Murnau Vmur- 1 nau\, F.W. orig. Friedrich Wilhelm Plumpe (b.
Dec. 28, 1889, Bielefeld, Ger.—d. March 11, 1931, Hollywood, Calif., U.S.) German film director. After studying at the University of Heidel¬ berg, he became a protege of Max Reinhardt in Berlin. During World War I he served as a combat pilot and made propaganda films. He directed his first feature in 1919 and won international acclaim for Nosferatu (1922), which is regarded by many as the most effective screen adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and The Last Laugh (1924). In 1927 he moved to Hol¬ lywood, where he made films such as Sunrise (1927), his masterpiece, and Tabu (1931; with Robert Flaherty). Murnau’s films revolutionized the art of cinematic expression by using the camera subjectively to interpret the emotional state of a character.
Muromachi period In Japanese history, period of military govern¬ ment (bakufu, or shogunate) from the 14th to the 16th century. The bakufu was established in 1338 by the samurai (warrior) Ashikaga Takauji. Although the bakufu lasted in name until 1573, when the last of the Ash¬ ikaga shoguns was deposed, the Ashikaga in fact lost control of Japan during the Onin War (1467-77). The Muromachi period was, despite considerable turbulence and unrest, a time of great cultural growth, dur¬ ing which Zen Buddhism, no theatre and other literary forms, and sumi-e (Chinese-style ink painting) flourished. See also Ashikaga family; daimyo; Kano school.
Murphy, Audie (Leon) (b. June 20, 1924, near Kingston, Texas, U.S.—d. May 28, 1971, near Roanoke, Va.) U.S. war hero and actor. Enlisting in the army in 1942, he became the most decorated U.S. soldier of World War II. He killed hundreds of Germans, and he once jumped onto a burning tank destroyer to turn its machine gun on enemy troops. In 1945 he received the Congressional Medal of Honor. On the strength of his heroic status, he became a movie actor after the war, starring in films such as The Red Badge of Courage (1951), To Hell and Back (1955), and The Quiet American (1958). He died when his private plane crashed. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honours.
Murphy, Frank orig. William 1890, Harbor Beach, Mich.,
U.S.—d. July 19, 1949, Detroit,
Mich.) U.S. Supreme Court justice (1940-49). After serving in World War I, he held several elective posts, including mayor of Detroit (1930—
33). He was governor-general (1933—35) and U.S. high commis¬ sioner (1935-36) of the Philippines.
Elected governor of Michigan (1937-38), he refused to use troops to break sit-down strikes by automo¬ bile workers. As U.S. attorney gen¬ eral (1939-40), he established the Justice Department’s civil rights unit. Appointed to the Supreme Court of the United States by Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt, he strongly defended civil rights and dissented in a case upholding the internment of Japa¬ nese Americans during World War II.
Murphy, Isaac Burns (b. 1861, Fayette county, Ky., U.S.—d. Feb. 12, 1896, Louisville, Ky.) U.S. jockey. He was one of the first jockeys to pace his mount for a charge down the homestretch—a technique soon described as the “grandstand finish.” He was the first three-time winner of the Kentucky Derby (1884, 1890, and 1891), and his career winning percentage of 34.5 has never been equaled. At his peak in the late 1880s, he became the highest-paid athlete in America, earning close to $20,000 a year. He was the first jockey elected to the National Museum of Rac¬ ing’s Hall of Fame and one of only two African Americans inducted.
Murray, George Redmayne (b. June 20, 1865, Newcastle-upon- Tyne, Northumberland, Eng.—d. Sept. 21, 1939, Mobberley, Cheshire) British physician. After receiving his M.D. from the University of Cam¬ bridge, he became a pioneer in the treatment of endocrine disorders. He was one of the first to use extracts of animal thyroid glands to relieve a form of hypothyroidism.
Murray, Sir James (Augustus Henry) (b. Feb. 7, 1837, Denholm, Roxburghshire, Scot.—d. July 26, 1915, Oxford, Oxfordshire, Eng.) Scot¬ tish lexicographer. He taught in a grammar school (1855-85). His Dia¬ lect of the Southern Counties of Scotland (1873) and a major article on English for Encyclopcedia Britannica (1878) established him as a leading philologist. He was hired by the Philological Society as editor of the vast New English Dictionary on Historical Principles, later called the Oxford Engush Dictionary, in 1879, and he applied himself to the work with leg¬ endary energy and resourcefulness. The first volume appeared in 1884, and by his death he had completed about half the dictionary.
Murray, Philip (b. May 25, 1886, Blantyre, Lanark, Scot.—d. Nov. 9, 1952, San Francisco, Calif., U.S.) Scottish-born U.S. labour leader. After immigrating to the U.S. in 1902, he became a coal miner in Pennsylva¬ nia. He joined the United Mine Workers of America and rose through the ranks to serve as vice president (1920-42) under John L. Lewis. When Lewis became president of the newly formed Congress of Industrial Orga¬ nizations (CIO) in 1936, he delegated Murray to create an industry-wide steelworkers’ union (see United Steelworkers of America). Murray suc¬ ceeded Lewis as CIO president in 1940 and held the post until his death. See also AFL-CIO.
Murray River Principal river of Australia. Rising near Mount Kosciusko, in southeastern New South Wales, it flows across southeastern Australia from the Snowy Mountains to the Great Australian Bight of the Indian Ocean; it is 1,610 mi (2,590 km) long. It forms the boundary
Francis Murphy (b. April 13,
Frank Murphy
COURTESY OF THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, WASHINGTON, D.C.
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
murre ► Muscle Shoals I 1313
between Victoria and New South Wales and then turns south and flows into Encounter Bay through Lake Alexandria. River shipping was impor¬ tant in the 19th century, but navigation practically ceased with growing competition from railways and the demand for irrigation water. The river valley is of great economic importance, fostering the production of grains, fruit, and wine, and the raising of cattle and sheep.
murre Vm9r\ Any of certain black-and-white seabirds (genus Uria, fam¬ ily Alcidae) that are about 16 in. (40 cm) long and breed from the Arctic Circle to Nova Scotia, California,
Portugal, and Korea. Murres nest in vast numbers on sheer cliffs. When half grown, the single chick enters the sea with its parents to escape gulls and skuas. In autumn the birds swim south. See also guillemot.
Murrow, Edward (Egbert)
R(oscoe) (b. April 25, 1908,
Greensboro, N.C., U.S.—d. April 27,
1965, Pawling, N.Y.) U.S. radio and television broadcaster. Murrow joined CBS in 1935 and two years later became head of its European Bureau. He became famous for his eyewitness reports of World War II events such as the German occupation of Austria. After the war, with Fred Friendly, he produced Hear It Now, an authoritative radio news digest, and for television the comparable See It Now. He also produced Person to Person and other television programs. In the 1950s he was an influential force for the free dissemination of information, producing a notable expose of the tactics of Sen. Joseph McCarthy that contributed to the demise of McCarthyism.
Murrumbidgee V.mo-rom-'bi-jeV River River, southeastern New South Wales, Australia. The major right-bank tributary of the Murray River, it flows west from the Great Dividing Range near Canberra to join the Mur¬ ray 140 mi (225 km) from the Victoria border; it is about 1,050 mi (1,690 km) long. The Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area involves more than 1,000 sq mi (2,600 sq km) of farmland and supports livestock pastures and the cultivation of grapes, citrus fruits, wheat, cotton, and rice.