Otway, Thomas (b. March 3, 1652, Trotton, near Midhurst, Sussex, Eng.—d. April 14, 1685, London) English dramatist and poet. A failed actor, he turned to writing and had immense success with Don Carlos (produced 1676), considered the best of his rhymed heroic plays. His other plays include The Orphan (1680), a blank-verse domestic tragedy; The Souldier’s Fortune (1680), a comedy; and his masterpiece, Venice Preserv’d (1682), one of the greatest theatrical successes of the period. A forerunner of sentimental drama, he is outstanding for his convincing presentations of human emotions in an age of heroic but artificial trag¬ edies. The Poet’s Complaint of His Muse (1680) is a powerful, gloomy autobiographical poem.
Ouachita Vwa-sho-.toX River formerly Washita River River, south¬ western Arkansas and eastern Louisiana, U.S. Rising in the Ouachita Mountains, it flows southeast to join the Red River after a course of 605 mi (973 km). Its lower reaches are known as the Black River. It has been a navigation route since the late 18th century; six locks and dams had been built on it by 1924.
Ouagadougou X.wa-ga-'dii-giA City (pop., 1993 est.: 690,000), capi¬ tal of Burkina Faso, western Africa. It was the capital of the historic Mossi kingdom of Wagadugu, which was founded in the 15th century. The Mossi king still lives in the city, though his powers have been eclipsed by the French colonial and postindependence administrations. A manufacturing
River otter (Lutra canadensis).
KENNETH W. FINK-ROOT RESOURCES
Otto, Nikolaus August (b. June Jan. 26, 1891, Cologne, Ger.) Ger¬ man engineer who developed the four-stroke internal-combustion engine. He built his first gasoline- powered engine in 1861, and in 1876 he built an internal-combustion engine using the four-stroke cycle (four strokes of the piston for each explosion), which offered the first practical alternative to the steam engine as a power source. Though the four-stroke cycle was patented in 1862 by Alphonse Beau de Rochas (1815—93), it is commonly known as the Otto cycle since Otto was the first to build such an engine.
Otto, Rudolf (b. Sept. 25. 1869. Peine, Prussia—d. March 6, 1937, Marburg, Ger.) German theologian, philosopher, and historian of reli¬ gion. He taught at the Universities of Gottingen and Breslau, then settled in Marburg in 1917. His theories on
10, 1832, Holzhausen, Nassau—d.
Rudolf Otto, 1925.
FOTO-JANNASCH, MARBURG
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Oudh ► over-the-counter market I 1425
centre, it is the country’s largest city and is connected by rail to Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. A biennial film festival, the largest in Africa, is held in the city.
Oudh \'aud\ Former province of British India. Now the northeastern portion of Uttar Pradesh state, it received its name from Ayodhya, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kosala, which was nearly coextensive with modem Oudh. It was taken by Muslim invaders in the 12th century, became part of the Mughal Empire in the 16th century, and was annexed by the British in 1856. In 1877 it was joined with Agra to form the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. After India’s independence in 1947 it became part of Uttar Pradesh.
Oudry \ii-'dre\, Jean-Baptiste (b. March 17, 1686, Paris, France—d. April 30, 1755, Beauvais) French Rococo painter, tapestry designer, and illustrator. Like his paintings, Oudry’s tapestries were highly regarded for their tonal subtlety and lively study of nature. His services were sought by Peter I the Great of Russia, the queen of Sweden, and Louis XV, who commissioned him to paint portraits of his dogs and appointed him offi¬ cial painter of the royal hunts.
Ouida \'we-do\ orig. Maria Louise Rame or Maria Louise de la Ramee (b. Jan. 1, 1839, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, Eng.—d. Jan. 25, 1908, Viareggio, Italy) English novelist. Among her novels, most of them extravagant, melodramatic romances of fashionable life, are Held in Bondage (1863), Strathmore (1865), Chandos (1866), Under Two Flags (1867), and Moths (1880). She also wrote animal stories, including the popular A Dog of Flanders (1872). She settled in Florence in 1874, where reckless extravagance reduced her to acute poverty in later life.
