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news agency or news service or wire service Organization that gathers, writes, and distributes news to newspapers, periodicals, radio and television broadcasters, government agencies, and other users. It does not publish news itself but supplies news to subscribers, who, by sharing costs, obtain services they could not otherwise afford. All the mass media depend on agencies for the bulk of the news they carry. Some agencies focus on special subjects or on a local area or nation. Many news agen¬ cies are cooperatives, with members providing news from their area to a pool for general use. The largest news agencies are United Press Inter¬ national, Associated Press, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse.

newscast Radio or television broadcast of news events. News gather¬ ing and broadcasting by the radio networks began in the mid-1930s and increased significantly during World War II. The television newscast began in 1948 with 15-minute programs that resembled movie newsreels. The current U.S. format employs a newscaster or anchorperson reading news stories, with interpolated audiotape (for radio) or videotape (for television) and live reports from remote journalists. Noted newscasters have included Edward R. Murrow, Walter Cronkite, and David Brinkley.

Newsday Evening daily tabloid newspaper published in Long Island, N.Y. It was established in 1940, as the residential suburbs in Nassau and Suffolk counties began to expand. Following a liberal-independent policy, it has specialized in reporting serious local news. The newspaper itself has earned three Pulitzer Prizes for meritorious public service, and its writers and reporters have earned many more. Newsday is owned by the Tribune Co., which acquired the paper through its merger with the Times Mirror Co.

newsgroup Internet forum for discussion of specific subjects. News- groups are organized into subjects (e.g., automobiles); each typically has several subgroups (e.g., classic cars. Formula One racing cars). A person starts a threaded discussion by “posting” (uploading) an article; the

follow-up replies (including replies to replies) comprise the discussion. A newsgroup name usually consists of an abbreviation (e.g., “rec” for the recreation newsgroup) followed by subgroup names separated by dots (e.g., “rec.music.jazz”). Viewing and posting messages requires a news reader, a program that connects the user to an Internet news server. Most newsgroups are connected via Usenet, a worldwide network that uses the Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP). See also bulletin-board system.

newspaper Publication usually issued daily, weekly, or at other regu¬ lar times that provides news, views, features, and other information of public interest and often carries advertising. Forerunners of the modern newspaper appeared as early as ancient Rome (see Acta). More or less regular papers printed from movable type appeared in Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands in the early 17th century. The first English daily was The Daily Courant (1702-35). Though preceded by official papers, James Franklin’s New-England Courant (1721) was the first independent news¬ paper in Britain’s North American colonies. By 1800 the principles of a free press and a basic formula for both serious and popular papers were taking root in much of Europe and the U.S. In the 19th century the num¬ ber of U.S. papers and their circulations rose dramatically, owing to wider literacy, broadening appeal, lower prices, and technological advances in typesetting, printing, communications, and transport. By late in the cen¬ tury, newspapers had achieved great power. Competition for readers often led to sensationalism and, in the 20th century, gave rise to the so-called tabloids (see yellow journalism). Since 1900 newspaper publishing world¬ wide has expanded greatly; in large countries it has experienced consoli¬ dation driven by media conglomerates or through the acquisitions of smaller papers by larger ones.

Newsweek U.S. weekly newsmagazine, published in New York City. Founded (as News-Week) in 1933 by Thomas J.C. Martyn, a former edi¬ tor of Time, it merged with Today magazine in 1937. It initially offered a rather drab survey of the news with columns of analysis. After World War II it grew livelier, especially after its purchase by Philip Graham, pub¬ lisher of The Washington Post, in 1961. It has a strong reputation for accurate, brisk, and vivid reporting and, like Time , presents news in terse summary form, organized by departments.

newt or eft Any of more than 40 salamander species (family Salaman- dridae) prevalent in the southeastern U.S. and Mexico and also found in Asia and Great Britain. Aquatic spe¬ cies are called newts; terrestrial spe¬ cies are called efts. Newts have a long, slender body, and the tail is higher than it is wide. They eat earth¬ worms, insects, snails, and other small animals. Both aquatic and ter¬ restrial species breed in ponds. The three species (genus Triturus) in Britain are sometimes called tritons.

The red eft ( Notophthalmus viride- scens ) of eastern North America is bright red during its terrestrial youth, after which it becomes permanently aquatic and dull green.

newton Absolute unit of force, abbreviated N, in the metre-kilogram-second (MKS) system of physical units (see International System of Units). It is defined as the force neces¬ sary to provide a mass of 1 kg with an acceleration of 1 m per second per second. One newton is equal to a force of 100,000 dynes in the centimetre-gram-second (CGS) system, or a force of about 0.2248 lb in the foot-pound-second (English or U.S.) system. It is named for Isaac Newton, whose second law of motion describes the changes a force can produce in the motion of a body.

Newton, Huey P(ercy) (b. Feb. 17, 1942, Monroe, La., U.S.—d. Aug. 22, 1989, Oakland, Calif.) U.S. African American activist. Though illiterate when he graduated from high school, he taught himself to read before attending college. He met Bobby Seale (b. 1936) while attending the San Francisco School of Law, and in 1966 they formed the Black Pan¬ ther Party. In 1974 Newton was accused of murder and fled to Cuba; on his return in 1977, he was freed after two trials ended in hung juries. In 1980 he received a doctorate in social philosophy from the University of California at Santa Cruz. In 1989 he was sentenced to six months in jail

Warty newt (Triturus cristatus)

TONI ANGERMAYER

Newton ► Nguni I 1357

for misusing money intended for a Black Panther-founded school; later that year he was discovered shot dead on a street in Oakland, Calif.

Newton, Sir Isaac (b. Jan. 4, 1643, Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, Eng.—d. March 31, 1727, London) English physicist and mathematician. The son of a yeoman, he was raised by his grandmother. He was educated at Cambridge University (1661-65), where he discovered the work of Rene Descartes. His experiments passing sunlight through a prism led to the dis¬ covery of the heterogeneous, corpuscular nature of white light and laid the foundation of physical optics. He built the first reflecting telescope in 1668 and became a professor of mathematics at Cambridge in 1669. He worked out the fundamentals of calculus, though this work went unpublished for more than 30 years. His most famous publication, Principia Mathematica (1687), grew out of correspondence with Edmond Halley. Describing his works on the laws of motion (see Newton's laws of motion), orbital dynam¬ ics, tidal theory, and the theory of universal gravitation, it is regarded as the seminal work of modern science. He was elected president of the Royal Society of London in 1703 and became the first scientist ever to be knighted in 1705. During his career he engaged in heated arguments with several of his colleagues, including Robert Hooke (over authorship of the inverse square relation of gravitation) and G.W. Leibniz (over the authorship of cal¬ culus). The battle with Leibniz dominated the last 25 years of his life; it is now well established that Newton developed calculus first, but that Leibniz was the first to publish on the subject. Newton is regarded as one of the greatest scientists of all time.

Newton's law of gravitation Statement that any particle of mat¬ ter in the universe attracts any other with a force ( F) that is proportional to the product of their masses (m 1 and m 2 ) and inversely proportional to the square of the distance ( R ) between them. In symbols: F = G(m l m 2 )/ R 2 , where G is the gravitational constant. Isaac Newton put forth the law in 1687 and used it to explain the observed motions of the planets and their moons, which had been reduced to mathematical form by Johannes Kepler early in the 17th century.

Newton's laws of motion Relations between the forces acting on a body and the motion of the body, formulated by Isaac Newton. The laws describe only the motion of a body as a whole and are valid only for motions relative to a reference frame. Usually, the reference frame is the Earth. The first law, also called the law of inertia, states that if a body is at rest or moving at constant speed in a straight line, it will continue to do so unless it is acted upon by a force. The second law states that the force F acting on a body is equal to the mass m of the body times its acceleration a, or F = ma. The third law, also called the action-reaction law, states that the actions of two bodies on each other are always equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.

Newtown Saint Boswells Vnut- 3 n-s3nt-'baz-w3lz\ Village (pop., 1991: 1,108), Scottish Borders council area, historic county of Roxburghs¬ hire, southeastern Scotland. It lies on the Edinburgh-Carlisle railway. Before 1929 its population consisted mainly of railroad employees. Since then its main function has changed to local governmental administration, and it has important livestock sales and a campus of Borders College. Dryburgh Abbey, founded in 1150, has the tombs of Sir Walter Scott and Field Marshal Douglas Haig.

Newtownabbey X.niit^n-'a-beX Town and district (pop., 2001: 79,995), eastern Northern Ireland, established in 1973. The town was formed in 1958 from seven villages and is a residential continuation of Belfast. It is surrounded by modern industrial complexes that manufacture tires, telephones, and textiles. The district’s light agricultural activity is centred around the administrative seat of Ballyclare.

Newtownards \,nut- 3 n-'ardz\ Town (pop., 1991: 24,301), district seat of Ards, Northern Ireland. Settled in 1608 on the site of a ruined mon¬ astery, it is located east of Belfast. It is now a manufacturing centre.

Ney, Michel, duke d'Elchingen (b. Jan. 10, 1769, Sarrelouis, France—d. Dec. 7, 1815, Paris) French army officer, the best-known of Napoleon’s marshals. He distinguished himself in the French Revolution¬ ary Wars and rose to general in 1799. A supporter of Napoleon, he was created marshal of France in 1804 and duke d’Elchingen in 1808 after victories in the Napoleonic Wars. He led French forces in the Battle of Friedland (1807) and at the Battle of Borodino (1812). In the French retreat from Moscow, he courageously commanded the exposed rear guard and earned Napoleon’s praise as “the bravest of the brave.” After Napoleon’s abdication, Ney favoured Louis XVIII but rallied to Napoleon’s support in

the Hundred Days and commanded troops at the unsuccessful Battle of Waterloo. After the Bourbon Restoration, he was court-martialed and shot by firing squad.

Neyshabur X.na-sha-'burX or NIshdpur \,ne-sh9-'pur\ Town (pop., 1996: 158,847), northeastern Iran. Its name derives from its founder, the Sasanian king Shapur I. One of the four great cities of the region of Kho- rasan, it was the residence of the 5th-century Sasanian king Yazdegerd II. It declined by the mid-7th century but flourished again under the Tahirid (821-873) and Samanid (819-999) dynasties. It was the residence of the Seljuq sultan Toghr'il Beg in the 11th century but again declined in the 12th century. The tombs of the renowned poet and scholar Omar Khayyam and the mystic poet Farid al-Dln 'Attar are nearby.

Nez Perce \'nez-'p9rs\ North American Indian people living mainly in Idaho, U.S. Their language belongs to the Penutian language group, and their traditional homeland is an area centring on the Snake River in central Idaho, western Oregon, and western Washington. The name Nez Perce, applied by French Canadian trappers, means “Pierced Noses”; they call themselves Nimfipuu (Nee-me-poo), meaning “The Real People.” Their culture was primarily that of the Plateau Indians, with some Plains Indian influence. Their domestic life centred on small villages near streams with abundant salmon; they also hunted small game and collected wild plant foods. After acquiring horses, they began to hunt bison and became more warlike, eventually becoming one of the dominant tribes in the region. Through a series of treaties in the mid-1800s, their traditional territory was severely reduced; the tragic Nez Perce War (1877), led by Chief Joseph, was the result. At the turn of the 21st century, they numbered some 3,300.

Nezam? Vnez-.o-.meV or Nizam? orig. Ilyas Yusuf Nizam? Gan- jaw? (b. c. 1141, Ganja, Seljuq empire—d. 1209, Ganja) Greatest roman¬ tic epic poet in Persian literature. Little is known of his life, except that he spent it in what is now Azerbaijan. Only a handful of his qasidahs (odes) and ghazels have survived; his reputation rests on his great Kham- seh (“The Quintuplet”), a group of five poems totaling 30,000 couplets, in which he brought a colloquial and realistic style to the epic. The fourth poem, The Seven Beauties, is considered his masterpiece.

NFL See National Football League

Ngami Voq-'ga-meV Lake Shallow lake, northwestern Botswana, north of the Kalahari Desert. It was a large lake, estimated at more than 170 mi (275 km) in circumference when the explorer David Livingstone sighted it in 1849. The lake varies in size with the amount of rainfall, and, although it is much smaller today than in Livingstone’s time, it is rich in birdlife.

NGO See nongovernmental organization

Ngo Dinh Diem Vqo-'din-de-'em ,\English Ven-'go-'din-de-'eirA (b. Jan. 3, 1901, Quang Binh province, Viet.—d. Nov. 2, 1963, Cho Lon, S.Viet.) President of South Vietnam (1955-63). Of noble birth, Diem was on friendly terms with the Vietnamese imperial family and served as Emperor Bao Dai’s minister of the interior (1933), but he resigned when the French would not accept his legislative reforms. He turned down an invitation to join Ho Chi Minh’s forces and lived in self-imposed exile until invited back in 1954 by Bao Dai to serve as prime minister of South Vietnam. In 1955 he ousted the emperor and made himself president. He refused to carry out elections mandated by the Geneva Accords of 1954, ruled auto¬ cratically, and showed preference to fellow Roman Catholics in an over¬ whelmingly Buddhist country. An unpopular leader, Diem was assassinated by his generals in 1963.

Ngonde See Nyakyusa

Ngugi wa Thiong'o \ 3 q-'gu-ge-wa-'thy6i]-go\ orig. James Thiong'o Ngugi (b. Jan. 5, 1938, Limuru, Kenya) Kenyan novelist. Educated in Uganda and England, he wrote the first major novel in English by an East African; the popular Weep Not, Child (1964) is the story of a family drawn into the struggle for Kenyan independence. His other nov¬ els include A Grain of Wheat (1967) and Petals of Blood (1977). As he became more sensitive to the effects of colonialism, he adopted his tra¬ ditional name and wrote in the Bantu language of the Kikuyu people. He also wrote plays and numerous essays on literature, culture, and politics.

Nguni \en-'gii-ne\ Cluster of related ethnic groups living in South Africa, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe. They include the Xhosa, Zulu, Swazi, and Nde- bele. They speak very closely related Bantu languages—some of which are unique among Niger-Congo languages in having click sounds, absorbed from contact with their Khoisan-speaking neighbours. The

1358 I Nguyen dynasty ► Nicaragua

Nguni were dispersed from their original homeland in what is now East¬ ern Cape province and KwaZulu-Natal by the Mfecane disturbances of the 1820s and the expansion of European power.

Nguyen \'qi£-3n,\ English Ynii-an, en-gl-'en\ dynasty (1802-1945) Last Vietnamese dynasty. During the 16th century, while the emperors of the Later Le dynasty were nominally in control, the Nguyen family came to rule southern Vietnam in an essentially independent fashion. Emperor Gia Long (1762-1820), founder of the dynasty, conquered all of Vietnam in 1802; his successors modeled their administration on the Chinese Qing dynasty (1644-1911/12). The French invaded in 1858 and eventually took control of the entire country. They retained the Nguyen emperors as rul¬ ers of Annam (central Vietnam) and Tonkin (northern Vietnam) but not of southern Vietnam (Cochinchina). Bao Dai, the last emperor, abdicated following the Vietnamese nationalists’ proclamation of independence in

NHL See National Hockey League

Ni Zan or Ni Tsan (b. 1301, Wuxi, Jiangsu province, China—d. 1374) Chinese artist. He was a part of the group of Chinese painters later known as the Four Masters of the Yuan dynasty (including Wu Zhen, Huang Gongwang, and Wang Meng). Although Ni was born to wealth, he chose not to serve the foreign Mongol dynasty of the Yuan and instead lived a life of retirement and scholarship. He was characterized by his contem¬ poraries as particularly quiet and fastidious, qualities that are found in his art. In his paintings, usually landscapes, he used elements sparingly, favoured ink monochrome, and left great areas of the paper untouched. His works are characterized by a sombre quiet, and they often feature a rustic hut, a few trees or other indications of plant life, and elemental landforms. He was much imitated by later painters, making originals by him difficult to authenticate.

niacin \'nI-9-s3n\ or nicotinic V.ni-ks-'te-nik, ,ni-k3-'ti-nik\ acid or vitamin B 3 Water-soluble vitamin of the vitamin B complex, essential to growth and health in animals, including humans. It is found in the body only in combined form as a coenzyme, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), which is involved in the metabolism of carbohydrates and the oxi¬ dation of sugar derivatives and other substances. One of the most stable vitamins, it survives most cooking and most preserving processes. It is widely found in dietary sources, especially lean meat. Deficiency causes pellagra. It is used as a drug to reduce high cholesterol levels in the blood.

Niagara Falls Great falls of the Niagara River, on the U.S. -Canadian border. They are divided by Goat Island into the Horseshoe (or Canadian) Falls and the American Falls. At the foot of the American Falls is the Cave of the Winds, a large rocky chamber formed by erosion. The river below the falls flows between high cliffs, forming Whirlpool Rapids. Bridges spanning the river include Rainbow Bridge between the U.S. and Cana¬ dian cities of Niagara Falls. French missionary Louis Hennepin visited in 1678. Tourism is a major industry, and the falls are a hydroelectric centre.

Niagara River River forming the U.S.-Canada boundary between western New York and southern Ontario. Its high flow and steep descent make it one of the best sources of hydroelectric power in North America. It connects Lake Erie with Lake Ontario, and Niagara Falls lies about halfway along its course. The U.S. and Canadian cities of the same name are on either bank of the river. It is navigable from Lake Erie to the upper rapids.

Niamey \'nya-ma\ City (pop., 1999: metro, area, 731,000), capital of Niger, along the Niger River. Originally an agricultural village of Maouri, Zerma, and Fulani peoples, it became the capital of Niger colony in 1926 and grew rapidly after World War II. At the intersection of trade routes, it has residents from other parts of Niger, as well as Yoruba and Hausa trad¬ ers, merchants, officials, and craftsmen from Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. It is a commercial centre and home to Universite Abdou Moumouni (1971).

Nian Rebellion or Nien Rebellion \'nyan\ (c. 1852-68) Rebellion in northern China during the Qing dynasty. The Nian, a secret society, was probably a reincarnation of the White Lotus Society; it attracted poor peasants, salt smugglers, and army deserters who used guerrilla hit-and- run tactics to attack the wealthy and redistribute the plundered goods among the needy. They took over local militias and formed their own armies. They were finally crushed by Li Hongzhang, who defeated them using modern weapons and blockade lines. See also Taiping Rebellion.

Niarchos \ne-'ar-kos\, Stavros (Spyros) (b. July 3, 1909, Athens, Greece—d. April 15, 1996, Zurich, Switz.) Greek shipping magnate. He

first bought ships to transport wheat for his family’s flour mill, then estab¬ lished his own shipping firm, Niarchos Group, in 1939. His ships were used by Allied forces in World War II, and after the war he used the insur¬ ance money he gained from ships sunk in combat to buy oil tankers. He favoured large ships, and many of his supertankers (of which Niarchos Ltd. at its height operated more than 80) set world records for size and carrying capacity. His longtime rivalry with Aristotle Onassis was famous.

Nias \'ne-9s\ Island, western Indonesia, in the Indian Ocean. The largest island in a chain along the western coast of Sumatra, it has an area of 1,842 sq mi (4,772 sq km). Most of the people are animists (see animism) and speak dialects of the Austronesian language family. The chief village is Gunungsitoli on the northeastern coast. Megalithic monuments and wooden sculptures honouring the dead or representing fertility are com¬ mon on the island. Tourism (notably surfing) has become important. Coastal areas were devastated by an earthquake-generated tsunami in

Nibelungenlied Vne-bo-.luq-on-.leA German "Song of the Nibe- lungs" Middle High German epic poem written c. 1200 by an unknown poet from the Danube region in what is now Austria. It is preserved in three main 13th-century manuscripts. Elements of great antiquity are dis¬ cernible in the poem, traceable to Old Norse literature, stories in the Poetic Edda, and Scandinavian sagas. The principal characters are Prince Sieg¬ fried, Queen Brunhild, Princess Kriemhild, her brother King Gunther, and his henchman Hagen; the story focuses on deceit, revenge, and slaughter. Many variations and adaptations of the poem appeared in later centuries, including Richard Wagner’s opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen (1853-

74).

Nicaea \nI-'se-9\ Independent principality (1204-61) of the fragmented Byzantine Empire. Founded in 1204 by Theodore I Lascaris, it was the politi¬ cal and cultural centre from which a restored Byzantium arose in the mid- nth century under Michael VIII Palaeologus. It extended from the Black Sea coast east of the Sangarius River southwest across western Anatolia to Miletus and the Menderes (Maeander) River. It became a centre of Greek education, especially under Theodore II Lascaris, who founded an imperial school. It declined after 1261, when Michael VIII regained the Byzantine capital of Constantinople.

Nicaea \nI-'se-9\, Council of (ad 325) First ecumenical council of the Christian Church, held at Nicaea (now Iznik, Turkey). Called by Emperor Constantine I, the council condemned Arianism and drew up the Nicene Creed. It failed to set a uniform date for Easter.

