Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

This does not include the tails. The

bushy tails of some lemurs are longer

than their bodies. But the indri has a

very short tail. The ring-tailed lemur is

the only lemur with a striped tail. Most

lemurs have a woolly coat that is mainly

reddish, gray, brown, or black.

Lemurs are gentle and often social animals.

Some species live in groups of 10

or more individuals. Most kinds are

active at night and sleep during the day.

Lemurs may eat fruits, leaves, buds,

insects, and small birds and birds’ eggs.

Loggers and farmers have cut down

many trees where lemurs lived. Several

species are now endangered, or at risk of

dying out completely.

#More to explore

Endangered Species • Loris • Primate

L’Engle,

Madeleine

The U.S. author Madeleine L’Engle

wrote many books, including collections

of poetry and novels for adults. She is

best known, however, for many books

she wrote for children. The most famous

is a fantasy called AWrinkle in Time.

The book was published in 1962. The

American Library Association honored

the book with its Newbery Medal in

1963.

A red-bellied lemur rests in a Madagascar

rain forest. Lemurs use their long tails for

balance while moving through the trees.

128 Lemur BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Madeleine L’Engle Camp was born on

November 29, 1918, in New York City.

As a writer she used only her first and

middle names. She began making up

stories while very young. Following her

graduation from Smith College in 1941,

L’Engle acted in theater. She published

her first adult book, The Small Rain, in

1945.

L’Engle married Hugh Franklin in

1946. They soon moved to the country.

Her first children’s book, And BothWere

Young, was published in 1949. While

her children were young L’Engle did not

publish many books. However, she kept

on writing, and many of the books she

wrote have to do with family ties. After

AWrinkle in Time L’Engle wrote more

stories about the same family that she

introduced in that book. Those books

include AWind in the Door (1973), A

Swiftly Tilting Planet (1978), and Many

Waters (1986). She also wrote another

series for children about a family called

the Austins. In addition L’Engle wrote

plays, poetry, and books about herself.

Lenin, Vladimir

Ilich

The Russian leader Vladimir Ilich Lenin

was the founder of the Soviet Union.

The Soviet Union was the world’s first

Communist country.

Early Life

Lenin was born on April 22, 1870, in

Simbirsk, Russia. His original name was

Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov. At the time,

Russia was ruled by a tsar. Many people

were unhappy with the way the tsar

treated them.

Vladimir studied law at the University

of Kazan but was thrown out for joining

a protest. He went home and read the

writings of the Communist thinker Karl

Marx. Marx wrote about a system in

which the wealth of a society could be

shared by all the citizens. Vladimir

began to think about overthrowing the

Madeleine L’Engle tsar to establish such a system.

Vladimir Ilich Lenin

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Lenin, Vladimir Ilich 129

Rise to Power

Vladimir became a lawyer in 1892. He

also worked to spread Marx’s ideas.

Because of this, he was arrested in 1895

and sent to jail. In 1897 he was sent to

Siberia (Russian Asia). In Siberia he

lived near the Lena River. Afterward he

began calling himself Lenin, after the

name of the river.

In 1903 the Marxists (followers of

Marx’s ideas) split into two groups.

Lenin took the side of the Bolsheviks

(the majority) against the Mensheviks

(the minority).

WhenWorldWar I broke out in 1914,

Lenin called for workers of all countries

to change their own governments

instead of fighting foreigners. In other

words, he called for revolution.

In 1917 a revolution broke out in

Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg),

Russia. The Russian Revolution forced

Tsar Nicholas II off the throne.

Eventually the Bolsheviks took over,

and Lenin became the head of a new,

Communist government.

Communist Leader

Many Russians disagreed with Lenin’s

government. They fought a civil war

with Lenin’s troops, but Lenin’s forces

won the war. In 1922 the Soviet Union

was formed.

Lenin was a powerful leader. He did not

allow any disagreement with his government.

But Lenin grew weak after he had

a series of strokes. He died after a final

stroke on January 21, 1924.

#More to explore

Communism • Russian Revolution

• Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Lens

A lens is a piece of glass or other seethrough

material that is curved on one

or both sides. It is usually in the shape of

a circle. Lenses are used to bend light.

This makes objects seen through a lens

look bigger or smaller than they really

are. Telescopes, binoculars, microscopes,

cameras, and eyeglasses all have one or

more lenses.

Concave and Convex Lenses

A concave lens curves inward. That

means it is thinner in the middle than at

After Lenin’s

death, the

Russian city of

Petrograd was

renamed

Leningrad. It

was changed

to Saint

Petersburg in

1991.

A convex lens bends light rays toward each

other. A concave lens spreads light rays

apart.

130 Lens BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

great achievement in the arts and

sciences. Leonardo’s paintings Mona

Lisa and The Last Supper won him great

fame. But he is also well known for his

scientific studies.

Early Life

Leonardo da Vinci was born on April

15, 1452, near Vinci, in what is now

Italy. When he was about 15 he began

studying with the artist Andrea del Verrocchio

in Florence. Verrocchio taught

him about painting, sculpture, and the

design of mechanical devices.

Paintings and Notebooks

Leonardo worked in Milan as a painter

and engineer for a duke from 1482 to

1499. Although he completed only six

paintings during that time, they include

two masterpieces: The Last Supper and

The Virgin of the Rocks.

While in Milan Leonardo also became

interested in observing nature. He

thought that by carefully observing

objects and accurately drawing them, an

artist could obtain scientific knowledge.

Leonardo recorded his observations in a

series of notebooks. The notebooks

cover a variety of subjects, including

painting, architecture, machinery, the

structure of the human body, and the

science of flight. For example, more

than 300 years before flying machines

were perfected, Leonardo developed

plans for an airplane and a helicopter.

Later Years

In 1503 Leonardo returned to Florence.

There he continued his scientific studies

and worked on four great paintings,

including the Mona Lisa. He spent some

of his later years in Milan and Rome. In

1516 he moved to Cloux (now Clos-

Luce), France, to work for the French

Leonardo da Vinci painted The Last Supper on the wall of a monastery in Milan, Italy.

132 Leonardo da Vinci BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

king. He spent most of his time there

editing his writings. Leonardo died in

Cloux on May 2, 1519.

#More to explore

Painting • Renaissance • Science

Leopard

The leopard is a wild cat of Africa and

Asia. It is known for its spotted coat.

Leopards are sometimes called panthers.

The scientific name of the leopard is

Panthera pardus.

An average leopard weighs between 110

and 200 pounds (50 to 90 kilograms). It

is about 7 feet (2 meters) long, not

including the long tail. Some leopards

grow much larger.

Most leopards have yellow fur on the

back and white fur underneath. Dark

spots cover much of the body. The size

and spacing of the spots are different in

different types of leopard. The leopard

called the black panther has a black coat

on which the spots barely show.

Leopards can live in a variety of habitats.

They are found in forests, deserts, grasslands,

mountains, and rocky places.

They are skilled climbers and good

swimmers.

Leopards live alone. They come together

only to mate. The female gives birth to

two to four babies, called cubs. The cubs

go off on their own after about two years.

Leopards are fierce predators that hunt

mainly at night. They hunt antelope,

deer, dogs, and baboons. Leopards also

eat cattle and may attack humans.

Sometimes they drag their prey high into

a tree to protect it from other animals.

In some places leopards are endangered,

or at risk of dying out. Some people

hunt leopards for sport and for fur.

Other people have taken over the leopard’s

habitat.

#More to explore

Cat

Leopards were once known as pards.

People today sometimes call them panthers.

In about 1490 Leonardo da Vinci drew

plans for a flying machine.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Leopard 133

Lesotho

The Kingdom of Lesotho is entirely

surrounded by the country of South

Africa. Lesotho’s capital is Maseru.

Geography

Mountain ranges cover about two thirds

of Lesotho. In the west is a flatter

region. The Orange and Tugela rivers,

two of southern Africa’s largest waterways,

have their sources in Lesotho’s

mountains. Lesotho has hot summers

and cold winters.

Plants and Animals

Overgrazing and erosion have largely

destroyed the natural grasslands of

Lesotho. The country’s other vegetation

includes Cape willow trees, wild olive

trees, and aloe plants. Lesotho’s animals

include small antelope, hares, and a few

leopards.

People

Most of Lesotho’s people belong to the

Sotho ethnic group. A smaller number

of people are Zulu. Sotho and English

are the two main languages. Nearly

everyone is Christian. Most of the population

lives in rural areas.

Economy

Lesotho sells water and electricity to

South Africa. Its factories make food

and clothing. Construction, diamond

mining, and tourism are other important

industries. Many of Lesotho’s

people work in South Africa or as farmers.

Farmers raise sheep and goats and

grow corn, potatoes, wheat, and beans.

History

For thousands of years Lesotho was the

hunting ground of the San people, or

Bushmen. In the 1800s the Sotho

people took control of the region. In

1871 the British made the land a colony

known as Basutoland. The Kingdom of

Lesotho gained independence in 1966.

..More to explore

Maseru • South Africa

The Sotho people of Lesotho traditionally

live in small round houses.

Facts About

LESOTHO

Population

(2008 estimate)

2,020,000

Area

11,720 sq mi

(30,355 sq km)

Capital

Maseru

Form of

government

Constitutional

monarchy

Major urban

centers

Maseru, Teyateyaneng,

Maputsoe,

Hlotse,

Mafeteng

134 Lesotho BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Lettuce

Lettuce is the most widely planted salad

vegetable. There is only one species, or

type, of lettuce. Its scientific name is

Lactuca sativa. It belongs to the same

large plant group as daisies and dandelions.

Farmers in many parts of the world

grow lettuce. It grows best in mild

weather. High heat can keep lettuce

from growing to its full size and can

make the leaves taste bitter. Lettuce

needs plenty of water, but too much

water can cause it to lose its crispness.

Lettuce has shallow roots and large

leaves. It grows in four different forms:

head, leaf, romaine, and stem. The

leaves of head lettuce are folded into a

ball. Leaf lettuce has a cluster of curled

leaves. Romaine lettuce has tall, smooth

leaves. Stem lettuce has narrow leaves

and a thick stem.

If lettuce is left to grow, it produces a

long, slender stalk. Small yellow flowers

grow on this stalk. Farmers usually take

lettuce from the field before it grows

flowers. Lettuce must be eaten soon after

being harvested.

Lettuce is a healthy food choice. It is

almost 95 percent water, so it is low in

calories and fat. It also contains fiber

and some vitamins. Lettuce adds flavor

and crunch to salads and sandwiches.

People cook stem lettuce in stews and in

many Asian dishes.

#More to explore

Leaf • Plant • Vegetable

Levee and Dike

Like dams, levees and dikes have a

simple but important job: they hold

back water. People build levees to keep

rivers or lakes from flooding low-lying

land during storms. Dikes are often built

The center leaves of a head lettuce plant

grow in a tight, round cluster.

A levee divides rice paddies (wet

growing areas) in Japan. The

levee also holds the water away

from nearby houses.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Levee and Dike 135

to reclaim, or take back, land that would

naturally be underwater. For example,

dikes may be used to create a new area

of dry land along a seacoast. Levees and

dikes look alike. Sometimes the words

levee and dike are used to mean the

same thing.

Structure

Levees and dikes can be made of dirt,

cement, or stacked stones. They are built

along the edges of the body of water

they hold back. They must be wide

enough so that they will not collapse or

wear away under pressure from the

water. The tops of levees and dikes made

of dirt are often planted with grass to

help hold the dirt together.

History

Levees and dikes have been built for

thousands of years. The ancient Egyptians

built levees for more than 600

miles (966 kilometers) along the Nile

River. People in ancient Mesopotamia

and China also built levees. One of the

largest modern systems of levees runs

along the Mississippi River in the

United States. These levees extend from

southern Missouri to the Gulf of

Mexico, a distance of about 1,000 miles

(1,600 kilometers).

The most famous system of dikes is in

The Netherlands. Much of the

country’s land was once underwater.

Since the 1200s people have built dikes

to reclaim land from the sea. First they

built dikes out in the sea. Then they

pumped out the water between the

dikes and the natural shoreline. More

than 2,500 square miles (6,500 square

kilometers) of The Netherlands is

reclaimed land.

#More to explore

Dam • Flood • Netherlands, The

Lewis, C.S.

The British writer C.S. Lewis is famous

for writing a series of books called The

Chronicles of Narnia. Lewis wrote many

other books, including poetry, science

fiction, and books about Christianity.

Clive Staples Lewis was born on November

29, 1898, in Belfast, Ireland. As a

child, he missed a lot of school due to

illness. In 1916 he went to University

College in Oxford, England. He left

school for a time to fight inWorldWar I

with the British Army. After college, he

became a teacher.

Lewis published many books throughout

his teaching career. Some were about

In 2005

Hurricane

Katrina damaged

levees

protecting

New Orleans,

Louisiana,

which caused

terrible flooding

in the city.

C.S. Lewis

136 Lewis, C.S. BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

the subjects he taught. He also wrote

about being a Christian. One of his

most well-known Christian books is

called The Screwtape Letters. It was published

in 1942. It is a humorous story

about devils trying to tempt a young

Christian.

In 1950 Lewis wrote one of his most

famous books. It was a children’s book

called The Lion, theWitch, and theWardrobe.

This book was the first of the series

called The Chronicles of Narnia. The

seven books tell the story of four brothers

and sisters. They discover a magical

world called Narnia, where they have

many adventures.

C.S. Lewis died on November 22, 1963.

He had retired from teaching the summer

before.

Lewis and Clark

Expedition

Between 1804 and 1806 a group of U.S.

soldiers and explorers traveled from the

Mississippi River to the Pacific coast and

back. The leaders of this expedition, or

journey, were Meriwether Lewis and

William Clark.

In 1803 the United States had bought a

huge territory west of the Mississippi

River. It was called the Louisiana Territory.

President Thomas Jefferson sent

Captain Meriwether Lewis to find out

what was there. Lewis chose Lieutenant

William Clark to share the leadership.

Lewis and Clark chose men who knew

how to live in the wilderness to go with

them.

Westward Bound

Home base for the group was near what

is now Saint Louis, Missouri. On May

14, 1804, the men started up the Missouri

River in three boats. On August 3

they had their first meeting with Native

Americans, near what is now Council

Bluffs, Iowa.

The group spent the winter in what is

now North Dakota, among the Mandan

Sioux. There a young Native American

woman named Sacagawea joined the

expedition. Sacagawea was very helpful

to the explorers. She knew which plants

were good to eat. She also knew Native

American languages.

In the spring of 1805 the explorers continued

up the Missouri to its source, in

what is now southwestern Montana.

They then followed another river, the

Lewis and Clark kept journals during their

expedition. In the journals they made

sketches and took notes about everything

that they observed during their journey.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Lewis and Clark Expedition 137

Jefferson, westward into the Rocky

Mountains.

The group was now in the land of

Sacagawea’s people, the Shoshone. As a

child Sacagawea had been kidnapped

and taken away from her home. The

explorers met her brother, who was a

chief. He gave the explorers horses and

a guide to help them cross the

Bitterroot Range of the northern Rocky

Mountains.

The group then left the horses behind

and made the rest of the trip by river in

canoes they built. They finally reached

the Pacific Ocean on November 15,

1805. They had traveled more than

4,100 miles (6,600 kilometers). They

built a stockade called Fort Clatsop a

few miles from the coast, south of what

is now Astoria, Oregon. They spent the

rainy winter there.

Homeward Bound

The return trip began on March 23,

1806. The group crossed the Rocky

Mountains in June. Clark then followed

the Yellowstone River to the Missouri.

Lewis went northeast to explore the

Marias River. There the expedition had

its only fight with Native Americans.

Two members of the Blackfoot tribe

were killed.

The party reunited downriver. The men

left Sacagawea and her family at the

Mandan villages. The explorers reached

Saint Louis on September 23, 1806.

Lewis and Clark brought back diaries

and maps. These provided much information

about the land, plants, animals,

and people of the western territory.

#More to explore

Americas, Exploration and Settlement

of the • Louisiana Purchase • Sacagawea

138 Lewis and Clark Expedition BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Liberia

The oldest republic in Africa is Liberia,

whose name means “land of the free.”

Freed U.S. slaves settled the country in

the 1820s. The capital and largest city is

Monrovia.

Liberia borders Sierra Leone, Guinea,

and Cote d’Ivoire. The Atlantic Ocean

lies to the southwest. Along the coast are

low, sandy plains. Farther inland are hills

and low mountains.

Tropical rain forest covers about one

fifth of Liberia. The country’s rich wildlife

includes monkeys, chimpanzees,

antelope, and rare pygmy hippopotamuses.

Liberia’s many ethnic groups include the

Kpelle, the Bassa, the Grebo, the Gio,

the Kru, and the Mano peoples. People

descended from U.S. slaves form a small

group. The common language is

English, but different groups have their

own languages. Most people practice

traditional African religions, but there

are many Christians and Muslims.

Liberia is a poor country. Most people

grow rice, cassava, and vegetables and

raise livestock for their families. Liberia

also produces natural rubber, coffee,

cocoa, and palm oil. Its natural resources

include iron ore, diamonds, and timber.

African peoples lived in what is now

Liberia when the first European explorers

reached the coast in the 1400s. In the

early 1800s the land was chosen as a

home for freed U.S. slaves. Liberia

became an independent republic in 1847.

In 1980 the military overthrew the government.

In 1989 rebels began a brutal

civil war. The war finally ended in 2003.

..More to explore

Monrovia

Liberian president Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf

gives a speech. In 2005 Johnson-Sirleaf was

elected the first woman president in Africa.

Facts About

LIBERIA

Population

(2008 estimate)

3,543,000

Area

37,743 sq mi

(97,754 sq km)

Capital

Monrovia

Form of

government

Transitional

government

Major cities

Monrovia,

Zwedru, Buchanan,

Yekepa,

Harper

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Liberia 139

Liberty, Statue of

Since 1886 the Statue of Liberty has

stood in New York Bay as a symbol of

the United States. The statue has

welcomed millions of people to the

country.

