- Portable Palette (quilting collection by Beyer)
Jinny Beyer: Her best-known collection, the Portable Palette (1990), features a wide range of monoprints (monotone prints) in 150 colours spanning all shades of the rainbow.
- Portable Phonograph, The (work by Clark)
Walter van Tilburg Clark: Clark’s “The Portable Phonograph,” which imagines the aftermath of a devastating war, was published in the short-story collection The Watchful Gods (1950) and was much anthologized in the following decades. From the 1960s, Clark was a teacher of writing at San Francisco State College (now San…
- Portadown (Northern Ireland, United Kingdom)
Northern Ireland: Settlement patterns: Lurgan, and Portadown, all in the Lagan valley, form an extension of the Belfast industrial complex, their size a product of the textile industry. Bangor is a resort and a residential outlier of Belfast. Londonderry, a centre for shirtmaking, was the heart of the Lough Foyle lowlands…
- Portage (Wisconsin, United States)
Portage, city, seat (1851) of Columbia county, south-central Wisconsin, U.S. It lies along the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, about 35 miles (55 km) north of Madison. The 1.5-mile (2.5-km) overland portage there between the Wisconsin and Fox rivers was first crossed by the French explorers Louis Jolliet
- Portage Canal (canal, Wisconsin, United States)
Portage: The Portage Canal was built between the Fox and Wisconsin rivers in the 1850s, but it faced competition from a railroad that came through the town in 1857; the canal fell into disuse and was closed to navigation in 1951. In 1792 a fur-trading post was…
- Portage La Loche River (river, North America)
Mackenzie River: History of Mackenzie River: …of them, Peter Pond, found Portage La Loche (Methy Portage) connecting the headwaters of Churchill River with the Clearwater River, itself one of the east-bank tributaries of the Athabasca River. In 1789 Alexander Mackenzie made his historic journey northward from the trading post of Fort Chipewyan on Lake Athabasca, exploring,…
- Portage la Prairie (Manitoba, Canada)
Assiniboine River: Major riparian cities include Brandon, Portage la Prairie (La Vérendrye’s Fort La Reine was built there in 1738), and Winnipeg, which are in Manitoba.
- Portage Lakers (American sports team)
ice hockey: Early organization: The team, the Portage Lakers, was owned by a dentist named J.L. Gibson, who imported Canadian players. In 1904 Gibson formed the first acknowledged professional league, the International Pro Hockey League. Canada accepted professional hockey in 1908 when the Ontario Professional Hockey League was formed. By that time…
- Portail Royal (portal, Chartres Cathedral, France)
sculpture: Principles of design: …of the figures on the Portail Royal (“Royal Portal”) of Chartres cathedral does both: it enhances their otherworldliness and also integrates them with the columnar architecture.
- portal (mining)
coal mining: Access: …to a coal seam, called portals, are the first to be completed and generally the last to be sealed. A large coal mine will have several portals. Their locations and the types of facilities installed in them depend on their principal use, whether for worker and material transport, ventilation, drainage…
- portal (architecture)
architecture: Symbols of function: Portals, from the time of ancient Egyptian temple pylons and Babylonian city gates, became monuments in themselves, used to communicate a heightened significance to what lay behind them. In the Gothic cathedral they became the richest element of the facade—a translation of biblical doctrine into…
- portal circulation (anatomy)
circulatory system: The blood vessels: Lower vertebrates have two so-called portal systems, areas of the venous system that begin in capillaries in tissues and join to form veins, which divide to produce another capillary network en route to the heart. They are called the hepatic (liver) and renal (kidneys) portal systems. The hepatic system is…
- portal cirrhosis (pathology)
alcoholism: Chronic diseases: …cirrhosis of the liver (specifically, Laënnec cirrhosis), which is commonly preceded by a fatty enlargement of the organ. Genetic vulnerability, the strain of metabolizing excessive amounts of alcohol, and defective nutrition influence the development of alcohol-related cirrhosis. In its severest form, Laënnec cirrhosis can be fatal; the successful treatment of…
- portal hypertension (pathology)
digestive system disease: Portal hypertension: Portal hypertension is the increased pressure in the portal vein and its tributaries. It is the result of impediments to venous flow into the liver, and is brought about by the scarring characteristic of the cirrhotic process. The increased pressure causes feeders of…
- portal system (anatomy)
circulatory system: The blood vessels: Lower vertebrates have two so-called portal systems, areas of the venous system that begin in capillaries in tissues and join to form veins, which divide to produce another capillary network en route to the heart. They are called the hepatic (liver) and renal (kidneys) portal systems. The hepatic system is…
- portal tomb (megalithic tomb)
Ireland: Neolithic Period: …of megalithic long barrow—the so-called portal tomb, of which there are more than 150 examples—developed from the court tomb. They spread across the court tomb area in the northern half of Ireland and extend into Leinster and Waterford and also to western Wales and Cornwall.
