Friedrich Wöhler
Wöhler, Friedrich (1800–82), German chemist, the first to synthesize an organic substance (urea) from inorganic chemicals.
21st Century Webster's Family Encyclopedia - Willamette River to Yaoundé
Will-o'-the-wisp
Will-o'-the-wisp, or jack-o-lantern, blue light caused by the natural combustion of gas from decaying matter.
Willamette River
Willamette River, river located in west-central Oregon, between the Cascade and Coast mountains.
Emma Hart Willard
Willard, Emma Hart (1787–1870), first U.S. woman to publicly advocate higher education for women.
Frances Elizabeth Caroline Willard
Willard, Frances Elizabeth Caroline (1838–98), U.S. educator, temperance leader, and social reformer.
Willemstad
Willemstad (pop. 100,000), city on the Caribbean island of Curaçao, capital of the Netherlands Antilles.
Willet
Willet, bird in the sandpiper family.
William
William, 4 kings of England. William I, or William the Conqueror (1027?–1087), duke of Normandy from 1035, became the first Norman king in 1066 by defeating Harold in the Battle of Hastings; he suppressed all opposition by 1071. William I was a harsh but capable ruler, reorganizing England's military and land-holding systems, building many castles, and creating a strong feudal govern…
William the Conqueror
William the Conqueror See: William.
William I
William I (1772–1843), king of the Netherlands (1815–40) and son of William V, Prince of Orange and last governor of the Dutch Republic.
prince of Orange William I
William I, prince of Orange (1533–84), founder of the present dynasty of the Netherlands.
William and College of Mary
William and Mary, College of, coeducational, state university in Williamsburg, Va.
William of Ockham
William of Ockham (c. 1285–1349), also spelled Occam, English philosopher, member of the Franciscan order.
Daniel Hale Williams
Williams, Daniel Hale (1856–1931), African-American surgeon and pioneer in the field of heart surgery.
Emlyn Williams
Williams, Emlyn (1905–87), Welsh actor and playwright, noted for his semiautobiographical play The Corn is Green (1938) and for his concert readings from the works of Dylan Thomas and Charles Dickens.
Roger Williams
Williams, Roger (c. 1603–83), church leader and founder of the colony of Rhode Island.
Roy Lee Williams
Williams, Roy Lee (1915–89), U.S. labor leader, president of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, 1981–83.
Shirley Williams
Williams, Shirley (1930– ), English political leader.
Ted Williams
Williams, Ted (Theodore Samuel Williams; 1918– ), U.S. baseball player.
Tennessee Williams
Williams, Tennessee (Thomas Lanier Williams; 1911–83), U.S. playwright.
William Williams
Williams, William (1731–1811), colonial politician from Connecticut, a signer of the Declaration of Independence.
William Carlos Williams
Williams, William Carlos (1883–1963), U.S. poet.
Williamsburg
Williamsburg (pop. 9,870), restored colonial city in southeastern Virginia on the James River.
Hugh Williamson
Williamson, Hugh (1735–1819), U.S. scientist, doctor, and politician of the American Revolutionary period.
Wendell Lewis Willkie
Willkie, Wendell Lewis (1892–1944), U.S. political leader.
Willow
Willow, common name for about 300 species of trees of the genus Salix, which occur from the tropics to the Arctic.
Willow herb
Willow herb See: Fireweed.
Helen Newington Wills
Wills, Helen Newington (1906–97), U.S. tennis player.
Wilmington
Wilmington (pop. 70,195), largest city in Delaware, seat of New Castle County, in the northern part of the state on the Delaware River.
Wilmot Proviso
Wilmot Proviso, congressional proposal to prohibit the extension of slavery into newly acquired U.S. territories.
Angus Wilson
Wilson, Angus (1913–91), English novelist and short-story writer who satirizes English class attitudes and social life.
Wilson cloud chamber
Wilson cloud chamber, instrument that makes radiation visible and measurable.
