Orientation
Orientation, A Term Expressing The Angular 'elation Of Any Object To The Points Of The Compass; In Architecture, Used To Express The Relation Of The Main Dimensions Of A Building, With Reference To The Points Of The Compass, And Especially With Ref Erence To The East. In Mesopotamia And Egypt, ...
Origen
Origen (c. 254), The Most Distinguished And Most Influential Of All The Theologians Of The Ancient Church, With The Possible Exception Of Augustine. Origen Was Born, Perhaps At Alexandria, Of Christian Parents In The Year 185 Or I86. His Father Leonidas Gave Him An Excellent Education. At A Very Early ...
Original Package
Original Package, A Legal Term In America, Meaning The Package In Which Goods, Intended For Inter-state Commerce, Are Actually Transported Wholesale. The Term Is Used Chiefly In Determining The Boundary Between Federal And State Jurisdiction In The Regulation Of Commerce, And Derives Special Significance By Reason Of The Conflict Between ...
Orinoco
Orinoco, A River And River System Of Northern South Amer Ica. Its Basin Embraces About One-half Of The Eastern Plains Of Colombia And Nearly All Of Venezuela South And Cast Of The Andes; It Ranks Third In Area Among The South American River Basins. The Main River Is About 1,5oo ...
Orion
Orion (or Oarion), In Greek Mythology, Son Of Hyrieus Or Poseidon, A Mighty Hunter Of Great Beauty And Gigantic Strength. He Is Also Sometimes Represented As Sprung From The Earth. He Was Beloved Of Eos, The Dawn-goddess, Who Carried Him Off To Delos ; But Artemis Slew Him With Her ...
Oriskany
Oriskany (6-ris'k4-ni), A Village Of Oneida County, New York, U.s.a., About 7 M. N.w. Of Utica. Pop. (193o) 1,142. Oriskany Is Served By The New York Central Railway. In A Ravine, About 2 M. West Of Oriskany, Was Fought On Aug. 6, 1777 The Battle Of Oriskany, An Important Minor ...
Orissa
Orissa, A Tract Of India, In The Province Of Bihar And Orissa, Consisting Of A British Division And 24 Feudatory States. The Historical Capital Of Cuttack Is The Headquarters; And Puri, With Its Temple Of Jagannath, Is World-famous. Orissa Is Inhabited By A Distinctive Race, The Oriyas, With A Separate ...
Orkney Islands
Orkney Islands, Group Forming A County Off The North Coast Of Scotland. The Islands Are Separated From The Mainland By The Pentland Firth, Which Is 64 M. Wide Between Brough Ness In The Island Of South Ronaldshay And Duncansbay Head In Caithness-shire. The Group Consists Of 67 Islands (not Including ...
Orleanists
Orleanists, A French Political Party Which Arose Out Of The Revolution. It Took Its Name From The Orleans Branch Of The House Of Bourbon, The Descendants Of Philippe, Duke Of Orleans, Younger Brother Of Louis Xiv., Who Were Its Chiefs. Its Aim Was To Reconcile The Monarchical Principle With The ...
Orleans Campaign Of 1870
Orleans Campaign Of 1870 Orleans Was The Pivot Of The Second Phase Of The Franco German War, Called The "people's War," When The New Armies Began Their Attempt To Relieve Paris. After The Fall Of The Empire, The Government Of National Defence, Deciding To Remain In Paris, Delegated Three Of ...
Orleans Orleans
Orleans (orleans), A City Of France, The Chief Town Of Loiret, On The Loire, 77 M. S.s.w. Of Paris By Rail. Pop. (1931) 63,653. Les Aubrais, A Mile To The North, Is One Of The Chief Rail Way Junctions In The Country. An Early Trading Post Among The Gauls, Orleans ...
Orne
Orne, A Department Of The North-west Of France, About Half Of Which Formerly Belonged To The Province Of Normandy And The Rest To The Duchy Of Alencon And To Perche. Pop. 273,717. Area, 2,371 Sq.m. West Of The Orne And The Railway From Ar Gentan To Alencon Lie Primitive Rocks ...
