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

American literature
See United States literature. ...

American Revolution
Revolt 1775-83 of the British North American colonies, resulting in the establishment of the USA. It was caused by opposition in the colonies to British economic exploitation and by the...

American Scene
US art movement beginning in the 1920s that sought to depict images of US life. The movement was given greater momentum in the 1930s by the Federal Art Project's highlight on painting the...

American System, the
In US history, a federal legislative programme following the War of 1812 designed to promote an integrated national economy. It introduced tariffs to protect US industry from foreign competition,...

Amerindian
Contraction of American Indian. ...

Ames, Adelbert
(1835-1933) US governor. Governor of Mississippi, 1874-76, he resigned after being unable to suppress widespread disorder, including the Vicksburg riots. ...

Ames, James Barr
(1846-1910) US legal scholar. He was educated at Harvard and taught at Harvard Law School from 1872 until his death. He advanced the case method of instruction by compiling and publishing cases on torts,...

Ames, William
(1576-1633) English theologian and cleric. His Puritan views, expounded in De conscientia et ejus jure vel casibus/Fresh Suit against Ceremonies 1630, helped to convert Richard Baxter to Nonconformity. Ames was...

Amethyst Incident
UK-China episode arising 20 April 1949 when a British frigate, HMS Amethyst, sailing on the Chang Jiang (Yangtze) River, was fired at by communist Chinese forces. The ship was trapped for 14 weeks...

AMF
Abbreviation of Arab Monetary Fund. ...

Amhara
An ethnic group comprising approximately 25% of the population of Ethiopia; 13 million (1987). The Amhara are traditionally farmers. They speak Amharic, a language of the Semitic branch of the...

Amherst, Jeffrey
(1717-1797) British soldier who, as commander-in-chief of British forces in North America during the French and Indian War (the North American arm of the Seven Years' War) led his side to victory. Amherst...

Amherst, William Pitt
(1773-1857) British diplomat. He failed in an ambassadorial mission to China 1816 to procure better terms for commerce between Britain and China, by his refusal to defer to the Chinese emperor. He was governor...

amice
Rectangular piece of linen cloth worn by the priest in the celebration of the Christian Mass. It is placed on the head and then thrown back and tied round the neck under the alb. Members of...

amicus curiae
In law, a barrister advising the court in a legal case as a neutral person, not representing either side. In England and Wales, for example, where the public interest is concerned, the Attorney...

Amida Buddha
The `Buddha of immeasurable light`, venerated especially in Pure Land Buddhism. A former king who became a Buddha through his devotion to Buddhism and the dharma, he presides over the Western...

Amidah
Jewish Sabbath prayer. It is said silently while standing facing the ark, the enclosure that houses the Torah scrolls in a synagogue. The Amidah contains 18 benedictions stating many of the ways in...

Amiel, Henri Frédéric
(1821-1881) Swiss poet and philosopher. His Journal intime/The Private Journal of Henri Frédéric Amiel, first published 1883-84, was an introspective diary kept from 1847 until his death. It revealed a...

Amiens, peace of
Treaty signed in March 1802 which ended the Revolutionary Wars, a series of wars 1791-1802 between France and the combined armies of Britain, Austria, Prussia, and o ...

Amigoni, Jacopo
(1675-1752) Italian painter. He painted mythological and decorative works and portraits. His rococo style, which he derived from Sebastiano Ricci and Tiepolo, gained him success in Germany, England, and Spain,...

Amin (Dada), Idi
(1925-2003) Ugandan politician, president 1971-79. He led the coup that deposed Milton Obote in 1971, expelled the Asian community in 1972, and exercised a reign of terror over his people during which an...

Amin, Mustafa
(1914-1997) Egyptian journalist and writer, considered one of the pioneers of Arab journalism. His criticism of Gamal amino-acid racemization
Used in archaeological dating, a rotation process converting L-isomer molecular structures in the amino acids of living tissue to D-isomers after death. These two structures, one the mirror...

Amis, Kingsley (William)
(1922-1995) English novelist and poet. He was associated early on with the Angry Young Men group of writers. His sharply ironic works include his first novel, the best-selling Lucky Jim (1954), a comic...

Amis, Martin Louis
(1949) English novelist and journalist. His works are characterized by their sharp black humour and depict the absurdity and excesses of modern society. They include The Rachel Papers (1973, winner of 1974...

Amish
Member of a Christian group originally based on the Mennonite Church, found today in the USA and Canada. The Amish are distinctive for their adherence to pre-20th-century dress and a simple...

