Simon Vsi-msnV Herbert (Alexander) (b. June 15, 1916, Milwau¬ kee, Wis., U.S.—d. Feb. 9, 2001, Pittsburgh, Pa.) U.S. social scientist. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1943. At Camegie- Mellon University (from 1949), he taught psychology and later computer science. In Administrative Behavior (1947) Simon argued for recogniz¬ ing a multiplicity of factors (including psychological ones) in corporate decision making rather than emphasizing the achievement of maximum profits as the primary motivation. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1978. He subsequently worked in the field of artificial intel¬ ligence using computer technology.
Simon (of Stackpole Elidor), John Allsebrook Simon, 1st Viscount (b. Feb. 28, 1873, Manchester, Eng.—d. Jan. 11, 1954, Lon¬ don) British politician. A successful lawyer, he served in the House of Commons (1906-18, 1922—40). In the 1930s he led the Liberal National Party and served successively as foreign secretary (1931-35), home sec¬ retary (1935-37), and chancellor of the Exchequer (1937-40). Favouring rapprochement with Germany, he supported the appeasement policy of Neville Chamberlain and the Munich agreement. In 1940 Simon was appointed lord chancellor in Winston Churchill’s wartime coalition min¬ istry and was created a viscount.
Simon, (Marvin) Neil (b. July 4, 1927, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. playwright. After studying at New York University, he worked as a com¬ edy writer for Sid Caesar in the 1950s. His autobiographical play Come Blow Your Horn (1961) was the first of a long series of hit comedies that includes Barefoot in the Park (1963; film, 1967), The Odd Couple (1965; film, 1968), and Plaza Suite (1968; film, 1971). His later plays include the autobiographical trilogy of Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983), Biloxi Blues (1985, Tony Award), and Broadway Bound (1986). His plays deal humorously with the everyday conflicts of ordinary middle-class people, often in New York City. For Lost in Yonkers (1991), he received a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize.
Simon, Paul (Frederic) (b. Oct. 13, 1941, Newark, N.J., U.S.) U.S. pop singer and songwriter. Simon began performing with Art Garfunkel (b. 1941) in the 1950s, using the name Tom and Jerry. After a break, the two reunited in 1964 as Simon and Garfunkel. Their first hit single was “Sounds of Silence” (1966); others over the next six years included “Mrs. Robin¬ son” (for the film The Graduate ) and “Bridge over Troubled Water.” After the two parted company, Simon released several hit albums, including Still Crazy After All These Years (1975). His Graceland (1986) album, recorded with African musicians, became the most successful and influential of the new genre of world music. Both African music and Brazilian music informed his album The Rhythm of the Saints (1990). With the West Indian poet Derek Walcott he wrote the Broadway musical The Capeman (1998).
Simon & Schuster Vshii-storX U.S. publishing company. It was founded in 1924 by Richard L. Simon (1899-1960) and M. Lincoln Schuster (1897-1970), whose initial project, the original crossword- puzzle book, was a best-seller. Among their other innovations was Pocket Books, the first U.S. paperback line, launched in 1939. The company came to publish a wide variety of books, including many best-sellers and prize¬ winners. In 1975 it was sold to Gulf & Western Inc., which, renamed Paramount Communications in 1989, was acquired by Viacom Inc. in 1994. With the 1998 sale of its educational, professional, international, and reference divisions, Simon & Schuster concentrated again on fiction and nonfiction for the general reader.
Simon de Montfort See Simon de Montfort
Simon Fraser University Privately endowed university in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, with a branch campus in Vancouver. It was established in 1963 and named after the explorer Simon Fraser. It has fac¬ ulties of arts, science, applied sciences, graduate studies, business admin¬ istration, education, and continuing studies and a school for the contemporary arts.
