William George Fargo: Butterfield’s Overland Mail Company was a success from its beginning in September 1858, but Wells Fargo and American Express fought for control of its board. Butterfield lost. As Wells recalled about Butterfield and his actions at a directors’ meeting in 1860, “All of the profanity that…

history of publishing: Literary and scientific magazines: …in the Far West was Overland Monthly (San Francisco, 1868–1935), first edited by Bret Harte. Non-literary specialized magazines included Scientific American, which was founded in 1845 by Rufus Porter, a talented inventor whose magazine encouraged other inventors; Popular Science Monthly, which was founded in 1872, to spread scientific knowledge and…

Overland Park, city, Johnson county, northeastern Kansas, U.S. Located on a low ridge that affords a broad view of the Missouri River valley, it is a southern suburb of Kansas City, near the Missouri border. Settled in 1906, it lies on the old Santa Fe Trail and was laid out as a stop on an

Arnulf Øverland was a Norwegian poet, painter, and socialist whose poems helped inspire the Norwegian resistance movement during the German occupation in World War II. The early death of Øverland’s father, an engineer, left the family in economic straits, but his mother managed to support Øverland

chemical bonding: Valence bond theory: …another (the technical term is overlap), and the electrons they contain pair up (so that their spins are ↓↑). The merging of orbitals gives rise to constructive interference—i.e., an enhancement of amplitude—between the wave functions in the areas where they overlap, and hence an enhanced amplitude results in the internuclear…

logic puzzle: Overlapping groups: The following problem is typical of the overlapping-groups category. Among the members of a high-school language club, 21 were studying French; 20, German; 26, Spanish; 12, both French and Spanish; 10, both French and German; nine, both Spanish and German; and three, French,…

industrial glass: Polishing and glazing: Strengthening by overlay glazing is carried out by firing onto the glass product a thin layer of another glass that has lower thermal expansion properties than the substrate.

overload, in political science, proposed concept claiming that liberal democracy has become ungovernable. The overload concept became popular in the 1970s, following the publication in the United Kingdom and the United States of reports on the governability of democracies. The concept offered a

exercise: Overload: Overload, the second important principle, means that to improve any aspect of physical fitness the individual must continually increase the demands placed on the appropriate body systems. For example, to develop strength, progressively heavier objects must be lifted. Overload in running programs is achieved…

ancient Iran: The Elamites: …government was that of an overlord ruling over vassal princes. In earliest times the overlord lived in Susa, which functioned as a federal capital. With him ruled his brother closest in age, the viceroy, who usually had his seat of government in the native city of the currently ruling dynasty.…

Jorie Graham: Overlord (2005) is a more-accessible collection that deals with political, social, and environmental matters, often through allusions to World War II. Sea Change (2008) furthers those themes with poems warning of the dangers of global warming and environmental irresponsibility, among other issues. In 2012 Graham…

Normandy Invasion, during World War II, the Allied invasion of western Europe, which was launched on June 6, 1944 (the most celebrated D-Day of the war), with the simultaneous landing of U.S., British, and Canadian forces on five separate beachheads in Normandy, France. By the end of August 1944

Ajax: Frank Rijkaard, Dennis Bergkamp, and Marc Overmars in the 1990s and, later, Ryan Babel, Wesley Sneijder, and Rafael van der Vaart.

Blue Ridge Parkway: The contemporary parkway: In addition, the Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail—which traces the route taken by colonial soldiers in 1780 to defeat the British at the Battle of Kings Mountain—crosses the highway in North Carolina east of Spruce Pine. Mabry Mill, a restored early-20th-century gristmill at Rocky Knob, and the Blue…

Pinto: Pintos have colour patterns called overo (white spreading irregularly up from the belly, mixed with a darker colour) and tobiano (white spreading down from the back in smooth, clean-cut patterns).

bridge: Beam bridges: …the case of a typical overpass beam bridge with one support in the middle, construction begins with the casting of concrete footings for the pier and abutments. Where the soil is especially weak, wooden or steel piles are driven to support the footings. After the concrete piers and abutments have…

overpopulation, Situation in which the number of individuals of a given species exceeds the number that its environment can sustain. Possible consequences are environmental deterioration, impaired quality of life, and a population crash (sudden reduction in numbers caused by high mortality and

chemical industry: Commercial preparation: This so-called overpotential is so great, in fact, that the electrode voltage can be raised to that needed for the reduction of sodium ions without affecting the water molecules.

