Sir Edward German was a popular composer of light operas whose music was noted for its lyric quality and distinctly English character. German began his career as an orchestral violinist and conductor in London and became known for his incidental music to the plays Henry VIII and Nell Gwynn. In 1901

German-American Bund, American pro-Nazi, quasi-military organization that was most active in the years immediately preceding the United States’ entry into World War II. The Bund’s members were mostly American citizens of German ancestry. The organization received covert guidance and financial

History of film: International cinema: …finally resolved at the 1930 German-American Film Conference in Paris, where Tobis, ERPI, and RCA agreed to pool their patents and divide the world market among themselves. The language problem also delayed the conversion to sound on the Continent. Because dubbing was all but impossible in the earliest years of…

American literature, the body of written works produced in the English language in the United States. Like other national literatures, American literature was shaped by the history of the country that produced it. For almost a century and a half, America was merely a group of colonies scattered

German-Danish War, (1864), the second of two conflicts over the settlement of the Schleswig-Holstein question, a complex of problems arising from the relationship of the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein to Denmark, to each other, and to the German Confederation. Involved in it were a disputed

German-Herero conflict of 1904–07, the conflict between the Herero people and German colonial troops in German South West Africa in 1904 and the ensuing events of the next few years that resulted in the deaths of about 75 percent of the Herero population, considered by most scholars to be genocide.

Third Reich: Hitler’s early foreign policy: The nonaggression pact with Poland, signed on January 26, 1934, was used by Hitler as further evidence of his eagerness for peace. When a Nazi rising in Austria on July 25, 1934, failed to secure power, he was quick to repudiate his followers and send Papen…

German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, (August 23, 1939), nonaggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union that was concluded only a few days before the beginning of World War II and which divided eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence. The Soviet Union had been unable to

German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, (August 23, 1939), nonaggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union that was concluded only a few days before the beginning of World War II and which divided eastern Europe into German and Soviet spheres of influence. The Soviet Union had been unable to

germanium: …hydroxide, thereby forming the respective germanates.

germander, (genus Teucrium), genus of about 260 species of plants in the mint family (Lamiaceae). Germander species are distributed nearly worldwide, and a number of them are grown as garden ornamentals. Germanders can be herbs or subshrubs and are typically perennial. Several species feature

Saturn: Composition and structure: carbon monoxide, and germane. Such molecules would not be present in detectable amounts in a hydrogen-rich atmosphere in chemical equilibrium. They may be products of reactions at high pressure and temperature in Saturn’s deep atmosphere, well below the observable clouds, that have been transported to visible atmospheric regions…

Karl Adolph Gjellerup: …in his farewell to theology, Germanernes lærling (1882; “The Teutons’ Apprentice”). The latter, however, indicated the path that was to take him, via German idealist philosophy and Romanticism, back to a conscious search for religion, which finally found its satisfaction in his preoccupation with Buddhism and other Oriental religions. This…

Tacitus: First literary works: …origine et situ Germanorum (the Germania), both reflecting his personal interests. The Agricola is a biographical account of his father-in-law’s career, with special reference to the governorship of Britain (78–84) and the later years under Domitian. It is laudatory yet circumstantial in its description, and it gives a balanced political…

Battle of the Teutoburg Forest: Context: …regions which the Romans called Germania Inferior and Germania Superior, respectively. In 12 bce Drusus took the army of Germania Superior on an expedition to crush the Sicambri, Frisii, and Chauci tribes to the north. He was able to force the tribes to surrender before year’s end, and some sources…

Battle of the Teutoburg Forest: Context: …regions which the Romans called Germania Inferior and Germania Superior, respectively. In 12 bce Drusus took the army of Germania Superior on an expedition to crush the Sicambri, Frisii, and Chauci tribes to the north. He was able to force the tribes to surrender before year’s end, and some sources…

Battle of the Teutoburg Forest: Context: …Romans called Germania Inferior and Germania Superior, respectively. In 12 bce Drusus took the army of Germania Superior on an expedition to crush the Sicambri, Frisii, and Chauci tribes to the north. He was able to force the tribes to surrender before year’s end, and some sources suggest that he…

Triassic Period: …became known as the “Germanic facies,” had many drawbacks as a standard for assigning relative ages to Triassic rocks from other regions of the world, and so for much of the 19th and 20th centuries Triassic stages were based mainly on type sections from the “Alpine facies” in Austria,…

