab-Israeli wars.

Sinaloa \,se-na-To-a\ State (pop., 2000: 2,536,844), northwestern Mexico. It has an area of 22,521 sq mi (58,328 sq km), and its capital is Culiacan. It was made a state in 1830 and consists of a tropical coastal plain along the Gulf of California that rises inland to the Sierra Madre Occidental. The popular resort city of Mazatlan is on its coast. It is pri¬ marily an agricultural area, producing wheat, cotton, tobacco, and sugar¬ cane. Salt, graphite, manganese, and gold are mined.

Sinatra, Frank orig. Francis Albert Sinatra (b. Dec. 12, 1915, Hoboken, N.J., U.S.—d. May 14, 1998, Los Angeles, Calif.) U.S. singer and actor. Sinatra began his singing career in the mid-1930s and was “discovered” by trumpeter Harry James, who immediately recruited him. Sinatra achieved sweeping national popularity in 1940-42 while singing with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. He sang on the radio program Your Hit Parade (1943-45), while becoming a favourite performer in theatres and nightclubs. In the 1940s he co-starred in a number of musical films with dancer Gene Kelly. His popularity suddenly declined about 1948, but his performance in From Here to Eternity (1953, Academy Award) revived

Singapore officially Republic of Singapore Island country. South¬ east Asia. Situated off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, it comprises Singapore island and 60 islets. Area: 269 sq mi (697 sq km). Population

(2005 est.): 4,291,000. Capital: Singapore.

Three-fourths of the people are of Chinese ethnicity; most of the rest are Malays and Indians. Languages: English, Chinese (Mandarin), Malay, Tamil (all official).

Religions: Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, Daoism, Hinduism. Currency: Singapore dollar. Nearly two-thirds of the island’s hilly landscape lies below 50 ft (15 m) above sea level. It has a hot, humid climate. Although only about 2% of its land is arable, it is highly productive cropland. The

Singapore ► Sino-French War I 1757

economy is based largely on international trade and finance; there are more than 100 commercial banks, most of which are foreign, and the headquar¬ ters of the Asian Dollar Market is located there. The port is one of the larg¬ est in the world, and the country is one of the world’s leading petroleum refiners. Manufacturing (notably electronic equipment) is also important. Singapore is a republic with one legislative house; its chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. Long inhab¬ ited by fishermen and pirates, it was an outpost of the Sumatran empire of Shrivijaya until the 14th century, when it passed to Java and then Ayutthaya (Siam). It became part of the Malacca empire in the 15th century. In the 16th century the Portuguese controlled the area; they were followed by the Dutch in the 17th century. In 1819 it was ceded to the British East India Company, becoming part of the Straits Settlements and the centre of British colonial activity in Southeast Asia. During World War II the Japanese occu¬ pied the island (1942-45). In 1946 it became a crown colony. It achieved full internal self-government in 1959, became part of Malaysia in 1963, and gained independence in 1965. Singapore is influential in the affairs of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The country’s domi¬ nant voice in politics for 30 years after independence was Lee Kuan Yew. Singapore has become a regional economic powerhouse.

Singapore City (2002 est.: 4,204,000), capital of the Republic of Sin¬ gapore. A free port centred on the southern part of Singapore island, it so dominates the island that the republic is now commonly considered a city-state. Known as the Garden City for its many parks and tree-lined streets, it offers glimpses into the cultures brought to it by immigrants from all parts of Asia. Traditionally founded by a Shrivijayan prince, it was an important Malay city in the 13th century. Destroyed by the Jav¬ anese in the 14th century, it was refounded by Stamford Raffles of the British East India Company in 1819. It became the capital of the Straits Settlements in 1833 and developed as a port and naval base; today it is one of the world’s great commercial centres. Its thriving banking, insurance, and brokerage firms make it the chief trading and financial centre of Southeast Asia. It is home to the National University of Singapore (1980).

Singer, Isaac Bashevis Yiddish Yitskhok Bashevis Zinger (b.

July 14?, 1904, Radzymin, Pol., Russian Empire—d. July 24, 1991, Surf- side, Fla., U.S.) Polish-born U.S. writer of novels, short stories, and essays. He received a traditional Jewish education at the Warsaw Rab¬ binical Seminary. After publishing his first novel, Satan in Goray (1932), he immigrated to the U.S. in 1935 and wrote for the Jewish Daily For¬ ward, a Yiddish newspaper in New York. Though he continued to write mostly in Yiddish, he personally supervised the English translations. Depicting Jewish life in Poland and the U.S., his works are a rich blend of irony, wit, and wisdom, flavoured distinctively with the occult and the grotesque. His works include the novels The Family Moskat (1950), The Magician of Lublin (1960), and Enemies: A Love Story (1972; film, 1989); the story collections Gimpel the Fool (1957), The Spinoza of Market Street (1961), and A Crown of Feathers (1973, National Book Award); and the play Yentl the Yeshiva Boy (1974; film, 1983). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1978.

Singer, Isaac Merritt (b. Oct. 27,1811, Pittstown, N.Y., U.S.—d. July 23, 1875, Torquay, Devon, Eng.) U.S. inventor and manufacturer. He became an apprentice machinist at 19. He patented a rock-drilling machine (1839) and a metal- and wood-carving machine (1849) before producing an improved version of Elias Howe’s sewing machine in 1851 and soon thereafter founding I.M. Singer & Co. (see Singer Co.) to manu¬ facture it. Howe’s successful patent-infringement suit against him in 1854 did not prevent Singer from manufacturing his machine, and his company was soon the world’s largest sewing-machine producer. He patented numerous further improvements in the technology; he also pioneered the use of installment credit plans.

Singer NV U.S. sewing-machine manufacturer. The company began in 1851, when Isaac Merritt Singer (1811-75) patented the first practical sew¬ ing machine for domestic use. By 1860 I.M. Singer & Co. was the larg¬ est maker of sewing machines in the world. In 1863 its business was taken over by the newly incorporated Singer Manufacturing Co. The company began mass-producing domestic electric machines in 1910 and pioneered marketing innovations such as the installment plan. It later expanded into power tools, floor-care products, furniture, and electronics; it adopted the name Singer Co. in 1963. Its sewing-machine and furniture operations were spun off into a separate company, SSMC Inc., in 1986. Two years later it was the subject of a hostile takeover by investor Paul Bilzerian, who in 1989 sold Singer’s assets to Semi-Tech, a Hong Kong company

controlled by investor James Henry Ting. Still one of the world’s largest sewing-machine manufacturers, the company declared bankruptcy in 1999 and was reorganized as Singer NV in 2000.

Singitic \sin-'ji-tik\ Gulf Inlet of the Aegean Sea, northeastern Greece. It is the larger and deeper of two gulfs (the other being Ierisou Gulf) that extend into the peninsula of the historical region in Greece known as Macedonia. The silted-up remains of a canal completed by Xerxes in 480 bc link the two gulfs. The main community on the gulf is Ouranopolis, a stop for tourists exploring Mount Athos.

single tax Tax on land values intended as the sole source of govern¬ ment revenues, replacing all existing taxes. Henry George proposed the single tax in his book Progress and Poverty (1879). The plan gained con¬ siderable support in subsequent decades but was never implemented. Advocates argued that since land is a fixed resource, the income it yields is a product of the economy’s growth and not individual effort, and that it therefore can fairly be taxed to support the government. Critics pro¬ tested that the single tax would take no account of an individual’s ability to pay, since there is no correlation between land ownership and total wealth or income.

Singspiel Ysiq-.spel, 'ziq-,shpel\ German "song-play" Eighteenth- century opera in the German language, containing spoken dialogue and usually comic in tone. The earliest Singspiels were light plays in which the dialogue was interspersed with popular songs. In Vienna the form had a brief but intense flowering that resulted in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s enduring Abduction from the Seraglio (1782) and The Magic Flute (1791). Singspiel evolved into transitional works such as Ludwig van Beethoven’s Fidelio (1805) and ultimately gave rise to German Romantic opera. See also musical; operetta; zarzuela.

Sinhalese \,siq-g3-'lez\ Any member of the largest ethnic group of Sri Lanka. Their ancestors are believed to have come from northern India. Most Sinhalese are agriculturalists, and most adhere to Theravada Bud¬ dhism. Like other peoples of Sri Lanka, the Sinhalese have a caste soci¬ ety with a complex structure based largely on occupation. Today the Sinhalese number more than 12 million.

Sinitic languages See Chinese languages

sinkhole or sink or doline \d9-'le-n3\ Depression formed as under¬ lying limestone bedrock is dissolved by groundwater. Sinkholes vary greatly in area and depth and may be very large. The two main varieties are those caused by the collapse of a cavern roof, and those caused by the gradual dissolving of rock under a soil mantle. Collapsed sinkholes generally have steep rock sides and may receive streams that then flow underground. Soil-mantled sinkholes are generally shallower; they may become clogged with clay and hold a small lake.

Sinkiang See Xinjiang

sinking fund Fund set aside by a corporation or government agency for the purpose of periodically redeeming bonds, debentures, and preferred stocks. The fund is accumulated from earnings, and payments into the fund may be based on either a fixed percentage of the outstanding debt or a fixed percentage of profits. Sinking funds are administered separately from the corporation’s working funds by a trust company or trustee. The purpose of a sinking fund is to assure investors that provision has been made for the repayment of bonds at maturity.

Sinn Fein Vshin-'fanV Irish "We Alone" Nationalist political party in Ireland. It was founded by Arthur Griffith and others in 1902, and its policy involved passive resistance to the British, withholding of taxes, and establishing an Irish ruling council. The party had little impact until after the Easter Rising, when the demand of its leader Eamon de Valera for a united, republican Ireland won the party 73 out of 105 seats in the 1918 election. Its power diminished after 1926, when de Valera founded Fianna Fail, which absorbed most of Sinn Fein’s membership. The party contin¬ ued as the political arm of the Irish Republican Army, actively supporting Irish unification. Under the leadership of Gerry Adams in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, Sinn Fein participated in the peace talks on North¬ ern Ireland and became one of the leading Roman Catholic parties in Northern Ireland.

Sino-French War (1883 -85) Conflict between China and France over Vietnam. It revealed the inadequacy of China’s modernization efforts and aroused nationalistic sentiment in southern China. In 1880, when France began to extend its presence in Vietnam northward from the three south-

1758 I Sino-Japanese War ► Sippar

ern provinces it controlled, China sent in troops and engaged in limited battles. The governor-general, Li Hongzhang, negotiated an agreement whereby northern Vietnam would be a joint protectorate, but a hard-line government faction in China rejected it. The French defeated Chinese reinforcements in 1883, and the new settlement was more strongly in France’s favour. This, too, was rejected in China; after further hostilities, the new Chinese fleet of 11 steamers was destroyed, as was a large ship¬ yard at Fuzhou. In 1885 China signed a peace treaty accepting the settle¬ ment of 1883.

Sino-Japanese War Either of two conflicts between China and Japan in the 19th and 20th centuries. The first (1894-95), over Korea, marked the emergence of Japan as a world power and demonstrated the weakness of China. Though Korea had long been China’s most important client state, Japan became interested in it for its natural resources and its stra¬ tegic location. After Japan opened Korea to foreign trade in 1875, ten¬ sions between radical, pro-Japanese Koreans, who favoured modernization, and conservative Korean government officials, who were supported by China, brought China and Japan into conflict. Foreign observers predicted an easy victory for the more massive Chinese forces, but Japan scored overwhelming victories on both land and sea. In the Treaty of Shimonoseki, China recognized the independence of Korea and ceded Taiwan, the Pescadores, and the Liaodong Peninsula (the last of which Japan was later forced to return) to Japan. The second conflict (1937—45) denotes the period of China’s resistance to Japan’s aggression in Chinese territory after Japan had established itself in Manchuria; it ended with Japan’s defeat in World War II. See also Manchukuo; Marco Polo Bridge Incident; Nanjing Massacre; Tonghak Uprising.

Sino-Tibetan \,sI-no-t3-'be-t3n\ languages Superfamily of lan¬ guages whose two branches are the Sinitic, or Chinese, languages and the Tibeto-Burman family, an assemblage of several hundred very diverse languages spoken by some 65 million people from northern Pakistan east to Vietnam and from the Tibetan Plateau south to the Malay Peninsula. They include Tibetan, Burmese, Karen, and many other languages of Nepal, India, Myanmar (Burma), Bangladesh, China, and Thailand. Tibetan and Burmese are the only Tibeto-Burman languages with long literary traditions. Burmese is written in an adaptation of the Mon script (see Mon -Khmer ianguages).

sinter Mineral deposit with a porous or vesicular texture (having small cavities). Siliceous sinter is a deposit of opaline or amorphous silica that occurs as an incrustation around hot springs and geysers and sometimes forms conical mounds (geyser cones) or terraces. Calcareous sinter, some¬ times called tufa, calcareous tufa, or calc-tufa, is a deposit of calcium car¬ bonate.

sintering Welding together of small particles of metal by applying heat at temperatures below the melting point. The process is used to form complex shapes, to produce alloys, and to allow work on metals with very high melting points. Sintering is also used in the preliminary molding of ceramic or glass powders into forms that can then be permanently fixed by firing. See also powder metallurgy.

sinus Body cavity or hollow. The paranasal sinuses, which are known commonly simply as the sinuses, are any of four sets of cavities in the bones adjoining the nose: maxillary, the largest, between the eye socket and the palate and upper jaw; frontal, just above and between the eye

The paranasal sinuses.

sockets; ethmoid, consisting of 3-18 thin-walled cavities between the nasal cavities and the eye sockets; and sphenoid, behind the nasal cavity. All are absent or small at birth, enlarge gradually until puberty, and then grow rapidly. They affect the sound of the voice and may help to warm inhaled air. Their lining produces mucus, which drains into the nasal cav¬ ity. Blockage of their outlets by swelling (from allergy or infection; see sinusitis), polyps, or structural problems hampers breathing through the nose and can lead to serious infection. Severe obstruction may require surgery, which must be done with extreme care to avoid harm to nearby brain structures or the eyes.

sinusitis \,sl-n3-'si-t9s\ Inflammation of the sinuses. Acute sinusitis, usu¬ ally due to infections such as the common cold, causes localized pain and tenderness, nasal obstruction and discharge, and malaise. Nose drops or inhalations containing drugs that contract blood vessels help drain the sinuses. Antibiotics may be used for bacterial infections. Chronic sinusi¬ tis, with frequent colds, pus, obstructed breathing, loss of sense of smell, and sometimes headache, may follow repeated or untreated acute attacks, particularly with impaired breathing or drainage. If antibiotic therapy or repeated lavage (rinsing out) does not help, surgery to open passages for drainage may be needed.

