• OEEC

    Organisation for European Economic Co-operation (OEEC), organization set up by a convention signed in Paris in April 1948 to coordinate efforts to restore Europe’s economy under the European Recovery Program (Marshall Plan). Among its many functions, the OEEC helped abolish quantitative trade

  • Oegopsida (cephalopod suborder)

    cephalopod: Annotated classification: Suborder Oegopsida Eye open to water, completely surrounded by free eyelid; open-ocean animals living from the surface down to at least 3,000 m. Order Vampyromorpha Purplish-black gelatinous animals with 1 or 2 pairs of paddle-shaped fins at various stages of growth; 8 arms and 2 small…

  • Oegua (Ghana)

    Cape Coast, town in the center of the seaboard of Ghana. It lies on a low promontory jutting into the Gulf of Guinea of the Atlantic Ocean about 75 miles (120 km) southwest of the Ghanaian capital of Accra. In the 15th century the Portuguese established a post on the site, and in the 16th century

  • Oehlenschläger, Adam Gottlob (Danish author)

    Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger was a poet and dramatist who was a leader of the Romantic movement in Denmark and traditionally has been considered the great Danish national poet. Oehlenschläger’s father was organist and then steward at Frederiksberg castle near Copenhagen. In his youth Oehlenschläger

  • oeil-de-boeuf window

    oeil-de-boeuf window, in architecture, a small circular or oval window, usually resembling a wheel, with glazing bars (bars framing the panes of glass) as spokes radiating outward from an empty hub, or circular centre. In French, oeil-de-boeuf means “eye of the steer,” and, in the French chateau of

  • Oeiras, conde de (Portuguese ruler)

    Marquis de Pombal was a Portuguese reformer and virtual ruler of his country from 1750 to 1777. Sebastião was the son of Manuel de Carvalho e Ataíde, a former cavalry captain and former nobleman of the royal house. The elder Carvalho died relatively young, and Sebastião’s mother remarried.

  • Oelrichs, Blanche Marie Louise (American writer and performer)

    Michael Strange was an American writer and performer who produced poetry and plays, acted onstage, and did readings for radio. Oelrichs was of a well-to-do and socially prominent family. She was the reigning debutante of Newport society until her marriage in 1910 to Leonard M. Thomas, a rising

  • Oenanthe (bird)

    wheatear, (genus Oenanthe), any of a group of approximately 20 species of thrushes belonging to the family Muscicapidae. (Some classifications place these birds in family Turdidae.) They resemble wagtails in having pied plumage and the tail-wagging habit (with body bobbing). Wheatears are about 15

  • Oenanthe oenanthe (bird)

    wheatear: The common wheatear (O. oenanthe) breeds also in Alaska, Iceland, Greenland, and northeastern Canada.

  • Oeneus (Greek mythology)

    Oeneus, in Greek legend, king of Calydon in Aetolia, husband of Althaea, and father of Meleager, Deianeira, and Gorge. (In some accounts Ares is the father of Meleager and Dionysus is the father of Deianeira.) Because, according to Homer’s Iliad, Book IX, Oeneus neglected to sacrifice the first

  • Oenghus (Celtic deity)

    Celtic religion: The Celtic gods: Maponos (“Divine Son” or “Divine Youth”) is attested in Gaul but occurs mainly in northern Britain. He appears in medieval Welsh literature as Mabon, son of Modron (that is, of Matrona, “Divine Mother”), and he evidently figured in a myth of the infant god carried…

  • Oengus the Culdee (Irish saint)

    Saint Oengus ; feast day March 11) was a monk who was the author of the Félire, the first known Irish martyrology and calendar. He was associated with a movement that aimed at the reform of Irish monasticism. The reformed monks called themselves Culdees—i.e., Companions of God. What little is known

  • Oengus, Saint (Irish saint)

    Saint Oengus ; feast day March 11) was a monk who was the author of the Félire, the first known Irish martyrology and calendar. He was associated with a movement that aimed at the reform of Irish monasticism. The reformed monks called themselves Culdees—i.e., Companions of God. What little is known

