Britannica Concise 2005

Goethe Ygce-te,\ English Vg9(r)-t3\, Johann Wolfgang von (b. Aug. 28, 1749, Frankfurt am Main—d. March 22, 1832, Weimar, Saxe- Weimar) German poet, novelist, playwright, and natural philosopher. In 1773 Goethe provided the Sturm und Drang movement with its first major drama, Gotz von Berlichingen, and in 1774 with its first novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther, an extraordinarily popular work in its time, in which he created the prototype of the Romantic hero. In 1775 he accepted an appointment at the ducal court at Weimar, where he would remain the rest of his life; his presence would establish Weimar as a literary and intellec¬ tual centre. His poetry includes lyrics in praise of natural beauty and ballads such as “The Elf King” (1782) that echo folk themes. Many early works were inspired by a series of passionate loves. Contact with classical Greek and Romantic culture during an Italian sojourn helped shape his plays, including Iphigenie aufTauris (1787), Egmont (1788), and Torquato Tasso (1790), and the poems in Roman Elegies (1795). From 1794, Friedrich Schiller became his most important and influential friend. Wilhelm Meis- ter’s Apprenticeship (1795-96) is often called the first bildungsroman; it was followed many years later by Wilhelm Meister’s Travels (1821-29). His chief masterpiece, the philosophical drama Faust (Part I, 1808; Part II, 1832), concerns the struggle of the soul for knowledge, power, happiness, and salvation. Goethe also wrote extensively, if idiosyncratically, on botany, optics, and other scientific topics. In his late years he was cel¬ ebrated as a sage and visited by world luminaries. The greatest figure of German Romanticism, he is regarded as a giant of world literature.

goethite Vgor-.tlt, 'g6-,thlt\ Widespread iron hydroxide mineral, a-FeO(OH), the most common ingredient of iron rust. In terms of rela¬ tive abundance, it is second only to hematite (a-Fe 2 0 3 ) among iron

oxides. Goethite varies in colour from yellow-brown to red and is the source for the pigment known as yellow ocher; it is also the primary min¬ eral in some important iron ores, such as those in the Alsace-Lorraine basin in France. Other important deposits are found in the southern Appa¬ lachian Mountains of the U.S., and in Brazil, South Africa, Russia, and Australia.

Goff man, Erving (b. June 11, 1922, Manville, Alta., Can.—d. Nov. 19, 1982, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.) Canadian-U.S. sociologist. Goffman taught principally at the Universities of California and Pennsylvania. He studied primarily face-to-face communication and related rituals of social interaction; his The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (1959) laid out the dramaturgical perspective he used in subsequent studies, such as Asy¬ lums (1961) and Stigma (1964). In Frame Analysis (1979) and Forms of Talk (1981), he focused on the ways people “frame” or define social real¬ ity in the communicative process. See also interactionism.

Gogh \van-'kok,\ English Vgo\, Vincent (Willem) van (b. March 30, 1853, Zundert, Neth.—d. July 29, 1890, Auvers-sur-Oise, near Paris, France) Dutch painter. At 16 he was apprenticed to art dealers in The Hague, and he worked in their London and Paris branches (1873-76). After brief attempts at missionary work and theology, he studied draw¬ ing at the Brussels Academy; late in 1881 he settled at The Hague to work with a Dutch landscape painter, Anton Mauve. During his early years he painted three types of subjects—still life, landscape, and figure—all inter¬ related by their reference to the daily life of peasants (e.g.. The Potato Eaters, 1885). After briefly studying at the Antwerp Academy, in 1886 he left to join his brother Theo, an art dealer, in Paris. There he met Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Paul Gauguin, and others involved in Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. By the summer of 1887 he was painting in pure colours and using broken brushwork that was at times pointillistic, and by the beginning of 1888 his Post-Impressionist style had crystallized. He left Paris in February 1888 for Arles, in southeastern France. The pictures he created over the following 12 months—depicting blossoming fruit trees, views of the town and surroundings, self-portraits, portraits of Roulin the postman and other friends, interiors and exteriors of the house, sunflow¬ ers, and landscapes—marked his first great period. Gauguin arrived in October 1888, and for two months he and van Gogh worked together; but, while each influenced the other to some extent, their relations rap¬ idly deteriorated. On Christmas Eve 1888, physically and emotionally exhausted, van Gogh snapped under the strain; after arguing with Gauguin, he cut off the lower half of his own left ear. At the end of April 1889, van Gogh entered an asylum but continued to paint; during his 12-month stay he completed 150 paintings and drawings. A move to Auvers-sur-Oise in 1890 was followed by another burst of activity, but he soon suffered a relapse and died that July of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His 10-year artistic career produced more than 800 paintings and 700 drawings, of which he sold only one in his lifetime. His work had a powerful influence on the development of modern painting, and he is considered the greatest Dutch painter since Rembrandt.