The Monument

The Statue of Liberty stands on Liberty

Island, just off the southern tip of Manhattan

Island, a part of New York City.

The statue is about 151 feet (46 meters)

tall.With its concrete base, it stands 305

feet (93 meters) high. The statue is made

of thin sheets of pounded copper. A steel

framework supports the copper.

The formal name of the statue is Liberty

Enlightening theWorld. Liberty is shown

in the form of a woman wearing a

crown. The light comes from a torch she

holds.

The base displays a poem by Emma

Lazarus entitled The New Colossus. It

reads:

Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to

breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming

shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempesttost

to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

History

The statue was a gift from the people of

France. The French sculptor Frederic-

Auguste Bartholdi designed the statue.

Workers in France completed it in 1884.

The statue was then taken apart and

shipped to the United States, where it

was reassembled on its base. The base

was designed in the United States.

The statue became a national

monument in 1924. Workers fixed it

up for its 100th birthday in 1986. They

repaired the metal and applied new

gold to the flame of the torch. A

museum in the base of the statue is

open to visitors.

Liberty Bell

In Philadelphia in 1776, the Liberty Bell

rang to announce the independence of

the United States from Great Britain. At

that time, however, the bell was not

called the Liberty Bell. People who

wanted liberty, or freedom, for slaves

gave the bell its name in 1839.

The Statue of Liberty stands on

Liberty Island in New York Bay,

in the United States.

140 Liberty, Statue of BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

The Liberty Bell is mostly copper and

tin. It is 3 feet (91 centimeters) high and

12 feet (3.7 meters) around at the bottom.

It weighs about 2,080 pounds (943

kilograms). A large crack runs down one

side. On the bell is a verse from the

Bible (Leviticus 25:10): “Proclaim liberty

throughout all the land unto all the

inhabitants thereof.”

The Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly

(the colony’s group of lawmakers)

ordered the bell from Britain in 1751. In

June 1753 it was hung in the steeple of

the assembly’s building. People rang the

bell to announce meetings and public

gatherings.

Officials rang the bell on July 8, 1776,

to announce the first public reading of

the Declaration of Independence. During

the American Revolution, patriots

hid the bell from British soldiers. The

British might have melted it down to

make cannonballs.

After the war, the bell went back to the

assembly building—which was renamed

Independence Hall. The bell cracked in

1835. The crack got bigger in 1846.

Since then, the bell has not rung. In

2003 the bell was moved to a new building,

called Liberty Bell Center, near

Independence Hall.

#More to explore

American Revolution

Library

A library is a collection of resources that

provide information and entertainment.

A library has books, newspapers, magazines,

films, audio recordings, and computer

software.Workers called librarians

keep the resources in order and show

people how to find and use them. Most

A boy in a library chooses several

books to read.

The Liberty Bell hangs in Liberty

Bell Center in the U.S. city of

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Library 141

libraries lend materials to people who

have a library card.

Types of Libraries

Cities and counties run public libraries.

A public library system may have many

branches, or locations, in different

neighborhoods. Public libraries offer a

library card to anyone who lives in the

area. Most public libraries have computers

that people can use for free. Many

public libraries also offer special services

for children, such as story hours.

Most elementary and high schools have

libraries. School libraries offer many of

the same resources as public libraries.

But they focus especially on meeting the

needs of students and teachers. School

librarians work closely with teachers to

make sure that they have the most useful

educational materials.

College and university libraries also

serve teachers and students. But they

usually are much larger than elementary

and high school libraries. Sometimes

they have millions of books. These

libraries often have books in many languages.

Sometimes they have rare and

very old books, too.

Organizations such as hospitals, museums,

churches, and companies might

have their own libraries. Most are open

to employees or members only.

Countries have libraries called national

libraries. Most national libraries keep a

copy of every book that is published in

their country.

Using the Library

Most libraries have books on all kinds of

subjects, from history to science to the

arts. They have novels, plays, storybooks,

and poetry books, too. The

books are organized by subject and type.

For example, all the books about music

are in one area, and all the poetry books

are in another area. Libraries often have

a special section where all the children’s

books are kept.

Most of the books in a library can be

checked out and taken home. But most

libraries also have books that cannot be

removed from the library. These books

are in an area called the reference section.

This section includes dictionaries,

encyclopedias, atlases, and almanacs.

Librarians keep track of the library’s

collection by marking each item with a

number called a call number. These

numbers tell where items can be found

on the shelves. Librarians give call numbers

to items based on different systems

for arranging them by subject or type.

In the 600s BC

the library of

Nineveh, in

Mesopotamia,

held more

than 25,000

clay tablets.

A librarian explains to some students how

to find the information they need.

142 Library BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Many librarians use the Dewey Decimal

System. In this system there are 10 main

subjects. Each of these subjects is

divided into 10 smaller sections. And

those smaller sections are further divided

into even smaller parts. Each number in

the Dewey system has at least three digits

to show these divisions. For example,

geography and history books are numbered

from 900 to 999. Books on the

history of North America are numbered

from 970 to 979. And books on the

history of the United States are numbered

973. Some numbers also have a

decimal point and more digits to divide

the subject even further.

A library user can find an item’s call

number by looking in the library catalog.

One kind of catalog is called a card

catalog. A card catalog is a file of printed

cards that list call numbers and other

information about library items. A person

can find a book by looking for the

card filed under its author’s name, its

title, or its subject. Most libraries today

have replaced their card catalogs with

electronic catalogs. Library users can

search an electronic catalog on computers

in the library.

History

The first libraries were collections of

official documents, or records. The most

famous library in the ancient world was

in Alexandria, Egypt. During the

Middle Ages (AD 500 to 1500) monks in

Europe copied books by hand. Libraries

grew rapidly after printed books became

available in the late 1400s. Today the

largest library in the world is the Library

of Congress, in the United States.

#More to explore

Book and Bookmaking • Storytelling

Libreville

Population

(2003 estimate),

metropolitan

area, 661,600

Libreville is the capital of Gabon, a

country in western Africa. It is Gabon’s

largest city. Libreville has a port on the

Atlantic Ocean.

Many people in Libreville work for the

government. The port is also important

to the economy. Ships load up there

with lumber and minerals. Shipbuilding

also brings money to the city.

A people called the Pongoue settled in

the Libreville area in about the 1500s.

The Fang moved there in the 1800s.

The French founded Libreville in 1849

as a settlement for freed slaves. The

name Libreville means “free town.” In

1960 Gabon became an independent

country with Libreville as its capital. Oil

was discovered off the coast near the city

in the 1970s.

#More to explore

Gabon

The Library of

Congress was

founded in

1800.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Libreville 143

Libya

Libya is a country in North Africa.

Large amounts of oil have brought

wealth to the country. Tripoli is Libya’s

capital and largest city.

Geography

Libya borders Tunisia, Algeria, Niger,

Chad, Sudan, and Egypt. The Mediterranean

Sea lies to the north.

Libya is within the Sahara, the world’s

largest desert. Bare rock and sand make

up almost all of the country’s land.

There are some oases, or small areas of

green land, in the desert. Most of the

people and farms are in the northwest,

near the coast. Mountains rise in the

northeast.

Most of Libya is hot and dry. Only the

coast has a cool, rainy winter. Libya’s

riverbeds are dry most of the year. The

country mines some underground water

in the desert and pipes it to the coastal

cities. This large project is called the

Great Man-Made River.

Plants and Animals

There are few natural plants in Libya.

The country’s animals include desert

rodents, hyenas, foxes, jackals, gazelles,

and wildcats. Eagles, hawks, and vultures

are common birds.

People

Most of Libya’s people are Arabs. Berbers

were once the main people. Today

most Berbers have adopted Arab culture.

There are small groups of other Africans,

Italians, Greeks, and other peoples. Arabic

is the main language. Most Libyans

are Muslims who belong to the Sunnah

branch of Islam.

Economy

Libya’s economy is based on oil, which

Libya sells to other countries. Libya also

Metal objects and other goods are for sale

at a shop in Tripoli, Libya.

144 Libya BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

has supplies of natural gas and iron ore.

Many people work in services, including

government work, health care, and

banking. Factories produce chemicals,

metals, food products, and cement.

Agriculture is a smaller part of the

economy. Libya’s crops include watermelons,

potatoes, onions, olives, tomatoes,

and dates. Farmers also raise sheep

and goats.

History

Many different groups—including Africans,

Greeks, and Phoenicians—ruled

parts of Libya in ancient times. The

ancient Romans made the region part of

their empire in the 100s BC. In AD 642

Arab armies moved into the area. Many

of the local Berber peoples converted to

Islam. The Turkish Ottoman Empire

conquered the region in the early 1500s.

In 1911 Italy invaded Libya. The Libyan

people never accepted Italian rule. Italy

lost control of Libya duringWorldWar

II, which ended in 1945.

In 1951 Libya became an independent

monarchy, or a state headed by a king.

In 1969 a group of army officers overthrew

the king. Colonel Muammar

al-Qaddafi was their leader. Qaddafi

became the ruler of Libya. In 1977 he

changed the name of the country to the

Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.

Jamahiriya means “brotherhood.”

People found deposits of oil in Libya in

the 1950s. The country sold its oil

around the world. It used the profits to

build housing, roads, and modern

schools.

Qaddafi also used oil money to build a

strong military. He kept troops in Chad

(south of Libya) between 1977 and

1987. He also supported the Arab countries

that considered Israel to be their

enemy.

Qaddafi was accused of supporting

many terrorist attacks. For years he protected

two Libyan men who were suspected

of planting a bomb on a U.S.-

owned passenger plane. The bomb killed

270 people over Lockerbie, Scotland, in

1988. The men finally went on trial in

1999. One was found guilty. In 2003

the United Nations lifted a ban it had

placed on trade with Libya.

..More to explore

Arabs • Sahara • Tripoli

The ancient Romans ruled Libya for hundreds

of years. They built theaters and other

structures in Libya more than 1,800 years

ago.

Facts About

LIBYA

Population

(2008 estimate)

5,871,000

Area

679,362 sq mi

(1,759,540 sq

km)

Capital

Tripoli

Form of

government

Socialist state

Major cities

Tripoli, Banghazi,

Misratah, Surt

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Libya 145

Lichen

Lichens are made up of two tiny living

things: a fungus and an alga. The

fungus and the alga benefit from living

together. The alga produces food, and

the fungus gathers water. In this way a

lichen can survive harsh weather that

would kill a fungus or an alga growing

alone. This type of relationship is called

symbiosis.

Lichens grow in most parts of the world.

There about 15,000 different species, or

types. Lichens can live where few plants

can survive. They are found in deserts,

near mountain peaks, and in the frozen

Arctic. They grow on stones, tree trunks,

dead wood, and on the ground.

Most lichens are barely 0.25 inch (6

millimeters) high, but some can spread

out to cover several feet. Many lichens

look like flat, crusty blotches. Some look

leafy. Some hang down in strands. Others

have stalks and resemble miniature

forests. Lichens range in color from

brown to bright orange or yellow.

Some kinds of lichen are eaten by reindeer

and even by humans. Other kinds

are used to make dyes, medicines, and

other products.

#More to explore

Algae • Fungus • Symbiosis

Orange lichen covers a boulder

in a mountainous area.

A type of lichen called old-man’s beard grows on a tree trunk in Scotland.

146 Lichen BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Liechtenstein

The country of Liechtenstein is one of

the smallest in Europe. Liechtenstein is a

principality, meaning that a prince is the

ruler. Vaduz is the capital.

Geography

The Rhine River separates Liechtenstein

from Switzerland to the west. Austria lies

to the east. Near the Rhine are lowlands.

Mountains cover the eastern part of the

country.

Plants and Animals

Copper beeches, maples, elms, limes,

sycamores, and ashes are common trees

in Liechtenstein. Animal life includes

deer, foxes, badgers, and weasels.

People

Most of the people of Liechtenstein are

related to an old Germanic tribe called

the Alemanni. There are smaller groups

of Swiss, Austrians, and Germans. The

main language is German. Most of the

population is Roman Catholic.

Economy

Banking, tourism, and other services are

important to Liechtenstein’s economy.

Industry is also very important. Factories

produce electronics, ceramics, lenses,

machinery, and metals.

Agriculture is a small part of the

economy. Farmers raise cattle for dairy

products and meat. Crops include

grains, potatoes, and grapes.

History

The Alemanni tribe came into the

region in about AD 500. In 1719 the

Holy Roman Empire combined two

small states into the principality of

Liechtenstein. The country became

independent in 1866. Today the prince

of Liechtenstein plays an active role in

the government.

..More to explore

Holy Roman Empire • Vaduz

The castle of the prince of Liechtenstein

overlooks the town of Vaduz.

Facts About

LIECHTENSTEIN

Population

(2008 estimate)

35,500

Area

62 sq mi (160 sq

km)

Capital

Vaduz

Form of

government

Constitutional

monarchy

Major cities

Schaan, Vaduz

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Liechtenstein 147

Light

People and other animals can see

because there is light. Light is a form of

energy. The sun is a very important

source of light energy.Without the

energy from the sun, there would be no

plants or animals on Earth’s surface.

Sources of Light

Besides the sun, other sources provide

light. Burning objects give off light. So

do some animals, such as fireflies and

certain fish. Lightning and electric lightbulbs

also produce light.

Properties of Light

Light exists in two very different forms

at the same time. One form is tiny particles

called photons. The other form is

waves. The easiest way to think about

light is as waves. Light waves travel

through space at a speed of about

186,282 miles per second (299,792 kilometers

per second).

Scientists use an idea called wavelength

to describe light waves. Like waves moving

across a pool of water, light waves

have peaks and valleys. The distance

between two of these peaks is called a

wavelength. Sunlight contains light

waves with long, medium, and short

wavelengths.

The color of light depends on its wavelength.

Red light has the longest wavelength.

Violet light has the shortest

wavelength. Orange, yellow, green, blue,

and indigo have wavelengths in between

those of red and violet. When light

waves of all the colors travel together,

the light looks white.

Certain objects, such as triangular pieces

of glass called prisms, can separate white

light into the individual colors. When

light travels through a prism, waves of

different wavelengths bend by different

amounts. The color of each wavelength

then appears separately. This effect is

called a spectrum. A rainbow is a type of

spectrum. When raindrops make a rainbow,

they are acting like prisms.

Light and Sight

People see an object either because it

gives off light or because the object

reflects, or bounces back, light. For

example, people see the sun because it

gives off its own light. But people see the

moon only because it reflects light from

the sun.

Most objects absorb some light and

reflect some light. The reflected light is

the color of the object. If an object does

not reflect much light, the light passes

through it. This type of object is called

transparent, or see-through. By contrast,

Some small sea creatures called tunicates

give off light naturally.

148 Light BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

mirrors reflect almost all the light that

hits them.

Light and Life

Light is very important to life on Earth.

Using the energy of sunlight, plants

combine a gas in the air called carbon

dioxide with water in the soil. Through

this process, called photosynthesis,

plants make their own food. People and

other animals then use plants for food.

As plants make food, they also give off a

gas called oxygen. People and other animals

need oxygen to stay alive. Sunlight

helps animals to grow, too. It causes the

body to make vitamin D, which the

body needs to make bone.

#More to explore

Color • Energy • Mirror

• Photosynthesis • Prism • Rainbow

• Sun

Lighthouse

Ships rely on lighthouses to warn them

of danger and to guide them to land or a

harbor. A traditional lighthouse is a tall,

rounded tower on land near a coast.

Modern lighthouses may be on land or

they may be a platform in the sea. The

main feature of all lighthouses is a bright

light.

Lighthouses used to be operated by a

lighthouse keeper who lived in the

building. Many modern lighthouses

have automatic lights that are operated

by remote control.

Types of Signals

The earliest lighthouses used burning

fires as a source of light. Later versions

used lanterns holding groups of large

candles, or lamps that burned oil or gas.

Today the standard source of light is an

electric lamp. A special lens focuses the

light into a beam that can be seen far

away. The lamp and the lens turn so the

beam shines in all directions.

Most objects reflect, or bounce back, colored

light. Mirrors reflect nearly all the light

that hits them. Windows are see-through

because they do not reflect much light.

The Thomas Point Lighthouse sits in Chesapeake

Bay, south of Annapolis, Maryland. It

was built in the 1800s.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Lighthouse 149

In bad weather, light cannot always be

seen. Lighthouses then must use other

methods to signal ships. One method is

sound. Lighthouses once used cannons

or bells to warn ships. Today the most

common sound device is the foghorn.

Modern lighthouses also send out radio

and radar signals to passing ships.

Lightships and Buoys

Lightships and buoys are movable

devices. They are used in places where

lighthouses cannot be built. Modern

lightships are small ships equipped with

lights, a foghorn, and radio devices.

Buoys are smaller floating objects. They

provide light to navigators as well as

other information through their color

and shape.

History

The first true lighthouse may have been

one that was built in about 280 BC in

Egypt. The Phoenicians, Greeks, and

Romans also built lighthouses during

ancient times. As shipping increased in

Europe around AD 1100, construction of

lighthouses also increased.

In 1759 an English engineer named

John Smeaton designed a new type of

lighthouse. It became a model for most

lighthouses that followed. The lighthouse

was built from interlocking blocks

of stone instead of wood. This strengthened

the structure so it could withstand

powerful waves.

Lightning Bug

..see Firefly.

Lilongwe

Population

(2008 estimate)

669,020

Lilongwe is the capital of Malawi, a

country in southeastern Africa. The

country’s president and lawmakers work

in Lilongwe. Malawi’s highest court

meets in the city of Blantyre. Blantyre

and Lilongwe are the two largest cities in

Malawi.

The two centers of Lilongwe are called

Old Town and Capital Hill. A nature

sanctuary separates the two areas.

Farmers from surrounding areas sell

their crops in Lilongwe. Malawi’s main

crop is tobacco. Large amounts of

tobacco are traded in Lilongwe. Many

people in the city work in government

offices, schools, or hotels.