  • Oeno (Greek mythology)

    Anius: Anius’s three daughters, Oeno, Spermo, and Elais—that is, Wine, Grain Seed, and Oil—were granted by Dionysus the gift of bringing these three crops to fruition. In Ovid’s Metamorphoses the Greek army tries to force Anius’s daughters to come to Troy, whereupon Dionysus turns them into doves, the sacred…

  • Oenocarpus (tree genus)

    palm: Economic importance: …Jessenia and the closely related Oenocarpus is reported to have a protein content similar to that of meat. Large-scale production of such genera has been advocated.

  • oenochoe (wine jug)

    oinochoe, wine jug from the classical period of Greek pottery. A graceful vessel with delicately curved handle and trefoil-shaped mouth, the oinochoe was revived during the Renaissance and again during the Neoclassical period of the 18th

  • Oenomaus (Greek mythology)

    Pelops: …of Hippodamia, daughter of King Oenomaus of Pisa in Elis. Oenomaus, who had an incestuous love for his daughter, had previously killed 13 suitors. He challenged Pelops to a chariot chase, with Hippodamia the prize of victory and death the price of defeat. Though Oenomaus’ team and chariot were the…

  • Oenone (Greek mythology)

    Oenone, in Greek mythology, a fountain nymph of Mount Ida, the daughter of the River Cebren, and the beloved of Paris, a son of King Priam of Troy. Oenone and Paris had a son, Corythus, but Paris deserted her for Helen. Bitterly jealous, Oenone refused to aid the wounded Paris during the Trojan

  • Oenopides of Chios (Greek philosopher)

    Earth sciences: The origin of the Nile: Oenopides of Chios (flourished c. 475 bce) thought that heat stored in the ground during the winter dries up the underground veins of water so that the river shrinks. In the summer the heat disappears, and water flows up into the river, causing floods. In…

  • Oenothera (plant)

    evening primrose, any of various species of herbaceous plants of the genus Oenothera, of the family Onagraceae, noted for their showy flowers. The name is especially applied to O. biennis (see photograph), which occurs widely throughout North America and has been introduced into Europe. The true

  • Oenothera biennis (plant)

    evening primrose: …herbaceous plants of the genus Oenothera, of the family Onagraceae, noted for their showy flowers. The name is especially applied to O. biennis (see photograph), which occurs widely throughout North America and has been introduced into Europe. The true primrose belongs to the family Primulaceae.

  • Oenothera drummondii (plant)

    nectar: At least one plant species, Oenothera drummondii, can increase the sugar content of its nectar within three minutes of the flower being vibrated by buzzing bees.

  • Oenothera lamarckiana (plant)

    Hugo de Vries: …of the evening primrose (Oenothera lamarckiana) that differed markedly from the cultivated species. This suggested to de Vries that evolution might be studied by a new, experimental method rather than by the old method of observation and inference. He discovered in his cultivation of the evening primrose new forms…

  • Oensingen (Switzerland)

    geochronology: Accumulational processes: …microfossils found in shales at Oensingen, Switz. In the thick oil shales of Wyoming and Colorado in the United States, the flora is not so well defined, but layers alternating in organic richness seem to communicate the same seasonal cycle. These so-called Green River Shales also contain abundant freshwater-fish fossils…

  • OEP Imaging Corporation (American company)

    Polaroid Corporation, American manufacturer of cameras, film, and optical equipment founded by Edwin Herbert Land (1909–91), who invented instant photography. The company originated in 1932 as the Land-Wheelwright Laboratories, which Land founded with George Wheelwright to produce Land’s first

  • oersted (measurement)

    oersted, unit of magnetic-field strength in the centimetre-gram-second system of physical units. Named for the 19th-century Danish physicist Hans Christian Ørsted, it is defined as the intensity of a magnetic field in a vacuum in which a unit magnetic pole (one that repels a similar pole at a

  • Oersted, Hans Christian (Danish physicist and chemist)

