Charlie Parker was an American alto saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He was a lyric artist generally considered the greatest jazz saxophonist. Parker was the principal stimulus of the modern jazz idiom known as bebop, and—together with Louis Armstrong and Ornette Coleman—he was one of the

Charlie Parker was an American alto saxophonist, composer, and bandleader. He was a lyric artist generally considered the greatest jazz saxophonist. Parker was the principal stimulus of the modern jazz idiom known as bebop, and—together with Louis Armstrong and Ornette Coleman—he was one of the

Alexandre Alexeïeff: …(later his wife), the animator Claire Parker (1910–81).

Dorothy Parker was an American short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and critic known for her witty—and often acerbic—remarks. She was one of the founders of the Algonquin Round Table, an informal literary group. Dorothy Rothschild was educated at Miss Dana’s School in Morristown, New Jersey, and

Ulysses S. Grant: Grant’s presidency: Notably, Grant named Ely S. Parker, a Seneca Indian who had served with him as a staff officer, commissioner of Indian affairs, and Grant’s wife persuaded him to appoint Hamilton Fish secretary of state. Strong-willed and forthright, Julia Grant also later claimed credit for helping to persuade her…

plasma: Regions of the Sun: In 1958 the American astrophysicist Eugene Parker showed that the equations describing the flow of plasma in the Sun’s gravitational field had one solution that allowed the gas to become supersonic and to escape the Sun’s pull. The solution was much like the description of a rocket nozzle in which…

Francis Parker was a founder of progressive elementary education in the United States and organizer of the first parent-teacher group at Chicago. At age 16 he began to teach and five years later became school principal at Carrollton, Ill. (1859). He was commissioned a lieutenant in the Union Army

animal behaviour: Adaptive design: …stercoraria) by British evolutionary biologist Geoffrey A. Parker. Shortly after cow excrement is deposited in a meadow, it is invaded by female dung flies that come to lay their eggs on the dung and by males seeking to mate with the females. Competition among the males for females is fierce.…

lacquerwork: Europe: John Stalker and George Parker’s Treatise of Japanning and Varnishing (London, 1688) was the first text with pattern illustrations. The English term japanning was inspired by the superiority of Japanese lacquer, which Stalker found “…in fineness of Black, and neatness of draught…more beautiful, more rich, or Majestick” than…

new wave: …pub rock veterans Nick Lowe, Graham Parker, and Elvis Costello; Squeeze and XTC, whose songs were sophisticated and infectious; ska revivalists such as Madness and the Specials; genre-hopping Joe Jackson; synthesizer bands such as Human

Horatio Parker was a composer, conductor, and teacher, and a prominent member of the turn-of-the-century Boston school of American composers. Parker studied in Boston and Munich. Returning to New York, he taught at the National Conservatory of Music, then directed by Antonin Dvořák. In 1894 he

Fort Smith: Judge Isaac C. Parker, known as a “hanging judge,” successfully carried out the difficult task of enforcing federal law in the area from 1875 to 1896. Fort Smith National Historic Site (established 1960) preserves the sites of the two forts and Judge Parker’s restored courtroom.

Stewart Parker was an Irish playwright whose innovative plays captured the human dimension of the religious conflict in Northern Ireland. Born into a working-class Protestant family, Parker won a scholarship to Queen’s University, Belfast (B.A., 1963; M.A., 1965), where he studied poetic drama. He

Jim Parker was an American professional gridiron football player who, during his 11-year career with the Baltimore Colts, established himself as one of the finest offensive linemen in National Football League (NFL) history. Parker played collegiate football at the Ohio State University under

Jim Parker was an American professional gridiron football player who, during his 11-year career with the Baltimore Colts, established himself as one of the finest offensive linemen in National Football League (NFL) history. Parker played collegiate football at the Ohio State University under

Waimea: In 1812 John Parker, a sailor, was granted a license by Kamehameha to hunt the cattle, and he subsequently domesticated them and helped establish ranching as a major industry on the island. Waimea is the headquarters for the Parker Ranch (established about 1815), one of the largest…

