| | - Voyez, Jean
- (from the article "Wood Family") ...of them were impressed with the mold number in the base. An extant invoice shows him supplying figures to Josiah Wedgwood in 1783. About this time or soon afterward, Wood appears to have employed Jean Voyez (c. 1740-after 1791), a modeler of French extraction who for a brief time had ...
- Voynovich, Vladimir
- Soviet dissident writer known for his irreverent and perceptive satire. [1 Related Articles]
- Voysey, Charles Francis Annesley
- British architect and designer whose work was influential in Europe between 1890 and 1910 and was a source of Art Nouveau inspiration.
- Voytinsky, Grigory N.
- (from the article "China") Russia set up an international communist organization, the Comintern, in 1919 and sent Grigory N. Voytinsky to China the next year. Voytinsky met Li Dazhao in Beijing and Chen Duxiu in Shanghai, and they organized the Socialist Youth League, laid plans for the Communist Party, and started recruiting young intellectuals. ...
- Voznesensk
- (from the article "Ivanovo") city and administrative centre of Ivanovo oblast (province), western Russia, on both banks of the Uvod River. It was created from two villages, Ivanovo and Voznesensk, in 1871; until 1932 it was known as Ivanovo-Voznesensk. The first linen mills in Russia were founded near Ivanovo by order of Peter I ...
- Voznesensky, Andrey Andreyevich
- Russian poet who was one of the most prominent of the generation of writers that emerged in the Soviet Union after the Stalinist era.
- Vozrozhdenya Island
- (from the article "Aral Sea") ...across its waters. Many of these islands have joined the mainland with the shrinking size of the sea. By 1999 the sea had receded to a level where only 6 miles (10 km) of water were separating Vozrozhdenya Island from the mainland. This was of special concern because Vozrozhdenya had ...
- VPL DataGlove
- (from the article "virtual reality") The VPL DataGlove was brought to market in 1987, and in October of that year it appeared on the cover of Scientific American (see photograph). VPL also spawned a full-body, motion-tracking system called the DataSuit, a head-mounted display called the EyePhone, and a shared VR system for ...
- Vrakhionas, Mount
- (from the article "Zacynthus") ...fertile plain bounded on the west by barren limestone hills, 700 to 1,600 feet (200 to 500 m) high, with many sinkholes and steep sea cliffs. The hills culminate in the 2,480-foot- (756-metre-) high Mount Vrakhionas. The plain is bounded on the east by a low range of hills. The ...
- Vrancea
- judet (county), east-central Romania, occupying an area of 1,878 square miles (4,863 square km). The Eastern Carpathian and sub-Carpathian mountains rise above settlement areas in the county's valleys and lowlands. The southward-draining Siret River constitutes most of the county's eastern border. The Zabala, Rimna, and Trotus rivers also flow southeastward ...
- Vrancken, Franchois
- (from the article "Netherlands, The") ...derived from Aristotle and Roman law created an air of unreality about their work, perhaps even more than was true of political thinkers elsewhere in Europe. Theorists such as the Gouda official Vrancken in the days of the foundation of the republic and Grotius in the early 17th century portrayed ...
- Vranitzky, Franz
- (from the article "Austria") After the Waldheim debacle, Sinowatz resigned as chancellor, and the Socialist Party under Franz Vranitzky called for new elections, which resulted in a grand coalition of the Socialist and Austrian People's parties. This government introduced partially successful budgetary and tax reforms and a privatization scheme for the nationalized industries. These ...
- Vratislav II
- (from the article "Premysl, House of") During this period of disarray Bohemia became increasingly dependent on the Holy Roman Empire to the west. The Premyslid prince Vratislav II (1061-92) obtained from the Holy Roman emperor Henry IV the title of king of Bohemia as a personal (i.e., nonhereditary) privilege, and Prince Vladislav II (1140-73) was awarded ...
