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Pennsylvania ► Pentium I 1469
nation’s specialty steel and an abundance of coal. Philadelphia and Pitts¬ burgh are major ports with fine educational, cultural, and musical insti¬ tutions.
Pennsylvania, University of U.S. private university in Philadel¬ phia, a traditional member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1740 as a charity school, it became an academy in 1753, with Benjamin Franklin as president of the first board of trustees. With the founding of the first medical school in North America (1765), it became a university. Today, in addition to its college of arts and sciences and its medical school, it includes a college of general studies and schools of business (the Wharton School), communi¬ cation (the Annenberg School), education, engineering, fine arts, law, nurs¬ ing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, and social work. Its institutes include the Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology and the Phipps Institute of Genetics and Community Diseases. The University Museum (of archaeol¬ ogy and ethnology) is a teaching and research organization.
Pennsylvania Railroad Co. Former U.S. railroad. It was chartered in 1846 by the Pennsylvania legislature to build a line between Harris¬ burg and Pittsburgh, and its passenger service began two years later. By purchasing the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway in 1856, the company extended its service to Chicago. After the Civil War it expanded to St. Louis, Mo., and Cincinnati, Ohio, in the west and Norfolk, Va., in the south, with 10,000 mi (16,000 km) of track at its greatest extent. It began to lose money in the mid 20th century, and in 1968 it merged with its competitor, the New York Central, to form the Penn Central Transpor¬ tation Co. Penn Central declared bankruptcy in 1970; its passenger ser¬ vice was taken over by Amtrak in 1971 and its assets by Conrail in 1976. See also J. Edgar Thomson.
Pennsylvania State University U.S. public state system of higher education with a main campus in University Park and numerous other campuses and locations, including the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey and the Dickinson School of Law in Carlisle. The university originated with the charter of the Farmers’ High School in 1855 and was designated the commonwealth’s land-grant college in 1862. It took its current name only in 1953. Research facilities include the Biotechnology Institute, the Center for Applied Behavioral Science, and the Center for Particle Science and Engineering.
Pennsylvanian Period In North America, the interval of geologic time roughly equivalent to what is internationally designated the Late Carboniferous Period (323-290 million years ago). Because the rocks that originated during this span of time are widespread in the state of Penn¬ sylvania, some U.S. geologists favour the term over Late Carboniferous Period, which was first adopted in Europe.
Penobscot \po-'nab-sk3t\ River River, central Maine, U.S. The Penob¬ scot, which flows south into Penobscot Bay, is the state’s longest river— about 350 mi (560 km). It is navigable for 60 mi (97 km) to Bangor. Once an important source of salmon, it has become economically important to the lumber, pulp, and paper industries because of its hydropower facili¬ ties. Navigated by French and English voyagers in the early 17th century, it was named for the Penobscot Indians.
penology \pe-'na-l3-je\ Branch of criminology dealing with prison man¬ agement and the treatment of offenders. Penological studies have sought to clarify the ethical bases of punishment, along with the motives and purposes of society in inflicting it; differences throughout history and between nations in penal laws and procedures; and the social conse¬ quences of the policies in force at a given time. Influential historical works have included Cesare Beccaria’s On Crimes and Punishments (1764), Jer¬ emy Bentham’s “Panopticon” scheme (c. 1800), Cesare Lombroso’s Crime (1876), and Michel Foucault’s Discipline and Punish (1975).
pension Series of periodic money payments made to a person who retires from employment because of age, disability, or the completion of an agreed span of service. The payments generally continue for the rest of the recipient’s natural life, and they are sometimes extended to a widow or other survivor. Military pensions have existed for many centuries; pri¬ vate pension plans originated in Europe in the 19th century. There are two basic types of pension plans: defined contribution and defined benefit. A defined contribution plan invests a defined amount each pay period. The individual may have some discretion as to how the money is invested. The benefit, the amount of the pension, depends on the success of those investments. A defined benefit plan pays a known amount according to some formula, but the amount invested in the fund may vary. Pensions
may be funded by making payments into a pension trust fund or by the purchase of annuities from insurance companies. In plans known as mul¬ tiemployer plans, various employers contribute to one central trust fund administered by a joint board of trustees.
Pentagon Huge five-sided building (1941-43) in Arlington, Va., that is the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense. Designed by George Edwin Bergstrom, it was, on its completion, the world’s largest office building, covering 34 acres (14 hectares) and offering 3.7 million sq ft (about 344,000 sq m) of usable floor space for as many as 25,000 work¬ ers. Built of structural steel and reinforced concrete with some limestone facing at a cost of $83 million, the five-story structure actually consists of five concentric pentagons, with 10 spokelike corridors connecting the whole. In 2001 more than 180 people were killed and many more were injured when part of the Pentagon’s southwest side was destroyed in the September 11 attacks.
Pentagon Papers Secret documents detailing the U.S. role in Indoch¬ ina from World War II to 1968. The U.S. Defense Department commis¬ sioned the study; a project associate, Daniel Ellsberg, who was opposed to U.S. participation in the Vietnam War, leaked details of the documents to the press. In June 1971 The New York Times began publishing articles based on the study. The U.S. Justice Department, citing national security, obtained a temporary court order halting publication. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the government had failed to justify restraint of publica¬ tion, and the documents were published widely, fueling debate over the country’s Vietnam policy.
Pentateuch See Torah
pentathlon Athletic contest entailing five distinct types of competi¬ tions. In the ancient Olympic Games, the pentathlon included a sprint, the long jump, discus throw, javelin throw, and a wrestling match. A modified version (with a medium-distance race substituted for the wrestling match) was included in the revived Olympic Games (1912-24). The modern, or military, pentathlon, included in the Olympics from 1912 and made a team event in 1952, includes an equestrian steeplechase, fencing, pistol shoot¬ ing, a freestyle swim, and a cross-country run. Women’s pentathlon com¬ petition (shot put, high jump, hurdling race, sprint, and long jump) was replaced in 1981 by the heptathlon.