African Americans: African American life during the Great Depression and the New Deal: Herbert Hoover nominated John J. Parker, a man of pronounced anti-Black views, to the U.S. Supreme Court. The NAACP successfully opposed the nomination. In the 1932 presidential race African Americans overwhelmingly supported the successful Democratic candidate, Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Eliot Spitzer: …year he began cohosting (with Kathleen Parker) the nightly talk show Parker Spitzer on CNN. In February 2011 Parker left the program, which was subsequently retitled In the Arena. It struggled in the ratings, and in July Spitzer stepped down as host after CNN announced that the show would be…

pageant: Parker. Parker’s insistence on accurate retellings of history, use of natural settings with little or no artificial scenery, and reliance on amateur actors served to repopularize the pageant as historical drama. Max Reinhardt also made notable contributions to modern pageant drama with his efforts to…

James Brown: …Bootsy Collins, Fred Wesley, and Maceo Parker) have played an important role in creating the core vocabulary and grammar of funk music.

Mary-Louise Parker is an American actress of stage, screen, and television who is noted for bringing integrity and depth to her performances. Parker grew up in South Carolina and studied acting at the North Carolina School of the Arts. In 1975 she had a small part in the soap opera Ryan’s Hope, but

Matthew Parker was an Anglican archbishop of Canterbury (1559–75) who presided over the Elizabethan religious settlement in which the Church of England maintained a distinct identity apart from Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Parker studied at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and was

Hong Kong: Relief: …1,810 feet (552 metres), and Mount Parker in the east, which reaches a height of about 1,742 feet (531 metres).

William Shakespeare: Deconstruction: Patricia Parker’s Shakespeare from the Margins: Language, Culture, Context (1996), for example, offers many brilliant demonstrations of this, one of which is her study of the word preposterous, a word she finds throughout the plays. It means literally behind for before, back for front, second…

Quanah Parker was a Comanche leader who, as the last chief of the Kwahadi (Quahadi) band, mounted an unsuccessful war against white expansion in northwestern Texas (1874–75). He later became the main spokesman and peacetime leader of the Native Americans in the region, a role he performed for 30

Trey Parker is an American screenwriter, actor, and producer, best known as the cocreator, with Matt Stone, of the subversive animated comedy series South Park (1997– ) and the Tony Award-winning musical The Book of Mormon (2011). Parker grew up in small-town Colorado. While in high school, he and

plate tectonics: Determination of plate thickness: McKenzie and Robert L. Parker of Britain and W. Jason Morgan of the United States resolved these issues. McKenzie and Parker showed with a geometric analysis that, if the moving slabs of crust were thick enough to be regarded as rigid and thus to remain undeformed, their…

Butch Cassidy was an American outlaw and foremost member of the Wild Bunch, a collection of bank and train robbers who ranged through the western United States in the 1880s and ’90s. Robert Parker took his alias from Mike Cassidy, an older outlaw from whom he learned cattle rustling and gunslinging

Sarah Jessica Parker is an American actress who was perhaps best known for her role on the television series Sex and the City (1998–2004). Parker took ballet and acting classes as a child, and at age 11 she moved with her family to New York City so that she and her siblings could pursue careers in

Sean Parker is an American entrepreneur who cofounded (1999) the file-sharing computer service Napster and was the first president (2004–05) of the social networking Web site Facebook. Parker was interested in computers from an early age; his father first taught him computer programming when he was

Sir Gilbert Parker, Baronet was a British novelist of popular adventure and historical romances. His most widely known work was The Seats of the Mighty (1896), a novel of the 17th-century conquest of Quebec. From 1885 to 1889 Parker traveled widely in Australia and the South Seas, after which he

Sir Gilbert Parker, Baronet was a British novelist of popular adventure and historical romances. His most widely known work was The Seats of the Mighty (1896), a novel of the 17th-century conquest of Quebec. From 1885 to 1889 Parker traveled widely in Australia and the South Seas, after which he

Horatio Nelson: Blockade of Naples and battle of Copenhagen: …command to the elderly admiral Sir Hyde Parker, who was to command an expedition to the Baltic. Shortly before sailing, Nelson heard that Emma had borne him a daughter named Horatia.

The Mirror: …the paper was bought by Sir Peter Parker, a former British Railways chairman. Acquired in 1999 by Trinity Mirror PLC, The Mirror continues to be one of the leading mass-circulation papers in Britain.