- portal vein (anatomy)
portal vein, large vein through which oxygen-depleted blood from the stomach, the intestines, the spleen, the gallbladder, and the pancreas flows to the liver. The principal tributaries to the portal vein are the lienal vein, with blood from the stomach, the greater omentum (a curtain of membrane
- Portal, Charles Frederick Algernon (British air marshal)
Charles Frederick Algernon Portal was a British air marshal and chief of the British Air Staff during World War II. Portal was educated at Winchester and Christ Church College, Oxford, and joined the Royal Engineers as a dispatch rider during World War I; in 1915 he was commissioned in the Royal
- Portal, Charles Frederick Algernon, 1st Viscount Portal of Hungerford (British air marshal)
Charles Frederick Algernon Portal was a British air marshal and chief of the British Air Staff during World War II. Portal was educated at Winchester and Christ Church College, Oxford, and joined the Royal Engineers as a dispatch rider during World War I; in 1915 he was commissioned in the Royal
- Portales (New Mexico, United States)
Portales, city, seat (1903) of Roosevelt county, eastern New Mexico, U.S., near the Texas state line. It was founded by Josh Morrison in 1898 and named for nearby Portales Springs, a watering place on the Fort Sumner Trail and so called because the waters flow from a series of cave openings that
- Portales, Diego (Chilean politician)
Diego Portales was a Chilean politician and for seven years virtual dictator who was instrumental in establishing political order and instituting economic progress in Chile. Disliked by some Chileans during his lifetime, he became a symbol of Chilean unity after his death. Born into a middle-class
- Portales, Diego José Víctor (Chilean politician)
Diego Portales was a Chilean politician and for seven years virtual dictator who was instrumental in establishing political order and instituting economic progress in Chile. Disliked by some Chileans during his lifetime, he became a symbol of Chilean unity after his death. Born into a middle-class
- Portalis, Jean-Étienne-Marie (French lawyer and politician)
Jean-Étienne-Marie Portalis was a French lawyer and politician, one of the chief draftsmen of the Napoleonic Code, or Civil Code, which is the basis of the French legal system. A lawyer and provincial administrator at Aix-en-Provence, Portalis went to Paris in 1793, after the First Republic had
- portamento (music)
speech: Singing and speaking: …rules are found in the portamento, a gliding change between two pitch levels, of Western song, used sparingly as an embellishment. Parlando singing is a speaking type of song, used in the recitativo of Italian opera style. In these intentionally communicative preludes to formal arias—because they tell most of the…
- Portarlington, Baron (French soldier)
Henri de Massue Galway, marquis de Ruvigny et Raineval was a French soldier who became a trusted servant of the British king William III. Massue began his career as aide-de-camp to Marshal Turenne (1672–75), then went on diplomatic mission to England (1678). After the revocation of the Edict of
- portarule (mechanical device)
telegraph: The first transmitters and receivers: …incorporated a device called a portarule, which employed molded type with built-in dots and dashes. The type could be moved through a mechanism in such a manner that the dots and dashes would make and break the contact between the battery and the wire to the receiver. The receiver, or…
- portative organ (musical instrument)
portative organ, small musical instrument played from the 12th through the 16th century, popular for secular music. It had one rank of flue pipes (producing a flutelike sound), sometimes arranged in rows to save space, and was slung from the player’s neck by a strap. The keys and pipes lay at right
- portcullis (coin)
