151.96
Selenium
Se
34
78.96
Fermium
Fm
100
(257)
Silicon
Si
14
28.0855
Fluorine
F
9
18.9984
Silver
Ag
47
107.868
Francium
Fr
87
(223)
Sodium
Na
11
22.98977
Gadolinium
Gd
64
157.25
Strontium
Sr
38
87.62
Gallium
Ga
31
69.72
Sulfur
S
16
32.07
Germanium
Ge
32
72.61
Tantalum
Ta
73
180.9479
Gold
Au
79
196.9665
Technetium
Tc
43
(98)
Hafnium
Hf
72
178.49
Tellurium
Te
52
127.60
Hassium
Hs
108
(265)
Terbium
Tb
65
158.9254
Helium
He
2
4.00260
Thallium
Tl
81
204.383
Holmium
Ho
67
164.930
Thorium
Th
90
232.0381
Hydrogen
H
1
1.0079
Thulium
Tm
69
168.9342
Indium
In
49
114.82
Tin
Sn
50
118.71
Iodine
1
53
126.9045
Titanium
Ti
22
47.867
Iridium
Ir
77
192.22
Tungsten (wolfram)
W
74
183.85
Iron
Fe
26
55.845
Ununbium"
Uub
112
Krypton
Kr
36
83.80
Ununhexium”
Uuh
116
Lanthanum
La
57
138.9055
Ununpentium”
Uup
115
Lawrencium
Lr
103
(262)
Ununquadium”
Uuq
114
Lead
Pb
82
207.2
Ununtrium”
Uut
113
Lithium
Li
3
6.941
Uranium
U
92
238.029
Lutetium
Lu
71
174.967
Vanadium
V
23
50.9415
Magnesium
Mg
12
24.305
Xenon
Xe
54
131.29
Manganese
Mn
25
54.9380
Ytterbium
Yb
70
173.04
Meitnerium
Mt
109
(268)
Yttrium
Y
39
88.9059
Mendelevium
Md
101
(258)
Zinc
Zn
30
65.39
Mercury
h 9
80
200.59
Zirconium
Zr
40
91.224
’Parentheses indicate the mass number of the most stable isotope of a radioactive element. ’’Discovery is claimed but not yet ratified; name and symbol are temporary.
tion of an automatic safety device by Elisha Otis (1811-1861) in 1853 made the passenger elevator possible. By opening the way to higher build¬ ings, the elevator played a decisive role in creating the characteristic urban geography of modem cities.
Elgar, Sir Edward (William) (b. June 2, 1857, Broadheath, Worces¬ tershire, Eng.—d. Feb. 23, 1934, Worcester, Worcestershire) British com¬ poser. Son of a piano tuner, he became proficient on violin and organ. His Enigma Variations (1896) brought him fame; he followed it with the ora¬ torio The Dream of Gerontius (1900), which many consider his master¬ piece. He composed in the orchestral idiom of late 19th-century Romanticism—characterized by bold tunes, striking colour effects, and
mastery of large forms—stimulating a renaissance of English music. His principal works include the five Pomp and Circumstance Marches (1901— 07), two symphonies (1908, 1911), concertos for violin (1910) and cello (1919), and the tone poems Cockaigne (1901) and Falstaff { 1913).
Elgin Vel-ganX, James Bruce, 8th earl of (b. July 20, 1811, Lon¬ don, Eng.—d. Nov. 20,1863, Dharmshala, India) British governor-general of Canada. He was appointed governor of Jamaica in 1842. As governor of British North America (1847-54), he implemented the policy of respon¬ sible, or cabinet, government recommended by Lord Durham. Elgin sup¬ ported the Rebellion Losses Act (1849), which compensated Canadians for losses during the 1837 rebellion in Lower Canada, a stand criticized
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Elgin Marbles ► Eliot I 613
by Tory opponents in England and French-Canadian rioters in Montreal. He negotiated the Reciprocity Treaty (1854) between the Canadian colo¬ nies and the U.S. In 1857 he left Canada to serve in diplomatic posts in China, Japan, and India.
