pawpaw See papaw
Pax Romana Vpaks-ro-'ma-no, 'paks-ro-'ma-noV Latin "Roman Peace" State of comparative tranquility throughout the Mediterranean world from the reign of Augustus (27 bc-ad 14) to that of Marcus Aure¬ lius (ad 161-180). The concord also included North Africa and Persia. The empire protected and governed provinces, each of which legislated and administered its own laws while accepting Roman taxation and military control. It was the Pax Romana that ensured the survival and eventual transmission of the classical Greek and Roman heritage.
Paxton Boys uprising (1763) Attack by Pennsylvania frontiersmen on an Indian settlement during the Pontiac Indian uprising. After 57 drunken rangers from Paxton, Pa., slaughtered 20 innocent and defense¬ less Conestoga Indians near Lancaster, Pa., the colonial governor ordered the arrest of those involved. Because local residents were sympathetic to the “Paxton Boys,” no prosecutions were undertaken. Instead, angered by appropriations insufficient to defend the western frontier, more than 600 armed frontiersmen marched on Philadelphia in 1764. They were met by leading Philadelphians, including Benjamin Franklin, who promised the men a hearing.
payments, balance of See balance of payments
Payton, Walter (Jerry) (b. July 25, 1954, Columbia, Miss., U.S.—d. Nov. 1, 1999, Barrington, Ill.) U.S. football player. He played football at Jackson State University and from 1975 to 1987 was a member of the NFL Chicago Bears. He retired as the all-time leader for combined yard¬ age (rushing, kick returning, and pass receiving; 21,803 yds), seasons with 1,000 or more yards rushing (10), and rushing yardage (16,726). In 2002 his career rushing record was broken by Emmitt Smith and his combined yardage record was broken by Jerry Rice. Payton is considered among the greatest running backs in football history.
Paz \'pas\, Octavio (b. March 31, 1914, Mexico City, Mex.—d. April 19, 1998, Mexico City) Mexican poet, writer, and diplomat. Educated at the University of Mexico, Paz published his first book of poetry, Savage Moon, in 1933. He later founded and edited several important literary reviews. Influenced in turn by Marxism, Surrealism, existentialism, Bud¬ dhism, and Hinduism, his poetry uses rich imagery in dealing with meta¬ physical questions, and his most prominent theme is the human ability to overcome existential solitude through erotic love and artistic creativity. His prose works include The Labyrinth of Solitude (1950), an influential essay on Mexican history and culture. He was Mexico’s ambassador to India (1962-68). He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1990.
Paz Estenssoro Vpas-.es-ten-'sor-cA, Victor (b. Oct. 2, 1907, Tarija, Bol.—d. June 7, 2001, Tarija) President of Bolivia (1952-56, 1960-64, 1985-89). Originally an economics professor, he was elected to the Cham¬ ber of Deputies and then became president in 1952, when the National
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Paul conspiracy ► peacock I 1461
Revolutionary Movement (MNR), a left-wing organization that he helped found, seized power. He extended the vote to Indians, implemented agrar¬ ian reform, and expropriated three major tin companies. He was elected again in 1964 but was overthrown by a military coup the same year. He regained the presidency in 1985 and instituted a program of economic austerity that reduced the hyperinflation that had imperiled the Bolivian economy.
Pazzi conspiracy Vpat-se\ (April 16, 1478) Unsuccessful plot to over¬ throw the Medici rulers of Florence. It was led by the rival Pazzi family, with the backing of Pope Sixtus IV, who wanted to consolidate papal rule over northern central Italy. The conspirators tried to assassinate two Med¬ ici brothers during mass at the Cathedral of Florence; they killed Giuliano de’ Medici, but Lorenzo de’ Medici escaped. The people of Florence ral¬ lied to the Medici and killed many of the conspirators, leaving Lorenzo more powerful than before and setting off a two-year war with the papacy.
PBS in full Public Broadcasting Service Private, nonprofit U.S. corporation of public television stations. PBS provides its member sta¬ tions, which are supported by public funds and private contributions rather than by commercials, with educational, cultural, news, and children’s programs that are produced by its members and by independent produc¬ ers worldwide. Its popular programs have included Sesame Street, Mas¬ terpiece Theatre, Great Performances, NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, and Nova. PBS was founded in 1969 to coordinate and provide services to its member stations, which now number about 350. Funding is provided mainly by viewers’ contributions, state governments, and grants from businesses and private foundations; the U.S. government, through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, supplies about 15%.
PC See PERSONAL COMPUTER
PCB in full polychlorinated biphenyl \bl-'fe-n 3 l, bi-'fe-n 3 l\ Any of a class of highly stable organic compounds prepared by the reaction of CHLORINE with biphenyl, a two-ring compound. The commercial product, a mix of several PCB isomers, is a colourless, viscous liquid that is almost insoluble in water, does not degrade under high temperatures, and is a good electrical insulator (see dielectric). PCBs became widely used as lubricants, heat-transfer fluids, and fire-resistant dielectric fluids in trans¬ formers and capacitors in the 1930s and ’40s. In the mid 1970s they were found to cause liver dysfunction in humans and came under suspicion as carcinogens; their manufacture and use were consequently restricted in the U.S. and many other countries, though illegal dumping by manufac¬ turers continued. They persist in the environment and have entered the food chain, causing great harm especially to invertebrates and fish.
pea Any of several species, comprising hundreds of varieties, of herba¬ ceous annual plants belonging to the family Leguminosae (or Fabaceae, also known as the pea family; see legume), grown virtually worldwide for their edible seeds. Pisum sativum is the common garden pea of the Western world, which Gregor Men¬ del used for his pioneering studies of heredity. While their origins have not been definitely determined, it is known that peas are one of the old¬ est cultivated crops. Some varieties, called sugar peas, snow peas, or mange-touts, have edible pods and are popular in East Asian cuisines.
See also sweet pea.
Peabody Vpe-bo-deX, Elizabeth (Palmer) (b. May 16, 1804, Billerica, Mass., U.S.—d. Jan. 3, 1894, Jamaica Plain, Mass.) U.S. educator and leader in the kindergarten move¬ ment in America. She served as secretary to William Ellery Channing (1825-34) and worked with Bronson Alcott in his Temple School. She opened a Boston bookshop in 1839, which became a centre for Transcen- dentalist activities. She published works by Margaret Fuller and Nathaniel Hawthorne and also published and wrote articles for The Dial. Inspired by the work of Friedrich Froebel, she opened the first English-language kin¬ dergarten in the U.S. in 1860 and thereafter devoted herself to organiz¬ ing public and private kindergartens. Her sisters married Horace Mann and Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Peabody Vpe-.ba-deX, George (b. Feb. 18, 1795, South Danvers [now Peabody], Mass., U.S.—d. Nov. 4, 1869, London, Eng.) U.S. merchant and financier. Born in South Danvers, Mass, (renamed Peabody in his honour), he earned an early fortune as a partner in a wholesale dry-goods business and as president of the Eastern Railroad (from 1836). On a trip to England, he negotiated an $8 million loan for the near-bankrupt state of Maryland. In 1837 he moved to London permanently and founded a merchant banking house specializing in foreign exchange; his banking operations helped establish U.S. credit abroad. He spent most of his for¬ tune on philanthropy to promote education and the arts; his gifts include a natural history museum at Yale University, an archaeology museum at Harvard University, and an Asian export art museum in Salem, Mass.