- Vratsa
- town, northwestern Bulgaria. It is situated in the northern foothills of the western Balkan Mountains at the point where the Leva River emerges from its picturesque Vratsata gorge. The town was moved to its present position in the early 15th century after the Turks had destroyed a previously standing Bulgarian ...
- vratya
- wandering ascetic, member of either an ethnic group or a sect, located principally in the Magadha (South Bihar) region of ancient India. The vratyas lived outside the fold of the dominant Aryan society and practiced their own forms of austerity and esoteric rites. Much speculation regarding the vratyas has left ... [2 Related Articles]
- Vrba, Elizabeth
- (from the article "Quaternary") American paleontologist Elisabeth Vrba and other scientists have suggested that climate changes 2.5 million years ago accelerated the evolution of hominins (members of the human lineage), giving rise to our genus, Homo. The details of this process, and the exact pathways of ancestors and descendants, are highly controversial (see human ...
- Vrba, Rudolph
- (from the article "Why wasn't Auschwitz bombed?") On April 10, 1944, two men escaped from Auschwitz: Rudolph Vrba and Alfred Wetzler. They made contact with Slovak resistance forces and produced a substantive report on the extermination camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau. In great detail, they documented the killing process. Their report, replete with maps and other specific details, was ...
- Vrba-Wetzler report
- (from the article "Why wasn't Auschwitz bombed?") The Vrba-Wetzler report provided a clear picture of life and death at Auschwitz. As a result, Jewish leaders in Slovakia, some American Jewish organizations, and the War Refugee Board all urged the Allies to intervene. However, the request was far from unanimous. Jewish leadership was divided. As a general rule, ...
- Vrbas
- (from the article "Bosnia and Herzegovina") The principal rivers are the Sava, a tributary of the Danube, which forms the northern boundary with Croatia; the Bosna, Vrbas, and Una, which flow north and empty into the Sava; the Drina, which flows north, forms part of the eastern boundary with Serbia, and is a tributary of the ...
- Vrchlicky, Jaroslav
- (from the article "Czech literature") ...The former stressed the need to Europeanize Czech literature, while the latter looked to the strength of native traditions and themes. The leading representative of the cosmopolitan tendency was Jaroslav Vrchlicky (pseudonym of Emil Frida), who was probably the most prolific of all Czech writers. His lyrics show an amazing ...
- Vredefort Dome
- (from the article "astrobleme") ...and intensity of the shattering cannot be produced by other natural means, so it provides a useful criterion for recognizing astroblemes. Using this evidence, the Ashanti Crater in Ghana and the Vredefort Ring structure in South Africa have been identified as probable astroblemes.
- Vreeland, Diana Dalziel
- American editor and fashion expert whose dramatic personality and distinctive tastes marked her successful leadership of major American fashion magazines during the mid-20th century.
- Vridi Canal
- (from the article "Abidjan") The Vridi Canal opened the lagoon to the sea in 1950, and the city soon became the major shipping and financial centre of French-speaking West Africa. The first of two bridges linking the mainland to Petit-Bassam Island was built in 1958. Abidjan's modern deepwater port exports coffee, cocoa, timber, bananas, ...
- Vridlo
- (from the article "Karlovy Vary") ...The surrounding highland areas were once subject to volcanic activity, which accounts for the thermal springs in the vicinity. Of more than a dozen active warm springs, the best-known and hottest, Vridlo (German: Sprudel), gushes a geyser of hot water (162° F [72° C]) to a height of 37 feet ...
- Vries, Adriaen de
- the most important Dutch Mannerist sculptor. [1 Related Articles]
- Vries, Hugo de
- Dutch botanist and geneticist who introduced the experimental study of organic evolution. His rediscovery in 1900 (simultaneously with the botanists Carl Correns and Erich Tschermak von Seysenegg) of Gregor Mendel's principles of heredity and his theory of biological mutation, though considerably different from a modern understanding of the phenomenon, resolved ... [5 Related Articles]
- Vriesea
- genus of epiphytes (plants that are supported by another plant and have aerial roots exposed to the humid atmosphere) of the pineapple family (Bromeliaceae), containing nearly 200 South American species. Many species are grown indoors as decorative plants.
