nel. After the war he resumed his law practice, and he later served as U.S. consul to Hong Kong (1878-85) and as assistant attorney in the U.S. Jus¬ tice Department (1904-10).
Mosca Vmo-skaV Gaetano (b. April 1, 1958, Palermo, Sicily, King¬ dom of the Two Sicilies—d. Nov. 8, 1941, Rome, Italy) Italian political theorist. Educated at the University of Palermo, he taught constitutional law there (1885-88) and at the Universities of Rome (1888-96) and Turin (1896-1908). A member of the Italian chamber of deputies from 1908, he was made senator for life by Victor Emmanuel III in 1919. In works such as The Ruling Class (1896) he argued that, historically and properly, soci¬ ety has been governed by minorities, whether military, religious, oligar¬ chic, or aristocratic.
Mosconi, Willie in full William Joseph Mosconi (b. June 27, 1913, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.—d. Sept. 16, 1993, Haddon Heights, N.J.) U.S. pocket billiards player. The son of a billiards parlor owner, Mosconi began playing professionally in the early 1930s. Known for his accurate rapid-fire shooting, he was world champion 15 times between 1941 and 1957 and once had a run of 526 consecutive balls.
Moscow Vmas-ko, 'mas-kau\ Russian Moskva \mas-'kva\ Capital and largest city (pop., 2001 est.: 8,546,000) of Russia. It is located on both sides of the Moskva River in western Russia, about 400 mi (640 km) southeast of St. Petersburg and about 600 mi (970 km) east of Poland. Inhabited since Neolithic times, the site was first mentioned as a village in 1147 and became the capital of the principality of Moscow (Muscovy) in the late 13th century. It expanded in the 15th and 16th centuries under its grand dukes Ivan III and Ivan IV and became the capital of a united Russia (1547- 1712). In 1812 it was occupied by the French under Napoleon and was almost entirely destroyed by fire. In 1918 it became the capital of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and expanded greatly. It suffered much damage from German bombing in World War II. In 1993 it was the scene of armed conflict between opposing government factions after the dissolution of par¬ liament by Boris Yeltsin. The spiritual home of the Russian Orthodox church for more than 600 years, it is a political, industrial, transportation, and cul¬ tural centre. Its most notable structure is the Kremlin, a medieval fortress on the Moskva with Red Square along its eastern wall. The Lenin Mausoleum is nearby, and St. Basil’s Cathedral is at the southern end of the square. Moscow is also home to the Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow State University, and many other institutions of higher education.
Moscow Art Theatre Russian theatre specializing in theatrical natu¬ ralism. It was founded in 1898 by Konstantin Stanislavsky (as artistic director) and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko (administrative director) with the goal of replacing old-fashioned histrionic acting and heavy- handed staging with a simpler and truer style. It opened with Aleksey Tol¬ stoy’s Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich and won its first major success with Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull. Along with other plays by Chekhov, the theatre mounted new works by writers such as Maksim Gorky and Maurice Maeter¬ linck. Its company received acclaim on European and U.S. tours in 1922 and influenced later theatrical development worldwide. Since 1939 it has been known as the Moscow Academic Art Theatre.
Moscow River See Moskva River
Moscow school School of late medieval Russian icon and mural painting. It succeeded the Novgorod school as the dominant school of painting when Moscow rose to a leading position in the movement to expel the Mongols. The school flow¬ ered first under the influence of the painter Theophanes the Greek (c.
1330/40-1405), who moved to Mos¬ cow from Novgorod c. 1400 and introduced complexity of composi¬ tion, subtle colour, and almost impressionistic rendering of figures.
His most distinguished successor was Andrei Rublev. From 1430 to the end of the century, Moscow grew in prestige and sophistication as the Mongols were driven out of Russia.
