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  • jardín de las delicias, El (work by Ayala)
    ...Muertes de perro (1958; Death as a Way of Life) and El fondo del vaso (1962; “The Bottom of the Glass”). His later works include the short-story collections El jardín de las delicias (1971; “Garden of Delights”) and El jardín de las malicias (1988; “Garden of Malice”)....
  • Jardin des Plantes (garden and museum, Paris, France)
    one of the world’s foremost botanical gardens, located in Paris. It was founded in 1626 as a royal garden of medicinal plants and was first opened to the public in 1650. Under the superintendence of G.-L.L. Buffon (1739–88) the garden was greatly expanded, and it developed into a centre of scientific study associated with such prominent figures of early French botany and zoology as t...
  • Jardin, Karel Du (Dutch painter)
    Dutch Romanist painter and etcher, best known for his spirited representations of Italian peasants and shepherds with their animals....
  • Jardine, Alan (American singer)
    ...Michael Love (b. March 15, 1941Los Angeles), and Alan Jardine (b. Sept. 3, 1942Lima, Ohio). Significant later members included David......
  • Jardine, D. R. (British athlete)
    ...relations between the countries because of the use of “bodyline” bowling tactics, in which the ball is bowled close to or at the batsman. This scheme was devised by the English captain, D.R. Jardine, and involved fast, short-pitched deliveries bowled to the batsman’s body so that the batter would be hit on the upper body or head or alternatively, would be caught out by one ...
  • Jardinier de la Pompadour, Le (novel by Demolder)
    ...Demolder provided rich graphic descriptions in his story of the life of a would-be painter (inspired by that of Rembrandt) in the Low Countries during the 17th century. His other important novel, Le Jardinier de la Pompadour (1904; “Madame de Pompadour’s Gardener”), is set in France; in this evocation of an elegant period, Demolder’s style and subject are in p...
  • Jarés, Sierra de (mountains, Europe)
    short range of mountains, less than 20 mi (32 km) long, with a maximum width of about 11 mi, reaching an elevation of nearly 5,000 ft (1,507 m). They run east-northeast from Portugal’s northwestern interior into Spanish Galicia. The area is known for its Roman ruins, including the remains of a highway that led from Braga to Rome....
  • jargon (linguistics)
    in colonial history, an unstable rudimentary hybrid language used as a means of communication between persons having no other language in common. Although the term was long synonymous with pidgin—as can be seen by the use of jargon in the names of such pidgins as Chinook Jargon and Mobilian Jargon—in t...
  • jargon (gem)
    ...clear, transparent red, orange, and yellow varieties. Matura diamond, from Sri Lanka, is clear and colourless, either naturally or made so through heat treatment under oxidizing conditions. The name jargon, like zircon derived from Arabic zargūn, applies to all other colours. A lovely blue stone may be made by heat treatment under reducing conditions....
  • Jari River (river, Brazil)
    river, northern Brazil, rising on the southern slopes of the Tumuc-Humac Mountains and flowing in a generally southeasterly direction for about 350 miles (560 km) to join the Amazon River at Bôca do Jari, opposite Grande de Gurupá Island. The Jari forms the border between Pará and Amapá estados (states), and ...
  • Jaricot, Pauline (French religious leader)
    ...society was organized in Lyon, Fr., on May 3, 1822, at a meeting of laymen called to raise money for the missions in Louisiana, U.S. This group joined with and adopted the fund-raising methods of Pauline Jaricot, who had been collecting for missions since 1818 and who was later designated by Pope Leo XIII as the official founder of the society. In 1922 the headquarters of the society was......
  • Jarīd (oasis, Tunisia)
    oasis in west-central Tunisia. It is located to the south of Tunisia’s steppe region in the jarīd (palm) country, which displays a colourful landscape marked by numerous chott (or shaṭṭ, salty lake) depressions and palm ...