- Vriezen, Theodorus C.
- (from the article "monotheism") ...Israel; as in what became the Judaic affirmation of faith, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, one Lord" (from New English Bible) (Deut. 6:4). The eminent Dutch Old Testament scholar Theodorus C. Vriezen writes: "It is striking how the whole life of the people is seen as dominated ...
- Vrije Volk, Het
- (Dutch: "The Free People"), Socialist evening daily newspaper published in 30 regional editions in Rotterdam and outlying locations, one of the largest and most influential dailies in The Netherlands. It was established in 1900 as Het Volk ("The People"), the official organ of the Socialist Democratic Labour Party. During the ...
- Vrindavan Gardens
- (from the article "Mysore") ...the Nilgiri Hills to the south. Krishnaraja Lake, a large reservoir with a dam, lies 12 miles (19 km) northwest of Mysore at the Cauvery River. Spreading below the dam are the terraced Vrindavan Gardens with their cascades and fountains, which are floodlit at night.
- Vrindavana
- (from the article "Janmastami") The occasion is observed with particular splendour in Mathura and Vrindavana (Brindaban), the scenes of Krishna's childhood and early youth. The preceding day devotees keep a vigil and fast until midnight, the traditional hour of his birth. Then the image of Krishna is bathed in water and milk, dressed in ...
- Vritra
- (from the article "Indra") ...of the thunderbolt, and he is the great warrior who conquers the antigods (asuras). He also defeats innumerable human and superhuman enemies, most famously Vritra, a dragon and a leader of the dasa. Vritra is accused in his dragon form of holding back the ...
- Vrjji
- confederacy of the Licchavis and neighbouring peoples in Bihar, India, that existed from the 6th century BC to the 4th century AD. Its capital was at Vaisali (in modern Besarh). It was governed as an aristocratic republic. Gautama Buddha is said to have modeled the organizational structure of the Buddhist ... [3 Related Articles]
- Vrkljan, Irena
- (from the article "Croatian literature") ...took more cosmopolitan themes for his work, as did the poet Ivan Slamnig of the same generation. In the latter part of the 20th century, Croatian literature included experimental autobiographies by Irena Vrkljan (Marina ili o biografiji [1985; Marina; or, About Biography]), playing with ...
- VRML
- (from the article "computer graphics") ...of graphics routines that may be implemented in computer programming languages such as C or Java. PHIGS (programmer's hierarchical interactive graphics system) is another set of graphics routines. VRML (virtual reality modeling language) is a graphics description language for World Wide Web applications. Several commercial and free packages provide extensive ...
- Vrndavana
- (from the article "Caitanya sect") ...of Caitanya's disciples who came to be known as the six gosvamins (religious teachers; literally, "lords of cows"). At Caitanya's request, this group of scholars remained in Vrndavana, near Mathura, the scene of the Krishna-Radha legends. The six gosvamins turned out a voluminous religious and devotional literature in...
- Vrthraghna
- (from the article "Iranian religion") The mighty deity of war Vrthraghna had martial traits in common with Mithra and with the Vedic war god Indra. In post-Achaemenian times he was syncretistically equated with Hercules and was a favourite deity of monarchs, some of whom took his name. The name Vrthraghna means "the smashing of resistance ...
- vrttis
- (from the article "dharmashastra") ...three categories: (1) sutras (terse maxims); (2) smritis (shorter or longer treatises in stanzas); and (3) nibandhas (digests of smriti verses from various quarters) and vrttis (commentaries upon individual continuous smritis). The nibandhas and vrttis are juridical works intended for legal advisers and exhibit considerable skill in harmonizing...
- Vsevolod III
- (from the article "Suzdal") ...(1169) and transferred the title of "grand prince" from that ancient capital first to Suzdal, then to Vladimir, his new capital on the Klyazma River. He and his brother and successor, Vsevolod III (1176-1212), organized a strong monarchical political system and, as rulers of the Grand Principality of Vladimir, became ...
