Copy of `The History Channel - Encyclopedia`
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The History Channel - Encyclopedia
Category: History and Culture > History
Date & country: 02/12/2007, UK
Words: 25833
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Stabat MaterMedieval Latin sacred poem, probably by
Jacopone da Todi, not originally liturgical, but increasingly used for devotional purposes until it was admitted as a sequence to the...
StackallanProperty in County Meath, Republic of Ireland, built about 1716. It is a rare example of a pre-Palladian style house, being one of the few surviving grand Irish houses of its era. Formerly known...
stadholderLeader of the United Provinces of the Netherlands from the 15th to the 18th century. Originally provincial leaders appointed by the central government, stadholders were subsequently elected in the...
Staël, Nicolas de(1914-1955) Russian-born French painter. He was influenced by the cubist Georges Braque but about 1945 developed a distinctive semi-abstract style in which the suggestions of figure, landscape, or still...
stagIn finance, investor subscribing to a new
share issue who plans to sell their allotment as soon as the shares are listed in order to make a quick profit. ...
stage directionIn the script of a play, the dramatist's instructions to the actors concerning the movements, manner of speech, and emotions of actors on stage. Stage directions are placed in brackets and/or...
stagflationEconomic condition (experienced in the USA and Europe in the 1970s) in which rapid inflation is accompanied by stagnating, even declining, output and by increasing unemployment. Its cause is often...
StagiraTown in ancient Macedonia in northeastern
Chalcidice. It was...
Stahl, O(scar) Glenn(1910) US writer, lecturer, and government official. He specialized in public personnel issues in his work at the Federal Security Agency 1941-51 and US Civil Service Commission 1951-69, where he...
StahlhelmGerman paramilitary and ex-soldiers' organization prominent in the 1920s and 1930s and associated with the German National People's Party (DNVP) and German People's Party (DVP). ...
Staigue FortPrehistoric cashel or ring fort, 3 km/1 mi northeast of Castlecove, County Kerry, Republic of Ireland. Dating from 1500 BC, it consists of a circular dry-stone wall, 35 m/115 ft in diameter,...
stained glassPieces of coloured glass held in place by thin strips of metal (usually lead) to form pictures in a window. One of the great medieval arts, it developed with the increase of window space in the...
stakeholder economyAn idea floated by English journalist and writer on politics and economics Will Hutton, which put forward the prospect of greater worker involvement in companies on something of the German model. In...
Stakhanov, Aleksei Grigorievich(1906-1977) Soviet miner who exceeded production norms; he gave his name to the Stakhanovite movement of the 1930s, when workers were offered incentives to simplify and reorganize work processes in order to...
Stalin, Joseph(1879-1953) Soviet politician. A member of the October Revolution committee of 1917, Stalin became general secretary of the Communist Party in 1922. After
Lenin's death in 1924, Stalin sought to create...
Stalingrad, Siege ofIn World War II, German siege of Soviet city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) August 1942-January 1943. The siege of Stalingrad was a horrific campaign, with both sides sustaining heavy casualties...
StalinismTotalitarian communism based on the political methods of Joseph Stalin. Power is exclusively in the hands of the Communist Party, which is organized on rigidly hierarchical lines. The leader is...
Stalker affairInquiry begun in 1984 by John Stalker, deputy chief constable in Manchester, England, into the killing of six unarmed men in 1982 by Royal Ulster Constabulary special units in Northern Ireland. The...
stallIn church architecture, an elevated seat in the choir or chancel of a cathedral or other church. It is wholly or partially enclosed by a high back and sides, and has projecting arms separating it...
Stallworthy, Jon Howie(1935) English poet and biographer. The collection Root and Branch 1969 showed him to be a meticulous chronicler of mainly familial and emotional themes. He has written biographies of the poets Wilfred...
Stamford Bridge, Battle ofBattle on 25 September 1066 at Stamford Bridge, a crossing of the Derwent 14 km/9 mi northeast of York, England, at which ...
Stamp ActUK act of Parliament in 1765 that sought to raise enough money from the American colonies to cover the cost of their defence. The act taxed (by requiring an official stamp) all publications and...
standard of livingIn economics, the measure of consumption and welfare of a country, community, class, or person. Individual standard-of-living expectations are heavily influenced by the income and consumption of...
Standard, Battle of theDefeat of David I of Scotland's invasion of England at Cowton, near Northallerton, on 22 August 1138 by forces raised by the archbishop of York. David invaded the north of England in support of...