Edmund Wilson
Wilson, Edmund (1895–1972), U.S. critic and writer who investigated the historical, sociological, and psychological background to literature.
Harold Wilson
Wilson, Harold (1916–95), prime minister of Great Britain (1964–70, 1974–76).
Henry Wilson
Wilson, Henry (1812–75), U.S. senator from Massachusetts (1855–73), a founder of the Republican Party.
James Wilson
Wilson, James (1742–98), Scottish-born signer of both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S.
Lanford Wilson
Wilson, Lanford (1937– ), U.S. playwright.
Woodrow Wilson
Wilson, Woodrow (1856–1924), 28th president of the United States. Wilson's high intellectual qualifications and idealistic fervor made him a forceful leader. Wilson is considered one of the most successful U.S. presidents. His triumphs as a war leader during World War I and his eloquence in the cause of freedom made him the idol of millions around the world. His successes form a shar…
Wilt
Wilt, condition where plants droop and wither due to lack of water in their cells.
Wimbledon
Wimbledon See: Tennis.
Winch
Winch, device facilitating the hoisting or hauling of loads.
Winchester
Winchester (pop. 93,700), English town, site of the famous 14th-century Winchester Cathedral, the longest church (556 ft/169 m) in England.
Johann Joachim Winckelmann
Winckelmann, Johann Joachim (1717–68), German scholar, founder of archeology and art history.
Wind
Wind, body of air moving in relation to the earth's surface.
Wind Cave National Park
Wind Cave National Park, area of 28,292 acres (11,449 hectares) in the Black Hills in southwestern South Dakota.
Wind chill
Wind chill, index that determines the relative temperature, based on the effects of wind on exposed human flesh.
Wind instrument
Wind instrument, any of the musical instruments whose sound is produced by blowing air into a tube, causing a vibration within it.
Wind tunnel
Wind tunnel, structure in which a controlled stream of air is produced in order to observe the effects on scale models or full-size components of airplanes, missiles, automobiles, or such structures as bridges and skyscrapers.
Windermere
Windermere, lake in the northwestern Cumbria section of England, better known as the Lake District.
Windhoek
Windhoek (pop. 114,500), capital and largest city of Namibia, as well as its commercial, administrative, and communications center.
Windlass
Windlass, compound machine made from a rope or chain wound around a cylinder shape attached to a crank.
Windmill
Windmill, machine that performs work by harnessing wind power.
Window
Window, building openings for air and light.
Windsor
Windsor (pop. 262,100), city in southern Ontario, Canada, on the opposite bank of the Detroit River from Detroit, Mich.
Windsor
Windsor, name of the ruling dynasty of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, adopted by King George V in 1917 to replace the royal family's German name, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (from Albert Wettin, Queen Victoria's husband), when anti-German feeling was high.
Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle, principal residence of British sovereigns since the 11th century.
Duke of Windsor
Windsor, Duke of See: Edward.
Windsurfing
Windsurfing, water sport in which an individual rides a sailboard, a surfboard with a central mast to which a sail is attached.
Windward Islands
Windward Islands, group of islands in the Lesser Antilles, West Indies, stretching toward Venezuela.
Wine
Wine, alcoholic beverage made from fermented grape juice; wines made from other fruits are always named accordingly. Table wines are red, rosé, or white in color; red wines are made from dark grapes, the skins being left in the fermenting mixture; white wines may be made from dark or pale grapes, the skins being removed. The grapes—normally varieties of Vitis vinifera—are allo…
Winged bull
Winged bull, mythic beast of ancient Assyria, frequently appearing in paintings and statues.
Winged lion
Winged lion, mythic beast of ancient Babylonia and Assyria, represented in paintings and statues.
Winged Victory
Winged Victory, Greek sculpture dated c.180 B.C. depicting Nike, the goddess of victory, bringing a message of victory from the gods.