    Hans Christian Ørsted was a Danish physicist and chemist who discovered that electric current in a wire can deflect a magnetized compass needle, a phenomenon the importance of which was rapidly recognized and which inspired the development of electromagnetic theory. In 1806 Ørsted became a

  • Oerter, Al (American athlete)

    Al Oerter was an American discus thrower, who won four consecutive Olympic gold medals (1956, 1960, 1964, and 1968), setting an Olympic record each time. During his career he set new world records four times (1962–64). He was the first to throw the discus more than 200 feet with his first world

  • Oerter, Alfred, Jr. (American athlete)

    Al Oerter was an American discus thrower, who won four consecutive Olympic gold medals (1956, 1960, 1964, and 1968), setting an Olympic record each time. During his career he set new world records four times (1962–64). He was the first to throw the discus more than 200 feet with his first world

  • OES (breed of dog)

    Old English Sheepdog (OES), shaggy and smart herding dog developed in west England in the 18th century from dogs of Scottish and Russian ancestry. The breed was used as a “drover,” driving sheep and cattle from pasture to market. In earlier times shepherds would shear the dog annually, using the

  • Oeschger, Hans (Swiss geophysicist)

    Dansgaard-Oeschger event: …core research) and Swiss geophysicist Hans Oeschger (a pioneer in research into the greenhouse effect and greenhouse gases).

  • Oescus (river, Bulgaria)

    Iskŭr River, longest (after the Danube) river in Bulgaria, formed south of Samokov in the Rila Mountains by its headstreams, the Beli (White) Iskŭr and Cherni (Black) Iskŭr. It cuts a 40-mile (65-km) gorge through the Balkan Mountains to bring the high basin of Sofia (1,800 feet [550 metres]) into

  • Oeser, Adam Friedrich (painter, sculptor, and engraver)

    Adam Friedrich Oeser was a painter, sculptor, and engraver who opposed Mannerism in art and was later one of the leading proponents of Neoclassicism in Germany. He allied himself with the Neoclassical archaeologist and art historian Johann Winckelmann in advocating art reform through the study of

  • Oesling (region, Luxembourg)

    Luxembourg: Relief and soils: …of Luxembourg, known as the Oesling (Ösling), comprises a corner of the Ardennes Mountains, which lie mainly in southern Belgium. It is a plateau that averages 1,500 feet (450 metres) in elevation and is composed of schists and sandstones. This forested highland region is incised by the deep valleys of…

  • oesophageal voice (physiology)

    pseudolaryngeal speech, mechanical or esophageal speech that is taught by therapists to persons who have had the larynx, or voice box, surgically removed (laryngectomy). The operation is necessary when cancer (neoplasm) tumours are present on or near the larynx. After surgery, patients learn to

  • oesophagus (anatomy)

    esophagus, relatively straight muscular tube through which food passes from the pharynx to the stomach. The esophagus can contract or expand to allow for the passage of food. Anatomically, it lies behind the trachea and heart and in front of the spinal column; it passes through the muscular

  • Oesterdam (dam, Netherlands)

    Eastern Schelde: Secondary dams include the Oesterdam in the eastern part of the Eastern Schelde and the Philipsdam in the Volkerak Channel north of Sint Philipsland peninsula. The Oesterdam forms freshwater Lake Zoom and is connected by the Eendracht (Schelde-Rhine Canal) north to the freshwater Volkerak Channel. The dams accommodate road…

  • Oesterheld, Héctor (Argentine journalist and writer)

    comic strip: Comics in Latin America: …the Argentine journalist and writer Héctor Oesterheld, who provided the stories for a number of artists, including Alberto Breccia and his son Enrique. The government destroyed all copies it could find of Oesterheld’s Che (1968), a tragic life of Che Guevara, and in the mid-1970s Oesterheld became one of the…

  • oestral cycle (physiology)

    dog: Reproductive cycle: The heat cycle of the female lasts from 18 to 21 days. The first stage is called proestrus. It begins with mild swelling of the vulva and a bloody discharge. This lasts for about 9 days, although it may vary by 2 or…

