- Old Town (district, Prague, Czech Republic)
Prague: Medieval growth: …opposite Hradčany, developed into the Old Town (Staré město), particularly after the construction of the first stone bridge, the Judith Bridge, over the river in 1170. By 1230 the Old Town had been given borough status and was defended by a system of walls and fortifications. On the opposite bank,…
- Old Town (district, Brussels, Belgium)
Brussels: City layout: The historic Old Town of inner Brussels forms the centre of the modern metropolis, but the pentagonal walls that once surrounded it were replaced by a ring of tree-lined boulevards in the early 19th century. Since 1830, when Belgium became an independent kingdom, Brussels has continued to…
- Old Town (New York, United States)
Richmond: …1661 at Oude Dorp (Old Town). Three years later the British took control. Richmond County (named for Charles Lennox, 1st duke of Richmond and natural son of Charles II) was organized in 1683.
- Old Town Road (song)
country music: Diversifying in the 21st century: …2019 the country-trap song “Old Town Road” by Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus broke the record for the most consecutive weeks (19) a single had topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 2024 R&B singer Beyoncé released the Grammy Award-winning album Cowboy Carter, for which she collaborated…
- Old Turkic language (language)
Turkic languages: Literary languages: …period may be divided into Old Turkic proper, Old Uyghur, and Qarakhanid. The earliest known records of Old Turkic proper are inscriptions on stone stelae erected in the 8th century in the Orhon River valley (Mongolia) in honour of certain rulers of the Old Turkic empire. This language is also…
- Old Uyghur language (language)
Turkic languages: Literary languages: …divided into Old Turkic proper, Old Uyghur, and Qarakhanid. The earliest known records of Old Turkic proper are inscriptions on stone stelae erected in the 8th century in the Orhon River valley (Mongolia) in honour of certain rulers of the Old Turkic empire. This language is also represented in somewhat…
- Old Vic (London theatrical company)
Old Vic, theatre in the Greater London borough of Lambeth. It was formerly the home of a theatre company that became the nucleus of the National Theatre. The company’s theatre building opened in 1818 as the Royal Coburg and produced mostly popular melodramas. In 1833 it was redecorated and renamed
- Old Vic (historical theater, London, United Kingdom)
Old Vic: …became popularly known as the Old Vic. Under the management (1880–1912) of Emma Cons, a social reformer, the Old Vic was transformed into a temperance amusement hall known as the Royal Victoria Hall and Coffee Tavern, where musical concerts and scenes from Shakespeare and opera were performed. Lilian Baylis, Emma…
- Old Water Tower (building, Chicago, Illinois, United States)
Chicago Water Tower, one of the few buildings to survive the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Completed in 1869, the limestone structure with its ornate castellated Gothic Revival style is one of the most iconic buildings along Chicago’s famed “Magnificent Mile” of Michigan Avenue, and it is the
- Old Ways, The (work by Snyder)
Gary Snyder: Snyder’s later publications include The Old Ways (1977), a selection of essays on aspects of tribal life; He Who Hunted Birds in His Father’s Village, an examination of Haida Indian myth, published in 1979 but written as an academic paper more than 25 years earlier; and Passage Through India…
- Old White, The (hotel, West Virginia, United States)
White Sulphur Springs: The White Sulphur Springs Hotel (1854), known as the “Old White,” preceded the Greenbrier and served as headquarters and hospital to both sides during the American Civil War. The President’s Cottage (1835) housed presidents throughout the 19th century and since 1932 has served as a historical…
- Old Wives’ summer (meteorology)
Indian summer, period of dry, unseasonably warm weather in late October or November in the central and eastern United States. The term originated in New England and probably arose from the Indians’ practice of gathering winter stores at this time. This autumn warm period also occurs in Europe,
- Old Wives’ Tale, The (novel by Bennett)
The Old Wives’ Tale, novel by Arnold Bennett, published in 1908. This study of the changes wrought by time on the lives of two English sisters during the 19th century is a masterpiece of literary realism. Constance and Sophia Baines, the daughters of a shopkeeper, grow up in the rural town of
- Old Wives’ Tale, The (play by Peele)
George Peele: …achievement, the fantastical comic romance The Old Wives’ Tale (c. 1591–94). He also wrote commemorative poems and city pageants.