Winnebago
Winnebago, Siouan-speaking Native Americans from eastern Wisconsin.
Sarah Winnemucca
Winnemucca, Sarah, or Thoc-me-tony (“Shell Flower”; 1844?–91), U.S. advocate for Native American rights.
Winnetka Plan
Winnetka Plan, system of individualized instruction introduced in the public elementary and junior high schools of Winnetka, Ill., in 1919.
Winnipeg
Winnipeg (pop. 652,300), capital city of Manitoba, Canada, on the Red and Assiniboine rivers.
Winnipeg River
Winnipeg River, part of the Saskatchewan-Nelson river system that rises in western Ontario, Canada, and empties into Hudson Bay.
Edward Winslow
Winslow, Edward (1595–1655), one of the original settlers of Plymouth, Mass., who came from England on the Mayflower and served as governor of the colony for 3 years.
Winterberry
Winterberry, shrub in the holly family.
Wintergreen
Wintergreen, plant in the heath family.
Winthrop
Winthrop, name of 3 distinguished American colonists.
Wire
Wire, length of metal that has been drawn out into a thread.
Wire glass
Wire glass, glass with wire mesh embedded in it to provide reinforcement for use in doors and windows.
Wirehaired pointing griffon
Wirehaired pointing griffon, hunting dog first bred in the Netherlands in the late 1800s.
Wiretapping
Wiretapping, interception of telephone conversations without the knowledge of those communicating.
Wireworm
Wireworm, larva of the click beetle, which is often a serious pest.
Henry Wirz
Wirz, Henry (d. 1865), Confederate army officer in the U.S.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin, state in the Great Lakes region of north-central United States; considered a Midwestern state; bordered by Lake Superior and Michigan to the north, Lake Michigan to the east, Illinois to the south, and the Mississippi River (with Iowa and Minnesota on the opposite side), the St. Croix River, and Minnesota to the west. Wisconsin has five main land regions. The Eastern Ridges and Lowlands…
Wisconsin Dells
Wisconsin Dells See: Dalles.
Wisconsin River
Wisconsin River, longest river in Wisconsin, rising in the north near the Michigan border and flowing 430 mi (692 km) south and southwest to empty into the Mississippi River near Prairie du Chien.
Wisdom of Solomon
Wisdom of Solomon, book of the Old Testament Apocrypha, traditionally ascribed to Solomon but probably written in the 2nd or 1st century B.C.
Isaac Mayer Wise
Wise, Isaac Mayer (1819–1900), religious leader, Jewish rabbi, and founder of the Reform Judaism movement in the United States.
Stephen Samuel Wise
Wise, Stephen Samuel (1874–1949), religious leader, Jewish rabbi, and author.
Wisteria
Wisteria, plant in the pea family.
Witch hazel
Witch hazel, low tree or shrub (genus Hamamelis) growing in eastern North America and eastern Asia.
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, manipulation of supernatural forces, usually toward evil ends.
Witenagemot
Witenagemot, group of counselors to the Anglo-Saxon king.
John Witherspoon
Witherspoon, John (1723–94), Scottish-born American educator and clergyman who was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
Witness
Witness, individual who testifies under oath in a legal proceeding or acts as a signer of a legal document.
Ludwig Wittgenstein
Wittgenstein, Ludwig (1889–1951), Austrian philosopher whose two chief works, Tractatus Logico-philosophicus (1921) and the posthumous Philosophical Investigations (1953), have profoundly influenced the course of much British and U.S. philosophy.
Witwatersrand
Witwatersrand, or the Rand, gold-bearing rocky ridge in southern Transvaal, South Africa.
P.G. Wodehouse
Wodehouse, P.G. (Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse; 1881–1975), English writer of humorous novels and short stories.
Woden
Woden See: Odin.
Wolcott
Wolcott, name of a prominent Connecticut family.
Wolf
Wolf (Canis lupus), powerful carnivore ranging throughout the deciduous and coniferous forests and tundra of the Northern Hemisphere.