Nicaragua officially Republic of Nicaragua Country, Central America. Area: 50,337 sq mi (130,373 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 5,487,000. Capital: Managua. Most of the people are mestizos. Languages: Spanish (official), indigenous Indian languages, English. Religion: Chris¬ tianity (predominantly Roman Catholic; also Protestant). Currency: cor¬ doba oro. Nicaragua’s western half consists of thickly forested mountain ranges and fertile valleys. Parallel to the Pacific coast is a belt of about 40 dormant and active volcanoes. The eastern coastline along the Carib¬ bean Sea is known as the Mosquito Coast. Earthquakes are common and sometimes severe. Nicaragua has a developing market economy based largely on agriculture, light industries, and trade. It is a republic with one legislative house; its head of state and government is the president. The area has been inhabited for thousands of years, most notably by the Maya. Christopher Columbus arrived in 1502, and Spanish explorers discovered Lake Nicaragua soon thereafter. Nicaragua was governed by Spain until the early 1820s. It became a part of Mexico (1822-23) and then part of the United Provinces of Central America until 1838, when full indepen¬ dence was achieved. The U.S. intervened in political affairs by maintain¬ ing troops there (1912-33). Ruled by the dictatorial Somoza family (1937— 79), Nicaragua was taken over by the Sandinista party after a popular revolt. The Sandinistas were then opposed by armed insurgents, the U.S.- backed Contras, from 1981. The Sandinista government nationalized sev¬ eral sectors of the economy but lost national elections in 1990. The new government reprivatized many public enterprises. See map on opposite page.

Nicaragua, Lake Lake, southwestern Nicaragua. It is 102 mi (164 km) long, with a surface area of about 3,100 sq mi (8,000 sq km). The largest freshwater lake between the U.S. and Peru, it is connected to Lake Managua by the Tipitapa River and is drained by the San Juan River. It is the only freshwater lake in the world containing marine animal life,

Nice ► Nicholas II I 1359

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including sharks, swordfish, and tarpon. Its largest island, Ometepe, is the preeminent site in Nicaragua for pre-Columbian archaeological finds.

Nice Vnes\ ancient Niceaea City (pop., 1999: city, 342,738; metro, area, 888,784) southeastern France. It is located on the Cote d'Azur of the Mediterranean Sea, near the Italian border. Founded by Greeks c. 350 bc, it was conquered by Romans in the 1st century ad and became a trading station. It was held by the counts of Provence in the 10th century. In 1388 it passed to the counts of Savoy. The city was ceded to France in 1860. Sheltered by beautiful hills, Nice has a pleasant climate and is the lead¬ ing resort of the French Riviera.

Nicene Creed Vni-.sen, nl-'sen\ Ecumenical Christian statement of faith accepted by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Anglican, and major Protestant churches. Originally written in Greek, it was long thought to have been drafted at the Council of Nicaea (325), but is now believed to have been issued by the Council of Constantinople (381), based on a bap¬ tismal creed already in existence.

Nicephorus II Phocas \nI- , se-f3-r3s...'fo-k3s\ (b. 912, Cappa¬ docia—d. Dec. 10/11, 969, Constantinople) Byzantine emperor (963- 969). A powerful military commander, he fought the Arabs in the east, liberated Crete from its Arab rulers (961), and gained control of the east¬ ern Mediterranean. After the death of Romanus II, Nicephorus cooperated in a plot to seize the throne, accepting the crown (963) and marrying Theophano, the regent of the two legitimate heirs. He continued his exploits against the Arabs but was surrounded by discontent and intrigue at home; he retired to a fortified palace, where he was killed by former friends guided by his wife and his chief lieutenant.

niche \'nich\ Smallest unit of a habitat that is occupied by an organism. A habitat niche is the physical space occupied by the organism; an eco¬ logical niche is the role the organism plays in the community of organ¬ isms found in the habitat. The activities of an organism and its relationships to other organisms are determined by its particular structure, physiology, and behaviour.

Nichiren \'ne-che-,ren\ orig. Zennichi (b. March 30, 1222, Kominato, Japan—d. Nov. 14, 1282, Ikegami) Japanese Buddhist prophet, founder of Nichiren Buddhism. The son of a fisherman, he entered a Buddhist mon¬ astery at age 11. After an exhaustive study of all the major Buddhist schools in Japan, he concluded in 1253 that the Lotus Sutra was the only doctrine suitable for his age and predicted calamity for Japan if all other sects were not abandoned. This pronouncement caused him to be ban¬ ished from his monastery. He also claimed that Japan was the chosen country of Buddhism, from which Buddhist salvation would spread to

other lands. He was later exiled to an island in the Sea of Japan, where in 1272 he wrote his major work. Liberation from Blindness.

Nichiren Buddhism One of the largest schools of Japanese Buddhism, founded by Nichiren. It believes that the essence of the Buddha’s teach¬ ings are contained in the Lotus Sutra and that the beliefs of other Buddhist schools are erroneous. In Nichiren Buddhism, the chanting of the title of the Lotus Sutra can lead to salvation. After Nichiren’s death the school split into various subsects, notably Nichiren-shu, which controls the temple founded by Nichiren at Mount Minobu, and Nichiren-sho-shu, which is headquartered in a temple at the foot of Mount Fuji. Nichiren- sho-shu has adherents in the U.S.; in Japan its lay organization is the SOKA-GAKKAI.

Nicholas Russian Nikolay Nikolayevich (b. Nov. 18, 1856, St. Petersburg, Russia—d. Jan. 5, 1929, Antibes, France) Russian grand duke. The nephew of Tsar Alexander II, he entered the imperial army (1872) and served in the Russo-Turkish War (1877-78). As inspector general of cal¬ vary (1895-1905), he introduced reforms in training and equipment. From 1905 he commanded the St. Petersburg military district, and in 1914 he was appointed head of all Russian forces. A popular commander, he led the army to early successes in World War I but was hampered by shortages. Dismissed in 1915 by Nicholas II, he commanded in the Cau¬ casus (1915-17). After the Russian Revolution of 1917 he moved to France, where he led an organization to unite anticommunist Russian emigres.

Nicholas, Saint or Santa Claus

Minor; feast day December 6) Minor saint associated with Christmas. Probably bishop of Myra, he is reputed to have provided dowries for three poor girls to save them from prostitution and to have restored to life three children who had been chopped up by a butcher. He became the patron saint of Russia and Greece, of charitable fraternities and guilds, and of children, sailors, unmarried girls, merchants, and pawnbrokers. After the Reformation his cult disappeared in all the Prot¬ estant countries of Europe except Holland, where he was known as Sinterklaas. Dutch colonists brought the tradition to New Amsterdam (now New York City), and English- speaking Americans adopted him as Santa Claus, who is believed to live at the North Pole and to bring gifts to children at Christmas.

(fl. 4th century, Myra, Lycia, Asia

Merry Old Santa Claus by Thomas Nast.

BETTMANN/CORBIS

Nicholas I Russian Nikolay Pavlovich (b. July 6, 1796, Tsarkoye Selo, near St. Petersburg, Russia—d. March 2, 1855, St. Petersburg) Tsar of Russia (1825-55). He was the son of Paul I and was trained as an army officer. In 1825 he succeeded his brother Alexander I as emperor and sup¬ pressed the Decembrist revolt. His reign came to represent autocracy, mili¬ tarism, and bureaucracy. To enforce his policies, he created such agencies as the Third Section (political police). In foreign policy, Nicholas quelled an uprising in Poland (1830-31) and aided Austria against a Hungarian uprising (1849). His designs on Constantinople led to war with Turkey (1853) and drew other European powers into the Crimean War. He was succeeded by his son Alexander II.

Nicholas II orig. Gerard of Burgundy (b. Lorraine—d. July 19/26, 1061, Florence) Pope (1058-61). Known as an advocate of reform, he was bishop of Florence before being elected pope in opposition to the antipope Benedict X. At the Lateran Council of 1059 he reformed the pro¬ cess of papal election, placing it in the hands of the cardinals and limit¬ ing the emperor’s role. The German bishops voided his decree (1061), revealing growing tensions between empire and papacy. Nicholas brought about a diplomatic revolution, which worsened relations with Germany and its weak regent, when he sought an alliance with the Normans in southern Italy and invested Robert Guiscard as duke of Apulia, Calabria, and Sicily (1059). His legislation against clerical marriage and simony was an important part of the Gregorian reform movement.

1360 I Nicholas II ► Nicolet

Nicholas II Russian Nikolay Aleksandrovich (b. May 18, 1868, Tsarskoye Selo, near St. Petersburg, Russia—d. July 16/17, 1918, Yeka¬ terinburg) Tsar of Russia (1894-1917). Son of Alexander III, he received a military education and succeeded his father as tsar in 1894. He was an autocratic but indecisive ruler and was devoted to his wife, Alexandra, who strongly influenced his rule. His interest in Asia led to construction of the Trans-Siberian Railroad and also helped cause the disastrous Russo- Japanese War (1904-05). After the Russian Revolution of 1905, he agreed reluctantly to a representative Duma but restricted its powers and made only token efforts to enact its measures. His prime minister, Pyotr Stolypin, attempted reforms, but Nicholas, increasingly influenced by Alexandra and Grigory Rasputin, opposed him. After Russia suffered setbacks in World War I, Nicholas ousted the popular grand duke Nicholas as com¬ mander in chief of Russian forces and assumed command himself, at the bidding of Alexandra and Rasputin. His absence from Moscow and Alex¬ andra’s mismanagement of the government caused increasing unrest and culminated in the Russian Revolution of 1917. Nicholas abdicated in March 1917 and was detained with his family by Georgy Y. Lvov’s pro¬ visional government. Plans for the royal family to be sent to England were overruled by the local Bolsheviks. Instead the family was sent to the city of Yekaterinburg, where they were executed in July 1918.

Nicholas V orig. Tommaso Parentucelli (b. Nov. 15, 1397, Sar- zana, Republic of Genoa—d. March 24, 1455, Rome) Pope (1447-55). Soon after his election, he ended the schism caused by the rivalry between popes and church councils. He restored peace to the Papal States, won Poland’s allegiance, and gained the support of Austria by promising to crown Frederick III as Holy Roman emperor. Nicholas initiated the Peace of Lodi (1455) in order to end strife in Italy, and he tried to stamp out simony and other corrupt practices in the church. A patron of art and scholarship, he rebuilt many of Rome’s architectural treasures and founded the Vatican Library. Although Nicholas was the first of the Renais¬ sance popes, his failure to promote real religious reform helped bring about the Reformation of the 16th century.

Nicholas Brothers U.S. tap-dancing duo. Fayard Antonio Nicholas (b. Oct. 20, 1914, Mobile, Ala., U.S.—d. Jan. 24, 2006, Los Angeles, Calif.) and his brother Harold Lloyd Nicholas (b. March 17, *1921, Winston-Salem, N.C.—d. July 3, 2000, New York, N.Y.) developed the “classical tap” form, combining jazz dance, ballet, and acrobatics with tap. They gained fame at a young age while dancing at Harlem’s Cotton Club (1932-39); they went on to appear in films such as Stormy Weather (1943), as well as on Broadway and later on television. They began their careers at a time when opportunities were few and stereotyped roles the norm for black entertainers, but they rose above this marginalization and enhanced the art of tap with their elegance and sensational showmanship.

Nicholas of Cusa (b. 1401, Kues, Trier—d. Aug. 11, 1464, Todi, Papal States) German cardinal, mathematician, scientist, and philosopher. Ordained a priest in 1440, he was made a cardinal in Italy and became bishop there in 1450. In On Catholic Concordance (1433), he supported the supremacy of the general councils of the church over the papacy’s authority (see conciliar movement). However, after witnessing the failure of the Council of Basel to unify the church or enact reform, he reversed his position and became an ardent supporter of the pope. Skilled in nearly every branch of learning, he anticipated the work of Nicolaus Copernicus by discerning a movement in the universe that did not centre on the Earth. He also carried out botanical experiments and collected ancient manu¬ scripts. In his discourse On Learned Ignorance (1440), he described the learned man as one who is aware of his own ignorance.

Nicholas of Verdun (fl. c. 1150-1210, Flanders) French enamelist and goldsmith, considered the greatest of his day. He was an important figure during the transition from late Romanesque to early Gothic style. His best-known work is the altarpiece of the Abbey Church of Kloster- neuburg, Austria (1181), which reveals his mastery of metalworking and the technique of champleve enameling, in which compartments hollowed out from a metal base are filled with vitreous enamel. The altar is the most ambitious of its kind in the 12th century.

Nichols, Mike orig. Michael Igor Peschkowsky (b. Nov. 6, 1931, Berlin, Ger.) German-bom U.S. stage and film director. He and his parents fled Germany for the U.S. in 1938. After studying at the Univer¬ sity of Chicago and the Actors Studio, he formed a comic improvisational group in Chicago. He and Elaine May (b. 1932) toured with and recorded a set of brilliant social-satire routines. He later directed several Broadway

hits, including Barefoot in the Park (1963), The Odd Couple (1965), and Plaza Suite (1968). His first film, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), was followed by The Graduate (1967, Academy Award); his later films include Catch-22 (1970), Silkwood (1983), Working Girl (1988), and Pri¬ mary Colors (1998). His productions focused on the absurdities and hor¬ rors of modern life as revealed in personal relationships.

Nicholson, Jack (b. April 22, 1937, Neptune, N.J., U.S.) U.S. film actor. He acted in low-budget movies before earning acclaim for his role in Easy Rider (1969). He followed it with such successful films as Five Easy Pieces (1970), Carnal Knowledge (1971), Chinatown (1974), One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975, Academy Award), The Shining (1980), Terms of Endearment (1983, Academy Award), Prizzi’s Honor (1985), Batman (1989), Hoffa (1992), and As Good As It Gets (1997, Academy Award). Noted for his devilish grin and his portrayals of uncon¬ ventional outsiders, he has attained iconic status as one of the most popu¬ lar and admired stars of his time.

Nicias \'ni-she-os\ (b. c. 470—d. 413 bc, Sicily) Athenian leader. He was renowned for his enormous wealth. Seeking to end the Peloponnesian War (431^-04), in 421 he negotiated a 50-year alliance (the Peace of Nicias), which held for six years before the ambitions of Alcibiades led to renewed warfare. In 415 Nicias reluctantly shared command of a Sicilian expedi¬ tion with Lamachus and Alcibiades. When Alcibiades was recalled and Lamachus died, Nicias, himself seriously ill, lost the advantage they had achieved in the siege of Syracuse; when he tried to escape, his troops were overwhelmed and he was captured and executed.

nickel Metallic chemical element, one of the transition elements, chemi¬ cal symbol Ni, atomic number 28. Nickel is silvery white, tough, harder than iron, ferromagnetic (see ferromagnetism), and highly resistant to rust¬ ing and corrosion. It occasionally occurs free and is fairly common but not often concentrated in igneous rocks. As pure metal, it is used to coat other metals (see plating) and as a catalyst. In alloys, it is used in coins, Monel metal, nickel silver, nickel-chrome and stainless steels, permanant magnets, and cutlery. Its compounds, in which it most often has valence 2, have a variety of industrial uses, as catalysts and mordants (see dye) and in electroplating.

Jan. 21, 1940, Columbus,

Nicklaus \'nik-bs\, Jack (William) (b

Ohio, U.S.) U.S. golfer, one of the greatest in the game’s history. Nick¬ laus won the U.S. Amateur Champi¬ onship twice (1959, 1961) while attending Ohio State University.

After turning professional in 1962, he won the U.S. Open four times (1962, 1967, 1972, 1980), the Mas¬ ters Tournament six times (1963,

1965, 1966, 1972, 1975, 1986), the PGA Championship five times (1963, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1980), and the British Open three times (1966,

1970, 1978). He was a member of the winning U.S. World Cup team six times and was a record three-time individual World Cup winner (1963,

1964, 1971). By 1986 “the Golden Bear” had played in 100 major championships, finishing in the top three 45 times. He combined skill and power with remarkable concen¬ tration and composure under pres¬ sure. In 2005 Nicklaus retired from tournament play with 73 PGA wins—a number exceeded only by Sam Snead with 82—and a record 18 major professional championship titles.

Nicobar Islands See Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Jack Nicklaus, 1982.

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Nicolet \ .ni-ko-'laV Jean (b. 1598, Cherbourg, France—d. Nov. 1, 1642, Sillery, Que., Can.) French explorer in North America. In 1618 he traveled to New France, where he lived with Indian tribes. He learned several Indian languages and became the interpreter for the French colony at Three Rivers (1633). He journeyed into Huron territory, canoeing with several Indians through the Straits of Mackinac to became the first Euro¬ pean to see Lake Michigan (1634). He later explored the region of present- day Wisconsin.

Nicolls ► Niemeyer I 1361

Nicolls, Richard (b. 1624, Ampthill, Bedfordshire, Eng.—d. May 28, 1672, in the North Sea, off Suffolk, Eng.) English colonial governor of New York. In 1664 he forcibly seized the Dutch colony of New Amster¬ dam and renamed the province and its main city for his patron, the duke of York. He thereby became the first governor of the English colony of New York. An efficient administrator, he issued the colony’s first legal code in 1665. He returned to England in 1668 and resumed his duties as gentleman of the bedchamber to the duke.

Nicopolis Xna-'ka-pa-losV Battle of (September 25, 1396) Turkish victory over an army of European crusaders. When the Ottoman Turks besieged Constantinople (1395), Manuel II Palaeologus appealed to Europe for help. The king of Hungary organized a crusade intended to expel the Turks from the Balkans and then march to Jerusalem. The crusaders laid siege to Nicopolis, the main Turkish stronghold on the Danube River, but Turkish forces arrived from Constantinople and slaughtered most of the crusaders. The battle ended international efforts to halt Turkish expansion into the Balkans and central Europe.

Nicopolis \n3-'ka-p9-lis\ Actia Ancient city, northwestern Greece. Its ruins lie about 4 mi (6 km) north of Preveza. It was founded in 31 bc by Octavian (later Augustus) to commemorate his victory over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium. It became the capital of the coastal region, encompassing Acarnania and Epirus, and was famous for its build¬ ings and for the Actian Games. Destroyed in the 4th century ad and rebuilt, it was finally destroyed by Bulgarians in the 11th century. Its ruins include a basilica, a Roman theatre, and an aqueduct.

Nicosia \ l ni-k3- , se-o\ Greek Lefkosia Vlef-ko-'se-oX Turkish Lefkosa City (pop., 2004 est.: Greek sector, 219,200; 1996: Turkish sector, 39,973), capital of Cyprus. Lying on the Pedieos River, it is bordered by mountains to the north and south. It was a kingdom in the 7th century bc and has been the capital of the island since the 10th century ad. It came successively under the control of the Byzantines, Venetians, and Otto¬ mans; the British held it from 1878 until 1960. During the 20th century the city grew beyond the existing circular Venetian walls. The population in the surrounding area is engaged mainly in agriculture. A UN buffer zone has separated the city’s Greek and Turkish sectors since 1974.

nicotine Principal alkaloid of tobacco, occurring throughout the plant but mostly in the leaves. It is a heterocyclic compound, containing a pyri¬ dine ring; its chemical formula is C 10 H 14 N. Nicotine is the chief addic¬ tive ingredient (see drug addiction) in cigarettes and cigars and in snuff. It has a unique biphasic effect: Inhaled in short puffs it is a stimulant, but when inhaled slowly and deeply it can be a tranquilizer. In larger doses, nicotine is a highly toxic poison, used as an insecticide, fumigant, and vermifuge.

nicotinic acid See niacin

Nicoya Vne-'ko-yaN, Gulf of Inlet of the Pacific Ocean, northwestern coast of Costa Rica. It is formed by the protrusion of the Nicoya Penin¬ sula from the mainland and extends north and northwest for about 50 mi (80 km). The Tempisque, Abangares, and Tarcoles rivers empty into the gulf. It has several islands, including Chira, the largest, and San Lucas. The largest town and port on the shores of the gulf is Puntarenas.

Nicoya Peninsula Peninsula, western Costa Rica. It is bounded to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, to the northeast by the Cordillera de Guanacaste, and to the southeast by the Gulf of Nicoya. It measures about 85 mi (140 km) from northwest to southeast. Descendants of the pre-Columbian Chorotega-Mangues Indians reside in villages on the pen¬ insula.

Niebuhr Vne-.buA, Barthold Georg (b. Aug. 27, 1776, Copenhagen, Den.—d. Jan. 31, 1831, Bonn, Prussia) German historian. Niebuhr held posts in state service in Denmark and Prussia before resigning to become state historiographer. In 1810 he began a series of lectures at the Univer¬ sity of Berlin that were the basis of his great work, the enormously influ¬ ential History of Rome (1811-32). In it he introduced skepticism to historical scholarship, showing how to analyze historical sources, discard worthless material, and lay bare elements from which historical facts could be reconstructed, and thereby initiating a new era in historiography.

Niebuhr Vne-.burX, Reinhold (b. June 21, 1892, Wright City, Mo., U.S.—d. June 1, 1971, Stockbridge, Mass.) U.S. theologian. The son of an evangelical minister, he studied at Eden Theological Seminary and Yale Divinity School. He was ordained in the Evangelical Synod of North

America in 1915 and served as pas¬ tor of Bethel Evangelical Church in Detroit, Mich., until 1928. His years in that industrial city made him a critic of capitalism and an advocate of socialism. From 1928 to 1960 he taught at New York’s Union Theo¬ logical Seminary. His influential writings, which forcefully criticized liberal Protestant thought and emphasized the persistence of evil in human nature and social institutions, include Moral Man and Immoral Society (1932), The Nature and Des¬ tiny of Man, 2 vol. (1941^-3), and The Self and the Dramas of History

(1955).

niello \ne-'e-lo\ Black metallic alloy of sulfur with silver, copper, or lead, used to fill designs that have been engraved on the surface of a metal object, usually of silver. The black sulfides are powdered, and after the engraved silver has been moist¬ ened, the powder is spread on it. When the metal is heated, the niello melts and runs into the engraved channels. After the excess niello is scraped away, the surface is polished. The contrast of the black niello against the bright surface produces an attractive decorative effect. During the height of its popularity in the Renaissance, the technique was widely used for embellishing liturgical as well as utilitarian objects. Nielli (objects decorated with niello) were produced in ancient Rome and 9th- century England. In Russia niello work is known as Tula work.

