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wainscot chair ... Walker, Margaret

wainscot chair: a joined wooden chair, usually made of oak, hence the name wainscot, which was used to describe a fine grade of oak usually used for paneling. Like many terms used ...
Wainwright: town, east-central Alberta, Canada. It lies 129 miles (208 km) southeast of Edmonton. Founded as Denwood in about 1905, it was renamed to honour William Wainwright, a Grand Trunk Pacific ...
Wainwright, Jonathan M.: U.S. Army general who won distinction as the hero of Bataan and Corregidor in the defense of the Philippines against Japanese attack during World War II.
Waipio Valley: valley in the Kohala Mountains, northern Hawaii island, Hawaii, U.S. Enveloped on three sides by 2,500-foot- (750-metre-) high cliffs ribboned with spectacular waterfalls (including Hiilawe Falls, which drops more than ...
wairakite: hydrated calcium aluminosilicate mineral present in hot-spring deposits, notably those at Wairakei, New Zealand, and Onikobe, Japan. Like analcite, wairakite has been assigned to two mineral families: it is regarded ...
Wairau River: river in northern South Island, New Zealand. It rises in the Spenser Mountains and flows for 105 miles (169 km) between the St. Arnaud and Raglan ranges to enter Cloudy ...
wait: an English town watchman or public musician who sounded the hours of the night. In the later Middle Ages the waits were night watchmen, who sounded horns or even played ...
Waitaki River: river in central South Island, New Zealand. Streams issuing from Lakes Ohau, Pukaki, and Tekapo in the Southern Alps form the Waitaki (Maori: "Weeping Waters"), which, draining a 4,565-square-mile (11,823-square-kilometre) ...
Waitangi, Treaty of: (Feb. 6, 1840), historic pact between Great Britain and a number of New Zealand Maori tribes of North Island. It purported to protect Maori rights and was the immediate basis ...
Waite, Morrison Remick: seventh chief justice of the United States (1874-88), who frequently spoke for the Supreme Court in interpreting the post-Civil War constitutional amendments and in redefining governmental jurisdiction over commerce in ...
Waitemata Harbour: harbour in northern North Island, New Zealand. The focal point of the Auckland region, it opens into Hauraki Gulf (east) through Stanley Bay. Its shore has many lesser embayments, containing ...
Waitomo: limestone caves, north-central North Island, New Zealand. They lie about 50 miles (80 km) south of Hamilton. Located on a tributary of the Waipa River, the caves are easily accessible ...
Waits, Tom: American singer-songwriter whose gritty, sometimes romantic depictions of the lives of the urban underclass won him a loyal if limited following and the admiration of critics and prominent performers who ...
Waitz, Georg: German historian who was the founder of a renowned school of medievalists at the University of Gottingen. As the leading disciple of Leopold von Ranke's critical methods, he is regarded ...
Waiuku: town, Auckland local government region, northern North Island, New Zealand. It lies along the Waiuku estuary, which is the southern arm of Manukau Harbour. The settlement was founded in 1843 ...
Wajda, Andrzej: leading director in the "Polish film school," a group of highly talented individuals whose films brought international recognition to the Polish cinema during the 1950s.
waka: Japanese poetry, specifically the court poetry of the 6th to the 14th century, including such forms as the choka and sedoka, in contrast to such later forms as renga, haikai, ...
wakan: among various American Indian groups, a great spiritual power of supernatural origin belonging to some natural objects. Wakan may be conceived of as a weak or strong power; the weak ...
Wakatipu Lake: lake in south-central South Island, New Zealand. The S-shaped lake measures 48 miles (77 km) by 3 miles (5 km) and has an area of 113 square miles (293 square ...
Wakayama: city, capital of Wakayama ken (prefecture), west-central Honshu, Japan. It is situated in the northwestern part of the prefecture at the mouth of the Kino River, on ...
Wakayama: ken (prefecture), west-central Honshu, Japan. It occupies the Kii Peninsula, which faces the Kii Strait (west) and the Pacific Ocean (south). Most of its area is mountainous ...
wake: watch or vigil held over the body of a dead person before burial and sometimes accompanied by festivity; also, in England, a vigil kept in commemoration of the dedication of ...
Wake Forest University: private, coeducational institution of higher learning in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, U.S., affiliated with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. The university consists of Wake Forest College, the Wayne Calloway ...
