Rogier van der Weyden was a Northern Renaissance painter who, with the possible exception of Jan van Eyck, was the most influential northern European artist of his time. Though most of his work was religious, he produced secular paintings (now lost) and some sensitive portraits. Rogier was the son

Frederick Weyerhaeuser: …an acre, thus founding the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, centred in Tacoma, Wash.

Frederick Weyerhaeuser: …an acre, thus founding the Weyerhaeuser Timber Company, centred in Tacoma, Wash.

Frederick Weyerhaeuser was an American lumber capitalist who put together a syndicate owning millions of acres of timberland, as well as sawmills, paper mills, and other processing plants. An immigrant who left Germany when he was 18, Weyerhaeuser started in the lumber business as a sawmill worker

Frederick Weyerhaeuser was an American lumber capitalist who put together a syndicate owning millions of acres of timberland, as well as sawmills, paper mills, and other processing plants. An immigrant who left Germany when he was 18, Weyerhaeuser started in the lumber business as a sawmill worker

Battle of France: Destruction of the Weygand Line: By early June 1940 Denmark, Norway, Belgium, and the Netherlands had fallen, the British had been driven into the sea, and the Germans had taken more than one million Allied prisoners in the space of three weeks. The new French front along the…

Maxime Weygand was a French army officer who in World War I served as chief of staff under Gen. (later Marshal) Ferdinand Foch and who in World War II, as commander in chief of the Allied armies in France, advised the French government to capitulate (June 12, 1940). Born in Belgium but educated in

Hermann Weyl was a German American mathematician who, through his widely varied contributions in mathematics, served as a link between pure mathematics and theoretical physics, in particular adding enormously to quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity. As a student at the University of

Hermann Weyl was a German American mathematician who, through his widely varied contributions in mathematics, served as a link between pure mathematics and theoretical physics, in particular adding enormously to quantum mechanics and the theory of relativity. As a student at the University of

Valeriano Weyler y Nicolau, marquis de Tenerife was a Spanish general who, as captain general of Cuba shortly before the outbreak of the Spanish–American War (1898), used stern antirebel measures that were exploited by U.S. newspapers to inflame public opinion against Spanish rule of Cuba. Weyler

Weymouth, town (township), Norfolk county, eastern Massachusetts, U.S. It lies on Hingham Bay and the Weymouth Fore and Weymouth Back rivers, just southeast of Boston. The township embraces the villages of South, North, and East Weymouth. Settled in 1622 as the Wessaguscus (or Wessagusset)

Weymouth and Portland, borough, administrative and historic county of Dorset, southern England. It consists of the port of Weymouth (the administrative centre), on the English Channel, and, south of Weymouth, the peninsular Isle of Portland, which culminates in a point at the Bill of Portland.

tree: Tree height growth: Trees like the preformer eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) have a single flush per year followed by formation of a dormant terminal bud. Other species have several flushes per year, but each flush is followed by formation of a terminal bud.

Richard Francis Weymouth was a philologist and biblical scholar who made one of the major 20th-century translations of the New Testament into modern English. After graduation from University College, London, he received the first Doctor of Literature degree from the University of London. A Baptist

Thomas Thynne, 1st marquess of Bath was a politician who, as 3rd Viscount Weymouth, held important office in the British government during two critical periods in the reign of George III. Although he was an outstanding orator, his dissolute habits (gambling and heavy drinking), indolence, and

Talking Heads: ), bassist Tina Weymouth (b. November 22, 1950, Coronado, California, U.S.), and keyboardist Jerry Harrison (b. February 21, 1949, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.).

