Saratoga, Battles of (1777) Engagements in the American Revolu¬ tion. British troops under John Burgoyne marched from Canada to join with other British troops, and, after camping at Saratoga, N.Y., engaged the Continental Army under Horatio Gates at the First Battle of Saratoga (September 19), also known as the Battle of Freeman’s Farm. Failing to break the American lines, the British faced a counterattack led by Bene¬ dict Arnold at the Second Battle of Saratoga (October 7), or the Battle of Bemis Heights. With his forces reduced to 5,000 men, Burgoyne began to retreat, but Gates, with 20,000 men, surrounded the British at Saratoga and forced their surrender (October 17). The American victory induced the French to offer open recognition and military aid.
Saratov \s9-'ra-t3f\ City (pop., 2001: 864,400), western Russia. Located on the Volga River, it was founded in 1590 as a fortress to protect the trade route along the Volga. It was moved to a new site in 1616 and again in 1674 after the fortress was destroyed in a revolt. Linked to Moscow by railroad in the 1870s, Saratov became a major commercial centre. Its road bridge across the Volga (opened 1965) is one of the longest in Europe. A major industrial centre, it produces electric and petrochemical equipment and machine tools. Its educational institutions include a university (founded 1909) and a music conservatory.
Sarazen Vsar-s-zsnV Gene orig. Eugene Saraceni (b. Feb. 27, 1902, Harrison, N.Y., U.S.—d. May 13, 1999, Naples, Fla.) U.S. golfer, prominent in the 1920s and ’30s. Bom to a poor Italian immigrant fam¬ ily, Sarazen began caddying when he was eight. He became a professional golfer in 1920. Sarazen was the first to win the four tournaments that comprise golf’s grand slam in modem times. Sarazen won the U.S. Open (1922, 1932), the British Open (1932), and the PGA Championship (1922-23, 1933) and completed the grand slam with his Masters victory in 1935. That Masters victory was highlighted by his famous double eagle, two strokes (three under par) on the par-five 15th hole.
Yellow-bellied sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius)
KENNETH W. FINK FROM ROOT RESOURCES
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1686 I sardine ► Sarnoff
sardine Any of certain species of small (6-12 in., or 15-30 cm, long) food fishes of the herring family (Clupeidae), especially in the genera Sardina, Sardinops, and Sardinella. The common herring (Clupea haren- gus) is found throughout the North Atlantic. The five species of Sardinops live in the Pacific and Indian oceans. Sardines are small, silvery, slender fishes with a single short dorsal fin and no scales on the head. They live in dense schools, migrating along the coast. They are usually fished with an encircling net, particularly the purse seine, and mainly at night, when they surface to feed on plankton. See also pilchard, sprat.
Sardinia Italian Sardegna \sar-'dan-ya\ Island and autonomous region (pop., 2001 prelim.: 1,599,511), Italy. Off the southern Italian coast, Sardinia is the second largest island in the western Mediterranean Sea. It measures 9,194 sq mi (23,813 sq km); its capital is Cagliari. Thou¬ sands of structures made of basalt blocks, called nuraghi, are a dominat¬ ing feature of the island. These truncated conic structures of blocks taken from extinct volcanoes were built in prehistoric times without any mor¬ tar. Some date to c. 1500^100 bc. Phoenicians were Sardinia’s first recorded settlers c. 800 bc. Greeks and Carthaginians followed; Roman rule began in 238 bc. In the early Middle Ages Pisa and Genoa struggled over its domination. The kingdom of Sardinia, centred on the lands of Piedmont in northwestern Italy and the island of Sardinia, was ruled by the house of Savoy from 1720 until the unification of Italy in 1861. Agri¬ culture, fishing, and mining are economic mainstays of the island.
Sardinian language Romance language spoken in Sardinia, the most similar to Vulgar Latin of the modem Romance languages. Its only stan¬ dard form is the sardo illustre , a literary language used mostly for folk verse. Italian is the island’s official language, and few literary works exist in Sardinian. The earliest written materials date from c. 1080.