Great Britain took over what is now

Malawi in the late 1800s. The British

founded Lilongwe in 1902 as a government

post. Malawi became an independent

country in 1964. Lilongwe became

the capital in 1975. It was chosen to be

the new capital because it lies in the

center of Malawi.

..More to explore

Malawi

The U.S. state

of Maine is

famous for its

lighthouses.

More than 60

lighthouses

stand on its

rocky shores.

150 Lightning Bug BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Lily

Lilies are plants that are prized for their

beautiful and fragrant flowers. There are

about 80 to 100 species, or kinds, of

true lily. They belong to a much bigger

plant group called the lily family, which

contains about 4,000 species. The lily

family includes tulips, hyacinths, and

the onion.

True lilies grow wild in Asia, Europe,

and North America. They are also very

popular in gardens.

Most true lily plants are about 1 to 4

feet (30 to 120 centimeters) tall. They

have narrow leaves and flowers that grow

alone or in clusters. The flowers can be

shaped like trumpets, funnels, tubes, or

bowls. They can be any of a variety of

colors. The largest flowers can be 10

inches (25 centimeters) wide. One plant

can produce many flowers.

Many plants that are called lilies are not

true lilies. Daylilies and the lily of the

valley are not true lilies, but they

belong to the lily family. Daylilies have

yellow to red flowers that last for just

one day. The lily of the valley has small

white flowers that droop down from a

stalk. Water lilies are not part of the lily

family.

..More to explore

Flower • Plant • Tulip •Water Lily

Lima

Population

(2007

estimate), urban

area,

8,472,930

Lima is the capital of the South

American country of Peru. It is the

largest city in Peru by far. It is also

Peru’s center of culture, business, and

manufacturing.

One of Lima’s nicknames is The Octopus.

This is because the greater city area

spreads out very far, like the arms of an

octopus.Within this area is Callao, a

port on the Pacific Ocean. It is Peru’s

busiest port. The historic center of Lima

features the Presidential Palace and a

Roman Catholic cathedral.

Lima is the most important economic

center in Peru. It has Peru’s largest number

of government and business offices,

banks, and industries. Factories in Lima

Lilies come in many colors, including pink. process oil and make electronics, medi-

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Lima 151

cines, food products, plastics, clothes,

and other goods.

People have lived in the Lima area for

thousands of years. Some 1,500 years

ago it was a center of worship for a local

god named Pachacamac. The Inca took

over the area in the 1400s.

The Spanish conqueror Francisco

Pizarro founded Lima in 1535. Nearby

Callao soon became Spain’s main port

in the region. For about 200 years Lima

was the capital of nearly all of Spain’s

colonies in South America.

A powerful earthquake nearly destroyed

Lima in 1746. The city was later

rebuilt.

In 1821 Peru became an independent

country with Lima as its capital. Lima

grew greatly in the 1900s.

#More to explore

Peru

Lime

The lime is a tart, green fruit that grows

on a tree. It is the smallest member of

the citrus family. Other citrus fruits

include lemons, oranges, and grapefruit.

The lime’s scientific name is Citrus

aurantifolia.

Lime trees grow in many warm regions,

including Southeast Asia, theWest

Indies, the region around the Mediterranean

Sea, South America, and Central

America. Brazil produces most of the

world’s limes. Mexico and the United

States also grow limes.

Lime trees are short and shrublike. They

have small leaves and sharp thorns. The

fruits develop from white, sweetsmelling

flowers. Most lime fruits are

round or oval in shape. They are about

1.5 inches (4 centimeters) across. They

have a thin, green skin, or rind, that

lightens to almost yellow as the fruit

ripens. The pulp inside is pale green and

juicy.

Miraflores is a popular and busy area of

Lima, Peru.

Limes are a yellowish green color when ripe.

152 Lime BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Limes have a sour taste because their

juice contains a lot of acid. Even so,

limes are a popular ingredient in many

kinds of drinks, sweet desserts, and

other foods. Limes are also a good

source of vitamin C.

#More to explore

Citrus Fruit • Grapefruit • Lemon

• Orange

Limestone

Limestone is a type of rock that is made

up of bits of animal shells. Over millions

of years these shells collected on the

ocean floor. As layers of shells and mud

built up, the lower layers slowly hardened

into limestone.

Limestone is found all over the world.

Dover, England, is famous for its white

cliffs made of chalk, a soft form of limestone.

Not all limestone is soft, however.

Marble is a type of hard limestone that

was formed by great pressure and heat in

Earth’s crust.

Large deposits of limestone often contain

caves.Water flowing underground

carves out these caves. The water dissolves,

or breaks down, limestone more

easily than other types of rock.

Limestone is used to make cement,

roads, and fertilizer. In addition, many

forms of limestone are strong enough to

be used as building materials. People use

limestone for making floors, for covering

the walls of buildings, and for making

monuments. Limestone is useful for

building because it does not easily wear

away and it is not difficult to shape.

Over time, limestone buildings and

monuments turn from white to gray.

Many limestone deposits contain fossils,

or imprints of ancient plants and animals.

Scientists who study Earth have

learned about the planet’s development

from the fossils found in limestone.

#More to explore

Chalk • Rock • Shell

Cliffs of limestone rise from a beach in

Portugal.

Machines cut blocks of limestone from large

holes in the ground called quarries.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Limestone 153

Lincoln

Population

(2000 census)

225,581;

(2007 estimate)

248,744

Lincoln is the capital of the U.S. state of

Nebraska. The University of Nebraska

was founded in the city in 1869.

Farmers from the surrounding area sell

their grain in Lincoln. Factories in the

city make processed foods, motorcycles,

rubber products, electronics, and medicines.

Many people in Lincoln work for

the government or in insurance, health

care, or education.

The city was founded in 1856. It was

named Lancaster in 1859. In 1867

Nebraska became a U.S. state with the

city as its capital. The city was renamed

Lincoln in honor of former U.S. president

Abraham Lincoln. In the 1870s

Lincoln became a center of railroad

transportation.

One of Lincoln’s most famous residents

was the politician William Jennings

Bryan. He lived in the city in the late

1800s and early 1900s. Bryan ran for

U.S. president three times.

..More to explore

Nebraska

Lincoln,

Abraham

Historians see Abraham Lincoln, the

16th president of the United States, as

one of the country’s greatest leaders.

During the American CivilWar Lincoln

promised to save the Union. Known as

the Great Emancipator, he also ended

slavery in the United States.

Early Life

Abraham Lincoln was born in a log

cabin near Hodgenville, Kentucky, on

February 12, 1809. His parents, Thomas

and Nancy Hanks Lincoln, were pioneer

farmers. In 1816 the family moved to

Indiana. After Abe’s mother died, his

father married Sarah Bush Johnston. In

all, Abe went to school for less than a

year.

In 1830 Lincoln moved to New Salem,

Illinois. He tried several jobs and began

to study law books. After becoming a

lawyer in 1836, he moved to Springfield,

Illinois. In 1842 Lincoln married

Mary Todd. They had four sons.

Lincoln is home to Nebraska’s state Capitol.

The building was completed in 1932.

154 Lincoln BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Political Career

In 1834 Lincoln was elected to the Illinois

legislature. He was reelected three

times. In 1847 he entered the U.S.

House of Representatives. In 1849 he

returned to his law practice.

The issue of slavery brought Lincoln

back to politics. In 1856 Lincoln helped

to organize the Illinois branch of the

new Republican Party. Republicans

wanted to stop the spread of slavery. In

1858 Lincoln challenged the Democrat

Stephen A. Douglas for a seat in the

U.S. Senate. The two candidates took

part in several debates on slavery. Douglas

won the election, but the debates

made Lincoln famous.

Presidency and CivilWar

Lincoln ran for president in 1860 and

won. The Southern states feared that a

Republican president would abolish

slavery. They decided to secede from, or

leave, the Union. South Carolina

seceded in December 1860. By the time

Lincoln took office in March 1861 six

more Southern states had seceded. The

Southern states organized a separate

government, the Confederate States of

America. The CivilWar began in April

1861, when Confederate troops fired on

February 12, April 12, January 1, November 19, April 9, April 14,

1809 1860 1861 1863 1863 1865 1865

Lincoln is

born near

Hodgenville,

Kentucky.

Lincoln is

elected

president.

The Civil War

begins.

Lincoln

signs the

Emancipation

Proclamation.

Lincoln gives

the Gettysburg

Address.

The Civil War

ends.

Lincoln is shot;

he dies the next

morning.

T I M E L I N E

Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president of

the United States.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Lincoln, Abraham 155

Fort Sumter, a Union fort in South

Carolina.

Lincoln’s main goal in the war was to

save the Union. However, he knew he

had to settle the slavery question in

order for the United States to survive. In

1862 Lincoln promised freedom for

slaves in any Confederate state that did

not return to the Union that year. When

the South paid no attention, Lincoln

freed those slaves with the Emancipation

Proclamation on January 1, 1863.

In November 1863 Lincoln delivered a

speech—called the Gettysburg

Address—at a battlefield in Gettysburg,

Pennsylvania. He promised to save the

United States’s “government of the

people, by the people, for the people.”

End of theWar and

Assassination

In 1864 Lincoln was elected to a second

term as president. On April 9, 1865,

General Robert E. Lee surrendered his

Confederate army to Union leader General

Ulysses S. Grant. To celebrate the

end of the war, Lincoln went to Ford’s

Theatre inWashington, D.C., on the

night of April 14. During the play John

Wilkes Booth, a young actor and slavery

supporter, shot Lincoln in the head.

Lincoln died the next morning. Vice

President Andrew Johnson became

president.

#More to explore

American CivilWar • Confederate

States of America • Emancipation

Proclamation • Johnson, Andrew

• Pioneer Life • Slavery • United States

Lincoln-Douglas

Debates

In the 1858 election for U.S. senator

from the state of Illinois, the candidates

were Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A.

Douglas. They met seven times to

debate, or discuss, important topics. The

main topic was whether slavery should

be allowed in new states forming to the

West.

Douglas was the Democratic Party candidate.

He was running for reelection.

He had sponsored the Kansas-Nebraska

Act of 1854. This law made slavery possible

in places where it had been banned

since 1820.

Lincoln was the Republican Party candidate.

At the time, few people outside

Abraham

Lincoln is

buried in

Oak Ridge

Cemetery in

Springfield,

Illinois.

An illustration shows Abraham Lincoln and

Stephen A. Douglas debating in front of a

crowd in 1858.

156 Lincoln-Douglas Debates BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Illinois knew anything about him. His

party had been formed to stop slavery

from spreading.

When Lincoln was nominated he said

that slavery would be a major problem

for the country because the country was

so divided over the issue. In the debates

Douglas tried to make Lincoln seem like

a dangerous person who wanted the

United States to break apart. Lincoln

made the point that slavery was wrong

and that it had led to much violence.

Douglas won the election, but Lincoln

won many followers. Two years later the

two men ran against each other again.

This time it was for president of the

United States. By then the Democratic

Party was badly split because of the slavery

issue. Also, the debates had made

Lincoln a respected person throughout

the North. These two things enabled

Lincoln to win the presidential election

by a good margin.

#More to explore

Kansas-Nebraska Act • Lincoln,

Abraham • Slavery

Lindbergh,

Charles

Charles Lindbergh was the first person

to fly an airplane alone across the Atlantic

Ocean without stopping. People

called him Lucky Lindy.

Charles Augustus Lindbergh was born

on February 4, 1902, in the U.S. city of

Detroit, Michigan. He studied flying in

Nebraska and Texas. At that time airplanes

were still a new invention. In

1926 he began flying mail between Saint

Louis, Missouri, and Chicago, Illinois.

In 1927 Lindbergh decided to compete

for a prize for flying nonstop from New

York City to Paris, France. He had a

plane, called the Spirit of Saint Louis,

built for him. On May 20 and 21, 1927,

Lindbergh made the flight in 33 hours

and 30 minutes. He became an instant

hero in the United States and Europe.

In 1929 Lindbergh married the writer

Anne Morrow. Later she was his copilot

and navigator on flights around the

world. In 1932 their child was kidnapped

and murdered. The crime

received worldwide attention.

In the early 1940s Lindbergh gave

speeches calling for the United States to

stay out ofWorldWar II. But once the

United States entered the war, Lindbergh

helped the war effort. He flew 50

combat missions in the Pacific war zone.

Charles Lindbergh stands in front of his airplane,

the Spirit of Saint Louis, in 1927.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Lindbergh, Charles 157

After the war Lindbergh and his family

lived quietly in Connecticut and later in

Hawaii. Lindbergh died in Hawaii on

August 26, 1974.

#More to explore

Airplane

Lion

The lion is the second largest member of

the cat family after the tiger. Lions live

in parts of Africa and India. Their loud

roar is among the most terrifying sounds

of the grasslands. The scientific name of

the lion is Panthera leo.

Physical Features

The lion has a long body, short legs,

sharp claws, and a large head. Adult

males are about 9 to 10 feet (2.7 to 3

meters) long, including the tail. They

stand about 3 feet (1 meter) tall at the

shoulder and can weigh 370 to 500

pounds (170 to 230 kilograms). Females

are shorter and more slender.

Lions are covered with yellow-brown

hair. A male lion is easy to spot because

of its mane. This coarse hair grows on its

head, neck, and shoulders. Lionesses

(females) do not have manes.

Behavior

Lions live in groups called prides. A

pride is made up of related lionesses,

their cubs, and one or two adult males.

Prides average 15 members.

Lionesses usually do most of the pride’s

hunting, mainly at night. They hunt

animals such as zebras, wildebeests, and

antelopes. They often hunt by hiding

beside a water hole and then pouncing.

Sometimes prides hunt together as a

team and share the kill.

Life Cycle

Three months after mating, lionesses

bear one to six cubs. The newborns

have spots or stripes that disappear

within nine months. The mother

guards her cubs closely. She teaches

them to hunt when they are about 18

months old.

Lions in the wild rarely live more than 8

to 10 years. Lions in zoos have a life

span of about 25 years.

Lions and Humans

Since the days of the Roman Empire,

people have caged lions for display in

circuses and zoos. People also have

hunted the lion for many years. Today

lions are protected in some national

parks.

#More to explore

A lioness is very protective of her cubs. Cat • Tiger

158 Lion BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Lisbon

Population

(2001 census),

city, 564,657;

(2005 estimate),

metropolitan

area,

2,761,000

Lisbon is the capital of Portugal, a country

of southwestern Europe. The city lies

on the Tagus River near where it flows

into the Atlantic Ocean. Lisbon grew

wealthy from sea trade in the 1400s and

1500s. It was then the center of Portugal’s

large and powerful empire. Today

Lisbon is still Portugal’s main port and

largest city. It is also a center of business

and industry.

Lisbon is a city of white houses and

elegant parks and gardens. The city’s

main street, the Avenida da Liberdade

(Liberty Avenue), has wide, mosaiccovered

sidewalks.

Tourism, banking, insurance, and other

service industries are important to Lisbon’s

economy. The greater Lisbon area

is also a major manufacturing center.

The area’s traditional industries include

the making of soap and steel. Today

factories there also make such goods as

cement, electronics, cars, foods, and

paper products.

A people called the Phoenicians probably

founded Lisbon as a trading station

in about 1200 BC. The city was later

ruled by the Roman Empire and then

Germanic peoples.

Muslims from North Africa took control

of the area in the 700s. In 1147 the

Christian king of Portugal conquered

the city. Lisbon became the capital of

Portugal in 1256.

In the 1400s and 1500s Portugal’s

explorers and conquerors created a huge

overseas empire. Lisbon became the

trade center for the Portuguese empire.

Many of Lisbon’s residents became rich.

One of the greatest earthquakes ever

recorded struck Lisbon in 1755. It

caused a huge ocean wave, called a tsunami,

to wash ashore. Much of Lisbon

was destroyed.

Lisbon was rebuilt quickly. The city

grew larger in the 1800s and 1900s.

Lisbon hosted a large fair called the

World Exposition in 1998.

#More to explore

Portugal

Dom Pedro IV Square, also called Rossio

Square, is a center of activity in Lisbon, the

capital of Portugal.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Lisbon 159

Literature

Literature is writing that is usually considered

to be a work of art. It is different

than written works such as cookbooks,

travel guides, or how-to books. Those

are meant only to provide information.

In general, literature communicates

ideas of lasting interest, especially ideas

about what it means to be human. A

writer of literature takes special care in

choosing and arranging the words. Some

common types of literature include novels,

poetry, and dramas.

Forms of Literature

Literature can be broadly divided into

two categories—poetry and prose.

Poetry, or verse, is written in lines. These

lines are carefully arranged according to

patterns of sound, rhythm, and meaning.

A poem may or may not rhyme, or

use words with similar end sounds (such

as “snake” and “rake”).

Prose uses language much like everyday

speech. Novels, short stories, and most

modern dramas are prose.

There are two main types of prose: fiction

and nonfiction. Fiction, such as

novels or short stories, is mostly made

up. Nonfiction discusses facts or ideas

about real events and people. Histories,

speeches, letters, and reviews of art are

just a few examples of nonfiction. Modern

literature often focuses on fiction

and poetry. But many works of nonfiction

have also been considered great

works of literature.

Literature is also written for different

audiences. Some is written specifically

for children while other works are more

for adults.

How Literature Developed

The Oral Tradition

Thousands of years ago people used

writing mostly to keep records. They

expressed ideas about the world and

their history by telling stories aloud, not

writing them down. Literature that is

spoken out loud is called oral literature.

Each generation of people told their

stories to the next generation. In this

way the stories were passed along. People

usually told the stories in lines of poetry.

The patterns and rhymes of poems

made them easier to remember. Still,

people could change the stories over

time or forget them. Eventually people

Literature, both fiction and nonfiction,

has the power to take

readers to another place and

time.

160 Literature BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

began writing down the stories so they

could not be changed or lost.

Written Literature

Cultures all over the world have developed

rich written literatures. A short

history like this can point out only a few

examples.

