- Webb, William Henry (American musician)
Chick Webb was an American jazz drummer who led one of the dominant big bands of the swing era. Its swing, precision, and popularity made it the standard of excellence to which other big bands aspired. Sources vary on Webb’s birth year; 1909 appears on his death certificate and grave marker, while
- Webb, William Henry (American naval architect)
William Henry Webb was an American naval architect, one of the most versatile and successful shipbuilders of his day, who in 1889 established and endowed the Webb Institute of Naval Architecture at Glen Cove, N.Y. Webb began shipbuilding in 1836 and by 1869 had more tonnage to his credit than any
- Webber, Chris (American basketball player)
Orlando Magic: …traded the player it selected, Chris Webber, for the third selection, point guard Anfernee (“Penny”) Hardaway, and future draft picks.
- webbing clothes moth (insect)
tineid moth: Well-known species include the webbing clothes moth (Tineola bisselliella), the casemaking clothes moth (Tinea pellionella), and the carpet, tapestry, or white-tip clothes moth (Trichophaga tapetzella). The larvae of the casemaking clothes moth use silk and fragments of food to construct a small, flat, oval case in which the larvae…
- webcamming (electronics)
webcamming, broadcasting of sound and images over the Internet using a Web camera, or webcam. The popularity of webcamming is in part due to the fact that it is among the least expensive forms of broadcasting available to the public. The very first webcam has origins that predate the World Wide
- WebCrawler (search engine)
search engine: History: It was Brian Pinkerton’s WebCrawler, one of the few search engines of its time that remained active into the first quarter of the 21st century, that first allowed users to search for any word on any Web page it had indexed. Launched on April 20, 1994, the tool became…
- weber (unit of measurement)
weber, unit of magnetic flux in the International System of Units (SI), defined as the amount of flux that, linking an electrical circuit of one turn (one loop of wire), produces in it an electromotive force of one volt as the flux is reduced to zero at a uniform rate in one second. It was named in
- Weber and Fields (American comedy team)
Weber and Fields, American comedy team that was popular at the turn of the 20th century. Joe Weber (in full Joseph Weber; b. Aug. 11, 1867, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. May 10, 1942, Hollywood, Calif.) and Lew Fields (in full Lewis Maurice Fields; b. Jan. 1, 1867, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. July 20, 1941,
- Weber Basin (basin, Pacific Ocean)
Banda Sea: …South Banda Basin from the Weber Basin, the deepest in the sea, at some 24,409 feet (7,440 metres). The active volcano, Mount Api, rises from the floor of the southern basin at14,800 feet (4,500 metres) to 2,200 feet (670 metres) above sea level. The clear waters surrounding many islands provide…
- Weber College (university, Ogden, Utah, United States)
Weber State University, public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Ogden, Utah, U.S. It is part of the Utah System of Higher Education. Its 400-acre (162-hectare) campus overlooks Ogden and the Great Salt Lake from a foothill of the Wasatch Range. The university comprises the John B.
- Weber Stake Academy (university, Ogden, Utah, United States)
Weber State University, public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Ogden, Utah, U.S. It is part of the Utah System of Higher Education. Its 400-acre (162-hectare) campus overlooks Ogden and the Great Salt Lake from a foothill of the Wasatch Range. The university comprises the John B.
- Weber State University (university, Ogden, Utah, United States)
Weber State University, public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Ogden, Utah, U.S. It is part of the Utah System of Higher Education. Its 400-acre (162-hectare) campus overlooks Ogden and the Great Salt Lake from a foothill of the Wasatch Range. The university comprises the John B.
- Weber test (audiometry)
nervous system disease: Cranial nerves: The Weber test consists of placing the tuning fork on the forehead; the sound is better perceived either in the ear without nerve deafness or, paradoxically, in the ear affected by mild middle-ear deafness. Further testing may be performed in an audiometry laboratory.
