Britannica Concise 2005

2.54 centimeters

AREA

square mile

sq mi or mi 2

640 acres, 102,400 square rods

2.590 square kilometers

acre

4840 square yards, 43,560 square feet

0.405 hectare, 4047 square meters

square rod

sq rd or rd 2

30.35 square yards, 0.00625 acre

25.293 square meters

square yard

sq yd or yd 2

1296 square inches, 9 square feet

0.836 square meter

square foot

sq ft or ft 2

144 square inches, 0.111 square yard

0.093 square meter

square inch

sq in or in 2

0.0069 square foot, 0.00077 square yard

6.452 square centimeters

VOLUME

cubic yard

cu yd or yd 3

27 cubic feet, 46,656 cubic inches

0.765 cubic meter

cubic foot

cu ft or ft 3

1728 cubic inches, 0.0370 cubic yard

0.028 cubic meter

cubic inch

cu in or in 3

0.00058 cubic foot, 0.000021 cubic yard

16.387 cubic centimeters

'For U.S. equivalents of the metric unit see Metric System table. ^The U.S. uses the avoirdupois units as a common system of measuring weight.

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Weimar Republic ► welfare I 2043

Weimar Republic \'vl-,mar\ Government of Germany 1919-33, so named because the assembly that adopted its constitution met at Weimar in 1919. In its early years, the Weimar Republic was troubled by postwar economic and financial problems and political instability, but it had recov¬ ered considerably by the late 1920s. Its major political leaders included presidents Friedrich Ebert (1919-25) and Paul von Hindenburg (1925-34), as well as Gustav Stresemann, who was chancellor (1923) and foreign minister (1923-29). With the Great Depression, its political and economic collapse enabled Adolf Hitler to rise to power and become chancellor (1933), after which he suspended the Weimar constitution.

weimaraner ^vl-mo-'ra-nor, 'wl-mo-.ra-norV Dog breed developed in the early 19th century by German nobles of the court of Weimar. First used to hunt big game, the breed was later used as a bird dog and retriever. A graceful dog, it has hanging ears; blue, gray, or amber eyes; and a short, sleek, mouse- or silver-gray coat. It stands 23-27 in. (58-69 cm) and weighs 70-85 lbs (32-39 kg). It is characterized by an alert, well-balanced stance and is valued as an aggressive hunter and a good companion and watchdog.

Weingartner VvIn-gart-norV (Paul) Felix, lord von Munzberg

(b. June 2, 1863, Zara, Dalmatia, Austrian Empire—d. May 7, 1942, Win¬ terthur, Switz.) Austrian conductor and composer. After studies in Leipzig, he came to the attention of Franz Liszt, who arranged the premiere of Weingartner’s first opera at Weimar (1884). He held conducting posts at Danzig, Hamburg, and Mannheim, and he became conductor of the Ber¬ lin Opera in 1891. He succeeded Gustav Mahler as conductor of the Vienna Opera (1908-11) and stayed on with the Vienna Philharmonic until 1927. He also directed the Basel Conservatory (1927-33) and was a distinguished writer on music.

Weiser VvI-zorV Johann Conrad (b. Nov. 2, 1696, near Herrenberg, Wiirttemberg—d. July 13, 1760, Womelsdorf, Pa.) North American colo¬ nial Indian agent. He immigrated to New York in 1710 and lived briefly among the Iroquois before becoming a farmer and an Indian interpreter. In 1729 he moved to Pennsylvania, where he worked with the colony’s Indian agent. He arranged agreements between Iroquois tribes and colonial gov¬ ernments that helped form a British-Indian alliance against the French.

Weisgall, Hugo (David) (b. Oct. 13,1912, Eibenschutz, Moravia—d. March 11, 1997, Manhasset, N.Y., U.S.) Czech-born U.S. composer. Born into a musical family that had produced several generations of composers and cantors, he was raised in Baltimore, Md., U.S., from 1920. He studied composition with Roger Sessions and conducting with Fritz Reiner, also earning a doctorate in German literature from Johns Hopkins University. He is considered one of the most important U.S. opera composers for the literary quality of his chosen texts and the individuality and effectiveness of his music; his works include the operas The Tenor (1950), The Stronger (1952), and Six Characters in Search of an Author (1956); his last com¬ pleted opera, Esther (1993), won wide acclaim.

Weiss \'vls\, Peter (Ulrich) (b. Nov. 8,1916, Nowawes, near Potsdam, Ger.—d. May 10,1982, Stockholm, Swed.) German playwright. After flee¬ ing Germany in 1934, his family settled in Sweden. Weiss painted and made avant-garde films in the 1950s, then turned to fiction and drama, establishing a reputation in Germany with his novel Exile (1962). He won international acclaim for his play The Persecution and Assassination of Jean -Paul Marat as Performed by the Inmates of the Asylum of Charenton Under the Direction of the Marquis de Sade (1964; usually referred to as Marat/Sade), which addressed themes of individualism, revolution, and violence. Associated with the Theatre of Fact movement, he also wrote the documentary dramas The Investigation (1965), The Song of the Lusitanian Bogey (1967), and Discourse on Vietnam (1968).

Weissmuller Vwis-.mol-oA, Johnny in full Peter John Weissmuller (b. June 2, 1904, Freidorf, near Timi§oara, Rom.—d. Jan. 20, 1984, Acapulco, Mex.) U.S. freestyle swimmer and actor. He was reared in Chicago, where he attended the University of Chicago and devel¬ oped into a champion swimmer. He won five Olympic gold medals (three in 1924, two in 1928) and set 67 world records. He later became even more famous as an actor, starring as Tarzan of the Apes in 12 films (1932-48) and later creating the role of the comic-book character Jungle Jim for film and television.

Weizmann \'vlts-man\, Chaim (Azriel) (b. Nov. 27, 1874, Motol, Pol., Russian Empire—d. Nov. 9, 1952, Rehovot, Israel) Russian-bom Israeli chemist and first president of Israel (1949-52). After studying in

Germany and Switzerland, he earned a doctorate in chemistry and pat¬ ented several dyestuffs before moving to England to teach in 1904. His 1912 discovery of a bacterium that could convert carbohydrate to acetone proved of great value to the British armaments industry in World War I (1914-18), and in return the government aided his negotiations for the Balfour Declaration (1917). In 1919 he obtained an agreement on Jewish- Arab coexistence in Palestine from Faysal I, and in 1920 he became presi¬ dent of the World Zionist Organization, a post from which he was ousted in 1931. He settled in Rehovot, Palestine, in 1937. Despite conflicts with more extreme Zionists, he was sent to the U.S. to secure support for Israel in 1948, and in 1949 he was elected president.

Welch, William Henry (b. April 8, 1850, Norfolk, Conn., U.S.—d. April 30, 1934, Baltimore, Md.) U.S. pathologist. He studied pathology in Germany before returning to the U.S. to open the nation’s first pathol¬ ogy laboratory, at Bellevue Hospital Medical College in New York City (1879). From 1893 he directed the rise of Johns Hopkins University, where he developed the country’s first true university department of pathology. He recruited William Osler and William S. Halsted for the fac¬ ulty and was the medical school’s first dean (1893-98). His curriculum revolutionized U.S. medicine by demanding that students study physical sciences and be actively involved in clinical duties and laboratory work. Welch also demonstrated the effects of diphtheria toxin and discovered bacteria involved in wound fever and gas gangrene.

Weld, Theodore Dwight (b. Nov. 23, 1803, Hampton, Conn., U.S.—d. Feb. 3, 1895, Hyde Park, Mass.) U.S. reformer. He left divinity studies to become an agent for the American Anti-Slavery Society (1834). His pamphlets The Bible Against Slavery (1837) and Slavery as It Is (1839) helped convert figures such as James Birney, Henry Ward Beecher, and Harriet Beecher Stowe to the antislavery cause. He married his coworker Angelina Grimke (1838), and they directed schools and taught in New Jersey and Massachusetts. In 1841—43 Weld organized an anti¬ slavery reference bureau in Washington, D.C., to assist congressmen seek¬ ing to repeal the gag rule restricting the consideration of antislavery petitions in Congress.

welding Technique for joining metallic parts, usually through the appli¬ cation of heat. Discovered in the 1st millennium ad during attempts to manipulate iron into useful shapes, the technique produced a strong, tough blade. Welding traditionally involved interlayering relatively soft and tough iron with high-carbon material, followed by hammer forging. Mod¬ em welding processes include gas welding, arc welding, and resistance welding. More recently, electron-beam welding, laser welding, and sev¬ eral solid-phase processes such as diffusion bonding, friction welding, and ultrasonic joining have been developed. See also brazing, soldering.

Welensky, Sir Roy (b. Jan. 20, 1907, Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia—

Welf dynasty \'velf\ Dynasty of German nobles and rulers. They descended from Count Welf of Bavaria (early 9th century), whose daugh¬ ters married Louis I the Pious and Louis the German. The Welfs were linked to the House of Este in the 11th century. They supported the papal party against Emperor Henry IV and were rivals of the Hohenstaufens in central Europe and in Italy (where their name was Guelpho; see Guelphs and Ghi- bellines). As part of the House of Hanover, they became rulers of Britain.

welfare or social welfare Any of a variety of governmental pro¬ grams that provide assistance to those in need. Programs include pensions, disability and unemployment insurance, family allowances, survivor ben¬ efits, and national health insurance. The earliest modern welfare laws were enacted in Germany in the 1880s (see social insurance), and by the 1920s and ’30s most Western countries had adopted similar programs. Most industrialized countries require firms to insure workers for disability (see workers' compensation) so that they have income if they are injured, whether temporarily or permanently. For disability from illness unrelated to occupational injury, most industrial states pay a short-term benefit fol¬ lowed by a long-term pension. Many countries pay a family allowance to reduce the poverty of large families or to increase the birth rate. Survivor

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

2044 I welfare economics ► Wellington

benefits, provided for widows below pension age who are left with a dependent child, vary considerably among nations and generally cease if the woman remarries. Among the world’s wealthy countries, only the U.S. fails to provide national health insurance other than for the aged and the poor (see Medicare and Medicaid).

welfare economics Branch of economics established in the 20th cen¬ tury that seeks to evaluate economic policies in terms of their effects on the community’s well-being. Early theorists defined welfare as the sum of the satisfactions accruing to an individual through an economic system. Believing it was possible to compare the well-being of two or more indi¬ viduals, they argued that a poor person would derive more satisfaction from an increase in income than would a rich person. Later writers argued that making such comparisons with any precision was impossible. A new and more limited criterion was later developed: one economic situation was deemed superior to another if at least one person had been made bet¬ ter off without anyone else being made worse off. See also consumer's surplus; Vilfredo Pareto.

Welfare Island See Roosevelt Island Welfare Party See Refah Party

welfare state Concept of government in which the state plays a key role in protecting and promoting the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equi¬ table distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those who lack the minimal provisions for a good life. The term may be applied to a vari¬ ety of forms of economic and social organization. A basic feature of the welfare state is social insurance, intended to provide benefits during peri¬ ods of greatest need (e.g., old age, illness, unemployment). The welfare state also usually includes public provision of education, health services, and housing. Such provisions are less extensive in the U.S. than in many European countries, where comprehensive health coverage and state- subsidized university-level education have been common. In countries with centrally planned economies, the welfare state also covers employ¬ ment and administration of consumer prices. Most nations have instituted at least some of the measures associated with the welfare state; Britain adopted comprehensive social insurance in 1948, and in the U.S., social- legislation programs such as the New Deal and the Fair Deal were based on welfare-state principles. Scandinavian countries provide state aid for the individual in almost all phases of life.

Welle, Lawrence (b. March 11, 1903, Strasburg, N.D., U.S.—d. May 17, 1992, Santa Monica, Calif.) U.S. bandleader and television performer. Born in a German-speaking village in North Dakota, he did not learn English until he was 21. He played the accordion and formed two musi¬ cal groups that opened for bands and orchestras in the Midwest. Welk moved to Los Angeles, where his television program The Lawrence Welk Show (1955-71), which featured band music with vocalists, dancers, and instrumental soloists, became a huge success. The show was dropped by the network, but Welk continued it as Memories with Lawrence Welk (1971-82) after he was able to sign contracts with more than 250 inde¬ pendent television stations in the U.S. and Canada. Known for his unpre¬ tentious warmth and his trademark phrase “Wunnerful, wunnerful,” he played light, nostalgic “champagne music” and featured smiling perform¬ ers such as the Lennon Sisters.

well-field system Communal land organization supposedly in effect early in the Zhou dynasty (1046-256 bc). It is mentioned in the writings of Mencius, who advocated it. In the well-field system, one unit of land was divided among eight peasant families. A shared field was surrounded by eight fields, each worked by an individual family. The field in the cen¬ tre was worked jointly by the families for their lord. Later reformers referred to the concept to justify their land-redistribution systems or to criticize government land practices.

well-made play French piece bien faite Play constructed accord¬ ing to strict technical principles that produce neatness of plot and theat¬ rical effectiveness. The form was developed c. 1825 by Eugene Scribe and became dominant on 19th-century European and U.S. stages. It called for complex, artificial plotting, a buildup of suspense, a climactic scene in which all problems are resolved, and a happy ending. Scribe’s hundreds of successful plays were imitated all over Europe; other practitioners of the form included playwrights Victorien Sardou, Georges Feydeau, and Arthur Wing Pinero, who brought the form to the level of art with The Second Mrs. Tanqueray (1893).

Weller, Thomas H(uckle) (b. June 15, 1915, Ann Arbor, Mich., U.S.) U.S. physician and virologist. He studied at Harvard Medical School. For culturing poliomyelitis virus, which led to the development of polio vac¬ cines, he shared a 1954 Nobel Prize with John Enders (1879-1985) and Frederick Robbins (b. 1916). He was the first (with Franklin Neva) to culture rubella virus and to isolate chickenpox virus from human cell cul¬ tures. He served as director of Harvard University’s Center for the Pre¬ vention of Infectious Diseases (1966-81).

Welles Vwelz\, Gideon (b. July 1, 1802, Glastonbury, Conn., U.S.—d. Feb. 11, 1878, Hartford, Conn.) U.S. politician. Cofounder and editor the Hartford Times (1826-36), he founded one of the first Republican Party newspapers in New England, the Hartford Evening Press (1856). In 1861 he was appointed secretary of the navy by Pres. Abraham Lincoln, and in the American Civil War he built a large Union navy from a few ships, supported development of the ironclads, and helped form the strategic naval blockade. His Diary of Gideon Welles (published 1911) contains valuable insights into the Civil War.

Welles, (George) Orson (b. May 6, 1915, Kenosha, Wis., U.S.—d. Oct. 10, 1985, Los Angeles, Calif.) U.S. film director, actor, and producer. He began acting on stage at 16 and made his Broadway debut in 1934. He directed an all-African American cast in Macbeth for the Federal The¬ atre Project. In 1937 he and John Houseman formed the Mercury Theatre, creating a series of radio dramas, attempting to mount Marc Blitzstein’s The Cradle Will Rock in the face of determined opposition, and winning notoriety with their panic-producing broadcast of War of the Worlds (1938). Welles then moved to Hollywood, where he cowrote, directed, produced, and acted in the classic Citizen Kane (1941), noted for its inno¬ vative narrative technique and atmospheric cinematography and consid¬ ered among the most influential movies in film history. His other films include The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), The Stranger (1946), The Lady from Shanghai (1948), Touch of Evil (1958), and Chimes at Mid¬ night (1966). His problems with Hollywood studios curtailed future pro¬ ductions, and he moved to Europe. He was also notable as an actor in Jane Eyre (1944), The Third Man (1949), and Compulsion (1959).

Wellesley (of Norragh), Richard Colley Wellesley, Mar¬ quess (b. June 20, 1760, Dangan, County Meath, Ire.—d. Sept. 26, 1842, London, Eng.) British statesman. He inherited his father’s Irish title as earl of Momington and sat in the Irish House of Lords from 1781. He served in the British House of Commons (1784-97). As governor of Madras and governor general of Bengal (1797-1805), he used military force and annexation to greatly enlarge the British Empire in India, but he was recalled by the East India Co. for his vast expenditures. In 1809 he went to Spain to make diplomatic preparations for the Peninsular War; he served as foreign secretary (1809-12). As lord lieutenant of Ireland (1821-28, 1833-34) he tried to reconcile Protestants and Catholics. Despite his own achievements, he became increasingly jealous of his younger brother, the duke of Wellington.

Wellesley College Private women’s college in Wellesley, Mass., char¬ tered in 1870. Long one of the most eminent women’s colleges in the U.S., it was the first to provide scientific laboratories. It grants bachelor’s degrees in humanities, including Chinese, Japanese, and Russian lan¬ guages; in social science, including African studies, religion, and eco¬ nomics; and in science and mathematics, including computer science. Among its facilities are an advanced science centre and an observatory.

Wellington City (pop., 2001 prelim.: 165,945), port, and capital of New Zealand. It is located at the southern shore of the North Island, on Port Nicholson. Founded in 1840, it became a municipality in 1853. In 1865 the capital was transferred there from Auckland. It is the financial, com¬ mercial, and transportation centre of New Zealand. Wellington produces transportation equipment, machinery, metal products, textiles, and printed materials. It is the site of the major government buildings and the head¬ quarters of many cultural, scientific, and agricultural organizations.

Wellington, Arthur Wellesley, 1st duke of (b. May 1, 1769, Dublin, Ire.—d. Sept. 14, 1852, Walmer Castle, Kent, Eng.) British gen¬ eral. Son of the Irish earl of Mornington, he entered the army in 1787 and served in the Irish Parliament (1790-97). Sent to India in 1796, he com¬ manded troops to victories in the Maratha War (1803). Back in England, he served in the British House of Commons and as chief secretary in Ire¬ land (1807-09). Commanding British troops in the Peninsular War, he won battles against the French in Portugal and Spain and invaded France to win the war in 1814, for which he was promoted to field marshal and

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Wellman ► Wen Zhengming I 2045

created a duke. After Napoleon renewed the war against the European powers, the “Iron Duke” commanded the Allied armies to victory at the Battle of Waterloo (1815). Richly rewarded by English and foreign sov¬ ereigns, he became one of the most honoured men in Europe. After com¬ manding the army of occupation in France (1815-18) and serving in the Tory cabinet as master general of ordnance (1818-27), he served as prime minister (1828-30), but he was forced to resign after opposing any par¬ liamentary reform. He was honoured on his death by a monumental funeral and burial in St. Paul’s Cathedral alongside Horatio Nelson.

Wellman, William (Augustus) (b. Feb. 29, 1896, Brookline, Mass, U.S.—d. Dec. 9, 1975, Los Angeles, Calif.) U.S. film director. He was a flying ace in World War I and later a barnstorming stunt pilot. He acted in Knickerbocker Buckeroo (1919) with Douglas Fairbanks before turning to directing. Known as “Wild Bill,” he made the aerial dogfight classic Wings (1929, Academy Award), setting standards for documentary real¬ ism, and he launched a gangster movie trend with Public Enemy (1931), starring James Cagney. The Ox-Bow Incident (1942), considered one of his best films, examined frontier justice in the American West. In Track of the Cat (1954), Wellman experimented with the minimal use of colour. His other films include A Star Is Born (1937), Nothing Sacred (1937), Beau Geste (1939), The Story of GI Joe (1945), and The High and the Mighty

(1954).

Wells, H(erbert) G(eorge) (b. Sept. 21, 1866, Bromley, Kent, Eng.—d. Aug. 13, 1946, London) English novelist, journalist, sociologist, and historian. While studying science under T.H. Huxley in London, Wells formulated a romantic conception of the subject that would inspire the inventive and influential science-fiction and fantasy novels for which he is best known, including the epochal The Time Machine (1895), The Invis¬ ible Man (1897), and The War of the Worlds (1898). He simultaneously took on a public role as an agitator for progressive causes, including the League of Nations. He later abandoned science fiction and drew on memo¬ ries of his lower-middle-class early life in works including the novel Tono-Bungay (1908) and the comic The History of Mr. Polly (1910). He had a 10-year affair with the young Rebecca West. World War I shook his faith in human progress, prompting him to promote popular education through nonfiction works including The Outline of History (1920). The Shape of Things to Come (1933) was an antifascist warning. Though a sense of humour reappears in Experiment in Autobiography (1934), most of his late works reveal a pessimistic, even bitter outlook.

Wells, Ida B(ell) or Ida Bell Wells-Barnett (b. July 16, 1862, Holly Springs, Miss., U.S.—d. March 25, 1931, Chicago, Ill.) U.S. jour¬ nalist and antilynching crusader. The daughter of slaves, she was educated at a freedmen’s school in Holly Springs and later at Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn. She was a teacher until the late 1880s, when she turned to journalism, writing articles for African American-owned newspapers on issues such as the limited education available to African American children. In 1892, after three of her friends were lynched by a mob, Wells began an editorial campaign against lynching that quickly led to the destruction of her newspaper’s office by whites. She continued her anti¬ lynching campaign as a lecturer and founder of antilynching societies and African American women’s clubs throughout the U.S. In 1895 she mar¬ ried Ferdinand Barnett and began writing for his newspaper, the Chicago Conservator. In 1910 she founded the Chicago Negro Fellowship League. She also founded Chicago’s Alpha Suffrage Club, perhaps the first Afri¬ can American woman-suffrage group.

