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

psychedelic art
Style of art that aims to represent the hallucinations experienced while taking certain drugs, or to provide images for contemplation while under the influence of drugs. It developed within the...

psychokinesis
The ability to control and move objects by means of the mind only, without any physical contact. It is a concept in parapsychology. `Telekinesis` is the term usually used by spiritualists to...

psychometry
Alleged psychic ability to read the nature and history of animate and inanimate objects purely through the sense of touch. ...

Ptah
Egyptian god, the divine potter, a personification of the creative force. Worshipped at Memphis, he was portrayed as a primitive human statue or mummy holding an ankh, symbol of life. He was said to...

Ptolemy
(c.AD 100-c.AD 170) Egyptian astronomer and geographer. His Almagest developed the theory that Earth is the centre of the universe, with the Sun, Moon, and stars revolving around it. In 1543 the Polish astronomer...

Ptolemy I
(c. 367-283 BC) Ruler of Egypt from 323 BC, king from 304 BC. One of Alexander the Great's most valued generals, he was given Egypt as his share of Alexander's conquests. His capital, Alexandria, became a centre of...

Ptolemy II
(308-246 BC) Ruler of Egypt 283-246 BC. He consolidated Greek control and administration, constructing a canal from the Red Sea to the Nile as well as the museum, library, and the Pharos (lighthouse) at...

Ptolemy XIII
(63-47 BC) Joint ruler of Egypt with his sister-wife Cleopatra in the period preceding the Roman annexation of Egypt. He was killed fighting against Julius Caesar. ...

Ptolemy XV
(47-30 BC) Son of Cleopatra and, allegedly, Julius Caesar. Cleopatra declared him joint ruler of Egypt after killing her husband, Ptolemy XIV, 44 BC. He was murdered by Octavian,...

Pu-Yi
Alternative transliteration of the name of the last Chinese emperor, Henry P'u-i. ...

Puapua, Tomasi
(1938) Tuvaluan politician, prime minister 1981-89. He was elected prime minister in September 1981, replacing Toaripi Lauti, the first prime minister on Tuvalu's independence in 1978, who had been...

Public Against Violence
The Slovak half of the Czechoslovak democratic movement, formed in 1989, counterpart of the Czech organization Civic Forum. In April 1991 a splinter group, pledged to greater autonomy from Prague,...

public art
Any work of visual art produced for and owned by the community. It is usually designed for display in an open public space, and intended to be part of a community's social life. The term came into...

public corporation
Company structure that is similar in organization to a public limited company but with no shareholder rights. Such corporations are established to carry out state-owned activities, but are...

public health
Promotion of health at community level by government rather than on an individual basis. Public health includes the prevention of disease through the provision of clean water and sewage disposal,...

public health acts
In the UK, acts passed by Parliament in 1848, 1872, and 1875 to deal with squalor and disease and to establish a code of sanitary law. The first act set up a Central Board of Health, which in turn...

public house
Building licensed for consumption of liquor. In Britain a pub is either `free` (when the licensee has free choice of suppliers) or, more often, `tied` to a brewery company owning the house....

public lending right
Method of paying a royalty to authors when books are borrowed from libraries, similar to a royalty on performance of a play or piece of music. Payment to the copyright holder for such borrowings was...

public limited company
Company registered as a plc under the provisions of the Companies Act 1980. The company's name must carry the words `public limited company` or initials `plc` and must have authorized share...

Public Order Act
UK act of Parliament in 1986 that abolished the common-law offences of riot, rout, unlawful assembly, and affray, and created a new expanded range of statutory offences: riot, violent disorder,...

public school
In England and Wales, a prestigious fee-paying independent school. In Scotland, the USA, and many other English-speaking countries, a `public` school is a state-maintained school, and...

public sector
The part of the economy that is owned and controlled by the state, namely central government, local government, and government enterprises. In a ...

public sector borrowing requirement
Amount of money needed by a government to cover any deficit in financing its own activities. It includes loans to local authorities and public corporations, and also the funds raised by local...

public sector debt repayment
Amount left over when government expenditure (public spending) is subtracted from...

public spending
Expenditure by government, covering the military, health, education, infrastructure, development projects, and the cost of servicing (paying off the interest on) overseas borrowing. A principal...

public-interest immunity
UK legal concept asserted to protect the interests of national security or diplomatic relations, or to protect the `integrity of communications with or within a public department`, by not...

publishing
Production of books for sale. The publisher arranges for the commissioning, editing, printing, binding, warehousing, and distribution of...