Standing Bear, Luther(c. 1868-c. 1939) US actor and writer. Although an American Indian, he became a US citizen and worked as an actor. A transitional figure who was interested in capturing on paper the beliefs and customs of his people,...
standing committeeCommittee of the UK House of Commons that examines parliamentary bills (proposed acts of Parliament) for detailed correction and amendment. The committee comprises members of Parliament from the...
standing orderIn banking, an instruction (banker's order) by a depositor with the bank to pay a certain sum of money at regular intervals. In some cases, the bank may be billed by a third party such as a supplier...
standing ordersIn Britain, the printed rules for regulating the proceedings of both Houses of Parliament, which, unless repealed, remain in force from parliament...
Standish, Burt LUS writer; see Gilbert
Patten. ...
Standish, Myles (or Miles)(1584-1656) American colonial military leader. As military adviser to the Pilgrims, he arrived in New England 1621 and obtained a charter for Plymouth colony from England 1625. Although one of the most...
stane streetRoman roads connecting London and Chichester and London and Colchester. The name probably means a `stone` street. ...
Stanfield, Clarkson(1793-1867) English marine painter. After early experience in the merchant marine and navy, he became a theatrical scene painter. He painted pictures of the sea and coast, British and continental, which were...
Stanford, (Amasa) Leland(1824-1893) US public official and railroad developer. Elected governor of California 1861, he became president of the Central Pacific Railroad in the same year, and was one of the founders of the Southern...
Stanhope, Hester Lucy(1776-1839) English traveller who left England in 1810 to tour the east Mediterranean with Bedouins and eventually settled there. She adopted local dress and became involved in Middle Eastern politics. ...
Stanihurst, Richard(1547-1618) Irish historian, classical scholar, alchemist, and Counter-Reformation activist. Born into a long-established Dublin family, he became tutor to the children of the 11th Earl of Kildare...
Stanley, Henry Morton(1841-1904) Welsh-born US explorer and journalist who made four expeditions to Africa. He and David
Livingstone met at Ujiji in 1871 and explored Lake Tanganyika. He traced...
stannariesTin mines in Devon and Cornwall, England, which belonged to the Duchy of Cornwall. The workers had the right to have their cases heard in their own stannaries court and the administration of the...
Stansbury, Howard(1806-1863) US soldier and explorer. Educated as a civil engineer, he entered the army in 1838 and engaged in years of survey work. He commanded an expedition that explored and surveyed the Great Salt Lake...
Stansfield Smith, Colin(1932) English architect. Under his leadership from 1973 the work of Hampshire County Architects Department came to represent the best of public English architecture in recent times. The schools built are...
Stanton, Edwin McMasters(1814-1869) US public official, secretary of war 1862-68. A lawyer and a Democrat, he was appointed US attorney general by President Buchanan 1860 and then secretary of war by...
Stanton, Elizabeth Cady(1815-1902) US women's rights and antislavery leader. She organized the
Seneca Falls Convention with Lucretia Coffin
Mott in 1848, and drafted the
Declaration of Sentiments, which advocated equal rights for...
Stanton, Frank Nicholas(1908-2006) US broadcast executive. He was hired by CBS in 1934 when an executive read his dissertation on radio audience research for a PhD in psychology from Ohio State University. Coinventor of the...
Stanton, Frederick (Perry)(1814-1894) US Democrat representative and governor. He served in the US House of Representatives for Tennessee; 1845-55, chairing the Committee on Naval Affairs before becoming governor of the Kansas...
Stanyhurst, Richard(1547-1618) Irish scholar, historian, and poet. His translation of the first four books of Virgil's Aeneid was published in 1582. His other writings include Description of Ireland, published in Raphael...
stapleIn medieval Europe, a riverside town where merchants had to offer their wares for sale before proceeding to their destination, a practice that constituted a form of toll; such towns were...
Staple HoweFortified Iron Age settlement 12 km/7.5 mi E of Malton, Yorkshire, England. The site, on top of a chalk hillock, contains two or more huts and a possible gr ...
Stapledon, (William) Olaf(1886-1950) English science fiction novelist. He attracted notice with his debut novel Last and First Men (1931), a history of humanity through future aeons. The immensely broad canvas characteristic of...
Stapleton, Jean(1923) US stage and television actor. A character actor, she appeared in Broadway shows during the 1950s and 1960s, including The Bells Are Ringing (1956) and The Rhinoceros (1961). Intelligent, liberal,...
Star CarrMesolithic (Middle Stone Age) hunting settlement beside Lake Pickering, 8 km/5 mi southeast of Scarborough, Yorkshire, England. Considered to be one of the most important Mesol ...
Star ChamberIn English history, a civil and criminal court, named after the star-shaped ceiling decoration of the room in the Palace of Westminster, London, where its first meetings were held. Created in 1487...