Germanic languages, branch of the Indo-European language family. Scholars often divide the Germanic languages into three groups: West Germanic, including English, German, and Netherlandic (Dutch); North Germanic, including Danish, Swedish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Faroese; and East Germanic, now

Germanic law, the law of the various Germanic peoples from the time of their initial contact with the Romans until the change from tribal to national territorial law. This change occurred at different times with different peoples. Thus some of the characteristics of Scandinavian legal collections

Germanic religion and mythology, complex of stories, lore, and beliefs about the gods and the nature of the cosmos developed by the Germanic-speaking peoples before their conversion to Christianity. Germanic culture extended, at various times, from the Black Sea to Greenland, or even the North

Germanisches Nationalmuseum (GNM), museum in Nürnberg, Germany, housing the largest collection of cultural history in German-speaking countries. The vast permanent collection contains more than one million unique pieces, which date from prehistoric times to the present day. One of the largest

Germanic peoples, any of the Indo-European speakers of Germanic languages. The origins of the Germanic peoples are obscure. During the late Bronze Age, they are believed to have inhabited southern Sweden, the Danish peninsula, and northern Germany between the Ems River on the west, the Oder River

Germanic religion and mythology, complex of stories, lore, and beliefs about the gods and the nature of the cosmos developed by the Germanic-speaking peoples before their conversion to Christianity. Germanic culture extended, at various times, from the Black Sea to Greenland, or even the North

Kahramanmaraş, city, southern Turkey. It is situated at the edge of a fertile plain below Ahır Mountain, east-northeast of Adana. The city is near the southern outlet of three important passes through the Taurus Mountains (from Göksun, Elbistan, and Malatya). Kahramanmaraş was the capital of the

St. Ignatius of Loyola: Founding of the Jesuit order: …the Gregorian University, and the Germanicum, a seminary for German candidates for the priesthood. He also established a home for young women and one for converted Jews.

Germanicus was the nephew and adopted son of the Roman emperor Tiberius (reigned 14–37 ce). He was a successful and immensely popular general who, had it not been for his premature death, would have become emperor. The details of Germanicus’s career are known from the Annals of the Roman historian

Germanicus was the nephew and adopted son of the Roman emperor Tiberius (reigned 14–37 ce). He was a successful and immensely popular general who, had it not been for his premature death, would have become emperor. The details of Germanicus’s career are known from the Annals of the Roman historian

Caligula was a Roman emperor from 37 to 41 ce, in succession after Tiberius. Caligula effected the transfer of the last legion that had been under a senatorial proconsul (in Africa) to an imperial legate, thus completing the emperor’s monopoly of army command. Accounts of Caligula’s reign by

Ernst Moritz Arndt: …history and in 1803 published Germanien und Europa, in which he proclaimed his views on French aggression. His subsequent Versuch einer Geschichte der Leibeigenschaft in Pommern und Rügen (1803) is, as the title suggests, a history of serfdom in Pomerania and Rügen that resulted in its abolition three years later…

Germanisches Nationalmuseum (GNM), museum in Nürnberg, Germany, housing the largest collection of cultural history in German-speaking countries. The vast permanent collection contains more than one million unique pieces, which date from prehistoric times to the present day. One of the largest

germanium (Ge), a chemical element between silicon and tin in Group 14 (IVa) of the periodic table, a silvery-gray metalloid, intermediate in properties between the metals and the nonmetals. Although germanium was not discovered until 1886 by Clemens Winkler, a German chemist, its existence,

radiation measurement: Germanium detectors: The most common type of germanium gamma-ray spectrometer consists of a high-purity (mildly p-type) crystal fitted with electrodes in a coaxial configuration. Normal sizes correspond to germanium volumes of several hundred cubic centimetres. Because of their excellent energy resolution of a few tenths of a percent, germanium coaxial detectors have…

radiation measurement: Germanium detectors: Semiconductor detectors also can be used in gamma-ray spectroscopy. In this case, however, it is advantageous to choose germanium rather than silicon as the detector material. With an atomic number of 32, germanium has a much higher photoelectric cross section than silicon (atomic…

germanium: …redistillation, and hydrolyzed to form germanium dioxide, which is then reduced by hydrogen to a powdery form of the metal that is melted at a temperature of about 1,100° C (2,000° F [in an inert atmosphere]) and cast into ingots or billets.

crystal: Covalent bonds: …good binary semiconductors such as germanium telluride (GeTe) or tin sulfide (SnS). They have the sodium chloride structure, where each atom has six neighbours. Although not tetrahedrally bonded, they are good semiconductors.