Wake Island: atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, 2,300 miles (3,700 km) west of Honolulu. An unincorporated territory of the United States, it comprises three low-lying coral islets (Wilkes, Peale, and Wake) ...
Wake Island, Battle of: battle for a small atoll named Wake Island in the central Pacific in December 1941, waged between U.S. Marine and civilian defenders and Japanese invaders. At that time, Wake Island ...
Wakefield: urban area, city, and metropolitan borough (district) in the southeastern portion of the metropolitan county of West Yorkshire, historic county of Yorkshire, England. The metropolitan borough extends eastward from the ...
Wakefield plays: a cycle of 32 scriptural plays, or "mystery plays," of the early 15th century, which were performed during the European Middle Ages at Wakefield, a town in the north of ...
Wakefield, Edward Gibbon: British colonizer of South Australia and New Zealand and inspirer of the Durham Report (1839) on Canadian colonial policy.
Wakefield, William Wavell Wakefield, Baron: one of England's finest rugby players, known for his quick speed and skillful dribbling as a forward.
Wakkanai: city, northernmost Hokkaido, Japan. It is situated on the Noshappu Peninsula, facing Soya Bay and the Soya Peninsula. Most of the city occupies the Soya plateau, which is a northern ...
wako: any of the groups of marauders who raided the Korean and Chinese coasts between the 13th and 16th centuries. They were often in the pay of various Japanese feudal leaders ...
Wakoski, Diane: American poet known for her personal verses that examine loss, pain, and sexual desire and that frequently reproduce incidents and fantasies from her own turbulent life. Her poetry probes the ...
Waksman, Selman Abraham: Ukrainian-born American biochemist who was one of the world's foremost authorities on soil microbiology. After the discovery of penicillin, he played a major role in initiating a calculated, systematic search ...
Wal-Mart: U.S. operator of discount stores founded by Sam Walton in Rogers, Arkansas (1962). With headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas, Wal-Mart focused its early growth in rural areas, thereby avoiding direct competition ...
Wala, Saint: Frankish count, Benedictine abbot, and influential minister at the courts of the Holy Roman emperors Charlemagne and Louis I the Pious. He stood for imperial unity against the traditionalist party, ...
Walachia: principality on the lower Danube River, which in 1859 joined Moldavia to form the state of Romania. Its name is derived from that of the Vlachs, who constituted the bulk ...
Walafrid Strabo: Benedictine abbot, theologian, and poet whose Latin writings were the principal exemplar of German Carolingian culture.
Walasiewicz, Stanislawa: Polish-American athlete who, during an unusually long career (over 20 years), won two Olympic medals and some 40 Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) championships and was credited with nearly a dozen ...
Walbrzych: city, Dolnoslaskie wojewodztwo (province), southwestern Poland, in the central Sudeten (Sudety) mountains. The second largest town in Lower Silesia (after Wroclaw), it is an important rail junction.
Walburga, Saint: abbess and missionary who, with her brothers Willibald of Eichstatt and Winebald of Heidenheim, was important in St. Boniface's organization of the Frankish church.
Walcott, Derek: West Indian poet and playwright noted for works that explore the Caribbean cultural experience. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1992.
Walcott, Jersey Joe: American world heavyweight boxing champion from July 18, 1951, when he knocked out Ezzard Charles in seven rounds in Pittsburgh, Pa., until Sept. 23, 1952, when he was knocked out ...
Walcott, Mary Morris Vaux: American artist and naturalist who is remembered for her paintings of the wildflowers of North America, particularly as published by the Smithsonian Institution.
Wald, George: American biochemist who received (with Haldan K. Hartline of the United States and Ragnar Granit of Sweden) the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1967 for his work on ...
Wald, Lillian D.: American nurse and social worker who founded the internationally known Henry Street Settlement in New York City (1893).
Waldeck: a former Kreis (administrative district) and state of Germany, between Westphalia and Hesse-Nassau. For centuries a principality and from November 1918 to March 1929 a republic and constituent state of ...
Waldeck-Rousseau, Rene: politician who, as premier of France, settled the Dreyfus Affair. He was also responsible for the legalization of trade unions in France (1884).
Walden Pond: small pond (about 64 acres [26 hectares]) in Concord town (township), Middlesex county, eastern Massachusetts, U.S. It lies just south of the village of Concord in Walden Pond State Reservation ...
