Estates General or States General French Etats-Generaux.
In pre-Revolutionary France, the representative assembly of the three “estates” or orders of the realm: the clergy and the nobility (both privi¬ leged minorities) as well as the Third Estate, which represented the major¬ ity of the people. Usually summoned by monarchs in times of crisis, the Estates General met at irregular intervals from the 14th century on; it was of limited effectiveness because the monarchy usually dealt with local Estates instead. The last meeting of the Estates General was at the start
of the French Revolution in 1789, when the deputies of the Third Estate led in founding the National Assembly.
Este family \'es-ta\ Princely family of Lombard origin prominent in the history of medieval and Renaissance Italy. The Estensi, a branch of the 10th-century dynasty of the Obertenghi, took their name from the town¬ ship and castle of Este, near Padua. The founder of the family was the margrave Alberto Azzo II (died 1097), through whose son Folco I (died 1136?) descended the House of Este. The family first gained prominence as leaders of the Guelphs in the wars between the Guelphs and Ghibelunes. Members of the family ruled in Ferrara in the 13th-16th century. After Alfonso II (1533-1597), the fifth and last duke of Ferrara, died childless, direct papal rule was established in Ferrara in 1598, and the main branch of the Este family came to an end. The family also ruled in Modena and Reggio from the late Middle Ages to the late 18th century. In addition to their political prominence, members of the family also played an impor¬ tant role as promoters of art and culture.
Estenssoro, Victor Paz See Victor Paz Estenssoro
ester Any of a class of organic compounds that can react with water (see hydrolysis) to produce an alcohol and an organic or inorganic acid. They are formed by the reverse process, esterification, in which acid reacts with alcohol to form an ester and water. Esters of carboxylic acids, the most common esters, contain the acid’s carbonyl group (—C=0; see func¬ tional group); the carbon’s fourth bond is with the alcohol’s oxygen atom. Hydrolysis of esters in the presence of an alkali (saponification) is used to make soaps from fats and oils. Carboxylic acid esters of low molecu¬ lar weight are colourless, volatile liquids with pleasant odours; they give flavour and fragrance to fruits and flowers and are used as synthetic fla¬ vours and fragrances. Others, such as ethyl acetate and butyl acetate, are used as solvents for lacquers, paints, and varnishes. Certain polymers are esters, including Lucite (polymethyl methacrylate) and Dacron (polyeth¬ ylene terephthalate). Esters of alcohols and inorganic acids include nitrate esters (e.g., nitroglycerin), which are explosive; phosphate esters, includ¬ ing such biologically important compounds as nucleic acids; and others that are used as flame retardants, solvents, plasticizers, gasoline and oil additives, and insecticides.
Esterhazy family Ves-t9r-,ha-ze\ Aristocratic Magyar family, dating from at least the 15th century, that produced numerous Hungarian diplo¬ mats, army officers, and patrons of the arts. By the 18th century the Ester- hazys were the largest landowners in Hungary and possessed a private fortune even larger than that of the Habsburg emperors, whom they sup¬ ported. The great Esterhazy palace was built at Eisenstadt, on Neusiedler Lake. FJ. Haydn spent most of his career as music director at the palace. The family’s various members held important governmental, ecclesiasti¬ cal, diplomatic, and military posts in Hungary well into the 20th century.
Estes \'es-tez\, William K(aye) (b. June 17, 1919, Minneapolis, Minn., U.S.) U.S. psychologist. He worked with B.F. Skinner on instru¬ mental learning in the 1940s, and in 1950 he introduced stimulus sam¬ pling theory (SST), a model for describing learning mathematically. He taught at Stanford, Rockefeller, and Harvard universities, among others. Estes’s later work focused on “cognitive architectures.” His works include Learning Theory and Mental Development (1970), Statistical Models in Behavioral Research (1991), and Classification and Cognition (1994). In 1997 he received the National Medal of Science.
Esther Heroine and central figure in the book of Esther. She was a beau¬ tiful Jewish woman, the wife of the Persian king Ahasuerus (Xerxes I). She and her cousin Mordecai persuaded the king to cancel an order for the extermination of Jews in his realm, plotted by the king’s chief minister, Haman. Instead, Haman was hanged on the gallows he had built for Mor¬ decai, and the Jews were given permission to destroy their enemies. The Jewish festival of Purim celebrates this event. The book of Esther was probably written in the 2nd century bc.
Estienne \a-'tyen\, Henri II or Henri II Etienne (b. 1528, Paris, France—d. 1598, Lyon) French scholar-printer. As a young man he trav¬ eled Europe studying ancient manuscripts and visiting scholars before returning to his father’s Geneva printing firm to publish the first printed editions of several Greek texts. In 1566 he published a Latin edition of Herodotus with a controversial apologia in which he bitterly satirized his own age. His voluminous output of classical scholarship also included a 13-volume Greek and Latin text of Plutarch and a 5-volume Greek dic-
Robert Devereux, 2nd earl of Essex, detail of a painting after Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger, late 16th cen¬ tury; in the National Portrait Gallery, London
COURTESY OF THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY, LONDON
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
estimation > Ethelred II I 637
tionary. Thesaurus graecae linguae (both 1572). New editions of the dic¬ tionary, his greatest work, were printed into the 19th century.
estimation In mathematics, use of a function or formula to derive a solution or make a prediction. Unlike approximation, it has precise con¬ notations. In statistics, for example, it connotes the careful selection and testing of a function called an estimator. In calculus, it usually refers to an initial guess for a solution to an equation, which is gradually refined by a process that generates closer estimates. The difference between the estimate and the exact value is the error.
Estonia officially Republic of Estonia Country, northeastern Europe. It consists of a mainland area and some 1,500 islands and islets in the Baltic Sea. Area: 17,462 sq mi (45,227 sq km). Population (2005 est.):
1,345,000. Capitaclass="underline" Tallinn. Estonians make up about two-thirds of the popula- l '' 3 ' o *' eo km' h° n - R uss i ans account for almost one-
--— third, and there are Ukrainian, Finnish,
and Belarusian minorities. Language: Estonian (official). Religion: Christianity (other Christians [mostly unaf¬ filiated], Protestant, Eastern Orthodox). Currency: kroon. The land is low and hilly, with numerous lakes, forests, and rivers. It has a cool-temperate and humid climate. The economy is mainly industrial, producing shale oil, machinery, fabricated metal products, and building materials. It is noted for its textiles, and woodworking is a traditional and important industry. Estonia is a republic with one legislative body; the chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. It was invaded by Vikings in the 9th century ad and later by Danes, Swedes, and Russians, but the Estonians were able to withstand the assaults until the Danes took control in 1219. In 1346 the Danes sold their sovereignty over Estonia to the Teutonic Order, which was then in possession of Livonia (southern Estonia and Latvia). In the mid-16th century Estonia was once again divided: northern Estonia capitulated to Sweden, and Poland gained Livonia, which it surrendered to Sweden in 1629. Russia acquired Livo¬ nia and Estonia in 1721. Nearly a century later, serfdom was abolished. From 1881 Estonia underwent intensive Russification. In 1918 Estonia obtained independence from Russia, which lasted until the Soviet Union occupied the country in 1940 and forcibly incorporated it into the U.S.S.R. Germany held the region (1941-44) during World War II, but the Soviet regime was restored in 1944, after which Estonia’s economy was collec¬ tivized and integrated into that of the Soviet Union. In 1991, along with other parts of the former U.S.S.R., Estonia proclaimed its independence and subsequently held elections. In the 21st century Estonia continued negotiations with Russia to settle their common border, and, along with the other Baltic states, it joined the European Union in 2004.