Siouan Ysii-onV languages Family of North American Indian lan¬ guages, spoken mainly west of the Mississippi River in the 17th and 18th centuries. The principal languages and language groups at this time were Winnebago in Wisconsin, Chiwere (Iowa, Oto, and Missouri) in Iowa and northern Missouri, Dhegiha (Ponca, Omaha, Kansa, Osage, Quapaw) in an area extending from eastern Nebraska to Arkansas, Sioux or Dakota (a range of dialects including Santee or Dakota proper in Minnesota, Teton or Lakota in North and South Dakota, and Assiniboine in Canada), Hidatsa and Mandan on the middle Missouri River, and Crow in Wyoming and Montana. Separated from the main body of Siouan languages were the now-extinct languages Tufelo and Biloxi, near the Gulf of Mexico, and the distantly related Catawba, once spoken in South Carolina. The extant Siouan languages are now spoken mainly or solely by older adults.

Sioux Vsii\ or Dakota or Lakota Any of a number of North Ameri¬ can Plains Indian peoples living mostly in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Nebraska, U.S. They comprise the Santee (Eastern Sioux), Yankton, and Teton (Western Sioux), each of which in turn has lesser divisions (e.g., Blackfoot, Oglala). Their languages belong to the Siouan language stock. The name Sioux is a French derivation of an Ojibwa name for “enemy” or “snake.” They call themselves Dakota, meaning “Friend.” In the 17th century the Sioux lived in the area around Lake Superior, but attacks from the Ojibwa drove them west into Minnesota. They adopted a Plains way of life, hunting buffalo, living in tepees, emphasizing valour in warfare, and practicing the sun dance. Sioux women were skilled at porcupine-quill and bead embroidery. The Sioux were resolute in resist¬ ing white incursions. In 1862, white treaty violations led the Santee to mount a bloody uprising under Little Crow; after their defeat, they were forced onto reservations in South Dakota and Nebraska. Serious fighting between U.S. troops and the Yankton and Teton Sioux in the 1860s and ’70s culminated in the Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, a great Indian victory. Eventually, however, the Sioux surrendered and were forced onto reservations. In 1890 the Ghost Dance religion inspired many Sioux to take up arms, leading to the massacre at Wounded Knee. The Sioux num¬ ber about 75,000. See also Sitting Bull.

Sioux Falls City (pop., 2000: 123,975), southeastern South Dakota, U.S. Founded in 1857, the area was abandoned in 1862 following an Indian uprising. With the establishment of Fort Dakota on the site in 1865 the settlers gradually returned. Sioux Falls is the state’s largest city, and it is a commercial and financial centre in a livestock-farming region, with one of the largest livestock markets in the U.S. Nearby was one of the world’s first commercial nuclear power plants, decommissioned in 1967. The Earth Resource Observation Systems (EROS) Data Center is located in the city.

Sippar \si-'par\ Ancient city, Babylonia. It is located southwest of mod¬ ern Baghdad on the Euphrates River. From the 3rd millennium bc, it was a centre of worship of the Sumerian sun-god Shamash. It was subject to the 1st dynasty of Babylon, but little else is known about the city before 1174 bc, when it was sacked by the Elamites. It recovered from its defeat but was later captured by the Assyrians. Excavations, begun in 1882, have uncovered the remains of a large temple and thousands of religious and historic clay tablets.

Siqueiros ► Sita I 1759

Siqueiros \se-'ka-r6s\/ David Alfaro (b. Dec. 29, 1896, Chihuahua, Mex.—d. Jan. 6, 1974, Cuernavaca) Mexican painter. A Marxist activist from his youth, he fought in the Mexican Revolution alongside Venus- tiano Carranza, who rewarded him by sponsoring his studies in Europe. Back in Mexico (1922), he began his lifework of decorating public build¬ ings with murals and organizing unions of artists and workers. With Diego Rivera and Jose Clemente Orozco, he cofounded the renowned school of Mexican mural painting. His activism interrupted his career several times when he was imprisoned, chose self-imposed exile, and fought in the Spanish Civil War. His murals are marked by great dynamism, monumen¬ tal size and vigour, and a limited colour range subordinated to dramatic effects of light and shadow. His easel paintings (e.g.. Echo of a Scream, 1937) helped establish his international reputation. In 1968 he became the first president of the Mexican Academy of Arts.

Siracusa See Syracuse

Siren In Greek mythology, a creature, half bird and half woman, who lures sailors to their doom with her sweet singing. Homer placed Sirens near the rocks of Scylla; in the Odyssey, Odysseus has his men plug their ears with wax and has himself tied to his ship’s mast so he can hear the Sirens’ singing without endangering the ship. In one tale of Jason and the Argo¬ nauts, Orpheus sings so sweetly that the crew do not listen to the Sirens. According to later legend, the Sirens committed suicide after one or the other of those failures.

Sisley Vsiz-le, ses-'la\, Alfred (b. Oct. 30, 1839, Paris, Fr.—d. Jan. 29, 1899, Moret-sur-Loing) British-French landscape painter. Bom in Paris to English parents, he began painting as an amateur. His early style was much influenced by Camille Corot. He became associated with Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir and with them became one of the founders of Impressionism. His works, mostly landscapes, are distinguished from those of his colleagues by their softly harmonious values. His fam¬ ily was ruined by the Franco-Prussian War, and his life was a constant struggle against poverty. Not until after his death did his talent begin to be widely recognized.

Sismondi \ses-m6 n -'de,\ English \sis-'man-de\, J(ean-) C(harles-) L(eonard) Simonde de (b. May 9, 1773, Geneva, Switz.—d. June 25, 1842, Chene, near Geneva) Swiss economist and historian. He worked in a French bank from 1789, then moved to Tuscany in 1794 with his family to farm. Living in his native Geneva from 1800, he wrote his His¬ tory of the Italian Republics in the Middle Ages (1809-18), which inspired the leaders of the Risorgimento. In his influential New Principles of Politi¬ cal Economy (1819), he criticized capitalism and argued for regulation of economic competition and for a balance between production and con¬ sumption. He urged social reforms to improve working-class living con¬ ditions. His theories influenced later economists such as Karl Marx and John Maynard Keynes.

Sissle, Noble See Edward Blake

Sirius \'sir-e-os\ or Dog Star Brightest star in the night sky (apparent magnitude -1.44), a binary star about 8.6 light-years from the Sun in the constellation Canis Major. The bright component of the binary is a blue- white star 23 times as luminous as the Sun, about twice the size, and con¬ siderably hotter; its companion was the first white dwarf star discovered. Its name probably comes from a Greek word meaning “sparkling” or “scorching.” The ancient Egyptians used its predawn rising to predict the annual flooding of the Nile. The ancient Romans associated the rising of the Dog Star at dawn with the hottest part of the year, called the “dog days.”

Sirk, Douglas orig. Claus Detlef Sierck (b. April 26, 1900, Ham¬ burg, Ger.—d. Jan. 14, 1987, Lugano, Switz.) German-U.S. film director. He was artistic director of theatres in Bremen (1923-29) and Leipzig (1929-36), Ger., and made several films before fleeing the country in 1937. He arrived in Hollywood in 1939, and in 1943 he directed his first American film, Hitler’s Madman. He joined Universal Pictures in 1950, where he directed comedy, western, and war movies but was best known for popular melodramas such as Magnificent Obsession (1954), There’s Always Tomorrow (1956), Written on the Wind (1956), and The Tarnished Angels (1957), in which frightful emotional warfare lurks beneath the facade of upper-middle-class life. After directing his greatest success, Imitation of Life (1959), he retired to Europe.

sirocco \s9-'ra-ko, shi-'ra-ko\ or scirocco Warm, humid wind over the Mediterranean Sea and southern Europe, where it blows from the south or southeast and brings rain and fog. It is produced on the front sides of low-pressure centres that travel eastward over the southern Mediterra¬ nean. It originates over North Africa as a dry wind and picks up mois¬ ture as it crosses the Mediterranean.

Sirte, Gulf of See Gulf of Sidra

sisal Vsi-solV Plant (Agave sisalana) of the agave family, and the fibre from its leaves. The fibre is made into ropes and twines for marine, agri¬ cultural, shipping, and general industrial use, as well as into matting, rugs, hats, and brushes. Though sometimes referred to as sisal hemp, it is not related to true hemp. Growing to a height of about 3 ft (1 m) and a diam¬ eter of about 15 in. (38 cm), the stalk bears fleshy, rigid, gray to dark green, lance-shaped leaves in a dense rosette. Tanzania and Brazil are the main producers of sisal.

Siskind Vsis-kind\, Aaron (b. Dec. 4, 1903, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. Feb. 8, 1991, Providence, R.I.) U.S. photographer, teacher, and editor. He began to photograph in 1932 while teaching English in a public school. While documenting the Great Depression, he attended as closely to pure design as to his subjects. In the 1940s he began to photograph patterns and textures of subjects such as coiled ropes, footprints in sand, and weathered pavement and billboards. Though not immediately accepted by photographers, his abstract work was admired by painters Willem de Koon¬ ing and Franz Kline, with whom he later exhibited. He was most influen¬ tial as a professor of photography and as coeditor of the magazine Choice.

SIstdn or Seistan \se-'stan\ Extensive border region, eastern Iran and southwestern Afghanistan. Most of its sparse population and about two- fifths of its area lie in Iran. It comprises a large marshland depression with a true desert climate. It is the reputed homeland of the legendary Kayanian dynasty of Persia and played an important part in Persian his¬ tory, especially under the Safavid dynasty (1502-1736). In the 19th cen¬ tury it was the centre of a dispute between Persia and Afghanistan that led to the establishment of their modern frontier.

Sistine Chapel \'sis-,ten\ Papal chapel in the Vatican Palace, Rome, constructed 1473-81 by Giovanni dei Dolci for Pope Sixtus IV (for whom it is named). It is the site of the principal papal ceremonies. Its exterior is drab and unadorned, but its interior walls and ceiling are decorated with frescoes by Florentine Renaissance masters, including Perugino, Pinturic- chio, Sandro Botticelli, Domenico Ghirlandaio, and Luca Signorelli. Portions of the walls were once covered with tapestries designed by Raphael (1515- 19). The most important works are the frescoes by Michelangelo on the ceiling and the western wall behind the altar, considered among the great¬ est achievements of Western painting. The ceiling frescoes, depicting Old Testament scenes, were commissioned by Pope Julius II and painted 1508— 12; the Last Judgment fresco on the western wall was painted 1536-41 for Pope Paul III. A controversial 10-year cleaning and restoration of the ceiling was completed in 1989, and of the western wall in 1994.

Sisyphus Vsi-s3-f9s\ In Greek mythology, the king of Corinth who was punished in Hades by having to roll a huge stone up a hill over and over again. He was the son of Aeolus and the father of Glaucus. When Death came to fetch him, Sisyphus had him chained up so that no one died until Ares came to free Death. Before being taken to the underworld, Sisy¬ phus asked his wife to leave his body unburied. When he reached Hades he was permitted to go back to earth to punish his wife, and he lived to a ripe old age before dying a second time.

His trickery resulted in his punish¬ ment in Hades.

Sita Yse-,ta\ In Hindu mythology, the consort of Rama. She sprang from a furrow when King Janaka was plowing his field, and Rama won her as his bride by bending Shiva’s bow. Her abduction by the demon king Ravana and subsequent rescue are described in the Ramayana. She kept herself chaste during her long imprisonment, and on her return she proved her purity by undergoing an

Sita, Mughal painting, c. 1600; in the collection of Bharat Kala Bhavan, Varanasi, India

PRAMOD CHANDRA

1760 I sitar ► Sjaelland

ordeal by fire. A symbol of the sufferings and strengths of women, she is one of the most revered figures in the Hindu pantheon.

sitar \si-'tar, 'si-,tar\ Long-necked stringed instrument of northern India, the dominant instrument in Hindustani music. It is used in ensembles and as a solo instrument with the tamboura (drone-lute) and tabla. The sitar developed from the Middle Eastern tanbur. It has a deep pear-shaped gourd body, metal strings, front and side tuning pegs, a wide neck, and movable frets. It normally has four or five melody strings, which are plucked with a plectrum worn on the forefinger; several drone strings; and numerous sympathetic strings (strings caused to vibrate by the other strings’ vibrations). A gourd resonator is attached to the top of the neck.

sitcom See situation comedy

Sitka National Historical Park Park, southeastern Alaska, U.S. Located on Baranof Island in the Gulf of Alaska, it was established in 1910 as a national monument; a national park since 1972, it covers 107 ac (43 ha). It contains the ruins of the Indian fortress in which the Tlingit Indians made their last stand against Russian settlers in 1804. It also has a collection of old Haida Indian totem poles and the oldest intact Russian- American building in the U.S.

Sittang Vsi-,tai]\ River River, east-central Myanmar (Burma). It rises on the edge of the Shan Plateau and flows south 260 mi (420 km) to empty into the Gulf of Martaban of the Andaman Sea. Though navigable for only a short distance, it is used to float timber (particularly teak) south for export. It was the scene of severe fighting during World War II.

Sitting Bull (b. c. 1831, near Grand River, Dakota Territory, U.S.—d. Dec. 15, 1890, on the Grand River in South Dakota) Teton Sioux chief under whom the Sioux peoples united in their struggle for survival. Fre¬ quent skirmishes between the U.S. Army and Sitting Bull’s warriors occurred in 1863-68, at the end of which the Sioux agreed to accept a reservation in southwestern Dakota Territory. When gold was discovered in the Black Hills in the mid-1870s, further outbreaks occurred. At the Battle of the Rosebud, troops under Gen. George Crook were forced to retreat; and at the Battle of Little Bighorn, Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and his men were killed. In 1877 Sitting Bull led his followers into Canada, but, with the buffalo reduced to near extinction, starvation even¬ tually drove the Sioux to surrender. From 1883 Sitting Bull lived on Indian Agency lands, at one point (1885) traveling with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. During the Ghost Dance movement, Sitting Bull was arrested. He was killed when his warriors tried to rescue him.

situation comedy or sitcom Radio or television comedy series that involves a continuing cast of characters in a succession of episodes. Often the characters are markedly different types thrown together by circum¬ stance and occupying a shared environment such as an apartment build¬ ing or workplace. Typically half an hour in length and either taped in front of a studio audience or employing canned applause, they are marked by verbal sparring and rapidly resolved conflicts.

