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

process theology
In Christianity, an attempt to absorb evolutionary ideas into theology and philosophy by seeing God as part of a wider evolutionary drive towards greater fulfilment and perfection in all aspects of...

proclamation
Constitutional mode of declaring the will of the chief executive of a state. All British proclamations are made by the monarch as an order in council and must pass under the great seal. For the most...

Proclamation of 1763
Proclamation by King George III that prohibited Europeans from settling on land west of the Appalachian Mountains. The proclamation gave Americans Indians land titles for the first time, but angered...

Proconsul
Prehistoric ape skull found on Rusinga Island in Lake Victoria (Nyanza), East Africa, by Mary Leakey. It is believed to be 20 million years old. ...

proconsul
Roman consul (chief magistrate) who went on to govern a province when his term as consul ended. ...

Procopius
(c. 495-565) Greek historian. As secretary to Justinian's general, Belisarius, he wrote a history of the campaigns of the Eastern Roman Empire against the Goths and the Vandals. He also wrote extensively on...

Procrustes
In Greek mythology, a robber of Attica who tied his victims to a bed and adjusted them to its length by amputating their legs or racking (stretching) their bodies. He was killed...

Procter, Adelaide Ann
(1825-1864) English poet. She contributed verses to The Book of Beauty 1843, and subsequently to Household Words and the Cornhill Magazine....

Procter, Bryan Waller
(1787-1874) English poet. He contributed to the Literary Gazette from 1815. Under the pseudonym of Barry Cornwall, he produced a tragedy, Mirandola, at Covent Garden 1821, and published several volumes of...

Procter, Dod
(1892-1972) English artist and traveller. Her painting Morning was acclaimed picture of the year in 1927 and purchased by the Daily Mail for the Tate Gallery, London. Her work has a rounded, sculptural quality...

procurator fiscal
Officer of a Scottish sheriff's court who (combining the role of public prosecutor and coroner) inquires into suspicious deaths and carries out the preliminary questioning of witnesses to crime. ...

Prodi, Romano
(1939) Italian centre-left politician, Italian prime minister 1996-98 and from 2006, and president of the European Commission 1999-2004. A former academic and Christian Democrat, he was a founding...

product development
The first stage within the product life cycle, before a good is produced for sale. Market research may have been undertaken prior to or during the design of the good. Models, mock-ups, or samples...

production
The process of making a good or service. Job production, batch production, and flow production are three different ways in which production is organized. Production can be classified by industrial...

productivity
In economics, the output produced by a given quantity of labour, usually measured as output per person employed in the firm, industry, sector, or economy concerned. Productivity is determined by the...

profile
In portraiture, a side view of the face. The profile was used on ancient coins and medallions, and became particularly popular in ...

profit
Difference between the selling price and the production cost. This means production cost in its wide sense, that is not only the cost of manufacturing a product, but all the fixed and variable costs...

profit and loss account
Statement of the profit or loss of a business organization taken from its accounts. Profit and loss accounts comprise three main elements: the trading accounts detailing sales revenues less...

profit maximization
Strategy to maximize the difference between revenue and cost. In economics, it is assumed that the goal or objective of a private company is to maximize profits, this being in...

profit-sharing
System whereby an employer pays the workers a fixed share of the company's profits in the form of a bonus payment. Profit sharing is designed to give the workforce a vested interest in their...

profiteering
Sale of goods that are scarce or rationed for an unreasonable profit, usually during a time of emergency such as a war. ...

Profumo, John Dennis
(1915-2006) British Conservative politician, secretary of state for war from 1960 to June 1963. He resigned following the disclosure of his involvement with Christine Keeler, mistress also of a Soviet naval...

program trading
In finance, buying and selling a group of shares using a computer program to generate orders automatically whenever there is an appreciable movement in prices. One form in use in the USA in 1989 was...

progress
Forward movement or advance. Science progresses, providing more comprehensive theories about the world, and these theories can be tested. In the humanities, assessment of progress involves...

Progressive Democrats
Political party in the Republic of Ireland, founded in 1985 by Desmond O'Malley following a power struggle with Charles Haughey in Fianna Fáil. The PDs are socially liberal but more right wing...

progressive tax
Tax such that the higher the income of the taxpayer the greater the proportion or percentage paid in that tax. This contrasts with regressive taxes where the proportion paid falls as income...