Stewart Parker was an Irish playwright whose innovative plays captured the human dimension of the religious conflict in Northern Ireland. Born into a working-class Protestant family, Parker won a scholarship to Queen’s University, Belfast (B.A., 1963; M.A., 1965), where he studied poetic drama. He

Theodore Parker was an American Unitarian theologian, pastor, scholar, and social reformer who was active in the antislavery movement. Theologically, he repudiated much traditional Christian dogma, putting in its place an intuitive knowledge of God derived from man’s experience of nature and

Gregg Popovich: …international players, French point guard Tony Parker and Argentine shooting guard Manu Ginobili, who, along with Duncan, were the linchpins for the Spurs as they beat the Detroit Pistons 4–3 to win the NBA championship in 2005 and swept the Cleveland Cavaliers 4–0 in the best-of-seven series championship in 2007.

Trey Parker is an American screenwriter, actor, and producer, best known as the cocreator, with Matt Stone, of the subversive animated comedy series South Park (1997– ) and the Tony Award-winning musical The Book of Mormon (2011). Parker grew up in small-town Colorado. While in high school, he and

Mo’Nique: …Nikki Parker on the sitcom The Parkers (1999–2004), in which she played an ebullient single mother. Film roles soon followed, though the movies were of varying quality, ranging from Baby Boy (2001), about life in inner-city Los Angeles, to Soul Plane (2004), a widely reviled parody of Airplane! (1980) that…

Parkersburg, city, seat (1800) of Wood county, western West Virginia, U.S. It lies at the confluence of the Ohio (there bridged to Belpre, Ohio) and Little Kanawha rivers. Settled about 1785 as Neal’s Station on a land tract originally purchased by Alexander Parker of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, it

Parkes, town, east-central New South Wales, Australia. It is situated in the Lachlan River valley. The town was founded in 1862 as a reef- and alluvial-gold centre, originally called Bushman’s for a prominent local mine owner. It was renamed for Sir Henry Parkes, a state premier, in 1873, and was

Alexander Parkes: This procedure, commonly called the Parkes process (patented in 1850), involves adding zinc to lead and melting the two together. When stirred, the molten zinc reacts and forms compounds with any silver and gold present in the lead. These zinc compounds are lighter than the lead and, on cooling, form…

extraterrestrial intelligence: Radio searches: …out with the 64-metre (210-foot) telescope near Parkes, New South Wales. Such sky surveys are generally less sensitive than targeted searches of individual stars, but they are able to “piggyback” onto telescopes that are already engaged in making conventional astronomical observations, thus securing a large amount of search time. In…

Alexander Parkes: This procedure, commonly called the Parkes process (patented in 1850), involves adding zinc to lead and melting the two together. When stirred, the molten zinc reacts and forms compounds with any silver and gold present in the lead. These zinc compounds are lighter than the lead and, on cooling, form…

Alexander Parkes was a British chemist and inventor noted for his development of various industrial processes and materials. Much of Parkes’s work was related to metallurgy. He was one of the first to propose introducing small amounts of phosphorus into metal alloys to enhance their strength. One

Frank Kobina Parkes was a Ghanaian journalist, broadcaster, and poet whose style and great confidence in the future of Africa owe much to the Senegalese poet David Diop. Parkes was educated in Accra, Ghana, and Freetown, Sierra Leone. He worked briefly as a newspaper reporter and editor and in 1955

Frank Kobina Parkes was a Ghanaian journalist, broadcaster, and poet whose style and great confidence in the future of Africa owe much to the Senegalese poet David Diop. Parkes was educated in Accra, Ghana, and Freetown, Sierra Leone. He worked briefly as a newspaper reporter and editor and in 1955

China: The anti-foreign movement and the second Opium War (Arrow War): The British consul Harry Parkes sent a fleet to fight its way up to Guangzhou. French forces joined the venture on the plea that a French missionary had been officially executed in Guangxi. The British government sent an expedition under Lord Elgin as plenipotentiary. The Russians and the…

