Mies van der Rohe Ymes-.van-do-'ro-oV, Ludwig orig. Maria Ludwig Michael Mies (b. March 27, 1886, Aachen, Ger.—d. Aug. 17, 1969, Chicago, Ill., U.S.) German-born U.S. architect and designer. Mies learned masonry from his father and later worked in the office of
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Miescher ► Mika’il I 1255
Peter Behrens. His first great work was the German Pavilion for the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona, Spain, a travertine plat¬ form with chromed steel columns and spaces defined by planes of extravagant onyx, marble, and frosted glass. The steel-and-leather Barcelona chair he designed for the space went on to become a 20th- century classic. He was director of the Bauhaus in 1930-33, first in Des¬ sau and then, during its final months, in Berlin. After moving to the U.S. in 1937, he became director of the School of Architecture at Chicago’s Armour Institute (now the Illinois Institute of Technology), where he designed the school’s new campus (1939^11). The International Style, with Mies its undisputed leader, reached its zenith during the next 20 years. His other projects included Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive Apartments (1949-51), and the Seagram Building (1956-58, with Philip Johnson) in New York City. These build¬ ings, steel skeletons sheathed in glass curtain-wall facades, exemplify Mies’s dictum that “less is more.” His later works include Berlin’s New National Gallery (1963-68). Modernist steel-and-glass office buildings influenced by his work were built all over the world over the course of the 20th century.
Miescher Vme-shsrV Johann Friedrich (b. Aug. 13, 1844, Basel, Switz.—d. Aug. 26, 1895, Davos) Swiss biologist. In 1869 he discovered a substance containing both phosphorus and nitrogen in the nuclei of white blood cells found in pus. The substance, first named nuclein because it seemed to come from cell nuclei, became known as nucleic acid after Miescher separated it into a protein and an acid component. He also was one of the earliest researchers to propose that it is the carbon dioxide con¬ centration (rather than the oxygen concentration) in the blood that regu¬ lates breathing.
Mieszko \'myesh-ko\ I (b. c. 930—d. May 25, 992) Prince or duke of Poland (9637-992). He accepted Christianity from Rome (966) to avoid forced conversion by the Germans and the incorporation of Poland into the Holy Roman Empire. He expanded Poland southward into Galicia and northward as far as the Baltic Sea.
Mifune \mi-'fu-na\ Toshiro (b. April 1, 1920, Tsingtao, Shantung prov¬ ince, China—d. Dec. 24, 1997, Mitaka, near Tokyo, Japan) Japanese film actor. After serving in the Japanese army in World War II, he made his screen debut in These Foolish Times (1947). He followed it with Drunken Angel (1948) and achieved international fame in Rashomon (1950). He acted in more than 100 films and was known internationally for his ener¬ getic, flamboyant portrayals of samurai characters in the films of Kuro¬ sawa Akira, including Seven Samurai (1954), The Hidden Fortress (1958), Yojimbo (1961), and Sanjuro (1962); he also played legendary samurai Miyamoto Musashi in three films. His other films include Throne of Blood (1957), The Lower Depths (1957), Red Beard (1965), and Mid¬ way (1976).
MiG \'mig\ Any member of a family of Russian military fighter aircraft produced by a design bureau founded in 1939 by Artem Mikoyan and Mikhail Gurevich. The early MiGs, built in World War II, were propeller- driven. The MiG-15, first flown in 1947, was among the best of the early jet fighters; it saw extensive combat in the Korean War. The MiG-21, a lightweight, single-engine interceptor introduced in 1955, became the principal fighter of North Vietnam and was built for more than 40 other countries. More modern jets include the MiG-29, a single-seat, twin- engine air-to-air fighter that can also be used for ground attack.
MiG officially ANPK imeni A.I. Mikoyana formerly OKB-155 Russian design bureau that is the country’s major producer of jet fight¬ ers. The company originated in 1939 within another Soviet design bureau as a department under Artem Mikoyan and his deputy, Mikhail Gurevich. Three years later it became the independent bureau OKB-155. Its first design, a single-engine interceptor (first flown 1940), eventually bore the name MiG-1 (“MiG” being an acronym based on “Mikoyan” and “Gure¬
vich”). After World War II it produced the first Soviet jet fighter, the MiG-9 (1946), and followed on with some of the U.S.S.R.’s most notable high-speed aircraft (see MiG [fighter aircraft]). The last major fighters designed under Mikoyan (died 1970) were the variable-wing MiG-23 (entered service 1972), and the MiG-25 (introduced 1970; capable of about Mach 3). The organization later produced several new designs, including the MiG-29 and MiG-31 (both first flown in the 1970s). In the late 1980s its formal name became ANPK imeni A.I. Mikoyana. In the 1990s, after the breakup of the Soviet Union, MiG was consolidated with several other major firms into the giant state-owned aerospace complex VPK MAPO. MiG diversified modestly into the civilian passenger plane market and continued to develop advanced fighter concepts, including the 1.42 (1.441) multifunctional fifth-generation fighter (first flown 2000).
Mighty Five, The see Five, The
migmatite Vmig-mo-.thA Rock composed of a metamorphic host mate¬ rial that is streaked or veined with granite; the name means “mixed rock.” Many migmatites probably represent partial fusion of the metamorphic host; some components of the rock are fused and gather to produce the streaks of granite. Migmatite also can form near large intrusions of gran¬ ite when some of the magma is injected into neighbouring metamorphic rocks.
migraine Recurrent vascular headache, usually on one side of the head. Severe throbbing pain is sometimes accompanied by nausea and vomit¬ ing. Some migraine patients have warning symptoms (an “aura”) before the headache, including visual disturbance, weakness, numbness, or diz¬ ziness. If a stimulus (e.g., a particular food or drink) is found to trigger attacks, avoidance can prevent them. Drugs may be taken as an attack begins (to abort it) or daily by patients with very frequent attacks (to pre¬ vent them or reduce their severity).
migrant labour Semiskilled or unskilled workers who move from one region to another, offering their services on a temporary, usually seasonal, basis. In North America, migrant labour is generally employed in agri¬ culture and moves seasonally from south to north following the harvest. In Europe and the Middle East, migrant labour usually involves urban rather than agricultural employment and calls for longer periods of resi¬ dence. The migrant labour market is often disorganized and exploitative. Many workers are supervised by middlemen such as labour contractors and crew leaders, who recruit and transport them and dispense their pay. Labourers commonly endure long hours, low wages, poor working con¬ ditions, and substandard housing. In some countries, child labour is wide¬ spread among migrant labourers, and even in the U.S. those children who do not work often do not go to school, since schools are usually open only to local residents. Workers willing to accept employment on these terms are usually driven by even worse conditions in their home coun¬ tries. Labour organizing is made difficult by mobility and by low rates of literacy and political participation, though some migrant labourers in the U.S. have been unionized. See also Cesar Chavez.
migration, human Permanent change of residence by an individual or group, excluding such movements as nomadism and migrant labour. Migrations may be classed as internal or international and as voluntary or forced. Voluntary migration is usually undertaken in search of a better life; forced migrations include expulsions during war and the transporta¬ tion of slaves or prisoners. The earliest humans migrated from Africa to all the continents except Antarctica within about 50,000 years. Other mass migrations include the forced migration of 20 million people as slaves from Africa to North America in the 16th-19th centuries and the Great Atlantic Migration of 37 million people from Europe to North America between 1820 and 1980. War-related forced migrations and refugee flows continue to be very large, as are voluntary migrations from developing nations to industrialized ones. Internal migrations have tended to be from rural areas to urban centers.