Nielsen, Carl (August) (b. June 9, 1865, Sortelung, near Norre Lyn- delse, Den.—d. Oct. 3, 1931, Copenhagen) Danish composer. He studied violin and trumpet as a child and began composing by imitating classical models. In 1890 he went to Germany to learn of newer developments and met Johannes Brahms, whose music came to influence his own. His indi¬ vidual style—still following classical forms but using intense chromati¬ cism combined with a lyric, melodic strain—emerged after 1900. The last five of his six symphonies (1902-25) are the core of his work, but he also composed many short orchestra pieces, piano and chamber music, con¬ certos for violin, flute, and clarinet, and a wind quintet.

Nielsen ratings National ratings of the popularity of U.S. television shows. Developed by A.C. Nielsen in 1950, the system now samples tele¬ vision viewing in about 5,000 homes. A meter attached to each television set records the channel being watched and sends the data to a computer centre; individual buttons record which person in each household is watching a given program. Separate surveys are done for many large media market areas. The ratings project each program’s total audience; for example, a rating of 20 denotes that 20% of U.S. households tuned in to a particular program. Commercial television networks use the ratings to set advertising rates for each program as well as to determine which programs to continue and to cancel.

Niemeyer Yne-.ml-arN (Soares Filho), Oscar (b. Dec. 15,1907, Rio de Janeiro, Braz.) Brazilian architect. Beginning in 1934, he worked in the office of Lucio Costa, an early exponent of the Modem movement in Brazil. Niemeyer’s first major independent project was the plan for Pam- pulha (1941), a suburb of Belo Horizonte. The project is notable for the free-flowing forms used in many of its buildings. Other commissions fol¬ lowed, and in 1947 Niemeyer represented Brazil in the planning of the United Nations buildings in New York City. In 1956 Niemeyer was asked to design the new capital city of Brasilia; he agreed to design the gov¬ ernment buildings but suggested a national competition for the master plan, a competition subsequently won by his mentor, Costa. Niemeyer served as chief architect for NOVA-CAP, the government building author¬ ity in Brasilia, from 1956 to 1961. Among the Brasilia buildings designed by Niemeyer are the President’s Palace, the Brasilia Palace Hotel, the presidential chapel, and the cathedral. Active into his nineties, he was commissioned to design the mushroomlike Museum of Contemporary Art in Niteroi, Braz. (1991). With its lyrical and sculptural forms, his work is free-flowing and optimistic. Niemeyer received the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1988.

Reinhold Niebuhr, 1963

COURTESY OF THE RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT, UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY LIBRARY, NEW YORK CITY

1362 I Nlemoller ► Nigeria

Niemoller Vne-.moel-orV (Friedrich Gustav Emil) Martin (b. Jan. 14, 1892, Lippstadt, Ger.—d. March 6, 1984, Wiesbaden, W.Ger.) Ger¬ man theologian. A war hero as a submarine commander in World War I, he became a minister in 1924. When the Nazis came to power in 1933, he protested their interference in church affairs and helped combat dis¬ crimination against Christians of Jewish background. As founder of the anti-Nazi Confessing Church, he worked to oppose Adolf Hitler. Arrested in 1937, he was interned until 1945. After the war he helped rebuild the Evangelical Church. Increasingly disillusioned with prospects for demili¬ tarization, he became a controversial pacifist; for his efforts to extend friendship ties to Soviet-bloc countries, he received the Lenin Peace Prize (1967) and West Germany’s Grand Cross of Merit (1971).

Nien Rebellion See Nian Rebeluon

Niepce Vnyeps\, (Joseph-) Nicephore (b. March 7, 1765, Chalon- sur-Saone, France—d. July 5, 1833, Chalon-sur-Saone) French inventor. In 1807 Niepce and his brother invented an internal-combustion engine (fueled with lycopodium powder). In 1813 he began experiments with lithography. He is best remembered for his experiments with photogra¬ phy, which he called heliography. In 1826-27, using a camera, he made a view from his workroom window on a pewter plate—the first perma¬ nently fixed image from nature. In 1829 he began a partnership with L.-J.-M. Daguerre to perfect and exploit heliography, but he died before they had achieved any further advance.

Nietzsche Vne-cho, 'ne-che\, Friedrich (Wilhelm) (b. Oct. 15,1844, Rocken, Saxony, Prussia—d. Aug. 25, 1900, Weimar, Thuringian States) German-Swiss philosopher and writer, one of the most influential of mod¬ ern thinkers. The son of a Lutheran pastor, he studied at Bonn and Leipzig and at age 24 became professor of Classical philology at the University of Basel. He became close to the older Richard Wagner, in whose operas he saw the potential for the revival of Western civilization, but broke with Wagner angrily in 1876. His Birth of Tragedy (1872) contained major insights into ancient Greek drama; like Untimely Meditations (1873), it is dominated by a Romantic perspective also influenced by Arthur Schopenhauer. Mental and physical problems forced him to leave his posi¬ tion in 1878, and he spent 10 years attempting to recover his health in various resorts while continuing to write prolifically. His works from Human, All Too Human (1878) to The Gay Science (1882) extol reason and science, experiment with literary genres, and express his emancipa¬ tion from his earlier Romanticism. His mature writings, particularly Beyond Good and Evil (1886), A Genealogy of Morals (1887), and Thus Spake Zarathustra (1883-92), were preoccupied with the origin and func¬ tion of values in human life. If, as he believed, life neither possesses nor lacks intrinsic value and yet is always being evaluated, then such evalu¬ ations can usefully be read as symptoms of the evaluator’s condition. He fulminated against Christianity and announced the death of God. His major breakdown in 1889 marked the virtual end of his productive life. He was revered by Adolf Hitler for his dislike of democracy and his heroic ideal of the Ubermensch (Superman), though the Nazis perverted Nietzsche’s thought and ignored much in it that was hostile to their aims. His analyses of the root motives and values that underlie traditional West¬ ern religion, morality, and philosophy affected generations of theologians, philosophers, psychologists, poets, novelists, and playwrights.

Niger Vnl-jor, ne-'zher\ officially Republic of Niger Country, west¬ ern Africa, on the southern edge of the Sahara. Area: 459,286 sq mi (1,189,546 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 12,163,000. Capital: Niamey. More than half the people are Hausa; there are also Songhai-Zerma and Kanuri. Languages: French (official), Hausa, Arabic. Religions: Islam (predominantly Sunni); also traditional beliefs. Currency: CFA franc. A landlocked country, Niger is characterized by savanna in the south and desert in the centre and north; most of the population lives in the south. The Niger River dominates in the southwest and the Air Massif (a moun¬ tainous region) in the north-central part of the country. Niger has a devel¬ oping economy based largely on agriculture and mining. It is a republic with one legislative body; its head of state and government is the presi¬ dent, assisted by the prime minister. There is evidence of Neolithic cul¬ ture in the region, and there were several precolonial kingdoms. First explored by Europeans in the late 18th century, it became part of French West Africa in 1904. It became an overseas territory of France in 1946 and gained independence in 1960. The first multiparty elections were held in 1993. Ibrahim Bare Mainassara led a military coup in 1996, but after his assassination in 1999 the country returned to democratic government. See map above.

dialects of these languages number many

thousands more, not to mention the variant names for those languages and dialects. Niger-Congo languages are spoken by about 85% of the population of Africa, from Dakar, Senegal, in the west to Mombasa, Kenya, and in the east and south to Cape Town, S.Af. The name Niger- Congo was introduced in 1955 by Joseph H. Greenberg. As understood today, Niger-Congo has nine branches: Mande, Kordofanian, Atlantic (for¬ merly West Atlantic), Kru, Gur, Kwa, Ijoid, Adamawa-Ubangi (formerly Adamawa-Eastem), and Benue-Congo.

Niger River or Joliba \'jal-9-bo\ or Kworra \'kwor-9\ Principal river of western Africa. The third longest on the continent, it rises in Guinea near the Sierra Leone border and flows into Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea. It is 2,600 mi (4,183 sq km) long, and its middle course is navigable for about 1,000 mi (1,600 km). Peoples living along the Niger include the Bambara, the Malinke, and the Songhai. It was explored by Mungo Park beginning in 1796.

Nigeria officially Federal Republic of Nigeria Country, western Africa. Area: 356,669 sq mi (923,768 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 131,530,000. Capital: Abuja. There are more than 250 ethnic groups, including Hausa, Fulani, Yoruba, and Igbo. Languages: English (official), Hausa. Religions: Christianity (Protestant, other Christians, Roman Catholic), Islam, traditional beliefs. Currency: naira. Nigeria consists of plateaus and the lowlands between them, which are major river basins fed especially by the Niger River. It has a developing mixed economy based largely on petroleum production and agriculture; manufacturing is grow¬ ing in importance. Services, trade, and transportation employ more than two-fifths of the workforce. Nigeria is a federal republic with two legis¬ lative bodies; its head of state and government is the president. Inhabited for thousands of years, the region was the centre of the Nok culture from 500 bc to ad 200 and of several precolonial empires, including Kanem- Bornu, Benin, and Oyo. The Hausa and Fulani also had states. Visited in the 15th century by Europeans, it became a centre for the slave trade. The area began to come under British control in 1861 and was made a British colony in 1914. Nigeria gained independence in 1960 and became a republic in 1963, with Nnamdi Azikiwe as president. Ethnic strife soon led to military coups, and military groups ruled the country from 1966 to 1979 and from 1983 to 1999. Civil war between the federal government and the former Eastern Region, Biafra (1967-70), ended in Biafra’s surrender after the death by starvation of perhaps a million Biafrans. In 1991 the capital was moved from Lagos to Abuja. The government’s execution of

Night of the Long Knives ► Nijinsky I 1363

Ken Saro-Wiwa in 1995 led to interna¬ tional sanctions, and civilian rule was finally reestablished in 1999. By far the most populous nation in Africa, Nigeria suffers from rapid population increase, political instability, foreign debt, slow economic growth, a high rate of violent crime, and rampant government corruption.

Night of the Long Knives (June 30, 1934) Purge of Nazi leaders by Adolf Hitler. Fearing that the paramilitary SA had become too powerful, Hitler ordered his elite SS guards to murder the organization’s leaders, including Ernst Rohm. Also killed that night were hundreds of other per¬ ceived opponents of Hitler, including Kurt von Schleicher and Gregor Strasser.

nighthawk Any of several species of North and South American birds in the whippoorwill family (Caprimulgidae) that are buff, reddish, or gray¬ ish brown, usually with light spots or patches, and 6-14 in. (15-35 cm) long. They fly about at night, especially at evening and dawn, catching flying insects in their mouths. The common nighthawk ( Chordeiles minor), or bullbat, inhabits most of North America, migrating to South America in winter. It is about 8-12 in. (20-30 cm) long and grayish brown, with a white throat and wing patches. It has a sharp nasal call. During courtship it dives swiftly, creating audible whirring sounds.

nightingale Any of several small Old World thrushes (family Turdi- dae) renowned for their song. The name refers in particular to the Eur¬ asian nightingale ( Erithacus mega- rhynchos), a brown bird, 6.5 in. (16 cm) long, with a rufous tail. It sings day and night from perches in shub- bery. Its strong and varied song, with prominent crescendo effects, has been regarded for centuries through¬ out Europe and Asia as the most beautiful of all birdsongs. The thrush nightingale, or sprosser ( E . luscinia), is a closely related, more northerly species with slightly darker plumage.

The term is also applied to other birds with rich songs (e.g., the wood THRUSH).

Nightingale, Florence (b. May 12, 1820, Florence, Italy—d. Aug. 13, 1910, London, Eng.) Italian-born British nurse, founder of trained nursing as a profession. As a volunteer nurse, she was put in charge of

Eurasian nightingale (Erithacus megarhynchos )

H. REINHARD-BRUCE COLEMAN INC.

nursing the military in Turkey during the Crimean War. Her first concern was sanitation: patients’ quarters were infested with rats and fleas, and the water allowance was one pint per head per day for all purposes. She used her own finances to purchase supplies. She also spent many hours in the wards; her night rounds giving personal care to the wounded estab¬ lished her image as the “Lady with the Lamp.” Her efforts to improve soldiers’ welfare led to the Army Medical School and a Sanitary Depart¬ ment in India. She started the first scientifically based nursing school, was instrumental in setting up training for midwives and nurses in workhouse infirmaries, and helped reform workhouses. She was the first woman awarded the Order of Merit (1907).

nightjar or goatsucker Any of about 60-70 species of birds (family Caprimulgidae) found almost worldwide in temperate to tropical regions. The name is sometimes applied to all birds in the order Caprimulgiformes. (The name goatsucker derives from an old belief that they sucked goat’s milk at night.) Nightjars are gray, brown, or reddish brown. They eat fly¬ ing insects at night. The common nightjar ( Caprimulgus europaeus ) has a flat head; wide, bristle-fringed mouth; large eyes; and soft plumage that results in noiseless flight. It is about 12 in. (30 cm) long. Its North Ameri¬ can relatives include the nighthawk and whippoorwill.

nightshade family Family Solanaceae, composed of at least 2,400 species of flowering plants in about 95 genera. Though found worldwide, the nightshades are most abundant in tropical Latin America. Many are economically important as food or medicinal plants. Among the most important are the potato, eggplant, tomato, garden pepper, tobacco, and many garden ornamentals, including the petunia. The medicinally signifi¬ cant nightshades are potent sources of such alkaloids as nicotine, atropine, and scopolamine; they include deadly nightshade (belladonna), jimson- weed ( Datura stramonium), henbane, and mandrake. The genus Solanum contains almost half the species in the family. The species usually called nightshade in North America and England is S. dulcamara, also called bittersweet and woody nightshade.

nihilism Vnl-o-.li-zom, 'ne-o-.li-zomX Any of various philosophical posi¬ tions that deny that there are objective foundations for human value sys¬ tems. In 19th-century Russia the term was applied to a philosophy of skepticism that opposed all forms of aestheticism and advocated utilitari¬ anism and scientific rationalism; it was popularized through the figure of Bazarov in Ivan Turgenev’s Fathers and Sons (1862). Rejecting the social sciences, classical philosophical systems, and the established social order, nihilism rejected the authority of the state, the church, and the family. It gradually became associated with political terror and degenerated into a philosophy of violence.

Nijinska Vno-'zhin-skoV, Bronislava orig. Bronislava Fominit- shna Nizhinskaya (b. Jan. 8,

1891, Minsk, Russia—d. Feb. 21,

1972, Pacific Palisades, Calif., U.S.)

Russian-born U.S. dancer, choreog¬ rapher, and teacher. She trained at the Imperial Ballet School in St. Peters¬ burg and joined the Mariinsky Theatre company in 1908. She danced with the Ballets Russes in Paris from 1909, as did her brother, Vaslav Nijinsky.

She choreographed several ballets for the company, including Les Noces (1923), The Blue Train (1924), and Les Biches (1924). Dur¬ ing the 1920s and 1930s she created works for other companies, includ¬ ing her own (1932—37). In 1938 she moved to Los Angeles, where she opened a school, and she continued to work as a guest choreographer into the early 1960s.

Nijinsky \n3-'zhin-ske\, Vaslav orig. Vatslav Fomich Nizhin-

sky (b. March 12, 1890, Kiev, Ukraine, Russian Empire—d. April 8, 1950, London, Eng.) Russian bal¬ let dancer. After early lessons from his parents, famous dancers with

Nijinsky in Spectre de la rose.

COURTESY OF THE DANCE COLLECTION, THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY AT LINCOLN CENTER, ROGER PRYOR DODGE COLLECTION

1364 I Nijmegen ► Nilsson

their own company, he and his sister, Bronislava Nijinska, trained further in St. Petersburg, and he joined the Mariinsky Theatre company in 1907. With his spectacular leaps and unrivaled grace, he was an immediate suc¬ cess, dancing leading roles in Giselle, Swan Lake, and Sleeping Beauty, often with Anna Pavlova and Tamara Karsavina. In 1909 he joined the new Ballets Russes, and he created many roles in Michel Fokine’s ballets, includ¬ ing Carnaval, Les Sylphides, Le Spectre de la rose, Petrushka, and Daph- nis and Chloe. In 1912-13 he choreographed The Afternoon of a Faun, Jeux, and The Rite of Spring, all of which caused scandals. His marriage in 1913 led to his dismissal from the company by his mentor, Sergey Diaghilev. He continued to perform but with less success. His intensify¬ ing mental illness led to his retirement in 1919, and he lived mostly in mental institutions in Switzerland, France, and England until his death. His status as a legend is unequaled in the history of dance.

Nijmegen Vna-.ma-koV Treaties of (1678-79) Peace treaties that ended the Franco-Dutch War. In the treaty between France and the Dutch Republic, France agreed to return Maastricht and to suspend the anti- Dutch tariff of 1667. In the treaty between France and Spain, Spain gave up regions to France that gave it a protected northeastern border and secured the safety of Paris. By negotiating separate treaties, France gained advantages over its enemies in the war.

Nike Vnl-ke, 'ne-ka\ Greek goddess of victory. She was the daughter of the giant Pallas and the river Styx.

Nike was originally an attribute of both Athena and Zeus, represented as a small figure carried in their hand.

She gradually came to be recognized as a mediator between gods and mor¬ tals, and was frequently shown car¬ rying a palm branch, wreath, or staff as the messenger of victory. When depicted on her own, she was often a winged figure hovering over the victor in a competition. At Rome she was worshiped as Victoria.

Nike Inc. U.S. sportswear com¬ pany. It was founded in 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Bill Bowerman (b.

1911), a track-and-field coach at the University of Oregon, and his former student Phil Knight (b. 1938). They opened their first retail outlet in 1966, launched the Nike brand shoe in 1972, and renamed the company Nike Inc. in 1978. In 1979 it claimed 50% of the U.S. running shoe market. In 1980 the company went public. Part of Nike’s success is owed to endorsements by such athletes as John McEnroe, Michael Jordan, and Mia Hamm. In the 1990s the company suf¬ fered from revelations about conditions in its overseas factories, but it remained a top producer of athletic shoes and clothing.

Nikon \'nye-kon\ orig. Nikita Minin (b. 1605, Veldemanovo, Russia—d. Aug. 27, 1681, en route to Moscow) Leader of the Russian Orthodox church. Born a peasant, he rose through the ranks of the priest¬ hood to become patriarch of Moscow and all Russia in 1652. Granted sovereign power during the absence of Tsar Alexis on military campaigns, he purged Russian religious books and practices of what he considered

corruptions, and he exiled his opponents. His reforms troubled many believers and led to a schism in the church (see Old Believers) as well as to widespread disaffection (see Doukhobors), and his high-handedness alienated Alexis. In 1666 a council of Greek patriarchs convened by Alexis stripped Nikon of all priestly functions but retained his reforms.

Nile, Battle of the (Aug. 1, 1798) Battle between the British fleet under Horatio Nelson and French Revolutionary forces at Abu Qlr Bay, near Alexandria, Egypt. In a plan to constrict British trade routes by invading Egypt, Napoleon ordered the French fleet to sail from its port of Toulon to Alexandria. The French eluded the British fleet to reach Abu Qlr Bay, where they anchored in a defensive line. Nelson discovered the French at twilight and ordered an immediate attack. In an all-night battle, the British destroyed or captured all but two of the 13 French ships. The decisive victory isolated Napoleon’s army in Egypt and secured British control of the Mediterranean.

Nile perch Large food and game fish (family Latidae) found in the Nile and other African rivers and lakes. The Nile perch {hates niloticus ) has a large mouth and is greenish or brownish above, silvery below. It grows to about 6 ft (1.8 m) and weighs 300 lbs (140 kg). It has a slender body, a protruding lower jaw, a rounded tail, and two dorsal fins. Other species in the same family are found in African river systems and in Asian and Australian estuaries and coastal waters. The members of the family are sometimes classified with snooks (family Centropomidae).

Nile River Arabic Bahr al-NTl \bar-al-'nel\ River, eastern and north¬ eastern Africa. The longest river in the world, it is about 4,132 mi (6,650 km) long from its remotest headstream (which flows into Lake Victoria) to the Mediterranean Sea. After leaving the lake, it flows generally north through Uganda, The Sudan, and Egypt. Its major tributaries—including the Al-Ghazal (Gazelle) River, the Blue Nile, and the Atbara River —join it before it enters Lake Nasser near the Egypt-Sudan border. Below the Aswan High Dam, which impounds the lake, it continues northward to its delta near Cairo, where it empties into the Mediterranean. The first use of the Nile for irrigation in Egypt began when seeds were sown in the mud left after its annual floodwaters had subsided. It has supported con¬ tinuous human settlement for at least 5,000 years, and networks of canals and waterworks have been built since the 19th century. The Aswan High Dam, built in 1959-70, provides flood protection, hydroelectric power, and a dependable water supply for both crops and humans. The Nile is also a vital waterway for the transport of people and goods.