Sir Henry Parkes was a dominant political figure in Australia during the second half of the 19th century, often called the father of Australian federation. He served five terms as premier of New South Wales between 1872 and 1891. Parkes became politically prominent in 1849 as a spokesman for ending

celluloid: …plastic material that he called Parkesine. Parkesine plastics were made by dissolving nitrocellulose (a flammable nitric ester of cotton or wood cellulose) in solvents such as alcohol or wood naphtha and mixing in plasticizers such as vegetable oil or camphor (a waxy substance originally derived from the oils of the…

Celtic: …moved to its longtime home, Celtic Park (also known as Parkhead), in 1892. Renovated in 1995, the stadium now accommodates more than 60,000 spectators. Celtic began playing in white shirts with green collars, and the club’s famous uniform of a green-and-white striped shirt with white shorts debuted in 1903.

Charley Parkhurst was an American stagecoach driver who became famous as an expert horse handler in California during and after the state’s Gold Rush. Parkhurst was known among friends as a tough character who indulged in whiskey drinking, tobacco chewing, gambling, and cursing. Upon Parkhurst’s

Charley Parkhurst was an American stagecoach driver who became famous as an expert horse handler in California during and after the state’s Gold Rush. Parkhurst was known among friends as a tough character who indulged in whiskey drinking, tobacco chewing, gambling, and cursing. Upon Parkhurst’s

Helen Parkhurst was an American educator, author, and lecturer who devised the Dalton Laboratory Plan and founded the Dalton School. Parkhurst graduated from the River Falls Normal School of Wisconsin State College (1907), did graduate work at Columbia University, and studied at the universities of

Parkinson disease: Risk factors: …encodes a protein known as parkin, have been associated with early-onset (before age 40) Parkinson disease and with some cases of late-onset (after age 50) Parkinson disease. Mutations in several other genes have been linked to noninherited forms of the disease.

shopping centre: Car-parking facilities are a major consideration in shopping-centre design. The size and scope of the centre, the type of tenant, and the economics of the area partially determine parking needs, but it has been found that a ratio of 5.5 parking spaces per 1,000 square…

automobile: Brakes: Parking brakes usually are of the mechanical type, applying force only to the rear brake shoes by means of a flexible cable connected to a hand lever or pedal. On cars with automatic transmissions, an additional lock is usually provided in the form of a…

Parkinson disease, a degenerative neurological disorder that is characterized by the onset of tremor, muscle rigidity, slowness in movement (bradykinesia), and stooped posture (postural instability). The disease was first described in 1817 by British physician James Parkinson in his “Essay on the

dementia with Lewy bodies: …Lewy bodies is related to Parkinson disease dementia (PDD), in that both are associated with the accumulation of so-called Lewy bodies—abnormal deposits of a protein known as alpha-synuclein—in the brain. Lewy bodies are named for German physician Friedrich Heinrich Lewy, who first described them (1912), in the context of Parkinson…

C. Northcote Parkinson: …issued in book form in Parkinson’s Law; or, The Pursuit of Progress (1958). Apart from the books that made him famous, Parkinson wrote numerous historical works, including the critically acclaimed The Evolution of Political Thought (1958).

C. Northcote Parkinson was a British historian, author, and formulator of “Parkinson’s Law,” the satiric dictum that “Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” A relatively obscure academic prior to the enunciation of his “law,” which first appeared in an essay in the London

C. Northcote Parkinson was a British historian, author, and formulator of “Parkinson’s Law,” the satiric dictum that “Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.” A relatively obscure academic prior to the enunciation of his “law,” which first appeared in an essay in the London

parkinsonism: …1817 by the British physician James Parkinson in his “Essay on the Shaking Palsy.” Various types of the disorder are recognized, but the disease described by Parkinson, called Parkinson disease, is the most common form. Parkinson disease is also called primary parkinsonism, paralysis agitans, or idiopathic parkinsonism, meaning the disease…

parkinsonism: Parkinsonism-plus disease, or multiple-system degenerations, includes diseases in which the main features of parkinsonism are accompanied by other symptoms. Parkinsonism may appear in patients with other neurological disorders such as Huntington disease, Alzheimer disease, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

palo verde: Mexican palo verde (Parkinsonia aculeata) occurs in southwestern Arizona and from Texas to Florida.