Many ancient works of literature were

epics, or long poems about the adventures

of heroes. For example, the Epic of

Gilgamesh was written at least 3,500

years ago in a part of the Middle East

called Mesopotamia. Other early epics

include the Mahabharata from India

and the Iliad and the Odyssey from

ancient Greece. The ancient Greeks also

wrote many dramas and nonfiction.

In the Middle East and Asia storytellers

told the tales of the Arabian Nights, or

The Thousand and One Nights. These

tales were collected and written down in

the 800s or 900s.

In the 1000s a Japanese woman named

Murasaki Shikibu wrote The Tale of

Genji. Many consider this story of a

Japanese prince to be the world’s oldest

novel.

One of the first works of English literature

was the epic Beowulf, about a hero

who kills a monster. It was probably

created in the 700s. The English poet

Geoffrey Chaucer wrote The Canterbury

Tales in the 1300s. This long poem tells

stories about a group of travelers. In the

1400s Sir Thomas Malory retold legends

of King Arthur in Le Morte Darthur

(The Death of Arthur). The English

writerWilliam Shakespeare wrote many

plays in the late 1500s and early 1600s.

A copy of Geoffrey Chaucer’s

Canterbury Tales from the 1400s

includes an illustration of the

characters in the poem.

Two actors play out a scene in a

production of William Shakespeare’s

Romeo and Juliet

staged in London, England.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Literature 161

They are still considered to be some of

the best literature ever written.

Don Quixote is often called the first

modern novel. The Spanish writer

Miguel de Cervantes completed it in

1615. Over the following centuries the

novel became one of the most popular

types of literature.

In the 1900s writers began to experiment

with the form of the novel. The

Irish writer James Joyce used a technique

called stream of consciousness. In this

form the author tries to present the

thoughts of the characters as they occur

to the character. Later in the century

writers from Colombia, Argentina, and

other Latin American countries wrote

stories that were a mixture of real and

fantastic events. This style became

known as magic realism.

The 1800s and 1900s also saw changes

in poetry. Until that time poems had

taken many forms, but often they followed

strict rules about rhyme and

meter. In the 1800s poets began writing

in a style known as free verse. This

allowed them to write poetry that more

closely resembled regular spoken language.

The Spread of Literature

At first all stories had to be copied by

hand. This took a long time and was

expensive. Only the wealthy and welleducated

had access to these copies. In

the 1400s Johannes Gutenberg invented

a machine called a printing press. With

the printing press many copies of a

book could be made very quickly and

easily. Books became easier to get.

Gutenberg paved the way for the

ordinary person to borrow, own, and

read books. Today bookstores and

libraries make all kinds of printed

literature available to the public.

Literature can also be enjoyed by watching

a story performed on stage. Through

radio, movies, and television, stories can

now be presented to millions of people

at one time.

#More to explore

Drama • Fiction • Language • Poetry

• Storytelling •Writing

Literature for

Children

Books written especially for children are

called children’s literature. Children’s

literature includes stories, fairy tales,

A novel is usually

a long

literary work

that tells a

story about

realistic characters

and

events.

Each year the American Library Association

gives the Newbery Medal to the author of

the best children’s book. It gives the Caldecott

Medal to the illustrator of the best picture

book.

162 Literature for Children BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

fables, poems, and novels. It also

includes nonfiction (factual) works on

history, science, and other subjects.

Children’s literature can come in the

form of picture books or chapter books.

Picture books usually have a smaller

amount of text, or words, and pictures

on every page. They are written for

younger readers. Chapter books have

few or no pictures and much more text,

which is divided into sections called

chapters. Chapter books are written for

older children.

Awards

Many countries give good children’s

books special attention through awards

and prizes. In the United States the two

most important prizes for children’s

literature are the Newbery Medal and

the Caldecott Medal. The Newbery

Medal goes to the author of the best

children’s book of the year. The illustrator

of the year’s best picture book

receives the Caldecott Medal. The bestknown

international award is the Hans

Christian Andersen Award. Another

important international award is the

Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.

History

Until a few hundred years ago, few

books were written for children. Many

children did not even learn to read at all.

The first literature especially for children

was published in Europe in the 1600s.

Most of this early writing was not meant

to entertain children. Its purpose was to

teach children lessons.

1700s

Many of the books read by children

during the 1700s were books written

for adults. These were adventure stories

with interesting characters. For

example, Daniel Defoe’s Robinson

Crusoe (1719) tells the story of a man

who is shipwrecked on a deserted

island. Another such book was

Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels

(1726). It is about the adventures of a

traveler in strange lands.

John Newbery in London, England,

published the first edition of the wellknown

Mother Goose rhymes in the

1760s. A version of Newbery’s book was

first published in the United States in

about 1785. Since then, generations of

children have learned the traditional

rhymes, such as “Little Miss Muffett.”

The poem

Twinkle,

Twinkle, Little

Star first

appeared in

the 1804 book

Original

Poems for

Infant Minds

by Ann and

Jane Taylor.

An illustration from the first edition of The

Wonderful Wizard of Oz shows the book’s

main characters.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Literature for Children 163

1800s

By the 1800s, children’s books were

becoming an important kind of literature.

Authors began making their stories

more interesting and imaginative. Some

children’s books from the 1800s are still

very popular today. Many children still

enjoy Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures

inWonderland, which was published in

England in 1865.

Many children’s books from the 1800s

were collections of fairy tales and folktales.

These stories of magical creatures,

animals that talk, and imaginary places

have always fascinated children. Two

German brothers, Wilhelm and Jacob

Grimm, published a collection of old

German fairy tales in 1812. The collection

is commonly called Grimm’s Fairy

Tales. It features stories about such characters

as Snow White and Cinderella. In

the late 1800s Sazanami Iwaya of Japan

wrote Japanese Fairy Tales, a collection of

old stories. In 1896 K. Langloh Parker

retold the folktales of the Aborigines

(the native people of Australia) in Australian

Legendary Tales. A collection of

Latin American folktales appeared at

about the same time in Brazil. It was

called Contos da Carochinha.

1900s and Today

During the 1900s more children’s books

were published than ever before. Many

were collections of folktales from various

countries.

In Great Britain and the United States

much children’s literature of this time

focused on fantastic worlds. TheWonderfulWizard

of Oz (1900) by L. Frank

Baum, Winnie-the-Pooh (1926) by A.A.

Milne, and Charlotte’sWeb (1952) by

E.B. White are good examples. The

playful poetry, funny characters, and

fanciful drawings of the many books by

Dr. Seuss also fit in this category. He

published The Cat in the Hat in 1957.

Other children’s literature of the 1900s

showed realistic characters facing the

difficulties of growing up. Lucy Maud

Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables

(1908), Katherine Paterson’s Bridge to

Terabithia (1977), and the novels of

Judy Blume are examples. J.K. Rowling’s

popular Harry Potter books of the late

20th and early 21st centuries have a

magical setting. However, they also realistically

show the emotions of young

people.

#More to explore

Blume, Judy • Book and Bookmaking

• Carroll, Lewis • Fable • Folktale

• Grimm Brothers • Literature • Mother

Goose • Poetry • Rowling, J.K. • Seuss,

Dr. • Storytelling

Most young children enjoy being read to.

Listening to other people read aloud is an

important part of learning to read.

164 Literature for Children BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Lithuania

Lithuania is one of three countries in

northeastern Europe known as the Baltic

states. Latvia and Estonia are the other

two. Lithuania’s capital is Vilnius.

The Baltic Sea forms Lithuania’s western

border. Lithuania shares land borders

with Latvia, Belarus, Poland, and Russia.

Lithuania’s landscape includes low-lying

plains and some hills. The country has a

cool climate.

Lithuania has forests of pine, oak, birch,

and spruce trees. Its wildlife includes

wolves, foxes, otters, badgers, wild boars,

elk, deer, beavers, and mink.

Most of the country’s people are Lithuanians.

The population also includes Russians,

Poles, Belarusians, Ukrainians,

and other groups. Most Lithuanians are

Roman Catholics. More than half of the

people live in cities.

Services and manufacturing are the main

parts of Lithuania’s economy. Services

include education, health care, and communications.

Factories make tools,

motors, electronics, petroleum (oil)

products, cloth, chemicals, and ships.

In 1386 Lithuania’s leader, called a

grand duke, married the queen of

Poland. The union of Lithuania and

Poland lasted until the late 1700s. Russia

then took over most of Lithuania.

Lithuania declared its independence in

1918. However, the Soviet Union took

over in 1940. Nazi Germany seized control

of Lithuania in 1941, duringWorld

War II. The Soviets drove out the Germans

in 1944.

Lithuania gained independence when

the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

..More to explore

Baltic Sea • Vilnius

Trakai Castle stands on an island in a lake

west of Vilnius, Lithuania.

Facts About

LITHUANIA

Population

(2008 estimate)

3,358,000

Area

25,212 sq mi

(65,300 sq km)

Capital

Vilnius

Form of

government

Republic

Major cities

Vilnius, Kaunas,

Klaipeda,

Siauliai,

Panevezys

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Lithuania 165

Little Rock

Population

(2000 census)

183,133;

(2007 estimate)

187,452

Little Rock is the capital of the U.S.

state of Arkansas. It lies on the Arkansas

River.

Many people in Little Rock work for the

state government. The city is a center of

manufacturing. In addition, farmers in

the region around Little Rock sell their

crops in the city.

Little Rock began in 1722 when a

French explorer set up a trading post.

The post was at the site of a Quapaw

Indian settlement. Little Rock soon grew

up there. It became the capital of the

Arkansas Territory in 1821. In 1836

Arkansas became a U.S. state with Little

Rock as its capital.

A major event in the civil rights movement

happened in Little Rock in 1957.

Since 1954 U.S. public schools were no

longer allowed to have separate schools

for people of different races. Nine African

Americans tried to attend a school

in Little Rock that had only white students.

For several days Arkansas state

troops would not let them enter the

school. Eventually, U.S. troops made

sure the African Americans could attend

the school.

..More to explore

Arkansas • Civil Rights Movement

Liver

The liver is a spongy organ, or body

part, in all vertebrates, or animals with a

backbone. The liver does many important

jobs. It cleans the blood. It also

creates and stores substances that the

body needs.

Structure

In humans the liver is the body’s largest

and heaviest organ. It lies mostly under

the bottom five ribs on the right side of

the body. It is made up of two rounded

parts, or lobes. The right lobe is much

larger than the left lobe.

Jobs of the Liver

Blood brings many substances to the

liver for processing. The liver takes poisons

and other harmful substances from

the blood. It then breaks them down

into safer forms. It breaks down wornout

red blood cells, too.

The William J. Clinton Presidential Library is

in Little Rock, Arkansas.

166 Little Rock BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

The liver also takes useful substances

from the blood and stores them. These

substances include sugars, vitamins,

minerals such as iron, and amino acids.

(Amino acids are the building blocks of

proteins, which make up the body’s

cells.) The liver releases these stored

materials when the body needs them.

In addition, the liver makes substances

needed by the body. The liver makes

proteins that help to clot blood. It makes

certain enzymes, which break down food

into fuel for the body. It also makes a

yellow-green fluid called bile. Bile flows

through ducts, or tubes, from the liver

into a sac called the gallbladder. From

the gallbladder, bile flows into the small

intestine. There it helps to digest fats.

Liver Problems

Several different viruses and drugs can

cause a liver disease called hepatitis.

Drinking too much alcohol can scar the

liver. This condition is called cirrhosis.

These and other problems with the liver

can cause jaundice, which is a yellowing

of the skin and eyeballs. The yellow

color comes from a buildup of bile substances

in the blood. Doctors can sometimes

transplant a new liver into a

patient whose liver has failed.

#More to explore

Blood • Digestive System • Hepatitis

Living Thing

Animals, plants, fungi, algae, protozoans,

and bacteria are living things. Living

things are also called organisms.

Scientists can tell living things and nonliving

things apart because living things

behave in ways that nonliving things do

not. Scientists have discovered about 1.5

million different kinds of living things

on Earth.

The liver is a large organ, or body part,

located next to the stomach.

Scientists think that there are more than

14 million different species, or kinds, of

living things on Earth. However, only about

1.5 million have been discovered. Most of

these species are animals.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Living Thing 167

What Living Things Do

The most obvious clue to whether something

is living is its ability to move. All

living things can move, using their own

energy. Even though plants stay in one

spot, they move their leaves to get sunlight.

Living things are also sensitive. This

means that they are able to feel. The

simplest life forms can feel only when

something touches them, or they have

only a sense of hot and cold.

Living things take in certain chemicals

and release other chemicals.Humans and

other animals breathe in oxygen and

breathe out carbon dioxide. Green plants

take in carbon dioxide through their

leaves and release oxygen into the air.

All living things need the nutrients and

energy that food gives. Green plants

make their own food with the help of

sunlight. Animals eat plants and other

animals to get energy.

Living things reproduce. This means

that they create a new generation of life.

People and animals have babies. Plants

make seeds or spores that grow into new

plants. Even the most basic life form, a

single cell, reproduces. It does so by

dividing into two new cells.

Living things grow. When many cells in

a plant or an animal divide, the plant or

Scientists divide living things into five main groups: protists, monerans, fungi, plants, and

animals. These groups are called kingdoms.

168 Living Thing BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

animal becomes larger. Living things

also grow by making new parts—for

example, branches or teeth.

Finally, living things get rid of waste.

When an animal or plant takes in nutrients,

there is always a part that is not

needed. This part is excreted, or released

from the system.

Groups of Living Things

Scientists divide living things into

groups. This process is called classification.

The most basic groups are called

kingdoms. There are five kingdoms of

living things.

The first kingdom is called Monera.

Monerans are single-celled organisms.

They are too simple to be called plants

or animals. They are so small that it

takes the power of a microscope to see

them. Bacteria, or germs, are monerans.

The second kingdom is called Protista.

Most of these organisms are also single

cells. Algae and protozoans are in this

kingdom.

The third kingdom is Fungi. Most fungi

have many cells arranged in threadlike

groups. Mushrooms are fungi, and so are

yeasts and molds.

The fourth kingdom is Plantae. Plants

are also made of many cells. Most plants

are green or have parts that are green.

The fifth and largest kingdom is Animalia.

Like fungi and plants, animals have

many cells. Unlike other living things,

animals move around easily and quickly

react to their surroundings.

#More to explore

Algae • Animal • Bacteria • Fungus

• Plant • Protozoan

Lizard

Lizards belong to the group of animals

called reptiles. Reptiles have scales on

their body instead of hair or feathers.

There are more than 3,000 species, or

types, of lizard. Iguanas, chameleons,

geckos, and skinks are some of the

types.

Where Lizards Live

Lizards are cold-blooded animals. This

means that the temperature of the body

changes based on the temperature of

the surroundings. Therefore most

lizards do not live in very cold places.

Many species are found in wet tropics

or dry deserts. Lizards live

underground, on the ground, and in

trees or plants. A few species spend

some time in water.

The Komodo dragon is the largest lizard.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Lizard 169

Physical Features

Lizards vary more in size and shape than

any other group of reptiles. Some lizards

are only an inch or two long. But the

largest lizard, the Komodo dragon, can

reach a length of 10 feet (3 meters).

Most lizards have four strong legs, but

some have no legs at all. These lizards

look like snakes and are often mistaken

for them. Unlike snakes, however, lizards

have eyelids and ear openings. Lizards

usually have a long tail, too.

Most lizards have dry scales covering

their body. The scales are small plates

that are either smooth or bumpy. They

are often brown, green, or gray.

Many lizards have unique features. Some

have horns or spines. Others have a

bony plate around the neck. These features

help the lizards scare away enemies.

A few species have extra skin on the

sides of the body. Spreading this skin

helps them to glide from tree to tree.

Two kinds of lizard are poisonous. They

are the Gila monster of the southwestern

United States and the beaded lizard of

Mexico. Their venom, or poison, is

strong enough to kill a human.

Behavior

Most lizards are active during the day.

Geckos, however, are usually active from

dusk to dawn. Different types of lizard

have different ways of moving around.

Most run on four legs, but some run

fastest on their back legs. Legless lizards

move like snakes do.

Many lizards are able to change from

their drab color to a brighter color. They

do this when trying to attract a mate or

to scare away another animal. Some also

change color as a way to communicate

with each other. Temperature and light

also affect lizards’ color changes.

Lizards spend much of their time looking

for food. Most lizards eat insects, but

some eat seeds and plants. Lizards may

dig for food. They also may wait for

prey to come near. Then they dart suddenly

to catch it.

The Australian frilled lizard spreads out the

skin around its neck to scare enemies.

The Gila monster has a strong bite. Its jaw

delivers venom, or poison, into its victim.

170 Lizard BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Most lizards run away from their

enemies. But sometimes an enemy cannot

be avoided. In these cases some lizards

puff themselves up with air and

stand straight. This makes the lizard

look bigger and tougher.

Many lizards use their tails to escape

from enemies. The tail breaks off when

touched and then twists and wiggles on

the ground. The wiggling tail distracts

the enemy while the lizard escapes. A

lizard usually can grow a new tail.

Reproduction

Most lizards reproduce by laying eggs.

The females of most species lay several

eggs at a time, but some kinds lay only

one or two. The eggs have tough, leathery

shells. Lizards usually bury their eggs

or hide them under leaves. In a few species

the females watch their eggs until

they hatch. Most lizards, however, leave

the eggs after laying them. A few types

of lizard give birth to live young instead

of laying eggs.

Lizards and Humans

In some parts of the world people eat

large lizards, such as iguanas. Many

small lizards are useful to people because

they eat insect pests.

Human activities have threatened the

survival of some lizard species. By cutting

down trees to make room for buildings,

people have destroyed the homes of

some lizards. Capturing and selling lizards

as pets also has reduced their numbers.

The great Komodo dragon of

Indonesia, for example, was almost

wiped out. It is now protected by law.

..More to explore

Chameleon • Gecko • Iguana • Reptile

• Snake

Ljubljana

Population

(2008 estimate)

267,760

Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia, a

country in southeastern Europe. High

mountains surround the city. It is

Slovenia’s largest city and center of

culture.