Walden, Paul: chemist who discovered the Walden inversion, a reversal of stereochemical configuration that occurs in many reactions of covalent compounds.
Waldenses: members of a Christian movement that originated in 12th-century France, the devotees of which sought to follow Christ in poverty and simplicity. In modern times the name has been applied ...
Waldheim, Kurt: Austrian diplomat who served two terms as the fourth secretary-general of the United Nations, from 1972 to 1981. He was the elected president of Austria from 1986 to 1992.
Waldmann, Hans: Swiss leader who was for a time the burgomaster and virtual dictator of Zurich. He supplied mercenaries for half the countries of Europe, making himself one of the richest and ...
Waldo: county, south-central Maine, U.S. It comprises a coastal region bounded to the east by the Penobscot River and Bay and includes several islands in the Atlantic Ocean, notably Isleboro Island. ...
Waldseemuller, Martin: German cartographer who in 1507 published the first map with the name America for the New World.
Waldteufel, Emil: French (Alsatian) pianist and one of the best-known waltz composers of his time.
Wales: constituent unit of the United Kingdom that forms a westward extension of the island of Great Britain. The capital and main commercial and financial centre is Cardiff.
Wales, Church in: independent Anglican church in Wales that changed from the Roman Catholic faith during the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. At the time of the Reformation, the Welsh church was ...
Wales, prince of: title reserved exclusively for the heir apparent to the British throne. It dates from 1301, when King Edward I, after his conquest of Wales and execution (1283) of David III, ...
Walesa, Lech: labour activist who helped form and led (1980-90) communist Poland's first independent trade union, Solidarity. The charismatic leader of millions of Polish workers, he went on to become the president ...
Walewski, Alexandre-Florian-Joseph Colonna, Comte: French statesman and minister of foreign affairs under Louis-Napoleon (Napoleon III). He was the illegitimate son of Napoleon I and Maria, Countess Walewska.
Waley, Arthur David: English sinologist whose outstanding translations of Chinese and Japanese literary classics into English had a profound effect on such modern poets as W.B. Yeats and Ezra Pound. (The family name ...
Walgreen, Charles R.: American pharmacist and businessman, known as the father of the modern drugstore. He created the largest retail drugstore chain in the United States.
Wali Allah, Shah: Indian theologian and founder of modern Islamic thought who first attempted to reassess Islamic theology in the light of modern changes.
Walid, al-: sixth caliph (reigned 705-715) of the Umayyad Arab dynasty, who is best known for the mosques constructed during his reign.
walk: in horsemanship, moderately slow four-beat gait of a horse, during which each foot strikes the ground separately and the horse is supported by two or three feet at all times.
Walker Cup: golf trophy awarded to the winner of a competition between amateur men's teams from the United States and the British Isles, held biennially since 1922 on sites alternating between the ...
Walker Law: (1920), first significant U.S. legislation concerning the sport of boxing, enacted in the state of New York under the sponsorship of James J. Walker, speaker of the state senate. The ...
Walker, A'Lelia: American businesswoman associated with the Harlem Renaissance as a patron of the arts who provided an intellectual forum for the black literati of New York City during the 1920s.
Walker, Alice: American writer whose novels, short stories, and poems are noted for their insightful treatment of African American culture. Her novels, most notably The Color Purple (1982), focus particularly on women.
Walker, David: African American abolitionist whose pamphlet Appeal&elipsis;to the Colored Citizens of the World&elipsis; (1829), urging slaves to fight for their freedom, was one of the most radical documents ...
Walker, Francis A.: American economist and statistician who broadened and helped modernize the character and scope of economics.
Walker, James J: flamboyant mayor of New York City (1925-32), a frequenter of Broadway theatre and the upper-class speakeasies, such as the Central Park Casino. His administration was marred by corruption.
Walker, John E.: British chemist who was corecipient, with Paul D. Boyer, of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1997 for their explanation of the enzymatic process that creates adenosine triphosphate (ATP). (Danish ...
Walker, Kath: Australian Aboriginal writer and political activist, considered the first of the modern-day Aboriginal protest writers. Her first volume of poetry, We Are Going (1964), is the first book by an ...
Walker, Maggie Lena Draper: American businesswoman, who played a major role in the organizational and commercial life of Richmond's African American community in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Walker, Margaret: American novelist and poet who was one of the leading black woman writers of the mid-20th century.