coin: Gold coinage: Her “portcullis,” or trade coinage for use by the newly incorporated East India Company, appeared in 1600–01. She also experimented with machinery for coinage, although the insistence of the moneyers on their immemorial right to use manual methods delayed its establishment until after the Restoration. James…
- portcullis (grating)
castle: …the gateway was defended by portcullises, doors, and machicolations. Portcullises were generally made of oak, were plated and shod with iron, and were moved up and down in stone grooves, clearing or blocking the passage. Machicolations were of two kinds: some were openings in the roof of the passage through…
- Porte (Ottoman government)
Sublime Porte, the government of the Ottoman Empire. The name is a French translation of Turkish Bâbıâli (“High Gate,” or “Gate of the Eminent”). which was the official name of the gate giving access to the block of buildings in Constantinople, or Istanbul, that housed the principal state
- porte cochere (architecture)
porte cochere, in Western architecture, either of two elements found in large public and private buildings, popular in the Renaissance. A porte cochere, as the French name indicates, was originally an entrance or gateway to a building large enough to permit a coach to be driven through it into the
- porte cochère (architecture)
porte cochere, in Western architecture, either of two elements found in large public and private buildings, popular in the Renaissance. A porte cochere, as the French name indicates, was originally an entrance or gateway to a building large enough to permit a coach to be driven through it into the
- Porte étroite, La (work by Gide)
Strait Is the Gate, tale by André Gide, published in 1909 as La Porte étroite. It is one of the first of his works to treat the problems of human relationships. The work contrasts the yearning toward asceticism and self-sacrifice with the need for sensual exploration as a young woman struggles with
- Porte-Enseigne Polka (work by Mussorgsky)
Modest Mussorgsky: Life and career: …he composed his Podpraporshchik (Porte-Enseigne Polka), published at his father’s expense. Although not the most industrious of students, he gave proof of tremendous curiosity and wide-ranging intellectual interests.
- porteño (Argentine society)
Buenos Aires: People: Porteños, and Argentinians in general, tend to consider themselves European in character rather than Latin American. Moreover, porteños see themselves as having an identity that is quite distinct from those of other Argentinians and Latin Americans as a whole. Porteños are generally extroverted, sophisticated, animated,…
- portent (occultism)
omen, observed phenomenon that is interpreted as signifying good or bad fortune. In ancient times omens were numerous and varied and included, for instance, lightning, cloud movements, the flight of birds, and the paths of certain sacred animals. Within each type of sign were minor subdivisions,
- Porteous Riots (Scottish history)
Porteous Riots, (1736), celebrated riots that erupted in Edinburgh over the execution of a smuggler. The incident had Jacobite overtones and was used by Sir Walter Scott in his novel The Heart of Midlothian. On April 14, 1736, a smuggler, Andrew Wilson, who had won popular sympathy in Edinburgh by
- Porteous, John (Scottish officer)
Porteous Riots: John Porteous, captain of the city guard, who was accused of both shooting and giving the order to fire, was brought to trial in July and sentenced to death. After he had sent a petition for pardon to Queen Caroline, then acting as regent in…
- porter (beer)
beer: Types of beer: …from this practice and produced porter. Made from a mixture of malt extracts, porter was a strong, dark-coloured, highly hopped beer consumed by the market porters in London. Brewers in Burton upon Trent, using the famous hard waters of that region and pale malts roasted in coke-fired kilns, created pale…
- porter (Christian ministry)
holy order: … and the minor orders of porter (doorkeeper), lector, exorcist, and acolyte.