Ornithology
Ornithology Is The Science Of Birds. We Begin With The Records Of Birds Made By Aurignacian Man During The Last Glacial Epoch Of The Ice Age In France And Spain—paintings On The Walls Of Caves, Or Figures Or Incisions Carved On Bits Of Horn, Bone Or Stone. The Birds That ...
Orpheus
Orpheus. The Legendary Founder Of The Cult Known As Orphism, O 'onsuces Gios. The Derivation Of The Name Is Uncertain, Possibly From The Same Root As 6pc/wn, Signifying Darkness. What Original Figure, Human Or Divine, Lies Behind The Legend, Is Un Known; It Seems Possible, However, That Orpheus Is The ...
Orsini
Orsini, The Name Of A Roman Princely Family Of Great Anti Quity. According To Tradition The Popes Paul I. (757) And Eu Genius Ii. (824) Were Of The Orsini Family, But The Probable Founder Of The House Was A Certain Ursus (the Bear), About Whom Very Little Is Known, And ...
Orthodontia
Orthodontia, A Special Department Of Dentistry Con Cerned With The Prevention And Correction Of Irregular And Of Mal Posed Teeth. Orthodontic Treatment Is Usually Effected By Means Of The Spring Force Of Delicate Wires Attached To The Teeth. The Earliest Attempt In The Literature At Systematic Treatment Of Orthodontia Was ...
Orthodox Eastern Church
Orthodox Eastern Church (frequently Spoken Of As "the Greek Church," And Described Officially As "the Holy Orthodox Catholic Apostolic Eastern Church"), The Historical Rep Resentative Of The Churches Of The Ancient East. It Consists Of (a) Those Churches Which Accepted All The Decrees Of The First Seven General Councils, And ...
Orthogenesis
Orthogenesis, A Zoological Term Introduced By Eimer To Express The View That The Variations From The Normal Form Of An Animal Species, On The Occurrence Of Which Evolution De Pends, Do Not Arise At Hazard But Have A Definite Direction In All Closely Allied Species ; And That These Variations ...
Orthopaedic Surgery
Orthopaedic Surgery. In This Branch Of Surgery, Which Deals With The Rectification Of Congenital And Acquired Deformities, Particularly Those Of The Limbs, Great Advances Have Been Achieved During Recent Years As A Consequence Of The Excep Tional Opportunities Of Study And Practice Afforded During The Great War. Thus The Treatment ...
Orthoptera
Orthoptera, The Term Used In Zoological Classification For That Order Of Insects Which Includes The Cockroaches, Mantids, Grasshoppers, Locusts, Crickets And Their Allies. The Earwigs Are Included Here By Some Authorities But They Are Now More Often Relegated To A Separate Order Of Their Own—the Dermaptera (see Earwig). The Orthoptera ...
Oruro
Oruro, A Department And Town Of Bolivia. The Department Is Bounded North By La Paz, East By Cochabamba And Potosi, South By Potosi And West By Chile; It Occupies Part Of An Ancient Lacus Trine Basin Lying Between The Eastern And Western Ranges Of The Andes, And Has An Area ...
Osaka
Osaka, A City Of Japan In The Province Of Settsu. Pop. (1931) 2,453;573. It Lies In A Plain Bounded, Except Westward, Where It Opens On Osaka Bay, By Hills Of Considerable Height, On Both Sides Of The Yodogawa, Or Rather Its Headwater The Aji (the Outlet Of Lake Biwa), And ...
Oscan
Oscan Was The Name Given By The Romans To That Dialect (lingua Osca) Which They Found Spoken By The Osci Of Campania. But Inscriptional And Other Records, I.e., Local And Personal Names And Glosses In Ancient Authors, Manifestly Of The Same Dialect, Have Been Found Not Only In Campania, Where ...
Oscar Ii 1829 1907
Oscar Ii. (1829-1907), King Of Sweden And Norway, Son Of Oscar I., Was Born At Stockholm On Jan. 21, 1829. In 1857 He Married Princess Sophia Wilhelmina, Youngest Daughter Of Duke William Of Nassau. He Succeeded His Brother Charles Xv. On Sept. 18, 1872, And Was Crowned In The Norwegian ...
