Walsh, Raoul (b. March 11, 1887, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. Dec. 31, 1980, Simi Valley, near Los Angeles, Calif.) U.S. film director. Walsh began acting for the stage in 1910 and on film in 1912, the same year that he began directing. He was an assistant to D.W. Griffith and appeared in The Birth of a Nation (1915). In his 50-year career, he directed over 200 films, usually characterized by their simplicity and quick action. His White Heat (1949) is a classic study of a pathological criminal, and The Naked and the Dead (1958) is an effective translation of Norman Mailer’s novel into film. His other films include What Price Glory? (1926), The Roar¬ ing Twenties (1939), They Drive by Night (1940), They Died with Their Boots On (1941), High Sierra (1941), and A Distant Trumpet (1964).
Walsingham, Sir Francis (b. c. 1532, probably Footscray, Kent, Eng.—d. April 6, 1590, London) English statesman and adviser to Queen Elizabeth I (1573-90). A member of Parliament from 1563, he became ambassador to the French court (1570-73) and established friendly rela¬ tions between France and England. He was admitted to the Privy Council in 1573 and became secretary of state to Elizabeth I. Although not allowed to pursue an independent policy, he faithfully executed Elizabeth’s foreign policy. He proved invaluable in uncovering conspiracies by Catholics against Elizabeth’s life, including the plots by Francis Throckmorton (1583) and Anthony Babington (1586) to free Mary, Queen of Scots.
Walter, Bruno orig. Bruno Walter Schlesinger (b. Sept. 15, 1876, Berlin, Ger.—d. Feb. 17, 1962, Beverly Hills, Calif., U.S.) German- bom U.S. conductor. An associate of Gustav Mahler, he was long a faith¬ ful proponent and interpreter of Mahler’s music, giving the world
premieres of Das Lied von der Erde (1911) and the Symphony No. 9 (1912). He held positions in Munich (1913-22) and at Co vent Garden (1924-31), but thereafter he served more often as a guest conductor than a music director. After moving to the U.S. in 1939, he often conducted the New York Philharmonic (recording as the Columbia or CBS Sym¬ phony), the Metropolitan Opera, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and he was admired for the warmth of his inter¬ pretations, primarily of the Viennese school.
Walter, John (b. 1739, probably in London, Eng.—d. Nov. 16, 1812, Teddington, Middlesex) English newspaper publisher. Initially a coal dealer and marine-insurance underwriter, Walter acquired the patent for a printing system in 1783 and in 1785 in London began to publish the Daily Universal Register. He renamed it The Times in 1788. Though nei¬ ther outstanding nor honest as a journalist, he turned from scandal to more serious topics and organized (while in prison for libeling members of the royal family) a news service from the European continent, thereby launch¬ ing The Times toward its later preeminence in foreign news reporting. Walter’s family owned The Times for almost 125 years.
Walters, Barbara (b. Sept. 25, 1931, Boston, Mass., U.S.) U.S. tele¬ vision journalist. After brief employment in an advertising agency, she became assistant to the publicity director for New York City’s NBC- affiliated television station. She worked in television as a writer-producer (1952-58), interviewer (1964-74), and cohost (1974-76) of NBC’s Today show, for which she won an Emmy Award in 1975. In 1976-78, for an unprecedented $ 1 million a year, she was coanchor of the ABC Evening News, the first woman to anchor a network newscast in the U.S. From 1976 she hosted the series of Barbara Walters Specials, interviewing celebrities and world leaders Her disarmingly direct questioning drew many subjects into frequently interesting and occasionally provocative moments of self-revelation. In 1982 and 1983 she received Emmy Awards for best interviewer. From 1984 she also cohosted ABC’s 20/20 news magazine program.
Walther von der Vogelweide Vval-tor-fon-der-'fo-gol-.vI-doX (b. c. 1170—d. c. 1230, Wurzburg?) Greatest German lyric poet of the Middle Ages. Of knightly birth, Walther was educated at a monastery school and served masters in several courts. His poetry goes far beyond the artificial conventions followed by other minnesingers by introducing an element of realism. He emphasizes the virtues of the balanced life, in both the social and the personal spheres. More than half of his approximately 200 extant poems are political, moral, or religious; the rest are love poems, among them the popular “Unter der Linden.”
Walton, Izaak (b. Aug. 9, 1593, Stafford, Staffordshire, Eng.—d. Dec. 15, 1683, Winchester, Hampshire) English biographer and author. A pros¬ perous ironmonger with only a few years of schooling, he read widely, developed scholarly tastes, and associated with men of learning. A friend and fishing companion of John Donne, he contributed “An Elegie” to the posthumous publication of Donne’s poetry (1633) and wrote biographies of Donne (1640), George Herbert (1670), and others. His classic The Com- pleat Angler (1653), a pastoral discourse on the joys and stratagems of fishing, is one of the most frequently reprinted works in English litera¬ ture, most often in a revision (1676) with additions by Charles Cotton
(1630-87).
Walton, Sam(uel Moore) (b. March 29, 1918, Kingfisher, Okla., U.S.—d. April 5, 1992, Little Rock, Ark.) U.S. retail magnate, founder of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. He attended the University of Missouri and then trained with the J.C. Penney Co. In 1945 he started a chain of variety stores in Arkansas, and in 1962 he opened his first Wal-Mart store in Rogers, Ark., offering a wide selection of discount merchandise. Whereas other discount-store chains were usually situated in or near large cities, Walton based his stores in small towns where there was little competition from established chains. Using this strategy his company expanded to 800 stores by 1985. In 1983 he opened the first Sam’s Wholesale Club. Wal¬ ton stepped down as chief executive officer of Wal-Mart Stores in 1988 but remained chairman until his death, by which time there were over 1,700 stores and Walton’s family was the wealthiest in the U.S. In the 1990s Wal-Mart became controversial for depleting downtown districts of their commercial life by siting stores nearby. By the end of the 20th century it had become the world’s largest retailer.
Walton, Sir William (Turner) (b. March 29, 1902, Oldham, Lan¬ cashire, Eng.—d. March 8, 1983, Ischia, Italy) British composer. His par¬ ents were musicians, and he learned to sing and play piano and violin
Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus).
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© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
waltz ► Wannsee Conference I 2027
early. He established his reputation at age 19 by setting to jazzy music the whimsical poetry of Edith Sitwell (see Sitwell family); Fagade (1923) premiered with the poet reading her poetry through a megaphone. Wal¬ ton’s later works include Belshazzar’s Feast (1931), two symphonies (1935, 1960), and concertos for viola, violin, and cello (1929, 1939, 1956). His scores for Laurence Olivier’s films of Henry V (1944), Hamlet (1947), and Richard III (1955) became well known; he also wrote coro¬ nation marches for George VI and Elizabeth II.
waltz Ballroom turning dance evolved from the landler in the 18th cen¬ tury. It is characterized by a step, slide, and step in 3/4 time. It was highly popular in the 19th and early 20th century. Variations include the rapid, whirling Viennese waltz and the slower, dipping Boston waltz, modified by Vernon and Irene Castle as the hesitation waltz. Many 19th-century composers wrote waltz music, most notably Franz Peter Schubert, Frederic Chopin, Johannes Brahms, and Johann Strauss.