- Porter Convention on the Limitation of the Employment of Force for the Recovery of Contract Debts (international law)
Calvo Doctrine: …the form adopted as the Porter Convention on the Limitation of the Employment of Force for the Recovery of Contract Debts. Although the United States opposed European intervention in the Americas, it reserved for itself the right, frequently used, to intervene with armed force in any Latin-American state where conditions…
- Porter of Luddenham, George Porter, Baron (British chemist)
Sir George Porter, Baron Porter of Luddenham was an English chemist, corecipient with fellow Englishman Ronald George Wreyford Norrish and Manfred Eigen of West Germany of the 1967 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. All three were honoured for their studies in flash photolysis, a technique for observing
- Porter, Billy (American actor and singer)
Met Gala: The red carpet: In 2019 actor Billy Porter, wearing a gold winged catsuit designed by the Blonds, arrived at the gala on a litter carried by six shirtless attendants, while singer and actress Lady Gaga made four outfit changes as she walked up the steps, stripping down from an oversized pink…
- Porter, Charlotte Endymion (American editor)
Helen Archibald Clarke and Charlotte Endymion Porter: Helen Charlotte Porter, who later dropped her first name and adopted the middle name Endymion, graduated from Wells College, Aurora, New York, in 1875, studied for a time at the Sorbonne in Paris, and in 1883 became editor of Shakespeariana, a journal published in Philadelphia…
- Porter, Cole (American composer and lyricist)
Cole Porter was an American composer and lyricist who brought a worldly élan to the American musical and who embodied in his life the sophistication of his songs. Porter was the grandson of a millionaire speculator, and the moderately affluent circumstances of his life probably contributed to the
- Porter, Cole Albert (American composer and lyricist)
Cole Porter was an American composer and lyricist who brought a worldly élan to the American musical and who embodied in his life the sophistication of his songs. Porter was the grandson of a millionaire speculator, and the moderately affluent circumstances of his life probably contributed to the
- Porter, David (American songwriter and record producer)
Sam and Dave: duo of Isaac Hayes and David Porter. Among their hits were “You Don’t Know Like I Know” (1965), “Hold On! I’m a Comin’ ” (1966; also released as “Hold On I’m Coming”), and the ballad “When Something Is Wrong with My Baby” (1967). “Soul Man,” their biggest hit, reached number…
- Porter, David (United States naval officer)
David Porter was a U.S. naval officer who commanded the frigate Essex on its two-year expedition against British shipping during the War of 1812. Young Porter early accompanied his father—who had been an American Revolutionary War naval commander—on sea voyages. He became a midshipman in 1798, was
- Porter, David Dixon (United States naval officer)
David Dixon Porter was a U.S. naval officer who held important Union commands in the American Civil War (1861–65). The son of Commodore David Porter, David Dixon Porter served in the Mexican War (1846–48). Promoted to commander early in the American Civil War, he participated in Union expeditions
- Porter, Edward Stanton (American director)
Edwin S. Porter was a pioneer American film director whose innovative use of dramatic editing (piecing together scenes shot at different times and places) in such films as The Life of An American Fireman (1903) and The Great Train Robbery (1903) revolutionized filmmaking. Porter coinvented a device
- Porter, Edwin S. (American director)
Edwin S. Porter was a pioneer American film director whose innovative use of dramatic editing (piecing together scenes shot at different times and places) in such films as The Life of An American Fireman (1903) and The Great Train Robbery (1903) revolutionized filmmaking. Porter coinvented a device
- Porter, Edwin Stanton (American director)
Edwin S. Porter was a pioneer American film director whose innovative use of dramatic editing (piecing together scenes shot at different times and places) in such films as The Life of An American Fireman (1903) and The Great Train Robbery (1903) revolutionized filmmaking. Porter coinvented a device
- Porter, Eleanor Hodgman (American novelist)
Eleanor Hodgman Porter was an American novelist, creator of the Pollyanna series of books that generated a popular phenomenon. Hodgman studied singing at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. She gained a local reputation as a singer in concerts and church choirs and continued her
- Porter, Eliot (American photographer)
Eliot Porter was an American photographer noted for his detailed and exquisite colour images of birds and landscapes. Porter, the brother of painter Fairfield Porter, trained as an engineer at Harvard College (B.S., 1924) and as a physician at Harvard Medical School (M.D., 1929). He taught
- Porter, Eliot Furness (American photographer)
Eliot Porter was an American photographer noted for his detailed and exquisite colour images of birds and landscapes. Porter, the brother of painter Fairfield Porter, trained as an engineer at Harvard College (B.S., 1924) and as a physician at Harvard Medical School (M.D., 1929). He taught