Gogol Vgo-.goH, Nikolay (Vasilyevich) (b. March 19, 1809, Sorochintsy, near Poltava, Ukraine, Russian Empire—d. Feb. 21, 1852, Moscow, Russia) Russian writer. Gogol tried acting and worked at minor government jobs in St. Petersburg before achieving literary success with Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka (1831-32). His pessimism emerged in such stories as “Taras Bulba” (1835) and “Diary of a Madman” (1835). His farcical drama The Government Inspector (1836) lampooned a cor¬ rupt government bureaucracy. From 1836 to 1846 he lived in Italy. Dur¬ ing this time he laid the foundations of 19th-century Russian realism with his masterpiece, the novel Dead Souls (1842), a satire about serfdom and bureaucratic inequities in which he hoped to castigate abuses and guide his countrymen through laughter, and his story “The Overcoat” (1842). His collected stories (1842) received great acclaim. Soon afterward he came under the influence of a fanatical priest who prompted him to burn the manuscript of the second volume of Dead Souls. He died a few days later at age 42, perhaps of intentional starvation, on the verge of madness.

Gogra River See Ghaghara River

Goibniu Vg6v y -n y ii\ Ancient Celtic blacksmith god. In Irish tradition he was one of a trio of divine craftsmen. He had the gift of brewing an ale that bestowed immortality and was the provider of the sacred otherworld feast, the Fled Goibnenn. In Christian times, as Gobban Saer, he was a legendary builder of churches. His Welsh counterpart, Gofannon, appeared in the Mabinogion.

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goitre ► Golden Gate Bridge I 775

goitre Enlargement of the thyroid gland, causing a prominent swelling at the throat. The thyroid can grow to 50 times its normal weight, inter¬ fere with breathing and swallowing, and cause a choking feeling. Simple (endemic) goitre, the most common, is due to low iodine intake. It and related conditions result from various defects in thyroid hormone synthe¬ sis (hypothyroidism). Advanced cases are treated with thyroid hormone or surgical removal of the thyroid if it obstructs breathing. The cause of sporadic goitre, which occurs in areas where iodine intake is more than adequate, remains a mystery. An enlarged thyroid may have normally functioning tissue or may produce too much hormone (hyperthyroidism). See also Graves disease.

Golan \'go-,lan\ Heights Arabic Al-Jawlan \al-jau-'lan\ Hilly area, southwestern Syria. It overlooks the upper Jordan River valley; its maxi¬ mum elevation is 7,297 ft (2,224 m). It was occupied by the Israeli army during the Six-Day War of 1967. After the Arab-Israeli war of 1973, a UN buffer zone was established between Syrians and Israelis in the heights. In 1981 Israel unilaterally annexed the part of the Golan that it held. Talks were started by the two countries in 2000 in an attempt to resolve the situation.

Golconda \gal-'kan-d3\ Fortress and ruined city, Andhra Pradesh state, southern India. Located 5 mi (8 km) west of modem Hyderabad, it was the capital (1512-1687) of one of the five Muslim sultanates of the Dec- can. It was conquered in 1687 by the emperor Aurangzeb and was annexed to the Mughal empire. The fortress, with palaces and mosques, remains intact. Historically, Golconda was famous for its diamonds, mined in the nearby hills.

