Eisenhower Doctrine U.S. foreign policy pronouncement by Pres. Dwight D. Eisenhower (1957). The Eisenhower Doctrine promised mili¬ tary and economic aid to anticommunist governments, at a time when communist countries were providing arms to Egypt and offering strong support to Arab states. Part of the Cold War policy developed by John Foster Dulles to contain expansion of the Soviet sphere of influence, the doctrine continued pledges made under the Truman Doctrine.
Eisenstaedt Vl-zon-.statV Alfred (b. Dec. 6, 1898, Dirschau, West Prussia—d. Aug. 23, 1995, Oak Bluffs, Mass., U.S.) German-born U.S. photojournalist. He became a professional photographer in Berlin in 1929 and came under the influence of Erich Salomon. His work appeared in many European picture magazines in the 1930s. In 1935 he immigrated
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604 I Eisenstein ► El Paso
to New York City, where he became one of the first four photographers hired by Life (1936). He would contribute more than 2,500 picture sto¬ ries and 90 cover photos to the magazine, including outstanding portraits of kings, dictators, film stars, and ordinary people.
Eisenstein Vl-zon-.stlnV Sergey (Mikhaylovich) (b. Jan. 23, 1898, Riga, Latvia—d. Feb. 11, 1948, Moscow, U.S.S.R.) Russian film director and theorist. He began his career at a workers’ theatre in Moscow in 1920, designing costumes and scenery. After studying stage direction with Vsevolod Meyerhold, he turned to filmmaking. In Strike (1924) he intro¬ duced his influential concept of film montage, adding startling and often discordant images to the main action to create the maximum psychologi¬ cal impact. He further developed the style in The Battleship Potemkin (1925), a commissioned propaganda film that is one of the most influen¬ tial films of all time. Among his other films are October (Ten Days That Shook the World ; 1928) and The General Line (1929). After a frustrating period in Hollywood and Mexico (1930-33), he returned to the Soviet Union and made two more classics, Alexander Nevsky (1938) and Ivan the Terrible (2 parts, 1945—46).
Eisner Vlz-norV Kurt (b. May 14, 1867, Berlin, Prussia—d. Feb. 21, 1919, Munich, Ger.) German journalist and politician. From 1898 he was editor of Vorwdrts, the official Social Democratic Party newspaper. He joined the Independent Social Democratic Party in 1917, later becoming its leader. In November 1918 he organized a Socialist revolution that overthrew the monarchy in Bavaria, and he became first prime minister and minister of foreign affairs of the new Bavarian republic. In February 1919 he was assassinated by a reactionary zealot.
Eisner, Michael (Dammann) (b. March 7, 1942, Mount Kisco, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. entertainment executive. He worked at ABC-TV (1966-76) before becoming president of Paramount Pictures (1976-84), and he served as head of the Disney Co. from 1984. He was instrumental in reviving Disney as a major movie studio with films such as Pretty Woman (1990), and he restored Disney’s reputation for classic animation with Beauty and the Beast (1991) and The Lion King (1995), which also became hit Broadway musicals. He expanded the company into fields such as television, publishing, home video, and cruise ship travel.
eisteddfod M-'steth-vod, a-'steth-vod\ Welsh "session" Formal assembly of Welsh bards and minstrels that originated in the traditions of medieval court bards. Early eisteddfods were competitions of musicians (especially harpists) and poets from which new musical, literary, and ora¬ torical forms emerged. The assembly at Carmarthen in 1451 authorita¬ tively established the arrangement of the strict metres of Welsh poetry. The modem annual National Eisteddfod, revived in the 19th century, includes awards for music, prose, drama, and art, but the investiture of the winning poet remains its high point.
ejido \a-'he-tho\ In Mexico, village lands held in the traditional Indian system of land tenure, blessed by Mexican law in the 1920s, that com¬ bines communal ownership with individual use. The ejido consists of cul¬ tivated land, pastureland, other uncultivated lands, and th e fundo legal, or town site. The cultivated land is generally apportioned in family holdings, which until recently could not be sold but could be passed down to heirs. Though the land reform of the mid 18th century was aimed at breaking up the large church holdings, it also forced the Indians to give up their ejidos. The village lands were restored by the 1917 constitution. In 1992 the Carlos Saunas government revoked the ban on the sale of ejido land.
Ekaterinoslav See Dnipropetrovsk
Ekron \'e-,kran\ Canaanite and Philistine city in ancient Palestine. It was one of the five cities of the Philistine Pentapolis and was located in what is now central Israel. Though allocated to Judah after the Israelite con¬ quest, it was a Philistine stronghold in the time of King David; it was later associated with the worship of the deity Baalzebub. Taken by Egypt (c. 918 bc), it paid tribute to Assyria in the 7th century bc. The city was known as Akkaron from Hellenistic times.
El Chief deity of the western Semites. In ancient texts from Ras Shamra in Syria, El was the husband of the mother goddess Asherah and father of all the gods except Baal. He was often depicted as an old man with a white beard and wings. The writers of the Hebrew scriptures used El as a synonym for Yahweh (the God of Israel) or as a general term for deity.
El Aaiun See Laayoune
El Alamein 'qa-b-'manN, Battles of (June-July 1942; October 23-November 6, 1942) Two battles between British and Axis forces in Egypt in World War II. Axis forces under Erwin Rommel began a drive eastward along the North African coast in early 1942. Though initially checked by the British, they managed to reach El Alamein on June 30. The first engagement ended in mid-July with Rommel still there, blocked and on the defensive. In October British forces under Bernard Law Mont¬ gomery began a devastating attack from El Alamein, routing Rommel’s vastly outnumbered forces. By November 6 the British had driven the Germans back into Libya.
El Cid See The Cid
El Dorado (Spanish: “The Golden”) Legendary golden city sought by Spanish explorers in the New World. It was the fabulously wealthy land of a king who was said to have been covered with gold dust so many times that he was permanently gilded. Many Spanish and English expe¬ ditions in the Americas were sent in search of El Dorado. In 1540 Fran¬ cisco Vazquez de Coronado ventured as far north as Kansas seeking the Seven Golden Cities of Cibola. Walter Raleigh searched for El Dorado in vain in South America, leading an expedition up the Orinoco River in
El Escorial \,es-k6r-'yal\ Palace-monastery northwest of Madrid, built in 1563-67 for Philip II. It is the burial place of Spanish sovereigns and one of the largest religious establishments in the world. It was conceived by Juan Bautista de Toledo (1530-1597) and completed by Juan de Herrera (c. 1530-1597), who is considered responsible for its architectural style. Its plan is a giant rectangle, with a domed church at the center flanked by the palace, monastery, college, library, cloisters, and courts. The mas¬ sive granite walls, relieved only by a series of unadorned windows and Doric pilasters, with no concession to decorative richness, produced an austerity beyond anything the Italian Renaissance ever envisaged.
El Greco See El Greco
El Malpais V.el-.mal-pa-'esV National Monument Natural area, west-central New Mexico, U.S. Located at an elevation of 6,400-8,400 ft (1,950-2,560 m), it covers 179 sq mi (464 sq km), including a lava flow area of 133 sq mi (344 sq km). Features include a 17-mi (27-km) lava tube system, a number of ice caves, volcanic cinder cones, one of New Mexico’s largest natural arches, and more than 20 gas and lava spatter cones. Designated a national natural landmark with the name McCarty Lava Flow in 1969, it became a national monument in 1987.