Britannica Concise 2005

(2005 est.): 975,000. Capital: Dili. Languages: Tetum and Portuguese (both official). Religions: Christianity (predominantly Roman Catholic; also Protestant); also Islam, traditional beliefs. Currency: U.S. dollar. The Por¬ tuguese first settled on Timor in 1520 and were granted rule over Timor’s eastern half in 1860. The Timor political party Fretilin declared East Timor independent in 1975 after Portugal withdrew its troops. It was invaded by Indonesian forces and annexed to Indonesia in 1976. The takeover, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of East Timorese dur¬ ing the next two decades, was disputed by the United Nations. In 1999 an independence referendum won overwhelmingly; though Indonesia officially recognized the referendum, anti-independence militias killed hundreds of people and sent thousands fleeing to the western part of the island before and after the vote. A UN-administered interim authority imposed order and oversaw elections, the promulgation of a constitution, and the return of refugees; East Timor became a sovereign nation in 2002.

East-West Schism See Schism of 1054

East York Borough (pop., 2001: 115,185), southeastern Ontario, Canada. With the cities of North York, Toronto, Scarborough, York, and Etobicoke, it forms the municipality of Metropolitan Toronto. A planned industrial and residential urban complex, it was established in 1967 through the amalgamation of the former East York township (created in 1924) and the former town of Leaside (settled 1819).

Easter Major festival of the Christian church year, celebrating the res¬ urrection of Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion. In Western churches it falls on a Sunday between March 22 and April 25, depending on the date of the first full moon after the spring equinox. This time span was fixed after the Council of Nicaea (ad 325). In the Eastern Orthodox cal¬ endar, which uses a different calculation, it often falls later. A joyful fes¬ tival and a time of redemption, Easter brings an end to the long period of penance that constitutes Lent. The word is sometimes said to have been derived from Eostre, a Germanic goddess of spring, but other origins of the term more closely associated with Christian traditions have been pro¬ posed. Easter has acquired a number of religious and popular customs. The Easter worship service is one of the high points of the Christian cal¬ endar, and since the late 2nd century Easter has also been a time for bap¬ tism. The painting of eggs and tales of a rabbit who decorates and hides eggs are among the folk customs associated with the holiday.

Easter Island Spanish Isla de Pascua native Rapa Nui Vra-pa-'nu-e\ Island (pop., 2002: 3,791), eastern Pacific Ocean. Located 2,200 mi (3,600 km) west of Chile, it has an area of 63 sq mi (163 sq km). Initially inhabited c. ad 400 by Polynesians from the Marquesas,

Easter Island has long been famous for its monolithic stone statues in human form. They are some 10-40 ft (3-12 m) high, the heaviest weigh¬ ing about 82 tons. They were probably erected c. ad 1000-1600. War and disease decimated the island’s population over the succeeding centuries, and the statues’ origins were forgotten. Annexed by Chile in 1888, the island was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995.

Easter Rising or Easter Rebellion (1916) Republican insurrection in Ireland against the British, which began on Easter Monday, April 24. Led by Patrick Pearse and Tom Clarke, some 1,560 Irish Volunteers and 200 members of the Irish Citizen Army seized the Dublin General Post Office and other strategic points in Dublin. After five days of fighting, British troops put down the rebellion, and 15 of its leaders were tried and executed. Though the uprising itself had been unpopular with most of the Irish, the executions caused revulsion against the British authorities. The uprising heralded the end of British power in Ireland.

Eastern Air Lines, Inc. Former U.S. airline that served primarily the eastern U.S. Founded in 1928 as Pitcairn Aviation, Inc., it was incorpo¬ rated in 1938 with Eddie Rickenbacker as its president. It flourished for sev¬ eral decades, adding flights to the Caribbean and South America. Severe financial reverses in the mid-1980s led to its sale to Texas Air Corp. in 1986 and its liquidation in 1991.

Eastern Catholic Church See Eastern Rite Church

Eastern Hemisphere Part of the Earth east of the Atlantic Ocean. It includes Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa. Longitudes 20° W and 160° E are often considered its boundaries.

Eastern Indian bronze or Pala bronze Metal sculptures produced from the 9th century in the area of modem Bihar and West Bengal in India, extending into Bangladesh. Made of an alloy of eight metals and produced by lost-wax casting, they represent various divinities (e.g., Shiva, Vishnu) and are small and portable. Produced in the great Buddhist monasteries and distributed throughout South Asia, they influenced the art of Burma (Myanmar), Siam (Thailand), and Java.

Eastern Orthodoxy officially Orthodox Catholic Church One

of the three major branches of Christianity. Its adherents live mostly in Greece, Russia, the Balkans, Ukraine, and the Middle East, with a large following in North America and Australia. The titular head of Eastern Orthodoxy is the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople (Istanbul), but its many territorial churches (including the huge Russian Orthodox church and the Greek Orthodox church) are governed autonomously by head bish¬ ops or patriarchs, who must be unmarried or widowed even though lower orders of the clergy may marry. Eastern Orthodoxy also boasts a strong monastic tradition. The separation of the Eastern churches from the West¬ ern, or Latin, branch began with the division of the Roman Empire into two parts under Constantine I. A formal break was made in 1054 (see Schism of 1054). Doctrinally, Eastern Orthodoxy differs from Roman Catholicism in that it does not accept the primacy of the pope or the clause in the Western creed that states that the Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father (God) and the Son (Jesus). The Orthodox church accepts the deci¬ sions of the seven ecumenical councils as well as several later ones. It maintains that there are seven sacraments and has a worship service that is theologically and spiritually rich. In the early 21st century, Eastern Orthodoxy had more than 200 million adherents worldwide.

Eastern rite church or Eastern Catholic church Any of several Eastern Christian churches that trace their origins to ethnic or national Eastern churches but are united with the Roman Catholic church (see Roman Catholicism). A few of these churches became associated with Rome in the 12th century, but most trace their origins to the failure to unite Eastern and Western churches at the Council of Ferrara-Florence in 1439 or to churches that rejoined Rome in the 16th century or later. East¬ ern rite churches acknowledge the authority of the pope but are allowed to use their own ancient liturgies and to maintain rites and customs more typical of Eastern Orthodoxy, such as allowing priests to marry and admit¬ ting infants to Holy Communion. The Eastern rite includes the Ukrainian Orthodox church, the Maronite Church, and some Armenians, Ruthenians, and Melchites (in Syria). Today Eastern Catholics number more than 12 million.

Eastern Woodlands Indian Any member of the various North American Indian peoples of the largely wooded area stretching east from the Mississippi River valley to the Atlantic coastline and extending north into Canada and south as far as what are now the U.S. states from Illi-

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Eastman ► eccentric I 591

nois to North Carolina. The Indians in this region spoke Iroquoian, Algon- quian, and Siouan languages. The heaviest population concentrations were near or along the seacoast, lakes, ponds, marshes, creeks, and rivers. There animals could be hunted, fish caught, birds taken, leaves, seeds, and roots of wild plants gathered, shellfish collected, and crops grown. Certain areas were favoured with resources not found elsewhere in the region. In cer¬ tain parts of the upper Great Lakes area, wild rice {Zizania aquatica) grew in abundance, and the Menominee especially depended on it. In addition to the Menominee, Eastern Woodlands groups include the Abenaki, Wood¬ land Cree, Delaware, Fox, Huron, Illinois, Iroquois, Mohican, Miami, Mic- mac, Mohawk, Mohegan, Montagnais and Naskapi, Ojibwa, Oneida, Ottawa, Pequot, Powhatan, Sauk, Seneca, Tuscarora, and Winnebago.

Eastman, George (b. July 12,1854, Waterville, N.Y., U.S.—d. March 14, 1932, Rochester, N.Y.) U.S. inventor and manufacturer. Eastman in 1880 perfected a process for making dry plates for photography. In 1889 he introduced transparent film, and in 1892 he reorganized his Rochester company as the Eastman Kodak Co. The introduction of the first Kodak (a coined word that became a trademark) camera helped promote large- scale amateur photography. By 1927 Eastman Kodak had a virtual monopoly of the U.S. photographic industry, and it has remained one of the largest American companies in its field. Eastman’s generous bequests to the University of Rochester were acknowledged in the naming of the Eastman School of Music.

Eastman Kodak Co. Major U.S. manufacturer of film, cameras, pho¬ tographic supplies, and other imaging products. The company was incor¬ porated in 1901 as the successor to a business founded in 1880 by George Eastman, whose innovations included the perfection of a process for mak¬ ing dry plates, roll film (1884), and the Kodak camera (1888), the first camera simple and portable enough to appeal to large numbers of ama¬ teur photographers. The company’s later innovations included the first home-movie equipment, the easy-to-use Kodachrome color slide film, the cartridge-loaded Instamatic cameras, and the highly automatic Disc cam¬ eras. Its headquarters are in Rochester, N.Y. See also Polaroid Corp.

Eastwood, Clint(on) (b. May 31, 1930, San Francisco, Calif., U.S.) U.S. actor and director. He won attention in the television series Rawhide (1959-66) before his roles in three of Sergio Leone’s “spaghetti westerns” (1964-66) made him an international star. He returned to the U.S. for the successful Dirty Harry (1971), the first of a series of action films in which he played laconic and dangerous heroes. He combined directing with act¬ ing in films such as Play Misty for Me (1971), Pale Rider (1985), Unfor¬ given (1992, Academy Award), A Perfect World (1993), The Bridges of Madison County (1995), and Million Dollar Baby (2004, Academy Award). His interest in jazz led him to direct and produce Bird (1988), about Charlie Parker. His minimalist style of acting and direction garnered critical acclaim to accompany his long-established box-office success.

eating disorders Abnormal eating patterns, including anorexia ner¬ vosa, bulimia, compulsive overeating, and pica (appetite for nonfood sub¬ stances). These disorders, which usually have a psychological component, may lead to underweight, obesity, or malnutrition.

Eaton, Cyrus S(tephen) (b. Dec. 27, 1883, Pugwash, Nova Scotia, Can.—d. May 9, 1979, near Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.) U.S.-Canadian indus¬ trialist and philanthropist. Entering business in 1907, he built several electric-power plants in western Canada and soon diversified into other utilities, banking, and steel in the U.S. In 1930 he merged several steel companies to form Republic Steel, the third-largest U.S. steel company. He lost most of his fortune in the Great Depression but subsequently made another one. An advocate of nuclear disarmament and improved Soviet- U.S. relations, he helped inaugurate the Pugwash Conferences in 1957.

EB virus See Epstein-Barr virus

Ebadi, Shirin (b. 1947, Hamadan, Iran) Iranian lawyer, writer, and teacher. After earning a law degree from the University of Tehran (1969), Ebadi became one of the first women judges in Iran but was forced to resign after the 1979 revolution and the establishment of an Islamic repub¬ lic. She then practiced law, taught at the University of Tehran, and became noted for her efforts to promote democracy and human rights, especially those of women and children in Iran. In 2000 she was briefly jailed after distributing evidence that implicated government officials in the murder of university students in 1999. Found guilty of “disturbing public opin¬ ion,” she was given a prison term, barred from practicing law for five years, and fined, although her sentence was later suspended. In 2003 Ebadi

was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace, becoming the first Muslim woman and the first Iranian to receive the award.

Ebb, Fred See John Kander

Ebbinghaus \'e-biq-,haus\, Hermann (b. Jan. 24, 1850, Barmen, Rhenish Prussia—d. Feb. 26, 1909, Halle, Ger.) German psychologist. He pioneered in experimental methods for measuring rote learning and memory, demonstrating that memory is based on associations. His well- known “forgetting curve” relates forgetting to the passage of time. His major works are Memory (1885) and Principles of Psychology (1902).

Ebert \'a-bert\, Friedrich (b. Feb. 4, 1871, Heidelberg, Ger.—d. Feb. 28, 1925, Berlin) German politician. A journeyman saddler and trade unionist, he became chairman of the German Social Democratic Party in 1913. Under his leadership, the Social Democratic movement gained increasing influence in German national politics. After revolution broke out in 1918, he formed a Socialist coalition government. He helped bring about the Weimar constitution and in 1919 was elected the first president of the Weimar Republic. Facing threats to the new government, he waged a civil war, assisted by the Freikorps, against Socialists and Communists and suppressed the Kapp Putsch. His authority was weakened in 1923 by the crisis over the Ruhr occupation, his party’s withdrawal from the govern¬ ing coalition, and Adolf Hitler’s abortive Beer Hall Putsch. He died in office.

Ebla modern Tell MardTkh \'tel- , mar-dik\ Ancient city, northwestern Syria. Located south of Aleppo, it dominated what is now northern Syria, Lebanon, and parts of northern Mesopotamia during the height of its power (c. 2600-2240 bc) and enjoyed trade with states as far away as Egypt, the Iranian plateau, and Sumer. The city’s archives, dating to the 3rd millen¬ nium bc, were discovered virtually intact during excavations in 1975; they offer a rich source of information about the area’s ancient way of life.

Ebola \e-'bo-l3\ Virus responsible for a severe and often fatal hemor¬ rhagic fever. Outbreaks in primates, including humans, have been recorded. Initial symptoms are fever, severe headaches and muscle aches, and loss of appetite; blood clots and profuse uncontrollable hemorrhag¬ ing appear within days, followed by nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Death occurs in 8-17 days; fatality rates range from 50% to 90%. There is no known treatment. It takes its name from the Ebola River in northern Congo (Zaire), where it first emerged in 1976. The virus appears as long filaments, sometimes branched or intertwined. The virus particle contains one molecule of RNA. How it attacks cells is unknown. It can be trans¬ mitted through contact with bodily fluids; unsanitary conditions and lack of adequate medical supplies have been factors in its spread.

ebony Wood of several species of trees of the genus Diospyros (family Ebenaceae), found widely in the tropics. The best is very heavy, almost black, and from heartwood only. Because of its colour, durability, hard¬ ness, and ability to take a high polish, ebony is used for cabinetwork and inlaying, piano keys, knife handles, and turned articles. The best Indian and Ceylon ebony is produced by D. ebenum, which grows in abundance west of Trincomalee in Sri Lanka. Jamaica, American, or green ebony comes from Brya ebenus, a leguminous tree or shrub.