- Weber’s law (psychology)
Weber’s law, historically important psychological law quantifying the perception of change in a given stimulus. The law states that the change in a stimulus that will be just noticeable is a constant ratio of the original stimulus. It has been shown not to hold for extremes of stimulation. The law
- Weber, Alfred (German economist and industrialist)
location theory: …1909 the German location economist Alfred Weber formulated a theory of industrial location in his book entitled Über den Standort der Industrien (Theory of the Location of Industries, 1929). Weber’s theory, called the location triangle, sought the optimum location for the production of a good based on the fixed locations…
- Weber, Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst, Freiherr von (German composer and musician)
Carl Maria von Weber was a German composer and opera director during the transition from Classical to Romantic music, noted especially for his operas Der Freischütz (1821; The Freeshooter, or, more colloquially, The Magic Marksman), Euryanthe (1823), and Oberon (1826). Der Freischütz, the most
- Weber, Carl Maria von (German composer and musician)
Carl Maria von Weber was a German composer and opera director during the transition from Classical to Romantic music, noted especially for his operas Der Freischütz (1821; The Freeshooter, or, more colloquially, The Magic Marksman), Euryanthe (1823), and Oberon (1826). Der Freischütz, the most
- Weber, Dick (American bowler)
Dick Weber was an American professional bowler, who was a charter member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) and a frequent finalist in bowling tournaments that were televised in the United States during the 1960s. Weber got his start in the sport at an after-school job in a bowling
- Weber, Die (play by Hauptmann)
The Weavers, naturalistic drama in five acts by Gerhart Hauptmann, published in 1892 and performed in 1893 as Die Weber. The play is based on the revolt of the Silesian weavers of 1844 and portrays in a starkly realistic manner the human cost of the Industrial Revolution. The work reveals how,
- Weber, Ernst (American engineer)
Ernst Weber was an Austrian-born American engineer who was a pioneer in the development of microwave communications equipment and who oversaw the growth of the Polytechnic Institute in New York City. Weber was educated in Austria and worked in Vienna and Berlin as a research engineer (1924–30)
- Weber, Ernst Heinrich (German physiologist)
Ernst Heinrich Weber was a German anatomist and physiologist whose fundamental studies of the sense of touch introduced a concept—that of the just-noticeable difference, the smallest difference perceivable between two similar stimuli—that is important to psychology and sensory physiology. The
- Weber, Florence Lois (American actress, producer, and director)
Lois Weber was an American actress, producer, and director who is best remembered for her crusading films of social concern in the early days of the motion picture industry. Weber displayed musical ability at an early age. She had a brief tour as a concert pianist at age 16 and sang with the
- Weber, Heinrich (German mathematician)
group: It was Heinrich Weber, in 1882, who first gave a purely axiomatic description of a group independently of the nature of its elements. Today, groups are fundamental entities in abstract algebra and are of considerable importance in geometry, physics, and chemistry.
- Weber, Joe (American comedian)
Weber and Fields: comedy team that was popular at the turn of the 20th century. Joe Weber (in full Joseph Weber; b. Aug. 11, 1867, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. May 10, 1942, Hollywood, Calif.) and Lew Fields (in full Lewis Maurice Fields; b. Jan. 1, 1867, New York,…
- Weber, Joseph (American comedian)
Weber and Fields: comedy team that was popular at the turn of the 20th century. Joe Weber (in full Joseph Weber; b. Aug. 11, 1867, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. May 10, 1942, Hollywood, Calif.) and Lew Fields (in full Lewis Maurice Fields; b. Jan. 1, 1867, New York,…
- Weber, Karl (Italian military engineer)
Herculaneum: …to 1764 the military engineer Karl Weber served as director of excavations. Under Weber, diagrams and plans of the ruins were produced, and numerous artifacts were uncovered and documented. Magnificent paintings and a group of portrait statues were excavated from a building thought to be the ancient basilica of Herculaneum,…
- Weber, Karl Maria von (German composer and musician)
Carl Maria von Weber was a German composer and opera director during the transition from Classical to Romantic music, noted especially for his operas Der Freischütz (1821; The Freeshooter, or, more colloquially, The Magic Marksman), Euryanthe (1823), and Oberon (1826). Der Freischütz, the most
- Weber, Lois (American actress, producer, and director)
Lois Weber was an American actress, producer, and director who is best remembered for her crusading films of social concern in the early days of the motion picture industry. Weber displayed musical ability at an early age. She had a brief tour as a concert pianist at age 16 and sang with the
- Weber, Max (German sociologist)
