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The History Channel - Encyclopedia Category: History and Culture > History Date & country: 02/12/2007, UK Words: 25833

jetsam
Goods deliberately sunk in the sea to lighten a vessel in a storm, or wreck. See flotsam, jetsam, and lagan. ...

Jevons, William Stanley
(1835-1882) British economist who introduced the concept of marginal utility, a theory based on the measure of additional satisfaction (utility) gained by a consumer who receives one additional unit of a...

Jew
The term `Jew`, for a follower of Judaism (the Jewish religion), came into use in medieval Europe, based on the Latin name for Judeans, the people of Judah. In medieval times, Jewish people were...

Jew
Follower of Judaism, the Jewish religion. The term is also used to refer to those who claim descent from the ancient Hebrews, a Semitic people of the Middle East. Today, some may recognize their...

Jewel, John
(1522-1571) English Bishop of Salisbury. In the 1560s the English Catholics made renewed efforts to re-establish the primacy of their church. The writings of Jewel at this time defined and clarified points of...

jewellery
Objects worn for ornament, such as rings, brooches, necklaces, pendants, earrings, and bracelets. Jewellery has been made from a wide variety of materials, including precious metals, gemstones,...

Jewett, Charles Coffin
(1816-1868) US librarian and bibliographer. He was the first librarian of the Smithsonian Institution where much of his work was devoted to developing methods of cataloguing the holdings of various libraries,...

Jewett, Sarah Orne
(1849-1909) US novelist and short-story writer. She published Deephaven in 1877, and followed this with over a dozen novels and collections of short stories, including A Country Doctor 1884, A White Heron...

Jewett, William Cornell
(1823-1893) US publicist and peace advocate. During the US Civil War he travelled to Europe to plead for peaceful resolution of the war. Known as `Colorado Jewett`, he travelled back and forth across the...

Jewish Agency
Administrative body created by the British mandate power in Palestine in 1929 to oversee the Jewish population and immigration. In 1948 it took over as the government of an independent Israel. ...

Jewish ethics
Questions of right and wrong considered within a Jewish context. In Judaism, guidance over moral issues and social conduct is given in the Torah, which is believed to come directly from God through...

Jewish Regiment
Regiment of the British Army formed in 1917 to provide for the religious and dietary conditions of members of the Jewish faith. It was sent to Palestine in 1918 and gained a reputation as a reliable...

Jewish-American writing
US writing in English shaped by the Jewish experience. It was produced by the children of Eastern European immigrants who came to the USA at the end of the 19th century,...

Jews, persecution of
Organized racial hatred directed against Jews and Judaism. As the physical enactment of anti-Semitism, persecution of Jews has been present in European Christian societies for two thousand years....

Jewsbury, Geraldine (Ensor)
(1812-1880) English novelist. Her first novel, Zoë (1845), was a sensation for its subject of a Catholic priest's love for a beautiful woman. Other novels with feminist themes include The Half Sisters (1848),...

Jex-Blake, Sophia Louisa
(1840-1912) British physician. In 1874 she founded the London School of Medicine for Women and in 1877 qualified in medicine at Dublin University. In 1878 she opened a dispensary for women and children in...

Jezebel
In the Old Testament, daughter of the king of Sidon. She married King Ahab of Israel, and was brought into conflict with the prophet Elijah by her introduction of the worship of Baal. ...

Jhabvala, Ruth Prawer
(1927) German-born novelist, short-story writer, and screenplay writer. She was educated in England and has spent much of her adult life in India, the setting of some of her most widely acclaimed...

Jiang Jie Shi (or Chiang Kai-shek)
(1887-1975) Chinese nationalist Kuomintang (Guomindang) general and politician, president of China 1928-31 and 1943-49, and of Jiang Qing (or Chiang Ching)
(1914-1991) Chinese communist politician, third wife of the party leader Mao Zedong. In 1960 she became minister for culture, and played a key role in...

Jiang Zemin
(1926) Chinese communist politician, leader of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) 1989-2002 and state president 1993-2003. He succeeded Zhao Ziyang as Communist Party leader after the Tiananmen Square...

