Ehrenburg Ver-on-.burg, 'er-3n-,burk\, Ilya (Grigoryevich) (b. Jan. 27, 1891, Kiev, Ukr., Russian Empire—d. Aug. 31, 1967, Moscow, Rus¬ sian S.F.S.R., U.S.S.R.) Russian writer and journalist. Arrested as a youth for revolutionary activity, he moved to Paris. He worked as a war corre¬ spondent, then returned to write for Soviet newspapers. His first novel and best work was Julio Jurenito and His Disciples (1922). He soon embraced the Soviet regime, eventually becoming one of its most effec¬ tive spokesmen in the West. The vehemently anti-Western The Fall of Paris (1941) was followed by The Storm (1946-47) and The Ninth Wave (1951-52). After Joseph Stalin’s death, Ehrenburg’s works, including The Thaw (1954) and his autobiography. People, Years, Life , 6 vol. (1960- 66), turned critical of Stalin’s heritage.
Ehrlich Var-likV Paul (b. March 14, 1854, Strehlen, Silesia, Prussia—d. Aug. 20, 1915, Bad Homburg vor der H5he, Ger.) German medical sci¬ entist. After early work on distribution of foreign substances in the body and on cell nutrition, he found uses for staining agents in diagnosis (including that of tuberculosis) and treatment. He also researched typhoid, fever medications, and eye diseases. In one paper, he showed that differ¬ ent tissues’ oxygen consumption reflected the intensity of their cell pro¬ cesses. Ehrlich developed a method of stimulating production of antitoxins by injecting increasing amounts of toxin into animals; his work was crucial to the creation of a diphtheria antitoxin. He and Elie Metch- nikoff received the 1908 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. With Sahachiro Hata, he developed Salvarsan, the first effective syphilis treat¬ ment, in 1910.
Ehrlich Vor-likV Paul R(alph) (b. May 29, 1932, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S.) U.S. biologist. He studied at the University of Kansas and taught at Stanford University from 1959. Though much of his research was done in entomology, his overriding concern became unchecked population growth. His most influential work was The Population Bomb (1968). In 1990 he shared with Edward O. Wilson Sweden’s prestigious Crafoord Prize.
Ehrlichman, John D(aniel) (b. March 20, 1925, Tacoma, Wash., U.S.—d. Feb. 14, 1999, Atlanta, Ga.) U.S. presidential assistant who played a central role in the Watergate scandal. He received his law degree from Stanford University in 1951 and established a law firm in Seattle, Wash. In 1969 he became domestic affairs adviser to Pres. Richard Nixon. With H.R. Haldeman he formed the so-called “palace guard” that con¬ trolled access to the president and filtered information directed to him. Ehrlichman soon established a group known as the “plumbers,” whose purpose was to acquire political intelligence and to repair “leaks” of infor¬ mation to the press. When members of the plumbers were caught break¬ ing into Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate complex, Ehrlichman became involved in a cover-up of involvement by White House officials. He was forced to resign in 1973. Convicted of conspiracy, perjury, and obstruction of justice, he served 18 months in jail. See also Pentagon Papers.
Eichendorff Vl-kon-.dorfN, Joseph, Baron von (b. March 10, 1788, near Ratibor, Prussia—d. Nov. 26, 1857, Neisse) German poet and nov¬ elist. Born to the nobility, he and his family lost their castle in the Napo¬ leonic Wars, and he later worked in the Prussian civil service. He became associated with the national leaders of the Romantic movement while study¬ ing in Berlin. His most important prose work, Memoirs of a Good-for- Nothing (1826), is considered a high point of Romantic fiction. In the 1830s he wrote poetry that achieved the popularity of folk songs and inspired such composers as Robert Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn, Johannes Brahms, Hugo Wolf, and Richard Strauss.
