Encyclopædia Britannica Australia -

Encyclopedias since 1768

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Joseph ... Jovius, Paulus

Joseph: in the Old Testament, son of the patriarch Jacob and his wife Rachel. As Jacob's name became synonymous with all Israel, so that of Joseph was eventually equated with all the tribes that made up the northern kingdom. According to ...
Joseph: king of Portugal from 1750 to 1777, during whose reign power was exercised by his minister, Sebastiao de Carvalho, marques de Pombal.
Joseph Bonaparte Gulf: inlet of the Timor Sea, having a maximum width of 225 mi (360 km) and indenting the north coast of Australia for 100 mi. Although its western limit is generally agreed to be Cape Londonderry in Western Australia, its eastern ...
Joseph I: Holy Roman emperor from 1705, who unsuccessfully fought to retain the Spanish crown for the House of Habsburg.
Joseph II: Holy Roman emperor (1765-90), at first co-ruler with his mother, Maria Theresa (1765-80), and then sole ruler (1780-90) of the Austrian Habsburg dominions. An "enlightened despot," he sought to introduce administrative, legal, economic, and ecclesiastical reforms-with only measured success.
Joseph of Arimathea, Saint: according to all four Gospels, a secret disciple of Jesus, whose body he buried in his own tomb. In designating him a "member of the council," Mark 15:43 and Luke 23:50 suggest membership of the town council in Jerusalem. Virtuous ...
Joseph of Volokolamsk, Saint: Russian Orthodox abbot and theologian whose monastic reform emphasized strict community life and social work.
Joseph, Chief: Indian name In-mut-too-yah-lat-lat Nez Perce chief who, faced with settlement by whites of tribal lands in Oregon, led his followers in a dramatic effort to escape to Canada.
Joseph, Father: French mystic and religious reformer whose collaboration with Cardinal de Richelieu (the "Red Eminence") gave him powers akin to those of a foreign minister, especially during Richelieu's ambitious campaign to finance France's participation in what became known as the Thirty ...
Joseph, Saint: in the New Testament, Jesus' earthly father, the Virgin Mary's husband, and in Roman Catholicism patron of the universal church. His life is recorded in the Gospels, particularly Matthew and Luke.
Josephine: consort of Napoleon Bonaparte and empress of the French.
Josephson effect: flow of electric current between two pieces of superconducting material separated by a thin layer of insulating material. Superconductors are materials that lose all electrical resistance when cooled below a certain temperature near absolute zero. The English physicist Brian D. ...
Josephson, Brian D.: British physicist whose discovery of the Josephson effect while a 22-year-old graduate student won him a share (with Leo Esaki and Ivar Giaever) of the 1973 Nobel Prize for Physics.
Josephson, Karen; and Josephson, Sarah: American synchronized duet swimmers who won 16 consecutive championships in 1991 and 1992.
Josephson, Matthew: U.S. biographer whose clear writing was based on sound and thorough scholarship.
Josephus, Flavius: Jewish priest, scholar, and historian who wrote valuable works on the Jewish revolt of 66-70 and on earlier Jewish history. His major books are History of the Jewish War (75-79), The Antiquities of the Jews (93), and Against Apion.
Joshaqan rug: floor covering handmade in the village of Joshaqan (Jowsheqan), north of Esfahan in central Iran. An astonishing melange of rugs has been attributed by various writers to this small place, including Kerman vase carpets and other silk rugs, together with ...
Joshua: ' ("Yahweh Is Deliverance"), the leader of the Israelite tribes after the death of Moses, who conquered Canaan and distributed its lands to the 12 tribes. His story is told in the Old Testament Book of Joshua.
Joshua The Stylite: monk of the convent of Zuknin and the reputed author of a chronicle covering mainly the period 495-506. Incorporated in a history that some have ascribed to Dionysius Telmaharensis but others regard as anonymous, the chronicle was written at the ...
Joshua Tree National Park: desert area in southern California, U.S., situated just east of Palm Springs and other adjacent communities and 60 miles (100 km) east of San Bernardino, on the border between the Mojave and Colorado deserts. The park has an area of ...
Joshua, Book of: the sixth book of the Old Testament, which, along with Deuteronomy, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, and 1 and 2 Kings, belongs to a tradition of Jewish history and law, called Deuteronomic, that was first committed to writing about 550 ...
Josiah: king of Judah (c. 640-609 BC), who set in motion a reformation that bears his name and that left an indelible mark on Israel's religious traditions (2 Kings 22-23:30).
Josipovici, Gabriel: French-born British novelist, literary theorist, dramatist, and short-story writer whose work is characterized by its experimental form and its attention to language.
Jospin, Lionel: Socialist Party politician who served as prime minister of France (1997-2002) in a cohabitation government with conservative President Jacques Chirac.
Josquin Des Prez: one of the greatest composers of Renaissance Europe.
Jost Van Dyke Island: one of the British Virgin Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, separating the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. It lies 4 miles (6 km) west of Tortola and adjoins Little Jost Van Dyke Island on the east. According to tradition, it ...