- Porter, Eliza Emily Chappell (American educator)
Eliza Emily Chappell Porter was an American educator and welfare worker, remembered especially for the numerous schools she helped establish in almost every region of the United States. Eliza Chappell began teaching school at age 16, and after moving with her mother to Rochester, New York, in 1828
- Porter, Fairfield (American painter, printmaker, and writer)
Fairfield Porter was an American painter, printmaker, and writer best known for his naturalistic painting as well as his sophisticated writing on a variety of subjects. As a figurative painter at the height of Abstract Expressionism in the 1950s, Porter painted representational subjects heavily
- Porter, Fitz-John (United States general)
Fitz-John Porter was a Union general during the American Civil War who was court-martialed and cashiered—but later vindicated—for disobeying orders at the Second Battle of Bull Run. Porter was educated at Phillips Exeter Academy and at West Point, graduating from the latter in 1845. He fought in
- Porter, Gene Stratton (American author)
Gene Stratton Porter was an American novelist, remembered for her fiction rooted in the belief that communion with nature holds the key to moral goodness. Stratton grew up in rural Indiana, where she developed a deep appreciation for nature that was to stay with her throughout her life. In 1886 she
- Porter, Hal (Australian author)
Hal Porter was an Australian novelist, playwright, poet, and autobiographer noted for his style and sometimes disturbing honesty. After completing his education, Porter became a schoolmaster in 1927, teaching at various schools and, after World War II, with the Allied occupation forces in Japan. He
- Porter, Harold Edward (Australian author)
Hal Porter was an Australian novelist, playwright, poet, and autobiographer noted for his style and sometimes disturbing honesty. After completing his education, Porter became a schoolmaster in 1927, teaching at various schools and, after World War II, with the Allied occupation forces in Japan. He
- Porter, Helen Charlotte (American editor)
Helen Archibald Clarke and Charlotte Endymion Porter: Helen Charlotte Porter, who later dropped her first name and adopted the middle name Endymion, graduated from Wells College, Aurora, New York, in 1875, studied for a time at the Sorbonne in Paris, and in 1883 became editor of Shakespeariana, a journal published in Philadelphia…
- Porter, Janie (American welfare worker and educator)
Janie Porter Barrett was an American welfare worker and educator who developed a school to rehabilitate previously incarcerated African-American girls by improving their self-reliance and discipline. The daughter of former slaves, Barrett grew up largely in the home of the cultured white family who
- Porter, Jimmy (fictional character)
Look Back in Anger: The hero, Jimmy Porter, is the son of a worker. Through the state educational system, he has reached an uncomfortably marginal position on the border of the middle class, from which he can see the traditional possessors of privilege holding the better jobs and threatening his upward…
- Porter, Katherine Anne (American author)
Katherine Anne Porter was an American novelist and short-story writer, a master stylist whose long short stories have a richness of texture and complexity of character delineation usually achieved only in the novel. Porter was educated at private and convent schools in the South. She worked as a
- Porter, Keith Roberts (American biologist)
Keith Roberts Porter was a Canadian-born American cell biologist who pioneered techniques for electron microscope studies of the internal structure and organization of cells and tissues. Porter studied biology at Acadia University (Wolfville, Nova Scotia) and Harvard University, from which he
- Porter, Peter (British poet)
Peter Porter was an Australian-born British poet whose works are characterized by a formal style and rueful, epigrammatic wit. Porter was educated in Australia and worked as a journalist before settling in 1951 in London, where he worked as a clerk, a bookshop assistant, an advertising copywriter,
- Porter, Peter Neville Frederick (British poet)
Peter Porter was an Australian-born British poet whose works are characterized by a formal style and rueful, epigrammatic wit. Porter was educated in Australia and worked as a journalist before settling in 1951 in London, where he worked as a clerk, a bookshop assistant, an advertising copywriter,
- Porter, Quincy (American composer)
chamber music: The 20th century: Quincy Porter composed 10 string quartets, several quintets for various combinations, and smaller works; they are characterized by warm expressiveness achieved in textures that employ considerable repetition of short motives. The works of Roy Harris are distinguished by forms that depart from 19th-century models; three…
- Porter, Rodney Robert (British biochemist)
Rodney Robert Porter was a British biochemist who, with Gerald M. Edelman, received the 1972 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for his contribution to the determination of the chemical structure of an antibody. Porter was educated at the University of Liverpool (B.S., 1939) and the University