James Wolfe
Wolfe, James (1727–59), British general whose capture of Quebec was the decisive victory in the last of the French and Indian Wars.
Thomas Clayton Wolfe
Wolfe, Thomas Clayton (1900–38), U.S. novelist whose works constitute an autobiographical epic.
Wolffish
Wolffish, fish belonging to the Anarhichadidae family that lives in the northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Wolfhound
Wolfhound, family of hunting dogs consisting of three breeds.
Wolfram
Wolfram See: Tungsten.
Wolframite
Wolframite, brownish-black mineral derived from tungsten.
Wollongong
Wollongong (pop. 238,200), city located in the state of New South Wales on the southeast coast of Australia.
Mary Wollstonecraft
Wollstonecraft, Mary (1759–97), British author and feminist.
Thomas Wolsey
Wolsey, Thomas (1473?–1530), Roman Catholic cardinal and politician.
Wolverine
Wolverine (Gulo gulo), large terrestrial carnivore of the weasel family, weighing up to 54 lb (24.5 kg).
Wolverine State
Wolverine State See: Michigan.
National Woman's Relief Corps
Woman's Relief Corps, National, U.S. patriotic organization.
Woman suffrage
Woman suffrage, women's lawful right to vote. Under the U.S. Constitution, states initially gave voting rights to land-holding white men only. By 1830, although all states had abolished property requirements for white men, no state allowed women to vote. In the 19th century, as a result of changing social conditions and new ideas about equality, the movement for woman suffrage took shape; h…
Wombat
Wombat, heavy, stockily built, burrowing marsupial of Australia, closely related to the koala.
Women's American ORT
Women's American ORT, affiliate of ORT (Organization for Rehabilitation through Training), an international nonprofit agency established in 1880 to provide education and job skills to Jews in many countries throughout the world.
Women's Bureau
Women's Bureau, agency of the U.S.
Women's Christian Temperance Union
Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), U.S. organization seeking legislation against the consumption of alcohol.
Women's movements
Women's movements, organized attempts to achieve political, legal, economic, and social equality for women. Following the English common law, the U.S. legal system long assigned women a special and inferior status. Although the Constitution did not use the words “men” and “women” but always “people,” “persons,” and “citizens,&#x…
Stevie Wonder
Wonder, Stevie (Stevland Judkins, or Morris; 1950– ), U.S. composer, keyboard player, and singer of popular music, leading Motown musician of the 1970s. “Little Stevie Wonder”'s first recorded hit, “Fingertips,” became number 1 on the pop charts when he was 13.
Wood
Wood, hard, dead tissue obtained from the trunks and branches of trees and shrubs.
Wood alcohol
Wood alcohol See: Methanol.
Wood duck
Wood duck, bird belonging to the Anatidae family and found in the wet woodlands of southern Canada and the United States.
Grant Wood
Wood, Grant (1891–1942), U.S. painter, exponent of the 1930s movement known as regionalism.
Wood ibis
Wood ibis (Mycteria americana), large wading bird found in the swamps of South and Central America and the southern United States.
Wood louse
Wood louse, land-living crustacean.
Wood pewee
Wood pewee, or Eastern pewee, woodland bird belonging to the flycatcher family.
Wood rat
Wood rat, or pack rat, any of 22 rat species belonging to the Cricetidae family and found in the mountains and deserts of North and Central America.
Wood sorrel
Wood sorrel See: Shamrock.
Woodcarving
Woodcarving, old art form involving the chiseling of wood to create designs or figures.
Woodchuck
Woodchuck, or groundhog (Marmota monax), familiar ground squirrel of the woodlands of North America.
Woodcock
Woodcock, large game bird of the snipe family.
Leonard Woodcock
Woodcock, Leonard (1911– ), U.S. labor leader, president of the United Automobile Workers (1970–77).