Ebro \'a- ,bro\ River ancient Iberus River, northeastern Spain. Rising in the Cantabrian Mountains and flowing 565 mi (910 km) in a south¬ easterly course to the Mediterranean Sea, between Barcelona and Valen¬ cia, the Ebro is the longest river wholly in Spain and the second longest in the Iberian Peninsula. It has the greatest discharge and the largest drainage basin of any Spanish river. It is navigable for only 15 mi (25 km) upstream from its delta.

Eca de Queiros Ve-sa-do-'ka-.riishN, Jose Maria de or Jose

Maria de Eca de Queiroz (b. Nov. 25, 1845, Povoa do Varzim, Port.—d. Aug. 16, 1900, Paris, France) Portuguese novelist. The illegiti¬ mate son of a magistrate, he began a career in law but turned to writing; later he held several diplomatic posts. He was associated with the Gen¬ eration of ’70, a group of intellectuals committed to social and artistic reform. His novels, in which he introduced naturalism and realism to Por¬ tuguese fiction, include The Sin of Father Amaro (1876), Cousin Bazilio (1878), and his masterpiece, The Maias (1888), a satire exploring the consequences of decadence in Portuguese society. He is often considered his country’s greatest novelist.

eccentric and rod mechanism Arrangement of mechanical parts used to obtain a reciprocating straight-line motion from a rotating shaft. It serves the same purpose as a slider-crank mechanism and is particularly

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

592 I Ecdes ► Eckstine

useful when the required stroke of the reciprocating motion is small in comparison with the dimensions of the driving shaft. Because an eccen¬ tric can be attached anywhere along a shaft, it is unnecessary to form any part of the shaft into a crank. Eccentrics are seldom used to transmit large forces because friction loss would be high; they are commonly used to drive the valve gears of engines.

Eccles \'ek-3lz\, W(illiam) H(enry) (b. Aug. 23, 1875, Barrow-in- Furness, Lancashire, Eng.—-d. April 29, 1966, Oxford, Oxfordshire) English physicist. After receiving his doctorate from the Royal College of Science, he became an early advocate of Oliver Heaviside’s theory that an upper layer of the atmosphere reflects radio waves, enabling their transmission over long distances. In 1912 he suggested that solar radia¬ tion accounted for wave-propagation differences between day and night.

Ecclesia \3-'kle-ze-3\ (Greek, ekklesia : “gathering of those summoned”) In ancient Greece, the assembly of citizens in a city-state. The Athenian Ecclesia already existed in the 7th century; under Solon it consisted of all male citizens age 18 and older. It controlled policy, including the right to hear appeals in the public court, elect archons, and confer special privileges. After discussion, members voted by a show of hands; a simple majority determined the results. The body could not initiate new business, since motions had to originate in the boule. Ecclesias existed in most Greek city-states through Roman times, though their powers faded under the empire.

ecclesiastical heraldry Arms associated with the administrative and collegiate bodies of a church, particularly the Anglican, Roman Catholic, and Presbyterian churches. Abbeys, priories, and dioceses have their own arms, and high ecclesiastical functionaries have always added their per¬ sonal arms. See also coat of arms; heraldry.

Ecevit \,e-je-'vet\, Bulent (b. May 28, 1925, Constantinople, Tur.) Turk¬ ish poet, journalist, and politician. A writer for the newspaper of the Republican People’s Party (RPP), he was elected as a RPP member to the Turkish parliament in 1957. As minister of labour (1961-65), he made the strike a legal weapon for labour for the first time in Turkish history. He became head of the RPP in 1972 and served as prime minister of Turkey, first in the 1970s and later from 1999 to 2002. As head of government, he declared an amnesty for all political prisoners and in 1974 authorized Turkey’s military intervention in Cyprus after the Greek-led coup on that island.

Echegaray \,a-cha-ga-'rl\ (y Eizaguirre) , Jose (b. April 19, 1832, Madrid, Spain—d. Sept. 4, 1916, Madrid) Spanish dramatist. A math¬ ematics professor in his early life, he later held government positions, including minister of finance, and helped develop the Banco de Espana. His first play, The Checkbook, was not produced until he was 42 years old; from then on he wrote an average of two plays a year for the rest of his life. These melodramas, now forgotten, were very popular in his day, and he was admired for his fertile imagination and his skillful stage effects. With Frederic Mistral, he won the 1904 Nobel Prize for Literature.

echidna \i-'kid-n3\ or spiny anteater any of three species of egg- laying mammals (monotremes) of the family Tachyglossidae. Echidnas are stocky and virtually tailless. They have strong-clawed feet and spines on the upper part of the brownish body. The snout is narrow, the mouth very small, and the tongue long and sticky for feeding on termites, ants, and other invertebrates in the soil.

The short-beaked echidna common in Australia and Tasmania is 12-21 in. (30-53 cm) long. Two species of long-beaked echidna live only on the island of New Guinea. They are 18-31 in. (45-78 cm) long and have a prominent downward-pointing snout. They are valued for their meat and are declining in numbers. Echidnas exude milk from mammary openings on the skin, and the young lap it up. See also anteater; pangolin; hedgehog.

echinacea \,e-ki-'na-sh3, ,e-ki-'na-se-3\ Any member of the coneflower genus Echinacea. Commonly called the purple coneflower, echinacea is used as a border plant. The leaves and roots are used in herbal remedies to boost the immune system and in the treatment of colds and flu.

echinoderm \i-'kl-n3-,d3rm\ Any of various marine invertebrates (phy¬ lum Echinodermata) characterized by a hard spiny covering, a calcite skeleton, and five-rayed radial body symmetry. About 6,000 existing spe¬ cies are grouped in six classes: feather stars and sea lilies (Crinoidea), starfishes (Asteroidea), brittle stars and basket stars (Ophiuroidea), sea urchins (Echinoidea), sea daisies (Concentricycloidea), and sea cucumbers (Holothurioidea). Echinoderms are found in all the oceans, from the inter¬ tidal zone to the deepest oceanic trenches. Most species have numerous tube feet that are modified for locomotion, respiration, tunneling, sensory perception, feeding, and grasping. Movement of water through a water vascular system composed of five major canals and smaller branches con¬ trols extension and retraction of the tube feet. Most echinoderms feed on microscopic detritus or suspended matter, but some eat plants.

Echo In Greek mythology, a mountain nymph transformed into a disem¬ bodied voice. According to Ovid, her chatter distracted Hera from the infi¬ delities of Zeus, and the goddess punished her by depriving her of independent speech, rendering her able only to repeat the last words spo¬ ken by another. When Narcissus failed to requite her love, she faded away into a voice only.

echolocation V.e-ko-lo-'ka-shsnV Physiological process for locating distant or invisible objects (such as prey) by emitting sound waves that are reflected back to the emitter by the objects. Echolocation is used by an animal to orient itself, avoid obstacles, find food, and interact socially. Most bats employ echolocation, as do most, if not all, toothed whales (but apparently no baleen whales), a few shrews, and two kinds of birds (oil- birds and certain cave swiftlets). Echolocation pulses consist of short bursts of sound at frequencies ranging from about 1,000 Hz in birds to at least 200,000 Hz in whales. Bats use frequencies from about 30,000 to about 120,000 Hz.

Eck, Johann orig. Johann Maier (b. Nov. 13, 1486, Egg, Swabia—d. Feb. 10, 1543, Ingolstadt, Bavaria) German Roman Catholic theologian. He was ordained in 1508, became a doctor of theology in 1510, and began a lifelong career at the University of Ingolstadt. Initially friendly with Martin Luther, Eck assailed Luther’s Ninety-five Theses as heretical. In 1519 he debated Luther and Andreas Karlstadt (c. 1480- 1541), and Leo X commissioned Eck to publish and enforce the papal bull condemning the Theses. Eck’s treatise Enchiridion Against the Lutherans (1525) summarized contested Catholic beliefs, Protestant objections to them, and Catholic answers to the objections; it was Eck’s most popular work and the best-known Catholic polemical handbook of the 16th cen¬ tury.

Eckert, J(ohn) Presper, Jr. (b. April 9, 1919, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.—d. June 3, 1995, Bryn Mawr, Pa.) U.S. engineer. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1946 he and John W. Mauchly built a digi¬ tal computer, the ENIAC, which contained a primitive form of the cir¬ cuitry used in present-day high-speed computers. In 1949 they introduced the BINAC (Binary Automatic Computer). Their third model, UNIVAC I (Universal Automatic Computer), found many uses in commerce. Eckert received 85 patents and in 1969 was awarded the National Medal of Sci¬ ence.

Eckert, Wallace J(ohn) (b. June 19, 1902, Pittsburgh, Pa., U.S.—d. Aug. 24, 1971, Englewood, N.J.) U.S. astronomer. He received his Ph.D. from Yale University. He was one of the first to apply IBM punched-card equipment to the reduction of astronomical data and to describe planetary orbits numerically. As director of Columbia University’s Watson Scien¬ tific Computing Laboratory from 1945, he used computers to determine precise planetary positions and made major contributions to the study of the orbit of the Moon, one of whose craters is named for him.

Eckhart, Meister orig. Johannes (b. c. 1260?, Hochheim?, Thuringia—d. 1327/28?, Avignon) German theologian and mystic. A Dominican from age 15, he studied theology at Cologne and Paris and became a popular preacher and teacher. In his mid 30s he served as vicar of Thuringia. His mystical writings examined the relationship between God and humanity; he pictured the soul achieving complete union with God and posited something (Godhead) beyond God. He took up a pro¬ fessorship in Cologne in his 60th year; shortly thereafter he was charged with heresy on several points in his works. He died before he could rebut a second charge.

Eckstine \ l ek-,stln\, Billy orig. William Clarence Eckstein (b.

July 8, 1914, Pittsburgh, Pa., U.S.—d. March 8, 1993, Pittsburgh) U.S.

Short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus).

KRISTI L BOWMAN

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

eclampsia ► Economic Co-operation I 593

Eclipses of the Sun and Moon. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun. Observers in the Moon's penumbral shadow see a partial block¬ ing of the Sun; those in the umbra see the Sun completely covered by the Moon. A lunar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes into Earth's shadow. In the penumbra, the Moon may appear slightly dimmed; when it enters the umbra, the entire Moon becomes quite dark and may take on a reddish tinge.

© MERRIAM-WEBSTER INC.

singer and bandleader. Eckstine sang with Earl Hines’s big band (1939— 43), then formed his own band in 1944. Sympathetic with the new sounds of bebop, Eckstine engaged many of its innovators, including Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Sarah Vaughan. Disbanding the group in 1947, he achieved greater popular success as a solo performer, specializing in bal¬ lads that featured his deep, resonant baritone. He was one of the greatest interpreters of popular song and blues in jazz.

eclampsia See preeclampsia and eclampsia

eclipse The passage of all or part of one celestial body into the shadow of another, the eclipsing body. Observers on Earth experience two major types—lunar eclipses and solar eclipses—each of which involves the Sun and the Moon. The type observed depends on whether Earth is the eclips¬ ing body or the body in shadow. In a lunar eclipse the orbit of the Moon carries it through Earth’s shadow. Observers see the full Moon dim con¬ siderably, but it remains faintly visible. In a solar eclipse the Moon is the eclipsing body, passing between Earth and the Sun while casting a trav¬ eling shadow across Earth’s lighted surface. Observers along the shad¬ ow’s path see a total or partial obscuring of the Sun’s disk by the Moon’s silhouette. The shadow cast by the eclipsing body consists of the central umbra, into which no direct sunlight penetrates (total eclipse), and the encircling penumbra, reached by light from only part of the Sun’s disk (partial eclipse). Solar eclipses visible from different parts of Earth occur two to five times a year; one total solar eclipse occurs in most years. When Earth is closest to the Sun and the Moon farthest from Earth, the Moon’s silhouette may fall entirely within the Sun’s disk, with a ring of the disk visible around it (annular eclipse). Lunar eclipses occur twice in most years. Other kinds of eclipses include those of the Sun by Mercury or Venus (transits), of distant stars by planets or planetary satellites (occul- tations), and of stars by orbiting companion stars (see eclipsing variable star). See also Baily's beads. See illustration above.

eclipsing variable star or eclipsing binary Binary star in an orbit whose plane passes through or very near Earth. An observer on Earth sees one star pass periodically in front of the other and diminish its light through an eclipse. The star Algol, in the constellation Perseus, was the first such star recognized (1782); thousands are now known. By combin¬ ing the brightness variations with spectroscopic information for both stars, astronomers can determine the mass and size of each star. See also vari¬ able STAR.

ecliptic \i-‘klip-tik\ Great circle that is the apparent path of the Sun among the constellations in the course of a year; from another viewpoint, the projection on the celestial sphere of the orbit of Earth around the Sun, which intersects the plane of the celestial equator at the vernal and autum¬ nal EQUiNOXes. The constellations of the zodiac are arranged along the ecliptic.

eclogite Vek-l3-jlt\ Any member of metamorphic rocks whose original composition is similar to that of basalt. Eclogites consist primarily of green pyroxene (omphacite) and red garnet (pyrope), with small amounts of various other minerals such as kyanite and rutile. These minerals in the eclogite are the result of reactions in originally igneous minerals having been subjected to extremely high pressures and moderate to relatively high temperatures.

eclogue Vek-.log, 'ek-,lag\ Short, usually pastoral, poem in the form of a dialogue or soliloquy (see pastoral). The eclogue as a pastoral form first

appeared in the idylls of Theocritus, was adopted by Virgil, and was revived in the Renaissance by Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio. Edmund Spenser’s Shepheardes Calender, a series of 12 eclogues, was the first outstanding pastoral poem in English. Eighteenth-century English poets used the eclogue for ironic verse on nonpastoral subjects. Since then a distinction has been made between eclogue and pastoral, with eclogue referring only to the dialogue or soliloquy form.

Eco Va-ko,\ English Ve-ko\, Umberto (b. Jan. 5, 1932, Alessandria, Italy) Italian critic and novelist. He has taught since 1971 at the Univer¬ sity of Bologna. In The Open Work (1962), he suggested that some lit¬ erature and modem music is fundamentally ambiguous and invites the audience to participate in the interpretive and creative process. He explored other areas of communication and semiotics in A Theory of Semi¬ otics (1976), Semiotics and the Philosophy of Language (1984), and The Limits of Interpretation (1991). His novels include the erudite but best¬ selling murder mystery The Name of the Rose (1980; film, 1986), Fou¬ cault’s Pendulum (1988), and The Island of the Day Before (1995).