Lady Gaga is an American singer-songwriter and performance artist, known for her flamboyant costumes, provocative lyrics, and strong vocal talents, who achieved enormous popular success in the early 21st century with songs such as “Just Dance,” “Bad Romance,” and “Born This Way.” She also branched

Germantown, historic residential section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., extending for more than a mile along Germantown Avenue (formerly High Street). The site was first settled by German Pietists led by Francis Daniel Pastorius in 1683, and the development of handicraft industries (weaving,

textile: Yarns used in handwork: …for various types of apparel; Germantown yarns, soft and thick, usually four-ply and of medium weight, frequently used for sweaters and blankets; Shetland yarns, fine, soft, fluffy, and lightweight, frequently two-ply, used for infants’ and children’s sweaters and for shawls; worsted knitting yarn, highly twisted and heavy, differing from worsted…

Battle of Germantown, battle in the American Revolution, fought on October 4, 1777, an abortive attack by 11,000 American troops upon 9,000 British and Hessian regulars stationed at Germantown (now part of Philadelphia) under General Sir William Howe. Not discouraged by his defeats at Brandywine

Saint Germanus I ; feast day May 12) was a Byzantine patriarch of Constantinople and theologian who led the orthodox opposition during the Iconoclastic Controversy (q.v.). His writings also fostered the doctrine and devotion to the Virgin Mary. When Germanus rebelled against the execution of his

Saint Germanus of Auxerre ; feast day: Wales, August 3; elsewhere, July 31) was a Gallic prelate who was twice sent on crucial missions to England that helped effect the consolidation of the British church. After practicing law at Rome, Germanus was made a provincial governor in Armorica (ancient

Saint Germanus of Paris ; feast day May 28) was an abbot, bishop, and one of France’s most revered saints, who was an important, though unsuccessful, mediator in the fratricidal conflicts among several Merovingian kings. Ordained a priest in 530 at Autun, Germanus was made abbot of the Monastery of

Germaine de Staël: Banishment from Paris of Germaine de Staël: …fruits of her visit to Germany are contained in her most important work, De l’Allemagne (1810; Germany). This is a serious study of German manners, literature and art, philosophy and morals, and religion in which she made known to her contemporaries the Germany of the Sturm und Drang movement (1770–1780).…

Germany, country of north-central Europe, traversing the continent’s main physical divisions, from the outer ranges of the Alps northward across the varied landscape of the Central German Uplands and then across the North German Plain. One of Europe’s largest countries, Germany encompasses a wide

Third Reich: The end of the Third Reich: …the Allies insisted upon an unconditional surrender, and this was signed at Reims on May 7, 1945, to take effect at midnight May 8–9. With the unconditional surrender, Hitler’s “Thousand-Year Reich” ceased to exist, and the responsibility for the government of the German people was assumed by the four occupying…

Heinrich Heine: Later life and works: …satire, Deutschland, Ein Wintermärchen (1844; Germany, a Winter’s Tale), a stinging attack on reactionary conditions in Germany. Though Heine remained on good, if not intimate, terms with Marx in later years, he never was much taken with Communism, which did not fit his ideal of a revolution of joy and…

Germany, country of north-central Europe, traversing the continent’s main physical divisions, from the outer ranges of the Alps northward across the varied landscape of the Central German Uplands and then across the North German Plain. One of Europe’s largest countries, Germany encompasses a wide

horizontally striped national flag of black, red, and “gold” (i.e., golden yellow); when used for official purposes, it may incorporate a central eagle shield. The flag has a width-to-length ratio of 3 to 5.The Holy Roman Empire, prior to its abolition in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars, included

history of Germany, a survey of important events and people in the history of Germany from ancient times to the present. Germanic peoples occupied much of the present-day territory of Germany in ancient times. The Germanic peoples are those who spoke one of the Germanic languages, and they thus

insect: Reproductive system: Each ovariole consists of a germarium and a series of ovarial follicles. The germarium is a mass of undifferentiated cells that form oocytes, nurse cells, and follicular cells. The nurse cells provide nourishment for the oocytes during the early stages of their growth; follicular cells, which invest the enlarging oocyte…