Woodcut and wood engraving
Woodcut and wood engraving, techniques for producing pictures by incising a design on a block of wood, inking the design, and then pressing the inked block onto paper.
Wooden horse
Wooden horse See: Trojan War.
John Wooden
Wooden, John (1910– ), U.S. basketball player and coach.
Victoria Claflin Woodhull
Woodhull, Victoria Claflin (1838–1927), social reformer and first woman to run for the U.S. presidency (1872).
Woodpecker
Woodpecker, one of the family Picidae of birds specialized in obtaining insects from the trunks and branches of trees.
Granville T. Woods
Woods, Granville T. (1856–1910), black U.S. inventor.
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, research center for marine science located at the southwest tip of Cape Cod, Mass.
Carter Goodwin Woodson
Woodson, Carter Goodwin (1875–1950), U.S. historian and educator who popularized African-American studies and founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (1915), which trained African-American historians, collected historical documentation, and issued The Journal of Negro History.
Robert Burns Woodward
Woodward, Robert Burns (1917–79), U.S. chemist who won the 1965 Nobel Prize for his contributions in the field of synthetic organic chemistry.
Woodworking
Woodworking, process of making objects from wood.
Wool
Wool, animal fiber that forms the fleece, or protective coat, of sheep. Coarser than most vegetable or synthetic fibers, wool fibers are wavy and vary in color from the usual white to brown or black. Wool is composed of the protein keratin, whose molecules are long, coiled chains, giving wool elasticity and resilience. Reactive side groups result in good affinity for dyes and enable new, desirable…
Virginia Woolf
Woolf, Virginia (1882–1941), English novelist and essayist.
Woolly monkey
Woolly monkey, or woolly spider monkey, either of two species of monkey belonging to the New World monkey family and found in the Amazon rain forest.
Woolworth
Woolworth, name of two brothers who cofounded the F.W.
Worcester
Worcester (pop. 436,905), city in central Massachusetts on the Blackstone River.
Word processing
Word processing, use of electronic equipment to write, edit, and print documents.
Alfred Merrill Worden
Worden, Alfred Merrill (1932– ), U.S. astronaut who piloted the Apollo 15 command module on its journey to the moon.
William Wordsworth
Wordsworth, William (1770–1850), considered to be the greatest poet of the English romantic period.
Work
Work, in physics, alternative name for energy, used particularly in discussing mechanical processes.
Worker's compensation
Worker's compensation, provision by employers of medical, cash, and sometimes rehabilitation benefits for workers who are injured in accidents at work.
Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration See: New Deal.
World
World, term used in various ways to designate a comprehensive unity. The idea or concept of a world is ancient. Numerous cultures have proposed models for the unity of all things signified by the idea of a world. In its simplest form, the idea is suggested by the containment of a horizon, with a dome of sky above, and the ground of earth below. In pre-modern cultures, the idea of a world is never …
World Bank
World Bank, officially the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, specialized agency of the United Nations, founded in 1945.
World Council of Churches
World Council of Churches, international association of about 300 Protestant, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and Old Catholic churches in some 90 countries.
World Court
World Court See: International Court of Justice.
World government
World government, theoretical organization with the authority and power to maintain law order throughout the world.
World Health Organization
World Health Organization (WHO), specialized agency of the United Nations founded in 1948 and based in Geneva.
World Intellectual Property Organization
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), international agency, part of the United Nations (UN), that protects the legal rights of intellectual property, such as inventions, trademarks, literary and artistic works, and other original ideas.
World Jewish Congress
World Jewish Congress, international body, representing Jewish organizations from over 70 countries, whose goals are to maintain Jewish unity, culture, and religion.
World Meteorological Organization
World Meteorological Organization (WMO), specialized agency of the United Nations, established in Geneva in 1951 to promote international meteorological observation and standardization.
World's fair
World's fair, international exposition of science and technology, entertainment, and culture.