Max Weber was a German sociologist and political economist best known for his thesis of the “Protestant ethic,” relating Protestantism to capitalism, and for his ideas on bureaucracy. Weber was the eldest son of Max and Helene Weber. His father was an aspiring liberal politician who soon joined the
- Weber, Max (American artist)
Max Weber was a Russian-born American painter, printmaker, and sculptor who, through his early abstract works, helped to introduce such avant-garde European art movements as Fauvism and Cubism to the United States. Weber immigrated to New York City with his parents in 1891 and studied from 1898 to
- Weber, Pete (American bowler)
Pete Weber is an American bowler who was one of the sport’s greatest players, though he arguably attracted more attention for his brash personality. He was the first bowler in the history of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) to complete the “triple crown” at least twice (1989 and 2013) in
- Weber, Peter David (American bowler)
Pete Weber is an American bowler who was one of the sport’s greatest players, though he arguably attracted more attention for his brash personality. He was the first bowler in the history of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) to complete the “triple crown” at least twice (1989 and 2013) in
- Weber, Richard Anthony (American bowler)
Dick Weber was an American professional bowler, who was a charter member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) and a frequent finalist in bowling tournaments that were televised in the United States during the 1960s. Weber got his start in the sport at an after-school job in a bowling
- Weber, Shea (Canadian ice-hockey player)
Nashville Predators: …centre Jason Arnott and defenseman Shea Weber only to lose their opening series to the eventual champion Chicago Blackhawks. In 2010–11 the Predators defeated the Anaheim Ducks in the initial round of the postseason to notch the franchise’s first playoff series win. Nashville then lost in the second round of…
- Weber, T. (physicist)
philosophy of physics: The theory of Ghirardi, Rimini, and Weber: …1980s by Ghirardi, Rimini, and Weber and is thus sometimes referred to as “GRW”; it was subsequently developed by Philip Pearle and John Stewart Bell (1928–90).
- Weber, Wilhelm Eduard (German physicist)
Wilhelm Eduard Weber was a German physicist who, with his friend Carl Friedrich Gauss, investigated terrestrial magnetism and in 1833 devised an electromagnetic telegraph. The magnetic unit, termed a weber, formerly the coulomb, is named after him. Weber was educated at Halle and later at
- Weber-Fechner law (psychology)
Weber’s law, historically important psychological law quantifying the perception of change in a given stimulus. The law states that the change in a stimulus that will be just noticeable is a constant ratio of the original stimulus. It has been shown not to hold for extremes of stimulation. The law
- Weberian apparatus (fish anatomy)
Weberian apparatus, distinctive chain of small bones characteristic of fish of the superorder Ostariophysi (carps, characins, minnows, suckers, loaches, catfish, and others). The Weberian apparatus consists of four pairs of bones, called ossicles, derived from the vertebrae immediately following
- Weberian ossicles (fish anatomy)
Weberian apparatus, distinctive chain of small bones characteristic of fish of the superorder Ostariophysi (carps, characins, minnows, suckers, loaches, catfish, and others). The Weberian apparatus consists of four pairs of bones, called ossicles, derived from the vertebrae immediately following
- Webern, Anton (Austrian composer)
Anton Webern was an Austrian composer of the 12-tone Viennese school. He is known especially for his passacaglia for orchestra, his chamber music, and various songs (Lieder). Webern’s father, a mining engineer, rose to the highest rank of his profession, becoming chief of mining in the Habsburg
- Webern, Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von (Austrian composer)
Anton Webern was an Austrian composer of the 12-tone Viennese school. He is known especially for his passacaglia for orchestra, his chamber music, and various songs (Lieder). Webern’s father, a mining engineer, rose to the highest rank of his profession, becoming chief of mining in the Habsburg
- Webi Jubba (river, Africa)
Jubba River, principal river of Somalia in northeastern Africa. Originating via its headwater streams in the Mendebo Mountains of southern Ethiopia, it flows about 545 miles (875 km) from Doolow on the Ethiopian frontier to the Indian Ocean just north of Kismaayo, one of Somalia’s three main ports.
- Webi Shabeelle (river, Africa)
Shebeli River, river in eastern Africa, rising in the Ethiopian Highlands and flowing southeast through the arid Ogaden Plateau. The Shebeli River crosses into Somalia north of Beledweyne (Beletwene) and continues south to Balcad, about 20 miles (32 km) from the Indian Ocean, turning southwest
- Weblog (Internet)
blog, online journal where an individual, group, or corporation presents a record of activities, thoughts, or beliefs. Some blogs operate mainly as news filters, collecting various online sources and adding short comments and Internet links. Other blogs concentrate on presenting original material.