Sitwell family British family of writers. Edith Sitwell (1887-1964) attracted attention when she joined her brothers in a revolt against Geor¬ gian poetry. Her early work, which emphasizes the value of sound, includes Clowns’ Houses (1918) and Fagade (1923), set to music by William Wal¬ ton. Beginning with Gold Coast Customs (1929), her style became less artificial and experimental, and during World War II she emerged as a poet of some emotional depth. Her later poetry is informed by religious sym¬ bolism, as in Gardeners and Astronomers ( 1953) and The Outcasts (1962). She was famous for her formidable personality, Elizabethan dress, and eccentric opinions. Her brother Osbert (1892-1969) became famous, with his siblings, as a tilter at establishment windmills in literature and the arts. His best-known books are his memoirs, including Left Hand! Right Hand! (1944) and Noble Essences (1950), which create with conscious nostalgia the portrait of a vanished aristocratic age. Their brother Sacheverell (1897- 1988) is best known for his books on art, architecture, and travel. His Southern Baroque Art (1924) was the forerunner of much academic research. His poetry, including The People’s Palace (1918) and The Rio Grande, was written mostly in traditional metres and reveals in its man¬ nered style his interest in the arts and music.

Siva See Shiva Sivaji See Shivaji

Siwa \'se-wo\ Oasis ancient Ammonium Oasis (pop., latest est.: 7,000), western Egypt. Located near the modem border with Libya, it is

6 mi (10 km) long and 4-5 mi (6-8 km) wide, with about 200 springs. Extremely fertile, it supports thousands of date palms and olive trees. It was the seat of the oracle temple of Amon; its fragmentary remains sur¬ vive, with inscriptions dating from the 4th century bc, along with many Roman remains.

Six Vses\, Les French "The Six" Group of young French composers in the 1920s. Named by the critic Henri Collet (1885-1951), the group was made up of Arthur Honegger, Darius Milhaud, Francis Poulenc, Georges Auric (1899-1983), Louis Durey (1888-1979), and Germaine Tailleferre (1892-1983). Their music represents a strong reaction against German Romanticism, as well as against the lush style sometimes termed Impressionism, exemplified by the work of Claude Debussy. Most of Les Six were inspired by the iconoclastic music of Erik Satie, and they ben¬ efited from the promotion of Jean Cocteau. They were only active as a group for a few years.

Six-Day War or Arab-lsraeli War of T 967 War between Israel and the Arab countries of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. Palestinian guerrilla attacks on Israel from bases in Syria led to increased hostility between the two countries. A series of miscalculations by both sides followed. Syria feared that an invasion by Israel was forthcoming and appealed to Egypt for support. Egypt answered by ordering the withdrawal of UN peace¬ keeping forces from the Sinai Peninsula and by moving troops into the area. Amid increasingly belligerent language from both sides, Egypt signed a mutual defense treaty with Jordan. Israel, surrounded and fearing an Arab attack was imminent, launched what it felt was a preemptive strike against the three Arab states on June 5, 1967. Israeli forces captured the Sinai Peninsula, Gaza Strip, West Bank of the Jordan River, Old City of Jerus¬ alem, and the Golan Heights. The status of these occupied territories sub¬ sequently became a major point of contention between the two sides.

Six Dynasties (ad 220-589) In China, the period between the end of the Han dynasty and the foundation of the Sui. The name is derived from the six successive dynasties that had their capital at Nanjing: the Wu (222-280), the Eastern Jin (317-420), the Liusong (420-479), the South¬ ern Qi (479-502), the Southern Liang (502-557), and the Southern Chen (557-589). During this period northern China was ruled by a succession of kingdoms established by Central Asian invaders. Important among these were the Northern Wei, Eastern Wei, Western Wei, Northern Qi, and Northern Zhou. Despite the chaos of the age, great advances were made in medicine, astronomy, botany, and chemistry. Buddhism and Daoism became great popular religions, and the translation of Buddhist texts focused Chinese attention on literature and calligraphy. Architecture and the visual arts also bloomed during the period.

Sixtus IV orig. Francesco della Rovere (b. July 21, 1414, Celia Ligure, near Savona, Republic of Genoa—d. Aug. 12, 1484, Rome) Pope (1471-84). A Franciscan from Genoa, he enriched his family and the Papal States through simony and heavy taxation. The Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges caused strain with France, and Sixtus failed in his effort to unite the Russian and Roman churches. He endorsed the Pazzi conspiracy, though not the attempt to kill Lorenzo de'Medici. He also incited Venice to attack Ferrara; then, in a turnabout, he placed Venice under interdict (1483) as a rival to the Papal States. A patron of arts and letters, he built the Sistine Chapel, which takes its name from him.

Sixtus V orig. Felice Peretti (b. Dec. 13,1520, Grottammare, Ancona, Papal States—d. Aug. 27, 1590, Rome) Pope (1585-90). A dedicated Franciscan and two-time inquisitor general of Venice, Sixtus was elected pope at a time when the Papal States were in chaos. He suppressed brig¬ andage and restored order using harsh measures that won him many enemies. He raised vast sums through loans, taxes, and the sale of offices and carried out an extensive building program in Rome. He defined the Sacred College of Cardinals (1586), limiting the number of cardinals to 70, and his reforms of the Roman Curia (1588) lasted until the Second Vatican Council. An energetic supporter of the Council of Trent, whose decisions he implemented, Sixtus is recognized as one of the founders of the Counter-Reformation. His foreign policy was aimed at combatting Protestantism; he excommunicated the Protestant Henry of Navarre (later Henry IV of France) and promised subsidies in return for a Spanish inva¬ sion of England. He supported other Catholic rulers in Europe and mod¬ erated his position toward Henry when it became apparent the future king would convert to Catholicism.

Sjaelland \'she-,lan\ English Zealand Island, Denmark. Located between the Kattegat strait and the Baltic Sea, Sjaelland is the largest (2,715

Sjahrir ► Skelton I 1761

sq mi [7,031 sq km]) and most populous island (pop., 1990 est.: 1,972,711) of Denmark. Copenhagen is its major city. Two fjords break the irregular coastline of the island, and fine beaches line its northern shore. It has many Stone Age and Viking relics, including the Viking for¬ tress of Traslleborg (c. 1000), as well as medieval churches, castles, and manor houses. Grain and livestock farming, fishing, and tourism are major industries.

Sjahrir Vsya-.rirV, Sutan (b. March 5, 1909, Padangpandjang, Sumatra, Dutch East Indies—d. April 9, 1966, Zurich, Switz.) Indonesian nation¬ alist and prime minister. He received a Dutch education and returned to Indonesia, where he helped found a nationalist party in the 1930s. His party, which favoured adopting Western constitutional democracy, opposed that of Sukarno. He became prime minister after World War II, stripping power from then-president Sukarno, whose collaboration with the Japanese he feared would hurt the republic’s image internationally. Sjahrir negotiated an agreement with the Dutch that established Indone¬ sia’s authority in Sumatra and Java. Twice forced to resign (1946, 1947), he then formed a socialist party (1948) that failed to win popular support. Sukarno banned it in 1960, and Sjahrir was arrested and imprisoned; He was allowed to travel to Switzerland shortly before his death.

Sjostrom Vshce-strcem\, Victor or Victor Seastrom (b. Sept. 20, 1879, Silbodal, Swed.—-d. Jan. 3,

1960, Stockholm) Swedish film actor and director. Trained as a stage actor, he directed and starred in his first movie. The Gardener, in 1912.

With notable films such as Ingeborg Holm (1913), The Outlaw and His Wife (1918), and The Phantom Car¬ riage (1921), he established the artis¬ tic excellence of the Swedish silent film in the post-World War I era. In 1923 he moved to Hollywood, where he directed movies such as The Scar¬ let Letter (1926) and The Wind (1928). He returned to Sweden in 1930 and acted in numerous films, notably Ingmar Bergman’s Wild Strawberries (1957). Sjostrom’s films are lyrically beautiful expressions of humanity’s relationship to nature and to society.

skaldic \'skol-dik\ poetry Oral court poetry originating in Norway but developed chiefly by Icelandic poets (skalds) from the 9th to the 13th century. Skaldic poetry was contemporary with Eddie poetry (see Edda) but differed from it in metre, diction, and style. Eddie poetry is anony¬ mous, simple, and terse, often taking the form of an objective dramatic dialogue. Skalds were identified by name. Their poems were descriptive, occasional, and subjective, their metres strictly syllabic instead of free and variable, and their language ornamented with similes and metaphors. For¬ mal subjects were the mythical stories engraved on shields, praise of kings, epitaphs, and genealogies.

Skanderbeg Vskan-dor-.begV orig. George Kastrioti (b. 1405, northern Albania—d. Jan. 17, 1468, Lezhe) Albanian leader. Son of the prince of Emathia, he was given early as a hostage to the Turkish sultan. He converted to Islam, served in the Turkish army, and was given the name Iskander and the rank of bey. In 1443 he abandoned the Turkish service, joining his Albanian countrymen in opposition to the Turks and returning to the Christian faith. He then organized a league of Albanian princes and was elected commander in chief. In 1444-66 he repulsed 13 Turkish invasions; his defeat of Murad II’s armies in 1450 made him a hero in the Western world. After his death, however, Albania soon became part of the Ottoman Empire. Skanderbeg is regarded as the national hero of Albania.

skandha Vskon-doV Pali khandha In Buddhism, any of the five ele¬ ments that constitute an individual’s mental and physical existence. They are rupa (physical matter), vedana (feeling), samjna (perception; Pali sanna), samskara (mental formations; Pali sankhara), and vijnana (con¬ sciousness; Pali vinnana). The four mental aggregates are perceived to be the personality or ego but are in fact only processes in a state of continuous change, subject to the effects of karma. At death the mental skandha s dis¬ sociate from the rupa and find a new physical base, resulting in a new birth.

Skara Brae Vska-ra-'bra\ or Skerrabra Late Neolithic village on the shore of the Bay of Skaill in Scotland’s Orkney Islands. Skara Brae was built c. 3200-2200 bc. Covered by a sand dune, it is one of the most per¬ fectly preserved ancient villages of Europe. Its excavation, begun in the 1860s, revealed huts of undressed, mortarless stone slabs containing stone furniture. They were linked by paved alleys; some had been covered by banking them with mixed sand, peat ash, and refuse, becoming stone- roofed tunnels. A sewer drained the whole. Inhabitants lived on the flesh and milk of their cattle and on shellfish; they probably wore skins. For tools they used local stone, beach pebbles, and animal bones. They wore pendants and coloured beads of sheep marrow, cows’ teeth, killer-whale teeth, and boars’ tusks. Lozenges and similar rectilinear patterns were scratched on hut walls and along alleys. Pottery vessels show incised and relief designs, including the only example of a true spiral known from prehistoric Britain.

skarn In geology, a metamorphic zone developed in the contact area around igneous rock intrusions when carbonate sedimentary rocks are invaded by and replaced with chemical elements that originate from the igneous rock mass nearby. Many skams also include ore minerals; produc¬ tive deposits of copper or other base metals have been found in and adja¬ cent to skarns. The typical rock of a skarn is homfels, a fine-grained, flinty rock produced by the heat and solutions given off by the intruding magma.

skate Any of nine genera (suborder Rajoidea) of rounded to diamond¬ shaped rays. These bottom-dwellers are found from tropical to near-Arctic waters and from the shallows to depths of more than 9,000 ft (2,700 m). Most have spines on the upper surface, and some have weak electrical organs in their long, slender tails. Skates lay oblong, leathery eggs (called mermaid’s purses), which are often found on beaches. Species vary from 20 in. (50 cm) to 8 ft (2.5 m) long. They swim with an undulating move¬ ment of their pectoral fins. They trap active mollusk, crustacean, and fish prey by dropping down on them from above. Skates’ “wings” are edible.

skateboarding Form of recreation, popular among youths, in which a person rides standing balanced on a small board mounted on wheels. The skateboard first appeared in the early 1960s on paved areas along Califor¬ nia beaches as a makeshift diversion for surfers when the ocean was flat. In the 1970s a faster, polyurethane wheel was developed. Eventually skate¬ board parks were built, providing a variety of slopes and banked surfaces for sudden turns and flamboyant stunts. The skateboarding craze contrib¬ uted to the emergence of snowboarding as a winter youth sport.

skating Sport in which bladelike runners or sets of wheels attached to shoes are used for gliding on ice or on surfaces other than ice. See figure SKATING, ICE DANCING, ICE HOCKEY, ROLLER-SKATING, SPEED SKATING.

Skeena River River, western British Columbia, Canada. It rises in the northern part of the province and flows about 360 mi (580 km) before emptying into Chatham Sound on the Pacific Ocean. An important salmon-fishing stream, it has several canneries near its mouth.

skeet shooting Shooting sport using moving targets. Marksmen use shotguns to shoot at clay targets (pigeons) hurled into the air by spring devices called traps. It differs from trapshooting in that skeet traps are set at two points on the field and targets may be thrown diagonally across the shooter’s field of vision. Skeet shooting has been an Olympic event since

skeleton Bony framework of the body. It includes the skull, vertebral column, collarbone, shoulder blades, rib cage, pelvic girdle and the bones of the hands, arms, feet, and legs. The skeleton supports the body and protects its internal organs. It is held together by ligaments and moved at the joints by the muscles, which are attached to it. The skeletal system includes both bones and cartilage. See illustration on following page.

skeleton dance See dance of death

skeleton sledding Winter sport similar to lugeing in which a small sled is ridden downhill in a headfirst, prone position. The sport of skel¬ eton sledding developed in the 1880s on the famed Cresta Run at Saint Moritz, Switz. The “bony” look of the early sleds gave the sport its name. Riders attain speeds of more than 80 miles (129 km) per hour. It was first contested at the Olympic games in 1928.

Skelton, John (b. c. 1460—d. June 21, 1529, London, Eng.) English poet. Appointed court poet to Henry VII in 1489, Skelton became a tutor and eventually an adviser to Henry VIII. In 1498 he took holy orders. He wrote political and religious satires in an individual poetic style of short

Sjostrom in Wild Strawberries, 1957

COURTESY OF THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE, NEW YORK CITY

1762 I Skelton ► skin

fibula

tibia

-talus

navicular bone metatarsus

phalanges of toes

phalanges of thumb and fingers

metacarpus -femur patella

1 st rib manubrium

gladiolus 5th rib

xiphoid

process

12th vertebra

10th rib

floating ribs

ilium

sacrum

pelvic cavity pubis — ischium

coccyx

frontal

bone

parietal

bone

zygomatic bone maxilla

ulna

radius

carpus

mandible

1 st thoracic vertebra

clavicle

scapula

humerus

Major bones of the human skeleton.

rhyming lines, called Skeltonics. Among his poems are Bowge of Courte, satirizing life at court; Phyllyp Sparowe, lampooning the liturgical office for the dead; and Ware the Hawke, attacking an irreverent priest. In 1516 he wrote the first secular morality play in English, Magnyfycence. The sat¬ ires Speke, Parrot (written 1521), Collyn Clout (1522), and Why Come Ye Nat to Courte? (1522) were directed against Cardinal Wolsey and human¬ ist learning.