Karl Weyprecht was an Arctic explorer who discovered Franz Josef Land, an archipelago north of Russia, and who advanced a successful scheme for international cooperation in polar scientific investigations. Under the sponsorship of the Austrian government, with Julius Payer as his lieutenant,

American Legislative Exchange Council: House of Representatives (1975–2007), and Paul Weyrich, a cofounder of the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation. Members of ALEC include corporations, foundations, think tanks, trade associations, and other private-sector organizations as well as corporate lobbyists and current and former state legislators, governors, members of Congress, and other political leaders.…

World Food Council (WFC), United Nations (UN) organization established by the General Assembly in December 1974 upon the recommendation of the World Food Conference. Headquartered in Rome, Italy, the WFC was designed as a coordinating body for national ministries of agriculture to help alleviate

set theory: Schemas for generating well-formed formulas: The ZFC “axiom of extension” conveys the idea that, as in naive set theory, a set is determined solely by its members. It should be noted that this is not merely a logically necessary property of equality but an assumption about the membership…

Studs Terkel: …the Chicago fine arts station WFMT; his show, which went by a few different names over the years, ran through January 1, 1998. Though the program was originally intended as a forum for music, Terkel’s famous interviews came to dominate his broadcasts.

Witness for Peace (WFP), U.S. nonprofit organization founded in 1983 by faith-based activists in response to the U.S. government’s funding of the contras, the counterrevolutionaries fighting to overthrow the left-wing Sandinista government of Nicaragua. WPF sought to change U.S. policies toward

Hubble Space Telescope: …important of these instruments, the wide-field planetary camera, can take either wide-field or high-resolution images of the planets and of galactic and extragalactic objects. This camera is designed to achieve image resolutions 10 times greater than that of even the largest Earth-based telescope. A faint-object camera can detect an object…

World Food Programme (WFP), organization established in 1961 by the United Nations (UN) to help alleviate world hunger. Its headquarters are in Rome, Italy. In 2020 the World Food Programme (WFP) was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace “for its efforts to combat hunger, for its contribution to

World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU), leftist-oriented international labour organization founded in 1945 by the World Trade Union Congress. Its principal organizers were the British Trades Union Congress, the U.S. Congress of Industrial Organizations, and the All-Union Central Congress of Trade

Television in the United States: Educational TV: …consortium of ETV stations, including WGBH in Boston, WTTW in Chicago, and KQED in San Francisco. In 1965 the Carnegie Foundation established its Commission on Education Television to conduct a study of ETV and make recommendations for future action. The report from the commission was published about two years later,…

radio: The development of networks and production centres: …Sam ’n’ Henry on Chicago’s WGN station in 1926 and quickly became a national phenomenon when it made its network debut under its new name in 1929. Although the characters on the show seem insultingly stereotypical by today’s standards, the show was hugely popular with both white and black radio…

ice hockey: The National Hockey League: A new 12-team league, the World Hockey Association (WHA), was formed in 1972, and the ensuing rivalry caused an escalation in players’ salaries. In 1979 the NHL, which had grown to 17 teams, merged with the WHA to become a 21-team league; by 2017, 31 teams played in the NHL.…

radio: Radio’s early years: The University of Wisconsin’s WHA began as a physics department transmitter, but as early as 1917 it was sending wireless telegraph agricultural market reports by Morse Code to Wisconsin farmers. WHA, the first American educational outlet, probably began voice broadcasts in early 1921, though several other universities soon initiated…

George Villiers, 1st duke of Buckingham was a royal favourite and statesman who virtually ruled England during the last years of King James I and the first years of the reign of Charles I. Buckingham was extremely unpopular, and the failure of his aggressive, erratic foreign policy increased the

White Island volcanic eruption of 2019, volcanic eruption on December 9, 2019, on Whakaari/White Island, located off the coast of eastern North Island, New Zealand, which resulted in the deaths of 22 individuals and injured numerous others. At the time of the eruption, 47 people (adventure tourists

Whakaari/White Island, island in the Bay of Plenty, 43 miles (69 km) west of Cape Runaway, eastern North Island, New Zealand. An active volcano, it is the top of a submarine vent at the northern end of the Taupō-Rotorua Volcanic Zone. With a total land area of about 1,000 acres (400 hectares), it

whale, any of the larger species of aquatic mammals belonging to the order Cetacea. The term whale can be used in reference to any cetacean, including porpoises and dolphins, but in general it is applied to those more than 3 metres (10 feet) long. An exception is the 2.7-metre dwarf sperm whale