Star of DavidSix-pointed star (made with two equilateral triangles), a symbol of Judaism since the 17th century. It is the central motif on the flag of Israel, and, since 1897, the emblem of Zionism. ...
star shellArtillery projectile containing a magnesium flare and parachute, used during World War I to illuminate the battlefield during night operations. It was fused so as to burst in the air and release the...
Star WarsPopular term for the
Strategic Defense Initiative announced by US president Reagan in 1983. ...
Starck, Philippe Patrick(1949) French product, furniture, and interior designer. He brought French design to international attention in the 1980s with his innovative and elegant designs, notably those for a room in the Elysée...
Staring, Anthony Christiaan Winand(1767-1840) Dutch poet. His sober style and subtle humour are in marked contrast to the sentimentality and pompous style of his contemporaries. ...
Stark, Freya Madeline(1893-1993) English traveller, mountaineer, and writer. Often travelling alone in dangerous territories, she described her explorations in the Middle East in many books, including The Valley of the Assassins...
Stark, Harold Raynsford(1880-1972) Us naval officer; born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He was chief of naval operations 1939-42. He was censured in a naval investigation in 1945 for having failed to forward key intelligence to...
Stark, John(1728-1822) American soldier. It was a detachment under his command that defeated the British forces at Bennington, Vermont in August 1777, a crucial victory followed by his cutting off John
Burgoyne's retreat...
Stark, Louis(1888-1954) Hungarian-born US journalist. A New York Times reporter for over 30 years, he specialized in labour news; respected as impartial and knowledgeable, he won a 1942 Pulitzer Prize. ...
Starkie, Enid Mary(1897-1970) Irish-born critic of French literature. She taught modern languages at the universities of Exeter and Oxford, producing studies of Baudelaire (1933), Rimbaud (1938), and André Gide (1954). She...
Starr, (Shirley) Belle(1848-1889) US bandit queen. She was rumoured to be the leader of a band of horse thieves and was convicted once by `Hanging Judge` Parker in 1883. On other occasions, she defended herself and her...
Starr, Ellen Gates(1859-1940) US social reformer. In 1898, along with Jane
Addams she established Hull House, a settlement house in Chicago's West Side. For the next 30 years, she was the principal coordinator for cultural...
Starr, Kenneth Winston(1946) US attorney and judge. Starr's role as independent counsel in charge of the
Whitewater...
STARTAcronym for
Strategic Arms Reduction Talks. ...
Stassen, Harold (Edward)(1907-2001) US Republican governor and nine-time unsuccessful candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. First reforming the Republican Party in Minnesota, he served as governor 1939-43 and...
stateTerritory that forms its own domestic and foreign policy, acting through laws that are typically decided by a government and carried out, by force if necessary, by agents of that government. It can...
state attorneyIn the USA, the chief legal officer of a state, usually elected. The state attorney's office investigates and conducts the majority of the criminal prosecutions and...
State Hermitage MuseumOne of the world's largest and finest museums of art, in St Petersburg, Russia. Founded by Russian empress
Catherine the Great in 1764 and housed in some of St Petersburg's grandest buildings, the...
State, Department ofUS government department responsible for
foreign relations, headed by the secretary of state, the senior cabinet officer of the executive branch. The secretary of state is Colin
Powell (from 2001). ...
States GeneralFormer French parliament that consisted of three estates: nobility, clergy, and commons. First summoned in 1302, it declined in importance as the power of the crown grew. It was not called at all...
states' rightsInterpretation of the
US Constitution that emphasizes the powers retained by individual states and minimizes those given to the federal government, as stated in the Tenth Amendment. The dividing...
Stationer's CompanyA guild of printers, publishers and booksellers founded in 1403 and given a royal charter by Philip and Mary in 1557 to regulate the printing industry. The Stationer's Company had a monopoly on the...
stations of the CrossIn the Christian church, a series of 14 crosses, usually each with a picture or image, depicting the 14 stages in Jesus' journey to the Crucifixion. They are commonly found on...
Statius(c. 45-96) Roman poet. He was the author of the Silvae, occasional poems of some interest; the epic Thebaïd, which tells the story of the sons of Oedipus; and an unfinished epic Achilleïs. He was admired by...
Statute of Acton BurnellStatute passed in England 1283 by a parliament that assembled in the parish of this name, 12 km/7.5 mi southeast of Shrewsbury. Its object was to make provision for the more speedy recovery of...
Statute of WestminsterIn the history of the British Empire, legislation enacted in 1931 which gave the dominions of the British Empire complete autonomy in their conduct of external affairs. It made them self-governing...