nuclear weapon: Blast: The “overpressure,” or crushing pressure, at the front of the shock wave can be measured in pascals (or kilopascals; kPa) or in pounds per square inch (psi). The greater the overpressure, the more likely that a given structure will be damaged by the sudden impact of…

human endocrine system: Endocrine hyperfunction: Endocrine glands that produce increased amounts of hormone are considered hyperfunctional and may undergo hypertrophy (increase in the size of each cell) and hyperplasia (increase in the number of cells). The hyperfunction may be primary, caused by some abnormality within the gland itself, or…

dairy product: Composition of frozen desserts: …inclusion of air (known as overrun), but the increase in volume is limited to 100 percent by the requirement that the finished product weigh at least 4.5 pounds per gallon. Total food solids must weigh 1.6 pounds per gallon, thus limiting the water content. Regulations also require all ingredients to…

clutch: An overrunning clutch transmits torque in one direction only and permits the driven shaft of a machine to freewheel, or keep on rotating when the driver is stopped. On bicycles, such clutches permit the rider to coast without moving the pedals.

felsic and mafic rocks: …of minerals and rocks as oversaturated, saturated, or undersaturated with respect to silica. Felsic rocks are commonly oversaturated and contain free quartz (SiO2), intermediate rocks contain little or no quartz or feldspathoids (undersaturated minerals), and mafic rocks may contain abundant feldspathoids. This broad grouping on the basis of mineralogy related…

Ordnance Survey International: …incorporated into the newly constituted Overseas Development Administration. The agency was subsumed by Ordnance Survey in 1984 and was renamed the Overseas Surveys Directorate. It became Ordnance Survey International in 1991 following the completion of its scheduled surveys. The agency then consulted for other countries before disbanding in 2001. Its…

Florida Keys: The Overseas Highway, running from the mainland to Key West, connects all of the main islands and is one of the longest overwater roads in the world, with 42 bridges, including one 7-mile (11-km) span. Completed in 1938, the highway was built over the route of…

history of Latin America: Export economies: Investments from Europe provided much of the financial support for infrastructural improvements. British and other foreign firms constructed railways, streetcar systems, and electric networks, often getting guarantees of profits on their investments and other favourable concessions from local authorities. At the same time, some ominous…

Christianity: Orthodox and nondenominational missions: …(1865; after 1965 called the Overseas Missionary Fellowship) as the great prototype. Missions such as these often sought to work in areas unoccupied by other missionaries, guaranteed no salaries, and left financial support in God’s hands, but most bodies made their financial needs known to a wide constituency. Their chief…

fair trade: History: It was renamed Ten Thousand Villages in 1996.

Ordnance Survey International, former surveying, mapping, and aerial photography agency (1946–2001) of the British government, which provided advice on technical matters concerning all aspects of surveying and mapping. The maps created by the agency were produced using aerial photography and

Ordnance Survey International, former surveying, mapping, and aerial photography agency (1946–2001) of the British government, which provided advice on technical matters concerning all aspects of surveying and mapping. The maps created by the agency were produced using aerial photography and

international trade, economic transactions that are made between countries. Among the items commonly traded are consumer goods, such as television sets and clothing; capital goods, such as machinery; and raw materials and food. Other transactions involve services, such as travel services and

Council of India, supervisory body established in 1604 by Philip III of Spain, who also ruled Portugal. It oversaw Portuguese colonial affairs along the lines of the Spanish Council of the Indies. After the reestablishment of Portuguese independence from Spain in 1640, the Council of India was

weather modification: Hail suppression: Such a procedure, called overseeding, is not considered practical because of the large quantities of material needed to seed the clouds over an area great enough to have an appreciable effect.

mining: Horizontal openings: drifts: …vein deposits, tracked or rubber-tired overshot loaders are often employed. After the bucket of this machine is filled by being forced into the pile, it is lifted and rotated backward so that it dumps into a built-in dump box or attached railcar. Overshot loaders are commonly powered by compressed air.

waterwheel: …breast wheel; and third, the overshot wheel. These waterwheels generally used the energy of moving streams, but tidal mills also appeared in the 11th century.

