Corso, Gregory (b. March 26, 1930, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. Jan. 17, 2001, Robbinsdale, Minn.) American poet. A troubled adolescent, Corso spent time in prison. In New York City he became acquainted with Allen Ginsberg, who became his mentor. Corso became a leading mem¬ ber of the Beat movement. His poetry is notable for its directness and its startling imagery. Among his poetry collections are The Vestal Lady on Brattle (1955), The Mutation of the Spirit (1964), Herald of the Autoch- thonic Spirit (1981), and Mindfeld (1989).
Cort, Henry (b. 1740, Lancaster, Lancashire, Eng.—d. 1800, London) British inventor and industrialist. In 1783 he obtained a patent for pro¬ ducing iron bars quickly and economically in a rolling mill with grooved rolls. The following year he patented his puddling process for converting pig iron into wrought iron in a reverberatory furnace. His two inventions had a significant effect on Britain’s iron-making industry, and iron pro¬ duction quadrupled in the next 20 years.
Cortazar \kor-'ta-sar\, Julio (b. Aug. 26, 1914, Brussels, Belg.—d. Feb. 12, 1984, Paris, France) Argentine-French novelist and short-story writer. Bom to Argentine parents, he was educated in Argentina. His first story collection, Bestiario (1951; “Bestiary”), was published the year he moved to Paris, where he spent much of the rest of his life. His master¬ piece, Hopscotch (1963), is an open-ended novel, or antinovel, in which the reader is invited to rearrange the chapters. One of his stories became the basis for Michelangelo Antonioni’s film Blow-up (1966).
Cortes Vkor-tas\ Representative assembly of the medieval Iberian king¬ doms. The Cortes developed in the Middle Ages when elected represen¬ tatives of the free municipalities acquired the right to take part in the affairs of the Curia Regis (“King’s Court”). They were admitted because the crown was short of funds and lacked the right to raise taxes without the consent of the municipalities. Cortes were established in Leon and Castile by the early 13th century and soon appeared in Catalonia (1218), Aragon (1274), Valencia (1283), and Navarra (1300). Today the term refers to the national legislatures of Spain and Portugal.
Cortes \kor-'tez\, Hernan later marques del Valle de Oaxaca
(b. 1485, Medellin, near Merida, Extremadura, Castile—d. Dec. 2, 1547, Castilleja de la Cuesta, near Sevilla) Spanish conquistador who won Mexico for Spain. Cortes left Spain for the New World at age 19, joining Diego Velazquez de Cuellar (b. 1465—d. 1524) in the conquest of Cuba (1511). In 1519, with 508 men and 16 horses, he burned his ships on Mexico’s southeastern coast, thus committing himself to conquest. After accumulating thousands of Indian allies who resented Aztec domination, he forged ahead to Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital (today Mexico City). The emperor Montezuma II, believing Cortes to be the god Quetzalcoatl, welcomed him but was taken prisoner. Hearing that a Spanish force from Cuba was coming to relieve him of command, Cortes left Tenochtitlan under the command of a captain and set out to defeat his Spanish oppo¬ nents. Returning with the opposition forces now under his command, he discovered that the city had revolted; he led his troops away by night in a costly retreat, but he returned in 1521 to conquer the city and with it
the empire. The absolute ruler of a huge territory, he was forced to retire after a disastrous expedition in 1524 to the Honduran jungles. His final years were beset by misfortune.
Cortes, Sea of See Gulf of California
cortex In plants, the tissue of unspecialized cells lying between the epi¬ dermis (surface cells) and the vascular, or conducting, tissues (see phloem and xylem) of stems and roots. Cortical cells may contain stored food or other substances, such as resins, latex, essential oils, and tannins. Cortical cells in herbaceous stems, young woody stems, and stems of succulents contain chloroplasts and can therefore make food by photosynthesis. Food, usually in the form of starch, in edible roots, bulbs, and tubers is stored mostly in the cortex.
cortisone Steroid hormone produced by the adrenal cortex (see adrenal gland). It participates in the regulation of the conversion of proteins to carbohydrates, and to some extent it regulates salt metabolism. Introduced medically in 1948 for its anti-inflammatory effect to treat arthritis, it has been largely replaced by related compounds that do not produce its undes¬ ired side effects, which include edema, increased stomach acidity, and imbalances in sodium, potassium, and nitrogen metabolism. See also Cushing syndrome.
Cortona, Luca da See Luca Signorelli Cortona, Pietro da See Pietro da Cortona
corundum ^o-'ron-dsmX Aluminum oxide mineral (A1 2 0 3 ) that is, after diamond, the hardest known natural substance. Gem varieties are sapphire and ruby; mixtures with iron oxides and other minerals are called emery. Corundum is widespread in nature, although large deposits are rare. Rich deposits occur in India, Russia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. In addition to being a precious gem, corundum is used as an abrasive for grinding optical glass and for polishing metals and has also been made into sand¬ papers and grinding wheels. For most industrial applications, however, it has been replaced by synthetic materials such as alumina; synthetic corun¬ dum is also manufactured.
corvee \kor-'va\ Unpaid labor that a European vassal owed a lord or that a citizen in later times owed the state, either in addition to or in lieu of taxes. The corvee was often used when money payment did not pro¬ vide sufficient labor for public projects, and in wartime it was sometimes used to augment regular troops in auxiliary capacities.
corvette Fast naval vessel smaller than a frigate. In the 18th—19th cen¬ tury corvettes were three-masted ships with square rigging and carried about 20 guns on the top deck. Often used to send dispatches within a battle fleet, they also escorted merchant ships. Early U.S. corvettes won distinction in the War of 1812. They disappeared as a class after the shift to steam power in the mid-19th century, but in World War II the term was applied to small armed vessels that served as escorts for convoys. Mod¬ em corvettes, usually displacing 500-1,000 tons (454-900 metric tons) and armed with missiles, torpedoes, and machine guns, perform antisub¬ marine, antiaircraft, and coastal-patrol duties in small navies.
Cory bant \'kor-3- l bant\ In Oriental and Greco-Roman mythology, any of the wild, half-demonic beings who were attendants of the Great Mother of the Gods. Often identified or confused with the Cretan Curetes (atten¬ dants of Zeus), they were distinctly Asian in origin and their rites were more orgiastic. Their wild dance was credited with the power of healing mental disorder.
Cosby, Bill in full William Henry Cosby, Jr. (b. July 12, 1937, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.) U.S. television actor and producer. He worked as a comedian in New York City nightclubs and on tour in the 1960s. In the series I Spy (1965-68) he became the first black actor to star in a dramatic role on network television. He later frequently appeared on the children’s programs Sesame Street and The Electric Company as well as in several films. He starred in several other television series, most notably The Cosby Show (1984-92), which became one of the most durable family comedies in the history of television.
Cosgrave, William Thomas (b. June 6, 1880, Dublin, Ire.—d. Nov. 16, 1965, Dublin) Irish statesman, first president (1922-32) of the Irish Free State. Early attracted to Sinn Fein, he took part in the 1916 Easter Rising and was interned briefly by the British. As president he restored settled government in Ireland. He continued in office despite various cri-
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470 I Cosimo I ► cost of living
ses until Eamon de Valera’s victory in 1932. In 1944 he resigned as head of the United Ireland Party (Fine Gael). His son Liam (b. 1920) served as prime minister in 1973-77.