Wigner, Eugene (Paul) orig. Jeno Pal Wigner (b. Nov. 17, 1902, Budapest, Hung.—d. Jan. 1, 1995, Princeton, N.J., U.S.) Hungarian-born U.S. physicist. After studies at the University of Berlin, he immigrated to the U.S. in 1930 and joined the faculty of Princeton University. He was instrumental in getting the Manhattan Project started and was present when Enrico Fermi initiated the first chain reaction. He determined that the nuclear force is short-range and does not involve an electric charge, using group theory to investigate atomic structure. His name was given to sev¬ eral formulations, including the Breit-Wigner formula, which describes resonant nuclear reactions. He won a 1963 Nobel Prize (shared with Maria Mayer and Hans Jensen [1907-73], who won for unrelated work) for his insights into quantum mechanics, especially principles governing interac¬ tion of protons and neutrons in the nucleus and his formulation of the law of conservation of parity (see conservation law). In addition to his many scientific awards, he received numerous awards for his work for peace.
wigwam American Indian dwelling, characteristic of the Algonquian- speaking nomadic tribes of what is now the northeastern U.S. It is con¬ structed of saplings driven into the ground in a circle and tied together at the top, then covered with mats of woven rushes or sewn bark. See also igloo; longhouse; tepee.
Wilberforce, William (b. Aug. 24, 1759, Hull, Yorkshire, Eng.—d. July 29, 1833, London) British politician. Entering the House of Com¬ mons in 1780, he supported parliamentary reform and Catholic emanci¬ pation. Converted to evangelical Christianity (1785), he agitated against the slave trade and cofounded the Anti-Slavery Society. His sponsorship of antislavery legislation led to the passage of a bill abolishing the slave trade in the British West Indies (1807). From 1821 he agitated for eman¬ cipation of all slaves and was joined in Parliament by Thomas F. Buxton (1786-1845), who continued to sponsor legislation after Wilberforce retired in 1825. The Slavery Abolition Act was passed one month after Wilberforce’s death in 1833.
Wilbur, Richard (Purdy) (b. March 1, 1921, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. poet, critic, editor, and translator. He studied literature at Harvard University and established himself as an important young poet with the collections The Beautiful Changes (1947) and Ceremony (1950). His urbane, well-crafted verse later appeared in volumes such as Things of This World (1956, Pulitzer Prize), Walking to Sleep (1969), and The Mind Reader (1976). He also translated plays (notably those of Mouere) and wrote criticism and children’s books. He served as U.S. poet laureate in
1987-88.
Wilbye Vwil-be\, John (b. March 7, 1574, Diss, Norfolk, Eng.—d. September 1638, Colchester, Essex) British composer. He spent his entire life in the employ of the Kytson family, as a domestic musician at Hen- grave Hall, and then in Colchester (from 1628). One of the finest of the English madrigalists, he published only two collections (1598, 1609). His madrigals are less chromatic than those of his contemporary Thomas Weelkes, but he made subtle use of varying textures for expression.
wild boar See boar
wild carrot See Queen Anne's lace
wild pig See boar
wild rice Coarse annual grass ( Zizania aquatica ) of the family Poaceae (or Gramineae) whose grain, now often considered a delicacy, has long been an important food of American Indians. Despite its name, the plant is not related to rice. Wild rice grows naturally in shallow water in marshes
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
2058 I Wild West Show ► Wilhelmina
and along the shores of streams and lakes in northern central North America. Cultivated varieties are now grown in Minnesota and Califor¬ nia. The plant, about 3-10 ft (1-3 m) tall, is topped with a large, open flower cluster. The ripened grains, dark brown to purplish-black, are slen¬ der rods 0.4-0.8 in. (1-2 cm) long.
Wild West Show Theatrical extravaganza produced by William F. (Buffalo Bill) Cody. First performed in 1883, the show reached New York City’s Madison Square Garden in 1887 with a cast of 100 Native Ameri¬ cans, the sharpshooter Annie Oakley, other trick riders and ropers, and wild animals such as buffalo, elk, bear, and deer. The four-hour spectacle, including Native American war dances and an attack on a stagecoach, toured Europe with great success in the 1890s and continued touring the U.S. until 1916.
wildcat Wild species (Felis silvestris ) of cat (family Felidae) native to Eurasian forests. Very similar to the domestic yellowish tabby, it will interbreed with domestic cats (of which it is presumably an ancestor). It is 20-32 in. (50-80 cm) long, excluding the 10-14-in. (25-35-cm) tail. It stands 14—16 in. (35-40 cm) and weighs 6-20 lbs (3-10 kg). Solitary and nocturnal, it preys on birds and small animals. In North America the name is used for the bobcat and lynx; in Africa it refers to the Caffre cat.
wildcat bank In the U.S., an unsound bank chartered under state law during the period of state banking control (1816-63). Such banks distrib¬ uted currency backed by questionable securities and were located in inac¬ cessible areas to discourage note redemption. Note circulation by state banks ended with the passage of the National Bank Act of 1863, which provided for the incorporation of national banks and the issue of banknotes on the security of government bonds. The term wildcat bank was later applied to any unstable bank.
Wilde, Oscar (Fingal O'Flahertie Wills) (b. Oct. 16, 1854, Dub¬ lin, Ire.—d. Nov. 30, 1900, Paris,
France) Irish poet and dramatist. Son of an eminent surgeon, Wilde attended Trinity College, Dublin, and later Oxford University, becom¬ ing widely known for his wit while still an undergraduate. A spokesman for Aestheticism, in the early 1880s he gave a lecture tour in the U.S. and established himself in London circles by his wit and flamboyance.
His only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891), combines gothic elements with mockery of bourgeois morality. His macabre play Salome (1893) was later adapted as the libretto of Richard Strauss’s opera; his other plays, all successes, include Lady Winder¬ mere’s Fan (1893), A Woman of No Importance (1893), and An Ideal Husband (1895). His greatest work was the comedy The Importance of Being Earnest (1899), a satire of Vic¬ torian social hypocrisy. Two critical dialogues, “The Decay of Lying” and “The Critic as Artist,” are admired as equally brilliant. Though happily married, in 1891 he began an intimate relationship with the young Lord Alfred Douglas, son of the marquess of Queensberry. Accused by Queens- berry of being a sodomite, Wilde sued for libel and lost, then was arrested for sodomy and convicted in a trial that became internationally notorious. Imprisoned at Reading Gaol (1895-97), he wrote a recriminatory letter to his lover that was edited and published as De Profundis (1905). After his release, he moved to Paris; his only later work was The Ballad of Reading Gaol (1898), on inhumane prison conditions. He died suddenly of acute meningitis.
wildebeest See gnu
Wilder, Billy orig. Samuel Wilder (b. June 22, 1906, Sucha, Austria—d. March 27, 2002, Beverly Hills, Calif., U.S.) Austrian-born U.S. film director and screenwriter. Working as a reporter in Vienna and Berlin, he wrote screenplays for German films. He fled Germany in 1933 and arrived in Hollywood a year later. He cowrote screenplays with Charles Brackett and established his reputation as a director with Double Indemnity (1944). Noted for his humorous treatment of controversial sub¬
jects and his biting indictments of hypocrisy, he also directed The Lost Weekend (1945, Academy Award), Sunset Boulevard (1950, Academy Award for best screenplay), Stalag 17 (1953), and The Apartment (1960, Academy Award). His acclaimed comedies include Sabrina (1954), The Seven Year Itch (1955), Some Like It Hot (1959), and Kiss Me, Stupid