launch vehicle Rocket system that boosts a spacecraft into Earth orbit or beyond Earth’s gravitational pull. A wide variety of launch vehicles have been used to lift payloads ranging from satellites weighing a few pounds (or kilograms) to large modular components of space stations. Most launch vehicles are expendable (one-use) systems; many early ones were derived from intercontinental ballistic missiles (see ICBM). The Sat¬ urn V, which launched the spacecraft that carried humans to the Moon (see Apollo), had three stages (see staged rocket). The U.S. space shuttle system (from 1981) represents a significant departure from expendable launch vehicles in that it is partially reusable—its manned orbiting com¬ ponent is designed for numerous flights, and its solid rocket boosters can be recovered and refurbished.
Laurana \lau-'ra-na\, Francesco (b. c. 1430, Vrana, Dalmatia, repub¬ lic of Venice—d. before March 12,
1502, Avignon, Fr.) Italian sculptor and medalist. His early life is obscure. In 1453 he was commis¬ sioned to work on the Castel Nuovo in Naples. From 1461 to 1466 he was in Provence at the court of the duke of Anjou, for whom he executed a series of medals. His other docu¬ mented works include Madonnas and bas-reliefs in Italy (chiefly Sic¬ ily and Naples) and France, as well as tombs and architectural sculptures in France. He is best known for his portrait busts of women, character¬ ized by serene, detached dignity and aristocratic elegance.
Laurasia Hypothetical former supercontinent in the Southern Hemisphere, which included modern North America, Europe, and Asia (except peninsular India). The con¬ cept that the continents were at one time joined was first set forth in detail by Alfred Wegener in 1912. He envisioned a single great landmass, Pangaea, which supposedly began to separate in the Late Triassic Epoch (227-206 million years ago). Subse¬ quent research distinguished between a northern landmass, Laurasia, and Gondwana. Laurasia is thought to have fragmented into the present con¬ tinents largely during the Mesozoic Era. See also continental drift.
Laurel, Stan; and Hardy, Oliver original names, respectively,
Arthur Stanley Jefferson and Oliver Norvell Hardy, Jr. known as Laurel and Hardy (respectively b. June 16, 1890, Lanca¬ shire, Eng.—d. Feb. 23, 1965, Santa Monica, Calif., U.S.; b. Jan. 18, 1892, Harlem, Ga., U.S.—d. Aug. 7, 1957, North Hollywood, Calif.) U.S. film comedians. Laurel performed in circuses and vaudeville before settling in the U.S. (1910), where he began appearing in silent movies. Hardy, son of a Georgia lawyer, owned a movie house and acted in silent comedy films from 1913. They joined Hal Roach’s studio in 1926 and began per¬ forming together in early short films such as Putting Pants on Philip (1927). They made more than 100 comedies, including Leave ’em Laugh¬ ing (1928), The Music Box (1932), Sons of the Desert (1933), and Way Out West (1937), and are considered Hollywood’s first great comedy team. The skinny Laurel played the bumbling and innocent foil to the heavy, pompous Hardy as they converted simple, everyday situations into disas¬ trous tangles of stupidity.
laurel family Family Lauraceae, composed of about 2,200 species of often aromatic and evergreen flowering plants in 45 genera. Included in this family are ornamentals and plants that produce cooking herbs, food fruits, and medicinal extracts. The genus Laurus includes bay laurel (L. nobilis ), native to the Mediterranean, which provides bay leaves for cook¬ ing, essential oils for perfumery, and the wreaths that crowned victorious heroes and athletes in ancient Greece. Another genus, Cinnamomum, includes the camphor tree and cinnamon. Also included in this family are the AVOCADO, MOUNTAIN LAUREL, and SASSAFRAS.
Lauren, Ralph orig. Ralph Lifshitz (b. Oct. 14, 1939, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. fashion designer. Lauren grew up in the Bronx, in New York City. While working for a tie company, he was inspired to begin designing his own neckwear, and in 1967 he went into business for him¬ self. From the inception of his brand, Lauren’s creations were character¬ ized by a moneyed style that evoked the look of English aristocracy, as adapted by the sporty, East-Coast American elite. His first menswear line in 1968 featured classic tweed suits, and his first womens wear line in 1971 continued his explorations of classic tailoring and good taste, but with a feminine twist. In 1972 Lauren debuted what would become his signature piece: the mesh sport shirt, available in a variety of colours and featuring his trademark emblem, the polo player. Throughout the following decades he explored new ideas—including Southwestern themes and safari looks—but maintained his central focus on classic American clothing. At the turn of the 21st century, the presence of both his shops and his brand name had become global.
Laurence, Margaret orig. Jean Margaret Wemyss (b. July 18, 1926, Neepawa, Man., Can.—d. Jan. 5, 1987, Lakefield, Ont.) Canadian writer. She lived in Africa with her engineer husband in the 1950s; her experiences there provided material for her early works. She is best known for depicting the lives of women struggling for self-realization in the male-dominated world of western Canada. Her works include the novels The Stone Angel (1964), A Jest of God (1966), and The Fire-Dwellers (1969) and the stories collected in A Bird in the House (1970) and The Diviners (1974). In the 1970s she turned to writing children’s books.
Laurence, Saint See Saint Lawrence
Laurentian \l6-Ten-ch3n\ Mountains Range forming the Quebec portion of the Canadian Shield, bounded by the Ottawa, St. Lawrence, and Saguenay rivers. One of the oldest mountain ranges in the world, it con¬ sists of Precambrian rocks more than 544 million years old. It has greatly eroded over time, and its highest peak measures only 3,905 ft (1,190 m). Two provincial parks there are popular vacation areas.
Laurentide Ice Sheet Principal glacial cover of North America dur¬ ing the Pleistocene epoch (1.8 million-10,000 years ago). At its maximum extent it spread as far south as latitude 37° N and covered an area of more than 5 million sq mi (13 million sq km). In some areas its thickness reached 8,000-10,000 ft (2,400-3,000 m) or more.
Laurier \'16r-e-,a. Sir Wilfrid (b. Nov. 20, 1841, Saint-Lin, Canada East—d. Feb. 17, 1919, Ottawa, Ont., Can.) Prime minister of Canada (1896-1911). He studied law at McGill University, where he was a leading member of the liberal Institut Canadien. He served in the Quebec legis¬ lature (1871-74) and the Canadian House of Commons (1874-1919), where in 1885 he delivered a plea for clemency for Louis Riel. Leading the Liberal Party to victory in the election of 1896, he became prime minister, the first French Canadian and Roman Catholic to hold that office. He advo-
"Eleonora of Aragon," portrait bust by Francesco Laurana; in the National Archaeological Museum, Palermo, Sic- ily.
AUNARI/ART RESOURCE, NEW YORK
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Lausanne ► Law I 1083
cated unity between English and French Canadians, development of the western territories, protection of Canadian industry, and expansion of the transportation system. His insistence on protecting Canadian autonomy in its relations with Britain helped shape the modern concept of a British Commonwealth of independent states. His support for a treaty of reciproc¬ ity with the U.S. contributed to his government’s defeat in 1911. Laurier is remembered as one of Canada’s most outstanding statesmen.
Lausanne \lo-'zan\, Treaty of (1923) Final treaty concluding World War I, between Turkey (successor to the Ottoman Empire) and the Allies. Signed in Lausanne, Switz., it replaced the Treaty of Sevres (1920). It rec¬ ognized the boundaries of the modem state of Turkey, as well as British possession of Cyprus and Italian possession of the Dodecanese, and the Turkish straits between the Aegean and Black seas were declared open to all shipping.