Lester Halbert Germer was an American physicist who, with his colleague Clinton Joseph Davisson, conducted an experiment (1927) that first demonstrated the wave properties of the electron. This experiment confirmed the hypothesis of Louis-Victor de Broglie, a founder of wave mechanics, that the

germfree life, biological condition characterized by the complete absence of living microorganisms. Gnotobiology comprises the study of germfree plants and animals, as well as living things in which specific microorganisms, added by experimental methods, are known to be present. When one or more

antimicrobial agent: Antiseptics and germicides: The term antiseptic refers to agents applied to the living tissues of humans, other animals, and plants in order to destroy (bactericidal) or inhibit the growth (bacteriostatic) of infectious microorganisms. Antiseptics are used in medical practice to prevent or combat bacterial infections of superficial…

Émile Zola: Les Rougon-Macquart: Germinal (1885), which is generally acknowledged to be Zola’s masterpiece, depicts life in a mining community by highlighting relations between the bourgeoisie and the working class. At the same time, the novel weighs the events of a miners’ strike and its aftermath in terms of…

spleen: Germinal centres in the white pulp serve as the sites of lymphocyte production. Similar to the lymph nodes, the spleen reacts to microorganisms and other antigens that reach the bloodstream by releasing special phagocytic cells known as macrophages. Splenic macrophages reside in both red and…

germ layer, any of three primary cell layers, formed in the earliest stages of embryonic development, consisting of the endoderm (inner layer), the ectoderm (outer layer), and the mesoderm (middle layer). The germ layers form during the process of gastrulation, when the hollow ball of cells that

germinal mutation, alteration in the genetic constitution of the reproductive cells, occurring in the cell divisions that result in sperm and eggs. Germinal mutations can be caused by radiation or chemical mutagens and may affect a single gene or an entire chromosome. A germinal mutation affects

germination, the sprouting of a seed, spore, or other reproductive body, usually after a period of dormancy. The absorption of water, the passage of time, chilling, warming, oxygen availability, and light exposure may all operate in initiating the process. In the process of seed germination, water

Edmond and Jules Goncourt: …most lasting of their novels, Germinie Lacerteux (1864), was based on the double life of their ugly, seemingly impeccable servant, Rose, who stole their money to pay for nocturnal orgies and men’s attentions. It is one of the first realistic French novels of working-class life. Most of the other novels,…

Edmond and Jules Goncourt: …most lasting of their novels, Germinie Lacerteux (1864), was based on the double life of their ugly, seemingly impeccable servant, Rose, who stole their money to pay for nocturnal orgies and men’s attentions. It is one of the first realistic French novels of working-class life. Most of the other novels,…

pineal tumour: …are germ cell tumours (germinomas and teratomas), which arise from embryonic remnants of germ cells (precursors of egg and sperm cells). Germ cell tumours are malignant and invasive and may be life-threatening. Tumours of the pinealocytes (the primary cell type of the pineal gland) also occur and vary in…

Germiston, city, Gauteng province, South Africa. Germiston lies 5,550 feet (1,690 metres) above sea level and is situated in the Witwatersrand directly southeast of Johannesburg. It is the largest railway junction of South Africa and has substantial rail repair shops. Germiston lies in the heart of

gene therapy: Approaches to gene therapy: Germline gene therapy aims to place corrected cells inside the germ line (e.g., cells of the ovary or testis). If that is achieved, those cells will undergo meiosis and provide a normal gametic contribution to the next generation. Germline gene therapy has been achieved experimentally…

human genetic disease: Calculating risks of known carriers: This scenario is called germline mosaicism. Finally, with regard to X-linked disorders, if the pedigree or carrier testing suggests that the mother carries a gene for a sex-linked disease, there is a 50 percent chance that each son will be affected and that each daughter will be a carrier.

albacore, (species Thunnus alalunga), large oceanic fish noted for its fine flesh. The bluefin tuna (T. thynnus) is also sometimes called albacore. See

albacore, (species Thunnus alalunga), large oceanic fish noted for its fine flesh. The bluefin tuna (T. thynnus) is also sometimes called albacore. See

biological development: The scope of development: …19th century, as the “germ plasm” and the “soma.” The germ plasm consists of the essential elements, or genes, passed on from one generation to the next, and the soma consists of the body that may be produced as the organism develops. In more modern terms, Weismann’s germ plasm…