gold Metallic chemical element, one of the transition elements, chemical symbol Au, atomic number 79. It is a dense, lustrous, yellow, malleable precious metal, so durable that it is virtually indestructible, often found uncombined in nature. Jewelry and other decorative objects have been crafted from gold for thousands of years. It has been used for coins, to back paper currencies, and as a reserve asset. Gold is widely distributed in all igneous rocks, usually pure but in low concentrations; its recovery from ores and deposits has been a major preoccupation since ancient times (see cyanide process). The world’s gold supply has seen three great leaps, with Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the Americas in 1492, with discov¬ eries in California (see gold rush) and Australia (1850-75), and discov¬ eries in Alaska, Yukon (see Klondike), and South Africa (1890-1915). Pure gold is too soft for prolonged handling; it is usually used in alloys with silver, copper, and other metals. In addition to being used in jewelry and as currency, gold is used in electrical contacts and circuits, as a reflective layer in space applications and on building windows, and in filling and replacing teeth. Dental alloys are about 75% gold, 10% silver. In jewelry, its purity is expressed in 24ths, or karats: 24-karat is pure, 12-karat is 50% gold, etc. Its compounds, in which it has valence 1 or 3, are used mainly in plating and other decorative processes; a soluble chloride com¬ pound has been used to treat rheumatoid arthritis.

Gold Coast Section of the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, western Africa. Extending approximately from Axim, Ghana, in the west to the Volta River in the east, it was so called because it was an important source of gold. It was an area of intense colonial rivalry from the 17th century. Acquired as a colony by the British in the 19th century and named the Gold Coast, the area achieved independence as the Republic of Ghana in 1957.

Gold Coast See Ghana

gold reserve Fund of gold bullion or coin held by a government or bank. In the past, banks accumulated gold reserves to fulfill their prom¬ ise to pay their depositors in gold. Commercial banks received deposits subject to repayment in gold on demand and issued notes redeemable in gold on demand. Most gold reserves eventually shifted to central banks, which took over the function of issuing paper money. Gold reserves were moved again in the 1930s, when many governments required their cen¬ tral banks to turn over to the national treasuries all or most of their gold holdings. In the U.S., the Gold Reserve Act of 1934 required Federal Reserve banks to turn over all gold bullion or coin to the U.S. Treasury, which placed most of the reserves at Fort Knox.

gold rush Rapid influx of fortune seekers to the site of newly discov¬ ered gold deposits. In North America, the first major gold strike occurred in California in 1848, when John Marshall, a carpenter building a saw¬ mill for John Sutter, found gold. Within a year about 80,000 “forty-niners” (as the fortune seekers of 1849 were called) had flocked to the California

gold fields, and 250,000 had arrived by 1853. Some mining camps grew into permanent settlements, and the demand for food, housing, and sup¬ plies propelled the new state’s economy. As gold became more difficult to extract, companies and mechanical mining methods replaced individual prospectors. Smaller gold rushes occurred throughout the second half of the 19th century in Colorado, Nevada, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Arizona, and Alaska, resulting in the rapid settlement of many areas; where gold veins proved small, the settlements later became ghost towns. Major gold rushes also occurred in Australia (1851), South Africa (1886), and Canada (1896). See also Klondike gold rush.

gold standard Monetary system in which the standard unit of cur¬ rency is a fixed quantity of gold or is freely convertible into gold at a fixed price. The gold standard was first adopted in Britain in 1821. Ger¬ many, France, and the U.S. instituted it in the 1870s, prompted by North American gold strikes that increased the supply of gold. The gold stan¬ dard ended with the outbreak of World War I in 1914; it was reestablished in 1928, but because of the relative scarcity of gold, most nations adopted a gold-exchange standard, supplementing their gold reserves with curren¬ cies (U.S. dollars and British pounds) convertible into gold at a stable rate of exchange. Though the gold-exchange standard collapsed during the Great Depression, the U.S. set a minimum dollar price for gold, an action that allowed for the restoration of an international gold standard after World War II. In 1971 dwindling gold reserves and an unfavourable bal¬ ance of payments led the U.S. to suspend the free convertibility of dollars into gold, and the gold standard was abandoned. See also bimetallism; EXCHANGE RATE; SILVER STANDARD.

Goldberg, Arthur J(oseph) (b. Aug. 8, 1908, Chicago, Ill., U.S.—d. Jan. 19, 1990, Washington, D.C.) U.S. jurist. After passing the Illinois bar examination at the age of 20, he practiced law in Chicago from 1929 to 1948. He first gained national attention as counsel for the Chicago News¬ paper Guild during its 1938 strike. In 1948 he went to Washington, D.C., as general counsel for the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) and the United Steelworkers of America. He was instrumental in merging the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the CIO in 1955. After serving as U.S. secretary of labour (1961-62), he was appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States (1962-65). At the request of Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson, he gave up his seat on the court to become U.S. ambassador to the UN (1965— 68), a post he resigned in protest over Johnson’s escalation of the Vietnam War. He twice served as ambassador-at-large for Pres. Jimmy Carter.