Ouija board Vwe-jsX Device for obtaining messages from the spirit world, sometimes used by a medium during a seance. The name derives from the French and German words for “yes” (oui/ja). The Ouija board is an oblong piece of wood or cardboard with letters of the alphabet inscribed in a half-moon along the edge. A small heart-shaped board is placed on top of it. Participants each lightly place a finger on the small board, which spirits supposedly move around on the larger board. As it touches the letters it may spell out words or sentences.
ounce Unit of weight in the avoirdupois system, the traditional Euro¬ pean system of weight, which was incorporated into the British Imperial system and the U.S. system of weights and measures (see measurement). The ounce is equal to 1/16 lb (437.5 grains). In the troy and apothecar¬ ies’ systems (two other traditional systems of weight), it is equal to 1/12 troy or apothecaries’ lb (480 grains). The avoirdupois ounce is equal to 28.35 g, the troy ounce to 31.1 g. As a unit of volume, the fluid ounce is equal to 1/16 of a pint (29.57 ml) in the U.S. system, and to 1/20 of a pint (28.41 ml) in the British Imperial system. See also gram. Interna¬ tional System of Units, metric system, pound.
ounce See snow leopard Ouranus See Uranus
Ouse \'uz. River or Great Ouse River, central and eastern England. It rises in Northamptonshire and flows 156 mi (251 km) past Buckingham, Bedford, Huntington, and St. Ives to Earith, then to the North Sea. Locks make the river navigable upstream to Bedford.
Ouse, River River, northeastern England. It is formed in North York¬ shire and flows through York and Selby to join the River Aire. It merges with the River Trent to form the River Humber. The lower Ouse is a major transport route for industrial products and raw materials.
ousel See ouzel
Outer Banks Chain of barrier islands, North Carolina coast, U.S. Extending southward 175 mi (282 km) along the coast, it stretches from the Virginia border to Cape Lookout. Generally covered with sand dunes, the islands range from a few feet to more than 100 ft (160 m) in height. Most are linked by roads and causeways; there are numerous beaches, making the Outer Banks a popular resort area. Once a hideout for pirates and a place of shipwrecks, the islands have several historical sites, includ¬ ing Roanoke Island and Kitty Hawk, site of the Wright brothers’ first pow¬ ered flight.
Outer Mongolia See Mongolia
outwash Deposit of sand and gravel carried by running water from the melting ice of a glacier and laid down in stratified deposits. An outwash
may be as much as 330 ft (100 m) thick at the edge of a glacier, and it may extend for many miles. Outwashes are the largest glacial deposits and provide a considerable source of windblown material.
Ouyang Xiu Vo-'yag-'shyuX or Ou-yang Hsiu (b. 1007, Mianyang, Sichuan province, China—d. 1072, Yingzhou, Anhui province) Chinese poet, historian, and statesman. He served in various official positions but was repeatedly demoted or banished for his outspokenness. He called him¬ self Zuiweng (“Old Drunkard”), built a pavilion of that name, and wrote an essay about it that is one of the most celebrated works in Chinese literature. Later put in charge of civil-service examinations, he favoured those who wrote in the simple, ancient style known as guwen and failed those who used literary embellishments, thus setting a new course in Chinese litera¬ ture. His own writings in the guwen style, including Xintangshu (1060; “New History of the Tang Dynasty”), became a model that was long emu¬ lated. When the Xintangshu was finished, Ouyang was rapidly promoted to the highest councils of state, leaving a remarkable record in social, finan¬ cial, and military affairs. He was falsely accused of having an affair with his daughter-in-law, a charge that injured his prestige. He repeatedly asked to be relieved of his duties, but instead he was sent to be magistrate succes¬ sively in Anhui, Shandong, and Henan. As the leader of the reform move¬ ment of poetry and prose in the Northern Song dynasty, Ouyang established a monumental reputation by his epoch-marking creative works, and he is renowned as one of the Eight Great Masters of Tang and Song.