  • Jarid, Chott El- (lake, Tunisia)
    large saline lake in southwestern Tunisia, occupying a salt-flat basin of about 1,900 square miles (4,900 square km). The lake is covered with water only in the lowest areas, except after periods of heavy rains. Together with Chott El-Fedjaj (Shaṭṭ Al-Fijāj) and Chott Al-Rharsa (Shaṭṭ Al-Gharsah) in Tunisia and Chotts Melrhir...
  • Jarīd, Shaṭṭ Al- (lake, Tunisia)
    large saline lake in southwestern Tunisia, occupying a salt-flat basin of about 1,900 square miles (4,900 square km). The lake is covered with water only in the lowest areas, except after periods of heavy rains. Together with Chott El-Fedjaj (Shaṭṭ Al-Fijāj) and Chott Al-Rharsa (Shaṭṭ Al-Gharsah) in Tunisia and Chotts Melrhir...
  • Jarīdah, al- (Egyptian newspaper)
    In March 1907 he became editor in chief of Al-Jarīdah, a newspaper established to present the views of the Ummah Party, which represented the moderate wing of Egyptian nationalism. With the advent of World War I (1914–18), British authorities in Egypt imposed a rigid censorship, and Luṭfī resigned his position as editor of ......
  • Jarīr (Arab poet)
    one of the greatest Arab poets of the Umayyad period, whose career and poetry show the continued vitality of the pre-Islamic Bedouin tradition....
  • Jarīr ibn ʿAṭīyah ibn al-Khaṭafā (Arab poet)
    one of the greatest Arab poets of the Umayyad period, whose career and poetry show the continued vitality of the pre-Islamic Bedouin tradition....
  • jarl (title of nobility)
    European title of nobility, equivalent to a British earl, ranking in modern times after a marquess or, in countries without marquesses, a duke. The Roman comes was originally a household companion of the emperor, while under the Franks he was a local commander and judge. The counts were later slowly incorporated into the feudal structure, so...
  • Jarlsberg (cheese)
    ...marbled with blue Penicillium roqueforti mold. The cheese is marketed under various names such as Bavarian Blue, Cambazola, Lymeswold, and Saga Blue. Another combination cheese is Norwegian Jarlsberg. This cheese results from a marriage of the cultures and manufacturing procedures for Dutch Gouda and Swiss Emmentaler....
  • Jarman, Derek (British filmmaker)
    British filmmaker (b. Jan. 31, 1942, Northwood, Middlesex, England--d. Feb. 19, 1994, London, England), crafted highly personal avant-garde motion pictures through which he sought to "demystify homosexuality" and explore human experience from a uniquely gay perspective. While Jarman often used classical plays or historical personages as the basis for his work, it was said that all of his films wer...
  • Jarman, Joseph (American musician)
    ...(b. October 11, 1941Frederick, Maryland, U.S.). Often they were joined by composer-woodwind player Joseph Jarman (b. September 14, 1937Pine Bluff, Arkansas, U.S.), who became a permane...
  • Jarmaq, Jebel (mountain peak, Israel)
    ...(Safad). Nearby is a perennial spring, the likeliest location of the “waters of Merom,” site of Joshua’s victory over the pagan kings of Palestine under Jabin, king of Hazor (Joshua 11). Mount Meron (3,963 feet [1,208 m]), Israel’s highest point in its pre-1967 boundaries, is 2 miles (3 km) northwest....
  • Jarmark Dominikanski (Polish festival)
    ...is the 13th-century structure at Malbork, a massive fortified castle constructed of 4.5 million bricks. Cultural events include the International Song Festival of popular music in Sopot and the Dominican Fair (Jarmark Dominikanski), the longest-running event in Gdańsk, which dates to 1260. Notable museums include the National Museum and the Maritime Museum in Gdańsk, the......