Jicarilla
Member of an American Indian people who migrated from Canada to the southwest USA (Colorado, Oklahoma, and New Mexico) between 1300 and 1500. A subgroup of the Eastern Apache nation, their language...

jihad
Holy war undertaken by Muslims against nonbelievers. In the Mecca Declaration (1981), the Islamic powers pledged a jihad against Israel, though not necessarily military attack. ...

Jim Crow laws
Laws designed to enforce racial segregation and deny black Americans their civil rights. These laws originated in the 1880s and were common in the southern USA until the 1960s. The US Supreme Court...

Jiménez Oreamuno, Ricardo
(1859-1945) Costa Rican liberal politician, president on three occasions, 1910-14, 1924-28, and 1932-36. During his presidencies, `Don Ricardo` promoted political reforms, including a switch to direct...

Jiménez, Juan Ramón
(1881-1958) Spanish lyric poet. Born in Andalusia, he left Spain during the civil war to live in exile in Puerto Rico. His essentially mystical and highly sophisticated work includes Sonetos espirituales...

Jin dynasty (or Chin dynasty)
Hereditary rulers of northern China, including Manchuria and part of Mongolia, from 1122 to 1234, during the closing part of the Song era (960-1279). The dynasty was founded by Juchen (Jurchen)...

Jindyworobaks
Australian literary group 1938-53. Founded by Reginald Ingamells (1931-1955), it encouraged an individual Australian character in the country's literature. ...

jingle
Catchy tune and, often, words that work through rhythm and repetition of sound for advertising purposes, used within most sections of the media including television and journalism. Jingles aim to...

jingoism
Blinkered, war-mongering patriotism. The term originated in 1878, when the British prime minister Disraeli developed a pro-Turkish policy, which nearly involved the UK in war with Russia. His...

Jinnah, Muhammad Ali
(1876-1948) Indian politician, Pakistan's first governor general from 1947. He was president of the Muslim League in 1916 and 1934-48, and by 1940 was advocating...

jinni
In Muslim mythology, a member of a class of spirits able to assume human or animal shape. ...

Jiricna, Eva
(1939) Czech architect who has worked in the UK since 1968. Her fashion shops, bars, and cafés for the Joseph chain are built in a highly refined modernist style. ...

Jivaro
An American Indian people of the tropical forests of southeastern Ecuador and northeastern Peru. They live by farming, hunting, fishing, and weaving; the Jivaro language belongs to the...

Joan
Mythical Englishwoman, reputed to have become pope in 855, as John VIII, and to have died giving birth to a child during a papal procession. The myth was exposed in 1647 by Blondel in his...

Joan II
(1370-1435) Queen of Naples. She succeeded her brother Ladislas in 1414. Her whole reign was disturbed by civil wars, and on her death the throne passed to Alfonso of Aragón. ...

Joan of Arc, St
(c. 1412-1431) French military leader who inspired the French at the Siege of Orléans 1428-29 and at the Battle of Patay, north of Orléans, in 1429. As a young peasant girl, she was the wrong age, class, and...

Joan of Kent
(1328-1385) Countess of Kent. She married Edward the Black Prince 1361 and their younger son became Richard II. John of Gaunt took refuge at her home in Kennington when his palace was besieged by Londoners...

Job
(lived c. 5th century BC) In the Old Testament, Hebrew leader who in the Book of Job questioned God's infliction of suffering on the righteous while enduring great sufferings himself. Although Job comes to no final...

job creation
Schemes introduced by governments at times of high or seasonal unemployment, often involving community work or training to develop marketable skills. ...

jobber
Former name (to October 1986) for a dealer on the London stock exchange who negotiated with a broker who, in turn, dealt with the general public. The jobber's role is now combined with that of the...

jobseekers allowance
Social security benefit included by the UK Conservative government in the Jobseekers Act 1995. The allowance became effective from October 1996. It replaced unemployment benefit and income support,...

