Van Cortlandt, Stephanus (b. May 7, 1643, New Amsterdam—d. Nov. 25, 1700, New York City) American colonial official. He was a
Bela Lugosi with Frances Dade in Drac¬ ula (1931).
COURTESY OF UNIVERSAL PICTURES; PHOTOGRAPH, THE BETTMANN ARCHIVE
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Van de Graaff ► Vancouver I 1985
wealthy merchant in New Amsterdam. After the colony came under Brit¬ ish rule (1664), he was appointed to the governor’s council (1674). He became the first native-born mayor of New York City (1677, 1686-87) and later served as associate justice and chief justice of the New York supreme court (1691-1700).
Van de Graaff, Robert i(emison) (b. Dec. 20, 1901, Tuscaloosa, Ala., U.S.—d. Jan. 16, 1967, Boston, Mass.) U.S. physicist. He worked as an engineer, then as a physics researcher at the University of Oxford (1925- 29). From 1931 he continued his research at MIT, as a professor (1934-60). He developed a high-voltage electrostatic generator (later called the Van de Graaff generator) that served as a type of particle accelerator. In 1946 he cofounded the High Voltage Engineering Coip. to manufacture his accel¬ erator. Widely used in atomic research, the device was also adapted to pro¬ duce high-energy X rays for medical and industrial uses.
van de Velde, Henri See Henri van de Velde
van de Velde, Willem, the Elder See Willem van de Velde the Elder
van der Goes, Hugo See Hugo van der Goes
van der Rohe, Ludwig Mies See Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
van der Waals Vvan-dor-.wolzV Johannes Diederik (b. Nov. 23, 1837, Leiden, Neth.—d. March 9, 1923, Amsterdam) Dutch physicist. As professor at the University of Amsterdam (1877-1907), he extended the classical ideal-gas law (see gas laws) to describe the behaviour of real gases, deriving the van der Waals equation of state in 1881. His work led to the liquefying of several common gases and made possible the study of temperatures near absolute zero. The van der Waals forces were named in his honour. He received a 1910 Nobel Prize.
van der Waals forces Relatively weak electrical forces that attract neutral (uncharged) molecules to each other in GAses, liquefied and solidi¬ fied gases, and almost all organic liquids and solids. Solids held together by van der Waals forces typically have lower melting points and are softer than those held together by ionic, covalent, or metallic bonds (see bond¬ ing). The forces arise because neutral molecules, though uncharged, are usually electric dipoles, which have a tendency to align with each other and to induce further polarization in neighbouring molecules, resulting in a net attractive force. They are somewhat weaker than the forces involved in hydrogen bonding. See also Johannes D. van der Waals.
van der Weyden, Rogier See Rogier van der Weyden
Van Der Zee, James (Augustus Joseph) (b. June 29, 1886, Lenox, Mass., U.S.—d. May 15, 1983, Washington, D.C.) U.S. photog¬ rapher. In 1906 he moved with his family to Harlem in New York City. After a brief stint at a portrait studio in Newark, N.J., he returned to Har¬ lem to set up his own studio. The portraits he took from 1918 to 1945 chronicled the Harlem Renaissance; among his many renowned subjects were Countee Cullen, Bill Robinson, and Marcus Garvey. After World War II his fortunes declined until the Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibited his photographs in 1969.
van Doesburg, Theo See Theo van Doesburg
Van Doren, Carl (Clinton) and Mark (respectively b. Sept. 10, 1885, Hope, Ill., U.S.—d. July 18, 1950, Torrington, Conn.; b. June 13, 1894, Hope, Ill.—d. Dec. 10, 1972, Torrington, Conn.) U.S. writers and teachers. Carl, who taught at Columbia University from 1911 to 1930, edited the Cambridge History of American Literature (1917-21) and jour¬ nals. His critical works include the biography Benjamin Franklin (1938, Pulitzer Prize). Mark taught at Columbia from 1920 to 1959. He pub¬ lished more than 20 volumes of verse, including Spring Thunder (1924) and Collected Poems (1922-38) (1939, Pulitzer Prize). He wrote three novels and several volumes of short stories and edited anthologies. His literary criticism includes works on John Dryden, William Shakespeare, and Nathaniel Hawthorne as well as Introduction to Poetry (1951), which examines shorter classic poems of English and American literature.
Van Dyck \van-'dlk\, Sir Anthony (b. March 22, 1599, Antwerp, Belg.—d. Dec. 9, 1641, London, Eng.) Flemish painter. Son of a well- to-do silk merchant, he was apprenticed to an Antwerp painter at 10. He soon came under the influence of Peter Paul Rubens, for his early works are painted in Rubens’s Baroque style, though with darker and warmer colour, more abrupt chiaroscuro, and more angular figures. He was a master in the Antwerp artists’ guild by 19, at which time he was also working with Rubens. He spent over five years in Italy (1621-27); on his
return, he received many commissions for altarpieces and portraits. He also executed works on mythological subjects and was a fine draftsman and etcher, but he is chiefly known for his portraits, in which he ideal¬ ized his models without sacrificing their individuality. In Britain in 1632, he was appointed court painter by Charles I. He gained a comfortable income from the many portraits he painted in Britain, and his life matched his clients’ in luxury. His influence was pervasive and lasting; Flemish, Dutch, and German portraitists imitated his style and technique, and the 18th-century English portraitists, especially Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds, were deeply indebted to him.
Van Dyke, Dick orig. Richard Wayne Van Dyke (b. Dec. 13, 1925, West Plains, Mo., U.S.) U.S. actor and comedian. In 1947-53 he played in nightclubs with his pantomime act, “The Merry Mutes,” before making his Broadway debut in 1959. He starred in the musical Bye Bye Birdie (1960-61, Tony Award; film, 1963), and then in the successful television comedy series The Dick Van Dyke Show (1961-66)—winning several Emmy Awards— The New Dick Van Dyke Show (1971-74), and the drama series Diagnosis Murder (1993-2001). He has starred in such movies as Mary Poppins (1964) and Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang (1968).
van Eyck, Jan See Jan van Eyck
van Gogh, Vincent See Vincent van Gogh
Van Heusen \van-'hyu-z9n\, Jimmy orig. Edward Chester Bab¬ cock (b. Jan. 26, 1913, Syracuse, N.Y., U.S.—d. Feb. 7, 1990, Rancho Mirage, Calif.) U.S. songwriter. He began working in radio in his teens. In the early 1930s he worked in Tin Pan Alley and later collaborated on songs such as “Darn That Dream” and “Polka Dots and Moonbeams.” With Johnny Burke he wrote the songs for 23 Bing Crosby films. In 1954 he began collaborating with Sammy Cahn. He composed 76 songs for his friend Frank Sinatra, including “The Tender Trap” and “Come Fly with Me,” and won Academy Awards for “Swinging on a Star,” “All the Way,” “High Hopes,” and “Call Me Irresponsible.”