Wells, Kitty orig. Muriel Ellen Deason (b. Aug. 30, 1919, Nash¬ ville, Tenn., U.S.) U.S. country music singer and songwriter. She sang gospel music in church as a child. In the 1930s she made her radio debut and took her name from a Carter family song. She married Johnny Wright in 1937, and they performed together off and on since. Her first major hit was the classic “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” (1952). Her extensive repertory made her the top-ranking female country artist for some 15 years, paving the way for later stars such as Patsy Cune and Loretta Lynn.

Wells Fargo & Co. Leading U.S. banking and financial services com¬ pany formerly involved in express transport. Founded in 1852, Wells, Fargo transported gold between the west and east coasts in the wake of the California gold rush. By 1866 it had gained control of almost all stagecoach business in the West. In 1905 its banking operations were separated from its express operations. The express carrier disappeared by the mid 1920s, its domestic business taken over by the firm later known

as the Railway Express Agency and its foreign express business by Ameri¬ can Express Co. Its security services still exist under the name Wells Fargo Armored Service Corp., a subsidiary of Baker Industries. The Wells Fargo Bank’s holding company, Wells Fargo & Co., was established in 1968. Headquartered in San Francisco, the bank has subsidiaries and affiliates worldwide. In 1998 Wells Fargo & Co. merged with Norwest Corp.

Welsh corgi \'kor-ge\ Either of two breeds of cattle dogs. The Cardi¬ gan Welsh corgi was developed from relatives of the dachshund that Celts brought to Wales c. 1200 bc. The Pembroke Welsh corgi is descended from sled-dog stock brought to Wales about 1100 by Flemish weavers. Both have short legs, a foxlike head, and erect ears, and both stand 10-12 in. (25-30 cm) tall and weigh 25-38 lb (11-17 kg). The Cardigan has a long tail and rounded ears; the Pembroke has a short tail and pointed ears. The Cardigan’s coarser coat can be solid-coloured, tricoloured, or mottled; the Pembroke is solid- or bicoloured.

Welsh language Celtic ianguage of Wales. Besieged for centuries by the English language, Welsh continues to be spoken by 18-20% of the population of Wales, or more than half a million people, though estimates of the actual number of first-language speakers vary widely. Welsh is tra¬ ditionally divided into three periods: Old Welsh (c. 800-1150), attested mainly in glosses and short textual passages; Middle Welsh (c. 1150— 1500), with a rich medieval literature including poetic texts originally composed much earlier; and Modem Welsh (from c. 1500). Modern lit¬ erary Welsh was largely fixed by William Salesbury’s Bible translation. Vernacular Welsh, split along dialectal lines, has long been diverging from literary Welsh; many modern speakers cannot write or easily understand the traditional written language. The issue of an acceptable modem stan¬ dard remains unresolved.

Welsh literary renaissance Literary activity in Wales and England in the mid-18th century that attempted to stimulate interest in the Welsh language and in the classical bardic verse forms of Wales. It was centred on the Morris family of Welsh scholars, who preserved ancient texts and encouraged contemporary poets to use the strict metres of the ancient Welsh bards. The movement gave rise to many publications and helped reestablish local eisteddfods and, in the early 19th century, the National Eisteddfod. A second revival began with the establishment of the Uni¬ versity of Wales at the end of the 19th century.

Welly, Eudora (b. April 13, 1909, Jackson, Miss., U.S.—d. July 23, 2001, Jackson) U.S. short-story writer and novelist. Welty focused her work on a small town that resembled her birthplace and the Delta coun¬ try. Her main subject is the intricacies of human relationships. She first gained attention for the story collection A Curtain of Green (1941), con¬ taining the widely admired “Petrified Man” and “Why I Live at the PO.” Other stories appear in The Wide Net (1943), The Golden Apples (1949), and The Bride of the Innisfallen (1955). Her novels include Delta Wed¬ ding (1946), The Ponder Heart (1954), and The Optimist’s Daughter (1972, Pulitzer Prize). Her works combine humour and psychological acuity with a sharp ear for regional speech patterns. She also published books of her photographs, including those she took while working for the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression.

Wen Jiabao (b. Sept. 1942, Tianjin, China) Premier of China (from 2003). While studying at the Beijing Institute of Geology, Wen joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In 1985 he was named deputy director of the General Office of the CCP Central Committee and the following year became director. While at the General Office, Wen also served as chief of staff to several general secretaries of the CCP, including Zhao Ziyang. The two men faced criticism after visiting Beijing’s Tiananmen Square during a series of pro-democracy demonstrations and being photographed talking with protestors. Although Zhao was placed under house arrest, Wen escaped any lasting political damage. In 1993 he became a full member of the Secretariat of the CCP Central Committee and four years later a member of the Political Bureau. In 1998 he was appointed one of China’s four vice-premiers. Aided by his experience in shaping agricul¬ tural policy. Wen succeeded Zhu Rongji as premier in 2003.

Wen Zhengming or Wen Cheng-ming (b. 1470, Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China—d. 1559) Chinese painter, calligrapher, and scholarly figure. Born to an established family, Wen Zhengming was by nature sen¬ sitive and withdrawn, and it was not until age 53 that he emerged from his scholarly isolation, receiving the recognition of the court with his appointment to the Hanlin Academy. He stayed there for only three years and then retired to produce his best-known works. He was expert at the

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

2046 I Wenceslas ► Weser River

four major styles of calligraphy: seal, official, regular, and “running.” In all his paintings there is a spirit of studied antiquarianism and cautious consideration. In technique, Wen Zhengming’s paintings range from the highly detailed to the more freely washed. Along with his teacher, Shen Zhou, he was a leading figure of the Wu school of scholar-artists.

Wenceslas (b. Feb. 26, 1361, Nurnberg—d. Aug. 16, 1419, Prague) King of Bohemia (as Wenceslas IV, 1363-96) and German king and Holy Roman emperor (1378-1400). The son of the emperor Charles IV, he was a weak ruler whose reign was plagued by wars and princely rivalries. He spent most of his time in Prague to the detriment of Germany, which suf¬ fered a decade of anarchy until peace was established by the Diet at Eger (1389). He was deposed by rebellious princes in 1400.

Wenceslas Vwen-so-.slosX I (b. 1205—d. Sept. 23, 1253) King of Bohe¬ mia (1230-53). He prevented Mongol armies from attacking Bohemia in 1241 but could not defend Moravia. He gained control of Austria and forced the Austrian estates to accept his son Premysl Otakar II as their duke in 1251. Bohemia prospered under his reign, and an influx of Ger¬ man colonists and craftsmen enriched the country.

Wenceslas II (b. Sept. 17, 1271—d. June 21, 1305) King of Bohemia (1278-1305). He inherited the throne from his father at age seven, but his cousin Otto IV of Brandenburg served as his regent until 1283. Wenceslas gained full control of the country only after suppressing a dissident fac¬ tion and executing his ambitious stepfather in 1290. A capable ruler who extended the boundaries of his kingdom, he annexed most of Upper Sile¬ sia and occupied Krakow (1291). He became king of Poland in 1300 but declined to become king of Hungary in 1301, instead placing his son Wenceslas on the Hungarian throne (1301-04).

Wend Any member of a group of Slavic tribes that by the 5th century ad had settled in the area between the Oder and Elbe rivers in what is now eastern Germany. They occupied the eastern borders of the domain of the Franks and other Germanic peoples. From the 6th century the Franks warred sporadically against the Wends; under Charlemagne in the early 9th century they began a campaign to subjugate the Wends and forcibly convert them to Christianity. German annexation of Wendish territories began in 929 but collapsed during a Wendish rebellion in 983. A German Crusade against the Wends in 1147, authorized by the church and led by Henry the Lion, inflicted great loss of life. The Wends thereafter offered little opposition to German colonization of the Elbe-Oder region; them¬ selves enserfed, they were gradually assimilated by the Germans, except for a minority in the traditional region of Lusatia (in eastern Germany) who are now known as Sorbs.

Wenders Wen-dors \, Wim orig. Ernst Wilhelm Wenders (b.

Aug. 14, 1945, Diisseldorf, Ger.) German film director. He directed short films from 1967 and made features from 1973, including Alice in the Cit¬ ies (1974) and Kings of the Road (1976), which explored themes of alien¬ ation and anxiety that are typical of Wenders’s work. He won acclaim in the U.S. for Paris, Texas (1984) and Wings of Desire (1987). He later directed Far Away, So Close (1993), Lisbon Story (1994), The End of Vio¬ lence (1997), and the documentary Buena Vista Social Club (1999).

Wendi or Wen Ti \'won-'de\ Chinese god of literature. His chief heav¬ enly task is to keep a register of men of letters so that he can mete out rewards and punishments to each according to merit. He had 17 reincar¬ nations, during the ninth of which he appealed on earth as Zhang Ya. His writing earned him canonization during the Tang dynasty.

Wendi or Wen-ti Vw3n-'de\ orig. Liu Heng (b. 203 bc, China—d. 157 bc, China) Fourth emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty. His long reign (180-157 bc) was one of good government and peaceful consolidation of power. Under his rule, China’s economy prospered and its population expanded. To later ages Wendi epitomized the virtues of frugality and benevolence in a Chinese ruler.

Wendi or Wen-ti orig. Yang Jian (b. 541, China—d. 604, China) Founder of the Chinese Sui dynasty, which reunified China after centuries of instability. He was born into a powerful family in northern China, an area controlled by the non-Chinese Northern Zhou dynasty (557-81). When the Zhou emperor died unexpectedly, Wendi seized the throne, overcame his rivals, and in 581 proclaimed the Sui dynasty. Intending to build a strong, centralized state, he designed a huge new capital at Chang 7 an and attacked entrenched local interests. Families with heredi¬ tary local power were replaced with officials selected by examination, who were forbidden to serve in the areas from which they came and were

rotated frequently. Wendi conquered the dynasties of southern China and broke the power of the Turkish empires in Turkistan and Mongolia. He put the equal-field system into practice and produced a new legal code. His government brought in tax revenues and maintained price-regulating gra¬ naries. In old age he became deeply involved with Buddhism, building shrines and dedicating relics. See also Yang Di.

Wentworth, Thomas See Thomas Wentworth, 1st earl of Strafford

Wenwang or Wen-wang Vwon-'warjX or Xibo (fl. 12th century bc, China) Father of Wuwang (founder of the Zhou dynasty) and one of the sage rulers regarded by Confucian historians as a model king. He is tra¬ ditionally credited as author of the divination formulas of the Yijing [I ching), which he is supposed to have written during his imprisonment by the last ruler of the Shang dynasty. See also Confucianism; Five Classics.

Wenzel Anton, prince von Kaunitz \'kau-nits\ -Rietberg (b.

Feb. 2, 1711, Vienna, Austria—d. June 27, 1794, Vienna) Austrian state chancellor (1753-92). He entered the Austrian foreign service in 1740 and was responsible for the foreign policy of the Habsburg monarchy, serv¬ ing Maria Theresa and her successors. He represented Austria at the 1748 Aix-la-Chapelle peace conference and was ambassador to Paris (1750- 52). A lifelong enemy of Prussia, he managed to reverse Austria’s alli¬ ances during the Seven Years 7 War, bringing France and Russia into the Habsburg orbit and isolating Prussia. The French Revolution terminated the system of alliances he had created, and he resigned in 1792.

werewolf In European folklore, a man who changes into a wolf at night and devours animals, people, or corpses, returning to human form by day. Some werewolves are thought to change shape at will; others, who inherited the condition or acquired it by being bitten by a werewolf, are transformed involuntarily under the influence of a full moon. Belief in werewolves is found throughout the world and was especially common in 16th-century France. Humans who believe they are wolves suffer from a mental disorder called lycanthropy.

Werner Vver-norN, Abraham Gottlob (b. Sept. 25, 1750,

Wehrau, Saxony—d. June 30, 1817,

Freiberg) German geologist. In opposition to the Plutonists, or Vulcanists, who argued that granite and many other rocks were of igneous origin, he founded the Neptunist school, which proclaimed that all rocks resulted from precipitation from oceans that had, he theorized, once completely covered the Earth. He rejected uniformitarianism. His brilliant lecturing and personal charm won him many students, who, though many eventually discarded his theories, would not renounce them while Werner lived.

Wertheimer Vvert-.hl-morX, Max (b. April 15, 1880, Prague, Czech.—d. Oct. 12, 1943, New Rochelle, N.Y., U.S.) German psycholo¬ gist. He taught at the Universities of Frankfurt and Berlin (1916-29) before immigrating to the U.S. to teach at the New School for Social Research (1933-43). With Wolfgang Kohler and Kurt Kofifka (1886-1941), he was instrumental in establishing Gestalt psychology. Much of his work dealt with perception, though he also explored thinking and problem solving. His Productive Thinking was published posthumously in 1945.

Wertmuller Vvert-.mii-brV Lina orig. Arcangela Wertmuller von Elgg (b. Aug. 14, 1928, Rome, Italy) Italian film director. After working as a puppeteer and stage actress and director, she became an assistant to Federico Fellini and began writing and directing her own films in 1963. She achieved international fame with The Seduction of Mimi (1972), a satire on sexual hypocrisy, and Love and Anarchy (1972). Her most controversial works were the witty Swept Away (1974) and the mor¬ ally ambiguous Seven Beauties (1976), about a man scrabbling to survive in a Nazi concentration camp. Her later movies, including Ciao, Profes- sore (1994), were less successful.

Weser River Vva-Z3r\ River, western Germany. Formed by the union of the Fulda and Werra rivers at Miinden, it flows northward into the North Sea through a large estuary. It is 273 mi (440 km) long. There are several hydroelectric dams on the Weser, and it is linked with numerous canals.

Lon Chaney, Jr., as a werewolf in The Wolf Man (1941).

COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES; PHOTOGRAPH, LINCOLN CENTER LIBRARY OF THE PERFORMING ARTS, NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Wesley ► West Indies I 2047

Wesley, John (1703-1791) Anglican clergyman, evangelist, and cofounder of Methodism. The 15th child of a former Nonconformist min¬ ister, he graduated from Oxford University and became a priest in the Church of England in 1728. From 1729 he participated in a religious study group in Oxford organized by his brother Charles (1707-1788), its mem¬ bers being dubbed the “Methodists” for their emphasis on methodical study and devotion. Its numbers grew, and it began to undertake social and charitable activities. After a largely unsuccessful mission to the North American colony of Georgia (1735-37), they returned to London, where they came under the influence of the Moravian Church. In 1738, inspired by the theology of Martin Luther, both men had a religious experience that convinced them that salvation was possible through faith alone. Zealous evangelists, they had great success in preaching to the masses in the suc¬ ceeding decades. In 1784 John began ordaining ministers himself when the bishop of London refused to do so (despite Charles’s disapproval) and declared his independence from the Church of England. The two wrote several thousand hymns, including “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” and “Christ the Lord Is Ris’n Today.”

Wesleyan University Private university in Middletown, Conn. It was founded in 1831 by Methodists, who named the institution for John Wesley. Its formal ties to the Methodist church ended in 1937. Wesleyan offers 50 major fields of undergraduate and graduate study, including roughly one dozen master’s and doctoral programs in music and sciences. Campus facilities include centres for African American and East Asian studies, an astronomical observatory, and the Center for Humanities and Arts.

Wessex Ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, southern England. Its area approximated that of the counties of Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, Somer¬ set, Berkshire, and Avon. Its capital was Winchester. The kingdom is tra¬ ditionally thought to have been founded by Saxon invaders of Britain c. 494. Wessex conquered Kent and Sussex, and in the 9th century, under King Alfred the Great, it prevented the Danes from conquering England south of the Danelaw. By 927 Wessex had reconquered the Danelaw, and Alfred’s grandson, Athelstan, had become king of all England; thereafter all kings of Wessex were kings of England. The region figures promi¬ nently in legends of King Arthur (see Arthurian legend), and the designa¬ tion “Wessex” was used by Thomas Hardy to represent the region of southwestern England in which he set his works of fiction.

West, Benjamin (b. Oct. 10, 1738, near Springfield, Pa.—d. March 11, 1820, London, Eng.) U.S.-British painter. After studying painting in his native Philadelphia, he established himself as a portraitist in New York City. He sailed to Italy in 1760 and visited most of its art centres before settling in London in 1763. The patronage of George III freed him of the need to paint portraits for a living, and he became known for historical, religious, and mythological subjects. His Death of General Wolfe (1771) aroused controversy for its depiction of modem dress rather than the flowing robes expected in a history painting, but it was one of his most popular works. He never returned to the U.S., but through such pupils and followers as Washington Allston, Gilbert Stuart, Charles Willson Peale, and John Singleton Copley he exerted considerable influence on the devel¬ opment of U.S. art in the 19th century.

West, Jerry in full Jerome Alan West (b. May 28, 1938, Cheylan, W.Va., U.S.) U.S. basketball player, coach, and manager. As a sharp¬ shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers (1960-74), he compiled a career scoring average of 27 points and earned the nickname “Mr. Clutch.” As the Lakers’ head coach (1976-79), he led them to 145 wins and 101 losses. He later became the team’s general manager and executive vice president and contributed to the team’s eight NBA titles between 1980 and 2002. In 2002 he joined the front office of the Memphis Grizzlies.

West, Mae (b. Aug. 17, 1892/93, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.—d. Nov. 22, 1980, Los Angeles, Calif.) U.S. film actress. She performed with a Brook¬ lyn stock company around 1901, and by 1907 she had become a performer on the national vaudeville circuit. She made her Broadway debut as a singer and dancer in 1911. In 1926 she began to write, produce, and star in her own Broadway plays, including the sensation-creating Sex (1926), Diamond Lil (1928), and The Constant Sinner (1931), productions that mired her in legal battles. Her frank sensuality, regal postures, and sug¬ gestive wisecracks became her trademarks in popular movies such as She Done Him Wrong (1933), Belle of the Nineties (1934), I’m No Angel (1933), and My Little Chickadee (1940). In World War II Allied soldiers called their inflatable life jackets “Mae Wests” in honour of her hourglass

figure. Her films were revived in the 1960s, and she appeared in Myra Breckenridge (1970) and Sextette (1979).

West, Nathanael orig. Nathan Weinstein (b. Oct. 17,1903, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. Dec. 22, 1940, near El Centro, Calif.) U.S. writer. He attended Brown University and was supporting himself as a hotel manager, giving free or low-rent rooms to struggling fellow writers, when he wrote the novella Miss Lonelyhearts (1933), about an advice colum¬ nist whose attempts to solace his correspondents end in ironic defeat. A Cool Million (1934) mocks the American dream as popularized by Hor¬ atio Alger. His last novel. The Day of the Locust (1939), depicts the sav¬ agery lurking beneath the Hollywood dream. Though not widely read until after his death in an auto accident at age 37, West is now considered a major American novelist.

West, Dame Rebecca orig. Cicily Isabel Fairfield (b. Dec. 21, 1892, London, Eng.—d. March 15, 1983, London) British journalist, nov¬ elist, and critic. Trained as an actress, from 1911 West contributed to the left-wing press and made a name as a fighter for woman suffrage. She had a 10-year love affair (1913-23) with the novelist H.G. Wells. Her novels, including The Judge (1922), The Thinking Reed (1936), and The Birds Fall Down (1966), attracted less attention than her social and cultural writings. Her admired reports on the NOrnberg trials were collected in A Train of Powder (1955). Her history of Yugoslavia, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon (1942), is regarded as one of the century’s finest nonfiction works. In 1946 she reported on the trial for treason of William Joyce, articles that were later published as The Meaning of Treason (1949).

West Atlantic languages See Atlantic languages

West Bank Area (pop., 2002 est.: 2,414,000), Palestine, west of the Jor¬ dan River and east of Jerusalem. Covering an area of about 2,270 sq mi (5,900 sq km), excluding east Jerusalem, the territory is also known within Israel by its biblical names, Judaea and Samaria. It is a region with deep history, forming the heart of historic Palestine. Populated areas include Nabulus, Hebron, Bethlehem, and Jericho. Under a 1947 UN agreement, most of what is now the West Bank was to become part of a Palestinian state. When the State of Israel was formed, the Arabs attacked Israel (see Arab-Israeu wars), and the partition plan was never adopted. Following a truce, Jordan remained in control of the area and annexed it in 1950. Israel subsequently occupied it during the Six- Day War of 1967. During the 1970s and ’80s Israel established settlements there, provoking resentment among the Arab population and protest from the international community. Arab uprisings began in 1987 in the Gaza Strip and spread to the West Bank (see intifadah). Jordan relinquished its claims in 1988, ceding them to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Secret meetings between the PLO and Israel in 1993 led to an end of violence and an agreement granting Palestinian self-rule in parts of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Further negotiations to resolve outstanding issues proceeded intermit¬ tently in the 1990s but broke down amid renewed violence in late 2000.

West Bengal State (pop., 2001 prelim.: 80,221,171), northeastern India. It is bordered by Nepal and Bangladesh and the states of Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim, Assam, and Meghalaya and has an area of 34,267 sq mi (88,752 sq km); the capital is Kolkata (Calcutta). It encompasses two broad natural regions, the Gangetic Plain in the south and the Hima¬ layas in the north. From the 3rd century bc it formed part of Ashoka’s empire. In the 4th century ad it was absorbed into the Gupta empire. From the 13th century it was under Muslim rule, until it came under the Brit¬ ish in 1757. At Indian independence in 1947, it was partitioned, with the eastern sector becoming East Pakistan (later Bangladesh) and the west¬ ern sector becoming India’s West Bengal. The state is important for its mineral output, but agriculture is its main economic activity. It is noted for its artistic endeavours, including filmmaking.