- WebMuseum (computer science)
virtual museum: Another pioneer is the WebMuseum, an exhibition of artworks by Western painters from medieval times to the present day that was begun in 1994 by a computer scientist at the École Polytechnique in Paris. The WebMuseum grew to incorporate reproductions of paintings, background text, and musical selections submitted by…
- webOS (operating system)
Hewlett-Packard Company: Computer business: …multitasking operating system, known as webOS (a “next generation” successor to the original Palm OS), was considered by analysts to be a leading system for smartphones. The acquisition would complement Hewlett-Packard’s two lines of iPAQ smartphones, one for business users and one for consumers, that ran Microsoft Corporation’s Windows Mobile…
- website (computer science)
website, collection of files and related resources accessible through the World Wide Web and the Internet via a domain name. Organized around a "homepage" (or "landing page"), it is one of the foremost vehicles for mass communication and mass media. Typical files found at a website are HTML
- WebSphere (software)
middleware: WebSphere, a set of integration software produced by International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), is one of the most widely used middleware programs. Another familiar example of middleware is the application programming interface (API) used by the American social networking site Facebook. Facebook’s API enables its
- webspinner (insect)
webspinner, (order Embioptera), any of about 170 species of insects that are delicate, are yellow or brown in colour, have biting mouthparts, and feed on dead plant material. Most species are from 4 to 7 mm (about 0.2 inch) long. Most males have two pairs of narrow wings and are weak fliers,
- Webster (Massachusetts, United States)
Webster, town (township), Worcester county, south-central Massachusetts, U.S., on the French River, 18 miles (29 km) south of Worcester city. Within the town limits is Lake Chaubunagungamaug (now also called Lake Webster), 3 miles (5 km) long and the focus of a recreational area. The lake’s full
- Webster City (Iowa, United States)
Webster City, city, seat (1856) of Hamilton county, central Iowa, U.S., on the Boone River, 17 miles (27 km) east of Fort Dodge. It was settled in 1850 by Wilson Brewer and was known as Newcastle until 1856, when it became the county seat and was renamed Webster City, possibly for Webster county
- Webster Lake (lake, Massachusetts, United States)
Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, lake, central Massachusetts, U.S. It is located in southern Worcester county near the town of Webster. The lake’s name is reportedly Nipmuc (Algonquian) for what popular culture has held to mean “You fish on your side; I fish on my side;
- Webster University (university, Webster Groves, Missouri, United States)
St. Louis: The contemporary city: Louis (1872), Webster University (1915), Fontbonne University (1923), and St. Louis Community College (1962).
- Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (law case)
Sandra Day O’Connor: …from the conservative majority in Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989)—in which the Court upheld a Missouri law that prohibited public employees from performing or assisting in abortions not necessary to save a woman’s life and that required doctors to determine the viability of a fetus if it was at…
- Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the English Language (dictionary)
Merriam-Webster dictionary: Among the dictionaries are Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the English Language (1961), which contains more than 476,000 entries and provides the most extensive record of American English now available, and the 11th edition of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (2003).
- Webster, Alice Jane Chandler (American writer)
Jean Webster was an American writer who is best remembered for her fiction best-seller Daddy-Long-Legs, which was also successful in stage and motion picture adaptations. Webster adopted the name Jean while attending the Lady Jane Grey School in Binghamton, New York. In 1901 she graduated from
- Webster, Augusta (British poet)
English literature: Verse: …developed in the 1860s by Augusta Webster, who used the form in Dramatic Studies (1866), A Woman Sold and Other Poems (1867), and Portraits (1870) to produce penetrating accounts of female experience. Her posthumously published sonnet sequence Mother & Daughter (1895) is a lucid and unsentimental account of that relationship.