Stauffenberg, Claus von(1907-1944) German colonel in World War II who, in a conspiracy to assassinate Hitler (the
July Plot), planted a bomb in the dictator's headquarters conference room in the Wolf's Lair at Rastenburg, East...
Stavisky, Alexandre(1886-1934) Russian-born Frenchman responsible for a financial scandal in France in 1934. He floated a very large sum in bogus bonds, in the name of the municipal credit establishment of Bayonne, France....
Stead, Christina Ellen(1902-1983) Australian writer. She lived in Europe and the USA 1928-68. An exploratory, psychological writer, imaginatively innovative in form and style, she disclosed elements of the irrational, even the...
Stead, William Thomas(1849-1912) British journalist. In 1871 he became editor of the Darlington Northern Echo, and, on moving to London, England, was appointed assistant editor of the Pall Mall Gazette in 1880, succeeding John...
Steadman, Ralph(1936) English caricaturist, designer, and writer. He has worked for several newspapers and magazines and has also illustrated numerous books, including his own writings, such as I, Leonardo (1983). His...
stealth technologyMethods used to make an aircraft as nearly invisible as possible, primarily to radar detection but also to detection by visual means and by heat sensors. This is achieved by a combination of...
steam engineEngine that uses the power of steam to produce useful work. The first successful steam engine was built in 1712 by English inventor Thomas
Newcomen at Dudley, West Midlands; it was developed further...
steam powerThe development of the
steam engine and its contribution to the Industrial Revolution and communications are discussed in
Industrial Revolution, steam power;
railways; and ship. ...
Stebbins, Emma(1815-1882) US sculptor and painter. She was a painter until 1857, but is famous for sculpting The Angel of the Waters (c. 1862), installed in Central Park in 1873, where it is known...
Stedman, Edmund Clarence(1833-1908) US poet and writer. He wrote rather imitative sentimental poetry, as in Poems, Lyrical and Idyllic (1860), but had some influence with his critical studies and anthologies such as Poets of America...
Steed, Henry Wickham(1871-1956) British journalist. Foreign correspondent for The Times in Vienna 1902-13, he was then foreign editor 1914-19 and editor 1919-22. ...
Steel, Danielle(1947) US writer of romantic novels. Her formulaic storylines of love in exotic locations with happy endings have been criticized by reviewers but her novels regularly reach the top of the best-seller...
Steele, Fletcher(1885-1971) US landscape architect. In the 1920s and 1930s he introduced French modernism to American landscape design, replacing beaux arts formalism with more experimental designs. From his Boston office...
Steele, Richard(1672-1729) Irish essayist, playwright, and politician. Born in Dublin, he entered the Life Guards, and then settled in London. He founded the journal The Tatler (1709-11), in which Joseph
Addison...
Steen, Jan Havickszoon(c. 1626-1679) Dutch painter. He painted humorous genre scenes, mainly set in taverns or bourgeois households, as well as portraits and landscapes. An example is The Prince's Birthday (Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam). He...
steepleIn architecture, a term applied to a tall tower, usually including its spire; especially applied to the spired towers of Christopher Wren's City churches in London. ...
Stefanik, Milan Ratislav(1884-1919) Slovakian general. He joined the French army as a private soldier in 1914 and rapidly rose to the rank of general. He went to the Italian front in 1916 and flew several missions to drop propaganda...
Stefánsson, David(1895-1964) Icelandic lyric poet and dramatist. His poetry used simple language and a variety of metrical forms, as in the collections Svartar fjathrir 1919 and Kvethjur/Greetings 1924. His one novel, Solon...
Stefánsson, Vilhjalmur(1879-1962) Canadian explorer and writer. He made three expeditions to the Canadian Arctic, learning the Inuit language and employing their hunting and travelling techniques in his exploration. He then began...
Steffens, (Joseph) Lincoln(1866-1936) US investigative journalist. Intent on exposing corruption and fraud in high places, he initiated the style known as `muckraking` while working for McClure's magazine. He later covered the...
Stegner, Wallace (Earle)(1909-1993) US writer and educator. He taught English at several major universities; he was at Stanford University 1945-71. He published over two dozen novels, collections of short stories and essays, and...
Steig, William(1907-2003) US artist, cartoonist, and writer. He worked as a free-lance artist, notably for the New Yorker. Late in his life he began writing as well as illustrating children's books, many...
Stein, (Mark) Aurel(1862-1943) Hungarian-born British archaeologist and explorer. He travelled widely in the Middle and Far East. He conducted excavations in Khotan (now Hotan), on the northern edge of the Kunlunshan mountain...
Stein, Gertrude(1874-1946) US writer. She influenced authors Ernest
Hemingway, Sherwood
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