Progressivism
In US history, a reform movement that began in the late 1890s as a response to problems caused by the rapid economic and social changes following the Civil War. Mainly middle-class and...

Prohibition
In US history, the period 1920-33 when the Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution was in force, and the manufacture, transportation, and sale of alcohol was illegal. This led to bootlegging...

Prometheus
In Greek mythology, a Titan who stole fire from heaven for the human race. In revenge, Zeus chained him to a rock and sent an eagle to gnaw at his liver by day; the organ grew back each night....

Promised Land
In the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), the land of Canaan, covenanted by God to the Israelites. ...

promissory note
Written promise to pay on demand, or at a fixed future time, a specific sum of money to a named person or bearer. Like a cheque, it is negotiable if endorsed by the payee. A commercial paper is a...

propaganda
Systematic spreading (propagation) of information or disinformation (misleading information), usually to promote a religious or political doctrine with the intention of instilling particular...

propaganda, Nazi
In Germany between the 1920s and 1940s, the Nazi party pursued a systematic programme of propaganda, distorting facts and spreading lies to encourage particular attitudes. From 1933 the Ministry of...

propaganda, World War I
The promotion of biased or misleading information was used on all sides in World War I to encourage recruitment and uphold morale among the civilian and military population. Information coming from...

propenal
Colourless liquid formed during the partial combustion of fats. It is an unsaturated aldehyde, boils at 52°C/125.6°F, has an irritating action on the skin, and its vapours cause a copious flow of...

property
The right to control the use of a thing (such as land, a building, a work of art, or a computer program). In both US and English law, a distinction is made between real property, which involves a...

prophet
Person thought to speak from divine inspiration or one who foretells the future. Prophets whose words and actions are recorded in the Bible include Moses, Samuel, Elijah, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. In...

proportion
In art, the size, location, or amount of one part or thing compared to another. Some subjects are governed by certain regular proportions. For instance a face consists of a rough oval; the eyes are...

proportional representation
Electoral system in which share of party seats corresponds to their proportion of the total votes cast, and minority votes are not wasted (as opposed to a simple majority, or `first past the...

proportional tax
Tax such that the proportion or percentage paid in tax remains constant as income of the taxpayer changes. This contrasts with regressive tax where the proportion paid falls as income increases, and...

prorogation
In Britain, the termination of a session of Parliament and the setting of the date for a new session. All business, including bills before Parliament, is terminated by prorogation and must, if...

prose
Spoken or written language without regular metre; in literature, prose corresponds more closely to the patterns of everyday speech than poetry, and often uses standard grammar and syntax and...

prosecution
In law, the party instituting legal proceedings. In the UK, the prosecution of a criminal case is begun by bringing the accused (defendant) before a magistrate, either by warrant or summons, or by...

Prosecution Service, Crown
See Crown Prosecution Service. ...

proselyte
Convert to a religion; in particular, to Judaism. The religions keenest to make converts are Christianity (see mission) and Islam. In the early years of the Roman Empire, many Roman citizens of high...

Proserpina
In Roman mythology, the goddess of the underworld. Her Greek equivalent is Persephone. ...

Prosser, Gabriel
(c. 1775-1800) US slave insurrectionist who planned a major slave revolt in Virginia in 1800. Prosser and about 1,000 followers set out for Richmond (the state capital), but two house slaves informed on the...

Prosser, William Lloyd
(1898-1972) US legal scholar. He was a member of the law faculties of the University of Minnesota 1929-42 and Harvard 1947-48, and dean of the law school at the University of California, Berkeley 1948-63....

Protagoras (of Abdera)
(lived c. 485-c. 420 BC) Greek sophist, or travelling lecturer. He taught rhetorical and political skills for a fee. In h ...

protectionism
In economics, the imposition of heavy duties or import quotas by a government as a means of discouraging the import of foreign goods likely to compete with domestic products. Price controls, quota...

protectorate
Formerly in international law, a small state under the direct or indirect control of a larger one. The 20th-century equivalent was a trust territory. In English history the rule of Oliver and...