What’s the difference between a company’s chief executive officer (CEO) and its president? And what about the board of directors and its leader, the chairman (or chairperson, or simply “chair”)? Who’s in charge? Fantastic question. Corporate titles like these are common—exceedingly common—but not

Overijssel, provincie (province), northeastern Netherlands. It extends northward “beyond the IJssel” (a distributary of the Rhine) from the provinces of Gelderland to Drenthe and Friesland and lies between Germany (east) and Flevoland province (west). The province is drained by the IJssel, Vecht,

Harry Allen Overstreet was an American social psychologist and a staunch advocate of an informed citizenry. He dedicated much of his career to educating adults on social, psychological, and political subjects through lectures and books. Overstreet received degrees from the University of California,

keyboard instrument: Overstringing: The strings in early pianos, like those in harpsichords or clavichords, ran parallel to one another, causing the grand pianos of the 18th and early 19th centuries to retain much of the graceful shape of the harpsichord. In the 1830s it was realized that…

diabetic nephropathy: Stage four is known as overt albuminuria and is characterized by elevated urinary excretion of albumin (greater than 300 mg/ml, or more than 10 times normal), decreased glomerular filtration, and, in many patients, hypertension. Stage five, ESRD, ensues when the glomerular filtration rate drops below 15 ml per minute (the…

idolatry: Gross, or overt, idolatry consists of explicit acts of reverence addressed to a person or an object—the sun, the king, an animal, a statue. This may exist alongside the acknowledgment of a supreme being; e.g., Israel worshiped the golden calf at the foot of Mount Sinai, where…

fault: …large total displacement are called overthrusts or detachments; these are often found in intensely deformed mountain belts. Large thrust faults are characteristic of compressive tectonic plate boundaries, such as those that have created the Himalayas and the subduction zones along the west coast of South America.

ice hockey: Rules and principles of play: …unless the rules stipulate an overtime period to serve as a tiebreaker. In the case of a tie in college hockey, one 10-minute sudden-death overtime period is played in regular season play. NHL teams play a five-minute sudden-death overtime period, followed by a shoot-out if the game remains tied. During…

The Rise of Andrew Jackson: Marriage and Scandal: One was fellow lawyer John Overton who, like Jackson, had recently migrated to Nashville and had also become a protégé of William Blount. Overton was a native Virginian and, unlike Jackson, carried an aura of background and breeding marked by calm deliberation and tempered manners. Despite their differences, they…

Richard Overton was an English pamphleteer and a Leveler leader during the English Civil Wars and Commonwealth. The details of Overton’s early life are obscure, though he probably lived in Holland and studied at Queens’ College, Cambridge, before becoming a professional actor and playwright in

overtone, in acoustics, tone sounding above the fundamental tone when a string or air column vibrates as a whole, producing the fundamental, or first harmonic. If it vibrates in sections, it produces overtones, or harmonics. The listener normally hears the fundamental pitch clearly; with

sound: Overtones: …equation (25), known as the overtone series, plays an important part in the analysis of musical instruments and musical tone quality. If the fundamental frequency is the note G2 at the bottom of the bass clef, the first 10 frequencies in the series will correspond closely to the notes shown…

throat-singing, a range of singing styles in which a single vocalist sounds more than one pitch simultaneously by reinforcing certain harmonics (overtones and undertones) of the fundamental pitch. In some styles, harmonic melodies are sounded above a fundamental vocal drone. Originally called

overture, musical composition, usually the orchestral introduction to a musical work (often dramatic), but also an independent instrumental work. Early operas opened with a sung prologue or a short instrumental flourish, such as the trumpet “Toccata” that opens Claudio Monteverdi’s Orfeo (1607).

