Louvre VliivrA Museum National museum and art gallery of France, in Paris. It was built as a royal residence, begun under Francis I in 1546 on the site of a 12th-century fortress. It ceased to be used as a palace when the court moved to Versailles in 1682, and plans were made in the 18th century to turn it into a public museum. In 1793 the revolutionary government opened the Grand Gallery; Napoleon built the northern wing; and two major western wings were completed and opened by Napoleon III. The completed Louvre included a vast complex of buildings forming two main quadrilaterals and enclosing two large courtyards. A controver¬ sial steel-and-glass pyramid entrance designed by I.M. Pei opened in 1989. The painting collection is one of the richest in the world, representing all periods of European art up to Impressionism; its collection of French 15th— 19th-century paintings is unsurpassed.
lovage \'b-vij\ Herb ( Levisticum officinale ) of the parsley family, native to southern Europe. It is cultivated for its stalks and foliage, which are used for tea, as a vegetable, and to flavour foods. Its rhizomes are used as a carminative, and the seeds are used for flavouring desserts. Oil obtained from the flowers is used in perfumery.
Male human louse (Pediculus humanus; magnified about 15 Vi x)
WILLIAM E. FERGUSON
Lousewort (Pedicularis lanceolata)
KITTY KOHOUT FROM ROOT RESOURCES-EB INC.
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Love Canal ► Lower Canada I 1143
Love Canal Neighbourhood in Niagara Falls, N.Y., the site of the worst environmental disaster involving chemical wastes in U.S. history. Origi¬ nally the site of an abandoned canal, it became a dumping ground for nearly 22,000 tons of chemical waste in the 1940s and ’50s. The canal was later filled in, and housing was built on it. The leakage of toxic chemicals into these homes was detected in 1978, and residents were dis¬ covered to have a high incidence of chromosome damage. After their evacuation, 1,300 former residents obtained a $20 million settlement from the dumping company and the city. In the early 1990s New York state ended its cleanup and declared parts of the area safe for residence.
lovebird Any of nine species of small parrots (genus Agapornis, sub¬ family Psittacinae) of Africa and Madagascar. Popular as pets for their pretty colours and the seemingly affectionate closeness of pairs, love¬ birds are 4-6 in. (10-16 cm) long, chunky, and short-tailed. Most have a red bill and a prominent eye ring.
The two sexes look alike. Large flocks forage in woods and scru¬ blands for seeds and may damage crops. Hardy and long-lived, they are combative toward other birds and have a loud, squawky voice. Though not easy to tame, they can be taught to perform tricks and mimic human speech to a limited extent.
Lovejoy, Elijah P(arish) (b.
Nov. 9, 1802, Albion, Maine,
U.S.—d. Nov. 7, 1837, Alton, Ill.)
U.S. newspaper editor and abolition¬ ist. He moved to St. Louis in 1827. In 1833 he became editor of the St. Louis Observer, a Presbyterian weekly in which he wrote articles strongly condemning slavery. Under the threat of mob violence (1836), he moved his paper from the slave state of Missouri across the river to Alton, in the free state of Illinois. There mobs repeatedly destroyed his presses, and he was shot and killed while defending his building against an attack. News of his death strengthened abolitionist sentiment.
Lovelace, Ada King, countess of orig. Augusta Ada Byron, Lady Byron (b. Dec. 10, 1815, London, Eng.—d. Nov. 29, 1852, Lon¬ don) English mathematician. Her father was the poet Lord Byron. In 1835 she married William King, 8th Baron King; when he was created an earl in 1838, she became countess of Lovelace. Having studied with the famous mathematician-logician Augustus De Morgan, she was introduced to Charles Babbage’s Difference Engine (calculator) and studied plans for his Analytical Engine (computer) as early as 1833. In 1843 she translated and annotated an article about the Analytical Engine by Italian mathema¬ tician Luigi Federico Menabrea. In correspondence with Babbage, she also described how the Analytical Engine could be “programmed” to cal¬ culate certain numbers; this work has been called the first computer pro¬ gram, and in consequence she has been called the first computer programmer. Ada, a computer programming language, is named for her.
Lovell Vta-volV Sir (Alfred Charles) Bernard (b. Aug. 31, 1913, Oldland Common, Gloucestershire, Eng.) British radio astronomer. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Bristol, worked for the Air Ministry during World War II, and lectured at the University of Manches¬ ter after the war. He built the first giant radio telescope (1957) at Jodrell Bank, near Manchester; with a bowl diameter of 250 ft (76 m), the instru¬ ment is used for astronomical research and spacecraft tracking and com¬ munication.
low blood pressure See hypotension
Low Countries Coastal region, northwestern Europe, consisting of Bel¬ gium, The Netherlands, and Luxembourg. Known as the Low Countries because much of the land along the North Sea is below or at sea level, they are often called the Benelux countries, from the initial letters of their names.
low relief See bas-relief
Lowell City (pop., 2000: 105,167), northeastern Massachusetts, U.S. Settled in 1653 as East Chelmsford, it became a major centre of cotton- textile manufacturing in the 19th century. It was renamed for industrial¬
ist Francis Lowell and was incorporated as a town in 1826. In the 20th century it began losing textile manufacturing to southern states, and it diversified into other industries. The Lowell National Historical Park (established 1978) commemorates the first textile mills in the U.S. It is the birthplace of the artist James McNeill Whistler and the seat of the Uni¬ versity of Massachusetts Lowell.
Lowell, Amy (b. Feb. 9, 1874, Brookline, Mass., U.S.—d. May 12, 1925, Brookline) U.S. critic and poet. Born into the prominent Lowell family of Boston, she devoted herself to poetry at age 28 but published nothing until 1910. Her first volume, A Dome of Many-Coloured Glass (1912), was succeeded by Sword Blades and Poppy Seed (1914), which included her first poems in free verse and what she called “polyphonic prose.” She became a leader of Imagism and was noted for her vivid and powerful personality and her scorn of conventional behaviour. Her other works include Six French Poets (1915), Tendencies in Modern American Poetry (1917), and John Keats, 2 vol. (1925).
Lowell, Francis Cabot (b. April 7, 1775, Newburyport, Mass., U.S.—d. Aug. 10, 1817, Boston) U.S. businessman. Born into a promi¬ nent Massachusetts family, Lowell closely studied the British textile industry while visiting Britain. With Paul Moody he devised an efficient power loom and spinning apparatus. His Boston Manufacturing Co. in Waltham (1812-14) was apparently the world’s first mill in which were performed all operations converting raw cotton into finished cloth. His example greatly stimulated the growth of New England industry. Lowell, Mass., is named for him.
Lowell, James Russell (b. Feb. 22, 1819, Cambridge, Mass., U.S.—d. Aug. 12, 1891, Cambridge)
U.S. poet, critic, editor, and diplo¬ mat. He received a law degree from Harvard but chose not to practice. In the 1840s he wrote extensively against slavery, including the Biglow Papers (1848), satirical verses in Yankee dialect. His other most important works are The Vision of Sir Launfal (1848), a long poem on the brotherhood of mankind; and A Fable for Critics (1848), a witty evaluation of contemporary authors.