Nilo-Saharan \,nI-lo-s3-'ha-r3n\ languages Group of perhaps 115 African languages spoken by more than 27 million people from Mali to Ethiopia and from southernmost Egypt to Tanzania. The concept of Nilo- Saharan as a single stock combining a number of earlier groupings was introduced in 1963 by Joseph H. Greenberg; most Africanists accepted it as a working hypothesis, though shifts have taken place. In terms of num¬ bers of speakers, the most significant divisions of Nilo-Saharan languages include Central Sudanic, Fur, Nilotic, Nubian, Saharan, Songhai, and Sur- mic. Songhai is spoken by more than 2 million people in Mali and Niger, and Kanuri (a Saharan language) is spoken by about 4.5 million in north¬ eastern Nigeria and adjacent Chad and Niger. Central Sudanic comprises languages of southern Chad, southern Sudan, and northeastern Congo (Kinshasa). Nubian languages (including the only Nilo-Saharan language with an ancient written tradition) are spoken along the Nile in northern Sudan and southern Egypt. The Nilotic languages are spoken by some 14 million people (see Nilotes), including the Dinka, Nuer, Luo, Turkana, Kalenjin, and Masai.

Nilot plural Nilotes Any member of a cluster of east-central African peoples living in southern Sudan, northern Uganda, and western Kenya. The name refers to the region of the Upper Nile and its tributaries, where most of them live. Nilotic languages belong to the Eastern Sudanic group of the Nilo-Saharan family. A notable shared physical characteristic is their average height, men commonly reaching 7 ft (210 cm). The Acholi, Dinka, Luo, Masai, Nandi, Nuer, and Shilluk are classed as Nilotes. Alto¬ gether they number about seven million.

Nilsson, Birgit orig. Marta Birgit Svensson (b. May 17, 1918, Vastra Karup, Swed.—d. Dec. 25, 2005, Vastra Karup) Swedish soprano. She made her debut in Stockholm in 1946, and she performed in the com¬ plete Ring cycle of Richard Wagner in Munich (1954-55). She went on to sing most of the major Wagnerian soprano roles at Bayreuth between 1954 and 1970; she was acclaimed as the greatest Wagnerian soprano of her time for the astonishing power and capacities of her rich voice. From 1959 she

Nike, sculpture from a bronze vessel, probably made in a Greek city of southern Italy, c. 490 bc; in the British Museum

COURTESY OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM

Nikolais Vne-ko-lIzV, Alwin (b. Nov. 25, 1910, Southington, Conn., U.S.—d. May 8, 1993, New York,

N.Y.) U.S. dancer, choreographer, composer, and designer. He studied modern dance with various teachers, including Hanya Holm, whose assis¬ tant he later became. In 1948 he became director of the Henry Street Playhouse in New York City, and in 1951 he formed the Nikolais Dance Theater to present his productions of integrated motion, sound, shape, and colour. Nikolais directed the Center for Contemporary Dance in Angers, ^Iwin Nikolais.

Fr. (1979-81). In 1989 his company martha swope merged with another to form the Nikolais and Murray Louis Dance Company.

Nimbarka ► Niobrara River I 1365

often sang at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Her other signifi¬ cant roles included Richard Strauss’s Elektra and Salome, Giacomo Pucci¬ ni’s Turandot, and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Leonore. She retired in 1984.

Nimbarka (fl. 13th century, South India) Indian yogi and founder of the devotional sect called Nimbarkas or Nimandi. Little is known of his life except that he was a Brahman and a notable astronomer. Like Ramanuja, he believed that the creator god and the souls he created were distinct but shared in the same substance, and he stressed devotion to Krishna as the only means of liberation from the cycle of rebirth. The Nimanda sect flourished in the 13th-14th century in eastern India.

Nimeiri \n3-'mer-e\, Gaafar Mohamed el- (b. Jan. 1, 1930, Wad Nubawi, Omdurman, Sudan) President of The Sudan (1971-85). In 1969 he helped overthrow the civilian regime of Isma'Il al-Azharl. Nimeiri’s own government was temporarily ousted in 1971, but he was returned to office following a plebiscite. He granted autonomy to the Southern Sudan in 1972, inaugurated one of the world’s largest sugar-refinery projects (1981), and sought to develop agriculture. His attempts to impose Islamic law were resisted by Christians and others in the south, which led to his fall from power.

NTmes Vnem\ ancient Nemausus ern France. It was the capital of a Gaulish tribe that submitted to Rome in 121 bc. Augustus founded a new city there, and for five centuries it was one of the principal cities of Roman Gaul. It was plundered by the Vandals and Visigoths in the 5th cen¬ tury ad and occupied by Moors in the 8th century. It passed to the French crown in 1229. Damaged in 1815 during fighting between royal¬ ists and Bonapartists, it returned to prosperity with the coming of the railways in the late 19th century. It is noted for its Roman remains, includ¬ ing an amphitheatre, an aqueduct, and the Maison Caree (an ancient temple restored in 1789).

Nimitz Vni-mitsV Chester W(illiam) (b. Feb. 24, 1885, Fredericks¬ burg, Texas, U.S.—d. Feb. 20, 1966, near San Francisco, Calif.) U.S. naval officer. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1905 and served in World War I with the U.S. Atlantic submarine force. He rose to become chief of the navy’s bureau of navigation in 1939. After the Japa¬ nese attack on Pearl Harbor, he was made commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific fleet, which won the battles of Midway and the Coral Sea (1942). In succeeding years, the historic battles of the Solomon Islands (1942- 43), the Gilbert Islands (1943), and Iwo Jima and Okinawa (1945) were fought under his direction. The Japanese surrender was signed aboard his flagship, the USS Missouri. From 1945 to 1947 he served as chief of naval operations.

Nimrud See Calah

Nin Vnen, ‘ninV, AnaVs (b. Feb. 21, 1903, Neuilly, France—d. Jan. 14, 1977, Los Angeles, Calif., U.S.) French-born U.S. author. Daughter of the Cuban composer Joaquin Nin (1878-1949), she began her literary career in Paris in 1932. In the 1940s she moved to New York, where she pub¬ lished novels and short stories at her own expense. Her writing, includ¬ ing the novel Cities of the Interior, 5 vol. (1959), shows the influence of Surrealism and psychoanalysis. She won late recognition in 1966 with the publication of the first volume of her personal diaries; seven more vol¬ umes followed. Her account of her long incestuous relationship with her father was published posthumously.

Nina, La See La Nina

9-11 attacks See September 11 attacks

Ninety-five Theses Propositions for debate on the question of indul¬ gences, written by Martin Luther and, according to legend, posted on the door of the castle church in Wittenberg, Ger., on Oct. 31, 1517. This event is now seen as the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. The theses were written in response to the selling of indulgences to pay for the rebuilding of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. They represented an implicit

criticism of papal policy and stressed the spiritual, inward character of the Christian faith. Widely circulated, they aroused much controversy. In 1518 Luther published a Latin manuscript with explanations of the theses.

Nineveh Vni-no-vaV Oldest and most populous city of ancient Assyria, on the eastern bank of the Tigris River opposite modern Mosul, Iraq. Its greatest development was under Sennacherib and Ashurbanipal in the 7th century bc. It was captured and destroyed by Nabopolassar of Babylonia and his allies, the Scythians and Medes, in 612 bc. Excavations made in 1845-51 revealed palaces, a library, city walls, and many gates and build¬ ings.

Ningxia or Ningsia Vniq-'shya\ in full Hui Autonomous Region of Ningxia Autonomous region (pop., 2002 est.: 5,720,000), northern China. It is bounded by Shaanxi and Gansu provinces and Inner Mongo¬ lia autonomous region and has an area of 25,600 sq mi (66,400 sq km). China’s Great Wall runs along its northeastern boundary. The capital is Yinchuan. It is nearly coextensive with the ancient kingdom of the Tan- gut people, whose capital was captured by Genghis Khan in the early 13th century. The region is mostly desert and is sparsely settled, but the vast plain of the Huang He (Yellow River) in the north has been irrigated for centuries; over the years many canals have been built.

Ninhursag \nin-'kur-,sag\ In Mesopotamian religion, the city goddess of Adab and of Kish. Worshiped especially by the herders of northern Meso¬ potamia, she was the goddess of the stony, rocky ground, and she had the power to produce wildlife in the foothills and in the desert. A mother fig¬ ure, she was the goddess of birth; she also appeared as a sorrowing mother in her lament for her son, a young colt. Her husband was the god Shul- pae, and among their children was Mululil, a dying god whose death was mourned in yearly rites.

Nino, El See El Nino

Ninsun \'nin-,sun\ In Mesopotamian religion, the city goddess of Kullab. Worshiped especially by herders in southern Mesopotamia, she was origi¬ nally represented as a cow and was considered to be the divine power behind all the qualities that herders wanted in their cattle. She was also represented in human form and could give birth to human offspring. Her son was the wild bull Dumuzi, whom she lamented in a yearly ritual, and her husband was the legendary hero Lugalbanda. Her Sumerian counter¬ parts included Ninhursag.

Ninurta \ni-'nur-ta\ In Mesopotamian religion, the city god of Girsu. The son of Enlil and Ninlil, he was the god of thunder and of the spring rains and floods as well as the god of the plow. His original name was Imdu- gud (“Raincloud”), and his earliest form was that of the thundercloud rep¬ resented as an enormous black bird roaring its thunder cry from a lion’s head. Eventually Ninurta was given human form, and his original shape was assigned to his ancient enemy. His festival marked the beginning of the plowing season.

Niobe \nI-'o-be\ In Greek mythology, the prototype of the bereaved mother. The daughter of Tantalus, she married King Amphion of Thebes and bore him six sons and six daughters. She made the mistake of boast¬ ing of her fertility to the Titaness Leto, who had only two children, Apollo and Artemis. As punishment for her pride, Apollo killed all of Niobe’ s sons and Artemis all her daughters. Niobe was so overwhelmed with grief that the gods turned her into a rock on Mount Sipylus (near modern Izmir,

Turkey), which weeps endlessly as the snow above it melts.

Niobid \nI-'o-bid\ Painter (fl. c.

475-450 bc, Greece) Greek vase painter, named for a calyx krater showing the death of the children of Niobe. Because the Niobid Painter made a deliberate effort to express space and depth by arranging figures on different levels, the vessel is thought to reflect the innovative technique of the now lost mural paintings of Polygnotus.

Niobrara \,m-3-'brar-9\ River River, Wyoming and Nebraska, U.S.

Flowing east across Wyoming’s high

City (pop., 1999: 133,424), south-

Tour Magne, a ruined Roman tower, NTmes, Fr.

ART RESOURCE-EB INC.

Apollo and Artemis killing the children of Niobe, red-figure calyx krater by the Niobid Painter, c. 455-450 bc; in the Louvre, Paris.

CLICHE MUSEES NATIONAUX, PARIS

1366 I Nipigon ► nitrogen

plains and Nebraska’s sandhills and low plains, it joins the Missouri River at the village of Niobrara, Neb., at the South Dakota line. It is 431 mi (694 km) long. The Agate Fossil Beds National Monument is located on the river, north of Scottsbluff, Neb.

Nipigon Vni-pi-.ganV, Lake Lake, Ontario, Canada. Located north of Lake Superior and northeast of Thunder Bay, it is about 70 mi (110 km) long and 50 mi (80 km) wide and has an area of 1,870 sq mi (4,840 sq km). It lies at an elevation of 1,050 ft (320 m) and has a maximum depth of 540 ft (165 m). Its Indian name means “deep, clear water.” It is stud¬ ded with many wooded islands, and large bays characterize its shoreline. Its outlet is the Nipigon River, which flows into Lake Superior.

Nipissing Vni-pa-.siqV Lake Lake, southeastern Ontario, Canada. Located midway between the Ottawa River and Georgian Bay, it is 50 mi (80 km) long and 30 mi (48 km) wide, with an area of 321 sq mi (832 sq km). A remnant of glacial Lake Algonquin, it contains many islands. The French River drains the lake as it flows west into Georgian Bay. It was discovered by Etienne Brule c. 1610 and was later a fur-trading route linking the Ottawa River with the upper Great Lakes.

Nissan Yne-'san\ Motor Co., Ltd. Japanese automaker. Headquar¬ tered in Tokyo, Nissan manufactures cars, trucks, and commercial equip¬ ment. Formed from the merger of two smaller firms in 1925, it adopted its present name in 1934. In World War II the company produced mili¬ tary vehicles; seized by Allied forces in 1945, it did not return to full pro¬ duction until 1955. Nissan’s sales grew rapidly after it entered the world market in the 1960s, and it established assembly plants in several coun¬ tries, including Australia, Germany, Mexico, and the U.S. In 1999 the French automaker Renault bought a 37% stake in the company and later increased its share.

NIST See Bureau of Standards

nitrate Any salt or ester of nitric acid (HN0 3 ). The salts are inorganic compounds with ionic bonds, containing the nitrate ion (N0 3 ) and any cation. Many, particularly ammonium nitrate, are used as agricultural fer¬ tilizers (see saltpeter). Their runoff in surface water and groundwater can cause serious illness in humans. The esters are organic compounds with covalent bonds, having the structure R—O—N0 2 , in which R represents an organic combining group such as methyl, ethyl, or phenyl.

Nippur \ni-'pur\ Ancient Mesopotamian city southeast of Babylon.

Located in what is now southeastern Iraq, it was originally on the Eu¬ phrates River, whose course later changed. By 2500 bc it was the cen¬ tre of worship of the Sumerian storm god Enlil (see Sumer). Parthian con¬ struction (see Parthia) later buried Enlil’s sanctuary, and the city fell into decay in the 3rd century ad. It was abandoned in the 12th or 13th century. Excavations have revealed temples, a ziggurat, and thousands of clay tablets that are a primary source of information on ancient Sumerian civilization. Also uncovered were an Akkadian tomb (see Akkad) and a large temple devoted to the Meso¬ potamian goddess of healing.

M m

Female figure, made of gypsum, with a gold mask that stood at a temple altar in Nippur, c. 2700 bc; in the Iraq Museum, Baghdad

Nirenberg Vnir-on-.borgV, Mar¬ shall Warren (b. April 10, 1927,

New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. bio¬ chemist. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan. He dem¬ onstrated that each possible triplet (codon) of the four different kinds of nitrogen-containing bases found in DNA and (in some viruses) in RNA (with three exceptions) ultimately causes the incorporation of a specific amino acid into a cell protein. His research earned him a Nobel Prize in 1968, which he shared with Robert William Holley and Har Gobind Khorana, whose work, like Nirenberg’s, helped show how genetic instructions in the cell nucleus control the com¬ position of proteins.

nirvana \nir-'va-n3\ (Sanskrit: “Extinction”) In Indian religious thought, the transcendent state of freedom achieved by the extinction of desire and of individual consciousness. Nirvana is the supreme goal of the disciplines of meditation, particularly in Buddhism. Release from desire (and consequent suffering) and the continuous round of rebirths consti¬ tutes enlightenment, or the experience of nirvana. Theravada Buddhism conceives of nirvana as tranquillity and peace; Mahayana Buddhism equates it with sunyata (emptiness), dharma-kaya (the essence of the Buddha), and dharma-datu (ultimate reality).

Nis or Nish \'nesh\ City (pop., 2000 est.: 182,583), southeast of Bel¬ grade, Serbia, Serbia and Montenegro. The ancient Roman city was men¬ tioned by Ptolemy in the 2nd century ad. It was the birthplace of Constantine I (c. 280), who adorned it with many buildings. Bomb dam¬ age in World War II and postwar construction erased much of its Turko- Byzantine style. It was held at various periods by Bulgarians, Hungarians, and Turks. During the Turkish period it became an important station on the route from Istanbul to Hungary. It was ceded to Serbia by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878 and was its capital until 1901. It is a railroad junction and commercial centre.

Nishapur See Neyshabur

nitre See saltpetre

nitric Vnl-trik\ acid Inorganic compound, colourless, fuming, highly corrosive liquid, chemical formula HN0 3 . A common laboratory reagent, it is important in the manufacture of fertilizers and explosives (including nitroglycerin), as well as in organic syntheses, metallurgy, ore flotation, and reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. A strong acid, it is toxic and can cause severe bums. It attacks most metals and is used for etching steel and photoengraving.

nitric oxide Colourless, toxic gas (NO), formed from nitrogen and oxygen by the action of electric sparks or high temperatures or, more con¬ veniently, by the action of dilute nitric acid on copper or mercury. First prepared c. 1620 by Jan B. Helmont, it was first studied in 1772 by Joseph Priestley, who called it “nitrous air.” An industrial procedure for the manu¬ facture of hydroxylamine is based on the reaction of nitric oxide with hydrogen in the presence of a catalyst. The formation of nitric oxide from nitric acid and mercury is applied in a volumetric method of analysis for nitric acid or its salts. The gas is synthesized via ENZYME-catalyzed reac¬ tions in humans and other animals, where it serves as a signaling mol¬ ecule. Among its numerous biological roles, it causes dilation of blood vessels and as such is an important regulator of blood pressure. Nitric oxide is one of the components of air pollution generated by internal-combustion ENGINES.

nitrifying bacteria Vnl-tro-.fi-iqN Small group of oxygen-requiring bacteria that use nitrogen as an energy source. These microorganisms are important in the nitrogen cycle as converters of soil ammonia to nitrates, compounds usable by plants. The nitrification process requires two dis¬ tinct groups: bacteria that convert ammonia to nitrites, and bacteria that convert nitrites to nitrates. In agriculture, irrigation with dilute solutions of ammonia results in an increase in soil nitrates through the action of nitrifying bacteria. See also denitrifying bacteria.

nitrite Vnl-.trfiA Any salt or ester of nitrous acid (HN0 2 ). The salts are inorganic compounds with ionic bonds, containing the nitrite ion (N0 2 ) and any cation. The esters are organic compounds with covalent bonds, having the structure R—O—N—O, in which R represents a carbon- containing combining group and the bonding is from carbon to oxygen. These covalent nitrites are constitutional isomers (see isomerism) of the nitro compounds, nitric acid derivatives (R—N0 2 ), in which the bonding is from carbon to nitrogen. Nitrites are used as food preservatives and color enhancers, though they are so toxic they have caused deaths and combine with amines to produce carcinogens. They are used in medicine to dilate blood vessels.

nitro compound Vnl-.trcA Any of a class of chemical compounds in which the nitro group (—N0 2 ) forms part of the molecular structure. The most common examples are organic compounds, isomers of nitrite esters in which a carbon atom is linked by a covalent bond to the nitro group’s nitrogen atom. Many nitro compounds are commercially used as explo¬ sives, solvents, or raw materials and chemical intermediates. They are generally made by a reaction between nitric acid and an organic compound.

nitrogen Gaseous chemical element, chemical symbol N, atomic num¬ ber 7. A colourless, odourless, tasteless gas, it makes up 78% of Earth’s atmosphere and is a constituent of all living matter. As the nearly unre-

nitrogen cycle ► Nizhny Novgorod I 1367

active diatomic molecule N 2 , it is useful as an inert atmosphere or to dilute other gases. Nitrogen is commercially produced by distillation of liquefied air. Nitrogen fixation, achieved naturally by soil microbes and industrially by the Haber-Bosch process, converts it to water-soluble compounds (including ammonia and nitrates). Industrially, ammonia is the starting material for most other nitrogen compounds (especially nitrates and nitrites), whose main uses are in agricultural fertilizers and explosives. In compounds, nitrogen usually has valence 3 or 5. It forms several oxides including nitrous oxide (N 2 0; laughing gas), nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (N0 2 ), and other forms (such as N 2 0 3 and N 2 0 5 ). Some of the nitrogen oxides, often referred to generically as NO A , are notorious as contributors to urban air pollution. Other compounds include the nitrides, exceptionally hard materials made from nitrogen and a metal; cyanides; azides, used in detonators and percussion caps; and thousands of organic compounds containing nitrogen in functional groups or in a linear or ring structure (see heterocyclic compound). See also nitrogen cycle.

nitrogen cycle Circulation of nitrogen in various forms throughout nature. Nitrogen is essential to life, but in the atmosphere it is in a form (the diatomic molecule N 2 ) unavailable to most organisms. Nitrogen fixa¬ tion by microbes turns this nitrogen into nitrates and other compounds, which plants or algae assimilate into their tissues. Animals that eat plants in turn incorporate the compounds into their own tissues. Microbes decompose the remains and waste of all living things into ammonia (ammonification); the ammonia may leave the soil through vaporization into the air or leaching into water. Ammonia remaining in soil may be transformed by bacteria into nitrates (nitrification), which then can be reassimilated into living organisms, or into free nitrogen (denitrification), which reenters the atmosphere. Hence, once fixed from air, some nitro¬ gen goes through the cycle repeatedly without returning to the gaseous state.

nitrogen fixation Any natural or industrial process that causes free nitrogen in the air to combine chemically with other elements to form more reactive nitrogen compounds such as ammonia, nitrates, or nitrites. Soil microorganisms (e.g., Rhizobium bacteria living in root nodules of legumes) are responsible for more than 90% of all nitrogen fixation. Though nitrogen is part of all proteins and essential in both plant and ani¬ mal metabolism, plants and animals cannot use elemental nitrogen such as the nitrogen gas (N 2 ) that forms 80% of the atmosphere. Symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria invade the root hairs of host plants, where they multiply and stimulate the formation of root nodules, enlargements of plant cells and bacteria in close association. Within the nodules the bac¬ teria convert free nitrogen to nitrates, which the host plant uses for its development. Nitrogen fixation by bacteria associated with legumes is of prime importance in agriculture. Before the use of synthetic fertilizers in the industrial countries, usable nitrogen was supplied as manure and by crop rotation that included a legume crop.

nitrogen narcosis or nitrogen euphoria or raptures of the deep Effects of breathing nitrogen under increased pressure. In divers breathing compressed air, nitrogen saturates the nervous system, causing an intoxicating light-headed, numb feeling, then slowed reasoning and dexterity, and then emotional instability and irrationality. Severe cases progress to convulsions and blackout. Susceptibility varies, and severity increases with depth, but there are no aftereffects. Physical function remains normal, and divers may be unaware of the growing irrationality that can cause them to rise too fast (see decompression sickness) or let their air supply run out. Helium, which dissolves less easily in body tissues, is substituted for nitrogen for deep dives.

nitroglycerin \ 1 nI-tro- , gli-s9-r9n\ or glyceryl trinitrate Organic compound, powerful explosive and ingredient of most forms of dynamite. It is a colourless, oily, somewhat toxic liquid with a sweet, burning taste. Its safe use as a blasting explosive became possible after Alfred P. Nobel developed dynamite in the 1860s with an inert porous material (modera¬ tor) such as charcoal or diatomaceous earth. Nitroglycerin is also used in a mixture in rocket propellants. In medicine, it is used to dilate blood ves¬ sels, especially to ease angina pectoris.

nitrous oxide Vnl-tr9s\ or laughing gas Inorganic compound, one of the oxides of nitrogen. A colourless gas with a pleasantly sweetish odour and taste, it has an analgesic effect when inhaled; it is used as an anes¬ thetic (often called just “gas”) in dentistry and surgery. This effect is pre¬ ceded by mild hysteria, sometimes with laughter, hence the name laughing gas. It is also used as a propellant in food aerosols and as a leak detector.