Much of the country’s business and

industry is based in Ljubljana. Factories

there make such products as metals,

electronics, chemicals, and paper.Many

The Ljubljanica River flows through

Ljubljana, Slovenia.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Ljubljana 171

people in the city work in government

offices, tourism, or other service

industries.

More than 2,000 years ago a city called

Emona was built on the site that is now

Ljubljana. It became part of the Roman

Empire. Invaders destroyed Emona in

the 400s. In the 500s a Slavic people

began settling a new town there. It later

came to be called Ljubljana.

From the 1200s to the early 1900s Slovenia

was part of the empire of Austria-

Hungary. For much of the 1900s

Slovenia was part of a country called

Yugoslavia. Slovenia became an independent

country in 1991. Ljubljana became

its capital.

#More to explore

Slovenia • Yugoslavia

Llama

The llama is a mammal that belongs to

the camel family. Unlike camels, llamas

do not have humps. But like most camels,

llamas are domesticated, or tamed to

help people. Other close relatives of the

llama are the alpaca, the guanaco, and

the vicuna. The llama’s scientific name

is Lama glama.

Most llamas are found in South

America. American Indians in Bolivia,

Peru, Ecuador, Chile, and Argentina

raise herds of the animals.

The llama has a long neck and a small

head. It has a short tail and long legs

that end in hooves. It is about 4 feet

(1.2 meters) tall at the shoulder. Its hairy

coat may be white, black, brown, or a

mixture of these colors.

The llama eats many types of grass and

other plants. It is a hardy animal that

can survive for a long time without

water. For these reasons, people often

use llamas to carry loads in the Andes

Mountains. People also use llama hair to

make clothing, rugs, and rope.

#More to explore

Camel • Mammal

Lobster

#see Crustacean.

Locust

Locusts are a type of grasshopper. They

are found worldwide. They sometimes

gather and fly together in huge groups

called swarms.

Llamas are usually gentle animals, but when

they get mad they may spit.

A 250-pound

(113-

kilogram)

llama can

carry a load

of 100 to 130

pounds (45 to

60 kilograms).

172 Llama BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Locusts are about 2 inches (5 centimeters)

long. They have short antennas.

Their strong, long hind legs make them

good jumpers. Locusts make noise by

rubbing their hind legs on their wings.

Locusts usually live a rather quiet life

alone. But sometimes they reproduce so

quickly that they become crowded

together. This crowding causes some

locusts to act differently. These locusts

might form a swarm. They can fly for

days or weeks over thousands of miles.

When they finally stop, each locust can

eat more than its body weight in food.

This can destroy farm fields very quickly.

Cicadas are often called locusts, but they

are a different family of insects. The

best-known type is called the 17-year

cicada. It lives underground for 17 years

before coming out. After a few weeks of

activity, it dies.

#More to explore

Grasshopper

Loire River

The longest river in France is the Loire.

It is 634 miles (1,020 kilometers) long.

The Loire Valley is a popular tourist area

known for its chateaus (French for

“castles”). The scenic valley is sometimes

called the Garden of France.

The Loire River begins about 4,500 feet

(1,370 meters) above sea level in the

Cevennes mountain range of southern

France. It is fed by melting snow from

The Loire River flows past a chateau, or castle, in France.

Swarms, or large groups, of locusts can fly

for thousands of miles.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Loire River 173

mountain peaks. The Loire flows north

through central France before swinging

in a great curve past the city ofOrleans

and turning westward. It empties into the

AtlanticOcean near the city of Nantes.

The Loire Valley is a main agricultural

region of France. Vegetables and fruit,

especially grapes used in making wine,

grow well there. The valley’s higher

ground produces rye and wheat. Dairy

farming and livestock grazing are common

in the area near Orleans.

..More to explore

France

Lome

Population

(2005

estimate), city,

921,000; urban

area,

1,337,000

Lome is the capital of Togo, a small

country in western Africa. The city is

located on the Gulf of Guinea, which is

part of the Atlantic Ocean. Lome is

Togo’s largest city. It is also the country’s

center of education, business, and transportation.

Shipping is important to Lome’s

economy. The city is Togo’s main port.

Ships load up there with products for

sale to other countries. Some of the

main products shipped are cocoa, coffee,

cotton, and minerals. Lome also has an

oil refinery.

Lome began as a small village called

Alome. Local people settled the village

in the 1700s. In 1884 Germany took

over the area. The Germans renamed the

village Lome. They made Lome the

capital of their colony of Togoland in

1897. In the early 1900s the area came

under the rule of France. In 1960

French Togoland became the independent

country of Togo, with Lome as its

capital.

..More to explore

Togo

Togo’s legislature, the National Assembly,

meets in a large building in Lome.

174 Lome BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

London

Population

(2006

estimate),

7,512,000

London is the capital of the United

Kingdom, a country in western Europe.

It is also the capital of England, which is

part of the United Kingdom. London

lies on the Thames River. It is the largest

city in the country. It has long been a

major center of culture, business, and

banking.

Places of Interest

London is an ancient city, and it has

many historical sites. Since 1066

England’s kings and queens have been

crowned in a church called Westminster

Abbey. The queen of England lives in

Buckingham Palace. The Parliament

meets in the Palace of Westminster. Its

famous clock tower contains a huge bell

called Big Ben.

London is known for its many museums.

The British Museum is the world’s

oldest public museum. It is full of

ancient treasures. The National Gallery

has many European paintings.

Economy

London is one of the world’s most

important centers for banking, investing

money, and insurance. The tourist

industry is also important to the city’s

economy. In addition, many people in

London work in government offices,

schools, museums, and stores.

History

Romans founded the city in the 1st century

AD. They called it Londinium (the

name was eventually shortened to London).

It was part of the Roman Empire

for about 400 years. Later a Germanic

people called the Saxons settled in London.

William the Conqueror (William

I), from Normandy in France, took control

of England in 1066. He had a fortress

built in the city. It was later called

the Tower of London.

A double-decker bus drives past

the clock tower at the Palace of

Westminster. This tower contains

a huge bell known as Big Ben.

The tower is a famous sight in

London.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA London 175

London grew rapidly. Several times,

however, a disease called the plague

killed many people there. In 1666 a fire

destroyed the city, but it was rebuilt.

Over the years the English built a huge

empire, and London grew wealthy as the

capital of the empire. The city was the

center of the world’s economy from the

late 1700s to the early 1900s.

In 1940–41, during WorldWar II, Germany

repeatedly bombed London. The

city was heavily damaged. After the war,

London was rebuilt. In the early 21st

century terrorists bombed London’s

public transportation system. However,

the city continued to thrive.

#More to explore

England • Thames River • United

Kingdom

Loon

Loons are large waterbirds known for

their unusual wailing calls. They are

excellent swimmers and divers. In fact,

these birds are called divers in Great

Britain. Their feet are webbed, and their

legs are set far back on their bodies.

These features help loons swim but

make the birds almost unable to walk.

There are several species, or types, of

loon. Loons live near freshwater lakes

and ponds in northern regions. They are

found in the northern parts of North

America, Europe, and Asia. Loons

migrate, meaning that they fly to

warmer areas for the winter.

Loons are about 2–3 feet (60–90 centimeters)

long. They have stout bodies

and pointed bills. Their wings are small

and pointed. Their feathers are mainly

black, brown, or gray on the upper body

and white below.

Except for penguins, no birds are better

divers than loons. Loons sometimes

The common loon is also known as the

great northern diver.

A huge Ferris wheel called the London Eye

sits along the Thames River in London,

England.

176 Loon BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

dive 200 feet (60 meters) below the

surface of the water. They can stay

underwater for three minutes or more.

Loons put these skills to good use in

catching fish and other small water

animals to eat.

Loons make a wide variety of calls. They

use some calls to frighten away invaders

and others to locate or greet mates.

Many people think the calls sound like

eerie laughing, yodeling, wailing, or

hooting.

#More to explore

Bird • Migration, Animal

Loris

Lorises are slow-moving mammals with

enormous eyes. They are primates, as are

lemurs, tarsiers, monkeys, apes, and

human beings. Lorises live mainly in the

tropical rain forests and bamboo groves

of India and Southeast Asia.

Lorises measure about 7 to 15 inches

(18 to 38 centimeters) long. They have

round faces, small ears, and dark patches

around their large eyes. Their thick fur is

gray or brown. Lorises have a short,

stubby tail or no tail at all. They have

short, thick fingers and toes that are

capable of an extremely powerful grip.

The second toe on each foot has a long

claw for grooming.

The animals live in trees and rarely venture

to the ground. They are slow and

careful climbers and do not leap from

tree to tree. They spend their days rolled

up in a tight ball, fast asleep. When

night arrives, they begin searching for

food.

Lorises feed on insects, fruit, and plant

shoots. They also eat small birds and

their eggs and even small mammals and

lizards. When a loris spots a possible

meal, it often launches a surprise attack.

It firmly grips a branch with both feet

and stands straight up. Then, still holding

on, it throws its body forward and

grabs the prey with both hands.

Gestation, or pregnancy, lasts about six

months. The female usually gives birth

to a single offspring. Lorises may live as

long as 14 years.

#More to explore

Primate • Rain Forest • Tarsier

The strong hands and feet of a

loris help it to climb trees. Its

large, round eyes help it to see

in the dark.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Loris 177

Los Angeles

Population

(2000 census),

city, 3,694,820;

(2007 estimate)

3,834,340

Los Angeles is the second largest city in

the United States, after New York City.

It lies on the Pacific Ocean in the southern

part of the state of California. The

Los Angeles area is very spread out. It

includes both beaches and mountains.

The city is famous for its movie industry,

celebrities, and sunshine, as well as

for its pollution and traffic jams.

Places of Interest

Hollywood, the center of the U.S.

motion picture industry, is a district in

Los Angeles. Many movies and television

shows are filmed in Hollywood

studios. Universal Studios also includes a

movie-related theme park. The Kodak

Theatre hosts the yearly Academy award

presentations. Celebrities are also honored

with displays at theWalk of Fame

and Mann’s Chinese Theatre.

Los Angeles surrounds the city of Beverly

Hills. It is known for its movie-star

residents and expensive stores.

Concerts, plays, and dance performances

are held at the Los Angeles Music Center.

It includes theWalt Disney Concert

Hall, home of the city’s orchestra. The

Getty Museum displays a large art collection.

Los Angeles also has a number

of professional sports teams.

Economy

The entertainment industry and tourism

are important to Los Angeles’ economy.

Trade, health care, and other services

also bring money to the city. Los Angeles

is a major manufacturing center. Factories

in the area process oil and make

airplanes, spacecraft, toys, clothing, and

electronics.

History

Los Angeles grew around a Spanish religious

settlement called a mission. Settlers

founded the town in 1781. It was

ruled by Spain and later Mexico. In

1846, during the MexicanWar, U.S.

forces captured Los Angeles.

Los Angeles grew very rapidly. Its population

went from about 11,000 in 1880

to more than 1 million in 1930. The

growth of the movie business and other

industries attracted more people to the

city. In the early 21st century Los Ange-

Classical music concerts are held at the

Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles,

California.

178 Los Angeles BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

les was still one of the fastest-growing

cities in the United States.

#More to explore

California • Movie

Louis XVI

Louis XVI was the last king of France

before the French Revolution. During

the revolution he lost his kingdom and

then his life.

Early Life

Louis was born on August 23, 1754, in

Versailles, France. In 1765 his father

died. When Louis was only 15 years old,

he married Marie-Antoinette of Austria.

Louis’s grandfather King Louis XV died

on May 10, 1774. Louis then became

king.

Reign

Louis was a weak king. He hired people

who tried to make the government fairer

and more modern. However, the French

nobles stopped these efforts.

Louis also sent ships and troops to support

the American Revolution. He did

this because he wanted to make trouble

for Great Britain. This effort was a success,

but it cost more than the kingdom

could afford to pay.

By 1789 the French people were very

angry about France’s money problems

and Louis’s weakness. They also disliked

Marie-Antoinette. The king needed

help, so he called together the Estates-

General. This was a group of representatives

made up of nobles, church leaders,

and common people. But the representatives

could not work together to solve

France’s problems.

In July 1789 the common people began

the French Revolution. Louis remained

king, but he grew afraid. In 1791 he

tried to slip out of France and into Austria.

The French people caught him and

took him back to his palace.

Last Days

Revolutionary troops took Louis prisoner

in August 1792. In September

France became a republic—a nation

ruled by the people instead of a king.

The people tried Louis for treason

(betraying his country), and he was

found guilty. On January 21, 1793, in

Paris, France, the French people put

King Louis XVI to death.

#More to explore

French Revolution • Marie-Antoinette

The painting shows Louis XVI in formal dress.

The younger

brother of

Louis XVI

became king

of France in

1814. He was

known as

Louis XVIII.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Louis XVI 179

Louisiana

The U.S. state of Louisiana has a

rich cultural history. Originally a

Spanish and French colony, Louisiana

existed as a settled area for a century

before it became part of the United

States. The French explorer Sieur de La

Salle chose the name Louisiana in honor

of King Louis XIV of France. The capital

is Baton Rouge.

Geography

Louisiana is located in the southern part

of the United States. It is bordered by

the state of Mississippi, the Mississippi

River, and the Pearl River to the east; by

Arkansas to the north; by Texas and the

Sabine River to the west; and by the

Gulf of Mexico to the south.

Louisiana is one of the flattest states in

the nation, and much of the area around

the Gulf coast is below sea level. The

state has thousands of miles of swampland

around the mouth of the Mississippi

River.Waterways known as bayous

pass through this area. Louisiana has a

humid climate that is hot in the summer

and mild in the winter. Hurricanes coming

out of the Gulf have often battered

the coastal areas.

People

About two thirds of Louisiana’s people

are whites of European heritage and

about one third are African American.

Descendants of the early French and

Spanish colonists are called Creoles.

Many of them are of mixed ancestry.

During the mid-1700s a group of

French-speaking people moved to Louisiana

from Canada. Their descendants

are known as Cajuns. They often live in

their own communities and speak their

own language, a combination of French

and other languages.

Economy

Louisiana is among the nation’s leading

producers of oil, natural gas, and salt.

The state’s main industries include

chemical manufacturing and oil refining.

Paper goods, fabricated metals,

transportation equipment, and processed

foodstuffs such as sugar are other

chief industrial products.

Sugarcane (for sugar) is the state’s main

agricultural crop. Other major farm

products include cotton and cattle. The

fishing industry in Louisiana provides

180 Louisiana BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

shrimps, oysters, and other seafood.

Service-based industries, such as tourism,

commercial sales, government,

health care, and finance, play vital roles

in the state’s economy. One of the main

tourist destinations is the city of New

Orleans. In 2005 the city was badly

damaged by flooding caused by Hurricane

Katrina, but it soon began to

rebuild.

History

There were several Native American

tribes in the region when Europeans

began settling in the Louisiana area. The

Caddo were the largest group, but the

Tunica, the Choctaw, and others also

lived in the area.

The Spanish were the earliest Europeans

to explore the area. But the French were

the first to settle it, beginning in about

1702. In 1803 the United States bought

the region from the French as part of the

Louisiana Purchase. Louisiana became a

U.S. state in 1812.

In the 1800s there were many large

Louisiana farms called plantations. Plantations

depended on slave labor. Louisiana

therefore joined other slave-owning

states in the Confederacy during the

American CivilWar (1861–65). Louisiana

rejoined the Union in 1868.

Through most of the 1900s, the state

had to deal with issues of discrimination

against African Americans.

Louisiana faced another great challenge

in 2005. In that year Hurricane Katrina

broke down the barriers that protected

the city of New Orleans from flooding.

Hundreds of thousands of people lost

their homes in the disaster. Many had to

leave the state.

..More to explore

Baton Rouge • Caddo • Louisiana

Purchase

Oak trees line an avenue leading to one of Louisiana’s old plantation homes.

Facts About

LOUISIANA

Flag

Population

(2000 census)

4,468,976—

rank, 22nd state;

(2008 estimate)

4,410,796—

rank, 25th state

Capital

Baton Rouge

Area

51,840 sq mi

(134,264 sq

km)—rank, 31st

state

Statehood

April 30, 1812

Motto

Union, Justice,

and Confidence

State bird

Brown pelican

State flower

Magnolia

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Louisiana 181

Louisiana

Purchase

In 1803 the area of the United States

was much smaller than it is today. In

that year, however, the country bought

the Louisiana Territory from France.

The territory stretched from the Mississippi

River to the Rocky Mountains,

and from the Gulf of Mexico to Canada.

The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size

of the United States.

Historical Background

A French explorer named Sieur de La

Salle had claimed Louisiana for France

in 1682. He named the territory after

the French king Louis XIV. It originally

included land on both sides of the Mississippi

River.

In 1762 France gave the part of

Louisiana west of the Mississippi to

Spain. The rest they gave to Great

Britain. It became part of the United

States after the American Revolution. In

the late 1700s settlers from the eastern

part of the United States started moving

into the area. Spain allowed them to

use the Mississippi River and the port

city of New Orleans, near the river’s

mouth.

In 1801 the powerful French leader

Napoleon got the territory back. This

worried the U.S. settlers. They were

afraid that France might try to interfere

with traffic on the river.

The Purchase

President Thomas Jefferson first tried to

buy just New Orleans. Napoleon

ignored him until Jefferson threatened

to join forces with Great Britain,

France’s worst enemy. Napoleon also

needed money to pay for the many wars

he was fighting. For these reasons, he

offered to sell the entire Louisiana Territory.

The price was about 15 million

182 Louisiana Purchase BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

dollars. This amounted to only 3 cents

per acre.

The Louisiana Purchase added 828,000

square miles (2,144,520 square kilometers)

to the United States. The country

eventually carved 13 states, either in

whole or in part, from the territory.

These states were Arkansas, Colorado,

Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota,

Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North

Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and

Wyoming.

..More to explore

Jefferson, Thomas • Napoleon

Luanda

Population

(2005

estimate), urban

area,

2,766,000

Luanda is the capital of Angola, a country

in southwestern Africa. The city lies

on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. It is

by far Angola’s largest city.