Sardis Vsar-dssV or Sardes \'sar-dez\ Ancient city, Anatolia. Located east of Smyrna (modern Izmir), it was the chief city and capital of the kingdom of Lydia from the 7th century bc and the first city where gold and silver coins were minted. It fell to the Persians c. 546 bc and passed to the Romans in 133 bc. Destroyed by an earthquake in ad 17, it was rebuilt and remained one of the great cities of Anatolia until the later Byzantine period. It was obliterated by Timur in 1402. Its ruins include the ancient Lydian citadel, but excavations have uncovered more remains of the Hel¬ lenistic and Byzantine city than of the ancient Lydian town.
Sardou \sar-'du\, Victorien (b. Sept. 5, 1831, Paris, France—d. Nov. 8, 1908, Paris) French playwright. He owed his initial success to the actress Pauline Dejazet, for whom he wrote several of his 70 works, including A Scrap of Paper (1860). Several later works, including Fedora (1882), were written for Sarah Bernhardt. His La Tosca (1887) was adapted by Giacomo Puccini as an opera. His last success was Madame Sans-Gene (1893). In 1877 he was elected to the Academie Fran^aise. His plays rely heavily on theatrical devices and plot contrivances, and he is remembered as a craftsman of the bourgeois drama that George Bernard Shaw belittled as “Sardoodledom.”
Sarekat \'sar-o-kat\ Islam First nationalist political party in Indonesia to gain wide popular support. Founded in 1912 to promote the interests of Muslim merchants, it soon began working for the self-government of the Dutch East Indies. Its religious appeal helped it grow rapidly, and by 1916 it claimed 350,000 members. As it became increasingly involved in revolutionary activities, communist elements entered the organization. A struggle for power ensued between religious leaders and communists, which culminated in the party dividing in 1921. Sarekat Islam declined after the departure of its left wing.
Sarema See Saaremaa
Sargasso Sea Body of still water in the North Atlantic Ocean. Ellip¬ tical in shape and strewn with a brown floating seaweed of the genus Sar- gassurn, it lies between the parallels 20° and 35° N and the meridians 30° and 70° W and encompasses the Bermuda islands. It was first mentioned by Christopher Columbus, who crossed it in 1492. The presence of the sea¬ weed suggested the proximity of land and encouraged him to continue, but many early navigators feared becoming entangled in the floating veg¬ etation and turned back.
sargassum \sar-'ga-sum\ Any of the brown algae that make up the genus Sargassum. They are adapted for a free-floating tropical environ¬ ment, even though many species grow attached to rocks along the coast. The Sargasso Sea, a free-floating mass of seaweed (mostly S. natans), occurs in the Atlantic Ocean. Sargassums are also known as sea holly
because of their highly branched stems with hollow, berrylike floats and many leaflike, sawtooth-edged blades. They are used as fertilizer in New Zealand and as a component of soups and soy sauce in Japan.
Sargent, John Singer (b. Jan. 12, 1856, Florence, Italy—d. April 15, 1925, London, Eng.) U.S.-British painter. Son of wealthy American par¬ ents, he was born in Italy and grew up in Europe, not seeing the U.S. until 1876. Having studied painting in Paris, in 1879 he traveled to Madrid and Haarlem to study the works of Diego Velazquez and Frans Hals; his finest works were painted soon afterward. Best known is his portrait Madame X, which created a scandal at the 1884 Salon; critics found it eccentric and erotic, and the sitter’s mother claimed it made her daughter a laugh¬ ingstock. Discouraged, he moved permanently to London, though he often visited the U.S. Not until about 1887 did he achieve the acclaim he was to enjoy in the U.S. and England the rest of his life. His elegant portraits created an enduring image of high society of the Edwardian age; the best, painted with his slashing brushstrokes, capture his subjects in revealing, off-guard moments. He largely gave up portraiture in 1907 and devoted the rest of his life to murals and landscapes.