West Florida Controversy Dispute over status of American terri¬ tory in a region on the Gulf of Mexico between the Apalachicola and Mississippi rivers. First claimed by Spain in 1492, it was occupied by France as part of Louisiana after 1695, then passed under various treaties to Britain (1763) and Spain (1783). The U.S. claimed it as part of the Louisiana Purchase (1803), and American frontiersmen rebelled against Spanish control in 1810. Under the Transcontinental Treaty of 1819, Spain ceded all claim to West Florida, and it became part of the U.S. in 1821.

West Indies Islands, enclosing the Caribbean Sea. Lying between southeastern North America and northern South America, they may be divided into the following groups: the Greater Antilles, including Cuba,

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

2048 I West Midlands ► Western Hemisphere

Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and Puerto Rico; the Lesser Antilles, including the Virgin Islands, Windward Islands, Leeward Islands, Barbados, and the islands in the southern Caribbean Sea north of Venezuela (generally considered to include Trinidad and Tobago); and the Bahamas. Although physiographically not a part of the West Indies, Ber¬ muda is often included.

West Midlands Metropolitan county (pop., 2001: 2,555,596), west- central England. Its main centre is Birmingham. From 1974 to 1986 West Midlands was an administrative metropolitan county; in 1986 its admin¬ istrative functions were dispersed, and it is now a geographic and cer¬ emonial county without administrative authority. Early settlement was sparse until Saxon colonists arrived; Coventry was the region’s only sig¬ nificant town by the late 14th century. Small metalworking industries began in Birmingham in the 16th century, and by the 18th century the area’s coalfields were important for ironworking. Many of the West Mid¬ lands’ traditional metallurgical and manufacturing industries persisted into the 21st century, alongside the growth of electrical engineering and the manufacture of motor vehicles, aircraft, and synthetic fibres. The West Midlands name is also applied to the western portions of the Midlands region comprising Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire; this combined area constitutes one of England’s so-called standard regions.

West Nile virus Virus, belonging to the family Flaviviridae, that can cause encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). West Nile is predominantly a fatal infection of birds but can be transmitted to humans by mosquitoes. Most human infections are inapparent or mild, causing a flu-like illness that lasts only a few days. A minority develop encephalitis, characterized by headache, fever, neck stiffness, and muscle weakness, that has proved fatal in some cases. There is no cure. In severe cases, intensive medical care, involving intravenous fluids and respiratory support, is necessary. The virus was originally confined to Africa, the Middle East, and South¬ east Asia but has spread to Europe and North America.

West Point See United States Military Academy West River See Xi River

West Sussex Administrative county (pop., 2001: 753,612), southeast¬ ern England. It borders the English Channel, and its administrative centre is Chichester. There is evidence of settlements dating from prehistoric times in the region. A dynasty of British chieftains was in the area just before the Roman invasion. After the Romans left, Saxon invaders con¬ quered Sussex in the late 5th century. They were overcome by the peoples of neighbouring Wessex and later by the Normans, who built castles and monasteries. Since the beginning of the 14th century, the growth of sea¬ side resorts has been important in the development of the area’s coast; inland, much of it remains rural.

West Virginia State (pop., 2000: 1,808,344), east-central U.S. It cov¬ ers an area of 24,232 sq mi (62,760 sq km); its capital is Charleston. West Virginia is bordered by Pennsylvania to the north, Maryland and Virginia to the east, Kentucky to the southwest, and Ohio to the northwest. The Ohio River forms a large section of the upper western boundary, while the Potomac River forms a section of the northern boundary. The Great Kanawha, Little Kanawha, Monongahela, and Shenandoah rivers cross the state. West Virginia is crossed by the Appalachian Mountains and is generally rugged land. The highest elevation is Spruce Knob (4,861 ft [1,482 m]). Long occupied by Indian hunters, it was home to the Adena, or Mound Builders, who left archaeological traces. They were succeeded by the Iroquois and the Cherokee. The first permanent white settlement was in the 1730s. The English controlled the region during the 1750s and 1760s. Though eastern Virginia was rapidly settled, the western area’s rugged terrain restricted settlement there. After the American Revolution, largely nonslaving settlers moved west; they grew dissatisfied with the Virginia government. With the outbreak of the American Civil War, resi¬ dents from western Virginia voted against the ordinance of secession in 1861. In 1863 West Virginia was admitted to the Union as the 35th state. Its industrial emergence, encouraged by railroad expansion, began in the 1870s when its natural resources, including coal and gas, contributed to the growth of the U.S. In the 20th century, recreation and tourism became an increasingly important part of the state’s economy.

West Yorkshire Metropolitan county (pop., 2001: 2,079,217), north¬ ern England. Its main cities are Wakefield and Leeds. From 1974 to 1986 West Yorkshire was an administrative unit; in 1986 the metropolitan

county lost its administrative powers, and its constituent boroughs became autonomous unitary authorities. Anglo-Saxons and Scandinavians from the east established the first settlements. While baronial power was strong in the medieval period, anarchic conditions often prevailed, and the area was the site of several 15th-century battles. In the same period, the wool textile industry developed. In the 18th and 19th centuries, abundant water¬ power, and later steam power based on locally mined coal, stimulated factory-based industry. Worsted and woolen industries remain important, while an engineering industry has developed. Leeds, the area’s largest city, is a major commercial and cultural centre.

western Genre of novels and short stories, motion pictures, and televi¬ sion and radio shows set in the American West, usually during 1850-1900, when the area was opened to white settlement. Though basically an Ameri¬ can creation, it has counterparts in the gaucho literature of Argentina and in tales of the settlement of the Australian Outback. Conflicts between white pioneers and Native Americans and between cattle ranchers and fence¬ building farmers form two basic themes. Cowboys, the town sheriff, and the U.S. marshal are staple figures, and lawlessness and gun violence are standard. Owen Wister’s The Virginian (1902) is regarded as the seminal western novel; the popularity of the genre peaked in the early and middle decades of the 20th century and declined somewhat thereafter.

Western Australia State (pop., 2001: 1,906,114), western Australia. Covering 976,790 sq mi (2,529,880 sq km), it constitutes one-third of the continent’s area but has less than one-tenth of Australia’s population; its capital is Perth. The extensive interior region has three deserts: Great Sandy, Gibson, and Great Victoria. The coast along the Timor Sea and Indian Ocean has only a few good harbours; notable inlets are Joseph Bonaparte and Exmouth gulfs. Australian Aboriginal peoples have occu¬ pied Western Australia for about 40,000 years. The western coast was first visited in 1616 by the Dutch; it was later explored by Englishman Wil¬ liam Dampier in 1688 and 1699. In 1829 Capt. James Stirling led the first group of settlers there to establish Australia’s first nonconvict colony. The discovery of gold in 1886 prompted a movement for constitutional autonomy, which was granted in 1890. In 1900 it was the last state to ratify the newly constituted Commonwealth of Australia. Initially it suf¬ fered from slow growth, but since 1960 its economy, fueled by agricul¬ ture and mining (notably of hydrocarbons), has been expanding.

Western Dvina River Russian Zapadnaya Vza-pod-no-yoV Dvina Latvian Daugava Vdau-g3-v3\ River, north-central Europe. It rises in Russia’s Valdai Hills and flows 632 mi (1,020 km) in a great arc south through Russia and into Belarus and then northwest across Latvia. It discharges into the Gulf of Riga on the Baltic Sea. An important water route since early times, connected in its upper reaches by easy portages to the Dnieper, Volga, and Lovat-Volkhov river systems, it constituted part of the great trade route from the Baltic region to Byzantium and to the Arabic east. Rapids and the presence of dams have restricted navigation on it.

Western Electric Co. Inc. Former U.S. telecommunications company. Founded in 1869 by Elisha Gray and Enos N. Barton, the firm was incor¬ porated in Chicago, Ill., in 1872 as the Western Electric Manufacturing Co. It manufactured a series of new products, including the world’s first commercial typewriters and incandescent lamps. Bell Telephone bought a controlling interest in the company in 1881; the next year it was rein¬ corporated as Western Electric Co., becoming part of the Bell System (see AT&T Inc.). It became a major manufacturer of telephone equipment and communications satellites, in addition to producing radar and missile sys¬ tems. In 1983, with the breakup of AT&T, the company was dissolved as a separate subsidiary and became part of AT&T Technologies (renamed Lucent Technologies).

Western European Union (WEU) Association of 10 European countries to coordinate matters of European security and defense. The WEU was formed in 1955 as an outgrowth of the Brussels Treaty of 1948. Composed of Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Britain, it works in cooperation with NATO and the European Union and is administered by a council of the foreign affairs and defense ministers of the member countries. There are also several associate members, observers, and associate partners. It is headquartered in Brussels.

Western Hemisphere Part of Earth comprising North and South America and the surrounding waters. Longitudes 20° W and 160° E are often considered its boundaries.

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Western Indian bronze ► Westminster Abbey I 2049

Western Indian bronze Style of metal sculpture that flourished in India from the 6th to the 12th cen¬ tury and later, mainly in the area of modern Gujarat and Rajasthan states.

Most of the bronzes are associated with Jainism; they include represen¬ tations of saviour figures and ritual objects such as incense burners and lamp bearers. Most are small, as they were intended for private worship.

They were made by lost-wax casting, and the eyes and ornaments are fre¬ quently inlaid with silver and gold.

Western Isles See Hebrides Islands

Western Ontario, University

of Public university in London,

Ontario, Canada, founded in 1878. It has faculties of applied health sci¬ ences, arts, business administration, dentistry, education, engineering, graduate studies, journalism, law, library science, medicine, music, nursing, science, and social science as well as a graduate school of jour¬ nalism.

Western Reserve Tract of land, northeastern Ohio, U.S. Located on the southern shore of Lake Erie, it formed part of the western lands of Connecticut not surrendered to Congress in 1786. It covered about 3,500,000 ac (1,417,500 ha) and was sold in part to immigrants from Connecticut (1786-1800). Ceded in 1800 to Ohio, it was later divided into several counties.

Western Sahara formerly Spanish Sahara Territory, North Africa. Area: 97,344 sq mi (252,120 sq km). Population (2002 est.): 256,000. Capital: Laayoune. Little is known of the area’s prehistory, though rock engravings in southern locations suggest a succession of nomadic groups. In the 4th century bc there was trade across the Medi¬ terranean Sea between the region and Europe; this did not last, and there was little European contact until the 19th century. In 1884 Spain claimed a protectorate over the Rio de Oro region. Boundary agreements with France were concluded in 1900 and 1912. Spain formally united the area’s northern and southern parts into the overseas province of the Spanish Sahara in 1958. In 1976 Spain relinquished its claim. The region then was divided between Mauritania, which relinquished its claim in 1979, and Morocco, which later occupied the whole territory. Separatists of the Polisario movement, based in Algeria, declared a government-in-exile called the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic in 1976; the issue of West¬ ern Sahara’s status remained unresolved, remained unresolved.Western Sahara has vast phosphate deposits and some potash and iron ore.

Western Samoa See Samoa

Western Scheldt or Westerschelde Vves-tor-.skel-doN Estuary, southwestern Netherlands. An inlet of the North Sea at the mouth of the Schelde River, it flows west for about 30 mi (50 km) through the Delta Islands to the North Sea. It has been an important transportation route since the 16th century, when Holy Roman Emperor Charles V designated Vussingen as his port of embarkation from the Netherlands. It continues to operate as an important shipping route to many destinations, including Antwerp.

Western Schism See Western Schism

Western Union Former U.S. telegraph company and contemporary provider of electronic financial transactions. From its foundation in 1851 as a company formed to build a telegraph line from Buffalo, N.Y., to St. Louis, Mo., in 1856 the expanding business was reorganized as the West¬ ern Union Telegraph Co. By the end of 1861 Western Union had built the first transcontinental telegraph line. The company introduced singing tele¬ grams in 1933. Western Union continued to grow, absorbing competitors such as Postal Telegraph Inc. in 1943. As telegraphy was superseded by other methods of telecommunication, Western Union diversified into tele¬ typewriter services, money orders, and mailgrams. It launched the tele¬

communications satellite Westar 1 in 1974 and was operating five satellites by 1982. In 1988 the company was reorganized as Western Union Corp. to handle money transfers and related services. After declar¬ ing bankruptcy in 1993, it sold its financial services arm in 1994 to First Financial Management Corp., and in 1995 that company merged with First Data Corp. The renamed Western Union Financial Services, Inc., became a world leader in electronic (including Internet) transactions.

Western Wall or Wailing Wall Place of prayer in the Old City of Jerusalem sacred to the Jewish people. It is the only remnant of the Sec¬ ond Temple of Jerusalem. Because it now forms part of a larger area— known as the Temple Mount by Jews and as al-Haram al-Sharlf by Muslims—surrounding the Muslim Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque, the two groups have often vied for control of it. When Israel captured the Old City in the Six- Day War (1967), the Jews once more gained authority over the site.

Westernizers See Slavophiles and Westernizers Westerschelde See Western Scheldt

Westinghouse, George (b. Oct. 6, 1846, Central Bridge, N.Y., U.S.—d. March 12,1914, New York,

N.Y.) U.S. inventor and industrialist.

He served in the American Civil War.

His first major invention was an air brake (patented 1869), which was eventually made compulsory on all American trains. He developed a railway signaling system and later introduced many innovations in pip¬ ing natural gas. His major achieve¬ ment was the adoption by the U.S. of alternating current (AC) for electric power transmission. The electrical system being developed in the U.S. in the 1880s used direct current (DC), though AC systems were being developed in Europe. Westinghouse purchased the patents for Nikola Tes¬ la’s AC motor and hired Tesla to improve and modify the motor for use in his power system. In 1886 he incorporated the predecessor of Westinghouse Electric Corp. He eventu¬ ally prevailed over powerful opposition from advocates of DC power, and in 1893 his company was hired to light the World’s Columbian Exposi¬ tion at Chicago. He also obtained the rights to develop the great falls of the Niagara River with AC generators. See also electric current.

Westinghouse Electric Corp. U.S. television and radio broadcast¬ ing company, formerly an electrical equipment manufacturer. It was founded in 1886 as the Westinghouse Electric Co. by George Westing¬ house to make and sell alternating-current electrical systems. The com¬ pany became a major supplier to the electric-utility industry, producing machinery used to generate and distribute electricity. It adopted the name Westinghouse Electric Corp. in 1945. After World War II Westinghouse also manufactured nuclear reactors and defense electronics. In the 1990s it bought television and radio stations throughout the U.S., including the television network CBS Inc. in 1995 and Infinity Broadcasting Corp. in 1996. After selling its defense electronics unit to Northrop Grumman Corp. in 1996, the company changed its name to CBS Corp. in 1997 and sold its nuclear operations to British Nuclear Fuels PLC in 1998. CBS was purchased by media conglomerate Viacom Inc. in 1999 and renamed CBS Television Network.

Westminster, Statute of (1931) Parliamentary statute that effected the equality of Britain and the then-dominions of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, and Newfoundland. It confirmed declara¬ tions made at British imperial conferences in 1926 and 1930 that the self- governing dominions were to be regarded as “autonomous communities within the British Empire.” United in their allegiance to the crown, the countries individually controlled their own domestic and foreign affairs as equal members of the British Commonwealth of Nations.

Westminster Abbey Church in London. It was originally a Bene¬ dictine monastery. Edward the Confessor built a Norman-style church (consecrated 1065) on the site of an older church there; this was pulled

Rsabhanatha, Western Indian bronze from Chahardi, western Khandesh, Maharashtra state, 9th century ad; in a private collection.

P. CHANDRA

Westinghouse

COURTESY OF WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CORPORATION

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

2050 I Westminster Confession ► whaling

down in 1245 by Henry Ill (except for the nave) and replaced with the present Gothic-style abbey church. The rebuilding of the nave was begun by 1376 and continued intermittently until Tudor times. The chapel of Henry VII (begun c. 1503) is noted for its exquisite fan vaulting. Eliza¬ beth I refounded the church as the Collegiate Church of St. Peter in West¬ minster (1560). The western towers (1745), by Nicholas Hawksmoor and John James, were the last addition. Every British sovereign since Will¬ iam the Conqueror has been crowned in the abbey except Edward V and Edward VIII. Many are also buried there, and it is crowded with the tombs and memorials to other famous Britons. Part of the southern transept is known as the Poets’ Corner, while the northern transept has memorials to statesmen.

Westminster Confession Confession of faith of English-speaking Presbyterians, representing a theological consensus of international Cal¬ vinism. Produced by the Westminster Assembly, it was completed in 1646 and approved by Parliament in 1648. When the monarchy was restored in 1660, the episcopal form of church government was reinstated and the Confession lost official status in England, but it had already been adopted by the Church of Scotland (1647) and various other churches. Consisting of 33 chapters, it states that the sole doctrinal authority is scripture, restates the doctrines of the Holy Trinity and Jesus, and gives reformed views of the sacraments, the ministry, and grace. See also Presbyterianism.

Weston, Edward (b. March 24, 1886, Highland Park, Ill., U.S.—d. Jan. 1, 1958, Carmel, Calif.) U.S. photographer. A camera enthusiast from boyhood, Weston began his professional career by opening a por¬ trait studio in Glendale, Calif. His early work was in the style of the Pictorialists, photographers who imi¬ tated Impressionist paintings. In 1915 Weston saw an exhibition of modern art that inspired him to renounce his former work: he began to create sharp and realistic pictures that con¬ vey the beauty of natural objects through skillful composition and subtleties of tone, light, and texture.

After traveling and meeting luminar¬ ies such as Alfred Stieglitz and Diego Rivera, in 1927 Weston made a series of monumental close-ups of sea- shells, peppers, and halved cabbages, bringing out the rich textures of their sculpturelike forms. Two years later he made the first of many photo¬ graphs of the rocks and trees on Point Lobos, Calif. In 1936 Weston began a series of photographs of nudes and sand dunes at Oceano, Calif., which are often considered his finest work. After being stricken by Parkinson disease, Weston realized he would soon be unable to work. He made his last photographs on Point Lobos in 1948. He is considered one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century.

Westphalia Former province of Prussia, now part of Germany. It com¬ prises (with the former state of Lippe) the present German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and parts of the states of Lower Saxony and Hesse. Settled by Saxons called Westphalians c. ad 700, Westphalia was created a duchy (1180), which for several centuries was administered for the archbishop of Cologne. The Peace of Westphalia (1648) was signed at Monster. In 1807 Napoleon created for his brother, Jerome Bonaparte, the kingdom of Westphalia; its capital was Kassel. Reorganized by the Con¬ gress of Vienna in 1815, it became a province of Prussia in 1816, with its capital at Munster. Its cities suffered severe bombings in World War II.

Westphalia, Peace of (1648) European settlements that ended the Thirty Years' War, negotiated in the Westphalian towns of Munster and Osnabriick. The deliberations began in 1644 and ended in 1648 with two assemblies that produced the treaty between Spain and the Dutch (signed January 30) and another between Emperor Ferdinand III, the other German princes, France, and Sweden (signed October 24). Territorial changes gave Sweden control of the Baltic Sea, ensured France a firm frontier west of the Rhine River, and provided their allies with additional lands. Indepen¬ dence was confirmed for the United Provinces of the Netherlands and for the Swiss Confederation. The treaties also confirmed the Peace of Augs¬ burg and extended the religious toleration of Lutherans to include tolera¬

tion of the Reformed (Calvinist) Church. The Holy Roman Empire was forced to recognize its German princes as absolute sovereigns in their own dominions, which greatly weakened its central authority.

Wetar Vwe-,tar\ Island, Indonesia. Lying 35 mi (56 km) north of East Timor, it is 80 mi (130 km) long, 28 mi (45 km) wide, and has an area of 1,400 sq mi (3,600 sq km). In its interior, rugged mountains covered with tropical rain forests rise to 4,632 ft (1,412 m). Subsistence farming and fishing are the main occupations of the few islanders.

Weyden Vvi-d 3 n, 'va-d 3 n\, Rogier van der (b. 1399/1400, Tournai, France—d. June 18, 1464, Brussels) Flemish painter. He seems to have begun his painting career at the rather advanced age of 27, when he entered the studio of Robert Campin. In early paintings he combined Camp- in’s bold style with the elegance and subtle visual refinements he admired in the art of Jan van Eyck. By 1435 he moved to Brussels and the next year was appointed city painter. During that period (c. 1435—40) he executed the celebrated panel of the Descent from the Cross for the chapel of the Archers’ Guild of Louvain. His international reputation grew, his work being particularly admired in Italy. Though most of his work was religious, he produced secular paintings (now lost) and some sensitive portraits. His art affected generations of Flemish artists and introduced the Flemish style throughout Europe.

Weyerhaeuser YwI-or-.hau-zorV Frederick orig. Friedrich Weyerhaeuser (b. Nov. 21, 1834, Nieder Saulheim, Hesse—d. April 4, 1914, Pasadena, Calif., U.S.) German-bom U.S. lumber magnate. He immigrated to the U.S. at age 18 and found work in an Illinois sawmill, which he and his brother-in-law bought in 1857. He traveled constantly to buy stands of timber and acquired an interest in many logging and milling operations. In 1872 he organized the Mississippi River Boom and Logging Co., a huge confederation that handled all the logs milled on the Mississippi. In 1900 he bought 900,000 acres of timberland in the Pacific Northwest and founded the Weyerhaeuser Timber Co. (now Weyerhaeu¬ ser Co.), centred in Tacoma, Wash. During his lifetime the company bought almost two million acres of land.