  • Oestridae (insect)

    bot fly, (family Oestridae), any member of a family of insects in the fly order, Diptera, in which the adults are beelike in appearance and hairy but without bristles. The larvae are parasitic on mammals. Horse bot flies (subfamily Gasterophilinae) include species of Gasterophilus, a serious horse

  • oestrogen (hormone)

    estrogen, any of a group of hormones that primarily influence the female reproductive tract in its development, maturation, and function. There are three major hormones—estradiol, estrone, and estriol—among the estrogens, and estradiol is the predominant one. The major sources of estrogens are the

  • oestrous cycle (physiology)

    dog: Reproductive cycle: The heat cycle of the female lasts from 18 to 21 days. The first stage is called proestrus. It begins with mild swelling of the vulva and a bloody discharge. This lasts for about 9 days, although it may vary by 2 or…

  • oestrus (reproductive cycle)

    estrus, the period in the sexual cycle of female mammals, except the higher primates, during which they are in heat—i.e., ready to accept a male and to mate. One or more periods of estrus may occur during the breeding season of a species. Prior to ovulation the endometrium (uterine lining)

  • Oestrus ovis (insect)

    bot fly: …bot flies (Cephenemyia) and the sheep bot fly (Oestrus ovis). Active larvae, deposited in the nostrils of sheep, often cause a nervous condition called blind staggers. Members of Oestrinae are noted for their swift flying; they are capable of moving at 20–30 km (about 12–19 miles) per hour.

  • Oeta (mountain, Greece)

    Central Greece: …a more easterly trend: the Oeta (Oíti), which reaches 7,060 feet (2,152 m); the Gióna, 8,235 feet (2,510 m); and the Parnassus (Parnassós), 8,061 feet (2,457 m). Outliers of the Parnassus are the Helicon (Elikónas), Kithairón, Párnis, and Imittós (Hymettus), the last a great ridge east of the most populous…

  • Oetinger, Friedrich Christoph (German theologian)

    Christianity: Eschatological expectations and secularization: …German Lutheran mystic and Pietist F.C. Oetinger, the end-time expectation generated definite social and political demands—e.g., dissolution of the state, abolition of property, and elimination of class differences. Some of the aspects of the end-time expectation of Pietism were revived in the French Revolution’s political and social programs. The transition…

  • Oettinger, Louella (American newspaper writer)

    Louella Parsons was an American newspaper writer, the first—and, for many years, most powerful—movie columnist in the United States. Parsons obtained her first newspaper job—drama editor for the Dixon (Illinois) Morning Star—while still in high school. In 1912 she had her first contact with the

  • Oeuf à la coque, L’  (work by Petit)

    Roland Petit: …gems her associates steal; and L’Oeuf à la coque (1949; “The Soft-Boiled Egg”), in which the leading female dancer hatches from an egg in hell. Carmen (1949) was one of Petit’s most popular ballets; the choreography was passionate and erotic, and Jeanmaire became famous for her interpretation of the title…

  • Oeuvre au noir, L’  (work by Yourcenar)

    Marguerite Yourcenar: …is L’Oeuvre au noir (1968; The Abyss), an imaginary biography of a 16th-century alchemist and scholar. Among Yourcenar’s other works are the short stories collected in Nouvelles orientales (1938; Oriental Tales), the prose poem Feux (1936; Fires), and the short novel Le Coup de grâce (1939; Eng. trans. Coup de…

  • Oeuvre, L’  (work by Zola)

    Émile Zola: Life: …of his novel L’Oeuvre (1886; The Masterpiece), which depicts the life of an innovative painter who, unable to realize his creative potential, ends up hanging himself in front of his final painting. Cézanne, in particular, chose to see the novel as a thinly disguised commentary on his own temperament and…

  • Oeuvre, Théâtre de l’ (theater, Paris, France)

    Théâtre de l’Oeuvre, French Symbolist theatre founded in Paris in 1893 by Aurélien Lugné-Poë and directed by him until 1929. An actor and stage manager with André Antoine’s Théâtre Libre, Lugné-Poë was introduced to Symbolist theatre at Paul Fort’s Théâtre d’Art in the 1890s. When Fort retired from

  • Oeuvres de Henri Poincaré (work by Poincaré)

    Henri Poincaré: …the 11 volumes of his Oeuvres de Henri Poincaré (1916–54). In 1992 the Archives–Centre d’Études et de Recherche Henri-Poincaré founded at the University of Nancy 2 began to edit Poincaré’s scientific correspondence, signaling a resurgence of interest in him.

