He studied law but soon turned to journalism. In 1841 he founded the highly successful Punch. A vivid and voluminous writer, he is best known for London Labour and the London Poor (1851-62), an evocation of the sights and sounds of the working- class districts of London, which influenced Charles Dickens and other writers. He also wrote plays, farces, fairy tales, and novels, some in col¬ laboration with his brother Augustus Septimus Mayhew (1826-75).
Mayo family Family of U.S. phy¬ sicians. William Worrall Mayo (b.
May 31, 1819, near Manchester,
Eng.—d. March 6, 1911, Rochester,
Minn., U.S.) came to the U.S. in 1845. He opened a surgical practice in Rochester, Minn., in 1863, and in 1889 he opened St. Mary’s Hospital with his two sons and the Sisters of St. Francis. His elder son, William James (b. June 29, 1861, Le Sueur, Minn.—d. July 28, 1939, Rochester), specialized in surgery of the abdo¬ men, pelvis, and kidney and served as administrator. Charles Horace (b.
July 19, 1865, Rochester—d. May 26, 1939, Chicago, Ill.), a gifted sur¬ geon in all areas, originated modern procedures in goitre surgery, neuro¬ surgery, and orthopedic surgery. About 1900 the partnership was changed to a voluntary association of physicians and specialists, later known as the Mayo Clinic. In 1915 the brothers established the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, which offers graduate training in medicine and related subjects.
Mayon \ma-'yon\ Volcano or Mount Mayon Active volcano, southeastern Luzon, Philippines. One of the world’s most perfect volca¬ nic cones, it has a base 80 mi (130 km) in circumference and rises to 7,943 ft (2,421 m). It is popular with climbers and campers and is the centre of Mayon Volcano National Park, which occupies 21 sq mi (55 sq km). It has erupted more than 30 times since 1616; an eruption in 1993 killed 75 people. Its most destructive eruption was in 1814, when the town of Cagsawa was buried.
mayor Political leader of a municipal corporation. Mayors are either appointed or elected for a limited term. In Europe until the mid-19th cen¬ tury, most mayors were appointed by the central government; in France, they are still agents of the central government. In the U.S., they are either directly elected by the populace or chosen by an elected council. Some fulfill only ceremonial functions, executive power being held by a pro¬ fessional manager hired by the legislature. A mayor’s powers may include the power to make appointments, veto legislation, administer budgets, and manage administrative functions. See also city government.
Mayotte \ma-'yot\ Southeasternmost island (pop., 2002 est.: 165,000) of the Comoros archipelago, a French overseas territorial collectivity. Located northwest of Madagascar, it occupies an area of 144 sq mi (373 sq km); Mamoutzo is its chief town and capital designate. Dzaoudzi, the current capital, is its other main city and port. Most of its people are of Malagasy origin. Originally inhabited by descendants of Bantu and Malayo-Indonesian peoples, it was converted to Islam by Arab invaders in the 15th century. Taken by Malagasy people from Madagascar at the end of the 18th century, it came under French control in 1843. Together with the other Comoros islands and Madagascar, it became part of a single French overseas territory in the early 20th century. It has been adminis¬ tered separately since 1975, when the three northernmost islands of the Comoros declared independence.
maypole Tall wooden pole garlanded with flowers and greenery and often hung with ribbons that are woven into complex patterns by dancers in a ceremonial folk dance. The custom probably originated in ancient fertility rites that involved dancing around a living tree in the springtime. In many European countries, notably England, the pole is set up on May 1 as part of May Day festivities. Similar ribbon dances were performed in India and in pre-Columbian Latin America.
Mayr Vmlr\, Ernst (Walter) (b. July 5, 1904, Kempten, Ger.—d. Feb. 3, 2005, Bedford, Mass., U.S.)
German-bom U.S. biologist. He received a Ph.D. (1926) from the University of Berlin and immigrated to the U.S. in the early 1930s. While a curator at the American Museum of Natural History (1932-53), he wrote more than 100 papers on avian tax¬ onomy. From 1953 to 1975 he taught at Harvard University. His early studies of speciation and of founder populations made him a leader in the development of the modern synthetic theory of evolution. In 1940 Mayr proposed a definition of species that won wide acceptance and led to the discovery of some previously unknown species. His influential works include Systematics and the Origin of Species (1942) and The Growth of Biological Thought
(1982).