Weygand \va-'ga n \, Maxime (b. Jan. 21, 1867, Brussels, Belg.—d. Jan. 28, 1965, Paris, France) Belgian-born French army officer. He was educated in France and taught at the French cavalry school. He served as chief of staff to Gen. Ferdinand Foch (1914-23), as high commissioner in Syria (1923-24), and as inspector general of the army (1931-35) before retiring in 1935. In May 1940 he was recalled to take command of the French armies; unable to prevent a German victory, he advised capitula¬ tion in June. After the Allied invasion of North Africa (1942) he sought to fly to Algiers but was caught by the Germans and imprisoned in an Austrian castle. Released by U.S. troops in 1945, he was arrested by the French under the orders of Charles de Gaulle. He was exonerated by de Gaulle in 1948.

whale Any of dozens of species of exclusively aquatic mammals found in oceans, seas, rivers, and estuaries worldwide but especially numerous in the Antarctic Ocean. Whales are commonly distinguished from the smaller porpoises and dolphins and sometimes from narwhals, but they are all cetaceans. See also baleen whale; toothed whale.

whale shark Species (Rhincodon typus) of gigantic but harmless shark found worldwide but mainly in the tropics. The largest of living fishes, it often grows to about 30 ft (9 m) long and may reach twice that size. It is gray or brown with a pale undersurface and is distinctively marked with small spots and narrow vertical lines of yellow or white. It has tiny teeth, and eats plankton and small fishes. A sluggish animal, it generally swims slowly near the surface and has been hit by ships.

Whales, Bay of Former inlet of the Ross Sea, Ross Ice Shelf, Antarc¬ tica. It was first seen by the British explorer James C. Ross in 1842. The bay was the continent’s most southerly open harbour in summer and was the site of several important bases for Antarctic exploration. More than 10 mi (16 km) wide in 1911, it gradually narrowed as advancing ice sheets collided. It disappeared entirely in 1987 when an iceberg 99 mi (159 km) long broke off from the Ross Ice Shelf.

whaling Hunting of whales for food, oil, or both. Whaling dates to pre¬ historic times, when Arctic peoples used stone tools to hunt whales. They used the entire animal, a feat not accomplished by Western commercial whalers until the advent of floating factories in the 20th century. The Basque were the first Europeans to hunt whales commercially; when sea¬ worthy oceangoing vessels began to be made, they took to the open seas

Edward Weston at Point Lobos, Carmel Bay, Calif., 1945

IMOGEN CUNNINGHAM

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Wharton ► Whig Party i 2051

(14th—16th century). They were followed by the Dutch and the Germans in the 17th century and the British and their colonists in the 18th century. In 1712 the first sperm whale was killed; its oil proved more valuable than that of the right whale, which had hitherto been the object of whaling ven¬ tures. Whaling expeditions in pursuit of the free-ranging sperm whale could last for four years. The discovery of petroleum (1859), overfishing, the use of vegetable oil, and the substitution of steel for whalebones in corsets led to a steep decline in whaling in the later 19th century, but Nor¬ wegian innovations made hunting the hitherto “wrong” whales (rorquals, including the blue whale and the sei whale; so called because they sank when killed) commercially feasible, and the number of whales killed rose from under 2,000 to over 20,000 between 1900 and 1911. The Norwe¬ gians and the British dominated whaling into the mid 20th century, when overfishing again made it unprofitable for most nations, though not Japan and the Soviet Union, which became the chief whaling nations. Concern over the near extinction of many species led to the establishment in 1946 of the International Whaling Commission. Commercial whaling was pro¬ hibited altogether in 1986, but several nations refused to comply. At the beginning of the 21st century, Norway and Japan continued to hunt hun¬ dreds of nonendangered whales annually.

Wharton, Edith (Newbold) orig. Edith Newbold Jones (b.

Jan. 24, 1862, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. Aug. 11, 1937, Saint-Brice-sous- Foret, near Paris, France) U.S. novelist and short-story writer. Born into upper-class society, she began writing a few years after her marriage in 1885. She lived in France after 1908 and was divorced in 1913. Her works examine the barriers of social convention, especially in the upper class, that stand in the way of individual happiness. Her close friendship with the older novelist Henry James did much to support and shape her work. The critical and popular success of her novel The House of Mirth (1905; film, 1918, 2000; for television, 1981) established her as a leading writer. She is perhaps best known for Ethan Frome (1911), which exploits the grimmer possibilities of New England farm life. Her other books include the novels The Custom of the Country (1913), The Age of Innocence (1920, Pulitzer Prize), and The Buccaneers (1938).

wheat Any of various cereal grasses in the genus Triticum of the Poaceae (or Gramineae) family, one of the oldest and most important of the cereal crops. More of the world’s farmland is devoted to wheat than to any other food crop; China is the largest wheat producer. The plant has long, slen¬ der leaves, hollow stems in most varieties, and flowers grouped together in spikelets. Of the thousands of varieties known, the most important are T. aestivum, used to make bread; T. durum , used in making pasta; and T. compactum (club wheat), a softer type used for cake, crackers, cookies, pastries, and household flours. Winter wheat (sown in fall) and spring wheat (sown in spring or, where winters are mild, sometimes fall) are the two major types. The greatest portion of wheat flour is used for bread¬ making. Small quantities are used in the production of starch, malt, glu¬ ten, alcohol, and other products. Inferior and surplus wheats and various milling by-products are used for livestock feeds.

Wheatley, Phillis (b. c. 1753, present-day Senegal or The Gambia?, West Africa—d. Dec. 5, 1784, Boston, Mass., U.S.) African American poet and the first African American to publish a book. She was kidnapped, transported to America, and sold from a slave ship in 1761 to John Wheat- ley, a Boston merchant. The Wheatleys taught her to read and write English and Latin. At about age 14 she began writing poetry modeled on Alexander Pope and other Neoclassical writers. Her verse—exceptionally mature, if conventional, poetry that was largely concerned with morality and piety—attracted much attention. Poems on Various Subjects, Reli¬ gious and Moral (1773), published in England, spread her fame to Europe. Freed in 1773, she married a free black man in 1778. She worked as a servant in her final years and died in poverty.

wheel Circular frame of hard material capable of turning on an axle. Wheels may be solid, partly solid, or spoked. The oldest known wheel was a wooden disk of planks held together by crosspieces. A pottery wheel or turntable was developed c. 3500 bc in Mesopotamia. The spoked wheel appeared c. 2000 bc on chariots in Asia Minor. Later developments included iron hubs that turned on greased axles. Perhaps the most impor¬ tant invention in human history, the wheel was essential to developing civilizations, and has remained essential to power generation, transporta¬ tion, industrial manufacturing, and countless other applications.

wheel lock Device for igniting the powder in a firearm such as a mus¬ ket. Developed c. 1515, the wheel lock struck a spark to ignite powder in

the pan of a musket by means of a holder that pressed a shard of flint or a piece of iron pyrite against an iron wheel with a milled edge; the wheel rotated and sparks flew. The principle was used in the design of the flint- and-wheel cigarette lighter. See also flintlock.

whelk Any marine snail of the family Buccinidae, or a snail having a similar shell; found worldwide.

Some whelks are called conchs. The sturdy shell of most species in the family is slender and has a wide opening in the first whorl. The ani¬ mal feeds on other mollusks through its long proboscis; some species also kill fishes and crustaceans caught in commercial traps. Most are cold- water species; tropical species are smaller and more colourful. The common northern whelk ( Buccinum undatum ) has a stout pale shell about 3 in. (8 cm) long and is abundant in North Atlantic waters.

Whewell Vhyu-oL, William (b. May 24, 1794, Lancaster, Lanca¬ shire, Eng.—d. March 6, 1866, Cam¬ bridge, Cambridgeshire) British philosopher and historian. He spent most of his career at the University of Cambridge, where he taught min¬ eralogy (1828-32) and moral phi¬ losophy (1838-55) and served as college master (1841-66). He is remembered primarily for his work on the theory of induction. He stressed the need to see scientific progress as a historical process, asserting that inductive reasoning could be employed properly only if its use throughout history was closely analyzed. His major works on induction are History of the Inductive Sciences (3 vol., 1837) and Philosophy of the Inductive Sciences (1840). See also problem of induc¬ tion.

Whig Member of a political faction in England, particularly in the 18th century. Originally a term for Scot¬ tish Presbyterians, the name came to imply nonconformity and rebellion and was applied in 1679 to those who wanted to exclude James, the Catholic duke of York (later James II), from succession to the throne of England. The Whigs were opposed by the Tory faction in that struggle but later represented the aristocratic, landowning families and financial interests of the wealthy middle classes. They main¬ tained power through patronage and connections in Parliament, but there was no distinct party until 1784, when Charles James Fox represented the interests of religious dissenters, industrialists, and others who sought par¬ liamentary reform. After 1815 and following various party realignments, the political group became the Liberal Party.

Whig Party (1834-54) U.S. political party. Organized by opponents of Pres. Andrew Jackson, whom they called “King Andrew,” the party took its name from the British antimonarchist party. The U.S. Whigs favoured a program of national development. Jackson’s opposition to the Second Bank of the United States (see Bank War) and nullification in South Caro¬ lina allowed Henry Clay to bring fiscal conservatives and southern states' rights proponents together in a coalition with those who still believed in the National Republican program of a protective tariff and federally financed internal improvements. The party also included members of the former Anti-Masonic Party. The Whig’s candidate, William H. Harrison, won the 1840 presidential election and the party captured Congress, but Harrison’s premature death halted enactment of the Whig program (his vice president and successor, John Tyler, vetoed much of the Whig’s agenda). Clay was the party’s unsuccessful candidate in the 1844 elec¬ tion. In 1848 it nominated Zachary Taylor, who won the presidency. The party began to split into the “conscience” (antislavery) and “cotton” (pro¬ slavery) Whigs and was further divided by the Compromise of 1 850. Its

Whewell, plaster cast of bust by Edward Hodges Baily, 1851; in the National Portrait Gallery, London

COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, LONDON

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

2052 I whip-tailed ray ► White

nominee in the 1852 election, Winfield Scott, failed to win wide support as most Southern Whigs joined the Democratic Party. In 1854 most North¬ ern Whigs joined the new Republican Party, though some joined the Know- Nothing Party.

whip-tailed ray See stingray

whippet Breed of hound dog developed in 19th-century Britain to chase rabbits in an arena. It was developed from terriers and English and Italian greyhounds, which it resembles. It stands 18-22 in. (46-56 cm), weighs about 28 lbs (13 kg), and has a smooth coat of gray, tan, or white.

Capable of speeds up to 35 mph (56 kph), it is used for racing and for hunting small game. It is typically quiet and even-tempered.

Whipple, George H(oyt) (b.

Aug. 28, 1878, Ashland, N.H.,

U.S.—d. Feb. 1, 1976, Rochester,

N.Y.) U.S. pathologist. He studied medicine at Johns Hopkins Univer¬ sity. He and George Minot discov¬ ered that raw liver fed to chronically bled dogs reversed anemia; this led to introduction of raw liver in the diet to treat pernicious anemia, for which the two men shared a 1934 Nobel Prize with William Murphy (1894- 1987). Whipple’s study of bile pigments led to an interest in how the body makes hemoglobin (important in bile pigment production). His experi¬ ments in artificial anemia (1923-25) established iron as the most potent inorganic factor in red-blood-cell formation.

whippoorwill Species ( Caprimulgus vociferus ) of nocturnal North American bird, similar to the nightjar, named for its resonant “whip-poor- will” call (first and third syllables accented), which it may repeat 400 times without stopping. It lives in woods near open country, where it catches insects on the wing around dusk and dawn. By day it sleeps on the forest floor or perches lengthwise on a branch. About 10 in. (25 cm) long, it has mottled brownish plumage; the male has a white collar and white tail comers. It winters as far south as Costa Rica.

whiskey or whisky Any of several distilled liquors made from a fer¬ mented mash of cereal grains. Whiskeys are distinctive because of differ¬ ences in raw materials and production methods. All are aged in wooden containers. The earliest direct account of whiskey making is found in Scottish records from 1494. Scotch whisky (this spelling is also used by Canadians) is usually somewhat light in body, with a distinctive smoky malt flavour; it is made primarily from malted barley that has been heated over a peat fire, fermented, distilled, and blended with similar whiskies made by different distillers. Irish whiskeys, lighter-bodied and lacking any smoky flavor, are not malt-fired and may be mixed with neutral grain spirits. Canadian whisky, light in colour and flavour, is a blend of highly flavoured and neutral grain whiskies. In the U.S., the largest producer and consumer of whiskey, both straight (at least 51% single-mash) and blended whiskeys are produced, derived from both sour and sweet mashes. (Sour mashes are fermented with both fresh and previously fer¬ mented yeast; sweet mashes employ only fresh yeast.) Bourbon, first pro¬ duced in Bourbon Co., Ky., is a full-bodied unblended whiskey derived from a sour mash of corn grain. Whiskeys are consumed both unmixed and in cocktails, punches, and other beverages.

Whiskey Rebellion (1794) American uprising to protest a federal liquor tax. Farmers in western Pennsylvania rebelled against paying a tax on their locally distilled whiskey and attacked federal revenue collectors. After 500 armed men burned the home of the regional tax inspector, Pres. George Washington ordered 13,000 federal troops to the area. The rebel¬ lion quickly dissolved without further violence. The event established the authority of federal law within the states and strengthened support for the Federalists’ advocacy of a strong central government.

Whiskey Ring (1875) Group of U.S. whiskey distillers who defrauded the government of taxes. The ring operated mainly in St. Louis, Milwau¬ kee, and Chicago and kept liquor taxes after bribing Internal Revenue officials in Washington, D.C. A secret investigation by the U.S. Treasury Department resulted in 238 indictments and 110 convictions. While not involved, Pres. Ulysses S. Grant was tarnished by the scandal; his private

secretary, Orville E. Babcock, was indicted but acquitted on Grant’s tes¬ timony. The Republican Party allegedly received some of the illegally held tax money.

whist 1 Card game. It belongs to a family that includes bridge whist and bridge, each of which developed in succession from the original game of whist. The essential features of card games in the whist family are: four people usually play, two against two as partners; a full 52-card deck is dealt out evenly so that each player holds 13 cards; the object of play is to win tricks, and win or loss is determined by the number of tricks taken (as dis¬ tinct from games such as pinochle, in which it is determined by the value of card points taken in tricks). Whist originated in 17th-century England.

whistler See goldeneye

Whistler, James (Abbott) McNeill (b. July 14, 1834, Lowell, Mass., U.S.—d. July 17, 1903, London, Eng.) U.S.-born British painter, etcher, and lithographer. He attended West Point but soon abandoned the army for art. In 1855 he arrived in Paris to study painting and adopted a bohemian lifestyle. In 1863 he moved to London, where he had consid¬ erable success, becoming widely famous for his wit and large public pres¬ ence. During the 1860s and ’70s he began to use musical terms in the titles of his paintings, such as Symphony and Harmony, reflecting his belief in the “correspondences” between the arts. During this period he started to paint his “nocturnes”—scenes of London, especially of Chelsea, that have poetic intensity. For them he evolved a special technique by which paint, in a very liquid state he called a sauce, was stroked onto the canvas in fast sweeps of the brush, somewhat in the manner of Japanese calligraphy (he was an outspoken advocate of Japanese arts). From the 1870s onward he was preoccupied by the problems of portrait painting, creating a number of masterpieces, including Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 1: The Artist’s Mother (1871-72), known as Whistler’s Mother. These paintings underline his aestheticism, his liking for simple forms and muted tones, and his dependence on the 17th-century Spanish painter Diego VelAzquez. In 1877 he brought a libel suit against John Ruskin for attacking his Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket (1875); he won his case but received damages of only a farthing, and the costs of the suit temporarily bankrupted him. Considered one of the leading paint¬ ers of his day, after his death his reputation declined. Only in the later 20th century did Whistler begin to receive serious acclaim once again.

whistling swan Species ( Cygnus columbianus) of North American swan that calls with a soft, musical note. It has a black bill, usually with a small yellow spot near the eye. It breeds in the Arctic tundra and win¬ ters in shallow fresh or salt water, especially along eastern and western U.S. coasts.

Whitby, Synod of Meeting of the Christian church of the Anglo- Saxon kingdom of Northumbria in 664 or, possibly, 663, to decide whether to follow Celtic or Roman usages, which had been reintroduced to southern England by St. Augustine of Canterbury in 597. Though Northumbria had been mainly converted by Celtic missionaries, the king decided for Rome, believing that Rome followed the teaching of St. Peter, holder of the keys to heaven. The decision contributed to the unification of the English church and brought it into close contact with the rest of Europe.

White, Byron R(aymond) (b. June 8, 1917, Fort Collins, Colo., U.S.—d. April 15, 2002, Denver, Colo.) U.S. jurist. An accomplished ath¬ lete, he played football with the Pittsburgh Pirates (now Steelers) and the Detroit Lions. He attended the University of Oxford as a Rhodes scholar before studying law at Yale. White clerked for Fred M. Vinson and later practiced corporate law in Colorado. In 1961 he was named deputy U.S. attorney general by Pres. John F. Kennedy, and the following year he was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. His opinions and votes on the court were generally moderate to conservative. He retired in 1993.

White, E(lwyn) B(rooks) (b. July 11, 1899, Mount Vernon, N.Y., U.S.—d. Oct. 1, 1985, North Brooklin, Maine) U.S. essayist and literary stylist. White attended Cornell University and in 1927 joined The New Yorker, he would contribute to it and later to Harper’s magazine over several decades. He collaborated with James Thurber on Is Sex Necessary? (1929). His novels Stuart Little (1945), Charlotte’s Web (1952), and The Trumpet of the Swan (1970) are classics of children’s literature. White’s revision of The Elements of Style (1959) by his professor William Strunk became a standard style manual for writers. He received a Pulitzer Prize special citation in 1978.

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

White ► White House I 2053

White, James (Springer) and Ellen (Gould) orig. Ellen Gould Harmon (respectively b. April 8, 1821, Palmyra, Me., U.S.—d. June 8, 1881, Battle Creek, Mich.; b. Nov. 26, 1827, Gorham, Me.—d. July 16, 1915, St. Helena, Cal.) Cofounders of the Seventh-Day Adventists. James was a schoolteacher and then a minister who accepted the Adventist views of William Miller (1782-1849). He married Ellen Harmon in 1846; she had become a Millerite in 1840, at 13. A visionary, Ellen had more than 2,000 visions before she died; these helped guide the Seventh-Day Adven¬ tist Church, which was formed in 1863. They preached together until James’s death. Ellen continued, speaking on many subjects, notably tem¬ perance, and was regarded by some as a prophet. Of her many books, the best known is Steps to Christ.

White, John (fl. 1585-93) British artist, explorer, and North American colonist. He sailed on an expedition to Greenland in 1577 and returned to England with sketches of the land and its people. His 1585 trip to colo¬ nize Roanoke was sponsored by Sir Walter Raleigh. White’s paintings and sketches illustrated a report of the region after the colony was abandoned (1586). He was appointed governor of a second colony and arrived at Roanoke with 100 colonists (1587). He returned to England for supplies that year but was unable to send a relief expedition to Roanoke until 1590; the expedition found no trace of the colonists, including White’s grand¬ daughter, Virginia Dare.

White, Minor (b. July 9, 1908, Minneapolis, Minn., U.S—d. June 24, 1976, Cambridge, Mass.) U.S. photographer and editor. He began to pho¬ tograph seriously in 1938 when he went to work for the Works Progress Administration. In 1946 he studied with Edward Weston and Alfred Stieg- litz before moving to San Francisco, where he worked closely with Ansel Adams. He succeeded Adams as head of the photography department at the California School of Fine Arts and later taught at MIT. He founded and edited (1952-76) the photography magazine Aperture and also edited Image (1953-57). His efforts to extend photography’s range of expres¬ sion made him one of the century’s most influential photographers.

White, Patrick (Victor Martindale) (b. May 28, 1912, London, Eng.—d. Sept. 30, 1990, Sydney, N.S.W., Austrl.) Australian writer. As a youth White moved between Australia and England, where he attended Cambridge University. After serving in the Royal Air Force during World War II, he returned to Australia, which he saw as a country in a volatile process of growth and self-definition. His somewhat misanthropic novels often explore the possibilities of savagery in that context; they include The Tree of Man (1955), Voss (1957), Riders in the Chariot (1961), and The Twyborn Affair (1979). His other works include plays and short sto¬ ries, the latter collected in The Burnt Ones (1964) and The Cockatoos (1974). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1973.

White, Stanford (b. Nov. 9, 1853, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. June 25, 1906, New York City) U.S. architect. He trained with Henry Hobson Rich¬ ardson. In 1880 he formed an architectural firm with Charles F. McKim and William R. Mead that soon became the most famous in the country, known especially for its Shingle-style country and seaside mansions. The firm later led the U.S. trend toward Neoclassical architecture. White’s design for the Casino (1881) at Newport, R.I., exhibited his characteristic use of gracefully proportioned structures and Italian Renaissance ornamentation. His New York commissions included Madison Square Garden (1891) and the Washington Arch (1891). A versatile artist, he also designed jewelry, furniture, and interiors. An extrovert noted for his lavish entertainments, he was shot to death at Madison Square Garden by Harry Thaw, the hus¬ band of the showgirl Evelyn Nesbit, with whom White had had a love affair.