Ecole (Nationale Superieure) des Beaux-Arts \bo-'zar\ School of fine arts ( beaux arts ) in Paris. It was founded by the merger in 1793 of the Academie de Peinture et de Sculpture, founded by Charles Le Brun in 1648, and the Academie d’Architecture, founded in 1671 by Jean- Baptiste Colbert. It has traditionally provided instruction in drawing, paint¬ ing, sculpture, engraving, and (until 1968) architecture. The Beaux-Arts style in architecture has been particularly influential.

ecology Study of the relationships between organisms and their envi¬ ronment. Physiological ecology focuses on the relationships between indi¬ vidual organisms and the physical and chemical features of their environment. Behavioral ecologists study the behaviours of individual organisms as they react to their environment. Population ecology, includ¬ ing population genetics, is the study of processes that affect the distribu¬ tion and abundance of animal and plant populations. Community ecology studies how communities of plant and animal populations function and are organized. Paleoecology is the study of the ecology of fossil organ¬ isms. Ecologists frequently concentrate on particular taxonomic groups or on specific environments. Applied ecology applies ecological principles to the management of populations of crops and animals. Theoretical ecologists provide simulations of particular practical problems and develop models of general ecological relevance.

econometrics Statistical and mathematical analysis of economic rela¬ tionships. Econometrics creates equations to describe phenomena such as the relationship between changes in price and demand. Econometricians estimate production functions and cost functions for firms, supply-and- demand functions for industries, income distribution in an economy, mac¬ roeconomic models and models of the monetary sector for policy makers, and business cycles and growth for forecasting. Information derived from these models helps both private businesses and governments make deci¬ sions and set monetary and fiscal policy. See also Ragnar Frisch; macro¬ economics; MICROECONOMICS.

Economic Co-operation and Development, Organisation for (OECD) International organization founded in 1961 to stimulate eco¬ nomic progress and world trade. Based in Paris, the OECD serves as a consultative assembly and a clearinghouse for economic data, and it also coordinates economic aid to developing countries. Its members include Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Fin-

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

594 I economic development ► ecosystem

land, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the U.K., and the U.S.

economic development Process whereby simple, low-income national economies are transformed into modern industrial economies. Theories of economic development—the evolution of poor countries dependent on agriculture or resource extraction into prosperous countries with diversified economies—are of critical importance to Third World nations. Economic development projects have typically involved large capital investments in infrastructure (roads, irrigation networks, etc.), industry, education, and financial institutions. More recently, the realiza¬ tion that creating capital-intensive industrial sectors provides only limited employment and can disrupt the rest of the economy has led to smaller- scale economic development programs that aim to utilize the specific resources and natural advantages of developing countries and to avoid disruption of their social and economic structures. See also economic GROWTH.

economic forecasting Prediction of future economic activity and developments. Economic forecasts, which range from a few weeks to many years, are widely used in business and government to help formu¬ late policy and strategy. Macroeconomic forecasts predict the course of the aggregate economy and concentrate on variables such as interest rates, the rate of inflation, and the rate of unemployment. Forecasts of private consumption and investment, government expenditures, and net exports help government policymakers responsible for fiscal policy. For example, part of the justification for a change in taxes is a forecast of its economic effects. Microeconomic forecasts are designed to project the effects of change at the level of an industry or a firm. Most microeconomic fore¬ casts begin with assumptions about the aggregate economy before focus¬ ing on the projected effects in the specific sector that is of interest. Manufacturers and retailers use such forecasts to formulate business plans such as those involving inventory, production levels, or hiring.

economic geology Scientific discipline concerned with the distribu¬ tion of mineral deposits, the economic considerations involved in their recovery, and assessment of the reserves available. Economic geology deals with metal ores, fossil fuels, and other materials of commercial value, such as salt, gypsum, and building stone. It applies the principles and methods of various other fields, especially geophysics, structural geology,

and STRATIGRAPHY.

economic growth Process by which a nation’s wealth increases over time. The most widely used measure of economic growth is the real rate of growth in a country’s total output of goods and services (gauged by the gross domestic product adjusted for inflation, or “real GDP”). Other measures (e.g., national income per capita, consumption per capita) are also used. The rate of economic growth is influenced by natural resources, human resources, capital resources, and technological development in the economy along with institutional structure and stability. Other factors include the level of world economic activity and the terms of trade. See also ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.

economic indicator Statistic used to determine the state of general economic activity or to predict it in the future. A leading indicator is one that tends to turn up or down before the general economy does (e.g., building permits, common stock prices, and business inventories). Coin¬ cident indicators move in line with the economy; lagging indicators change direction after the economy does.

economic planning Use of government to make economic decisions with respect to the use of resources. In communist countries with a state planning apparatus, detailed and rigid planning results in a command economy; land, capital, and the means of production are publicly owned and centrally allocated, and the government makes both micro- and mac¬ roeconomic decisions. Microeconomic decisions include what goods and services to produce, the quantities to produce, the prices to charge, and the wages to pay. Macroeconomic decisions include the rate of invest¬ ment and the extent of foreign trade. In most industrialized countries, governments influence their economies indirectly through monetary and fiscal policies. A few key economic sectors may be publicly owned, but the trend has been toward the privatization of industries that were social¬ ized in the aftermath of the Great Depression and World War II. Japan is the most notable example of economic planning in a capitalist framework; government and industry cooperate closely in planning patterns of capi¬

tal investment, research and development, and export strategies. See also CAPITALISM, COMMUNISM, SOCIALISM, ZAIBATSU.

economic stabilizer Any of the institutions and practices in an economy that serve to reduce fluctuations in the business cycle through off¬ setting effects on the amounts of income available for spending (dispos¬ able income). The progressive income tax, unemployment compensation, and farm price supports all help stabilize the amount of disposable income, as do family and corporate saving.

economic system Set of principles and techniques by which a soci¬ ety decides and organizes the ownership and allocation of economic resources. At one extreme, usually called a free-enterprise system, all resources are privately owned. This system, following Adam Smith, is based on the belief that the common good is maximized when all mem¬ bers of society are allowed to pursue their rational self-interest. At the other extreme, usually called a pure-communist system, all resources are publicly owned. This system, following Karl Marx and Vladimir Ilich Lenin, is based on the belief that public ownership of the means of production and government control of every aspect of the economy are necessary to minimize inequalities of wealth and achieve other agreed-upon social objectives. No nation exemplifies either extreme. As one moves from capitalism through socialism to communism, a greater share of a nation’s pro¬ ductive resources is publicly owned and a greater reliance is placed on economic planning. Fascism, more a political than an economic system, is a hybrid; privately owned resources are combined into syndicates and placed at the disposal of a centrally planned state.

economic warfare Use of economic measures by governments engaged in international conflict. These may include export and import controls, shipping controls, trade agreements with neutral nations, and so on. Economic warfare among belligerents began with the blockade and interception of contraband. In World War II it was broadened to include economic pressure applied to neutral countries from which the enemy obtained its supplies. In the Cold War it often involved using measures such as an embargo to deny potential enemies goods that might contrib¬ ute to their war-making ability.

economics Social science that analyzes and describes the consequences of choices made concerning scarce productive resources. Economics is the study of how individuals and societies choose to employ those resources: what goods and services will be produced, how they will be produced, and how they will be distributed among the members of society. Economics is customarily divided into microeconomics and macroeconomics. Of major concern to macroeconomists are the rate of economic growth, the inflation rate, and the rate of unemployment. Specialized areas of economic investi¬ gation attempt to answer questions on a variety of economic activity; they include agricultural economics, economic development, economic history, environmental economics, industrial organization, international trade, labour economics, money supply and banking, public finance, urban econom¬ ics, and welfare economics. Specialists in mathematical economics and econometrics provide tools used by all economists. The areas of investiga¬ tion in economics overlap with many other disciplines, notably history, MATHEMATICS, POLITICAL SCIENCE, and SOCIOLOGY.

Economist, The Weekly magazine of news and opinion, founded in 1843 and published in London, generally regarded as one of the world’s preeminent journals of its kind. It gives thorough and wide-ranging cov¬ erage of general news and particularly of international political develop¬ ments that bear on the world’s economy. In accord with the views promoted by its founders and conveyed by legendary Economist editor Walter Bagehot, the publication maintains the position that free markets typically provide the best method of running economies and governments. North America accounts for about half of its total readership.

ecosystem Ve-ko-.sis-tomV Complex of living organisms, their physi¬ cal environment, and all their interrelationships in a particular unit of space. An ecosystem’s abiotic (nonbiological) constituents include min¬ erals, climate, soil, water, sunlight, and all other nonliving elements; its biotic constituents consist of all its living members. Two major forces link these constituents: the flow of energy and the cycling of nutrients. The fundamental source of energy in almost all ecosystems is radiant energy from the sun; energy and organic matter are passed along an ecosystem’s food chain. The study of ecosystems became increasingly sophisticated in the later 20th century; it is now instrumental in assessing and controlling the environmental effects of agricultural development and industrializa¬ tion. See also biome.

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

ecoterrorism ► Eddington I 595

ecoterrorism or ecological terrorism or environmental ter¬ rorism The destruction, or the threat of destruction, of the environment in order to intimidate or coerce governments. The term has also been applied to crimes committed against companies or government agencies in order to prevent or interfere with activities allegedly harmful to the environment. Ecoterrorism includes threats to contaminate water supplies or to destroy or disable energy utilities, for example, and practices such as the deployment of anthrax. Another form of ecoterrorism, often referred to as environmental warfare, consists of the deliberate and illegal destruc¬ tion, exploitation, or modification of the environment as a strategy of war or in times of armed conflict. Examples include the U.S. military’s use of the defoliant Agent Orange during the Vietnam War and the destruc¬ tion of Kuwaiti oil wells by retreating Iraqi military forces during the 1991 Persian Gulf War. The activities of some environmental activists also have been described as ecoterrorism. These activities include criminal trespass on the property of logging companies and other firms and obstruction of their operations through sabotage as well as the environmentally harm¬ less modification of natural resources in order to make them unsuitable for commercial use (a practice known as “monkeywrenching”).

Ecstasy Euphoria-inducing stimulant and hallucinogen. It is a derivative of the amphetamine family and a relative of the stimulant methamphetamine. Taken in pill form, it has a chemical relationship to the psychedelic drug mescaline. Developed in 1913 as an appetite suppressant, the drug was not originally approved for release. In the 1950s and ’60s, it began to be used in psychotherapy. The drug increases the production of the neurotransmit¬ ter serotonin and blocks its reabsorption in the brain; it also increases the amount of the neurotransmitter dopamine. Stimulation of the central ner¬ vous system gives users feelings of increased energy and lowers social inhibitions. By the 1980s, parties and dances that featured Ecstasy use (known as “raves”) became popular. Despite its ban in the U.S. and the rest of the world, the drug retained a huge following, and it played an important role in the youth subculture, similar to that of LSD during the 1960s.

ectopic pregnancy \ek-'ta-pik\ or extrauterine pregnancy

Condition in which a fertilized egg is imbedded outside the uterus (see fertilization). Early on, it may resemble a normal pregnancy, with hormonal changes, amenorrhea, and development of a placenta. Later, most patients have pain as the growing embryo stretches the structure it is attached to. Rupture may cause life-threatening bleeding. A tubal pregnancy may result from obstruction of the egg’s passage through the fallopian tube. In an ovarian pregnancy, the egg is fertilized before it leaves the ovary. Implantation elsewhere in the abdomen is an abdominal pregnancy.

ectotherm Vek-ta-.thamA Any so-called cold-blooded animal; that is, any animal whose regulation of body temperature depends on external sources, such as sunlight or a heated rock surface. The ectotherms include the FiSHes, amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates. The body temperatures of aquatic ectotherms are usually very close to those of the water. Ectotherms do not require as much food as warm-blooded animals (endotherms) of the same size, but most cannot deal as well with cold surroundings.

Ecuador officially Republic of Ecuador Country, northwestern South America. Area: 105,037 sq mi (272,045 sq km), including the Galapagos Islands. Population (2005 est.): 13,364,000. Capital: Quito. About two-fifths of the population are Indian (mostly Quechua), and two- fifths are mestizos; most of the rest are of Spanish ancestry. Language: Spanish (official). Religion: Christianity (predominantly Roman Catholic; also Protestant). Currency: U.S. dollar. Pacific coastal lowlands rise to the peaks and highlands of the Andes Mountains, which give way to the Ecua¬ doran portion of the tropical Amazon River basin in the east. The Andes rise dramatically in two chains that run north to south and are separated by high valleys. The highest peak is Chimborazo, which rises to an elevation of 20,702 ft (6,310 m); nearby Cotopaxi, 19,347 ft (5,897 m) high, is the world’s highest active volcano. The country lies in an active earthquake zone and is prone to violent seismic activity. Almost two-fifths of the land is forested, with tropical rainforests in the east. Ecuador straddles the Equator. Its climate varies from tropical in the lowlands to temperate in the highlands. It has a developing economy based primarily on mining, manu¬ facturing, services, and agriculture. Principal exports include crude petro¬ leum, bananas, and shellfish. It is a republic with one legislative house; its head of state and government is the president. What is now Ecuador was conquered by the Incas in the second half of the 15th century and came under Spanish control in 1534. Under the Spaniards it was a part of the Viceroyalty of Peru until 1740, when it became a part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada. It gained its independence from Spain in 1 822 as part of the

republic of Gran Colombia and in 1830 became a sovereign state. A succession of authoritarian governments ruled into the mid-20th century, and the military played a prominent role in politics. Border disputes

led to war with Peru in 1941; conflicts with that country continued peri¬ odically until a final demarcation of the border in 1998. The economy thrived during the 1970s because of large profits from petroleum exports but was depressed in the 1980s because of lower oil prices. In the 1990s social unrest caused political instability and several changes in the presi¬ dency. In a controversial move to help stabilize the economy, the U.S. dol¬ lar replaced the sucre as the national currency in 2000.

ecumenism Xe-'kyu-mo-.ni-zam, , e-kyu-mo- 1 ni-z3m\ Movement toward unity or cooperation among the Christian churches. The first major step in the direction of ecumenism was the International Missionary Confer¬ ence of 1910, a gathering of Protestants. Several Protestant denomina¬ tions inaugurated a Life and Work Conference (on social and practical problems) in 1925 and a Faith and Order Conference (on church doctrine and governance) in 1927. After World War II the World Council of Churches (WCC) was established; the International Missionary Confer¬ ence joined it in 1961. The Roman Catholic church also has shown strong interest in improving interchurch relations since the Second Vatican Coun¬ cil (1962—65) and, with the patriarch of Constantinople, has lifted the excommunication of 1054. The Eastern Orthodox church was active in the movement since 1920 and joined the WCC at its inception. The more conservative or fundamentalist Protestant denominations have generally refrained from involvement. Another important factor in 20th-century ecumenism was the creation of united churches that reconcile splintered sects, such as the United Church of Christ (1957) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (1988).

eczema See dermatitis

Edda Body of ancient Icelandic literature. Contained in two 13th-century books, it is the fullest and most detailed source for modem knowledge of Germanic mythology. The Prose Edda (Younger Edda, or Snorra-Edda\ c. 1222), a handbook on poetics by Snorri Sturluson, explains diction and metre in skaldic and Eddie poetry and recounts tales from Norse mythol¬ ogy. The Poetic Edda (Elder Edda, or Scemundar Edda’, c. 1250-1300) is a collection of mythological and heroic poems of unknown authorship composed c. 800-1100. These austere lays are the oldest surviving ante¬ cedents of the Nibelungenued legends.