- Old Women of Arles (painting by Paul Gauguin)
Paul Gauguin: Early maturity: For example, Gauguin’s Old Women of Arles (Mistral) (1888) portrays a group of women moving through a flattened, arbitrarily conceived landscape in a solemn procession. As in much of his work from this period, Gauguin applied thick paint in a heavy manner to raw canvas; in his rough…
- Old World avocet (bird)
avocet: The Old World avocet (R. avosetta) has the crown and hindneck black, the wings black and white. It breeds in central Asia and in scattered localities in Europe. Many winter in Africa’s Rift Valley. The slightly larger American avocet (R. americana), which is about 45 cm…
- Old World blackbird (bird species, Turdus merula)
migration: In Europe: (Carduelis carduelis), and blackbirds (Turdus merula) are usually sedentary in western Europe; they are usually migratory, however, in northern Europe, where their flights resemble a short migration. Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) are sedentary in western Europe, where large numbers gather from eastern Europe. Large flocks also pass the winter…
- Old World cotton stainer (insect, Oxycarenus hyalinipennis)
lygaeid bug: …the Old World, or Egyptian, cotton stainer (Oxycarenus hyalinipennis) and the Australian Nysius vinitor, both of which are destructive to fruit trees, and the predatory Geocoris punctipes, which feeds on mites, termites, and other small plant-feeding insects.
- Old World deer (mammal subfamily)
deer: Old and New World deer: …the Old World deer (subfamily Cervinae) and the New World deer (subfamily Capreolinae). This division reflects where the deer originally evolved; however, now it is not a geographical distinction but instead derives from their different foot structures. In the Old World deer the second and fifth hand bones (metapodia) have…
- Old World flamingo (bird)
flamingo: ruber ruber) and the Old World flamingo (P. ruber roseus) of Africa and southern Europe and Asia. The Chilean flamingo (Phoenicopterus chilensis) is primarily an inland species. Two smaller species that live high in the Andes Mountains of South America are the Andean flamingo (Phoenicoparrus andinus) and the puna,…
- Old World flycatcher (bird)
tyrant flycatcher: Like the Old World flycatchers of the family Muscicapidae, the fly-catching tyrannids dart from a perch to seize insects on the wing. The bills of such forms of flycatcher are broad, flattened, and slightly hooked, with bristles at the base that appear to serve as aids in…
- Old World fruit bat (mammal)
Old World fruit bat, (family Pteropodidae), any of more than 180 species of large-eyed fruit-eating or flower-feeding bats widely distributed from Africa to Southeast Asia and Australia. Some species are solitary, some gregarious. Most roost in the open in trees, but some inhabit caves, rocks, or
- Old World harvest mouse (rodent species)
harvest mouse: Old World harvest mouse: The single species of Old World harvest mouse (Micromys minutus) lives from Great Britain and Europe westward to Siberia and Korea, southern China, Assam, and Japan. As suggested by its scientific name, it is among the smallest of rodents, weighing less…
- Old World kestrel (bird)
kestrel: The common kestrel (F. tinnunculus), ranging over most of the Old World and sometimes called the Old World, Eurasian, or European kestrel, is slightly larger than the American kestrel but less colourful. It is the only kestrel in Britain, where it is called “windhover” from its…
- Old World leaf-nosed bat (mammal family)
Hipposiderinae, subfamily of insect-eating bats, suborder Microchiroptera, family Rhinolophidae, with 9 genera and approximately 66 species. Known as roundleaf bats, hipposiderine bats are characterized by a round nose leaf (fleshy appendage on the muzzle), consisting of an anterior
- Old World monkey (primate)
primate: The brain: …sulci are well marked in Old World monkeys and in the apes, the complexity of the pattern closely approximating the tortuous mazelike pattern seen in humans.
- Old World painted snipe (bird)
painted snipe: The Old World painted snipe (Rostratula benghalensis) ranges from Africa to Australia and Japan and has yellowish “spectacles” around the eyes. The South American painted snipe (Nycticryphes semicollaris) is a darker bird with a yellow-striped back.