White, T(erence) H(anbury) (b. May 29, 1906, Bombay, India—d. Jan. 17, 1964, Piraeus, Greece) English novelist, social historian, and satirist. Educated at Cambridge University, White was working as a teacher when he attained his first critical success with the autobiographi¬ cal England Have My Bones (1936). He later devoted himself to writing, studying subjects such as Arthurian legend while living a largely reclusive life. He is best known for his adaptation of Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur in the tetralogy The Once and Future King (1958), comprising The Sword in the Stone (1938), The Queen of Air and Darkness (origi¬ nally The Witch in the Wood, 1939), The Ill-Made Knight (1940), and The Candle in the Wind (1958).

White, Theodore H(arold) (b. May 6, 1915, Boston, Mass., U.S.—d. May 15, 1986, New York, N.Y.) U.S. journalist, historian, and novelist. White became one of Time magazine’s first foreign correspon¬

dents, serving in East Asia (1939—45) and later as a European correspon¬ dent. He is best known for his accounts of two presidential elections, The Making of the President, 1960 (1961, Pulitzer Prize) and The Making of the President, 1964 (1965), and for associating the short-lived presidency of John F. Kennedy with the legend of Camelot. His intimate style of jour¬ nalism, centring on the personalities of his subjects, strongly influenced the course of political journalism and campaign coverage.

White, William Allen (b. Feb. 10, 1868, Emporia, Kan., U.S.—d. Jan. 29, 1944, Emporia) U.S. journalist. White purchased the Emporia Daily and Weekly Gazette in 1895. His editorial writing was a mixture of tol¬ erance, optimism, liberal Republicanism, and provincialism. His widely circulated 1896 editorial “What’s the Matter with Kansas?” was credited with helping elect William McKinley president. He also wrote fiction, biog¬ raphies, and an autobiography. His son and successor, William Lindsay White (1900-73), wrote one of the best-selling books on World War II, They Were Expendable (1942).

white blood cell See leukocyte

white butterfly Any of several Pieridae that are found worldwide.

Adults have a wingspan of 1.5-2.5 in. (38-63 mm); the wings are white, with black marginal markings. The pattern and colour of many species vary with sex and season. Many of the green, slender larvae, most of which are covered with a short down, or pile, are pests of garden crops. The pupae are attached to a twig by a posterior spine and a girdle of silk. See also cabbage white.

white cedar In the lumber trade, the American arborvitae, some spe¬ cies of false cypress (genus Chamae- cyparis) and McNab cypress, incense cedar ( Calocedrus decurrens), and California juniper, all in the cypress family. Nonconiferous trees that are called white cedar include the chinaberry ( Melia azedarach, mahogany family) and some members of the plant families Bignoniaceae (trumpet creepers), Celastraceae (staff trees), Myristicaceae (nutmegs), Burseraceae, and Dipterocarpaceae. Botani- cally, white cedar is Chamaecyparis thyoides, a picturesque tree with purple cones, native to North America and East Asia. The wood is used for carpentry, pencils, storage chests, interiors, and fence posts.

white dwarf star Any of a class of small, faint stars representing the end point of the evolution of stars without enough mass to become neu¬ tron stars or black holes. Named for the white colour of the first ones dis¬ covered, they actually occur in a variety of colours depending on their temperature. They are extremely dense, typically containing the mass of the Sun within the volume of the Earth. White dwarfs have exhausted all their nuclear fuel and cannot produce heat by nuclear fusion to counter¬ act their own gravity, which compresses the electrons and nuclei of their atoms until they prevent further gravitational contraction. When a white dwarf’s reservoir of thermal energy is exhausted (after several billion years), it stops radiating and becomes a cold, inert stellar remnant, some¬ times called a black dwarf. White dwarf stars are predicted to have an upper mass limit, known as the Chandrasekhar limit (see Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar), of about 1.4 times the Sun’s mass. Dying stars that are more massive undergo a supernova explosion. As members of binary stars, white dwarf stars play an essential role in the outbursts of novas.

white-footed mouse See deer mouse

White Horse, Vale of the Valley, Oxfordshire, England. It is named for the White Horse, a gigantic (374 ft [114 m] long) prehistoric figure of a horse formed by cutting away the turf on the side of a chalk hill. A number of other prehistoric remains are in the vicinity, including the megalith known as Wayland’s Smithy. Wantage, an ancient market town in the valley, is said to be the birthplace of Alfred the Great.

White House Official residence of the U.S. president, in Washington, D.C. It has been the home of every president since John Adams. In 1791 James Hoban (1762-1831) won the commission to build the presidential residence with his plan for a Georgian mansion in the style of Andrea Palladio. The structure, to be built of gray sandstone, was to have more

lepidopteran species of the family

White butterfly (Pieris brassicae).

CHR LEDERER-BAVARIA-VERLAG

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

2054 I White Lotus ► Whitman

than 100 rooms. The British burned it in 1814, but it was rebuilt and enlarged under Hoban’s direction. In the 1820s, Hoban added eastern and western terraces as well as a semicircular southern portico and a colon¬ naded northern portico. The later addition of the West Wing (1902) and East Wing (1942) provided additional office space. Theodore Roosevelt adopted “White House” as the building’s official name in 1902. Its pub¬ lic areas are toured by about 1.5 million people every year.

White Lotus Chinese Buddhist millenarian movement that was often persecuted because of its association with rebellion. The movement had roots in 4th-century worship of the Buddha Amitabha, whose devotional cult inspired Mao Ziyuan to form the White Lotus Society, a pious veg¬ etarian group of monks and laity. By the 14th century it had developed into a millenarian sect that combined MAiTREYAn and Manichaean beliefs and was active in rebellions at the end of the Yuan dynasty. The society became most prominent through its role in the White Lotus Rebellion (1786-1804), a large-scale uprising in central China that contributed to the fall of the Qing dynasty. It was eventually put down by peasants orga¬ nized into local militia defense corps. Later Chinese governments came to use the term White Lotus for all illegal millenarian groups. Some observers saw the Nian Rebellion of 1852 as well as the secret society behind the Boxer Rebellion as new manifestations of the White Lotus Society.

White Monk See Cistercian

White Mountain, Battle of (1620) Decisive battle near Prague at the beginning of the Thirty Years' War. The Catholic forces of Maximilian I, duke of Bavaria, commanded by count von Tilly, defeated the Protes¬ tant forces of Frederick V, king of Bohemia. By the defeat, Bohemia lost its independence, and Protestantism was exterminated until 1648.

White Mountains Segment of the Appalachian Mountains. It extends 87 mi (140 km) across north-central New Hampshire and into western Maine. Containing the highest elevations in the northeastern U.S., its loftiest peaks, mostly 5,000-6,000 ft (1,500-1,800 m) high, occur in a series of summits that are named for U.S. presidents and make up the Presidential Range. The highest point is Mount Washington. Most of the White Mountains lie within the White Mountain National Forest. It is a popular summer and winter resort area.

White Nile See Nile River

White River River, Arkansas, U.S. It rises in the Boston Mountains in northwestern Arkansas, flows north into southern Missouri, then bends southeast and reenters Arkansas. It continues south to join the Arkansas River near its confluence with the Mississippi River. It is 685 mi (1,102 km) long.

White Sands National Monument National monument, south- central New Mexico, U.S. Established in 1933, it covers 225 sq mi (583 sq km) and lies between the San Andres and the Sacramento mountains. Its white gypsum sand constantly drifts into dunes 10-60 ft (3-18 m) high. The San Andres National Wildlife Refuge, White Sands Missile Range, and Holloman Air Force Base are nearby.

White Sea Sea, extension of the Arctic Ocean, northwestern Russia. Almost landlocked, it is connected to the more northerly Barents Sea by a long, narrow strait known as the Gorlo. It covers an area of approxi¬ mately 35,000 sq mi (90,000 sq km) and has a maximum depth of 1,115 ft (340 m). Rivers, including the Northern Dvina and Onega, flow into it. An important transportation route, it remains navigable year-round with the help of icebreakers in winter. Arkhangelsk is one of the principal ports.

white shark See great white shark

white-tailed deer or Virginia deer Common reddish brown deer (Odocoileus virginianus), an impor¬ tant game animal found alone or in small groups from southern Canada to South America. The tail, white on the underside, is held aloft when the deer is alarmed or running. The male has forwardly curved antlers with several unbranched tines. Northern white-tailed deer grow up to 3.5 ft (107 cm) tall and weigh up to 400 lbs (180 kg). The white-tailed deer lives

in open woodlands (young and cutover forests) and on the fringes of urban areas and farmlands, and eats leaves, twigs, fruits, nuts, lichen, and fungi.

White Volta River River, Burkina Faso and Ghana, western Africa. It rises in Burkina Faso (where it is known as the Nakambe) and flows southwest for about 400 mi (640 km) to empty into Lake Volta in Ghana. It is a headstream of the Volta River.

whitefish Any of several silvery food fishes (family Salmonidae, or Coregonidae), inhabiting cold northern lakes of Europe, Asia, and North America. Whitefish weigh about 2-5 lbs (1-2 kg); they eat insect larvae and other small animals. The Lake Superior whitefish ( Coregonus clu- peaformis), also called whiting or shad, is the largest of the lake white- fishes. Ciscoes, or lake herring ( Coregonus artedi), are herringlike food and sport fishes. The best sport fishes of the family are the Rocky Moun¬ tain whitefish (Prosopium williamsoni ) and other round whitefishes.

whitefly Any sap-sucking member of the insect family Aleyrodidae (order Homoptera). Nymphs are flat, oval, and usually covered with a cottony substance. Adults, 0.08-0.12 in. (2-3 mm) long, are covered with a white opaque powder and resemble moths. Whiteflies are abundant in warm climates, on houseplants, and in greenhouses. The greenhouse whitefly is one of the most abundant and destructive members of the fam¬ ily. The citrus whitefly and citrus blackfly damage fruit and other crops by sucking sap and producing honeydew, a by-product of digestion on which grows a sooty fungus that ruins fruit and reduces the host plant’s ability to photosynthesize.

Whitehead, Alfred North (b. Feb. 15, 1861, Ramsgate, Isle of Tha- net, Kent, Eng.—d. Dec. 30, 1947, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.) British math¬ ematician and philosopher. He taught principally at the University of Cambridge (1885-1911) and Harvard University (1924-37). His Treatise on Universal Algebra (1898) extended Boolean symbolic logic. He col¬ laborated with Bertrand Russell on the epochal Principia Mathematica (1910-13), which attempted to establish the thesis of LOGlClSM. In Process and Reality (1929), his major work in metaphysics, he proposed that the universe consists entirely of becomings, each a process of appropriating and integrating the infinity of items provided by the antecedent universe and by God. His other works include “On Mathematical Concepts of the Material World” (1905), An Introduction to Mathematics (1911), Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Natural Knowledge (1919), The Concept of Nature (1920), Science and the Modern World (1925), and Religion in the Making (1926). He received the Order of Merit in 1945.

Whitehorse City (pop., 2001: 19,058), capital of Yukon Territory, Canada. Located on the Yukon River, it was founded during the Klondike gold rush (1897-98) as a staging and distribution centre. Robert Service got much of his inspiration for his ballads while working there. The ter¬ ritorial capital since 1952, it is an important transportation centre on the Alaska Highway, as well as an outfitting base for anglers and hunters.

Whiteman, Paul (b. March 28, 1890, Denver, Colo., U.S.—d. Dec. 29, 1967, Doylestown, Pa.) U.S. musician and bandleader. Whiteman made his first records in 1920. His instrumental concept, known as “sym¬ phonic jazz,” featured lush harmonies and simplified jazz rhythms but little improvisation; he nevertheless became known as “The King of Jazz.” Whiteman commissioned George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and con¬ ducted its premiere in 1924. The Whiteman band featured, among others, Bing Crosby, Bix Beiderbecke, and Jack Teagarden. His popularity waned in the late 1940s, but he was a television-series host in the 1950s and occa¬ sionally led bands up to the time of his death.

whiting Species ( Merlangius merlangus ) of common marine food fish of the cod family (Gadidae), found in European waters and especially abundant in the North Sea. It feeds on invertebrates and small fishes. It has three dorsal and two anal fins; a chin barbel (a slender, fleshy feeler), if present, is very small. Whitings grow to less than 30 in. (70 cm) long. They are silvery, with a distinctive black blotch near the base of each pec¬ toral fin. Several species of the family Sciaenidae are also called whiting. See also whitefish.

Whitman, Marcus (b. Sept. 4, 1802, Rushville, N.Y., U.S.—d. Nov. 29, 1847, Waiilatpu, Oregon Territory) U.S. missionary and pioneer. A physician and Congregational missionary, he was sent to the Oregon region after offering his services to the American Board of Commission¬ ers for Foreign Missions. In 1836 he and his wife founded a mission among the Cay use Indians near present-day Walla Walla, Wash. He helped the Indians build houses and a corn-grinding mill, and his wife opened a

White-tailed deer buck (Odocoileus virginianus)

KARLH. MASLOWSKI

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Whitman ► wholesaling I 2055

mission school. In 1842 he traveled east to encourage settlement of the Oregon country. On his return he joined a caravan of 1,000 immigrants to the Columbia River valley. He cared for Indian children in an 1847 measles epidemic, but he was accused of sorcery when many died while white children survived. The Indians attacked the whites and massacred 14, including the Whitmans. Their deaths led Congress to organize the Oregon Territory in 1848.

Whitman, Walt(er) (b. May 31, 1819, West Hills, Long Island, N.Y., U.S.—d. March 26, 1892, Camden,

N.J.) U.S. poet, journalist, and essay¬ ist. Whitman lived in Brooklyn as a boy and left school at age 12. He went on to hold a great variety of jobs, including writing and editing for periodicals. His revolutionary poetry dealt with extremely private experi¬ ences (including sexuality) while cel¬ ebrating the collective experience of an idealized democratic American life. His Leaves of Grass (1st ed.,

1855), revised and much expanded in successive editions that incorporated his subsequent poetry, was too frank and unconventional to win wide acceptance in its day, but it was hailed by figures such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and exerted a strong influ¬ ence on American and foreign litera¬ ture. Written without rhyme or traditional metre, poems such as “I Sing the Body Electric” and “Song of Myself’ assert the beauty of the human body, physical health, and sexual¬ ity; later editions included “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry,” “Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking,” and the elegies on Abraham Lincoln “O Captain! My Captain!” and “When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom’d.” Whitman served as a volunteer in Washington hospitals during the Civil War. The prose Democratic Vistas (1871) and Specimen Days & Collect (1882-83) drew on his wartime experiences and subsequent reflections. His powerful influence in the 20th century can be seen in the work of poets as diverse as Pablo Neruda, Fernando Pessoa, and Allen Ginsberg.

Whitney, Amos (b. Oct. 8, 1832, Biddeford, Maine, U.S.—d. Aug. 5, 1928, Portland, Maine) U.S. manufacturer. He was apprenticed at age 13. In 1860, with Francis Pratt, he founded the firm of Pratt & Whitney, origi¬ nally to manufacture thread spoolers. It later diversified into the manu¬ facture of innovative designs of guns, cannons, sewing machines, and typesetting machines; instruments for measurement developed there proved of great value to science and industry. Today a separate company, formed from the tool works in 1925, produces aircraft engines and space- propulsion systems as part of the United Technologies Corporation.

Whitney, Eli (b. Dec. 8, 1765, Westboro, Mass., U.S.—d. Jan. 8, 1825, New Haven, Conn.) U.S. inventor, engineer, and manufacturer. He is best remembered as the inventor of the cotton gin (1793), which led to greatly increased production of the short-staple cotton grown in much of the South, making the region prosperous. The most important innovation credited to Whitney may be the concept of mass production of interchange¬ able parts. His idea of manufacturing quantities of identical parts for assembly into muskets, after undertaking in 1797 to supply the U.S. gov¬ ernment with 10,000 muskets in two years, helped inaugurate the vastly important American System of manufacture.

Whitney, Gertrude Vanderbilt orig. Gertrude Vanderbilt (b.

Jan. 9, 1875, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. April 18, 1942, New York City) U.S. sculptor and art patron. Great-granddaughter of Cornelius Vanderbilt, she was born to great wealth and studied sculpture in New York City and Paris. Among her major works were the Titanic Memorial (1914-31) in Washington, D.C., and Victory Arch (1918-19) in New York. All her works were simple, direct, and traditional. In 1929 she offered to donate her col¬ lection of about 500 works by modern American artists to the Metropolitan Museum of Art but was refused by the traditionalist director. The next year she founded the Whitney Museum of American Art, also in New York City, which opened in 1931; today it is the foremost museum of American art.

Whitney, John Hay (b. Aug. 17, 1904, Ellsworth, Maine, U.S.—d. Feb. 8, 1982, Manhasset, N.Y.) U.S. multimillionaire and sportsman. The

son of Harry Payne Whitney and Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, “Jock” Whitney attended Yale University and later the University of Oxford, which he left to manage the family fortune on his father’s death. He became an internationally ranked polo player, his stables produced notable racehorses, he invested in successful films and Broadway plays, and he boasted one of the finest art collections in the U.S. As a combat- intelligence captain in World War II, he was captured in France but escaped; he was later awarded the Legion of Merit. He served as ambas¬ sador to Britain (1956-61). As publisher and (from 1961) editor in chief of the New York Herald Tribune , he tried to revitalize the paper, but it folded in 1966. He founded the John Hay Whitney Foundation in 1946.

Whitney, Mount Peak in the Sierra Nevada, southeast-central Califor¬ nia, U.S. Located in Sequoia National Park, it is 14,494 ft (4,418 m) high, the highest point in the continental U.S. outside of Alaska. It was first climbed in 1873.

Whitney, William C(ollins) (b. July 5, 1841, Conway, Mass., U.S.—d. Feb. 2, 1904, New York, N.Y.) U.S. politician. He practiced law in New York City, where he helped Samuel Tilden overthrow the corrupt political boss William Marcy Tweed; he also served as corporation counsel for the city (1875-82). As U.S. secretary of the navy (1885-89), he rebuilt the neglected fleet with a major shipbuilding program that included the battleship Maine (see destruction of the Maine). He returned to New York, where he became co-owner of the city’s first rapid-transit system.

Whittier, John Greenleaf (b. Dec. 17, 1807, near Haverhill, Mass., U.S.—d. Sept. 7, 1892, Hampton Falls, Mass.) U.S. poet and reformer. A Quaker bom on a farm, Whittier had limited education but was early acquainted with poetry. He became involved in journalism and published his first volume of poems in 1831. During 1833—42 he embraced the abo¬ litionism of William Lloyd Garrison and became a prominent antislavery crusader. Thereafter he continued to support humanitarian causes while publishing further poetry volumes. After the Civil War he was noted for his vivid portrayals of rural New England life. His best-known poem is the nostalgic pastoral “Snow-Bound” (1866); others include “Maud Muller” (1854) and “Barbara Frietchie” (1863).

Whittington, Richard known as Dick Whittington (d. March 1423, London) Lord mayor of London (1397-99, 1406-07, 1419-20). The son of a knight, he earned a vast fortune as a merchant and made loans to Henry IV and Henry V, then entered city politics and served three terms as lord mayor. In legend he is portrayed as an orphan who ventures his only possession, a cat, as an item to be sold on one of his master’s trad¬ ing ships. Ill-treated by the cook, he runs away, but at the edge of the city he hears the bells say, “Turn again, Whittington, lord mayor of great Lon¬ don.” He returns to find that his cat has been sold for a great sum to a Moorish ruler plagued by rats. He becomes a wealthy merchant and later lord mayor.

Whittle, Sir Frank (b. June 1, 1907, Coventry, Warwickshire, Eng.—d. Aug. 8, 1996, Columbia, Md., U.S.) British aviation engineer and pilot who invented the jet engine. He obtained his first patent for a turbojet engine in 1930, and in 1936 he cofounded Power Jets Ltd. The outbreak of World War II spurred the British government to support Whit¬ tle’s work, and the first jet-powered aircraft took off in 1941. He was knighted in 1948 and awarded the Order of Merit in 1986.

Whitworth, Sir Joseph (b. Dec. 21, 1803, Stockport, Cheshire, Eng.—d. Jan. 22, 1887, Monte-Carlo, Monaco) British mechanical engi¬ neer. Working for Henry Maudslay, he devised a scraping technique for making a true plane surface. He followed this with a measuring machine and a system of accurate dimensional standards or master gauges to go with it, and screws with standardized threads (1841), among other inno¬ vations. His machine tools became internationally known for their accu¬ racy and quality.

WHO See World Health Organization

wholesaling Selling of merchandise to anyone other than a retail cus¬ tomer. The term may include sales to a retailer, wholesaler, broker, dis¬ tributor, or business enterprise. Wholesaling usually involves sales in quantity and at a cost significantly lower than the average retail price. It has become an important step in the supply chain since the introduction of mass production and mass marketing techniques in the 19th century. Without wholesalers, manufacturers would have to market their products directly to a huge number of customers at high unit costs, and buyers would have to deal with an inconveniently large number of suppliers.

Walt Whitman, photograph by Mathew Brady.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON, D.C.