Luanda is a busy seaport. Ships load up

there with coffee, oil, and other products

for sale to other countries. The city

also has some factories, including a factory

for processing oil.

The Portuguese founded Luanda in

1576. In 1627 it became the capital of

Portugal’s colony of Angola. From the

start Luanda was a base for slave traders.

Newly captured slaves were sent from

Luanda’s port across the ocean to Brazil.

The slave trade ended in the middle of

the 1800s.

In 1975 Angola became an independent

country with Luanda as its capital. Different

Angolan groups immediately

began fighting for control of the country.

The war lasted until 2002. Luanda

and the rest of the country suffered during

the long civil war.

..More to explore

Angola

Lung

Lungs are baglike organs, or body parts,

used for breathing. They are part of the

body’s respiratory system. All animals

An Angolan woman carries a

plate of fruit to sell in the streets

of Luanda.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Lung 183

that have a backbone and breathe air

have lungs. When an animal inhales

(breathes in), air filled with oxygen flows

into the lungs. When an animal exhales

(breathes out), a gas called carbon dioxide

and water vapor flow out of the

lungs.

Structure

A body has two lungs, one on each side

of the chest. The heart is located

between the lungs. The right lung has

three rounded sections called lobes. The

left lung has two lobes. The base of each

lung rests on a strong sheet of muscle

called the diaphragm. In normal breathing

the diaphragm and the muscles

between the ribs automatically tighten

and relax. This movement helps the

lungs to fill with air and to empty.

Air enters and leaves the lungs through a

series of tubes. A large, tough tube called

the trachea, or windpipe, connects the

top of the throat to two branching tubes

called bronchi. Each of these tubes leads

to a different lung. The bronchi then

divide into a web of smaller tubes called

bronchioles. The bronchioles lead to

tiny sacs called alveoli.

Jobs of the Lungs

When an animal breathes in, the oxygen

in the air passes through the walls of the

alveoli into tiny blood vessels called capillaries.

Red blood cells then pick up the

oxygen and take it to cells throughout

the body. The blood also carries wastes,

including carbon dioxide and water

vapor, back into the lungs. The lungs

send the wastes out of the body when

the animal breathes out.

The lungs also trap and get rid of harmful

substances from the air. A sticky liquid

called mucus lines the lungs and the

tubes leading to the lungs. The mucus

traps harmful substances such as pollution

and bacteria. Mucus and harmful

substances leave the lungs when an animal

coughs.

Lung Diseases

Most problems with the lungs can cause

coughing, chest pain, and trouble with

breathing. Pneumonia and tuberculosis

are serious infections of the lungs.

Emphysema and lung cancer are deadly

diseases of the lungs. Smoking is one of

the main causes of emphysema and lung

cancer.

#More to explore

Air • Blood • Cough • Respiratory

System

The lungs of

an average

person contain

more than

600 million

alveoli.

Ribs protect both lungs. The diagram shows

the inside of one lung, with the ribs cut away.

184 Lung BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Lusaka

Population

(2005

estimate), urban

area,

1,260,000

Lusaka is the capital of Zambia, a country

in southern Africa. It is the largest

city in Zambia. It is also the center of

the country’s economy.

Many people in Lusaka work for the

government or businesses that provide

services. Farmers from surrounding areas

sell their crops and livestock in the city.

Factories in Lusaka make cement and

processed foods and drinks.

People have lived in the Lusaka area for

thousands of years. In the 1890s a British

company took control of the area.

Lusaka was founded in 1905 as a station

on a railway line. Great Britain made the

area into a colony in 1924. Lusaka

became the capital of the colony in

1935.

Lusaka was the center of a political

movement seeking to end British rule in

the area. In 1964 Zambia became an

independent country with Lusaka as its

capital. Since then the city has grown

rapidly.

..More to explore

Zambia

Lusitania

The Lusitania was a famous British

steamship of the early 1900s. A German

submarine sank the Lusitania in the

Atlantic Ocean duringWorldWar I.

Almost 1,200 people died, including

128 U.S. citizens. Partly because of this

attack, the United States entered World

War I in 1917.

Germany and Great Britain were

enemies inWorldWar I. The Germans

warned that they would try to sink the

Lusitania. They said that the ship carried

weapons as well as passengers. British

officials told the captain of the Lusitania

that German submarines had sunk other

ships along the Lusitania’s route. The

captain ignored the warnings.

On May 7, 1915, the Lusitania was near

the coast of Ireland when it was

attacked. A German submarine fired a

torpedo that struck the ship. The Lusitania

sank within 20 minutes. Only about

750 people survived.

The Lusitania docks at a crowded port.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Lusitania 185

The attack angered many people in the

United States. They wanted their country

to declare war on Germany. But for

two years the United States stayed out of

the war. The United States finally

entered the war in 1917. It said that

German submarine attacks were one of

the reasons for its decision.

#More to explore

Submarine •WorldWar I

Luther, Martin

The German priest and scholar Martin

Luther began the Reformation in 1517.

This movement at first sought to

change, or reform, the Roman Catholic

church. Instead it led to the establishment

of Protestantism, one of the major

branches of Christianity. The Protestant

church known as Lutheran grew out of

Luther’s teachings.

Early Life

Luther was born in Eisleben, Saxony

(now in Germany), on November 10,

1483. In 1507 he became a Roman

Catholic priest.

Meanwhile, Luther began having doubts

about some practices of Roman Catholicism.

For example, the church accepted

money in order for sins to be forgiven.

This practice was known as the selling of

indulgences. Luther came to believe that

God forgives sins only because of one’s

faith. He also thought the church was

too powerful.

Efforts at Reform

In 1517 Luther wrote a list of 95 theses,

or statements of his beliefs, about religion.

Luther continued to write and

teach on the subject of reforming the

church, and his views began to gather

support.

Luther’s actions angered powerful

church leaders. The pope (the leader of

Catholicism) excommunicated, or

barred, him from the church in 1521.

Later that year the government declared

Luther an outlaw, and he fled to a castle

near Eisenach. While in hiding, he

translated the New Testament into German

so that more people could read it.

Luther spent the rest of his life writing,

preaching, and organizing the reformed

church in Saxony. He died on February

18, 1546, in Eisleben.

#More to explore

Protestantism • Reformation • Roman

Catholicism

A picture from the 1800s shows Martin

Luther.

186 Luther, Martin BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Luxembourg

Luxembourg is one of the world’s smallest

countries. Its capital is Luxembourg

city.

Geography

Luxembourg is surrounded by Belgium,

Germany, and France. The land includes

rolling hills and deep river valleys. The

northern third of the country is part of

the ArdennesMountains. The rest of the

country has a more varied landscape. A

large beech forest called the Mullerthal

lies in the east-central part of the

country.

People

More than half of the country’s people

are Luxembourgers. They speak Luxembourgian,

a mixture of German and

French. Most people also speak the German

and French languages. Most of the

people are Roman Catholics.

Economy

Banking, tourism, and other services are

the most important parts of the

economy. Luxembourg also produces

iron and steel, machinery, chemicals,

tires, and other goods. Agriculture is a

small part of the economy. Crops

include barley, wheat, oats, potatoes,

and grapes for wine. Cattle and pigs are

the main livestock.

History

The Franks, the Holy Roman Empire,

and other powers controlled the region

for centuries. Luxembourg became a

separate state in AD 963. In 1354 the

region became a duchy, or a state ruled

by a duke. A series of foreign powers

controlled the duchy beginning in the

1400s.

Luxembourg gained full independence

in 1867. Today its ruler is still called a

grand duke, but a prime minister actually

runs the government.

..More to explore

European Union • Luxembourg (city)

Vianden Castle in Luxembourg was completed

in the 1300s.

Facts About

LUXEMBOURG

Population

(2008 estimate)

488,000

Area

999 sq mi (2,586

sq km)

Capital

Luxembourg

Form of

government

Constitutional

monarchy

Major cities

Luxembourg,

Esch-sur-Alzette,

Dudelange, Schifflange,

Bettembourg

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Luxembourg 187

Luxembourg

Population

(2008 estimate)

85,467

The city of Luxembourg is the capital of

a small country that is also named Luxembourg.

The city lies on the Alzette

River, in northwestern Europe.

Luxembourg city is a major banking

center. It is also the international headquarters

for several agencies of the European

Union (EU). These include the

European Investment Bank and the

European Court of Justice.

Many hundreds of years ago the Romans

built a fort on the site of Luxembourg.

In the 900s the founder of Luxembourg’s

royal family bought the site and

built a castle there. The city of Luxembourg

grew around the castle.

For several centuries the city was repeatedly

attacked and rebuilt. Its castle

became one of the strongest fortresses in

Europe. The country fell under French,

Austrian, and then German rule.

In 1867 Luxembourg became an independent

country. The city of Luxembourg

was its capital.

..More to explore

Luxembourg (country)

Lyme Disease

Lyme disease is an illness caused by tiny

living things called bacteria. Small

insects called ticks carry the bacteria and

spread the disease.

Ticks sometimes bite humans to feed on

their blood. If a tick carries the bacteria

that cause Lyme disease, it can pass the

bacteria to a person through its bite. The

person may then become sick with Lyme

disease.

One of the first signs of Lyme disease is

often a circular red rash. The rash usually

appears in the area of the tick bite.

The person may then experience headaches,

muscle aches, joint pain, fatigue,

and fever.

People who have had Lyme disease for a

long time may become sicker. They may

have numbness in their feet and hands.

They also may be confused and unable

to concentrate.

Lyme disease often starts with a red rash in

the shape of a circle.

The name

Luxembourg

comes from an

old Roman

castle in

Luxembourg

city called

Lucilinburhuc,

meaning “little

fortress.”

188 Luxembourg BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Lyme disease can be treated with antibiotics.

Antibiotics are a kind of medicine

that kills bacteria. If a person with Lyme

disease is not treated early on, it may

become more difficult to cure the disease.

The best way to prevent Lyme disease is

to stay away from places with ticks.

Ticks often live in shady, wooded areas.

People also can use an insect spray to

keep ticks away. If ticks do land on the

skin, people should remove them immediately.

#More to explore

Bacteria • Disease, Human • Tick and

Mite

Lymphatic

System

Humans and many other animals have a

lymphatic system, which helps the body

to fight disease. In this way the lymphatic

system is a part of the immune

system. The lymphatic system also carries

fluid throughout the body. In this

way it is a part of the circulatory system.

Major parts of the lymphatic system

include the lymphatic vessels, the lymph

nodes, and cells called lymphocytes. The

spleen, the tonsils, the appendix, bone

marrow, and the thymus also belong to

the lymphatic system.

Lymphatic Vessels

Lymphatic vessels run throughout the

body. These vessels collect extra fluid

from the body’s tissues. This fluid is

called lymph. Lymph carries wastes and

The lymphatic system fights disease and

carries fluid throughout the body.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Lymphatic System 189

certain nutrients, especially proteins.

Lymph flows from the lymphatic vessels

into the blood at a vein near the heart.

Lymphatic vessels also collect foreign

substances, called antigens, from the

tissues. Antigens include such things as

bacteria and viruses, which can cause

disease.

Lymph Nodes and Other

Organs

Lymph nodes, or lymph glands, are

small, bean-shaped organs. The human

body has thousands of lymph nodes.

They are found at certain points along

the lymphatic vessels. They are clustered

in such places as the neck, the armpits,

the knees, and the groin. Lymph nodes

remove antigens from the lymph.

Lymph nodes also hold antigen-fighting

cells called lymphocytes.

Other organs of the lymphatic system

also contain lymphocytes. The spleen

sits behind the stomach. It filters antigens

from the blood. The tonsils trap

antigens in the throat. The appendix

and other areas in the intestines trap

antigens, too.

Lymph vessels and blood vessels both carry white blood cells. But lymph vessels carry

lymph, not blood. They also carry nutrients that would not fit inside small blood vessels.

190 Lymphatic System BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Lymphocytes

Lymphocytes are white blood cells. They

begin in bone marrow, which is a soft

tissue inside the bones. Some lymphocytes,

called B cells, develop in the bone

marrow. Other lymphocytes, called T

cells, travel to the thymus to develop

further. The thymus is a pyramid-shaped

organ that lies beneath the breastbone.

Lymphocytes travel through the lymph

and the blood. They collect in the

lymph nodes and other lymphatic

organs. They work to destroy antigens

that could harm the body.

#More to explore

Blood • Circulatory System • Immune

System

Lynx

Lynx are wild cats that live in the forests

of Europe, Asia, and northern North

America. They are known for their sharp

vision.

Lynx are about 30 to 40 inches (80 to

100 centimeters) long, without the short

tail. They weigh 20 to 45 pounds (9 to

20 kilograms). Lynx have long legs and

large, furry paws that help them move

through snow. Their thick fur helps to

keep them warm in cold weather. The

fur is yellowish brown to gray, with

darker brown and black patches. It is

bushy on the neck. The ears and tail

have black hair at the tip.

Lynx live alone or in small groups. They

hunt at night. Lynx eat birds and small

animals. Some lynx, such as the Eurasian

lynx, will eat larger prey such as deer.

Canadian lynx eat mostly snowshoe

hares. Lynx like to sneak up on their

prey rather than chase it down.

Lynx are good swimmers and climbers.

They also can make great leaps. Lynx are

generally silent, except during the mating

season.

Lynx are closely related to the bobcat

and the caracal. The bobcat is also called

the bay lynx. It is common to many

parts of the United States and has yellowish

brown fur tinged with red. Its fur

also has black spots. The caracal is sometimes

called the Persian, or desert, lynx.

It is found in hills, deserts, and plains of

Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. It has

a reddish brown coat.

#More to explore

Cat

Lynx have large paws that help the animals

move through snow.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Lynx 191

Britannica

Student

Encyclopedia

Chicago • London • New Delhi • Paris • Seoul • Sydney • Taipei • Tokyo

Volume 8

2010 Britannica Student Encyclopedia

Copyright © 2010 by Encyclop.dia Britannica, Inc.

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All rights reserved. Copyright under International Copyright Union

No part of this work may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,

recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2009904642

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International Standard Book Number: 978-1-61535-363-7

eBook edition January, 2010

Madagascar is known as the

Great Red Island because it has

rich, red soil.

(See Madagascar.)

The Portuguese explorer

Ferdinand Magellan and his

crew were the first Europeans

to sail across the Pacific Ocean.

(See Magellan, Ferdinand.)

Nelson Mandela spent almost

30 years in prison before

becoming South Africa’s first

black president.

(See Mandela, Nelson.)

Everything touched by Midas, a

figure from ancient Greek and

Roman mythology, turned to

gold.

(See Midas.)

A molecule is the smallest unit

of a substance that has all the

properties of that substance.

(See Molecule.)

Mm

Macau

Macau is a special administrative region

of China. Macau is part of China, but it

controls many of its own affairs.

Part of Macau is a small piece of land

connected to China’s southern coast.

The capital city, also called Macau, covers

most of that land. The region of

Macau also includes two nearby islands

in the South China Sea.

Most of the people who live in Macau

are Chinese. There are also some

Portuguese. Most Chinese in Macau

practice Buddhism. The Portuguese are

mainly Roman Catholic.

Trade is very important to Macau’s

economy. Macau is a free port. That

means that ships from anywhere in the

world may use the port without paying

special taxes. Tourism and gambling also

bring a lot of money to Macau.

People have lived in what is now Macau

for at least 4,000 years. The rulers of

China controlled the area over the centuries.

Portuguese ships started arriving

in Macau in 1513. Portugal used Macau

as a base for trading with China and

Japan. The Portuguese put a governor in

charge of Macau, but the Chinese held

most of the power.

In 1974 Portugal gave Macau more control

over its own affairs. Macau was officially

returned to Chinese rule in 1999.

..More to explore

Buddhism • China

Macdonald, John

John Macdonald was the first prime

minister of Canada. He was born on

January 11, 1815, in Glasgow, Scotland.

His family moved to what is now

Ontario in 1820. Alexander attended

school there and became a lawyer in

1836.

At that time the land that is now

Canada consisted of various territories

ruled by Great Britain. In 1841 the British

Parliament combined CanadaWest

(now Ontario) and Canada East (now

Quebec) to create the Province of

Canada. Macdonald was elected to the

assembly of the Province of Canada in

1844.

Great Britain ruled several other territories

as well. Macdonald worked to bring

them all together into one country. In

1867 the British North America Act

created the Dominion of Canada. It

included the Province of Canada, Nova

Scotia, and New Brunswick. Macdonald

became its first leader, or prime minister.

Under Macdonald’s leadership, the

dominion soon expanded to include the

provinces of Manitoba (1870), British

Columbia (1871), and Prince Edward

Island (1873). In 1873 Macdonald was

forced to resign because the government

was accused of taking bribes. However,

he returned as prime minister five years

later and served until his death on June

6, 1891, in Ottawa, Ontario.

..More to explore

Canada

4 Macau BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Macedonia

Macedonia is a small country in southeastern

Europe. It is part of a region

called the Balkans. Its capital is Skopje.

Macedonia borders Serbia, Kosovo, Bulgaria,

Greece, and Albania. The Vardar

River flows through the center of the

country. Many mountains cover the

land.

Forests cover the mountains of Macedonia.

Wolves, bears, lynx, wild pigs,

lizards, and other animals live in the

country.

Most of the people are ethnic Macedonians.

They speak a language called

Macedonian. Other ethnic groups

include Albanians, Turks, Roma (Gypsies),

and Serbs. More than half of the

people are Eastern Orthodox Christians.

Nearly one third are Muslims.

Many Macedonians work in services,

including communications, government

work, and health care. Industry and

agriculture are also important to the

economy. Factories make cloth, metals,

construction materials, and other goods.

Mines provide lead and coal. Farmers

grow wheat, potatoes, wine grapes,

tomatoes, and tobacco.

People lived in the region of Macedonia

as early as 7000 BC. By the 300s BC King

Philip II ruled an empire that included

nearly all of Greece. His son Alexander

the Great expanded the empire. Later

other groups conquered Macedonia. By

the 1300s most of Macedonia belonged

to the Turkish Ottoman Empire.

