Fortaleza \,f6r-t3-'la-z9\ Port city (pop., 2002 est.: 2,219,800), north¬ eastern Brazil. It lies at the mouth of the Pajeu River. Originating as a small village adjoining a Portuguese fort, it took the name of Villa do Forte da Assumpgao in 1654. In 1810 it became the capital of Ceara cap¬ taincy, and in 1823 it was given city status. It became the capital of a province under the name of Fortaleza Nova de Braganga. It is a textile¬ manufacturing centre; its port handles exports.
Fortas, Abe (b. June 19, 1910, Memphis, Tenn., U.S.—d. April 6, 1982, Washington, D.C.) U.S. jurist. He graduated from Yale University Law School (1933), where he studied under William O. Douglas before fol¬ lowing him to the Securities and Exchange Commission. As cofounder of a major Washington, D.C., law firm (1946), he represented some of the largest U.S. corporations. In 1963 he successfully argued the case of Gideon v. Wainwright, which established the right of the accused to coun¬ sel in criminal trials, regardless of ability to pay. Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson, a close friend, nominated Fortas to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1965. Johnson attempted to elevate him to chief justice in 1968, but his nomination faced a filibuster in the Senate, and Fortas requested that his name be withdrawn from consideration. In 1969 Fortas resigned from the Court following a threat of impeachment over his dealings with a fin¬ ancier who was subsequently imprisoned for securities violations.
Fort-de-France \ 1 for-d3- , fra n s\ City (pop., 1999: 94,049), capital of Martinique, West Indies. Located on the island’s western coast, it was for¬ merly called Fort-Royal and has been Martinique’s capital since 1680. Until 1918, when its commercial growth began, it had an inadequate water supply, was partly surrounded by swamps, and was notorious for yellow fever; the swamps have since been drained. It is the French West Indies’ largest town, chief port, and busiest commercial centre and has long shel¬ tered the French fleet in the West Indies. Sugarcane, cacao, and rum are exported.
Fortescue Vfort-s-.skyiiV Sir John (b. c. 1385, Norris, Somerset, Eng.—d. c. 1479, Ebrington, Gloucestershire) English jurist. He served as chief justice of the King’s Bench from 1442. He was the first to state the basic principle that it is better that the guilty escape than that the inno¬ cent be punished. He fled to Scotland after Henry Vi’s defeat in 1461. Hoping for a restoration of the House of Lancaster, he educated Prince Edward in France, and he wrote for Edward’s instruction De laudibus legum Angliae, the first book about law written for the layperson. Return¬ ing to England in 1471, he was captured by Yorkists but was allowed to retire to his home.
Forth, River River, south-central Scotland. It flows east for 116 mi (187 km) from its headwaters on the slopes of Ben Lomond to enter the Firth of Forth, an estuary extending inland from the North Sea for 48 mi (77 km); the estuary varies in width from 1.5 to 17.5 mi (2.4 to 28 km). The
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696 i fortification ► Foster
river has a short highland section and a longer lowland section; the lat¬ ter, called the Links of Forth, was the site of the Battle of Bannockburn
(1314).
fortification Structure erected to strengthen a military position against attack. The defense of cities and trade centers, usually by high walls, has been important for centuries. The citadel was the fortress of the ancient world, appearing in cities of Egypt, Greece, and the Roman empire. By Classical Greek times, fortress architecture began incorporating ramparts (walled embankments) and towers. Roman fortresses of the 2nd century tended to be square or rectangular, and were usually of dressed (cut) stone. The medieval castle remained almost impregnable until gunpowder came into use.
FORTRAN Procedural computer programming language developed for numerical analysis by John W. Backus and others at IBM in 1957. The name derives from FORmula TRANslation. For many years it was the most widely used high-level language for scientific and engineering com¬ putations. Though other languages, such as various versions of C, are now popular for such uses, FORTRAN is still the language of choice for numerical analysis. It has been revised several times and now includes capabilities for handling structured data, dynamic (“on-the-fly”) data allo¬ cation, recursions (procedures that call themselves), and other features.
forum In ancient Roman cities, a centrally located open area surrounded by public buildings and colonnades and serving as a multipurpose public gathering place. The forum was an adaptation of the Greek agora and acropolis. In Rome the forum Romanum referred to the flat and for¬ merly marshy space between the Palatine and Capitoline hills. In the Roman republic, this was the site of public meetings, law courts, and gladiatorial games and was lined with shops and open-air markets.
Under the Roman empire, when the forum evolved into a center for reli¬ gious and secular ceremonies and spectacles, it held many of Rome’s most imposing temples, basilicas, and monuments. New forums were built, some devoted to judicial or administrative affairs and some to trade. The aesthetic harmony of Tra¬ jan’s Forum (2nd century ad), with its complex of buildings and court¬ yards and its tiers of shops, influenced many subsequent town planners.
Foscolo Vf6s-ko-lo\, Ugo orig. Niccolo Foscolo (b. Feb. 6, 1778, Zacynthus, Venetian republic—d. Sept. 10, 1827, Turnham Green, near London, Eng.) Italian poet and novelist. His works articulated the feel¬ ings of many Italians during the turbulent epoch of the French Revolu¬ tion, the Napoleonic Wars, and the restoration of Austrian rule. After Austria regained Italy in 1814, Foscolo fled first to Switzerland and then to Britain. His popular novel The Last Letters of Jacopo Ortis (1802) bit¬ terly denounced Napoleon’s cession of Venetia to Austria. Among his poems are the patriotic “Dei sepolcri” (1807) and the acclaimed but unfin¬ ished Le grazie (1822).
Fosse \'fos-e\, Bob orig. Robert Louis Fosse (b. June 23, 1927, Chicago, Ill., U.S.—d. Sept. 23, 1987, Washington, D.C.) U.S. theatre and film choreographer and director. Bom into a vaudeville family, Fosse began dancing professionally at age 13. He won his first Tony Award for choreographing the Broadway musical The Pajama Game (1954) and went on to win six more Tonys for his choreography, which was known for its sensuality, precision, and jazz sensibility. His later hit shows included Damn Yankees (1955) and Sweet Charity (1966)—both starring his wife, Gwen Verdon (1925—2000)—as well as Pippin (1973) and Dancin’ (1978). He directed the film musical Cabaret (1972, Academy Award); his film All That Jazz (1979) was a thinly disguised autobiogra- phy.
Fossey, Dian (b. Jan. 16,1932, San Francisco, Calif., U.S.—found dead Dec. 26, 1985, Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda) U.S. zoologist. She was working as an occupational therapist when, on a trip to Africa in 1963, she met Louis Leakey (see Leakey family), who persuaded her to return to
study the mountain gorilla in its natural habitat. Owing to her patient and nonthreatening interactions, the gorillas of Rwanda’s Virunga Mountains became accustomed to her presence, and she was able to gather detailed knowledge of their habits, communication, and social structure. She obtained a Ph.D. in 1974 and taught at Cornell University while remain¬ ing involved with the Karisoke Research Center in Africa, which she had established in 1967. She recounted her observations in Gorillas in the Mist (1983; film, 1988). She actively protected the gorillas from poachers, who are suspected of her murder at Karisoke.