  • Jarmo (archaeological site, Iraq)
    prehistoric archaeological site located east of Kirkūk, in northeastern Iraq. The site is important for revealing traces of one of the world’s first village-farming communities. The approximately dozen layers of architectural building and renovation yield evidence of domesticated wheats and barley and of the dog and goat, suggesting the achievement of a settled agricultural way of li...
  • Jarmusch, Jim (American director)
    prehistoric archaeological site located east of Kirkūk, in northeastern Iraq. The site is important for revealing traces of one of the world’s first village-farming communities. The approximately dozen layers of architectural building and renovation yield evidence of domesticated wheats and barley and of the dog and goat, suggesting the achievement of a settled agricultural way of li...
  • Jarnac, Battle of (French history)
    ...his mother put him into the charge of her brother-in-law Louis I de Bourbon, Prince de Condé, who was the leader of the Protestant forces. The Protestants were surprised and defeated near Jarnac on March 13, 1569, by the Duke d’Anjou, the future Henry III, and Condé was killed. Jeanne d’Albret took Henry to the new leader of the Protestant forces, Gaspard de Coligny,...
  • Jarnach, Philipp (German composer)
    German composer who was a follower of the pianist-composer Ferruccio Busoni....
  • Järnefelt, Armas (Finnish composer)
    composer and conductor who introduced Richard Wagner’s operas into Finland and who is known for his works for small orchestra....
  • Järnefelt, Edvard Armas (Finnish composer)
    composer and conductor who introduced Richard Wagner’s operas into Finland and who is known for his works for small orchestra....
  • Jarnés, Benjamín (Spanish author)
    Spanish novelist and biographer....
  • Jarnés y Millán, Benjamín (Spanish author)
    Spanish novelist and biographer....
  • Järnkronan (work by Lidman)
    ...(1977; “Your Servant Is Listening”), Vredens barn (1979; “The Children of Wrath”), Nabots sten (1981; Naboth’s Stone), and Järnkronan (1985; “The Iron Crown”)—she recreated a world of preindustrial history, dialects, and biblical imagination, of physical hardship and provincial sen...
  • jarosite (mineral)
    ...(1977; “Your Servant Is Listening”), Vredens barn (1979; “The Children of Wrath”), Nabots sten (1981; Naboth’s Stone), and Järnkronan (1985; “The Iron Crown”)—she recreated a world of preindustrial history, dialects, and biblical imagination, of physical hardship and provincial sen...
  • Jarratt, Devereux (American clergyman)
    American Anglican clergyman and preacher who emulated the Methodism of John Wesley and initiated a religious revival throughout North Carolina and southern Virginia....
  • Jarre, Maurice (French composer and music director)
    The crowning achievement in a remarkable career, Lawrence of Arabia (AA) proved especially significant for Lean in that it marked his first teaming with composer Maurice Jarre (AA) and screenwriter Robert Bolt (AAN), as well as the first time he directed a film shot by esteemed cinematographer Fred A.Young (AA). (Lean and Young had previously worked together as, respectively, film editor......
  • Jarrell, Randall (American poet and critic)
    American poet, novelist, and critic who is noted for revitalizing the reputations of Robert Frost, Walt Whitman, and William Carlos Williams in the 1950s....
  • Jarres, Plain des (region, Laos)
    dissected inner region of the Xiangkhoang Plateau in north-central Laos. Drained principally by the Ngum River, a southward-flowing tributary of the Mekong River, the plain is characterized by narrow river valleys and limestone and sandstone hills ranging from 3,000 to 3,600 feet (900 to 1,100 m) in elevation. The plain’s name is derived from several hundred huge and ancient carved stone ja...
  • Jarrett, Keith (American musician and composer)
    American jazz pianist, composer, and saxophonist considered to be one of the most original and prolific jazz musicians to emerge during the late 20th century. He was also a noted classical pianist....