Golden Bull of 1356 Constitution for the Holy Roman Empire promul¬ gated by Charles IV. Stamped with a golden seal, the document gave seven electors the power to choose the ruler of Germany by a simple majority. It also specified the electors and established succession by primogeniture. Intended to eliminate papal influence in German political affairs, it did away with the pope’s previous right to examine rivals and approve results, and also increased the power of the princes.

golden eagle Dark-brown eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) with golden, leaf¬ shaped nape feathers, dark eyes, gray beak, fully feathered legs, large yel¬ low feet, and large talons. Its wing- spread reaches almost 8 ft (2.3 m). It ranges from central Mexico (where it is the national bird) along the Pacific coast and through the Rocky Moun¬ tains to Alaska, and small numbers are found from Newfoundland to North Carolina. Also found in North Africa, it is more common across Russia, to southern China and Japan.

It nests in cliff caves or in lone trees.

The species is protected in the U.S.

Golden Gate Bridge Suspen¬ sion bridge spanning the Golden Gate, San Francisco. From its completion in 1937 until the comple¬ tion of New York’s Verrazano- Narrows Bridge in 1964, it had the longest main span in the world, 4,200 ft (1,280 m). It remains incomparable in its magnificence. Its construction, supervised by Joseph B. Strauss (1870-1938), involved many difficulties:

Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos).

© ALAN AND SANDY CAREY

© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.

776 I Golden Horde ► Goldmark

rapidly running tides, frequent storms and fogs, and the problem of blasting rock under deep water to plant earthquake-resistant founda¬ tions.

Golden Horde Russian designa¬ tion for the western part of the Mon¬ gol empire. The Golden Horde flourished from the mid-13th century to the end of the 14th century. The name is traditionally said to derive from the golden tent of Batu, a grand¬ son of Genghis Khan, who expanded the domain of the Golden Horde in a series of brilliant campaigns that included the sacking and burning of Kiev in 1240. At its peak, its terri¬ tory included most of European Rus¬ sia. The outbreak of the Black Death in 1346 marked the beginning of its disintegration; in the 15th century it broke into several smaller khanates.

golden lion tamarin or golden lion marmoset Species of tam- arin ( Leontideus rosalia ), having a thick, lionlike mane, black face, and long, silky, golden fur. A striking-looking animal, it is found in South America, where it is listed as critically endangered.

golden ratio/rectangle/section Numerical proportion considered to be an aesthetic ideal in classical design. It refers to the ratio of the base to the height of a rectangle or to the division of a line segment into two in such a way that the ratio of the shorter part to the longer is equal to that of the longer to the whole. It works out to about 1.61803:1. A rect¬ angle constructed from golden sections (segments in this ratio) is called a golden rectangle.

Golden Temple Punjabi Darbar Sahib or Harimandir Chief house of worship for the Sikhs of India (see Sikhism) and their most impor¬ tant pilgrimage site, located in the city of Amritsar in Punjab state. Founded by Guru Ramdas (1574-81) and completed by Guru Arjan Dev in 1604, the temple has entrances on four sides, signifying a welcome to all creeds and castes. Though destroyed in the 1760s by Afghan invad¬ ers, it was rebuilt, and in the early 19th century it acquired its marble walls and gold-plated copper domes. The surrounding buildings include a meeting hall, reference library, and museum, as well as the shrine known as the Akal Takhat. In 1984 the complex was seriously damaged during a confrontation between Sikh separatists and government troops; it was subsequently restored.

goldeneye or whistler Either of two species of small, yellow-eyed diving ducks that produce a whistling sound with their rapidly beating wings. The common goldeneye ( Bucephala clangula) breeds throughout the Northern Hemisphere; Barrow’s goldeneye ( B. islandica) breeds pri¬ marily in northwestern North America and Iceland. Both winter mainly in northern coastal waters. Both are about 18 in. (46 cm) long and have a black back marked with white, white sides and breast, and conspicuous white patches in front of the eyes. The head of the common is dark green; that of the Barrow’s is purplish black. Both nest in tree cavities and pre¬ fer a diet of aquatic invertebrates. They are prized as game birds.