Guernica, city, just northeast of Bilbao, Vizcaya provincia (province), in the comunidad autónoma (autonomous community) of Basque Country, northern Spain. The city, on the Río de Plencia (Butrón) near the inlet of the Bay of Biscay, is the statutory capital of the former lordship of Vizcaya,

Ranulf de Gernons, 4th earl of Chester was the 4th earl of Chester and a key participant in the English civil war (from 1139) between King Stephen and the Holy Roman empress Matilda (also a claimant to the throne of England). Initially taking Matilda’s part, he fought for her in the Battle of

Rudi Gernreich was an Austrian-born American avant-garde fashion designer of the 1960s. Gernreich immigrated to the United States in 1938 and, from 1942 to 1948, was a dancer and costume designer for the Lester Horton Modern Dance Troupe. From 1951 to 1959 he worked as a designer for a Los Angeles

Western architecture: Ottonian period: Cyriacus built at Gernrode. The two churches have wooden-roofed, three-aisle naves; but, in contrast to the Carolingian pillar basilicas, alternating pillars and columns have been used, and at Gernrode the side aisles are crowned by galleries. The two churches have both an east and a west choir and…

Hugo Gernsback was an American inventor and publisher who was largely responsible for the establishment of science fiction as an independent literary form. The Hugo Awards are named in his honor. After receiving a technical education in Luxembourg and Germany, Gernsback traveled to the United

Western sculpture: Carolingian and Ottonian periods: The wooden Gero Crucifix at the cathedral of Cologne, which was carved before 986, already reveals a certain realism in the representation of the shape of the body, in contrast to the contemporary crucifix of Gerresheim (before 1000). The so-called Bernward Crucifix at Ringelheim, Germany, is between…

Ernő Gerő was a Hungarian communist and first secretary of the Hungarian Workers’ (communist) Party (1956). In that capacity, Gerő served as the country’s last Stalinist leader before the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Gerő, the son of a shopkeeper and tenant farmer, entered the Budapest Medical

Kufstein: The Geroldseck Fortress in the town, built in the early 13th century, was converted into a strong bastion by Maximilian. It now houses a local museum and the great “Heroes’ Organ” (Heldenorgel; 1931), named for the daily recitals played to honour the war dead. Kufstein is…

Jean-Léon Gérôme was a painter, sculptor, and teacher, one of the most prominent late 19th-century academic artists in France. Gérôme, whose father was a goldsmith, studied with Paul Delaroche. His historical and mythological compositions, such as Pygmalion and Galatea, were anecdotal, painstaking,

Girona, city, capital of Girona provincia (province), in the Catalonia comunidad autónoma (autonomous community), northeastern Spain. It lies on the Oñar River in the foothills of the Los Ángeles Mountains, a short distance inland from a Mediterranean coastal resort area known as the Costa Brava.

Girona, provincia (province) in the Catalonia comunidad autónoma (autonomous community), northeastern Spain. Girona is the northeasternmost province of the autonomous community and of Spain. It is bounded by France and the Pyrenees to the north, by the Mediterranean Sea to the east and southeast,

Judaism: School of Gerona (Catalonia): The gnosticizing theosophy of the Sefer ha-bahir and the contemplative mysticism of the masters of Languedoc became one in the hands of the Kabbalists in Catalonia, where the Jewish community of Gerona was a veritable seat of esoterism during the first…

Geronimo was a Bedonkohe Apache leader of the Chiricahua Apache, who led his people’s defense of their homeland against the military might of the United States. For generations the Apaches had resisted white colonization of their homeland in the Southwest by both Spaniards and North Americans.

Barry Hannah: His first novel, Geronimo Rex (1972), which received a National Book Award nomination, is a raucous coming-of-age story addressing the theme of racism. In the less successful Nightwatchmen (1973), both a secret killer and a hurricane are unleashed upon a small college town.

ibis: The hermit ibis (Geronticus eremita), an endangered species, inhabits northern Africa and the Middle East. Its bill and the bare skin on its head are reddish. Breeding colonies once existed in central and southern Europe, Syria, and Algeria but are now known only in Turkey and…