Jostedals Glacier: ice field, Sogn og Fjordane fylke (county), western Norway. It lies north of the deeply indented Sogne Fjord. The largest ice field in Europe (excluding Iceland), it is oriented northeast-southwest and extends in an irregular pattern for about 45 miles ...
jota: courtship dance traditional in northern Spain, particularly Aragon; also a genre of folk song that precedes and accompanies the dance or is sung only. The dancing couple hold their arms high and click castanets as they execute lively, bouncing steps ...
Jotunheim Mountains: mountain range, Oppland fylke (county), south-central Norway. Extending for 80 miles (130 km) between Gudbrands valley (east) and the Jostedals Glacier (west), the chain is surrounded by many lakes. The highest range in Scandinavia, its tallest peaks are Glitter Mountain ...
Joubert, Barthelemy-Catherine: French general during the Revolutionary era.
Joubert, Petrus Jacobus: associate and rival of Paul Kruger who served as commandant general and vice president of the South African Republic.
Jouffroy d'Abbans, Claude-Francois-Dorothee, marquis de: French engineer and inventor who in 1783 traveled upstream on the Saone River near Lyon in his Pyroscaphe, the first really successful steamboat.
Jouhaux, Leon: French Socialist and trade-union leader who was one of the founders of the International Labour Organisation. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1951.
joule: unit of work or energy in the International System of Units (SI); it is equal to the work done by a force of one newton acting through one metre. Named in honour of the English physicist James Prescott Joule, it ...
Joule's law: in electricity, mathematical description of the rate at which resistance in a circuit converts electric energy into heat energy. The English physicist James Prescott Joule discovered in 1840 that the amount of heat per second that develops in a wire ...
Joule, James Prescott: English physicist who established that the various forms of energy-mechanical, electrical, and heat-are basically the same and can be changed, one into another. Thus he formed the basis of the law of conservation of energy, the first law of thermodynamics.
Joule-Thomson effect: the change in temperature that accompanies expansion of a gas without production of work or transfer of heat. At ordinary temperatures and pressures, all real gases except hydrogen and helium cool upon such expansion; this phenomenon often is utilized in ...
Jourdan, Jean-Baptiste, Count: (Comte) military commander remembered as the sponsor of conscription during the French Revolutionary regime and as one of Napoleon's marshals of the empire.
journal: an account of day-to-day events or a record of experiences, ideas, or reflections kept regularly for private use that is similar to, but sometimes less personal than, a diary.
Journal de Geneve: daily newspaper published in Geneva, Switzerland. Among French-language newspapers it was generally regarded as the best in Switzerland and one of the premier papers in the world. It was established in 1826.
Journal des Debats, Le: (French: "The Journal of Debates"), former Parisian daily newspaper that was one of the most influential organs of the French press in the 19th century. Founded in 1789 by Gaultier de Biauzat to report the debates of the National Assembly, ...
journalism: the collection, preparation, and distribution of news and related commentary and feature materials through such media as pamphlets, newsletters, newspapers, magazines, radio, motion pictures, television, and books. The word journalism was originally applied to the reportage of current events in ...
joust: western European mock battle between two horsemen charging each other with levelled lances, each attempting to unhorse the other. Early medieval tournaments consisted of melees, mock battles between two bodies of armed horsemen; later both the melee and the joust ...
Jouve, Pierre-Jean: French poet, novelist, and critic.
Jouvenet, Jean: French Baroque painter remembered for his religious works-e.g., "The Miraculous Draught of the Fishes" (Louvre, Paris)-and for his decorative ceiling paintings in the chapels of Versailles and the Invalides.
Jouvet, Louis: actor, director, designer, and technician, one of the most influential figures of the French theatre in the 20th century.
Jovanovic, Slobodan: Serbian jurist, historian, and statesman, prime minister in the Yugoslav government-in-exile during World War II (Jan. 11, 1942-June 26, 1943). Liberal in his social and political views, he was perhaps Yugoslavia's greatest authority on constitutional law; also a master of ...
Jovellanos, Gaspar Melchor de: Spanish statesman and author, one of the most important figures of the 18th-century Spanish Enlightenment.
Joveyni, 'Ata Malek: more complete name 'ala' Od-din 'ata Malek Joveyni, also spelled 'ala Ad-din 'ata Malek Juwayni Persian historian. Joveyni was the first of several brilliant representatives of Persian historiography who flourished during the period of Mongol domination in Iran (1220-1336).
Jovian: Roman emperor from 363 to 364.
Jovius, Paulus: also called Paolo Giovio Italian historian, author of vivid historical works in Latin, and the owner of a famous art collection.