Norfolk Island Island territory of Australia, southern Pacific Ocean. Located midway between New Caledonia and New Zealand, the island has an area of 13 sq mi (35 sq km). Discovered by Capt. James Cook in 1774, it became a British penal colony (1788-1814, 1825-55). The popu¬ lation of Pitcairn Island was moved here in 1856, and many residents of Norfolk Island are descended from crew members of HMS Bounty. Of volcanic origin, it has generally rugged terrain with abundant Norfolk Island pine. The major industry is tourism.
Norfolk Island pine Evergreen timber and ornamental conifer ( Arau¬ caria excelsa, or A. heterophylla ) of the family Araucariaceae, native to Norfolk Island in the South Pacific Ocean. In nature this pine grows to a height of 200 ft (60 m), with a trunk sometimes reaching 10 ft (3 m) in diameter. The wood of large trees is used in construction, furniture, and shipbuilding. The sapling stage is grown worldwide as a houseplant and as an outdoor ornamental in regions with a Mediterranean cli¬ mate. The monkey puzzle tree is a rela¬ tive.
Noricum Ancient kingdom and Roman province, west-central Europe. It was located roughly south of the Danube River and north of mod¬ ern Italy. Originally controlled by a Celtic confederacy, it was annexed by Augustus c. 15 bc. Its rich iron and gold mines were worked by the Romans. Latin inscriptions on coins indicate a Romanized culture.
Emperor Claudius enhanced the significance of several of Noricum’s towns and recruited soldiers from the area for the Praetorian Guard c. ad 50. The Franks settled there by the end of the 5th century ad.
Noriega \,n6r-e-'a-g3\ (Morena), Manuel (Antonio) (b. Feb. 11, 1938, Panama City, Pan.) Panamanian general who was the actual power behind a civilian president. Born into a poor family, he attended military school in Peru and joined Panama’s National Guard on his return. As chief of military intelligence in the 1970s, he cooperated with the Central Intel¬ ligence Agency and negotiated the release of U.S. freighter crews held by Cuba, but he was tainted by persistent reports of drug trafficking and bru¬ tality. In 1989, as head of the armed forces, he canceled election results that displeased him. The U.S. government then invaded Panama, prima¬ rily to capture Noriega. He was brought to trial in the U.S., convicted of racketeering, drug trafficking, and money laundering, and sentenced to 40 years in prison. His jail term was later reduced.
normal distribution In statistics, a frequency distribution in the shape of the classic bell curve. It accurately represents most variations in such attributes as height and weight. Any random variable with a normal dis¬ tribution has a mean (see mean, median, and mode) and a standard devia¬ tion that indicates how much the data as a whole deviate from the mean. The standard deviation is smaller for data clustered closely around the mean value and larger for more dispersed data sets.
Norman Any of the Vikings, or Norsemen, who settled in northern France (or the Frankish kingdom) and their descendants. As pagan pirates from Denmark, Norway, and Iceland, they raided the European coast in the 8th century. They settled in the lower Seine valley by c. 900. In 911 they were granted territory around what is now Rouen by King Charles III and then extended their territory westward. They founded the duchy of Normandy, governed by a line of rulers who called themselves counts or dukes of Nor¬ mandy. Though the Normans converted to Christianity and adopted the French language, they continued to display their Viking ancestors’ reck¬ lessness and appetite for conquest. In the 11th century they seized England in the Norman Conquest and colonized southern Italy and Sicily. The Nor¬
mans also participated in the reconquest of Spain and in the Crusades, and the Normans of Italy and Sicily were rivals of the Byzantine emperors.
Norman, Greg(ory John) (b. Feb. 10, 1955, Mount Isa, Queen., Austl.) Australian golfer. After losing the 1984 U.S. Open in an 18-hole playoff, he won the British Open in 1986 and repeated that victory in 1993. Nicknamed “the Great White Shark” for his light blond hair and his aggressive style, he had compiled 78 career individual victories by 1998. Though he was one of the top PGA career money winners, victory in the most prestigious tournaments often eluded him—he lost the Masters Tour¬ nament by one stroke in 1986 and 1987 and has been the runner-up in eight major tournaments. His gracious attitude after his loss to Nick Faldo in the 1996 Masters won him a large number of fans.
Norman, Jessye (b. Sept. 15, 1945, Augusta, Ga., U.S.) U.S. soprano. She won the Munich International Music Competition in 1968 and debuted in Berlin as Elisabeth in Tannhduser (1969). She appeared at La Scala, Milan, in 1972 and made recital debuts in London and New York City the next year. Having garnered extraordinary praise for years, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Les Troyens in 1983, confirming her reputation as perhaps the greatest soprano of her generation. An imposing stage presence with a vibrant and flexible voice, her operatic and concert repertoire encompasses an exceptionally wide range.
Norman Conquest (1066) Military conquest of England by William, duke of Normandy (later William I), mainly through his victory over Harold II at the Battle of Hastings. Edward the Confessor had designated William as his successor in 1051. When Harold, duke of Wessex, was crowned king of England in 1066 instead, William assembled an invasion force of 5,000 knights. After defeating Harold’s army near Hastings on October 14 and advancing to London, he was crowned king in Westmin¬ ster Abbey on Christmas Day, 1066. Native revolts continued until 1071, notably in Northumbria. The Norman Conquest brought great social and political changes to England, linking the country more closely with west¬ ern Europe and replacing the old English aristocracy with a Norman aris¬ tocracy. The English language was subjected to a long period of influence by Anglo-French, which remained in literary and courtly use until the reign of Edward III and in legal reporting until the 17th century.
Normandy French Normandie \nor-ma n -'de\ Historic and cultural region, northwestern France. The capital was Rouen. It has been inhabited since Paleolithic times. Its Celtic population was conquered by the Romans c. 56 bc, when it became part of the province of Lugdunensis. Invaded by Vikings in the 8th century ad, it was ceded to their chief, Rollo, in 911 by Charles III (the Simple) of France. The Vikings became known as Nor¬ mans, hence the region’s name. William, duke of Normandy, united Nor¬ mandy and England (Norman Conquest, 1066) and became William I (the Conqueror) of England. Normandy became a province of France in 1450 and was divided into several departments after the French Revolution. It was the site of the World War II Allied invasion of German-occupied France in 1944 (see Normandy Campaign). The region has retained its rural character despite the growth of towns along the lower Seine valley.
Normandy Campaign Allied invasion of northern Europe in World War II that began on June 6, 1944, with the largest amphibious landing in history in Normandy, France. Also called Operation Overlord, the land¬ ing transported 156,000 U.S., British, and Canadian troops across the English Channel in over 5,000 ships and 10,000 planes. Commanded by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Allied forces landed at five beaches on the Normandy coast and soon established lodgement areas, despite stiff Ger¬ man resistance and heavy losses at the code-named Omaha Beach and Juno Beach. Allied air supremacy prevented rapid German reinforce¬ ments, and discord between Adolf Hitler and his generals stalled crucial counterattacks. Though delayed by heavy fighting near Cherbourg and around Caen, the Allied ground troops broke out of the beachheads in mid-July and began a rapid advance across northern France. The Nor¬ mandy Campaign is traditionally considered to have concluded with the liberation of Paris on Aug. 25, 1944.