Amma
Creator god of the Dogon people in Mali, who made the Sun, Moon, and stars, and united with the Earth to produce living beings. ...

Amman, Jobst
(1539-1591) Swiss-born German printmaker, one of the leading book illustrators of the late 16th century. His output included numerous ornamental and heraldic prints and title pages, as well as many narrative...

Ammanati, Bartolommeo
(1511-1592) Italian Mannerist sculptor and architect. He was influenced by Michelangelo, studied under Andrea Ammianus Marcellinus
(lived 4th century) Roman soldier and historian. The surviving books of his work, dealing with contemporary affairs in the later Roman Empire, rank him as the last major Roman historian. Having settled in Rome some...

Ammon
In Egyptian mythology, king of the gods; the equivalent of the Greek Zeus (Roman Jupiter). The Egyptian pharaohs identified themselves with his supremacy, adopting his name as in Tutankhamen. In art...

Ammonite
Member of an ancient Semitic people, mentioned in the Old Testament or Jewish Bible, who lived northwest of the Dead Sea. Their capital was Amman, in present-day Jordan. They worshipped the god...

Ammons, A(rchie) R(andolph)
(1926) US poet and teacher. Ammons taught at Cornell University from 1964 onwards. He is noted as a poet in the transcendental tradition. ...

Ammons, Elias Milton
(1860-1925) US rancher and governor. A `Silver Republican`, Ammons was governor of Colorado, 1913-15. He was accused of favouring the mine owners during a coalfield strike in 1913-14, after which he...

amnesty
Act of state granted by a government by which pardon of certain past offences is accorded . This may be in the form of the release of political prisoners under...

Amorites
Ancient people of Semitic or Indo-European origin who were among the inhabitants of Canaan at the time of the Israelite invasion. They provided a number of Babylonian kings. ...

amortization
Accounting practice where the progressive reduction (`depreciation`) of a fixed asset is expressed as an expense in the accounts. This is commonly used when dealing with the value of a lease in...

Amory, Thomas
(1691-1788) Irish novelist. Born in Dublin, Amory studied medicine at Trinity College, before moving to London, where he lived as a recluse, devoting all his time to writing. His main works are Memoirs of...

Amos
Book of the Old Testament written around 750 BC. One of the prophets, Amos was a shepherd who foretold the destruction of Israel because of the people's abandonment of their faith. ...

Amos, Valerie
(1954) British Labour politician, leader of the House of Lords and president of the Council from October 2003. She became the UK's first female black cabinet member in May 2003 when she was appointed...

Amphiaraus
In Greek mythology, a visionary from Argos who foresaw his own death in the expedition of the Seven against Thebes. An oracle bearing his name existed in antiquity at Oropos, near Thebes. ...

Amphion
In Greek mythology, one of the two sons of Zeus and Antiope. He built the walls of Thebes by drawing the stones into place with the music from his lyre, a gift from the god Hermes. Amphion married...

amphitheatre
Large oval or circular building used by the Romans for gladiatorial contests, fights of wild animals, and other similar events. It is an open structure with a central arena surrounded by rising rows...

Amphitryon
In Greek mythology, a king of Thebes and the husband of Alcmene. Alcmene was seduced by Zeus (who took the form of Amphitryon) and gave birth to Heracles. ...

amphora
A two-handled narrow-necked storage jar used in the Graeco-Roman world, usually made of clay. There are two main types. The first, with a pointed base, was essentially used as a container for...

ampulla
Small vessel with a round body and narrow neck, used by the ancient Greeks and Romans for holding oil, perfumes, and so on; ampullae are used in the Christian church for holding water and wine at...

Ampurias
Ancient settlement in Spain, ruins of which still exist near Figueras. In the 6th century BC the Phocaeans (see Phocaea) transferred an island settlement to the mainland here and called it...

amrit
Sweetened water used during Sikh ceremonies such as a naming ceremony (Nam Karan) and Amrit Sanskar (baptism into the Khalsa). The amrit is made in an iron or steel bowl by stirring sugar crystals...

Amrit Sanskar
In Sikhism, initiation into the Khalsa (Sikh community or order). The ceremony is conducted either at home or in the gurdwara by five initiated Sikhs, who represent the original Panj Pyares (`five...

Amritsar
Holy city of Sikhism and industrial centre in the Punjab, India; population (2001 est) 1,011,300. The centre of the Sikh faith, it contains the Golden Temple, surrounded by the sacred pool Amrit...