Eddington, Sir Arthur Stanley (b. Dec. 28, 1882, Kendal, West¬ morland, Eng.—d. Nov. 22, 1944, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire) British astronomer, physicist, and mathematician. At the University of Cambridge

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

596 i Eddy ► Edgerton

he won every mathematical honour. He was chief assistant at the Royal Observatory at Greenwich (1906- 13); in 1914 he became director of the Cambridge observatory. Reli¬ gious and pacifistic, he declared that the world’s meaning could not be discovered by science. His greatest contributions were in astrophysics, where his studies included stellar structure, subatomic sources of stel¬ lar energy, white dwarf stars, and dif¬ fuse matter in interstellar space. His philosophical ideas led him to believe that unifying quantum theory and general relativity would permit the calculation of certain universal constants.

Arthur Stanley Eddington.

Eddy; Mary Baker orig. Mary Morse Baker (b. July 16, 1821,

Bow, near Concord, N.H., U.S.—d.

Dec. 3, 1910, Chestnut Hill, Mass.)

U.S. religious leader, founder of Christian Science. A daughter of Con- gregationalist descendants of old New England families, she married in 1843; her husband died the fol¬ lowing year, and she married again in 1853. She suffered from ill health for much of her life. In the early 1860s she was cured of a spinal malady by Phineas P. Quimby (1802-66), who cured ailments with¬ out medication. She remained well until shortly after Quimby’s death; in 1866 she suffered a severe fall and lost hope for recovery, only to be healed by reading the New Testa¬ ment. She considered that moment her discovery of Christian Science and spent several years evolving her system. In 1875 she published Sci¬ ence and Health with Key to the Scriptures , which her followers regarded as divinely inspired. Hav¬ ing divorced in 1873, in 1877 she married one of her followers, Asa G. Eddy (d. 1882). The Church of Christ, Scientist was organized in 1879. Eddy established the Massachusetts Metaphysical College in 1881; she also founded three periodicals, notably The Christian Science Monitor

(1908).

Mary Baker Eddy.

COURTESY OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON,

Edelman, Gerald Maurice (b. July 1, 1929, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. biochemist. He received an M.D. from the University of Pennsylva¬ nia and a Ph.D. from Rockefeller University. His work with Rodney Por¬ ter (b. 1917—d. 1985) on antibodies won a 1972 Nobel Prize. By modeling an entire antibody molecule, Edelman’s team found the mol¬ ecule had more than 1,300 amino acids in a four-chain structure and iden¬

tified the locations where antigens differentiation of tissues and organs, they discovered cell-adhesion mol¬ ecules, proteins that attach cells together to make tissues. Edelman’s attempt at a general theory of neural development and brain function is discussed in his Neural Darwinism

(1987).

edelweiss \'a-d 3 l-,vls, 'a-d 3 l-,wls\ Perennial plant ( Leontopodium alpi- num) of the composite family, native to alpine areas of Europe and South America. It has 2-10 yellow flower heads in a dense cluster. Below these flower heads, 6-9 lance-shaped,

bind. Focusing on formation and

Edelweiss (Leontopodium alpinum)

SIEGFRIED EIGSTLER-SHOSTAL

woolly, white leaves are arranged in the form of a star. Most varieties are ornamentals.

edema Vi-'de-moV Abnormal accumulation of watery fluid in the spaces between connective-tissue cells. Usually a symptom of diseases of the kid¬ neys, heart, veins, or lymphatic system, which affect water balance in the cells, tissues, and blood, edema can be pitting (retaining an imprint when compressed) or nonpitting. Edema may be local (e.g., hives from allergies) or generalized (also called dropsy), sometimes involving body cavities as well as tissues. Treatment must usually focus on the underlying cause.

Eden, (Robert) Anthony, 1st earl of Avon (b. June 12, 1897, Windlestone, Durham, Eng.—d. Jan.

14, 1977, Alvediston, Wiltshire)

British politician. After combat ser¬ vice in World War I, he was elected to the House of Commons in 1923.

He became foreign secretary in 1935 but resigned in 1938 to protest Nev¬ ille Chamberlain’s policy of appease¬ ment. He held the post again in 1940-45 and in 1951-55, and he helped to settle the Anglo-Iranian oil dispute and arranged an armistice in Indochina. Succeeding Winston Churchill as prime minister in 1955, he attempted to ease international tension by welcoming to Britain Nikita Khrushchev and Nikolay A. Bul¬ ganin of the Soviet Union. His fall began when Egypt seized the Suez Canal and he supported an Anglo- French intervention in Egypt (see Suez Crisis). He resigned in 1957, citing ill health.

Eden, River River, northern England. It rises in the uplands that con¬ nect the Lake District with the highlands of the Pennines and flows in a meandering course 90 mi (145 km) northwest to its estuary in the Sol¬ way Firth, an Irish Sea inlet. It is not navigable.

Ederle \'ed-3r-le\, Gertrude (Caroline) (b. Oct. 23,1906, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. Nov. 30, 2003, Wyckoff, N.J.) U.S. swimmer, the first woman to swim the English Channel. She set women’s world freestyle records in the early 1920s, and in 1924 she won a gold medal (400-m freestyle relay) and two bronze medals (100-m and 400-m freestyle) at the Olympic Games. In 1926 she swam the 35-mi (56-km) English Chan¬ nel in 14 hours 31 minutes, breaking the men’s record by 1 hour 59 min¬ utes.

Edessa \i-'de-s9\ Chief city (pop., 1991: 18,000), Macedonia, Greece. Located on a steep bluff above the valley of the Loudhias River, it is a prominent trading and agricultural centre. The assumption that it was Aigai, the first capital of ancient Macedonia, has been challenged by archaeological discoveries at Verghina. Fought over by the Bulgarians, Byzantines, and Serbs, Edessa was taken by the Turks in the 15th cen¬ tury. In 1912 it passed to Greece.

Edgar the Aetheling \'ath-3-liq\ (b. Hungary—d. c. 1125) Anglo- Saxon prince. He was proposed as king of England after the Battle of Hastings (1066) but instead served the Norman kings William I (the Con¬ queror) and William II. Rebellions in favour of the aetheling (prince) con¬ tinued in England until 1069. Edgar led the Norman force sent by William I to conquer Apulia in southern Italy (1086) but was deprived of his Nor¬ man lands by William II in 1091. In 1097, on William’s orders, he over¬ threw Donald Bane, a Scottish king hostile to the Normans. About 1102 he went on a Crusade to the Holy Land. He later unsuccessfully supported Robert Curthose, duke of Normandy, against Henry I in the struggle for the English throne.

Edgerton, Harold E(ugene) (b. April 6, 1903, Fremont, Neb., U.S.—d. Jan. 4, 1990, Cambridge, Mass.) U.S. electrical engineer and photographer. He was a graduate student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology when in 1926 he developed a flash tube that could produce high-intensity bursts of light in as little as 1/1,000,000 of a second; it is the flash device still used in photography today. Since it can also emit repeated bursts of light at regular brief intervals, it is an ideal stroboscope. With the new flash Edgerton was able to photograph such things as drops

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Edgeworth ► education I 597

of milk falling into a saucer and bullets traveling at speeds of 15,000 mph (24,000 kph); the resulting images have been appreciated for their artis¬ tic beauty and their value to industry and science.

Edgeworth, Maria (b. Jan. 1, 1767, Blackbourton, Oxfordshire, Eng.—d. May 22, 1849, Edgeworthstown, Ire.) British-Irish writer. From age 15 she assisted her father in managing his estate, gaining a knowl¬ edge of rural economy and the Irish peasantry. Her early children’s sto¬ ries, published as The Parent’s Assistant (1796), feature the first convincing child characters since Shakespeare. Castle Rackrent (1800), her first novel, revealed her gift for social observation and authentic dia¬ logue. Other notable works are Belinda (1801); Tales of Fashionable Life (1809-12), a six-volume work including the novel The Absentee , which focused attention on abuses by absentee English landowners; Patronage (1814); and Ormond (1817).

Edgeworth-Kuiper belt See Kuiper belt

Edinburgh \'e-d 3 n-,b3r-3\ City and council area (pop., 2001: 448,624), capital of Scotland. The city and most of the council area, including the busy port of Leith on the Firth of Forth, lie within the historic county of Midlothian. Located in southeastern Scotland, the original burgh, now known as the Old Town, arose in the 11th century, around Edinburgh Castle, the royal residence of Malcolm III MacDuncan. In 1329 Robert the Bruce granted Edinburgh a town charter; it became the capital of the Scottish kingdom in 1437. The city was destroyed in 1544 in the border wars with England; its characteristic use of stone architecture began with this rebuilding. During the 18th century Scotland experienced a cultural and intellectual renaissance, and Edinburgh was home to such luminaries as David Hume, Adam Smith, Robert Burns, and Walter Scon. It was the birthplace of Encyclopaedia Britannica (1768) and the Edinburgh Review (1802). The city expanded in the late 18th century with the development of the Georgian-style New Town, separated from the Old Town by a val¬ ley. Edinburgh is the centre of Scottish culture and education and is home to the University of Edinburgh, the National Library, the National Gallery, and the Royal Scottish Museum. It is the site of the Scottish Parliament, which first convened in 1999.

Edinburgh, University of Private university in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded as a college under Presbyterian auspices in 1583 and achieved university status c. 1621 after a divinity school was added. Schools of medicine and law were added in the early 18th century, and faculties of music, science, arts, social sciences, and veterinary medicine were subsequently established. The university has produced a long line of eminent cultural figures, including Sir Walter Scott, John Stuart Mill, Thomas Carlyle, Charles Darwin, David Hume, Robert Louis Stevenson, and Alexander Graham Bell.

Edinburgh Festival International festival of the arts, with an empha¬ sis on music and drama. Founded in 1947 by Rudolf Bing, it is held for three weeks each summer. Its theatrical offerings include plays by major international theatrical companies; plays premiered at the festival include T.S. Eliot’s The Cocktail Party (1949) and Thornton Wilder’s The Match¬ maker (1954). The adjunct Edinburgh Fringe attracts amateur theatre groups and has launched works such as Beyond the Fringe (1960) and Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1966). Musi¬ cally, the Festival offers concerts, recitals, and operas by international companies, orchestras, and soloists.

Edirne \a-'dir-n3. Treaty of or Treaty of Adrianople

X.a-dre-o-'no-polX (September 14, 1829) Pact concluding the Russo-Turkish War of 1828-29. Signed at Edirne (ancient Adrianople), Turkey, the treaty opened the Turkish straits to Russian shipping and granted Russia some territorial concessions. It strengthened Russia’s position in Eastern Europe and weakened that of the Ottoman empire, and it foreshadowed the Otto¬ man empire’s dependence on the European balance of power and the dis¬ memberment of its Balkan possessions.

Edison, Thomas Alva (b. Feb. 11, 1847, Milan, Ohio, U.S.—d. Oct. 18, 1931, West Orange, N.J.) U.S. inventor. He had very little formal schooling. He set up a laboratory in his father’s basement at age 10; at 12 he was earning money selling newspapers and candy on trains. He worked as a telegrapher (1862-68) before deciding to pursue invention and entrepreneurship. Throughout much of his career, he was strongly motivated by efforts to overcome his handicap of partial deafness. For Western Union he developed a machine capable of sending four telegraph messages down one wire, only to sell the invention to Western Union’s

rival, Jay Gould, for more than $100,000. He created the world’s first industrial-research laboratory, in Menlo Park, N.J. There he invented the carbon-button transmitter (1877), still used in telephone speakers and microphones today; the phonograph (1877); and the incandescent light- bulb (1879). To develop the lightbulb, he was advanced $30,000 by such financiers as J.P. Morgan and the Vanderbilts. In 1882 he supervised the installation of the world’s first permanent commercial central power sys¬ tem, in lower Manhattan. After the death of his first wife (1884), he built a new laboratory in West Orange, N.J. Its first major endeavour was the commercialization of the phonograph, which Alexander Graham Bell had improved on since Edison’s initial invention. At the new laboratory Edi¬ son and his team also developed an early movie camera and an instru¬ ment for viewing moving pictures; they also developed the alkaline storage battery. Although his later projects were not as successful as his earlier ones, Edison continued to work even in his 80s. Singly or jointly, he held a world-record 1,093 patents, nearly 400 of them for electric light and power. He always invented for necessity, with the object of devising something new that he could manufacture. More than any other, he laid the basis for the technological revolution of the modem electric world.

Edmonton City (pop., 2001: city, 666,104; metro, area, 937,845), capi¬ tal of Alberta, Canada. Located on the North Saskatchewan River, in the centre of the province, it began as a series of fur-trading posts built from 1795. With the arrival of the railway and an influx of settlers in the late 19th century, Edmonton began to prosper economically, and in 1905 it became the capital of the new province of Alberta. The 1947 discovery of petroleum in the area greatly stimulated the city’s growth; an agricul¬ tural and oil-based economy still prevails. It is the distribution centre of northwestern Canada. Its cultural and educational institutions include the University of Alberta (1906).