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

2056 I whooping cough ► Wiesbaden

There are three major categories of wholesalers. Merchant wholesalers, the most important category, are independent businesses that buy mer¬ chandise in great quantities from manufacturers and resell it to retailers. Manufacturers’ sales branches are businesses founded by manufacturers to sell directly to retailers. Merchandise agents and brokers represent various manufacturers; they usually do not buy the merchandise they handle but instead arrange for shelf space and the display of merchandise. So-called warehouse stores sell large quantities of goods at near-wholesale prices. See also retailing.

whooping cough or pertussis Acute, very contagious childhood disease, typically with bouts of coughing followed by a long, loud inha¬ lation (whoop) and ending with mucus expulsion and often vomiting. Caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis, it initially resembles a cold with a short dry cough. Within one or two weeks, coughing bouts begin; this phase usually lasts four to six weeks. Serious complications include bronchopneumonia (pneumonia involving the bronchi), asphyxia, seizures, and signs of brain damage. Treatment is with antibiotics. The pertussis vaccine is usually combined with tetanus and diphtheria toxoids as part of routine childhood immunizations.

whooping crane Migratory North American bird ( Grus americana ) and one of the world’s rarest birds, on the verge of extinction. The tall¬ est North American bird, it is almost 5 ft (150 cm) tall and has a wing- spread of about 7 ft (210 cm). It is white with black-tipped wings, black legs, and a bare red face and crown.

Its shrill, whooping call can be heard for 2 miles (3 km). Almost extermi¬ nated in the early 20th century, it became the object of intensive con¬ servation efforts; by century’s end there were still fewer than 300 wild and captive individuals. See also SANDHILL CRANE.

Whorf VworfV Benjamin Lee

(b. April 24, 1897, Winthrop, Mass.,

U.S.—d. July 26, 1941, Wethers¬ field, Conn.) U.S. linguist. He worked professionally as a fire-prevention authority. The concept he developed (under Edward Sapir’s influence) of the equation of culture and language became known as the Whorf (or Sapir-Whorf) hypothesis. He maintained that a language’s structure tends to condition the ways its speakers think—for example, that the way a people views time and punctuality may be influenced by the types of verb tenses in its language. Whorf was also noted for his studies of Uto-Aztecan languages, especially Hopi, and Mayan hieroglyphic writing.

Whymper Yhwim-psrV Edward (b. April 27, 1840, London, Eng.—d. Sept. 16, 1911, Chamonix, Fr.) British mountaineer and artist. He became a mountaineer after making sketches for a book on the Alps. In 1865 he made the first ascent of the Matterhorn; an accident on the descent caused the death of four of his companions. His Scrambles Amongst the Alps (1871) and Travels Amongst the Great Andes (1892) describe his experiences and are illustrated with his own engravings.

Wicca Modem Western witchcraft movement. Some practitioners con¬ sider Wicca the religion of pre-Christian Europe, forced underground by the Christian church. That thesis is not accepted by historians, and mod¬ ern Wicca is usually dated to the work of Gerald B. Gardner (1884-1964) and Doreen Valiente (1922-1999), who, after the repeal of the last Witch¬ craft Act in England (1951), went public with their cult of witchcraft, which centered on a homed god of fertility and a great earth goddess. Gardner is credited with introducing the term Wicca. So-called “Dianic” Wicca focuses on the Goddess as the supreme being and usually excludes men. Wiccans share a belief in the importance of the feminine principle, a deep respect for nature, and a pantheistic and polytheistic worldview. They practice some form of ritual magic, almost always considered good or constructive. Some are solitary practitioners; others belong to covens.

Wichita Vwi-cho-.toV City (pop., 2000: 344,284), south-central Kansas, U.S. On the Arkansas River, the city was founded in 1864 as a trading post on the site of a Wichita Indian village; it developed with the Texas cattle trade along the Chisholm Trail and the rapid spread of agricultural settle¬ ment along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad Co. In the 1870s

it was a major cattle-shipping centre. It developed as a centre of the air¬ craft industry in the 1920s. Aircraft construction continues; other eco¬ nomic activities include oil refining, grain processing and storage, and livestock marketing.

Wideman, John Edgar (b. June 14, 1941, Washington, D.C., U.S.) U.S. writer and educator. After graduating from the University of Penn¬ sylvania he became the second African American to receive a Rhodes scholarship to Oxford University. He published his first novel, A Glance Away, in 1967. His first work of nonfiction was the acclaimed Brothers and Keepers (1984), in which he examines his relationship with his brother, who is serving a life sentence in prison. He won PEN/Faulkner Awards for Sent for You Yesterday (1983) and Philadelphia Fire (1990), a fictional account of the bombing of the militant black group MOVE combined with an examination of his relationship with his son, now in prison.

widgeon See wigeon

Wieland Yve-JantV Heinrich Otto (b. June 4, 1877, Pforzheim, Ger.—d. Aug. 5, 1957, W.Ger.) German chemist. He won a 1927 Nobel Prize for research on bile acids which showed that the three acids then isolated had similar structures and were also structurally related to cho¬ lesterol. He also found that different forms of nitrogen in organic com¬ pounds can be detected and distinguished from each other, an important contribution to structural organic chemistry. Wieland’s theory that oxida¬ tion in living tissues occurs through removal of hydrogen atoms, not addition of oxygen (see oxidation-reduction), was of great importance to physiology, biochemistry, and medicine.

Wiener Vwe-norN, Norbert (b. Nov. 26, 1894, Columbia, Mo., U.S.—d. March 18, 1964, Stock¬ holm, Swed.) U.S. mathematician.

He earned a Ph.D. from Harvard at 18. He joined the faculty of MIT in 1919. His work on generalized har¬ monic analysis and Tauberian theo¬ rems (which deduce the convergence of an infinite series) won the Ameri¬ can Mathematical Society’s Bocher Prize in 1933. The origin of cybernet¬ ics as an independent science is gen¬ erally dated from the 1948 publication of his Cybernetics. He made contributions to such areas as stochastic processes, quantum theory, and, during World War II, gunfire control. Crater Wiener on the Moon is named for him.

Wiener Werkstatte Vve-nor- 'verk-,shtet-3\ English Vienna Workshops Cooperative enter¬ prise for crafts and design founded in Vienna in 1903. Inspired by William Morris and the English Arts and Crafts Movement, it was founded by Koloman Moser and Josef Hoffmann with the goal of restoring the values of handcraftsmanship to an indus¬ trial society in which such crafts were dying. Its members had close ties to the artists of the Vienna Sezession and the Art Nouveau movement. The Wiener Werkstatte’s work in jewelry, furnishings, interior design, fash¬ ion, and other areas, which often celebrated the beauty of geometry, became widely known for elegance and innovation, and this “square style” influenced the work of the Bauhaus craftsmen in the 1920s as well as the work of Frank Lloyd Wright.

Wiesbaden Vves-.ba-donN City (pop., 2002 est.: 271,276), capital of Hesse, southern Germany. It is situated on the Rhine River. The Romans for¬ tified it in the 1st century ad; it has been noted since then for its hot saline springs. Made an imperial city in 1241, it passed to the counts of Nassau in 1255. It was capital of the duchy of Nassau from 1806 to 1866, when it passed to Prussia. After World War I it was the seat of the Rhineland Com¬ mission under French and British occupation (1918-29). In 1946 Wies¬ baden became the capital of the newly created state of Hesse. It was particularly noted for its spa in the 18th and 19th centuries, when it was frequented by Johann W. von Goethe, Johannes Brahms, and Fyodor Dos¬ toyevsky. It continues to be a popular resort. It has printing firms, publishing houses, and film studios, and it is noted for its Sekt (sparkling wine).

Nov. 26, 1894, Columbia, Mo.,

Norbert Wiener.

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

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Wiesel ► wild rice I 2057

Wiesel \ve-'zel\, Elie orig. Eliezer Wiesel (b. Sept. 30, 1928, Sighet, Rom.) Romanian-born U.S. novelist. Living in a small Hasidic commu¬ nity, Wiesel and his family were deported in 1944 to Auschwitz and then to Buchenwald; his parents and sister were killed. All his works reflect his experiences as a survivor of the Holocaust and his attempt to resolve the ethical torment of why it happened and what it reveals about human nature. They include Night (1958), A Beggar in Jerusalem (1968), The Testament (1980), and The Forgotten (1989). A noted lecturer, he was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize for Peace for his universal condemnation of violence, hatred, and oppression.

Wiesel Vve-solV Torsten (Nils) (b. June 3, 1924, Uppsala, Swed.) Swedish neurobiologist. After earning his medical degree in Sweden, he moved to the U.S., where he joined David Hubel in investigating brain func¬ tion. By analyzing the flow of nerve impulses from the eye in laboratory animals, they detected many structural and functional details of the visual cortex, in the occipital lobes of the cerebral cortex. Their studies of the effects of visual impairments in young animals lent strong support to the view that prompt surgery is crucial to correct certain eye defects in new¬ born children. The two shared a 1981 Nobel Prize with Roger Sperry.

wig Manufactured head covering of real or artificial hair worn in the theatre, as personal adornment, disguise, or symbol of office, or for reli¬ gious reasons. Ancient Egyptians, Assyrians, Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans used wigs, often as protection from the sun. In the West the wig first became an acceptable form of adornment or corrective for nature’s defects in the 16th century, and men’s perukes, or periwigs, came into widespread use in the 17th century. Men’s wigs were common through¬ out the 18th century. Women wore wigs surreptitiously in the 18th-19th centuries; after the development of inexpensive synthetic wigs in the 20th century, women’s wigs increased in popularity. In East Asia wigs have been used rarely except in the Chinese and Japanese theatre.

Wigan \'wi-gon\ Town and metropolitan borough (pop., 2001: 301,417), northwestern Greater Manchester, historic county of Lancashire, England. It lies along the River Douglas and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. Coal was mined from the 14th century, and textiles were produced in the area as early as the 16th century. Industrialization in the late 18th century was accelerated by the building of canals and railways. Textiles have declined in importance, and the last coal mine closed in 1993. New industries, including food processing, paper and packaging, and electrical engineer¬ ing, have broadened the economy. Tourism was spurred by George Orwell’s treatise The Road to Wigan Pier.

wigeon or widgeon Any of four species of dabbling ducks, popular game and food birds. The male European wigeon ( Anas penelope) has a reddish head, cream forehead, and gray back. The male American wigeon, or baldpate (A. americana), has a white crown, green eye stripe, and brown back. Baldpates often graze on young grasses. The Cape wigeon (A. capensis) of Africa is a nocturnal feeder.

Wiggin, Kate Douglas orig. Kate Douglas Smith (b. Sept. 28, 1856, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.—d. Aug. 24, 1923, Harrow, Middlesex, Eng.) U.S. novelist and a leader of the kindergarten movement in the U.S. After moving to San Francisco she headed the Silver Street Kindergarten (1878), the first free kindergarten on the U.S. West Coast, and helped establish the California Kindergarten Training School. To help support the school she began writing novels for both adults and children. She is best remembered for the children’s classic Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm

(1903).

Wight, Isle of Island and unitary authority (pop., 2001: 132,719), part of the historic county of Hampshire, in the English Channel off the south¬ ern coast of England. Separated from mainland Hampshire by the Solent, the island has an area of 147 sq mi (381 sq km). Its main town is New¬ port. The backbone of the Isle of Wight is a chalk ridge that extends across its entire breadth, the thickest bed of chalk in the British Isles. The Needles are three detached masses of chalk that lie off the island’s westernmost point and rise to about 100 ft (30 m). Three rivers, the Eastern Yar, the Medina, and the Western Yar, flow northward into the Solent. A major British maximum security prison is located at Parkhurst. Boatbuilding, marine engineering, and the aerospace, plastics, and electronics industries are economically important. The island’s warm, sunny climate has made it a popular vacation spot.

Wightman, Hazel Hotchkiss orig. Hazel Virginia Hotchkiss

(b. Dec. 20, 1886, Healdsburg, Calif., U.S.—d. Dec. 5, 1974, Newton,

Mass.) U.S. tennis player. She was a dominant competitor in the pre- World War I years, winning nine national tennis titles in the years 1909-11 alone. She won a lifetime total of 45 U.S. titles, the last at age 68. She was instrumental in establishing an annual match between British and U.S. women’s teams; the Wightman Cup competition, first held in 1923, continued until 1989. She served as captain of the U.S. team from its inception until 1948.

Wigman, Mary orig. Marie Wiegmann (b. Nov. 13, 1886, Hanover, Ger.—d. Sept. 18, 1973, West Berlin, W.Ger.) Pioneering Ger¬ man dancer. Wigman studied with Emile Jaques-Dalcroze and Rudolf Laban and made her debut in 1914. Only a few years later she began a stellar career as an innovative choreographer. Her impact on dance throughout the West was immense. Her students included Hanya Holm, who exerted a major influence on the development of American modern dance, and thousands of other original choreographers.

Wigner, Eugene (Paul) orig. Jeno Pal Wigner (b. Nov. 17, 1902, Budapest, Hung.—d. Jan. 1, 1995, Princeton, N.J., U.S.) Hungarian-born U.S. physicist. After studies at the University of Berlin, he immigrated to the U.S. in 1930 and joined the faculty of Princeton University. He was instrumental in getting the Manhattan Project started and was present when Enrico Fermi initiated the first chain reaction. He determined that the nuclear force is short-range and does not involve an electric charge, using group theory to investigate atomic structure. His name was given to sev¬ eral formulations, including the Breit-Wigner formula, which describes resonant nuclear reactions. He won a 1963 Nobel Prize (shared with Maria Mayer and Hans Jensen [1907-73], who won for unrelated work) for his insights into quantum mechanics, especially principles governing interac¬ tion of protons and neutrons in the nucleus and his formulation of the law of conservation of parity (see conservation law). In addition to his many scientific awards, he received numerous awards for his work for peace.

wigwam American Indian dwelling, characteristic of the Algonquian- speaking nomadic tribes of what is now the northeastern U.S. It is con¬ structed of saplings driven into the ground in a circle and tied together at the top, then covered with mats of woven rushes or sewn bark. See also igloo; longhouse; tepee.

Wilberforce, William (b. Aug. 24, 1759, Hull, Yorkshire, Eng.—d. July 29, 1833, London) British politician. Entering the House of Com¬ mons in 1780, he supported parliamentary reform and Catholic emanci¬ pation. Converted to evangelical Christianity (1785), he agitated against the slave trade and cofounded the Anti-Slavery Society. His sponsorship of antislavery legislation led to the passage of a bill abolishing the slave trade in the British West Indies (1807). From 1821 he agitated for eman¬ cipation of all slaves and was joined in Parliament by Thomas F. Buxton (1786-1845), who continued to sponsor legislation after Wilberforce retired in 1825. The Slavery Abolition Act was passed one month after Wilberforce’s death in 1833.

Wilbur, Richard (Purdy) (b. March 1, 1921, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. poet, critic, editor, and translator. He studied literature at Harvard University and established himself as an important young poet with the collections The Beautiful Changes (1947) and Ceremony (1950). His urbane, well-crafted verse later appeared in volumes such as Things of This World (1956, Pulitzer Prize), Walking to Sleep (1969), and The Mind Reader (1976). He also translated plays (notably those of Mouere) and wrote criticism and children’s books. He served as U.S. poet laureate in

1987-88.

Wilbye Vwil-be\, John (b. March 7, 1574, Diss, Norfolk, Eng.—d. September 1638, Colchester, Essex) British composer. He spent his entire life in the employ of the Kytson family, as a domestic musician at Hen- grave Hall, and then in Colchester (from 1628). One of the finest of the English madrigalists, he published only two collections (1598, 1609). His madrigals are less chromatic than those of his contemporary Thomas Weelkes, but he made subtle use of varying textures for expression.

wild boar See boar

wild carrot See Queen Anne's lace

wild pig See boar

wild rice Coarse annual grass ( Zizania aquatica ) of the family Poaceae (or Gramineae) whose grain, now often considered a delicacy, has long been an important food of American Indians. Despite its name, the plant is not related to rice. Wild rice grows naturally in shallow water in marshes

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

2058 I Wild West Show ► Wilhelmina

and along the shores of streams and lakes in northern central North America. Cultivated varieties are now grown in Minnesota and Califor¬ nia. The plant, about 3-10 ft (1-3 m) tall, is topped with a large, open flower cluster. The ripened grains, dark brown to purplish-black, are slen¬ der rods 0.4-0.8 in. (1-2 cm) long.

Wild West Show Theatrical extravaganza produced by William F. (Buffalo Bill) Cody. First performed in 1883, the show reached New York City’s Madison Square Garden in 1887 with a cast of 100 Native Ameri¬ cans, the sharpshooter Annie Oakley, other trick riders and ropers, and wild animals such as buffalo, elk, bear, and deer. The four-hour spectacle, including Native American war dances and an attack on a stagecoach, toured Europe with great success in the 1890s and continued touring the U.S. until 1916.

wildcat Wild species (Felis silvestris ) of cat (family Felidae) native to Eurasian forests. Very similar to the domestic yellowish tabby, it will interbreed with domestic cats (of which it is presumably an ancestor). It is 20-32 in. (50-80 cm) long, excluding the 10-14-in. (25-35-cm) tail. It stands 14—16 in. (35-40 cm) and weighs 6-20 lbs (3-10 kg). Solitary and nocturnal, it preys on birds and small animals. In North America the name is used for the bobcat and lynx; in Africa it refers to the Caffre cat.

wildcat bank In the U.S., an unsound bank chartered under state law during the period of state banking control (1816-63). Such banks distrib¬ uted currency backed by questionable securities and were located in inac¬ cessible areas to discourage note redemption. Note circulation by state banks ended with the passage of the National Bank Act of 1863, which provided for the incorporation of national banks and the issue of banknotes on the security of government bonds. The term wildcat bank was later applied to any unstable bank.

Wilde, Oscar (Fingal O'Flahertie Wills) (b. Oct. 16, 1854, Dub¬ lin, Ire.—d. Nov. 30, 1900, Paris,

France) Irish poet and dramatist. Son of an eminent surgeon, Wilde attended Trinity College, Dublin, and later Oxford University, becom¬ ing widely known for his wit while still an undergraduate. A spokesman for Aestheticism, in the early 1880s he gave a lecture tour in the U.S. and established himself in London circles by his wit and flamboyance.

His only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), combines gothic elements with mockery of bourgeois morality. His macabre play Salome (1893) was later adapted as the libretto of Richard Strauss’s opera; his other plays, all successes, include Lady Winder¬ mere’s Fan (1893), A Woman of No Importance (1893), and An Ideal Husband (1895). His greatest work was the comedy The Importance of Being Earnest (1899), a satire of Vic¬ torian social hypocrisy. Two critical dialogues, “The Decay of Lying” and “The Critic as Artist,” are admired as equally brilliant. Though happily married, in 1891 he began an intimate relationship with the young Lord Alfred Douglas, son of the marquess of Queensberry. Accused by Queens- berry of being a sodomite, Wilde sued for libel and lost, then was arrested for sodomy and convicted in a trial that became internationally notorious. Imprisoned at Reading Gaol (1895-97), he wrote a recriminatory letter to his lover that was edited and published as De Profundis (1905). After his release, he moved to Paris; his only later work was The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), on inhumane prison conditions. He died suddenly of acute meningitis.

wildebeest See gnu

Wilder, Billy orig. Samuel Wilder (b. June 22, 1906, Sucha, Austria—d. March 27, 2002, Beverly Hills, Calif., U.S.) Austrian-born U.S. film director and screenwriter. Working as a reporter in Vienna and Berlin, he wrote screenplays for German films. He fled Germany in 1933 and arrived in Hollywood a year later. He cowrote screenplays with Charles Brackett and established his reputation as a director with Double Indemnity (1944). Noted for his humorous treatment of controversial sub¬

jects and his biting indictments of hypocrisy, he also directed The Lost Weekend (1945, Academy Award), Sunset Boulevard (1950, Academy Award for best screenplay), Stalag 17 (1953), and The Apartment (1960, Academy Award). His acclaimed comedies include Sabrina (1954), The Seven Year Itch (1955), Some Like It Hot (1959), and Kiss Me, Stupid

(1964).

Wilder, Laura Ingalls orig. Laura Ingalls (b. Feb. 7, 1867, Lake Pepin, Wis., U.S.—d. Feb. 10, 1957, Mansfield, Mo.) U.S. children’s author. She led the pioneer life with her family, living in Kansas, Min¬ nesota, Iowa, and South Dakota, where she married. With her husband she finally settled in Missouri, where she edited the Missouri Ruralist for 12 years before being encouraged by her daughter to write down her childhood memories, and the internationally popular Little House books (1932-43) were the result. They were the basis for a popular television series (1974-84).

Wilder, Thornton (Niven) (b. April 17, 1897, Madison, Wis., U.S.—d. Dec. 7, 1975, Hamden, Conn.) U.S. playwright and novelist. After attending Yale University, Wilder studied archaeology in Rome. He earned wide acclaim for his second novel. The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1927, Pulitzer Prize). His play Our Town (1938, Pulitzer Prize), which became one of the most enduringly popular of all American plays, was followed by the successful The Skin of Our Teeth (1942, Pulitzer Prize). In them he rejected naturalism, often discarding props and scenery, using deliberate anachronisms, and having the characters address the audience directly. His farcical play The Matchmaker (1954) was adapted into the musical Hello, Dolly! (1964). Wilder’s later novels include The Eighth Day (1967) and Theophilus North (1973).