World Trade Center
World Trade Center, twin towers (each 110 stories) rising 1,350 ft (411 m) over lower Manhattan in New York City.
World War I
World War I, global conflict waged from 1914 to 1918 that caused more destruction and involved more participants than any other conflict up to that time. The war's spread was facilitated by an interlocking system of military alliances that Europe had forged during the previous decades, ostensibly to keep the peace. These alliances comprised the Central Powers (primarily Germany and Austria-…
World War II
World War II, second global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945 that involved civilian populations on an unprecedented scale. Military deaths probably amounted to some 17 million, but civilian deaths were undoubtedly much higher because of mass bombing of cities, starvation, epidemics, massacres, and other war-related causes. The parties to the conflict involved nearly every major power in the worl…
Worm
Worm, term used for any elongate, cylindrical invertebrate, such as the earthworm, roundworm, hairworm, or acorn worm.
Worms
Worms (pop. 71,827), city in southwestern Germany, situated on the Rhine River.
Edict of Worms
Worms, Edict of, civil decree issued at Worms, Germany, in 1521, denouncing religious reformer Martin Luther as a heretic, banning his writings, and calling for his capture.
Wormwood
Wormwood, group of herbs and shrubs in the composite family, found chiefly in arid regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
Worsted
Worsted, type of yarn known for its strength and its smooth, shiny texture.
Herman Wouk
Wouk, Herman (1915– ), U.S. author of novels and plays.
Battle of Wounded Knee
Wounded Knee, Battle of, massacre by U.S. soldiers of more than 200 Sioux men, women, and children at Wounded Knee Creek, S.D., on Dec. 29, 1890, in the last major battle of the Indian Wars.
Wovoka
Wovoka (1858?–1932), also known as Jack Wilson, Nevada-born Paiute Native American who originated the ghost-dance religion practiced by Native Americans of the West.
WPA
WPA See: New Deal.
Wrangel Island
Wrangel Island, island belonging to Russia and located in the Arctic Ocean, about 90 miles north of Siberia.
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park
Wrangell-St.
Wren
Wren, name of several groups of small birds.
Sir Christopher Wren
Wren, Sir Christopher (1632–1723), English architect, astronomer, mathematician.
Wrestling
Wrestling, in the West, sport in which 2 persons grapple and try to pin one another's shoulders to the floor by means of various holds.
Wright brothers
Wright brothers, name of two U.S. inventors; designers and builders of the world's first successful airplane (1903). Inspired by the work of Otto Lilienthal, who did pioneering work with gliders in the 1890s, the Wrights, Wilbur (1867–1912) and Orville (1871–1948), conducted experiments with kites and gliders (1899–1902) to develop and test theories of control and lift.…
Frances Wright
Wright, Frances (1795–1852), Scottish-born U.S. reformer for women's rights, public education, and the abolition of slavery.
Frank Lloyd Wright
Wright, Frank Lloyd (1869–1959), 20th-century U.S. architect.
Quincy Wright
Wright, Quincy (1890–1970), U.S. political scientist, an expert on international law.
Richard Wright
Wright, Richard (1908–60), U.S. novelist and social critic.
Wrist
Wrist, or carpus, particularly in humans, joint between the hand and forearm, along with the connecting 8 small carpal bones.
Writ
Writ, written order of a court of law.
Writ of assistance
Writ of assistance, general search warrant issued to customs officers by American colonial courts from 1751.
Writing
Writing, in business, career in such diverse areas astechnical writing, journalism, fiction and poetry, and screenplay and script writing.
Writing
Writing, visual representation of human language and other communication according to social convention.
Wroclaw
Wroclaw (German: Breslau; pop. 640,700), city in southwestern Poland, capital of Wroclaw province; located in the region of Dolny lsk (Lower Silesia) on the Oder River.
Wryneck
Wryneck, jynx, or snakebird (genus Jynx), small, gray-brown, insect-eating bird of the Eastern Hemisphere, named for the snakelike hissing and movement of its head and neck when it is threatened.