  • Jarrico, Paul (American screenwriter)
    American screenwriter who was blacklisted in the 1950s after being labeled "subversive" by the House Committee on Un-American Activities; his credits include Salt of the Earth (1953) and Tom, Dick, and Harry (1941), nominated for an Academy Award (b. Jan. 12, 1915--d. Oct. 28, 1997)....
  • Jarrow (England, United Kingdom)
    North Sea port town, South Tyneside metropolitan borough, metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, historic county of Durham, England. It lies along the south bank of the River Tyne. Jarrow’s St. Paul’s Church (dedicated 685 ce) is situated close to a ruined monastery that was begun in 681. The monastery, a religious...
  • Jarry, Alfred (French writer)
    French writer mainly known as the creator of the grotesque and wild satirical farce Ubu roi (1896; “King Ubu”), which was a forerunner of the Theatre of the Absurd....
  • Jars, Plain of (region, Laos)
    dissected inner region of the Xiangkhoang Plateau in north-central Laos. Drained principally by the Ngum River, a southward-flowing tributary of the Mekong River, the plain is characterized by narrow river valleys and limestone and sandstone hills ranging from 3,000 to 3,600 feet (900 to 1,100 m) in elevation. The plain’s name is derived from several hundred huge and ancient carved stone ja...
  • Järta, Hans (Swedish politician)
    Swedish political activist, administrator, and publicist who was a leader of the 1809 coup d’état that overthrew Gustav IV, king of Sweden. He was the main author of Sweden’s constitution (1809)....
  • Jaruzelski, Wojciech Witold (Polish general)
    army general and communist leader of Poland, chief of state from 1981 to 1989 and president from 1989 to 1990....
  • Jarves, Deming (American craftsman)
    In 1827 Deming Jarves of the Boston and Sandwich Glass Company at Sandwich, Mass., began producing glassware decorated with “lacy” patterns, extremely intricate combinations of dots, circles, diamonds, leaves, and garlands that covered the entire surface of glass articles. These lacy patterns were unique to the new technique of pressing insofar as they could not be produced by the......
  • Jarvik, Robert K. (American physician)
    ...and the VAD was removed. During the 1970s synthetic materials were developed that greatly aided the development of permanent artificial hearts. One such device, designed by American physician Robert K. Jarvik, was surgically implanted into a patient by American surgeon William C. DeVries in 1982. The aluminum and plastic device, called the Jarvik-7 for its inventor, replaced the patient’...
  • Jarvik-7 (medical device)
    ...One such device, designed by American physician Robert K. Jarvik, was surgically implanted into a patient by American surgeon William C. DeVries in 1982. The aluminum and plastic device, called the Jarvik-7 for its inventor, replaced the patient’s two ventricles. Two rubber diaphragms, designed to mimic the pumping action of the natural heart, were kept beating by an external compressor ...
  • Järvinen, Matti (Finnish athlete)
    Throwers from Finland have historically been a force in the event. Matti Järvinen, a Finn, established 10 world records and improved the record by 6.22 metres, finally reaching 77.23 metres (253 feet 4.5 inches) in 1936. As records continued to be broken, there was less and less space within the stadium to throw the javelin safely. Terje Pedersen (Norway) broke the 300-foot (91.44-metre)......
  • Jarvis, Anna (American citizen)
    Anna Jarvis of Philadelphia, whose mother had organized women’s groups to promote friendship and health, originated Mother’s Day; on May 12, 1907, she held a memorial service at her late mother’s church in Grafton, West Virginia. Within five years virtually every state was observing the day, and in 1914 President Woodrow Wilson made it a national holiday. Although Jarvis had p...
  • Jarvis, Charles (Irish painter)
    Irish portrait painter who lived most of his adult life in England. He also produced a translation of Miguel de Cervantes’s Don Quixote (published posthumously, with his surname spelled Jarvis, in 1742)....
