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Olenellus ... Omaha
Olenellus
genus of trilobites (extinct arthropods) common in but restricted to Early Cambrian rocks (540 to 520 million years ago) and thus a useful guide fossil for the Early Cambrian. Olenellus ...
Olenyok River
river rising on the southern slopes of the Bukochan Ridge on the Central Siberian Plateau and flowing mainly through Sakha (Yakutiya), east-central Russia. The total length of the river is ...
oleograph
colour lithograph produced by preparing a separate stone by hand for each colour to be used and printing one colour in register over another. Sometimes as many as 30 stones ...
Oleron Island
island in the Bay of Biscay, forming part of the Charente-Maritime departement, located off the coast of France south of La Rochelle and north of the Gironde Estuary. Oleron is ...
Olesha, Yury Karlovich
Russian writer who dealt with the conflict between the old mentality and the new in the early years of the Soviet Union.
Olesnicki, Zbigniew
Polish statesman and cardinal who was chief councillor to King Wladyslaw II and regent of Poland (1434-47).
olethreutid moth
any member of the cosmopolitan insect family Olethreutidae (order Lepidoptera), containing several species with economically destructive larvae. The pale larvae roll or tie leaves and feed on foliage, fruits, or ...
Olga, Saint
princess who was the first recorded female ruler in Russia and the first member of the ruling family of Kiev to adopt Christianity. She was canonized as the first Russian ...
Olgas
tors (isolated weathered rocks) in southwestern Northern Territory, Australia, comprising a circular grouping of some 36 red conglomerate domes rising from the desert plains north of the Musgrave Ranges. They ...
Olhao
town, port, and concelho (township), Faro distrito ("district"), southern Portugal. It lies at the head of the Barra Nova (a shipping channel landward of sandbars fringing the coast), just east ...
Olier, Jean-Jacques
founder of the Sulpicians, a group of secular priests dedicated to training candidates for the priesthood.
oligarchy
government by the few, especially despotic power exercised by a small and privileged group for corrupt or selfish purposes.
Oligocene Epoch
major worldwide division of the Tertiary Period that began about 36.6 million years ago and ended about 23.7 million years ago. It follows the Eocene Epoch and precedes the Miocene ...
oligochaete
any worm of the class Oligochaeta (phylum Annelida). About 3,200 living species are known, the most familiar of which is the earthworm (q.v.), Lumbricus terrestris. Oligochaetes are common all over ...
oligoclase
the most common variety of the feldspar mineral plagioclase (q.v.).
oligomenorrhea
prolonged intervals between menstrual cycles. Menstruation is the normal cyclic bleeding from the female reproductive tract. Most women menstruate every 25 to 30 days if they are not pregnant, nursing ...
oligopoly
market situation in which each of a few producers affects but does not control the market. Each producer must consider the effect of a price change on the actions of ...
oligosaccharide
any carbohydrate of from three to six units of simple sugars (monosaccharides). A large number of oligosaccharides have been prepared by partially breaking down more complex carbohydrates (polysaccharides). Most of ...
oligotrich
any spherical to pear-shaped protozoan of the ciliate order Oligotrichida, found in fresh, salt, and brackish water. Body cilia (minute, hairlike projections), when present, are often fused into groups of ...
Olinda
city, eastern Pernambuco estado (state), northeastern Brazil. It is located atop a low hill on the Atlantic coast, 5 miles (8 km) north of Recife, the state ...
olingo
(Bassaricyon), any of about four species of small arboreal carnivores of the raccoon family, Procyonidae, found in the jungles of Central and northern South America. Olingos are slender, grayish-brown animals ...
Oliphant, Laurence
British author, traveller, and mystic, a controversial figure whose quest to establish a Jewish state in Palestine-"fulfilling prophecy and bringing on the end of the world"-won wide support among both ...
Oliphant, Margaret Oliphant
prolific Scottish novelist, historical writer, and biographer best known for her portraits of small-town life.
Olitski, Jules
U.S. painter generally identified with the Color Field school. He was one of the first to use thinned paints in a staining technique to create colour compositions of a delicate, ...