The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and

Slovenes took over Macedonia in 1918.

The kingdom was renamed Yugoslavia

in 1929. Macedonia gained independence

in 1991.

..More to explore

Alexander the Great • Balkan Peninsula

• Skopje

The Monastery of Saint Naum in southern

Macedonia was built in the 900s.

Facts About

MACEDONIA

Population

(2008 estimate)

2,039,000

Area

9,928 sq mi

(25,713 sq km)

Capital

Skopje

Form of

government

Republic

Major cities

Skopje, Bitola,

Prilep,

Kumanovo,

Tetovo

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Macedonia 5

Another example is a doorknob. A doorknob

is a wheel that turns an inner shaft

(axle) that moves the latch.

A screw is a thin rod with edges, or

threads, that curve around it. Turning a

screw produces a force that can push

the screw into wood or tighten it

against a nut. Similar threads are used

on jars and other containers so that lids

close tightly.

A pulley is a wheel with a rope or something

similar around its edge. The pulley

changes the direction of the force

applied to one end of the rope. For

example, by pulling down on one end of

the rope, a person can lift an object

attached to the other end.

Compound Machines

Simple machines can be combined to

create compound machines. Compound

machines can be as small as a mechanical

watch or as large as a construction

crane.

In a compound machine, forces and

motion are transferred from one part to

another. One way this is done is with

gears. A gear is typically a circular piece

of metal with teeth, or ridges, along its

outer edge. The teeth of one gear fit into

those of another. When one gear turns,

it also turns the other gear. Another way

of transferring forces and motion is with

a type of pulley that uses a chain or a

band of flexible material called a belt.

A bicycle is an example of a compound

machine that uses a chain to transfer

force. The chain runs around two separate

toothed wheels, which act as pulleys.

One is attached to the axle of the

rear wheel. The other is attached to the

pedals through an axle. The pedals work

like the crank of a wheel-and-axle

machine. The force used to turn the

pedals becomes a stronger turning force

on the axle and its toothed wheel. The

chain transfers the force to the rear

wheel and makes it turn. In some

bicycles the chain can be shifted between

A crane is a machine that makes lifting

heavy objects easier.

A mechanic puts together complex machinery

that will power an airplane.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Machine 7

toothed wheels of different sizes. This

changes the amount of force the rider

needs to turn the rear wheel.

#More to explore

Force • Motion

Machu Picchu

In the mountains of south-central Peru

stands Machu Picchu, a deserted city of

the Inca people. The name Machu Picchu

means “old peak” in Quechua, the

language of the Inca. The dwellings at

the site were probably built and occupied

from the mid-1400s to the early or

mid-1500s. Machu Picchu is one of the

few American Indian sites dating from

that long ago to be found nearly intact.

Machu Picchu is located about 50 miles

(80 kilometers) northwest of the city of

Cuzco, which was the capital of the Inca

Empire. It lies between two sharp peaks

in the eastern Andes Mountains, at a

height of 7,710 feet (2,350 meters).

Mountain forest surrounds the site.

Machu Picchu is divided into two sections,

one farming and one urban. The

farming section is made up of steplike

fields called terraces. The Inca used the

terraces for growing crops such as corn

and sweet potatoes. The urban section

has plazas, temples, houses, and a cemetery.

They are connected by walkways

and thousands of stone steps.

Most of the structures are very well preserved

because of the quality of Incan

engineering and stonework. One

notable structure is the Temple of the

Sun. Once a year sunlight shines

through a window onto the middle of a

large stone. This stone was a sort of calendar.

Another famous structure is a

pillar known as the Intihuatana. The

pillar was probably used to keep track of

the seasons.

The role of Machu Picchu in Incan society

is not entirely understood. Many

archaeologists believe it was the estate of

a powerful Inca emperor. They do not

know why the site was abandoned. Lack

of water may have been a reason.

Machu Picchu remained hidden from

the Spanish when they conquered the

Inca in the 1500s. Plants grew over the

site, and for hundreds of years it was

known only by a few people who lived

in the area. The world learned of Machu

Picchu when a local farmer led a U.S.

archaeologist to the ruins in 1911.

Today Machu Picchu is a popular tourist

attraction.

#More to explore

Andes • Inca • Peru

Mountains and forests surround the ruins of

Machu Picchu.

8 Machu Picchu BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Madagascar

Madagascar is an island country located

off the southeastern coast of Africa. The

island is the fourth largest in the world.

Only Greenland, New Guinea, and

Borneo are larger. Madagascar is known

as the Great Red Island for its rich, red

soil. Its capital is Antananarivo.

Geography

Madagascar lies in the western Indian

Ocean. The Mozambique Channel separates

the island from the African coast.

The central part of Madagascar is a plateau,

or high, flat land. Mountains rise

above the plateau in some places.

Maromokotro Peak in the north is the

island’s highest point. It rises 9,436 feet

(2,876 meters). A narrow plain runs

along the east coast. Low plateaus and

plains cover the west. Rivers are short

and fast flowing in the east and longer in

the west.

The east coast has a hot, humid tropical

climate. The central plateau is cooler.

The southwest is dry.

Plants and Animals

Grasses cover most of the island. Some

tropical forests and mangrove swamps

survive on the coasts. Hundreds of different

kinds of orchid also grow in

Madagascar.

Madagascar has many types of animals

that live almost nowhere else in the

world. Two examples are lemurs and

fossas. Lemurs are monkeylike animals

that live in trees. Fossas are catlike mammals

that hunt birds and lemurs. Many

butterflies, chameleons, and crocodiles

also live in the country.

People

Madagascar’s people are known as the

Malagasy. The Malagasy are more

closely related to Indonesians than to

Africans, even though the country is

closer to Africa than to Indonesia. The

Malagasy are divided into about 20

groups. The Merina make up the largest

group. The country also has small

groups of people from Africa, Asia,

France, and the nearby island country of

Comoros.

Many people of Madagascar speak both

the Malagasy and French languages.

About half of the people are Christian,

and most of the rest follow traditional

Malagasy religions. Fewer than one third

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Madagascar 9

of the people live in cities. Almost all the

major cities and towns are in the east.

Economy

Madagascar is a poor country. Most of

the people live by growing crops and by

raising humped cattle called zebu. Rice

is the main food crop. Farmers grow

vanilla and cloves to sell to other countries.

Madagascar also produces coffee,

sugar, and shrimp.

Madagascar’s small industries make

mainly cloth, clothing, cement, soap,

beer, and cigarettes. Mines provide

chromite, graphite, gold, and gems.

History

People first came to Madagascar from

Indonesia more than 1,000 years ago.

Arab traders arrived on the island before

AD 1000. The first Europeans to visit

Madagascar were Portuguese sailors,

who first arrived in 1500. The French

set up trading posts in the 1600s.

Around this time the Malagasy began to

develop kingdoms. The Malagasy traded

slaves to the French in return for weapons.

The Merina kingdom conquered

much of the island by the early 1800s.

The French defeated the Merina in

1895. France then ruled the island as a

colony. The island became the independent

Malagasy Republic in 1960.

In the 1970s the country’s military took

power. The country took the name

Madagascar in 1975. In 1992 Madagascar

held free elections for the first time

in 17 years. The new government

worked to improve the economy.

..More to explore

Antananarivo • Indian Ocean • Lemur

Rice is grown on hillsides in Madagascar.

Facts About

MADAGASCAR

Population

(2008 estimate)

20,215,000

Area

226,658 sq mi

(587,041 sq km)

Capital

Antananarivo

Form of

government

Republic

Major cities

Antananarivo,

Toamasina,

Antsirabe, Fianarantsoa,

Mahajanga

10 Madagascar BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Madison

Population

(2000 census)

208,054;

(2007 estimate)

228,775

Madison is the capital of the U.S. state

ofWisconsin. It is nicknamed the City

of Four Lakes. Part of the city lies on a

narrow strip of land between Lakes

Monona and Mendota. Two other lakes

are located nearby. The city is a center of

government, culture, and education.

The main campus of the University of

Wisconsin is located in Madison.

Many people inMadison work for the

university or the state government.

Trade, manufacturing, and business

services are important to the city’s

economy. High-technology companies

and tourism also bring money to the city.

Native Americans settled in the area

that is now Madison hundreds of years

ago. Madison was founded in 1836. It

was named after former U.S. President

James Madison. Later in 1836 Madison

was chosen to be the capital of the

Wisconsin Territory. Wisconsin became

a U.S. state in 1848, with Madison as

its capital.

..More to explore

Wisconsin

Madison, James

James Madison was the fourth president

of the United States. He is known as the

Father of the Constitution for his role in

the Constitutional Convention of 1787.

He also led the country through theWar

of 1812.

Early Life

James Madison was born in Port Conway,

Virginia, on March 16, 1751. His

parents were James Madison, Sr., and

Eleanor Rose Conway. Madison lived

most of his life at Montpelier, his family’s

plantation. He graduated from the

College of New Jersey (now Princeton

University) in 1771.

Political Career

In 1776 Madison helped to write Virginia’s

constitution. In 1779 he was

elected to the Continental Congress,

where he served until the end of the

American Revolution.

In 1784 Madison entered the Virginia

legislature. He then helped bring about

the U.S. Constitutional Convention. In

The Wisconsin state Capitol is in Madison. 1787 the convention met in

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Madison, James 11

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to create a

system of government for the United

States. Many of Madison’s ideas,

including his support of a strong central

government, went into the new U.S.

Constitution.

In 1789 Madison was elected to the

new House of Representatives. There he

helped pass the Bill of Rights, the first

10 amendments to the Constitution.

During his time in Congress Madison

came to believe that the federal

government should not have more

power than the states. He shared that

opinion with his friend Thomas

Jefferson.

In 1794 Madison married Dolley Payne

Todd. They had no children together.

In 1801 President Jefferson made Madison

secretary of state. They worked

together to buy the Louisiana Territory

from France in 1803.

Presidency

Madison won election as president in

1808. He was reelected in 1812. That

year the United States entered the War

of 1812 against Great Britain. The

United States won some victories at sea

but lost many land battles. In August

1814 the British invadedWashington,

D.C., and burned the White House.

March 16, June 28,

1751 1787 1803 1808 1812 1817 1836

Madison is

born in Port

Conway,

Virginia.

Madison

attends the

Constitutional

Convention.

Madison helps

make the

Louisiana

Purchase.

Madison is

elected

president.

The War of

1812 begins.

Madison

retires to his

plantation.

Madison dies

in Montpelier,

Virginia.

T I M E L I N E

James Madison

12 Madison, James BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

When the war ended in 1814, there was

no clear winner.

Retirement

Madison retired to Montpelier in 1817.

He supported Jefferson in founding the

University of Virginia. He also worked

to end slavery. Madison died on June

28, 1836.

..More to explore

American Revolution • Bill of Rights

• Constitution • Continental Congress

• Jefferson, Thomas • Louisiana

Purchase • United States •War of 1812

Madrid

Population

(2007

estimate), city,

3,132,463;

urban area,

5,764,000

Madrid is the capital of Spain, a country

of western Europe. It is Spain’s largest

city. It is also a major center of the arts,

education, business, industry, and transportation.

Places of Interest

The heart of Madrid is a plaza called the

Puerta del Sol (Door of the Sun). From

this plaza spread the city’s busiest streets.

Madrid’s older section centers around

the Plaza Mayor. It is a large square built

in the 1600s.

Madrid has many museums. The Prado

Museum is one of the most important

art museums in Europe. It is best known

for its paintings by the Spanish artists

Diego Velazquez and Francisco de Goya.

Economy

Madrid is Spain’s center for banking and

insurance. Construction and service

industries such as tourism and publishing

also bring money to the city. Many

Spanish businesses have their headquarters

in Madrid. Manufacturing is also

important. Factories in Madrid make

such products as cars, airplanes, electronics,

plastics, and rubber.

History

People have lived in the Madrid area for

thousands of years. By the 900s it was a

small fortress town of Muslims from

northern Africa. A Spanish Christian

king named Alfonso VI captured the

town in 1083.

Madrid’s Plaza Mayor is a

popular meeting place.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Madrid 13

Madrid remained small and unimportant

until it became the Spanish capital.

In 1561 King Philip II made it the center

of his royal government. In 1607

King Philip III made Madrid the official

capital of Spain.

France controlled Madrid for a few years

in the early 1800s. During the Spanish

CivilWar (1936–39) Madrid suffered

heavy bombing.

Madrid grew greatly in the second half

of the 1900s. It also became the target of

several terrorist attacks. In 2004 almost

200 people were killed when terrorists

bombed several trains in the city.

#More to explore

Spain • Spanish CivilWar

Magazine

A magazine is a printed collection of

writings that is published a certain number

of times a year. Many magazines are

published monthly or weekly. Magazines

typically contain articles, pictures, and

letters from readers. They often are

printed on glossy, high-quality paper.

Magazines are more up-to-date than

books but more permanent than newspapers.

The most recently published magazines

are called current issues. Magazines sold

on newsstands and in stores are generally

current issues. Older issues, called back

issues, can be found in libraries or on

the Internet.

Types of Magazines

There are many kinds of magazines.

Magazines such as Time and Newsweek

are meant for many different readers.

They cover news, business,

entertainment, and other subjects.

Other magazines focus on one subject.

For instance, National Geographic covers

geography, and Wired discusses

computers. Many magazines are aimed

at a certain group, such as teenage girls

or African Americans.

Digests are collections of articles on a

number of different subjects. Reader’s

Digest is probably the most popular of

this type of magazine.

Scientific or scholarly magazines are

often called journals. Professors usually

read and write them, and universities

often publish them.

Magazines

are also called

periodicals.

Stone Soup is a magazine by

and for children. The stories,

poems, and illustrations in the

magazine are created by children

themselves.

14 Magazine BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Some people make their own magazines

at a low cost. These publications, called

zines, are often copied on regular paper

and stapled together. Beginning in the

1990s, many people put their zines on

the Internet.

History

The invention of the printing press in

the middle of the 1400s made magazines

possible. One of the earliest magazines

was published in Germany in the 1660s.

A few years later specialized magazines

on the arts and sciences appeared in

England and France. The French magazine

Le Mercure galant, first published in

1672, was the first magazine meant for

entertainment.

Many magazines on politics and

literature appeared during the 1700s.

Some of the greatest writers of this

period created magazines or wrote for

them. During the 1800s the reading

audience grew, and new magazines were

created for different groups of people.

For example, women’s magazines and

children’s magazines became popular.

These magazines often included

illustrations.

Photographs became common in magazines

during the 1900s. Magazines also

came to depend heavily on advertising.

The sale of advertisements allowed publishers

to keep magazine prices down,

which attracted more readers.

#More to explore

Advertising • Book and Bookmaking

• Newspaper • Printing

Magellan,

Ferdinand

Ferdinand Magellan was an explorer

from Portugal. He and his sailors were

the first Europeans to cross the Pacific

Ocean. One of his ships made the first

trip around the world, though he did

not live to complete the voyage.

Early Life

Magellan was born in Portugal in about

1480. He came from a noble family. As

a young man he served in the Portuguese

navy. He fought in India and the

East Indies. The East Indies are the

islands between mainland Southeast Asia

and Australia. Magellan helped Portugal

win control of trade with the Moluccas,

an island group in the East Indies. Europeans

called the Moluccas the Spice

Islands because they produced valuable

spices.

Ferdinand Magellan

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Magellan, Ferdinand 15

or float off the ground. But for thousands

of years, people believed that

magicians actually had special powers.

They thought magicians could control

other people and natural forces, such as

the rain or the wind. People thought to

have magical powers were also known as

witches, wizards, and sorcerers.

Today most magic tricks involve

“sleight of hand.” This is the ability to

move objects, such as cards or coins,

quickly and secretly. The secrets to

many magic tricks are written down in

books that anyone can read. It may take

weeks or months to learn a trick,

though. Many magicians, also called

illusionists, carefully guard the secrets to

their tricks.

One of the most famous magicians was

Harry Houdini. He was known for his

amazing escapes from handcuffs and

straitjackets in the early 1900s. Other

important magicians have included

Doug Henning, David Copperfield,

Penn and Teller, and David Blaine.

Magna Carta

The Magna Carta (Latin for “Great

Charter”) was a document that gave

certain rights to the English people.

King John of England agreed to it on

June 15, 1215. The Magna Carta stated

that the king must follow the law. He

could not simply rule as he wished. It

was one of the first documents to state

that citizens had such rights.

England’s nobles (called barons), church

leaders, and the common people disliked

King John. He demanded too much

money from his people. The barons

drew up the Magna Carta to limit his

power. John was too weak to resist them.

The Magna Carta dealt mostly with the

rights of barons and the Roman Catholic

church. However, it also guaranteed

the rights of women and children who

inherited property. It stated that a per-

A picture from the 1800s shows

King John of England signing the

Magna Carta.

A copy of the

Magna Carta

dating from

1215 is on

display in the

British Library

in London,

England.

Two children entertain their family members

with a magic show.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Magna Carta 17

son could not be punished for a crime

unless they were lawfully convicted.

Finally, the Magna Carta gave barons

the right to declare war on the king if he

did not follow the document.

The Magna Carta was a first step in the

creation of England’s constitution.

Many other countries later used the

ideas of the Magna Carta in their constitutions,

too.

#More to explore

Constitution

Magnet and

Magnetism

A magnet is a rock or a piece of metal

that can pull certain types of metal

toward itself. The force of magnets,

called magnetism, is a basic force of

nature, like electricity and gravity. Magnetism

works over a distance. This

means that a magnet does not have to be

touching an object to pull it.

What Causes Magnetism

People have known for a long time that

a certain type of rock, called lodestone,

is a natural magnet. When scientists

learned why that is, they also learned

how to make other metals into

magnets.

Magnetism happens when tiny particles

called electrons behave in a certain way.

