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

transmigration of souls
Another name for reincarnation. ...

transplant
In medicine, the transfer of a tissue or organ from one human being to another or from one part of the body to another (skin grafting). In most organ transplants, the operation is for life-saving...

transportation
Punishment of sending convicted persons to overseas territories to serve their sentences. It was introduced in England towards the end of the 17th century and although it was abolished in 1857 after...

transubstantiation
In Christian theology, the doctrine that the whole substance of the bread and wine, while retaining its outward appearance, changes into the substance of the body and blood of Jesus when consecrated...

Traore, Moussa
(1936) Malian army officer and politician who seized power to become president of Mali in 1968 (and prime minister from 1969). He restored civilian government by 1979 and remained as president, but...

Trapezus
Ancient name for the Turkish Black Sea port of Trabzon. ...

Trapido, Barbara
(1941) South African writer. Her writing is concerned with the subtleties of English society, but she credits her South African roots for giving her an appetite for subversion. Her books include Bro ...

Trapp, Martin Edwin
(1877-1951) US Democratic governor. As governor of Oklahoma (1923-27), he established hunting, forestry, and conservation commissions, and reduced the Ku Klux Klan's power through an `antimask law`. He...

Trappist
Member of a Roman Catholic order of monks and nuns, renowned for the strictness of their rule, which includes the maintenance of silence, manual labour, and a vegetarian diet. The order was founded...

trasformismo
Government by coalition, using tactics of forming new cabinets and political alliances, often between conflicting interest groups, in order to retain power. The term has been applied cynically to...

Traven, B(en)
(c. 1882-1969) German-born US novelist. His true identity was not revealed until 1979. His books include the best-seller The Death Ship 1926 and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 1934, which was made into a...

Travers, Ben(jamin)
(1886-1980) English dramatist. He wrote (for actors Tom Walls, Ralph Lynn, and Robertson Hare) the `Aldwych farces` of the 1920s, so named from the London theatre in which they were played. They include A...

Travers, Jerry
(1887-1951) US golfer. Dominating golf between 1907 and 1915, he was the only golfer other than Bobby Jones to win four US Amateur titles. He won the US Open as an amateur...

Travis, Walter (John)
(1862-1927) US golfer, of Australian origin. One of golf's pioneers, he moved to the USA at the age of 23 and won three US Amateur titles (1900-01, 1903). He founded American Golfer magazine in 1905. Travis...

Travis, William Barret
(1809-1836) US lawyer and soldier. Migrating to Texas in the early 1830s, he became active in the movement agitating for independence from Mexico. In 1835 he led a small band of Texans in open revolt; in early...

Traylor, Bill
(1854-1947) US folk artist and plantation worker. In the last two decades of his life he produced over 1,000 works, drawing the world around him in a bold, prim ...

treason
Act of betrayal, in particular against the sovereign or the state to which the offender owes allegiance. In the USA, treason is defined in the constitution as the crime of `levying war against...

Treasure Island
Adventure story for children by R L Stevenson, published in 1883. Jim Hawkins, the story's narrator, sets sail with Squire Trelawney in the Hispaniola, armed with a map showing the location of...

treasure trove
In England, any gold or silver, plate or bullion, found concealed in a house or the ground, the owner being unknown. Normally, treasure originally hidden, and not abandoned, belongs to the crown,...

Treasury bill
In Britain, short-term redeemable financial security issued by the Bank of England. Treasury bills are issued for a three month period, are sold at a discount to par, and do not carry interest....

treasury counsel
In the UK, a group of barristers who receive briefs from the Director of Public Prosecutions to appear for the prosecution in criminal trials at the Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey). ...

treaty
Written agreement between two or more states. Treaties take effect either immediately on signature or, more often, on ratification. Ratification involves a further exchange of documents and usually...

Treaty of Paris, 1763
Treaty ending the Seven Years' War 1756-63, signed by Britain, France, and Spain. Under the terms of the treaty Britain gained all of Canada, America east of the Mississippi Valley, Florida, and...

Treaty of Paris, 1783
Treaty signed at the end of the American Revolution formally recognizing American independence. In addition to recognizing the USA, the treaty established the country's boundaries, secured certain...

treaty port
Port in Asia where the Western powers had special commercial privileges in the 19th century. As a result of the enforced unequal treaties, treaty ports were established mainly in China, from 1842;...

