Negro leagues Associations of teams of black baseball players active largely between 1920 and the late 1940s. The principal leagues were the Negro National League, originally organized by Rube Foster in 1920, and the Negro American League, organized in 1937. The most noted teams included the Homestead (Pa.) Grays, who won nine pennants in the years 1937—45 and included the great hitters Cool Papa Bell, Buck Leonard, and Josh Gibson. In the mid 1930s the Pittsburgh Crawfords included Satchel
Paige and the clutch-hitter William Julius “Judy” Johnson. The Kansas City Monarchs, after winning four national championships, lost Jackie Robinson to the Brooklyn Dodgers; the breaking of the colour barrier in major and minor league baseball led to the Negro leagues’ decline.
Negro \'na-gro\ River or Guainia \gwI-'ne-3\ River River, north¬ western South America. A major tributary of the Amazon River, it rises in the rainforest of eastern Colombia, where it is known as the Guainia, and forms a section of the border between Colombia and Venezuela. It crosses Brazil and joins the Amazon at Manaus. It is about 1,400 mi (2,250 km) long and is a major transport artery. Its name comes from its jet-black colour, which is caused by the decomposition of organic matter and its low silt content.
Negro River River, central Uruguay. It rises in the southern highlands of Brazil. Flowing southwest across Uruguay, it is dammed at the Rincon del Bonete Reservoir, the largest artificial lake in South America, with an area of roughly 4,000 sq mi (10,400 sq km). The river joins the Uruguay River at Soriano. Although it is about 500 mi (800 km) long, it is navi¬ gable for only about 45 mi (70 km) upstream from its mouth.
Negroid See race
Negros Vna-gros\ Island (pop., 2000: 3,691,784) in the Visayan group, central Philippines. It is the fourth largest island of the archipelago and is shaped like a boot. The island is about 135 mi (217 km) long and has an area of 4,907 sq mi (12,710 sq km). It produces about half of all Phil¬ ippine sugar and is one of the wealthiest and most politically influential regions in the country. Bacolod, on the northwestern coast, is its largest city and an important sugar exporter.
Nehemiah V.ne-s-'mI-oV (fl. 5th century bc) Jewish leader who super¬ vised the rebuilding of Jerusalem. His story is told in the biblical book of Nehemiah. He was cupbearer to the Persian ruler Artaxerxes I soon after the end of the Babylonian Exile, when the Temple of Jerusalem had been rebuilt but the Jewish community was still weak and fragmented. Around 444 bc he was put in charge of Jerusalem’s reconstruction, and he orga¬ nized the rebuilding of the city walls. He also revived adherence to Mosaic law and forbade intermarriage with non-Jews. His work as a reformer was later continued by Ezra.
Nehru \'na-ru\, Jawaharlal (b. Nov. 14, 1889, Allahabad, India—d. May 27, 1964, New Delhi) First prime minister of independent India (1947-64). Son of the independence advocate Motilal Nehru (1861—
1931), Nehru was educated at home and in Britain and became a lawyer in 1912. More interested in politics than law, he was impressed by Mohandas K. Gandhi’s approach to Indian inde¬ pendence. His close association with the Indian National Congress began in 1919; in 1929 he became its presi¬ dent, presiding over the historic Lahore session that proclaimed com¬ plete independence (rather than dominion status) as India’s political goal. He was imprisoned nine times between 1921 and 1945 for his politi¬ cal activity. When India was granted limited self-government in 1935, the Congress Party under Nehru refused to form coalition governments with the Muslim League in some provinces; the hardening of relations between Hindus and Muslims that followed ultimately led to the partition of India and the creation of Pakistan. Shortly before Gandhi’s assassination in 1948, Nehru became the first prime minister of independent India. He attempted a foreign policy of nonalignment during the Cold War, drawing harsh criticism if he appeared to favour either camp. During his tenure, India clashed with Pakistan over the Kashmir region and with China over the Brahmaputra River valley. He wrested Goa from the Portuguese. Domestically, he promoted democracy, socialism, secularism, and unity, adapting modern values to Indian conditions. His daughter, Indira Gandhi, became prime minister two years after his death.