- Webster, Ben (American musician)
Ben Webster was an American jazz musician, considered one of the most distinctive of his generation, noted for the beauty of his tenor saxophone tone and for his melodic inventiveness. Webster began playing the violin in childhood and then played piano accompaniments to silent films; after learning
- Webster, Benjamin Francis (American musician)
Ben Webster was an American jazz musician, considered one of the most distinctive of his generation, noted for the beauty of his tenor saxophone tone and for his melodic inventiveness. Webster began playing the violin in childhood and then played piano accompaniments to silent films; after learning
- Webster, Bob (American diver)
Sammy Lee: He also trained gold medalists Bob Webster and Greg Louganis. The recipient of numerous honours, Lee was awarded the 1953 James E. Sullivan Award for outstanding U.S. amateur athlete. In addition, he was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame (1968) and into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame…
- Webster, Daniel (American politician)
Daniel Webster was an American orator and politician who practiced prominently as a lawyer before the U.S. Supreme Court and served as a U.S. congressman (1813–17, 1823–27), a U.S. senator (1827–41, 1845–50), and U.S. secretary of state (1841–43, 1850–52). He is best known as an enthusiastic
- Webster, Ebenezer (American revolutionary)
Daniel Webster: Youth and early career: …ninth of 10 children of Ebenezer Webster, a veteran of the American Revolution, farmer and tavern-keeper, and leading townsman. Dark-complexioned “little Black Dan,” a rather frail boy, became the pet of his parents and older brothers and sisters, some of whom taught him to read at an early age. He…
- Webster, Hannah (American writer)
Hannah Webster Foster was an American novelist whose single successful novel, though highly sentimental, broke with some of the conventions of its time and type. Hannah Webster received the genteel education prescribed for young girls of that day. In April 1785 she married the Reverend John Foster,
- Webster, Jean (American writer)
Jean Webster was an American writer who is best remembered for her fiction best-seller Daddy-Long-Legs, which was also successful in stage and motion picture adaptations. Webster adopted the name Jean while attending the Lady Jane Grey School in Binghamton, New York. In 1901 she graduated from
- Webster, John (English dramatist)
John Webster was an English dramatist whose The White Devil (c. 1609–c. 1612) and The Duchess of Malfi (c. 1612/13, published 1623) are generally regarded as the paramount 17th-century English tragedies apart from those of Shakespeare. Little is known of Webster’s life. His preface to Monuments of
- Webster, Marie (American quilter)
Marie Webster was an American quilt designer and historian, author of the first book entirely devoted to American quilts. Marie Daugherty was educated at local schools in Wabash, Indiana. Unable to attend college because of an eye ailment, she was tutored in Latin and Greek and read widely. She was
- Webster, Michael Lewis (American football player)
Mike Webster was an American professional football player who won four Super Bowls (1975, 1976, 1979, and 1980) as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) and who is considered one of the greatest centers in league history. He is notable not just for his
- Webster, Mike (American football player)
Mike Webster was an American professional football player who won four Super Bowls (1975, 1976, 1979, and 1980) as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL) and who is considered one of the greatest centers in league history. He is notable not just for his
- Webster, Noah (American lexicographer)
Noah Webster was an American lexicographer known for his American Spelling Book (1783) and his American Dictionary of the English Language, 2 vol. (1828; 2nd ed., 1840). Webster was instrumental in giving American English a dignity and vitality of its own. Both his speller and dictionary reflected
- Webster, William H. (United States government official)
Los Angeles Riots of 1992: …an official investigation headed by William Webster, former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation—was forced to resign. Also in the wake of the riots, a dispirited Bradley, the city’s first African American mayor, chose not to run for a sixth term. Ultimately, King received a $3.8 million settlement from…
- Webster, William Hedgcock (United States government official)
Los Angeles Riots of 1992: …an official investigation headed by William Webster, former director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation—was forced to resign. Also in the wake of the riots, a dispirited Bradley, the city’s first African American mayor, chose not to run for a sixth term. Ultimately, King received a $3.8 million settlement from…
- Webster–Ashburton Treaty (United States-United Kingdom [1842])
Webster–Ashburton Treaty, (1842), treaty between the U.S. and Great Britain establishing the northeastern boundary of the U.S. and providing for Anglo–U.S. cooperation in the suppression of the slave trade. The treaty established the present boundary between Maine and New Brunswick, granted the
- webworm (insect)
lepidopteran: Annotated classification: Family Crambidae (webworms) Approximately 11,600 species worldwide; small, often abundant moths, many larvae producing silk webbing in feeding sites; subfamily Crambinae contains almost 1,900 species, larvae feeding mainly on roots, grasses, or mosses on the ground or boring into stems of grasses, sedges, or rushes; subfamily Pyraustinae…
- WeChat (instant messaging service)
WeChat, messaging app owned by technology and entertainment conglomerate Tencent and developed by Tencent executive Allen Zhang. WeChat has well over one billion monthly users, the majority of whom are based in China. The app allows users to exchange text messages, make video and audio calls, play
- Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (psychology)
David Wechsler: …another adult intelligence test, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS), with the same structure as his earlier scale but standardized with a different population, including 10 percent nonwhites to reflect the U.S. population. (The earlier test had been standardized for an all-white population.) He contributed to the revision of the…
- Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (psychology)
David Wechsler: …of his intelligence tests, the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence, was issued in 1967 as an adaptation of the children’s scale for use with very young children. His intelligence tests continue to be updated for contemporary use.