Treblinka
German extermination camp 80 km/50 mi northwest of Warsaw. About 800,000 prisoners were killed here before a mass escape took place April 1943 in which many of the SS guards were killed by the...

trebuchet
Missile-launching weapon resembling a catapult, with a beam pivoted on an axle and terminating in a sling. It was invented in China between the 5th and 3rd centuries BC, and reached Europe around...

trecento
Denoting the 1300s and used in relation to Italian culture of the 14th century. ...

Trefusis, Violet
(1894-1972) British society hostess and writer. Daughter of Mrs Keppel, who was later the mistress of Edward VII, she had a disastrous marriage to cavalry officer Denys Trefusis and a passionate elopement with...

Trelawny, Jonathan
(1650-1721) English bishop, one of the seven bishops who were tried in 1688 for refusing to read James II's Declaration of Indulgence from the pulpit. He and his co-defendents were acquitted on charges of...

Tremain, Rose
(1943) English novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. The historical novel Restoration (1989), perhaps her best-known work, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize (and filmed in 1995). Music and...

trench fever
Infectious disease afflicting troops of all sides in World War I; first observed in troops on the Western Front December 1914. Conveyed by lice, it was characterized by a sudden fever lasting five...

trench foot
Ailment afflicting the feet of troops in the trench warfare of World War I, caused by prolonged standing in cold, wet conditions; in severe cases it...

Trench, Richard Chenevix
(1807-1886) Irish churchman, philologist, and poet. An Anglican, he held a number of prominent teaching and ecclesiastical posts, including professor of theology at King's College London 1847-56, dean of...

Trenchard, Hugh Montague
(1873-1956) British aviator and police commissioner. He commanded the Royal Flying Corps in World War I 1915-17, and 1918-29 organized the Royal Air Force, becoming its first marshal 1927. As commissioner...

Trenck, Friedrich von der, Baron
(1726-1794) Prussian soldier and adventurer. After his affair with Princess Amelia of Prussia was discovered in 1745, he was imprisoned, but escaped and entered Russian military service. In 1754 he was again...

Trent, Council of
Conference held 1545-63 by the Roman Catholic Church at Trento, northern Italy, initiating the so-called Counter-Reformation; see also Reformation. ...

Trentino Campaign
In World War I, series of engagements between Austrian and Italian troops 1915-18 in the Trentino district. Trentino was then part of the southern Tyrol in Austria, now a province of Italy;...

Trenton, Battle of
Engagement of the American Revolution, 25-29 December 1776, in Trenton, New Jersey. It was one of George Washington's first successes as a revolutionary general. In a surprise Christmas day...

Trerice
16th-century manor house in Cornwall, England, 5 km/3 mi southeast of Newquay. It was restored by the National Trust, who acquired it in 1954. Trerice contains fine plaster ceilings and also the...

trespass
Going on to the land of another without authority. In law, a landowner has the right to eject a trespasser by the use of reasonable force and can sue for any damage caused. A trespasser injured on...

Tressell, Robert
(1868-1911) English author. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, published in an abridged form 1914, gave a detailed account of the poverty of working people's lives. ...

Trethowan, (James) Ian (Raley)
(1922-1990) English journalist, broadcaster, and administrator. After becoming a successful and respected newscaster with ITN 1956-61, he moved to the BBC as their main political commentator. In 1968 he was...

Treurnicht, Andries Petrus
(1921-1993) South African Conservative Party politician. A former minister of the Dutch Reformed Church, he was elected to the South African parliament as a National Party member in 1971 but left it in 1982 to...

Trevelyan, George Macaulay
(1876-1962) British historian. Regius professor of history at Cambridge 1927-40, he pioneered the study of social history, as in his English Social History 1942. ...

Trevelyan, George Otto
(1838-1928) British politician and historian, a nephew of the historian Lord Macaulay, whose biography he wrote in 1876. He succeeded to baronetcy in 1886. ...

Treves, Frederick
(1853-1923) English surgeon and author. He was professor of anatomy and pathology at the Royal College of Surgeons (1881-86), and later acted as Edward VII's personal surgeon, but is best-remembered as the...

Trevisa, John de
(c.1326-1402) English cleric and scholar. He translated into English Ranulf Higden's work Polychronicon, a vast compendium of geographical, scientific, and historical knowledge. Completed in 1387, Trevisa's...

Trevithick, Richard
(1771-1833) English engineer, constructor of a steam road locomotive in 1801, the first to carry passengers, and probably the first steam engine to run on rails in 1804. He also built steamboats, river...