  • Jarvis Island (island, Pacific Ocean)
    coral atoll, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Northern Line Islands, west-central Pacific Ocean, about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) southwest of Honolulu. The atoll has an area of 1.6 square miles (4.1 square km). It was sighted in 1821 by Capt. Brown of the British ship Eliza Francis and was claimed in 1856 by the United States under the Guano Act. The guan...
  • Jarvis, John Wesley (American painter)
    American painter considered his era’s leading portraitist based in New York City....
  • Jary River (river, Brazil)
    river, northern Brazil, rising on the southern slopes of the Tumuc-Humac Mountains and flowing in a generally southeasterly direction for about 350 miles (560 km) to join the Amazon River at Bôca do Jari, opposite Grande de Gurupá Island. The Jari forms the border between Pará and Amapá estados (states), and ...
  • Jashar, Book of (collection of poems)
    ancient Israelite collection of poems quoted in various books of the Old Testament. Of uncertain etymology, Jashar may mean “victorious” or “upright.” The victory hymn that describes how the Sun and Moon stood still when the Israelites defeated the Amorites (Josh. 10:12–13) is ascribed to the Book of Jashar, as is the Israelite king David’s lament o...
  • Jashpur Pāts (region, India)
    physical region of eastern Chhattīsgaṛḥ state, central India, extending over Jashpur Tahsil (northeastern Raigarh district) and forming part of the Choṭa Nāgpur Plateau. The pāts are a complex of small, flat-topped plateaus and hills, separated from each other by fault scarps and river valleys. To the north the Upper P...
  • Jashumon (work by Kitahara Hakushu)
    His first collection of poems, Jashūmon (1909; “Heretics”), which depicted the Christian missionaries in 16th-century Japan, won him much praise for the exotic and sensuous beauty of his writing. In 1911 the collection of his lyric poems, Omoide (“Recollections”), was published and also received great praise. Kitahara introduced a new symbolic,......
  • Jasienica, Paweł (Polish author)
    ...writers and books circulated freely, but the role of émigré publishers in promoting Polish literature remained quite visible.) Among those writers who stayed in Poland, many, including Paweł Jasienica and Stefan Kisielewski, were temporarily blacklisted for their political views. Jasienica published a series of historical studies emphasizing Poland’s liberal traditio...
  • Jasione montana (plant)
    (Jasione montana), annual to biennial herb of the bellflower family (Campanulaceae), bearing clustered heads of blue flowers. The plants grow scattered in sandy or acid fields or meadows, and they also grow on cliffsides. Sheep’s bit is native to Europe and has been introduced into eastern North America....
  • Jasione perennis (plant)
    ...of sheep’s bit mass in globes 2.5 cm (1 inch) in diameter in which the outside flower circles open first. The short, thick anthers are united at the base. A closely related perennial species, J. perennis, has flower heads that are 5 cm (2 inches) across and also has broader leaves. It is limited to southern Europe....
  • Jasmin, Jacques (French poet)
    French dialect poet who achieved popular fame for his touching verse portraits of humble people and places....
  • jasmine (plant)
    any member of the genus Jasminum of the olive family (Oleaceae), which contains 225–450 tropical and subtropical species of fragrant, flowering, woody shrubs. The plants are native to tropical and to some temperate areas of the Old World....
  • Jasminum (plant)
    any member of the genus Jasminum of the olive family (Oleaceae), which contains 225–450 tropical and subtropical species of fragrant, flowering, woody shrubs. The plants are native to tropical and to some temperate areas of the Old World....
  • Jasminum humile (plant)
    ...a Chinese species with solitary yellow flowers, is used as a cover plant on hillsides. Primrose jasmine (J. mesnyi) is a similar plant with larger flowers that bloom during the winter. Italian jasmine (J. humile), a vinelike shrub with yellow flowers, has many cultivated varieties. The fragrant dried flowers of Arabian jasmine (J. sambac) are used to make jasmine......