When Constantinople fell to the Turks in 1453, Moscow became the
"The Savior," icon painted on panel by Andrei Rublev, Moscow school, 1411 ; in the State Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow. NOVOSTI-SOVFOTO
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Moscow State University ► mosquito I 1299
centre of Eastern Orthodoxy, and the new prestige of the Russian Ortho¬ dox church led to a new didactic iconography that expounded mysteries, rites, and dogma. By the 17th century the Stroganov school of Moscow artists assumed the leadership of Russian art.
Moscow State University in full Lomonosov Moscow State University Government-operated university in Moscow, Russia. Founded in 1755 by the linguist Mikhail Lomonosov with support from Elizabeth, empress of Russia, it is the oldest, largest, and most prestigious university in Russia. By the late 19th century it had established itself as a major centre of scientific research and scholarship. Moscow State Uni¬ versity supports more than 350 departments, a number of research insti¬ tutes and laboratories, several observatories, and various affiliated museums. Its library ranks among the largest in Russia (9 million vol¬ umes).
Moselle River or Mosel River \mo-'zel,\ German Ymo-zaH River, western Europe, about 340 mi (545 km) long. Rising in northeastern France, it flows north, forming part of the border between Germany and Luxembourg, then northeast into the Rhine River at Koblenz, Ger. In this part of the valley are the vineyards that produce the famous Moselle wines. The river, which is navigable for most of its course, passes Nancy, Metz, and Thionville in France and Trier in Germany. Among its chief tributaries are the Orne and the Saar.
Moser-Proll Vmo-zor-'proA, Annemarie orig. Annemarie Proll
(b. March 27, 1953, Kleinarl, Austria) Austrian downhill skier. She began skiing at age 4. She won downhill and slalom silver medals in the 1972 Winter Olympics and a downhill gold medal in 1980. She holds the all- time record of six women’s World Cup championships, including five in succession (1971-75). She established a career record for both men and women in individual World Cup races won (59).
Moses (fl. 14th—13th century bc) Prophet of Judaism. According to the Book of Exodus, he was bom in Egypt to Hebrew parents, who set him afloat on the Nile in a reed basket to save him from an edict calling for the death of all newborn Hebrew males. Found by the pharaoh’s daugh¬ ter, he was reared in the Egyptian court. After killing a brutal Egyptian taskmaster, he fled to Midian, where Yahweh (God) revealed himself in a burning bush and called Moses to deliver the Israelites from Egypt. With the help of his brother Aaron, Moses pleaded with the pharaoh for the Israelites’ release. The pharaoh let them go after Yahweh had visited a series of plagues on Egypt, but then sent his army after them. Yahweh parted the waters of the Red Sea to allow the Israelites to pass, then drowned the pursuing Egyptians. Yahweh made a covenant with the Isra¬ elites at Mount Sinai and delivered the Ten Commandments to Moses, who continued to lead his people through 40 years of wandering in the wil¬ derness until they reached the edge of Canaan. He died before he could enter the Promised Land. Authorship of the first five books of the Bible (see Torah) is traditionally ascribed to him.
Moses, Edwin (b. Aug. 31, 1955, Dayton, Ohio, U.S.) U.S. track-and- field athlete. He went to Morehouse College on an academic scholarship but starred in track. He won the gold medal for the 400-m hurdle in the 1976 and 1984 Olympics and set four successive world records in the event between 1976 and 1983.
Moses, Grandma orig. Anna Mary Robertson (b. Sept. 7,1860, Greenwich, N.Y., U.S.—d. Dec. 13, 1961, Hoosick Falls, N.Y.) U.S. painter. She began to produce embroidery pictures after her husband died in 1927. When arthritis impaired her embroidering, she turned to paint¬ ing. She had her first exhibition in a drugstore in 1938 at age 78. She went on to produce more than 1,000 nostalgic, naively executed scenes of turn-of-the-century rural life (e.g., Catching the Thanksgiving Turkey, Over the River to Grandma’s House). By 1939 her pictures were being exhibited internationally, and from 1946 they were regularly reproduced on holiday greeting cards.