- Old World pitcher plant family (plant family)
pitcher plant: Nepenthaceae: The family Nepenthaceae consists of a single genus, Nepenthes, with some 140 species of tropical pitcher plants native to Madagascar, Southeast Asia, and Australia. Most of these species are perennials that grow in very acidic soil, though some are epiphytic and live on the…
- Old World porcupine (rodent)
porcupine: Old World porcupines (Hystricidae) have quills embedded in clusters, whereas in New World porcupines (Erethizontidae) single quills are interspersed with bristles, underfur, and hair. No porcupine can throw its quills, but they detach easily and will remain embedded in an attacker. Base coloration ranges from…
- Old World rabbit (mammal)
lagomorph: Natural history: …commonly recognized forms are the European rabbit (O. cuniculus) and the cottontail rabbits of the Western Hemisphere (genus Sylvilagus).
- Old World red fox (mammal)
fox: …which lives in both the Old World and the New World. Several other foxes belong to genera other than Vulpes, including the North American gray fox, five species of South American fox, the Arctic fox (including the blue fox), the bat-eared fox, and the crab-eating fox.
- Old World region (faunal region)
Asia: The Palearctic region: A distinction can be made between the animal life of the tundra in the north and that of the adjacent taiga farther south. The taiga in turn merges into the steppes, which have their own distinctive forms of animal life. Finally, the faunas…
- Old World sucker-footed bat (bat family)
bat: Annotated classification: Family Myzopodidae (Old World sucker-footed bat) 1 species in 1 genus (Myzopoda) endemic to Madagascar. Small, plain muzzle; large ears with peculiar mushroom-shaped lobe. Thumb and sole with adhesive disks; vestigial thumb claw; tail extends free beyond interfemoral membrane. Probably insectivorous; biology unknown. Suborder Megachiroptera
- Old World swallowtail butterfly (butterfly)
community ecology: Specialization in parasites: …Old World swallowtail group (Papilio machaon). In the Old World swallowtail group are several species that feed on plants in the carrot family Apiaceae (also called Umbelliferae), with different populations feeding on different plant species. However, one species within this group, the Oregon swallowtail (Papilio oregonius), has become specialized…
- Old World viper (reptile)
viper: …pit vipers (subfamily Crotalinae) and Old World vipers (subfamily Viperinae), which are considered separate families by some authorities. They eat small animals and hunt by striking and envenomating their prey. Vipers are characterized by a pair of long, hollow, venom-injecting fangs attached to movable bones of the upper jaw (the…
- Old World vulture family (bird family)
vulture: Old World vultures: The cinereous vulture, sometimes called the black vulture (Aegypius monachus), is one of the largest flying birds. Many scientists consider this bird to be the largest vulture and the largest bird of prey. It is about 1 metre (3.3 feet) long and…
- Old World warbler family (bird family)
Sylviidae, songbird family, order Passeriformes, consisting of numerous species of small dull-coloured active birds found in a variety of habitats. The group includes some species of Old World warblers and parrotbills. Members range in size from 9 to 26 cm (3.5 to 10 inches) long. They have thin
- Old World water shrew (mammal)
water shrew: …Chimarrogale) and three species of Old World water shrews (genus Neomys). All are classified in the family Soricidae of the order Soricimorpha, which belongs to a larger group of mammals referred to as insectivores.
- Old World Wisconsin (historical site, Wisconsin, United States)
Waukesha: Old World Wisconsin, a 600-acre (240-hectare) historical site about 20 miles (30 km) southwest of Waukesha, contains restored buildings and re-creations of the pioneer life of the different ethnic groups that settled the state in the 19th century. Waukesha is the birthplace of Les Paul,…
- Old Xiang language
Xiang language: …Xiang are New Xiang and Old Xiang. New Xiang, which is spoken predominantly around Changsha, the capital of Hunan, has been strongly influenced by Mandarin Chinese. Old Xiang, which is spoken in other areas of the province, including Shuangfeng, is similar in several respects to the Wu language. Old Xiang…
- Old Yeller (film by Stevenson [1957])
Robert Stevenson: Films for Disney: Later in 1957 came Old Yeller, a heartbreaking drama based on Fred Gipson’s book about a boy (Tommy Kirk) and his dog in 1850s Texas; his parents were played by Dorothy McGuire and Fess Parker. Also successful was Darby O’Gill and the Little People (1959), a whimsical fantasy centring…
- Old Zürich War (Swiss history)
Toggenburg Succession: …this settlement led to the Old Zürich War, in which Schwyz, and later other members of the confederation, successfully opposed Zürich.
