Connery, Sir Sean orig. Thomas Connery (b. Aug. 25, 1930, Edinburgh, Scot.) Scottish actor. He worked at odd jobs and entered body-
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452 I Connolly ► conscription
building competitions before making his London stage debut in the cho¬ rus of South Pacific (1951). After several minor roles, Connery starred as James Bond in the film version of Ian Fleming’s Dr. No (1962) and went on to play secret agent 007 in six other films. A compelling character actor as well as a perennial sex symbol, he acted in films such as The Man Who Would Be King (1975), The Name of the Rose (1986), The Untouchables (1987, Academy Award), and Finding Forrester (2000).
Connolly, Maureen (Catherine) (b. Sept. 17, 1934, San Diego, Calif., U.S.—d. June 21, 1969, Dallas, Texas) U.S. tennis player. She became the youngest winner of the National Girl’s Tournament at age 14. “Little Mo” won her first National Women’s title in 1951. In 1953 she became the first woman to win the grand-slam (the Wimbledon, U.S., Australian, and French singles competitions). Her career was ended in 1954 by a horseback-riding accident.
Connor, Ralph orig. Charles William Gordon (b. Sept. 13,1860, Indian Lands, Glengarry county, Ont., Can.—d. Oct. 31, 1937, Winnipeg, Man.) Canadian novelist. Ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1890, Con¬ nor became a missionary to mining and lumber camps in the Canadian Rocky Mountains; this experience and memories of his childhood in Glen¬ garry, Ont., provided material for his novels, including The Sky Pilot (1899) and The Prospector (1904), which, combining adventure with reli¬ gious messages and wholesome sentiment, made him the best-selling Canadian novelist of the early 20th century. His best books are considered to be The Man from Glengarry (1901) and Glengarry School Days (1902).
Connors, Jimmy in full James Scott Connors (b. Sept. 2, 1952, East St. Louis, Ill., U.S.) U.S. tennis player. In 1974 he won three grand- slam tournaments (U.S. Open, Australian Open, and Wimbledon) but was barred from the French Open because he had joined World Team Tennis. Known for his aggressive play and fiery temper, Connors won the Wim¬ bledon and U.S. doubles (with Ilie Nastase) titles in 1975, the Wimble¬ don singles in 1982, and the U.S. singles in 1976, 1978, 1982, and 1983.
conodont Vko-no-.dantX Minute toothlike fossil composed of the min¬ eral apatite (calcium phosphate); conodonts are among the most fre¬ quently encountered fossils in marine sedimentary rocks of Paleozoic age. They are the remains of animals that lived 543-248 million years ago that are believed to have been small marine invertebrates living in the open oceans and coastal waters throughout the tropical and temperate zones.
Conor See Conchobar mac Nessa
conquistador Vkan-'kes-to-.dorN Any of a small group of adventurers who took part in the Spanish conquest of South and Central America in the 16th century. Under Hernan Cortes a force of some 500 men with 16 horses conquered Mexico’s Aztec empire. A force under Pedro de Alva¬ rado subsequently subdued Guatemala. Francisco Pizarro defeated the Inca in Peru with 180 men and 37 horses; his companion Diego de Alma- gro led an expedition to Chile. Further expeditions extended Spanish rule over much of South America. Though renowned for their bravery, the conquistadores remain notorious for their avarice and the destruction they wrought on native populations and civilizations. They were soon replaced by administrators and settlers from Spain.
Conrad I (d. Dec. 23, 918) German king (911-918). The duke of Fran¬ conia and a member of the powerful Franconian dynasty known as the Conradines, Conrad was elected king on the death of the last of the East Frankish Carolingian rulers. His reign was a bitter struggle to maintain the traditions of Carolingian kingship against the growing power of Saxon, Bavarian, and Swabian dukes. Conrad failed to gain the support of the church, and his military campaigns were unsuccessful. Unable to establish his family as the royal house of the eastern Franks, he is reported to have proposed his opponent, Henry of Saxony, as his successor.
