communications satellite Westar 1 in 1974 and was operating five satellites by 1982. In 1988 the company was reorganized as Western Union Corp. to handle money transfers and related services. After declar¬ ing bankruptcy in 1993, it sold its financial services arm in 1994 to First Financial Management Corp., and in 1995 that company merged with First Data Corp. The renamed Western Union Financial Services, Inc., became a world leader in electronic (including Internet) transactions.
Western Wall or Wailing Wall Place of prayer in the Old City of Jerusalem sacred to the Jewish people. It is the only remnant of the Sec¬ ond Temple of Jerusalem. Because it now forms part of a larger area— known as the Temple Mount by Jews and as al-Haram al-Sharlf by Muslims—surrounding the Muslim Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque, the two groups have often vied for control of it. When Israel captured the Old City in the Six- Day War (1967), the Jews once more gained authority over the site.
Westernizers See Slavophiles and Westernizers Westerschelde See Western Scheldt
Westinghouse, George (b. Oct. 6, 1846, Central Bridge, N.Y., U.S.—d. March 12,1914, New York,
N.Y.) U.S. inventor and industrialist.
He served in the American Civil War.
His first major invention was an air brake (patented 1869), which was eventually made compulsory on all American trains. He developed a railway signaling system and later introduced many innovations in pip¬ ing natural gas. His major achieve¬ ment was the adoption by the U.S. of alternating current (AC) for electric power transmission. The electrical system being developed in the U.S. in the 1880s used direct current (DC), though AC systems were being developed in Europe. Westinghouse purchased the patents for Nikola Tes¬ la’s AC motor and hired Tesla to improve and modify the motor for use in his power system. In 1886 he incorporated the predecessor of Westinghouse Electric Corp. He eventu¬ ally prevailed over powerful opposition from advocates of DC power, and in 1893 his company was hired to light the World’s Columbian Exposi¬ tion at Chicago. He also obtained the rights to develop the great falls of the Niagara River with AC generators. See also electric current.
Westinghouse Electric Corp. U.S. television and radio broadcast¬ ing company, formerly an electrical equipment manufacturer. It was founded in 1886 as the Westinghouse Electric Co. by George Westing¬ house to make and sell alternating-current electrical systems. The com¬ pany became a major supplier to the electric-utility industry, producing machinery used to generate and distribute electricity. It adopted the name Westinghouse Electric Corp. in 1945. After World War II Westinghouse also manufactured nuclear reactors and defense electronics. In the 1990s it bought television and radio stations throughout the U.S., including the television network CBS Inc. in 1995 and Infinity Broadcasting Corp. in 1996. After selling its defense electronics unit to Northrop Grumman Corp. in 1996, the company changed its name to CBS Corp. in 1997 and sold its nuclear operations to British Nuclear Fuels PLC in 1998. CBS was purchased by media conglomerate Viacom Inc. in 1999 and renamed CBS Television Network.
Westminster, Statute of (1931) Parliamentary statute that effected the equality of Britain and the then-dominions of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Ireland, and Newfoundland. It confirmed declara¬ tions made at British imperial conferences in 1926 and 1930 that the self- governing dominions were to be regarded as “autonomous communities within the British Empire.” United in their allegiance to the crown, the countries individually controlled their own domestic and foreign affairs as equal members of the British Commonwealth of Nations.
Westminster Abbey Church in London. It was originally a Bene¬ dictine monastery. Edward the Confessor built a Norman-style church (consecrated 1065) on the site of an older church there; this was pulled
Rsabhanatha, Western Indian bronze from Chahardi, western Khandesh, Maharashtra state, 9th century ad; in a private collection.
P. CHANDRA
Westinghouse
COURTESY OF WESTINGHOUSE ELECTRIC CORPORATION
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
2050 I Westminster Confession ► whaling
down in 1245 by Henry Ill (except for the nave) and replaced with the present Gothic-style abbey church. The rebuilding of the nave was begun by 1376 and continued intermittently until Tudor times. The chapel of Henry VII (begun c. 1503) is noted for its exquisite fan vaulting. Eliza¬ beth I refounded the church as the Collegiate Church of St. Peter in West¬ minster (1560). The western towers (1745), by Nicholas Hawksmoor and John James, were the last addition. Every British sovereign since Will¬ iam the Conqueror has been crowned in the abbey except Edward V and Edward VIII. Many are also buried there, and it is crowded with the tombs and memorials to other famous Britons. Part of the southern transept is known as the Poets’ Corner, while the northern transept has memorials to statesmen.
Westminster Confession Confession of faith of English-speaking Presbyterians, representing a theological consensus of international Cal¬ vinism. Produced by the Westminster Assembly, it was completed in 1646 and approved by Parliament in 1648. When the monarchy was restored in 1660, the episcopal form of church government was reinstated and the Confession lost official status in England, but it had already been adopted by the Church of Scotland (1647) and various other churches. Consisting of 33 chapters, it states that the sole doctrinal authority is scripture, restates the doctrines of the Holy Trinity and Jesus, and gives reformed views of the sacraments, the ministry, and grace. See also Presbyterianism.
Weston, Edward (b. March 24, 1886, Highland Park, Ill., U.S.—d. Jan. 1, 1958, Carmel, Calif.) U.S. photographer. A camera enthusiast from boyhood, Weston began his professional career by opening a por¬ trait studio in Glendale, Calif. His early work was in the style of the Pictorialists, photographers who imi¬ tated Impressionist paintings. In 1915 Weston saw an exhibition of modern art that inspired him to renounce his former work: he began to create sharp and realistic pictures that con¬ vey the beauty of natural objects through skillful composition and subtleties of tone, light, and texture.
After traveling and meeting luminar¬ ies such as Alfred Stieglitz and Diego Rivera, in 1927 Weston made a series of monumental close-ups of sea- shells, peppers, and halved cabbages, bringing out the rich textures of their sculpturelike forms. Two years later he made the first of many photo¬ graphs of the rocks and trees on Point Lobos, Calif. In 1936 Weston began a series of photographs of nudes and sand dunes at Oceano, Calif., which are often considered his finest work. After being stricken by Parkinson disease, Weston realized he would soon be unable to work. He made his last photographs on Point Lobos in 1948. He is considered one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century.
Westphalia Former province of Prussia, now part of Germany. It com¬ prises (with the former state of Lippe) the present German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and parts of the states of Lower Saxony and Hesse. Settled by Saxons called Westphalians c. ad 700, Westphalia was created a duchy (1180), which for several centuries was administered for the archbishop of Cologne. The Peace of Westphalia (1648) was signed at Monster. In 1807 Napoleon created for his brother, Jerome Bonaparte, the kingdom of Westphalia; its capital was Kassel. Reorganized by the Con¬ gress of Vienna in 1815, it became a province of Prussia in 1816, with its capital at Munster. Its cities suffered severe bombings in World War II.