Chien-shiung Wu
Wu, Chien-shiung (1912?– ), U.S. experimental physicist.
Wuchang
Wuchang See: Wuhan.
Wuhan
Wuhan (pop. 3,750,000), city in east-central China comprised of the former cities of Hankou, Hanyang, and Wuchang.
Wilhelm Wundt
Wundt, Wilhelm (1832–1920), German psychologist and philosopher.
Sir Thomas Wyatt
Wyatt, Sir Thomas (15037–42), English poet of the early Renaissance.
John Wycliffe
Wycliffe, John (1328?–84), British religious reformer, created first English translation of the Latin Bible.
Andrew Wyeth
Wyeth, Andrew (1917– ), U.S. painter.
William Wyler
Wyler, William (1902–81), U.S. film director.
Elinor Wylie
Wylie, Elinor (1885–1928), U.S. poet and novelist.
Wyoming
Wyoming, state in the Rocky Mountain region of northwestern United States; bordered by Montana to the north, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Colorado to the south, Utah to the south and west, and Utah, Idaho, and Montana to the west. Wyoming has the second-highest average elevation of any state (Colorado's is highest). Part of the Continental Divide runs northwest to southeast throug…
Wyoming Valley
Wyoming Valley, valley in northeastern Pennsylvania and scene of a bloody battle during the Revolutionary War.
Wyoming Valley Massacre
Wyoming Valley Massacre, event in the American Revolutionary War.
Wyss family
Wyss family, authors of and models for the famous children's story The Swiss Family Robinson.
Stefan Cardinal Wyszynski
Wyszynski, Stefan Cardinal (1901–81), Polish Catholic cardinal, archbishop of Warsaw, and primate of Poland.
George Wythe
Wythe, George (1726–1806), judge, friend of Thomas Jefferson and first U.S. law professor at the College of William and Mary (1779–90).
X
X, 24th letter of the English alphabet, corresponding to the 21st letter of the Latin alphabet, which was itself derived from a letter of the western subdivision of the ancient Greek alphabet representing the sound “ks.” The same letter in the eastern Greek alphabet represented “ch” or “kh,” and as such passed into the later Greek and Cyrillic alphabets.
ray X
X ray, type of radiation of higher frequency than visible light but lower than a gamma ray.
X and Y chromosomes
X and Y chromosomes, or sex chromosomes, cell nuclei that determine the sex of a person (as well as carrying some genetic information not related to sex determination).
Saint Francis Xavier
Xavier, Saint Francis (Spanish: Francisco Javier; 1506–52), Spanish missionary.
Yannis Xenakis
Xenakis, Yannis (1922– ), Greek avant-garde composer who developed “stochastic” music using computer-programmed sequences based on mathematical probability, as in Métastaseis (1953–54) and Achorripsis (1958).
Xenon
Xenon, chemical element, symbol Xe; for physical constants, see Periodic Table.
Xenophanes
Xenophanes (570–480 B.C.), Greek poet and pre-Socratic philosopher.
Xenophon
Xenophon (431–355 B.C.), Greek soldier and author.
Xerography
Xerography See: Photocopying.
Xerxes
Xerxes, name of two kings of ancient Persia.
Xhosa
Xhosa, group of related tribes (formerly called Kafir) predominantly living in Transkei, South Africa.
Xi Jiang
Xi Jiang (also Hsi Chiang), longest river of southern China.
Xiamen
Xiamen (pop. 588,000), Hsia-men, or Amoy, port city in Fujian province, southeastern China, located on Amoy and Ku-lang islands, on the Strait of Formosa at the mouth of the Chiu-lung Chiang (river). The city has a history of contact with Western nations, beginning in 1544 with the arrival of Portuguese traders, who were soon expelled. The port was visited by Dutch, Spanish, and British ships duri…
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, large, northwestern province of China, bordered on the northwest by Kazachstan.
