Gable, (William) Clark (b. Feb. 1, 1901, Cadiz, Ohio, U.S.—d. Nov. 16, 1960, Hollywood, Calif.) U.S. film actor. He debuted on Broadway in 1928 and went to Hollywood in 1930. After an initial rejection MGM signed him, and within a year he was playing romantic leads. He tri¬ umphed in It Happened One Night (1934, Academy Award). His sardonic virility and lighthearted charm appealed to men as well as women, and he became known as “the King.” Among his 70-odd films are Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), San Francisco (1936), Saratoga (1937), and, most memorably, Gone with the Wind (1939). After the death of his third wife, Carole Lombard, he became disenchanted with the film industry and joined the Army Air Corps, receiving the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal for his wartime bombing missions. He later returned to Hollywood, starring in films such as The Hucksters (1947), Mogambo (1953), and The Misfits (1961).
Gable, Dan(iel Mack) (b. Oct. 25, 1948, Waterloo, Iowa, U.S.) U.S. freestyle wrestler and coach. Gable never lost a wrestling match in his high school years. After an outstanding career at Iowa State University, he won the 1971 world and Pan-American championships. At the 1972 Olympics he won a gold medal, not losing a single point. From 1972 he coached at the University of Iowa, winning 9 consecutive national titles and 12 Big Ten championships; he coached the 1980 and 1984 U.S. Olympic wrestling teams.
Gabo Vga-bo\, Naum orig. Naum Pevsner (b. Aug. 5, 1890, Bry¬ ansk, Russia—d. Aug. 23, 1977, Waterbury, Conn., U.S.) Russian-born U.S. sculptor. He studied at the University of Munich, and in 1913 he was introduced to avant-garde art in Paris by his brother, Antoine Pevsner. In 1920 the brothers returned to Russia and issued the “Realist Manifesto,” setting forth the principles of European Constructivism. Gabo produced abstract works of such unorthodox materials as glass, plastic, and wire to achieve a sense of movement. After some years in Europe he settled in the U.S. in 1946 and taught at Harvard’s architecture school. He received
many awards and public commissions. A pioneer of the Constructivist movement, he was one of the earliest artists to experiment with kinetic SCULPTURE.
Gabon \ga-'bo n \ officially Gabonese Republic Country, central Africa. Area: 103,347 sq mi (267,667 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 1,384,000. Capitaclass="underline" Libreville. Gabon has more than 40 ethnic groups: the Fang, more than one-fourth of the total population, live north of the Ogooue River; the largest groups south of the river are the Sira (includ¬ ing the Punu) and Nzebi. Languages: French (official), several Bantu lan¬ guages (notably Fang). Religions: Christianity (mostly Roman Catholic; also Protestant, other Christians); also Islam, traditional beliefs. Currency:
CFA franc. Gabon straddles the Equator on the western coast of Africa. It has a narrow coastal plain and becomes hilly in the south and north. The basin of its chief river, the Ogooue, covers most of the country; about three-fourths is equatorial rainforest, which sup¬ ports numerous plant and animal species. Gabon has reserves of manganese that are among the largest in the world; it also has huge deposits of petroleum and natu¬ ral gas. Gabon has a developing mixed economy based largely on the exploitation of these mineral and timber resources. Its chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister; the parliament consists of two houses. Artifacts dat¬ ing from late Paleolithic and early Neolithic times have been found in Gabon, but it is not known when the Bantu speakers who established Gabon’s ethnic com¬ position arrived. Pygmies were probably the original inhabitants. The Portuguese began arriving in the late 15th century and were followed by French, Dutch, and English traders. The Fang started migrating there in the late 18th century. The slave trade dominated commerce in the 18th and much of the 19th century. The French then took control, and Gabon was administered (1843-86) with French West Africa. In 1886 the colony of French Congo was established to include both Gabon and the Congo; in 1910 Gabon
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became a separate colony within French Equatorial Africa. An overseas territory of France from 1946, it became an autono¬ mous republic within the French Community in 1958 and declared its independence in
Rule by a sole political party was established in the 1960s, but dis¬ content with it led to riots in Libreville in 1989. Legalization of opposi¬ tion parties enabled new elections in 1990. The country continued to face economic difficulties despite large revenues from petroleum exports.
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Gabon Estuary ► Gaelic revival I 725
Gabon Estuary Inlet of the Gulf of Guinea, western Gabon. Fed by the Como and Mbei' rivers, it is 40 mi (64 km) long and 9 mi (14 km) wide at its mouth. It was explored in the 1470s by Portuguese navigators and was long considered the finest harbour of the West African coast. Libreville is its main port.
Gaborone \,ga-bo-'ro-na\ formerly (until 1969) Gaberones X.ga-bo-'ro-nosV City (pop., 2001 prelim.: 185,891), capital of Botswana. It is located in southeastern Botswana near the border with South Africa. The seat of government was transferred there from Mafikeng, S.Af., in 1965, one year before Botswana became independent of Britain. Gabor¬ one is on the Cape-Zimbabwe railway and is the site of government offices, parliament buildings, health facilities, a thermal power station, and an airport. It is the seat of the University of Botswana (1976) and also has a national museum and art gallery (1968).
Gabriel In the Bible and the Qur’an, one of the archangels. In the Bible he was the heavenly messenger sent to explain Daniel’s visions; he also revealed to Zechariah the coming birth of John the Baptist and appeared to Mary in the Annunciation to tell her she was to be the mother of Jesus. In Christian tradition it is believed that he will blow the trumpet on Judg¬ ment Day. In the Qur’an he is known as JibrIl, and Muslims believe that he brought God’s revelations to Muhammad.
Gabriel or Gabriel Prosser (b. c. 1775, near Richmond, Va.—d. September 1800, Richmond, Va., U.S.) American slave who planned the first slave rebellion in U.S. history. Born to an African-born mother, he grew up as the slave of Thomas H. Prosser. In 1800 the deeply religious Gabriel planned a slave insurrection to create an independent slave state in Virginia with himself as king. Intending to attack Richmond and kill all whites except Frenchmen, Methodists, and Quakers, he assembled 1,000 slaves outside the city on August 30, but a violent rainstorm washed out bridges and scattered the rebels. Before they could reassemble, Gov. James Monroe learned of the plot and ordered out the state militia. Gab¬ riel and 34 others were arrested, tried, and hanged.
Gabrieli \,ga-bre-'e-le\, Andrea and Giovanni (respectively b. c. 1510-20, Venice—d. late 1586, Venice; b. c. 1556, Venice—d. Aug. 12?, 1612, Venice) Venetian composers. Andrea worked at the Bavarian court in Munich and in 1566 became an organist at St. Mark's Basilica in Ven¬ ice, where he remained the rest of his life. He wrote more than 200 mad¬ rigals and much other secular vocal music. His sacred vocal works, which number more than 150, include many splendid settings for church festi¬ vals; many were published posthumously in a collection called Concerti (1587). His nephew and student, Giovanni, joined him as organist at St. Mark’s in 1584. Like Andrea, he wrote numerous festive works for choirs and instrumental groups. His best-known works are those for instruments, especially wind instruments (canzonas, ricercars, sonatas, toccatas, etc.), which employ dramatic dynamic and spatial effects. His student Heinrich Schutz conveyed the Venetian style to Germany.