Wilderness, Battle of the (May 5-7, 1864) Engagement in the American Civil War. When Ulysses S. Grant planned a Union campaign to capture Richmond, Va., and advanced with 115,000 troops, he was met by a Confederate army of 62,000 under Robert E. Lee in dense thickets called the Wilderness. After two days of intense and inconclusive fight¬ ing, Union casualties outnumbered those of the Confederacy (burning brush killed many of the wounded), and Grant saw the futility of further hostilities in the area. He moved on to do battle at Spotsylvania Court¬ house, forcing Lee back toward Richmond.

wildflower Any flowering plant that grows without intentional human aid. Wildflowers are the source of all cultivated garden varieties of flow¬ ers. A wildflower growing where it is unwanted is considered a weed. Thousands of the approximately 250,000 species of flowering plants are wildflowers. Wildflowers can be divided into three categories by location: those found in the tropics and subtropics, those in temperate regions, and those that grow on the summits of mountain chains and in the Arctic and Antarctic.

wildlife conservation Regulation of wild animals and plants in such a way as to provide for their continuance. Efforts are aimed at prevent¬ ing the depletion of present populations and ensuring the continued exist¬ ence of the habitats targeted species need to survive. Techniques involve establishment of sanctuaries and controls on hunting, use of land, impor¬ tation of exotic species, pollution, and use of pesticides. See also biodi¬ versity, conservation, endangered species.

Wilfrid, Saint or Wilfrid of York (b. 634, Northumbria, Eng.—d. April 24,709/710, monastery of Oundle, Mercia) English monk and bishop who established close relations between the Anglo-Saxon church and the papacy. As abbot of the monastery at Ripon, he introduced the Benedictine Rule to the kingdom. At the Synod of Whitby, he successfully advocated the adoption of Roman over Celtic traditions. As bishop of York, he built a monastery at Hexham and traveled twice to Rome to defend the see of York in jurisdictional controversies with the see of Canterbury (679, 704). A quarrel over the division of his diocese obliged Wilfrid to take refuge in Sussex, where he Christianized the people and founded a monastery at Sel- sey; he later served as bishop of Lichfield in Mercia. Following his second dispute with Canterbury, Wilfrid became bishop of Hexham and spent his last years there and at his monastery in Ripon.

Wilhelmina (Helena Pauline Maria) (b. Aug. 31, 1880, The Hague, Neth.—d. Nov. 28, 1962, Het Loo, near Apeldoorn) Queen of The Netherlands (1890-1948). Daughter of King William III, she became queen on his death, under her mother’s regency until 1898, and soon gained wide popular approval. She helped maintain her country’s neutrality in World War I. After Germany invaded The Netherlands in 1940, she left with her

Oscar Wilde, 1882.

COURTESY OF THE WILLIAM ANDREWS MEMORIAL LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Wilkes ► William I I 2059

family for London. Throughout World War II she made radio broadcasts to maintain the morale of the Dutch people, becoming a symbol of Dutch resistance to the German occupation. In 1948 she abdicated in favour of her daughter, Juliana.

Wilkes, John (b. Oct. 17, 1725, London, Eng.—d. Dec. 26, 1797, Lon¬ don) English politician. The son of a successful malt distiller, he was edu¬ cated at an academy at Hertford and afterward privately tutored. His marriage to Mary Meade (1747), heiress of the manor of Aylesbury, brought him a comfortable fortune and an assured status among the gentry of Buckinghamshire. A profligate by nature, he was a member of the so-called Hell-Fire Club, which indulged in debauchery and the perfor¬ mance of Black Masses, and he bribed voters to win election to the House of Commons (1757). For an attack on the government in his journal the North Briton (1763), he was prosecuted for libel and expelled from Par¬ liament. Reelected, he continued to print his attacks on the government and was again tried for libel and expelled (1764). Regarded as a victim of per¬ secution and a champion of liberty, he gained widespread popular support. He was again elected to Parliament and again expelled (1769). He become lord mayor of London in 1774. Back in the House of Commons (1774-90), he supported parliamentary reform and freedom of the press.

Wilkes, Maurice V(incent) (b. June 26, 1913, Dudley, Staffordshire, Eng.) British computer-science pioneer. He helped build the EDSAC com¬ puter (1949), invented microprogramming (1950), cowrote the first book on computer programming (1951), wrote the first paper on cache memo¬ ries (1964), and pioneered client-server architecture computing (1980). He won the Turing Award in 1967 and the Kyoto Prize in 1992. In 1995 he published Memoirs of a Computer Pioneer.

Wilkins, Maurice (Hugh Frederick) (b. Dec. 15, 1916, Pongaroa, N.Z.—d. Oct. 6, 2004, London, Eng.) New Zealand-born British bio¬ physicist. Educated in Birmingham and Cambridge, he participated in the Manhattan Project, working on the separation of uranium isotopes for use in the atomic bomb. On his return to Britain, he began a series of inves¬ tigations that led ultimately to his studies of DNA. His X-ray diffraction studies of DNA proved crucial to the determination of DNA’s molecular structure by James D. Watson and Francis Crick, for which the three were awarded a 1962 Nobel Prize. He later applied X-ray diffraction techniques to the study of RNA. See also Rosalind Franklin.

Wilkins, Roy (b. Aug. 30, 1901, St. Louis, Mo., U.S.—d. Sept. 8, 1981, New York, N.Y.) U.S. civil-rights leader. He was a reporter for the Afri¬ can American-owned Kansas City Call and later became its managing editor. He joined the staff of the NAACP (1931) and became editor (1934- 49) of its official publication, The Crisis. In 1955 he began a 22-year ten¬ ure as executive director of the NAACP, which he set on a course of seeking equal rights through legal redress. He helped organize the 1963 March on Washington, and he served as chairman of the U.S. delegation to the International Conference on Human Rights in 1968.

Wilkinson, James (b. 1757, Calvert county, Md.—d. Dec. 28, 1825, Mexico City, Mex.) American army officer and double agent. He served in the American Revolution under Hora¬ tio Gates and was involved in the Thomas Conway cabal. He settled in Kentucky in 1784 and schemed to ally the Kentucky region with Spain, though he was in fact working against Spain. He served as governor of part of the Louisiana territory (1805-06). He allegedly planned to conquer the Mexican provinces of Spain and conspired with Aaron Burr to establish an independent govern¬ ment; when he betrayed Burr’s plan, he was investigated but cleared. In the War of 1812 he commanded U.S. forces on the Canadian border, but his campaign against Montreal failed.

Wilkinson, John (b. 1728, Clif¬ ton, Cumberland, Eng.—d. July 14,

1808, Bradley, Staffordshire) British industrialist. Known as “the great Staffordshire ironmaster,” he found many new applications for iron, devel¬

oped a boring machine whose precision enabled James Watt to perfect his steam engine, and used Watt’s first steam engine to drive a huge air pump in his factory for the large-scale manufacture of wrought iron.

will In law, a formal declaration, usually in the form of an executed document, of a person’s wishes regarding the disposal of his or her prop¬ erty after death. It is valid if it meets the formalities of the law, which usually requires that it be witnessed. It may be considered invalid if, among other instances, the testator was mentally incapable of disposing of his or her property, if it imposes unreasonable or cruel demands as a condition of inheritance, or if the testator did not have clear title to the bequeathed assets. Any party who contests a will must bring the claim within a time specified by statute and must bear the burden of proof in demonstrating that the will is faulty. See also probate.

Willamette River River, northwestern Oregon, U.S. It flows north for 300 mi (485 km) into the Columbia River near Portland. Oregon’s most populous cities are in its valley. The Fremont Bridge, a steel arch with a main span of 1,225 ft (373 m), crosses the river at Portland.

Willemstad \'vi-bm-,stat\ City (pop., 1999 est.: 123,000), capital of the Netherlands Antilles, West Indies. Located on the southern coast of Curacao, it was founded in 1634. Willemstad contains many Dutch colo¬ nial buildings and is the site of the oldest (1732) synagogue in continu¬ ous use in the Western Hemisphere. It is a centre of trade, petroleum storage and refining, banking, and tourism.

William I known as William the Conqueror (b. c. 1028, Falaise, Normandy—d. Sept. 9, 1087. Rouen) Duke of Normandy (1035-87) and king of England (1066-87). Though bom out of wedlock, he succeeded his father as duke of Normandy, subduing rebellions and becoming the mightiest noble in France. In 1051 Edward the Confessor promised to make him heir to the English throne, but on Edward’s death in 1066, Harold Godwineson, earl of Wessex (Harold II), was accepted as king. Determined to assert his right to the throne, William sailed from Nor¬ mandy with an invasion force, defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings, and was crowned king. The Norman Conquest was thus completed, though English rebellions continued until 1071. To secure England’s fron¬ tiers, William invaded Scotland (1072) and Wales (1081). In 1086 he ordered the survey summarized in the Domesday Book. He divided his lands between his sons, giving Normandy and Maine to Robert II and England to William II.

William I German Wilhelm Friedrich Ludwig (b. March 22, 1797, Berlin—d. March 9, 1888, Berlin) King of Prussia (1861-88) and Ger¬ man emperor (1871-88). Son of Frederick William III of Prussia, he fought in the war against Napoleon (1814) and thereafter devoted himself to the Prussian army and military affairs. He advocated the use of force against the rebels in 1848. The military governor of Rhineland province from 1849, he succeeded his brother on the Prussian throne in 1861. A conser¬ vative and a supporter of military reform, William insisted on a three-year term of military conscription, which the liberal lower chamber rejected in 1862. William was ready to abdicate but was dissuaded by Otto von Bismarck, whom he had installed as prime minister (1862). He cautiously supported Bismarck’s policies in the Seven Weeks' War and the Franco- Prussian War. Proclaimed German emperor in 1871, he oversaw the con¬ tinued rise of Germany as a European power.

William I Dutch Willem known as William the Silent (b. April 24, 1533, Dillenburg, Nassau—d. July 10, 1584, Delft, Holland) First stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands (1572-84). Son of William, count of Nassau-Dillenburg, he inherited the principality of Orange and other vast estates from his cousin in 1544. He was educated at the Habsburg imperial court in Brussels, then appointed by Philip II to the council of state (1555). He helped negotiate the Treaty of Cateau- Cambresis, earning his byname for keeping silent about secret policy deci¬ sions, and was named stadtholder (governor) in Holland, Zeeland, and Utrecht in 1559. Increasingly opposed to Philip’s strict ordinances against Protestants, he led a revolt in 1568 that proved unsuccessful, but in 1572 he succeeded in uniting the northern provinces. He was proclaimed their stadtholder, and his position was solidified by the Pacification of Ghent (1576). He sought help from France in the revolt against Spain, and in 1579 he was outlawed by Philip. A reward was offered for his assassina¬ tion, and in 1584 he was shot by a fanatical Catholic.

William I Dutch Willem Frederik (b. Aug. 24, 1772, The Hague, United Provinces of the Netherlands—d. Dec. 12, 1843, Berlin, Prussia)

James Wilkinson, portrait by J.W. Jarvis; in the Filson Club Collection, Louisville, Ky.

COURTESY OF THE FILSON CLUB, LOUISVILLE, KY.

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

2060 I William I ► William of Auxerre

King of The Netherlands and grand duke of Luxembourg (1815-40). Son of William V, prince of Orange, he married in 1791 and immigrated with his family to England after the French invasion of the Dutch Republic (1795). He sided with Prussia against Napoleon and lived in exile at the Prussian court until 1812. After the Dutch revolt against French rule, he became sovereign prince of the Dutch Republic (1813) and king of the United Netherlands (1815), which included Belgium, Liege, and Luxem¬ bourg. He led an economic recovery program that sparked a commercial revival, but his autocratic methods and imposition of Dutch as the offi¬ cial language provoked a revolt by Belgium (1830) that led to its inde¬ pendence. In 1840 he abdicated in favour of his son, William II.

William I known as William the Lion (b. 1143—d. Dec. 2, 1214, Stirling, Stirlingshire, Scot.) King of Scotland (1165-1214). He succeeded his father as earl of Northumberland (1152) but was forced to relinquish his earldom to England’s Henry II in 1157. He succeeded his brother, Mal¬ colm IV, as king of Scotland and in 1173 joined a revolt of Henry’s sons in an attempt to regain Northumberland. Captured in 1174, he was released after submitting to Henry’s overlordship. He bought his release from subjection in 1189. He continued to agitate for the restoration of Northumberland but was forced to renounce his claim by King John in 1209. William created many of the major burghs of modem Scotland.

William II or William Rufus (b. c. 1056—d. Aug. 2, 1100, near Lyndhurst, Hampshire, Eng.) King of England (1087-1100) and de facto duke of Normandy (1096-1100). He inherited England from his father, William I (the Conqueror), and quelled a rebellion (1088) by barons loyal to his brother Robert II. A tyrannical ruler, he brutally punished the lead¬ ers of a second revolt (1095). He forced St. Anselm, archbishop of Can¬ terbury, to leave England and seized his lands (1097). He reduced the Scottish kings to vassals (1093), subjugated Wales (1097), and waged war on Normandy (1089-96), gaining control when Robert mortgaged the duchy. His death in a hunting accident may have been an assassination ordered by his brother Henry (later Henry I).

William II German Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert known as Kaiser Wilhelm (b. Jan. 27, 1859, Potsdam, near Berlin, Prussia—d. June 4, 1941, Doom, Neth.) German emperor (kaiser) and king of Prus¬ sia (1888-1918). Son of the future Frederick III and grandson of Britain’s Queen Victoria, William succeeded his father to the throne in 1888. Two years later, he forced the resignation of Otto von Bismarck. He was char¬ acterized by his frequently militaristic manner and by his vacillating poli¬ cies that undermined those of his chancellors, including Leo, count von Caprivi, and Bernhard, prince von Bulow. From 1897 he encouraged Adm. Alfred von Tirpitz to strengthen the German fleet and challenged France’s position in Morocco (see Moroccan crises). He sided with Austria- Hungary in the crisis with Serbia (1914), and in World War I he encour¬ aged the grandiose war aims of the generals and politicians. After Germany’s defeat, he fled to The Netherlands, ending the monarchy in Germany, and lived in exile until his death.

William II Italian Guglielmo known as William the Good (b.

1154—d. Nov. 18, 1189, Palermo, Kingdom of Sicily) Last Norman king of Sicily (1166-89). His mother served as regent until 1171, after which he ruled alone, winning a reputation for clemency and justice. His friend¬ ship with Manuel I Comnenus ended when the Byzantine emperor thwarted William’s proposed marriage to his daughter. Turning against the Byzan¬ tines, William allied with Frederick I Barbarossa. He agreed to his aunt’s marriage to Frederick’s son Henry (later Henry VI), giving Henry a claim to Sicily. He attacked the Byzantines (1185) with early success but was defeated within sight of Constantinople.

William II Dutch Willem (b. May 27, 1626, The Hague, United Prov¬ inces of the Netherlands—d. Nov. 6, 1650, The Hague) Prince of Orange, count of Nassau, and stadtholder of the Netherlands (1647-50). The son of Frederick Henry, prince of Orange, he married Mary Stuart, eldest daughter of Charles I of England, in 1641 and later succeeded to his father’s offices (1647), which included the stadtholdership of all the prov¬ inces of the Netherlands except Friesland. Despite the treaty with Spain in 1648 that recognized the independence of the United Provinces, he planned to conquer part of the Spanish Netherlands (modern Belgium). He imprisoned members of the assembly of Holland who opposed his war policy but died of smallpox before his influence could be tested.

William II Dutch Willem Frederik George Lodewijk (b. Dec. 6, 1792, The Hague, United Provinces of the Netherlands—d. March 17, 1849, Tilburg, Neth.) King of The Netherlands and grand duke of Lux¬

embourg ( 1840—49). Son of William I, he lived in exile with his family in England from 1795. He commanded Dutch troops in the Battle of Water¬ loo (1815). Sent by his father to Belgium in 1830 to appease the rebels, he failed to stop the independence movement. In 1840 he became king of The Netherlands on his father’s abdication. As king, he helped stabi¬ lize the economy. In 1848 he oversaw passage of a new liberal constitu¬ tion that expanded the authority of the ministers and assembly, established direct elections, and secured basic civil liberties.

William III Dutch Willem Hendrik (b. Nov. 14, 1650, The Hague, United Provinces of the Netherlands—d. March 19, 1702, London, Eng.) Stadtholder of the United Provinces of the Netherlands (1672-1702) and king of England (1689-1702). Son of William II, prince of Orange, and Mary Stuart, daughter of Charles I of England, he was born in The Hague soon after his father’s death. The Act of Seclusion (1654) that barred the house of Orange from power in the United Provinces was rescinded in 1660, and William was appointed captain general and named stadtholder by popular acclaim in 1672. He successfully defended his country against Charles II of England and Louis XIV of France. In 1677 he married Mary (later Queen Mary II), daughter of the English duke of York (later James II). In 1688 William was invited by James’s opponents to intervene against the Catholic ruler, and he landed with a Dutch army in Devon, Eng. He and Mary were proclaimed joint rulers of England in 1689; he ruled alone after Mary’s death in 1694. He directed the European opposition to Louis XIV, which eventually led to the War of the Grand Alliance after Will¬ iam’s death. In Britain he secured religious toleration and strengthened Parliament, granting independence to the judiciary in the Act of Settle¬ ment.

William III Dutch Willem Alexander Paul Frederik Lodewijk

(b. Feb. 19, 1817, Brussels, Belg.—d. Nov. 23, 1890, Apeldoom, Neth.) King of The Netherlands and grand duke of Luxembourg (1849-90). Son of William II, he succeeded to the throne on his father’s death in 1849. Opposed to the liberal constitution of 1848, he adopted an anti-Catholic posture and from 1862 to 1868 was able to rule through the cabinet. He tried to sell his sovereignty over Luxembourg to France (1867) but yielded to Prussia’s demand that the area be independent. Following this crisis, his influence over parliament declined. On his death, he was succeeded by his daughter, Wilhelmina.

William IV (b. Aug. 21, 1765, London, Eng.—d. June 20, 1837, Wind¬ sor Castle, near London) King of Great Britain and Ireland and of Hanover (1830-37). The son of George III, he entered the royal navy at age 13, fought in the American Revolution, and served in the West Indies, leav¬ ing the navy as a rear admiral in 1790 (he was later called “the Sailor King”). He angered his father by his numerous love affairs and fathered 10 illegitimate children by the actress Dorothea Jordan (1761-1816). In 1830 he succeeded his brother George IV as king. Opposed to parliamen¬ tary reform, William delayed consideration of the Reform Bill of 1832, but his prime minister, Earl Grey, persuaded him to promise to create enough peers in the House of Lords to carry it, forcing its passage. On William’s death, the British crown passed to his niece, Victoria, and the Hanoverian crown to his brother Ernest Augustus, duke of Cumberland

(1771-1851).

William and Mary, College of State-supported college in Will¬ iamsburg, Va. The second-oldest institution of higher education in the U.S. (after Harvard University), it was chartered in 1693 by King William III and Queen Mary II. Its alumni include Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, James Monroe, John Tyler, and Gen. Winfield Scon. George Washington was the college’s first American chancellor, from 1788 to 1799. The honour soci¬ ety Phi Beta Kappa was organized as a social fraternity there in 1776.

William of Auvergne \6-'vern y , o-'v3rn\ French Guillaume d'Auvergne (b. after 1180, Aurillac, France—d. 1249, Paris) French philosopher and theologian. Named bishop of Paris in 1228, William was a reformer who defended the rising mendicant orders against attacks by the secular clergy. After the church condemned the works of Aristotle, he became one of the first Western scholars to attempt to incorporate into Christianity whatever in Aristotle’s thought was compatible with it. He was influenced by Avicenna and by the Neoplatonism of St. Augustine. His principal work, written in 1223^40, is Magisterium divinale (“The Divine Teaching”).

William of Auxerre \o-'ser\ French Guillaume d'Auxerre (b. c.

1150, Auxerre, bishopric of Auxerre—d. Nov. 3, 1231, Rome) French phi¬ losopher and theologian. After a long career at the University of Paris, he

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

William of Ockham ► Williams I 2061

was appointed in 1231 by Pope Gregory IX to a council to censor the works of Aristotle (which in 1210 had been deemed corruptive of Christianity) included in the university’s curriculum. Seeing no reason to avoid the ratio¬ nal analysis of Christian revelation, he was on the verge of reorganizing the curriculum when he died. In his principal work, usually called the Summa aurea (written 1215-20), he treated such matters as God’s triune nature, the problem of human choice, and the nature of virtue.

William of Ockham See William of Ockham William Rufus See William II (England)

William Tell See William Tell

William the Conqueror See William I (England)

William the Good See William II (Sicily)

William the Silent See William I (Netherlands)

Williams, Daniel Hale (b. Jan. 18, 1858, Hollidaysburg, Pa., U.S.—d. Aug. 4, 1931, Idlewild, Mich.) U.S. surgeon. He graduated from Chicago Medical College. In 1891 he founded Provident Hospital in Chi¬ cago, the first interracial hospital in the U.S., to provide training for black interns and nurses. There in 1893 he performed the first successful heart surgery; the patient lived at least 20 years after Williams opened the tho¬ racic cavity, sutured a wound of the pericardium (the sac around the heart), and closed the chest. In 1913 he became the only black charter member of the American College of Surgeons.

Williams, (George) Emlyn (b. Nov. 26, 1905, Mostyn, Flintshire, Wales—d. Sept. 25, 1987, London) Welsh actor and playwright. He made his acting debut in 1927 and won acclaim in London and New York City for his performance in his own play, the macabre Night Must Fall (1935; film, 1964). His most popular play was the autobiographical The Corn Is Green (1938; film, 1945), the story of a boy and his teacher in a Welsh mining town. He also acted in many films and was renowned for his pub¬ lic readings from Charles Dickens, Saki, and Dylan Thomas.

