Germany and Switzerland, he earned a doctorate in chemistry and pat¬ ented several dyestuffs before moving to England to teach in 1904. His 1912 discovery of a bacterium that could convert carbohydrate to acetone proved of great value to the British armaments industry in World War I (1914-18), and in return the government aided his negotiations for the Balfour Declaration (1917). In 1919 he obtained an agreement on Jewish- Arab coexistence in Palestine from Faysal I, and in 1920 he became presi¬ dent of the World Zionist Organization, a post from which he was ousted in 1931. He settled in Rehovot, Palestine, in 1937. Despite conflicts with more extreme Zionists, he was sent to the U.S. to secure support for Israel in 1948, and in 1949 he was elected president.
Welch, William Henry (b. April 8, 1850, Norfolk, Conn., U.S.—d. April 30, 1934, Baltimore, Md.) U.S. pathologist. He studied pathology in Germany before returning to the U.S. to open the nation’s first pathol¬ ogy laboratory, at Bellevue Hospital Medical College in New York City (1879). From 1893 he directed the rise of Johns Hopkins University, where he developed the country’s first true university department of pathology. He recruited William Osler and William S. Halsted for the fac¬ ulty and was the medical school’s first dean (1893-98). His curriculum revolutionized U.S. medicine by demanding that students study physical sciences and be actively involved in clinical duties and laboratory work. Welch also demonstrated the effects of diphtheria toxin and discovered bacteria involved in wound fever and gas gangrene.
Weld, Theodore Dwight (b. Nov. 23, 1803, Hampton, Conn., U.S.—d. Feb. 3, 1895, Hyde Park, Mass.) U.S. reformer. He left divinity studies to become an agent for the American Anti-Slavery Society (1834). His pamphlets The Bible Against Slavery (1837) and Slavery as It Is (1839) helped convert figures such as James Birney, Henry Ward Beecher, and Harriet Beecher Stowe to the antislavery cause. He married his coworker Angelina Grimke (1838), and they directed schools and taught in New Jersey and Massachusetts. In 1841—43 Weld organized an anti¬ slavery reference bureau in Washington, D.C., to assist congressmen seek¬ ing to repeal the gag rule restricting the consideration of antislavery petitions in Congress.
welding Technique for joining metallic parts, usually through the appli¬ cation of heat. Discovered in the 1st millennium ad during attempts to manipulate iron into useful shapes, the technique produced a strong, tough blade. Welding traditionally involved interlayering relatively soft and tough iron with high-carbon material, followed by hammer forging. Mod¬ em welding processes include gas welding, arc welding, and resistance welding. More recently, electron-beam welding, laser welding, and sev¬ eral solid-phase processes such as diffusion bonding, friction welding, and ultrasonic joining have been developed. See also brazing, soldering.
Welensky, Sir Roy (b. Jan. 20, 1907, Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia—<i. Dec. 5, 1991, Blandford Forum, Dorset, Eng.) Rhodesian politician. He worked on the railways as a youth, later becoming head of the Railway Workers Union. He held the heavyweight boxing title for Rhodesia, 1925-27. He began his political career with election to North¬ ern Rhodesia’s legislature in 1938. A strong supporter of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (now Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Malawi), he was elected to its first parliament, became prime minister in 1956, and served until the federation broke up in 1963.
Welf dynasty \'velf\ Dynasty of German nobles and rulers. They descended from Count Welf of Bavaria (early 9th century), whose daugh¬ ters married Louis I the Pious and Louis the German. The Welfs were linked to the House of Este in the 11th century. They supported the papal party against Emperor Henry IV and were rivals of the Hohenstaufens in central Europe and in Italy (where their name was Guelpho; see Guelphs and Ghi- bellines). As part of the House of Hanover, they became rulers of Britain.
welfare or social welfare Any of a variety of governmental pro¬ grams that provide assistance to those in need. Programs include pensions, disability and unemployment insurance, family allowances, survivor ben¬ efits, and national health insurance. The earliest modern welfare laws were enacted in Germany in the 1880s (see social insurance), and by the 1920s and ’30s most Western countries had adopted similar programs. Most industrialized countries require firms to insure workers for disability (see workers' compensation) so that they have income if they are injured, whether temporarily or permanently. For disability from illness unrelated to occupational injury, most industrial states pay a short-term benefit fol¬ lowed by a long-term pension. Many countries pay a family allowance to reduce the poverty of large families or to increase the birth rate. Survivor
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2044 I welfare economics ► Wellington
benefits, provided for widows below pension age who are left with a dependent child, vary considerably among nations and generally cease if the woman remarries. Among the world’s wealthy countries, only the U.S. fails to provide national health insurance other than for the aged and the poor (see Medicare and Medicaid).
welfare economics Branch of economics established in the 20th cen¬ tury that seeks to evaluate economic policies in terms of their effects on the community’s well-being. Early theorists defined welfare as the sum of the satisfactions accruing to an individual through an economic system. Believing it was possible to compare the well-being of two or more indi¬ viduals, they argued that a poor person would derive more satisfaction from an increase in income than would a rich person. Later writers argued that making such comparisons with any precision was impossible. A new and more limited criterion was later developed: one economic situation was deemed superior to another if at least one person had been made bet¬ ter off without anyone else being made worse off. See also consumer's surplus; Vilfredo Pareto.
Welfare Island See Roosevelt Island Welfare Party See Refah Party
welfare state Concept of government in which the state plays a key role in protecting and promoting the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equi¬ table distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those who lack the minimal provisions for a good life. The term may be applied to a vari¬ ety of forms of economic and social organization. A basic feature of the welfare state is social insurance, intended to provide benefits during peri¬ ods of greatest need (e.g., old age, illness, unemployment). The welfare state also usually includes public provision of education, health services, and housing. Such provisions are less extensive in the U.S. than in many European countries, where comprehensive health coverage and state- subsidized university-level education have been common. In countries with centrally planned economies, the welfare state also covers employ¬ ment and administration of consumer prices. Most nations have instituted at least some of the measures associated with the welfare state; Britain adopted comprehensive social insurance in 1948, and in the U.S., social- legislation programs such as the New Deal and the Fair Deal were based on welfare-state principles. Scandinavian countries provide state aid for the individual in almost all phases of life.
Welle, Lawrence (b. March 11, 1903, Strasburg, N.D., U.S.—d. May 17, 1992, Santa Monica, Calif.) U.S. bandleader and television performer. Born in a German-speaking village in North Dakota, he did not learn English until he was 21. He played the accordion and formed two musi¬ cal groups that opened for bands and orchestras in the Midwest. Welk moved to Los Angeles, where his television program The Lawrence Welk Show (1955-71), which featured band music with vocalists, dancers, and instrumental soloists, became a huge success. The show was dropped by the network, but Welk continued it as Memories with Lawrence Welk (1971-82) after he was able to sign contracts with more than 250 inde¬ pendent television stations in the U.S. and Canada. Known for his unpre¬ tentious warmth and his trademark phrase “Wunnerful, wunnerful,” he played light, nostalgic “champagne music” and featured smiling perform¬ ers such as the Lennon Sisters.