Skelton, Red orig. Richard Bernard Skelton (b. July 18, 1913, Vincennes, Ind., U.S.—d. Sept. 17, 1997, Rancho Mirage, Calif.) U.S. comic actor. He joined a touring medicine show at age 10, performed in minstrel shows, burlesque, and vaudeville, and was a hit on Broadway in 1937 with his trademark doughnut-dunking pantomime. His 1938 screen debut was followed by appearances in more than 35 film comedies. He starred in the popular The Red Skelton Show on radio (1941-44, 1945-

53) and television (1951-71). Noted for his broad humour and warm per¬ sonality, Skelton developed characters such as the Mean Widdle Kid, Clem Kadiddlehopper, and Freddie the Freeloader.

skene \'ske-ne\ In ancient Greek theatre, a building behind the playing area that was originally a hut in which actors changed masks and cos¬ tumes. It eventually became the scenic backdrop for the drama. First used c. 465 bc, the skene was a small wooden structure facing the circle of spectators. It developed into a two-story edifice decorated with columns, with three doors used for entrances and exits. It was flanked by wings {paraskenia). By the end of the 5th century bc, the wooden skene was replaced by a permanent stone structure. In the Roman theatre it was an elaborate building facade.

skepticism Philosophical doubting of knowledge claims in various areas. From ancient to modern times, skeptics have challenged accepted views in metaphysics, science, morals, and religion. Pyrrhon of Elis (c. 360-272 bc) sought mental peace by avoiding commitment to any par¬ ticular view; his approach gave rise in the 1st century bc to Pyrrhonism, proponents of which sought to achieve suspension of judgment by sys¬ tematically opposing various knowledge claims. One of its later leaders, Sextus Empiricus (2nd or 3rd century ad), strove for a state of imper¬ turbability. Modern skeptical philosophers include Michel de Montaigne, Pierre Bayle, and David Hume.

ski jumping Skiing event in which contestants ski down a steep ramp curved upward at the end and launch themselves into the air for distance. Using a crouch position, skiers can achieve ramp speeds of 75 mi (120 km) per hour. After takeoff, they lean far forward from the ankles with knees straight and skis held open at the tips to form a V, a position that minimizes wind resistance and maximizes lift. Scoring is based partly on distance and partly on form.

skiing Sport and mode of transportation involving moving over snow on a pair of long flat runners (skis) attached to shoes or boots. Skiing was born in northern Europe; the oldest skis, found in Russia, are some 6,000 years old. The earliest skis were often short and broad. The first written references to skiing come from the Han dynasty (206 bc-ad 220) and describe skiing in northern China. Skiing was used in warfare in Scan¬ dinavia from the 13th century or earlier to the 20th century. The earliest mode of skiing developed into the sport now called cross-country skiing. Competitive cross-country skiing began in Norway in the 1840s and had reached California by the 1860s. Improvements on primitive bindings c. 1860 led to greater popularity of recreational skiing. Ski-jumping compe¬ titions date from the 1870s. Downhill skiing was limited by the need to climb the hill before or after skiing down; the building of ski lifts began in the 1930s. Skis were originally made of a single piece of wood, usu¬ ally hickory; laminated construction began in the 1930s, plastic running surfaces were introduced in the 1950s, and no wood has been used in the construction of downhill skis for several decades. The business of skiing began its serious growth in the 1930s and became explosive in the 1950s and ’60s; huge resorts now dot the Austrian, Swiss, and Italian Alps, the Rocky Mountains, and other mountainous regions. See also Alpine skiing.

skimmer Any of three species (family Rynchopidae) of waterbirds hav¬ ing a red bladelike bill, with the lower mandible longer than the upper. Skimmers live chiefly in estuaries and along wide rivers in warm regions. At twilight, they skim calm, shallow water with the open bill tip sub¬ merged; when a fish or crustacean is hit, the upper mandible snaps down. Skimmers are dark above with white underparts, face, and forehead, red legs, and black wings. The American black skimmer ( Rynchops nigra ) grows to 20 in. (50 cm) long.

skin Surface covering of the body that protects it and receives external sensory stimuli, consisting of an epidermis over a thicker dermis. The epidermis contains cells involved in immune defenses, sensory receptors, pigment cells, and KERATiN-producing cells. The last harden and migrate to the surface to form a dead, relatively dry outer layer of horny tissue that constantly sloughs away. The dermis contains sensory nerves and blood vessels within connective tissue. Collagen and elastin fibres give skin its tough, elastic quality. Cells scattered through it produce its components and take part in immune and other skin responses. A fat layer under the dermis provides nutritional storage, cushioning, and insulation. Skin dis¬ orders range from dermatitis and acne to skin cancer. Changes in skin colour (e.g., jaundice) or texture may be clues to systemic disorders. See also dermatology; hair; integument; nail; perspiration; sebaceous gland; sweat gland. See illustration on opposite page.

skin cancer ► skua I 1763

■d

hair

corneal

layer

basal layer

— pore

— oil gland (sebaceous gland)

hair follicle

nerve

artery

nerve endings

-vein

— sweat gland - fat cells

A section through the skin. The tough, dead cells of the outer epidermal surface (corneal layer) serve as a physical barrier and are continually replaced by cells produced in the basal layer. The thick supportive layer of dermis contains nerve endings, blood vessels, sweat glands, hair follicles, and oil glands. The hair follicle encloses the root of the hair. Oil glands associated with hair follicles secrete an oily substance (sebum) which lubricates the skin surface. The watery secretions of the tubular sweat glands are released onto the skin's surface through small pores. A layer of fat cells lies below the dermis.

skin cancer Malignant tumour of the skin, including some of the most common human cancers. Though recognizable at an early stage, it has a significant death rate. Light-skinned people have the highest risk but can reduce it by limiting exposure to sunlight and to ionizing radiation. The most common types arise in the epidermis (outer skin layer) and have become more frequent with the thinning of the atmosphere’s ozone layer. The most serious form is melanoma, which is frequently fatal if not treated early with surgery. Cancers arising from the dermis are rare; the best- known is Kaposi sarcoma.

skinhead Member of an international youth subculture characterized by hair and dress styles evoking aggression and physical toughness. Typi¬ cal skinhead style includes shaved heads, combat boots, tattoos, and prominent body piercings. Skinheads first appeared in working-class areas of London in the 1960s; during the 1970s and ’80s the skinhead phenom¬ enon spread to Australia, North America, and western Europe. In many countries, skinheads are regarded as extreme right-wing nationalists who espouse anti-Semitic and other racist views and engage in violent attacks on immigrants and racial minorities. This characterization, however, does not apply to all members of the subculture.

skink Any of about 1,275 species (family Scincidae) of lizards found throughout the tropics and in temperate regions of North America. Skinks have a cylindrical body, a conical head, and a long, tapering tail. Some

species are 26 in. (66 cm) long, but most are under 8 in. (20 cm). Some have small or no limbs and sunken eardrums. Most are ground-dwellers or burrowers; some are arboreal or semiaquatic. Skinks eat insects and other small invertebrates; large species are herbivorous. Some species lay eggs; others bear live young.

Striped broad-headed skink (Eumeces laticeps)

JOHN H. GERARD FROM THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY COLLECTION/PHOTO RESEARCHERS

Skinner, B(urrhus) F(rederic) (b. March 20, 1904, Susquehanna, Pa., U.S.—d. Aug. 18, 1990, Cambridge, Mass.) U.S. psychologist and influential theorist of behaviourism. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University and first achieved notice with The Behavior of Organisms (1938). In the mid-1940s he presented his “Air-Crib,” a soundproof, germ- free, air-conditioned box meant to serve as an optimal environment for the first two years of childhood. In Walden Two (1948), a controversial but popular - work, he described a utopia based on behavioral engineering. He spent most of his teaching career at Harvard (1948-74). His other works include Science and Human Behavior (1953), Verbal Behavior (1957), Beyond Freedom and Dignity (1971), and an autobiography (3 vol., 1976-83). He received the National Medal of Science in 1968.

Skinner, Cornelia Otis (b. May 30, 1901, Chicago, Ill., U.S.—d. July 9, 1979, New York, N.Y.) U.S. actress and writer. She made her stage debut in Blood and Sand (1921) with her actor-father, Otis Skinner, who also collaborated on her first play, Captain Fury (1925). In the 1930s she wrote and staged monodramas, including The Wives of Henry VIII and The Loves of Charles II. She won acclaim in such plays as Candida (1939), Lady Windermere’s Fan (1946), and The Pleasure of His Com¬ pany (1958), which she wrote with Samuel Taylor. She also cowrote the best-seller Our Hearts Were Young and Gay (1942).

skip rope See jump rope

skipper Any of some 3,000 lepidopteran species (family Hesperiidae) named for their fast (up to 20 mph, or 30 kph), darting flight. The head and stout body of the adult skipper resemble a moth’s, but most skippers hold the first pair of wings vertically at rest, as butterflies do. Most skip¬ pers are diurnal and lack the wing-coupling structures typical of moths. Larvae feed mostly on legumes and grasses, usually living inside folded or rolled leaves that may be woven together. They pupate in a thin cocoon of silk or silk and leaves.

skittles English ninepin bowling game played with a wooden disk or ball. The pins are set in a diamond formation; the player who knocks down all the pins in the fewest throws wins. Skittles has been played for cen¬ turies in public houses and clubs.

Skopas See Scopas

Skopje Vskop-ye\ Serbian Skoplje Vskop-lye\ City (pop., 1994: 444,299), capital of the Republic of Macedonia. The old city is located on a terraced riverbank dominated by an ancient fortress, north of which is a Roman aqueduct. Skopje was an important city in the Roman prov¬ ince of Moesia Superior and was a capital of medieval Serbia. It was under Turkish rule from 1392 to 1913, then was incorporated into Serbia. After an earthquake destroyed 80% of the city in 1963, aid was sent by 78 countries and it was rebuilt. Today it is an industrial, commercial, edu¬ cational, and administrative centre.

skua Vsku-oN Species ( Catharacta skua, family Stercorariidae) of preda¬ tory seabird, called great skua in Britain (where the jaegers are also called skua). It is about 24 in. (60 cm) long. It resembles a heavily built gull, with brownish body and large white wing patches. It is the only bird that breeds in both the Arctic and the Antarctic. The agile, swift skuas force

1764 I skull ► slag

other birds to disgorge food; they nest near penguins, petrels, murres, and terns, stealing their eggs and young. They also eat lemmings and carrion.

skull Skeletal framework of the head. With the exception of the lower jaw, its bones meet in immovable joints (sutures) to form a unit that encloses and protects the brain and sense organs and gives shape to the face. The cranium, the upper part enclosing the brain, comprising the frontal, parietal, occipital, temporal, sphenoid, and ethmoid bones, is globular and relatively large compared to the facial portion. Its base has an opening through which the spinal cord connects to the brain. The skull sits on the top vertebra (atlas), which permits back-and-forth motion. For side-to-side motion, the atlas turns on the next vertebra (axis). See also CRANIOSYNOSTOSIS, FONTANEL.

squamous

parietal bone, suture sphenoid bone temporal bone

lambdoid suture occipital bone external

auditory meatus mastoid process styloid process condyloid process

maxilla

mandible coronoid process

mental foramen

Front and side views of the human skull.

skunk Any of several black-and-white New World species in the car¬ nivore family Mephitidae that eject an odoriferous liquid (as far as 12 ft [3.7 m]) when threatened. The liquid becomes a fine mist that causes tear¬ ing of the eyes and choking. Some scent-gland secretions are used in perfume. Species vary in colour pat¬ tern and size. Most are 18-37 in.

(46-93 cm) long, including the bushy tail, and weigh 2-13 lb (1-6 kg); the two species of spotted skunk (genus Spilogale ) are much smaller.

Skunks eat rodents, insects, eggs, birds, and plants. The striped, or common, skunk (. Mephitis mephitis ) is a nocturnal feeder that occurs in most of North America. With its scent glands removed, it is sometimes kept as a pet. The common skunk is a major carrier of rabies, which is fatal to skunks. The seven species of hog-nosed skunk (genus Conepatus) have a long, bald snout. The hooded skunk ( Mephitis macroura ) has a neck ruff.

skunk bear See wolverine

skunk cabbage Any of three species of plants that grow in temperate bogs and meadows, emitting unpleasant odours as they grow. The eastern North American skunk cabbage (, Symplocarpus foetidus , of the arum family) has large fleshy leaves, purple-brown spathes, and a skunklike odour. The western, or yellow, skunk cabbage ( Lysichiton americanum), also an arum, bears a large yellow spathe and is found from California to Alaska and east¬ ward to Montana. The third species, Veratrum californicum, is the poison¬ ous corn lily, or false hellebore, of the lily family, which grows from New Mexico and Baja California northward to Washington State.

skydiving Sport of jumping from an airplane at a moderate altitude (e.g., 6,000 ft [1,800 mj) and executing various body maneuvers before pulling the rip cord of a parachute. Competitive events include jumping for style, landing with accuracy, and performing in teams (e.g., making free-fall for¬ mations). The sport parachute is designed to be more maneuverable than the safety parachute. See photograph above.

Striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis).

