Middlesex Historic county, southeastern England, situated along the River Thames. Its earliest settlements date from 500 bc; Belgic tribes arrived in the 1st century bc, followed by the Romans, who established outposts along the river. It was colonized by Saxons in the early 5th cen¬ tury ad. Situated between the East and West Saxons, it obtained its name (meaning “middle Saxons”) by ad 704. Middlesex was established as an administrative county in 1888. In 1965 Greater London incorporated parts from the former county.
Middleton, Thomas (b. April? 1580, London, Eng.—d. July 4, 1627, Newington Butts, Surrey) British playwright. Middleton studied at Oxford University and had written three books of poetry by 1600. He learned to write plays by collaborating with John Webster and others on works for the producer Philip Henslowe. His tragedies Women Beware Women (c. 1621) and The Changeling (1622, with William Rowley) are considered his masterpieces. His comedies, which picture a society dazzled by money, include Michaelmas Terme (c. 1605), A Trick to Catch the Old- one (1608), A Mad World, My Masters (1608), A Chast Mayd in Cheape- side (c. 1613), and A Game at Chess (1625).
middot \me-'dot\ In Jewish biblical interpretation, the principles used to explicate the meaning of biblical words or passages. The middot are used especially to determine the bearing that a passage has on a new question or situation. The first known middot were compiled by Hillel in the 1st century bc; others were compiled by Ishmael ben Elisha (c. ad 100) and Eliezer ben Yose the Galilaean (c. ad 150). Among the best-known are the kol wa-homer (“how much more”), in which the interpreter pro¬ ceeds from a minor to a major premise, and the gezera show a (compari¬ son of similar expressions or laws), in which an inference is made by analogy.
Mideast See Middle East
Midgard In Norse mythology, the dwelling place of humankind. According to legend, it was made from the body of the first created being, the giant Aurgelmir (Ymir). The gods killed him and rolled his body into the central void of the universe, forming the land from his flesh, the oceans from his blood, the mountains from his bones, and so on. Aurgelmir’s skull, held up by four dwarfs, became the dome of the heavens. The sun, moon, and stars were made of scattered sparks caught in the skull.
midge Any of a group of tiny dipterans, sometimes called gnats and classified as nonbiting (family Chi- ronomidae), biting (family Cerato- pogonidae), or gall (family Cecidomyiidae) midges. Nonbiting midges resemble mosquitoes but are harmless. Humming swarms can be found around water in late afternoon.
The often blood-red, aquatic larvae (bloodworms) are important food for aquatic animals. Biting midges (no- see-ums) are the smallest bloodsuck¬ ing insect (about 0.04 in., or 1 mm, long). Punkies or sand flies (genera Culicoides and Leptoconops ) attack humans but do not transmit disease; many species attack other insects. Gall-midge larvae cause tissue swell¬ ings (galls) in plants.
Midgley, Thomas, Jr. (b. May 18, 1889, Beaver Falls, Pa., U.S.—d. Nov. 2, 1944, Worthington, Ohio) U.S. engineer and chemist. After study¬ ing at Cornell University, he worked as an industrial researcher and administrator. In 1921 he discovered the effectiveness of tetraethyl lead as an antiknock additive for gasoline. He also discovered dichlorodiflu- oromethane, a refrigerant sold commercially as Freon-12 (see Freon), which with related compounds came into universal use as refrigerants and later as aerosol propellants. Midgley conducted extensive research on natural and synthetic rubbers and discovered one of the first catalysts for “cracking” (breaking down) hydrocarbons.
Midhat Pasha Xmid-'hat-pa-'shaV (b. October 1822, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire—d. May 8, 1883, Al-Ta’if, Arabian Peninsula) Civil ser¬
vant and grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire. As governor of Nis and Baghdad, his successful reforms earned the respect of the sultan Abdiilaziz, who in 1872 appointed him grand vizier, a post he held only three months. In 1876 he helped depose Abdiilaziz and eventually replaced him with Abdiilhamid II. Again appointed grand vizier, he was dismissed after six months. Afterward, he was banished but later was recalled and made governor of Smyrna. He then was arrested and con¬ victed for Abdiilaziz’s death. His death sentence was commuted to per¬ manent exile. See also Tanzimat.
MIDI \'mi-de\ in full Musical Instrument Digital Interface Pro¬ tocol for transmission of musical data between digital components, such as synthesizers and a computer’s sound card. MIDI uses 8-bit asynchro¬ nous serial transmission with a data rate of 31.25 kilobytes per second. The transmitted data do not directly represent musical sound but specify various aspects (pitch, loudness, starting and stopping points in time). The data are then applied to waveforms stored digitally on a computer chip to create a specific sound.
Mid rash \me-'drash, 'mi-,drash\ In Judaism, a large collection of writ¬ ings that examine the Hebrew Bible in the light of oral tradition. Midrashic activity reached its height in the 2nd century ad with the schools of Ish¬ mael ben Elisha and Akiba ben Joseph. The Midrashim are divided into two groups: Halakhah, which clarify legal issues; and Haggadah, nonlegal writings intended simply to enlighten. The Midrashim are extensively quoted in the Talmud.
Midway formerly Brooks Islands Unincorporated U.S. territory, central Pacific Ocean. Midway consists of two coral islands, Eastern and Sand islands, with a total land area of 2 sq mi (5 sq km); there is no per¬ manent population. Claimed for the U.S. in 1859 by Capt. N.C. Brooks, the islands were formally annexed in 1867. Their location, over 1,300 mi (2,100 km) northwest of Honolulu, gave them strategic importance for U.S. forces during World War II, and in 1941 the U.S. Navy established an air and submarine base there. The Battle of Midway (1942) took place in nearby waters. Midway also served as a commercial air base. Its air¬ field was closed in 1993.
Midway, Battle of (June 3-6, 1942) Major World War II naval battle between the U.S. and Japan. Japanese naval forces under Yamamoto Iso- roku sought to seize Midway Island by engaging the numerically inferior U.S. Pacific fleet. U.S. intelligence had broken the Japanese naval code, and the U.S. prepared for the assault by mobilizing about 115 land-based aircraft as well as three aircraft carriers. On June 3 its bombers began striking Japan’s carrier force. Japan was unable to match the U.S. air power and, after heavy losses, abandoned efforts to land on Midway. The battle brought the Pacific naval forces of Japan and the U.S. to approxi¬ mate parity and marked the turning point of the war between the two countries.
Midwest or Middle West Region, northern and central U.S., lying midway between the Appalachian and Rocky mountains, and north of the Ohio River. As defined by the federal government, it comprises the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. It includes much of the Great Plains, the region of the Great Lakes, and the upper Mississippi River valley.
midwifery \mid-'wif-9r-e\ Art of attending women in childbirth. It is known to date to ancient biblical, Greek, and Roman times. It declined in the Middle Ages, when childbirth carried high mortality for mothers and infants, but advanced considerably in the 17th-19th century. Later, with advances in obstetrics and gynecology, most women gave birth in hospitals. In the 1960s, the natural childbirth movement, feminism, and other factors renewed interest in the personal care given by mid wives. In the U.S., certified nurse-mid wives (CNMs)—registered nurses trained in midwifery—accept only low-risk patients. If problems develop, a physi¬ cian is called. CNMs also provide pre- and postnatal care and reproduc¬ tive health advice. Lay midwives usually have no formal training, are unlicensed, and deliver (at home) about three-fourths of infants bom throughout the world, mostly in developing countries and rural areas of developed nations.