James Blish: Eliot’s poem “Gerontion” (1920), “After such knowledge, what forgiveness?”—that examined the competition between religion and science. The other novels in the series included Doctor Mirabilis (1964), a historical novel about the 13th-century English philosopher and scientist Roger Bacon, and two novels that Blish considered as one work:…

gerontology and geriatrics, scientific and medical disciplines, respectively, that are concerned with all aspects of health and disease in the elderly, and with the normal aging process. Gerontology is the scientific study of the phenomena of aging, by which is meant the progressive changes that

ballad: Theories: …Barry (1880–1937) and the scholar G.H. Gerould (1877–1953), the ballad is conceded to be an individual composition originally. This fact is considered of little importance because the singer is not expressing himself individually, but serving as the deputy of the public voice, and because a ballad does not become a…

Katharine Elizabeth Fullerton Gerould was an American writer, noted for short stories that reveal her elevated sensibilities and fine craftsmanship. Katharine Fullerton was of staunchly New England lineage for many generations on either side. She was schooled privately in Boston and France,

gerousia, in ancient Sparta, council of elders, one of the two chief organs of the Spartan state, the other being the apella (assembly). The functions of both were likely delineated at the time of the reforms of Lycurgus, probably in the 7th century bc. The gerousia prepared business to be

silicone breast implant: The first silicone breast implants: …developed by American plastic surgeons Frank Gerow and Thomas Cronin, who used as source material a supply of silicone donated by the U.S.-based company Dow Corning (a conglomerate of Dow Chemical Company and Corning, Inc.). The original design of the silicone breast implant underwent a series of refinements in the…

A Hero of Our Time, novel by Mikhail Lermontov, published in Russian in 1840 as Geroy nashego vremeni. Its psychologically probing portrait of a disillusioned 19th-century aristocrat and its use of a nonchronological and fragmented narrative structure influenced Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Leo Tolstoy, and

Icelandic literature: Prose: Íslandsklukkan (1943; Iceland’s Bell), and Gerpla (1952; Eng. trans. The Happy Warriors). He helped restore Icelandic as a medium for storytelling.

Steven Gerrard is an English professional football (soccer) player and manager who was considered one of the most-complete footballers in the world in the early 2000s. Gerrard was discovered by his local upper-division football club, Liverpool FC, at age nine. He played for Liverpool’s youth squad

mojarra, any of approximately 40 species of fishes in the family Gerreidae (order Perciformes), found in marine environments in most warm regions of the world. Brackish habitats or fresh water are entered on occasion by some species. Mojarras are silvery fishes with compressed bodies; they are

alligator lizard: …largest alligator lizard is the smooth-headed alligator lizard (G. liocephalus), and its body alone can reach 20 cm (8 inches). Although many alligator lizards are dull brown or gray, some are brightly coloured. Cope’s arboreal alligator lizard (A. aurita), for example, is mottled green with scales on the head and…

lizard: Annotated classification: Family Gerrhosauridae (African plated lizards) Lizards with 2 parietal scales on the head and each nostril enclosed in 3–4 scales. Diurnal lizards that live in a variety of habitats. Some are semiaquatic, some swim through sand, and many live on the ground. They occur in Africa south…

water strider, any insect of the family Gerridae (order Heteroptera), which numbers about 350 species. Water striders, often seen running or skating in groups over the surface of a pond or stream, are slender, dark coloured, and generally more than 5 mm (0.2 inch) long. With their short front legs

water strider: Male and female Gerris gracilicornis demonstrate a phenomenon known as antagonistic coevolution. Females have a shield that covers their genitalia, which protects them against forced copulation and is believed to allow for mate selectivity. To increase mating opportunities, males counterevolved a strategy of vibrational signaling that attracts both…

British Invasion: …the Searchers, the Fourmost, and Gerry and the Pacemakers—plus the quintet Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas—launched “Merseybeat,” so named for the estuary that runs alongside Liverpool. The Beatles first reached the British record charts in late 1962 (shortly after the Tornados’ “Telstar,” an instrumental smash that sent word of…

Elbridge Gerry was a signer of the American Declaration of Independence and the fifth vice president of the United States (1813–14) in the second term of Pres. James Madison. From his name, the term gerrymander was later derived. Gerry was the son of Thomas Gerry, a merchant, and Elizabeth

gerrymandering, in U.S. politics, the practice of drawing the boundaries of electoral districts in a way that gives one political party an unfair advantage over its rivals (political or partisan gerrymandering) or that dilutes the voting power of members of ethnic or linguistic minority groups