All objects in the universe are made up

of units called atoms. Atoms in turn are

made up of electrons and other particles

(neutrons and protons). The electrons

spin around the atom’s nucleus, which

contains the other particles. The spinning

electrons form tiny magnetic

forces. Sometimes many of the electrons

in an object spin in the same direction.

In these cases, all the tiny magnetic

forces from the electrons add up to

make the object one big magnet.

It is possible to make a magnet by taking

an existing magnet and rubbing another

piece of metal with it. The new piece of

metal must be rubbed continuously in

the same direction. This will make the

electrons in that metal start to spin in

the same direction.

Electricity can also create magnets. Electricity

is a flow of electrons. As electrons

move through a piece of wire they have

the same effect as electrons spinning

around the nucleus of an atom. This is

called an electromagnet.

Small, thin pieces of iron are

attracted to a red bar magnet.

The pieces of iron line up to

show the magnetic field of the

magnet.

In the photo,

the magnetic

field is strong

where the

pieces of iron

are close

together. The

field is weak

where the

pieces are far

apart.

18 Magnet and Magnetism BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Hard and Soft Magnets

Because of the way their electrons are

arranged, the metals iron, steel, nickel,

and cobalt make good magnets. Once

these metals become magnets, they can

stay magnets forever. Then they are

called hard, or permanent, magnets. But

these metals and others can also act like

magnets only sometimes, after they have

been near a hard magnet. Then they are

called soft, or temporary, magnets. Most

other materials—for example, water, air,

and wood—have very weak magnetic

properties.

Properties of Magnets

Magnets strongly attract objects that

contain iron, steel, nickel, or cobalt.

Magnets also attract or repel (push

away) other hard magnets. This happens

because every magnet has two opposite

poles, or ends: a north pole and a south

pole. North poles attract the south poles

of other magnets, but they repel other

north poles. Likewise, south poles

attract north poles, but they repel other

south poles.

The magnetic forces between the two

poles of a magnet create a magnetic field.

This is the area affected by the magnet. A

magnetic field surrounds all magnets.

Uses

One of the earliest uses of magnets was

in compasses. A compass is a needleshaped

magnet that is free to turn

around. The planet Earth is a giant magnet.

Because the south pole of a compass

is attracted to the north pole of Earth,

the compass needle always points north.

Today magnets are found in many places.

Magnets hold papers on refrigerator

doors. They also hold the doors shut.

Credit cards have a magnetic strip.

Automatic doors, stereo speakers, and

many electric motors use electromagnets.

#More to explore

Compass • Electricity • Iron • Metal

Magnolia

Magnolias are trees and shrubs. They are

known for their large flowers. People

plant magnolias in parks and gardens.

Some magnolia wood is used to make

furniture.

There are about 80 species, or types, of

magnolia. They grow in North America,

Central America, and Asia.

Many magnolias are about 40 to 80 feet

(12 to 24 meters) tall. They usually have

smooth, gray bark. Their leaves are large

Bar magnets can show how unlike poles

attract each other and like poles repel each

other.

If a bar

magnet is cut

in half, each

half becomes

a complete

magnet with a

north pole and

a south pole.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Magnolia 19

and oval. Some magnolias are evergreen.

This means that they keep their leaves

year-round.Others are deciduous. They

lose their leaves in winter.

The flowers of a magnolia are white,

yellow, pink, or purple. They can be 10

inches (25 centimeters) or more across.

Most magnolia flowers have 6 to 12 large

petals. They usually bloom in the spring

and early summer. Some flowers have a

beautiful smell. After flowering,

magnolias produce a fruit shaped like a

cone. Inside are reddish seeds. The fruit

splits open in the fall. When this happens,

the seeds hang down by thin threads.

Many types of magnolia are popular.

The southern magnolia has large, white

flowers that smell like lemons. The bigleaf

magnolia grows up to 50 feet (15

meters) high. Leaves of the umbrella tree

are 2 feet (61 centimeters) long. The

cucumber tree is named after its fruits,

which are shaped like cucumbers.

#More to explore

Flower

Magpie

Magpies are bold, noisy birds that have

many calls. They belong to a group of

birds called songbirds. However, their

voices are rather harsh sounding. Like

their relatives the crows, magpies are

known for their intelligence. For

instance, magpies hide objects and then

remember where to find them again.

People often keep these birds as pets.

Magpies are in the same scientific family

as crows, ravens, and jays. There are

several different species, or types, of

magpie. Common types include the

Eurasian magpie and the black-billed

magpie.

Magpies live in Europe, Asia, Africa, and

North America. These birds build nests

in tall trees. However, they need open

grasslands nearby for feeding. Thus they

are often found at the edges of forests.

Magnolias are known for their large, beautiful

flowers.

Magpies are intelligent, noisy birds.

20 Magpie BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Eurasian and black-billed magpies are

about 18 inches (46 centimeters) long.

They are mostly black except for their

white bellies and white patches on their

wings. They have long black tails. In

sunlight their wings and tails look shiny

blue or green. Several types of magpie

found mainly in Asia have bright blue or

green feathers.

Magpies eat many different kinds of

food. They eat insects, dead animals,

fruit, seeds, and even the eggs and chicks

of other birds. When magpies have too

much to eat all at once, they stash food

away to eat later.

Magpies have a place in European folklore.

Some people think of them as

thieves. Others think they bring bad

luck.

#More to explore

Bird • Crow • Raven • Songbird

Mahogany

People prize mahogany trees for their

hard, reddish brown wood. The most

valued species, or types, of mahogany

include the West Indies mahogany and

the big-leaf mahogany. People have cut

down so many of these trees that they

are in danger of disappearing.

Mahoganies grow in the tropical areas of

the Americas.West Indies mahoganies

grow on the islands called theWest

Indies, in the Caribbean Sea. They also

grow in the U.S. state of Florida. Bigleaf

mahoganies grow in Central and

South America.

West Indies mahoganies are usually 40

to 50 feet (12 to 15 meters) tall. Big-leaf

mahoganies may grow as high as 150

feet (45 meters). Both types have large,

green leaves made up of several parts

called leaflets. Mahoganies grow alone or

in small clusters. There are no forests of

these trees.

People value mahogany wood for its

strength and its beautiful texture and

color. They use the wood to make highquality

furniture, wood paneling, musical

instruments, and boats.

Because so many people want mahogany

wood, many of the trees have been

chopped down. The trees take a long

time to grow, so they are being lost faster

than they can be replaced. Many businesses

now use similar wood from Africa

or the Philippines instead of true

mahogany wood.

#More to explore

Tree

The beautiful, hard wood from mahogany

trees is often used to make fine furniture.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Mahogany 21

Maine

Maine is the largest of the U.S.

states in the region known as

New England. It is almost as big as the

rest of New England combined. Despite

Maine’s physical size, it has a smaller

population and fewer big cities than the

other New England states. The capital is

Augusta.

The origin of the state’s name is uncertain.

It may have been named for the

former French province of Maine. Some

historians believe that the state got its

name for being the “mainland,” as

opposed to the coastal islands. Because

of its great forests, Maine is nicknamed

the Pine Tree State.

Geography

Maine is bordered on the northwest by

the Canadian province of Quebec and

on the northeast by the Canadian

province of New Brunswick. The

Atlantic Ocean forms the southern

border. Maine’s southwestern border is

shared with the state of New

Hampshire.

Maine is known for its rugged, scenic

coast. Offshore there are about 1,200

small islands. However, most of the

state consists of a rocky plateau with

many lakes and valleys. The White

Mountains (part of the Appalachian

Mountains) extend from New

Hampshire into western Maine. The

state’s highest point is 5,269-foot

(1,606-meter) Mount Katahdin. Maine

has short summers and long, cold

winters that can be very snowy.

Maine is heavily forested and contains a

good deal of wildlife. Moose, deer, black

bears, otters, muskrats, foxes, raccoons,

and a variety of birds live there.

People

The Penobscot, the Passamaquoddy, and

other Native American groups were living

in what is now Maine when Europeans

first arrived. Members of these

groups still make up a small portion of

Maine’s population. The area was later

settled mostly by English and Scots-Irish

Protestants. Their descendants make up

the majority of the population. The second

largest group is of French heritage.

22 Maine BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Nonwhites make up less than 4 percent

of the population.

Only two fifths of Maine’s people live in

urban areas. Portland is the state’s major

seaport and its largest city. It has about

65,000 residents. Lewiston and Bangor

are the only other cities with populations

of more than 30,000.

The University of Maine is the state’s

largest public institution of higher education.

Its main campus was founded at

Orono in 1865. Some of Maine’s private

schools are Bates, Bowdoin, and Colby

colleges.

Economy

Maine’s natural resources are important

to its economy. The forests provide trees

that are harvested for wood and paper

products. Its land produces potatoes,

dairy products, and blueberries. From

the Atlantic, the state’s fishermen catch

lobsters and other seafood.

Tourism also contributes to the state’s

income. The hotels, restaurants, and

businesses that cater to tourists are part

of Maine’s service industry. Other significant

service areas are trade, government,

real estate, and health care.

History

In 1603 Maine became a part of the

French province of Acadia. During the

1600s the British also established and

maintained scattered settlements

throughout the region. The area was a

constant battleground, however, until

the British conquered the French in

eastern Canada in 1763.

Maine was governed as a district of Massachusetts

from 1652 until it entered the

Union in 1820 as the 23rd state. For

many years the United States and

Canada disagreed over the state’s northern

boundary. An 1842 treaty finally

resolved the dispute.

Maine’s economy grew steadily from

1830 to 1860, but the American Civil

War (1861–65) took workers away from

the state. In the first half of the 1900s

shipbuilding became a major industry in

Bath and Portland. Many ships were

needed duringWorldWar I andWorld

War II.

Overall, development of the state has

often been slow. This is partly because

many people wish to preserve the natural

beauty of the state. Maine’s population

has grown slowly as well.

..More to explore

Augusta

Camden is a scenic town on the coast of the

U.S. state of Maine.

Facts About

MAINE

Flag

Population

(2000 census)

1,274,923—

rank, 40th state;

(2008 estimate)

1,316,456—

rank, 40th state

Capital

Augusta

Area

35,385 sq mi

(91,646 sq km)—

rank, 39th state

Statehood

March 15, 1820

Motto

Dirigo (I Direct)

State bird

Chickadee

State flower

White pine cone

and tassel

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Maine 23

Maize

#see Corn.

Majuro

Majuro is the capital of the Marshall

Islands, a country in the Pacific Ocean.

Majuro is an atoll, or a ring of coral

islands surrounding a pool of water.

Majuro is home to almost half the

people of the Marshall Islands. Most of

the people of Majuro live on three small,

connected islands. These islands have

government buildings, a college, and a

cultural museum.

Most of the Marshall Islands’ economic

activity takes place in Majuro. Many

people have jobs in government or tourism.

Fish and coconut processing are big

industries.

AfterWorldWar II the Marshall Islands

were governed by the United States. The

U.S. government gave up control in

1986. Then Majuro became the capital

of the independent Marshall Islands.

#More to explore

Coral • Marshall Islands

Makeup

#see Cosmetics.

Malabo

Population

(2003 estimate)

92,900

Malabo is the capital of Equatorial

Guinea, a country of western Africa.

The city lies on the coast of Bioko, an

island in the Atlantic Ocean.

Malabo is Equatorial Guinea’s center of

business and banking. It is also a major

port. In addition, oil is produced off the

coast of Bioko. The oil industry brings

money to Malabo.

Hundreds of years ago Bioko was a stopping

point for slave traders. In 1827

Great Britain founded Malabo on the

island. For several years the British used

Malabo as a base for their ships. They

A diver explores a coral reef in

the waters of Majuro, the capital

of the Marshall Islands.

24 Maize BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

were working to end the area’s slave

trade. Freed slaves began to settle the

town.

For much of the 1800s and 1900s Spain

ruled Bioko and some nearby land as a

colony. Equatorial Guinea became an

independent country in 1968 with

Malabo as the country’s capital.

#More to explore

Equatorial Guinea

Malaria

Malaria is a serious disease spread by

mosquitoes. It affects people in tropical

parts of the world. Most people who get

malaria recover. Still, at least 1 million

people die from malaria each year. Most

of them are children in Africa.

Malaria is caused by tiny living things

called protozoans. Mosquitoes carry the

protozoans. When an infected mosquito

bites a person, the protozoans enter the

person’s blood. They live inside red

blood cells as parasites. They take everything

they need to live from the cells,

which kills the cells.

The symptoms, or signs, of malaria usually

begin between one week and one

month after the mosquito bite. They

include high fever, chills, and headache.

A condition called anemia is another

common effect of malaria. A person

with anemia does not have enough red

blood cells. This may cause pale skin,

weakness, and dizziness. Malaria can

also affect the organ called the spleen,

which filters the blood. It can cause the

spleen to grow too large.

Malaria can be prevented by keeping

down the number of mosquitoes in

tropical areas. People can also take medicines

that fight the disease.

#More to explore

Disease, Human • Mosquito • Parasite

• Protozoan

The bark of

the cinchona

tree contains

quinine. It has

been used to

treat malaria

since the

1600s.

Palm trees and other lush vegetation grow

along the coast of Malabo, Equatorial

Guinea. The city has a warm and rainy

climate.

In places where malaria is common, people

can use nets over their beds to prevent mosquitoes

from biting them and spreading the

disease.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Malaria 25

Malawi

The country of Malawi is located in

southeastern Africa. It lies west of Lake

Nyasa, one of the deepest lakes in the

world. Before the country gained independence

it was called Nyasaland. The

capital of Malawi is Lilongwe.

Malawi shares borders with Tanzania,

Mozambique, and Zambia. Mountains

and plateaus, or high, flat areas, cover

much of the country. A deep valley

called the Great Rift Valley runs along

Malawi’s eastern border. The valley contains

Lake Nyasa.

Grasses cover the dry, low areas. Some

trees grow on the plateaus. Evergreen

forests grow in the wettest highlands.

Malawi’s animals include antelope, buffalo,

elephants, leopards, lions, rhinoceroses,

and zebras.

Malawi’s ethnic groups include the

Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuka, Tonga,

Lomwe, Yao, and Ngoni peoples. Most

people speak the Chichewa language.

English and other African languages are

also common. More than half of the

people are Christians. Many others follow

Islam or traditional African religions.

Most people live in rural areas.

Malawi’s economy is based on farming.

Important crops include tobacco, sugarcane,

tea, peanuts, cotton, and coffee.

Manufacturers make mainly food products,

beverages, and clothing.

Humans have lived in what is now

Malawi for more than 10,000 years. In

the 1400s Bantu-speaking peoples

founded a kingdom known as the

Maravi Confederacy. Great Britain took

over the area in the 1880s and 1890s.

Malawi won independence in 1964.

Malawi’s first president ruled until

1994, when the country held democratic

elections.

..More to explore

Lilongwe

Homes are clustered along the shore of Lake

Nyasa, which is also called Lake Malawi.

Facts About

MALAWI

Population

(2008 estimate)

13,932,000

Area

45,747 sq mi

(118,484 sq km)

Capital

Lilongwe

Form of

government

Republic

Major cities

Blantyre,

Lilongwe, Mzuzu,

Zomba, Karonga

26 Malawi BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

Malaysia

The country of Malaysia is a part of

Southeast Asia. Malaysia consists of two

areas of land that are about 400 miles

(650 kilometers) apart. Kuala Lumpur is

the capital and largest city.

Geography

The South China Sea separates the two

parts of Malaysia,West Malaysia and

East Malaysia. West Malaysia is on the

continent of Asia. It borders Thailand to

the north. The island country of Singapore

lies to the south. The island of

Sumatra, which is part of the country of

Indonesia, lies to the southwest. Mountain

ranges run from north to south in

West Malaysia.

East Malaysia sits on the northern part

of the island of Borneo. Mountains

separate East Malaysia from the

Indonesian province of Kalimantan,

which takes up the southern part of the

island. East Malaysia surrounds the

kingdom of Brunei, which lies on the

northern coast.

Malaysia is hot and humid year-round.

All parts of the country receive plenty of

rain.

Plants and Animals

Rain forests cover more than half of the

country. The forests contain at least

2,500 kinds of trees and 800 types of

orchids.

Malaysia’s animal life includes

elephants, tigers, leopards, wild oxen,

small bears, wild pigs, orangutans, monkeys,

deer, and some rhinoceroses.

Crocodiles, lizards, turtles, and many

birds also live in the country.

People

More than half of Malaysia’s people are

Malays. Most of them follow Islam and

speak Malay. There are also more than

25 groups of other native peoples. They

mostly follow traditional religions.

About a quarter of Malaysia’s people are

Chinese. Most of them are Buddhists.

Indians and other South Asians form a

smaller group. They follow Hinduism or

Islam. Many of them speak Tamil.

Most of the country’s people live in

West Malaysia. More than half of the

population lives in cities.

Economy

Industry and international trade are

important parts of Malaysia’s economy.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Malaysia 27

Manufacturers make electronics, chemicals,

metals, machinery, and clothing.

Malaysia also produces many raw materials

that it sells to other countries. It is

the world’s largest producer of palm oil

and a major producer of natural rubber

and tin. In addition, Malaysia has good

supplies of oil and natural gas.

Agriculture is also important to the

economy. Rice is the main food crop.

Other crops include cocoa, pepper,

coconuts, and bananas. The sea provides

a large supply of fish. The rain forests

are a source of wood.

History

Human bones and tools found in East

Malaysia date back about 40,000 years.

People have lived inWest Malaysia for at

least 6,000 to 8,000 years.

In the AD 100s or 200s small kingdoms

developed inWest Malaysia. Travelers

from India brought Hinduism and Buddhism

to the region. Indian and Arab

traders later brought Islam. Islam spread

widely from the 1200s to the 1600s.

After about 1400 an important spice

trade grew at the port of Melaka, in

West Malaysia. The Portuguese captured

Melaka in 1511. In 1641 the Dutch

took over. The British gained Melaka

from the Dutch in 1824.

In the early 1900s several British colonies

occupied the territory that is now

Malaysia. Japan took them over during

WorldWar II (1939–45). Great Britain