Morison, Samuel Eliot (b. July 9,1887, Boston, Mass., U.S.—d. May 15, 1976, Boston) U.S. biographer and historian. He taught at Harvard University for 40 years. To give authenticity to his writings on maritime history, he undertook numerous voyages and during wartime served on 12 ships as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Naval Reserve. His works include Admiral of the Ocean Sea (1942, Pulitzer Prize), on Christopher Columbus; John Paul Jones (1959, Pulitzer Prize); the monumental His¬ tory of U.S. Naval Operations in World War II, 15 vol. (1947-62); and The Oxford History of the American People (1965).
Morison, Stanley (b. May 6, 1889, Wanstead, Essex, Eng.—d. Oct. 11, 1967, London) English typographer, scholar, and historian of printing.
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He attained much of his printing and typographic experience by working for publishing houses. He served as editor of the influential typographic journal The Fleuron (1926-30). He worked for The Times (London) in various capacities, including editor of The Times Literary Supplement (1929-60). He is best known as the designer of Times New Roman, which was adopted as The Times 's basic typeface in 1932, and went on to become the most successful new typeface of the 20th century.
Morisot \m6-re-'zo\/ Berthe (b. Jan. 14, 1841, Bourges, France—d. March 2, 1895, Paris) French painter and printmaker. Granddaughter of Jean-Honore Fragonard, she, studied with Camille Corot, but the major influence over her work was Edouard Manet, whose brother she later mar¬ ried. She exhibited regularly with the Impressionists. None of her exhibits proved commercially successful, but she outsold Claude Monet, Pierre- Auguste Renoir, and Alfred Sisley. Her colouring was delicate and subtle, often with a subdued emerald glow, and her subjects were often members of her family. She is best known for her extremely loose brushwork and for the sensitivity she brought to her female subjects.
Morita \m6-'re-t3\, Akio (b. Jan. 26, 1921, Nagoya, Japan—d. Oct. 3, 1999, Tokyo) Japanese entrepreneur, cofounder of Sony Corp. The son of an old sake-brewing family, Morita was trained as a physicist. In 1946 he and Ibuka Masaru cofounded the Tokyo Telecommunications Engineer¬ ing Corp., which changed its name to Sony Corp. in 1958. Primarily responsible for finances and marketing, Morita adopted U.S. advertising techniques and established Sony’s first U.S. plant in 1972. He became chief executive officer in 1971 and chairman of the board in 1976, in which post he served until 1994. Under his direction Sony became a world-renowned manufacturer of consumer electronics.
Morley (of Blackburn), John Morley, Viscount (b. Dec. 24, 1838, Blackburn, Eng.—d. Sept. 23, 1923, Wimbledon, London) English politician and historian. He worked as a journalist in London from 1860, mainly as editor of the liberal Fortnightly Review (1867-82). A supporter of William E. Gladstone, Morley served in the House of Commons (1883— 95, 1896-1908). As chief secretary for Ireland (1886, 1892-95), he helped prepare the Irish Home Rule bills. As secretary for India (1905-10), he brought elected Indian representation into the government. He also wrote acclaimed historical works, including biographies of Gladstone, Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Oliver Cromwell.
Morley, Thomas (b. 1557/58, Norwich, Norfolk, Eng.—d. October 1602, London) English composer, organist, and music theorist. He was educated at Oxford and studied with William Byrd. Though he composed a number of anthems and psalms, he is best known for his secular songs, including those published in the First Booke of Ayres (1600), and for the treatise A Plaine and Easie Introduction to Practicall Musick (1597). By editing and printing several anthologies of Italian music (often reworked), he was instrumental in bringing the Italian madrigal to England. He also edited The Triumphes of Oriana (published 1603), the most significant collection of English madrigals.
Mormon Member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or of a sect closely related to it (e.g., the Community of Christ). The Mormon religion was founded by Joseph Smith, who claimed to have received an angelic vision telling him of the location of golden plates containing God’s revelation; this he published in 1830 as the Book of Mormon. Smith and his followers accepted the Bible as well as the Mormon sacred scrip¬ tures but diverged significantly from orthodox Christianity, especially in their assertion that God exists in three distinct entities as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Mormons also believe that faithful members of the church will inherit eternal life as gods. Other unique doctrines include the belief in preexisting souls waiting to be born and in salvation of the dead through retroactive baptism. The church became notorious for its practice of polygamy, though it was officially sanctioned only between 1852 and 1890. Smith and his followers migrated from Palmyra, N.Y., to Ohio, Missouri, and finally Illinois, where Smith was killed by a mob in 1844. In 1846- 47, under Brigham Young, the Mormons made a 1,100-mi (1,800-km) trek to Utah, where they founded Salt Lake City. In the early 21st century, the church had a worldwide membership of nearly 10 million, swelled yearly by the missionary work that church members, both men and women, are encouraged to perform.
Mormon, Book of Holy scripture of the Mormons, supplemental to the Bible. First published in 1830, it is held by all branches of Mormon- ism to be a divinely inspired work translated by the founder of their reli¬ gion, Joseph Smith. It relates the history of a tribe of Hebrews who migrated
from Jerusalem to America c. 600 bc. They eventually split into two groups: the Lamanites, who were ancestors of the American Indians; and the Nephites, who were instructed by Jesus before being destroyed by the Lamanites. The prophet Mormon recorded their history on gold tablets, which were buried and remained hidden for centuries. Moroni, Mormon’s son, appeared to Smith in angelic form and revealed their location.
morning-glory family Family Convolvulaceae, composed of about 1,400 species of flowering plants in 50 genera, widely cultivated for their colourful, funnel-shaped flowers. Most are twining and erect herbaceous plants; a few are woody vines, trees, or shrubs. The family is widespread in both tropical and temperate areas. Most popular morning glories are of the genus Ipomoea, as is the sweet potato. Several species of bindweeds are agricultural pests. The seeds of two species, Rivea corymbosa and I. vio- lacea, contain hallucinogenic compounds of historical interest.
Morny \m6r-'ne\, Charles-Auguste-Louis-Joseph, duke de
(b. Oct. 21, 1811, Paris, France—d. March 10, 1865, Paris) French poli¬ tician. Half brother of Louis-Napoleon (later Napoleon III), Morny devoted himself to Parisian society and to making a fortune before serving in the Chamber of Deputies (1842-48, 1849). Appointed minister of the interior in 1851, he organized the plebiscite that made Louis-Napoleon dictator. As president of the legislature (1856-65), he tried unsuccessfully to per¬ suade Napoleon III to give France more liberty.
Moro Any member of several Muslim peoples living in the southern Philippines. The Moros, who constitute about 5% of the Philippine popu¬ lation, are not ethnically different from other Filipinos, but, with a sepa¬ rate Islamic faith and local cultures, they have been the object of prejudice and neglect. They have a centuries-long history of conflict with ruling powers: first with Roman Catholic Spanish colonialists (16th-19th cen¬ tury), later with U.S. occupation troops, and finally with the independent Philippine government. Although the Moro National Liberation Front— which espoused Moro separatism and led a violent insurgency in the late 1960s and ’70s—split into factions at the end of the 1970s, the insurgency continued. Provisions for the expansion of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, established in the late 1980s, were included in a 1996 treaty, but some separatists continue to hold out for complete indepen¬ dence.