- Old-Fashioned Girl, An (novel by Alcott)
Louisa May Alcott: …drawn from her early experiences: An Old-Fashioned Girl (1870); Aunt Jo’s Scrap Bag, 6 vol. (1872–82); Eight Cousins (1875); and Rose in Bloom (1876).
- Old-Fashioned Woman, The (work by Parsons)
Elsie Clews Parsons: …books, Religious Chastity (1913) and The Old Fashioned Woman (1913), the latter of which is a sharp and witty analysis of the genesis of traditional sex roles and behaviour and the cultural codes that sustain them. Fear and Conventionality (1914), Social Freedom (1915), and Social Rule (1916) appeared under her…
- old-field toadflax (plant)
toadflax: …in the genus Nuttallanthus, including blue, or old-field, toadflax (N. canadensis, formerly L. canadensis), a delicate light blue flowering plant found throughout North America.
- old-growth forest (ecosystem)
old-growth forest, a climax forest in the late stages of stand development containing large, old trees and a complex stand structure that has been generally undisturbed by human activities. The definition of an old-growth forest varies from country to country, but most definitions share an
- old-man’s-beard (lichen)
beard lichen: Major species: Old-man’s-beard (Usnea barbata) was first described in 300 bce as a hair-growth stimulant, and extracts of various species are still sold as herbal medicines to facilitate hair growth. Hanging moss (U. longissima) looks like gray threads about 1.5 metres (5 feet) long hanging from tree…
- old-man-and-woman (plant)
echeveria: Many are popularly called hen-and-chicks because of the way new plantlets, or offsets, develop in a cluster around the parent plant. The usually broad fleshy leaves have waxy, velvety, or powdery surfaces and are often iridescent and sometimes red-edged when in bright sunlight. Echeverias are popular with collectors of…
- Old-Time Gospel Hour (American radio program)
Jerry Falwell: …on a radio program, the Old-Time Gospel Hour. Six months later the program began appearing on a local television network, and eventually it went into national and even international syndication and claimed more than 50 million regular viewers.
- old-woman cactus (plant)
old man cactus: …golden old man (Pilosocereus chrysacanthus); old woman (Mammillaria hahniana); Chilean old lady (Eriosyce senilis); and old man of the mountain (Cleistocactus trollii).
- Oldboy (film by Lee [2013])
Spike Lee: Mid-career: Malcolm X, 25th Hour, and Inside Man: Oldboy (2013) was a violent revenge drama based on a Japanese manga (which had previously been adapted as a South Korean film). Da Sweet Blood of Jesus (2014) was a reinterpretation of the 1973 horror film Ganja & Hess.
- Oldcastle, Sir John (English soldier)
Sir John Oldcastle was a distinguished soldier and martyred leader of the Lollards, a late medieval English sect derived from the teachings of John Wycliffe. He was an approximate model for 16th-century English dramatic characters, including Shakespeare’s Falstaff. The son of Sir Richard Oldcastle,
- Oldcastle, Sir John (fictional character)
Sir John Falstaff, one of the most famous comic characters in all English literature, who appears in four of William Shakespeare’s plays. Entirely the creation of Shakespeare, Falstaff is said to have been partly modeled on Sir John Oldcastle, a soldier and the martyred leader of the Lollard sect.