Olivares, Gaspar de Guzman y Pimental, conde-duque de, duque de Sanlucar de Barrameda
prime minister (1623-43) and court favourite (valido) of King Philip IV of Spain. He attempted to impose a strong centralizing policy and eventually provoked rebellion and his ...
olive
(Olea europaea; family Oleaceae), subtropical, broad-leaved, evergreen tree and its edible fruit. The tree, ranging in height from 3 to 12 metres (10 to 40 feet) or more, has numerous ...
olive shell
any of the marine snails that constitute the family Olividae (subclass Prosobranchia of the class Gastropoda). Fossils of the genus Oliva are common from the Eocene Epoch (57.8 to 36.6 ...
Oliver, Isaac
miniature painter.
Oliver, King
American cornetist who was a vital link between the semimythical prehistory of jazz and the firmly documented history of jazz proper. He is also remembered for choosing as his protege ...
Oliver, Mary
American poet whose work reflects a deep communion with the natural world.
Oliver, Sy
jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader who was one of the leading music arrangers of the 1930s and '40s.
Olives, Mount of
multisummited limestone ridge just east of the Old City of Jerusalem and separated from it by the Kidron valley. Frequently mentioned in the Bible and later religious literature, it is ...
Olivet College
private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Olivet, Mich., U.S. It is affiliated with the Congregational Christian Church and the United Church of Christ. It is a liberal arts college ...
Olivetti & C. SpA
Italian multinational firm that manufactures office equipment and information systems. Headquarters are in Ivrea, Italy.
Olivier, Laurence, Baron Olivier of Brighton
a towering figure of the British stage and screen, acclaimed in his lifetime as the greatest English-speaking actor of the 20th century. He was the first member of his profession ...
olivine
any member of a group of common magnesium, iron silicate minerals.
Olivos
cabecera (county seat) of Vicente Lopez partido (county), Gran (Greater) Buenos Aires, Arg., directly north of the city of Buenos Aires, in Buenos Aires provincia, on the Rio de la ...
Oljeitu
eighth Il-Khan ruler of Iran, during whose reign the Shi'ite branch of Islam was first proclaimed the state religion of Iran.
Olkhon Island
island in Lake Baikal, administered as part of Irkutsk oblast (province), east-central Russia. It is separated from the lake's western shore by the straits of Olkhon and the Maloye More ...
Ollivier, Emile
French statesman, writer, and orator who, as minister of justice under Napoleon III, authored an abortive plan for achieving a governmental compromise between Napoleonic autocracy and parliamentary democracy.
olm
(Proteus anguinus), blind salamander belonging to the family Proteidae (order Caudata) and found in caves of the Carpathian Mountains in southeastern Europe. It grows to about 30 cm (12 inches) ...
Olmaliq
city, eastern Uzbekistan. It is situated 35 miles (55 km) southeast of the city of Tashkent on the northern slopes of the Qurama Mountains and on the left bank of ...
Olmec
the first elaborate pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica, and one that is thought to have set many of the fundamental patterns evinced by later Indian cultures of Mexico and Central America.
Olmedo, Jose Joaquin
poet and statesman whose odes commemorating South America's achievement of independence from Spain captured the revolutionary spirit of his time and inspired a generation of Romantic poets and patriots. They ...
Olmert, Ehud
Israeli politician who served as mayor of Jerusalem (1993-2003) and as prime minister of Israel (from 2006).
Olmi, Ermanno
Italian motion picture director whose formative work examines life in the business world and whose later films explore religious and social themes.
Olmsted, Frederick Law
American landscape architect who designed a succession of outstanding public parks, beginning with Central Park in New York City.
Olmutz, Punctation of
(Nov. 29, 1850), agreement signed at Olmutz (Olomouc, Moravia, in modern Czech Republic) between Prussia and Austria that regulated those two powers' relations. The development leading up to the punctation ...
Olney, Richard
U.S. secretary of state (1895-97) who formulated the Olney Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, which maintained the right of the United States to intervene in any international disputes within the ...
Olomouc
city, Severomoravsky kraj (region), Czech Republic. The city lies along the Morava River at its confluence with the Bystrice River, at the northern edge of the fertile Hana farming region.
Olongapo
city, southwestern Luzon, Philippines. The city is situated in a lowland area near the mouth of Subic Bay. Olongapo was heavily damaged in World War II (1939-45). It became a ...
Olsen, Tillie
American author known for her powerful fiction about the inner lives of the working poor, women, and minorities.