Edmunds, George Franklin (b. Feb. 1, 1828, Richmond, Vt., U.S.—d. Feb. 27, 1919, Pasadena, Calif.) U.S. senator and expert on con¬ stitutional law. Despite little formal education, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1849. He was a Republican member (1854-59) and speaker (1856-59) of the Vermont House of Representatives and a mem¬ ber and president pro tern (1861-62) of the Vermont Senate. He was appointed to the U.S. Senate in 1866 and served until 1891; he was chair¬ man of the Senate Judiciary Committee (1872-79; 1882-91) and presi¬ dent pro tern of the Senate (1883-85). Edmunds was active in the impeachment (1868) of President Andrew Johnson and was a founding member of the commission that decided the election of 1876. The act for the suppression of polygamy (1882) bears his name, and he was princi¬ pal author of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act (1890).

Edo \'ed-o\ culture Cultural period of Japanese history corresponding to the Tokugawa period of governance (1603-1867). Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first Tokugawa shogun, chose Edo (present-day Tokyo) as Japan’s new capital, and it became one of the largest cities of its time and was the site of a thriving urban culture. In literature, Basho developed poetic forms later called haiku, and Ihara Saikaku composed virtuoso comic linked-verse and humorous novels; in theatre, both kabuki (with live actors) and bun- raku (with puppets) entertained townspeople (samurai, for whom theatre¬ going was forbidden, often attended in disguise). The development of polychrome woodblock printing techniques made it possible for ordinary people to obtain prints of popular kabuki actors or trendsetting courtesans (see ukiyo-e). Travelogues extolled the scenic beauty or historic interest of spots in distant provinces, and temple or shrine pilgrimages to distant places were popular. In scholarship, Kokugaku (“National Learning”) called attention to Japan’s most ancient poetry and oldest written histo¬ ries. The study of Europe and its sciences, called rangaku, or “Dutch learning,” became popular despite extremely limited contact with Europe. Neo-Confucianism was also popular. See also Genroku period.

Edom Ve-donA Ancient country of the Middle East, south of the Dead Sea. The Edomites probably occupied the area c. 13th century bc. Though closely related to the Israelites, they were in frequent conflict with and were probably subject to the Israelite kingdom (11th-10th century bc). Located on the trade route between the Arabian Peninsula and the Medi¬ terranean Sea coast, Edom was known for its copper industry. Later con¬ quered by the Nabataeans, the Edomites migrated to southern Judaea. Edom and neighbouring Moab were known in Maccabean and Roman times as Idumaea.

education Learning that takes place in schools or school-like environ¬ ments (formal education) or in the world at large; the transmission of the

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

598 i education ► Edward VII

values and accumulated knowledge of a society. In developing cultures there is often little formal education; children learn from their environ¬ ment and activities, and the adults around them act as teachers. In more complex societies, where there is more knowledge to be passed on, a more selective and efficient means of transmission—the school and teacher— becomes necessary. The content of formal education, its duration, and who receives it have varied widely from culture to culture and age to age, as has the philosophy of education. Some philosophers (e.g., John Locke) have seen individuals as blank slates onto which knowledge can be writ¬ ten. Others (e.g., Jean-Jacques Rousseau) have seen the innate human state as desirable in itself and therefore to be tampered with as little as pos¬ sible, a view often taken in alternative education. See also behaviourism; John Dewey; elementary education; higher education; kindergarten; Lyceum movement; progressive education; public school; special education; teaching.

education, philosophy of Application of philosophical methods to the theory and practice of education. Among the topics investigated in the philosophy of education are the nature of learning, especially in children; the purpose of education, particularly the question of whether the chief goal of educators should be imparting knowledge, developing intellectual independence, or instilling moral or political values; the nature of education-related concepts, including the concept of education itself; the sources and legitimacy of educational authority; and the conduct of edu¬ cational research. Major figures in the history of the philosophy of edu¬ cation include Plato, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and John Dewey.

educational psychology Branch of psychology concerned with the learning processes and psychological issues associated with the teaching and training of students. The educational psychologist studies the cogni¬ tive development of students and the various factors involved in learning, including aptitude and learning measurement, the creative process, and the motivational forces that influence student-teacher dynamics. Two early leaders in the field were G. Stanley Hall and Edward L. Thorndike. See also

SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY.

Edward, Lake Lake, eastern Africa. One of the great lakes of the western Great Rift Valley, it lies on the border of Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda and is 48 mi (77 km) long and 26 mi (42 km) wide. On the northeast it is connected to the smaller Lake George. Lake Edward empties north through the Semliki River to Lake Albert. The lake abounds in fish; wildlife on its shores is protected within Virunga National Park and Queen Elizabeth National Park. It was named by Henry Morton Stanley, who visited the lake in 1888-89.

Edward I known as Edward Longshanks (b. June 17, 1239, West¬ minster, Middlesex, Eng.—d. July 7, 1309, Burgh by Sands, near Carl¬ isle, Cumberland) King of England (1272-1307). The eldest son of Henry III, he supported his father in a civil war with the barons, but his violent temper contributed to Henry’s defeat at the Battle of Lewes (1264). Edward triumphed over the rebels in the following year when he defeated them and slew their leader at Evesham. Edward joined the abortive Cru¬ sade of Louis IX of France (the Eighth Crusade) in 1271-72, then returned to England to succeed his father. His reign was a time of rising national consciousness, in which he strengthened the crown against the nobility. He fostered the development of Parliament and played an important role in defining English common law. He conquered Wales (1277) and crushed Welsh uprisings against English rule, but his conquest of Scotland (1296), including the defeat of William Wallace, was undone by later revolts. He expelled the Jews from England in 1290; they would not be readmitted until 1655. He died on a campaign against Robert I, who had proclaimed himself king of Scotland the previous year.

Edward II known as Edward of Caernarfon \kar-'na-von\ (b. April 25, 1284, Caernarfon, Caernarfonshire, Wales—d. September 1327, Ber¬ keley, Gloucestershire, Eng.) King of England (1307-27). He was the son of Edward I. He angered the barons by granting the earldom of Cornwall to his favourite, Piers Gaveston; the barons then drew up the Ordinances (1311), a document limiting the king’s power over finances and appoint¬ ments, and executed the arrogant Gaveston (1312). The English defeat by Robert I at the Battle of Bannockburn (1314) ensured Scottish indepen¬ dence and left Edward at the mercy of powerful barons, notably Thomas of Lancaster. Edward defeated and executed Lancaster in 1322, freeing himself from baronial control and revoking the Ordinances. His queen, Isabella, helped her lover, Roger de Mortimer, invade England with other dissatisfied nobles and depose Edward in favour of his son, Edward III. Edward II was imprisoned and probably murdered.

Edward III known as Edward of Windsor (b. Nov. 13,1312, Wind¬ sor, Berkshire, Eng.—d. June 21, 1377, Sheen, Surrey) King of England (1327-77). His mother, Isabella of France, deposed his father, Edward II, and crowned the 15-year-old Edward in his place. Isabella and her lover, Roger de Mortimer, governed in Edward’s name for four years and per¬ suaded him to grant the Scots their independence (1328). After having Mortimer executed in 1330, Edward became the sole ruler of England. By asserting his right to the French crown, he began the Hundred Years' War. He instituted the Order of the Garter in 1342. He defeated the French at the Battle of Crecy (1346) and captured Calais (1347), though lack of funds forced him to sign a truce. The Black Death hit England in 1348, but fighting continued. The Scots surrendered to Edward in 1356, and the same year his son Edward the Black Prince won a major victory for the English at the Battle of Poitiers. In 1360 Edward gave up his claim to the French crown in return for Aquitaine. The war later resumed when Charles V repudiated the Treaty of Calais; Edward lost Aquitaine, and he signed a new truce in 1375. In his later years he fell under the influence of his greedy mistress, Alice Perrers, and his son John of Gaunt.

Edward IV (b. April 28, 1442, Rouen, France—d. April 9, 1483, West¬ minster, Eng.) King of England (1461-70, 1471-83). His father, a claimant to the throne, was killed in 1461, and Edward was crowned, thanks largely to his cousin the earl of Warwick. This alliance did not last, and, after much intrigue and fighting, Edward was deposed and fled in 1470. The next year he returned to become a leading partici¬ pant in the Wars of the Roses, defeat¬ ing and killing Warwick and nearly all the remaining Lancastrian lead¬ ers. After murdering Henry VI and repelling an attack on London,

Edward remained secure as king for the rest of his life. He invaded France, which Henry had inherited but largely lost; though the attempt was unsuccessful, Edward made an excellent financial settlement by treaty. His administrative achieve¬ ments made his reign a time of pros¬ perity and success. Seven children survived him; his two sons were probably murdered in the Tower of London, and his eldest daughter mar¬ ried Henry VII.

Edward VI (b. Oct. 12, 1537, London, Eng.—d. July 6, 1553, London) King of England and Ireland (1547-53). Son of Henry VIII and Jane Sey¬ mour, Edward succeeded to the throne after Henry’s death. During the young king’s reign, power was wielded first by his uncle the duke of Somerset (1547-49) and then by the duke of Northumberland. Facing death from tuberculosis, Edward was persuaded to exclude his two half sisters (later queens) Mary I and Elizabeth I from the succession and to put Northumberland’s daughter-in-law,

Lady Jane Grey, in line for the throne.

Edward VII orig. Albert Edward (b. Nov. 9, 1841, London,

Eng.—d. May 6, 1910, London)

King of the United Kingdom (1901—

10). Son of Queen Victoria, he attended Oxford and Cambridge and in 1863 married Alexandra (1844- 1925), daughter of Christian IX.

Noted for his interest in racing and yachting and his sometimes scandal¬ ous personal behavior, he was excluded by Victoria from most affairs of state until he was over 50 years old. He succeeded to the throne on her death, and his reign helped restore luster to the monarchy after her long seclusion as a widow. An

Edward IV, portrait by an unknown artist; in the National Portrait Gallery, London.

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Edward VIII ► egg I 599

immensely popular sovereign, he helped pave the way for the Entente Cordiale with his state visit to Paris in 1903.

Edward VIII (b. June 23, 1894, Richmond, Surrey, Eng.—d. May 28, 1972, Paris, France) King of the United Kingdom (1936) who abdi¬ cated voluntarily. Son of George V, he served as a staff officer in World War I. After the war he made exten¬ sive goodwill tours of the British Empire and became very popular with the British people. In 1930 he became friends with Wallis Simpson and her husband and by 1934 had fallen in love with her. In January 1936 he succeeded to the throne on his father’s death. Unable to gain social and political acceptance for his proposed marriage to Simpson, he abdicated in December, becoming the only British sovereign to resign the crown voluntarily. He was cre¬ ated duke of Windsor and in 1937 married Simpson, who became the duchess of Windsor. At Winston Churchill’s invitation, he served as governor of the Bahamas during World War II, and after 1945 the couple lived in Paris. Though they were counted among the social elite, not until 1967 were they invited to attend an official public ceremony with other members of the royal family.

Edward the Black Prince (b. June 15, 1330, Woodstock, Oxford¬ shire, Eng.—d. June 8, 1376, Westminster, near London) Prince of Wales (1343-76). Son of Edward III, he apparently received his sobriquet because he wore black armour. He was one of the outstanding commanders of the Hundred Years' War, winning a major victory at the Battle of Poitiers in 1356. He was prince of Aquitaine 1362-72; his rule there was a failure, for which he was largely to blame. He returned sick and broken to England and formally surrendered his principality to his father. He had no succes¬ sor as prince of Aquitaine. Though the heir apparent, he never became king; his son became Richard II.

Edward the Confessor, Saint (b. c. 1003, Islip, Eng.—d. Jan. 5, 1066, London; canonized 1161; feast day originally January 5, now Octo¬ ber 13) King of England (1042-66). The son of Ethelred II, he was exiled to Normandy for 25 years (1016-41) while the Danes held England (see Canute the Great). For the first 11 years of his reign, the real master of England was Godwine, earl of Wessex. Edward outlawed Godwine in 1051 and appointed Normans to high positions in government, thus pre¬ paring the way for the Norman Conquest. Godwine continued his oppo¬ sition, and his son Harold (see Harold II) dominated England after 1053, subjugating Wales in 1063. Edward named Harold as his successor on his deathbed, but the duke of Normandy (the future William I) invaded England to claim the crown earlier promised him. Though an ineffectual monarch, Edward was famous for his piety, which earned him the epithet “the Confessor.”

Edwards, Blake orig. William Blake McEdwards (b. July 26, 1922, Tulsa, Okla., U.S.) U.S. film director, producer, and screenwriter. He acted in films in the 1940s, then gained respect as a screenwriter, nota¬ bly for My Sister Eileen (1955) and The Notorious Landlady (1962). He created the TV series Peter Gunn (1958-60). Among his successful direc¬ torial efforts were Operation Petticoat (1959), Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), 10 (1979), and VictorAdctoria (1982), which he revived in 1995 as a Broadway musical starring his wife, Julie Andrews. He was perhaps best known for The Pink Panther (1964) and its sequels.

Edwards, Gareth (b. July 12, 1947, Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Wales) Welsh Rugby Union player. Edwards, considered to be among the great¬ est rugby players, played scrum half on the great Welsh sides that won the Five Nations Championship 11 times in 16 seasons between 1964 and 1978. He played 53 tests for Wales and 10 for the British Lions (1967— 78). Amazingly for a half scrum, he scored 20 tries for Wales.

Edwards, Jonathan (b. Oct. 5, 1703, East Windsor, Conn.—d. March 22, 1758, Princeton, N.J.) American theologian. The 5th of 11 children in a strict Puritan home, he entered Yale College at age 13. In

1727 he was named a pastor at his grandfather’s church in Northampton, Mass. His sermons on “Justification by Faith Alone” gave rise to a revival in the Connecticut River valley in 1734, and in the 1740s he was also influential in the Great Awakening. In 1750 he was dismissed from the Northampton church over a disagreement on who was eligible to take communion, and he became pastor in Stockbridge in 1751. He died of smallpox shortly after accepting the presidency of the College of New Jersey (now Princeton University). A staunch Calvinist, he emphasized original sin, predestination, and the need for conversion. His most famous sermon, “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” vividly evokes the fate of unrepentant sinners in hell.