- Oldenbarnevelt, Johan van (Dutch statesman)
Johan van Oldenbarnevelt was a lawyer, statesman, and, after William I the Silent, the second founding father of an independent Netherlands. He mobilized Dutch forces under William’s son Maurice and devised the anti-Spanish triple alliance with France and England (1596). In the Twelve Years’ Truce
- Oldenburg (historical state, Germany)
Oldenburg, former German state, successively a countship, a duchy, a grand duchy, and a Land (state) before it became a Regierungsbezirk (administrative district) of Lower Saxony Land in West Germany in 1946. As a result of the administrative reorganization in 1977, Oldenburg became part of the
- Oldenburg (Lower Saxony, Germany)
Oldenburg, city, Lower Saxony Land (state), northwestern Germany. Situated at the junction of the Hunte River and the Küsten Canal, which links the Hunte and Ems rivers, about 25 miles (40 km) west of Bremen, Oldenburg lies at the eastern approach to the North Sea coastal district of Leer, East
- Oldenburg dynasty (Denmark)
Denmark: Margaret I and the Kalmar Union: Christian I, founder of the Oldenburg dynasty, succeeded to the Danish and Norwegian thrones, but efforts to bring Sweden back into the union were only intermittently successful, and when Christian died in 1481, he did not rule that country. He was succeeded by his son John (Hans), whose coronation charter…
- Oldenburg, Christopher, count of (German soldier)
Christopher, count of Oldenburg was a professional soldier after whom the Count’s War, Denmark’s 1533–36 civil conflict, was named. A leader of mercenary forces, Christopher’s greatest opportunity for fame and power came in 1534, when he was given command over Danish and Lübeck forces favouring the
- Oldenburg, Claes (American artist)
Claes Oldenburg was a Swedish-born American Pop-art sculptor, best known for his giant soft sculptures of everyday objects. Much of Oldenburg’s early life was spent in the United States, Sweden, and Norway, a result of moves his father made as a Swedish consular official. He was educated at Yale
- Oldenburg, Claes Thure (American artist)
Claes Oldenburg was a Swedish-born American Pop-art sculptor, best known for his giant soft sculptures of everyday objects. Much of Oldenburg’s early life was spent in the United States, Sweden, and Norway, a result of moves his father made as a Swedish consular official. He was educated at Yale
- Oldenburg, Henry (German theologian and author)
Benedict de Spinoza: Rijnsburg and The Hague: …Rijnsburg, he was visited by Henry Oldenburg, who later became secretary of the Royal Society. Oldenburg had probably heard of Spinoza through Peter Serrarius, a millenarian merchant in Amsterdam who handled Spinoza’s dealings with the outside world. Oldenburg subsequently put Spinoza into contact with the eminent British scientist and theologian…
- Oldenburg, Lutheran Church of (church, Oldenburg, Germany)
Lutheran Church of Oldenburg, independent Lutheran church in Oldenburg, Ger. Pastors who had accepted the Lutheran faith were established in Oldenburg during the Protestant Reformation in Germany, and in 1573 an order for church government and the Lutheran confessions were accepted for the church.
- Older (album by Michael)
George Michael: Solo career and personal life: In 1996 he released Older, his most personal and autobiographical collection of songs, including “Jesus to a Child” and “You Have Been Loved,” both of which were inspired by his former partner, Anselmo Feleppa, who had died in 1993. Six of the singles from Older reached the top 10…
- Older Americans Act (United States [1965])
social service: Administration of services in the United States: Amendments to the Older Americans Act of 1965 have led to the establishment of a network of more than 600 Area Agencies on Aging, which are area-wide planning and coordinating agencies. Locally sponsored senior citizen centres provide group meals and counseling, homemaker, information, referral, transportation, educational, legal, and…
- older Population I (astronomy)
Milky Way Galaxy: Principal population types: …variables fell into the “older Population I” category. As dynamical properties were more thoroughly investigated, many astronomers divided the Galaxy’s stellar populations into a "thin disk," a "thick disk," and a "halo."
- Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (American television miniseries)
Anne Bancroft: Cage (1992) and CBS’s Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (1994) earned her Emmy Award nominations.
- oldfield birch (tree)
gray birch, (Betula populifolia), slender ornamental tree of the family Betulaceae, found in clusters on moist sites in northeastern North America. See also birch. Rarely 12 metres (40 feet) tall, it is covered almost to the ground with flexible branches that form a narrow pyramidal crown. The
- Oldfield, Barney (American race–car driver)
Barney Oldfield was an American automobile-racing driver whose name was synonymous with speed in the first two decades of the 20th century. A bicycle racer from 1894, Oldfield in 1902 became the driver of the 999 racing car designed by Henry Ford and owned by champion cyclist Tom Cooper, with whom
- Oldfield, Berna Eli (American race–car driver)
Barney Oldfield was an American automobile-racing driver whose name was synonymous with speed in the first two decades of the 20th century. A bicycle racer from 1894, Oldfield in 1902 became the driver of the 999 racing car designed by Henry Ford and owned by champion cyclist Tom Cooper, with whom
- Oldfield, Brian (American athlete)
athletics: The shot put: …shot, a technique developed by Brian Oldfield (U.S.).