- Wechsler, David (American psychologist)
David Wechsler was an American psychologist and inventor of several widely used intelligence tests for adults and children. Wechsler studied at the City College of New York and Columbia University, receiving his doctorate in 1925. He began a long association with Bellevue Psychiatric Hospital in
- Wechsler–Bellevue Intelligence Scale (psychology)
David Wechsler: …intelligence tests known as the Wechsler-Bellevue Intelligence Scale. The original battery was geared specifically to the measurement of adult intelligence, for clinical use. He rejected the idea that there is an ideal mental age against which individual performance can be measured, and he defined normal intelligence as the mean test…
- WeCrashed (American television miniseries)
Anne Hathaway: WeCrashed and The Idea of You: …starred with Jared Leto in WeCrashed (2022), a TV miniseries about the rise and fall of WeWork, a company that promoted shared office space. Her other credits from 2022 include the family drama Armageddon Time, which centers on a six grader’s coming-of-age and addresses issues of privilege and racism.
- Wedde, Ian (New Zealand author)
New Zealand literature: Poetry: …of the most talented were Ian Wedde, whose energy, formal inventiveness, and stylistic charm in the use of spoken language extended the range of New Zealand poetry, and Bill Manhire, a witty understater and unsettler of reality. Others also appearing then included Murray Edmond, a dour but resourceful pupil of…
- Weddell Gyre (Antarctic ocean current)
ocean current: The subpolar gyres: The best-formed is the Weddell Gyre of the Southern Ocean. The Antarctic coastal current flows toward the west. The northward-flowing current off the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula carries cold Antarctic coastal water into the circumpolar belt. Another cyclonic gyre occurs north of the Ross Sea.
- Weddell Polynya (polynya, Weddell Sea, Atlantic Ocean)
polynya: …best exemplified by the vast Weddell Polynya in the antarctic Weddell Sea.
- Weddell Sea (sea, Atlantic Ocean)
Weddell Sea, large embayment of the Antarctic coastline that forms a deep southward extension of the Southern Ocean. Centering at about 73° S 45° W, the Weddell Sea is bounded on the west by the Antarctic Peninsula of West Antarctica, on the east by Coats Land of East Antarctica, and on the extreme
- Weddell seal (mammal)
Weddell seal, (Leptonychotes weddellii), nonmigratory earless seal (family Phocidae) found around the South Pole, on or near the coast of Antarctica. The Weddell seal is a rotund animal that grows to about 3 metres (10 feet) in length and about 400 kg (880 pounds) in weight; the female is larger
- Weddell, James (British explorer)
James Weddell was a British explorer and seal hunter who set a record for navigation into the Antarctic and for whom the Weddell Sea is named. Weddell commanded the sealing brig “Jane” on three Antarctic voyages, the success of the first (1819–21) permitting him to buy a share in the vessel. On the
- Wedderburn, Sir William (British administrator)
India: The early Congress movement: Sir William Wedderburn (1838–1918), Gokhale’s closest British adviser and himself later elected twice to serve as president of the Congress, and William Wordsworth, principal of Elphinstone College, both appeared as observers. Most Britons in India, however, either ignored the Congress Party and its resolutions as…
- Weddigen, Otto (German naval officer)
Otto Weddigen was a German submarine commander whose feat of sinking three British armoured cruisers in about an hour, during the second month of World War I, made him one of the most famous of submarine heroes. Weddigen entered the German navy in 1901 and participated from the beginning in the
- wedding (ritual)
Western dance: Jewish dance: Weddings provided another important occasion for ritual dancing. Dancing with the bride was considered an act of devotion, and the officiating rabbi always complied with pleasure. During the Diaspora of the early Christian Era many of the ritual dances disappeared, but the bridal dance continued…
- Wedding Banquet, The (film by Lee [1993])
Ang Lee: …Pushing Hands), Hsi Yen (1993; The Wedding Banquet), and Yinshi nan nu (1994; Eat Drink Man Woman). After earning international acclaim for the latter two movies, Lee was chosen to direct a screen adaptation of the Jane Austen novel Sense and Sensibility (1995). The film—which starred Emma Thompson, Kate
- Wedding Bell Blues (song by Nyro)
Laura Nyro: …notably the Fifth Dimension (“Wedding Bell Blues” and “Stoned Soul Picnic”), Barbra Streisand (“Stoney End”), Three Dog Night (“Eli’s Coming”), and Blood, Sweat and Tears (“And When I Die”). A wayward yet reclusive artist, Nyro resisted pressure to streamline her songs for mass consumption. She was shaken after being…
- Wedding Candles, The (painting by Chagall)
Marc Chagall: Late career of Marc Chagall: …again, as the bride in The Wedding Candles (1945) and Nocturne (1947).