Puck
In English folklore, a mischievous fairy who will play tricks on travellers, assume various shapes, or even spoil the milk. His name is related to `pixie`. He appears as the servant of the fairy...

pueblo
Settlement of flat-roofed stone or adobe houses that are the communal dwelling houses of the Hopi, Zuni, and other American Indians of Arizona and New Mexico. The word has also come to refer to...

Pueblo Indian
Member of any of a group of about 25 American Indian peoples living in Arizona and New Mexico, including the Zuni and the Hopi. Descendants...

Pugachev, Emelyan Ivanovich
(1726-1775) Cossack leader of a popular rebellion in Russia during the reign of Catherine (II) the Great. He proclaimed himself Emperor Peter III in 1773 and issued a manifesto promising the liberation of the...

Puget, Pierre
(1620-1694) French baroque sculptor, painter, and architect. He developed a powerful and expressive style. He created a muscular statue of the tyrant Milo of Crotona 1671-82 (Louvre, Paris) for...

Pugin, Augustus Welby Northmore
(1812-1852) English architect and designer. He collaborated with Charles Barry in the detailed design of the New Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament). He did much to instigate the Gothic Revival in...

Puig, Manuel
(1932-1990) Argentine novelist whose works owe much to the Hollywood cinema of the 1940s and 1950s. His book El beso de la mujer araña/Kiss of the Spider Woman 1976 was filmed 1985 and adapted as a musical...

puja
Worship, in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. In Hinduism, puja is performed to a pujari
Hindu priest. A pujari looks after the chief murti (sacred image of a god) of a mandir (temple), and performs ceremonies such as arti, an offering of ghee, incense, flowers, and water; and havan, a...

Pulaski, Casimir
(1747-1779) Polish patriot and military leader. Hired by Silas Deane and Benjamin Franklin in their campaign to recruit for the American Revolution 1775-83, he was placed in command of the Continental cavalry...

Pulcinella
Character in commedia dell'arte; see Punchinello. ...

Pulitzer, Joseph
(1847-1911) Hungarian-born US newspaper publisher. He acquired The World in 1883 in New York City and, as a publisher, his format set the style for the modern newspaper. After his death, funds provided in his...

Puller, Lewis (Burwell)
(1898-1971) US marine officer. Given command of a batallion in the Seventh Marine Regiment shortly before the outbreak of World War II, he led the unit in a brilliant defence of Henderson Field on Guadalcanal...

Pullman strike
US rail strike in 1894 involving George Pullman's Palace Car Company workers at Pullman, Illinois, and the American Railway Union led by Eugene Debs. Strikers protested in May 1894 against...

Pullman, Philip
(1946) English writer of fiction for children and teenagers including Northern Lights (1995; in the USA published as The Golden Compass in 1996), the first book in the `His Dark Materials` trilogy,...

pulpitum
In architecture, a massive stone gallery or rood-screen separating the nave from the ritual choir in a large monastic or cathedral church. ...

Punan
Member of a nomadic people living in the jungles of central Borneo. They live in small, scattered bands, migrating every 15 days. The sago palm provides their staple food, augmented by what they can...

Punch
Male character in the traditional puppet play Punch and Judy, a humpbacked, hooknosed figure who fights with his wife, Judy. Punch generally overcomes or outwits all opponents. The play is performed...

Punchinello
Traditional rogue of the Italian commedia dell'arte and ancestor of Punch. He has a large nose and a humped back and wears a black mask. ...

Punic
Relating to Carthage, ancient city in North Africa founded by the Phoenicians. ...

Punic Wars
Three wars between Rome and Carthage:First Punic War 264-241 BC, resulted in the defeat of the Carthaginians under Hamilcar Barca and the cession of Sicily to Rome;Second Punic War 218-201 BC,...

Punjab
Former state of British India, now divided between India and Pakistan. Punjab was annexed by Britain in 1849 after the Sikh Wars (1845-46 and 1848-49), and formed into a province with its...

Punjab massacres
In the violence occurring after the partition of India in 1947, more than a million people died while relocating in the Punjab. The eastern section became an Indian state, while the western area,...

Punjabi
The majority ethnic group living in the Punjab. Approximately 37 million live in the Pakistan half of Punjab, while another 14 million live on the Indian side of the border. In addition to Sikhs,...

puppet
Figure manipulated on a small stage, usually by an unseen operator. The earliest known puppets are from 10th-century BC China. The types include finger or glove puppets (such as Punch);string...

