Washington, Harold (b. April 15, 1922, Chicago, Ill., U.S.—d. Nov. 25, 1987, Chicago) U.S. politician and mayor of Chicago (1983-87). He practiced law and served as a city attorney (1954-58). He was elected successively to the Illinois legislature (1965-76), the state senate (1976- 80), and the U.S. House of Representatives (1980-83). In 1983 he cam¬ paigned for mayor of Chicago on a platform of reform and an end to city patronage; with his election, he become the first African American to hold that post. He was reelected to a second term in 1987 but died soon after.
Washington, Mount Peak in the Presidential Range of the White Mountains, northern New Hampshire. Reaching an elevation of 6,288 ft (1,917 m), it is the highest point in the northeastern U.S. and is noted for its extreme weather conditions; the world’s highest wind velocity (231 mph [372 kph]) was recorded there in 1934. It is the site of Mount Wash¬ ington Observatory. The area is included in the White Mountain National Forest.
Washington and Lee University Private university in Lexington, Virginia, U.S. Founded as an academy in 1749, it is one of the oldest institutions of higher learning in the U.S. It is named for George Wash¬ ington, who presented the academy with a gift of $50,000 in 1796, and Robert E. Lee, who served as its president from 1865 to 1870. It became
coeducational in 1984. It has an undergraduate college, a law school, and a school of commerce, economics, and politics. Among its offerings are programs in engineering, environmental studies, and journalism.
Washington Birthplace National Monument, George See
George Washington Birthplace National Monument
Washington Conference officially International Conference on Naval Limitation Conference held in Washington, D.C. (1921— 22), to limit the naval arms race and negotiate Pacific security agreements. Several major and minor treaty agreements were drafted and signed: the Four-Power Pact (signed by Britain, Japan, France, and the U.S.) stipu¬ lated mutual consultation regarding any issue in the Pacific and affirmed respect for the Pacific territories of signatory nations. The Five-Power Naval Limitation Treaty (which Italy also signed) imposed proportional limits on the number of warships each signatory nation could maintain and mandated some actual disarmament; it lapsed in 1936 when Japan was refused equality with the U.S. and Britain. Another agreement regu¬ lated the use of submarines and outlawed poison gas in warfare. A Nine- Power Pact (with The Netherlands, Portugal, Belgium, and China) affirmed China’s sovereignty.
Washington Monument Obelisk in Washington, D.C., U.S., honouring George Washington, the first president of the United States. Based on a design by Robert Mills (b. 1781—d. 1855), it was built between 1848 and 1884. It is constructed of granite faced with Maryland marble and is some 555.5 ft (169.3 m) high, the world’s tallest masonry structure. Inserted in the interior walls are more than 190 carved stones presented by various individuals, cities, states, and foreign countries. It is located on grounds that are a westward extension of the Mall. The top can be reached by elevator or by an interior iron stairway. It underwent a major restoration in the 1990s and reopened in 2001.
Washington Post, The Morning daily newspaper published in Wash¬ ington, D.C., the dominant paper in the U.S. capital and one of the nation’s leading newspapers. Established in 1877 as a Democratic Party organ, it changed orientation and ownership several times and faced constant eco¬ nomic problems until financier Eugene Meyer (1875-1959) purchased it in 1933. Under the leadership of Meyer, his son-in-law Philip L. Graham (publisher from 1946 until his death in 1963), and his daughter, Katharine Graham (publisher from 1969-79), it acquired domestic and international prestige, especially in its coverage of the Watergate scandal. Donald E. Graham was named publisher in 1979. The newspaper is known for its sound and independent editorial stance and thorough, accurate reporting.
Washington University Private university in St. Louis, Mo. It was founded as a seminary in 1853 and became a university in 1857. It is a comprehensive research and teaching institution, with one of the leading medical schools in the U.S. It has a college of arts and sciences, a gradu¬ ate school, and schools of architecture, business (the Olin School), engi¬ neering and applied science, fine arts, law, and social work. Research facilities include a space science centre, a centre for the study of Islamic culture and society, and an institute for the deaf.
Washita \'wa-shi-,t6\ River River, west- and south-central Oklahoma, U.S. It rises in northwestern Texas and flows east across the Oklahoma boundary, then southeast to south-central Oklahoma, and south into the Red River. It is 626 mi (1,007 km) long. The Battle of the Washita (Novem¬ ber 1868), in which Gen. George Custer attacked a Cheyenne Indian encampment, took place near Cheyenne.
Washita River See Ouachita River
wasp Any of more than 20,000, usually winged, insect species in the order Hymenoptera. The abdomen is attached to the thorax by a slender petiole, or “waist,” and the female’s abdomen has a formidable stinger. Most species are solitary; about 1,000 species are highly social; and some may be either social or solitary. Adults feed primarily on nectar. Most solitary wasps nest in tunnels in the ground and feed larvae with para¬ lyzed insects or spiders. The paperlike nest of social wasps (family Vesp- idae) consists of chewed plant material mixed with saliva and arranged in adjacent hexagonal cells. The female lays one egg in each cell and pro¬ visions it with a macerated caterpillar. Successive generations may enlarge the nest and care for the young.
Wassermann \'va-s3r-,man,\ English Vwa-sor-manV August von (b. Feb. 21, 1866, Bamberg, Bavaria—d. March 16, 1925, Berlin, Ger.) German bacteriologist. With Albert Neisser (1855-1916) he developed a
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Wassermann ► water lily I 2033
test for the antibody to the spirochete that causes syphilis in 1906. That test, along with other procedures, is still used to diagnose syphilis. He is also noted for developing tests for tuberculosis. With Wilhelm Kolle he wrote Handbook of Pathogenic Microorganisms (6 vol., 1903-09).
Wassermann Vva-S3r- I man,\ English Vwa-sor-monV Jakob (b. March 10, 1873, Fiirth, Bavaria—d. Jan. 1, 1934, Altaussee, Austria) Ger¬ man novelist. After an unsettled youth he achieved success with such works as Die Juden von Zirndorf (1897), Caspar Hauser (1908), and Christian Wahnschaffe (1919). His popularity was greatest in the 1920s and ’30s, when he wrote The Maurizius Case (1928), treating the theme of justice with the carefully plotted suspense of a detective story, and extended the tale of a post-World War I youth into a trilogy with Etzel Andergast (1931) and Kerkhoven’s Third Existence (1934). He is fre¬ quently compared to Fyodor Dostoyevsky in both his moral fervour and his sensationalizing tendency.
Wasserstein Vwa-sor-.stlnX, Wendy (b. Oct. 18, 1950, Brooklyn, N.Y., U.S.—d. Jan. 30, 2006, New York, N.Y.) U.S. playwright. Wasser¬ stein earned a graduate degree at the Yale School of Drama. She won favourable notice for Uncommon Women and Others (1977), which was followed by Isn’t It Romantic (1981) and The Heidi Chronicles (1988, Tony Award, Pulitzer Prize). She became noted for her comic gift and her portrayals of single women. Her later plays include The Sisters Rosens- weig (1992), An American Daughter (1997), and Third (2005).