Thorpe is generally regarded as the greatest American athlete of the 20th century.
Thorvaldsen Vtor-.wol-son,
'tur-.val-sonV Bertel (b. Nov. 19,
1770, or Nov. 13, 1768, Copen¬ hagen, Den.—d. March 24, 1844)
Danish sculptor. Son of an Icelandic wood carver, he studied in Copen¬ hagen and won a scholarship for travel to Rome, where he would remain for over 40 years and pursue one of the most successful sculpting careers of the 19th century. His return to Copenhagen in 1838 was celebrated as a national event. Most of his sculptures are reinterpretations of Classical figures and themes; he also did religious statues and portrait busts.
Thoth Vtoth, 'thoth, 'tot\ Egyptian Djhuty also spelled Djhowtey Egyptian god of the moon and of reckoning, learning, and writing. He was the inventor of writing, the creator of languages, the representative of Re, and the scribe, interpreter, and adviser of the gods. In the myth of Osiris, Thoth protected the pregnant Isis and healed the eye of her son Horus. He judged the deceased and reported the results to Osiris. His sacred animals were the ibis and the baboon, millions of which were mum¬ mified in his honour. He was often represented in human form with the head of an ibis. The Greeks identified Thoth with Hermes; as Hermes Tris- megistos he was regarded as the author of the Hermetic writings.
thought, laws of Traditionally, the three fundamental laws of logic: (1) the law of contradiction, (2) the law of excluded middle (or third), and (3) the principle of identity. That is, (1) for all propositions p, it is impos¬ sible for both p and not p to be true (symbolically, —i(p a —.p)); (2) either p or not p must be true, there being no third or middle true proposition
between them (symbolically p v —ip); and (3) if a propositional function F is true of an individual variable x, then F is true of x (symbolically, (Vx) [F(x) z> F(x)]). Another formulation of the principle of identity asserts that a thing is identical with itself, or (Vx) (x = x).
Thousand and One Nights, The or Arabian Nights' Enter¬ tainment Arabic Alf laylah wa laylah Collection of Oriental sto¬ ries of uncertain date and authorship. The frame story, in which the vengeful King Shahryar’s plan to marry and execute a new wife each day is foiled by the resourceful Scheherazade, is probably Indian; the tales with which Scheherazade beguiles Shahryar, postponing and eventually averting her execution, come from India, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Turkey, and possibly Greece. It is now believed that the collection is a composite work originally transmitted orally and developed over a period of several cen¬ turies. The first published version was an 18th-century European transla¬ tion; Sir Richard Burton’s Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night (1885-88) has become the best-known English translation.
Thousand Islands Group of about 1,500 small islands extending 80 mi (128 km) in the Saint Lawrence River between New York state, U.S., and Ontario, Canada. Some islands belong to Canada and some to the U.S. The Thousand Islands include summer resort facilities and the Cana¬ dian St. Lawrence Islands National Park, which was established in 1904 and covers 988 ac (400 ha). The Thousand Islands International Bridge, which contains five spans linking some of the islands and is 8.5 mi (13.7 km) long, connects New York and Ontario.
Thrace Ancient and modem region, southeastern Balkan Peninsula. Its borders have varied at different periods. In ancient Greek times it was bounded by the Danube River, the Aegean Sea, and the Black Sea. Modem Thrace corresponds to southern Bulgaria, the Greek province of Thrace, and European Turkey, including the Gallipoli peninsula. The Thracians were Indo-Europeans who settled in the region in the 2nd millennium bc; their culture was noted for its poetry and music, and their soldiers were known as superior fighters. Later colonized by Greeks in the 7th century bc, it became subject to Persia in the 6th century bc and to Macedon in the 4th century bc. Reduced to a Roman province in the 1st century ad, its northern part was annexed to Moesia. It later became part of the Byz¬ antine empire, and in 1453 part of the Ottoman empire. The northern part was annexed by Bulgaria in 1885; the eastern part passed to Turkey in 1923. The region harvests com, rice, grapes, oysters, and eels; the chief cash crop is Turkish tobacco.
thrasher Any of 17 species (family Mimidae) of New World songbirds that have a downcurved bill and are noted for noisily foraging on the ground in dense thickets and for loud, varied songs. Thrashers occur from northern Canada to central Mexico and the Caribbean. The brown thrasher ( Toxostoma rufum), of North America east of the Rocky Mountains, is about 12 in. (30 cm) long and has red-brown plumage with streaked underparts. Long¬ tailed drab species are found in the arid southwestern U.S. and in Mexico.
thread Tightly twisted yarn con¬ sisting of several strands that has a circular cross-section and is used in commercial and home sewing machines and for hand sewing. Thread is usually wound on spools, with thread size (degree of fineness) indicated on the spool end. Cotton thread can be used with fabrics made from yarn of plant origin, such as cotton and linen, and with rayon (made from cel¬ lulose, a plant substance). Silk thread is suitable for silks and wools, both of animal origin. Nylon and polyester threads are appropriate for synthet¬ ics and for knits with a high degree of stretch.
thread cross Object made typically of two sticks bound together in the shape of a cross, with coloured threads wound around their ends to resemble a cobweb, used in Tibetan magical rituals to entrap evil spirits. Similar devices have been found in South Africa, Peru, Australia, and Sweden. They vary from simple diamond shapes to complex wheel- or box-shaped combinations reaching 11 ft (3 m) high. They are often highly decorated, with wool, feather, and bits of paper.
Jim Thorpe demonstrating the drop kick.
THE BETTMANN ARCHIVE
Brown thrasher (Toxostoma rufum).
THASE DANIEL
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
1904 I Three Emperors'League ► thrush
Three Emperors' League German Dreikaiserbund Diplomatic alignment of the empires of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Russia devised by Otto von Bismarck in 1872. Its aim was to neutralize disagree¬ ment between Austria-Hungary and Russia over spheres of influence in the Balkans and to isolate Germany’s enemy France. After the first Three Emperors’ League (1872-78) collapsed, Bismarck succeeded in renew¬ ing it (1881, 1884). When Russia declined a third renewal, Bismarck negotiated a separate accord with Russia, the Reinsurance Treaty (1887). See also Austro-German Alliance.
Three Gorges Dam Project Dam designed to span China’s Yangtze River (Chang Jiang). On completion, scheduled for 2009, it would be the largest dam in the world, producing a vast quantity of hydroelectricity from 26 generators. It would also create an immense deepwater reservoir that would allow 10,000-ton freighters to navigate 1,400 mi (2,250 km) inland from the East China Sea. The extremely controversial project would require displacement of more than a million people and destruction of magnificent scenery and archaeological sites. Critics also fear potential pollution and silting of the reservoir and the possibility of the dam’s col¬ lapse. Though construction began in 1993, a third of the National Peo¬ ple’s Congress either abstained or opposed it, and the World Bank would not advance funds, citing environmental and other concerns. Critics have contended that smaller dams on Yangtze tributaries could accomplish the same purpose with fewer risks.
Three Henrys, War of the (1587-89) Last of the Wars of Religion in France, fought between King Henry III, the ultra-Catholic Henri I de Lorraine, duke de Guise, and the Huguenot leader Henry of Navarra (later Henry IV). Early conflicts were won by the Holy League led by Guise, who forced Henry III to sign the Edict of Union in 1588, naming him lieuten¬ ant general of the kingdom. Humiliated, Henry III had Guise assassinated, but the Holy League continued to wield power, and Henry called for help from his cousin, Henry of Navarra. The royalist-Huguenot coalition forced the Holy Leaguers to retreat, but Henry III was assassinated, and, before he died, he exhorted the future Henry IV to become a Roman Catholic.