Osceola
Osceola (c. 1804-1838), A Seminole American Indian, Leader In The Second Seminole War, Was Born In Georgia, Near The Chattahoochee River. His Father Was An Englishman Named Wil Liam Powell; His Mother A Creek Of The Red Stick Or Mikasuki Division. In 1808 He Removed With His Mother Into Northern ...
Osier
Osier, The Common Term Under Which Are Included The Va Rious Species, Varieties And Hybrids Of The Genus Salix, Used In The Manufacture Of Baskets. The Chief Species In Cultivation Are: Salix Viminalis (the Common Osier) And S. Triandra, S. Amygda Lina, S. Purp-urea And S. Fragilis, Which Botanically Are ...
Osler Sir William
Osler Sir William British Phy Sician, Born At Bond Head, Canada, July 12, 1849, Was Edu Cated At Trinity College School, Port Hope, Trinity College, To Ronto, And Mcgill University, Montreal, Where He Took The M.d. Degree In 1872. He Studied Medicine In London, Leipzig And Vienna And In 1874 ...
Osmium
Osmium, A Chemical Element Found In Small Quantities In Platinum Ores But Obtained Chiefly From The Mineral Osmiridium By The Method Of Deville And Debray (see Ruthenium) To Gether With Iridium It Was First Isolated By Smithson Tennant In 1803 (symbols Os, Atomic Number 76, Atomic Weight 190.8). Os Miridium ...
Osroene Or Osrhoene
Osroene Or Osrhoene, A District Of Northwestern Mesopotamia, In The Hill Country On The Upper Bilechas (belichus; Mod. Nahr Belik, Bilikh), The Tributary Of The Euphrates, With Its Capital At Edessa (q.v.), Founded By Seleucus I. About 130 B.c. Edessa Was Occupied By A Nomadic Arabic Tribe, The Orrhoei (plin. ...
Ostend
Ostend, Town, Province Of West Flanders, Belgium. Pop. (193o) 46,952. It Is The Most Fashionable Seaside Resort And The Third Port Of The Kingdom. In The Middle Ages It Was Strongly Fortified And Underwent Several Sieges; Notably In 16o1—o4, When It Only Surrendered By Order Of The States To Spinola. ...
Ostend Company
Ostend Company. The Success Of The Dutch, English And French East India Companies Led The Merchants And Ship Owners Of Ostend To Desire To Establish Direct Commercial Rela Tions With The Indies. A Private Company Was Accordingly Formed In 1717 And Some Ships Sent To The East. The Emperor Charles ...
Osteopathy
Osteopathy. According To Its Advocates, Osteopathy Is A System Of Health And Healing Founded On The Theory That The Liv Ing Body Is A Vital Machine Which Will Make The Remedies Neces Sary To Protect Itself Against Disease So Long As It Is In Correct Me Chanical Adjustment. In Addition, ...
Ostia
Ostia, An Ancient Town And Harbour Of Latium, Italy, At The Mouth Of The River Tiber, On Its Left Bank. It Lies 14 M. S.w. From Rome By The Via Ostiensis, A Road Of Very Ancient Origin Followed By The Modern Road Which Preserves Some Traces Of The Old Pavement ...
Ostiaks Or Ostyaks
Ostiaks Or Ostyaks, A Tribe Who Inhabit The Basin Of The Ob In Western Siberia. The So-called Ostyaks Of The Yenisei Speak An Entirely Different Language. The Trans-uralian Ostiaks And Samoyedes Are Probably Identical With The Yugra Of The Russian Annals. During The Russian Conquest Their Abodes Ex Tended Much ...
Ostracism
Ostracism, A Political Device Instituted As A Constitutional Safeguard For The Athenian Democracy. Its Effect Was To Remove From Athens For A Period Of Ten Years Any Person Who Threatened The Harmony And Tranquillity Of The Body Politic. In The Sixth Prytany (see Prytaneum) Of Each Year The Representatives Of ...