  • Jasminum mesnyi (plant)
    ...for its shining leaves and clusters of flowers that bloom in summer. Winter jasmine (J. nudiflorum), a Chinese species with solitary yellow flowers, is used as a cover plant on hillsides. Primrose jasmine (J. mesnyi) is a similar plant with larger flowers that bloom during the winter. Italian jasmine (J. humile), a vinelike shrub with yellow flowers, has many cultivated......
  • Jasminum nudiflorum (plant)
    ...to Iran, produces fragrant white flowers that are the source of attar of jasmine used in perfumery. It is widely cultivated for its shining leaves and clusters of flowers that bloom in summer. Winter jasmine (J. nudiflorum), a Chinese species with solitary yellow flowers, is used as a cover plant on hillsides. Primrose jasmine (J. mesnyi) is a similar plant with larger......
  • Jasminum officinale (plant)
    Common jasmine, or poet’s jasmine (J. officinale), native to Iran, produces fragrant white flowers that are the source of attar of jasmine used in perfumery. It is widely cultivated for its shining leaves and clusters of flowers that bloom in summer. Winter jasmine (J. nudiflorum), a Chinese species with solitary yellow flowers, is used as a cover plant on hillsides.......
  • Jasminum sambac (plant)
    ...of Forsythia and a few species of jasmine are yellow. Species of mock privet (Phillyrea) and privet (Ligustrum) are used for hedges and ornamental plantings. The flowers of Jasminum sambac are used for making necklaces, or leis, in Hawaii. Lilacs, jasmines, and Osmanthus are especially noted for their sweetly fragrant flowers. Osmanthus and a few......
  • jasmonate (biochemistry)
    ...every tissue in humans and animals, where they are formed from polyunsaturated fatty acids and are rapidly metabolized. Plants synthesize molecules similar in structure to prostaglandins, including jasmonic acid (jasmonate), which regulates processes in plants, such as reproduction, fruit ripening, and flowering. Prostaglandins are very potent; for example, in humans, some affect blood pressure...
  • jasmonic acid (biochemistry)
    ...every tissue in humans and animals, where they are formed from polyunsaturated fatty acids and are rapidly metabolized. Plants synthesize molecules similar in structure to prostaglandins, including jasmonic acid (jasmonate), which regulates processes in plants, such as reproduction, fruit ripening, and flowering. Prostaglandins are very potent; for example, in humans, some affect blood pressure...
  • Jasna Góra (Poland)
    ...województwo (province), south-central Poland. The city originally consisted of two settlements, Old Częstochowa, founded in the 13th century, and Jasna Góra (Polish: “Shining Mountain”), founded in the 14th; the two were merged in 1826. Roman Catholic pilgrimages are made to the Jasna Góra monastery (1382), which.....
  • Jason (Greek mythology)
    in Greek mythology, leader of the Argonauts (see ) and son of Aeson, king of Iolcos in Thessaly. His father’s half-brother Pelias seized Iolcos, and thus for safety Jason was sent away to the Centaur Chiron. Returning as a young man, Jason was promised his inheritance if he fetched the Golden Fleece for Pelias, a seemingly impossible task. After many adventures (...
  • Jason (Hebrew priest)
    Hellenistic Jewish high priest (175–172 bc) in Jerusalem under the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes. By promising greater tribute to Antiochus, he obtained the high priesthood and, scorning the traditional Jewish monotheism of the Pharasaic party, promoted Greek culture and religion throughout Judaea in Palestine. When Antiochus retired to Jerusalem afte...
  • Jason of Cyrene (Jewish historian)
    ...of the Greeks, asserted in his history that two sons of Abraham had joined Heracles in his expedition in Africa and that the Greek hero had married the daughter of one of them. On the other hand, Jason of Cyrene (c. 100 bce) wrote a history, of which 2 Maccabees is a summary, glorifying the Temple and violently attacking the Jewish Hellenizers, but his manner of writing his...