Trevor-Roper, Hugh Redwald
(1914-2003) English historian, professor of modern history at Oxford (1957-80), and master of Peterhouse College, Cambridge (1980-87). He established a widespread and popular reputation for his work,...

Trevor, William
(1928) Irish writer. Frequently taking the loss of innocence as his theme, he writes perceptively about childhood and old age; his novels, stories, and plays are noted for their gentle irony, their humour,...

triad
In religion and mythology, a group of three associated gods. The Hindu Triad (Trimurti) consists of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva; the Christian Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Triads occur in...

Triad
Secret society, founded in China as a Buddhist cult AD 36. It became known as the Triad because the triangle played a significant part...

trial
In law, the determination of an accused person's innocence or guilt by means of the judicial examination of the issues of the case in accordance with...

trial by battle
Decision in a legal case arrived at by fighting between litigants or their champions, the assumption being that God would not let the innocent be vanquished. It was introduced by the Normans and had...

trial by ordeal
In the Middle Ages, a test of guilt or innocence; see ordeal, trial by. ...

Trial, The
Novel by Franz Kafka, published 1925 in Czechoslovakia. It deals with the sinister circumstances in which a man is arrested for no apparent reason, his consequent feelings of guilt...

triangular trade
Three-sided (`triangular`) trade route between Britain, West Africa, and the West Indies, in operation until the banning of the slave trade in 1807. Manufactured goods were shipped from...

Trianon
Two palaces in the park at Versailles, France: Le Grand Trianon built for Louis XIV, and Le Petit Trianon for Louis XV. ...

tribal society
Way of life in which people govern their own affairs as independent local communities of families and clans without central government organizations or states. They are found in parts of Southeast...

Tribe, Laurence H(enry)
(1941) US legal scholar of Russian-Jewish origin. He is considered a brilliant Supreme Court litigator and legal scholar. In addition to his teaching career at Harvard (1969), he served as a consultant...

Tribonian
(died 545) Byzantine jurist, president of the legal commission that compiled the codification of Roman law sponsored by the emperor Justinian I. ...

tribunal
Strictly, a court of justice, but used in English law for a body appointed by the government to arbitrate in disputes, or investigate certain matters. Tribunals usually consist of a lawyer as chair,...

tribune
In architecture, either the apse of a basilican church; or a rostrum; or a gallery in a church. ...

tribune
Roman magistrate of plebeian family, elected annually to defend the interests of the common people; only two were originally chosen in the early 5th century BC, but there were later ten. They could...

tribute list
Ancient Greek stone tablet recording a sixtieth part (one mina in every talent) of the tribute paid by the ...

tricolour
Any flag or similar made up of three colours. The French national flag has three vertical bands of red, white, and blue. The red and blue were the colours of Paris and the white represented the...

tricoteuse
In the French Revolution, one of the women who sat knitting in the National Convention and beneath the guillotine. ...

Trident
Nuclear missile deployed on submarines. They were installed on US nuclear submarines from 1992. Each missile has up to eight warheads. The Trident replaced the earlier...

Triennial Act
Three 17th-century acts attempting to ensure British parliaments met at least once in three years. The first statute 1641 required that parliament should meet every three years, for at least 50...

triforium
In Romanesque and Gothic aisled churches, the stage of wall between the top of the nave arcade and the bottom of the clerestory, masking the lean-to roof over the aisle. It is usually pierced with...

Trillin, Calvin (Marshall)
(1935) US author. A Yale graduate, he was a New Yorker staff writer (1963) and columnist for the Nation and national syndication (1978). His essays reported sympathetically on ordinary American life and...

Trilling, Lionel
(1905-1975) US author and literary critic. His books of criticism include The Liberal Imagination 1950, Beyond Culture 1965, and The Experience of Literature 1967. He also produced annotated editions of the...

Trimble, David
(1944) Northern Ireland politician, leader of the Ulster Unionist party (or Official Unionist Party, OUP) from 1995 and Northern Ireland's first minister 1998-2002. Representing the Upper Bann...

Trimble, Robert
(1777-1828) US Supreme Court justice. He served Kentucky's court of appeals (1807-09) and as district attorney (1813-17). President James Madison named him to a federal court (1817-26) and President John...

Trimurti
The Hindu triad of gods, representing Brahman, the Absolute Spirit, in its three aspects:Brahma, personifying creation;Vishnu, preservation; and Shiva, destruction. ...