E.R. DEGGINGER

Skylab First U.S. space station. Launched into Earth orbit in 1973 on a Saturn V rocket, it used as its main habitat the vehicle’s third stage, which had been outfitted as a workshop. Its apparatus included a powerful solar telescope and equipment for Earth- and materials-sciences research and for studies of the human body’s adaptation to weightlessness. Three suc¬ cessive astronaut crews conducted research aboard Skylab for a total of 171 days in 1973-74. Because its thermal shielding was damaged during launch, its first crew took up and installed an improvised sunshade to pre¬ vent the station from seriously overheating. Although plans called for Skylab to be reused, increased solar activity caused its orbit to degrade faster than expected. In 1979 it entered Earth’s atmosphere and broke up, with debris spreading over the southeastern Indian Ocean and a sparsely populated section of Western Australia.

skylark Species ( Alaudci arvensis) of Old World lark particularly noted for its rich, sustained song and for singing in the air. It is about 7 in. (18 cm) long, with brown upper parts streaked with black and buffish white underparts. It breeds across Europe and has been introduced into Austra¬ lia, New Zealand, Hawaii, and British Columbia.

skylight Roof opening covered with translucent or transparent glass or plastic designed to admit daylight. Skylights have found wide application admitting steady, even light in industrial, commercial, and residential buildings, especially those with a northern orientation. Installations range from purely functional daylighting to elaborate aesthetic forms. Flat- roofed buildings may have domed skylights; in others the skylight fol¬ lows the slope of the roof. Often the skylight, or a portion of it, functions as an operating window to admit air.

skyscraper Very tall multistoried building. The term originally applied to buildings of 10-20 stories, but now generally describes high-rises of more than 40-50 stories. James Bogardus (1800-1874) built the pioneer¬ ing Cast Iron Building, New York (1848), with a rigid iron frame provid¬ ing the main support for upper-floor and roof loads. The refinement of the Bessemer process for making steel (lighter and stronger than iron) made extremely tall buildings possible. Chicago’s Home Insurance Co. Build¬ ing (1884-85), by William Le Baron Jenney (1832-1907), was the first tall building to use a steel skeleton. Structurally, skyscrapers consist of a substructure supported by a deep foundation of piles or caissons beneath the ground, an aboveground superstructure of columns and girders, and a curtain wall hung on the structural framework. Tube structures, braced tubes, and trussed tubes were developed to give skyscrapers the ability to resist lateral wind and seismic forces. The bundled-tube system, devel¬ oped by Fazlur Khan (1928-1982), uses narrow steel tubes clustered together to form exceptionally rigid columns, and has been used to build some of the world’s tallest skyscrapers (e.g.. Sears Tower). Skyscraper design and decoration have passed through several stages: Louis Sullivan emphasized verticality; the firm of Me Kim, Mead, & White (see Charles F. McKim, Stanford White) stressed Neoclassicism. The International Style was ideally suited to skyscraper design. Originally a form of commercial architecture, skyscrapers have increasingly been used for residential pur¬ poses as well. See also setback.

slag By-product formed in smelting, welding, and other metallurgical and combustion processes from impurities in the metals or ores being treated.

slalom ► slave trade I 1765

Slag consists mostly of mixed oxides of elements such as silicon, sulfur, phosphorus, and aluminum; ash; and products formed in their reactions with furnace linings and fluxing substances such as limestone. During smelting or refining, slag floats on the surface of the molten metal, pro¬ tecting it from oxidation (see oxidation-reduction) by the atmosphere and keeping it clean. Slag cools into a coarse aggregate used in certain con¬ cretes; it is used as a road-building material, as ballast, and as a source of available phosphate fertilizer.

slalom \'sla-bm\ Alpine skiing event in which competitors race one at a time down a zigzag or wavy course past a series of flags or markers called gates. The course is carefully designed to test the skier’s skill, tim¬ ing, and judgment. A skier who misses a gate is disqualified unless he or she returns and passes through it from the proper side. Men’s events use 55-75 gates, women’s 45-65.

The giant slalom has characteristies of both slalom and downhill skiing; giant-slalom gates are wider and set farther apart, and the course is longer than in the slalom. The supergiant slalom (“super-G”) is closer to downhill; its course is steeper and straighter than that of the other slalom events and features longer, more sweeping turns taken at higher speed.

slander See defamation

slang Nonstandard vocabulary of extreme informality, usually not lim¬ ited to any region. It includes newly coined words, shortened forms, and standard words used playfully out of their usual context. Slang is drawn from the vocabularies of limited groups: cant, the words or expressions coined or adopted by an age, ethnic, occupational, or other group (e.g., college students, jazz musicians); jargon, the shoptalk or technical termi¬ nology specific to an occupation; and argot, the cant and jargon used as a secret language by thieves or other criminals. Occupying a middle ground between standard and informal words accepted by the general public and the special words or expressions of these subgroups, slang often serves as a testing ground for words in the latter category. Many prove either useful enough to become accepted as standard or informal words or too faddish for standard use. Blizzard and okay have become standard, while conbobberation (“disturbance”) and tomato (“girl”) have been discarded. Some words and expressions have a lasting place in slang; for instance, beat it (“go away”), first used in the 16th century, has nei¬ ther become standard English nor vanished.

slapstick Comedy characterized by broad humour, absurd situations, and vigorous, often violent action. It took its name from a paddlelike device, probably introduced by 16th-century commedia dell'arte troupes, that produced a resounding whack when one comic actor used it to strike another. Slapstick comedy became popular in 19th-century music halls and vaudeville theatres and was carried into the 20th century by silent- movie comedians such as Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, and Mack Sen- nett’s Keystone Kops and later by Laurel and Hardy, the Marx Brothers, and the Three Stooges.

slate Fine-grained, clayey metamorphic rock that splits readily into thin slabs that have great tensile strength and durability. Some other rocks that occur in thin beds are improperly called slate because they can be used for roofing and similar purposes. True slates generally split not along the bedding plane but along planes of cleavage that may intersect the bedding plane at high angles. Slates may be black, blue, purple, red, green, or gray. Slate may be marketed either as dimension slate, used mainly for elec¬ trical panels, laboratory tabletops, roofing, and flooring, or as crushed slate, used on composition roofing, in aggregates, and as a filler.

Slater, Samuel (b. June 9, 1768, Belper, Derbyshire, Eng.—d. April 21, 1835, Webster, Mass., U.S.) British-born U.S. industrialist. Initially apprenticed to a partner of Richard Arkwright, he immigrated to the U.S. in 1789, where he reproduced versions of Arkwright’s spinning and card¬ ing machines from memory and in 1793 established the first successful American cotton mill at Pawtucket, R.I., the first of several plants. He founded the town of Slatersville, R.I. He is regarded as the founder of the U.S. cotton textile industry.

Slav \'slav\ Any member of the most numerous ethnic and linguistic body of peoples in Europe. They live chiefly in eastern and southeastern Europe but also extend across northern Asia to the Pacific. Slavs are cus¬ tomarily subdivided into eastern Slavs (Russians, Ukrainians, and Belaru¬ sians), western Slavs (Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, and Wends, or Sorbs), and southern Slavs (Serbs, Croats, Bulgarians, Slovenes, and Macedonians). Historically, western Slavs were integrated into western Europe; their societies developed along the lines of other western European nations. Eastern and southern Slavs suffered Mongol and Turkish invasions and evolved more autocratic, state-centred forms of government. Religion (mainly Eastern Orthodoxy and Roman Catholicism) divides Slavs, as does the use of the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets. In the Middle Ages, Slavic polities that left a rich cultural heritage developed in Bohemia, Poland, Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, and Bulgaria, but, by the end of the 18th century, all these states had been absorbed by powerful neighbours (the Ottoman Empire, Austria, Hungary, Prussia, Russia). Eastern Slavic history often was marked by unsuccessful attempts to repel Asian invaders. In the 16th century, Muscovy (later Russia) embarked on a course of expansion across northern and central Asia that eventually made it the most powerful Slavic state. Pan-Slavism in the 19th century had some influence on the forma¬ tion of the new Slavic states after World War I, though Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia—the two attempts to integrate different Slavic peoples into single polities—had both disintegrated by the end of the 20th cen¬ tury, one peacefully and the other violently.

Slave Acts, Fugitive See Fugitive Slave Aas

slave code In U.S. history, law governing the status of slaves, enacted by those colonies or states that permitted slavery. Slaves were considered property rather than persons. They had few legal rights: in court, their testimony was inadmissible in cases involving whites; they could make no contract nor own any property; they could not strike a white person, even if attacked by one; they could not be away from their owner’s pre¬ mises without permission; they could not assemble unless a white person was present; they could not be taught to read or write; and they were not permitted to marry. Offenders were subject to severe punishment, includ¬ ing whipping, branding, imprisonment, and death. See also black code.

Slave Lake, Lesser See Lesser Slave Lake

slave narrative Account of the life, or a major portion of the life, of a fugitive or former slave, either written or orally related by the slave himself or herself. A Narrative of the Uncommon Sufferings and Surpris¬ ing Deliverance of Briton Mammon, a Negro Man (1760) is often con¬ sidered the first example. The first slave narrative to become an international best-seller was the two-volume Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African (1789), but evi¬ dence turned up at the outset of the 21st century suggests that the author was born in South Carolina rather than Africa—i.e., that at least part of the work is not autobiographical. The major period of slave narratives was 1830-60. Some were factual autobiographies, while others were influenced or sensationalized by the writer’s desire to arouse sympathy for the abolitionist cause. The genre reached its height with the autobi¬ ography of Frederick Douglass (1845). In the 20th century, documentary narratives were compiled from recorded interviews with former slaves.

Slave River River, northern Alberta and southern Northwest Territo¬ ries, Canada. Forming an integral part of the Mackenzie River waterway, the river flows northward 258 mi (415 km) from Lake Athabasca before emptying into Great Slave Lake near Fort Resolution. The Peace River and several small streams enter it along its course.

slave trade Capturing, selling, and buying of slaves. Slavery has existed throughout the world from ancient times, and trading in slaves has been equally universal. Slaves were taken from the Slavs and Iranians from antiquity to the 19th century, from the sub-Saharan Africans from the 1st century ad to the mid-20th century, and from the Germanic, Celtic, and Romance peoples during the Viking era. Elaborate trade networks developed: for example, in the 9th and 10th centuries, Vikings might sell East Slavic slaves to Arab and Jewish traders, who would take them to Verdun and Leon, whence they might be sold throughout Moorish Spain and North Africa. The transatlantic slave trade is perhaps the best-known. In Africa, women and children but not men were wanted as slaves for labour and for lineage incorporation; from c. 1500, captive men were taken to the coast and sold to Europeans. They were then transported to the Caribbean or Brazil, where they were sold at auction and taken throughout the New World. In the 17th and 18th centuries, African slaves

Skier competing in the slalom.

FABRICE COFFRINI-AFP/GETTY IMAGES

1766 I slavery ► slippery elm

were traded in the Caribbean for molasses, which was made into rum in the American colonies and traded back to Africa for more slaves.

slavery Forced labour for little or no pay under the threat of violence. Slavery has existed on nearly every continent, including Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas, and throughout most of recorded history. The ancient Greeks and Romans accepted the institution of slavery, as did the Mayas, Incas, Aztecs, and Chinese. Until European involvement in the trade, however, slavery was a private and domestic institution. Beginning in the 16th century, a more public and “racially” based type of slavery was established when Europeans began importing slaves from Africa to the New World (see slave trade). An estimated 11 million people were taken from Africa during the transatlantic slave trade. By the mid-19th century the slave population in the U.S. had risen to more than four mil¬ lion, although slave imports had been banned from 1809. Most of the Africans sent to the United States worked on cotton or rice plantations in the South, their status governed by slave codes. Almost 40 percent of cap¬ tives transported from Africa to the Americas were taken to Brazil, where harsh conditions required the constant replenishing of slaves. Following the rise of abolitionism, Britain outlawed slavery in its colonies in 1833, and France did the same in 1848. During the American Civil War, slavery was abolished in the Confederacy by the Emancipation Proclamation (1863), which was decreed by Pres. Abraham Lincoln. Brazil was the last to abolish slavery, doing so in 1888. Official policy notwithstanding, sla¬ very continues to exist in many parts of the world. Many contemporary slaves are women and children forced into prostitution or working at hard labour or in sweatshops. Debt bondage is common, affecting millions of people, and slaves are often traded for material goods. See also Dred Scott decision; Fugitive Slave Acts; serfdom; Underground Railroad.

Slavic Vsla-vik, 'sla-vik\ languages or Slavonic languages

Branch of the Indo-European language family spoken by more than 315 million people in central and eastern Europe and northern Asia. The Slavic family is usually divided into three subgroups: West Slavic, comprising Polish, Slovak, Czech, and Sorbian; East Slavic, comprising Russian, Ukrai¬ nian, and Belarusian; and South Slavic, comprising Slovene, Serbo- Croatian, Bulgarian, and Macedonian. Polish belongs to the Lekhitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, which also includes Kashubian—now spoken in western Poland by fewer than 150,000 people and regarded in Poland as a Polish dialect—and several now-extinct languages. A distinc¬ tive feature of this subgroup is its preservation of the Proto-Slavic nasal vowels. Another remnant language is Sorbian, spoken by 60,000-70,000 people in eastern Germany. Western Lekhitic and Sorbian are all that remains of what was once a much greater Slavic speech area in central Europe; that area was gradually Germanized from about the 9th century. Among Indo-European languages, Slavic is closest to the family of Bal¬ tic LANGUAGES.

Slavic religion Beliefs and religious practices of the ancient Slavic peoples of East Europe, including the Russians, Ukrainians, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. Most Slavic mythologies hold that God ordered the devil to bring up a handful of sand from the bottom of the sea and created the land from it. Slavic religion was often characterized by dualism, with a Black God named in curses and a White God invoked to obtain protection or mercy. Lightning and fire gods were also common. The ancient Russians appear to have erected their idols outdoors, but the Baltic Slavs built temples and enclosed sacred places, where festivals were held and animal and human sacrifices occurred. Such festivals also often included communal banquets at which the flesh of sacrificial animals was consumed.

Slavonia Historical region, Croatia. It lay between the Sava River on the south and the Drava and Danube rivers on the north and east. It was included in the kingdom of Croatia in the 10th century. As Slavonia- Crotia, it joins Dalmatia and Istria as one of the three traditional regions of Croatia.

Slavophiles and Westernizers Opposing groups of intellectuals in 19th-century Russia. Prominent in the 1840s and ’50s, the Slavophiles believed in the uniqueness of Russian culture and contended that Russia should rely on its own character and history to determine its future devel¬ opment. They hoped to restore the autocracy and the church to their ideal forms before Peter I (the Great) introduced Western reforms, and they also favoured emancipation of the serfs and freedom of speech and the press. The Slavophile movement declined in the 1860s, but its principles were adapted and simplified by extreme nationalists, advocates of Pan-Slavism,

and revolutionary Narodniks (Populists). It was opposed by the Western¬ izers, who viewed western Europe as a model for Russian modernization.

sled dog Any working dog used to pull a sled carrying people and sup¬ plies across snow and ice. The breeds most commonly used are the Alas¬ kan malamute, Laika, Samoyed, and Siberian husky. All are powerful dogs with a thick coat and high endurance. See also Eskimo dog.

sleep Natural periodic suspension of consciousness during which the powers of the body are restored. Humans normally sleep at night, whereas nocturnal species sleep during the day. The average human sleep require¬ ment is about 7.5 hours. Sleep is divided into two main types, REM (rapid-eye-movement) and NREM (non-REM); each recurs cyclically several times during a normal period of sleep. REM sleep is character¬ ized by increased neuronal activity of the forebrain and midbrain, by depressed muscle tone, and by dreaming (see dream), rapid eye move¬ ments, and vascular congestion of the sex organs. NREM sleep is divided into four stages, the last of which is the deep, restorative, quiet sleep commonly associated with “a good night’s rest.” See also insomnia, nar¬ colepsy.

sleeping sickness Protozoal disease transmitted by the bite of the tsetse fly. Two forms, caused by different species of the genus Trypanosoma, occur in separate regions in Africa. The parasite enters the bloodstream and invades the lymph nodes and spleen, which become swollen, soft, and tender. Irregular fever and delayed pain sensation develop. In the Rhode¬ sian form, the patient soon dies of massive toxemia. The Gambian type progresses to brain and spinal cord invasion, causing severe headache, mental and physical fatigue, spastic or flaccid paralysis, chorea, and pro¬ found sleepiness, followed over two or three years by emaciation, coma, and death. Some patients develop a tolerance but still carry the trypano¬ somes. The earlier drug treatment begins, the greater the chance of recov¬ ery. Sleeping sickness is still prevalent in parts of Africa despite efforts to control it.

