motorcycle Bicycle or tricycle propelled by an internal combustion engine. The first motor tricycle was built in 1884 in England, and the first gasoline-engine motorcycle was built by Gottlieb Daimler in 1885. Motor¬ cycles were widely used after 1910, especially by the armed forces in World War I. After 1950 a larger, heavier motorcycle was used mainly for touring and sport competitions. The moped, a light, low-speed motor bicycle that can also be pedaled, was developed mainly in Europe, and the sturdier Italian-made motor scooter also became popular for its economy.
motorcycle racing Sport of running motorcycles on tracks, closed circuits, or natural terrain. The main types are (1) road racing, conducted on a course made up wholly or partly of public roads; (2) trials, conducted both on and off the highway; (3) speedway racing, conducted on a short, flat, oval dirt track; (4) drag racing, conducted on a straight quarter-mile strip of pavement; (5) hill climbs, conducted on a large dirt mound; and (6) motocross. The first international road race took place in Douran, France, in 1905. The most famous race is the Tourist Trophy, established on Britain’s Isle of Man in 1907. Motorcycle racing in North America began in 1903; since 1937 the Daytona 200-mi (320-km) race has been the leading U.S. race.
Motorola, Inc. U.S. manufacturer of wireless communications, elec¬ tronic systems, and semiconductors. The company was founded in 1928 in Chicago by brothers Paul and Joseph Galvin as the Galvin Manufac¬ turing Corp. In 1930 Galvin introduced a low-cost automobile radio under the brand name Motorola, later adding Motorola police radios, home radios, phonographs, two-way radios, and television sets. The company changed its name to Motorola in 1947. Foreseeing a future demand for transistors, Motorola became a leading manufacturer of them in 1958, after licensing a transistor design from Bell Laboratories. Transistor technology led to the development of microprocessors, which Motorola marketed to computer makers in 1974. Although the company worked with IBM Corp. and Apple Computer in 1993 to develop the first con¬ sumer RISC (reduced-instruction-set computing) chip, Motorola realized greater success as a producer of embedded microprocessors—ubiquitous in kitchen appliances, pagers, video games, and handheld personal computers. Motorola was also a leader in the development of cellular telephone systems, and many of its cell phone designs became status symbols.
Motown U.S. recording company that gave its name to the hugely popular style of soul music that it created in the 1960s. It was founded in Detroit, Mich., in 1959 by the songwriter Berry Gordy, Jr. (b. 1929). (Motown, a contraction of “Motor Town,” refers to Detroit’s automotive industry.) It scored its first nationwide hits with “Shop Around” (1960) by the Miracles (see Smokey Robinson) and “Please Mr. Postman” (1961) by the Marvelettes. Its roster soon included the Temptations, the Four Tops, the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, and Stevie Wonder. The songwriting team Holland-Dozier-Holland (see Brian and Eddie Holland) helped create the “Motown sound,” which typically featured lyrical ballads sung to an infectiously rhythmic accompaniment. Motown became one of the most successful black-owned businesses and one of the most influential inde¬ pendent record companies in U.S. history. Later Motown names included the Isley Brothers, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and, in 1969, the Jackson 5 (see Michael Jackson). Motown continued to produce best-selling recordings by new artists such as Lionel Richie into the 1980s. Gordy moved the company headquarters to Los Angeles in 1971, and he finally sold the label to MCA in 1988.
Mott, Lucretia orig. Lucretia Coffin (b. Jan. 3, 1793, Nantucket, Mass., U.S.—d. Nov. 11, 1880, near Abington, Pa.) U.S. social reformer and women’s rights advocate. She attended a Quaker boarding school near
Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where she later taught. In 1811 she married a fellow teacher, James Mott, and she became an official Quaker minister in 1821. The Motts were active in the antislavery campaign, and Lucretia lectured widely on social reform. In 1848 she and Elizabeth Cady Stanton orga¬ nized the Seneca Falls Convention, and she thereafter devoted her atten¬ tion primarily to women’s rights, writing articles and lecturing widely. After the American Civil War, she also worked for voting rights for freed- men. See also abolitionism; woman suffrage.
Moultrie Ymiil-tre, 'mol-treV William (b. Dec. 4, 1730, Charleston, S.C.—d. Sept. 27, 1805, Charleston, S.C., U.S.) American Revolutionary officer. He served in the provincial assembly of South Carolina (1752-62) and gained military experience fighting the Cherokee. In the American Revolution he took command of a log fort on Sullivan’s Island in Charles¬ ton harbour, where he repulsed a British attack in 1776. The fort was named in his honour, and he was made a brigadier general. He fought the British at Beaufort, S.C. (1779), but surrendered with the fall of Charles¬ ton (1780). He later served as governor of South Carolina (1785-87,
1792-94).
Mound Builders See Hopewell culture
Mount, William Sidney (b. Nov. 26, 1807, Setauket, N.Y., U.S.—d. Nov. 19, 1868, Setauket) U.S. painter. He was apprenticed at 17 to his older brother as a sign painter. After studying drawing at the National Academy of Design, he painted historical subjects, but he later turned to genre painting and achieved immediate success with such works as Rus¬ tic Dance After a Sleigh Ride (1830). His portrayals of country life, affec¬ tionate and humorous without being sentimental, are a valuable record of his time. He was one of the first and most notable U.S. genre painters.
Mount Aspiring National Park Park, western South Island, New Zealand. Established in 1964, it has an area of 1,223 sq mi (3,167 sq km), including much of the Southern Alps and Mount Aspiring (9,932 ft [3,027 m]). Its southern boundary is Fiordland National Park. The park’s land¬ scape is varied, including glaciers, mountains, gorges, waterfalls, and passes, and it is the source of headwaters of seven major rivers. Birds common in the park include the tui, bellbird, fantail, and gray warbler. It is part of a regional UNESCO World Heritage site designated in 1990.
Mount Cook National Park Park, west-central South Island, New Zealand. Established in 1953, it has an area of 270 sq mi (700 sq km) and shares a western boundary with Westland National Park. It extends along the crest of the Southern Alps. There are some 27 peaks higher than 10,000 ft (3,000 m) in the park, including Mount Cook (Aoraki, Aorangi), the highest point in New Zealand at 12,316 ft (3,754 m). More than one-third of the park is covered by permanent snow and glacial ice. It is part of a regional UNESCO World Heritage site designated in 1990.
Mount Holyoke College Private liberal arts college for women in South Hadley, Mass. Founded by Mary Lyon as a female seminary in 1837, it was one of the first institutions of higher education for women in the U.S. Baccalaureate courses are taught in the humanities, science and mathematics, and social sciences. Mount Holyoke is part of an edu¬ cational consortium with Amherst, Hampshire, and Smith colleges and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
Mount of Olives See Mount of Olives
Mount Rushmore National Memorial Colossal sculpture, Black Hills, southwestern South Dakota, U.S. Sculptures of the heads of presi¬ dents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln are carved on the granite face of the mountain, which is 5,725 ft (1,745 m) high. The four heads, each about 60 ft (18 m) high, represent, respectively, the nation’s independence, democratic process, leadership in world affairs, and equality. The memorial was dedicated in 1927. Work on it was carried out during 1927—41 under the direction of Gutzon Borglum.