The Hebrides, Op. 26, concert overture (resembling an operatic overture, though intended for concert performance rather than as a prelude to a theatrical work) by German composer Felix Mendelssohn, a tempestuous one-movement work in sonata form, inspired by the composer’s visit to the Hebrides

The Hebrides, Op. 26, concert overture (resembling an operatic overture, though intended for concert performance rather than as a prelude to a theatrical work) by German composer Felix Mendelssohn, a tempestuous one-movement work in sonata form, inspired by the composer’s visit to the Hebrides

estuary: …a special kind of water circulation that traps plant nutrients and stimulates primary production. Fresh water, being lighter than salt water, tends to form a distinct layer that floats at the surface of the estuary. At the boundary between fresh and salt water, there is a certain amount of mixing…

fold: An overturned fold, or overfold, has the axial plane inclined to such an extent that the strata on one limb are overturned. A recumbent fold has an essentially horizontal axial plane. When the two limbs of a fold are essentially parallel to each other and thus…

Bush v. Gore: Background: …process), as well as “overvotes” (ballots that recorded multiple votes for the same office) and “undervotes” (ballots that recorded no vote for a given office). Also at issue was the so-called butterfly ballot design used in Palm Beach county, which caused confusion among some residents who had intended to…

Adolf Overweg was a German geologist, astronomer, and traveler who was the first European to circumnavigate and map Lake Chad. Overweg was also a member of a pioneering mission to open the Central African interior to regular trade routes from the north coast of the continent. In 1849 Overweg joined

overweight, Body weight greater than the optimum. If moderate, it is not necessarily obesity, particularly in muscular or large-boned persons, but even small reductions in excess weight can improve health. An increasing proportion (more than one-third by some estimates) of the U.S. population is

dormancy: Diapause in insects: Insects may overwinter as egg, larva, nymph, pupa, or adult; because they can stand very low temperatures, few of these forms die if the winter temperatures are within their normal range. Even rather fragile forms, such as mosquitoes and butterflies, survive in sheltered, relatively dry places out…

Andrea Mantegna: Formative years in Padua: …the fresco decoration of the Ovetari Chapel in the Eremitani Church in Padua. The figures of Saints Peter, Paul, and Christopher in the apse, his earliest frescoes in this chapel, show to what extent he had already absorbed the monumental figure style of Tuscany. In the St. James Led to…

Steve Ovett is a British athlete, who, along with his great rival, Sebastian Coe, dominated middle-distance running in the early 1980s. The winner of gold and bronze medals at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, Ovett set six world records. Ovett first attracted international notice when he won the

Steve Ovett is a British athlete, who, along with his great rival, Sebastian Coe, dominated middle-distance running in the early 1980s. The winner of gold and bronze medals at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, Ovett set six world records. Ovett first attracted international notice when he won the

Oviedo, city, Asturias provincia (province) and comunidad autónoma (autonomous community), northern Spain. Oviedo lies on a hill surrounded by mountains and a fertile plain and is situated 18 miles (29 km) southwest of Gijón. It was founded as a monastery by Fruela I in 757 and became the capital

musk ox, (Ovibos moschatus), shaggy-haired Arctic ruminant of the family Bovidae (order Artiodactyla). Musk oxen are stocky mammals with large heads, short necks, and short, stout legs. Their name derives from their musky odour and from their superficial resemblance to the ox, though they are not

Ovid was a Roman poet noted especially for his Ars amatoria and Metamorphoses. His verse had immense influence both by its imaginative interpretations of Classical myth and as an example of supreme technical accomplishment. Publius Ovidius Naso was, like most Roman men of letters, a provincial. He

fallopian tube, either of a pair of long narrow ducts located in the human female abdominal cavity that transport male sperm cells to the egg, provide a suitable environment for fertilization, and transport the egg from the ovary, where it is produced, to the central channel (lumen) of the uterus.

Oviedo, city, Asturias provincia (province) and comunidad autónoma (autonomous community), northern Spain. Oviedo lies on a hill surrounded by mountains and a fertile plain and is situated 18 miles (29 km) southwest of Gijón. It was founded as a monastery by Fruela I in 757 and became the capital

Bermuda: History of Bermuda: The Spanish navigator Fernández de Oviedo sailed close to the islands in 1515 and attributed their discovery to his countryman Juan Bermúdez, possibly as early as 1503.

Juan Carlos Wasmosy: Lino Oviedo, the country’s military strongman who had helped topple Stroessner in 1989, to step down as the army chief. When Oviedo threatened a military coup, Wasmosy promised Oviedo the position of defense minister. Many Paraguayans accused Wasmosy of compromising a civilian government, and they…

Wels, city, north-central Austria. It lies along the Traun River at the foothills of the Eastern Alps, southwest of Linz. The site has been occupied since prehistoric times. Wels originated as the Roman Ovilava, capital of Noricum province. In the European Middle Ages it was a leading market town.