Edwards, Robert See Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards

eel Any of more than 500 fish species (order Anguilliformes) that are slender, elongated, and usually scaleless, with long dorsal and anal fins that are continuous around the tail tip. Eels are found in all seas, from coastal regions to the mid-depths. Freshwater eels are active, predaceous fish with small embedded scales; they grow to maturity in freshwater and return to the sea, where they spawn and die. The transparent young drift to the coast and make their way upstream. Freshwater eels, considered valuable food fish, include species ranging from 4 in. (10 cm) to about 11.5 ft (3.5 m) long. See also Moray.

eelworm Any of several species of nematode, named for their resem¬ blance to miniature eels. Eelworms are either free-living or parasitic, and most are about 0.005-0.05 in. (0.1-1.5 mm) long. They are found in all parts of the world. Free-living forms inhabit salt water, freshwater, and damp soil. Parasitic forms are found in the roots of many plant species; the potato-root eelworm, for example, is a serious pest of potatoes. Some species occur in both plants and animals.

efficiency or mechanical efficiency In mechanics, the measure of the effectiveness with which a system performs. It is stated as the ratio of a system’s work output to its work input. The efficiency of a real sys¬ tem is always less than 1 because of friction between moving parts. A machine with an efficiency of 0.8 returns 80% of the work input as work output; the remaining 20% is used to overcome friction. In a theoretically frictionless, or ideal, machine, the work input and work output are equal, and the efficiency would be 1, or 100%.

effigy mound Earthen mound in the form of a bird or animal (e.g, bear, deer, turtle, buffalo), found in the northern central U.S., especially the Ohio River valley. Little is known of the effigy mounds except that most were burial sites. The culture that produced them dates from ad 300 to the mid-17th century. See also Hopewell culture.

Effigy Mounds National Monument Archaeological site, north¬ eastern Iowa, U.S. Located on the Mississippi River, it covers 4 sq mi (10 sq km). Established in 1949, the monument has 183 known mounds, some of which are in the shape of birds and bears. The mounds were built over the course of the Woodland period (1000 bc-ad 1200), with the effigy mounds probably constructed between ad 400 and 1200. Many mounds have yielded copper, bone, and stone tools of Indian origin. One of the bear mounds is 137 ft (42 m) long and 3.5 ft (1 m) high.

eft See newt

Egas Moniz Va-gas-mo-'nezV Antonio Caetano de Abreu Freire (b. Nov. 29, 1874, Avan^a, Port.—d. Dec. 13, 1955, Lisbon) Por¬ tuguese neurologist and statesman. He introduced cerebral angiography (1927-37). With Almeida Lima, he performed the first prefrontal lobotomy in 1936, and in 1949 he shared a Nobel Prize with Walter Rudolf Hess for the development of the lobotomy. Because of its serious side effects, he advised using lobotomy only when all other treatments failed. He also served in the Portuguese legislature and as a minister and led the Portuguese delegation at the Paris Peace Conference.

egg In biology, the female sex cell, or gamete. In zoology, the Latin term ovum is often used to refer to the single cell, whereas the word egg may be applied to the entire specialized structure or capsule that consists of the ovum, its various protective membranes, and any accompanying nutritive materials. The egg or ovum, like the male gamete (sperm), bears only a single (haploid; see ploidy) set of chromosomes. When female and male gametes unite during fertilization, the double (diploid) set of chromosomes is restored in the resulting zygote. In humans, the ovum matures inside one of the ovary’s follicles (hollow group of cells) and is released when the follicle ruptures (ovulation). The ovum passes into the fallopian tube and

The duke of Windsor (formerly Edward VIII) and duchess of Windsor on their wedding day, June 3, 1937; photo¬ graph by Cecil Beaton.

CAMERA PRESS

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

600 I Eggleston ► Egypt

will degenerate if not fertilized within about 24 hours. In animals, the amount of nutritive material (yolk) deposited in an egg is dependent on the length of time before the developing animal can feed itself or, in the case of mammals, begins to receive nourishment from the maternal circulation. Most animal eggs are enclosed by one or more membranes. Insect eggs are covered by a thick, hard outer membrane, and amphibian eggs are sur¬ rounded by a jellylike layer. The term egg also refers to the content of the hard-shelled reproductive body produced by a bird or reptile.

Eggleston, Edward (b. Dec. 10, 1837, Vevay, Ind., U.S.—d. Sept. 4, 1902, Lake George, N.Y.) U.S. novelist and historian. He became an itin¬ erant preacher at age 19; he later held various pastorates and edited sev¬ eral periodicals. He realistically portrayed backwoods Indiana in The Hoosier School-Master (1871). His other novels include The End of the World (1872), The Circuit Rider (1874), Roxy (1878), and The Graysons (1888). He then turned to writing history; his Beginners of a Nation (1896) and Transit of Civilization from England to America (1900) contributed to the growth of the study of social history.

eggplant Tender perennial plant ( Solarium melongena) of the nightshade family. It requires a warm climate and is grown extensively in eastern and southern Asia (where it is native) and in the U.S. It is usually grown as an annual for its fleshy fruit. It has an erect, bushy stem; large ovate, slightly lobed leaves; and pendant, violet, solitary flowers. The fruit is a large, glossy, egg-shaped berry, varying in colour from dark purple to red, yellowish, or white, and some¬ times striped. It is a staple in cuisines of the Mediterranean region.

Egill Skallagrimsson Va-yil- 'ska-hla-grim-.sonN or Egill Skalla-Grimsson (b. c. 910,

Borg, Ice.—d. 990) Icelandic poet.

One of the greatest skaldic poets (see skaldic poetry), his adventurous life and verses are preserved in the Egils saga (1220?), attributed to his descendant Snorri Sturluson. In the saga Egill kills the son of King Erik Bloodax and places a curse on the king. He later falls into Erik’s hands but saves his own life by composing in one night a long poem praising Erik, Hofuthlausn (c. 948). After the death of two sons he composes the lament Sonatorrek (c. 961).

Eginhard See Einhard eglantine See sweetbrier

Eglevsky \ig-'lyef-sk3i\, Andre Russia—d. Dec. 4, 1977, Elmira,

N.Y., U.S.) Russian-born U.S. ballet dancer and teacher. He left Russia as a child and studied in Paris, becom¬ ing a lead dancer with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo at age 14. He moved to the U.S. in 1937 and danced with a number of companies before join¬ ing the New York City Ballet (1951—

58). There he created leading roles in several of George Balanchine’s bal¬ lets, including Scotch Symphony and Caracole. He also taught at the School of American Ballet. In 1958 he opened his own ballet school, and in 1961 he established the Eglevsky Ballet.

ego Latin "\" In psychoanalytic theory, the portion of the psyche experienced as the “self’ or “I.” It is the part that remembers, evaluates, plans, and in other ways is responsive to and acts in the surrounding physical and social world. According to Sigmund Freud, it coexists with the id (the unconscious, instinctual portion of the psyche) and the super¬ ego (the portion representing the conscience, or the internalization of

societal norms). The ego is not coextensive with either the personality or the body; rather, it serves to integrate these and other aspects of the per¬ son, such as memory, imagination, and behaviour. It mediates between the id and the superego by building up various defense mechanisms.

egoism In ethics, the principle that we should each act so as to promote our own interests. The great advantage of such a position is that it avoids any possible conflict between morality and self-interest; if it is rational for us to pursue our own interest, the rationality of morality is equally clear. The prescriptive thesis of ethical egoism can be distinguished from the descriptive thesis of psychological egoism. Psychological egoism is a generalization about human motivation, namely, that everyone always acts so as to promote his or her own interests.

egret Ve-gret\ Any of several species (mainly in the genus Egretta) of wading birds in the same family (Ardeidae) as herons and bitterns.

Egrets live in marshes, lakes, humid forests, and other wetland environ¬ ments worldwide. They catch and eat small fishes, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and crustaceans. They nest in trees and bushes or on the ground. Most are white and develop long plumes for the breeding season.

The value of plumes as ornamental objects once drove egrets to near¬ extinction, but changes in fashion and strict conservation measures have allowed their numbers to increase. The great white egret is about 35 in. (90 cm) long; other com¬ mon species average 20-24 in.

(50-60 cm) long.

Egypt officially Arab Republic of Egypt formerly United Arab Republic Country, Middle East, northeastern Africa. Area: 385,229 sq mi (997,739 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 70,457,000. Capital: Cairo. The people are largely Egyptian Arabs. Language: Arabic (official). Religions: Islam (official; predomi¬ nantly Sunni); also Christianity. Currency: Egyptian pound. Egypt occu¬ pies a crossroads between Africa, Europe, and Asia. The majority of its land is in the arid western and eastern deserts, separated by the country’s dominant feature, the Nile River. The Nile forms a flat-bottomed valley, generally 5-10 mi (8-16 km) wide, that fans out into the densely popu¬ lated delta lowlands north of Cairo. The Nile valley (in Upper Egypt) and delta (Lower Egypt), along with scattered oases, support all of Egypt’s agriculture and have virtually all of its population. Egypt has a develop¬ ing, mainly socialist, partly free-enterprise economy based primarily on industry, including petroleum production, and agriculture. It is a republic with one legislative house; its chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. It is one of the world’s oldest con¬ tinuous civilizations. Upper and Lower Egypt were united c. 3000 bc, beginning a period of cultural achievement and a line of native rulers that lasted nearly 3,000 years. Egypt’s ancient history is divided into the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms, spanning 31 dynasties and lasting to 332 bc. The pyramids date from the Old Kingdom, the cult of Osiris and the refine¬ ment of sculpture from the Middle Kingdom, and the era of empire and the Exodus of the Jews from the New Kingdom. An Assyrian invasion occurred in the 671 bc, and the Persian Achaemenids established a dynasty in 525 bc. The invasion by Alexander the Great in 332 bc inaugurated the Macedonian Ptolemaic period and the ascendancy of Alexandria as a cen¬ tre of learning and Hellenistic culture. The Romans held Egypt from 30 bc to ad 395; later it was part of the Byzantine Empire. After the Roman emperor Constantine granted tolerance to the Christians in 313, a formal Egyptian (Coptic) church emerged. Egypt came under Arab control in 642 and ultimately was transformed into an Arabic-speaking state, with Islam as the dominant religion. Held by the Umayyad and 'Abbasid dynasties, in 969 it became the centre of the Fajimid dynasty. In 1250 the MamlOk dynasty established a state that lasted until 1517, when Egypt fell to the Ottoman Empire. An economic and cultural decline ensued. Egypt became a Brit¬ ish protectorate in 1914 and received nominal independence in 1922, when a constitutional monarchy was established. A group of army offic-

(b. Dec. 21, 1917, Moscow,

Andre Eglevsky in Apollo, 1944.

FRED FEHL

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

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ers led by Gamal Abdel Nasser overthrew the monarchy in 1952. A union with Syria to form the United Arab Republic (1958— 61) failed. Following three wars with Israel (see Arab-Israeli wars), Egypt, under Nasser’s successor, Anwar el-Sadat, made peace with the Jewish state, thus alienating many fellow Arab countries. Sadat was assassinated by Islamic extremists in 1981 and was succeeded by HosnT Mubarak, who continued to negotiate peace. Although Egypt took part in the coalition against Iraq during the First Persian Gulf War (1991), it later began peace overtures with countries in the region.

Egyptian architecture Houses, palaces, temples, tombs, and other buildings of ancient Egypt. Most Egyptian towns were situated on the floodplain of the Nile and have been lost, but religious structures built on higher ground have survived in many forms. Tomb architecture was often grandiose. The tomb was not simply a place to lay a corpse, but the home of the deceased, provided with goods to ensure continued existence after death. Wood and bricks made of mud were the standard domestic build¬ ing materials, but, from the Old Kingdom (c. 2575-c. 2130 bc) on, stone was used for tombs and temples. Egyptian masons used stone to repro¬ duce the forms of wood and brick buildings. Mastabas and step pyramids were used for tomb superstructures, but the most characteristic form of the Old Kingdom was the true pyramid. The finest example is the monu¬ mental Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) at Giza. Simple chapel rooms with stelae (see stele) for burying commoners were located some distance from the royal burial compounds. In the New Kingdom (1539-1075 bc), royal tombs were cut into the face of cliff's to discourage looting; elabo¬ rate complexes of tombs and mortuary temples were built in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes. Two principal types of temple can be distinguished: cult temples for worship of the gods and funerary, or mortuary, temples. Most notable were the great stone cult temples; imposing remains can be seen at Luxor, Karnak, Abydos, and Abu Simbel.

Egyptian art Ancient sculptures, paintings, and decorative crafts pro¬ duced in the dynastic periods of the 3rd-1st millennia bc in the Nile Val¬ ley of Egypt and Nubia. Egyptian art served those in power as a forceful propaganda instrument that perpetuated the existing framework of soci¬ ety. Much of what has survived is associated with ancient tombs. The course of art in Egypt paralleled the country’s political history and is divided into three periods: Old Kingdom (c. 2700-c. 2150 bc), Middle Kingdom (c. 2000-c. 1670 bc), and New Kingdom (c. 1550-c. 1070 bc). The Old Kingdom’s stone tombs and temples were decorated with vig¬ orous and brightly painted reliefs illustrating the daily life of the people. Rules for portraying the human figure were established, specifying pro¬ portions, postures, and placement of details, often linked to the subjects’

social standing. An artistic decline at the end of the Old Kingdom led to a revival in the more stable political climate of the Middle Kingdom, notable for its expressive portrait sculptures of kings and its excellent relief sculptures and painting. The New Kingdom brought a magnificent flowering of the arts; great granite statues and wall reliefs glorified rulers and gods, painting became an independent art, and the decorative crafts reached new peaks, the treasure of Tutankhamen’s tomb typifying the vari¬ ety of luxury items created. See also Egyptian architecture.