Ostracoda
Ostracoda, A Sub-class Of The Crustacea (q.v.) Compris Ing Minute Forms Found In Fresh Water And In The Sea And Dis Tinguished By Having The Body And Limbs Completely Enclosed In A Bivalve Shell. They Are Remarkable For Having A Smaller Num Ber Of Appendages Than Any Other Crustacea, There ...
Ostuni
Ostuni, A Picturesque Walled City Of Apulia, Italy, Province Of Brindisi, 23 M. N.w. Of Brindisi. Pop. (1921) 19,298 (town) ; 24,914 (commune). It Has A 15th Century Cathedral. Ostwald, Wilhelm 2 ), German Chemist, Was Born In Riga Sept. 2, 1853, And Educated At The University Of Dorpat. In ...
Oswald
Oswald (c. 605-642), King Of Northumbria, Was One Of The Sons Of Aethelfrith And Was Expelled From Northumbria On The Accession Of Edwin, Though He Hiniself Was A Son Of Edwin's Sister Acha. He Appears To Have Spent Some Of His Exile In Iona, Where He Was Instructed In The ...
Oswego
Oswego, A City Of New York, U.s.a., The County Seat Of Oswego County; On Lake Ontario, 35 M. N.n.w. Of Syracuse, At The Mouth Of The Oswego River And The Oswego Canal, Which Con Nects With The State Barge Canal At Three River Point, 25 M. S.e. It Is Served ...
Oswestry
Oswestry, Municipal Borough, Shropshire, England, Situ Ated Near The Welsh Border In The North-west Corner Of The County. Pop. 9,754. The Town Is Placed Where Valleys Open From The Berwyn Mountains, And Is A Market Town Between Hill And Plain As Well As A Route Centre. There Are Various Accounts ...
Other Medals And Decorations
Other Medals And Decorations Great Britain.-(a) 1914 Star (commonly Known As The Mons Star), Instituted In 1917, And Awarded To All Ranks, Cluding Nursing Staffs, Who Actually Served In France Or Bel Gium On The Establishment Of A Unit Between Aug. 5, 1914, And Nov. 22-23, 1914. (b) 1914-15 Star, ...
Other National Debts
Other National Debts During The First Quarter Of The Present Century There Was A Substantial Increase In The National Debts Of The World, Largely The Result Of The World War. Country After Country On The Euro Pean Continent Experienced The Same Phenomenal Growth In Gov Ernmental Indebtedness As Has Already ...
Ottawa
Ottawa, The Largest Tributary Of The River St. Lawrence; Ranking Ninth In Length Among The Rivers Of Canada, Being 685 M. Long. It Flows First Westward To Lake Timiscaming; Thence South-east And East. The Principal Tributaries On The Left Bank Are The Rouge (115 M.), North Nation (6o), Lievre (205), ...
Ottawa
Ottawa, A City Of Carleton County, Province Of Ontario, And The Capital Of The Dominion Of Canada, On The Right Bank Of The Ottawa River, Ioi M. W. Of Montreal And 217 M. N.e. Of Toronto. The Main Tower Of The Parliament Building Is In 25' 29.499" N., And 42' ...
Otto
Otto Il. (955-983), Roman Emperor, Was The Son Of The Emperor Otto The Great, By His Second Wife Adelaide. He Was Chosen German King At Worms In 961 And On Dec. 25, 967, Was Crowned Joint Emperor At Rome By Pope John Xiii. On April 14, 972, He Married Theophano, ...
Otto I 912 973
Otto I. (912-973), The Great, Roman Emperor, Eldest Son Of King Henry I. The Fowler By His Second Wife Matilda, Was Born On Nov. 23, 912. Little Is Known Of His Early Years, But He Probably Shared In Some Of His Father's Campaigns. In 929 He Married Edith, Daughter Of ...