Jocelin
English history writer. He wrote The Life and Miracles of Saint Walthe of of Melrose, A Life of David, King of Scotland, A Life of Saint Kentigern, and A Latin Narrative of the Life and Miracles of...

Jode, Pieter de
(1570-1634) Flemish engraver. He engraved many plates after Flemish masters. His son, also Pieter de Jode (1606-c. 1674), was his pupil and one of the engravers employed in reproducing the paintings of Piers...

Jodelle, Etienne
(1532-1573) French poet and playwright. He was a member of La Pléiade and followed the group's classic agenda in his Cléopatre captive (1553), the first tragedy in French to imitate Seneca. He also wrote...

Jodl, Alfred
(1890-1946) German general. In World War II he was in effect responsible for most German operations outside the USSR and he drew up the Nazi government's plan for the attack on Yugoslavia, Greece, and the USSR....

Joel
Prophet of Judah in the Old Testament, who predicts punishments for Judah's sins, to be followed by a restoration of God's grace and the nation's triumph over its enemies. ...

Joffre, Joseph Jacques Césaire
(1852-1931) Marshal of France during World War I. He was chief of general staff in 1911. The German invasion of Belgium in 1914 took him by surprise, but his stand at the Battle of the Marne resulted in his...

Jogues, Isaac
(1607-1646) French-born missionary and saint. A Jesuit priest sent to North America in 1636, he worked among the Huron peoples, journeying as far west as Sault Ste Marie (now...

Jóhann Sigurjónsson
(1880-1919) Icelandic dramatist and poet. His plays, written in Danish and Icelandic, include Fjalla-Eyvindur/Eyvind of the Mountains 1912, concerning an outlaw, and Galdra-Loftur/Loftur the Sorcerer 1915,...

Johanson, Donald C(arl)
(1943) US physical anthropologist. He was curator of physical anthropology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History 1972-81 before becoming founding director of the Institute of Human Origins,...

John (I) Lackland
(1167-1216) King of England from 1199 and acting king from 1189 during his brother Richard (I) the Lion-Heart's absence on the Third Crusade. Although branded by contemporaries as cruel and power-hungry, he...

John (III) Vatatzes
(1193-1254) Byzantine Emperor from 1222. Under his rule the Empire of Nicea prospered and expanded, although his initial reconquest of Thrace was thwarted in 1225 by Theodore Angelus, emperor of Epirus, the...

John (VI) Cantacuzene
(1292-1383) Byzantine emperor 1347-55. He came to power after a period of regency following the death of Andronicus III (to whom he had been chief adviser). His reign was marked by widespread civil war. After...

John (VIII) Palaeologus
(1390-1448) Byzantine emperor 1425-48. The penultimate ruler of the empire before it fell to the Ottomans in 1453, he succeeded his father Manuel II Palaeologus. John Palaeologus spent most of his reign...

John Bull
Imaginary figure who is a personification of England, similar to the American Uncle Sam. He is represented in cartoons and caricatures as a prosperous farmer of the 18th century. The name was...

John Chrysostom, St
(c. 347-407) One of the fathers of the early Christian Church. After an early academic career of great brilliance under Libanius, he was baptized c. 370 at the insistence of his mother and many Christian...

John Climacus, St
(c. 570-649) Greek ascetic. At first a monk of Sinai, he spent some time as an anchorite (Christian hermit), but later returned to the monastery as abbot. His `Klimax tou paradeisou/Ladder of Paradise` is a...

John F Kennedy Arboretum
Arboretum at New Ross, County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, dedicated to the memory of the former US president and opened in 1968. It comprises 252 ha/623 acres and overlooks the Kennedy ancestral...

John I
(1357-1433) King of Portugal from 1385. An illegitimate son of Pedro I, he was elected by the Cortes (parliament). His claim was supported by an English army against...

John I, St
(died 526) Pope, 523-26. He was sent to Constantinople by Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, to obtain toleration for the Arians from the Byzantine emperor, but on his return...

John II
(1455-1495) King of Portugal. He curbed the power of the Portuguese feudal nobility during his reign. He continued the tradition of giving patronage to Portuguese explorers, encouraging Diogo Cam , who...