- Vsevolodovich, Yury
- (from the article "Nizhny Novgorod") Although some authorities give an earlier date, the city was founded, according to a major chronicle, in 1221 by Yury Vsevolodovich, prince of Vladimir, as Russian colonization was advancing to the Volga into lands formerly occupied by the Mordvinians. Nizhny Novgorod's strategic site on the great Volga route from the ...
- VTOL airplane
- any of several unconventional aircraft with rotating wing systems, such as the helicopter and autogiro. They may also have rotatable jet systems capable of vertical lift-off and landing in areas that only slightly exceed the overall dimensions of the aircraft. [3 Related Articles]
- Vu Ngoc Nha
- Vietnamese spy (b. 1924, Thai Binh, French Indochina-d. Aug. 7, 2002, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam), served as a trusted adviser to two presidents of South Vietnam while simultaneously leaking information to the Viet Cong and their communist allies in the north. Nha was initially instructed to infiltrate South Vietnam ...
- Vucetich, Juan
- (from the article "fingerprint") ...records. The system was adopted immediately by law-enforcement agencies in the English-speaking countries of the world and is now the most widely used method of fingerprint classification. Juan Vucetich, an employee of the police of the province of Buenos Aires in 1888, devised an original system of fingerprint classification published ...
- vudupi
- (from the article "Madi") The country is divided into areas under the ritual care of vudupi ("owners of the land"-i.e., descendants of the indigenous or pre-clan population of the area). Vudupi have a ritual relationship with the land that includes the presumed power to control wind and crop-destroying pests. The Madi have about 25 ...
- vuelta
- (from the article "ombre") ...exchange for undertaking to win more tricks than either opponent individually. The lowest bid, entrada, offers to do this after making any number of discards and drawing replacements from the stock. Vuelta is the same, except that the declarer must accept as trump the suit of the first card turned ...
- Vuelta a Espana
- (from the article "Cycling") In September, Spaniard Roberto Heras won the Tour of Spain (Vuelta a Espana) for a record fourth time. Cycling's other major national tour, the Tour of Italy (Giro d'Italia) in May, was won by Paolo Savoldelli of Italy, the 2002 victor. The inaugural ProTour, introduced by cycling's governing body, the...
- Vuia, Trajan
- (from the article "monoplane") ...been nearly universally adopted over multiplane configurations because airflow interference between adjacent wings reduces efficiency. The first monoplane was constructed by the Romanian inventor Trajan Vuia, who made a flight of 12 m (40 feet) on March 18, 1906. Louis Bleriot of France built a monoplane in 1907 and flew ...
- Vuillard, Edouard
- French painter, printmaker, and decorator who was a member of the Nabis group of painters in the 1890s. He is particularly known for his depictions of intimate interior scenes. [5 Related Articles]
- Vuillier, Gaston
- (from the article "dance") ...the kind of dignified and courtly movement that characterized the ballet of his time, with its highly formalized aesthetics and lack of forceful emotion. The 19th-century French dance historian Gaston Vuillier also emphasized the qualities of grace, harmony, and beauty, distinguishing "true" dance from the crude and spontaneous movements of ...
- Vujanovic, Filip
- (from the article "Montenegro") Area: 13,812 sq km (5,333 sq mi) | Population (2007 est.): 624,000 | Capital: Cetinje; administrative centre, Podgorica | Chief of state: President Filip Vujanovic | Head of government: Prime Minister Zeljko Sturanovic |
BRITANNICA BOOK OF THE YEAR 2007Montenegro
- Vukasin
- (from the article "Serbia") ...almost immediately the state began to disintegrate under rival clan leaders. The fall of Adrianople (modern Edirne, Turkey) to Turkish troops shocked the several factions into briefly uniting under Vukasin, the king of the southern Serbian lands, and his brother John Ugljesa, the despot of Serres (modern Serrai, Greece); their ...
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