Louis the Bavarian See Louis IV Louis the Fat See Louis VI Louis the Pious See Louis I Louis the Younger See Louis VII
Louisiade \lu-,e-ze-'ad\ Archipelago Island group, Papua New Guinea, southeast of New Guinea. Stretching for more than 100 mi (160 km), it occupies 10,000 sq mi (26,000 sq km) of the South Pacific Ocean. It has nearly 100 islands; the largest are Misima, Tagula, and Rossel. It was visited by the Spanish in 1606 and was named after Louis XV of France in 1768. Occupied by Japanese forces in 1942, the islands are near the site of the Battle of the Coral Sea.
Louisiana State (pop., 2000:4,468,976), southern U.S. Lying on the Gulf of Mexico, it is bordered by Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas. It covers 47,716 sq mi (123,584 sq km); its capital is Baton Rouge. It can be divided physically into the Mississippi River flood plain and delta and the low hills of the Gulf of Mexico coastal plain. It is the only U.S. state to be governed under the Napoleonic Code. Indian occupancy in the area probably spanned 16,000 years; at the time of European settlement the region was inhabited by the Caddo and Choctaw. French explorer La Salle descended the Mis¬ sissippi River in 1682 and claimed the entire river basin for France. The city of New Orleans was founded in 1718, and Louisiana became a French crown colony in 1731. Colonization increased in the 1760s with the arrival of French-speaking Acadians (Cajuns) from Nova Scotia. Spain controlled the territory from 1762 to 1800; then it passed back to the French. The lands
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that constitute modern Louisiana were acquired by the U.S. as part of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and became the Territory of Orleans in 1804. Louisiana became the 18th U.S. state in 1812. It seceded from the Union in 1861 at the start of the American Civil War and was readmitted in 1868. The plantation economy continued with the farmer class denied land owner¬ ship, which contributed to the rise of the populist Huey Long in the 1920s. After World War II Louisiana experienced more rapid development with the rise of offshore oil and gas drilling. Soybeans are a major agricultural crop; tree farming and shrimp fishing are also important. Petroleum and natural gas are the chief mineral resources. In 2005 hurricanes devastated New Orleans and surrounding communities.
Louisiana Purchase Territory purchased by the U.S. from France in 1803 for $15 million. It extended from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from the Gulf of Mexico to British America (Canada). In 1762 France had ceded Louisiana west of the Mississippi River to Spain, but Spain returned it to French control in 1800. Alarmed by this poten¬ tial increase in French power. Pres. Thomas Jefferson threatened to form an alliance with Britain. Napoleon then sold the U.S. the entire Louisi¬ ana Territory, although its boundaries remained unclear; its northwestern and southwestern limits were not established until 1818-19. The purchase doubled the area of the U.S.
Louisville Vlu-i-,vil\ City (pop., 2000: 256,231), north-central Kentucky, U.S., located on the Ohio River. Settled in 1778 on Corn Island, it expanded the next year when the settlers moved ashore. Named for Louis XVI of France, it became an important river trading centre and was char¬ tered as a city in 1828. During the American Civil War it served as a Union military headquarters and supply depot. The largest city in Kentucky, it is a leading producer of bonded bourbon whiskey and cigarettes. It is home to the University of Louisville (founded 1798) and Churchill Downs, the site of the Kentucky Derby.
Loup \Tiip\ River River, east-central Nebraska, U.S. It flows east to join the Platte River. It is 300 mi (485 km) long and is harnessed to produce hydroelectric power. Its name is derived from the French name (meaning “wolf’) for the Skidi Indians.
Lourdes Pilgrimage site in southwestern France, situated southwest of Toulouse at the foot of the Pyrenees. The town and its fortress formed a strategic stronghold in medieval times, but its modern significance dates from 1858, when a 14-year-old girl had repeated visions of the Virgin Mary (see Bernadette of Lourdes). The visions were declared authentic by Pope Pius IX in 1862. The underground spring in the grotto where Berna¬ dette had her visions was declared to have miraculous qualities, and Lour¬ des has since become one of the foremost destinations for Roman Catholic pilgrims. Nearly 3 million visit annually, many of them sick or disabled people hoping to be healed. A basilica was built above the grotto in 1876, and a vast underground church was added in 1958.
Lourenco Marques See Maputo
louse Any of some 3,300 species of small, wingless, parasitic insects of the order Phthiraptera. The order consists mainly of biting, or chewing, lice (parasites of birds and mam¬ mals) and sucking lice (see sucking louse). The louse’s body is flattened.
The eggs, or nits, are cemented to the hair or plumage of the host, and most species spend their entire lives on the bodies of host animals. Heavy infes¬ tations cause much irritation and may lead to secondary infections. In moving from host to host, lice may spread many diseases, including tapeworm infestation in dogs and murine typhus in rats.
louse, human Any of three types of sucking louse that infest humans.
The body louse (mainly Pediculus humanus humanus, also called human louse or cootie) and head louse (P. h. capitis) are spread by person-to-person contact and through shared clothing, bedding, combs, and other personal items.
Body lice carry the organisms that cause relapsing fever, trench fever, and typhus. Head lice may cause impetigo. Both are readily spread under con¬ ditions of overcrowding, especially among children. The crab louse, or pubic louse ( Phthirus pubis ) infests primarily the pubic region and occa¬ sionally other hairy regions. Its first pair of legs is smaller than the other two pairs, making it look like a crab. Crab lice are transmitted primarily through sexual intercourse. Lice infestations can be quickly cured with shampoos, soaps, and lotions containing benzene hexachloride, along with the thorough washing of bedding and clothing.
lousewort Any of about 500 species of herbaceous plants that make up the genus Pedicularis in the snap¬ dragon family. The lousewort is found throughout the Northern Hemisphere but especially on the mountains of central and eastern Asia. The bilaterally symmetrical flowers sometimes have very unusual shapes. The flowers of the little elephant (P. groenlandica), for example, resemble the head, trunk, and ears of an elephant. Louseworts are semiparasitic on the roots of other plants.
Louvain \lu-'va n \, Catholic Uni¬ versity of Either of two Belgian universities established in 1970, both descended from a renowned univer¬ sity founded in 1425 in Louvain. The original university included on its faculty in the early 1500s Desiderius Erasmus, Justus Lipsius, and Gerar¬ dus Mercator. The modern university was reorganized into separate units following student riots and government upheavals in 1969. At the Katho- lieke Universiteit te Leuven, the language of instruction is Dutch. At the Universite Catholique de Louvain, located in Louvain-la-Neuve, instruc¬ tion is in French.
louver \'lu-v3r\ Arrangement of parallel, horizontal blades or slats of glass, wood, or other material designed to regulate airflow or light pen¬ etration. Louvers are often used in windows or doors to allow air or light in while keeping the elements out. They may be either movable or fixed. The term also refers to metal blades covering the intake and exhaust out¬ lets of ventilation and air-conditioning units.
Louvois \luv-'wa\, Francois-Michel Le Tellier \b-tal-'ya\, mar¬ quis de (baptized Jan. 18, 1639, Paris, France—d. July 16, 1691, Ver¬ sailles) French secretary of state for war under Louis XIV and his most influential minister (1677-91). The son of Michel Le Tellier (1603-85), one of the most powerful officials in France, he was groomed by his father to replace him as war secretary. A brilliant administrator, Louvois brought his father’s military reforms to fruition, making the French army one of the most formidable in Europe. He was complicit in the military policy that led up to the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685), and was also responsible for the destruction of the Palatinate (1688), which led to the War of the Grand Alliance.