Owen, Robert Dale (b. Nov. 9, 1801, Glasgow, Scot.—d. June 24, 1877, Lake George, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. social reformer. In 1825 he emigrated with his father, Robert Owen, to establish a community at New Harmony, Ind. He edited the local newspaper, the New Harmony Gazette, until 1827, when he became associated with Fanny Wright. The two eventually settled in New York City, where Owen edited the Free Enquirer, and both were active in the Workingmen's Party. Owen returned to New Harmony in 1832. After serving in the Indiana legislature, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives (1843-47), where he introduced a bill estab¬ lishing the Smithsonian Institution. He later served as U.S. minister to Italy (1855-58). A strong advocate of emancipation, he urged an end to slavery in an 1861 letter to Abraham Lincoln that was said to have influenced the president greatly.
Owen, Wilfred (b. March 18, 1893, Oswetry, Shropshire, Eng.—d. Nov. 4, 1918, France) British poet. Owen was already writing verse before he enlisted in the army in 1915, but the experience of trench warfare brought him to rapid maturity; the poignant poems he wrote after Janu¬ ary 1917 are full of anger at the cruelty and waste of war and pity for its victims. A week before the armistice, he died in action at age 25. His single volume of poems, published posthumously, is noted for its experi¬ ments in assonance. Benjamin Britten’s celebrated War Requiem (1962) is a setting of Owen’s poems.
Owens, Jesse orig. James Cleveland Owens (b. Sept. 12,1913, Oakville, Ala., U.S.—d. March 31,
1980, Phoenix, Ariz.) U.S. track- and-field athlete. At Ohio State Uni¬ versity in 1935, he broke or equaled four world track records in one day, setting a new long-jump record that would stand for 25 years. In the 1936 Olympics in Berlin he won four gold medals, tying the Olympic record in the 100-m run, breaking the Olym¬ pic record in the 200-m run, running the final segment for the world- record-breaking U.S. 400-m relay team, and breaking the listed world record for the long jump. This per¬ formance by an African American dramatically foiled Adolf Hitler’s intention to use the games to show Aryan racial superiority. For a time,
Owens held alone or shared the world records for all sprint distances rec¬ ognized by the International Amateur Athletic Federation.
owl Any bird of prey in the mostly nocturnal order Strigiformes, includ¬ ing typical owls (family Strigidae) and barn, bay, and grass owls (Tytonidae). Their virtually silent flight and protective (usually brown) coloration aid in capturing insects, birds, and small mammals. Owls have round, forward-looking eyes, a sharply hooked beak, and acute hearing and vision. They are 5-28 in. (13-70 cm) long. The feathers of some spe¬ cies form a disk framing the face or ear tufts that help locate prey by reflecting sound to the ears. Owls can turn their heads 180°; some spe¬ cies can turn as much as 270°. They nest in buildings, in trees, or on the ground. Typical owls occur worldwide except in Antarctica. See also HORNED OWL; SCREECH OWL; SNOWY OWL.
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owlet moth ► oxidation-reduction I 1427
owlet moth See miller
ox Domesticated form of large bovid (species Bos taurus ) that once moved in herds across North America and Europe (where they have dis¬ appeared) and Asia and Africa (where some still exist in the wild). The docile castrated male is used as a draft animal in many countries. Oxen are used for food in some areas. The term is also applied to a castrated male of any cattle breed. See also aurochs, yak.
oxalic \ak-'sa-lik\ acid Colourless, crystalline, toxic carboxylic acid found in many plants, especially rhubarb, wood sorrel, and spinach. Because it forms soluble chelates with iron, some of the iron in these plants is not available nutritionally. However, this property makes it useful for removing blood and rust stains, cleaning metals other than iron, and flush¬ ing car radiators. Oxalic acid and its salts (oxalates) are used in many chemical processes.
oxalis \ak-'sa-l9s\ Any of about 850 species of small herbaceous plants that make up the genus Oxalis, native mostly to southern Africa and tropical and South America. Most members are familiar garden ornamen¬ tals. The name (Greek for “acid”) reflects the plant’s sharp acidic taste. The common wood sorrel ( O. acetosella ) of eastern North America and Britain is a small, stemless plant with cloverlike three-part leaves, whose leaflets fold back and droop at night. The flowers have five white, purple- veined petals. After the fruit splits open, the fleshy coat of the seed curls back elastically, ejecting the true seed.
oxbow lake Small lake located in a former meander loop of a river or stream channel. It is generally formed as a river cuts through a meander neck to shorten its course, blocks off the old channel, and then migrates away from the lake. If only one loop is cut off, the lake is crescent-shaped; if more than one loop is cut off, the lake is serpentine (winding). Even¬ tually, oxbow lakes silt up to form marshes and finally meander scars.
Oxenstierna (af Sodermore) Vuk-sen-.sher-naV Axel (Gustafsson), Count (b. June 16, 1583, Fano, near Uppsala, Swed.—d. Aug. 28, 1654, Stockholm) Swedish statesman. Born into a noble family, he became a member of the council of state and in 1612 was appointed chancellor by Gustav II Adolf. He worked with the king to stabilize administrative reforms. As a diplomat, he negotiated peace trea¬ ties with Denmark (1613) and Poland (1622). In the Thirty Years' War, he was appointed governor-general of Prussia (1626) and military com¬ mander in Germany (1631). He directed Swedish policy in Germany until 1636, when he returned to Sweden. As a regent during Queen Christina’s minority (1636-44), he effectively ruled the country.
oxeye daisy Garden perennial plant (Chrysanthemum leucanthemum) in the composite family. The compound flower has 15-30 white ray flow¬ ers surrounding a bright yellow disk flower, about 1-2 in. (2.5-5 cm) across. It grows about 2 ft (60 cm) high and has oblong, notched leaves and long petioles (leafstalks). Native to Europe and Asia, it has become a common wild plant in the U.S. See also daisy.
Oxford ancient Oxonia City and administrative district (pop., 2001: 134,248), county seat of Oxfordshire, England. Situated on the River Thames, the town is best known for the University of Oxford. First occu¬ pied in Saxon times as a fording point, it became a burg, built to defend the northern frontier of Wessex from Danish attack; it was first mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle of ad 912. Little remains of the town’s Norman period of occupation. Oxford is generally known as the “City of Spires” because of its skyline of Gothic towers and steeples. Most of these 15th-17th-century buildings belong to the university. The city was the Royalist headquarters in the English Civil Wars. Its modem economy is varied and includes, in addition to educational services, printing and pub¬ lishing industries and automobile manufacturing.
Oxford, Earl of See Robert Harley