Conrad II (b. c. 990—d. June 4, 1039, Utrecht, Ger.) German king (1024-39) and emperor (1027-39), founder of the Salian (or Franconian) dynasty. In 1016 he married a duchess to whom he was distantly related, and the emperor Henry II used the marriage as a pretext to have him exiled. The two men were later reconciled, and Conrad was crowned king of Germany in 1024. A rebellion of German nobles and princes of Lombardy collapsed (1025), and Conrad was made successively king of Italy (1026) and emperor (1027). He instituted legislative reforms, issuing a new set of feudal constitutions for Lombardy. His son Henry was elected king in 1028 and became his chief counselor. Conrad defeated Poland (1028), regaining lands lost earlier. He inherited Burgundy (1034) and resolved dissensions among the great princes in Italy (1038).
Conrad III (b. 1093—d. Feb. 15, 1152, Bamberg, Ger.) German king (1138-52), the first of the Hohenstaufen dynasty. Nephew of Emperor Henry V of Germany, he revolted when he was passed over as heir by the electors, and he was crowned antiking at Niimberg (1127) and king of Italy (1128). Returning to Germany in 1132, he fought the German king Lothar II until 1135, when Conrad submitted and was pardoned. He became king when Lothar died, quelling resistance in Bavaria and Sax¬ ony. Conrad set out for Palestine on the Second Crusade (1147) and vis¬ ited Constantinople (1148), where he cemented an alliance with Manuel I Comnenus. Unable to visit Rome, he never received the imperial crown.
Conrad, Joseph orig. Jozef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski
(b. Dec. 3, 1857, Berdichev, Ukraine, Russian Empire—d. Aug. 3, 1924, Canterbury, Kent, Eng.) Polish-British novelist and short-story writer. His father was a Polish patriot who was exiled to northern Russia, and Con¬ rad was an orphan by age 12. He managed to join the French merchant marine and in 1878 the British merchant navy, where he pursued a career for most of the next 15 years; his naval experiences would provide the material for most of his novels. Though he knew little English before he was 20, he became one of the master English stylists. He is noted for tales in rich prose of dangerous life at sea and in exotic places, settings he used to reveal his real concern, his deeply pessimistic vision of the human struggle. Of his many novels, which include Almayer’s Folly (1895), The Nigger of the “Narcissus” (1897), Lord Jim (1900), Nostromo (1904), The Secret Agent (1907), and Under Western Eyes (1911), several are regarded as masterpieces. He also published seven story collections; the novella “Heart of Darkness” (1902) is his most famous shorter work and the basis for Francis Ford Coppola’s film Apocalypse Now (1979). Conrad’s influ¬ ence on later novelists has been profound.
Conrad von Hotzendorf Vkon-.rat-fon-'hcet-son-.dorfV, Franz (Xaver Josef), Count (b. Nov. 11, 1852, Penzing, Austria—d. Aug. 25, 1925, Mergentheim, Ger.) Austrian soldier. A career officer in the Austro-Hungarian army, he became chief of staff in 1906. A conservative propagandist for Austria-Hungary, he advocated preventive wars against Serbia and Italy, for which he was briefly dismissed in 1911. In World War I, he planned the successful Austro-German offensive of 1915, but he was later hampered by German domination and lack of military resources. He was dismissed when Charles I took command in 1916.
Conrail in full Consolidated Rail Corp. U.S. railroad company created by the federal government in 1973 to take over six bankrupt northeastern railroads. Conrail began operations in 1976 with major por¬ tions of the Central Railroad Co. of New Jersey, Erie Lackawanna Rail¬ way Co., Lehigh & Hudson River Railway Co., Lehigh Valley Railroad Co., Penn Central Transportation Co., and Reading Co. The resulting net¬ work carried freight traffic to 15 states, from the Atlantic Ocean to St. Louis, Mo., and from the Ohio River north to Canada. Its passenger traf¬ fic was turned over to Amtrak and regional transportation authorities in 1983. Its stock was put up for sale to the public in 1987, and in 1999 most of Conrail’s assets were acquired by CSX and Norfolk Southern railroads.