Otto Iii
Otto Iii. (98o-1oo2), Roman Emperor, Son Of The Emperor Otto Ii. And Theophano, Daughter Of The Eastern Emperor Ro Manus Ii., Was Born In July 98o, Chosen As His Father's Successor At Verona In June 983 And Crowned German King At Aix-la-cha Pelle On Dec. 25. Otto Ii. Had Died ...
Otto Iv
Otto Iv. (c. 1182-1218), Roman Emperor, Second Son Of Henry The Lion, Duke Of Saxony, And Matilda, Daughter Of Henry Ii., King Of England, Was Most Probably Born At Argenton In Central France. His Father Died When He Was Still Young, And He Was Educated At The Court Of His ...
Otto Of Freising
Otto Of Freising (1114?-1158), German Bishop And Chronicler, Was The Fifth Son Of Leopold Iii., Margrave Of Austria, By His Wife Agnes, Daughter Of The Emperor Henry Iv. By Her First Husband, Frederick I. Of Hohenstaufen, Duke Of Swabia, Agnes Was The Mother Of The German King Conrad Iii., And ...
Otto Of Nordheim
Otto Of Nordheim (d. 1083), Duke Of Bavaria, Be Longed To The Rich And Influential Saxon Family Of The Counts Of Nordheim, And Received The Duchy Of Bavaria From Agnes, Widow Of The Emperor Henry Iii., In 1061. In 1062 He Assisted Anno, Archbishop Of Cologne, To Seize The German ...
Otto_2
Otto, King Of Greece (1815-1867), Second Son Of Louis I., King Of Bavaria, And His Wife Teresa Of Saxe-altenburg, Was Born At Salzburg On June 1, 1815, And Was Educated At Munich. In 1832 He Was Chosen By The Conference Of London To Occupy The Newly-erected Throne Of Greece, And ...
Ottrelite
Ottrelite (from Ottrez, Belgium, The Original Locality), In Mineralogy, A Member Of A Group Of Closely Related Minerals With The General Composition Ro. In Which Ro Is Dominantly Feo, But Is Often In Part Represented By A Content Of Mg0 Or Mno. On Account Of Its Petrographic Importance The Term ...
Oudenarde
Oudenarde, A Town Of Belgium In The Province Of East Flanders, 18 M. S. Of Ghent. While It Is Best Known For The Great Victory Gained By Marlborough And Eugene Over The French Under Vendorne In 1708, Oudenarde Has Many Features Of Interest. The Town Hall, Which Took Ten Years ...
Ouro Preto
Ouro Preto ("black Gold"), A City Of The State Of Minas Geraes, Brazil, 336m. By Rail N. By W. Of Rio De Janeiro, And About 3oom. W. Of Victoria, Espirito Santo, On The Eastern Slope Of The Serra De Espinhaco And Within The Drainage Basin Of The Rio Doce. Pop. ...
Ouse
Ouse, The Name Of Several English Rivers, An Ancient Word Of Disputed Etymology. (i) The Great Ouse Rises In Northamptonshire, In The Hills Between Banbury And Brackley, And Falls About Soo Ft. In 16o M. To Its Mouth In The Wash (north Sea). It Flows East Past Brack Ley And ...
Outlawry Of War
Outlawry Of War Means, In The Popular Concept, The Placing Of War As A Means Of National Policy Outside The Pale Of Law. War Has Been Regarded In Certain Instances As The Last Resort Of A State To Obtain What It Believes To Be Its Lawful Object. Certain Writers Have ...
Overhead Charges
Overhead Charges. Overhead Charges, Or On-costs, Are An Important Factor In Cost Accounts. Prime Cost Represents Outlays Directly Incurred For A Particular Purpose, And Thus Capa Ble Of Being Charged Directly Thereto. In Addition, There Are A Number Of Indirect Expenses Which Can Only Be Dealt With By Spreading Them ...
Oversea Settlement Committee
Oversea Settlement Committee. This Im Portant Body Was Appointed In 1919 To Assist And Advise The Brit Ish Government In Their Policy Of Undertaking Closer Responsibility Than They Had Exercised In The Past In Connection With The Move Ment Of British Subjects Wishing To Settle In Other Parts Of The ...
