Lucas, Robert E., Jr. (b. Sept. 15, 1937, Yakima, Wash., U.S.) U.S. economist. He studied at the University of Chicago and began teaching there in 1975. He questioned the influence of John Maynard Keynes in macroeconomics and the efficacy of government intervention in domestic affairs. He criticized the Phillips curve for failing to provide for the damp¬ ened expectations of companies and workers in an inflationary economy. His theory of rational expectations, which suggests that individuals may alter the expected results of national fiscal policy by making private eco¬ nomic decisions based on anticipated results, won him the 1995 Nobel Prize. See also econometrics; inflation.
Lucas (Huyghszoon) van Leyden VlIB-kas-van-'lI-daM (b. 1489/ 94, Leiden, Neth.—d. before Aug. 8, 1533, Leiden) Netherlandish painter and engraver. He was trained by his father, a painter, but his great talent was as an engraver. Even such youthful prints as Muhammad and the Monk Sergius (1508) show great technical skill. In 1510, under the influ¬ ence of Albrecht Durer, he produced two masterpieces of engraving, The Milkmaid and Ecce Homo, the latter much admired by Rembrandt. He is thought to have developed the technique of etching on copper (instead of iron) plates; the softness of copper permitted him to combine etching and line engraving in the same print. He was also among the first to employ aerial perspective in prints. Though his paintings seldom attain the power of his engravings, he was an outstanding Netherlandish painter of his period; The Last Judgment (1526-27) is his most celebrated painting.
Luce, Clare Boothe orig. Ann Clare Boothe (b. March 10, 1903, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. Oct. 9,
1987, Washington, D.C.) U.S. poli¬ tician, dramatist, and socialite. She was bom into poverty to parents who never married. From 1930 to 1934 she worked as an editor at Vogue and Vanity Fair. In the latter she pub¬ lished short sketches satirizing New York society, some of which were collected as Stuffed Shirts (1931). In 1935 she married Henry R. Luce, the publisher of Time and later Life magazine. Three of her witty plays were adapted into films: The Women (1936), Kiss the Boys Goodbye (1938), and Margin for Error (1939).
From 1939 to 1940 she worked as a war correspondent for Life and recounted her experiences in Europe in the Spring (1940). As a member of the House of Representatives (1943-47), she became influential in Republican Party politics. She served as ambassador to Italy from 1953 to 1956, was a public supporter of Barry Goldwater in the 1960s, and served on the President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board under Presidents Nixon, Ford, and Reagan in the 1970s and ’80s. In 1983 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. She is remembered for her fiesty demeanour and her acid wit, which she displayed in oft-quoted aphorisms such as, “No good deed goes unpunished.”
Luce, Henry R(obinson) (b. April 3, 1898, Dengzhou, Shandong province, China—d. Feb. 28, 1967, Phoenix, Ariz., U.S.) U.S. magazine publisher. Luce was born to U.S. missionary parents. He graduated from Yale University in 1920. While at Yale he had met Briton Hadden, with whom he launched Time in 1923. He added the business magazine For¬ tune in 1929 and Life magazine in 1936. Among other Luce magazines were House & Home, established in 1952, and Sports Illustrated, launched
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
1146 I Lucerne ► Ludendorff
L_
N
in 1954. His publications, founded as means of educating what Luce con¬ sidered a poorly informed U.S. public, had many imitators, and Luce became one of the most powerful figures in the history of U.S. journal¬ ism. Both he and his wife, Clare Boothe Luce, had a major influence on the Republican Party and on national affairs.
Lucerne \lu-'s3rn\ German Luzern \liit-'sem\ City (pop., 2000: 59,496), central Switzerland. Located southwest of ZOrich, on Lake Luc¬ erne and its Reuss River outlet, it developed around an 8th-century mon¬ astery. It joined the Swiss Confederation in 1332. A stronghold of Catholicism during the Reformation, it later took part in the Sonderbund war. It is a tourist centre, with its medieval walls, towers, and covered bridges. Among its many monuments is the famous Lion of Lucerne, carved in rock, which commemorates the Swiss Guards slain while defending the Tuileries Palace in Paris in 1792.