Simonde de Sismondi, J.-C.-L. See J.-C.-L. Simonde de Sismondi
simony Vsi-mo-ne, 'sl-mo-neV Buying or selling of church offices or pow¬ ers. The name is taken from Simon Magus (Acts 8:18), who tried to buy the power of conferring the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Simony was said to have
become widespread in Europe in the 10th-11th century, as promotions to the priesthood or episcopate were bestowed by monarchs and nobles, often in exchange for oaths of loyalty. Changes in the understanding of the nature of simony and the relationship between lay and religious orders contributed to the perception of the growth of simony, even though corrupt practices did exist. Rigorously attacked by Pope Gregory VII and the reform move¬ ment associated with him, the practice recurred in the 15th century, but after the 16th century its more flagrant forms disappeared.
simple harmonic motion Repetitive back-and-forth movement through a central, or equilibrium, position in which the maximum displace¬ ment on one side is equal to the maximum displacement on the other. Each complete vibration takes the same time, the period; the reciprocal of the period is the frequency of vibration. The force that causes the motion is always directed toward the equilibrium position and is directly propor¬ tional to the distance from it. A pendulum displays simple harmonic motion; other examples include the electrons in a wire carrying alternating cur¬ rent and the vibrating particles of a medium carrying sound waves.
simplex method Standard technique in linear programming for solv¬ ing an optimization problem, typically one involving a function and sev¬ eral constraints expressed as inequalities. The inequalities define a polygonal region (see polygon), and the solution is typically at one of the vertices. The simplex method is a systematic procedure for testing the vertices as possible solutions.
Simplon \'sim-,plan\ Pass Alpine pass and tunnel, southern Switzer¬ land. It is situated between the Pennine and Lepontine Alps at 6,581 ft (2,006 m). An important Alpine route since the mid-13th century, the pass became a major link between central and southern Europe when Napo¬ leon had a road built there (1800-07). A hospice, occupied by the Augus- tinians and dating from 1235, is near the summit. When the pass is closed to road traffic in the winter, cars are transported by train through a 12.5-mi (20-km) tunnel below the pass that connects Brig, Switz., with Iselle, Italy.
Simpson, George Gaylord (b. June 16, 1902, Chicago, Ill., U.S.—d. Oct. 6, 1984, Tucson, Ariz.) U.S. paleontologist. He earned a doctorate at Yale University. His contributions to evolutionary theory include a detailed classification of mammals, based on his studies of mammalian evolution, which is still the standard. He also is known for his studies of intercontinental migrations of animal species, especially South American mammals, in past geologic times. His books include Tempo and Mode in Evolution (1944; 1984), The Meaning of Evolution (1949), The Major Features of Evolution (1953), and The Principles of Animal Taxonomy (1961).
Simpson, Sir James Young (b. June 7, 1811, Bathgate, Linlithgow¬ shire, Scot.—d. May 6, 1870, London, Eng.) Scottish obstetrician. He received his M.D. from the University of Edinburgh, where he became professor of obstetrics. After news of the use of ether in surgery in Bos¬ ton reached Scotland, Simpson employed it in obstetrics to relieve labour pains (1847) and later substituted chloroform, which he continued to use despite opposition from obstetricians and the clergy. He also introduced iron-wire sutures, the use of pressure to stop bleeding, and Simpson for¬ ceps (long obstetrical forceps).
Simpson, O(renthal) J(ames) (b. July 9, 1947, San Francisco, Calif., U.S.) U.S. football player. At the University of Southern California as a running back (1965-68), he set rushing records, was named All- American, and won the Heisman Trophy (1968). He joined the Buffalo Bills in 1969, with whom he continued to set records, and he became a great box-office draw. Knee injuries led to his being traded in 1978 to the San Francisco 49ers; he retired after the 1979 season. Handsome and genial, he became a popular film and television actor. In 1994 he was charged with the murder of his estranged wife and her friend. The resulting trial and acquittal generated unprecedented media coverage and public debate. A separate civil trial in 1997 found Simpson guilty in a wrongful-death suit.