- Porter, Rufus (American inventor)
Scientific American: …York City in 1845 by Rufus Porter, a New England inventor, as a weekly newspaper describing new inventions. He sold it in 1846 to another inventor, Alfred Ely Beach—who had worked on the New York Sun under his inventor-editor father, Moses Y. Beach—and to a friend, Orson Desaix Munn. The…
- Porter, Sarah (American educator)
Sarah Porter was an American educator and founder of Miss Porter’s School, still one of the leading preparatory schools for girls in the United States. Porter was a younger sister of Noah Porter, later president of Yale College. She was educated at the Farmington Academy, where she was the only
- Porter, Sir George, Baron Porter of Luddenham (British chemist)
Sir George Porter, Baron Porter of Luddenham was an English chemist, corecipient with fellow Englishman Ronald George Wreyford Norrish and Manfred Eigen of West Germany of the 1967 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. All three were honoured for their studies in flash photolysis, a technique for observing
- Porter, Sylvia Field (American economist and journalist)
Sylvia Field Porter was an American economist and journalist whose financial advice—in newspaper columns, books, and magazines—garnered a wide audience in a field dominated by men. Porter graduated from Hunter College in New York City in 1932. She worked as an assistant in a Wall Street investment
- Porter, Terry (American basketball player and coach)
Portland Trail Blazers: …Blazers—led by Drexler, point guard Terry Porter, and forward Jerome Kersey—won their first three playoff series to capture the Western Conference title. In the NBA Finals the team was defeated by the Detroit Pistons in five games. The Blazers were eliminated by the Lakers in the conference finals the following…
- Porter, Tiran (American musician)
Michael McDonald: Career: …Doobie Brothers (2022), bass guitarist Tiran Porter recalled, “The second I heard him open up his mouth…my mind was blown right there.” McDonald’s husky vocals and gospel-inflected keyboard style transformed the band’s feel-good rock and roll sound into a smooth, soulful R&B approach. As their lead vocalist, McDonald cowrote and…
- Porter, William Sydney (American author)
O. Henry was an American short-story writer whose tales romanticized the commonplace—in particular the life of ordinary people in New York City. His stories expressed the effect of coincidence on character through humour, grim or ironic, and often had surprise endings, a device that became
- Porterfield, William (Scottish physician)
phantom limb syndrome: Scottish physician William Porterfield wrote a firsthand account of phantom limb syndrome in the 18th century, following the amputation of one of his legs. He was the first person to consider sensory perception as the underlying phenomenon of the syndrome.
- Portersville (Indiana, United States)
Valparaiso, city, seat of Porter county, northwestern Indiana, U.S. It lies just east-southeast of Gary. Laid out in 1836 as the county seat, it was first called Portersville but was renamed the following year for Valparaíso, Chile. It was originally a point on the old Sauk Trail, which was a
- Portes Gil, Emilio (president of Mexico)
Emilio Portes Gil was a Mexican political leader and diplomat who served as the provisional president of Mexico from Dec. 1, 1928, after the assassination of President-elect Alvaro Obregón, to Feb. 5, 1930. From late 1914 Portes Gil worked for the revolutionary movement led by Venustiano Carranza,
- Porteur (people)
Carrier, Athabaskan-speaking North American Indian tribe centred in the upper branches of the Fraser River between the Coast Mountains and the Rocky Mountains in what is now central British Columbia. The name by which they are most commonly known derives from the custom in which widows carried the
- portfolio (government)
cabinet: The modern British cabinet: …15 to 25 members, or ministers, appointed by the prime minister, who in turn has been appointed by the monarch on the basis of ability to command a majority of votes in the Commons. Though formerly empowered to select the cabinet, the sovereign is now restricted to the mere formal…
- Portfolio diversification: What investors need to know
“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket” is a well-worn piece of advice we’ve all heard. It’s a cliché, to be sure, but one worth repeating because it’s the best way to sum up one of the core concepts of investing: portfolio diversification. In its simplest form, diversification means spreading your
- portfolio investment (economics)
Harry Markowitz: …Nobel Prize involved his “portfolio theory,” which sought to prove that a diversified, or “optimal,” portfolio—that is, one that mixes assets so as to maximize return and minimize risk—could be practical. His techniques for measuring the level of risk associated with various assets and his methods for mixing assets…
- Portfolios of Ansel Adams, The (work by Adams)
Ansel Adams: Later career: The Portfolios of Ansel Adams (1977) reproduced the 90 prints that Adams first published (between 1948 and 1976) as seven portfolios of original prints. The results can thus be trusted to represent a selection from what the photographer considered his best work.