  • Of a Fire on the Moon (work by Mailer)

    Norman Mailer: …and the Moon exploration in Of a Fire on the Moon (1970).

  • Of Age and Innocence (novel by Lamming)

    George Lamming: …in post-World War II England; Of Age and Innocence (1958), a microcosmic look at the problems of political independence; and Season of Adventure (1960), in which a West Indian woman discovers her African heritage. The Pleasures of Exile (1960) is a collection of essays that examines Caribbean politics, race, and…

  • Of Being (work by Edwards)

    Jonathan Edwards: Early life and ministry: In the essay “Of Being,” he argued from the inconceivability of absolute Nothing to the existence of God as the eternal omnipresent Being. It was also inconceivable to him that anything should exist (even universal Being) apart from consciousness; hence, material things exist only as ideas in perceiving…

  • Of Dramatic Poesie, an Essay (work by Dryden)

    John Dryden: Writing for the stage: In 1668 Dryden published Of Dramatick Poesie, an Essay, a leisurely discussion between four contemporary writers of whom Dryden (as Neander) is one. This work is a defense of English drama against the champions of both ancient Classical drama and the Neoclassical French theatre; it is also an attempt…

  • Of Dramatick Poesie, an Essay (work by Dryden)

    John Dryden: Writing for the stage: In 1668 Dryden published Of Dramatick Poesie, an Essay, a leisurely discussion between four contemporary writers of whom Dryden (as Neander) is one. This work is a defense of English drama against the champions of both ancient Classical drama and the Neoclassical French theatre; it is also an attempt…

  • Of Education (work by Milton)

    John Milton: Tracts on education and free expression: …of Divorce appeared, Milton published Of Education (1644). In line with the ideal of the Renaissance gentleman, Milton outlines a curriculum emphasizing the Greek and Latin languages not merely in and of themselves but as the means to learn directly the wisdom of Classical antiquity in literature, philosophy, and politics.…

  • Of Fear and Freedom (work by Levi)

    Carlo Levi: His Paura della libertà (1946; Of Fear and Freedom) proclaims the necessity of intellectual freedom despite an inherent human dread of it. L’orologio (1950; The Watch) deals with a postwar cabinet crisis in Rome; Le parole sono pietre (1955; Words Are Stones) is a study of Sicily; and La doppia…

  • Of Human Bondage (film by Goulding [1946])

    Edmund Goulding: The 1940s: Somerset Maugham’s Of Human Bondage. Although the drama paled in comparison with the acclaimed 1934 version, it was generally considered an entertaining production.

  • Of Human Bondage (novel by Maugham)

    Of Human Bondage, semiautobiographical novel by W. Somerset Maugham, published in 1915 and considered his masterwork. It is a perceptive depiction of the emotional isolation of a young man and his eventual insight into life. Born with a club foot, Philip Carey is acutely sensitive about his

  • Of Human Bondage (film by Cromwell [1934])

    John Cromwell: Early career: However, Of Human Bondage, a gritty adaptation of the W. Somerset Maugham novel, was a revelation. The acclaimed drama was especially notable for a breakthrough performance by Bette Davis. Cromwell closed out 1934 with The Fountain, a romantic drama featuring Harding.