Nei Monggol See Inner Mongolia
Nefertiti, painted limestone bust, about 1350 bc; in the Egyptian Museum, Ber-
BILDARCHIV PREUSSISCHER KULTURBESITZ, AGYPTISCHES MUSEUM, STAATUCHE MUSEEN ZU BERUN-PREUSSISCHER KULTURBESITZ, BERLIN; PHOTOGRAPH, JURGEN LIEPE
Jawaharlal Nehru, photograph by Yousuf Karsh, 1956.
© KARSH-RAPHO/PHOTO RESEARCHERS
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Neilson ► nene I 1341
Neilson Vnel-ssnV James Beaumont (b. June 22,1792, Shettleston, Lanark, Scot.—d. Jan. 18, 1865, Queenshill, Kirkcudbright) Scottish inventor. Working at the Glasgow Gasworks (1817—47), he introduced the use of a hot-air blast for the smelting of iron ore. It had been believed that a blast of cold air was the most efficient smelting method (see William Fairbairn); Neilson demonstrated that the opposite was true, patenting his idea in 1828. Use of the hot blast tripled iron output per ton of coal, per¬ mitted iron to be recovered from lower-grade ores, and made possible the efficient use of raw coal and lower grades of coal instead of coke and the construction of larger smelting furnaces.
Neiman Marcus X.ne-mon-'mar-kosV U.S. department-store chain. It was founded in Dallas, Texas, in 1907 by Herbert Marcus, his sister Car¬ rie Marcus Neiman, and her husband, A.L. Neiman. From the beginning it featured unusual merchandise, particularly extravagant and outlandish gifts (including camels and Chinese junks) intended to appeal to the rich, in addition to a more standard selection for moderate-income customers. The company acquired luxury New York retailer Bergdorf Goodman in 1987. It also operates a mail-order business through catalogs.
Neith \'net\ Ancient Egyptian goddess, patroness of the city of Sais in the Nile River delta. Neith was worshiped in predynastic times (c. 3000 bc), and several queens of the 1 st dynasty were named after her. She also became an important goddess in the city of Memphis. She was usually depicted as a woman wearing a red crown, holding crossed arrows and a bow. She was the mother of Sebek and, later, of Re.
Nejd Vnezhd\ or Najd Vnazhd\ Region of central Saudi Arabia. Com¬ prising a rocky plateau sloping eastward from the mountains of the Hejaz, it is sparsely settled, except for a few fertile oases. In the mid-18th cen¬ tury it became the centre of the Wahhabi, members of a puritanical Islamic movement that by 1803 had expanded into Mecca. Nejd has been under the rule of the Sa c 0d dynasty almost continuously since 1824. It was united with the Hejaz and became the independent kingdom of Saudi Arabia in
Nelson, (John) Byron (b. Feb. 4, 1912, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.) U.S. golfer. “Lord Byron,” as he was known to the golf world, began his career as a caddie at the age of 12 and became a professional golfer in 1932. He won the U.S. Open (1939), the Masters (1937, 1942), and the PGA cham¬ pionship (1940, 1945), setting records in 1945 when he won 18 out of 30 tournaments, 11 in succession.
Nelson, Horatio Nelson, Viscount known as Lord Nelson (b.
Sept. 29, 1758, Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk, Eng.—d. Oct. 21, 1805, at sea, off Cape Trafalgar, Spain) British naval commander. He entered the navy in 1770 and served in the West Indies from 1777 to 1783. In 1793 he was sent to support the British allies against the French in the Mediterranean. After the British victory against the Spanish and French in the Battle of Cape St. Vincent (1797), he was promoted to rear admiral. In 1798 he pursued Napoleon’s fleet to Egypt, where he won the decisive Battle of the Nile. During a prolonged stay in Naples for his ships’ repairs, he pur¬ sued a love affair with Emma, Lady Hamilton. For helping restore the Neapolitan king Ferdinand I to power (1799), he was created duke di Bronte. As second in command of an expedition to attack Denmark, he skillfully won the Battle of Copenhagen (1801) and was appointed com¬ mander in chief of the navy. In 1805 he was sent to the Mediterranean to meet the threat posed by the French fleet in Napoleon’s scheme to invade England. In the ensuing Battle of Trafalgar, Nelson, aboard his flagship Victory, was shot by a French sniper from the Redoutable and died just as the British fleet secured its victory. His death was widely mourned, and he became England’s most popular hero. His brilliant tactical command assured British naval supremacy for over 100 years.