Mulberry: …of flexible steel roadways (code-named Whales) that floated on steel or concrete pontoons (called Beetles). The roadways terminated at great pierheads, called Spuds, that were jacked up and down on legs which rested on the seafloor. These structures were to be sheltered from the sea by lines of massive sunken…

whale catcher, large, fast steamship or motor vessel from which whales are harpooned and killed and marked for pickup by a parent vessel called a factory ship. Whale catchers are the descendants of the early whaleboats that were carried aboard a whaler and sent out to stalk and kill the whale.

whale catcher, large, fast steamship or motor vessel from which whales are harpooned and killed and marked for pickup by a parent vessel called a factory ship. Whale catchers are the descendants of the early whaleboats that were carried aboard a whaler and sent out to stalk and kill the whale.

whale louse, (family Cyamidae), any of a small group of highly specialized peracaridan crustaceans (order Amphipoda) related to the familiar skeleton shrimp found in shallow marine habitats. Whale lice are external parasites that live on the body surface of such marine mammals as whales, dolphins,

whale louse, (family Cyamidae), any of a small group of highly specialized peracaridan crustaceans (order Amphipoda) related to the familiar skeleton shrimp found in shallow marine habitats. Whale lice are external parasites that live on the body surface of such marine mammals as whales, dolphins,

whale oil, any oil derived from any species of whale, including sperm oil from sperm whales, train oil from baleen whales, and melon oil from small toothed whales. From the 16th century through the 19th century, whale oil was used principally as lamp fuel and for producing soap. Long utilized for

History of film: Australia, New Zealand, and Canada: …of note included Niki Caro’s Whale Rider (2002), Brad McGann’s In My Father’s Den (2004), and Roger Donaldson’s The World’s Fastest Indian (2005). Actor-turned-director Taika Waititi found success with Eagle vs Shark (2007), Boy (2010), Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), and

Witi Ihimaera: In The Whale Rider (1987; film 2002), the dynamics of Māori society are examined through the eyes of a young girl who must overcome gender prejudices to assume her place as the next leader of her people. Nights in the Gardens of Spain (1995; television film…

whale shark, (Rhincodon typus), gigantic but harmless shark (family Rhincodontidae) that is the largest living fish. Whale sharks are found in marine environments worldwide but mainly in tropical oceans. They make up the only species of the genus Rhincodon and are classified within the order

whale vocalization, process used by whales that produces any of several vocal sounds that assist in communication and the collection of information about their environment. Whales vocalize primarily to navigate, share information with one another, find food, locate other whales, and compete (for

whale vocalization, process used by whales that produces any of several vocal sounds that assist in communication and the collection of information about their environment. Whales vocalize primarily to navigate, share information with one another, find food, locate other whales, and compete (for

Paul Watson: …efforts were also chronicled in Whale Wars, which first aired on the Animal Planet cable television network in 2008. In 2010 one of the society’s boats, the Ady Gil, sunk after colliding with a Japanese whaling boat. Patrolling the seas under a modified Jolly Roger pirate flag, Watson and his…

James Whale was a British-born American filmmaker whose stylish horror films marked him as one of the most distinctive filmmakers of the early 1930s. Born into a poor family in an English coal-mining town, Whale was eager to join the army when World War I broke out. Captured by the Germans, he

Moby Dick, novel by Herman Melville, published in London in October 1851 as The Whale and a month later in New York City as Moby-Dick; or, The Whale. It is dedicated to Nathaniel Hawthorne. Moby Dick is generally regarded as Melville’s magnum opus and one of the greatest American novels. Moby Dick

A24: Films: Garnering three nominations that year, The Whale (2022), directed by filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, earned Brendan Fraser the best actor Oscar for his portrayal of a severely obese recluse who tries to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter. The film also won best achievement in makeup and hairstyling for the team’s…

Ryan Reynolds: Charity and advocacy work: …narrated the eco-conscious Canadian documentary The Whale (2011). He worked with the environmental organization Natural Resources Defense Council to advocate for renewable energy and to bring attention to the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. In addition, he helped raise funds for relief efforts…