  • Of Human Freedom (work by Schelling)

    Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph von Schelling: Period of intense productivity: …das Wesener menschlichen Freiheit (1809; Of Human Freedom), Schelling declared that human freedom is a real freedom only if it is freedom for good and evil. The possibility of this freedom is founded on two principles that are active in every living thing: one a dark primal foundation that manifests…

  • Of Human Hearts (film by Brown [1938])

    Clarence Brown: The 1930s: …Brown directed the critically acclaimed Of Human Hearts, a poignant drama starring Walter Huston as a rural preacher who can reach his flock but not his rebellious son (James Stewart); John Carradine appeared in a cameo as Abraham Lincoln. Idiot’s Delight (1939) was the much-anticipated—but much-censored—adaptation of

  • Of Insects (work by Edwards)

    Jonathan Edwards: Early life and ministry: …analysis (especially displayed in “Of Insects”), the fascination that the English scientist Isaac Newton’s optical theories held for him (“Of the Rainbow”), and his ambition to publish scientific and philosophical works in confutation of materialism and atheism (“Natural Philosophy”). Throughout his life he habitually studied with pen in hand,…

  • Of Judicature (work by Bacon)

    administrative law: Origins: Francis Bacon, in his essay Of Judicature (written in 1612), put forth the royalist point of view when he declared that the judges should be “lions, but yet lions under the throne.” “It is a happy thing in a state,” he wrote, “when kings and states do often consult with…

  • Of Love and Evil: The Songs of the Seraphim, a Novel (work by Rice)

    Anne Rice: Religious works and later books: …novels Angel Time (2009) and Of Love and Evil: The Songs of the Seraphim (2010) were thrillers about angels. Rice left New Orleans for California in 2005. In 2010 she publicly disavowed Christianity but reiterated her faith in Christ. Rice was active on social media and often engaged her fans…

  • Of Love and Shadows (novel by Allende)

    Isabel Allende: …amor y de sombra (1984; Of Love and Shadows; film 1994), Eva Luna (1987), and El plan infinito (1991; The Infinite Plan) and the collection of stories Cuentos de Eva Luna (1990; The Stories of Eva Luna). All are examples of magic realism, in which realistic fiction is

  • Of Love and Shadows (film by Kaplan [1994])

    Isabel Allende: … (1984; Of Love and Shadows; film 1994), Eva Luna (1987), and El plan infinito (1991; The Infinite Plan) and the collection of stories Cuentos de Eva Luna (1990; The Stories of Eva Luna). All are examples of magic realism, in which realistic fiction is overlaid with elements of fantasy

  • Of Many Things (work by Kahn)

    Otto Hermann Kahn: …of American Imperialism (1925?), and Of Many Things (1926), a collection of his speeches and writings on finance and politics.

  • Of Me and Others (work by Gray)

    Alasdair Gray: Of Me and Others (2014) was a compilation of autobiographical writings.

  • Of Mice and Men (novella by Steinbeck)

    Of Mice and Men, novella by John Steinbeck, published in 1937. The tragic story, given poignancy by its objective narrative, is about the complex bond between two migrant labourers. The book was adapted by Steinbeck into a three-act play (produced 1937). It was adapted for television three times,

  • Of Mice and Men (film by Milestone [1939])

    Lewis Milestone: Films of the 1930s: In 1939 Milestone made Of Mice and Men, a powerful adaptation of the John Steinbeck novel, with Lon Chaney, Jr., and Burgess Meredith; it was nominated for an Academy Award as best picture.

  • Of Molecules and Men (book by Crick)

    Francis Crick: His book Of Molecules and Men (1966) discusses the implications of the revolution in molecular biology. What Mad Pursuit: A Personal View of Scientific Discovery was published in 1988. In 1991 Crick received the Order of Merit.

  • Of Old and New Russia (memoir by Karamzin)

    Mikhail Mikhaylovich, Count Speransky: Secretary to the Emperor.: …him in his well-known memoir, Of Old and New Russia.