Protectorate, the
Period of English history, 1653-59, when England was ruled by a Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell (1653-58) and his son Richard Cromwell (1658-59). After the failure of the Barebones Parliament...

Protesilaus
In classical mythology, the first Greek to jump ashore from the boats on the expedition against Troy. Although immediately killed, he was permitted by the gods to return to his wife Laodamia for...

Protestantism
Main division of Christianity that emerged from Roman Catholicism at the Reformation in the 16th century. The three largest denominations in Ireland are the (Anglican) Church of Ireland, the...

Protestantism
One of the main divisions of Christianity, which emerged from Roman Catholicism at the Reformation, a movement that questioned and `protested` against the teachings and authority of the Roman...

Proteus
In Greek mythology, the warden of the sea beasts of Poseidon; his flocks were usually said to comprise of seals. He possessed the gift of prophecy but could transform himself into many forms to...

protocol
In diplomacy a protocol may be: (1) the minutes of a conference or negotiations; (2) a diplomatic instrument recording the details on which agreement has been reached; (3) an actual agreement,...

Protocols of Zion
Forged document containing supposed plans for Jewish world conquest, alleged to have been submitted by Theodor Herzl to the first Zionist Congress at Basel in 1897, and published in Russia in 1905....

Protogenes
(lived 4th century BC) Greek painter, active mostly in Rhodes. The painter Apelles is said to have admired his work but to have considered him too imitative of nature. His masterpiece, Ialysus, a picture of the founder of...

protohistory
Period following prehistory but prior to the appearance of history as documented in written records. ...

Proulx, E(dna) Annie
(1935) US writer. Her novels and short stories often feature desolate landscapes and centre upon odd and unconventional characters. The Shipping News (1993) won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the...

Proust, Marcel
(1871-1922) French novelist and critic. His immense autobiographical work A la Recherche du temps perdu/Remembrance of Things Past (1913-27), consisting of a series of novels, is the expression of his...

Prout, Father
Pseudonym of Francis Mahony, Irish writer. ...

Prout, Margaret Millicent
(1875-1963) English artist. Her experimental techniques included washing out pigment and adding body colour and charcoal to great effect. Elected associate member of the Royal Academy, London, in 1948, she was...

Provençal literature
Provençal literature originated in the 10th century and flowered in the 12th century with the work of the troubadours, poet-musicians of the 12th-13th centuries. After the decline of the...

Proverbs
Book of the Old Testament traditionally ascribed to the Hebrew king Solomon. The Proverbs form a series of maxims on moral and ethical matters. ...

providence
The religious belief that all events are guided and foreseen by God for a purpose. The idea is found in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Of course, if God controls directly every event (universal...

Provincetown Players
Group of US actors, producers, and dramatists formed in 1915 in Provincetown, Cape Cod, Massachusetts; they later moved to New York. Mounting new plays by Eugene O'Neill, Theodore Dreiser, E E...

provincia
In ancient Rome, region of authority of a magistrate holding power in Italy or elsewhere. In the Republic, provinces were determined by the Senate for the consuls and praetors. Under the empire,...

Provisional IRA
Radical faction of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), now the main republican terrorist faction. In 1969, against a background of mounting violence in Northern Ireland, the IRA split between its...

provisional order
Form of delegated legislation exercised in Britain by ministers under existing statutory powers, but which must be confirmed by the passing of a Provisional Order Confirmation Bill. They apply...

Provisions of Oxford
Demands agreed by Henry III of England 1258 under pressure from Simon de Montfort and the baronial opposition. They provided for the establishment of a baronial council to run the government, carry...

Provisions of Westminster
Reforms issued by the English parliament that met at Westminster on 13 October 1259. They were forced on Henry III by his rebellious barons, and forbade the king to grant lands, castles, or...

proviso
In law, a clause in a statute, deed, or some other legal document introducing a qualification or condition to some other provision, frequently the one immediately preceding the proviso itself. ...

Provisors, Statutes of
Two acts 1351 and 1390 limiting the papacy's right to appoint clergy to church benefices over the heads of local patrons. The first gave the crown the power to overrule papal provisions to benefices...

provocation
In law, the partial defence that the accused carried out a murder in the heat of anger after being provoked to lose their self-control. Such a defence, if successful, reduces the charge in English...

provost
Chief magistrate of a Scottish burgh, approximate equivalent of an English mayor. The provosts of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Perth are entitled Lord Provost. In France the term...