Nivernais \,ne-v3r-'na\ Historical region, central France. Originally part of Burgundy, it became a county c. 10th century. Francis I of France made it a duchy in 1539 for Francis of Cleves. In 1659 it was sold to Cardinal Mazarin. His descendants possessed it until the French Revolu¬ tion, when it was the last great fief to be reunited to the French crown. During the ancien regime it was administered from Nevers.

Nixon, Richard M(ilhous) (b. Jan. 9, 1913, Yorba Linda, Calif., U.S.—d. April 22,1994, New York, N. Y.) 37th president of the U.S. (1969— 74). He studied law at Duke University and practiced in California (1937- 42). After serving in World War II, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives (1946). As a member of the House Un-American Activi¬ ties Committee, he received national attention for his hostile questioning of Alger Hiss. In 1950 he was elected to the Senate following a bitter campaign in which he unfairly portrayed his opponent as a communist sympathizer; the epithet “Tricky Dick” dates from this period. He won the vice presi¬ dency in 1952 as the running mate of Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower. During the campaign he delivered a nationally televised address, the “Checkers” speech (named for the dog he admitted receiving as a political gift), to rebut charges of financial misconduct. He and Eisenhower were reelected easily in 1956. As the Republican presidential candidate in 1960, he lost narrowly to John F. Kennedy. After failing to win the 1962 California gubernatorial race, he announced his retirement from politics and criticized the press, declaring that it would not “have Dick Nixon to kick around any¬ more.” He moved to New York to practice law. He reentered politics by running for president in 1968, narrowly defeating Hubert H. Humphrey with his “southern strategy” of seeking votes from southern and western con¬ servatives in both parties. As president, he began to withdraw U.S. military forces from South Vietnam while resuming the bombing of North Vietnam. His expansion of the Vietnam War to Cambodia and Laos in 1970 provoked widespread protests in the U.S. He established direct relations with China and made a state visit there in 1972, the first by a U.S. president. On a visit to the Soviet Union later that year, he signed agreements resulting from the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks between the U.S. and the Soviet Union held between 1969 and 1972, known as SALT I. In domestic affairs, Nixon responded to persistent inflation and increasing unemployment by devalu¬ ing the dollar and imposing unprecedented peacetime controls on wages and prices. His administration increased funding for many federal civil- rights agencies and proposed legislation that created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Environmental Protec¬ tion Agency (EPA). In 1972 he won reelection with a landslide victory over George McGovern. Assisted by Henry A. Kissinger, he concluded a peace agreement with North Vietnam (1973), though the war did not come to an end until 1975. His administration helped to undermine the coalition gov¬ ernment of Chile’s Marxist Pres. Salvador Allende, leading to Allende’s overthrow in a military coup in 1973. Nixon’s second term was overshad¬ owed by the Watergate scandal, which stemmed from illegal activities by Nixon and others related to the burglary and wiretapping of the headquar¬ ters of the Democratic Party. After lengthy congressional investigations and facing near-certain impeachment, Nixon resigned the presidency on Aug. 8,1974, the first president to do so. Though never convicted of wrong¬ doing, he was pardoned by his successor, Gerald Ford. In retirement, he wrote his memoirs and several books on foreign policy, which modestly rehabilitated his reputation and earned him a role as an elder statesman and foreign-policy expert.

Nizam al-Mulk \ne-'zam-ul- , mulk\ orig. Abu ‘All Hasan ibn ‘All

(b. c. 1018/19, Tus, Khorasan, Iran—d. Oct. 14, 1092, Nahavand) Persian vizier of the Turkish SeuGq dynasty sultans. He worked for the rulers of the Ghaznavid dynasty before serving Alp-Arslan as governor of Khorasan. In 1063 he was made vizier, a position he occupied for 30 years, serving Alp-Arslan’s son Malik-Shah from the latter’s ascension. Believing that a ruler’s power should be absolute and that the ruler should preserve the kingdom’s stability and traditions, he recorded his views in the Seyasat- nameh (“Book of Government”). He is seen as the quintessential vizier and as a staunch Sunnite Muslim. He promoted the madrasah as a centre of learning, partly to combat ShTite propaganda. He was murdered, likely by an Isma'Ili Assassin, after falling out of favour with Malik-Shah.

Nizam? See NezamI

Nizam's Dominions See Hyderabad Nizariyyah See Assassin

Nizhny Novgorod Vnizh-ne-'nov-go-rotV formerly (1932-90) Gorky City (pop., 2002: 1,311,200), western Russia. It is located on the

1368 I Njals saga ► Noel-Baker

southern bank of the Volga River at its confluence with the Oka River. Founded in 1221, it was annexed to Moscow in 1392. It was strategically important in the Russian conquest of the Volga through the mid-16th cen¬ tury. In 1932 it was renamed for Maksim Gorky, who was born there. Under the Soviet regime it was a place of internal exile for Andrey Sakharov. The city has several 16th- and 17th-century buildings and is one of Rus¬ sia’s major industrial centres.

Njals Vnyauls\ saga or Njala \'nyau-la\ or Burnt Njdll

Vbornt-'nyaulX Icelanders' saga, one of the longest and finest. Set in a soci¬ ety where blood ties impose inescapable obligations and honour demands vengeance for past injuries, it presents the most comprehensive picture of Icelandic life in the heroic age. Its overriding mood is tragic pessimism. Its vividly drawn characters, who range from comic to sinister, include two heroes—Gunnar (Gunther), a brave, guileless, generous youth, and Njal, a wise and prudent man endowed with prophetic gifts.

Njord Vnyord, 'nyorth\ Norse god of the wind and of the sea and its riches. His aid was invoked in seafaring and hunting, and he was the god of prosperity. He was the father of Freyr and Freyja by his sister. Njord’s tribe, the Vanir, gave him as a hostage to the rival tribe of Aesir, and the giantess Skadi chose him as her husband. The marriage failed because Njord preferred to live in Noatun, his home by the sea, whereas Skadi was happier in her father’s mountain dwelling place. Several traditions hold that Njord was a divine ruler of the Swedes.

Nkomo \en-'ko-mo\, Joshua (Mqabuko Nyongolo) (b. June 19, 1917, Semokwe Reserve, Matabeleland, Rhodesia—d. July 1, 1999, Harare, Zimb.) Zimbabwean (formerly Rhodesian) black nationalist. Nkomo helped lead the guerrilla war against white rule in Rhodesia, but his forces played a less important role than those of Robert Mugabe. As leader of the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU), he became Mugabe’s longtime rival. They participated in a coalition government in 1980-82, but Nkomo was removed following a breach between them. ZAPU and Mugabe’s Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) merged in 1987 to form ZANU-Patriotic Front, and Nkomo became a vice presi¬ dent in Mugabe’s government in 1990.

Nkrumah Ven-'krii-moV Kwame (b. September 1909, Nkroful, Gold Coast—d. April 27, 1972, Bucharest,

Rom.) Nationalist leader and presi¬ dent of Ghana (1960-66). Nkrumah worked as a teacher before going to the U.S. to study literature and socialism (1935-45). In 1949 he formed the Convention People’s Party, which advocated nonviolent protests, strikes, and noncooperation with the British authorities. Elected prime minister of the Gold Coast (1952-60) and then president of independent Ghana, Nkrumah advanced a policy of Africanization and built new roads, schools, and health facilities. After 1960 he devoted much of his time to the Pan- African movement, at the expense of Ghana’s economy. Following an attempted coup in 1962, he increased authoritarian controls, withdrew from public life, increased contacts with communist countries, and wrote works on political philosophy. With the country facing economic ruin, he was deposed in 1966 while visiting Beijing.

no-till farming or till-less agriculture Cultivation technique in which the soil is disturbed only along the slit or hole into which seeds are planted. Reserved detritus from previous crops covers and protects the seedbed. Primary benefits are a decreased rate of soil erosion; reduced need for equipment, fuel, and fertilizer; and significantly less time required for tending crops. The method also improves soil-aggregate for¬ mation, microbial activity in the soil, and water infiltration and storage. Conventional tillage controls weed growth by plowing and cultivating, but no-till farming selectively uses herbicides to kill weeds and the remains of the previous crop. No-till farming is one of several primitive farming methods revived as conservation measures in the 20th century.

Noah Biblical character from Genesis. The son of Lamech and ninth in descent from Adam, he was a man of blameless piety, who was chosen by God to perpetuate the human race after his wicked contemporaries had per¬ ished in the flood. On God’s instructions, Noah built an ark and took into it one male and one female of each of the world’s animals. After the waters receded, God set a rainbow in the sky as a guarantee of his promise never again to curse the earth. Noah was the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, from whom the entire human race is supposed to have descended. Noah is also said to have been the originator of vineyard cultivation.

noaide \no-'I-de\ In Sami religion, a shaman who mediates between his clients and various supernatural beings and forces. To aid people suffer¬ ing from illness or other serious troubles, the noaide performs a dramatic seance, which includes divination, trance, confrontation of supernatural beings, and the ritual treatment of the patient. The noaides can accom¬ plish both good and evil, and their powers were formerly much feared.

Nobel \,no-'bel\, Alfred (Bernhard) (b. Oct. 21, 1833, Stockholm, Swed.—d. Dec. 10, 1896, San Remo, Italy) Swedish chemist, engineer, and industrialist. His attempts to find a safe way to handle nitroglycerin resulted in the invention of dynamite and the blasting cap. He built a net¬ work of factories to manufacture dynamite and corporations to produce and market his explosives. He went on to develop more powerful explo¬ sives and to construct and perfect detonators for explosives that did not explode on simple firing (e.g., when lit with a match). Nobel registered more than 350 patents, many unrelated to explosives (e.g., artificial silk and leather). A complex personality, both dynamic and reclusive, he was a pacifist but was labeled the “merchant of death” for inventing explo¬ sives used in war. Perhaps to counter this label, he left most of his immense fortune, from worldwide explosives and oil interests, to estab¬ lish the Nobel Prizes, which would become the most highly regarded of all international awards.

Nobel Prize Any of the prizes awarded annually by four institutions (three Swedish and one Norwegian) from a fund established under the will of Alfred B. Nobel. The will specified that awards should be given “to those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind.” Since 1901, prizes have been awarded for physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace; since 1969, a sixth prize, established by the Bank of Sweden, has been awarded in eco¬ nomic sciences. The Nobel Prizes are regarded as the most prestigious prizes in the world. See tables on opposite and following pages.

noble gas or inert gas Any of the six chemical elements that make up the rightmost group of the periodic table as usually arranged: helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, and radon. All are colourless, odourless, and nonflammable and occur in tiny amounts in the atmosphere (though helium is the most plentiful element in the universe). Their stable elec¬ tronic configurations, with no unpaired electrons to share, make them extremely unreactive—hence “noble” (i.e., aloof) or inert—though the three heaviest, with outer electrons held less firmly, can form compounds (mainly with fluorine). These gases absorb and give off electromagnetic radiation in a much less complex way than other substances, a property exploited in their use in fluorescent lighting devices and discharge lamps. They glow with a characteristic colour when confined in a transparent container at low pressure with an electric current passing through it. Their very low boiling and melting points make them useful as refrigerants for low-temperature research (see cryogenics).

nocturne Nineteenth-century character piece for piano. The name was first used c. 1812 by the Scottish composer John Field (1782-1837) for works employing a lyrical melody over an accompaniment of broken chords. Frederic Chopin’s romantic nocturnes, similar in style, are the most celebrated.

nodule \'na-jiil\ In geology, a rounded mineral concretion that is dis¬ tinct from, and may be separated from, the formation in which it occurs. Nodules usually are elongated and have a knobby irregular surface; they are generally oriented parallel to the bedding. Chert and flint, clay iron¬ stone, and phosphorites commonly occur as nodules. Manganese-rich nod¬ ules are found on the ocean floor.

Noel-Baker (of the City of Derby), Philip John Noel-Baker, Baron orig. Philip John Baker (b. Nov. 1, 1889, London, Eng.—d. Oct. 8, 1982, London) British statesman and advocate of disarmament. He worked for the League of Nations secretariat (1919-22) and taught international relations at the University of London (1924-29). He served

Nkrumah, 1962

MARC AND EVELYNE BERNHEIM/WOODFIN CAMP AND ASSOCIATES

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Nobel Prize winners

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Nogi Maresuke ► noise I 1373

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in the House of Commons (1929-31, 1936-70) and in ministerial posts (1945-61). He helped draft the UN charter, and he campaigned widely for peace through multilateral disarmament. An Olympic runner in 1912, 1920, and 1924, he later served as president of UNESCO’s Inter¬ national Council on Sport and Physical Recre¬ ation (1960-82). In 1959 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace.

Nogi Maresuke Vno-ge-.ma-'ras-kaX (b. December 1849, Edo [Tokyo], Japan—d. Sept. 13, 1912, Tokyo) General in Meiji-period Japan. He served as governor of Taiwan and fought in the Russo-Japanese War. On the death of the Meiji emperor, Nogi and his wife committed ritual suicide by seppuku (self-disembowlment), considered the ultimate samurai act of loyalty. This action affected such Meiji-period writers as Natsume Soseki and Mori Ogai (1862-1922) and illuminated the contrast between Japan’s feudal past and rapidly modernizing present.

Noguchi \no-'gu-che\, Isamu (b. Nov. 17, 1904, Los Angeles, Calif., U.S.—d. Dec. 30, 1988, New York, N.Y.) U.S. sculptor and designer. He spent his early years in Japan. After premedical studies at Columbia Univer¬ sity, he became Constantin Brancusi’s assistant in Paris. He was influenced as well by Alberto Giacometti, Alexander Calder, Pablo Picasso, and Joan Miro. His medical training suggested to him the interrelatedness of bone and stone. Much of his work consists of elegantly abstracted, rounded forms in highly polished stone. His long collaboration with Martha Gra¬ ham resulted in stage sets for many ballets, and he also designed many public sculptures, sculp¬ tural gardens, and playgrounds, as well as fur¬ niture.

Noh theatre or No theatre Classic Japa¬ nese theatrical form. One of the world’s oldest extant theatrical forms, Noh theatre has a heroic theme, a chorus, and highly stylized action, cos¬ tuming, and scenery. Its all-male performers are storytellers who use their visual appearances and movements to suggest their tale rather than enact it. Noh (from Japanese no, meaning “tal¬ ent” or “skill”) developed from ancient forms of dance-drama and became a distinctive form in the 14th century. The five types of Noh plays are the kami (“god”) play, which involves a sacred story of a Shinto shrine; the shura mono (“fighting play”), which centres on warriors; the katsura mono (“wig play”), which has a female protagonist; the gendai mono (“present-day play”) or kyojo mono (“madwoman play”), which is varied in content; and the kiri or kichiku (“final” or “demon”) play, which fea¬ tures devils and strange beasts. Kan’ami (1333— 84) and his son Zeami (1363-1443) wrote many of the most beautiful Noh texts; more than 200 remain in the modem Noh repertoire.

noise Undesired sound that is intrinsically objectionable or that interferes with other sounds being listened to. In electronics and information theory, noise refers to those ran¬ dom, unpredictable, and undesirable signals, or changes in signals, that mask the desired infor¬ mation content. In radio, this noise is called static; in television, it is called snow. White noise is a complex signal or sound covering the entire range of component frequencies, or tones, all of which possess equal intensity.

1374 I Nok culture ► nongovernmental organization

Nok culture Ancient Iron Age African culture. It existed on the Benue Plateau of Nigeria between about 500 bc and ad 200 and was first dis¬ covered in 1928 in the village of Nok. Artifacts having similar features were found over an area that stretched about 300 miles (480 km) east to west and 200 miles (320 km) north to south. The most characteristic of these are hollow, coil-built clay figurines of animals and stylized human beings, usually heads. Other artifacts include iron and stone tools and stone ornaments.

nokhor \'nce-koer\ Mongol "comrade" In Mongolia during the time of Genghis Khan (c. 1160-1227), one who forswore loyalty to family and clan to devote himself to following a leader to whom he attached him¬ self. Many of Genghis Khan’s best generals were nokhor. In modern times the word is used more loosely.

Nolan, Sir Sidney (b. April 22, 1917, Melbourne, Austl.—d. Nov. 27, 1992, London, Eng.) Australian artist. Early in his career he created greatly simplified abstractions. In the mid 1940s he began to paint the local desolate desert landscapes in a more representational style. In his mature work he often applied unusual media—such as polyvinyl acetate—to masonite, glass, or canvas. Apart from his landscapes, most of his works dealt with Australian historical or legendary characters and events—notably, the bushranger Ned Kelly.

Noland, Kenneth (b. April 10, 1924, Asheville, N.C., U.S.) U.S. painter. Noland attended Black Mountain College in North Carolina and studied under the French sculp¬ tor Ossip Zadkine in Paris (1948- 49). He and Morris Louis, influenced by the work of Helen Frankenthaler, worked together on the technique of staining with thinned paints. This method presented pure, saturated colour as an integral part of the can¬ vas. He employed his colours in con¬ centric rings and parallels that were shaped and proportioned in relation to the shape of the canvas. Noland taught at the Institute of Contempo¬ rary Arts (1950-52) and at Catholic University (1951-60), both in Wash¬ ington, D.C., and at Bennington Col¬ lege (1968) in Vermont.

Nolde Vnol-doX, Emil orig. Emil Hansen (b. Aug. 7, 1867, Nolde, near Bocholt, Ger.—d. April 15,

1956, Seebiill, near Niebull, W.Ger.)

German Expressionist painter, printmaker, and watercolourist. Bom to a peasant family, he carved wood for a living and came late to painting. Though briefly a member of Die BrOcke (1906-07), he was essentially a solitary painter. Fervently religious and racked by a sense of sin, he cre¬ ated such works as Dance Around the Golden Calf { 1910), in which the figures’ erotic frenzy and demonic faces are rendered with deliberately crude draftsmanship and dissonant colours. On an ethnological expedi¬ tion to the East Indies (1913-14), he was impressed by the power of the art he saw there. Back in Europe, he produced brooding landscapes (e.g., Marsh Landscape, 1916) and colourful flowers. As a printmaker he was noted especially for the stark black-and-white effect of his crudely incised woodcuts. Although he was an early advocate of Germany’s National Socialist Party, the party declared his art “degenerate” and forbade him to paint. His late, postwar works reveal his disillusionment.

nomadism Way of life of peoples who do not live continually in the same place but move cyclically or periodically. It is based on temporary centres whose stability depends on the available food supply and the technology for exploiting it. A hunting and gathering society is a type of nomadic group. Pastoral nomads, who depend on domestic livestock, migrate in an established territory to find pasture for their animals. Tinker or trader nomads, such as the Roma (Gypsies; see Rom) and the Irish and Scottish Travellers, are associated with a larger society but maintain their mobile way of life. Nomadism declined in the 20th century as urban cen¬ tres expanded and governments sought to regulate or eliminate it.