Sir John Tavener: …his first significant mark with The Whale, an avant-garde cantata that received a popular debut at the London Sinfonietta in 1968. His music drew from Russian, Byzantine, and Greek influences and became more inwardly focused after he joined the Russian Orthodox church in 1977. At age 36 Tavener suffered a…

shoebill, (Balaeniceps rex), large African wading bird, a single species that constitutes the family Balaenicipitidae (order Balaenicipitiformes, Ciconiiformes, or Pelecaniformes). The species is named for its clog-shaped bill, which is an adaptation for catching and holding the large, slippery

prion, any of several species of small Antarctic seabirds of the genus Pachyptila, in the family Procellariidae (order Procellariiformes). All are blue-gray above and whitish below. Among the broad-billed species, the bill, unique among petrels, is flattened, with the upper mandible fringed with

procellariiform: Importance to humans: …slender-billed, or short-tailed, shearwaters (Puffinus tenuirostris) are taken on the Bass Strait islands off Tasmania and sold fresh, salted, or deep-frozen as “muttonbirds.” In all likelihood, the name muttonbird was derived from the use of the flesh as a supplement for mutton by the early settlers of New South…

whaleboat, light, swift, rowing and sailing boat fitted with a centreboard (retractable keel), initially developed for use by whaling crews and now used more generally. Its double-ended, broad-beamed design is reminiscent of the old Viking boats; in time carvel-constructed whaleboats superseded

whalebone, series of stiff keratinous plates in the mouths of baleen whales, used to strain copepods and other zooplankton, fishes, and krill from seawater. Whalebone was once important in the production of corsets, brushes, and other

baleen whale, (suborder Mysticeti), any cetacean possessing unique epidermal modifications of the mouth called baleen, which is used to filter food from water. Baleen whales seek out concentrations of small planktonic animals. The whales then open their mouth and take in enormous quantities of

ostariophysan: Annotated classification: Family Cetopsidae (whalelike catfishes) Body naked, lacking bony plates. South America. 7 genera, 23 species. Family Callichthyidae (callichthyid armoured catfishes) 2 longitudinal series of overlapping bony plates. Herbivorous aquarium fishes. South and Central America. 8 genera, about 177 species.

Philip Whalen was an American poet who emerged from the Beat movement of the mid 20th century, known for his wry and innovative poetry. Whalen served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1946 and attended Reed College, Portland (B.A., 1951), before joining the West Coast’s nascent Beat movement. Like

Philip Whalen was an American poet who emerged from the Beat movement of the mid 20th century, known for his wry and innovative poetry. Whalen served in the U.S. Army from 1943 to 1946 and attended Reed College, Portland (B.A., 1951), before joining the West Coast’s nascent Beat movement. Like

carcharhinid: …classification of many, especially the gray sharks, or whalers (Carcharhinus), is uncertain and may be revised after further study.

Lindsay Anderson: … (1974), Britannia Hospital (1982), and The Whales of August (1987). His later stage productions included Storey’s The March on Russia (1989).

Bay of Whales, former indentation in the Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica. First seen by the British explorer Sir James Clark Ross in 1842 and visited by a fellow countryman, Ernest Henry (later Sir Ernest) Shackleton, in 1908, the Bay of Whales served as one of the most important centres of Antarctic

whaling, the hunting of whales for food and oil. Whaling was once conducted around the world by seafaring nations in pursuit of the giant animals that seemed as limitless as the oceans in which they swam. However, since the mid-20th century, when whale populations began to drop catastrophically,

Native American dance: Eskimo (Inuit): …held elaborate outdoor ceremonies for whale catches and similar events. In Alaska, preliminaries included the rhythmic mime of a successful whale catch, with a woman in the role of the whale. A sprinkling of ashes on the ice drove away evil spirits, and there were incantations and songs when leaving…

Wham!: Legacy: … (2019), and the Netflix documentary Wham! (2023). That same year Michael was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In an emotional induction speech during the ceremony, Ridgeley stated:

In the early 1980s, American fans of pop music found themselves in the midst of the Second British Invasion. British pop and new wave groups such as Culture Club, Duran Duran, the Police, Depeche Mode, Human League, and A Flock of Seagulls stormed American radio, the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and

Wham!: China tour and Live Aid: …the basis of the documentary Wham! in China: Foreign Skies (1986). Wham! also had hits in 1985 with the jubilant “I’m Your Man” and the rueful “Everything She Wants,” which became its third single to reach number one. That summer Michael performed a duet with Elton John at the Live…