Egyptian language Extinct Afro-Asiatic language of the Nile River valley. Its very long history comprises five periods: Old Egyptian (c. 3000-c. 2200 bc), best exemplified by a corpus of religious inscriptions known as the Pyramid Texts and a group of autobiographical tomb inscrip¬ tions; Middle Egyptian (c. 2200-c. 1600 bc), the classical literary lan¬ guage; Late Egyptian (1300-700 bc), known mainly from manuscripts; Demotic (c. 700 bc-c. ad 400), used in the periods of Persian, Greek, and Roman dominance and differing from Late Egyptian chiefly in its graphic system; and Coptic (c. ad 300-at least the 17th century), the language of Christian Egypt, gradually supplanted as a vernacular by Arabic from the 9th century on but still preserved to some degree in the liturgy of the Cop¬ tic Orthodox Church. Egyptian was originally written in hieroglyphs, out of which evolved hieratic, a cursive rendering of hieroglyphs, and demotic, a kind of shorthand reduction of hieratic. Coptic was written in a modified form of the Greek alphabet, with seven signs added from the demotic script for sounds that did not occur in Greek.

Egyptian law Law that prevailed in Egypt from c. 3000 bc to c. 30 bc. No formal Egyptian code of law has been preserved, but legal docu¬ ments (e.g., deeds and contracts) have survived. The pharaoh was the ulti¬ mate authority in the settlement of disputes. The next most powerful individual was the vizier, who directed all administrative branches of the government, sat in judgment on court cases, and appointed magistrates. Parties to a dispute were not represented by legal advocates; they spoke for themselves, presented any documentary evidence, and sometimes called witnesses. Both men and women could own and bequeath prop¬ erty, file lawsuits, and bear witness. Punishment for criminal offenders could be severe, but in some periods basic human rights, even those of slaves, were acknowledged. Egyptian law strongly influenced both Greek and Roman law.

Egyptian religion Polytheistic belief system of ancient Egypt from the 4th millennium bc to the first centuries ad, including both folk tradi¬ tions and the court religion. Local deities that sprang up along the Nile Valley had both human and animal form and were synthesized into national deities and cults after political unification c. 2925 bc. The gods were not all-powerful or all-knowing, but were immeasurably greater than humans. Their characters were not neatly defined, and there was much overlap, especially among the leading deities. One important deity was Horus, the god-king who ruled the universe, who represented the earthly Egyptian king. Other major divinities included Re, the sun god; Ptah and Aton, creator gods; and Isis and Osiris. The concept of Ma’at (“order”) was fundamental: the king maintained Ma’at both on a societal and cos¬ mic level. Belief in and preoccupation with the afterlife permeated Egyp¬ tian religion, as the surviving tombs and pyramids attest. Burial near the king helped others gain passage to the netherworld, as did spells and passwords from the Book of the Dead.

Egyptology Study of pharaonic Egypt from the putative beginnings of Egyptian culture (c. 4500 bc) to the Arab conquest (ad 641). Egyptology began with discovery of the Rosetta Stone (1799) and the publication of Description de TEgypt (1809-28) by scholars accompanying Napoleon I. In the 19th century the Egyptian government opened Egypt to Europeans, many of whose collecting activities amounted to little more than plun¬ dering. In 1880 Funders Petrie brought controlled, scientifically recorded excavation to Egypt, revolutionizing archaeology and pushing theories on Egyptian origins back to 4500 bc. The discovery of Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922 heightened public awareness. In 1975 the First International Con¬ gress of Egyptology convened in Cairo. Many sites remain that have been only slightly explored.

Ehrenberg Ver-on-.berkV Christian Gottfried (b. April 19, 1795, Delitzsch, Saxony—d. June 27, 1876, Berlin, Ger.) German biologist, explorer, and founder of micropaleontology (the study of fossil microor¬ ganisms). He received his M.D. from the University of Berlin. He iden¬ tified and classified a number of land and marine plants, animals, and microorganisms. He proved that fungi come from spores and demon-

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

602 i Ehrenburg ► eighteen schools

strated the sexual reproduction of molds and mushrooms. He was the first to study coral in detail, and he identified planktonic microorganisms as the cause of phosphorescence in the sea. He advanced the view (opposed by Feux Dujardin) that all animals, including the tiniest, possess complete organ systems. Arguing that a single “ideal type” may be applied to all animals, he worked toward a comprehensive system of classification.

Ehrenburg Ver-on-.burg, 'er-3n-,burk\, Ilya (Grigoryevich) (b. Jan. 27, 1891, Kiev, Ukr., Russian Empire—d. Aug. 31, 1967, Moscow, Rus¬ sian S.F.S.R., U.S.S.R.) Russian writer and journalist. Arrested as a youth for revolutionary activity, he moved to Paris. He worked as a war corre¬ spondent, then returned to write for Soviet newspapers. His first novel and best work was Julio Jurenito and His Disciples (1922). He soon embraced the Soviet regime, eventually becoming one of its most effec¬ tive spokesmen in the West. The vehemently anti-Western The Fall of Paris (1941) was followed by The Storm (1946-47) and The Ninth Wave (1951-52). After Joseph Stalin’s death, Ehrenburg’s works, including The Thaw (1954) and his autobiography. People, Years, Life , 6 vol. (1960- 66), turned critical of Stalin’s heritage.

Ehrlich Var-likV Paul (b. March 14, 1854, Strehlen, Silesia, Prussia—d. Aug. 20, 1915, Bad Homburg vor der H5he, Ger.) German medical sci¬ entist. After early work on distribution of foreign substances in the body and on cell nutrition, he found uses for staining agents in diagnosis (including that of tuberculosis) and treatment. He also researched typhoid, fever medications, and eye diseases. In one paper, he showed that differ¬ ent tissues’ oxygen consumption reflected the intensity of their cell pro¬ cesses. Ehrlich developed a method of stimulating production of antitoxins by injecting increasing amounts of toxin into animals; his work was crucial to the creation of a diphtheria antitoxin. He and Elie Metch- nikoff received the 1908 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. With Sahachiro Hata, he developed Salvarsan, the first effective syphilis treat¬ ment, in 1910.

Ehrlich Vor-likV Paul R(alph) (b. May 29, 1932, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.) U.S. biologist. He studied at the University of Kansas and taught at Stanford University from 1959. Though much of his research was done in entomology, his overriding concern became unchecked population growth. His most influential work was The Population Bomb (1968). In 1990 he shared with Edward O. Wilson Sweden’s prestigious Crafoord Prize.

Ehrlichman, John D(aniel) (b. March 20, 1925, Tacoma, Wash., U.S.—d. Feb. 14, 1999, Atlanta, Ga.) U.S. presidential assistant who played a central role in the Watergate scandal. He received his law degree from Stanford University in 1951 and established a law firm in Seattle, Wash. In 1969 he became domestic affairs adviser to Pres. Richard Nixon. With H.R. Haldeman he formed the so-called “palace guard” that con¬ trolled access to the president and filtered information directed to him. Ehrlichman soon established a group known as the “plumbers,” whose purpose was to acquire political intelligence and to repair “leaks” of infor¬ mation to the press. When members of the plumbers were caught break¬ ing into Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate complex, Ehrlichman became involved in a cover-up of involvement by White House officials. He was forced to resign in 1973. Convicted of conspiracy, perjury, and obstruction of justice, he served 18 months in jail. See also Pentagon Papers.

Eichendorff Vl-kon-.dorfN, Joseph, Baron von (b. March 10, 1788, near Ratibor, Prussia—d. Nov. 26, 1857, Neisse) German poet and nov¬ elist. Born to the nobility, he and his family lost their castle in the Napo¬ leonic Wars, and he later worked in the Prussian civil service. He became associated with the national leaders of the Romantic movement while study¬ ing in Berlin. His most important prose work, Memoirs of a Good-for- Nothing (1826), is considered a high point of Romantic fiction. In the 1830s he wrote poetry that achieved the popularity of folk songs and inspired such composers as Robert Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn, Johannes Brahms, Hugo Wolf, and Richard Strauss.

Eichmann Vik-.manX, (Karl) Adolf (b. March 19, 1906, Solingen, Ger.—d. May 31, 1962, Tel Aviv, Israel) German Nazi official. In 1932 he joined the Nazi Party and became a member of Heinrich Himmler’s SS organization. In World War II he organized the identification, assembly, and transportation of Jews to Auschwitz and other death camps. In 1945 he was captured by U.S. troops but escaped and eventually settled in Argentina. In 1960 he was arrested near Buenos Aires and taken to Israel,

where he was tried as a war criminal, with huge worldwide publicity, and hanged for his part in the Holocaust.

eider \1-dar\ Any of several species of large diving ducks (in tribes Mergini and Somateriini) that are heavy and round-bodied, with a humped bill that produces a characteristic sloping profile. Eiders are the source of eiderdown, feathers that the hen plucks from her breast to line the nest and insulate her eggs. Eiderdown is used as a warm filling for jackets, pillows, quilts, and sleeping bags. Hens are mottled brown, but drakes (males) are boldly patterned, with a green pigment on the head. Eiders live in the cold far north.

Eider Vl-dorX River River, Schleswig-Holstein state, northern Germany. It rises east of Rendsburg and flows west for 117 mi (188 km) to the North Sea. It is navigable up to Rendsburg. It formed the northern limit of the Roman Empire from the reign of Charlemagne (768-814), was recognized as the boundary of the Holy Roman Empire in 1027, and formed the tradi¬ tional frontier between Schleswig and Holstein.

Eiffel Tower Vl-faB Parisian landmark built for the Centennial Expo¬ sition of 1889. Conceived by the bridge engineer Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923), the 984-ft (300-m) tower of open-lattice wrought iron was a technological masterpiece.

Making use of advanced knowledge of the behaviour of metal arch and truss forms under loading, the struc¬ ture presaged a revolution in civil engineering and architectural design.

The tower was the world’s tallest building until completion of the Chrysler Building in 1930.

Eigen Vl-gonV, Manfred (b. May

9, 1927, Bochum, Ger.) German physicist. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Gottingen in 1951. He shared a 1967 Nobel Prize with Ronald Norrish (1897-1978) and George Porter (b. 1920) for work on extremely rapid chemical reac¬ tions. His methods, called relaxation techniques, involve applying bursts of energy to a solution and following the rates of subsequent changes (flash photolysis); reactions thus studied include hydrogen ion formation during water dissociation and keto-enol TAUTOMERISM.

eigenvalue Vl-gon-.val-yiA In mathematical analysis, one of a set of discrete values of a parameter, k, in an equation of the form Lx = kx. Such characteristic equations are particularly useful in solving differential equa¬ tions, integral equations, and systems of equations. In the equation, L is a

UNEAR TRANSFORMATION Such as a MATRIX Or a DIFFERENTIAL OPERATOR, and X Can be a vector or a function (called an eigenvector or eigenfunction). The totality of eigenvalues for a given characteristic equation is a set. In quan¬ tum mechanics, where L is an energy operator, the eigenvalues are energy values.

Eight, The Group of U.S. painters who reacted against the traditions of the National Academy of Design. The original eight— Robert Henri, Ever¬ ett Shinn (1876-1953), John Sloan, Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928), Ernest Lawson (1873-1939), Maurice Prendergast, George Luks (1867-1933), and William Glackens —were later joined by George Wesley Bellows. In 1908 they exhibited together in New York City. Saloons, tenements, pool halls, and slums were among their favourite subjects, and their style was rough and realistic. Their careers took various directions, and a few years later they were absorbed into the Ash Can school.

eighteen schools Divisions of Buddhism that arose in India in the three centuries after the death of the Buddha (c. 483 bc). The number of schools, or sects, was probably closer to 30 than 18. The first division in the Bud¬ dhist community occurred as a result of the second council, held at Vaishali in the 4th century bc, where differences among disciples over the nature of the Buddha gave rise to the school known as the Mahasanghi- kas. Other schools included the Sthaviravadins and their offshoots (3rd century bc), including the Theravadins (see Theravada).

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

Eightfold Path ► Eisenstaedt I 603

Eightfold Path Buddhist doctrine, stated by the Buddha in his first ser¬ mon near Benares, India. The path is regarded as the way for individuals to deal with the problems named in the Four Noble Truths. The path con¬ sists of right understanding (faith in the Buddhist view of existence), right thought (the resolve to practice the faith), right speech (avoidance of falsehoods, slander, and abuse), right action (abstention from taking life, stealing, and improper sexual behavior), right livelihood (rejection of occupations not in keeping with Buddhist principles), right effort (devel¬ opment of good mental states), right mindfulness (awareness of body, feelings, and thought), and right concentration (meditation). It is also called the Middle Path, because it steers a course between sensuality and asceticism. Following the Path leads to escape from suffering and attain¬ ment of NIRVANA.

Eijkman Vlk-.man, 'ak-.manX, Christiaan (b. Aug. 11, 1858, Nijkerk, Neth.—d. Nov. 5, 1930, Utrecht) Dutch physician and pathologist. While seeking a bacterial cause for beriberi, he noticed a resemblance between a nerve disorder in his laboratory chickens and that seen in beriberi. He eventually showed that the cause was their diet of white rather than brown rice, but he believed the disorder was caused by a toxin even after it was shown to be due to thiamin deficiency. His work led to the discovery of vitamins and earned him a 1929 Nobel Prize, shared with Frederick Gow- LAND FlOPKINS.

Eileithyia \,I-U-'thI-9\ Greek goddess of childbirth. Capable of helping or hindering labour according to her will, she was worshiped over a period of centuries from Neolithic to Roman times. The earliest evidence for her cult was found at Amnisus in Crete. In later Greek polytheism she is sometimes described as the daughter of Hera and is sometimes identified with Hera or with Artemis.

Einaudi V.a-na-'ii-deV, Luigi (b. March 24, 1874, Carru, Italy—d. Oct. 30, 1961, Rome) Italian economist and politician. He taught at the Uni¬ versity of Turin (1900-43) and edited the Review of Economic History (1936—43). An opponent of the fascists, he fled to Switzerland in 1943. He returned in 1945 and served as governor of the Bank of Italy (1945- 48). As minister of the budget (1947), he successfully curbed inflation and stabilized the currency. He was the first president (1948-55) of the Republic of Italy.

Eindhoven Vlnt-.ho-vonV Commune (pop., 2001 est.: 203,397), south¬ ern Netherlands. Situated on the Dommel River southeast of Rotterdam, it was chartered in 1232 by Henry I, duke of Brabant. After 1900 it devel¬ oped from a small village into one of the largest industrial centres of The Netherlands, and in 1920 it annexed five adjoining municipalities. The city is the seat of a technical university and the headquarters of Philips Electronics NV.