- Oldfield, Sir Maurice (British military intelligence chief)
Sir Maurice Oldfield was a British military intelligence chief who was head of MI6, Britain’s secret intelligence service, from 1973 to 1978. Oldfield graduated in 1938 from Manchester University, where he took first-class honours in medieval history. He joined the secret service while serving in
- Oldham (England, United Kingdom)
Oldham, urban area and metropolitan borough, metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, northwestern England. The historic town of Oldham and the western part of the borough lie in the historic county of Lancashire, and the eastern part of the borough, including such areas as Uppermill,
- Oldham (district, England, United Kingdom)
Oldham: Oldham, urban area and metropolitan borough, metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, northwestern England.
- Oldham, Estelle (American literary figure)
William Faulkner: The major novels: In 1929 he married Estelle Oldham—whose previous marriage, now terminated, had helped drive him into the RAF in 1918. One year later he bought Rowan Oak, a handsome but run-down pre-Civil War house on the outskirts of Oxford, restoration work on the house becoming, along with hunting, an important…
- Oldham, John (British poet)
John Oldham was a pioneer of the imitation of classical satire in English. Oldham was the son of a scholarly vicar who was responsible for much of his education; he also studied at Tetbury Grammar School for two years. From 1670 to 1674 he attended St. Edmund Hall, Oxford, and in 1676 he became an
- Oldham, Richard Dixon (British geologist)
Richard Dixon Oldham was a British geologist and seismologist who discovered evidence for the existence of the Earth’s core. After training at the Royal School of Mines, Oldham joined the Geological Survey of India in 1879, eventually serving as superintendent (until 1903). His study of the Assam
- oldhamite (mineral)
meteorite: Achondrites: …calcium as the sulfide mineral oldhamite (CaS) rather than in its more usual silicate and carbonate forms.
- Oldman River (river, Canada)
Oldman River, river in southern Alberta, Canada, one of the major headstreams of the South Saskatchewan River. Rising in the Canadian Rocky Mountains from several sources, it flows eastward through Lethbridge, past Taber Provincial Park, and joins the Bow River to form the South Saskatchewan River,
- Oldman, Gary (British actor)
Gary Oldman is an English film actor known for his chameleonic ability to evince characters ranging from nebbishes to snarling villains. His notable films include Sid and Nancy (1986), Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011), and several Harry Potter movies. For his portrayal of Winston Churchill in
- Oldman, Leonard Gary (British actor)
Gary Oldman is an English film actor known for his chameleonic ability to evince characters ranging from nebbishes to snarling villains. His notable films include Sid and Nancy (1986), Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011), and several Harry Potter movies. For his portrayal of Winston Churchill in
- Oldowan industry (prehistoric technology)
Oldowan industry, toolmaking tradition characterized by crudely worked pebble (chopping) tools from the early Paleolithic, dating to about 2 million years ago and not formed after a standardized pattern. The tools are made of pebbles of quartz, quartzite, or basalt and are chipped in two directions
- Oldřich of Rožmberk (Bohemian religious leader)
Czechoslovak history: The Hussite preponderance: …determined by the efforts of Oldřich of Rožmberk, the most powerful Bohemian magnate, and his allies, who undermined George’s plans.
- Oldroyd, James Gardner (British mathematician)
mechanics of solids: Viscoelasticity: …after the British applied mathematician James Gardner Oldroyd showed in 1950 how viscoelastic stress-strain relations of a memory type could be generalized to a flowing fluid. This requires that the constitutive relation, or rheological relation, between the stress history and the deformation history at a material “point” be properly invariant…
- Olds, James (Canadian researcher)
human nervous system: Reward and punishment: …made in 1954, Canadian researchers James Olds and Peter Milner found that stimulation of certain regions of the brain of the rat acted as a reward in teaching the animals to run mazes and solve problems. The conclusion from such experiments is that stimulation gives the animals pleasure. The discovery…
- Olds, Ransom Eli (American manufacturer)
Ransom Eli Olds was an American inventor and automobile manufacturer, designer of the three-horsepower, curved-dash Oldsmobile. This was the first commercially successful American-made automobile and the first to use a progressive assembly system, which foreshadowed modern mass-production methods.