Ovimbundu, people inhabiting the tree-studded grasslands of the Bié Plateau in Angola. They speak Umbundu, a Bantu language of the Niger-Congo language family. They numbered about four million at the turn of the 21st century. The ruling families entered the highlands from the northeast in the 17th

Mary White Ovington was an American civil rights activist, one of the white reformers who joined African Americans in founding the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Born three days before the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln, Ovington was reared in an

Slavic religion: Slavic worldview: …domovoy in the house, the ovinnik in the drying-house, the gumenik in the storehouse, and so on. The belief that either harmful or beneficial spirits dwell in the posts and beams of houses is still alive in the historic regions of Bosnia and Slovenia and the Poznań area of west…

oviparity, expulsion of undeveloped eggs rather than live young. The eggs may have been fertilized before release, as in birds and some reptiles, or are to be fertilized externally, as in amphibians and many lower forms. In general, the number of eggs produced by oviparous species greatly exceeds

periodical cicada: Life cycle: …the female uses her strong ovipositor (egg-laying organ) to cut deeply into green twigs and through the harder wood of deciduous trees to lay her eggs. She inserts 12–14 eggs through drilled slots into each of two chambers separated by a thin partition of wood. The female drills slots until…

Oviraptor, (genus Oviraptor), small, lightly built predatory or omnivorous dinosaur that brooded its eggs in a manner similar to birds. Found as fossils in deposits from the Late Cretaceous Period (about 100 million to 65.5 million years ago) of eastern Asia and North America, Oviraptor was about

Caudipteryx: … was a primitive member of Oviraptorosauria, a group of theropods that were closely related to birds. Oviraptorosaurs differed from most other theropods in having a deep belly and a short, stiff tail. In addition, many forms had few, if any, teeth. According to some authorities, the reduced dentition and deep…

artiodactyl: antelopes, sheep, goats, and cattle. It is one of the larger mammal orders, containing about 200 species, a total that may be somewhat reduced with continuing revision of their classification. Many artiodactyls are well known to humans, and the order as a whole is of more…

argali, (Ovis ammon), the largest living wild sheep, native to the highlands of Central Asia. Argali is a Mongolian word for “ram.” There are eight subspecies of argali. Mature rams of large-bodied subspecies stand 125 cm (49 inches) high at the shoulder and weigh more than 140 kg (300 pounds).

sheep, (Ovis aries), species of domesticated ruminant (cud-chewing) mammal, raised for its meat, milk, and wool. The sheep is usually stockier than its relative the goat (genus Capra); its horns, when present, are more divergent; it has scent glands in its face and hind feet; and the males lack the

mouflon, (Ovis aries), small feral sheep (family Bovidae, order Artiodactyla) of Corsica and Sardinia (O. a. musimon) and of Cyprus (O. a. ophion). The mouflon stands about 70 cm (28 inches) at the shoulder and is brown with white underparts. The male has a light, saddle-shaped mark on its back and

bighorn sheep, (Ovis canadensis), stocky, climbing hoofed mammal of western North America known for its massive curling horns. Bighorns are brown with a white rump patch. Horns are present in both sexes, but they are bigger in males (rams). Six living subspecies are recognized. Males of the Rocky

Dall sheep, (Ovis dalli), species of bighorn

urial, (Ovis orientalis), medium-size, rather stout-bodied wild sheep, distributed from northwest India and Ladakh to southwest Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran. Six to nine subspecies are usually recognized; they differ in the colour and size of the winter neck-ruff of males, as well as in

mouflon, (Ovis aries), small feral sheep (family Bovidae, order Artiodactyla) of Corsica and Sardinia (O. a. musimon) and of Cyprus (O. a. ophion). The mouflon stands about 70 cm (28 inches) at the shoulder and is brown with white underparts. The male has a light, saddle-shaped mark on its back and

snow sheep, (Ovis nivicola), wild sheep belonging to the subfamily Caprinae (family Bovidae, order Artiodactyla), which is distributed throughout the mountain regions of eastern Siberia and is closely related to North American species such as the bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis). As in all wild

