Los Angeles Times Morning daily newspaper. Established in 1881, it was purchased and incorporated in 1884 by Harrison Gray Otis (1837— 1917) under The Times-Mirror Co. (the hyphen was later dropped from the name). The newspaper prospered and became a power in conserva¬ tive politics in California. It was long dominated by the Chandler family, beginning with Otis’s son-in-law, Harry Chandler, in 1917. After Otis Chandler became publisher in 1960, its editorial policies changed; it developed from a conservative regional paper into a model of balanced and comprehensive journalism and was recognized as one of the world’s great newspapers. The Times Mirror Company was acquired in June 2000 by the Tribune Company of Chicago, and the Chandler family received a significant ownership position in the Tribune Company. (See Chicago Tri¬ bune.)
Los Glaciares \,l6s-gla-'syar-ras\ National Park National park, southwestern Argentina. Located in the Andes Mountains at the Chilean border, it was established in 1937 and has an area of 625 sq mi (1,618 sq km). It has two distinct regions: forests and grassy plains in the east and peaks, lakes, and glaciers in the west. Its highest point is Mount Fitzroy (11,073 ft [3,375 m]).
Lost Generation Group of U.S. writers who came of age during World War I and established their reputations in the 1920s; more broadly, the entire post-World War I American generation. The term was coined by Gertrude Stein in a remark to Ernest Hemingway. The writers considered themselves “lost” because their inherited values could not operate in the postwar world and they felt spiritually alienated from a country they con¬ sidered hopelessly provincial and emotionally barren. The term embraces Hemingway, F. Scon Fitzgerald, John Dos Passos, E.E. Cummings, Archibald MacLeish, and Hart Crane, among others.
lost-wax casting Traditional method of producing molds for metal sculpture and other castings. It requires a positive, a core made of refrac¬ tory material and an outer layer of wax. The positive can be produced either by direct modeling in wax over a prepared core (direct lost-wax casting), or by casting in a piece mold or flexible mold taken from a mas¬ ter cast. The wax positive is invested with a mold made of refractory materials and heated to melt the wax, leaving a narrow cavity between the core and the investment. Molten metal is poured into this cavity. When the metal has solidified, the investment and core are broken away. See also INVESTMENT CASTING.
Lot Nephew of Abraham. He emigrated with Abraham from Ur to Canaan and settled in Sodom, a city so evil that God decided to destroy it. Warned by angels of the coming disaster, Lot fled the city with his family. His wife disobeyed God’s orders by looking back at the burning city and was turned into a pillar of salt. Lot later had children by his own daughters,
and they became the founders of the Moabite and Ammonite nations, enemies of Israel. See also Sodom and Gomorrah.
Lot River River, southern France. It flows 300 mi (480 km) west to join the Garonne River near Aiguillon. The river’s course passes Cahors, the old capital of Quercy. It is navigable for part of its course but has little boat traffic.
Lothar \'lo-tar\ I German Lothar (b. 795—d. Sept. 29, 855, Abbey of Priim, Ger.) Frankish emperor. The eldest son of Louis I (the Pious), he was crowned king in Bavaria (814) and coemperor with Louis (817).
Lothar participated in the rebellion against Louis in 830 over the emper¬ or’s efforts to alter the succession plan, and he was returned to Italy after the revolt’s failure. He led a second revolt against his father and deposed him (833), but Louis was restored to power the next year, and Lothar’s rule was restricted to Italy.
On his father’s death (840) he attempted to gain sole control over the Frankish territories, but his brothers, Louis the German and Charles II (the Bald), defeated him (841). The Treaty of Verdun gave Lothar the middle realm, or heart¬ land, of the Frankish dominions (from the North Sea to Italy) and the imperial title.
Lothar II German Lothar (b. early June 1075—d. Dec. 3/4, 1137, Breitenwang) German king (1125-37) and Holy Roman emperor (1133-37). The most powerful noble in Saxony, he took part in revolts (1112-15) against the German king Henry V. Elected king on Henry’s death, he fought a war against the Hohenstaufen who claimed the throne (1125-29); his victory was a triumph for elective monarchy over hereditary succession. Lothar was crowned emperor as a reward for supporting Pope Innocent II (1133). He made peace with the Hohenstaufen (1135) but attacked Roger II of Sicily, driving him out of southern Italy (1136-37).
Lotharingia See Lorraine
Loti \lo-'te\, Pierre orig. Louis-Marie-Julien Viaud (b. Jan. 14, 1850, Rochefort, France—d. June 10, 1923, Hendaye) French novelist. As a naval officer, Loti visited the Middle East and East Asia, which later provided the exotic settings of his novels and reminiscences. His first novel, Aziyade (1879), won him critical and popular success. Other nov¬ els include An Iceland Fisherman (1886), Japan: Madam Chrysanthemum (1887), and Disenchanted (1906). Among his recurring motifs are love, death, and despair at the passing of sensuous life. He reveals his com¬ passion in such works as The Book of Pity and of Death (1890). His themes anticipated some of the preoccupations of French literature between the world wars.
lottery Drawing of lots in which prizes are distributed to the winners among persons buying a chance. A form of gambling, lottery in its mod¬ em form may be traced to 15th-century Europe. The Continental Con¬ gress in 1776 voted to establish a lottery to raise funds for the American Revolution. By the mid-19th century, in the wake of abuses by private organizers, U.S. states began passing antilottery laws. An 1878 Supreme Court opinion held that lotteries had “a demoralizing influence upon the people,” and by the 1890s most had been eliminated. A revival began in the mid-1960s; many state governments seeking revenues instituted offi¬ cially sanctioned, independently audited lotteries. In most such opera¬ tions, the bettor buys a numbered receipt or writes down his or her number choices, a drawing is held, and the winners identify themselves. The value of the prizes is the amount remaining after expenses and the state’s share are deducted from the pool. Winnings are usually subject to taxes. The top prize can grow into the tens of millions, usually causing a buying frenzy as it increases, but the odds against winning remain astronomical.
Lotto, Lorenzo (b. c. 1480, Venice—d. 1556, Loreto, Papal States) Italian painter. He worked in several cities other than Venice and devel-
Lothair I, miniature from his psalter, 9th century; in the British Library (MS.
Add. 37768)
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lotus ► Louis VI I 1139
oped an idiosyncratic style. His late Renaissance-style work exhibits a preference for opulent colours and a faculty for narrative painting. His nervous temperament is evident in such works as the Crucifixion in Monte San Giusto (c. 1530), with its highly charged mysticism and crowded composition. Toward the end of his life (1554), he became a lay brother at the Santa Casa in Loreto to escape his critics and his debts. Though primarily a religious painter, he is best known today for his psychologi¬ cally acute portraits.
lotus Any of several different plants whose flowers have been given symbolic meaning by many cultures. The lotus of the Greeks is Ziziphus lotus (family Rhamnaceae), a shrub native to southern Europe; wine made from its fruit was thought to produce contentment and forgetfulness. The Egyptian lotus is a white water uly ( Nymphaea lotus). The sacred lotus of the Hindus is an aquatic plant (Nelumbo nucifera ) with white or delicate pink flowers; the lotus of eastern North America is Nelumbo pentapetala, a similar plant with yellow blossoms. Lotus is also a genus of the pea family (see legume), containing about 100 species found in temperate regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America; the 20 or more spe¬ cies in North America are grazed by animals. The lotus is a common ornament in architecture, and since ancient times it has symbolized fer¬ tility, purity, sexuality, birth, and rebirth of the dead.