Overture
Overture (fr. Ouverture, Opening), In Music, A Detach Able Instrumental Introduction To A Dramatic Or Choral Corn Position. The Notion Of An Overture Had No Existence Until The 17th Century. The Toccata At The Beginning Of Monteverdi's Orfeo Is A Barbaric Flourish Of Every Procurable Instrument, Alternating With A Melodious ...
Ovid Publius Ovidius Nasd
Ovid [publius Ovidius Nasd] (43 B.c.-a.d. 17), Roman Poet, The Last Of The Augustan Age, Was Born In 43 B.c., The Last Year Of The Republic. Thus The Only Form Of Political Life Known To Ovid Was That Of The Absolute Rule Of Augustus And His Suc Cessor. He Was ...
Oviedo
Oviedo, A Maritime Province Of Northern Spain, Bounded On The North By The Bay Of Biscay, East By Santander, South By Leon And West By Lugo. Pop. (193o) 791,855, Area, 4,205 Sq.m. In Popular Speech Oviedo Is Often Called By Its Ancient Name Of Asturias, Which Only Ceased To Be ...
Oviedo_2
Oviedo, An Episcopal City And Capital Of The Spanish Prov Ince Of Oviedo; 16 M. S. Of The Bay Of Biscay, On The River Nalon, And On The Leon-gijon Oviedo-trubia And Oviedo-infiesto Rail Ways. Pop. (1930) 75,463. Oviedo Is Built On A Hill Rising From A Broad And Picturesque Valley, ...
Owen Roe Oneill C
Owen Roe O'neill (c. 1590-1649), One Of The Most Celebrated Of The O'neills, The Subject Of The Well-known Ballad "the Lament For Owen Roe," Was The Son Of Art O'neill, A Younger Brother Of Hugh, 2nd Earl Of Tyrone. Having Served With Dis Tinction In The Spanish Army He Was ...
Owen Sound
Owen Sound, A City And Port Of Entry In Ontario, Canada, And Capital Of Grey County, Situated 99 M. N.w. Of Toronto, On Georgian Bay. Pop. (1931) 12,839. It Is The Terminus Of Branches Of The Canadian Pacific And Canadian National Rail Ways, And Of The Canadian Pacific And Other ...
Oxalic Acid
Oxalic Acid, One Of The Oldest Known Organic Acids. Scheele In 1776 Prepared It By Oxidizing Sugar With Nitric Acid, And Showed It To Be Identical With The Acetosellic Acid Obtained From Wood-sorrel, With The Formula H2c204, Or, In Its Usual Crystalline Form, It Is Found In The Form Of ...
Oxalis
Oxalis, In Botany, A Large Genus Of Small Herbaceous Plants, Comprising, With A Few Small Allied Genera, The Family Oxalidaceae. The Name Is Derived From Gr. 6evs, Acid, The Plants Being Highly Acid To The Taste. It Contains About 30o Species, Chiefly South African And Tropical And South American. It ...
Oxford
Oxford, The County Town Of Oxfordshire, England, A Municipal And Parliamentary Borough, Cathedral City, And Seat Of An Ancient University, Lies On The River Thames, 51 M. By Road And M. By Rail W.n.w. Of London (g.w. Railway) ; Main Rail Ways Also To Worcester And Birmingham (g.w. Railway) ; ...
Oxford University
Oxford University. The Stories Connecting Oxford University With Brute The Trojan, With King Mempeic (1009 B.c.) And With The Druids, Cannot Be Traced Back Beyond The I4th Century. The Town, In Fact, Is Considerably Older Than The Uni Versity. (see Oxfora) Authentic History Appears To Begin In 1133 With The ...
Oxfordshire Or Oxon
Oxfordshire Or Oxon, A South-east Midland County Of England, Bounded North-east By Northamptonshire, North West By Warwickshire, West By Gloucestershire, South-south-west And South East By Berkshire And East By Buckinghamshire. It Was Originally Part Of The Mercian Kingdom, But Its Boundaries, Except For The Thames On The South (71 M. ...