Eichmann Vik-.manX, (Karl) Adolf (b. March 19, 1906, Solingen, Ger.—d. May 31, 1962, Tel Aviv, Israel) German Nazi official. In 1932 he joined the Nazi Party and became a member of Heinrich Himmler’s SS organization. In World War II he organized the identification, assembly, and transportation of Jews to Auschwitz and other death camps. In 1945 he was captured by U.S. troops but escaped and eventually settled in Argentina. In 1960 he was arrested near Buenos Aires and taken to Israel,
where he was tried as a war criminal, with huge worldwide publicity, and hanged for his part in the Holocaust.
eider \1-dar\ Any of several species of large diving ducks (in tribes Mergini and Somateriini) that are heavy and round-bodied, with a humped bill that produces a characteristic sloping profile. Eiders are the source of eiderdown, feathers that the hen plucks from her breast to line the nest and insulate her eggs. Eiderdown is used as a warm filling for jackets, pillows, quilts, and sleeping bags. Hens are mottled brown, but drakes (males) are boldly patterned, with a green pigment on the head. Eiders live in the cold far north.
Eider Vl-dorX River River, Schleswig-Holstein state, northern Germany. It rises east of Rendsburg and flows west for 117 mi (188 km) to the North Sea. It is navigable up to Rendsburg. It formed the northern limit of the Roman Empire from the reign of Charlemagne (768-814), was recognized as the boundary of the Holy Roman Empire in 1027, and formed the tradi¬ tional frontier between Schleswig and Holstein.
Eiffel Tower Vl-faB Parisian landmark built for the Centennial Expo¬ sition of 1889. Conceived by the bridge engineer Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923), the 984-ft (300-m) tower of open-lattice wrought iron was a technological masterpiece.
Making use of advanced knowledge of the behaviour of metal arch and truss forms under loading, the struc¬ ture presaged a revolution in civil engineering and architectural design.
The tower was the world’s tallest building until completion of the Chrysler Building in 1930.
Eigen Vl-gonV, Manfred (b. May
9, 1927, Bochum, Ger.) German physicist. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Gottingen in 1951. He shared a 1967 Nobel Prize with Ronald Norrish (1897-1978) and George Porter (b. 1920) for work on extremely rapid chemical reac¬ tions. His methods, called relaxation techniques, involve applying bursts of energy to a solution and following the rates of subsequent changes (flash photolysis); reactions thus studied include hydrogen ion formation during water dissociation and keto-enol TAUTOMERISM.
eigenvalue Vl-gon-.val-yiA In mathematical analysis, one of a set of discrete values of a parameter, k, in an equation of the form Lx = kx. Such characteristic equations are particularly useful in solving differential equa¬ tions, integral equations, and systems of equations. In the equation, L is a
UNEAR TRANSFORMATION Such as a MATRIX Or a DIFFERENTIAL OPERATOR, and X Can be a vector or a function (called an eigenvector or eigenfunction). The totality of eigenvalues for a given characteristic equation is a set. In quan¬ tum mechanics, where L is an energy operator, the eigenvalues are energy values.
Eight, The Group of U.S. painters who reacted against the traditions of the National Academy of Design. The original eight— Robert Henri, Ever¬ ett Shinn (1876-1953), John Sloan, Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928), Ernest Lawson (1873-1939), Maurice Prendergast, George Luks (1867-1933), and William Glackens —were later joined by George Wesley Bellows. In 1908 they exhibited together in New York City. Saloons, tenements, pool halls, and slums were among their favourite subjects, and their style was rough and realistic. Their careers took various directions, and a few years later they were absorbed into the Ash Can school.
eighteen schools Divisions of Buddhism that arose in India in the three centuries after the death of the Buddha (c. 483 bc). The number of schools, or sects, was probably closer to 30 than 18. The first division in the Bud¬ dhist community occurred as a result of the second council, held at Vaishali in the 4th century bc, where differences among disciples over the nature of the Buddha gave rise to the school known as the Mahasanghi- kas. Other schools included the Sthaviravadins and their offshoots (3rd century bc), including the Theravadins (see Theravada).