Slidell \sli-'del\, John (b. 1793, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. July 29, 1871, London, Eng.) U.S. and Confederate diplomat. He practiced law in New Orleans from 1819, then served in the U.S. House of Representa¬ tives (1843—45) and Senate (1853-61). In the American Civil War he joined the Confederate foreign service. En route to France to seek sup¬ port for the Confederacy, he and James Murray Mason were seized from the British steamer Trent by a Union vessel (see Trent Affair).

Slim, William (Joseph), 1st Viscount Slim (of Yarralumla and Bishopston) (b. Aug. 6, 1891, Bristol, Gloucestershire, Eng.—d. Dec. 14, 1970, London) British general. He served with the British army in World War I and with the Indian army from 1920. In World War II he commanded Indian troops in East Africa and the Middle East (1940—41). As commander of the 1st Burma Corps (1942), he led a 900-mi (1,450- km) retreat from superior Japanese forces in Burma to India. In 1944 he led forces to repel a Japanese invasion of northern India; in 1945 he retook Burma from the Japanese. Promoted to field marshal (1948), he served as chief of the Imperial General Staff (1948-52) and later as governor- general of Australia (1953-60).

slime mold Any of about 500 species of primitive organisms that con¬ tain true nuclei and resemble both protists and fungi (see fungus). Origi¬ nally grouped within the kingdom Fungi, some classification systems consider slime molds to be in the kingdom Protista. They typically thrive in dark, cool, moist conditions such as on forest floors. Bacteria, yeast, molds, and fungi provide the main source of slime-mold nutrition. The complex life cycle of slime molds, exhibiting complete alternation of generations, may clarify the early evolution of both plant and animal cells. In the presence of water a tiny spore releases a mass of cytoplasm called a swarm cell, which later develops into an amoebalike creeping cell called a myxamoeba. Both swarm cells and myxamoebas can fuse in sexual union; the resulting fertilized cell, or plasmodium, grows through nuclear division and forms a spore case, which, when it dries, disintegrates and releases spores to begin the cycle again.

slippery elm or red elm Large-leaved elm (Ulmus rubra or U.fulva ) of eastern North America that has hard wood and fragrant inner bark. A gluelike substance in the inner bark has long been steeped in water as a remedy for throat ailments, powdered for use in poultices, and chewed as a thirst quencher, among other uses. It has received renewed attention in recent years as part of alternative medicine’s herbal pharmacopoeia, pre¬ scribed for a wide variety of ailments.

slipware ► Slovakia I 1767

slipware Pottery that has been treated with semiliquid clay, or slip. The technique was originally used to cover defects in body colour, but later evolved into decorative tech¬ niques such as sgraffito, carving, painting, trailing, marbling, and inlay. In sgraffito a pattern is incised through the slip to reveal the differ¬ ent body colour underneath. The Staffordshire potters in 17th-century Britain were famous for the decora¬ tive figures, flowers, and patterns they created by using dotted and trailed slip.

Sloan, Alfred P(ritchard), Jr.

(b. May 23, 1875, New Haven,

Conn., U.S.—d. Feb. 17, 1966, New York, N.Y.) U.S. corporate execu¬ tive. He began his career at the Hyatt Roller Bearing Co. in New Jersey and became its president at age 26.

Hyatt was later acquired by General Motors Corp. (GM), and Sloan rose to become president and chief executive officer of GM in 1923. Under his leadership it surpassed Ford Motor Co. in sales and became the largest corporation in the world. He served as chairman of the board from 1937 to his retirement in 1956. A noted philanthropist, he endowed the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and contributed to the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Cen¬ ter in New York and to the school of management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Sloan, John (French) (b. Aug. 2, 1871, Lock Haven, Pa., U.S.—d. Sept. 7, 1951, Hanover, N.H.) U.S. artist. He worked as a commercial newspaper artist in Philadelphia, where he studied with Robert Henri. He followed Henri to New York City, where in 1908 with six others they exhibited as The Eight. Sloan’s realistic urban paintings gave rise to the epithet Ash Can school. Works such as Sunday, Women Drying Their Hair (1912) and Backyards, Greenwich Village (1914) are sympathetic por¬ trayals of working men and women; occasionally he evoked a mood of romantic melancholy.

Slocum, Joshua (b. Feb. 20, 1844, Wilmot, Nova Scotia, Can.— disappeared 1909/10, at sea) Canadian seaman and adventurer. He worked his way up from ship’s cook to captain of a trading vessel by 1869. Wrecked with his family on the Brazilian coast in 1886, he built a canoe from the wreckage and paddled back to New York. He set sail from Bos¬ ton in 1895 in a 36-ft, 9-in. (11.2-m) fishing boat. In three years, two months, and two days, he sailed 46,000 mi (74,000 km) in a circuitous route ending in Newport, R.I, becoming the first man in recorded history to sail around the world singlehandedly. He wrote several books, includ¬ ing the classic Sailing Alone Around the World. In 1909 he set sail for Grand Cayman from New England and was lost at sea.

Slonimsky, Nicolas (b. April 27, 1894, St. Petersburg, Russia—d. Dec. 25, 1995, Los Angeles, Calif., U.S.) Russian-bom U.S. musicolo¬ gist, conductor, and composer. He left the Soviet Union after studies at the St. Petersburg Conservatory and settled in the U.S. in 1923. In the 1930s he conducted premieres of works by Charles Ives, Edgard Varese, and others. In Music Since 1900 (1937) he chronicled the century’s musi¬ cal life day by day. His Lexicon of Musical Invective (1952) collected wrongheaded musical criticism. His Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns (1947) was an inspiration to numerous composers. He edited four editions of Baker’s Dictionary of Music and Musicians (1958-92). His commodious scholarship was undertaken with zest and humour, and near the end of his long life he was lionized by Frank Zappa and other musi¬ cians.

slope Numerical measure of a line’s inclination relative to the horizontal. In analytic geometry, the slope of any line, ray, or line segment is the ratio of the vertical to the horizontal distance between any two points on it (“slope equals rise over run”). In differential calculus, the slope of a line tan¬ gent to the graph of a function is given by that function’s derivative and rep¬ resents the instantaneous rate of change of the function with respect to change in the independent variable. In the graph of a position function (rep¬ resenting the distance traveled by an object plotted against elapsed time), the slope of a tangent line represents the object’s instantaneous velocity.

English slipware dish by Thomas Toft of northern Staffordshire, c. 1680; in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London

COURTESY OF THE VICTORIA AND ALBERT MUSEUM, LONDON

sloth Nocturnal, solitary, tree-dwelling mammal (family Bradypodidae), found in South and Central America.

About 2 ft (60 cm) long, sloths have a tiny tail, peglike teeth, long curved claws, and long forelimbs. A green alga grows in the shaggy fur. The four species of three-toed sloths, or ais ( Bradypus ), eat only leaves of the trumpet tree. The two species of two¬ toed sloths, or unaus ( Choloepus ), have two toes on the forelimbs; they eat fruits, stems, and leaves of vari¬ ous plants. Sloths cannot walk. They cling upright to trunks, hang upside down (in which position they sleep some 15 hours a day), or move, extremely slowly (hence their name), by pulling hand over hand. Their natural camouflage is their chief pro¬ tection from predators.

Slovak \'slo-,vak\ language West Slavic language of Slovakia, spo¬ ken by about 5.6 million people there and in enclaves in the Czech Repub¬ lic, Hungary, northern Serbia, and North America. Slovak was virtually an unwritten language until the late 18th century, largely because of the long political domination of Slovakia by Hungary and the much earlier literary cultivation of Czech, Slovak’s western linguistic neighbour. Present-day literary Slovak was effectively consolidated by the 1850s on the basis of Central Slovak dialects.

Slovakia officially Slovak Republic Country, central Europe. Area: 18,933 sq mi (49,035 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 5,384,000. Capital: Bratislava. About nine-tenths of the population are Slovak; Hungarians

Three-toed sloth (Bradypus tridactylus)

DES BARTLETT-BRUCE COLEMAN LTD.

form the largest minority. Language: Slo¬ vak (official). Religion: Christianity (mostly Roman Catholic; also Protestant, other Christians). Currency: Slovak koruna. The Carpathian Mountains dominate Slovakia, with lowlands in the southwestern and southeastern regions. The Morava and Danube rivers form parts of the southern and western borders. Grain, sugar beets, and vegetable crops are grown and pigs, sheep, and cattle are raised, but the economy is based on mining and manufacturing; there are substantial deposits of iron ore, copper, magnesite, lead, and zinc. Slova¬ kia is a republic with one legislative house; its chief of state is the presi¬ dent, and the head of government is the prime minister. Slovakia was inhabited in the first centuries ad by Illyrian, Celtic, and Germanic tribes.

1768 I Slovene ► smallpox

Slovaks settled there around the 6th century. It became part of Great Moravia in the 9th century but was conquered by the Magyars c. 907. It remained in the kingdom of Hungary until the end of World War I, when the Slovaks joined the Czechs to form the new state of Czechoslovakia in 1918. In 1938 Slovakia was declared an autonomous unit within Czechoslovakia; it was nominally independent under German protection from 1939 to 1945. After the expulsion of the Germans, Slovakia joined a reconstituted Czechoslovakia, which came under Soviet domination in 1948. The fall of the communist regime in 1989 led to a revival of inter¬ est in autonomy, and Slovakia became an independent nation in 1993. It joined both NATO and the European Union in 2004.

Slovene \'slo-,ven\ language or Slovenian language South Slavic language spoken by more than 2.2 million people in Slovenia, in adjacent parts of Italy, Austria, and Hungary, and in small enclaves out¬ side Europe. The oldest Slavic text in the Latin alphabet, the Freising Frag¬ ments (c. 1000), are written in a very early form of Slovene; the language is not attested again until the 16th century, when Lutheran reformers translated the Bible into Slovene. The language has a remarkable degree of dialect diversity considering the size of its speech area, probably enhanced by the country’s Alpine geography and long period of domina¬ tion by non-Slovene-speaking rulers.

Slovenia officially Republic of Slovenia Country, northwestern Balkans region, southern Europe. Area: 7,827 sq mi (20,273 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 1,999,000. Capital: Ljubljana. The vast majority of

the population is Slovene. Language: Slov¬ ene (official). Religion: Christianity (pre¬ dominantly Roman Catholic; also other Christians). Currency: Slovene tolar. Slov¬ enia is predominantly mountainous and

wooded, with deep, fertile valleys and numerous rivers. It is one of the more prosperous regions of the Balkans. Its economy is based largely on manufacturing; coal, lead, and zinc are mined, but forestry, livestock, and crops, including potatoes, grains, and fruits, are also important. Slovenia is a republic with two legislative houses; its head of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. The Slovenes settled the region in the 6th century ad. In the 8th century it was incorporated into the Frankish empire of Charlemagne, and in the 10th century it came under Germany as part of the medieval empire (later the Holy Roman Empire). Except for the period from 1809 to 1813, when Napoleon ruled the area, most of the lands belonged to Austria until the formation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes in 1918. Slovenia became a con¬ stituent republic of Yugoslavia in 1946 and received a section of the former Italian Adriatic coastline in 1947. In 1990 Slovenia held the first contested

multiparty elections in Yugoslavia since before World War II. In 1991 Slovenia seceded from Yugoslavia; its independence was internationally recognized in 1992.

slug Any species of gastropod that glides along on a broad tapered foot and has no shell or one that is merely an internal plate or a series of gran¬ ules. Most slugs use the mantle cavity (see mollusk) as a lung. Slugs have a soft, slimy body and live in moist habitats on land (except for one fresh¬ water species). All are hermaphroditic. In temperate regions, the common slugs eat fungi and decaying leaves. Some tropical species eat plants, and some European species eat other snails and earthworms. See also nudi- BRANCH.

slum Densely populated area of substandard housing, usually in a city, characterized by unsanitary conditions and social disorganization. Rapid industrialization in 19th-century Europe was accompanied by rapid popu¬ lation growth and the concentration of working-class people in over¬ crowded, poorly built housing. England passed the first legislation for building low-income housing to certain minimum standards in 1851; laws for slum clearance were first enacted in 1868. In the U.S., slum develop¬ ment coincided with the arrival of large numbers of immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; laws concerning adequate ventilation, fire protection, and sanitation in urban housing were passed in the late 1800s. In the 20th century government and private organizations built low- income housing and appropriated funds for urban renewal and offered low-interest home loans. Shantytowns, which often grow up around urban centres in developing countries as rural populations migrate to the cities in search of employment, are one type of slum for which alleviating mea¬ sures have yet to be successfully introduced. See also urban panning.

slump, submarine See submarine slump

Sluter VsliE-torV Claus (b. c. 1340/50, Haarlem?, Holland—d. between Sept. 24, 1405, and Jan. 30, 1406,

Dijon, Burgundy) Early Netherland¬ ish sculptor. He entered the service of Philip II the Bold in 1385 and became his chief sculptor in 1389.

All his surviving sculptures were made for the Carthusian monastery of Champmol at Dijon, which Philip founded. Sluter moved beyond the prevailing French taste for graceful figures, delicate movement, and fluid falls of drapery and toward highly individual naturalistic forms. His works infuse realism with spiritual¬ ity and monumental grandeur. His influence was extensive among both painters and sculptors of 15th- century northern Europe.

Small Computer System Interface See SCSI

small intestine Long, narrow, convoluted tube in which most diges¬ tion takes place. It extends 22-25 ft (6.7-7.6 m), from the stomach to the arge intestine. The mesentery, a membrane structure, supports it and contains its blood supply, lymphat¬ ics, and insulating fat. The autonomic nervous system supplies it with para¬ sympathetic nerves that initiate peristalsis and sympathetic nerves that suppress it. It is lined with minute fingerlike projections (villi) that greatly increase its surface area for enzyme secretion and food absorption. Its three sections, the duodenum, jejunum, and ileum, have distinct characteristics. Food takes three to six hours to pass through the small intestine unless a disorder such as gastroenteritis, diverticulosis, or obstruction impedes it.

smallpox or variola Wo-'ri-o-loV One of the world’s most dreaded plagues before 1980, when it was declared eradicated. It was known in ancient China, India, and Egypt. It came to the Western Hemisphere with Europeans in the 16th century and devastated the native population, which lacked resistance. An infectious viral disease only of humans, it causes fever and then a rash of variable severity that blisters and dries up, leav¬ ing scars. It is not spread easily, but the virus can survive for long peri-

(From left) Zechariah, Daniel, and Isa¬ iah from the "Well of Moses," marble sculpture by Sluter, 1395-1404/05; in the cloister of the Chartreuse de Champmol, Dijon, Fr.