Elgin Marbles Vel-gon\ Collection of ancient Greek marble sculptures and architectural fragments in the British Museum. They were removed from the Parthenon in Athens and other buildings by Thomas Bruce,
Lord Elgin (1766-1841), ambassa¬ dor to the Ottoman Empire, and shipped to England between 1802 and 1811. Elgin claimed he was sav¬ ing the works from destruction by the Turks, who then controlled Greece. He secured permission from the Turks to remove “any pieces of stone” bearing figures or inscrip¬ tions. They remained in his private possession, amid mounting criticism, until 1816, when the crown bought them. The controversy still contin¬ ues; the Greek government fre¬ quently demands their return.
Elgon Vel-,gan\, Mount Extinct volcano on the Kenya-Uganda border. Located northeast of Lake Victo¬ ria, its crater, about 5 mi (8 km) in diameter, contains several peaks, of which Wagagai, at 14,178 ft (4,321 m), is the highest. The Bantu-speaking Gishu (Gisu) occupy the mountain’s western slopes.
Eliade \,el-e-'a-da\, Mircea (b. March 9, 1907, Bucharest, Rom.—d. April 22, 1986, Chicago, Ill., U.S.) Romanian-born U.S. historian of reli¬ gion. He studied Sanskrit and Indian philosophy at the University of Cal¬ cutta, then returned to complete his Ph.D. at the University of Bucharest, where he taught until 1939. In 1945 he moved to Paris to teach at the Sorbonne, and from 1956 he taught at the University of Chicago. Eliade considered religious experiences to be credible phenomena, manifesta¬ tions of the sacred in the world, and his work traced the forms they have taken throughout the world and through time. He founded the journal History of Religions in 1961. His books include The Myth of the Eternal Return (1949) and A History of Religious Ideas (3 vol., 1978-85); he edited the 16-volume Encyclopedia of Religion (1987).
Elijah \i-'lI-jo\ or Elias Hebrew Eliyyahu (fl. 9th century bc) Hebrew prophet. The Bible related that he denounced foreign cults and defeated 450 prophets of Baal in a contest on Mount Carmel. In doing so, he earned the enmity of King Ahab and his consort, Jezebel, who forced him to flee into the wilderness. Later he was taken up into heaven in a whirlwind, leaving behind his successor, Elisha. His insistence that only the God of Israel is entitled to the name of divinity expresses a fully conscious mono¬ theism. He is also recognized as a prophet in Islam.
Elijah ben Solomon (b. April 23, 1720, Sielec, Lith., Russian Empire—d. Oct. 9, 1797, Vilna) Lithuanian scholar and Jewish leader. Born into a long line of scholars, he traveled in Poland and Germany before settling in Vilna, the cultural centre of eastern European Jewry. He refused rabbinic office and lived as a recluse while devoting himself to study and prayer, but he nevertheless became famous and revered in the Jewish community. His scholarly interests included biblical exegesis, Tal¬ mudic studies, folk medicine, grammar, and philosophy. A vehement opponent of Hasidism, he denounced its claims to miracles, visions, and spiritual ecstasy, calling instead for the intellectual love of God.
Elion \'e-le-3n\, Gertrude (Belle) (b. Jan. 23, 1918, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. Feb. 21, 1999, Chapel Hill, N.C.) U.S. pharmacologist. She graduated from Hunter College. Unable to find a research position because of her sex, she initially taught high school chemistry. In 1944 she became George Herbert Hitchings’s assistant at Burroughs Wellcome. They devel¬ oped drugs for leukemia, autoimmune disorders, urinary-tract infections, gout, malaria, and viral herpes using innovative research methods. They examined the biochemistry of normal human cells and of disease-causing agents and used the results to formulate drugs that could kill or inhibit reproduction of a particular pathogen but leave normal host cells unharmed. In 1988 they shared a Nobel Prize with James Black.