Townshend Vtaun-zond\ (of Rainham), Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount (b. April 18, 1675, Raynham Hall, Norfolk, Eng.—d. June 21, 1738, Raynham) British politician. He succeeded to his father’s title in 1687, married the sister of Robert Walpole, and served as secre¬ tary of state (1714-16). With Walpole, Townshend led the Whig Party and became president of the privy council (1720). Again secretary of state (1721-30), he formed the League of Hanover (1725), which allied Brit¬ ain, France, and Prussia against Austria and Spain. He resigned when Walpole, by then the dominant minister, opposed an aggressive policy against Austria. Also interested in agricultural reform, Townshend devel¬ oped the use of turnips in crop rotation, earning the nickname Turnip Townshend.
Townshend Acts (1767) British parliamentary measures to tax the American colonists. The series of four acts imposed duties on imports of lead, paint, glass, paper, and tea and established a board of customs com¬ missioners to enforce collection. Colonial quartering of British troops was also revived. The colonists protested the new measures as taxation with¬ out representation and resisted compliance. Nonimportation agreements among colonial merchants cut British imports in half by 1769. In 1770 all the duties except the tax on tea were repealed.
toxic shock syndrome Bacterial disease caused by a toxin produced by the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. It was first recognized in 1978 in women using superabsorbent tampons. High fever, diarrhea, vomiting, and rash may progress to abdominal tenderness, drop in blood pressure, shock, respiratory distress, and kidney failure. The syndrome also has other causes, including postsurgical infection. Antibiotics are not effective. With intensive supportive therapy, most patients recover in 7-10 days, but 10-15% die. Many patients have a milder recurrence within eight months.
toxicology Study of poisons and their effects, particularly on living systems. It overlaps with biochemistry, histology, pharmacology, pathology, and other fields. Its functions have expanded from identifying poisons and searching for treatments to include forensic toxicology (see forensic medi¬ cine) and testing and detection of a fast-growing number of new poten¬ tially toxic substances used in workplaces, in agriculture (e.g., insecticides, other pesticides, fertilizers), in cosmetics, as food additives, and as drugs (see drug poisoning). Perhaps the area of largest expansion is the study of toxic waste in the air, water, and soil, including chlorofluorocarbons, acid rain, dioxin, and radioactive isotopes.
toxin Any substance poisonous to an organism; often restricted to poi¬ sons produced by living organisms. In addition to those from such micro¬ organisms as bacteria (see bacterial diseases), dinoflagellates, and algae, there are toxins in fungi (mycotoxins; see aflatoxin; mushroom poisoning), higher plants (phytotoxins), and animals (zootoxins, or venoms). The plants include nightshade (see nightshade family), poison hemlock, foxglove, mistletoe, and poison ivy. Many plant toxins (e.g., pyrethrins, nicotine, rotenone) apparently protect their producers against certain animals (espe¬ cially insects) or fungi. Similar defensive secretions in animals may be widely distributed or concentrated in certain tissues, often with some sort of delivery system (e.g., spines, fangs). Animals such as spiders and snakes use venoms to catch prey and often for defense. Many normally edible fishes and shellfishes become poisonous after feeding on toxic plants or algae. See also antidote; food poisoning.
toxoid \'tak-,s6id\ Bacterial toxin that has been made inactive but can still combine with or stimulate formation of antibodies. In many bacterial diseases, the bacteria produce a toxin that causes the disease manifesta¬ tions. Heating the toxin or treating it chemically converts it into a harm¬ less toxoid that can be injected into a human or a nonhuman animal to confer immunity from subsequent infection. The vaccines for tetanus and diphtheria are toxoids.
toy Plaything for a child or infant. Toys survive from the remote past and from a great variety of cultures. They range from the simple to the com¬ plex, from a stick or piece of string that becomes a toy in a child’s hands to complex mechanical and electronic devices. Perennial favorites include balls, jump ropes, dolls, drums, whistles, dice, jackstones, board games, marbles, play weapons, and costumes. In the modern era the toy industry has grown tremendously, especially with the advent of computer games.
toy dog Any of several breeds of dogs that were bred to be small, por¬ table, good-natured companions. Toy dogs were traditionally pampered and treasured by aristocracy around the world, and several breeds are ancient. They range from hairless (e.g., the Chinese crested dog) to pro¬ fusely coated (e.g., the Shih tzu). Some breeds, such as the Pekingese, could be owned only by royalty. The Cavalier King Charles spaniel was a favour¬ ite of English royalty. English toy spaniels and toy poodles are popular in the U.S. The miniature pinscher resembles the Doberman pinscher but has a different ancestry. Other toy dogs include the affenpinscher, Maltese, pap- illon, Pomeranian, and Yorkshire terrier.
Toynbee, Arnold (Joseph) (b. April 14, 1889, London, Eng.—d. Oct. 22, 1975, York, North Yorkshire) English historian. Long a professor at the University of London and the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Toynbee also held positions with the British Foreign Office. He is best known for his 12-volume A Study of History (1934-61), which put forward a philosophy of history, based on an analysis of the development and
Rufous-sided towhee (Pipilo eryth¬ rophthalmus)
JOHN H. GERARD FROM THE NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY COLLECTION/PHOTO RESEARCHERS
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Toyota Motor Corp. ► Trade I 1929
decline of 26 civilizations. Criticisms of his Study include his use of myths and metaphors as being of comparable value to factual data and his reliance on a view of religion as a regenerative force. His other works include Civi¬ lization on Trial (1948), East to West (1958), and Hellenism (1959).
Toyota Motor Corp. Largest Japanese automobile manufacturer and one of the largest automotive companies in the world. It was established in 1933 as a division of the Toyoda Automatic Loom Works, Ltd., and in 1937 it was incorporated as the Toyota Motor Co., Ltd. Toyota later estab¬ lished many related companies, including Toyoda Machine Works, Ltd. (1941), and Toyota Auto Body, Ltd. (1945). In the 1960s and ’70s the company expanded rapidly, exporting large numbers of cars to foreign markets. Following consolidations among many of its business units, the company took the name Toyota Motor Corp. in 1982. It has assembly plants and distributors in many foreign countries, and it owns subsidiar¬ ies that produce cars and car parts, trucks, steel, synthetic resins, and industrial equipment. Its brands include Toyota and Lexus.
Toyotomi Hideyoshi \,he-de-'yo-she\ (b. 1536/37, Nakamura, Owari province, Japan—d. Sept. 18, 1598, Fushimi) One of the three unifiers of premodern Japan (with Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu) who brought the nation out of its Warring States period. He began life as a peasant but was raised to the rank of samurai (warrior) while a soldier for Nobunaga. After Nobunaga’s death, he was appointed kampaku (chancellor to the emperor). Having concluded an alliance with his former rival Ieyasu, he became in 1590 the head of an alliance of daimyo that constituted a gov¬ ernment of national unification. To stabilize society, he imposed the divi¬ sion of society into warriors, farmers, artisans, and tradesmen (an adaptation of ancient Chinese social divisions) and confiscated swords from all but the warriors. With visions of empire, he made two destruc¬ tive but unsuccessful attempts to invade Korea (1592, 1597). After his death, power passed to Ieyasu.