  • Jaspar, Henri (Belgian statesman)
    Belgian statesman and one of his country’s chief negotiators in the peace conferences following World War I. As prime minister (1926–31), he resolved a serious financial crisis at the outset of his ministry....
  • Jasper (county, South Carolina, United States)
    county, southern South Carolina, U.S. It is bounded to the west by the Savannah River border with Georgia. The county’s short southern coast along the Atlantic Ocean includes a portion of the Sea Islands and, at the southern tip, Tybee National Wildlife Refuge. Jasper county consists of coastal terrain featuring salt marshes and, fart...
  • jasper (mineral)
    opaque, fine-grained or dense variety of the silica mineral chert that exhibits various colours, but chiefly brick red to brownish red. It owes its colour to admixed hematite; but when it occurs with clay admixed, the colour is a yellowish white or gray, or with goethite, a brown or yellow. Jasper, long used for jewelry and ornamentation, has a dull lustre but takes a fine polish; its hardness an...
  • Jasper (Alberta, Canada)
    unincorporated place, western Alberta, Canada. It lies at the confluence of the Athabasca and Miette rivers, within the boundaries of Jasper National Park. It takes its name from Jasper Hawes, who in 1817 was given charge of a fur-trading post that had been established some years earlier on the Athabasca River. Since the conservation of the...
  • Jasper (Alabama, United States)
    city, seat (1824) of Walker county, northwestern Alabama, U.S., about 40 miles (65 km) northwest of Birmingham. Settled in 1815, it was named for Sergeant William Jasper, a defender of Fort Moultrie (then Fort Sullivan) during the American Revolution. It developed after the arrival of the Kansas City, Memphis and Birmingham and the Sheffield...
  • Jasper National Park (park, Alberta, Canada)
    national park in western Alberta, Canada, located on the eastern flank of the Rocky Mountains, north of Banff National Park. Jasper spans 4,200 square miles (10,878 square km) and contains significant active geologic processes, scenic mountains, and diverse animal and plant populations....
  • Jasper of Hatfield (Welsh noble)
    leader of the Lancastrians in Wales, uncle and guardian of Henry, earl of Richmond, afterward Henry VII of England....
  • Jaspers, Karl (German philosopher)
    German philosopher, one of the most important Existentialists in Germany, who approached the subject from man’s direct concern with his own existence. In his later work, as a reaction to the disruptions of Nazi rule in Germany and World War II, he searched for a new unity of thinking that he called world philosophy....
  • Jaspers, Karl Theodor (German philosopher)
    German philosopher, one of the most important Existentialists in Germany, who approached the subject from man’s direct concern with his own existence. In his later work, as a reaction to the disruptions of Nazi rule in Germany and World War II, he searched for a new unity of thinking that he called world philosophy....
  • jasperware (stoneware)
    type of fine-grained, unglazed stoneware introduced by the English potter Josiah Wedgwood in 1775 as the result of a long series of experiments aimed at discovering the techniques of porcelain manufacture. Its name derives from the fact that it resembles the natural stone jasper in its hardness. Jasper is white in its natural state and is stained with metallic oxide colouring a...
  • Jassā Singh Ahluwāliā (Sikh leader)
    ...attempted the twin tracks of conciliation and coercion, but all to little avail. After the latter’s demise in 1745, the balance shifted still further in favour of the Sikh warrior-leaders, such as Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, later the founder of the kingdom of Kapurthala. The mushrooming of pockets under the authority of Sikh leaders was thus a feature of the two decades preceding......
  • Jasset, Victorin (French director)
    ...Mack Sennett’s Keystone Kops, while the immensely popular Max Linder created a comic persona that would deeply influence the work of Charlie Chaplin. The episodic crime film was pioneered by Victorin Jasset in the “Nick Carter” series, produced for the small Éclair Company, but it remained for Gaumont’s Louis Feuillade to bring the genre to aesthetic perfectio...