Purana
One of a number of sacred Hindu writings dealing with ancient times and events, and dating from the 4th century AD onwards. The 18 main texts include the Vishnu Purana and Bhagavata, which...

Purcell, John (Baptist)
(1800-1883) Irish-born US prelate. As Catholic bishop (from 1833) and archbishop (from 1850) of Cincinnati, he presided over a period of tremendous growth. A temperance advocate and opponent of ethnic...

Purchas, Samuel
(c. 1577-1626) English compiler of travel books. His collection Purchas, his Pilgrimage 1613, was followed by another in 1619, and in 1625 by Hakluytus Posthumus or Purchas his Pilgrimes, based on papers left by...

purchasing-power parity
System for comparing standards of living between different countries. Comparing the gross domestic product of different countries involves first converting them to a common currency (usually US...

purdah
Seclusion of women practised by some Islamic and Hindu peoples. It had begun to disappear with the adoption of Western culture, but the fundamentalism of the 1980s revived it; for example, the...

Purdy, James Amos
(1923) US novelist. His first novel, Malcolm (1959), concerns the quest of a teenage boy for his lost father and is set in a world of bizarre depravity. It was followed by The Nephew (1960) and Cabot...

Pure Land Buddhism
Dominant form of Buddhism in China and Japan. It emphasizes faith in and love of Amida Buddha (Sanskrit Amitabha; Amituofo in China), the ideal `Buddha of boundless light`, who has vowed that...

purgatory
In Roman Catholic belief, a purificatory state or place where the souls of those who have died in a state of grace can expiate their venial sins, with a limited amount of suffering,...

purge
Removal (for example, from a political party) of suspected opponents or persons regarded as undesirable (often by violent means). During the 1930s purges were conducted in the USSR under Joseph...

Purim
Jewish festival celebrated in February or March (the 14th of Adar in the Jewish calendar), commemorating Esther, who saved the Jews from extermination by the Persian king's vizier (executive...

Puritan
From 1564, a member of the Church of England who wished to eliminate Roman Catholic survivals in church ritual, or substitute a presbyterian for an episcopal form of church government. Activities...

Purple Heart, Order of the
The earliest US military award for distinguished service beyond the call of duty, established by George Washington 1782, when it was the equivalent...

Pursh, Frederick
(1774-1820) German-born US botanist and explorer. He undertook two botanical explorations of the territory from North Carolina to Vermont in 1806 and 1807. He wrote Flora Americae Septentrionalis 1814 which...

Pusey, Edward Bouverie
(1800-1882) English Church of England priest and theologian. In 1835 he joined J H Newman in the Oxford Movement, and contributed to the series Tracts for the Times. After Newman's conversion to Roman...

Pushkar
Sacred Hindu lake dedicated to Brahma lying west of Ajmer in Rajasthan state, northern India. The small town of Pushkar, which contains the only Brahma temple in the country, annually accommodates...

Pushkin, Aleksandr Sergeyevich
(1799-1837) Russian poet and writer. His works include the novel in verse Eugene Onegin (1823-31) and the tragic drama Boris Godunov (1825). Pushkin's range was wide, and his willingness to experiment freed...

Pushmataha
(c. 1764-1824) Choctaw chief of the Kinsahahi Clan. Elected principal chief of the Choctaw in 1805, he urged peace with, and ceded much tribal land to, the USA. He opposed Tecumseh's attempts to form a confederacy...

Puss in Boots
Fairy tale, included in Charles Perrault's collection. The youngest son of a poor miller inherits nothing from his father but a talking cat. By ingenuity and occasional magic, the cat enables the...

put option
On the stock market, the right to sell a specific number of shares at a specific price on or before a specific date. ...

Put-in-Bay, Battle of
Naval battle during the War of 1812, fought in Lake Erie on 10 September 1813, in which American forces achieved a decisive victory over the British fleet, securing control of...

Puteoli
Ancient name for the Italian port of Pozzuoli. ...

Putin, Vladimir Vladimirovich
(1952) Russian politician, president 2000-â€Æ`, appointed prime minister in August 1999 and chosen by President Boris Yeltsin as his preferred successor, Putin, a former KGB (Russian secret police) spy,...

Putnam, Frederic Ward
(1839-1915) US archaeologist and naturalist. A pioneering excavator of Indian sites, and Harvard professor 1886-1909, he virtually founded North American anthropology by developing university programmes,...

Putnam, George Haven
(1844-1930) English-born US publisher and writer. In 1896 he organized the International Copyright League to lobby for copyright legislation. His own writings included sever ...