Nome Seaport (pop., 2000: 3,505), western Alaska, U.S., on the south¬ ern side of the Seward Peninsula. Founded as a mining camp called Anvil

City after the discovery of gold at nearby Anvil Creek in 1898, it became a centre of the Alaskan gold rush of 1899-1903. Its population, estimated at 20,000 in 1900, had dwindled to 852 by 1920. Gold mining remained the chief occupation until the dredge fields were closed in 1962. The fin¬ ish line for the Iditarod trail sled race, it also serves as a supply centre for northwestern Alaska.

non-Euclidean geometry Any theory of the nature of geometric space differing from the traditional view held since Euclid’s time. These geometries arose in the 19th century when several mathematicians work¬ ing independently explored the possibility of rejecting Euclid’s parallel postulate. Different assumptions about how many lines through a point not on a given line could be parallel to that line resulted in hyperbolic geometry and eluptic geometry. Mathematicians were forced to abandon the idea of a single correct geometry; it became their task not to discover mathematical systems but to create them by selecting consistent axioms and studying the theorems that could be derived from them. The devel¬ opment of these alternative geometries had a profound impact on the notion of space and paved the way for the theory of relativity. See also Nikolay Lobachevsky, Bernhard Riemann.

nonaligned movement In international politics, the group of states sharing the peacetime policy of avoiding political or economic affiliations with major power blocs. At its beginning the nonaligned movement con¬ sisted primarily of Asian and African states that were once colonies of the Western powers and were wary of being drawn into a new form of depen¬ dence by the West or by the communist bloc. Founded by Jawaharlal Nehru, Gamal Abdel Nasser, and others, the movement held its first offi¬ cial meeting in 1961 in Bandung, Indon.; 25 countries attended. Meetings have since been held on a three-year schedule. While the Soviet Union existed, the movement tended to seek development assistance from both the U.S. and the Soviet Union but to refrain from forming political or military alliances with either country. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the nonaligned movement has been chiefly concerned with debt forgiveness and with development of fairer trade relationships with the West. By the early 21st century the movement had more than 110 members.

noncognitivism Denial of the characteristic cognitivist thesis that moral sentences are used to express factual statements. Noncognitivists have proposed various alternative theories of meaning for moral sen¬ tences. In Language, Truth and Logic (1936), A. J. Ayer stated the emo- tivist thesis that moral sentences are not statements at all (see emotivism). In The Language of Morals (1952), Richard M. Hare (born 1919) agreed that in making moral judgments we are not primarily seeking to describe anything, but claimed that neither are we simply expressing our attitudes; instead, he suggested that moral judgments prescribe—that is, are a form of imperative sentence (see prescriptivism).

Nonconformist Any English Protestant who does not conform to the doctrines or practices of the established Church of England. The term was first used after the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 to describe con¬ gregations that had separated from the national church. Such congrega¬ tions, also called Separatists or Dissenters, often rejected Anglican rites and doctrines as being too close to Catholicism. In the late 19th century, Nonconformists of various denominations joined together to form the Free Church Federal Council. In England and Wales the term is generally applied to all Protestant denominations outside Anglicanism, including Baptists, Congregationalists, Unitarians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Quakers, and Churches of Christ.

nondirective psychotherapy or client-centered therapy

Type of psychotherapy in which the counselor refrains from interpretation or explanation but encourages the client to establish a person-to-person relationship with him or her and to talk freely. It originated with Carl R. Rogers and influenced later individual and group therapies. The goal is to enable the client to see him- or herself more clearly and react more openly with the therapist and others. The client determines the course, speed, and duration of treatment.

nongovernmental organization (NGO) Organization that is not part of any government. A key distinction is between not-for-profit groups and for-profit corporations; the vast majority of NGOs are not-for-profit. In some countries, particularly socialist ones, some NGOs are government-organized. The purposes of NGOs cover the entire range of human interests and may be domestic or international in scope. Many NGOs are key sources of information for governments on issues such as

man, 1967

©ARNOLD NEWMAN

Nonni River ► Norfolk I 1375

human rights abuses and environmental degradation. Some NGOs fulfill quasi-governmental functions for ethnic groups that lack a state of their own. NGOs may be financed by private donations, international organi¬ zations, governments, or a combination of these. In Britain, quasi- autonomous nongovernmental organizations, or “quangos,” are organizations that have nonelected boards and receive public funds which they also disburse. See also Amnesty International; Greenpeace; World Wildlife Fund.

Nonni River See Nen River

Nono, Luigi (b. Jan. 29, 1924, Venice, Italy—d. May 8, 1990, Venice) Italian composer. A law student, he also studied music with Gian Francesco Malipiero (1882-1973), Bruno Maderna (1920-73), and Her¬ mann Scherchen (1891-1966). He came to public attention in 1950 with his work Variazioni Canoniche, orchestral variations on a 12-tone theme of Arnold Schoenberg, whose daughter Nuria he married in 1955. An avowed communist, Nono often produced works of political substance, many of which sparked controversy and reaction. He employed aleatory (chance) techniques and SERIAUSM, sometimes fragmenting language and using electronically manipulated sounds. His best-known work is the opera Intolleranza (1961).

nonobjective art See abstract art

Nonpartisan League Alliance of U.S. farmers to gain protection from wheat monopolies. Founded in North Dakota in 1915 by Arthur Townley, it demanded that mills, grain elevators, banks, and hail- insurance companies be state owned. In 1916 its candidate, Lynn Frazier, was elected governor of North Dakota, and the state legislature enacted its program in 1919. The league declined after the 1920s and affiliated with the Democrats in 1956.

nonrepresentational art See abstract art

nonsense verse Humorous or whimsical verse that features absurd characters and actions and often contains evocative but meaningless words coined for the verse. It is unlike the ritualistic gibberish of chil¬ dren’s counting-out rhymes in that it makes such words sound purpose¬ ful. It differs from other comic verse in its resistance to any rational or allegorical interpretation. Most nonsense verse has been written for chil¬ dren and is modern, dating from the beginning of the 19th century. Examples include Edward Lear’s Book of Nonsense (1846), Lewis Carroll’s “Jabberwocky” (1871), and Hilaire Belloc’s Bad Child’s Book of Beasts (1896). See also limerick.

nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs See NSAIDs

Nootka Vnut-k9\ or (since 1980) Nuu-chah-nulth Any of several bands of Northwest Coast Indian people of southwestern Vancouver Island, B.C., Can., and northwestern Washington, U.S. The name Nuu- chah-nulth, which they adapted in preference to Nootka (given them by others), means “Along the Mountains.” They speak a Wakashan language. Culturally related to the Kwakiutl, the Nootka were specialized whale hunters. They moved seasonally, returning to their principal homesites during the winter. Local groups were usually socially and politically inde¬ pendent. The most important religious ceremony was the shaman’s dance, a reenactment of mythological themes that ended with a potlatch. Today the Nuu-chah-nulth number about 6,000.

Nootka Sound Controversy (1790) Dispute between Spain and Britain over ship seizures off the western Canadian coast. Spain seized four British trading ships in Nootka Sound, an inlet of Vancouver Island, Can., in accordance with Spanish claims to the northwestern coast of America. Britain threatened war, maintaining that sovereignty necessi¬ tated actual occupation of the land. Spain yielded to British demands and signed an agreement acknowledging the right of each country to trade and establish settlements on unoccupied land.

Nora Ancient city, southwest of Cagliari, Sardinia. Ruins from the 7th century bc indicate that the site was first settled by Phoenicians. It was the capital of Sardinia after the Roman annexation in the 1st century ad. Excavations have revealed a wealthy imperial Roman city with a theatre, an aqueduct, a temple of Juno, a nymphaeum, and private villas overly¬ ing a typical Phoenician port.

noradrenaline See norepinephrine

Nordenskiold Vniir-don-.shoeldV (Nils) Adolf Erik, Frihere (baron) (b. Nov. 18, 1832, Helsinki, Fin.—d. Aug. 12, 1901, Dalbyo,

Swed.) Finnish-born Swedish geologist, mineralogist, geographer, and explorer. In 1858 he settled in Stockholm and became professor and cura¬ tor of mineralogy at the Swedish State Museum. He led several expedi¬ tions to the Arctic island of Spitsbergen between 1864 and 1873, and in 1870 he led an expedition to western Greenland. In 1878-79, on the steam vessel Vega, he sailed from Norway to Alaska on the first expedition to successfully navigate the Northeast Passage. He was created a baron on his return. In 1883 he became the first to break through the great sea ice barrier of the southeast Greenland coast.

Nordic skiing Skiing techniques and events of Scandinavian origin that include cross-country skiing and ski jumping. Nordic events were included in the first Winter Olympics in 1924. See also Alpine skiing.

norepinephrine V.nor-.ep-o-'nef-ronV or noradrenaline One of two

catecholamine hormones (epinephrine is the other) secreted by the adrenal glands, as well as at nerve endings, as a neurotransmitter. It resembles adrenaline chemically and in its actions on the body, which mimic sym¬ pathetic nervous system stimulation. It constricts most blood vessels and is given for certain types of shock. Norepinephrine is formed from tyrosine and converted to epinephrine. It was discovered by Ulf von Euler-Chelpin (1905-83) in the mid-1940s.

Norfolk Vn6r-fok\ Administrative and historic county (pop., 2001: 796,733), eastern England. Bounded by Suffolk (south), Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire (west), and the North Sea (north and east), it is low- lying and has reed swamps, including the famous Broads that resulted from medieval peat cutting and a subsequent change in sea level. Pale¬ olithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic artifacts have been found, including impressive Stone Age flint mines in Breckland. In the Middle Ages the region’s prosperity depended mainly on wool. Among the county’s most important cities is Norwich. The economy is now largely agricultural.

Norfolk City (pop., 2000: 234,403), southeastern Virginia, U.S. A port of entry on the Elizabeth River, it is located just south of Hampton Roads. Founded in 1682, it was incorporated as a borough in 1736. It was destroyed by fires in 1776 and 1799. Yellow fever killed 10% of the popu¬ lation in 1855. During the American Civil War the city was occupied by Union troops. Prosperity resumed after 1870 when railroads linked the port to other trade centres. With Newport News and Portsmouth it makes up the Port of Hampton Roads. Shipping, shipbuilding, and light indus¬ try are the major economic activities. Norfolk is the headquarters of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet and NATO’s Supreme Allied Command, Atlantic.

Norfolk, Thomas Howard, 2nd duke of (b. 1443—d. May 21,

1524, Framlingham, Suffolk, Eng.) English noble prominent in the reigns of Henry VII and Henry VIII. Son of the 1st duke of Norfolk, he was made steward of the royal household and created earl of Surrey in 1483. While fighting for Richard III, he was taken prisoner (and his father killed) in the Battle of Bosworth Field. After his release in 1489, he commanded the defense of the Scottish borders and later defeated the Scots at the Battle of Flodden. Norfolk later served as lord treasurer and a privy councillor, and he helped arrange the marriage of Margaret Tudor to James IV of Scot¬ land. In 1520 he was guardian of England during Henry VIII’s absence in France.

Norfolk, Thomas Howard, 3rd duke of (b. 1473—d. Aug. 25, 1554, Kenninghall, Norfolk, Eng.) English noble prominent in the reign of Henry VIII. Son of the 2nd duke of Norfolk, he was made lord high admiral in 1513 and helped rout the Scots at the Battle of Flodden. Suc¬ ceeding his father as duke (1524), he led the faction opposed to Cardinal Wolsey, whom he replaced as president of the royal council in 1529. He supported the marriage of his niece Anne Boleyn to Henry (1533), but later (as lord high steward) he presided over her trial (1536). He skillfully suppressed the Pilgrimage of Grace rebellion and by 1540 was the most powerful of Henry’s councillors. His position weakened after his niece Catherine Howard was put to death (1542) and his son Henry Howard (1517-47) was executed for treason. Imprisoned as an accessory to his son, he was released by Queen Mary in 1553.

Norfolk, Thomas Howard, 4th duke of (b. March 10, 1538, Kenninghall, Norfolk, Eng.—d. June 2, 1572, London) English noble executed for his intrigues against Queen Elizabeth I. He was the grandson of the 3rd duke of Norfolk, whom he succeeded as duke in 1554. In favour with both Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, Norfolk commanded the English forces that invaded Scotland in 1559-60. He led the commission to resolve problems between Mary, Queen of Scots, and Scotland’s Prot-

1376 I Norfolk Island ► Norodom

estant nobility (1568). He became involved in a plan to free Mary from imprisonment by marrying her and was arrested after a failed revolt by Catholic nobles (1569). Released in 1570, Norfolk was drawn into another plot to install Mary on the English throne through a Spanish invasion of England; discovery of the plot led to his arrest and execution.

Norfolk Island Island territory of Australia, southern Pacific Ocean. Located midway between New Caledonia and New Zealand, the island has an area of 13 sq mi (35 sq km). Discovered by Capt. James Cook in 1774, it became a British penal colony (1788-1814, 1825-55). The popu¬ lation of Pitcairn Island was moved here in 1856, and many residents of Norfolk Island are descended from crew members of HMS Bounty. Of volcanic origin, it has generally rugged terrain with abundant Norfolk Island pine. The major industry is tourism.

Norfolk Island pine Evergreen timber and ornamental conifer ( Arau¬ caria excelsa, or A. heterophylla ) of the family Araucariaceae, native to Norfolk Island in the South Pacific Ocean. In nature this pine grows to a height of 200 ft (60 m), with a trunk sometimes reaching 10 ft (3 m) in diameter. The wood of large trees is used in construction, furniture, and shipbuilding. The sapling stage is grown worldwide as a houseplant and as an outdoor ornamental in regions with a Mediterranean cli¬ mate. The monkey puzzle tree is a rela¬ tive.

Noricum Ancient kingdom and Roman province, west-central Europe. It was located roughly south of the Danube River and north of mod¬ ern Italy. Originally controlled by a Celtic confederacy, it was annexed by Augustus c. 15 bc. Its rich iron and gold mines were worked by the Romans. Latin inscriptions on coins indicate a Romanized culture.

Emperor Claudius enhanced the significance of several of Noricum’s towns and recruited soldiers from the area for the Praetorian Guard c. ad 50. The Franks settled there by the end of the 5th century ad.

Noriega \,n6r-e-'a-g3\ (Morena), Manuel (Antonio) (b. Feb. 11, 1938, Panama City, Pan.) Panamanian general who was the actual power behind a civilian president. Born into a poor family, he attended military school in Peru and joined Panama’s National Guard on his return. As chief of military intelligence in the 1970s, he cooperated with the Central Intel¬ ligence Agency and negotiated the release of U.S. freighter crews held by Cuba, but he was tainted by persistent reports of drug trafficking and bru¬ tality. In 1989, as head of the armed forces, he canceled election results that displeased him. The U.S. government then invaded Panama, prima¬ rily to capture Noriega. He was brought to trial in the U.S., convicted of racketeering, drug trafficking, and money laundering, and sentenced to 40 years in prison. His jail term was later reduced.

normal distribution In statistics, a frequency distribution in the shape of the classic bell curve. It accurately represents most variations in such attributes as height and weight. Any random variable with a normal dis¬ tribution has a mean (see mean, median, and mode) and a standard devia¬ tion that indicates how much the data as a whole deviate from the mean. The standard deviation is smaller for data clustered closely around the mean value and larger for more dispersed data sets.

Norman Any of the Vikings, or Norsemen, who settled in northern France (or the Frankish kingdom) and their descendants. As pagan pirates from Denmark, Norway, and Iceland, they raided the European coast in the 8th century. They settled in the lower Seine valley by c. 900. In 911 they were granted territory around what is now Rouen by King Charles III and then extended their territory westward. They founded the duchy of Normandy, governed by a line of rulers who called themselves counts or dukes of Nor¬ mandy. Though the Normans converted to Christianity and adopted the French language, they continued to display their Viking ancestors’ reck¬ lessness and appetite for conquest. In the 11th century they seized England in the Norman Conquest and colonized southern Italy and Sicily. The Nor¬

mans also participated in the reconquest of Spain and in the Crusades, and the Normans of Italy and Sicily were rivals of the Byzantine emperors.

Norman, Greg(ory John) (b. Feb. 10, 1955, Mount Isa, Queen., Austl.) Australian golfer. After losing the 1984 U.S. Open in an 18-hole playoff, he won the British Open in 1986 and repeated that victory in 1993. Nicknamed “the Great White Shark” for his light blond hair and his aggressive style, he had compiled 78 career individual victories by 1998. Though he was one of the top PGA career money winners, victory in the most prestigious tournaments often eluded him—he lost the Masters Tour¬ nament by one stroke in 1986 and 1987 and has been the runner-up in eight major tournaments. His gracious attitude after his loss to Nick Faldo in the 1996 Masters won him a large number of fans.

Norman, Jessye (b. Sept. 15, 1945, Augusta, Ga., U.S.) U.S. soprano. She won the Munich International Music Competition in 1968 and debuted in Berlin as Elisabeth in Tannhduser (1969). She appeared at La Scala, Milan, in 1972 and made recital debuts in London and New York City the next year. Having garnered extraordinary praise for years, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Les Troyens in 1983, confirming her reputation as perhaps the greatest soprano of her generation. An imposing stage presence with a vibrant and flexible voice, her operatic and concert repertoire encompasses an exceptionally wide range.

Norman Conquest (1066) Military conquest of England by William, duke of Normandy (later William I), mainly through his victory over Harold II at the Battle of Hastings. Edward the Confessor had designated William as his successor in 1051. When Harold, duke of Wessex, was crowned king of England in 1066 instead, William assembled an invasion force of 5,000 knights. After defeating Harold’s army near Hastings on October 14 and advancing to London, he was crowned king in Westmin¬ ster Abbey on Christmas Day, 1066. Native revolts continued until 1071, notably in Northumbria. The Norman Conquest brought great social and political changes to England, linking the country more closely with west¬ ern Europe and replacing the old English aristocracy with a Norman aris¬ tocracy. The English language was subjected to a long period of influence by Anglo-French, which remained in literary and courtly use until the reign of Edward III and in legal reporting until the 17th century.

Normandy French Normandie \nor-ma n -'de\ Historic and cultural region, northwestern France. The capital was Rouen. It has been inhabited since Paleolithic times. Its Celtic population was conquered by the Romans c. 56 bc, when it became part of the province of Lugdunensis. Invaded by Vikings in the 8th century ad, it was ceded to their chief, Rollo, in 911 by Charles III (the Simple) of France. The Vikings became known as Nor¬ mans, hence the region’s name. William, duke of Normandy, united Nor¬ mandy and England (Norman Conquest, 1066) and became William I (the Conqueror) of England. Normandy became a province of France in 1450 and was divided into several departments after the French Revolution. It was the site of the World War II Allied invasion of German-occupied France in 1944 (see Normandy Campaign). The region has retained its rural character despite the growth of towns along the lower Seine valley.

Normandy Campaign Allied invasion of northern Europe in World War II that began on June 6, 1944, with the largest amphibious landing in history in Normandy, France. Also called Operation Overlord, the land¬ ing transported 156,000 U.S., British, and Canadian troops across the English Channel in over 5,000 ships and 10,000 planes. Commanded by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Allied forces landed at five beaches on the Normandy coast and soon established lodgement areas, despite stiff Ger¬ man resistance and heavy losses at the code-named Omaha Beach and Juno Beach. Allied air supremacy prevented rapid German reinforce¬ ments, and discord between Adolf Hitler and his generals stalled crucial counterattacks. Though delayed by heavy fighting near Cherbourg and around Caen, the Allied ground troops broke out of the beachheads in mid-July and began a rapid advance across northern France. The Nor¬ mandy Campaign is traditionally considered to have concluded with the liberation of Paris on Aug. 25, 1944.

Norodom Vnor-o-doirA orig. Vody (b. 1834, Cambodia—d. April 24, 1904, Phnom Penh) King of Cambodia (r. 1860-1904). Cambodia had been under the joint vassalage of Vietnam and Siam (Thailand) since 1802. After the death of Norodom’s father in 1860, the Siamese asserted sole dominion over Cambodia by refusing to allow the Vietnamese to participate in Noro¬ dom’s crowning. France opposed Siamese claims on the country and forced Norodom to accept French protection. He was crowned in 1864, and during his reign France dominated Cambodian affairs.

Norfolk Island pine (Araucaria excelsa).

ROBERT C. HERMES-THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY COLLECTION/PHOTO RESEARCHERS

Norodom Sihanouk ► North Carolina I 1377

Norodom Sihanouk X.se-a-'niikA in full Preah Bat Samdech Preah Norodom Sihanouk (b. Oct. 31, 1922, Phnom Penh, Camb.) Cambodia’s king (1941-55 and 1993-2004); he also held other posts. He abdicated in favour of his father in 1955, becoming his father’s prime minister; he became head of state on his father’s death in 1960. During the Vietnam War he steered a neutral course between the radical right and left in both his foreign and internal policies. Overthrown by Lon Nol in 1970, he campaigned for the Khmer Rouge but was imprisoned after they came to power, and most of his family was killed. Released in the face of a Vietnamese invasion (1979), he denounced both the Vietnamese and the Khmer Rouge. In 1982 he became president of a fragile coalition of resistance groups. Following UN-sponsored elections in 1993, Cambo¬ dia’s National Assembly voted to restore the monarchy, and Sihanouk again became king. He abdicated on Oct. 7, 2004, and his son Norodom Sihamoni, chosen to succeed him, was crowned king on October 29.

