Lazio Vlat-se-o\ Region (pop., 2001 prelim.: 4,976,184), west-central Italy, fronting the Tyrrhenian Sea. Established in 1948, it covers an area of 6,642 sq mi (17,203 sq km); its capital is Rome. In the east are the central Apennines, and in the west lies a coastal plain. Until the late 19th century, most of its lowlands were marshy and malarial, but in the early 20th century these lands were drained and repopulated. Situated in the region previously known as Latium, it supports light industry, but the area is dominated by Rome.
LCD See liquid crystal display LDP See Liberal-Democratic Party
Le Bon \b-'bo n \, Gustave (b. May 7, 1841, Nogent-le-Rotrou, France—d. Dec. 13, 1931, Mames-la-Coquette) French social psycholo¬ gist. After receiving a doctorate in medicine, he traveled and wrote books on anthropology, but his interests later shifted to social psychology. In The Crowd (1895) he argued that the personality of the individual in a crowd becomes submerged and that the collective crowd mind comes to dominate.
Le Brun \b-'broe n \, Charles (b. Feb. 24, 1619, Paris, France—d. Feb. 12, 1690, Paris) French painter and designer. After study in Paris and Rome, he received large decorative and religious commissions that made his reputation. Possessing extraordinary organizational as well as techni¬ cal skills, as the first painter to Louis XIV he created or supervised the pro¬ duction of most of the paintings, sculptures, and decorative objects commissioned by the French government for three decades, notably for the Palace of Versailles. As director of the Academy of Painting and Sculp¬ ture and organizer of the French Academy at Rome, he was instrumental in establishing the characteristic homogeneity of French art in the 17th century.
L_
M
N
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
1086 I Le Carre ► leaching
L_
N
Le Carre \b-ka-'ra\, John orig. David John Moore Cornwell
(b. Oct. 19, 1931, Poole, Dorset, Eng.) British novelist. As a member of the foreign service in West Germany from 1959, he acquired firsthand knowledge of international espionage. He began to write full-time after the success of his third novel, the realistic, suspenseful The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1963). The trilogy Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (1974), The Honourable Schoolboy (1977), and Smiley’s People (1980) centres on the intelligence agent George Smiley. Unlike other fictional spies, Smiley is decidedly unglamorous, lonely, and alienated. Le Carre’s other novels include The Little Drummer Girl (1983), The Russia House { 1989), and The Night Manager (1993). Many of his books were adapted for film or television.
Le Chatelier \b-sha-t9l-'ya\, Henry-Louis (b. Oct. 8, 1850, Paris, France—d. Sept. 17, 1936, Miribel-les-Echelles) French chemist. A pro¬ fessor at the College de France and the Sorbonne, he is best known for the principle of Le Chatelier, which makes it possible to predict the effect that a change in conditions (temperature, pressure, or concentration of com¬ ponents) will have on a chemical reaction. The principle, invaluable in the chemical industry in developing the most efficient and profitable chemi¬ cal processes, may be stated thus: A system at equilibrium, when subjected to a perturbation, responds in a way that tends to minimize its effect. Le Chatelier was also an authority on metallurgy, cements, glasses, fuels, explosives, and heat.
Le Corbusier Mo-kor-bms-'yaV orig. Charles-Edouard Jeanneret
(b. Oct. 6, 1887, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switz.—d. Aug. 27, 1965, Cap Martin, France) Swiss-born French architect and city planner. Born in a small Swiss town, he left home as a young man and developed many of his ideas during his travels through Europe (1907-11). After settling in Paris, Le Corbusier (his assumed name, from the surname of an ances¬ tor) and the painter Amedee Ozenfant (1886-1966) formulated the ideas of Purism, an aesthetic based on the pure, simple geometric forms of everyday objects. His early work included theoretical plans for skyscraper cities and mass-produced housing; in one of his many essays on archi¬ tecture from the period, he declared that “a house is a machine for living in.” Works from the 1920s such as the Villa Savoye at Poissy, France (1929-30), with its structure raised on slender concrete pillars, open floor plan, long strip windows, and roof terrace, established him as a major proponent of the International Style. He and other architects working in this style aspired to clean. Modernist lines, yet Le Corbusier was the first architect to make a studied use of rough-cast concrete, a technique that gave his work a distinctly sculptural, expressive quality. His later works include the Unite d' Habitation and the lyrical chapel of Notre-Dame-du- Haut at Ronchamp, France (1950-55). His government buildings at Chan¬ digarh, India (begun 1950), with their enormous concrete sunshades, sculptural facades, and swooping rooflines, represent the first large-scale application of his city-planning principles. Le Corbusier’s many works, plans, and writings inspired later avant-garde architectural experiments throughout the world.
Le Gallienne \b-'gal-y9n\, Eva (b. Jan. 11, 1899, London, Eng.—d. June 3, 1991, Weston, Conn., U.S.) British-born U.S. actress and direc¬ tor. After moving to New York City in 1915, she appeared in minor stage roles before starring in Liliom (1921). She founded the Civic Repertory Theatre (1926-33), where she directed and acted in plays by Anton Chek¬ hov, Henrik Ibsen, and other playwrights not then familiar to U.S. audi¬ ences. She later cofounded the short-lived American Repertory Theatre (1946^47). Her most notable later stage appearance was in a 1976 revival of The Royal Family.
Le Guin \b-'gwin\, Ursula K(roeber) orig. Ursula Kroeber (b.
Oct. 21, 1929, Berkeley, Calif., U.S.) U.S. writer of science fiction and fantasy. The daughter of Alfred L. Kroeber and educated at Radcliffe Col¬ lege, she was influenced by the methods of anthropology and often included highly detailed descriptions of alien societies in her works. Among her novels are The Left Hand of Darkness (1969), The Word for World Is Forest (1972), The Dispossessed (1974), and Always Coming Home (1985) and the Earthsea series. She also wrote several volumes of essays on feminist issues, writing, and other topics.
Le Havre Uo-'havrA Seaport city (pop., 1999: 190,905), northern France. It lies along the English Channel and the Seine River estuary, north¬ west of Paris. The second port of France after Marseille, it serves as a base for exports; it is also an important industrial centre. It was only a fishing village until 1517, when Francis I had a harbour built there. Enlarged and
fortified in the 17th century under cardinal de Richelieu and Louis XIV, it was adapted to accommodate bigger vessels in the late 18th century. Most of the city was destroyed during World War II. Later rebuilt, the city’s 17th- century church of Notre-Dame is one of the few surviving old buildings.
Le Loi \'la-'l6i\ or Binh Dinh Vuong Vbin- , din- , vw6q\ or Thuan Thien \'twan-'tyen\ (b. 1385, Lam Son, Viet.—d. 1433) Vietnamese gen¬ eral who won back independence for Vietnam from China and founded the Later Le dynasty (1428-1788). A wealthy landowner, he was affected by the social conditions of the common people, who suffered under the Chinese and the Vietnamese aristocracy. His series of revolts, begun in 1418, drove the Chinese out. From then on he maintained diplomatic relations with the Chinese Ming dynasty, even sending tribute; the Ming acknowledged his kingdom in 1428. Among his achievements were land reforms to help the peasants. He is the most honoured Vietnamese hero of his time.
Le Mans \b-'ma n \ (Grand Prix d'Endurance) Automobile race. It is perhaps the best-known automobile race in the world, run annually (with few exceptions) since 1923 at the Sarthe road-racing circuit, near Le Mans, France. The winner is the car that travels the greatest distance in a 24-hour period. The racing circuit is 8.3 mi (13.4 km) long, and the race is open only to sports cars (see sports-car racing).