SIdT Muhammad ibn Yusuf See Muhammad V
STdT Muhammad Idris al-Mahdl al-SanusT See Idris I
siding Material used to surface the exterior of a building to protect against exposure to the elements, prevent heat loss, and visually unify the facade. The word siding implies wood units, or products imitative of wood, used on houses. There are many different types of siding, includ¬ ing clapboard, horizontal lap siding, vertical board siding, and shingles. Board and batten siding, sometimes found in Carpenter Gothic houses and very modest structures, differs from the common clapboard in that it con¬ sists of vertical wood boards with their butt joints covered by battens (narrow strips), imparting a seamed appearance. Both aluminum and polyvinyl-fluoride-coated siding (commonly called vinyl siding) were developed as maintenance-free alternatives to wood clapboard; they mimic its horizontal boards. Fiberboard, a pressed-wood-pulp product, is sometimes used, though its long-term durability is limited. In larger build¬ ings, the exterior covering is called cladding, and may be of brick, glass in a metal framework, or stone, concrete, or metal panels.
Sidney, Sir Philip (b. Nov. 30,1554, Penshurst, Kent, Eng.—d. Oct. 17, 1586, Arnhem, Neth.) English courtier, statesman, soldier, and poet. Born into an aristocratic family and educated to be a statesman and soldier, Sid¬ ney served in minor official posts and turned to literature as an outlet for his energies. Astrophel and Stella (1591), inspired by Sidney’s passion for his aunt’s married ward, is considered the finest Elizabethan sonnet cycle after William Shakespeare’s sonnets. The Defence ofPoesie (1595), an urbane and eloquent plea for imaginative literature, introduced the critical ideas of
Renaissance theorists to England. His heroic romance Arcadia, though unfinished, is the most important work of English prose fiction of the 16th century. None of his works was published in his lifetime. Wounded in action while soldiering in the Netherlands, he died from an infection, and he was widely mourned as the ideal gentleman of his day.
Sidon Vsid- 3 n\ Arabic Sayda Seaport (pop., latest est.: 140,000), south¬ western Lebanon. Located on the site of a city founded in the 3rd mil¬ lennium bc, it was a principal city of Phoenicia from the 2nd millennium bc and a parent city of Tyre. Ruled successively in ancient times by the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians, it was conquered by Alexander the Great (c. 330 bc). Under Roman rule by the 1st century bc, it was an important centre for the manufacture of glass and purple dyes. It changed hands several times during the Crusades and fell to the Muslims in 1291. It flourished for a while under Ottoman rule after 1517.
Sidra Ysi-dreV, Gulf of or Gulf of Sirte \'sir-,ta\ Inlet of the Medi¬ terranean Sea, north-central coast, Libya. It extends 275 mi (443 km). In August the gulf’s water temperature reaches 88 °F (31 °C), the warmest in the Mediterranean. It was the scene of the Battle of Sirte in World War II (1939—45), during which a British naval convoy thwarted attacks by Italian warships and German bombers. In the early 1980s Libya laid claim to the entire gulf, prompting minor clashes with U.S. naval forces in the area.
SIDS See SUDDEN INFANT DEATH SYNDROME
Siegel Vse-golV Bugsy orig. Benjamin Siegel (b. Feb. 28, 1906, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.—d. June 20, 1947, Beverly Hills, Calif.) U.S. gang¬ ster. He began his career extorting money from Jewish peddlers on New York’s Lower East Side. He joined with Meyer Lansky and began operat¬ ing bootlegging and gambling rackets; they later formed the forerunner of Murder, Inc. In 1937 he was sent to develop rackets on the West Coast, and he soon set up gambling dens and ships, as well as narcotics smug¬ gling and blackmail operations. In 1945 he built the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nev. Originally budgeted at $1.5 million, its cost was driven to $6 million through his skimming. This angered Lansky and other bosses, and Siegel was murdered in his home.