parkinsonism, a group of chronic neurological disorders characterized by progressive loss of motor function resulting from the degeneration of neurons in the area of the brain that controls voluntary movement. Parkinsonism was first described in 1817 by the British physician James Parkinson in his

United States: Hurricanes Harvey and Maria and the mass shootings in Las Vegas, Parkland, and Santa Fe: …Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, 14 students and three staff members were killed when a former student who had been expelled for disciplinary reasons went on a rampage. Some of the students who survived the shooting became outspoken advocates for tighter gun-control laws and played prominent roles in…

Paul Giamatti: …the voice of a snail; Parkland, a drama about the assassination of Pres. John F. Kennedy; 12 Years a Slave, in which he played a slave trader; and Saving Mr. Banks, in which he appeared as the driver of Mary Poppins (1934) author P.L. Travers. In 2014 he played the…

Great Plains: Plant and animal life: …and known as the “Parklands” is found, where the grasslands gradually give way to forest; and north of 54° N latitude coniferous forests dominate the vegetation.

Damon Albarn: …critical and commercial breakthrough with Parklife (1994), a winning collection of pop songs in that vein. By the mid-1990s Blur was a chief exemplar, along with fellow melodic-rock revivalists Oasis, of what was called Britpop, and a frenzied media-fueled rivalry emerged between the two bands. Partially in response, Albarn and…

Francis Parkman was an American historian noted for his classic seven-volume history of France and England in North America, covering the colonial period from the beginnings to 1763. Parkman was the son of Francis Parkman, a leading Unitarian minister of Boston. As a boy, he met many of his

parkour, the practice of traversing obstacles in a man-made or natural environment through the use of running, vaulting, jumping, climbing, rolling, and other movements in order to travel from one point to another in the quickest and most efficient way possible without the use of equipment. The

Parks and Recreation, American television sitcom that aired on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) network from 2009 to 2015 and followed the antics of a group of government employees in a hapless Midwestern town. The show was created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, who had also worked

Miss America: …the debut of longtime host Bert Parks and the familiar theme song “There She Is, Miss America.” Throughout the first four decades of the competition, contestants increasingly represented states instead of cities, and in 1964 the representation of cities was discontinued altogether.

Gordon Parks was an American author, photographer, and film director who documented African American life. The youngest of 15 children born into a tenant farming family, Parks grew up in poverty and attended a segregated middle school before enrolling at an integrated high school. Although he

Gordon Parks was an American author, photographer, and film director who documented African American life. The youngest of 15 children born into a tenant farming family, Parks grew up in poverty and attended a segregated middle school before enrolling at an integrated high school. Although he

blaxploitation movies: …of drug kingpin Priest in Gordon Parks, Jr.’s highly successful Super Fly (1972)—came under scrutiny for depicting Priest as a cool, sophisticated, stylish man who was popular with women, lived in plush comfort, drove the latest-model car, and wore his cocaine spoon as a fashion accessory. Ebony writer B.J. Mason…

Rosa Parks was an American civil rights activist whose refusal to relinquish her seat on a public bus precipitated the 1955–56 Montgomery bus boycott in Alabama, which became the spark that ignited the civil rights movement in the United States. Born to parents James McCauley, a skilled stonemason

Suzan-Lori Parks is an American playwright who was the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for drama (for Topdog/Underdog). Parks, who was writing stories at age five, had a peripatetic childhood as the daughter of a military officer. She attended Mount Holyoke College, South

Suzan-Lori Parks is an American playwright who was the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for drama (for Topdog/Underdog). Parks, who was writing stories at age five, had a peripatetic childhood as the daughter of a military officer. She attended Mount Holyoke College, South

drag racing: …it gained greater respectability after Wally Parks helped organize the Southern California Timing Association (SCTA) in 1938. World War II brought a temporary hiatus to activities but gave California “hot rodders” the opportunity to proselytize fellow servicemen, and these new converts returned home with hot rod “fever.”

expressway, major arterial divided highway that features two or more traffic lanes in each direction, with opposing traffic separated by a median strip; elimination of grade crossings; controlled entries and exits; and advanced designs eliminating steep grades, sharp curves, and other hazards and

singing: Mid-19th century departure from bel canto style: …singers, and also the still-later parlando singers, who effected a union of speech and singing, made a conscious use of resonation in this way and differed from the bel canto singers in that they exercised less control over physical mechanisms.