Lucerne, Lake German Vierwaldstattersee Vfer-valt-.shtet- or-'za\ ("Lake of the Four Forest Cantons") Lake, central Swit¬ zerland. It is 24 mi (39 km) long and 0.5 to 2 mi (0.8 to 3 km) wide, with an area of 44 sq mi (114 sq km). It has a maximum depth of 702 ft (214 m). The “Cross of Lucerne” is formed by its four main basins, which are joined by narrow channels. Named after the city of Lucerne at its western end, it is in a region of resorts and tourist attractions.
Luchow See Hefei
Lucian Vlii-shonV or Lucianos Latin Lucianus (b. c. ad 120, Samo- sata, Commagene, Syria—d. after 180, Athens) Ancient Greek rhetorician, pamphleteer, and satirist. As a young man he acquired a Greek literary education while traveling through western Asia Minor. He became a pub¬ lic speaker before turning to writing essays. His works, outstanding for their mordant wit, are a sophisticated critique of the shams and follies of the literature, philosophy, and intellectual life of his day. In such works as Charon, Dialogues of the Dead, True History, and Nigrinus, he sati¬ rized nearly every aspect of human behaviour. His best work of literary criticism is How to Write History.
Luciano Hu-'cha-noV Lucky orig. Salvatore Lucania later Charles Luciano (b. Nov. 11, 1896, Lercara Friddi, Sicily, Italy—d. Jan. 26, 1962, Capodicino Airport, Naples) Italian-born U.S. gangster. He immigrated with his family to New York in 1906 and soon was involved in crime. In 1916 he conspired with Frank Costello, Meyer Lansky, and other young gangsters, earning the nickname “Lucky” by evading arrest and winning at craps. He joined the crime gang of Joe Masseria in 1920 and was soon directing Masseria’s bootlegging, narcotics, and prostitu¬ tion rackets. In 1931 he had both Masseria and rival boss Salvatore Maran- zano murdered; by 1934 he was “boss of all bosses” in a national crime syndicate. Jailed for extortion in 1936, he continued to direct criminal operations from his prison cell. In 1946 his sentence was commuted, and he was deported to Italy, where he directed drug traffic and the smuggling of aliens into the U.S.
Lucifer In classical mythology, the morning star (the planet Venus at dawn), personified as a male figure. Lucifer (Latin: “Light-Bearer”) car¬ ried a torch and served as herald of the dawn. In Christian times, Lucifer came to be regarded as the name of Satan before his fall; it was thus used by John Milton in Paradise Lost.
Lucite or Plexiglas or Perspex Trademark names of the organic compound poly methyl methacrylate, a synthetic polymer of methyl meth¬ acrylate. Colourless and highly transparent, the solid material has high dimensional stability and good resistance to weathering and shock. It is used in aircraft canopies and windows, in boat windshields, and as a gen¬ eral alternative to glass in many applications. An object made of Lucite has the unusual property of keeping a beam of light reflected within its surfaces and thus carrying the beam around bends and corners; Lucite is therefore used in devices for illuminating interior organs during surgery as well as for ornaments, medallions, and lenses.
Lucknow Vlak-.nauX City (pop., 2001 prelim.: 2,207,340), capital of Uttar Pradesh state, northern India, on the Gomati River southeast of Delhi. It was captured by the Mughal ruler Babur in 1528 and under his grand¬ son Akbar became part of Oudh province. In 1775 it became the capital of Oudh. It is now an important rail centre with paper factories and other industrial development. Notable sites include the Great Imambara (tomb) of one of the nabobs of Oudh, the Residency where the British were besieged during the Indian Mutiny of 1857, and the University of Luc¬ know.