  • Jassey (Romania)
    city, northeastern Romania. It is situated on the Bahlui River near its confluence with the Prut River in the Moldavian plain, 8 miles (13 km) west of the border with Moldova and 200 miles (320 km) northeast of Bucharest....
  • Jassidae (insect)
    any of the small, slender, often beautifully coloured and marked sap-sucking insects of the large family Cicadellidae (Jassidae) of the order Homoptera. They are found on almost all types of plants; however, individual species are host specific. Although a single leafhopper does no damage to a plant, collectively they can be serious economic pests. Their feeding may injure the plant in any of sev...
  • Jassy (Romania)
    city, northeastern Romania. It is situated on the Bahlui River near its confluence with the Prut River in the Moldavian plain, 8 miles (13 km) west of the border with Moldova and 200 miles (320 km) northeast of Bucharest....
  • Jassy, Treaty of (1792)
    (Jan. 9, 1792), pact signed at Jassy in Moldavia (modern Iaşi, Romania), at the conclusion of the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–92; it confirmed Russian dominance in the Black Sea....
  • Jastrow, Robert (American astrophysicist)
    American astrophysicist who popularized space science as a commentator on dozens of television programs and as the author of numerous books, notably the best-selling Red Giants and White Dwarfs (1967); he also played a vital role in guiding NASA’s lunar exploration program as the founding director (1961–81) of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS). After ear...
  • Jastrun, Mieczysław (Polish author and poet)
    Polish lyric poet and essayist whose work represents a constant quest for new poetic forms of expression....
  • Jastrzębie Zdrój (Poland)
    city, Śląskie województwo (province), southern Poland. Joined by the cities of Racibórz and Rybnik, Jastrzębie Zdrój forms a secondary industrial zone within the Upper Silesian area that borders the Czech industrial region of Ostrava....
  • Jaswant Rāo Holkar (Indian ruler)
    ...little; the death of the young peshwa released fresh dissensions, however, heightened by the death of the minister Nana Fadnavis in 1800. The chiefs Holkar and Dawlat Rao Sindhia contended for power over the peshwa, Baj Rao II. On Holkar’s success in 1802, Baji Rao fled to Bassein and applied for British......
  • Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok (county, Hungary)
    megye (county), east-central Hungary. It is bounded by the counties of Heves and Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén to the north, Hajdú-Bihar and Békés to the east, Csongrád to the south, Bács-Kiskun to the so...
  • Jászai, Mari (Hungarian actress)
    Hungarian actress, one of the greatest Hungarian tragediennes....
  • Jászai Mari (Hungarian actress)
    Hungarian actress, one of the greatest Hungarian tragediennes....
  • Jászberény (Hungary)
    ...and Békés to the east, Csongrád to the south, Bács-Kiskun to the southwest, and Pest to the west. The county seat is Szolnok, and the principal cities are Jászberény, Mezőtúr, Karcag, and Törökszentmiklós....
  • Jászság (region, Hungary)
    ...Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok is drained from north to south by the Tisza River. The Körös River flows on the county’s southern fringe, while in the northwest the Zagyva River crosses the Jászság, a marginal depression of the Alfold, which extends into Pest county and produces vegetables, fruit, and poultry for the Budapest market. East of the Tisza is the......
  • Jat (caste)
    peasant caste of northern India and Pakistan. In the early 21st century the Jat constituted about 20 percent of the population of Punjab, nearly 10 percent of the population of Balochistan, Rajasthan, and Delhi, and from 2 to 5 percent of the populations of Sindh, Northwest Frontier, and Uttar Pradesh. The four million Jat of Pakistan are mainly Muslim by faith; the nearly six m...
  • jat (Hindu caste)
    caste, in Hindu society. The term is derived from the Sanskrit jāta, “born” or “brought into existence,” and indicates a form of existence determined by birth. In Indian philosophy jati (genus) describes any group of things that have generic characteristics in common. Sociologically, jati has come to be used universally to indicate a caste gr...
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