Amritsar Massacre
The killing of 379 Indians (and wounding of 1,200) in Amritsar, at the site of a Sikh religious shrine in the Punjab in 1919. British troops under Gen Edward Dyer opened fire without warning on a...

Amsdorf, Nikolaus von
(1483-1565) German Lutheran theologian. One of the most determined supporters of Martin Luther, he assisted in the translation of the Bible into German...

Amsterdam Treaty
Amendment to the founding treaties of the European Union (EU) adopted at...

amulet
Small object used as a good-luck charm or talisman. Amulets are often worn on a necklace or bracelet. Amulets were very common in ancient Egypt; the scarab, a model of the dung beetle Scarabeus...

Amyclae
Town in ancient Greece, situated 4 km/2.5 mi southeast of Sparta. It was the chief town of the Achaeans (see Achaea), and rema ...

Amyot, Jacques
(1513-1593) French bishop and classical scholar, one of the leading translators of his day. From 1536 to about 1546 he was professor of Latin and Greek at Bourges, where he began translating classical works,...

Anabaptist
Member of any of various 16th-century radical Protestant sects. They believed in adult rather than child baptism, and sought to establish utopian communities. Anabaptist groups spread rapidly in...

Anacreon
Greek lyric poet. He lived in Abdera, Samos, and Athens, where he was favoured both before and after the institution of democracy. His love poetry, of great charm, was later widely imitated in verse...

Anahuac
Geographical region of Mexico. The name was originally applied by the Aztecs to their kingdom, but is now used to describe the whole of the central Mexican plateau, and more specifically the...

analects
Any collection of literary fragments taken from one or more sources. More specifically, the Analects are a selection of writings by Chinese philosopher Confucius and his followers, the most...

analytic
In philosophy, a term derived from Kant: the converse of synthetic. In an analytic judgement, the judgement provides no new knowledge; for example:`All bachelors are unmarried.` ...

Anami, Korechika
(1897-1945) Japanese general. He held several commands in China and Manchuria 1938-43, before being sent to New Guinea to take charge of operations there. He became director general of army aviation in 1944,...

anamorphosis
Artistic technique of distortion. Something of a fashion in early 16th-century northern Europe, anamorphosis involved producing an over-long, squashed image which would rectify itself when...

Anand Karaj
In Sikhism, the marriage ceremony. See rites of passage (Sikhism). ...

Anand Marg
Indian religious sect, `the pathway to bliss`; their leader Prahbat Ranjan Sarkar (1921-1990) claimed to be god incarnate. Imprisoned for the alleged murder of defectors from the sect, he was...

Anandpur Sahib
Sikh religious site renowned for being the birthplace of the Khalsa, the Panj Pyares, the five faithful ones, initiated here in 1699. The site is 75 km/47 mi from the Punjab capital of Chandigarh....

anarchism
Political philosophy that society should have no government, laws, police, or other authority, but should be a free association of all its members. It does not mean `without order`, but believes...

anarcho-syndicalism
A movement which combined the principles of trade unionism and anarchism, in which trade unions were regarded as the instruments of working-class action to overthrow the state apparatus. It gained...

Anasazi
Member of a prehistoric American Indian people who lived in the Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico and other parts of the southwest from 100 BC to AD 1300. The Anasazi were skilled weavers, potters,...

Anastasia
(1901-1918) Russian Grand Duchess, youngest daughter of Nicholas II. During the Russian Revolution she was presumed shot with her parents by the Bolsheviks after the Revolution of 1917, but it has been alleged...

anathema
Something that is shunned or cursed. The word is used in the Christian church in excommunication. ...

Anathomia Mundi
Anatomical text published in 1316 by the Italian surgeon and professor Mondino de Luzzi, based on his translation of Galen's On the Use of Parts (2nd century AD), and his own dissections to prove...

anatman
In Buddhism, the central teaching that there is no soul, no self. It comes from the negative of atman, the Hindu notion of a soul which is eternal and which survives after death and enters another...

anatta
Buddhist theory that there is no permanent entity or self. It is one of the three characteristics of existence in Buddhism;dukkha (suffering) and Anaxagoras
(lived c. 500-428 BC) Greek cosmologist and pre-Socratic philosopher. He speculated that everything consisted of `seeds`, which contained a little of every natural substance. Changes in things occurred by the...