- Olds, Sharon (American poet)
Sharon Olds is an American poet best known for her powerful, often erotic, imagery of the body and her examination of the family. Olds grew up in San Francisco, the daughter of an abusive alcoholic father and a weak compliant mother; her anger at her parents would influence her poetry. She studied
- Oldsmobile (American automobile)
Ransom Eli Olds: …designer of the three-horsepower, curved-dash Oldsmobile. This was the first commercially successful American-made automobile and the first to use a progressive assembly system, which foreshadowed modern mass-production methods.
- Olduvai Beds (geological formation, Africa)
Olduvai Gorge: The Olduvai fossil beds accumulated in a lake basin between 4 and 9 miles (7 and 15 km) in diameter. The lake is underlain by volcanic rocks of the Pliocene Epoch (5.3 million to 2.6 million years ago) and, farther below, by metamorphic deposits of Precambrian…
- Olduvai Gorge (archaeological site, Tanzania)
Olduvai Gorge, paleoanthropological site in the eastern Serengeti Plain, within the boundaries of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in northern Tanzania. It is a steep-sided ravine consisting of two branches that have a combined length of about 30 miles (48 km) and are 295 feet (90 metres) deep.
- Olduvai Hominid 13 (fossil)
Homo habilis: The fossil evidence: Those two skulls are called OH 13 and OH 16.
- Olduvai Hominid 16 (fossil)
Homo habilis: The fossil evidence: …are called OH 13 and OH 16.
- Olduvai Hominid 24 (fossil)
Homo habilis: The fossil evidence: One intriguing specimen is OH 24, which was also from Olduvai and dated to about 1.8 mya. This cranium is more complete than others from Olduvai. Because some of the bones are crushed and distorted, however, the face and braincase are warped. OH 24 may differ from Australopithecus in…
- Olduvai Hominid 5 (fossil primate skull)
Olduvai Gorge: …Zinjanthropus boisei (later reclassified as Paranthropus boisei). Officially labeled OH 5 (Olduvai Hominid 5) but dubbed “Nutcracker Man” because of its huge molars (indicative of a vegetarian diet), the skull was dated to about 1.75 million years ago. The discovery indicated that hominins evolved in Africa. Specimens of Homo habilis,…
- Olduvai Hominid 62 (fossil)
Homo habilis: The fossil evidence: 8 mya and called OH 62. Although the skull is shattered, enough of the face is preserved to suggest similarities to early Homo. The find is especially important because of the limbs, which show that OH 62 was a very small hominin. The arm is long relative to the…
- Olduvai Hominid 7 (fossil)
Homo habilis: The fossil evidence: … from a juvenile individual called Olduvai Hominid 7 (OH 7), additional fossils from Olduvai have been ascribed to H. habilis. Pieces of another thin-walled cranium along with upper and lower jaws and teeth came to light in 1963. Just a month later a third skull was found, but the bones…
- Olduvai Hominid 9 (fossil)
Homo erectus: African fossils: This fossil, catalogued as OH 9, was excavated by Louis S.B. Leakey and is probably about 1.2 million years old. Olduvai Gorge has since yielded additional cranial remains, jaws, and limb bones of H. erectus. Much of this material is fragmentary, but gaps in our knowledge of East African…
- Olduwai Gorge (archaeological site, Tanzania)
Olduvai Gorge, paleoanthropological site in the eastern Serengeti Plain, within the boundaries of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in northern Tanzania. It is a steep-sided ravine consisting of two branches that have a combined length of about 30 miles (48 km) and are 295 feet (90 metres) deep.
- oldwife (fish)
perciform: Annotated classification: Family Enoplosidae (oldwives) Eocene to present. Body laterally compressed; spinous and soft dorsal fins elevated anteriorly, as is anal fin; general appearance gives impression in side view of 2 separate bodies joined together at midpoint; pelvic fins large. 1 species (Enoplosus armatus) in rocky areas of Australian…
- Ole Bienkopp (novel by Strittmatter)
German literature: The post-1945 period: Stunde Null: Ole Bienkopp), a novel about an old man who establishes a peasant commune, and Christa Wolf’s Der geteilte Himmel (1963; Divided Heaven), in which a young woman decides to return to East Germany after having experienced the lures of the West, are good examples of…
- Ole Miss (university, Oxford, Mississippi, United States)
University of Mississippi, public, coeducational institution of higher learning based in Oxford, Mississippi, U.S., with its Medical Center in Jackson and regional campuses at Tupelo and Southaven. Academically divided into one college and eight schools (including the Medical Center), it offers