golden rod Any of the approximately 100 species of weedy, usually perennial herbaceous plants that make up the genus Solidago, in the COM¬ POSITE family. Most are native to North America; a few grow in Europe and Asia. They have toothed leaves and clustered yellow flower heads com¬ posed of both disk and ray flowers. Characteristic plants in eastern North America, they are found almost everywhere—in woodlands, swamps, on mountains, in fields, and along roadsides—and are a prominent feature of autumn from the Great Plains east to the Atlantic. Unlike ragweed, which blooms at the same time, they are not a cause of hay fever.

goldenseal Perennial herb (. Hydrastis canadensis) native to woods of the eastern U.S. Its rootstocks have medicinal properties. The plant has a single greenish-white flower, the sepals of which fall as they open. The fruits grow in clusters of small red berries. Goldenseal is sometimes planted in shady wild gardens but is also grown commercially for the yel¬

Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco.

GEORGE HAI1/WOODFIN CAMP AND ASSOCIATES

low rootstocks, which yield hydras- tine, an alkaloid. Used medicinally by Native Americans, it is now a popular herbal supplement taken for minor pain and infections.

goldfinch Any of several species (genus Carduelis, family Carduel- idae) of songbirds that have a short, notched tail and much yellow in the plumage. All have a bill that is more delicate and sharply pointed than that of most finches. They live in flocks, feeding on weeds in fields and gardens. They have high, lisping calls. Various species live in western Eurasia and North and South America and have been introduced into New Zealand and Australia. They are typically 4-5.5 in. (10-14 cm) long. The male of the American goldfinch (or wild canary), found across North America, is bright yel¬ low, with black cap, wings, and tail.

Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis).

KITTY KOHOUT/ROOT RESOURCES

goldfish Ornamental aquarium and carp family, native to East Asia but introduced into many other areas. The goldfish was domesticated by the Chinese at least as early as the Song dynasty (960-1279). It is natu¬ rally greenish brown or gray, but its colour varies. Selective breeding has produced more than 125 breeds, including the veiltail, with a three- lobed, flowing tail, and the common, pet-shop comet. They feed on plants and small animals and, in captivity, on small crustaceans and other foods. They have become natural¬ ized in many parts of the eastern U.S.

fish ( Carassius auratus) of the

Goldfish (Carassius auratus)

W.S. PTIT-ERIC HOSKING

Golding, Sir William (Gerald) (b. Sept. 19, 1911, St. Columb Minor, near Newquay, Cornwall, Eng.—d. June 19, 1993, Perranar- worthal, near Falmouth, Cornwall) British novelist. Educated at the Uni¬ versity of Oxford, Golding worked as a schoolmaster until 1960. His first and best-known novel was Lord of the Flies (1954; film, 1963, 1990), about a group of boys isolated on an island who revert to savagery. Later works, several of which are likewise parables of the human condition that show the thinness of the veneer of civilization, include The Inheritors (1955), Fincher Martin (1956), The Spire (1964), Rites of Passage (1980, Booker Prize), and Close Quarters (1987). He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983.

Goldman, Emma (b. June 27,1869, Kovno, Lith., Russian Empire—d. May 14, 1940, Toronto, Ont., Can.) International anarchist. She immi¬ grated to the U.S. in 1885, settling in Rochester, N.Y. Moving to New York City in 1889, she formed a close association with the Russian anarchist Alexander Berkman (1870-1936); the two corresponded regularly during Berkman’s imprisonment (1892-1906) for an assassination attempt on Henry Clay Frick. In 1893 Goldman herself was jailed for inciting a riot when a group of unemployed workers reacted to a fiery speech she had delivered. She founded and edited (1906-17) the anarchist magazine Mother Earth and wrote on anarchism, feminism, birth control, and other social problems. After Berkman’s release she continued anarchist activities with him until 1917, when they were arrested for agitating against the mili¬ tary draft. Upon her release in 1919, she and other anarchists were deported to the Soviet Union. She moved to England in 1921 and later to Canada and Spain, continuing to lecture throughout Europe.

Goldmark, Peter Carl (b. Dec. 2, 1906, Budapest, Hung.—d. Dec. 7, 1977, Westchester county, N.Y., U.S.) Hungarian-U.S. engineer. He earned a doctorate from the University of Vienna before immigrating to the U.S. in 1933. From 1936 to 1972 he worked at the Columbia Broad¬ casting System Laboratories. In 1940 he demonstrated the first commer¬ cial colour-television system; based on a rotating three-colour disk, his

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