John III, Sobieski
(1624-1696) King of Poland from 1674. He became commander-in-chief of the army in 1668 after victories over the Cossacks and Tatars. A victory over the Turks in 1673 helped to get him elected to the Polish...

John IV
(1604-1656) King of Portugal from 1640. Originally duke of Braganza, he was elected king when the Portuguese rebelled against Spanish rule. His reign was marked by a long war against Spain, which did not end...

John of Austria, Don
(1547-1578) Spanish soldier, the illegitimate son of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. He defeated the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto in 1571. John captured Tunis in 1573 but quickly lost it. He was appointed...

John of Beverley, St
(died 721) English ecclesiastic. He was appointed archbishop of York in 705 and ordained the Venerable Bede. He founded Beverley Abbey. During his lifetime he acquired a great reputation for sanctity, which...

John of Bohemia
(1296-1346) King of Bohemia from 1310. When the royal houses of Bavaria and Austria were contending for the Imperial crown, John secured the prize for the former by his victory at Muhldorf in 1322. For two...

John of Capistrano, St
(1386-1456) Italian preacher and theologian. Most of his religious life was spent as papal legate to various states. In that capacity he proved himself a tireless worker in the cause of orthodoxy, opposing the...

John of Damascus, St
(c. 676-c. 754) Eastern Orthodox theologian and hymn writer, a defender of image worship against the iconoclasts (image-breakers). Contained in his The Fountain of Knowledge is `An Accurate Exposition of the...

John of Gaunt
(1340-1399) English noble and politician, fourth (and third surviving) son of Edward III, Duke of Lancaster from 1362. He distinguished himself during the Hundred Years' War. During Edward's last...

John of Kronstadt, Father
(1829-1908) Russian Orthodox priest. He gained his divinity degree in 1885 at the theological academy of St Petersburg, Russia, and became priest of the Collegiate church of Kronstadt, Russia, where he soon...

John of Lancaster
(1389-1435) English prince, third son of Henry IV. He was regent of France (1422-31) during the minority of Henry VI, his nephew, and protector of England (1422-35). He mostly left English affairs to his...

John of the Cross, St
(1542-1591) Spanish Carmelite friar from 1564, who was imprisoned several times for attempting to impose the reforms laid down by St Teresa of Avila. His verse describes spiritual ecstasy. He was persecuted and...

John Paul I
(1912-1978) Pope 26 August-28 September 1978. His name was chosen as the combination of his two immediate predecessors. ...

John the Baptist, St
(c. 12 BC-c.AD 27) In the New Testament, an itinerant preacher. After preparation in the wilderness, he proclaimed the coming of the Messiah and baptized Jesus in the River Jordan. He was later executed by John V
(1689-1750) King of Portugal 1706-50, grandson of John IV. During his reign, Portugal allied with England in the War of the Spanish Succession. John IV consolidated the power of the church and promoted...

John VI
(1769-1826) King of Portugal and regent for his insane mother Maria I from 1799 until her death in 1816. He fled to Brazil when the French invaded Portugal in 1807 and did not return until 1822. On his return...

John VIII
(died 882) Pope AD 872-82. In 875, he crowned Charles (II) the bald Holy Roman Emperor. During his papacy, Rome was sacked by the Saracens, and he was forced to pay tribute. He was murdered by...

John XXII
(1249-1334) Pope 1316-34. He spent his papacy in Avignon, France, engaged in a long conflict with the Holy Roman Emperor, Ludwig of Bavaria, and the Spiritual Franciscans, a monastic order who preached the...

John XXIII
(c. 1370-1419) Anti-pope (1410-15). In an attempt to end the Great Schism he was elected pope by a council...

John XXIII
(1881-1963) Pope from 1958. He improved relations with the USSR in line with his encyclical Pacem in Terris/Peace on Earth (1963), established Roman Catholic hierarchies in newly emergent states, and summoned...

John, Gwen(dolen Mary)
(1876-1939) Welsh painter. She lived in France for most of her life. Many of her paintings depict young women or nuns (she converted to Catholicism in 1913), but she also painted calm, muted interiors. Her...