FOTO MARBURG/ART RESOURCE, NEW YORK CITY

Smalls ► Smith I 1769

ods outside the body (e.g., in bedding). Edward Jenner developed a vaccine from cowpox. The World Health Organization’s eradication project reduced smallpox deaths from two million in 1967 to zero in 1977-80. The virus now exists only in laboratories; in some countries it may be under development for purposes of biological warfare.

Smalls, Robert (b. April 5, 1839, Beaufort, S.C., U.S.—d. Feb. 22, 1915, Beaufort) U.S. naval hero.

Born to plantation slaves, he was taken to Charleston, S.C., where he worked as a hotel waiter. In the American Civil War he was impressed into the Confederate navy to serve on the armed frigate Planter.

In 1862 he and 12 other slaves seized control of the ship in Charleston har¬ bour and turned it over to the Union navy. He served as the ship’s pilot and became its captain in 1863. After the war he served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1875-79, 1881-

87).

Smallwood, Joey orig.

Joseph Roberts Smallwood

(b. Dec. 24, 1900, Gambo, Nfd.—d.

Dec. 17, 1991, St. Johns, Nfd., Can.)

Canadian politician. He worked for socialist publications in New York City (1921-25), then returned to New¬ foundland to become a union organizer and radio broadcaster. An advo¬ cate of confederation with Canada, he was elected to a convention to decide Newfoundland’s future (1946); his vigorous campaign helped effect its admission as a province (1948). He was elected Newfoundland’s first premier in 1949 and retained leadership of the government and the ruling Liberal Party until 1971.

smart bomb Bomb with a guidance system that directs its path toward a target. It is steered by fins or wings on the bomb that move in response to guidance commands. Guidance systems may be electro-optical, laser, infrared, or inertial. Electro-optical systems send pictures of the area so that the bomb can be guided onto the target. Laser-guided bombs follow the reflections of a laser beam trained onto the target by an aircraft or a spotter on the ground. Infrared guidance responds to radiation generated by warm areas of the target. Inertial navigation is based on inputting coordinates derived from radar systems or from Global Positioning Sys¬ tem satellites into the bomb’s gyroscopes. Smart bombs, initially used in the Vietnam War, offer far greater accuracy than traditional gravity, or “dumb,” bombs.

Smarta Orthodox Hindu sect consisting of members of higher castes who worship all the gods of the Hindu pantheon and adhere to rules of ritual and conduct laid down in ancient sutras. The sect was founded by Shankara. The head of the monastery he established at Sringeri is the spiritual authority of the Smartas and one of the chief religious person¬ ages of India. The Smartas regard five gods as primary: Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, Surya, and Ganesha. Active in all branches of learning, they have earned the honorary title sastri (Sanskrit: “men of learning”).

Smeaton, John (b. June 8, 1724, Austhorpe, Yorkshire, Eng.—d. Oct. 28, 1792, Austhorpe) British civil engineer. In 1756-59 he rebuilt the Eddystone Lighthouse (off Plymouth), during which he rediscovered hydraulic cement (lost since the fall of Rome) as the best mortar for underwater construction. He constructed the great Forth and Clyde Canal in Scotland; built bridges at Perth, Banff, and Coldstream; and completed the harbour at Ramsgate, Kent. He was a leader in the transition from wind-and-water to steam power; with his improvements, Thomas New¬ comen’s atmospheric steam engine achieved its maximum performance. He designed atmospheric pumping engines for collieries, mines, and docks. In 1771 he founded the British Society of Civil Engineers (now the Smeatonian Society). He is regarded as the founder of the civil engineer¬ ing profession in Britain.

smelt Any of certain slender, silvery, carnivorous, food fishes (family Osmeridae) having a small fleshy fin. Smelts live in cold northern seas, and most species spawn a short distance upstream. The American smelt {Osmerus mordax), introduced from the Atlantic to the Great Lakes, is the largest smelt, about 15 in. (38 cm) long. The European smelt (O. eper-

lanus ) is similar. Among Pacific species are the rainbow herring, capelin, and eulachon, or candlefish, which is so oily at spawning time that it can be dried and burned as a candle. Silversides (see grunion) and other unre¬ lated fishes are sometimes called smelts.

smelting Process by which a metal is obtained from its ore, either as the element or as a simple compound, usually by heating beyond the melting point, ordinarily in the presence of reducing agents such as coke or oxi¬ dizing agents such as air (see oxidation-reduction). A metal whose ore is an oxygen compound (e.g., iron, zinc, or lead oxide) is heated (reduction smelting) in a blast furnace to a high temperature; the oxide combines with the carbon in the coke, escaping as carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide. Other impurities are removed by adding flux, with which they combine to form slag. If the ore is a sulfide mineral (e.g., copper, nickel, lead, or cobalt), air or oxygen is blasted through (matte smelting) to oxidize the sulfide to sulfur dioxide and any iron to oxide slag, leaving the metal. See also metallurgy; mineral processing.

Smetana Vsme-ffn-oV Bedrich (b. March 2, 1824, Leitomischl, Bohe¬ mia, Austrian Empire—d. May 12,1884, Prague) Czech (Bohemian) com¬ poser. He was determined to become a pianist, but his first concert (1847) ended his hopes, and he thereafter taught music, opening two schools of music. In the 1860s he turned to opera, becoming conductor of the national theatre in 1866. His second opera was The Bartered Bride (1866), which gained lasting success after many revisions. Dalibor (1868) fol¬ lowed and also became popular; he would complete five more operas. Though rendered deaf by syphilis in 1874, in his last decade he wrote some of his most beloved music, including the cycle My Country (1874- 79), which included the famous symphonic poem The Moldau, and the quartet From My Life (1876). He became insane in 1883 and died in an asylum. The strongly Czech character of his music made Smetana the preeminent Czech nationalist composer.

smew See merganser

smilax \'sml-,laks\ Any of about 300 species of woody or herbaceous vines, variously known as catbriers and greenbriers, that make up the genus Smilax (family Smilacaceae), native to tropical and temperate regions. The stems of many species are covered with prickles, the lower leaves are scalelike, and the leathery upper leaves have untoothed blades with three to nine large veins. White or yellow-green flowers are followed by clusters of red or bluish-black berries. Common catbrier (5. rotundi- folia) and carrion flower ( S. herbacea ) of eastern North America are some¬ times cultivated to form impenetrable thickets. See also sarsaparilla.

Smith, Adam (baptized June 5, 1723, Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scot.—d. July 17, 1790, Edinburgh) Scottish social philosopher and political economist. The son of a customs official, he studied at the Universities of Glasgow and Oxford. A series of public lectures in Edinburgh (from 1748) led to a lifelong friendship with David Hume and to Smith’s appointment to the Glasgow faculty in 1751. After publishing The Theory of Moral Senti¬ ments (1759), he became the tutor of the future Duke of Buccleuch (1763— 66); with him he traveled to France, where Smith consorted with other eminent thinkers. In 1776, after nine years of work, Smith published An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, the first comprehensive system of political economy. In it he argued in favour of an economic system based on individual self-interest that would be led, as if by an “invisible hand,” to achieve the greatest good for all, and pos¬ ited the division of labour as the chief factor in economic growth. A reac¬ tion to the system of mercantilism then current, it stands as the beginning of classical economics. The Wealth of Nations in time won him an enor¬ mous reputation and would become virtually the most influential work on economics ever published. Though often regarded as the bible of capital¬ ism, it is harshly critical of the shortcomings of unrestrained free enter¬ prise and monopoly. In 1777 Smith was appointed commissioner of customs for Scotland, and in 1787 rector of the University of Glasgow.

Smith, Alfred E(manuel) (b. Dec. 30, 1873, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. Oct. 4, 1944, New York City) U.S. politician. After working in the Fulton fish market to help support his family, he began his political career with a job from Tammany Hall (1895). In the state assembly (1903- 15), he rose to speaker, then served in city political posts. As governor of New York (1919-20, 1923-28) he worked for improved housing, child welfare, and efficient government. In 1928 he won the presidential nomi¬ nation of the Democratic Party, the first Roman Catholic to do so, but he was easily defeated by Herbert Hoover. He later opposed the New Deal

Smalls

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON, D.C.

1770 I Smith, Bessie ► Smith, Joseph

programs of Franklin D. Roosevelt and supported Republican presidential candidates for president in 1936 and 1940.

Smith, Bessie orig. Elizabeth Smith (b. April 15, 1898?, Chatta¬ nooga, Tenn., U.S.— d. Sept. 26, 1937, Clarksdale, Miss.) U.S. blues and jazz singer. Smith sang popular songs as well as blues on the minstrel and vaudeville stage. She began recording in 1923 and appeared in the film St. Louis Blues (1929). Her interpretations represent the fully realized transition of the rural folk tradition of the blues to its urbane structure and expressiveness. A bold, supremely confident artist with a powerful voice and precise diction, she became known as “Empress of the Blues.” Smith was the most successful African American entertainer of her time. She died from injuries sustained in a car crash, and it was said that, had she been white, she would have received earlier medical treatment and her life might have been saved; the actual circumstances of her treatment remain obscure.

Smith, Cyril Stanley (b. Oct. 4, 1903, Birmingham, Warwickshire, Eng.—d. Aug. 25, 1992, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.) British-born U.S. met¬ allurgist. He worked as a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the American Brass Co. before joining the Man¬ hattan Project, where he determined the properties and technology of plu¬ tonium and uranium, the essential materials of the atomic bomb. He later taught at the University of Chicago (1946-61) and MIT (1961-69). He published many books on the history of metallurgy, including A History of Metallography (1960).

Smith, David (Roland) (b. March 9, 1906, Decatur, Ind., U.S.—d. May 23, 1965, Albany, N.Y.) U.S. sculptor. He learned to work with metal while employed at an automobile plant. In 1926 he went to New York City and took various jobs while studying painting at the Art Students League. His sculptures grew out of his abstract paintings, to which he attached so many bits of wood, metal, and found objects that they became virtual bases for sculptural superstructures. He became the first U.S. art¬ ist to make welded metal sculpture. In 1940 he moved to Bolton Land¬ ing, N.Y., and there made his large yet seemingly weightless metal sculptures until his death in a car crash. His abstract biomorphic and geo¬ metric forms are remarkable for their erratic inventiveness, stylistic diver¬ sity, and high aesthetic quality. His work greatly influenced Minimalist sculpture in the 1960s.

Smith, Emmitt (b. May 15, 1969, Pensacola, Fla., U.S.) U.S. football player. He set 58 school football records at the University of Florida, and as a running back for the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL (1990-2002), he helped his team win three Super Bowl games. In 1995 he set the all-time NFL record for touchdowns in a single season (25), and he holds the record for most career rushing touchdowns (164). In 2002 he surpassed Walter Payton to become the NFL’s all-time leading rusher. He played two seasons with the Arizona Cardinals and retired in 2004 with 18,355 career rushing yards.

Smith, Frederick Edwin See Earl of Birkenhead

Smith, George (b. March 19, 1824, London, Eng.—d. April 6, 1901, Byfleet, near Weybridge, Surrey) British publisher. He took over his father’s bookselling and publishing business in 1846. Under his leader¬ ship the firm issued works by such noted Victorian writers as John Ruskin, the Bronte sisters, Charles Darwin, William Thackeray, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Wilkie Collins, Matthew Arnold, Harriet Martineau, and Anthony Trollope. His most important publication was the first edition of the Dictionary of National Biography, 66 vol. (1885-1901), later contin¬ ued by Oxford University Press. He also began the illustrated literary journal Cornhill Magazine (1860) and the Pall Mall Gazette (1865), a literary newspaper.

Smith, Gerrit (b. March 6, 1797, Utica, N.Y., U.S.—d. Dec. 28, 1874, New York, N.Y.) U.S. reformer and philanthropist. Bom into a wealthy family, he became active in the temperance movement (1828) and built one of the first U.S. temperance hotels at Peterboro, N.Y. From 1835 he was an active abolitionist, and he made his hotel a stop on the Under¬ ground Railroad. He helped form the Liberty Party and was its unsuc¬ cessful presidential candidate in 1848 and 1852. He paid the legal expenses of many slaves arrested under the Fugitive Slave Acts. He gave a farm to his friend John Brown and financed some of Brown’s activities.

Smith, Hamilton O(thanel) (b. Aug. 23, 1931, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. microbiologist. He received his M.D. from Johns Hopkins University. While studying the mechanism whereby the bacterium Hae¬

mophilus influenzae takes up DNA from a particular bacteriophage, Smith, Werner Arber, and Daniel Nathans discovered the first of what came to be called type II restriction enzymes. Whereas previously studied restriction enzymes cut DNA at unpredictable points, the type II enzymes’ predict¬ ability allowed the scientists to cut DNA at a particular point. The enzymes have become valuable tools in the study of DNA structure and in recombinant DNA technology. The three shared a 1978 Nobel Prize.

Smith, Hoke (b. Sept. 2, 1855, Newton, N.C., U.S.—d. Nov. 27, 1931, Atlanta, Ga.) U.S. politician. He was publisher of the Atlanta Journal (1887-1900), which he used to promote progressive measures (except civil rights for African Americans). He served as U.S. secretary of the interior (1893-96). As governor of Georgia (1907-09, 1911), he improved education, transportation, and prison conditions. Elected to the U.S. Sen¬ ate (1911-21), he supported progressive legislation but opposed U.S. par¬ ticipation in the League of Nations.

Smith, Ian (Douglas) (b. April 8, 1919, Selukwe, Rhodesia) First native-born prime minister of the British colony of Southern Rhodesia (1964-65). An ardent advocate of white rule, in 1965 he declared Rho¬ desia’s independence and withdrew it from the Commonwealth. He faced guerrilla attacks from Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo through most of the 1970s. In 1977 he was finally compelled to negotiate a transfer of power to the black majority, a process completed two years later. He con¬ tinued to serve in Parliament until 1987.