Siegfried \'sig-,fred,\ German Vzek-,fret\ or Sigurd Hero of German and Old Norse mythology noted for his outstanding strength and courage. He is one of the heroes of the Poetic Edda and the Nibelungenlied, and he figures in many different, sometimes inconsistent, legends. In the earliest stories, Siegfried is presented as a boy of noble lineage who grew up without parental care, but other accounts provide elaborate detail of a courtly upbringing. One legend tells of his battle with a dragon, and another of his acquiring treasure. He also plays a part in the story of Brun¬ hild, in which he meets his death. He is the hero of Richard Wagner’s operatic tetralogy The Ring of the Nibelung. See also Kriemhild.
Siemens Vse-manzV Sir (Charles) William orig. Karl Wilhelm Siemens (b. April 4, 1823, Lenthe, Prussia—d. Nov. 19, 1883, London, Eng.) German-born British engineer and inventor. He immigrated to Brit¬ ain in 1844. In 1861 he patented the open-hearth furnace (see open-hearth process), which was soon being widely used in steelmaking and eventu¬ ally replaced the earlier Bessemer process. He also made a reputation and a fortune in the steel cable and telegraph industries and was a principal in the company that laid the first successful transatlantic telegraph cable (1866). His three brothers were also eminent engineers and industrialists (see Siemens AG).
Siemens Vse-monzN AG German electrical-equipment manufacturer. The first Siemens company, Siemens & Halske, was founded in Berlin in 1847 to build telegraph installations. Under Werner Siemens (1816-92) and his three brothers (including William Siemens), it expanded to pro¬ duce dynamos, cables, telephones, electric power, and electric lighting. In 1903 Siemens & Halske transferred its power-engineering activities to the new Siemens-Schuckertwerke GmbH, and in 1932 Siemens-Reiniger- Werke AG was established to produce medical equipment. The compa¬ nies expanded greatly during the Third Reich; after World War II, Siemens officials were charged with using slave labour and participating in the construction and operation of the Auschwitz and Buchenwald camps. The Siemens companies flourished again in the 1950s, and by 1966, when the three separate companies merged to form Siemens AG, were among the world’s largest electrical suppliers. Siemens products include electrical components, computer systems, microwave devices, and medical equip¬ ment.
Siemens-Martin process See open-hearth process
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Siena ► Siger de Brabant I 1749
Siena \se-'e-na\ ancient Saena Julia City (pop., 2001: 54,366), west¬ ern Italy. It is located south of Florence. Founded by the Etruscans, Siena later passed to the Romans and the Lombards; in the 12th century it became a self-governing commune. Rivalry with Florence made Siena the center of pro-imperial Ghibellinism in Tuscany. It was conquered by Charles I (Charles of Anjou), king of Naples and Sicily, in 1270 and joined the Guelph confederation (see Guelphs and Ghibellines). It was an impor¬ tant banking and commercial centre until surpassed by Florence in the 13th—14th centuries. Conquered by the Holy Roman emperor Charles V in 1555, it was ceded to Florence in 1557. Modern Siena is a market town and tourist centre; historic sites there include the Gothic-Romanesque cathedral, the University of Siena (founded 1240), and the Piazza del Campo, where the Corsa del Palio, a horse race originating in medieval times, is still held.
Sienkiewicz \sh y en-'k y e-v y ech\, Henryk (Adam Alexander Pius) (b. May 5, 1846, Wola Okrzejska, Pol.—d. Nov. 15, 1916, Vevey, Switz.) Polish novelist. In 1869 he began to publish critical works show¬ ing the influence of positivism. He worked as a newspaperman and pub¬ lished successful short stories before producing the great trilogy consisting of With Fire and Sword (1884), The Deluge (1886), and Pan Michael (1887-88). Describing Poland’s struggles against Cossacks, Tatars, Swedes, and Turks, the novels stress Polish heroism in a vivid style of epic clarity and simplicity. The widely translated Quo Wadis? (1896), set in Rome under Nero, established his international reputation. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1905.