Provost (or Prevost), Jan
(1465-1529) Flemish painter. His work marks the transition from 15th-century to 16th-century Flemish painting. He followed Gerard David in his early work, though with a somewhat coarse effort towards...

proximity fuse
Artillery or aerial bomb fuse which operates by sensing how near the target is. A tiny radio transmits a signal which reflects from the target indicating the distance; once the target is within...

Proxmire, (Edward) William
(1915-2005) US politician. During his long career in the US Senate (Democrat, Wisconsin) 1957-89, he was considered a maverick politician. He served as chair of the...

proxy
In law, a person authorized to stand in another's place; also the document conferring this right. The term usually refers to voting at meetings, but marriages by...

Prus, Boleslaw
(1845-1912) Polish novelist and journalist. His novels, characterized by their detailed observation, include Placówka/The Outpost 1886, Lalka/The Doll 1890, a wide-ranging social and human chronicle set...

Prusa
Ancient name for the Turkish city of Bursa. ...

Prussia
Northern German state 1618-1945 on the Baltic coast. It was an independent kingdom until 1867, when it became, under Otto von Bismarck, the military power of the North German Confederation and...

Pryde, James
(1866-1941) Scottish painter. With William Nicholson, he produced the Beggarstaff Brothers posters from 1894 to 1896. Pryde studied art in Edinburgh and Paris. As a painter, he created pictures of Romantic...

Pryderi
In Welsh mythology, son of Pwyll, king of Dyfed, and Rhiannon. He is also the hero of major collections of stories in the Mabinogion. ...

Prynne, William
(1600-1669) English Puritan. He published in 1632 Histriomastix, a work attacking stage plays; it contained aspersions on the queen, Henrietta Maria, for which he was pilloried and lost his ears. In 1637 he was...

Pryor, Roger Atkinson
(1829-1919) US representative. A journalist 1852-59, he served in Congress (Democrat, Virginia) 1859-61, resigning to join the Confederate army. He later was a lawyer and judge 1866-1919...

Przasnysz campaign
In World War I, series of battles between Russian and German forces over an important road junction about 72 km/45 mi north of Warsaw. In the most important encounter in February 1915, a Russian...

Przhevalsky, Nikolai Mikhailovitch
(1839-1888) Russian explorer and soldier. In 1870 he crossed the Gobi Desert to Beijing and then went on to the upper reaches of the Chang Jiang River. His attempts to penetrate Tibet as far as Lhasa failed on...

Przybyszewski, Stanislaw
(1868-1927) Polish writer. A member of the cosmopolitan group of writers, painters, and intellectuals who inhabited Berlin in the 1890s, he wrote in German and Polish. His works include plays, such as...

psalm
Sacred poem or song of praise. The Book of Psalms in the Old Testament is divided into five books containing 150 psalms, traditionally ascribed to David, the second king of Israel. In the Christian...

Psalmanazar, George
(c. 1679-1763) French literary impostor. His real name is unknown, his pseudonym being taken from Shalmaneser, an Assyrian prince mentioned in the Old Testament. Professing to be a native of Formosa, he was...

PSBR
Abbreviation for public sector borrowing requirement. ...

PSDR
Abbreviation for public sector debt repayment. ...

Psellus, Michael Constantine
(c. 1018-c. 1079) Byzantine academician, philosopher, administrator, historian, and poet. A voluminous writer on almost all academic subjects from physics to jurisprudence, Psellus was strongly influenced by ...

PSFD
Abbreviation for public sector financial deficit; see public sector borrowing requirement. ...

Psichari, Jean
(1854-1929) Ukrainian-born Greek author. He wrote in the popular (demotic) language, successfully claiming for it the status of a national literary language in place of archaic Greek. His To taxidhi mou/My...

Psycharis, Jannis
Alternative name of Ukrainian-born Greek author Jean Psichari. ...

Psyche
Late Greek personification of the soul as a winged girl or young woman. In Greek mythology, she was the youngest and most beautiful of three princesses. Incensed by her beauty, Aphrodite ordered her...