Gagarin \g3-'gar-3n\, Yury (Alekseyevich) (b. March 9, 1934, near Gzhatsk, Russian S.F.S.R.—d. March 27, 1968, near Moscow) Soviet cosmonaut. Son of a carpenter on a collective farm, he graduated from the Soviet air force’s cadet school in 1957. In April 1961, aboard Vostok 1, he became the first human to travel into space. The spacecraft orbited Earth once in 1 hour 29 minutes. Gagarin’s flight brought him worldwide fame, and he was much honoured in the Soviet Union. He never went into space again, but he trained other cosmonauts. He was killed at age 34 when his jet crashed during a training flight.
Gahadavala dynasty \g9-h3-do-'va-l3\ (c. 1050-c. 1250) One of the many ruling families of North India on the eve of the 12th-13th century Muslim conquests. Its history illustrates all the features of the early medi¬ eval North Indian polity—dynastic hostilities and alliances, feudal-state structure, absolute dependence on Brahmanical social ideology, and vul¬ nerability in the face of external aggression. Muslim expansion eclipsed the Gahadavala dynasty in the early 13th century.
Gahanbar \ga-,han-'bar\ In Zoroastrianism, any of six festivals occur¬ ring at irregular intervals during the year and marking the change of sea¬ sons in Iran. Globally they are aligned with the six stages in the creation of the world: the heavens, water, the earth, vegetation, animals, and humanity. Each festival lasts five days. The Parsis celebrate the Gahanbar festivals in two stages, beginning with liturgical rites and sacrificial offer¬ ings and concluding with a solemn feast.
Gaia VgI-o\ hypothesis Model of the Earth in which its living and nonliving parts are viewed as a complex interacting system that can be thought of as a single organism. Developed c. 1972 largely by British chemist James E. Lovelock and U.S. biologist Lynn Margulis, the Gaia hypothesis is named for the Greek Earth goddess. It postulates that all living things have a regulatory effect on the Earth’s environment that pro¬ motes life overall; the Earth is homeostatic in support of life-sustaining conditions. The theory is highly controversial.
Gainsborough, Thomas (baptized May 14, 1727, Sudbury, Eng.—d. Aug. 2, 1788, London) British painter. At 13 he left his native Suffolk to study in London. By c. 1750, back in Suffolk, he had estab¬ lished a reputation in portraiture and landscape painting. He painted land¬ scapes for pleasure; portraiture was his profession. In 1759 he moved to the fashionable spa of Bath, where his works would be seen by a wider and wealthier public. In 1768 he became a founding member of the Royal Academy of Art. He developed an elegant, formal portrait style inspired by Anthony Van Dyck, whose influence can be seen in such portraits as his famous Blue Boy (1770). In 1774 he moved to London and became a favourite of the royal family, preferred above the official court painter,
Joshua Reynolds. His love of land¬ scape came from studying 17th- century Dutch artists and later Peter Paul Rubens, whose influence is evi¬ dent in The Watering Place (1777).
His output was prodigious; he pro¬ duced many landscape drawings in various media, and in his later years he also created images of seascapes, pastoral subjects, and children.
Gaitskell, Hugh (Todd Nay¬ lor) (b. April 9, 1906, London,
Eng.—d. Jan. 18, 1963, London)
British politician. He taught political economy at the University of Lon¬ don and in World War II served in the ministry of economic warfare. He entered the House of Commons in 1945 and became minister of fuel and power (1947-50) and chancellor of the Exchequer (1950-51). Chosen to succeed Clement R. Attlee as Labour Party leader in 1955, he reunited the party and moderated its policies before his sudden death.