folk music: Singing styles: …folk music, which he named parlando-rubato and tempo giusto. Parlando-rubato, stressing the words, departs frequently from strict metric and rhythmic patterns and is often highly ornamented, while tempo giusto follows metric patterns and maintains an even tempo. Both singing styles can be heard in many parts of Europe and in…

Parlement, the supreme court under the ancien régime in France. It developed out of the Curia Regis (King’s Court), in which the early kings of the Capetian dynasty (987–1328) periodically convened their principal vassals and prelates to deliberate with them on feudal and political matters. It also

The Parlement of Foules, a 699-line poem in rhyme royal by Geoffrey Chaucer, written in 1380–90. Composed in the tradition of French romances (while at the same time questioning the merits of that tradition), this poem has been called one of the best occasional verses in the English language. Often

rapporteur: … and was adopted by the Parlement of Paris in the late 13th century. Originally rapporteurs were not members of the court, but by 1336 they were given full rights to participate in the decision-making process as judges.

the Fronde: …off the first phase, the Fronde of the Parlement. The Parlement sought to put a constitutional limit on the monarchy by establishing its power to discuss and modify royal decrees. From June 30 to July 12 an assembly of courts made a list of 27 articles for reform, including abolition…

France: Parlements of France: In 1752 a Jansenist parlementaire, Louis-Adrien Le Paige, developed the idea that the various parlements should be thought of as the “classes” or parts of a larger and single “Parlement de France.”

Petr Parléř was the best-known member of a famous German family of masons. His works exemplify the tendency toward profuse ornamentation and technical ostentation that are characteristic of late Gothic architecture. At the age of 23 Parléř was called by King Charles IV of Bohemia to Prague to

Samuel Griswold Goodrich was an American publisher and author of children’s books under the pseudonym of Peter Parley. Largely self-educated, Goodrich became a bookseller and publisher at Hartford and later in Boston. There, beginning in 1828, he published for 15 years an illustrated annual, the

Parliament, the original legislative assembly of England, Scotland, or Ireland and successively of Great Britain and the United Kingdom; legislatures in some countries that were once British colonies are also known as parliaments. The British Parliament, often referred to as the “Mother of

India: Union government: …are the two houses of parliament—the lower house, or Lok Sabha (House of the People), and the upper house, or Rajya Sabha (Council of States). The president of India is also considered part of parliament. At the apex of the judicial branch is the Supreme Court, whose decisions are binding…

Parliament Act of 1911, act passed Aug. 10, 1911, in the British Parliament which deprived the House of Lords of its absolute power of veto on legislation. The act was proposed by a Liberal majority in the House of Commons. Chancellor of the Exchequer David Lloyd George, in his 1909 “People’s

House of Lords: Under the 1949 act, all other public bills (except bills to extend the maximum duration of Parliament) not receiving the approval of the House of Lords become law provided that they are passed by two successive parliamentary sessions and that a period of one year has elapsed…

Quebec: The contemporary city: …Quebec’s National Assembly, the imposing Parliament Building (the architecture of which was influenced by the Louvre Museum in Paris). Its facade is adorned with more than two dozen bronze statues of men and women who played pivotal roles in the province’s history. North and west of the Parliament Building, Upper…

Victoria: The contemporary city: …the Inner Harbour (including the Parliament Buildings [1897]), but its main orientation is to the Juan de Fuca Strait, on its south. The area includes some of the oldest dwellings in the city and Beacon Hill Park. Northeast of James Bay and east of downtown is the prominent Rockland neighbourhood,…

Stormont: The Parliament Buildings (1928–32) was built in the Greek classical style and has four main floors. Since 1998 it has been home to the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Parliament Buildings, structures in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, that house the Canadian Parliament (the Senate and House of Commons). The buildings, which are designed in a Gothic Revival style, officially opened on June 6, 1866, about a year before Canada’s Confederation. On February 3, 1916, a fire

Parliament Hill attack, shooting that took place at Parliament and the National War Memorial in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on October 22, 2014. The attack, carried out by former Canadian petroleum worker Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, left one person dead and raised questions about parliamentary security