Mays, Willie (Howard) (b. May 6, 1931, Westfield, Ala., U.S.) U.S. baseball player. Mays played for the Birmingham Black Barons in the National Negro League when he was only 16. The “Say Hey Kid” later played principally for the New York (later San Francisco) Giants in the
Henry Mayhew, engraving after a pho¬ tograph
BBC HULTON PICTURE LIBRARY
Ernst Mayr
COURTESY OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LIBRARY SERVICES, THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, NEW YORK CITY, NEG. NO. 334102
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Maysles ► mbira I 1219
major leagues (1951-72). A brilliant centre fielder and a powerful right- handed hitter, he ranks among the all-time top five in home runs (660), runs (2,062), and extra-base hits (1,323) and among the top 10 for runs batted in (1,903) and hits (3,283). Mays is considered one of the greatest all-around players in the history of the game.
Maysles Vma-zolzV Al(bert) ana David (respectively b. Nov.
26, 1926, Brookline, Mass., U.S.; b.
Jan. 10, 1932, Boston, Mass., U.S.
—d. Jan. 3, 1987, New York, N.Y.)
U.S. documentary filmmakers.
Albert made his first documentary,
Psychiatry in Russia, in 1955. In 1962 the brothers began to collabo¬ rate on documentaries in the cinema verite style, which they called “direct cinema,” and gained notoriety for their films Salesman (1969) and Gimme Shelter (1970), both made with Charlotte Zwerin. Their later films include Christo’s Valley Curtain (1972), Grey Gardens (1975), and Vladimir Horowitz (1985).
Mazarin \ l ma-z3-'ra n \ / Jules Cardinal orig. Giulio Raimondo Mazarini (b. July 14, 1602,
Pescina, Abruzzi, Kingdom of Naples—d. March 9, 1661, Vin¬ cennes, France) Italian-French cardi¬ nal and statesman. A member of the papal diplomatic service (1627-34), he negotiated an end to the War of the Mantuan Succession between France and Spain. He served as papal nuncio to the French court (1634—
36), where he admired cardinal de Richelieu. He worked for French inter¬ ests in the papal court, then entered the service of France and became a naturalized French citizen (1639) and a cardinal (1641). After the deaths of Richelieu (1642) and Louis XIII (1643), Mazarin was appointed first minister of France by Anne of Austria, regent for Louis XIV, and he directed Louis’s education. A highly influential adviser to the young king, he helped train a staff of able administrators. His foreign policy estab¬ lished France’s supremacy among the European powers, effecting the Peace of Westphalia (1648) and the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659). A patron of the arts, Mazarin founded an academy of painting and sculpture and compiled a large library.
Mazatlan \,ma-sa-'tlan\ Port city (pop., 2000: 327,989), southwestern Sinaloa state, north-central Mexico. It occupies a peninsula overlooking Olas Altas Bay on the Gulf of California. It is Mexico’s largest Pacific Ocean port, and its island-studded harbour is known for its fine sandy beaches. Lying diagonally across the gulf from the tip of Baja California, it provides a communications link between Baja and the mainland. Maza¬ tlan, called the “Pearl of the Pacific,” is a fishing centre and a popular tourist resort.
Mazda \'maz-do\ Motor Corp. Japanese automotive manufacturer. Founded in 1920 as a cork plant, the firm was called Toyo Kogyo Co. from 1927 until 1984, when it adopted the name Mazda Motor Corp. It began producing trucks in 1931 and supplied the Japanese armed forces during World War II; its factory survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima because it lay shielded behind a hill. In the 1960s it began manufacturing passenger cars and marketing them in the U.S. After endur¬ ing a slump in the 1970s, it became one of the largest auto manufactur¬ ers in Japan. Mazda has supplied axles and other automotive products to Ford Motor Co., and by the turn of the 21st century, Ford had acquired a significant ownership share in Mazda. Its headquarters are in Hiroshima.