Lorenz \'lor-ents\, Konrad (Zacharias) (b. Nov. 7, 1903, Vienna, Austria—d. Feb. 27, 1989, Altenburg) Zoologist and founder (with Niko¬ laas Tinbergen) of modern ethology. While still a schoolboy he nursed sick animals from the nearby zoo. In 1935 he first elucidated and demonstrated the phenomenon of imprinting in ducklings and goslings. He later exam¬ ined the roots of human aggression (in the best-selling On Aggression, 1963) and the nature of human thought. His other popular works include King Solomon’s Ring (1949) and Man Meets Dog (1950). He shared a 1973 Nobel Prize with Tinbergen and Karl von Frisch.
Lorenzetti \,lo-rant-'set-te\, Pietro and Ambrogio (respectively b. c. 1280/90, Siena?, Republic of Siena—d. c. 1348, Siena; b. c. 1290, Siena, Republic of Siena—d. c. 1348, Siena) Italian painters. Both broth¬ ers were possibly pupils of Duccio di Buoninsegna, whose influence is seen in Pietro’s altarpiece in the Pieve di Santa Maria at Arezzo and in Ambrogio’s early works. Ambrogio’s works reveal an individualistic real¬ ism and preoccupation with three-dimensional space and form, most evi¬
dent in his fresco series in Siena’s Palazzo Pubblico (1338-39). These most important of Sienese frescoes reveal him to be an explorer of per¬ spective and a political and moral philosopher. Pietro’s dramatic frescoes in the lower church of San Francesco at Assisi (c. 1315) show his rela¬ tion to the art of Giotto, though he departs from Giotto in his attention to detail. His Birth of the Virgin and Ambrogio’s Presentation in the Temple, for Siena Cathedral (1342), are notable for their handling of per¬ spective. With Simone Martini, the brothers were the principal exponents of Sienese art in the years before the Black Death, in which both presum¬ ably died.
Lorenzo Monaco Mo-'rent-so-'mo-na-koV orig. Piero di Giovanni
(b. c. 1370/71, Siena, Republic of Siena—d. c. 1425, Florence, Republic of Florence) Italian painter. He took the vows of the Camaldolese order in Florence in 1391 (Monaco means “Monk”), but in 1402 he was enrolled in the painters’ guild there under his lay name and living outside the mon¬ astery. His work combined the graceful lines and decorative feeling of the Sienese school with the traditions of the Florentine school. His Corona¬ tion of the Virgin (1413) reveals his predilection for swirling draperies and rhythmic, curvilinear forms and his understanding of light. His late frescoes in the Bartolini Chapel of Santa Trinita in Florence establish him as a master of Gothic art.
Lorenzo the Magnificent See Lorenzo de’ Medici Lorestan Bronze See Luristan Bronze
loris Any of three species of nocturnal, arboreal primates in the family Lorisidae. Lorises have soft gray or brown fur, huge eyes encircled by dark patches, and no tail. They move slowly and often hang by their feet, leaving their hands free to grasp branches or food. The slender loris ( Loris tardigradus) of India and Sri Lanka is 8-10 in. (20-25 cm) long; it eats insects and small animals. The slow lorises (genus Nycticebus ) of South Asia and the Malay Peninsula eat insects, small animals, fruit, and veg¬ etation. Nycticebus pygmaeus is about 8 in. (20 cm) long; N. coucang is 10.5-15 in. (27-38 cm) long. Habitat degradation and hunting have seri¬ ously depleted loris populations.
Loris-Melikov Vlor-is-'myal-i-koA, Mikhail (Tariyelovich), Count (b. Jan. 1, 1826, Tiflis, Russia—d. Dec. 24, 1888, Nice, France) Russian military officer and statesman. He commanded an army corps to notable victories in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, for which he was made a count. As governor-general of the central Russian provinces (1879), he recommended administrative and economic reforms to allevi¬ ate social discontent. Impressed, Alexander II appointed him minister of the interior (1880) and approved his efforts to liberalize the Russian autoc¬ racy, but the tsar was assassinated before the reforms were enacted. Loris- Melikov resigned when Alexander III rejected his reforms.
Lorrain, Claude See Claude Lorrain
Lorraine Historical duchy of western Europe and government region of France. Originally known as Upper Lorraine and later simply as Lorraine, it was formed by the division of Lorraine (Lotharingia) into two duchies in 959. Upper Lorraine, in the region of the Meuse and Moselle rivers, was ruled by one ducal family from the 11th to the 15th century. Metz, Toul, and Verdun, outside the dukes’ control, were seized by France in 1552. Lorraine came permanently under the French crown in 1766 and was divided into departements in 1790. After the Franco-Prussian War, part of Lorraine was ceded to Germany as part of Alsace-Lorraine. Roughly coextensive with the historical region of Lorraine, the current adminis¬ trative region of Lorraine (pop., 1999: 2,310,376) covers 9,092 sq mi (23,547 sq km). Its capital is Metz.
Lorraine or Lotharingia \ 1 lo-th9- , rin-j9\ Medieval region, present- day northeastern France. By the Treaty of Verdun (843), it became part of the realm of Lothar I. Inherited by his son Lothar, it became the king¬ dom of Lotharingia. After Lothar’s death, it was contested by Germany and France and came under German control in 925.
Lorre V16r-e\, Peter orig. Laszlo Loewenstein (b. June 26, 1904, Rozsahegy, Hung.—d. March 23, 1964, Hollywood, Calif., U.S.) Hungarian-born U.S. film actor. He played bit parts with a German the¬ atrical troupe before earning international fame as the psychotic murderer in the German film M (1931). He left Germany in 1933 and made his English-language debut in The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934). He went to Hollywood, where he played malevolent characters in movies such as Mad Love (1935), The Maltese Falcon (1941), Casablanca (1942), and
Sophia Loren in Boccaccio '70 (1962).
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1138 I Los Alamos ► Lotto
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The Beast with Five Fingers (1946). He also starred in the eight Mr. Moto detective movies (1937-39). He later directed and starred in the German film The Lost One (1951).
Los Alamos Town (pop., 2000: 11,909), north-central New Mexico, U.S. It lies on the Pajarito plateau of the Jemez Mountains, northwest of Santa Fe. The site was chosen by the U.S. government in 1942 as the location for the Manhattan Project, which developed the first atomic bomb. After World War II, the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory developed the first nuclear fusion bomb. The town was built to house laboratory employ¬ ees; it is still the site of a major nuclear research facility.
Los Angeles City (pop., 2000: 3,694,820), southern California, U.S. The second largest city in the U.S., it is situated between the San Gabriel Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. Bisected by the Santa Monica Moun¬ tains, which separate the neighbourhoods of Hollywood, Beverly Hills, and Pacific Palisades from the San Fernando Valley, it is near the San Andreas Fault, and earthquakes are frequent. It began in 1771 as a Spanish mis¬ sion; in 1781 settlers claimed the land as El Pueblo de la Reyna de los Angeles (the Town of the Queen of the Angels). Taken by U.S. forces in the Mexican War, it prospered in the wake of the 1849 gold rush. Incor¬ porated in 1850, the city grew rapidly after the arrival of the railroads in 1876 and 1885. In 1913 an aqueduct was built to supply it with water from the slopes of the Sierra Nevada. It was struck by a major earthquake in 1994. Sites of interest include early Spanish missions, the Getty Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Art. Educational institutions include the University of Southern California, Occidental College, and the University of California at Los Angeles.