Williams, Eric (Eustace) (b. Sept. 25, 1911, Port of Spain, Trin.—d. March 29, 1981, St. Anne, near Port of Spain) First prime minister of independent Trinidad and Tobago (1962-81). He received a doctorate from the University of Oxford and served on the faculty of Howard Uni¬ versity in the U.S. before founding the People’s National Movement (PNM) in 1956 and taking his nation into the Federation of the West Indies in 1958 only to withdraw in favour of independence in 1962. Oil reserves helped boost the nation’s income, and Williams remained popular until 1970, when an economic downturn led to unsuccessful revolts. He served as prime minister until his death. Capitalism and Slavery (1944) and From Columbus to Castro: The History of the Caribbean, 1492—1969 (1970) were among his many books.

Williams, Hank orig. Hiram King Williams (b. Sept. 17, 1923, Georgiana, Ala., U.S.—d. Jan. 1, 1953, Oak Hill, W.Va.) U.S. singer and guitarist. Williams was born into poverty. He began playing guitar at age 8, made his radio debut at 13, and formed his first band, Hank Williams and his Drifting Cowboys, at 14. With the help of Fred Rose, his “Lovesick Blues” became a smash hit in 1949, and he joined the Grand Ole Opry that year after an extraordinary debut appearance. Among his best-selling recordings were “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” “Jambalaya,” “Your Cheatin’ Heart,” and “Hey, Good Lookin’.” He wrote almost all the songs he recorded. His death from heart failure at 29 may have resulted from drug and alcohol abuse. He remains perhaps the most revered figure in the history of country music. His son, Hank Williams, Jr., has had an exceptional recording career, and grandson Hank Williams III is also a musician.

Williams, Jody (b. Oct. 9, 1950, Putney, Vt., U.S.) American activist who in 1992 helped found the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). In 1997 she and the ICBL were named corecipients of the Nobel Prize for Peace. She coordinated the launch of the ICBL with the coop¬ eration of six international organizations, with the mission to abolish the use of antipersonnel land mines, of which tens of millions lay unexploded in more than 70 countries. Her efforts bore fruit in December 1997, when the Mine Ban Treaty was signed by more than 100 countries in Ottawa. By 2003 some 130 nations had ratified the treaty, but not the major mine- producing ones, such as the United States, Russia, and China. Williams was coauthor, with Shawn Roberts, of After the Guns Fall Silent: The Enduring Legacy of Landmines (1995).

Williams, Joe orig. Joseph Goreed (b. Dec. 12, 1918, Cordele, Ga., U.S.—-d. March 29, 1999, Las Vegas, Nev.) U.S. singer and actor. Williams worked with Coleman Hawkins and Lionel Hampton before join¬ ing Count Basie’s band in 1954. The success of “Every Day I Have the Blues” established Williams as a sophisticated blues singer with a pow¬ erful bass-baritone voice. After leaving the Basie band in 1961, Williams led small ensembles singing popular songs, ballads, and blues. During the 1980s he played the role of Grandpa A1 on the television series The Cosby Show. His album Nothin’ but the Blues (1984) won a Grammy Award.

Williams, John (Towner) (b. Feb. 8, 1932, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. composer and conductor. Williams studied music at UCLA and Juilliard. He began his career as a jazz pianist but began to compose for TV and film in the 1960s. He has scored over 75 films, including Jaws (1975), the Star Wars trilogy, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), E.T. (1982), Schindler’s List (1993), and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001), and has won five Academy Awards. He has also written many concert works. From 1980 to 1993 he was conductor of the Boston Pops.

Williams, Mary Lou orig. Mary Elfrieda Scruggs (b. May 8,

1910, Atlanta, Ga., U.S.—d. May 28, 1981, Durham, N.C.) U.S. pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader. A child prodigy, she had her profes¬ sional debut with big bands at age 12. Beginning in 1929, Williams wrote arrangements for many swing bands, including those of Andy Kirk (1898- 1992) and Duke Ellington. Her 12-movement Zodiac Suite was performed by the New York Philharmonic in 1946. A pianist with strong roots in the blues and early jazz, Williams embraced the innovations of bebop and later free jazz, performing with a diverse array of jazz musicians, including Dizzy Gillespie and Cecil Taylor (b. 1933). In the 1960s and ’70s she com¬ posed a number of liturgical pieces for jazz ensembles, including Music for Peace (1970), popularly known as “Mary Lou’s Mass.”

Williams, Ralph Vaughan See Ralph Vaughan Williams

Williams, Roger (b. 1603?, London, Eng.—d. Jan. 27/March 15, 1683, Providence, R.I.) English clergyman, colonist, and founder of Rhode Island. He arrived in Boston in 1631 and became pastor of the separatist Plymouth colony (1632-33). Banned from the Massachusetts Bay Colony for his beliefs, including his support for religious toleration and the rights of Indians and his opposition to civil authority, he founded the colony of Rhode Island and the town of Providence (1636) on land purchased from the Narragansett Indians. The colony established a demo¬ cratic government and instituted separation of church and state, and it became a haven for Quakers and others seeking religious liberty. He obtained a charter for the colony (1643) and served as its first president, maintaining friendly relations with the Indians and acting as peacemaker for nearby colonies.

Williams, Ted orig. Theodore Samuel Williams (b. Aug. 30, 1918, San Diego, Calif., U.S.—d. July 5, 2002, Inverness, Fla.) U.S. baseball player, one of the greatest hitters of all time. Williams began playing professionally at age 17. He became an outfielder with the Bos¬ ton Red Sox in 1939 and remained with the team until his retirement in 1960. Tall and thin, he was dubbed “the Splendid Splinter” but was also known more simply as “the Kid.” A left-handed hitter, he compiled a life¬ time batting average of .344, the eighth highest on record. He batted .406 in 1941, becoming the last .400 hitter of the century. His career slugging percentage (.634) is second only to that of Babe Ruth. Williams is the only player besides Rogers Hornsby to have twice won the batting Triple Crown (best average, most home runs, and most runs batted in in the same sea¬ son). Despite losing five years of his career to service as a flyer in World War II and the Korean War, he hit a total of 521 home runs, capping his career with a home run in his final at bat. After retiring as a player, he managed the Washington Senators (1969-72) and became an accom¬ plished fisherman.

Williams, Tennessee orig. Thomas Lanier Williams (b. March 26, 1911, Columbus, Miss., U.S.—d. Feb. 25, 1983, New York, N.Y.) U.S. playwright. The son of a traveling salesman and a clergyman’s daughter, he lived in St. Louis from age 12. After attending several colleges he graduated from the University of Iowa (1938). He first won recognition for his group of one-act plays American Blues (1939). Wider success came with The Glass Menagerie (1944) and mounted with A Streetcar Named Desire (1947, Pulitzer Prize; film, 1951), Camino Real (1953), and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1955, Pulitzer Prize; film, 1958). His plays, which also include Suddenly Last Summer (1958; film, 1959) and The Night of

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

2062 I Williams ► Wilson

the Iguana (1961; film, 1964), describe a world of repressed sexuality and violence thinly veiled by gentility. He also wrote the novel The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1950; film, 1961) and the screenplays for The Rose Tattoo (1955, adapted from his 1951 play) and Baby Doll (1956). A clear¬ sighted chronicler of fragile illusions, he is regarded as one of the great¬ est American playwrights.

Williams, Venus; and Williams, Serena (respectively b. June 17, 1980, Lynwood, Calif., U.S.; b. Sept. 26, 1981, Saginaw, Mich.) U.S. tennis players. The sisters were introduced to the sport by their father, who recognized their talent early on. Venus turned professional in 1994, and Serena followed suit a year later. Possessing powerful ground strokes and superb athleticism, the sisters were soon dominating women’s pro¬ fessional tennis. Serena won the U.S. Open in 1999, and Venus won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in 2000 and 2001. In 2002 Serena won the French Open, the U.S. Open, and Wimbledon, defeating Venus in the finals of each tournament. Serena captured her first Australian Open in 2003 and later in the year defended her Wimbledon title. In 2005 Serena won her second Australian Open, and Venus captured her third Wimble¬ don title.

Williams, William Carlos (b. Sept. 17, 1883, Rutherford, N.J., U.S.—d. March 4, 1963, Rutherford) U.S. poet. Trained as a pediatrician, Williams wrote poetry and practiced medicine in his hometown. He is noted for making the ordinary appear extraordinary through clear and dis¬ crete imagery, as in the fresh and direct impressions of the sensuous world expressed in “The Red Wheelbarrow,” from Spring and All (1923). Pater¬ son (1946-58), a five-part long poem, evokes a complex vision of mod¬ ern American life. In 1963 he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in poetry for Pictures from Brueghel (1962). His numerous prose works include essays, a trilogy of novels, short stories, drama, and autobiography.

Williams College Private liberal arts college in Williamstown, Mass. Established in 1793 and affiliated with the Congregational church, it has since become nondenominational. Williams has consistently rated as one of the best colleges in the U.S., offering bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in fine and applied arts and sciences. Campus facilities include notable collections of American, contemporary, and South Asian art and materials relating to U.S. history. Notable alumni include director Elia Kazan.

William's War, King See King William's War

Williamsburg City (pop., 2000: 11,998), southeastern Virginia, U.S. Located on a tidewater peninsula between the James and York rivers, it was settled in 1633 as Middle Plantation and served as a refuge from Indian attacks. The College of William and Mary was founded there in 1693. After the burning of nearby Jamestown in 1699, it became the capi¬ tal of Virginia until 1780, when the capital was moved to Richmond. Dur¬ ing the American Civil War, Confederate forces were defeated at the Battle of Williamsburg in 1862. Colonial Williamsburg, an extensive restoration of several hundred colonial buildings, was begun in 1926 and became part of the Colonial National Historical Park in 1936.

Willkie, Wendell L(ewis) (b. Feb. 18, 1892, Elwood, Ind., U.S.—d. Oct. 8, 1944, New York, N.Y.) U.S. politician. He moved to New York City in 1929 to become an attorney for the Commonwealth and Southern Corp., of which he was later president (1933-40). He led the opposition of utilities companies to competition from the federally funded Tennes¬ see Valley Authority. His criticism of Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt led to his dark-horse victory at the 1940 Republican Party presidential convention. After a vigorous campaign, he won only 10 states but received more than 22 million popular votes, the largest number received by a Republican to that time. After a worldwide tour, he wrote One World (1943), a best¬ selling plea for postwar international cooperation.

willow Any shrub or tree of the genus Salix, family Salicaceae, native mostly to northern temperate regions, and common in lowland and marshy areas. Willows are valued as ornamentals and for their shade, erosion control, and timber. Certain species yield salicin, the source of salicylic acid used in pain relievers. All species have alternate, usually narrow leaves, catkins, and seeds with long, silky hairs. Pussy willows, the male form of several shrubby species, have woolly catkins that form before the leaves appear and are considered one of the first signs of spring. Weeping willows have long drooping branches and leaves. Several spe¬ cies grow as small matted woody plants on the tundra. See photograph opposite.

willow herb Any of about 200 plants that make up the genus Epilo- bium, of the evening primrose family, especially fireweed ( E. angustifolium; also called great willow herb). The young parts of some species can be cooked and eaten as potherbs. The plants are sometimes cultivated but must be carefully confined. The hairy willow herb, or codling-and-cream (E. hirsutum ), is similar to fireweed but has hairy leaves and stalks and notched flower petals; in eastern North America it quickly establishes itself on cleared land. Rock fringe ( E. obcordatum ) is a low-growing form from the western U.S.

Wills, Bob orig. James Robert Wills (b. March 6,1905, near Kosse, Texas, U.S.—d. May 13, 1975, Fort Worth, Texas) U.S. country music fid¬ dler, singer, and songwriter. Wills learned fiddle from his father. In Tulsa, Okla., in 1934 he formed the Texas Playboys; their radio performances made him a star in the Southwest, and in 1942 the group moved to Cali¬ fornia, performing in dance halls and films. They pioneered the “western swing” genre, which blended traditional hoedown fiddling with big-band swing and blues. Wills’s best-known compositions include “San Antonio Rose” and “Panhandle Rag.”

Wills, Helen (Newington) or Helen Wills Moody in full Helen Newington Wills Moody Roark (b. Oct. 6, 1905, Centerville, Calif., U.S.—d. Jan. 1, 1998, Carmel, Calif.) U.S. tennis player. She won the first of seven U.S. singles titles in 1923. She took the gold medal in both singles and doubles at the 1924 Olympic Games. So overpowering was her game that from 1927 to 1932 she won every set she played in U.S. singles play. She took the Wimbledon title eight times (1927-30, 1932,1933, 1935, 1938), a record only broken in 1990 by Martina Navra¬ tilova.

Wilmington City (pop., 2000: 72,664), northern Delaware, U.S. Located at the junction of the Delaware and Christina rivers, it is the state’s largest city and its industrial, financial, and commercial centre and main port. The oldest permanent settlement in the Delaware valley, it was settled by Swedes in 1638. Called Fort Christina, it was captured by Peter Stuyvesant’s Dutch forces in 1655; they were ousted by the English in 1664. A prosperous port after the Quakers moved there in the 1730s, it was renamed Wilmington in 1739. During the American Revolution the Battle of the Brandywine was fought nearby. In 1802 E.I. du Pont estab¬ lished a gunpowder mill there (see DuPont Co.).

Wilmot Proviso Vpra-'vI-.zoV (1846) Proposal in the U.S. Congress to prohibit the extension of slavery to the territories. Offered by Rep. David Wilmot (1814-68) as an amendment to a bill that purchased territory from Mexico, it prohibited slavery in the new territory. The proviso provoked a national debate that reflected the growing sectional discord between North and South. Despite repeated attempts, the Wilmot Proviso was never passed by both houses of Congress. Nevertheless, the principle became a basic tenet of the Republican Party.

Wilson, Alexander (b. July 6, 1766, Paisley, Renfrew, Scot.—d. Aug. 23, 1813, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.) Scottish-born U.S. ornithologist. In Scotland he wrote poetry while working as a weaver and peddler; in 1792 his satiric works led to a fine and imprisonment. Impoverished, in 1794 he immigrated to the U.S., where he became a teacher. Influenced by Wil¬ liam Bartram, he decided c. 1804 to write on North American birds, and he began studying art and ornithology in his leisure time. His pioneering

work American Ornithology (9 vol., 1808-14) established him as a founder of the field. After publica¬ tion of its first volume, he spent much of his time selling subscrip¬ tions for the expensive work and col¬ lecting specimens for the remaining volumes.

Wilson, August (b. April 27, 1945, Pittsburgh, Pa., U.S.—-d. Oct. 2, 2005, Seattle, Wash.) U.S. play¬ wright. He was largely self- educated. A participant in the black aesthetic movement, he cofounded and directed Pittsburgh’s Black Horizons Theatre (1968), published poetry in African American journals, and pro¬ duced several plays, including Jitney (1982), before his Ma Rainey’s

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Wilson, C. ► Wilson, R. I 2063

Black Bottom opened on Broadway in 1984. Inspired by the colloquial language, music, folklore, and storytelling tradition of African Americans, he continued his cycle of plays, each set in a different decade of the 20th century, with Fences (1986, Pulitzer Prize), Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (1988), The Piano Lesson (1990, Pulitzer Prize), Two Trains Running (1992), Seven Guitars (1996), Gem of the Ocean (first produced 2003), King Hedley II (2005), and Radio Golf (first produced 2005).

Wilson, C(harles) T(homson) R(ees) (b. Feb. 14, 1869, Glencorse, Midlothian, Scot.—d. Nov. 15, 1959, Carlops, Peeblesshire) Scottish physicist. His invention of the Wilson cloud chamber, a device that became widely used in the study of radioactivity, X rays, cosmic rays, and other particle phenomena, also led to the later development of the bubble cham¬ ber. He shared the 1927 Nobel Prize for Physics with Arthur Compton.

Wilson, Colin (Henry) (b. June 26, 1931, Leicester, Leicestershire, Eng.) British writer. Born into a working-class family, he initially thought of a career in science, then gravitated toward writing. At age 24 he pub¬ lished The Outsider (1957), a study of 20th-century alienation that had phenomenal success. His next book was dismissed as unoriginal or super¬ ficial, but Ritual in the Dark (1960) and Adrift in Soho (1961) helped repair his reputation. Many of his more than 70 books deal with the psy¬ chology of crime, the occult, human sexuality, and his own existential philosophy. Alien Dawn (1998) discusses the UFO phenomenon.

Wilson, Edmund (b. May 8, 1895, Red Bank, N.J., U.S.—d. June 12, 1972, Talcottville, N.Y.) U.S. critic and essayist. He attended Princeton University and initially worked as a reporter and magazine editor. Much of his writing, in which he probed diverse subjects with scholarship and common sense in clear and precise prose, was published in The New Republic and The New Yorker.

Among his influential critical works are Axel’s Castle (1931), a survey of the Symbolist poets; To the Finland Station (1940), a study of the think¬ ers who set the stage for the Russian Revolution; and Patriotic Gore (1962), analyzing American Civil War literature. His other writings include plays, poetry, the short-story collection Memoirs of Hecate County (1946), and five volumes of post¬ humously published journals. He was widely regarded as the leading critic of his time.

Wilson, Edmund B(eecher) (b. Oct. 19, 1856, Geneva, Ill., U.S.—d. March 3, 1939, New York, N.Y.) U.S. cell biologist. He joined the Colum¬ bia University faculty in 1891, where he became established as a pioneer in work on cell lineage (tracing the formation of different kinds of tissues from individual cells). His interests later extended to internal cellular organization and the problem of sex determination, leading to a series of papers (1905) on the role of chromosomes. Recognizing the importance of Gregor Mendel’s findings, he realized that the role of chromosomes went far beyond the determination of sex and envisioned their function as important components in heredity as a whole, ideas that were a pow¬ erful force in shaping future genetic research.

Wilson, Edward O(sborne) (b. June 10, 1929, Birmingham, Ala., U.S.) U.S. biologist. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University, where he taught from 1956. Recognized as the world’s leading authority on ants, he discovered their use of pheromone for communication. His The Insect Societies (1971) was the definitive treatment of the subject. In 1975 he published Sociobiology, a highly controversial and influential study of the genetic basis of social behaviour in which he claimed that even a characteristic such as unselfish generosity may be genetically based and may have evolved through natural selection, that preservation of the gene rather than the individual is the focus of evolutionary strategy, and that the essentially biological principles on which animal societies are based apply also to human social behaviour. In On Human Nature (1978, Pulitzer Prize) he explored sociobiology’s implications in regard to human aggression, sexuality, and ethics. With Bert Holldobler he wrote the major study The Ants (1990, Pulitzer Prize). In The Diversity of Life (1992) he examined how the world’s species became diverse and the massive extinc¬

tions caused by 20th-century human activities. In Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge (1998) he proposed that all of existence can be organized and understood in accordance with a few fundamental natural laws.

Wilson, (James) Harold, Baron Wilson (of Rievaulx) (b.

March 11, 1916, Huddersfield, Yorkshire, Eng.—d. May 24, 1995, Lon¬ don) British politician and prime minister (1964-70, 1974-76). The son of an industrial chemist, he was educated at the University of Oxford, where he collaborated with William H. Beveridge on work that led to the latter’s 1942 report. In World War II he was drafted into the civil service and pro¬ duced a study of the mining industry. His book New Deal for Coal (1945) was the basis for the Labour Party’s plan to nationalize the coal mines. He was elected to the House of Commons in 1945 and appointed president of the Board of Trade (1947-51). Elected leader of the Labour Party in 1963, he became prime minister in 1964. He widened the party’s voting majority in 1966 but his popularity declined in the late 1960s, partly because of his assumption of direct responsibility for the economy shortly before the pound was devalued in 1967. In his second term, he confirmed Britain’s membership in the European Economic Community (1975). He resigned unexpectedly in 1976 and was created a life peer in 1983.

Wilson, Harriet E. orig. Harriet E. Adams (b. 1828?, Milford, N.H.?, U.S.—d. 1863?, Boston, Mass.?) U.S. writer, probably the first African American to publish a novel in English in the U.S. Little is known of her history until 1850. She may have been an indentured servant in Milford, N.H., before becoming a domestic in Massachusetts. In 1851 she married a fugitive slave who ran off to sea before the birth of their son. Her one book, written to make money to reclaim her son from foster care, is Our Nig (1859), a largely autobiographical novel that treats racism in the pre-Civil War North. After 1863 Wilson disappeared from the public record.

Wilson, J(ohn) Tuzo (b. Oct. 24, 1908, Ottawa, Ont., Can.—d. April 15, 1993, Toronto, Ont.) Canadian geologist and geophysicist. He was the first graduate of a Canadian university in the field of geophysical studies (1930). After World War II he became a professor of geophysics at the University of Toronto. He established global patterns of faulting and the structure of the continents, and in the 1960s he became the world’s lead¬ ing spokesman for the theory of continental drift. His studies also were important for the hypothesis of seafloor spreading and the theory of con¬ vection currents within the Earth. A range of mountains in Antarctica is named for him.

Wilson, James (b. Sept. 14, 1742, Fife, Scot.—d. Aug. 21, 1798, Edenton, N.C., U.S.) American colonial lawyer, politician, and jurist. Immigrating to North America in 1765, he taught Greek and rhetoric in the College of Philadelphia and then studied law under John Dickinson. In 1774 he published a widely read treatise proposing a commonwealth of British colonies. He was a member of the Committee of Correspon¬ dence, a delegate to the Continental Congress (1775-77), and a signer of the Declaration of Independence. He helped draft the U.S. Constitution and the Pennsylvania state constitution and delivered lectures that became landmarks in American jurisprudence. He served on the U.S. Supreme Court (1789-98).