snow sheep: A totally isolated subspecies, the Putoran sheep (O. n. borealis), which is separated from the nearest population by about 1,000 km (600 miles), is restricted to the Putoran Mountains on the northwestern edge of the Central Siberian Plateau in central Russia and numbers about 3,500 head. The other subspecies are…

urial, (Ovis orientalis), medium-size, rather stout-bodied wild sheep, distributed from northwest India and Ladakh to southwest Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran. Six to nine subspecies are usually recognized; they differ in the colour and size of the winter neck-ruff of males, as well as in

urial, (Ovis orientalis), medium-size, rather stout-bodied wild sheep, distributed from northwest India and Ladakh to southwest Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran. Six to nine subspecies are usually recognized; they differ in the colour and size of the winter neck-ruff of males, as well as in

Michael Ovitz is an American talent manager who, as cofounder and head of the Creative Artists Agency (CAA), was considered one of Hollywood’s most powerful figures in the 1980s and ’90s. Ovitz’s parents wanted him to become a doctor, but, while working part-time as a guide for Universal Studios,

molding: Single curved: (4) An ovolo, a convex molding, has a profile approximately a quarter-circle or quarter-ellipse. (5) A torus, a convex molding, approximates a semicircle or semiellipse. (6) A roll, or bowtell, molding is convex, approximating three-quarters of a circle. (7) An astragal is a small torus. (8) An…

Ovonramwen was a West African ruler who was the last independent oba (king) of the 500-year-old kingdom of Benin (in present-day Nigeria). Ovonramwen tried to maintain his independence in the face of increasing British pressure but was able to delay for only a few years the annexation of his

viviparity: …more primitive condition, known as ovoviviparity and found in certain snakes, is the simple retention of the egg until it hatches. In this case the embryo derives food from the yolk present in the egg and is not dependent on the mother except for physical protection. Compare oviparity.

Austria: Political process: The center-right Austrian People’s Party (Österreichische Volkspartei; ÖVP), which describes itself as a “progressive center party,” is the successor of the Christian Social Party founded in the 1890s. A Christian Democratic party, it is a member of the European Union of Christian Democrats and represents a combination…

Øvre Anar River National Park, national park in the southeastern Finnmark Plateau region, northern Norway, bordering the Lemmen River National Park of Finland. One of the largest of Norway’s national parks, it covers an area of 537 square miles (1,390 square km). Low hills covered by birch and pine

Øvre Anar River National Park, national park in the southeastern Finnmark Plateau region, northern Norway, bordering the Lemmen River National Park of Finland. One of the largest of Norway’s national parks, it covers an area of 537 square miles (1,390 square km). Low hills covered by birch and pine

Øvre Divi Valley National Park, national park in the eastern part of the Divi valley, Troms county, northern Norway. With an area of 286 square miles (741 square km), it was established in 1971. The landscape varies from lowland forests of pine and birch to low hills and mountain plateaus with

Øvre Divi Valley National Park, national park in the eastern part of the Divi valley, Troms county, northern Norway. With an area of 286 square miles (741 square km), it was established in 1971. The landscape varies from lowland forests of pine and birch to low hills and mountain plateaus with

Ovruch, city, western Ukraine. Ovruch was first mentioned in documents in ad 977, when it was known as Vruchyi. The city was incorporated in 1795. Ovruch later became a centre of varied industries, including food processing and flax spinning. Its main architectural monument is St. Basil’s Church,

ovulation, release of a mature egg from the female ovary; the release enables the egg to be fertilized by the male sperm cells. Normally, in humans, only one egg is released at one time; occasionally, two or more erupt during the menstrual cycle. The egg erupts from the ovary on the 14th to 16th

ovule, plant structure that develops into a seed when fertilized. A mature ovule consists of a food tissue covered by one or two future seed coats, known as integuments. A small opening (the micropyle) in the integuments permits the pollen tube to enter and discharge its sperm nuclei into the

gastropod: Classification: Cowrie shells (Cypraeidae) and egg shells (Ovulidae) have highly polished and brilliantly coloured shells; mantle, which may cover the shell, is a totally different colour pattern; if touched, members of group suddenly withdraw, the change in colour serving to confuse predators; common in shallow tropical oceans, some species in…