- Porthcawl (Wales, United Kingdom)
Porthcawl, coastal resort, Bridgend county borough, historic county of Glamorgan (Morgannwg), southern Wales. It is situated on a low limestone headland overlooking the Bristol Channel. Porthcawl originated as a coal port during the 19th century, but its trade was soon taken over by more rapidly
- Porthetria dispar (insect)
spongy moth, (Lymantria dispar), lepidopteran that is a serious pest of both deciduous and evergreen trees. The European strain was accidentally introduced into eastern North America about 1869, and by 1889 it had become a serious pest of deciduous forests and fruit trees. By the end of the 20th
- Porthos (fictional character)
Porthos, fictional character, one of the heroes of The Three Musketeers (published 1844, performed 1845) by Alexandre Dumas père. Like the other two musketeers, Athos and Aramis, Porthos is a swashbuckling French soldier who becomes involved in court intrigue during the reigns of Louis XIII and
- Portia (fictional character, “The Merchant of Venice”)
Portia, the wealthy heiress of Belmont in Shakespeare’s comedy The Merchant of Venice. In attempting to find a worthy husband, she sets in motion the action of the play. She is one of Shakespeare’s classic cross-dressing heroines, and, dressed as a male lawyer (a redundant phrase in Shakespeare’s
- Portia, Johann Ferdinand (Austrian count)
Leopold I: Early years.: …among whom the cultured count Johann Ferdinand Portia was the leading personality. Made lord high steward by his pupil, Portia retained his influence with Leopold until his death in 1665. From an early age Leopold showed an inclination toward learning. He learned easily and became fluent in Latin, Italian, and…
- Portici (Italy)
Portici, town, Campania regione, southern Italy. It lies on the Bay of Naples, southwest of Vesuvius (volcano) and just southeast of Naples. As a medieval fief Portici was owned by various princely families before passing to the Kingdom of Naples. It was completely destroyed by the eruption of
- portico (architecture)
portico, colonnaded porch or entrance to a structure, or a covered walkway supported by regularly spaced columns. Porticoes formed the entrances to ancient Greek temples. The portico is a principal feature of Greek temple architecture and thus a prominent element in Roman and all subsequent
- Porticus Aemilia (warehouse, Italy)
ancient Rome: Demographic and economic developments: The Porticus Aemilia (193), a warehouse of 300,000 square feet on the banks of the Tiber, illustrates how the new needs were met with a major new building technology, concrete construction. Around 200 bc in central Italy it was discovered that a wet mixture of crushed…
- portiere (curtain)
curtain: Portieres are heavy curtains hung in a doorway.
- Porƫile de Fier (gorge, Europe)
Iron Gate, the last gorge of the Ðerdap gorge system on the Danube River, dividing the Carpathian and Balkan mountains and forming part of the boundary between Serbia and Romania. It is about 2 miles (3 km) long and 530 feet (162 metres) wide, with towering rock cliffs that make it one of the most
- Portillo (Chile)
Valparaíso: Portillo, near Mount Aconcagua (22,834 feet [6,960 metres]), has become South America’s most popular Andean winter resort, particularly for skiing.
- Portinari Altarpiece (work by Goes)
floral decoration: Middle Ages: …open centre panel of the Portinari Altarpiece by the Flemish painter Hugo van der Goes is an illustration of this type of arrangement. Metal ewers often held Madonna lilies (Lilium candidum), as in the 15th-century painting The Annunciation by Rogier van der Weyden (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York).
- Portinari Triptych (painting by Memling)
Hans Memling: …and his wife, Memling painted portraits and an unusual altarpiece that depicts more than 22 scenes from the Passion of Christ scattered in miniature in a panoramic landscape encompassing a view of Jerusalem. Such an altarpiece, perhaps created for new devotional practices, became very popular at the end of the…
- Portinari, Beatrice (Italian noble)
Beatrice, the woman to whom the great Italian poet Dante dedicated most of his poetry and almost all of his life, from his first sight of her at the age of nine (“from that time forward, Love quite governed my soul”) through his glorification of her in La divina commedia (The Divine Comedy),
- Portinari, Cándido (Brazilian artist)
Brazil: Visual arts: …the 20th century the painter Cândido Portinari was a major proponent of a uniquely Brazilian style, which blended abstract European techniques with realistic portrayals of the people and landscapes of his native land; the painter Emiliano Di Cavalcanti, a contemporary of Portinari, gained equal international renown. In 1922, seeking to…