Norris, (Benjamin) Frank(lin) (b. March 5, 1870, Chicago, Ill., U.S.—d. Oct. 25, 1902, San Francisco, Calif.) U.S. novelist and short- story writer. Norris initially worked as an overseas correspondent and in publishing. He became the first important American author to embrace naturalism. McTeague (1899) is a portrait of an acquisitive society. He adopted a more humanitarian ideal beginning with his masterpiece. The Octopus (1901), the first novel of a projected trilogy dealing with the eco¬ nomic and social forces involved in the wheat industry. The second part, The Pit, appeared in 1903, but the third was unwritten at his death. Despite romanticizing tendencies, his works present a vivid, authentic picture of life in California in his day.

Norris, George W(illiam) (b. July 11, 1861, Sandusky, Ohio, U.S.—d. Sept. 2, 1944, McCook, Neb.) U.S. politician. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1903 to 1913. In the U.S. Senate (1913-43) he drafted the 20th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which abolished the so-called lame-duck session of Congress. He also worked for the introduction of presidential primaries and for direct election of U.S. senators. He introduced the bill establishing the Tennes¬ see Valley Authority and coauthored the Norris-La Guardia Act, which restricted the use of injunctions in labour disputes. An independent Repub¬ lican, he said he “would rather be right than regular.”

Norsemen See Vikings

North, Alex (b. Dec. 4, 1910, Chester, Pa., U.S.—d. Sept. 8, 1991, Pacific Palisades, Calif.) U.S. film composer and conductor. North stud¬ ied at the Curtis Institute and Juilliard. In the early 1930s he traveled to Moscow and became the sole American member of the Union of Soviet Composers. He composed ballet scores for Martha Graham and others and later studied and conducted in Mexico City. North’s score for A Street¬ car Named Desire (1951), the first jazz-based film score, brought him to prominence. His dozens of films over 30 years include Spartacus (1960), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), and Prizzi’s Honor (1985).

North (of Kirtling), Frederick, Lord later earl of Guilford (b.

April 13, 1732, London, Eng.—d. Aug. 5, 1792, London) English prime minister (1770-82). Elected to Parliament at age 22, he served as lord of the treasury (1759-65) and as chancellor of the Exchequer (1767-70). As prime minister, he gave vacillating support to both harsh and conciliatory measures toward the American colonies before the American Revolution. Although only a halfhearted supporter of the war, he was a pliant agent of George III. He resigned on hearing the news of Charles Cornwallis’s defeat at the Siege of Yorktown. In 1783 he formed a brief coalition with his former Whig opponent Charles James Fox.

North, Simeon (b. July 13, 1765, Berlin, Conn., U.S.—d. Aug. 25, 1852, Middletown, Conn.) U.S. firearms manufacturer. He supplied pis¬ tols and rifles to the U.S. government from 1799. He developed the use of interchangeable parts in manufacturing (see armoury practice; mass pro¬ duction) and the first-known milling machine. In 1825 he built a breech¬ loading rifle with fully interchangeable parts.

North Africa campaigns (194CM3) Battles in World War II for control of North Africa. After the 1940 victory by Italian troops in Egypt, the Italians were driven back into Libya by British troops. German rein¬ forcements led by Erwin Rommel forced the British to retreat into Egypt after the defense of Tobruk. In 1942 the British under Bernard Law Mont¬ gomery counterattacked at the Battles of El Alamein and pushed the Ger¬ mans west into Tunisia. In November 1942 U.S. and British forces under Dwight D. Eisenhower landed in Algeria and Morocco, then moved east

into Tunisia. In May 1943 the Allies, advancing from east and west, defeated the Axis forces and forced the surrender of 250,000 Axis troops.

North America Continent, Western Hemisphere. The third-largest con¬ tinent on earth, it lies mostly between the Arctic Circle and the Tropic of Cancer. It is almost completely surrounded by bodies of water, including the Pacific Ocean, the Bering Strait, the Arctic Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Area: 9,361,791 sq mi (24,247,039 sq km). Population (2001 est.): 454,225,000. Shaped like an inverted triangle. North America was apparently the first continent to achieve its current approximate size and shape. Its geologic structure is built around a stable platform of Precambrian rock called the Canadian Shield. To the southeast are the Appalachian Mountains and to the west are the younger and much taller Cordilleras. These mountains extend the length of the continent and occupy about one-third of the total land area. The Rocky Mountains constitute the eastern Cordillera. The highest point is Mount McKinley. The Mississippi River basin, including its major tributaries, the Missouri and Ohio, occupies more than one-eighth of the continent’s total area. Generally temperate climatic conditions prevail. Arable land accounts for about one-eighth of the land area and forests for about one- third. English, the primary language of the U.S., predominates, followed by Spanish; French is spoken in parts of Canada. Most of the continent’s popu¬ lation of European descent is found in the U.S. and Canada. Intermarriage between whites and Indians was common in Mexico, and mestizos consti¬ tute about three-fifths of the Mexican population. North America has a mix¬ ture of developed, partly developed, and developing economies, adequate reserves of most metallic resources, and the world’s largest reserves of cad¬ mium, copper, lead, molybdenum, silver, and zinc. It is the world’s leading food producer, largely because of mechanized and scientific farming in the U.S. and Canada. Among the continent’s democratically governed states are Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, and the U.S. The nations of North America have sought hemispheric unity as members of the Organization of American States, which also includes South American countries. They also sought stronger economic ties, and in 1992 Canada, the U.S., and Mexico signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which called for the elimination of most tariffs and other trade barriers between the three countries. The first inhabitants were American Indians, who migrated from Asia about 20,000 years ago. The greatest pre-Columbian civilizations were in Mesoamerica (see Mesoamerican civilization) and included the Olmec, Maya, Toltec, and Aztec, who were conquered by the Spanish. The continent long remained sparsely settled and undeveloped. Beginning in the 17th century it underwent a profound transformation with the coming of Europeans and the Africans they introduced as slaves. The style of life became Latin American south of the Rio Grande and Anglo-American to the north, with enclaves of French culture in Canada and Louisiana. Sla¬ very, practiced in the 16th-19th centuries, added a significant minority cul¬ ture of African origin, especially in the U.S. and the Caribbean (see West Indies). The huge industrial economy of the U.S., its abundant resources, and its military strength give the continent considerable global influence. See map on following page.

North American Free Trade Agreement See NAFTA North Atlantic Treaty Organization See NATO

North Canadian River River, south-central Oklahoma, U.S. It rises in a high plateau in New Mexico and flows east through the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles past Oklahoma City, joining the Canadian River in the Eufaula Reservoir. The North Canadian River is 800 mi (1,287 km) long. Above the mouth of the Wolf River, one of its tributaries, the North Canadian is know as Beaver River.

North Carolina State (pop., 2000: 8,049,313), southern Atlantic region, U.S. Lying on the Atlantic Ocean, it is bordered by Virginia, South Carolina, and Tennessee. It covers 52,671 sq mi (136,417 sq km); its capital is Raleigh. Ranges of the Appalachian Mountains, including the Great Smoky Mountains, are in the west; the Blue Ridge Mountains are in the east. Several Indian peoples inhabited the area before Europeans arrived. The coast was explored by Giovanni da Verrazzano in 1524, and the first English settlement in the New World was established at Roanoke Island in 1585. It formed part of the Carolina grant of 1663. A provincial congress in 1776 gave the first explicit sanction of independence by an American colony, and North Carolina was invaded by British troops in 1780. An original state of the Union, it was the 12th to ratify the Con¬ stitution. Its 18th-century agricultural economy based on slave labour continued into the 19th century. It seceded from the Union in 1861; fol-

1378

North Carolina ► Northamptonshire I 1379

lowing the American Civil War, it annulled the secession order and abol¬ ished slavery, and it was readmitted to the Union in 1868. In the 1940s its economy improved as some of the nation’s largest military installa¬ tions, including Fort Bragg, were located there. It has a large rural popu¬ lation but is also the leading industrial state of its region, and it has an expanding high technology industry in the Raleigh-Durham area. Prod¬ ucts include tobacco, corn, and furniture.

North Carolina, Regulators of See Regulators of North Carolina

North Cascades National Park National park, northwestern Washington, U.S. Established in 1968 to preserve mountain snowfields, glaciers, alpine meadows, and lakes in the northern part of the Cascade Range, it covers an area of 504,781 acres (204,278 hectares). The Ross Lake National Recreation Area separates the park into two sections, the northern unit extending to the Canadian border and the southern unit adjoining the Lake Chelan National Recreation Area.

North Dakota State (pop., 2000: 642,200), U.S. Situated in the north- central region, it is bordered by Canada and the U.S. states of Minnesota, South Dakota, and Montana. It covers 70,704 sq mi (183,123 sq km); its capital is Bismarck. The Missouri River crosses it; the Red River forms its eastern boundary. There is evidence of prehistoric inhabitation through¬ out the state. At the time of European contact, it was inhabited by vari¬ ous tribes of Plains Indians. It became part of the U.S. with the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. The northeastern corner was added by a treaty with Great Britain in 1818. In 1804-05 the Lewis and Clark Expedition wintered there among the Indians. In 1861 it became part of the Dakota Territory. Separated from South Dakota, it was admitted to the Union in 1889 as the 39th state. In the 20th century North Dakota’s history was marked by the increasing mechanization of agriculture, the enlargement of farms, and the loss of a rural population. In the 1950s it became an oil-producing state, and in the 1960s air bases and missile sites were built there. Its larger cities include Fargo, Grand Forks, and Minot.

Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota, U.S.

North Down District (pop., 2001: 76,323), eastern Northern Ireland. Located on the southern shores of Belfast Lough, it was established in 1973, with Bangor as its administrative seat. Most of the working popu¬ lation is employed in Belfast. Tourism flourishes, and Bangor is a popu¬ lar seaside resort.

North German Confederation (1867-71) Union of the German states north of the Main River, formed after Prussia’s victory in the Seven Weeks' War. The confederation recognized the individual states’ rights but was effectively controlled by Prussia, whose king served as its presi¬ dent and whose chancellor was Otto von Bismarck. Its constitution served as a model for that of the German Empire, with which it merged in 1871.

North Island Island (pop., 2001 est.: 2,849,724), New Zealand. The smaller of the country’s two principal islands, it is separated from South Island by the Cook Strait. It has an area of 44,702 sq mi (115,777 sq km). A growing majority of the population of New Zealand lives on North Island, concentrated in the cities of Wellington and Auckland.

North Korea See North Korea

North Platte River River, Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska, U.S. One of the two main arms of the Platte River, it rises in northern Colo¬ rado, flows north into Wyoming, then turns east and southeast across the Nebraska border to join the South Platte and form the Platte. It is 680 mi (1,094 km) long and is part of an irrigation, power, and flood-control project of the Missouri River basin. It has large reservoirs and dams.

North Pole Northern end of the Earth’s geographic axis, located at lati¬ tude 90° N. It is the northern point from which all meridians of longitude start. Lying in the Arctic Ocean and covered with drifting pack ice, it has six months of constant sunlight and six months of total darkness each year. Robert E. Peary claimed to have reached the pole by dogsled in 1909, but that is now in dispute; Roald Amundsen and Richard E. Byrd claimed to have reached it by air in 1926. The geographic pole does not coincide with the magnetic North Pole, which in the early 21st century lay at about 82°45' N, 114°25' W, or with the geomagnetic North Pole, which is at about 79°45'N, 71 °45'W.

North Sea ancient Mare Germanicum Arm of the Atlantic Ocean. Extending south from the Norwegian Sea between Norway and the Brit¬ ish Isles, it connects the Skagerrak (channel between Norway and Den¬ mark) with the English Channel. It is about 600 mi (970 km) long and 350 mi (560 km) wide, with an average depth of 308 ft (94 m). Parts of the sea feature deep trenches, while others have excellent fishing, renowned fisheries, and extensive oil and natural gas deposits.

North Star See Polaris

North West Co. (1783 -1821) British-Canadian fur-trading company. Its operations were centred around the Lake Superior region and the val¬ leys of the Red, Assiniboine, and Saskatchewan rivers. It later spread north and west to the Arctic and Pacific oceans. When its competitor, the Hudson's Bay Co., established a colony on the Red River (1811-12), North West workers destroyed the colony in the Seven Oaks Massacre. Hudson’s Bay workers retaliated by destroying the North West post at Fort Gibral¬ tar. The British government pressured the two companies to merge in 1821 as the Hudson’s Bay Co.

North York Former city (pop., 2001: 608,288), southeastern Ontario, Canada. In 1998 it joined the cities of Etobicoke, Scarborough, Toronto, and York and the borough of East York to become the City of Toronto. North York became a borough in 1967 and a city in 1979. Planned indus¬ trial and residential development protects more than 4,000 acres (1,620 hectares) of parks and open space. York University and the Black Creek Pioneer Village are among its attractions.

North Yorkshire Administrative (pop., 2001: 569,660) and geo¬ graphic county, part of the historic county of Yorkshire, northern England. Its administrative seat is Northallerton. Prehistoric sites show evidence of a military Roman occupation. In the Middle Ages it was a peripheral region of England with numerous castles of the great landowning fami¬ lies. Monastic orders, including the Cistercians, grew wealthy from sheep farming. The area played a significant part in the Wars of the Roses and the English Civil Wars. The modem economy is mainly agricultural.

Northampton Town and borough (pop., 2001: 194,477), administra¬ tive and historic county of Northamptonshire, in the Midlands region, England. Originating c. 1100 as a walled town with a castle, it was granted its first charter in 1189. In 1460, during the Wars of the Roses, King Henry VI was captured in Northampton by Yorkists. The town walls survived until the Restoration, when they were torn down under King Charles II as punishment for supporting the Parliamentarians. Now a retail and mar¬ keting centre, it also supports light industry.

Northampton, Henry Howard, earl of (b. Feb. 25, 1540, Shot- tesham, Norfolk, Eng.—d. June 15, 1614, London) English noble noted for his intrigues in the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. Younger brother of the 4th duke of Norfolk, he was implicated in efforts to free Mary, Queen of Scots. He successfully sought favour with the Scottish king James VI, who, on his accession as James I of England, made Howard a privy coun¬ cillor (1603) and earl of Northampton (1604). As a judge at the trials of Walter Raleigh (1603) and Guy Fawkes (1605), he pressed for conviction.

Northamptonshire Xnor-'thamp-ton-.shhA Administrative (pop., 2001: 629,676) and historic county of the East Midlands region, England. It has remains of early settlements, including pre-Celtic and Roman. Nor¬ man and early English building styles coexist with mansions and country

1380 I Northdiffe ► Northern War

houses from as early as the 13th century. The county was largely pro- Parliament during the English Civil Wars. It combines traditional rural life with a modern economy of varied industries in centres such as Northamp¬ ton, the county seat, and Corby.

Northdiffe (of Saint Peter), Alfred Charles William Harms- worth, Viscount (b. July 15, 1865, Chapelizod, near Dublin, Ire.—d. Aug. 14, 1922, London, Eng.) British newspaper publisher. After an impoverished childhood and a few attempts to make a quick fortune, he joined his brother, Harold Sidney Harmsworth (1868-1940), in publish¬ ing popular periodicals that formed the basis of Amalgamated Press, at the time the world’s largest periodical publishing empire. In 1896 he started the Daily Mail, one of the first British newspapers to popularize its coverage to appeal to a mass readership. He also founded the Daily Mirror (1903) and bought The Times (1908), transforming it into a mod¬ ern newspaper. His influence was greatest in shifting the press away from its traditional informative role to that of the commercial exploiter and entertainer of mass publics. He has been considered the most successful publisher in the history of the British press.

Northeast Passage Maritime route along the northern coast of Europe and Asia. It lies between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans mainly off northern Siberia. Early explorers included Willem Barents, Olivier Brunei, and Henry Hudson. In 1778 Capt. James Cook saw both sides of the Bering Strait and demonstrated that Asia and North America are two separate continents. The passage was first traversed by Adolf Erik Nor- denskiold in 1878-79. Since the late 1960s it has been kept open in sum¬ mer by icebreakers.

Northern Dvina \dve-'na\ River Russian Severnaya Vsye- vyir-n9-yo\ Dvina River, northern Russia. Formed by the junction of the Sukhona and Yug rivers, it is one of the largest and most important water¬ ways of the northern European part of Russia. It flows northwest for 462 mi (744 km) and enters the Dvina inlet of the White Sea below the city of Arkhangelsk. Navigable for most of its length, it was used by early fur hunters and colonists, and monasteries and towns were established at important confluences. It retains its economic importance and is linked with the Volga-Baltic Waterway via the Sukhona River.

Northern Expedition (1926-27) Campaign of the Chinese Nation¬ alist army, led by Chiang Kai-Shek, that advanced north from Guangzhou (Canton) to the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) battling warlord forces. The Northern Expedition was aided by Soviet arms and advisers and by a pro¬ paganda corps that preceded them. After defeating the warlords, the Nationalist army turned on Britain as the chief imperialist power and pri¬ mary enemy. In response, the British returned their concessions in Hankou and Jiujiang but prepared to defend Shanghai. The alliance between the communists and the Nationalists fell apart at that point: when communist- led labour unions captured Shanghai for Chiang he attacked and sup¬ pressed them, and when he set up his new government in Nanjing he expelled the communists from it. See also Zhang Zuolin.

Northern Ireland Part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland occupying the northeastern portion of the island of Ire¬ land. Area: 5,461 sq mi (14,144 sq km). Population (2001): 1,685,267. Capital: Belfast. It is bounded by the republic of Ireland, the Irish Sea, the North Channel, and the Atlantic Ocean. Northern Ireland is often referred to as the province of Ulster. The people are descended from indigenous Irish and immigrants from England and Scotland. Language: English (official). Religions: Protestantism (the majority) and Roman Catholicism (a minority). Currency: pound sterling. Northern Ireland’s industries include engineering, shipbuilding (which has been in severe decline), automobile manufacturing, textiles, food and beverage processing, and clothing. The service industry employs about three-fourths of the work¬ force, and manufacturing employs less than one-fifth of workers. Agri¬ culture is important, with most farm income derived from livestock. Northern Ireland shares most of its history with the republic of Ireland, though Protestant English and Scots immigrating in the 16th-17th cen¬ turies tended to settle in Ulster. In 1801 the Act of Union created the United Kingdom, which united Great Britain and Ireland. In response to mounting Irish sentiment in favour of Home Rule, the Government of Ire¬ land Act was adopted in 1920, providing for two partially self-governing units in Ireland: the northern six counties constituting Northern Ireland and the southern counties now making up the republic of Ireland. In 1968 civil rights protests by Roman Catholics sparked violent conflicts with Protestants and led to the occupation of the province by British troops in

the early 1970s. The Irish Republican Army (IRA) mounted a prolonged campaign of violence in an effort to force the withdrawal of British troops as a prelude to Northern Ireland’s unification with Ireland. In 1972 North¬ ern Ireland’s constitution and parliament were suspended, bringing the province under direct rule by the British. Violence continued for three decades before dropping off in the mid-1990s. In 1998 talks between the British government and the IRA resulted in a peace agreement that pro¬ vided for extensive Home Rule in the province. In 1999 power was devolved to an elected assembly, though the body was hampered by fac¬ tional disagreements. Sporadic sectarian strife continued in the early 21st century, as the IRA gradually carried out decommissioning (disarming).

Northern Mariana Islands Self-governing commonwealth (pop., 2005 est.: 80,400) in political union with the U.S., in the western Pacific Ocean. Composed of 22 islands north of Guam, the Northern Marianas extend 450 mi (720 km) and have an area of 184 sq mi (477 sq km). The capital, Chalan Kanoa, is on Saipan. Saipan, Tinian, and Rota are the prin¬ cipal inhabited islands. Others include Alamagan and Agrihan; Pagan was evacuated for a time after a 1981 volcanic eruption. The indigenous people are Micronesian; other inhabitants are Chamorro and Filipino. The islands were discovered by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. They were colonized by Spain in 1668. Sold by Spain to Germany in 1899, they were occupied by Japan in 1914 and became a Japanese mandate from the League of Nations after 1919. They were the scene of fierce fighting in World War II; Tinian was the base for U.S. planes that dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Northern Marianas were granted to the U.S. as a UN trust territory in 1947 and became self-governing in 1978 (when the residents became U.S. citizens). The UN trusteeship ended in 1986.

Northern Pacific Railway Co. Major U.S. railroad that operated between St. Paul and Seattle. It was chartered by Congress in 1864 to build a line from Lake Superior to the Pacific coast. Financed by Jay Cooke until 1873, it was later completed with Henry Villard’s backing. Finan¬ cially troubled in the 1890s, it was reorganized by J. P. Morgan. He shared control of it with James J. Hill, whose Great Northern Railway Co. was a competitor and who sought to combine the two railroads with the Chi¬ cago, Burlington and Quincy through the Northern Securities Co. This arrangement was declared a violation of antitrust laws by the Supreme Court in 1904, but the three railroads remained financially linked and in 1970 were permitted to merge as the Burlington Northern, Inc. Burling¬ ton Northern acquired the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Co. in 1980 and the Santa Fe Pacific Corp. in 1995.

