Nelson, Willie (b. April 30, 1933, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.) U.S. coun¬ try music singer and songwriter. His grandfather taught him to play gui¬ tar, and by age 10 he was performing at local dances. After working as a disc jockey, in 1961 he moved to Nashville, Tenn., where he wrote hit songs for dozens of country, rhythm-and-blues, and pop singers; these songs include “Hello Walls,” “Night Life,” and “Crazy.” Returning to Texas, he released the hit album Red Headed Stranger (1975); it was fol¬ lowed by Wanted: The Outlaws, which outsold every country album that had preceded it, and Stardust (1978), with songs by Hoagy Carmichael and Irving Berlin. He has recorded with at least 75 other singers, including Waylon Jennings (b. 1937). In the 1980s he organized annual Farm Aid festivals to raise money for farmers. His later albums include the criti¬ cally acclaimed Teatro (1998).
Nelson River River, north-central Manitoba, Canada. Flowing out of northern Lake Winnipeg into Hudson Bay, it is 400 mi (644 km) long. It was discovered in 1612 by the English explorer Thomas Button, and a trading post of the Hudson's Bay Company was established there c. 1670. Fur traders used the river as an inland route. The Hudson Bay Railway now follows most of the river’s course.
Neman Vne-man\ River Lithuanian Nemunas \ , ne-mii- l nas\ Belaru¬ sian Nyoman River, central Europe. Rising in Belarus, south of Minsk, it flows west into Lithuania and between Lithuania and Kaliningrad prov¬ ince, Russia, to empty into the Baltic Sea. It is 582 mi (937 km) long and navigable for most of its length. It was known as the Memel River in the former eastern Prussia and as the Russ 22 mi (35 km) from its mouth. It was the scene of many battles between Russian and German forces in World War I.
Nemea, Battle of Vne-me-9\ (394 bc) Battle in the Corinthian War (395-387 bc). The conflict took place when a coalition of Greek city-states determined to destroy Sparta’s ascendancy after its victory in the Pelopon¬ nesian War. The outnumbered Spartans were victorious, crushing first the Athenians and then the Thebans, Corinthians, and Argives.
Nemerov \ , nem-ar-,6f\, Howard (b. March 1, 1920, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. July 5, 1991, University City, near St. Louis, Mo.) U.S. poet. He attended Harvard University and served as a pilot in World War II before teaching at various colleges, including Bennington. His verse, marked by irony and self-deprecatory wit, is often about nature; it appeal’s in several volumes beginning with The Image and the Law (1947) and including Collected Poems (1977, Pulitzer Prize, National Book Award). His fiction includes The Homecoming Game (1957) and A Commodity of Dreams and Other Stories (1960). He was poet laureate of the U.S. (1988-90). His sister Diane Arbus was a notable photographer.
Nemesis Vne-mo-sosN Greek goddess of retribution. In the earliest Greek religion she was worshiped as a fertility goddess. Later legends told how Zeus, in the form of a swan, coupled with her in the form of a goose. Nemesis then laid the egg from which Helen of Troy was born (in other versions Leda was said to be Helen’s mother). Nemesis dealt out punishments that expressed the gods’ disapproval of human presumption. Her cult was also popular in Rome, particularly among soldiers.
Nemi Vna-me\, Lake ancient Lacus Nemorensis Crater lake in the Alban Hills, southeast of Rome, Italy. Its area is about 0.67 sq mi (1.7 sq km), and it is 110 ft (34 m) deep. Nearby were a temple and grove sacred to the goddess Diana. Two ships dating from the reign of Caligula were raised from the lake bottom in the 1920s but were burned by the retreat¬ ing German army in 1944, toward the end of World War II.
Nen River formerly Nonni River River, northeastern China. It is the main tributary of the Sungari (Songhua) River. It rises on the eastern slopes of Da Hinggan Range in northern Heilongjiang province and flows south, forming part of the border between Heilongjiang and Jilin provinces and watering the fertile northern section of the Manchurian plain. It is about 740 mi (1,190 km) long and is an important route; much of it is navigable.
nene Vna-,na\ or Hawaiian goose Species {Branta sandvicensis ) of goose, the state bird of Hawaii. A close relative of the Canada goose, the
Nemanja, Stefan See Stefan Nemanja
nematode Vne-mo-.todN or roundworm Any of more than 15,000 named and many more unnamed species of worms in the class Nema- toda (phylum Aschelminthes).
Nematodes include plant and animal parasites and free-living forms found in soil, freshwater, saltwater, and even vinegar and beer malts. They are bilaterally symmetrical and usu¬ ally tapered at both ends. Some spe¬ cies have separate sexes; others are hermaphroditic. They range from microscopic to about 23 ft (7 m) long. Nematode parasites can occur
in almost any body organ but are JAVIER palaus soler-ostman agency _
most common in the digestive, cir¬ culatory, or respiratory system. Hookworms, pinworms, and eelworms are nematodes. See also filarial worm, guinea worm, trichina.
Nematode (Ascaris lumbricoides)
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© 2006 Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.
1342 I Nenni ► neodymium
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nene is a nonmigratory, nonaquatic species with shortened wings and half-webbed feet. It is about 25 in. (65 cm) long and has a gray-brown barred body and black face. It feeds on berries and grasses on high lava slopes. Predation by introduced mammals (including dogs, cats, pigs, and mongooses) and human hunting had reduced the population to a few small flocks by 1911. It has since been successfully bred in captivity, but flocks released in the wild have failed to form self-sustaining colonies.
Nenni, Pietro (Sandro) (b. Feb. 9, 1891, Faenza, Italy—d. Jan. 1, 1980, Rome) Italian politician. He joined the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) in 1921 and edited its newspaper, Avanti! (1922-26). After criticizing the Fas¬ cist Party and Benito Mussolini, he was arrested and fled to Paris (1926). In the Spanish Civil War, he cofounded the Garibaldi Brigade. He was impris¬ oned in Germany and Italy in World War II, then became leader of the PSI; he led the left wing in alliance with the Communist Party until 1956. In 1963 he allied the PSI with the Christian Democrats and served as vice pre¬ mier in three successive cabinets and as foreign minister (1968-69).
Neo-Confucianism In China, a rationalistic revival of Confucianism in the 11th century that influenced Chinese thought for 800 years. The movement sought to reestablish the supremacy of the Confucian heritage over the increasingly popular Buddhism and Daoism. Its two principal schools of thought were the Lixue (School of Principle), whose chief phi¬ losopher was Zhu Xi, and the Xinxue (School of Mind), represented by Lu Xiangshan and Wang Yangming. Neo-Confucianism was introduced into Japan by Zen Buddhists and became the guiding philosophy of the Tokugawa period (1603-1867), providing a heavenly sanction for the exist¬ ing social order. Its emphasis on classical literature led to renewed inter¬ est in the Japanese classics and a revival of Shinto studies.