John, Patrick
(1937) Dominican centre-left politician, chief minister 1974-78 and prime minister 1978-80. Having succeeded Edward Le Blanc as chief minister, John led the Dominica Labour Party (DLP) to victory in...

John, St
(lived 1st century AD) New Testament apostle. Traditionally, he wrote the fourth Gospel and the Johannine Epistles (when he was bishop of Ephesus), and the Book of Revelation (while exiled to the Greek island of Patmos)....

John, William Goscombe
(1860-1952) Welsh sculptor. His works include a statue of Prime Minister Lloyd George, in Carnarvon; an equestrian statue of Viscount Wolseley, on Horse Guards Parade, London; and the memorial to the composer...

Johns, Jasper
(1930) US painter, sculptor, and printmaker. He was one of the foremost exponents of pop art. He rejected abstract art, favouring such mundane subjects as flags, maps, and numbers as a means of exploring...

Johns, W(illiam) E(arl)
(1893-1968) English author. From 1932 he wrote popular novels about World War I flying ace `Biggles`, now sometimes criticized for chauvinism, racism, and sexism. Johns was a flying officer in the RAF...

Johnson
US photographic explorers and lecturers. They were married in 1910 and travelled to the South Pacific and Africa, where they photographed the native peoples and wildlife. They were the first people...

Johnson-Sirleaf, Ellen
(1938) Liberian politician, president from 2006. Known as the `Iron lady`, she became the world's first elected black president, defeating the former footballer, George Weah, in November 2005...

Johnson, Alan
(1950) UK Labour Party politician, health secretary from 2007. He became a member of Parliament in 1997 and served as trade and industry minister 1999-2003 and education minister 2003-04. He entered...

Johnson, Alexander Bryan
(1786-1867) English-born US philosopher who wrote works that anticipated aspects of 20th-century analytic philosophy, as in The Philosophy of Human Knowledge 1828. He also wrote on...

Johnson, Amy
(1903-1941) English aviator. She made a solo flight from England to Australia in 1930, in 9 1/2 days, and in 1932 made the fastest ever solo flight from England to Cape Town, South Africa. Her plane disappeared...

Johnson, Andrew
(1808-1875) 17th president of the USA 1865-69, a Democrat. He was a congressman from Tennessee 1843-53, governor of Tennessee 1853-57, senator 1857-62, and vice-president in 1865. He succeeded to the...

Johnson, Cornelius
(1593-1661/2) English portrait painter. He painted James I, Charles I (Chatsworth House, Derbyshire), and William Harvey (Royal College of Physicians, London). He specialized in bust portraits...

Johnson, Eyvind Olof Verner
(1900-1976) Swedish novelist. His tetralogy Romanen om Olof/The Story of Olof (1934-37) is a partly autobiographical account of adolescence. He wrote a number of historical novels, in which he demonstrated...

Johnson, Frank (Minis), Jr
(1918-1999) US judge. He was US district judge in Alabama 1955-79. In his first judgement from that bench in 1956, he declared segregation on Alabama city buses unconstitutional. He effectively desegregated...

Johnson, Hewlett
(1874-1966) English clergyman. Popularly known as the `Red Dean` because of his pro-communist views, he was a controversial figure. His publications include The Socialist Sixth of the World (1940), a...

Johnson, Hiram Warren
(1866-1945) US politician. He was the `Bull Moose` party candidate for vice president in Theodore Roosevelt's unsuccessful bid to regain the presidency in 1912. Elected to the Senate 1917, Johnson served...

Johnson, Hugh (Samuel)
(1882-1942) US army officer and government official. He became a brigadier general at the age of 35 (the youngest such since the US Civil War). He helped to draft the Selective Service Act in 1917. A member of...

Johnson, James Weldon
(1871-1938) US writer, lawyer, diplomat, and social critic. He was a strong supporter of President Theodore Roosevelt and served him and President Taft as US consul in Venezuela and Nicaragua 1906-12. He was...