Northern Rhodesia See Zambia

Northern Territory Territory (pop., 2001 prelim.: 200,019), northern Australia. It covers an area of 520,900 sq mi (1,349,130 sq km). Its capital is Darwin; the only other sizable town is Alice Springs. Most of the people are of European descent; about one-fifth are Australian Aboriginals. It con¬ sists mainly of tableland, with the Simpson Desert in the southeast and the Arnhem Land plateau in the north. It was inhabited by Aboriginals for thou¬ sands of years; they held Ayers Rock as central to their culture. The coast was explored by the Dutch in the 17th century and surveyed in the early 19th century by Matthew Funders. First included as part of New South Wales, it was annexed to South Australia in 1863. It reverted to being under direct control of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1911. The northern parts were bombed by the Japanese in World War II and occupied by Allied troops. It was granted self-government within the Common¬ wealth in 1978. It remains sparsely inhabited; its economy rests on cattle farming, mining, government services, and a growing tourism industry.

Northern War, First (1655 -60) Final stage of the struggle over the Polish-Swedish succession. In 1655 the Swedish king Charles X Gustav declared war on Poland on the pretext that it refused to recognize him as king. In alliance with Brandenburg, Sweden invaded Poland with initial success, but when Russia, Denmark, and Austria declared war on Swe¬ den, Brandenburg deserted to join the coalition. The Swedes were driven from Poland but later twice invaded Denmark. The war ended with the Polish sovereigns renouncing their claim to the Swedish throne and the Swedes acquiring Skane from Denmark.

Northern War, Second or Great Northern War (1700-21) Military conflict to challenge Sweden’s supremacy in the Baltic area. Sweden’s expansion in the Baltic Sea coastlands antagonized Russia, Denmark-Norway, and Saxony-Poland, which formed an anti-Swedish coalition in 1698. They attacked Swedish-held regions in 1700, but Swe¬ den’s Charles XII successfully countered the attacks and restored the sta-

Northern Wei dynasty ► Norway I 1381

tus quo. The Russians eventually succeeded in establishing their power on the eastern Baltic coast, and Peter I the Great founded his new capital of St. Petersburg there in 1703. Sweden renewed its attack on Russia in 1707, but was defeated at the Battle of Poltava (1709). Despite an alli¬ ance with Turkey against Russia (1710-11), Swedish forces suffered defeats in its territories by the revived anti-Swedish coalition, which by then included England and Prussia. Charles opened peace negotiations in 1717, but in 1718 he invaded southeastern Norway, where he was killed. His successor, Frederick I (1676-1751), negotiated peace settlements in 1719-21, including the Treaty of Nystad, which ceded Estonia, Livonia, and other territory to Russia. The war marked the decline of Swedish influence and the emergence of Russia as a major power.

Northern Wei dynasty or Toba dynasty (ad 386-534/35) Longest-lived and most powerful of the northern Chinese dynasties that ruled after the Han dynasty fell and before the Sui and Tang dynasties reunified China. Founded by Toba tribesmen, the Northern Wei defended its territory against other northern nomads and by 439 had unified all of northern China. The Wei lifestyle became more sedentary, and the Toba people, impressed by Chinese culture, began to emulate the Chinese. To bring into cultivation land abandoned during war, hundreds of thousands of peasants were relocated and allocated land under the equal-field system of land distribution. The rulers of the Northern Wei were great patrons of Buddhism, and the period is noted for its Buddhist art, particularly at the caves of Yungang. The one exception, the emperor Taiwu, persecuted Buddhists and supported Daoism.

Northern Wei sculpture Chinese sculpture, dominated by simple images of the Buddha, dating from the era of the Northern Wei dynasty (ad 386-534/535). The art represents the first major influence of Buddhism on China, and may be divided into two major periods. The first style (c. 452-494), an amalgam of foreign influences traceable to the Buddhist art of India, is characterized by heavy stylization of blocky volumes. The second style (c. 494-535) clothes the Buddha in the costume of the Chi¬ nese scholar and emphasizes a sinuous cascade of drapery falling over an increasingly flattened figure.

Northrop Vnor-thropV John Howard (b. July 5, 1891, Yonkers, N.Y., U.S.—d. May 27, 1987, Wickenberg, Ariz.) U.S. biochemist. He worked most of his career on the staff of New York City’s Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (1916-61). His early research on fermen¬ tation processes led to a study of enzymes essential for digestion, respira¬ tion, and general life processes. He established that enzymes obey the laws of chemical reactions, and he crystallized pepsin, trypsin, and chymotrypsin and their zymogens. With James Sumner and Wendell Meredith Stanley he shared a 1946 Nobel Prize.

Northumberland Administrative (pop., 2001: 307,186) and historic county, northeastern England. It includes several islands, including Lind- isfame (Holy Island), and much of the ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria. The landscape is varied, with coastal plains in the east, the rugged Cheviot Hills and moors in the west, and industrial areas in the southern River Tyne valley. It was the site of prehistoric settlement before the Roman domination began in ad 122, when Hadrian's Wall was built. It was the scene of border warfare with Scotland until the union of Scot¬ land with England in 1603. Good farmland is limited; industrial com¬ plexes produce heavy machinery.

Northumberland, John Dudley, duke of (b. 1502—d. Aug. 22, 1553, London, Eng.) English politician. After serving as deputy governor of English-occupied Calais (1538) and lord high admiral (1542), he fought in the invasion of Scotland (1544) and captured the French city of Bou¬ logne (1544). He was created earl of Warwick (1546) and in 1547 became a member of the regency council that governed for the young Edward VI. After engineering the fall of the duke of Somerset, Warwick assumed con¬ trol of the regency (1550). He made himself duke of Northumberland in 1551 and ordered Somerset’s arrest and execution in 1552. He imposed strict conformity to Protestant doctrine in support of the Reformation. In 1553 he persuaded the dying Edward VI to will the crown to Northum¬ berland’s daughter-in-law, Lady Jane Grey; thwarted by supporters of Mary Tudor (Mary I), he was arrested and executed for treason.

Northumbria Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Britain. Located between the River Humber and the Firth of Forth, it extended from the Irish Sea to the North Sea. Its religious, artistic, and intellectual achievements in the 7th-8th centuries were epitomized by such centres as Lindisfame and the monasteries of Wearmouth and Jarrow. Jarrow, with its fine library, was

the home of the Venerable St. Bede. After Northumbria’s expansion in the 7th century, it became the most powerful of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms before being destroyed by the Danes, who captured York in 866. In 944 the last Scandinavian ruler of York was expelled, and Northumbria became an earldom within the kingdom of England.

Northwest Coast Indian Any member of the North American Indian peoples inhabiting a narrow but rich belt of coastland and offshore islands from southeast Alaska to northwestern California. A signal feature of Northwest Coast society was the emphasis on each individual’s heredi¬ tary social rank. A person’s position within a local group depended on his genealogical closeness to the legendary group ancestor. For food the peoples of the area depended primarily on five species of salmon; her¬ ring; oil-rich “candlefish,” or eulachon; smelt; cod; halibut; and mollusks—all of which were abundant. Water transport was highly impor¬ tant, and all groups made efficient dugout canoes. Northwest Coast wood¬ working was facilitated by the natural abundance of easily worked timbers, especially red cedar and redwood. Groups of the Northwest Coast include, from north to south, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, northern Kwakiutl (Heiltsuq), Bella Coola, southern Kwakiutl, Nootka, Coast Salish, Chi¬ nook, and a series of lesser divisions.

Northwest Ordinances (1784, 1785,1787) Measures enacted by the U.S. Congress for the division and settlement of the Northwest Territory, the frontier region extending north of the Ohio River to the Great Lakes and west of Pennsylvania to the Mississippi River. The original ordinance, written by Thomas Jefferson, divided the territory into self-governing dis¬ tricts and set population requirements for statehood. The final ordinance, written partly by Rufus King, set land-grant sizes and prices, provided public land for schools, outlawed slavery, and guaranteed civil liberties. It established the principle of admitting new states on equal terms with the original 13 states.

Northwest Passage Sea passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans along the northern coast of North America. The search for a com¬ mercial sea route around the American land barrier dates from the end of the 15th century and attracted explorers such as Jacques Cartier, Francis Drake, Martin Frobisher, and Capt. James Cook. The passage was finally navigated successfully in 1903-05 by Roald Amundsen. As a modern trade route it has been only marginally useful, because of the difficulties in navigating around the polar ice cap and the giant icebergs in the Atlantic between Greenland and Baffin Island and in the Pacific in the Bering Strait. The U.S. and Canadian governments have tried to encourage inter¬ national commerce in the passage, noting how much it would shorten many international shipping distances. However, the cost of strengthen¬ ing ships against ice and potentially high insurance rates for vessels used in Arctic service have been factors inhibiting the development of the Northwest Passage as a trade route.

Northwest Territories Territory (pop., 2001 est.: 40,900), northern Canada. Bounded by the Yukon Territory, Hudson Bay, and Nunavut, it stretches across the roof of the North American continent, reaching into the Arctic Circle. The capital is Yellowknife. It includes many islands, including Victoria Island; the Mackenzie River; and Great Bear and Great Slave lakes. More than half the people are Inuit (Eskimos) and American Indians. In the 18th century the mainland was explored by Samuel Hearne for the Hudson's Bay Company and by Alexander Mackenzie. European set¬ tlers were mainly whalers, fur traders, and missionaries until the 1920s, when oil was discovered and the territorial administration was formed. Mining is the principal industry and centres on the petroleum and natural gas fields in the western Arctic coastal regions.

Northwestern University Private university in Evanston, Illinois, U.S., founded in 1851. It is a comprehensive research institution that includes a college of arts and sciences and schools of music, education, social policy, graduate studies, law, medicine, and dentistry. It also includes the Medill School of Journalism, the McCormick School of Engi¬ neering and Applied Science, and the Kellogg Graduate School of Man¬ agement. Research facilities include centres for the study of learning, urban affairs and policy, and superconductivity.

Norway officially Kingdom of Norway Country, western Scandi¬ navian Peninsula, northern Europe. Area: 125,004 sq mi (323,758 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 4,617,000. Capital: Oslo. Most of the people are Norwegian, though there are several ethnic minorities, including some 30,000 to 40,000 Sami (Lapps). Language: Norwegian (official). Religion: Christianity (predominantly Evangelical Lutheran [official]). Currency:

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Norwegian krone. Norway is among Europe’s largest countries. It is a mountain¬ ous land with extensive plateau regions in its southwestern and central parts. Tradi¬ tionally a fishing and lumbering country, it

greatly increased its mining and manufacturing activities since World War II. It has a developed economy largely based on services, petroleum and natural gas production, and light and heavy industries. Literacy is virtu¬ ally 100%. Norway is a constitutional monarchy with one legislative house; its chief of state is the king, and the head of government is the prime minister. Several principalities were united into the kingdom of Norway in the 11th century. It had the same king as Denmark from 1380 to 1814, when it was ceded to Sweden. The union with Sweden was dis¬ solved in 1905, and Norway’s economy grew rapidly. It remained neu¬ tral during World War I, although its shipping industry played a vital role in the conflict. It declared its neutrality in World War II but was invaded and occupied by German troops. Norway maintains a comprehensive wel¬ fare system and is a member of NATO. Its citizens rejected membership in the European Union in 1994.

Norway lobster See scampi

Norwegian language North Germanic language of the West Scan¬ dinavian branch, spoken by some five million people in Norway and the U.S. Old Norwegian became a separate language by the end of the 12th century. Middle Norwegian became the tongue of most native speakers about the 15th century. Modern Norwegian has two rival forms. Dano- Norwegian (Bokmal, or Riksmal), the more popular, stems from written Danish used during the union of Denmark and Norway (1380-1814; see Kalmar Union). It is used in national newspapers and most literary works. New Norwegian (Nynorsk), based on western rural dialects, was created by Ivar Aasen (1813-96) in the mid-19th century to carry on the tradi¬ tion of Old Norse. Both languages are used in government and education. Plans to unite them gradually in a common language, Samnorsk, were officially abandoned in 2002.

Norwegian Sea Open sea, Northern Hemisphere. It is bordered by Greenland, Iceland, Spitsbergen, and Norway. A submarine ridge linking Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and northern Scotland separates the Norwegian Sea from the Atlantic Ocean. The sea is crossed by the Arctic Circle, but the warm Norway Current that flows northeast off the Norway coast produces generally ice-free conditions. Colder currents mixing with this warm water create excellent fishing grounds.

Norwich Vnor-ich\ City (pop., 2001: 121,553), administrative and his¬ toric county, Norfolk, England. Located on the River Wensum northeast of London, it had become an important market centre when it was sacked

and occupied by the Danes in the 11th century. It was among the most prosperous English provincial towns for centuries; its economy was fos¬ tered by Edward III, who induced Flemish weavers to settle there, and by the influx of immigrants during the reign of Elizabeth I. One of England’s largest centres of footwear manufacturing, it features a Norman castle and cathedral. It is the traditional regional capital of East Anglia and the site of a cathedral founded shortly after the Norman Conquest.

nose Prominent structure between and below the eyes. With the com¬ plex nasal cavity behind it, it functions for breathing and smelling. Behind the front section (vestibule), which includes the nostrils, it is divided ver¬ tically by three convoluted ridges (conchae) into air passages. In the high¬ est one, the olfactory region, a small segment of mucous membrane lining contains neurons covered by a moisture layer, in which microscopic par¬ ticles in inhaled air dissolve and stimulate the neurons. The rest of the cavity warms and moistens inhaled air and filters particles and bacteria out of it. Sinus cavities in the bone on both sides of the nose drain into the air passages. During swallowing, the soft palate closes off the back of the nose against food.

Nossob \'no-,sab\ River or Nosop Vno-,sap\ River River, southern Africa. Rising in central Namibia, it flows southeast through the western Kalahari Desert and forms part of the border between Botswana and South Africa, bisecting the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park (now part of Kgal- agadi Transfrontier Park). It joins the Auob River before emptying into the Molopo River, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean. It is about 500 mi (800 km) long. Because of irregular rainfall, in the 20th century the lower Nossob’s riverbed contained flowing water only a few times.

nostoc \'na-,stak\ Any of the cyanobacteria that make up the genus Nos- toc. The cells are arranged in beadlike chains grouped together in a gelati¬ nous mass. Ranging from microscopic to walnut-sized, nostoc masses may be found on soil and floating in still water. A special thick-walled cell has the ability to withstand drying for long periods of time. After 70 years of dry storage, cells of one species can germinate into filaments when moistened. Like most other cyanobacteria, nostocs contain two pig¬ ments and are capable of nitrogen fixation.

Nostradamus X.nas-tro-'da-mosV orig. Michel de Notredame (b.

Dec. 14, 1503, Saint-Remy, France—d. July 2, 1566, Salon) French astrologer and physician known for his prophecies. He practiced medi¬ cine in southern France from 1529 and gained a reputation for his inno¬ vative treatment of plague victims in 1546-47. He began making prophecies in 1547, and in 1555 they were published in a book titled Cen¬ turies. He wrote them in rhymed quatrains, using a cryptic style that mingled French, Latin, Spanish, and Hebrew. Catherine de Medicis invited him to her court as an astrologer, and in 1560 he was appointed physi¬ cian to Charles IX. His prophecies are still widely read; readers have dis¬ covered apparent predictions of such world events as the French Revolution and World War I.

Nostratic \no-'strat-ik\ hypothesis Proposal of an overarching north¬ ern Eurasian language family, still of uncertain validity. Holger Pedersen was the first to suggest that the Indo-European, Uralic, Altaic, Afroasiatic, and other language families might belong in one broad category (Nos¬ tratic). In the 1960s Vladislav Illich-Svitych made a detailed case in favour of the hypothesis and added Kartvelian (see Caucasian languages) and Dravidian to the list; he began reconstructing Proto-Nostratic but died in 1966 before finishing. Important contributions to this theory were also made by the Russian-born Israeli linguist Aron Dolgopolsky. The hypoth¬ esis remains highly controversial.

notary or notary public Public officer who certifies and attests to the authenticity of writings (e.g., deeds) and takes affidavits, depositions, and protests of negotiable instruments. The notary is commissioned by the state and may act only within the territory authorized by state statutes. Most states set maximum fees for notarial services and require that a notarial seal or stamp be impressed on documents authenticated by a notary public. In the civil-law countries of western Europe and in Latin American and French areas of North America, the role of the notary is more significant, being roughly equivalent to that of a lawyer who spe¬ cializes in real estate, sales, mortgages, and the settlement of estates but who may not appeal’ in court.

notation, musical See musical notation

Noto \'no-to\ Peninsula Peninsula, Honshu, Japan. Jutting north into the Sea of Japan (East Sea), it encloses Toyama Bay. The largest penin-

Notre ► Novalis I 1383

sula on the northern Honshu coast, it extends north for 50 mi (80 km) and has a width of about 19 mi (30 km). The town of Wajima, on the pen¬ insula’s northern coast, is known for its women pearl divers and its pro¬ duction of elaborate lacquerware. Parts of the peninsula were designated national park land in 1968.

Notre, Andre Le See Andre Le Notre

Notre Dame, University of Private university in Notre Dame, near South Bend, Indiana, U.S. It was founded in 1842 and reorganized in the 1920s; it became coeducational in 1972. It is affiliated with the Roman Catholic church. It has colleges of arts and letters, science, engineering, and business administration. It also has a graduate school and a law school.

Notre-Dame de Paris yno-tr’-'dam-do-pa-'reV (1163-c. 1350) Gothic cathedral on the lie de la Cite in Paris. Probably the most famous Gothic cathedral, Notre-Dame is a superb example of the Rayonnant style. Two massive Early Gothic towers (1210-50) crown the western facade, which is divided into three stories and has doors adorned with Early Gothic carvings and surmounted by a row of figures of Old Testament kings. The single-arch flying buttresses at the eastern end are notable for their bold¬ ness and grace. Its three great rose windows, which retain their 13th- century glass, are of awe-inspiring beauty.

Notre-Dame de Paris.

©CORBIS

Notre-Dame school Composers of organum at the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. Leonin (c. 1135-1201?) is credited with composing two-voice florid organum char¬ acterized by a rhythmically patterned “melisma” (a series of notes sung on one syllable) added to each sustained note of the plainchant (see Gre¬ gorian chant). He may have devised the rhythmic notation (ligatures) that made this possible or at least codified the important system of rhythmic modes. His younger contemporary Perotin (fl. c. 1200) is said to have edited, extended, and added parts to Leonin’s Magnus liber organi (“Great Book of Organum”) and created the first three- and four-voice textures known in world music. See also Ars Antiqua.

Notte, Gherardo delle See Gerrit van Honthorst

Nottingham Vna-tig-em\ City and unitary authority (pop., 2001: 266,995), geographic and historic county of Nottinghamshire, north- central England. Located on the River Trent, northeast of Birmingham, the original Saxon town was held by the Danes in the 9th century and became part of the Danelaw. It was the scene of three parliaments in the 14th cen¬ tury. In 1642, on Standard Hill, King Charles I raised his standard at the outbreak of the English Civil Wars. Nottingham Castle stands on that site. The link between Nottingham and Robin Hood is commemorated by a statue on Castle Green. The city has a distinctive lace quarter. It is the site of the University of Nottingham.

Nottinghamshire Vna-tiq-em-.shhA Administrative (pop., 2001: 748,503), geographic, and historic county, East Midlands, north-central England. It has coalfields and railway lines in the west, and in its centre it contains a broad belt of infertile sandstone. It is the location of the medieval forest of Sherwood, the haunt of Robin Hood, which stretched

north from the city of Nottingham. Farmland is found in the Vales of Trent and Bel voir, where agriculture includes dairy farming. The chief river is the Trent, along which there are numerous thermal electric power stations. The southwestern part of the county is densely populated and heavily industrialized.

Nouakchott \nu-'ak-,shat\ City (pop., 1999 est.: metro, area, 881,000), capital of Mauritania. It is on a plateau near the Atlantic coast of western African, north-northeast of Dakar, Senegal. It was a small village until Mauritania was granted full independence from France in 1960. Then the city was developed as the capital of the new nation. It was a major refu¬ gee centre during the Saharan droughts of the 1970s and grew rapidly. A port facility was built nearby for the export of petroleum and copper.

Noumea \nu-'ma-9\ formerly Port-de-France \,p6r-d3-'fra n s\ Town (pop., 1996: 76,293), port, and capital of New Caledonia territory. Located on the southwestern coast of New Caledonia Island, it was founded in 1854 as Port-de-France. The city is situated on an excellent deepwater harbour protected by Nou Island and a reef. It has modern buildings, a large public market, and St. Joseph’s Cathedral, an old stone structure.

nouvelle cuisine Xnii-'vel-kwi-'zenX Style in international cuisine developed in France in the 1960s and ’70s that stresses freshness, light¬ ness, and clarity of flavour, as distinct from the richer and more calorie¬ laden classic haute cuisine. Dishes commonly include sauces made of vegetable and fruit purees, novel combinations of foods in small quanti¬ ties, and elegant displays highlighting details of texture and colour.

nova Any of a class of stars whose luminosity temporarily increases by several thousand up to a million times normal. Most appear to be close binary stars, one of which is a white dwarf star drawing in matter from the other until it becomes unstable, causing an outburst in which the outer layer of material is shed. A nova reaches maximum luminosity within hours after its outburst and may shine intensely for several days or even a few weeks; it then slowly returns to its former level. The process can repeat at intervals ranging from a few dozen to hundreds of thousands of years. Stars that become novas are usually too faint to see with the unaided eye until their sudden increase in luminosity, sometimes great enough to make them readily visible in the night sky. To observers, such objects may appeal* to be new stars; hence their name (Latin for “new”). See also SUPERNOVA.