Xochimilco
Xochimilco See: Lake Xochimilco.
Xunzi
Xunzi, or Hsun Tzu (340?–245? B.C.), Chinese philosopher.
Xylophone
Xylophone, percussion instrument consisting of a series of tuned wooden blocks set in a frame and struck with special hammers.
XYZ Affair
XYZ Affair, diplomatic incident that nearly led to open war between the United States and France in 1798.
Y
Y, 25th letter of the English alphabet.
Yablonovyy Mountains
Yablonovyy Mountains, mountain range in Russia and northern Mongolia.
Yachts and yachting
Yachts and yachting, popular international sport and pastime of racing or cruising in yachts.
Yahweh
Yahweh See: Jehovah.
Yak
Yak (Bos grunniens), shaggy ox of the high plateau of Tibet.
Yakima
Yakima (pop. 188,823), city in south-central Washington state, seat of Yakima County, located on the Yakima River, at the eastern edge of Mt.
Yakima
Yakima, Native Americans belonging to the Sahapin-Chinook language family.
Elihu Yale
Yale, Elihu (1649–1721), American-born English merchant who made a fortune in India (1670–99).
Linus Yale Jr.
Yale, Linus, Jr. (1821–68), U.S. inventor and manufacturer of locks.
Yale University
Yale University, U.S. university chartered in 1701 as the Collegiate School, first at Killingworth, Milford, and Saybrook, Conn., then (1716) at New Haven, Conn., its present site.
Rosalyn Sussman Yalow
Yalow, Rosalyn Sussman (1921– ), U.S. medical researcher who shared the 1977 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for helping develop radioimmunoassay, a technique for measuring minute amounts of hormones, vitamins, or enzymes that could not be detected by other means.
Yalta
Yalta (pop. 85,000), winter and health resort on the Black Sea, in southern Crimea, Ukraine.
Yalta Conference
Yalta Conference, meeting held near Yalta (Crimea, Ukraine), Feb. 4–11, 1945, between Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin, representing the major Allied powers in World War II.
Yalu River
Yalu River (Chinese: Ya-Lu Chiang; Korean: Amnok-Kang), river forming most of the boundary between North Korea and Manchuria, China.
Yam
Yam (genus Dioscorea), plant of the yam family with a flowering vine and a large tuber, similar to a sweet potato but of a different botanical family.
Yam bean
Yam bean See: Jicama.
Isoroku Yamamoto
Yamamoto, Isoroku (1884–1943), commander of the Japanese fleet in World War II.
Minoru Yamasaki
Yamasaki, Minoru (1912–86), U.S. architect.
Yamasee
Yamasee, Native Americans of the Muskogean language family.
Tomoyuki Yamashita
Yamashita, Tomoyuki (1885–1946), Japanese army commander in World War II.
Yamato period
Yamato period, portion of Japanese history (c.A.D. 200–646) during which the imperial center was Yamato, the area around current-day Nara, near Osaka.
William Lowndes Yancey
Yancey, William Lowndes (1814–63), U.S. proslavery politician and advocate of secession.
Chen Ning Yang
Yang, Chen Ning (1922– ), Chinese-born U.S. physicist who shared with Tsung Dao Lee the 1957 Nobel Prize in physics for their studies of violations of the conservation of parity.
Yangon
Yangon (pop. 2,458,700; formerly Rangoon), capital, largest city, and chief port of Myanmar (Burma), on the Rangoon River.
Yangtze River
Yangtze River, or Chang River, China's longest river.
Yank
Yank, World War II weekly magazine produced by U.S.
Yankee
Yankee, slang term of uncertain origin, probably Dutch.
Yankee Doodle
Yankee Doodle, song popular among American troops in the Revolutionary War.
Yaoundé
Yaoundé, or Yaunde (pop. 649,000), capital city of Cameroon, located in the south-central part of the country between the Nyong and Sanaga rivers.