Putnam, George Palmer
(1814-1872) US publisher. In 1866, having operated an agency to sell US books in London, and having published his own magazine, Palmer's Monthly Magazine, he started the firm that became G P Putnam & Son, known...

Putnam, Israel
(1718-1790) American soldier who was a veteran of service with the Connecticut militia during the French and Indian War. He became an early opponent of British rule. In the American Revolution he was appointed...

Putnam, Rufus
(1738-1824) US soldier and Ohio pioneer. After serving in the French and Indian War and the American Revolution, he became superintendent of the Ohio Company. He was surveyor general of the USA 1796-1803...

Putney debates
In English history, discussions held in Putney church October-November 1647 among representatives of the New Model Army to consider the radical proposals of the Levellers. Two officers and two...

Putnik, Radomir
(1847-1917) Serbian field marshal. He fought in the Serbo-Bulgar war 1885 and was commander-in-chief of the Serbian Army in the Balkan Wars 1912-13. Effectively in command of Serbian forces in World War...

putsch
A violent seizure of political power, such as Adolf Hitler and Erich von Ludendorff's abortive Munich beer-hall putsch in November 1923, which attempted to overthrow the Bavarian government. The...

Puvis de Chavannes, Pierre Cécile
(1824-1898) French painter, one of the major figures of Symbolism. His major works are vast decorative schemes in pale colours, mainly on mythological and allegorical subjects, for public buildings such as the...

Puzo, Mario
(1920-1999) US writer who is best known as the author of The Godfather (1969). He also wrote the subsequent screen adaptation of his novel in 1972. Based on Long Isl ...

PX
Abbreviation for Post Exchange, a US organization that provides shopping and canteen facilities for armed forces at home and abroad. The British equivalent is the NAAFI. ...

Pye, Henry James
(1745-1813) English poet. He was appointed poet laureate 1790. A dutiful and dull writer of official odes, he became a byword for flatness. He also wrote a more effective Comment on the Commentators of...

Pygmalion
In Greek mythology, a king of Cyprus who fell in love with an ivory statue he had carved. When Aphrodite breathed life into it, he married the woman...

Pygmy
Member of any of several groups of small-statured, dark-skinned peoples living in the equatorial jungles of Africa. The most important groups are the Twa, Aka, Mbuti, Binga, Baka, Gelli Efé;...

Pylades
In Greek mythology, son of the Phocian king Strophius and friend of Orestes. He helped Orestes avenge his father, Agamemnon, and married his sister, Electra. ...

Pyle, Ernie
(1900-1945) US journalist. During World War II he accompanied Allied forces in the invasions of North Africa, Italy, and Normandy, and reported from the front lines with personal stories of soldiers and their...

Pyle, Howard
(1853-1911) US illustrator and teacher. He illustrated historical events and characters for major publishers and periodicals, had a studio in New York 1876-80, and established the...

pylon
In modern usage, a steel lattice tower that supports high-tension electrical cables. In ancient Egyptian architecture, a pylon is one of a pair of inward-sloping towers that flank an entrance. ...

Pylos
Port in southwestern Greece where the Battle of Navarino was fought in 1827. ...

Pym, Barbara Mary Crampton
(1913-1980) English novelist. Her closely observed novels of village life include Some Tame Gazelle (1950), The Sweet Dove Died (1978), and A Few Green Leaves (1980). ...

Pym, Francis Leslie, Baron Pym
(1922) British Conservative politician. He was defence secretary 1979-81, and succeeded Lord Carrington as foreign minister in 1982, but was dismissed in the post-election reshuffle...

Pym, John
(1584-1643) English Parliamentarian, largely responsible for the Petition of Right in 1628. As leader of...

Pynaker, Adam
(1622-1673) Dutch landscape painter. His style reflects Italianate influence in the way it combines cloudless skies with the effect of clear, golden light on a foreground of trees and foliage. Landscape with...

Pynas, Jan
(1580-1631) Dutch painter. He worked with his brother Jacob in Rome, acquiring an Italianate style. His warm tones and massing of light and shade had some influence on the young Rembrandt. ...

Pynchon, Thomas
(1937) US novelist. With great stylistic verve, he created a bizarre, labyrinthine world in his books, the first of which was V (1963), a parodic detective story in pursuit of the endlessly elusive Lady V....

Pynchon, William
(c. 1590-1662) English-born American colonist and trader. In 1635 he was appointed as one of the commissioners to govern a new settlement at present-day Springfield, Massachusetts. He served as a magistrate of...