Trinder, Tommy (Thomas Edward)
(1909-1989) English comedian and actor. A jaunty, cheerful performer, he was a master of ad lib and the quick retort; his catchphrase was `You lucky people`. He appeared in revues such as Happy...

Trinidad and Tobago
Country in the West Indies, off the coast of Venezuela. Government Trinidad and Tobago is an independent republic within the Commonwealth. The 1976 constitution provides for a president as head of...

Trinitarianism
Belief in the Christian Trinity. ...

Trinity
Fresco by Masaccio about 1428 (Sta Maria Novella, Florence), the first painting to use the techniques of artificial perspective developed by Brunelleschi. In its original state it would have...

Trinity
In Christianity, the union of three persons - God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit/Holy Ghost - in one Godhead. The precise meaning of the doctrine has been the cause of unending...

Tripitaka
The canonical texts of Theravada Buddhism, divided into three parts: the Vinaya-pitaka, containing the rules governing the monastic community; the S?tra-pitaka, a collection of scriptures...

Triple Alliance
Pact from 1882 between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy to offset the power of Russia and France. It was last renewed in 1912, but during World War I Italy's initial neutrality gradually...

Triple Entente
Alliance of Britain, France, and Russia 1907-17. In 1911 this became a military alliance and formed the basis of the Allied powers in World War I against the Central...

Tripolitan War
Naval conflict between USA and Tripoli 1801-1805; see Barbary Coast Wars. ...

Tripolitania
Former province of Libya, stretching from Cyrenaica in the east to Tunisia in the west, and from the Mediterranean some 1,300 km/809 mi into the Sahara Desert. It came under Turkish rule in the 16th...

Trippe, Juan (Terry)
(1899-1981) US airline executive. In 1923 he organized Long Island Airways, which became Pan American Airways in 1927. Under his strong leadership, the company compiled many firsts, including flying across the...

Triptolemos
In Greek mythology, an Eleusinian associated with Demeter and Persephone in the Eleusinian Mysteries, and entrusted and sent out into the world by them with the task of...

triptych
Painting consisting of three panels, usually hinged together with the central panel being twice the width of the wings, which may fold inwards. The triptych developed from the diptych and was used...

trireme
Ancient Greek warship with three banks of oars. They were used at the Battle of Salamis and by the Romans until the 4th century AD. Of the most common types of galleys-the bireme, trireme,...

Trissino, Gian Giorgio
(1478-1550) Venetian dramatist, scholar, and poet. He was interested in linguistic problems, translating Dante's De Vulgari Eloquentia into the volgare and writing...

Trist, Nicholas (Philip)
(1800-1874) US lawyer and diplomat. Chief clerk of the State Department from 1845, he went to Mexico in 1847 to negotiate an end to the war with Mexico. When charges that he was conceding too much reached...

Tristan
Legendary Celtic hero of a tragic romance. He fell in love with Isolde, the bride he was sent to win for his uncle King Mark of Cornwall. The story became part of the Arthurian cycle and is the...

Tristan l'Hermite
(c. 1601-1655) French dramatist and poet. He was one of the creators of French classical drama. He wrote lyrics, a comedy, and several tragedies, which gave him a reputation rivalling Corneille's. The most...

Tristan, Flora
(1803-1844) French socialist writer and activist. She was the author of Promenades dans Londres/The London Journal 1840, a vivid record of social conditions, and L'Union ouvrière/Workers' Union 1843, an...

Tristram Shandy
Novel by Laurence Sterne, published 1759-67. The work, a forerunner of the 20th-century stream-of-consciousness novel, has no coherent plot and uses typographical devices to emphasize the...

tritik
Traditional resist-dyeing technique, practised in various countries. Patterns are stitched on fabric (usually cotton), the stitching is drawn up tightly, and then the fabric is dipped in dye. The...

Triton
In Greek mythology, a merman sea god with the lower body of a dolphin; the son of Poseidon and the sea goddess Amphitrite. Traditionally, he is shown blowing on a conch shell to raise...

triumph
In ancient Rome, the victory procession of a returning general. The Senate and the victorious army accompanied the crowned victor, displaying spoils taken from the enemy, together with important...

triumvir
One of a group of three administrators sharing power in ancient Rome, as in the First Triumvirate 60 BC: Caesar, Pompey, Crassus; and Second Triumvirate 43 BC: Augustus, Antony, and Lepidus. ...