Gajah Mada \'ga-ja-'ma-da\ (d. 1364) Prime minister of the Majapahit empire and a national hero in Indone¬ sia. Born a commoner, Gajah Mada rose to power on his intelligence, courage, and loyalty to King Jayana- gara (r. 1309-28), whom he restored to power after an insurrection. His feelings for the king changed when the latter took possession of his wife, and he subsequently had the king killed. During the reigns of Jayana- gara’s daughter Tribhuvana and grandson Hayam Wuruk (r. 1350- 89), Gajah Mada was the most pow¬ erful figure in Majapahit, conquering territories that may have included the entire Indonesian archipelago and part of Malaysia. A law book that had great significance in Javanese history was compiled under his instructions, and the principal poet of the era, Pra- pancha (fl. 14th century), eulogized Gajah Mada (his patron) in Nagarakrtagama, the epic of Majapahit.
Gajdusek Vgl-do-.shekV D(aniel) Carleton (b. Sept. 9, 1923, Yon¬ kers, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. physician and researcher. He received his M.D. from Harvard University. He provided the first medical description of the central-nervous-system disorder kuru, unique to the Fore people of New Guinea, and concluded that it was spread by their funeral custom of ritu¬ ally eating the deceased’s brains. With Clarence Gibbs, Jr., he proposed that it was caused by an extremely slow-acting virus. Though kuru is now known to be caused by prions, his study had significant implications for research into multiple sclerosis, parkinsonism, and other degenerative neurological conditions. He shared a 1976 Nobel Prize with Baruch S. Blumberg.
galactic cluster See open cluster
galactic coordinate In astronomy, a galactic latitude or longitude, useful for describing the relative positions and motions of components of the Milky Way Galaxy. Galactic latitude is measured in degrees north or south of the plane of the Milky Way. Galactic longitude is measured in degrees east of the galactic centre in the constellation Sagittarius.
galactic halo In astronomy, a nearly spherical volume of thinly scat¬ tered stars, globular clusters, and tenuous gas observed surrounding spi¬ ral galaxies. It may extend far beyond the disk and contain most of the galaxy’s mass. The halo of the Milky Way Galaxy is thought to have a radius greater than 100,000 light-years and to be predominantly composed Of DARK MATTER.
The Morning Walk, oil on canvas by Thomas Gainsborough, 1785; in the National Gallery, London.
Terra-cotta head identified as Gajah Mada; in the Trawulan Site Museum, Indonesia
COURTESY OF THE TRAWULAN MUSEUM, INDONESIA
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
galactic nucleus ► galena I 727
galactic nucleus See active galactic nucleus
galactose \g3-'lak-,tos\ Organic compound, a monosaccharide, chemi¬ cal formula C 6 H 12 0 6 . It is usually found in nature combined with other sugars, for example, in lactose, in polysaccharides, and in glycolipids, CARBOHYDRATE-containing lipids that occur in the brain and other nervous tis¬ sues of most animals. It has uses in organic synthesis and in medicine.
galago \go-Ta-g6, go-Ta-go\ Any of six species of small, tree-dwelling primates (genus Galago ) found in for¬ ests of sub-Saharan Africa. Galagos are gray, brown, or reddish or yel¬ lowish brown animals with large eyes and ears, long hind legs, soft woolly fur, and a long tail. They are active at night, feeding on fruits, insects, and small birds. Smaller forms, such as the bush baby, are par¬ ticularly active and agile in the trees.
On the ground, galagos sit upright and move by jumping with their hind legs. They range in length from 4.5-6 in. (11-16 cm), excluding the 7-8-in. (18-20-cm) tail, to 12-15 in.
(30-37 cm), excluding the 16.5-18.5-in. (42-47-cm) tail.
Galahad \'gal-3-,had\ In Arthurian legend, the pure knight who achieved a vision of God through the Holy Grail. The illegitimate son of Lancelot and the princess Elaine, he alone was worthy to sit in the Siege Perilous at the Round Table, reserved for the one destined to succeed in the quest for the Grail. Unlike his father, who was given to earthly and adulterous love, Galahad was chaste and filled with spiritual fervour. By finding the Grail, he healed the Fisher King and brought fertility back to the land. He appears in many Arthurian romances, notably in Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte Darthur. See also Perceval.