Olson, Charles
avant-garde poet and literary theorist, notable for his influence on American poetry during the late 1950s.
Olson, Elder
American poet, playwright, and literary critic. He was a leading member of the Neo-Aristotelian, or "critical pluralist," school of critical theory that came to prominence in the 1940s at the ...
Olsztyn
city, capital of Warminsko-Mazurskie wojewodztwo (province), northeastern Poland. It lies along the Lyna River in the Masurian lake district. The city serves as a trade centre, with ...
Olt
judet (county), south-central Romania. It is bounded on the south by Bulgaria. The sub-Carpathian Mountains lie in the northern portion of the county, overlooking settlement areas in intermontane valleys and ...
Olt Defile
defile in south-central Romania. The defile was cut into the Transylvanian Alps (Southern Carpathians) by the Olt River. It was particularly important during the Roman occupation (1st century BC to ...
Olt River
river, rising close to the headwaters of the Mures River, in the Ciuc Depression, east central Romania, at an elevation of 5,900 feet (1,800 m); it flows generally southwest and ...
Olybrius
Western Roman emperor from April to November 472.
Olympia
ruined ancient sanctuary, home of the ancient Olympic Games, and former site of the massive Statue of Zeus, which had been ranked as one of the Seven Wonders of the ...
Olympia
city, capital of Washington, U.S., seat (1852) of Thurston county, on Budd Inlet and Capitol Lake (at the south end of Puget Sound), at the mouth of the Deschutes River, ...
Olympias
wife of Philip II of Macedonia and mother of Alexander the Great. She had a passionate and imperious nature, and she played important roles in the power struggles that followed ...
Olympic Airways
Greek airline founded on April 6, 1957, by the Greek shipowner Aristotle Onassis (1906?-75) but, from 1975, wholly owned by the Greek government. Services from Greece into western Europe began ...
Olympic Games
athletic festival that originated in ancient Greece and was revived in the late 19th century. Before the 1970s the Games were officially limited to competitors with amateur status, but in ...
Olympic Mountains
segment of the Pacific mountain system of western North America. They extend across the Olympic Peninsula south of the Juan de Fuca Strait and west of Puget Sound in northwestern ...
Olympic National Park
national park, northwestern Washington, U.S., established in 1938 to preserve the Olympic Mountains and their magnificent forests and wildlife. The park, which covers 1,442 square miles (3,735 square km), includes ...
Olympio, Sylvanus
nationalist politician and first president of Togo who was the first presidential victim of a wave of military coups that occurred in Africa in the 1960s.
Olympiodorus The Younger
a Neoplatonist philosopher who is famous for having maintained the Platonic tradition in Alexandria after the Byzantine emperor Justinian had suppressed the Greek Academy at Athens and other pagan schools ...
Olympus Mons
volcano on the planet Mars, the highest point on the planet and the largest known volcano in the solar system. Centred at 19° N, 133° W, Olympus Mons consists of ...
Olympus, Mount
mountain peak, the highest (9,570 feet [2,917 m]) in Greece. It is part of the Olympus massif near the Gulf of Thermai of the Aegean Sea and lies astride the ...
Olynthus
ancient Greek city situated on the Chalcidice Peninsula of northwestern Greece. It lay about 1.5 miles (2.5 km) inland from the Gulf of Torone of the Adriatic Sea. A Thracian ...
Om
in Hinduism and other religions chiefly of India, a sacred syllable that is considered to be the greatest of all the mantras, or sacred formulas. The syllable Om is composed ...
Omagh
town and seat of Omagh district, Northern Ireland. Situated on the River Strule, Omagh is a market, shopping, and light-manufacturing centre for the district. Traditional crafts (such as table linens ...
Omagh
district (established 1973), formerly in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It covers 434 square miles (1,125 square km) of rolling lowlands and hills and is bordered by the districts of Strabane ...
Omaha
North American Plains Indian people of the Dhegiha branch of the Siouan language stock. With the other members of this subgroup (the Osage, Ponca, Kansa, and Quapaw [qq.v.]), the Omaha ...
Omaha
city, Nebraska, U.S., the port of entry and seat of Douglas county. Omaha is situated in the eastern part of the state and on the west bank of the Missouri ...