- Wedding Crashers (film by Dobkin [2005])
Bradley Cooper: …in such buddy movies as Wedding Crashers (2005) and Failure to Launch (2006). The films raised Cooper’s profile, and in 2009 he scored his breakthrough with the highly lucrative The Hangover, which centres on a group of men who search for their lost friend after waking from a bachelor party…
- Wedding Dance, The (painting by Bruegel)
Western painting: Low Countries: …months and recurs in “The Wedding Dance” (1566; Detroit Institute of Arts) and “Peasant Dance” and “Peasant Wedding” (both in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna).
- Wedding Dress, The (play by Rodrigues)
Brazilian literature: The theatre: …drama Vestido de noiva (1943; The Wedding Dress), with its revolutionary staging and open treatment of sexuality, became one of Brazil’s most important dramas. Concerned with issues of class, machismo, sexual deviancy, incest, violence, and abortion, Rodrigues’s audacious plays have been praised for their different narrative levels. Rodrigues was a…
- Wedding March (work by Mendelssohn)
A Midsummer Night’s Dream: … queen Titania, and the “Wedding March,” written to accompany the multiple weddings at the end of the play, recaptured the magical spirit of the overture. The complete set also includes a nimble fairies’ scherzo, a haunting nocturne rich with horns, a buoyant clowns’ dance, and a farewell finale. The…
- Wedding Night, The (film by Vidor [1935])
King Vidor: Early sound features: The elaborate romance The Wedding Night (1935) was made for producer Samuel Goldwyn, who intended it to be a showcase for Anna Sten (in her third American movie), a Russian-born actress he unsuccessfully tried to turn into the next Greta Garbo. Despite the presence of Gary Cooper, the…
- Wedding of Samson, The (painting by Rembrandt)
Rembrandt: Night Watch: The Wedding of Samson (1638) can be seen as Rembrandt’s attempt to surpass Leonardo in the challenge set by this compositional problem and as an effort to accomplish a much livelier scene than Leonardo had achieved in his Last Supper.
- Wedding of Zein & Other Stories, The (work by Ṣāliḥ)
al-Ṭayyib Ṣāliḥ: The Wedding of Zein & Other Stories) evoke the warmth, compassion, humour, and sadness of traditional Sudanese Arabic life, examining authority and unwritten codes through its beautifully structured narrative rhythms. In the 1970s he wrote two short volumes, translated into English as Bandarshah, and later…
- Wedding Party, The (film by De Palma, Leach and Monroe [1969])
Brian De Palma: Early work: …Cynthia Monroe) the feature-length film The Wedding Party (1964; released 1969). The comedy featured early career performances by Robert De Niro and Jill Clayburgh. De Palma’s first solo features were Murder à la Mod (1968) and Greetings (1968), the latter of which was set in Greenwich Village and starred De…
- Wedding Planner, The (film by Shankman [2001])
Jennifer Lopez: Selena and film stardom: …she gained widespread praise for The Wedding Planner (2001), her successful first attempt at romantic comedy. That release was quickly followed by the romantic drama Angel Eyes. These films paired her with many of the most bankable and respected leading actors of the 1990s and early 2000s, including George Clooney,…