Anaximenes
(lived c. 587-c. 527 BC) Greek cosmologist and pre-Socratic philosopher. He originated the important idea that one substance could account for the diversity of the world (ANC
Abbreviation for African National Congress, a South African political party and former nationalist organization. ...

ancestor worship
Religious rituals and beliefs oriented towards deceased members of a family or group as a symbolic expression of values or in the belief that the souls of the dead remain involved in this world and...

Anchises
In classical mythology, a member of the Trojan royal family; king of Dardanus on Mount Ida. Loved by the goddess Aphrodite, he was struck by lightning and blinded by Zeus for boasting of the affair....

ancien régime
The old order; the feudal, absolute monarchy in France before the French Revolution of 1789. ...

ancient demesne
Estate or manor vested in the English monarch at the time of the Norman Conquest and recorded in the Domesday Book. The tenants of ancient demesnes did not have to pay danegeld, tolls, duties, or...

Ancient Mariner, The Rime of the
Poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, published in 1798, describing the curse that falls upon a mariner and his ship when he shoots an albatross. ...

Ancient Order of Hibernians
Irish-American Catholic fraternal society, founded in New York in 1836 to aid recently arrived Irish emigrants, and maintain contacts within the Irish diaspora and with Ireland. Politically...

Ancre, Battle of the
In World War I, one of the last of the series of battles in the Somme area 1916-17. In three days of fighting November 1916, British forces attempted to capture a heavily fortified German salient...

Ancrene Riwle
Medieval prose treatise by an unknown English author. Many versions exist, in French and Latin as well as in English. These include Ancrene Wisse/Anchorites' Guide, which is of linguistic interest...

Ancyra
Ancient name for Ankara, capital of Turkey. ...

Andean Group
South American organization aimed at economic and social cooperation between member states. It was established under the Treaty of Cartagena (1969), by Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru....

Andean Indian
Any indigenous inhabitant of the Andes range in South America, stretching from Ecuador to Peru to Chile, and including both the coast and the highlands. Many Andean civilizations developed in this...

Anders, Wladyslaw
(1892-1970) Polish general and leader of Polish forces in exile during World War II. On the outbreak of war 1939, he commanded a cavalry brigade during the German invasion but was captured and imprisoned by the...

Andersen, Hans Christian
(1805-1875) Danish writer of fairy tales. Examples include `The Ugly Duckling`, `The Snow Queen`, `The Little Mermaid`, and `The Emperor's New Clothes`. Their inventiveness, sensitivity, and...

Anderson shelter
In the UK, a simple air-raid shelter used during World War II which could be erected in a garden to provide protection for a family. Tens of thousands were produced and they undoubtedly saved...

Anderson, Clive
(1953) English chat show host and presenter who has chaired the Channel 4 improvisation game show Whose Line is it Anyway? since 1988. ...

Anderson, George W(helan)
(1906-1992) US naval officer and diplomat. Anderson was assistant to the deputy commander of the Pacific Fleet and Pacific Ocean Areas, 1944-45. In 1961-63 he served as chief of naval Operations, and he was...

Anderson, John
(1922) US Independent politician. Anderson ran, unsuccessfully, against Ronald Reagan in the 1980 presidential elections. Formerly a moderate Republican, he was unable to accept Reagan's conservative...

Anderson, Maxwell
(1888-1959) US dramatist. What Price Glory? 1924 is a realistic portrayal of the American soldier in action during World War I, co-written with Laurence Stallings. Most of his plays had moral and social...

Anderson, Robert
(1805-1871) US soldier. Anderson commanded the 1861 Federal garrison at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, whose surrender signalled the opening of the American Civil War. He spent much of the war in Kentucky but was...

Anderson, Robert (Woodruff)
(1917) US playwright. Best known for Tea and Sympathy (1953), the story of a schoolboy named as a homosexual, his later plays include You Know I Can't Hear You When the Water's Running (1967). ...

Ando, Tadao
(1941) Japanese architect. His work employs vernacular materials and styles alongside modernist techniques. His design for Azuma House in Osaka, Japan (in 1975), one in a series of private houses, combined...

Andorra
Landlocked country in the east Pyrenees, bounded north by France and south by Spain. Government Under the 1993 constitution, Andorra is described as an independent, democratic, `parliamentary`...

Andrade, Mario de
(1893-1945) Brazilian novelist and poet, whose modernist works emphasized the distinct cultural and linguistic dissociation of Brazil from Portugal. During his life Andrade produced, and published many books,...