Einhard \Tn-,hart\ or Eginhard \'a-gin- l hart\ (b. c. 770, Maingau, Franconia—d. March 14, 840, Seligenstadt, Franconia) Frankish historian and scholar. An adviser to Charlemagne and to Louis I the Pious, Einhard was made abbot of several monasteries and held extensive lands. His biography of Charlemagne (c. 830) analyzed Charlemagne’s family, achievements, administration, and death and exemplified the classical renaissance at the Carolingian court.

Einstein, Albert (b. March 14, 1879, Ulm, Wiirttemberg, Ger.—d. April 18, 1955, Princeton, N.J., U.S.) German-Swiss-U.S. scientist. Born to a Jewish family in Germany, he grew up in Munich, and his family moved to Switzerland in 1894. He became a junior examiner at the Swiss patent office in 1902 and began producing original theoretical work that laid many of the foundations for 20th-century physics. He received his doctorate from the University of Zurich in 1905, the same year he won international fame with the publication of three articles: one on Brown¬ ian motion, which he explained in terms of molecular kinetic energy; one on the photoelectric effect, in which he demonstrated the particle nature of light; and one on his special theory of relativity, which included his for¬ mulation of the equivalence of mass and energy (E = me 2 ). Einstein held several professorships before becoming director of Berlin’s Kaiser Wil¬ helm Institute in 1914. In 1915 he published his general theory of rela¬ tivity, which was confirmed experimentally during a solar eclipse in 1919 with observations of the deviation of light passing near the Sun. He received a Nobel Prize in 1921 for his work on the photoelectric effect, his work on relativity still being controversial. He made important con¬ tributions to quantum field theory, and for decades he sought to discover the mathematical relationship between electromagnetism and gravitation, which he believed would be a first step toward discovering the common

laws governing the behaviour of everything in the universe, but such a unified field theory eluded him. His theories of relativity and gravitation represented a profound advance over Newtonian physics and revolution¬ ized scientific and philosophical inquiry. He resigned his position at the Prussian Academy when Adolf Hitler came to power and moved to Prin¬ ceton, N.J., where he joined the Institute for Advanced Study. Though a longtime pacifist, he was instrumental in persuading Pres. Franklin Roosevelt in 1939 to initiate the Manhattan Project for the production of an atomic bomb, a technology his own theories greatly furthered, though he did not work on the project himself. The most eminent scientist in the world in the postwar years, he declined an offer to become the first prime minister of Israel and became a strong advocate for nuclear disarmament.

Einstein's mass-energy relation Relationship between mass (m) and energy ( E) in Albert Einstein’s special theory of relativity, expressed E = me 2 , where c equals 186,000 mi/second (300,000 km/second), the speed of light. Whereas mass and energy were viewed as distinct in earlier physical theories, in special relativity a body’s mass can be converted into energy in accordance with Einstein’s formula. Such a release of energy decreases the body’s mass (see conservation law).

Eisai \'a-'si\ (b. 1141—d. 1215) Japanese monk who introduced Rinzai Zen Buddhism to Japan. Originally a Tendai (Tiantai) monk, he visited China twice (1168, 1187) and returned to teach a strict meditational sys¬ tem based on the use of koan (riddles). He instructed Dogen.

Eisenhower Vi-zon-.hau-oA, Dwight D(avid) (b. Oct. 14, 1890, Denison, Texas, U.S.—d. March 28,

1969, Washington, D.C.) 34th presi¬ dent of the U.S. (1953-61). He graduated from West Point (1915), then served in the Panama Canal Zone (1922-24) and in the Philip¬ pines under Douglas MacArthur (1935-39). In World War II Gen.

George Marshall appointed him to the army’s war-plans division (1941), then chose him to command U.S. forces in Europe (1942). After planning the invasions of North Africa, Sicily, and Italy, he was appointed supreme commander of Allied forces (1943). He planned the Normandy Campaign (1944) and the conduct of the war in Europe until the German surrender (1945). He was promoted to five-star general (1944) and was named army chief of staff in 1945. He served as president of Columbia University from 1948 until being appointed supreme com¬ mander of NATO in 1951. Both Democrats and Republicans courted Eisenhower as a presidential candidate; in 1952, as the Republican can¬ didate, he defeated Adlai Stevenson with the largest popular vote to that time. He defeated Stevenson again in 1956 in an even larger landslide. His policy of support for Middle Eastern countries facing communist aggression, enunciated in the Eisenhower Doctrine, was a continuation of the containment policy adopted by the Harry Truman administration (see Truman Doctrine). He sent federal troops to Little Rock, Ark., to enforce integration of a city high school (1957). When the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I (1957), he was criticized for failing to develop the U.S. space program; he responded by creating NASA (1958). In his last weeks in office the U.S. broke diplomatic relations with Cuba.

Eisenhower Doctrine U.S. foreign policy pronouncement by Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower (1957). The Eisenhower Doctrine promised mili¬ tary and economic aid to anticommunist governments, at a time when communist countries were providing arms to Egypt and offering strong support to Arab states. Part of the Cold War policy developed by John Foster Dulles to contain expansion of the Soviet sphere of influence, the doctrine continued pledges made under the Truman Doctrine.

Eisenstaedt Vl-zon-.statV Alfred (b. Dec. 6, 1898, Dirschau, West Prussia—d. Aug. 23, 1995, Oak Bluffs, Mass., U.S.) German-born U.S. photojournalist. He became a professional photographer in Berlin in 1929 and came under the influence of Erich Salomon. His work appeared in many European picture magazines in the 1930s. In 1935 he immigrated

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

604 I Eisenstein ► El Paso

to New York City, where he became one of the first four photographers hired by Life (1936). He would contribute more than 2,500 picture sto¬ ries and 90 cover photos to the magazine, including outstanding portraits of kings, dictators, film stars, and ordinary people.

Eisenstein Vl-zon-.stlnV Sergey (Mikhaylovich) (b. Jan. 23, 1898, Riga, Latvia—d. Feb. 11, 1948, Moscow, U.S.S.R.) Russian film director and theorist. He began his career at a workers’ theatre in Moscow in 1920, designing costumes and scenery. After studying stage direction with Vsevolod Meyerhold, he turned to filmmaking. In Strike (1924) he intro¬ duced his influential concept of film montage, adding startling and often discordant images to the main action to create the maximum psychologi¬ cal impact. He further developed the style in The Battleship Potemkin (1925), a commissioned propaganda film that is one of the most influen¬ tial films of all time. Among his other films are October (Ten Days That Shook the World ; 1928) and The General Line (1929). After a frustrating period in Hollywood and Mexico (1930-33), he returned to the Soviet Union and made two more classics, Alexander Nevsky (1938) and Ivan the Terrible (2 parts, 1945—46).

Eisner Vlz-norV Kurt (b. May 14, 1867, Berlin, Prussia—d. Feb. 21, 1919, Munich, Ger.) German journalist and politician. From 1898 he was editor of Vorwdrts, the official Social Democratic Party newspaper. He joined the Independent Social Democratic Party in 1917, later becoming its leader. In November 1918 he organized a Socialist revolution that overthrew the monarchy in Bavaria, and he became first prime minister and minister of foreign affairs of the new Bavarian republic. In February 1919 he was assassinated by a reactionary zealot.

Eisner, Michael (Dammann) (b. March 7, 1942, Mount Kisco, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. entertainment executive. He worked at ABC-TV (1966-76) before becoming president of Paramount Pictures (1976-84), and he served as head of the Disney Co. from 1984. He was instrumental in reviving Disney as a major movie studio with films such as Pretty Woman (1990), and he restored Disney’s reputation for classic animation with Beauty and the Beast (1991) and The Lion King (1995), which also became hit Broadway musicals. He expanded the company into fields such as television, publishing, home video, and cruise ship travel.

eisteddfod M-'steth-vod, a-'steth-vod\ Welsh "session" Formal assembly of Welsh bards and minstrels that originated in the traditions of medieval court bards. Early eisteddfods were competitions of musicians (especially harpists) and poets from which new musical, literary, and ora¬ torical forms emerged. The assembly at Carmarthen in 1451 authorita¬ tively established the arrangement of the strict metres of Welsh poetry. The modem annual National Eisteddfod, revived in the 19th century, includes awards for music, prose, drama, and art, but the investiture of the winning poet remains its high point.

ejido \a-'he-tho\ In Mexico, village lands held in the traditional Indian system of land tenure, blessed by Mexican law in the 1920s, that com¬ bines communal ownership with individual use. The ejido consists of cul¬ tivated land, pastureland, other uncultivated lands, and th e fundo legal, or town site. The cultivated land is generally apportioned in family holdings, which until recently could not be sold but could be passed down to heirs. Though the land reform of the mid 18th century was aimed at breaking up the large church holdings, it also forced the Indians to give up their ejidos. The village lands were restored by the 1917 constitution. In 1992 the Carlos Saunas government revoked the ban on the sale of ejido land.

Ekaterinoslav See Dnipropetrovsk

Ekron \'e-,kran\ Canaanite and Philistine city in ancient Palestine. It was one of the five cities of the Philistine Pentapolis and was located in what is now central Israel. Though allocated to Judah after the Israelite con¬ quest, it was a Philistine stronghold in the time of King David; it was later associated with the worship of the deity Baalzebub. Taken by Egypt (c. 918 bc), it paid tribute to Assyria in the 7th century bc. The city was known as Akkaron from Hellenistic times.

El Chief deity of the western Semites. In ancient texts from Ras Shamra in Syria, El was the husband of the mother goddess Asherah and father of all the gods except Baal. He was often depicted as an old man with a white beard and wings. The writers of the Hebrew scriptures used El as a synonym for Yahweh (the God of Israel) or as a general term for deity.

El Aaiun See Laayoune

El Alamein 'qa-b-'manN, Battles of (June-July 1942; October 23-November 6, 1942) Two battles between British and Axis forces in Egypt in World War II. Axis forces under Erwin Rommel began a drive eastward along the North African coast in early 1942. Though initially checked by the British, they managed to reach El Alamein on June 30. The first engagement ended in mid-July with Rommel still there, blocked and on the defensive. In October British forces under Bernard Law Mont¬ gomery began a devastating attack from El Alamein, routing Rommel’s vastly outnumbered forces. By November 6 the British had driven the Germans back into Libya.

El Cid See The Cid

El Dorado (Spanish: “The Golden”) Legendary golden city sought by Spanish explorers in the New World. It was the fabulously wealthy land of a king who was said to have been covered with gold dust so many times that he was permanently gilded. Many Spanish and English expe¬ ditions in the Americas were sent in search of El Dorado. In 1540 Fran¬ cisco Vazquez de Coronado ventured as far north as Kansas seeking the Seven Golden Cities of Cibola. Walter Raleigh searched for El Dorado in vain in South America, leading an expedition up the Orinoco River in

El Escorial \,es-k6r-'yal\ Palace-monastery northwest of Madrid, built in 1563-67 for Philip II. It is the burial place of Spanish sovereigns and one of the largest religious establishments in the world. It was conceived by Juan Bautista de Toledo (1530-1597) and completed by Juan de Herrera (c. 1530-1597), who is considered responsible for its architectural style. Its plan is a giant rectangle, with a domed church at the center flanked by the palace, monastery, college, library, cloisters, and courts. The mas¬ sive granite walls, relieved only by a series of unadorned windows and Doric pilasters, with no concession to decorative richness, produced an austerity beyond anything the Italian Renaissance ever envisaged.

El Greco See El Greco

El Malpais V.el-.mal-pa-'esV National Monument Natural area, west-central New Mexico, U.S. Located at an elevation of 6,400-8,400 ft (1,950-2,560 m), it covers 179 sq mi (464 sq km), including a lava flow area of 133 sq mi (344 sq km). Features include a 17-mi (27-km) lava tube system, a number of ice caves, volcanic cinder cones, one of New Mexico’s largest natural arches, and more than 20 gas and lava spatter cones. Designated a national natural landmark with the name McCarty Lava Flow in 1969, it became a national monument in 1987.

El Morro National Monument Rock formation and archaeological site, west-central New Mexico, U.S. Established in 1906, it has an area of 2 sq mi (5 sq km). El Morro, or Inscription Rock, is a soft sandstone mesa rising 200 ft (60 m) above the valley floor and covering several acres. Spaniards and Americans left their inscriptions (1605-1906) on the cliff sides of the mesa. El Morro also has a number of pre-Columbian petroglyphs, and on its top lie ruins of Indian pueblos.

El Nino In oceanography and climatology, the appearance, every few years, of unusually warm surface waters of the Pacific Ocean along the tropical western coast of South America. It affects fishing, agriculture, and local weather from Ecuador to Chile and can cause global climatic anoma¬ lies in the equatorial Pacific, Asia, and North America. The name (Span¬ ish for “the Christ Child”) was originally used by 19th-century Peruvian fishermen to describe the annual flow of warm equatorial waters south¬ ward around Christmastime. The term is now used for an intense ocean warming that stretches from the western Pacific to South America. This “anomalous occurrence” is caused by an unusual weakening of the nor¬ mally westward-blowing trade winds, which in turn allows warm surface waters to spread eastward. See also La Nina.

El Paso City (pop., 2000: 563,662), western Texas, U.S. Located on the Rio Grande opposite Ciudad Juarez, Mex., it is the largest of the U.S.- Mexican border cities. The area was the site of several missions from the 17th century; the first village was built on the site of El Paso in 1827. It became U.S. territory in 1848, when an army post was erected; the town was laid out in 1859. It grew slowly until 1881, when four railways arrived; in a decade El Paso’s population increased more than tenfold. Spanish language and culture distinguish the modern city. The commer¬ cial and financial centre for an extensive trade territory, it is the site of the University of Texas at El Paso (1913) and Fort Bliss (home of the U.S. Army Air Defense Center); the White Sands Missile Range is nearby.

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

El Salvador ► Elbe I 605

El Salvador officially Republic of El Salvador Country, Central America. Area: 8,124 sq mi (21,042 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 6,881,000. Capital: San Salvador. The majority of the people are mesti-

Acajutla *

Ilopango

! . ® Nueva San Salvador

San