In the early 1980s, American fans of pop music found themselves in the midst of the Second British Invasion. British pop and new wave groups such as Culture Club, Duran Duran, the Police, Depeche Mode, Human League, and A Flock of Seagulls stormed American radio, the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and

Hula Hoop: …of the American toy company WHAM-O, purchased American rights. The company introduced the Hula Hoop to children in southern California in 1958. Seen on television news segments and variety shows, the Hula Hoop rapidly became a national and international fad. Sales of the original Hula-hoop were estimated to have reached…

Lin Biao: Early life and military career: The Whampoa Academy, headed by Sun’s successor, Chiang Kai-shek (Jiang Jieshi), was to train the officers for the revolutionary army. Lin had been at the academy less than a year when Chiang launched the Northern Expedition in July 1926. Nevertheless, despite the brevity of his formal…

unequal treaty: …the United States and the Treaty of Whampoa with France (both 1844). Each additional treaty expanded upon the rights of extraterritoriality, and, as a result, the foreigners obtained an independent legal, judicial, police, and taxation system within the treaty ports.

Witi Ihimaera: The novel Whanau (1974; “Family”) presents a day in the life of a Māori village. The Matriarch (1986) and its sequel, The Dream Swimmer (1997), investigate the ramifications of European colonization of New Zealand over several generations of a Māori family. In The Whale Rider (1987; film…

dock: …of a quay wall, a wharf, consisting of a trestle-mounted rectangular platform running parallel to the shoreline, and with a connecting passageway to the shore, may be constructed. Normally only the front or seaward side of a wharf is used for berthing, because the water depth and accessibility on the…

brown rat, (Rattus norvegicus), species of rat found on every continent except Antarctica. The alternate name “Norway rat” came from a false hypothesis widely believed in 18th-century England that the rats were native to Norway. Research has confirmed, however, that the brown rat is native to Asia,

River Wharfe, river in the historic county of Yorkshire in north-central England. It rises in the Pennines in the administrative county of North Yorkshire and then flows 60 miles (97 km) southeast to become an important tributary of the River Ouse (which drains into the Humber, an estuary of the

Wharfedale, upper valley of the River Wharfe within the Pennine uplands, in the historic county of Yorkshire, England, noted for its scenic attractions. The valley descends from the western part of the administrative county of North Yorkshire across the northern part of the metropolitan county of

Lawrence R. Klein: The Wharton Models found wide use in forecasting gross national product, exports, investment, and consumption. A more ambitious effort, the LINK project, incorporated data gathered from a large number of industrialized, centrally planned, and developing countries to forecast trade and capital movements and to test the…

salivary gland: …major duct of each (Wharton’s duct) opens into the floor of the mouth at the junction where the front of the tongue meets the mouth’s floor. A capsule of tissue also surrounds each of these glands, which give off mixed secretions mostly serous in nature. The third pair, the…

Edith Wharton was an American author best known for her stories and novels about the upper-class society into which she was born. Edith Jones came of a distinguished and long-established New York family. She was educated by private tutors and governesses at home and in Europe, where the family

Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton was a prominent English reforming peer from the English Civil Wars to the Glorious Revolution of 1688–89. Wharton succeeded his grandfather as Baron Wharton in March 1625 and then studied at Exeter College, Oxford. A committed Puritan, Wharton advocated reform in

Thomas, 1st Marquess Wharton was an English peer who was one of the principal Whig politicians after the Glorious Revolution (1688–89). The son of Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton, he became a member of the House of Commons in 1673 and remained an M.P. until he inherited his father’s title in

William Wharton was an American novelist and painter best known for his innovative first novel, Birdy (1979; filmed 1984), a critical and popular success. Wharton spent his youth in Philadelphia. He joined the army upon graduating from high school and was severely wounded in the Battle of the Bulge

Michael McDonald: Awards and personal life: …arrangement accompanying vocals for “What a Fool Believes.” McDonald and the Doobie Brothers also won a Grammy for best pop vocal performance by a duo, group, or chorus for the song “Minute by Minute.” In 1985 he shared a Grammy with Ingram for best R&B performance by a duo…

Richard Dreyfuss: …and Guildenstern Are Dead (1990), What About Bob? (1991), and Once Around (1991)—were more critical favourites than box-office successes. His sensitive multilayered performance as a musician who foregoes dreams of a composing career to teach high school in Mr. Holland’s Opus (1995) earned Dreyfuss another Oscar nomination.

