O'Sullivan, Timothy H. (b. c. 1840, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. Jan. 14, 1882, Staten Island, N.Y.) U.S. photographer. He learned photogra-
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Oswald ► otter I 1423
phy in Mathew B. Brady’s studio in New York City, and during the Ameri¬ can Civil War he photographed on many fronts as one of Brady’s team. Perhaps his best-known picture is Harvest of Death (1863), showing Con¬ federate dead at Gettysburg. O’Sullivan left Brady’s employ over the issue of receiving proper credit for his work. After the war O’Sullivan often portrayed vast landscapes. He took part in surveys in Panama as well as in the western and southwestern U.S. and was appointed chief photogra¬ pher for the Treasury Department in 1880.
Oswald, Lee Harvey (b. Oct. 18, 1939, New Orleans, La., U.S.—d. Nov. 24, 1963, Dallas, Texas) Accused assassin of Pres. John F. Kennedy. While serving in the U.S. Marines (1956-59) he began to express pro- Soviet and politically radical views. Shortly after his discharge he moved to the Soviet Union, where he unsuccessfully tried to become a Soviet citizen. He returned to the U.S. in 1962 with his Russian wife and daugh¬ ter but retained his radical political beliefs. In April 1963 he allegedly shot at but missed Edwin Walker, an ultrarightist retired general. In Octo¬ ber he took a job at the Texas School Book Depository in Dallas. On Nov. 22, 1963, from a window on its sixth floor, he allegedly fired three shots that killed Kennedy and wounded Gov. John B. Connally while the two men were riding in the president’s motorcade. Oswald killed a patrolman who had detained him, but he was soon captured and arraigned. On November 24, while being transferred to an interrogation office, he was fatally shot by Jack Ruby, a nightclub owner.
other minds, problem of In epistemology, the problem of explain¬ ing how it is possible for one person to know anything about the quality of another person’s inner experience, or even that other people have inner experiences at all. According to a standard example, because each per¬ son’s pain sensation is private, one cannot really know that what another person describes as pain is really qualitatively the same as what one describes as pain oneself. Though the physical manifestations the other person exhibits can be perceived, it seems that only the other person can know the contents of his mind. The traditional justification for belief in other minds, the argument from analogy, was given its classic formula¬ tion by John Stuart Milclass="underline" because my body and outward behaviour are observably similar to the bodies and behaviour of others, I am justified by analogy in believing that others have feelings like my own and are not simply automatons. In the mid-20th century the argument from analogy was severely criticized by followers of the later Ludwig Wittgenstein. An approach to the problem of other minds from the perspective of existen¬ tialism is contained in Being and Nothingness (1943), by Jean-Paul Sartre.
Otis, Harrison Gray (b. Oct. 8, 1765, Boston, Mass.—d. Oct. 28, 1848, Boston, Mass., U.S.) U.S. politician. A nephew of James Otis, he practiced law and served in the Massachusetts legislature (1796-97, 1802-05), the U.S. House of Representatives (1797-1801), the state sen¬ ate (1805—13, 1814-17), and the U.S. Senate (1817-22). He was later mayor of Boston (1829-32). A Federalist, he opposed the War of 1812 and was a leader of the Hartford Convention.
Otis, James (b. Feb. 5,1725, West Barnstable, Mass.—d. May 23,1783, Andover, Mass., U.S.) American Revolutionary statesman. He argued before the colonial court against the British-imposed writs of assistance (1761), reportedly stating “Taxation without representation is tyranny.’’ He served in the provincial legislature (1761-69) and was a leading opponent, along with Samuel Adams, of the Stamp Act. He wrote political pamphlets upholding the colonists’ cause, including The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved (1764). Struck on the head in a scuffle with a British official in 1769, he later became mentally unbalanced.
otitis \o-'tI-t9s\ Inflammation of the ear. Otitis externa is dermatitis, usu¬ ally bacterial, of the auditory canal and sometimes the external ear. It can cause a foul discharge, pain, fever, and sporadic deafness. Otitis media is due to allergy or viral or bacterial infection of the middle ear. The bac¬ terial form may be acute (causing earache, fever, and pus and requiring antibiotics) or chronic. It can invade the bone (mastoiditis), requiring sur¬ gery. Otitis in the inner ear (labyrinthitis) often arises from respiratory infection, syphilis, or otitis media. Symptoms include vertigo, vomiting, and hearing loss. Recovery is usually quick unless there is pus formation, which can destroy the inner-ear structures, causing permanent deafness in that ear.
otolaryngology V.o-to-.lar-on-'ga-lo-jeV or otorhinolaryngology
X.o-to-.rl-no-.lar-on-'ga-lo-jeV Medical specialty dealing with the ear, nose, and throat (see larynx, pharynx). The connection of these structures became known in the late 19th century. Otolaryngologists use an otoscope to
examine the eardrum and a laryngoscope (developed in 1855) to inspect the larynx. They also test hearing and prescribe hearing aids. The oper¬ ating microscope (developed in 1921) and flexible endoscopy now permit them to operate on delicate internal structures.
Otomanguean \,o-t3-'maq-ga-3n\ languages Diverse family of more than 20 American Indian languages and language clusters concen¬ trated in central and southern Mexico, with more than a million speak¬ ers. Several of the language clusters, such as Otomf (dispersed through eastern central Mexico), Chinantecan, Mixtecan, and Zapotecan (all spo¬ ken in the state of Oaxaca), are highly differentiated and may be consid¬ ered language families in themselves. Otomanguean languages differ in many ways from other American Indian languages, for example, in the extensive use of tone.
Otomi V.o-to-'meN Mesoamerican Indian population living in the central plateau region of Mexico. Traditionally, they practice shifting cultivation and raise livestock. Their crafts include spinning, weaving, pottery, and basketry, and their dress varies from traditional to modem. Compadrazgo, Active kinship based on the relationship of godparent to godchild, is cen¬ tral to their society. Ritual obligations also bind a child’s parents and god¬ parents in a close relationship. They profess Roman Catholicism but identify the major saints with pre-Christian deities.
O'Toole, Peter (Seamus) (b. Aug. 2, 1932, Connemara, County Gal¬ way, Ire.) British actor. He studied drama at the Royal Academy of Dra¬ matic Art. He made his London debut in 1956 and played Hamlet in the National Theatre’s inaugural production in 1963. His film debut came in Kidnapped ( 1960), and he won international acclaim for Lawrence of Ara¬ bia (1962), for which he won a British Academy Award. Noted for his wit and intensity, he often played uncertain heroes or eccentrics, starring in films such as Becket (1964), The Lion in Winter (1968), The Ruling Class (1972), The Stunt Man (1980), My Favorite Year (1982), The Last Emperor (1987), and Phantoms (1998). His acting range extends from classical drama to contemporary farce. He received an Emmy Award for his perfor¬ mance as Bishop Cauchon in the television miniseries Joan of Arc (1999).
otorhinolaryngology See otolaryngology
ottava rima Xo-'ta-vo-'re-moV Italian stanza form composed of eight 11-syllable lines, rhyming abababcc. It originated in the late 13th and early 14th centuries and was established by Giovanni Boccaccio as the standard form for Italian epic and narrative verse. When the form appeared in English, the lines were shortened to 10 syllables. In the 17th—18th cen¬ tury, English ottava rima was written in iambic pentameter and used for heroic poetry. Notably effective in Lord Byron’s Beppo (1818) and Don Juan (1819-24), it was also used by Edmund Spenser, John Milton, John Keats, Percy B. Shelley, Robert Browning, and William Butler Yeats.