Smith, John (baptized Jan. 6,1580, Willoughby, Lincolnshire, Eng.—d. June 21, 1631, London) English explorer. After a period as a military adventurer, he joined an English group preparing to establish a colony in North America. The Virginia Com¬ pany of London sailed three ships to Chesapeake Bay, arriving in 1607 to establish the first permanent English settlement in North America at Jamestown, of which Smith later became the leader. On a river voyage to explore the surrounding region, he was captured by Indians of the Powhatan empire; according to his own account. Smith was saved from death by Pocahontas, daughter of the Indian chief. While president of the Jamestown Colony, Smith oversaw its expansion. An injury forced his return to England in 1609. Eager for further exploration, he made contact with the Plymouth Company and sailed in 1614 to the area he named New England. He also mapped its coast and wrote descriptions of Virginia and New England that encouraged others to colonize the New World.

Smith, Joseph (b. Dec. 23, 1805,

Sharon, Vt., U.S.—d. June 27, 1844,

Carthage, Ill.) Founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon church). He began experi¬ encing visions as a teenager in Palmyra, N.Y. In 1827 he claimed that an angel had directed him to bur¬ ied golden plates containing God’s revelation; these he translated into the Book of Mormon (1830). He led converts to Ohio, Missouri, and Illi¬ nois, where he established the town of Nauvoo (1839), which soon became the state’s largest town.

Imprisoned for treason after his efforts to silence Mormon dissenters led to mob violence, he was mur¬ dered by a lynch mob that stormed the jail where he was held. His work was continued by Brigham Young.

John Smith, engraving by Simon van de Passe, 1616

COURTESY OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM; PHOTOGRAPH, J.R. FREEMAN & CO. LTD.

Joseph Smith, detail from an oil paint¬ ing by an unknown artist; in the Com¬ munity of Christ Temple and Auditorium complex, Independence, Missouri.

COURTESY OF THE COMMUNITY OF CHRIST, INDEPENDENCE, MISSOURI

Smith, Kate ► smithing I 1771

Smith, Kate orig. Kathryn Elizabeth Smith (b. May 1, 1909, Greenville, Va., U.S.—d. June 17, 1986, Raleigh, N.C.) U.S. singer, long known as the “First Lady of Radio.” Smith studied nursing before mov¬ ing to New York City, where she won a Broadway role as an overweight girl who was the butt of jokes. In 1931 she began her immensely popular radio show Kate Smith Sings, which ran for 16 years; her theme song, “When the Moon Comes over the Mountain,” became familiar to mil¬ lions. In 1938 she created the news and gossip program Kate Smith Speaks and introduced Irving Berlin's song “God Bless America.” She hosted sev¬ eral television shows in the 1950s. In 1982 she was awarded the U.S. Medal of Freedom.

Smith, Dame Maggie orig. Margaret Natalie Smith (b. Dec. 28, 1934, Ilford, Essex, Eng.) British actress. She first gained recognition on Broadway in New Faces of 1956, and, after winning praise for her roles in The Rehearsal (1961) and Mary, Mary (1963), she joined Brit¬ ain’s National Theatre Company, where she starred opposite Laurence Olivier in Othello (1964; film, 1965). Her later films include The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969, Academy Award), Travels with My Aunt (1972), California Suite (1978, Academy Award), and The Lonely Pas¬ sion of Judith Hearne (1987). Known for her nervous intensity, acid wit, and flawless timing, she has many great stage performances to her credit, notably in The Way of the World (1985) and Lettice and Lovage (1990, Tony Award).

Smith, Margaret Chase orig. Margaret Madeline Chase (b.

Dec. 14, 1897, Skowhegan, Maine, U.S.—d. May 29, 1995, Skowhegan) U.S. politician. She served as secretary to her husband, Clyde Smith, after he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican in 1936. When he suffered a heart attack in 1940, he urged voters to elect her to the office. She became the first woman to win election to both the House (1940—49) and the Senate (1949-73). Though a staunch anticom¬ munist, she was the first Republican senator to condemn the tactics of Joseph McCarthy, delivering a memorable “Declaration of Conscience” speech on the Senate floor in 1950. Her opinion that Pres. John F. Kennedy should use nuclear weapons against the Soviet Union prompted Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to dub her “the devil in disguise of a woman.” She retired from politics after her defeat in 1972. She received the Presi¬ dential Medal of Freedom in 1989.

Smith, Red orig. Walter Wellesley Smith (b. Sept. 25, 1905, Green Bay, Wis., U.S.—d. Jan. 15, 1982, Stamford, Conn.) U.S. sports columnist. Smith worked for various newspapers before his column, “Views of Sport,” began appearing in the New York Herald Tribune in 1945; it was syndicated soon thereafter. He joined The New York Times in 1971. His writing, mostly about major spectator sports, shunned jar¬ gon and displayed literary craftsmanship, wry humour, and deep knowl¬ edge. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1976. His columns were collected in five books, including Out of the Red (1950) and Strawberries in the Winter¬ time (1974).

Smith, Samuel (b. July 27, 1752, Carlisle, Pa.—d. April 22, 1839, Baltimore, Md., U.S.) U.S. politician. He was a merchant in Baltimore and fought in the American Revolution. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1793-1803, 1816-22) and Senate (1803-15, 1822-33). As brigadier general of the Maryland militia, he commanded U.S. troops that defended Baltimore from the British in the War of 1812. After lead¬ ing the militia against rioters, he was elected mayor of Baltimore (1835— 38) at age 83.

Smith, Stevie orig. Florence Margaret Smith (b. Sept. 20, 1902, Hull, Yorkshire, Eng.—d. March 7, 1971, London) British poet. She lived most of her life with an aunt in a London suburb and worked many years as a secretary. Her poetry, an unsentimental combination of the ludicrous and the pathetic, expresses an original and visionary personality. In the 1960s her poetry readings became popular, and she made radio broad¬ casts and recordings. Her Collected Poems (1975) is illustrated with her James THURBER-like sketches; it includes her first book, A Good Time Was Had by All (1937), and Not Waving but Drowning (1957), whose title poem appears in many anthologies.

Smith, Theobald (b. July 31, 1859, Albany, N.Y., U.S.—d. Dec. 10, 1934, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. microbiologist and pathologist. He received his M.D. from Cornell University. He discovered that injected heat-killed cultures of the causative microorganisms can immunize ani¬ mals against disease. His discovery that Texas cattle fever is caused by a parasite transmitted by ticks—the first definite proof of arthropods' role

in spreading disease—helped the scientific community accept mosqui¬ toes’ role in malaria and yellow fever. Smith was the first to differentiate the bacteria that cause tuberculosis in cattle and in humans, and he was one of the first to notice anaphylaxis. He also improved laboratory pro¬ duction of VACCINES.

Smith, Vernon L. (b. Jan. 1, 1927, Wichita, Kan., U.S.) U.S. econo¬ mist. Smith studied economics at the University of Kansas (M.A., 1952) and at Harvard (Ph.D., 1955). He later taught at a number of institutions and in 2001 became a professor at George Mason University. His exten¬ sive laboratory experiments in economic analysis laid the foundation for the field of experimental economics. Through such work he was able to determine the theoretical equilibrium, or acceptable market price. He also focused on the outcome of public auctions, showing that the way in which the bidding was organized affected the selling price, and he devised “wind-tunnel tests,” where trials of new alternative market designs, such as those for a deregulated industry, could be tested. In 2002 he shared the Nobel Prize for Economics with Daniel Kahneman.

Smith, W(illiam) Eugene (b. Dec. 20, 1918, Wichita, Kan., U.S.—d. Oct. 15, 1978, Tucson, Ariz.) U.S. photojournalist. He worked as a pho¬ tographer for local papers then went to New York City and worked for several magazines. In 1943-44, as a war correspondent for Life maga¬ zine, he covered many of the important battles of the Pacific theatre. He produced a number of photoessays for Life, such as Spanish Village (1951), a study of villagers’ daily struggle to draw life from exhausted soil. His most famous picture, The Walk to Paradise Garden (1947), showing his own children entering a forest clearing, concluded the land¬ mark photographic exhibition The Family of Man.

Smith, William (b. March 23, 1769, Churchill, Oxfordshire, Eng.—d. Aug. 28, 1839, Northampton, Northamptonshire) English engineer and geologist, known as the founder of the science of stratigraphy. The son of a blacksmith, he was largely self-educated. He produced the first geologic map of England and Wales (1815), setting the style for modem geologic maps, and subsequently a series of geologic maps of the English coun¬ ties. He introduced many techniques still used, including the use of fos¬ sils for the dating of layers. Current geologic maps of England differ from his primarily in detail, and many of the colourful names he applied to the strata are also used today.

Smith & Wesson U.S. gun manufacturer. The company has its roots in an 1852 partnership between Horace Smith (1808-93) and Daniel B. Wesson (1825-1906), who designed and marketed a lever-action, repeat¬ ing magazine handgun that held a self-contained cartridge. Their venture ran into financial difficulties and they were forced to sell it, but a second partnership in 1856, manufacturing their new revolving-cylinder handgun (now known as the .22 rimfire) proved more successful. The Civil War made Smith & Wesson a leading firearms manufacturer. In 1867 it began selling in Europe. It supplied the British in World War I and the Allies in World War II. In 1965 the Wesson family sold the company, which has since changed hands several times.

Smith College Private liberal arts college for women in Northampton, Mass. It was founded in 1871 through the bequest of Sophia Smith (1796- 1870). Bachelor’s degrees are granted in most major academic fields, and master’s degrees are granted in biology, dance, education, music, religion, social work, and theatre. Smith’s school of social work also grants doc¬ toral degrees. The college belongs to a five-college cooperative with Amherst, Hampshire, and Mount Holyoke colleges and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Smith Sound Channel between Ellesmere Island, Canada, and north¬ western Greenland. About 3CM-5 mi (48-72 km) wide, the sound extends northward for 55 mi (88 km) from Baffin Bay to the Kane Basin. It was discovered by William Baffin in 1616 and named for Thomas Smythe (Smith), who had promoted a number of voyages searching for a North¬ west Passage.

smithing Fabrication and repair of metal objects by hot and cold forg¬ ing on an anvil or with a power hammer or by welding and other means. Blacksmiths traditionally worked with iron (anciently known as “black metal”), making agricultural and other tools, fashioning hardware (e.g., hooks, hinges, handles) for the farm, the home, and industry, and shoe¬ ing horses. The term smithing is also applied to work with precious met¬ als (gold, silver) as well as other metals (e.g., tin, including tinplate, and steel).

1772 I Smithsonian Institution ► Smyth

Smithsonian Institution U.S. research institution. Enabled by the bequest of the English chemist James Smithson (1765-1829), it was estab¬ lished in Washington, D.C., by an 1846 act of Congress. The Smithsonian administers numerous bureaus, including the Freer Gallery of Art, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the National Air and Space Museum, the National Gallery of Art, the National Museum of History and Technology, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Zoological Park, and the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observa¬ tory.

smog Polluted air over a community. The term, a combination of “smoke” and “fog,” was popularized in the early 20th century and now commonly refers to the pall of automotive or industrial origin that lies over many cities. Sulfurous smog results from the use of sulfur-bearing fossil fuels, particularly coal, and is aggravated by dampness. Photo¬ chemical smog requires neither smoke nor fog. Nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbon vapours emitted from automobiles and other sources undergo reactions in the presence of sunlight that produce a light brownish col¬ oration of the atmosphere, reduced visibility, plant damage, irritation of the eyes, and respiratory distress.

smoking Breathing the fumes of burning plant material, especially tobacco, from a cigarette, cigar, or pipe. Despite social and medical argu¬ ments against tobacco use, smoking is widely practiced around the world. Nicotine is an alkaloid in tobacco that is addictive and can have both stimulating and tranquilizing psychoactive effects. The tar (residue) and gases produced by burning tobacco have many negative health effects. They include lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and laryngeal cancer; heart disease and stroke; and emphysema and chronic bronchitis. Smoking also increases other health-related risk factors (see asbestosis). A nonsmoker who breathes secondhand smoke (such as the smoke from a lit cigarette) is at an increased risk of the same diseases that affect smokers. Second¬ hand smoke also increases the risk of sudden infant death syndrome. Doctor- run programs, along with nicotine patches and gums that provide diminishing doses of nicotine, are among the aids available to help those who wish to quit smoking. Hypnosis, acupuncture, herbal remedies, and other approaches are also widely advertised as ways to quit smoking. Smoking has been greatly reduced in the health-conscious West even as it rises in many less-developed countries.

Smoky Mountains See Great Smoky Mtns.

smoky quartz Common, coarse-grained variety of quartz that ranges in colour from nearly black through smoky brown. No distinct boundary exists between smoky and colourless quartz. Its abundance causes it to be worth considerably less than either amethyst or citrine. Heating bleaches the stone, the colour sometimes passing through yellow; these yellow pieces are often sold as citrine.

Smolensk \smo-'lensk\ City (pop., 1999 est.: 355,700), western Rus¬ sia. One of the oldest and most historic of Russian cities, it was a key stronghold on the Dnieper River by the 9th century and became a commer¬ cial centre on the trade route between the Baltic Sea and the Byzantine Empire. Sacked by the Tatars c. 1240, it subsequently fell to Lithuania. Sieges led to its capture by Moscow in 1340 and recapture by Lithuania in 1408. It was fought over several times, then was finally taken by Rus¬ sia in 1654. It was burned during Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812. The scene of heavy fighting in World War II, it was occupied by the Germans from 1941 to 1943. It is a light-industry and educational cen¬ tre.

Smollett Ysma-lotV, Tobias (George) (baptized March 19,

1721, Cardross, Dumbartonshire,

Scot.—d. Sept. 17, 1771, near Livorno, Tuscany) English satirical novelist. Throughout his life Smol¬ lett combined the roles of medical man and writer. He is best known for his novels, including the picaresque novels Roderick Random (1748), a graphic account of British naval life,

and Peregrine Pickle (1751), a comic, savage portrayal of 18th-century society. In an active publishing career, he translated, wrote a Complete History of England (1757-58), edited periodicals, including The Critical Review, and compiled a 58-volume Universal History. In the mid-1760s, seriously ill with tuberculosis, he retired to France. In 1766 he published the irascible Travels Through France and Italy, his one nonfiction work that is still read. His finest work, Humphry Clinker (1771), is a humor¬ ous EPISTOLARY NOVEL.

Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act (1930) U.S. legislation that raised import duties by as much as 50%, adding considerable strain to the worldwide economic climate of the Great Depression. Despite a petition from 1,000 economists urging Pres. Herbert Hoover to veto the act, it was passed as a protective measure for domestic industries. It contributed to the early loss of confidence on Wall Street and signaled U.S. isolationism. Other countries retaliated with similarly high protective tariffs, and overseas banks began to collapse. In 1934 Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Trade Agreements Act, which reduced such tariffs.