Bruce Chatwin: What Am I Doing Here?, a collection of Chatwin’s essays, was published posthumously.

Looking to invest in a fund that offers high yields and a chance for capital appreciation? You might like to consider closed-end mutual funds. Closed-end funds share some similarities with open-end mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and unit investment trusts; however, there are some

Commodities such as copper, crude oil, natural gas, soybeans, and sugar are the raw ingredients that feed and power the global economy. Commodities are also an investment category; they’re traded every day on markets around the world, with implications for every individual and business. You may

Cryptocurrencies are digital assets that rely on an encrypted network to execute, verify, and record transactions, independent of a centralized authority such as a government or bank. Key Points This is a complicated concept, so let’s break it down: Conceptual illustration representing the bitcoin

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are ready-made collections of stocks, bonds, and/or other assets that trade throughout the day on an exchange. You might buy an ETF as a way to invest in an index, market sector, or other specific strategy. With ETFs, you can trade in or out of the market at a moment’s

If you’ve ever tuned into the financial news on a regular basis, you’ve probably heard the term junk bonds now and then. On the surface, it doesn’t sound very attractive. If they’re junk, why would anyone be interested in them? Junk bonds may get a bad rap based on their name, but in reality

Medicare Advantage plans are offered by private health insurers and provide an alternative to traditional Medicare. During the annual enrollment period each fall, major companies like UnitedHealthcare (UHC), Humana (HUM), Aetna, and Cigna (CI) promote a wide array of plans, each with different

A self-directed individual retirement account might sound like the ultimate empowerment tool for your nest egg, but it’s a bit more complex than that. Self-directed IRAs, sometimes known as SDIRAs, are trusts that allow holders to place alternative assets into a retirement account—things that

When you fill out your annual tax return and figure how much you owe Uncle Sam, tax credits are your best friend, as they’re deducted right from the bottom line. Tax credits are matched dollar for dollar against the amount you owe. Key Points Individuals and families can benefit from dozens of tax

Hawks and falcons, while both being birds of prey, belong to different taxonomic families, and, according to a growing number of classifications, even different orders. Hawks are primarily part of the family Accipitridae, which includes a variety of birds such as kites, buzzards, and harriers.

The Moon goes through a cycle of eight distinct phases as it orbits Earth, each offering a unique view of its illuminated surface. The cycle kicks off with the new moon, when the Moon is positioned between Earth and the Sun, leaving its illuminated side hidden from our view. As it moves along its

Torpedo bat vs. traditional batThe newly designed torpedo bat (left) next to a conventionally shaped bat in the dugout during a Toronto Blue Jays–Washington Nationals game in Toronto, March 31, 2025.© Mark Blinch/Getty Images The torpedo bat, also called the bowling pin bat, is a new baseball bat

Marilynne Robinson: Later nonfiction and other works: …and in 2018 she published What Are We Doing Here?, a collection of essays based on lectures that address the cost of ceding critical thought to flat ideologies and orthodox principles. In 2024 Robinson published Reading Genesis, a learned, riveting interpretation of the first book of the Bible.

Sigrid Nunez: What Are You Going Through and The Vulnerables: …suicide, ethics, and friendship in What Are You Going Through (2020). The book focuses on a narrator who helps a friend, a writer who is dying of cancer, terminate her own life. She followed this work with The Vulnerables (2023), which examines the cross-generational relationship between two strangers brought together…

The main contributors to acid rain are sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides (NOx; the combination of NO and NO2), which are released into the air primarily through the combustion of such fossil fuels as coal, oil, and natural gas. These pollutants are emitted by power plants, vehicles, and

Allergic reactions are caused by substances known as allergens. These substances can be found in a variety of sources such as pollen, mold spores, dust, animal dander, and certain foods. These substances induce the hypersensitive state of allergy and stimulate the formation of reaginic antibodies,