  • Of Rats and Diplomats (novel by Ali)

    Ahmed Ali: Like Ocean of Night, Of Rats and Diplomats (1984) was written decades before its publication. It is a satiric novel about a diplomat whose ratlike tail is the physical manifestation of his moral dissolution. Ali’s other notable works include Purple Gold Mountain (1960), a volume of verse, and The…

  • Of Reformation Touching Church Discipline in England (work by Milton)

    John Milton: Antiprelatical tracts: One of these tracts, Of Reformation, examines the historical changes in the Church of England since its inception under King Henry VIII and criticizes the continuing resemblances between the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church, especially the hierarchy in ecclesiastical government. In this tract and others, Milton…

  • Of the Day Estival (work by Hume)

    Alexander Hume: …chiefly for the evocatively descriptive “Of the Day Estival.” “Epistle to Maister Gilbert Mont-Crief” is an interesting early example of autobiography.

  • Of the Law of Nature and Nations (work by Pufendorf)

    Samuel, baron von Pufendorf: Career in Sweden: …he published his great work, Of the Law of Nature and Nations. The following year he published an excerpt from it, titled The Whole Duty of Man According to the Law of Nature, in which Pufendorf departed from the traditional approach of the medieval theologians to natural law and based…

  • Of the Lawes of Ecclesiasticall Politie (work by Hooker)

    Richard Hooker: His major work: …where he wrote his masterpiece, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiasticall Politie. The Politie was the final chapter of the so-called admonition controversy: in June 1572 the London clerics John Field and Thomas Wilcox had issued from a secret press An Admonition to Parliament, which demanded that Queen Elizabeth I restore…

  • Of the Nature and Qualification of Religion in Reference to Civil Society (work by Pufendorf)

    Samuel, baron von Pufendorf: Career in Sweden: In 1687 he published Of the Nature and Qualification of Religion in Reference to Civil Society, which set forth the civil superiority of the state over the church but also defended the church’s power in ecclesiastical matters as well as the freedom of conscience of the individual. His approach…

  • Of the Nature of Virtue (work by Butler)

    Joseph Butler: His Of the Nature of Virtue, appended to the Analogy, presented a refutation of hedonism, particularly as postulated by Bernard de Mandeville, and of the notion that self-interest is the ultimate principle of good conduct; for this work Butler has been considered by some critics to…

  • Of the Rainbow (work by Edwards)

    Jonathan Edwards: Early life and ministry: …theories held for him (“Of the Rainbow”), and his ambition to publish scientific and philosophical works in confutation of materialism and atheism (“Natural Philosophy”). Throughout his life he habitually studied with pen in hand, recording his thoughts in numerous hand-sewn notebooks; one of these, his “Catalogue” of books, demonstrates…

  • Of the Sepulchres (work by Foscolo)

    Ugo Foscolo: …his literary reputation with “Dei sepolcri” (Eng. trans., “Of the Sepulchres,” c. 1820), a patriotic poem in blank verse, written as a protest against Napoleon’s decree forbidding tomb inscriptions. In 1808 the poem won for its author the chair of Italian rhetoric at the University of Pavia. When the…

  • Of the Standard of Taste (work by Hume)

    aesthetics: Major concerns of 18th-century aesthetics: …an important essay entitled “Of the Standard of Taste” (in Four Dissertations, 1757), Hume, following Voltaire in the Encyclopédie, raised the question of the basis of aesthetic judgment and argued that “it is natural for us to seek a standard of taste; a rule by which the various sentiments…

  • Of the Vocation of Our Age for Legislation and Jurisprudence (work by Savigny)

    Friedrich Karl von Savigny: Legal philosophy: …Gesetzgebung und Rechtswissenschaft” (1814; “Of the Vocation of Our Age for Legislation and Jurisprudence”), that started juristic thought along a new path. To Savigny, a hasty legal codification was something to be avoided, since the one essential prerequisite for such a codification was a deep and far-reaching appreciation of…

  • Of Time and the River (novel by Wolfe)

    Of Time and the River, novel by Thomas Wolfe, begun in 1931 and, after extensive editing by Wolfe and editor Maxwell Perkins, published in 1935 as a sequel to Look Homeward, Angel (1929). The book chronicles the maturing of Eugene Gant as he leaves his Southern home for the wider world of Harvard

  • Of Time and the River: A Legend of Man’s Hunger in His Youth (novel by Wolfe)

    Of Time and the River, novel by Thomas Wolfe, begun in 1931 and, after extensive editing by Wolfe and editor Maxwell Perkins, published in 1935 as a sequel to Look Homeward, Angel (1929). The book chronicles the maturing of Eugene Gant as he leaves his Southern home for the wider world of Harvard

  • Of Wolves and Men (work by Lopez)

    Barry Lopez: …volume with the critically acclaimed Of Wolves and Men, which includes scientific information, folklore, and essays on the wolf’s role in human culture.

  • Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution (work by Rich)

    Adrienne Rich: Works of criticism: Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution (1976) combines scholarly research with personal reflections on being a mother, while On Lies, Secrets, and Silence (1979) traces history through musings on Rich’s own various incarnations. In Blood, Bread, and Poetry (1986), What Is Found There:…

  • Ofcom (British government agency)

    United Kingdom: Broadcasting: …ITA’s successor today is the Office of Communications (Ofcom). Created by the Communications Act of 2003, Ofcom is responsible for regulating all commercial radio and television services, including satellite and cable, as well as all wired, wireless, and broadband telecommunications. Commercial television broadcasters include Channel Four and the ITV network.…

  • Ofen, Treaty of (Austrian history)

    Austria: Contest for the Babenberg heritage: Under the Treaty of Ofen (1254) Otakar was to rule Austria, while King Béla IV of Hungary received Steiermark. Troubles in Salzburg, stemming from a conflict between Bohemia and Hungary, inspired a rising among Steiermark’s nobles. Otakar intervened and in the Treaty of Vienna (1260) took over…

  • Ofenrohr (weapon)

    Panzerschreck, shoulder-type rocket launcher used as an antitank weapon by Germany in World War II. The Panzerschreck consisted of a lightweight steel tube about 1.5 metres (5 feet) long that weighed about 9 kg (20 pounds). The tube was open at both ends and was fitted with a hand grip, a trigger

  • off road racing (motor sports)

    offroad racing, form of motor racing conducted over rough, unmarked, often desert terrain. An outgrowth of the post-World War II popularity of motorcycle trail racing, offroad racing involves contestants racing from checkpoint to checkpoint along improvised routes. Numerous offroad race circuits

  • off side (cricket)

    cricket: Strategy and technique: …as being divided lengthwise into off and on, or leg, sides in relation to the batsmen’s stance, depending upon whether he bats right- or left-handed; the off side is the side facing the batsman, and the on, or leg, side is the side behind him as he stands to receive…

  • Off the Rack (American television series)

    Ed Asner: …two television series, the sitcom Off the Rack (1984–85) and the prime-time drama The Bronx Zoo (1987–88). He performed many times in the 1990s, notably as a retired race car driver in the TV series Thunder Alley (1994–95). He also voiced several animated characters during the ’90s, in shows such…

  • Off the Wall (album by Jackson)

    Michael Jackson: The Wiz and Off the Wall: …first solo effort for Epic, Off the Wall (1979), exceeded all expectations and was the best-selling album of the year (it eventually sold more than 20 million copies). Produced by industry veteran Quincy Jones, Off the Wall yielded the massive international hit singles “Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough” and…

  • off-board market (trading)

    over-the-counter market, trading in stocks and bonds that does not take place on stock exchanges. It is most significant in the United States, where requirements for listing stocks on the exchanges are quite strict. It is often called the “off-board market” and sometimes the “unlisted market,”

  • Off-Broadway (American theater)

    Off-Broadway, in the theatre of the United States, small professional productions that have served since the mid-20th century as New York City’s alternative to the commercially oriented theatres of Broadway. Off-Broadway plays, usually produced on low budgets in small theatres, have tended to be

  • Off-Off-Broadway (American theater)

    American literature: The Off-Broadway ascendancy: …from Broadway to Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway with works such as Jack Gelber’s The Connection (1959). American playwrights, collaborating with the Living Theatre, the Open Theatre, and other adventurous new companies, were increasingly free to write radical and innovative plays. David Rabe’s The Basic Training of Pavlo